Operation "Kembs Barrage", 07th October 1944, Lancaster NG180/KC-S:
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Taking off at 13:10 hrs to bomb the Krembs Dam on the Rhine with 12 other Lancasters. Important target as it was thought that with the approaching allied armies the Germans would release the water to flood the Rhine Valley near Mulhouse to slow them down.
7 Lancasters from the squadron were to fly in at 8000 ft to draw the flak fire the remains 6 would use the 12,000 lb. Tallboy bombs to enable them to make the breach from around 1.000 ft. with delayed fuses - A large portion of the Power Plant was destroyed along with the gate of the dam.
Flying at 600 ft Lancaster NG180 was hit by flak and managed to continue a short distance before hitting power cables and coming down in the Rhine at around 16:52 hrs. 3 of the crew are thought to have been lost in the crash and went down with the aircraft. The remains 4 crew managed to climb into the dingy and floated downstream before landing near the German village of Rheinweiler. They were soon picked up by the German forces.
Later on the same day, the captured airman were taken to the edge of the Rhine when each of them was murdered by German forces, their bodies being thrown into the Rhine. Recovered at various locations and buried at later dates. (After the war the ones responsible were sent on trial accused of the crimes)
Traugott Vitz (see Vitz archive on Aircrew Remembered) advised that the two people accused were Rudolf Birlin and Hugo Grüner. The main culprit and instigator 51 year old, Kreisleiter Grüner was accused of murdering four Allied airmen after a forced landing in Alsatian territory in October, 1944. He was sentenced to death but won his appeal on the grounds that he had committed his crime in Germany against English soldiers, and that over this the French Court had no jurisdiction (decision of the Court of Appeal). He was then extradited to the British zone. Its seems that Grüner succeeded to escape on the eve of his British trial which was to open at Recklinghausen on the 20th February 1947. No further information regarding the outcome of the trial for Rudolf Birlin or that of Hugo Grüner. (Some of this information courtesy of a German researcher Mr. Egon Baßler who wrote an article on Grüner). The murdered soldiers were:
Squadron Leader Drew Rothwell Cullen Wyness
Flight Officer Bruce James Hosie
Flight Lieutenant Ronald Henry Williams
Flying Officer Herbert Walter Honig |
| Drew Rothwell Cullen Wyness |
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Squadron Leader (Pilot)
103028
Distinguished Flying Cross
abt. 1920
07 October 1944
24
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Choloy War Cemetery, France
Son of Andrew Cullen Wyness and Helen Wyness,
husband of Ruth Wyness,
of Altrincham, Cheshire. |
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| Thomas James Hurdiss |
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Flight Sergeant
1239780
abt. 1921
07 October 1944
23
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of William and Alice Hurdiss,
of Wollescote, Worcestershire. |
| Ronald Henry Williams |
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Flight Lieutenant (Navigator)
126045
Distinguished Flying Cross
abt. 1922
07 October 1944
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Vernon and Dorothy May Williams, nee Shepheard
of Walthamstow, Essex. |
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| Herbert Walter Honig |
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Flying Officer (Air Bomber)
151110
abt. 1922
07 October 1944
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Herbert George Honig, and of Mabel Honig,
of Wimbledon, Surrey. |
| Bruce James Hosie |
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Flying Officer (Wireless Op./Air Gunner)
412882
abt. 1923
07 October 1944
21
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Choloy War Cemetery, France
Son of Walter and Rachel Hosie,
of Manaia, Taranaki, New Zealand. |
| Thomas Horrocks |
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Flight Sergeant
650027
June 1923, Manchester, Lancashire, UK
07 October 1944
21
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of Thomas and Margaret Horrocks, nee Wild. |
| George Edward Cansell |
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Flying Officer
173273
June 1923, Plymouth, Devon, UK
07 October 1944
21
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of George William and Clara Ada Cansell,
of Devonport. |
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Operation "Kembs Barrage", 07th October 1944, Lancaster LM482/KC-Q:
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Taking off at 13:10 hrs to bomb the Krembs Dam on the Rhine with 12 other Lancasters. Important target as it was thought that with the approaching allied armies the Germans would release the water to flood the Rhine Valley near Mulhouse to slow them down.
7 Lancasters from the squadron were to fly in at 8000 ft to draw the flak fire the remains 6 would use the 12,000 lb. Tallboy bombs to enable them to make the breach from around 1.000 ft. with delayed fuses - A large portion of the Power Plant was destroyed along with the gate of the dam.
The Lancaster Mk.III, LM.482, KC Q, which was flown by F / Lt Christopher Howard as part of low level force led by Tait started his attack after Wyness, failed to drop his Tallboy on the first approach due to a hungup bomb therefore he elected a second run over the target which forced his to fly over Weil Am Rhein 37/VII Heimat Flak Batterie which in addition to light flak guns also used 88 mm guns.
On his second approach to the barrage, his Lancaster was repeatedly hit by the flak and caught immediately fire in the rear fuselage and near wings root. Although Howard tried an emergency landing, the Lancaster exploded over the treetops and crashed a short time later between Efringen and Kirchen, near the Rhine, 2 miles NNE of the target. With great certainty they had no possibility to drop their Tallboy.
F/O Watkins who was not a regular crew and was flying as extra gunner on that flight.
The exploding wreckage of F/Lt Howard's Lancaster, which had crashed near Efringen-Kirchen shook the region with a massive detonations at 17:23 pm and a thick black column of smoke rose up. The blast wave caused several windows to burst in Basel Kleinhüningen sector.
Howard and his 7 crew member's remains were reinterred on 11 August 1948 from the cemetery of Weil am Rhein the intermediate burial place to their final resting place in Durnbach War Cemetery near Bad Tölz in Bavaria. |
| Christopher John Geoffrey Howard |
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Flight Lieutenant (Pilot)
104406
31 May 1922, London, UK
07 October 1944
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Geoffrey William Algernon Howard,
and the Hon. Mrs. Ethel Christian Howard. |
| Frederick Charles Hawkins |
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Pilot Officer (Flight Engineer)
184075
13 February 1915, Bridgwater, Somerset, UK
07 October 1944
28
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Frederick Bertram and Lily Maud Hawkins,
husband of Vera Eileen Hawkins,
of Luton, Bedfordshire. |
| Thomas Jobson Tate |
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Flight Lieutenant (Navigator)
111526
January 1909, Sunderland, Durham, UK
07 October 1944
35
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of William Montgomery Tate and
Elizabeth Jobson Tate, nee Osborne. |
| Eric Albert Hartley |
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Pilot Officer (Air Bomber)
178002
abt. 1922
07 October 1944
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Albert John and Rose Hartley,
of Forest Gate, Essex. |
| Richard Dennis Lucan |
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Pilot Officer (Wireless Operator)
177738
Distinguished Flying Medal
April 1923, Leeds, Yorkshire
07 October 1944
21
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Richard Matthew and Edith Farr Lucan, nee Grasby
of Harehills, Leeds, Yorkshire. |
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| Philip Edwin Woods |
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Warrant Officer (Air Gunner)
1332707
July 1921, Lambeth, London, UK
07 October 1944
23
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of William Oliver and Marion Ethel Woods,
of West Dulwich, London. |
| Herbert George Clarke |
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Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner)
1600754
March 1922, Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK
07 October 1944
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Albert Arthur and May Lanning Clarke,
of Mile End, Portsmouth. |
| David Trevor Watkins |
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Flying Officer (Air Gunner)
149930
Distinguished Flying Cross
abt. 1923
07 October 1944
21
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany
Son of David Archibald and Annie Georgeanna Watkins,
of Newport, Monmouthshire. |
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Operation "Mittelland Canal", 21st November 1944, Lancaster PB300/EA-K:
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21 November, 1944, GRAVENHORST (MITTELLAND CANAL):
Whilst a 5 Group force of 123 Lancasters attacked the Dortmund-Ems Canal, 10 aircraft from 49 Squadron joined 128 other 5 Group Lancasters in bombing the Mittelland Canal at Gravenhorst. Take-off started just after 17.30hrs and included Group Captain 'Ginger' Weir (PB300), Fulbeck's irrepressible Station Commander, piloting K-King.
The Main Force, led by 6 Mosquitoes arrived in the target area shortly before 21.00hrs. Orbiting the target, the Controller originally ordered the forces to stay at pre-briefed bombing heights, but at 20.58 hours, he then ordered the Main Force to attack from below the cloud base which was given as 4,000 feet. These instructions were subjected to severe jamming of W/T which caused much confusion. The controller next ordered the crews to bomb the southern red T.I's as planned. Consequently some crews bombed through cloud and others from below, with the markers being visible through the cloud layers. In the light of photo flashes, some 49 crews did obtain visual identification and despite the communication problems, the canal was successfully breached.
49 Squadron de-briefs show that the crew's of F/Lt Len Mellor (PB373), F/O Jock Galloway and F/O Carlyle (PB484) bombed below the clouds, whilst five other crews bombed red T.I's from above. This just left the two aircraft being flown by F/O Maul (PB354) and Grp/Cpt Weir - it has been speculated that one of these two aircraft exploded after being hit by bombs or light flak, which in turn caused the other aircraft nearby, to also explode. This speculation is confirmed by the fact that there were no Nachtjagd claims for the whole raid and all the Flak reports in Northern and Western Germany make no reference to a claim in this area.
The only survivor from this tragic incident was the Group Captain. His own remarkable escape, in which he was forcibly blown out of an exploding Lancaster does not confirm the cause, Grp/Cpt Weir had no recollection of what happened. He remembers regaining consciousness laying on his back on the muddy bottom of the breached and drained canal, his deployed parachute trailed behind. This miraculous saving of the Group Captain's life would not have been possible but for two reasons; one, he wore a seat-type parachute and two, 5 Group's crews being successful in hitting their target and draining over 30 miles of the canal.
The crew of Lancaster PB300 (EA-K):
G/C C. T. Weir Pilot (P.o.W.)
F/O F. A. Wooding F/E (Killed)
S/L P. Kelly NAV (Killed)
P/O A. W. Bishop W/OP (Killed)
Sgt P. Telford A/G (Killed)
F/O H. W. Hayward B/A (Killed)
F/O A. R. Verrier A/G (Killed) |
| Philip Kelly |
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Squadron Leader (Navigator)
130515
Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar
abt. 1910
21 November 1944
34
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Son of John Thomas Kelly and Kate Elizabeth Kelly,
of Long Eaton, Derbyshire. |
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The other crew members are not mentioned on the memorial. They didn't belong to the Dambuster Squadron at any time.
| Frederick Arthur Wooding |
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Flying Officer
160618
abt. 1920
21 November 1944
24
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of Arthur and Alice Wooding,
husband of Sylvia Wooding,
of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. |
| Alfred William Bishop |
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Pilot Officer (Wireless Operator)
178508
abt. 1920
21 November 1944
24
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Alfred John and Laura Elizabeth Bishop,
husband of Lillian Barberon Bishop,
of Handsworth, Birmingham. |
| Phillip Telford |
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Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner)
1592342
21 November 1944
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
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| Hugh Walter Hayward |
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Flying Officer (Air Bomber)
152993
abt. 1922
21 November 1944
22
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Walter and Constance Margaret Hayward,
of Grayswood, Surrey. |
| Alfred Reginald Verrier |
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Flying Officer (Wireless Op./Air Gunner)
155333
Distinguished Flying Cross
abt. 1923
21 November 1944
21
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Alfred James Verrier and Ethel Mary Verrier,
of Bournemouth, Hampshire. |
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Mission to Pölitz, 21st/22nd December 1944, Lancaster ME561/KC-T:
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The weather conditions were not good on the 21st when the squadron flew to Pölitz, on the north German coast, to attack the oil refinery there. Aside from the fact that it was to be a long trip (lasting around ten hours), and No. 617 Sqn's first night operation for several months, for once the target marking was not to be done in-house.
Sixteen Lancasters, led by Sqn. Ldr. Johnny Cockshott, formed part of a main force of more than 200 aircraft that found the target obscured by cloud and smoke. Also the bombing was scattered over a wide area, the plant was damaged in several places. However, the weather had not finished with them for the night, and as the crews returned, heavy fog meant a diversion to RAF Ludford Magna, which was equipped with FIDO (Fog, Intensive, Dispersal Operation - a set of pipes filled with petrol that ran the length of the runway on each side which, when lit, litarally burnt off the fog) equipment.
As he was circling the area preparing to land, Flg. Off. Arthur Joplin (in ME561/KC-T) briefly struck the ground, sending a violent shudder through the aircraft. As he battled to keep control, he ordered the rest of the crew to assume crah positions moments before coming down near Market Rasen at 0240 hrs. The bomber slid to a halt a few hundred yards further on. Regaining their sense, the crew staggered from the wreckage, but they were only five in number. Bomb aimer Flg. Off. Arthur Walker and mid-gunner Flg. Off. Robert Yates were both dead.
The crew of Lancaster ME561 (KC-T):
Flg. Off. A. W. Joplin, R. N. Z. A. F., Pilot (Injured)
Sgt. F. L. Tilley, Flight Engineer (Injured)
Flt. Sgt. C. B. R. Fish, Navigator (Injured)
Flt. Sgt. G. Cooke, Wireless Operator (Injured)
Flg. Off. A. J. Walker, Bomb Aimer (Killed)
Flg. Off. R. B. Yates, Mid-Upper Gunner (Killed)
Flt. Sgt. J. T. Thompson, Rear Gunner (Injured |
| The Text was taken from the book "No 617 `Dambuster´ Sqn" written by Alex Bateman (ISBN-13: 978-1-84603-429-9). |
| Arthur James Walker |
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Flying Officer (Air Bomber)
139686
Distinguished Flying Cross
27 June 1922
22 December 1944
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Richmond Cemetery, Surrey, UK
Son of James and Elizabeth B. C. Walker,
of Ham Common, Richmond. |
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| Roberton Bertrand Yates |
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Flying Officer (Air Gunner)
171019
abt. 1921, Toxteth, Merseyside, England
22 December 1944
23
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Dartmouth (Longcross) Cemetery, Devon, UK
Son of Francis Bertrand and Winifred Elizabeth Yates,
nephew of the Revd. William Alfred Roberton,
of St. Petrox Vicarage, Dartmouth. |
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