大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer on behalf of Pilot Officer John A. Martin DFC (retired) Larne, N. Ireland and been added to the site with his permission. Mr Martin understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

We were often briefed to bomb Peenem疟nde, that was where the Germans were making the V2 rockets, on the German Baltic coast at the mouth of the River Peene. One night 700 crews were briefed to attack Peenem疟nde. Air Vice Marshal Harris attended the briefing and said, 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 make a job of it tonight, you鈥檒l keep going back until you get the factory down.鈥� The factory complex was right down at the sea. During the attack we had a master bomber directing the dropping of the bombs. His call sign to us was 鈥淩aven鈥�, and as soon as we were getting ready to do our run in to drop the bombs, he would call, 鈥淩aven aircraft, Raven aircraft, don鈥檛 drop the bombs, the TIs (target indicators) are falling into the sea.鈥� Because of this we had to go around and start our bomb run again. The next number of crews had had the TI problem rectified, by the time it came our turn the target indicators were again falling into the sea so we had to abort our bomb run and again go around to start our bomb run again. On our next approach I was in the astrodome looking out, when suddenly this fighter came up dead astern. I shouted 鈥淩ear gunner, fighter, dead astern.鈥� The rear gunner fired at the fighter and shot it down. I was still in the astrodome and saw the glow of engines coming towards us and shouted, 鈥淩ear gunner there is another one coming in.鈥� The rear gunner started shooting. We then heard, on the radio, 鈥淪aint, saint鈥�. It was a Halifax that we were shooting at. We dived and got away from it. We dropped our bombs on target and returned back to base. We had a second pilot with us that night, Bunse was his name. I was sitting in the mess the next morning when Bunse came over to me and said, 鈥淲ould you read that there, Paddy.鈥� The report was of a Halifax crew, being attacked from below and the Flight Engineer lost his foot in the incident. It seemed like the incident we had been involved in. That was an awful night, the night of that Peenem疟nde raid. Can you visualise 700 aircraft going round and round, aircraft here and aircraft there, TI going off in the middle of it. During the bomb runs there was radio silence, apart from the Master Bomber. The Master Bomber shouted over the radio, 鈥淩aven aircraft, Raven aircraft, don鈥檛 bomb now the TIs are falling into the sea.鈥� A wee voice from somewhere came up on the radio, 鈥淩aven, Raven, we鈥檙e Raven mad, would you drop those TIs.鈥� Target indicators were big flares which were dropped on the target and provided an easier located target, for the other aircraft on the raid, on which to aim their bombs. I can still see things happening as if it were only yesterday. I can still see that fighter as if it was only yesterday, coming up and showing his belly to us and Air Gunner McIlroy pumped his rounds into it, and down he went. I can still see that fighter over Bremen with the bullets coming out of his main plane and I can still see Gamble throwing out the propaganda leaflets. We still keep in contact, he was quite a character.

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