Archive for the ‘bombers’ Category
Thursday, July 7th, 2011
The squadron leader said, “What does it look like to you?” I told him the fire didn't seem to be gaining at all and that it seemed to be quite steady. He said, “I think we'd prefer a night in the dinghy in the North Sea to ending up in a German prison camp." With that he turned out seawards and headed for England.
Posted in 1941, bombers, July 1941, Victoria Cross | No Comments »
Friday, June 17th, 2011
Was talking with Harry in bedroom about 2330 hrs when one of the planes night flying passed very low overhead then about a minute later or less passed back again extremely low and full throttle. Few seconds later passed back again and explosion and fire. Plane was in an almost vertical turn - told later - and hit tree 75 yards away and crashed into A.O.C's house which was half gutted.
Posted in 1941, bombers, June 1941 | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011
On the night of the 12th/13th, five Wellingtons, also operating from this country, attacked the oil refineries at Venice. One large building was seen to collapse and another was hit by a heavy bomb. The last aircraft reported the target area to be a mass of flames. During these operations a large liner in the vicinity of Venice and hangars and workshops at Padua were machine-gunned.
Posted in 1941, bombers, bombing, january 1941 | No Comments »
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
On the night of the 22nd/23rd twenty-four heavy bombers attacked the aerodrome at Bordeaux; twenty-nine tons of high explosive and two thousand eight hundred incendiaries were dropped. The attack appears to have been most successful. Direct hits were obtained on hangars and barrack blocks, and many aircraft on the aerodrome were seen to be on fire. The hangars on the south-west side of the aerodrome were completely burnt out.
Posted in 1940, bombers, bombing, November 1940 | No Comments »
Sunday, November 21st, 2010
During the week the enemy made a greater number of long-range nightbomber sorties than during any other week of the war. On the 19th/20th. approximately 500 aircraft were employed; this is the highest number recorded in operations on any night against this country. Attacks also showed greater concentration, and on the nights of the 14th/15th, 15th/16th and 19/20th heavy attacks were made on Coventry, London and Birmingham respectively; 350 aircraft attacked Coventry, under ideal weather conditions, and 340 were used against Birmingham.
Posted in 1940, bombers, bombing, November 1940 | No Comments »
Saturday, November 13th, 2010
He decided to attack the railway marshalling yards at Cologne instead and while he was approaching this target his aircraft was suddenly shaken by a succession of violent explosions. The cockpit filled with black fumes and Cheshire lost control of the aircraft, which dived about 2,000 feet, with its fuselage on fire. Cheshire regained control, the fire was extinguished and the Whitley, with a gaping hole in its fuselage, was brought safely back to base after, being in the air for 8 1/2 hours.
Posted in 1940, bombers, November 1940 | No Comments »
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
Enemy operations were chiefly confined to London and South-East England, although single attacks were reported in other districts and larger formations bombed Portland and Southampton on the 15th September. Several aerodromes were attacked, but none suffered damage of any importance. The main objectives appear to have been railways, public services and industrial targets : details of damage are set out in the Home Security Section. Attacks were, however, largely indiscriminate, particularly at night.
Posted in 1940, bombers, September 1940 | No Comments »
Thursday, September 16th, 2010
Sergeant Hannah succeeded in forcing his way through the fire in order to grab two extinguishers. He then discovered that the Rear Gunner was missing. Quite undaunted he fought the fire for 10 minutes, and when the fire extinguishers were exhausted he beat the flames with his log book. During this time, ammunition from the gunner's magazines was exploding in all directions. In spite of this and the fact that he was almost blinded by the intense heat and fumes, he succeeded in controlling and eventually putting out the fire. During the process of fighting the flames, he had turned on his oxygen to assist him in his efforts.
Posted in 1940, bombers, September 1940, Victoria Cross | No Comments »
