大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by Sandra Beckett on behalf of Richard H J Rowe, the author, and has been added to the site with his/her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and condition.

It was one hour before take off to Berlin, a nice summer evening, August 23rd, 1943.
We had run up the engines, checked the machine generally, stopped engines and settled down to wait. There was not much conversation as we sat, or stood, on the grass near the aircraft. The waiting before take off was usually a bit trying 鈥� mostly thoughts of what lay ahead during the coming night.
One of the reasons for the early check of the machine was to allow the engines to cool before their final start up, the Merlins being a bit difficult to start when hot.
While waiting, we noticed activity around a nearby aircraft P.M.C.No.W4323, a petrol tanker was alongside, and ground personnel were apparently doing some last minute work. We took no particular notice of this activity until a loud thump was heard from that direction. Within seconds a lot of people began running away from P.M.C. some in our direction.
I forget if a warning was shouted by the runners, but I remember that it looked ominous and we, the crew of P.M.H. began running also, although we were as yet unaware of the gravity of the situation. We all ran to what we considered a safe distance (it probably wasn鈥檛鈥�).
I was then told that work was being carried out on P.M.C. with bomb doors open. Somehow the bomb release electrical circuits had become energised and all the bombs 鈥� 4,000 pounder, 1,000 pounders and incendiaries had fallen out of the machine on to the ground, some of the incendiaries becoming ignited.
A fitter unsuccessfully tried to remove the burning incendiaries from the jumbled heap under the machine before rapidly removing himself from the scene. Apart from someone ringing for the station fire brigade, nothing seemed to happen, our vision of P.M.C. being obscured by the tanker alongside it.
The Squadron C/O Wing Commander Slater was doing a circuit of the perimeter in his car, having his usual last check with his crews, and happened to be near the scene. He asked my pilot, P/O Finlay to move P.M.H. well out of the danger area, in the event of an explosion.
We, the aircrew, rushed aboard, the ground crew also running to man the chocks and starting battery trolley. I commenced starting the engines. The port outer failed to start, the port inner started, the starboard inner failed to start, the starboard outer started. 鈥淟et鈥檚 go鈥� said the pilot, 鈥渢wo will be enough鈥�. This was easier said than done. I told him that the chocks were still in position and the battery trolley still connected.
I could see some of the ground crew, but they were not looking in my direction, as they were watching and waiting for the other two engines to start. I could not communicate with them by shouting because of engine noise. I opened up the throttle of one of the engines and gave them a blast of wind, the pilot by now getting very impatient! This drew their attention to me and I was able to signal for the removal
of chocks and trolley.
As soon as the chocks were removed and trolley disconnected, the pilot, listening to my commentary, moved off rather quickly and struck the battery trolley with out tail plane. During all this time I could see nothing of what was happening to P.M.C. as my view was still obstructed.
We moved out of our dispersal area and turned right on to the feeder road. I looked ahead at this time and saw anther aircraft getting away from the area, it was travelling on another feeder road towards which we were heading, at right angles to us, moving to our left. It was travelling so fast that its tail was in the air, and it appeared to be approaching flying speed. This machine was piloted by F/O Ready and was heading in a direction pointing to the Control Tower and main buildings on the opposite side of the airfield.
The personnel in the Control Tower were aware that something was happening at the far end of the airfield, probably because of the call for the fire engine, but knew no details. Their first intimation of trouble was to see F/O Ready鈥檚, machine fully bombed up, heading across the grass towards them at high speed. I believe they were very alarmed!
We continued on the feeder road, in doing so getting nearer to P.M.C. I saw the fire engine stopped ahead of us on the T junction of the road where F/O Ready had passed, where we intended to turn left and follow F/O Ready. The fire engine was stopped because we were blocking its path to P.M.C, for which the fire crew later told me they were grateful, having saved them from being blown up with P.M.C.
As we were passing at our closest point to P.M.C., it suddenly disappeared in a huge sheet of flame in which I thought I should be engulfed. I must have instinctively ducked, because when I looked at P.M.H. the next day there was no Perspex in the window through which I had been looking.
I never heard a sound. I was told later that the explosion was heard in Grimsby, which I believe is 20 miles away. Presumably I was so close to the centre of the explosion that all sound waves were travelling outwards from me.
Our aircraft P.M.H. was struck by debris and slewed around. The pilot shouted 鈥渆verybody out鈥�. I shut the throttles, opened and got out of the top escape hatch, followed by the pilot. I noticed one of our propellers still turning, leaned in the hatch, completely shut it throttle, got on to the port wing and jumped to the ground.
By this time others had left the aircraft by other exists and joined the pilot and myself. F/O Finlay said 鈥淚 should think the 4,000 pounder has not gone off, get moving鈥� and in the same breath 鈥渨here is Harry (Wheeler)?鈥�. John McFarlane, the navigator, said 鈥渋n the aircraft鈥�. Without asking why, I said 鈥渨hat鈥檚 he doing in there鈥� and rushed to the starboard side, jumped in the door and ran up through the fuselage.
I saw Harry lying back against the main spar, put my arms around him, and was lifting him over the spar when I looked at him closely and saw for the first time that he had been struck by something and was dead. I then dropped him left the aircraft and joined the others.
We left the scene and walked across the airfield and runways to the main camp area.
At the time we were all N.C.O鈥檚 except P.O.Finlay. We N.C.O鈥檚 were in the Sergeants Mess drinking beer when Doc Henderson (now living in Canada) located us to check us out. None of us were injured 鈥� the only other casualty besides Harry Wheeler was a civilian 鈥� Mr Woods 鈥� who was struck in a leg by a flying oxygen bottle as he was cycling nearby.
Doc recommended and gave us all a couple of tablets each. By midnight I was ill. Presumably Doc through we were going to bed and failed to tell us that his tablets and beer did not mix. From this time the morale and fate of the crew of the P.M.H. took a downward trend.
We attended Harry鈥檚 funeral at the South London Tabernacle, Peckham Road, Camberwell, SE5 鈥� he was an only son. I felt particularly upset at his funeral as I was the only one of the crew who had previously met his parents.
A few weeks before I had spent a few hours with them, and Harry, while going on leave to Cornwall 鈥� having to wait some hours for the appropriate train from Paddington.
I was further distressed at the cemetery by the small number of mourners, it was as if we were in this large teeming City of London and no one cared. It was suggested to me that others who would have attended the funeral were working!
Due to the damage to P.M.H. we loafed about and did not fly for a month which I found bad for morale.
Our first flight was in a new aircraft Serial No.JB152 repainted with the same squadron letters P.M. and the same identification letter H with, of course, a replacement wireless operator.
This aircraft was fitted with a new radar device code named 鈥淢ONICA鈥� which was supposed to warn us of the proximity of enemy aircraft. This flight was on September 22nd, the target 鈥� Hanover.
Whilst gaining altitude over Lincolnshire 鈥淢onica鈥� was giving us a continuous warning signal, although nothing was in our vicinity. We therefore switched it off and reported it faulty on our return. On arriving over Hanover we experienced for the first time the new German technique of illuminating flares at our altitude and it was like flying along a lighted street, and was most frightening.
The following evening 鈥� September 23rd 鈥� we left Elsham at 7pm bound for the twin towns of Mannheim/Ludwigshafen. At 9.50pm flying at about 20,000 ft a few miles NW of Mannheim we were attached by a ME/110 piloted by Oberleutenant Lenz Finster with his radio operator Siegfried Beugel, and set alight. 鈥淢onica鈥� had remained silent.
We jumped out.

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