ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Ijoined the RAF as an aircaft apprentice in 1938,studied aeroengines after passing out in 1942 I volunteered for flight engineer duties on Short Stirling Bombers.I was 19 Iwas posted to 218Sqd Downham Market.My first operation was Sept42.The following is my recollections of my last operation of my first tour:-
The last light of the day March 1943 was passing and the roar of engines of 218 Sqdn could be heardin the crew room as the crews hitched each other up with their flyiing kit.Parachutes and Mae wests were strewn over the floor as we waited transport.At last it arrived and the crews,with their navigation bags,parachutes and other equiptment packed aboard headed for dispersal.We arrived at our Stirling 'K' King had a good look round.lit a cigarette and waited for takeoff time.Meanwhile Curly and Slim loaded their guns.'
'Take Off' time arrived and we climbed aboard,engines were started and we joined the queue for the runway where with a roar of engines and a swish of air from the brakes. we roared off into the night,heading for Stuttgart."Enemy coast ahead" shouted Ted,the bomb aimer eventually and Mo,the pilot,told curly and Slim to keep a good look out for fighters.Soon flak began to come up on the starboard quarter and another Stirling could be seen weaving to avoid it."Ten minutes to target"said Jeff.the navigator,and sure enough there were two cones of searchlights in front of us and flak all over the sky."Give me the course for home for when we have bombed"shouted Mo. A course was given and everyone was up to scratch as we approached the target.Fires were burning from the incendiaries dropped by other crews,crimson blotches were bombs had found their mark,the whole town seemed to have had hell lt loose upon it.In we went"Bomb doors open" shouted Ted,"Left,left,steady...bombs gone" and at that moment the aircraft shot up into the sky.I knew we had been hit, Flak had hit the bomb doors which were now hanging loose.The aircraft began to weave violently and I knew Mo was going home.Away from the target it looked like Guy Fawkes nighy,fires leaping up,flames seeming to spread from one to another,while searchlights weaved to and fro trying to find a raider.Sure enough there was a Stirling,weaving,trying to get out of the searchlights,flak coming up at him and bursting all around.Suddenly there was a blinding flash and pieces began to fall from him as he caught fire.Iknew he was finished and the searchlights followed him down.I checked the fuel for the ong journey home.Slim shouted "Boy look at those bloody fires"Mo said "Dont look at them,watch out for fighters".Iknew we were not going to have an easy journey home.
Thirty minutes from the French coast and another blinding flash came up the fuselage.The aircraft shuddered and started to fall out of the sky. Slim shouted "For Gods sake get me out of this turret" Curly shouted "Fighter" and there was a rattle of machine gun fire. Mo had the aircraft under control by now and the fighter was gone.Ernie the W/Op helped Slim up to the bed while I investigated the damage. Jagged holes in the fuselagelet in whistling air and petrol flooded the floor.There was a smell of burning rubber from an electrical lead which I made safe from shorting.I reported to Mo that the port No7 tank was holed which fortunately,had been previously emptied.No engine had been hit thank goodness.Slims legs and right hand had been badly hit by cannon shell.A tourniquet was put on his wrist,and his hand and legs bandaged as best as we could.It was difficult because of his flying boots and clothing.We gave him a shot of Morphine.At last the French coast came up,Flakburst around us again. Mo put the aircraft into a terrific dive and soon we were out to sea at about 5000ft. We had enough fuel for about another hours flying.At last there in front of us were three searchlightsover our airfield.A squeak from the radio and Mo was saying"Hello Caesar,Hello Caesar this is "K" King calling,emergency landing,have ambulance standing by".After a few attempts there came a feeble voice which said "OK,come in and land".The flare path ,sparkling with red and white lights got bigger and bigger until with a bounce and a screach of tyres we were speeding down the runway to a stop where upon we taxied to the perimeter track and the waiting MO and ambulance.
The glow of the searchlights on our aircraft looked ghostly as I patted her fuselage and walked away to the lorry puffing my cigarette.Inside the briefing room a cup of tea was pressed into my hand by a WAAF who asked"Good Trip" I smiled and said"Yes not bad".After debriefing we went to the mess.We couldnt face our eggs and bacon and went straight to bed as we were.. dirty.But sleep could not be had with the memories of fires,cannon shells,burning aircraft and all the other ghastly things we had experienced that night.
After that operation I was posted to a training unit instructing new flight engineers on Stirlings.Iwas then posted back on a second tour on Lancaster Bombers to 149Sqd Methwold with a new crew July44 I comleted my second tour and flew 50 operations altogether not counting turnarounds through unserviceabilty.
I was lucky to survive not like many of my comrades who never made it

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.