ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 139763
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| Date: | Tuesday 15 September 1942 |
| Time: | 19:10 |
| Type: |  Vickers Wellington Mk IC |
| Owner/operator: | 311 (Czech) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | W5711 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Location: | Talbenny -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Talbenny |
| RAF Talbenny |
Crash at the end of the unfinished runway in strong crosswind.
Mission: Patrol.
Details:
Type 408 Wellington Mark IA. Production version built to B Mark II specifications with provision for either Pegasus or Rolls Royce Merlin engines. Fitted with Nash & Thompson gun turrets. 187 built at Weybridge and Broughton in Flintshire. The type 416 Wellington Mark IC was the first main production variant which added waist guns to the Mark IA. The Mark IC had a crew of six: pilot, radio operator, navigator/bomb aimer, observer/nose gunner, tail gunner and waist gunner. A total of 2,685 were built at Weybridge, Broughton in Flintshire and Blackpool.
No 311 (Czech) Squadron RAF was a Czechoslovak manned bomber squadron of the RAF during WW2. It was the RAF's only Czechoslovak-manned bomber squadron. It suffered the heaviest losses of any Czech formation in the RAF. In the Second World War 511 Czechoslovaks serving in Allied air forces were killed. Of these 273 (53%) died while serving with 311 Squadron
The squadron was formed at RAF Honington on the 29th of July 1940, although RAF records give the official date as the 2nd of August. It was crewed mostly by Czechoslovaks who had escaped from occupied Europe. Some were airmen who had trained with the Czechoslovak Air Force, escaped to France, served in the French Air Force during the Battle of France, and then been evacuated to Britain. Others were soldiers who had served in the Czechoslovak Army units in the Battle of France, been evacuated to the UK and then volunteered to transfer to the RAFVR to serve in 311 Squadron.
311 Squadron was with Bomber Command for 19 months. In that time, it flew 1,029 sorties, attacked 77 targets, dropped 2,492,600 lb of explosive bombs and 95,438 incendiary bombs. It attacked targets in Germany, Italy, and the occupied countries. Its most frequent targets were Cologne, Hamburg, and Kiel.
The squadron deployed 318 airmen formed into 53 aircrew. 94 were killed on operations and 34 were captured: a loss rate of more than 40%. Unlike crews derived from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, or the Commonwealth nations, there were no Czechoslovakian replacement crews arriving to fill the ranks of the lost. To keep the squadron functional, it would have to be put to a different use. The squadron was transferred from Bomber Command to Coastal Command to undertake maritime patrols. It moved to RAF Aldergrove, Northern Ireland on the 28th of April 1942 and began maritime patrol training on the 1st of May. The squadron was made part of No.19 Group RAF, moved to RAF Talbenny on the 12th of June and undertook its first anti-submarine patrol on the 30th of June 1942. Its Wellingtons lacked LSV radar, but despite this between June 1942 and April 1943 the squadron achieved the highest success rate of any Coastal Command squadron.
W5711 came onto squadron strength and on the 11th of June 1941 took part in her first bombing mission, carrying the radio codes ‘KX-H’. She took off at 23:03hrs and her crew on this occasion was: Sgt Schor (pilot), Sgt Helma (2nd pilot), P/O Motycka (Navigator), P/O Dolezal (Wireless Operator), Sgt Kndluc (Air gunner) and Sgt Kadlec (Air gunner). Their target was the German city of Dusseldorf. They bombed the target successfully, dropping one stick of bombs across the target, observing all the bombs hitting, they returned and landed at 03:50hrs. The next night, but with a different crew W5711 bombed Hamm. The squadron joined Coastal Command on the 10th of April, arriving at RAF Alderford in Northern Ireland with the aircraft receiving a new camouflage scheme and the new code ‘PP’. W5711 was allocated the letter’G’! Come the 10th of June they were off to their new home at RAF Talbenny, the northernmost station on the Pembrokeshire peninsula.
W5711 took off on her first ‘Anti-Submarine’ patrol on the 16th of August 1942 at 13:34hrs. Her crew were: W/O Balis (Pilot), Sgt Blaka (2nd pilot), F/O Hamikca (Nav’), Sgt Donda (W/Op), F/Sgt Dolzal (A/Gnr) and Sgt Potzka (A/Gnr). They reached their allocated patrol zone, then at 19:25hrs, sighted a U-Boat 3-4 miles away riding on the surface. W5711 got to within a mile before the German crew spotted her coming in at 30 feet with the bomb doors open. They swiftly conducted a ‘Crash Dive’ but as the periscope was about to go under, the Wimpy’s front gunner opened up, firing of 100 rounds, at the same time, two Depth Charges hit the water, straddling the boat. As the aircraft flew over the spot, the tail gunner observed two black spouts of water and 15 seconds later an oil patch bubbled up, forming a spread of 30-40 yards which lasted for 3-4 minutes. W5711 conducted a waiting patrol, but nothing further was seen. The contact was listed a damaged, probably sunk! They returned to Talbenny, landing at 22:52hrs. The next patrol took place on the 20th of August with the same crew, with nothing seen, not even surface vessels or trawlers, such was the Battle of the Atlantic.
W5711 flew on eight more patrols until on the 15th of September, along with eight other Wellingtons for another anti-submarine patrol over the Bay of Biscay. The force sighted only Spanish Trawlers. However, three of the force were engaged by two Junkers 88’s each, all three succeeded in fighting off the E/A but W5711 received machine gun fire. All the aircraft returned except one, ‘Y’ failed to return and was perceived to have been shot down by an enemy force of five or six Ju-88’s. W5711 suffered a sudden partial undercarriage collapse on landing which resulted in five of the crew receiving injuries which varied from cuts and bruises and broken bones. W5711 was only slightly damaged. She was repaired on station but finished off the war with 105 OTU. Being scrapped at the wars end.
Crew:
F/O V. Nedved CzechRAF. Pilot. Injured.
Sgt Pospichal CzechRAF. 2nd pilot. Injured.
F/O Zelenij CzechRAF. Nav’. Injured.
Sgt Stqiskal CzechRAF. W/Op. Injured.
Sgt Frantesk CzechRAF. A/Gnr. Injured.
Sgt Habro CzechRAF. A/Gnr. Safe.
Wreckage:
Nothing remains.
Additional Information:
During repair, it was found that a bullet had severed an hydraulic pipe which caused the (unspecified) undercarriage to collapse with such sudden force it took the crew, who all unprepared, to become casualties. But happily all survived.
Memorials:
Memorial tablet located in Talbenny Church.
Sources:
Na nebi hrdého Albionu - Jiří Rajlich
national archives.gov
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Nov-2011 08:40 | Nepa | Added |
| 27-Apr-2015 19:26 | ABBA | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 03-Sep-2022 05:12 | Davies 62 | Updated [Registration, Operator, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
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