The Other Battle of Britain: 1940: Bomber Command's Forgotten Summer by Paul Tweddle

Author:Paul Tweddle [Tweddle, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2018-07-15T23:00:00+00:00

The Hampdens fared badly on this occasion, even though their targets were well-known, oil plants and depots in Stettin and Hamburg, both usually identifiable on the Baltic coast. Several more attacked the Dortmund–Ems canal and a single aircraft was sent to take on the mighty Gneisenau, though foul weather meant that it did not come under the slightest military threat. The raids went more or less to plan with a mixture of primary and secondary attacks being carried out, raising some significant fires. What was unusual was the loss rate, a total of six Hampdens being lost, RAF Hemswell being the hardest hit with four failing to return. Plt Off J.E. Newton-Clare and his 144 Squadron crew were lost without trace. His colleague, Sqn Ldr G.F. Lerwill, did return from Hamburg to become the sole survivor when his damaged Hampden overshot on its first attempt and then stalled and crashed on its second; amidst the wreckage was the body of Sgt W.I. Mackay, who had been awarded a DFM at the end of July. Two of 61’s Hampdens almost made it back to Hemswell. Operating at the limits of endurance in battle conditions, Flt Lt D.J. How would have been acutely aware of the need to conserve fuel from the outset. Nevertheless, the last drops were consumed as the bomber crossed the English coast, compelling him to make a forced landing near Stradsett in Norfolk, saving his own life and those of two of his crew; Sgt C.J. Knight, though alive when pulled from the wreckage, later succumbed to his injuries. Plt Off Earl was forced to do likewise near Burton in Lincolnshire when one of his engines began to play up; initially intending to make use of the flat, open countryside to attempt a normal landing, the undercarriage jammed part of the way down and resolutely resisted all attempts to shift it. Having no choice in the matter, Earl guided the earthbound bomber down as best he could, hoping the undercarriage would not cause the aircraft to cartwheel; in the event, it simply collapsed and all four men were able to walk away from the mangled aircraft more or less unscathed. Two other crews might well have wished for a dry landing. No. 49 Squadron’s EA-L came down in the English Channel just off Calais, somewhat off track on its return from Stettin; all on board survived to become prisoners. For most airmen ditching was a once in a lifetime ordeal but for Plt Off D. Romans DFC it was different. In the early daylight hours of Friday 6 September, Romans’ Hampden ran out of fuel, tantalisingly within sight of Lowestoft. Just the previous Sunday, at almost the same time, Romans had played out the same perilous scene off the coast of Cromer. His luck held once again and he and his crew were soon picked up by a naval patrol vessel. It says much for the spirit of the day that Romans – and WopAg Sgt Logan, who

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