Escape, Evasion and Revenge by Marc H. Stevens

Author:Marc H. Stevens
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781848849846
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books
Published: 2012-10-17T00:00:00+00:00

Peter Stevens wrote back on 26 August:

In reply I can only say how proud I was to have John in my crew and I am looking forward to flying with him again when he returns from his sick-leave. Fortunately his injuries were not of a very serious nature and he was able to render some most valuable assistance without which I think our return would have been very doubtful.

Matthews later took part in another very dangerous mission. As the Hampden’s strategic usefulness declined (and losses rose), top British officials decided to ‘give’ a number of them to their new ally, the Soviet Union. In September/October 1942, they dispatched two squadrons of Hampdens, converted to torpedo-bombers, to the north Russian port of Murmansk. The aircraft took off from northern Scotland to fly 1,000 miles, at the very extreme limit of their potential. Soviet authorities learned late about the arrival date and fired at many of the aircraft as they flew in. Several Hampdens ran out of fuel and crashed, and Soviet forces shot down a number, with great loss of life. Six of the destroyed planes were from 144 Squadron.23 Matthews survived the expedition and spent a very cold time on board a ship back to the United Kingdom.

Wark had had to leave his experienced crew and join a new ‘sprog’ (rookie) crew with Stevens and Matthews; he later said that he had been quite apprehensive. He had already survived a good number of operations and didn’t appreciate having to break in a new crew. He bonded fairly quickly with Matthews but wrote that Stevens ‘was a rather reserved man – perhaps shy’.24 After he had recuperated from the events of 6 – 7 August, the RAF offered him a commission, but he refused. As he later explained, he didn’t want to be responsible for the life of anyone else. He was offered his choice of postings and heard about a course up in Scotland, quite close to St Andrews. He applied for a spot there and spent almost six months in Scotland, honing his golf game!

Characteristically, Stevens in his logbook noted simply about the harrowing events of 6 – 7 August: ‘Crashed on return at Coningsby.’ Nothing more.

And while he had been flying a badly damaged aircraft back to England, British authorities continued their manhunt for Georg Hein. On 22 August, Scotland Yard wrote to the Home Office: ‘He is still circulated as wanted … and enquiries are still proceeding in an endeavour to trace his alleged enlistment in the Royal Air Force.’25

As a result of the events of 6 – 7 August, Stevens received a two-week break from operational flying. He had proven himself under fire and was almost two-thirds through his first tour of duty (thirty operations). While it was not usual for airmen to receive such a reward, Stevens welcomed it. It undoubtedly took him at least a week just to calm down and for his legs to stop shaking.

It was clear that he would require a new crew, and its members were to be Sgt Alan Payne (navigator) and Sgts Ivor Roderick Fraser and H.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.