LEST WE FORGET
Air Operations: (No. 466 Squadron Halifax aircraft HX336), Germany, 15 February 1944
Date: 15-16 February 1944
Target: Berlin
Total Force: Dispatched – 891, Attacking – 806
RAAF Force: No. 460 Dispatched – 19, Attacking – 18; No. 463 Dispatched – 17, Attacking – 16; No. 466 Dispatched – 20, Attacking – 17; No. 467 Dispatched – 18, Attacking – 17
Tons of Bombs Dropped: 2,643
Total Aircraft Lost: 43
RAAF Aircraft Lost: No. 466 – 2
When the February moon period was over, the largest force yet sent against the German capital was routed across the North Sea and down through the Baltic. A very meticulous timetable was observed by all aircraft and most Australians spent the time on the long sea courses ensuring that they were correctly positioned. Some air opposition was met between the Baltic coast and Berlin, but the stream arrived in good order and completed its task within thirty-eight minutes, a rate better than one aircraft every three seconds. One Lancaster fell out of the stream when damaged by two fighters before reaching the target, but its pilot, Warrant Officer Robert William Burke DFC (420438), claimed that his gunners shot down one Ju-88 and damaged an Me-110. He successfully jettisoned his bombs near Rostock and returned on three engines. Relatively few fighters were over Berlin, due to a successful spoof attack against Frankfurt-on-Oder, and Australian losses were confined to two Halifaxes. The usual thick cloud prevented visual identification or ground-marking technique, but H2S-equipped (radar) aircraft checked the position of well-grouped sky markers and bombed with confidence. At first bombs fell principally in western suburbs and then spread towards the centre.
Extract from Herington, J. (John) (406545) Air War Against Germany and Italy 1939-1943, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1954 – Pages 643, 646-7
Halifax HX336 took off from RAF Leconfield at 1706 hours on the night of 15/16th February 1944 to bomb Berlin. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base. Twenty aircraft from the Squadron took part in the raid and two of these including HX336 failed to return. The aircraft was abandoned in the vicinity of Papenburg due to engine failure brought
about by malfunctioning overflow pumps. All the crew members survived and became prisoners of War.
The crew members of HX336 were:
Flight Lieutenant Jack Dexter Cairns (403904) (Pilot) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 12 September 1945
Flight Sergeant John Webster French (426835) (Mid Upper Gunner) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 23 October 1945
Sergeant George Edward Oliver Haggard (1386867) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer) PoW
Warrant Officer Alfred Charles Henry Oliver (414159) (Rear Gunner) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 19 September 1945
Flight Sergeant Claude Rigby (414319) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 20 September 1945
Pilot Officer Patrick Shine (414847) (Navigator) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 19 September 1945
Flight Sergeant Walter Noel Wiffen (1337259) (RAFVR) (Bomb Aimer) PoW
In a 1945 report Flight Lieutenant Cairns stated “On the way to target the overload tank pump (presumably) failed and only 60 gallons was able to be drained. However I decided to carry on as there was sufficient fuel to get back safely. After leaving the target it was found when we changed tanks that No 2 port and No 4 starboard refused to feed and the engines kept cutting and packing up. At times we flew on three engines and sometimes two. I carried on trying to get the fuel system working but to no avail, so with 20 minutes flying left I turned south to get out of the stream and told crew to prepare to abandon. I then began circling still trying to get fuel feeding and six of the crew baled out of the front hatch. The Aircraft was flying straight and level when I left at 7,000 feet. I landed near the Aircraft and was picked up 8 hours later on the outskirts of Papenburg. All the crew were POWs. I was released on 16 April 1945 by 2nd British Army.”
Leconfield Operation Order No 138 required:
Bomb Load each aircraft: 2 x 500lb, Clusters 480 x 4 I.B, 60 x 4 ‘X’ type, 32 x 30lb I.B
Route: Base – Flamborough – 55.25N 07.00E – 55.10N 10.00E – 54.30N 12.30E – Target – 52.10N 12.50E – 52.40N 11.00E – 52.40N 08.55E – 53.40N 04.00E – Base.
No. 466 Squadron lost Halifax HX293 (Flight Sergeant Jack Dudley Wormald (420326) (Pilot)) on 15 February 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