Lancaster by Bloomsbury Publishing

Author:Bloomsbury Publishing
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781472819413
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2017-04-20T04:00:00+00:00

A gaggle of at least 47 Lancasters (of a total force of 88) roars over the riverside town of Montrichard, en route to Schneider’s Le Creusot works. (Cody Images)

Following the Augsburg example, the raid was launched in the early afternoon, so the force bombed in daylight (to ensure accuracy), but returned under cover of darkness. Nine units offered a total of 94 Lancasters for the 17 October raid. They set out for France in a gaggle, staying below 1,000ft to avoid detection by enemy radar. The Lancasters, led by Wing Commander Leonard Slee of No. 49 Sqn, crossed the French coast at 300ft close to Nantes, and looped around Tours en route to the target.

Nearing their objective, the nine squadrons (five aircraft had turned back early) fanned out and climbed to 4,000ft for their bombing runs, while six aircraft (two each from Nos 106, 9 and 61 Sqns, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson) pushed on to bomb the Henri Paul transformer station at Montchanin, six miles further south.

These aircraft attacked in line astern from a nominal 500ft, although Hopgood’s aircraft was damaged by the blast from his own bombs at 150ft and Corr’s aircraft crashed in the target area, almost certainly due to the same cause. A No. 57 Sqn Lancaster was damaged when it flushed out a covey of partridges on the return trip, several of the birds smashing the windscreen and injuring the flight engineer. But apart from Corr’s machine, all aircraft returned home safely. The plant was put out of action for more than three weeks, while repair work disrupted production for more than eight months.

WINTER BOMBING

Sixteen Lancasters failed to return during November despite the onset of winter weather, and an inevitable slackening of the offensive. Bomber Command switched some of its offensive focus towards Italy, sending four major raids across the Alps to Genoa and four to Turin. On 28/29 November, Gibson’s and another No. 106 Sqn crew each took an 8,000lb bomb to Turin. Apart from these attacks, the only large-scale raids were against Hamburg and Stuttgart. Losses on the Italian missions were small, with three ‘no loss’ attacks.

In December the campaign against Turin continued, and major raids also struck at Duisburg, Frankfurt, Mannheim and Munich. The month saw the loss of 26 Lancasters. Results against the German targets were disappointing, but the three attacks against Turin were more successful and with relatively light losses.

SHIP-BUSTING

In April 1942, Nos 44 and 97 Sqns mounted seven-aircraft detachments to RAF Lossiemouth, near Elgin. On 27 April, six aircraft from each unit were despatched to attack Tirpitz as it lay at anchor at Trondheim. Few aircraft sighted the target on their first run, and a second pass brought no success. Eleven Lancasters returned from the mission, while four of 31 Halifaxes despatched against the same target failed to return. A second attempt the following night was no more successful.

Losses of Allied ships in the Atlantic continued to be a source of great concern. Coastal Command’s AOC-in-C, Air Chief

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