Famously have you fought

Commander-in-Chief Bomber Command Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris writing to the men and women of Bomber Command on the eve of Victory in Europe Day, May 4, 1945.

During World War II, Australians serving with the British-based Bomber Command took part in daring strike missions deep into German-occupied Europe. Wing Commander Mary Anne Whiting reports.

The crew of Lancaster JOQ, from No. 463 (Australian) Squadron, RAF Base Waddington, pose for a photo on a 4000-pound bomb with their aircraft in the background, in December 1944.

FROM LEFT -Flight Engineer FSGT Peter Bishop, RAF -Pilot FLGOFF Keith Schultz, RAAF -Bomb Aimer FSGT Ron Woolston, RAF -Wireless Operator FSGT Ken Fletcher, RAF -Navigator FLGOFF Ted Pickerd, RAAF -Rear Gunner FSGT Kevin Flute, RAF -Mid-upper Gunner PLTOFF Bill Dawes, RAAF

Berlin in the immediate aftermath of the war.

Photo by LAC Mark McConnell

ON NOVEMBER 16, 1943, a Wellington crashed in bad weather on the moors above Anglezarke in Lancashire, killing all six crew.

The aircraft, from No. 28 Operational Training Unit of Bomber Command at the RAF Base at Wymeswold, had been in the air for almost four hours when the pilot lost control in a cloud. After struggling to keep airborne, the Wellington went into a steep dive, shedding pieces of fuselage on the way before hurtling into the ground.

The bodies of the RAAF pilot and the five RAF crew were all recovered and shortly after the war, the Horwich Rotary Club erected a stone cross in their memory near the site of the crash. Each year since then, a memorial service has been held at the site. The pilot was Flight Sergeant Joseph Banks Timperon. Joe was only 24 years old when he died and had been in Britain for only eight months.

“Why?” one might ask, “was an Australian airman in Britain at a time when his own country was under threat by the Japanese?”

From developments in Europe during the 1930s, it became apparent that the Air Force would assume an increasingly important role in a conflict against Germany.

However, the British Government realised Britain did not have the capacity to raise and train the vast number of aircrew required to defeat Germany in the air, and put forward a proposal to develop a training scheme in the Dominions where weather conditions and the absence of enemy intervention would facilitate training.

The Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) was established and was designed to provide a steady supply of trained aircrew for home defence units, as well as to supplement RAF Commands in Europe and the Middle East for the duration of hostilities.

As it turned out, Bomber Command was the major recipient of the EATS graduates.

About 10,000 Australian airmen served with Bomber Command, making up approximately 9 per cent of its strength. A number of Australian squadrons were formed, but Australians did not always serve in these squadrons; many were dispersed among more than 500 RAF squadrons or were serving members of the RAF on short-service commissions.

Nonetheless, the operational experience of the Australian squadrons was typical of most bomber crews.

Bomber Command’s air offensive against Germany was one of the epic campaigns of World War II. For more than five-and-a-half years the aircrew of Bomber Command fought at terrible cost, waging what was virtually a battle every night against the enemy.

An operational tour consisted of thirty missions with the option of a second tour of twenty missions. The chances of surviving a first tour were one-in-two, a second tour, one-in-three.

Australian squadrons, crews or individual airmen took part in practically all noteworthy events. Certain targets, such as the industrial centre of the Ruhr, were vital to the enemy’s war potential and were frequently attacked. Of all targets, Berlin, “the big city”, was at the heart of Nazi Germany.

To attack Berlin meant a gruelling nine-hour journey through heavily defended enemy territory, during which bombers would be fired on by anti-aircraft guns working in conjunction with barrages of searchlights, as well as being vulnerable to attack by skilled and determined enemy fighter pilots.

The first RAAF attack on the enemy capital occurred on September 2-3, 1941, in which Hampdens from No. 458 Squadron took part. On August 23-24, 1943, the first major air attack included Lancasters from No. 460 Squadron.

On November 26-27, 1943, Nos. 463 and 467 Squadrons operated together for the first time to attack Berlin, and on January 20-21, 1944, Halifaxes from No. 466 Squadron joined a force of 769 aircraft to attack the German capital.
Lancasters from No. 460 Squadron took part in the first thousand-bomber raid on Cologne.

On December 6, 1942, operational day bombers from No. 2 Group, including Venturas from No. 464 Squadron on their first operation, attacked the Philips Wireless Radio works in the Dutch town of Eindhoven.

During the Battle of the Ruhr (from March to July, 1943), Lancasters and Halifaxes from Nos. 460, 466 and 467 Squadrons carried out 47 attacks on important strategic targets, including Berlin, Cologne and Essen.

During this period, Venturas from No. 464 Squadron often formated with Venturas from No. 487 (New Zealand) Squadron to attack targets such as German-held aerodromes in France and the docks at Rotterdam.

During the eleven days of the Battle of Hamburg (from July 24 to August 3, 1943), Australian squadrons carried out 241 successful sorties, striking Hamburg on four occasions. On August 17-18, 1943, Lancasters from Nos. 466 and 467 Squadrons joined a force of 596 aircraft to attack the V-1 and V-2 rocket research establishment at Peenemunde. During the Battle of Berlin (from November 1943 to March 1944), Australian squadrons provided 10 per cent of the main bomber force.

In the final stages of the air offensive, Australians participated in attacks on invasion targets, including coastal defences, transport and communications, and in support of ground forces.

Out of 45 attacks by Australian squadrons in June 1944, eight were made in daylight. Six weeks after D-Day, on July 18, 1944, Australian Lancasters and Halifaxes formed part of a force of 942 bombers, which attacked German positions east of Caen.

One of the last operational sorties occurred on Anzac Day, 1945, when a force of 375 aircraft, including Lancasters from No. 460 Squadron, bombed Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest” at Berchtesgaden. The last series of raids into Europe had Australians involved in Operation Exodus, to collect 75,000 British prisoners of war and return them to England.

Throughout the war, Bomber Command squadrons also carried out 18,532 minelaying sorties, which resulted in 627 vessels being sunk and 531 damaged.

Talk to any Bomber Command veteran and within a few minutes they will be singing the praises of the ground crew – the fitters, engineers, mechanics and armourers.

The Erks, as they were affectionately known, often worked around the clock, in a variety of weather conditions, repairing, servicing and bombing up aircraft so that the maximum number of bombers, each with a full payload of high-explosive bombs and incendiaries, could take off on time.

Australian ground crew worked alongside their contemporaries from England, Canada and New Zealand, mainly in RAAF Squadrons.

From the declaration of war in September 1939 until May 1945, Bomber Command dropped an estimated 955,395 tons of bombs on targets in Europe.

Of the 125,000 aircrew, an estimated 73,741 became casualties, including 55,500 killed. In Bomber Command, 3486 Australians were killed, which accounted for almost 20 per cent of combat deaths of Australians who enlisted during World War II, and 708 Australians became prisoners of war.

Pilot Officer Rawdon Hume Middleton was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross in November 1942 for saving the life of his crew despite being dreadfully injured.

The thousandth decoration for gallantry awarded to RAAF members serving overseas in RAAF or RAF units was recorded soon after D-Day, and the figure to July 31, 1944, was 1,053. A further 126 awards for gallantry were won by Australian members of the RAF, including a Victoria Cross awarded to Group Captain Hughie Edwards.

The contribution of Australians, while small in numbers, was significant, especially when seen against the whole background of Australia’s obligations and achievements in the Pacific. To quote historian Dr Alan Stephens, “no single group of Australians from any service did more to help win World War II than the men who fought in Bomber Command”.

Where the missions began and ended
Remember the sacrifice

TOP

 

 

 

 

.