ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 345883
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| Date: | Saturday 2 October 1943 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster B.III |
| Owner/operator: | 619 RAF. |
| Registration: | EE110 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Off Llantwit Major. -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Woodall Spa. |
| Return. |
Aircraft: Avro Lancaster B.III EE110 ‘PG-U’.
Details:
619 Squadron were formed at RAF Woodall Spa on the 18th of April 1943, from elements of 97 squadron. They moved to RAF Coningsby on 1 January 1944.
Lancaster EE110 was one of 620 aircraft ordered from A. V. Roe at Chadderton and she was one of 46 built from the 14th batch and delivered between July & November 1942.
EE110 took off at 18:25hrs on the evening of Friday the 1st of October on a raid of 242 Lancasters from various squadrons along with eight Mosquito’s in the Pathfinder and T.I. role using the new Oboe system. The raid was classed as a complete success on a target that was totally covered in cloud. Of the towns 4 large industrial areas, 2 were severely hit and a 3rd suffering slight damage. Reports from the town post war state that 46 industrial firms were destroyed with a further 166 damaged. The main industry at Hagen was the manufacture of Accumulator batteries for the U-Boats. Albert Speer stated after the war that this raid reduced the output of the U-Boats considerably.
The raid cost the lives of 241 Germans & 25 foreigners on the ground. 2,386 Germans were wounded and a further 135 others. 30,000 people were made homeless from this single raid.
As for the raiders, the RAF lost only 2 Lancasters on the operation. Compared with just about every other night Op’, this was probably one of the smallest casualty rates per raid of the war. There was no interception from Luftwaffe night fighters.
The other Lancaster was a 44 squadron aircraft, ED348 ‘KM-M’. Its pilot was F/O A.C. Smith who was captured and taken POW along with three others of his crew, sadly the other three were killed. As for EE110, she crashed into the sea off Llantwit Major after successfully completing the Op’. However, it is not known why she came down, but it is possible she received flak damage, possibly taking out the main compass, thereby rendering the crew to become whey off course and finally running out of fuel and crashing 12 miles southwest of Cardiff during the early hours of Saturday the 2nd of October.
No.46 ASRU (Air Sea Rescue Unit) at RAF Porthcawl dispatched the duty rescue boat to attend the crash, on arriving at the location, there was no sign of the Lancaster, only the crew floating in their Mae West jackets. It was obvious to the rescue crew; the life raft was not used leaving them in very cold water for over an hour. The ASRU had attended to 25 calls since its formation twelve months prior, EE110 was to become its 26th, sadly only to recover the dead aircrew from the water over several days.
Extract from squadron records.
“Woodall Spa. October 1943. 1st. Ops were ordered for the night.
1/2nd. Raid on Hagen. 12 aircraft took off.
‘A’ S/L Churcher R. G. ‘B’ P/O Firth C. ‘C’ P/O Corr G.J. ‘D’ F/O Foste R.E.H. ‘E’ F/O Hofferman J.A. ‘F’ Fuller C. ‘N’ P/O Ward J.F. ‘S’ F/O Rayment R.B. ‘T’ F/O Knillens H.C. ‘U’ P/O Jons D.M. ‘X’ Sgt Hughes R.T. ‘Y’ F/Lt Aytoutt R.
Ten A/C are known to have reached & bombed the target. Weather over the target was 10/10ths cloud at 18,000ft, but crews managed to identify, and bomb the T.I. markers. Results of bombing could not be observed, but three crews reported a large blue explosion at approximately 21:05hrs. A/C ‘N’ was damaged over the area by flak and jettisoned their bombs over the town.
A/C ‘U’ failed to return & be subsequently found in the Bristol Channel. The bodies of the crew have since been recovered.
A/C ‘C’ landed at Bardney.
Missing. Captain F/O Jons D.M. and crew.”
Such was the statement within the squadron records, only serves to illustrate the confusion during the war. Another sad factor becomes more and more obvious as the war progressed. Squadrons during the beginning arranged and attended the funerals of their comrades lost from training or enemy action. At this stage the burials were not even mentioned withing the squadron records.
Crew:
F/O Derek McLean Joss 20yo 128952 RAFVR. Pilot. Killed. 1
Son of Colin George Walters Joss & Emily May Joss of Bournemouth.
F/O Francis Victor Anderson 22yo 132958 RAFVR. Bdr. Killed. 2
Son of Francis Alfred & Evelyn Kate Anderson of Manor Park.
F/O Charles Francis (Paddy) Bale 28yo RAFVR. Nav’. Killed. 3
Son of Charles Radcliffe Bale & Mary Bale; Husband of Eileen Veronica Bale of Prestwich.
Sgt Terence Monaghan 530301 RAF. Flt/Engr. Killed. 4
Sgt Paul Engel 28yo 1381754 RAFVR. W/Op’. Killed. 5
Son of Edmaund & Louisa Lilla Engel of West Kensington, London.
Sgt Joseph Lowe 30yo 916013 RAFVR. A/Gnr. Killed. 6
Son of Joseph Henry & Nellie Lowe; Husband of Vera Ivy Lowe of Kingston Vale.
F/Sgt Kenneth George Mortlock 20yo 1324729 RAFVR. A/Gnr. Killed. 7
Son of George William & Peggy Florence Henrietta Mortlock, of Leytonstone.
Buried:
1 Bath (Haycombe) Cemetery. Plot 51. Section H. Row P. Grave 248.
2 Wood grange Park Cemetery, East Ham. Square 13. Grave 12105.
3 Moston (St Joseph’s) Roman Catholic Cemetery. St Peter section. Grave 315.
4 Llantwit Major Cemetery. Section C. Grave 46.
5 Golders Green Crematorium. Panel 2.
6 Bath (Haycombe) Cemetery. Plot 51. Section H. Row P. Grave 247.
7 City of London Cemetery and Crematorium, Manor Park. Screen Wall. Square 241. Grave 108021.
Memorials:
CWGC Headstones.
Memorial at former RAF Woodall Spa.
Bomber Command Memorial, London.
Additional Information:
In September two 41½ feet Seaplane Tenders, Numbers 436 and 437 were allotted to the new unit. The establishment WAR/CC/234 allowed for 2 Cpls and 6 airmen.
In August 1941 RAF Stormy Down was told that the Marine Craft Unit at Porthcawl was to disband. The expanding Air Sea Rescue Service would establish No 46 Air Sea Rescue Unit in its place. Under the control of 19 Group of Coastal Command it would be a lodger unit at 7AGS.
On the 1st of March 1946, the unit became No 1105 Marine Craft Unit with an establishment of 16. Seaplane Tenders 436 and 437 were allocated to that unit which finally disbanded on the 31st of March 1959.
Sources:
www.lancaster-archive.com
www.aircrewremembered.com
www.rafcommands.com
www.asrmus-club.com
www.britishaviation-ptp.com
www.discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
www.cwgc.org
www.iwm.org.uk
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Sep-2023 06:28 | Davies 62 | Added |
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