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The
Battle of Berlin
The
Battle of Berlin was fought during the period 23rd
August 1943 and 24th March 1944. It
was in this period that 100 Squadron earned its
second Battle Honour from the Bomber Offensive
in Europe. During this Battle, 100 Squadron
despatched 308 sorties taking part in 19 major
raids on the German capital city. Twenty
Lancasters were destroyed, with 115 aircrew
losing their lives. But there were also those
who survived this campaign, with 19 becoming
prisoners of war, and one who managed to evade
capture. Indeed some had already carried out
several attacks on Berlin prior to the ‘Battle
of Berlin‘ officially starting, and one such
person was ‘Johnny’ Stow.
Sgt Johnny Stow joined 100 in April 1943 and
completed a full tour as a pilot. Many of his
ops were flown in HW-K KING, and he bombed
Berlin some 13 times. He ended his tour on the
night of 16th December as a Pilot
Officer and was awarded the DFC. On November 18th
1943, 100 Squadron took part in a raid by 400
Lancs. This attack was carried out with 10/10ths
cloud, nine aircraft were lost including 1 from
100. A larger force attacked on 22nd
November, and a third attack took place on 23rd
with crews reporting fires still burning from
the previous nights.
100 Squadron lost four aircraft during three
separate raids on Berlin carried out between 27th
November and 3rd December.
The
greatest tragedy that 100 Squadron encountered
during the Battle of Berlin occurred on the
night of 16th December. Poor
visibility on return to Waltham resulted in the
loss of four aircraft with 22 aircrew losing
their lives, including the new CO - Wg Cdr
Holford. This night became known as ‘Black
Thursday’ in Bomber Command folklore, the only
time that the British weather claimed more
aircraft than the German defences. Despite the
sad loss of life, it is also worth pausing
again, to reflect that in less than one year of
service with Bomber Command, 100 Squadron held
second place in 1 Group for the number of
successful missions completed, and first place
for the lowest number of losses. Such
attainments, including a spell of 700 sorties
without loss during 1944, gave 100 Squadron the
reputation of being a ‘lucky squadron’.
Clearly, it was more than just luck! Good
leadership, from the Station Commander downward,
and teamwork within crews were also major
contributors. The ground crews also played a
major part, with the ‘erks’ working in the open,
often in bad weather. But these men treated the
Lancs as their personal property. The aircrews
all developed special bonds with their ground
crews as the recollections of several aircrew
can testify. Of course, there was always the
good-natured ribaldry, and this is epitomised by
the poem ‘Three Cheers for the Man on the
Ground.’ In reality, when an aircrew failed to
return, the ground crews keenly felt the loss.
Other
contributions to the effectiveness of 100
Squadron included continuation training
throughout the tour of a crew on cross-country
flights and bombing practice. Inspiration came
from the Station Commander, Group Captain Ian
Newbiggin, and his exhortation before every
operation ‘Good luck! Good bombing! No early
returns!’.
1944
started off with another attack on Berlin, with
100 Squadron losing Flt Sgt Chinnery and all of
his crew in HW-R ROGER, JB740. The following
night, HW-C CHARLIE, JB549 piloted by Plt Off
Henderson failed to return possibly shot down by
German night fighters over Berlin. During the
night of 30th January 1944, the three
crews led by WO Crabtree, Fg Off Parker and WO
Ives were lost, with 21 men killed. This was
another disastrous night for 100 Squadron.
On 19th
February, 100 Squadron lost another Lanc during
a raid on Leipzig with Flt Lt George Sidebotham
being shot down. But all of the crew survived to
become POW’s in Stalag Luft 3. The final
operation of the Battle of Berlin took place
during the night of 24th March 1944,
which became known as ‘the night of the strong
winds’ as aircraft were blown off course. 100
Squadron lost HW-H HOW ND642 over Berlin and the
crew (Fg Off Jenkins, Sgt Moore, Flt Sgt
Saunders, Sgt Pearson, Sgt Ross, Sgt Harris and
Sgt Farr) are all buried in Berlin. There are
several memorials to 100 Squadron, and we shall
talk more about them later in our journey.
Of
course, 100 Squadron’s operations during this
period were not confined to Berlin. Other
targets included Brunswick, Magdeburg, Leipzig
and Stuttgart.
Flt
Sgt Wadge, when returning from a raid on
Stuttgart during the night of 21st February
1944, provides us with a further example of the
bravery and airmanship displayed by 100 Squadron
aircrew. After completing his bombing run in
HW-J JIG, ED749, Wadge collided with a German
twin-engined night fighter losing a major part
of the Lanc’s port wing. With the fuselage also
badly holed, he managed to bring the aircraft
back to Ford. An inspection after landing
revealed six feet of the port wing torn off, the
mid-upper turret stove-in, the top eighteen
inches of the starboard fin and rudder bent
outwards at right angles, twelve inches of one
tip of the port outer propeller missing, all
other prop blades damaged, navigator’s window
smashed, all aerials torn off, rear gunners
oxygen pipes severed, rear turret door jammed,
numerous holes in the fuselage and the fuel
jettison trunk released on the port side. For
this Flt Sgt Wadge was awarded an immediate DFM.
On 25th February 1944, Flt Sgt Wadge
on a sortie to Schweinfurt became ill. He
abandoned the sortie, and on returning to base,
he was ordered back out to sea to jettison bombs
and fuel. Neither he, nor his crew were ever
seen again.
The
tale of Flt Lt ‘Bish’ Crowley-Smith is worthy of
note. On 26th February, Bish was hit
by flak during a raid on Augsberg causing severe
damage to the aircraft. Bish ordered the crew to
bail out, and then did so himself just before
the aircraft blew up. Bish woke up, sitting on
his parachute, trying to light a cigarette and
minus his flying boots. He heard voices, and in
the dark, recognised that the men were in
military uniform and were wearing ‘coal scuttle’
helmets. ‘Oh Gawd thought Bish, Stalag Luft for
me’, but he’d landed in Switzerland, and these
were Swiss troops. He was taken to a house where
he was fed ham and eggs and given hot rum and
water to wash it down!
And so
the Battle of Berlin drew to a close. 100
Squadron had made another significant
contribution to the Bomber War in terms of its
participation in the Battle of Berlin. 100
Squadron aircrews and ground crews had performed
heroic deeds in carrying the war to Germany in
the only way possible in Europe at that point in
World War II. Yet, more sacrifice would be
needed, the war was far from won.
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