大象传媒

This is from three typed pages by my Uncle, Andrew Law about a plane crash into the North Sea on 17-18 April 1941. He was a pilot officer (No 87053) of a Whitley Bomber in 58 Squadron, Linton-on-Ouse. He suffered frostbite and was in hospital in Bristol, but returned to service soon afterwards. He was killed on a later mission when the plane hit trees landing in fog on 3 September 1941 at Broomhill farm, East Chevington, Morpeth. Only the tail gunner survived.

A Trip Over Germany
We set off from our aerodrome as it was approaching nightfall having been briefed to bomb Berlin. The trip over was uneventful. When we arrived over the target we ascertained that the target鈥檚 appearance tallied with that which we had been given, then we came down lower to drop our stick of bombs. Big flares were seen to appear after we had made a circuit back over the target. That night we had also been briefed to take photographs of the damage caused. We therefore passed ever the target once again to take a photograph. You have two photograph plates of which to use. All this time we were practically held constant with the searchlights and anti-aircraft fire or flack as it is known there. The barrage put up was terrific. We sustained one or two hits with shrapnel but nothing really serious. To escape this fire, we dived down low till the angle was so small that the guns and searchlights could not keep holding us in their rage. I took a vote among the crew as to whether we should go back and take the other photograph plate left, but the crew decided it would not be advisable in the face of things,

On our return journey one of our engines begs to splutter, and in my instruments, I could see that it was all up with that engine, it finally went on fire so I pressed the button for the fire extinguisher and switched off the petrol flow to that engine and the flames went out. We were still over Germany and now only had one engine to see us through. If a plane is flying on one engine the best height to fly at is about five thousand feet, and I was nearly twice that height but height was, in the circumstances most precious to us, so I only lost height very gradually. The rudder of the plane had to be held very tightly at it鈥檚 extreme turning point to counterbalance the engine which was not in use. This was no easy job as it kept jumping back and forward. I asked the co-pilot to take some of the oxygen piping and tie it round the control leavers of the rudder at the rear end of the plane. This was done but it still kept jumping back and forward and I could hardly hold it with my foot. I knew I would have to hold it like that for three or four hours.

We finally reached the coast line amidst sighs of relief from the crew, we were not out of the woods yet we had still the stretch of sea to cover. Heligoland was on our course borne, and I hoped that their searchlights and flack would let us know when we were approaching it. By the time this happened we were getting fairly close to it and we had to take avoiding action very slowly owing to the one engine. We managed to keep well away from it and now with the very best of luck we had only to worry about the actual flying home. After a while the instruments showed that the remaining engine was about to seize up the glycol cooling system gauge showed that the temperature was instead of 62o, 90o. The engine should last about five minutes flying. I thought I would give it a rest to let it cool down and try the other to see if it might go. While I was doing this I instructed the wireless operator to send out an S. O. S. and give our position from time to time. He got in touch with the base and kept in touch. I switched on the other engine end it went for a few minutes, but finally stopped altogether. It was very disconcerting to see the propeller standing quite still when we were still in mid-air. I then went on to the other engine again, but it gave out also, and I kept the plane skimming along the water gradually losing height. The wireless operator was instructed to say 鈥渨e were about to land and to give our position鈥�. I had not time to press the extinguisher button to put the fire out on this engine because I was concentrating on the crash landing on the sea. I asked the co-pilot to strap me into my seat so that on impact with the sea I would not be thrown against the instrument panel. The crew had been instructed to make ready the dingy, wireless and provisions, verery light pistol etc. and to hack away the hatch door. This they did. When we hit the water, ( I could not see till were nearly on it because the light in the nose of plane could not show it up to me till fairly close), the tail hit the water first ad tipped the nose up but the landing turned out perfect. Usually the glass at the nose of a plane should be smashed but it did not in this case and we were still perfectly dry. But the plane was becoming a raging inferno, and the crew had thrown out the dingy into the water. They were all out of the plane in a matter of seconds. Myself and the wireless operator were still left both being at the very front of the plane. I was tied in and was frantically trying to undo the straps. This took a matter of seconds, but even in that time the wireless operator was up and through the hatch, (we were in such a hurry). He bad jumped into the water and I go out of flames just at my back, in time to see him in the water, he apparently could not swim (which was actually the case) so I jumped in and caught him in the water by the scruff of the neck and made for the tail of the plane and hung on supporting us both. The dingy was hovering around near the tail and they picked us up. The crew behaved magnificently, there was no panic whatever. I said the sooner we put water between us and the plane the better because it would blow up because of the large petrol tanks.

We got away just in time, because it blew up and sank. At this point I take the opportunity to mention that when we knew we were going to have to come down in the sea, we go rid of every-thing we could to lighten the plane. Every few minutes the rear gunner would say over the inter-communication, 鈥淪ir will I throw away the flares, the machine guns, etc. etc. 鈥� and I would answer 鈥榊es鈥�. 鈥淵es鈥�. 鈥淵es鈥�.
This happened a few times. When I think of it now it was really very funny.

(Going back to the part where we had got into the dingy.) We had had not time to even take the portable wireless dingy, or provisions or anything else save two distress signals. On the first day a plane like our own one, was flying straight for us but just as it was approaching it altered course. We took a vote among the crew as to whether should use our second and last distress signal (we had fired off our first when the first plane passed near (when a Hudson of the Coastal Command came near, he was not as near as the first one had been, but to our amazement he saw us and circled round, this was on the third day. By this time we were pretty well exhausted. The dingy was the wrong way up and the pockets at the sides which when the right way up filled with water which stabilized the dingy were of no use as they were wrong way up, so I cut than off and put them on top of the oar which I stood up and held and waved. The rest of the crew lay on the bottom of the dingy, so that the yellow sides would be shown. This must have helped him to see us. The pilot of this plane must have known just what to do. He dropped a bag with food, brandy and cigarettes about twenty yards from us, not in a zipped up bag as provided, but a bag sewn up at the opening with wool, and razor blade fixed between two sheets of cardboard with 鈥淧lease find blade for opening bag.鈥� Why a zip was not used was because in emersion in water the cloth behind shrinks and the zip will not open or close as the case may be. This Pilot, then as darkness came down dropped three flares which floated on the water, we kept in the middle the whole time. As soon as one went out or rather began to flicker he swooped down and dropped another at the same point. He signaled to us that he had wirelessed his base to send word for a plane to drop us another dingy and also for a Naval Launch to come and pick us up.
A heavy bomber soon arrived and dropped the dingy which landed in the water only about twenty yards away from us. We paddled over to it and dragged ourselves into it. This dingy was a much larger one and had buoys attached to it to keep it stationary, then not long afterwards the naval cutter picked us up. We had lit matches to let them see exactly our position. They had to drag us up on board as we were powerless. On tine way towards the shore the cutter had to go slow incase there were any floating mines, other wise we would have been in in next to no time. It was about eight o/clock in the morning when we moored along side the pier. And so after three days end two nights in an open dingy with no water, food etc. we were rescued safe and comparatively sound to tell the tale.

Note:
Earlier on in the story I omitted to mention the fact that we entered a mine field to be in the direct shipping route in the hope of being picked up. One of the mines blew up and as we were about fifty yards away from it we still cannot understand what caused it to blow up. The whole time we were in the dingy we were pitched up and down by the heavy seas. We used our gloves and pilots helmets to bale out the water.

Information on crashes involving Andrew Law, from RAF Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War Vol 2, 1941, by W R Chorley, ISBN 0904597873.

17-18 April 1941
58 Sqn Whitley V T4266 GE 0 Op: Berlin

P/0 A A Law
Sgt A Whewell
P/0 McNeil
Sgt Rose
Sgt Steggall

T/o 2041 Linton on Ouse. Returning, hit by flak over Hamburg, which wrecked the port engine. At 0350 the starboard motor seized and caught fire, followed ten minutes later by a ditching in the North Sea. Late in the evening of 20 April, a Hudson sighted the crew in their dinghy and a second Hudson later dropped Lindholme rescue gear in their vicinity. At 2230 that same evening one very exhausted bomber crew were rescued by an ASR launch, some 64 hours after coming down in the sea.

6-7 Aug 1941
58 Sqn Whitley V Z6835 GE Q Op: Frankfurt
P/0 A A Law
Sgt C 0 Steggall
Sgt Kemp
Sgt Cartledge
P/0 Harris

T/o 2235 Linton on Ouse. Overshot on return to base and crashed 0557 into a hangar. No serious injuries reported.

3-4 Sept 1941
58 Sqn Whitley V Z6869 GE T Op: Brest
P/0 A A Law +
Sgt W H Trewin RCAF +
Sgt R L Ward RCAF +
Sgt C 0 Steggall +
P/0 E D Comber Higgs inj

T/o 1921 Linton on Ouse but recalled at 2030 and ordered to divert to Acklington, where the Whitley crashed 2345 into a field at Turnbull Farm and burst into flames.
Note. It will be recalled that P/0 Law had survived a traumatic three days drifting in the North Sea after ditching on return from operations on 17 18 April 1941, while as recently as 7 August he had survived a serious crash at Linton on Ouse.

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