Tag: 626 Sqn

Overview

Following the heavy losses of the previous week, 12 Sqn only took part in one operation this week, to Dortmund, in the Ruhr, on 4/5 May – there were no losses. Apart from the “1000 bomber raid” on Cologne in 1942, this was the largest raid of the war so far, 596 aircraft and the first major attack on Dortmund. Pathfinder marking was accurate and the majority of the main force bombed within 3 miles of the target which resulted in severe damage in the central and northern parts of the city. 693 people were killed and 1,075 injured, another new record.

Extract from Station Diary

Overview

A terrible week for 12 Sqn, with 5 aircraft and all their crews being lost on operations, with a sixth so badly damaged it was scrapped on its return – 2 of its crew being so badly injured they played no further part in the war. These losses caused the disbandment of “C” Flight of 12 Sqn, at least for the time being. The minelaying operation on 28/29 April was the heaviest loss of aircraft for Bomber Command during the war, but the number of mines laid was the highest in one night.

Also of interest is the support given to RAF Wickenby by the local population, especially Market Rasen, only a few miles from the camp, who raised £59,000, a considerable sum in 1943 and certainly enough to pay for a Lancaster and training for some of her crew.

Extract from Station Diary

Extract from the Appendix to the Operational Record Book for 12 Sqn

Overview

A week that demonstrates the variety of targets and locations attacked by Bomber Command – Stuttgart, La Spezia in Italy and the Skoda factory in Pilsen (Czech Republic). One aircraft and crew were lost in the operation to La Spezia and 3 aircrew bailed out from an aircraft during the attack on Pilsen, although the aircraft and the rest of the crew landed successfully at Wickenby – 2 evaded capture and made it to Gibraltar, the third became a POW due to a broken leg on landing. This crew were on their first mission and there was an order to bail out but it was later countermanded. Their stories are told in the annex to the Station Diary below.

Extract from Station Diary

Extract from Appendix to 12 Sqn Operational Record Book

Overview

As stated previously, the records for 12 Sqn and RAF Wickenby for April 1943 are missing from the National Archives, so the information I will be showing for this month are not as comprehensive as we would wish. Those that do appear were put together by members of the Wickenby Register, an association of ex-aircrew who did research in the National Archives and spoke to surviving aircrew during the 1980’s. They had annual reunions and paid for the memorial at the main gate of Wickenby Aerodrome and paid for the book of remembrance that is kept in the museum and contains the names of all 12 and 626 Sqn personnel who died in WW2.

12 Sqn took part in 3 operation this week on three consecutive nights, 8,9 and 10th April, to Duisburg twice and then Frankfurt – there were no casualties. The attack on Frankfurt was through complete cloud cover and led to a failure. Bombing photos showed only cloud and Bomber Command had no idea where the bombs had fallen.

Extract from Station Diary

Overview

The Battle of the Ruhr was still in full swing and 12 Sqn took part in 3 operations this week, to Berlin, Essen and Kiel. One aircraft was lost in the attack on Berlin. The account written by Sgt Pinkerton, the pilot of the aircraft lost, who managed to evade capture and reach Gibraltar, not only shows the determination and character of Bomber Command aircrew, but also the courage and ingenuity of ordinary members of the public in the occupied countries of Western Europe at that time. Also of note is that the operational records for 12 Sqn for the month of April are missing from the National Archives therefore some of the information is sparse for that month.

Extract from Station Diary

Extract from the Appendix to the 12 Sqn Operational Record Book

Overview

During this week, 12 Sqn took part in 3 operations to Duisburg, Berlin and St Nazaire – no aircraft were lost.

It may be of interest to know the sequence each of the aircrew followed during their training and this chart, produced during the war, gives an outline. Most pilots, navigators and bomb aimers did their main training in either the USA, Canada, South Africa, and some Australians were trained in their home country before sailing to the UK.

Extract from Station Diary

Overview

A quiet flying week for 12 Sqn, who flew no missions and, in fact, for the whole of Bomber Command, the largest attack being 16 Mosquitoes attacking railway workshops in Paderborn. The only event of note at Wickenby was the departure of the last Wellington, being collected by the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) for delivery to 33 MU. Unfortunately, the port engine cut and the aircraft crashed, injuring 2 of the ATA crew.

The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a British civilian organisation set up at the start of the Second World War with headquarters at White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire. The ATA ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, maintenance units (MUs), scrapyards, and active service squadrons and airfields, but not to naval aircraft carriers. It also flew service personnel on urgent duty from one place to another and performed some air ambulance work. Notably, around 10% of its pilots were women, and from 1943 they received equal pay to their male colleagues, a first for the British government. (Wikipedia)

Extract from Station Diary

Overview

Although at the beginning of the Battle of the Ruhr, you will notice that this week, although 12 Sqn took part in 4 operations, but only one was to the Ruhr – Essen on 12/13 March. The others were to targets much further into Germany; Nuremberg, Munich and Stuttgart. Fortunately, there were no casualties for 12 Sqn this week.

Extract from Station Diary

Overview

The later part of this week marked the beginning of what Sir Arthur Harris called the Battle of the Ruhr (5/6 March to 24 July 1943), relying on concentrated bombing of a specific area until that area was destroyed. As we will see, not all the targets were in the Ruhr, although around two thirds were, mainly to prevent the Germans from concentrating all their ground and air defense systems in that one area. Other reasons for choosing the Ruhr was the shorter distance to travel as the nights in Spring and Summer were shorter and the fact that the Oboe blind marking system was still effective at that range.

12 Sqn took part in 3 operations this week, to Berlin, Hamburg and Essen – one aircraft with all its crew were lost.

Extract from 12 Sqn Diary

Extract from Appendix to the Operational Record Book – 12 Sqn