AJ-G "George" ED932/G

Transcription

1 OPERATIONS FOR OPERATION CHASTISE THE FIRST WAVE TARGETS THE MOHNE & EDER DAMS AJ-G "George" ED932/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:39 RETURNED 04:15 W/Cmdr G.P. Gibson (Pilot) UK Sgt J. Pulford (Flight Engineer) UK F/O H.T. Taerum (Navigator) Canada F/Lt R.E.G. Hutchinson (Wireless) UK P/O F.M. Spafford (Bomb Aimer) Australian F/Sgt G.A. Deering (Front Gunner) Canada F/Lt R.D. Trevor-Roper (Rear Gunner) UK Gibson carried out the first attack on the Mohne dam at 00:28 hours receiving light flak from guns around the dam but dropped his Upkeep weapon successfully and then directed the remainder of the attack by radio. Gibson flew alongside AJ-P (Martin) using his guns to attack the dam defences distracting them from AJ-P as it made its attack. Gibson then pressed on to the Eder dam to direct the attack on that dam and to assess results. AJ-M "Mother" ED925/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:39 CRASHED 00:34 F/Lt J.V. Hopgood (Pilot) UK Sgt C. Brennan (Flight Engineer) UK F/O K. Earnshaw (Navigator) Canada Sgt J.W. Minchin (Wireless) UK P/O J.W. Fraser (Bomb Aimer) Canada F/O G.H. Gregory (Front Gunner) UK P/O A.F. Burcher (Rear Gunner) Australia Second aircraft to attack the Mohne dam at 00:34 hours. Aircraft damaged on the outward leg and further hit on the run-in to the target. Upkeep bomb overshot the dam, exploding on the power station below, further damaging the plane (which was now on fire). Hopgood managed to gain altitude to about 500 feet to allow the crew to bail out but as he was doing so one wing fell off and the plane exploded with wreckage falling on the village of Osonnen (four miles to the North West of the dam).

2 AJ-P "Popsie" ED909/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:47 RETURNED 03:19 F/Lt H.B. Martin (Pilot) Australia P/O I. Whittaker (Flight Engineer) UK F/Lt J.F. Leggo (Navigator) Australia F/O L. Chambers (Wireless) NZ F/Lt R.C. Hay (Bomb Aimer) Australia P/O B.T. Foxlee (Front Gunner) Australia F/Sgt T.D. Simpson (Rear Gunner) Australia Third aircraft to attack the Mohne dam. Upkeep dropped at 00:38 hours but the bomb veered off track and exploded 20 yards short, close to the left-hand (western) bank of the Mohne Reservoir. Starboard outer fuel tank and ailerons damaged by flak but AJ-P returned home safely. AJ-A "Apple" ED877/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:47 CRASHED 02:58 S/Ldr H.M. Young (Pilot) UK Sgt R. Horsfall (Flight Engineer) UK F/Sgt C.W. Roberts (Navigator) UK Sgt L.W. Nichols (Wireless) UK F/O V.S. MacCausland (Bomb Aimer) Canada Sgt G.A. Yeo (Front Gunner) UK Sgt W. Ibbotson (Rear Gunner) UK Fourth aircraft to attack the Mohne dam. Upkeep dropped on target. At first it appeared to not affect the dam wall but as the next aircraft AJ-J (Maltby) began his attack the dam began to collapse. Young then accompanied Gibson to their Eder dam and then back to the Mohne. AJ-A was shot down by flak north of Ijmuiden on the Dutch coast at 02:58 hours with no survivors. Bodies were washed ashore 15 miles further north at Bergen ann Zee between 25 and 27 of May. Crew are buried at Bergen General Cemetery.

3 AJ-J "Johnny" ED906/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:47 RETURNED 03:11 F/Lt D.J. Maltby (Pilot) UK Sgt W. Hatton (Flight Engineer) UK Sgt V. Nicholson (Navigator) UK Sgt A.J. Stone (Wireless) UK P/O J. Fort (Bomb Aimer) UK Sgt V. Hill (Front Gunner) UK Sgt H.T. Simmonds (Rear Gunner) UK Fifth aircraft to attack the Mohne dam. As he began his attack run Maltby noticed the crown of the dam starting to crumble Maltby veered slightly to port and dropped his Upkeep at 00:49. Dam was now fully breeched. In accordance with the Operational Plan aircraft AJ-A (Young) and AJ-J (Maltby) set course for base. Remaining aircraft of the first wave (three with Upkeep) now set course for the Eder dam 60 miles away. AJ-L "Leather" ED929/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:47 RETURNED 04:06 F/Lt D.J. Shannon (Pilot) Australia Sgt R. Henderson (Flight Engineer) UK F/O F.R. Walker (Navigator) Canada F/O B. Goodale (Wireless) UK F/Sgt L.J. Sumpter (Bomb Aimer) UK Sgt B. Jagger (Front Gunner) UK P/O J. Buckley (Rear Gunner) UK First aircraft to attack the Eder dam (nb: no flak defences guarding the dam). Shannon made four unsuccessful attempts before Gibson gave the task to AJ-Z (Maudsley) who made several attempts without success. Gibson then recalled Shannon to make another run. Two more attempts were aborted, but on his third run Shannon released his Upkeep at achieving a direct hit but no breach.

4 AJ-Z "Zebra" ED937/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:59 CRASHED 02:56 S/Ldr H.E. Maudsley (Pilot) UK Sgt J. Marriott (Flight Engineer) UK F/O R.A. Urquhart (Navigator) Canada WO2 A.P. Cottam (Wireless) Canada P/O M.J.D. Fuller (Bomb Aimer) UK F/O W.J. Tytherleigh (Front Gunner) UK Sgt N.R. Burrows (Rear Gunner) UK Second aircraft to attack the Eder dam. Possibly damaged on the way to the target. Upkeep dropped late, overshooting the dam parapet, detonating instantly. AJ-Z was damaged by the explosion. Gibson called Maudsley on the radio to ask if he was alright and received the faint reply I think so. AJ-Z was not heard from again but was later found to have been shot down by flak at at Netterden, 3 kilometres south of Emmerich on its return leg. The crew are buried in Reichswald CWGC War Cemetery. AJ-B "Baker" ED864/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:59 CRASHED 00:15 F/Lt W. Astell (Pilot) UK Sgt J. Kinnear (Flight Engineer) UK P/O F.A. Wile (Navigator) Canada WO2 A. Garshowitz (Wireless) Canada F/O D. Hopkinson (Bomb Aimer) UK F/Sgt F.A. Garbas (Front Gunner) Canada Sgt R. Bolitho (Rear Gunner) UK Part of the third formation of the first wave with AJ-Z (Maudsley) and AJ-N (Knight). All crossed the coast successfully but slightly behind schedule, reaching the Scheldt estuary at Upon reaching the correct waypoint Astell turned later than the other two, apparently uncertain that he was at the correct point. He now lagged a mile behind the other two. AJ-B crashed at after flying through power cables. The crew are buried in Reichswald CWGC War Cemetery.

5 AJ-N "Nut" ED912/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:59 RETURNED 04:20 P/O L.G. Knight (Pilot) Australia Sgt R.E.Grayston (Flight Engineer) UK F/O H.S. Hobday (Navigator) UK F/Sgt R.G.T Kellow (Wireless) Australia F/O E.C. Johnson (Bomb Aimer) UK Sgt F.E. Sutherland (Front Gunner) Canada Sgt H.E.O Brien (Rear Gunner) Canada Third aircraft to attack the Eder dam. After one dummy run Knight released the first waves last Upkeep bomb which bounced three times, hitting the dam wall just to the right of centre and the dam was breached. THE SECOND WAVE TARGET THE SORPE DAM AJ-E "Easy" ED927/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:28 CRASHED 23:58 F/Lt R.N.G. Barlow (Pilot) Australia P/O S.L. Whillis (Flight Engineer) UK F/O P.S. Burgess (Navigator) UK F/O C.R. Williams (Wireless) Australia P/O A. Gillespie (Bomb Aimer) UK F/O H.S. Glinz (Front Gunner) Canada Sgt J.R.G. Liddell (Rear Gunner) UK Aircraft AJ-E was hit by flak on its outward leg and then flew into high tension wires before crashing three miles east of Rees near Haldren. Upkeep bomb survived the crash and was recovered for examination. There were no survivors from the crash and the crew are buried in the Reichswald CWGC cemetery.

6 AJ-W "Willie" ED921/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:29 RETURNED 00:36 F/Lt J.L. Munro (Pilot) NZ Sgt F.E. Appleby (Flight Engineer) UK F/O F.G. Rumbles (Navigator) UK Sgt P.E. Pigeon (Wireless) Canada Sgt J.H. Clay (Bomb Aimer) UK Sgt W. Howarth (Front Gunner) UK F/Sgt H.A. Weeks (Rear Gunner) Canada Crossing the Dutch coast at around 23:00 the aircraft was hit by light flak at Vlieland destroying the intercom, VHF radio (for communication to other aircraft) and the master unit for the compass. Mission was aborted and AJ-W returned to base. AJ-K "King" ED934/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:30 CRASHED 23:00 P/O V.W. Byers (Pilot) Canada Sgt A.J. Taylor (Flight Engineer) UK F/O J.H. Warner (Navigator) UK Sgt J. Wilkinson (Wireless) UK P/O A.N. Whitaker (Bomb Aimer) UK Sgt C.M. Jarvie (Front Gunner) UK F/Sgt J. McDowell (Rear Gunner) Canada Aircraft shot down by flak crossing the Dutch coast at Textel while flying at 300 feet. It is possible that Byers had gained altitude to obtain visual sighting of a coastal landmark to aid navigation. Only the body of F/Sgt McDowell was recovered and is buried in Harlingen general cemetery. The rest of the crew are commemorated at the Runnymede Memorial.

7 AJ-H "Harry" ED936/G CREW TAKE OFF 21:31 RETURNED 00:47 P/O G. Rice (Pilot) UK Sgt E.C. Smith (Flight Engineer) UK F/O R. MacFarlane (Navigator) UK Sgt C.B. Gowrie (Wireless) Canada F/Sgt J.W. Thrasher (Bomb Aimer) Canada Sgt T.W. Maynard (Front Gunner) UK Sgt S. Burns (Rear Gunner) UK At 23:00 AJ-H clipped the water approaching the Dutch coast which led to the loss of its Upkeep bomb. Water poured in and Rice pulled the plane up. This led to all the water running out the back of the plane, nearly drowning the Rear Gunner Sgt Burns. The aircraft returned safely on two engines after a long flight. It was determined that the light used to place the plane at 50 feet above the water was incorrectly set. AJ-T "Tommy" ED825/G CREW TAKE OFF 22:01 RETURNED 03:23 F/Lt J.C. McCarthy (Pilot) USA Sgt W. Radcliffe (Flight Engineer) Canada F/Sgt D.A. McLean (Navigator) Canada Sgt R. Eaton (Wireless) UK Sgt G.L. Johnson (Bomb Aimer) UK Sgt R. Batson (Front Gunner) UK F/O D. Rodger (Rear Gunner) Canada Due to a coolant leak on the starboard outer engine the crew had to switch from their original plane AJ-Q (Queenie) to the only reserve aircraft (AJ-T). McCarthy took off 34 minutes behind the rest of the second wave. Due to mist, navigation proved difficult but they reached the Sorpe dam at to find no sign of the other four aircraft of the second wave. The crew then began to plan their attack. Nine unsuccessful attempts followed with a growing volume of disparaging remarks at the bomb aimer Sgt Johnson. Johnson was working without the aid of an ALDIS lamp and under instructions from the bomb s designer, Barnes Wallis, not to drop the Upkeep bomb too far way from the dam and into deep water as the hydrostatic pistols which trigger the bomb might work too quickly and detonate before the aircraft was a safe distance away. In the tenth run at Johnson released Upkeep close to the centre of the dam. Part of the crest of the dam was seen to crumble over feet. This was confirmed by a reconnaissance Spitfire after the raid which photographed the damage. Pictures showed the crest of the dam damaged with water spilling over the top, but no breach.

8 THE THIRD WAVE THE MOBILE RESERVE AJ-C "Charlie" ED310/G CREW TAKE OFF 00:09 CRASHED 02:35 (APPROX) P/O W.H.T. Ottley (Pilot) UK Sgt R. Marsden (Flight Engineer) UK F/O J.K. Barrett (Navigator) UK Sgt J. Guterman (Wireless) UK F/Sgt T.B. Johnson (Bomb Aimer) UK Sgt R. Tees (Front Gunner) UK Sgt H.J. Strange (Rear Gunner) UK Once the Mohne and Eder dams were breached AJ-C was sent a radio message at 02:30 to divert and attack the Lister dam. The message was acknowledged but another message sent a minute later and repeated at 02:50 went unanswered. Later the aircraft was found to have been shot down by flak north of Hamm on the outward leg to the Lister dam. The only survivor was Sgt Tees who died in 1982 and had his ashes scattered along side the graves of AJ-C who are buried in the Reichswald CWGC War Cemetery. AJ-S "Sugar" ED865/G CREW TAKE OFF 00:11 CRASHED 02:00 (APPROX) P/O L.J. Burpee (Pilot) Canada Sgt G. Pegler (Flight Engineer) UK Sgt T. Jaye (Navigator) UK P/O L.G. Weller (Wireless) UK WO2 J.L. Arthur (Bomb Aimer) Canada Sgt W.C.A. Long (Front Gunner) UK WO2 J.G. Brady (Rear Gunner) Canada AJ-S was shot down on the edge of Gilze-Rijen airfield in Holland at 02:00 on the outward leg. Attempts to send AJ-S to the Sorpe dam at 02:32 and 02:50 met with no reply. Crew buried at Bergen-Op-Zoom CWGC War Cemetery.

9 AJ-F "Freddie" ED918/G CREW TAKE OFF 00:12 RETURNED 05:33 F/Sgt K.W. Brown (Pilot) Canada Sgt H.B. Feneron (Flight Engineer) UK Sgt D.P. Heal (Navigator) UK Sgt H.J. Hewstone (Wireless) UK Sgt S. Oancia (Bomb Aimer) Canada Sgt D. Allatson (Front Gunner) UK F/Sgt G.S. MacDonald (Rear Gunner) Canada Second and final aircraft to attack the Sorpe dam. Three attempts to line up with the crest of the dam were aborted due to the mist. AJ-F finally released its Upkeep at but no breach occurred. AJ-O "Orange" ED866/G CREW TAKE OFF 00:14 RETURNED 06:15 P/O W.C. Townsend (Pilot) UK Sgt D.J.D. Powell (Flight Engineer) UK P/O C.L. Howard (Navigator) Australia F/Sgt G.A. Chalmers (Wireless) UK Sgt C.E. Franklin (Bomb Aimer) UK Sgt D.E. Webb (Front Gunner) UK Sgt R. Wilkinson (Rear Gunner) UK At 02:22 AJ-O was ordered to attack the Ennepe dam (the only aircraft to attack a secondary target). At AJ-O dropped its Upkeep bomb on what they believed to be the Ennepe dam but instead it had attacked the Bever dam to the North West. Bomb fragments from the reservoir were recovered for examination. AJ-O was last aircraft to return.

10 AJ-Y "York" ED924/G CREW TAKE OFF 00:15 RETURNED 05:30 F/Sgt C.T. Anderson (Pilot) UK Sgt R.C. Patterson (Flight Engineer) UK Sgt J.P. Nugent (Navigator) UK Sgt W.D. Bickle (Wireless) UK Sgt G.J. Green (Bomb Aimer) UK Sgt E. Ewan (Front Gunner) UK Sgt A.W. Buck (Rear Gunner) UK AJ-Y was forced off track by flak north of the Ruhr. Rear guns then malfunctioned. AJ-Y was initially ordered to attack the Diemel dam, this was then later changed to the Sorpe dam, probably because several of the planes already ordered to attack the Sorpe were no longer responding to radio messages and so were presumed lost. At when they were still off track and some way from the target Anderson decided to turn back. This was the only operation that Anderson and the crew had with 617 Squadron. They transferred back to 49 Squadron and were killed on September and are buried in the same cemetery (Rheinberg CWGC) as the Dambuster crew member AJ-M (Hopgood).