大象传媒

East Kirkby was originally a decoy 'drome' for being near to the East Coast, they hoped the Germans would bomb it rather than the operational stations. The film people constructed a number of realistic dummy aircraft. It was quite routine for the duty airman, when there was a red alert, to operate a small searchlight. This was shone along the runway to simulate aircraft taking off. Later filling in the holes ready for the next visit by 'Jerry'. This continued for some time until the Germans dropped wooden bombs, perhaps another example of 'enemy agents' reporting back to their 'masters'.

In February 1942, 'Bomber Harris' took control of Bomber Command. It had been planned that there should be 4,000 heavy bombers but when he took over there were just 70 (Including 5 Lancasters). The Russians were calling for a second front, which if they meant a landing on the continent, would have been a hopeless proposition at that time. Instead it was decided there should be a build-up of Bomber Command with increasing raids on Germany.

Bomber Harris found that daylight raids were far too costly in crews and aircraft and opted instead for night operations. Navigation was very imprecise except, perhaps, when there were clear skies and bright moonlight to allow observations of landmarks. Aiming bombs wasn't too accurate neither and led to the policy of bombing essential targets in large towns and cities.

Shadow factories were opened which allowed for larger numbers of Lancasters to become available and gradually the bombing offensive increased. There developed a battle of wits between the combatants and large numbers of German fighter aircraft were moved from the Eastern front to meet our growing threat. At the same time very many dual purpose anti-tank/anti-aircraft guns were moved westwards to defend all their vulnerable targets.

During the nights when the weather was unsuitable for bombing operations, heavy bombers would join the lighter aircraft in sowing mines in enemy waters. This was an aid to the Navy because large tonnages of German merchant ships were sunk and U_boats were penned in ports or damaged.

Bombing continued to do a vast amount of damage to the industrial areas of the Ruhr Valley and to Hamburg. The Boffins developed 'Gee' which was a system of radio beams and was a great aid to navigation within a range of 400 miles. A tremendous boost to the morale of the British people was the 1,000 bomber raid on Cologne, followed by others of increasing intensity until Berlin,itself, was attacked on numerous occasions.

Harris was concerned that an invasion of the continent would mean a return to trench warfare. He hoped that if German industry was sufficiently destroyed there wouldn't be the need to invade or, if found to be required, reduced to a police operation.

In the meantime the Germans improved their early warning system. Anti-aircraft guns and searchlights, operated by Radar were becoming more effective. Then 'Window' was used by our aircraft to create havoc to their defences. Window was so simple, consisting of aluminium strips, of a suitable length, which looked like very many aircraft, on the German display screens and control systems, such as to render them useless.

Another aid developed by the Boffins was 'H2S' which was essentially radar. A revolving scanner mounted under the aircraft transmitted radio micro-wave pulses, the amount of energy returned and displayed on the screen depended on the terrain below. It was like hosing down a patio, the water playing on a flat surface would be deflected away but if played onto a rockery some of the water would splash back.

Towns would give a good reflection back, due to the sloping rooftops and would give a bright display on the screen. Flat land and lakes would have much less energy returned and therefore would appear darker. Rivers and coastling usually showed up fairly well. It wouldn't matter that the aircraft were above thick cloud or the ground below was covered in mist. Thereby the aircrew had a rough picture of the area below rather like an outline map but it was not very effective as a bombing aid due to the built up nature of the area surrounding most targets. Later, the use of this equipment was restricted because German fighters were 'homing in' to the radar frequency.

To improve bombing accuracy a Pathfinder force was developed to mark the targets with coloured flares, or indicators, for the main force to bomb. Previously Jerry had tried lighting dummy fires away from the target in an attempt to disperse our bombing effort.

As part of the build-up of Bomber Command a number of new stations were opened. East Kirkby was made operational and on the 28th August 1943 half of 57 squadron arrived on the station. The next day the other half arrived and by the 30th bombing operations commenced. The move must have involved a tremendous amount of organisation to move many tons of equipment, bombs and ammunition in such a short time.

That night, just after I arrived, the Germans straffed the airfield with cannon fire - another example of our 'controlled' German spies reporting back to their masters? We were amazed how quickly the Germans had found out that the station was operational.

To me, arriving at East Kirkby and seeing buildings that had obviously been there for some time and hearing Lancasters taking off in the evening I thought the station had been operating for some time. It startled me the next day to go into the Signals Office and to see lines of Teleprinter machines and not a scrap of paper, no records whatever.

Within days other signals personnel joined me and soon messages were flowing through for all the various sections. In bomber Command there was a very efficient organization. Bomber Harris would hold his meeting at nine o'clock and after considering the weather forecast and other factors would announce the 'Target for tonight'.

H.Q. would prepare an outline plan and pass this to the Group Headquarters. The Groups would add all the other information required, such as, number of aircraft, bomb loads and types, routes, heights to be maintained, petrol quantities etc. for each of the stations in the group.

This would be sent by secure teleprinter lines and usually received by about 11 o'clock in the morning to allow time for the Lancasters to be loaded with bombs, petrol, ammunitions etc. and prepared ready for take off for the raid(s) that evening.

Up to a thousand planes could be taking part and the crews had to be briefed, The fact that they would often take off less that ten hours after Harris had made his decision illustrates how impressive were the mechanics of command and control, a fact that was not often recognised even in those days. It was a commentary on the 'horror' of war that so much killing was inevitably involved.

On the 15th November 1943 the whole of "B" Flight 57 Squadron was elevated to become No 630 Squadron. A lighter note occurred when two new pilots reported to 630's "A" Flight Commander - Squadron Leader Millichip. "What are your names?" he asked. "Monk" replied one; "Nunns" said the other. "A holy war" murmured millichip "That's all we need.

One evening s fully loaded Lancaster was taking off when it veered and crashed into the Guardroom. An airman was being held in the cell and the Lanc. stopped within a few inches of his head. Next morning the Padre saw him and told him to be sure the Lord will seek out the wrong-doer where-ever he may hide.

At Christmas some airmen decided to decorate the local pub "The Red Lion". Almost everything was in short supply so they collected together all the pieces of coloured paper and aluminium strips they could find. There were no baloons, so they blew up condoms and hung them. The story goes that when the landlord's wife expressed surprise at seeing the baloons he had to explain what they really were.

Had a spell at Wainfleet Bombing Range, near the Wash,. Learned later, that when they designed the range they were unsure where to put the control building and decided the safest place would be in the middle. The practise bombs only weighed ten pounds, and were filled with white powder, expect they could have given someone a nasty headache!

Though death became commonplace on bomber fields, sometimes there was added poignancy. Such was the case when Flying Officer E.J.Murray RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) set off down the runway, Stuttgart bound, on his first operation. Taking off with a full bomb load was the only exercise that could not be pactised during training and the runways were scarcely long enough for a 29 ton Lancaster, at the best of times. Murray's aircraft swung and as it careered across the Stickney Road the undercarraige collapsed.

The bomb load exploded immediately, with a blast that broke windows at Skegness, fiften miles away. Amazingly, the rear gunner was taken almost unhurt from his turret, one of the few parts of the plane found intact.

I had just come off watch and was in the Airmen's Mess to get something to eat when the accident happened. The building rocked violently and I immediately dropped to the floor and lay spread-eagled with my chest off the deck waiting for further indications that bombs were being dropped. Thought that Jerry was paying us a visit!

Later, I read that on the 17th April 1945, just before VE DAY, while one of the aircraft was being 'bombed up' one of them exploded and further explosions occurred as other bombs exploded in sympathy. Next day the far side of the airfield looked like a battlefield. Several men had been killed and injured. Six aircraft had been totally destroyed and fourten others had varying degrees of damage.

Although only a minute part of a vast machine I was never aware of doubt that the bombers were helping to shorten the war. After post-war analysis, it was stated that the part played by "Bomber Command" in the winning of the war did justify the seven per cent of the national war effort spent on it.

Of the total number of aircrew who joined the O.T.U.'s (Operational Training Units) about sixty per cent died. Of the operational aircrew 55,000 were killed and 5,000 other airmen died.

In stating the RAF case it is important to keep in mind that the real heroes were the Merchant navy seamen who maintained the supply of essential war materials, across the Atlantic and elsewhere, when hundreds of thousands of tons of shipping were being sunk and countless lives lost.

Acknowlegement must also be made to the tremendous efforts of the soldiers, marines, sailors, doctors, nurses, women on war production,the Land Army girls, and all the people who worked so closely together to achieve the final victory.

Just before Christmas 1944, I returned to Yatesbury to start the Radar Mechanics course. When I arrived was put into an empty hut and thought this was an ideal opportunity for a very rare 'lie in'. The next morning, at around ten, the Orderly Officer and Sergeant walked in. Awakened I pretended to be asleep, "Don't disturb him Sergeant" was music to my ears.

In peacetime, Radar or Wireless would have been a three year course of training but we had to compress it into fourteen months by studying for longer hours. The training was quite a challenge, so much of the knowledge had been recently acquired, it was often a case of observing effects and developing theories to fit. Even now I'm not sure whether, or not, electric current flows from positive to negative or visa versa. Think it probable that 'electron flow' won the day.

The training was very technical and intensive and seemed to fill all the waking hours. Workshop Practise is one of the things that comes to mind and we had to learn how to build circuits, to solder, weld. splice etc. One exercise was to take a piece of steel and file it down until it was exactly two inches by one inch and a quarter inch deep, flat on all sides with all angles being 90 degrees.

Then I had the devastating news that, Anne, my girl friend's mother had died. Anne's uncle Jim, who lived in the same road, was in the air raid shelter when an anti-aircraft shell penetrated the top of the shelter and his head was blown off. Anne's mother was asked to identify him, which she did, but the shock in doing so caused Leukaemia and on the 23rd April 1945 she died.

A few weeks later, the Commanding Officer of our camp announced on the Tannoy system that the end of the war was approaching and immediately it was announced all personnel would be confined to camp. Any airman disregarding this order would be court-martialed.

On the Friday evening, having a free week-end, my friend Paddy and I hitched to London.

Already celebrations had begun and it was fantastic. Thought it would help Anne if we went into the West-end to see the people enjoying themselves. Oxford Street was absolutely packed, happy people shoulder to shoulder from the shops on one side of the road to the shops on the other, very slowly moving along. Some were cheering, some singing, everybody cheerful, many arm in arm or arms around each other.

At one point we made very little progress but could hear bursts of cheering. As we approached we could see a group of sailors looking up to windows above a Theatre. Chorus girls lined the windows and, every time they lifted their tops. the sailors cheered.

When we got back to the camp on Sunday we were told there had been a check and we had been missed. Next morning on parade, was called out and asked where I had been, replied "Absent without leave" and was told to report to the Squadron Office. Reported at the stated time and the Flight Sergeant said to me "For christ sake get married and learn a sense of responsibility. Push off."

On the following Tuesday, 8th May 1945, the end of the war in Europe was announced and for us, in camp, it was a bit of an anti-climax. Confined to camp it was rather like any other day. Of course the war in the Far East was still continuing and there must have been thoughts that, eventually, many would find themselves there.

It became apparent that those still fighting there felt that they were being completely forgotton during the celebrations at home. When the rumours drifted through to the skeletal prisoners-of-war in the hands of the brutal Japanese they must have had mixed thoughts. Relief that their families at home, if still alive, would be safer and wondering if they, the prisoners, would live long enough to join in the festivities.

Shortly after, I was posted to RAF Station Cranwell, in Lincolnshire, to continue training there. Life consisted of formalae, waveforms, standing waves, wave guides, Klystrons, Magnetrons and a multitude of technical matters. When we learned about the navigational aid "H2S" (A most abnoxious gas) we were told that when the equipment was being developed it consisted of units spread around a hall.

They were trying to develope perfect square waves and saw-tooth waves from sine-waves derived from circular motion. It must have been difficult to see how so much equipment could be compressed into a small unit to fit into an aircraft. When this was being demonstrated to an American expert and asked what he thought of it he replied "Gee, it stinks." We were told that's how it got it's name. There have been many explanations since but I liked the one they gave to us.

Spent eight months at Cranwell, the whole time looking forward to my demob. Eventually at the end of the course, after exams, was told I had passed and thus became LAC/AC2 Radar Mechanic.

This was followed by a posting to RAF Station Chessington, in Surrey. This was an Electro- medical Research unit. Apparently it was thought that micro-wave technology could be used for medical purposes but Radar was so secret, (All of our notes had been stamped "Most secret") that research remained within the RAF.

The urgent requirement, by the hospitals, was for balanced pulse generators. These produced pulses over a range of frequencies which, when applied to muscles exercised them without the need to exercise the whole limb. They could also be used to exercise (melt away) fat. There was a problem because the pulses caused a deposit on the skin which could result in a rash. This was overcome by developing a Balanced Pulse Generator which gave a sharp pulse in one direction and a long narrow pulse in the other. Thereby, any plating effect by one pulse was removed by the other one.

I gathered another development was modifying a hypodermic syringe by introducing a siver electrode into the needle to allow minute currents of electricity to be drawn from a muscle and amplified millions of times to allow a judgement to be made of the resultant note.

Having spotted a Radar unit I asked to what use it had been put and was told there had been bad effects. He explained that a piece of perspex (a clear plastic used as replacement for glass in Spitfire canopies) had been shaped to fit into the flexible waveguide to concentrate the micro-wave enery but there had been bad effects.

The heart of the Radar was a Magnetron (a micro-wave generator) and this is also the heart of a micro-wave oven. They probably burned everything in sight!

Thinking back to the crystal set I played with as a boy, it occurred to me that going from crystal sets to micro-waves, in a few years, was quite a journey.

My release number was 32 and soon I was on my way to RAF Station Uxbridge to be demobilised. Then a visit to one of the exhibition centres in London to get my demob. suit etc. and then home. Free at last.

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