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150 BOMBER SQUADRON - HEMSWELL. Numbers 150 and 170 Squadrons, both located at Hemswell, flew Lancasters with standard armament of two, two and four Browning 303s in front, mid-upper and rear turrets respectively. Crews were almost international in nature, as there were personnel from Canada, New Zealand, Britain, South Africa and India.
Our crew carried out a few more training flights and by December 19th we were considered in 鈥渙perational readiness鈥�, that is, we would now be flying to enemy targets as the occasion demanded. We had finally reached the goal which had been envisioned for us since the time we first entered the Initial Training School away back in Canada.
During the last month or so, the German armies were being gradually forced back toward the Rhine River, and nearly everyone thought that the war really couldn鈥檛 last much longer. And then it happened!鈥攖he Germans counter-attacked in the Ardennes area, and the battle now known as 鈥淭he Battle of the Bulge鈥� developed, and it was very nearly successful for the enemy. A wedge was driven deep into the Allied Armies in Luxembourg and Belgium, but didn鈥檛 quite reach the coast to split the British Army. Very, very slowly, the wedge was flattened and the front restored to its original line. The Germans very nearly won the Battle of the Bulge by taking advantage of some of the worst weather to strike the continent in years. All of the British Isles and North West Europe were blanketed by fog and snow which persisted for nearly ten days. All Allied air power was grounded, so the Panzer Divisions leading the attack were able to operate without hindrance from the air.
Our bomber squadron, not normally on duty as close support for the army, was so designated. For ten successive days our crew was briefed and waiting in our plane with motors idling, to take off quickly should the fog clear even temporarily. What a nerve wracking experience, sitting there unable to see fifty yards down the runway, and afraid that Command would send us off regardless. It was with great relief that the tide turned in our favour; the weather cleared, and our fighter planes were able to provide the close support for the army, without the necessity of using bombers for that purpose.
An interesting film entitled 鈥淭he Battle of the Bulge鈥� was produced in the early 1950s. It was based on the German offensive in the Ardennes area in late December of 1944 when the Allied Air Forces were grounded due to extensive fog and snow, and how the offensive was finally controlled. Viewing this film years later certainly brought back some very scary memories.
Prior to outlining details of the various 鈥渙ps鈥� in which we participated, some information pertaining to the duties of the crew members, and terms relating to operational 鈥渟orties鈥� would not go amiss.

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