LEST WE FORGET
Air Operations (No. 463 Squadron Lancaster aircraft DV274), England, 21 January 1944
Date: 25-26 February 1944
Target: Augsburg
Total Force: Dispatched – 594, Attacking – 528
RAAF Force: No. 460 Dispatched – 17, Attacking – 15; No. 463 Dispatched – 13, Attacking – 12; No. 466 Dispatched – 9, Attacking – 8; No. 467 Dispatched – 12, Attacking – 12
Tons of Bombs Dropped: 1,726
Total Aircraft Lost: 21
RAAF Aircraft Lost: No. 460 – 1; No. 463 – 1; No. 467 – 1
On 20th-21st January the Halifax bombers joined the Lancasters in an attempt to swamp German counter-measures. Three spoof raids on Kiel, Hanover, and Dusseldorf were disregarded by the enemy controllers, who again concentrated on infiltrating their fighters into the bomber stream as soon as it crossed the coast . Four Australian crews were in combat before reaching Berlin but all escaped undamaged because of well coordinated crew tactics. Gun defences were only moderately active at Berlin but three Halifaxes of No. 466 were hit during the early part of the raid. More fighters were waiting over Berlin where, with searchlights illuminating a layer of cloud at 12,000 feet, the bombers could be effectively seen in silhouette. There were three more combats with Me-109s and FW-190s which attempted to attack from a blind spot underneath the bombers. This was often successful against unwary crews and also caused general nervousness which in some cases spoiled the accuracy of bombing. The sky markers spread in a line running east to west, and crews of Nos. 460 and 466 claimed that by H2S checks they lay to the east of Berlin. The Lancasters of No. 5 Group still lacked H2S (radar) and Wing Commander Kingsford-Smith (1) of No. 463 bombed one group of sky markers only to see another cascade of target indicators go down five miles distant. Many fires were seen but there was far too much cloud for any accurate assessment, although there was general agreement that this was the most successful raid since 29th-30th December 1943.
(1) Wing Commander Rollo Kingsford-Smith DSO DFC (381) Discharged from the RAAF: 27 April 1949
Extracts from Herington, J. (John) (406545) Air War Against Germany and Italy 1939-1943, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1954 – Pages 643, 644
Lancaster DV274 took off from RAF Waddington at 1647 hours on the night of 20/21st January1944 to bomb Berlin. The bomb load was1 x 4000 lb (pound) (1,800 kg) bomb, 60 x 30 lb (14 kg), 1050 x 4 lb (2 kg) incendiaries. DV274 completed the mission and landed on return at 0003 hours. Eleven aircraft from the Squadron completed the mission and returned safely.
The ORB records the following report by the Captain “Sortie completed. 10/10ths cloud. Tops about 14,000 feet. Centre of 5 Wanganui flares reasonably concentrated. At one period a small break in the clouds and some fires seen. Just before arriving at the target it was realised the Mid Upper Gunner was unwell but not thought he was more than light headed or suffering from lack of oxygen any more than the rest of us. After leaving the target area everything was done to get the Mid Upper out of his turret, although the WOP and the Flight Engineer were by then pretty sick. As soon as height could be lost on crossing the coast, all efforts were made to disentangle the Mid Upper from his turret and every effort made to revive him for fully two hours, but this was of no avail.” The Operations Record Book also records “Cause: Lack of oxygen. Defect in the oxygen system.”
The crew members of DV274 were:
Sergeant F Danckwardt (RAF) (Rear Gunner)
Flying Officer John Beresford Hall DFC (421300) (Bomb Aimer) Discharged from the RAAF: 10 December 1945
Sergeant J H Knight (RAF) (Navigator)
Pilot Officer Frederick Lister Merrill DFC (416775) (Pilot) Discharged from the RAAF: 6 December 1945
Flight Sergeant Michael Kevin O’Toole (409935) (O34441) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner) Discharged from the RAAF: 30 August 1945
Sergeant F D Rawsthorne (RAF) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Bertie Frederick Turner (525573) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Sergeant Turner is buried in the Corton (St Bartholomew) Churchyard, Suffolk, UK.
No. 460 Squadron lost Lancaster JB139 (Flight Sergeant Arnold John Lynch (410355) (Pilot)) on 20 January 1944.
No. 466 Squadron lost Halifax HZ278 (Flight Lieutenant Wilfred Guy Baldwin (412473) (Pilot)) on 20 January 1944.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll