MOTTO
AKE AKE KIA KAHA
FOR EVER AND EVER BE STRONG
HISTORY
Renamed, 1 April 1940
Disbanded, 15 October 1945
CO ‘s
W/C, M. W. Buckley. RNZAF. 1 April 1940 to November 1940
CBE, MBE, Legion Of Merit [US],
W/C, C. E. Kay. RNZAF, November 1940 to September 1941
CBE, DFC,
W/C, R Sawrey-Cookson, RAF, KIA, September 1941 to 6 April 1942
DSO, DFC,
W/C, E. G. Olson. RNZAF, 6 April 1942 to July 1942
DSO,
W/C, J. V. Mitchel. RAF, KIA, July 1942 to 18 December 1942
DFC,
There is a gap here
W/C, G. A. Lane.. RAF, January 1943 to May 1943
DFC,
W/C, M. Wyatt. RAF, May 1943 to August 1943
DFC,
W/C, R. D. Max. RNZAF, August 1943 to May 1944
DSO, DFC,
W/C, R. A. Leslie. RNZAF, May 1944 to December 1944
DSO, DFC,
W/C, R. J. NEWTON. RNZAF, KIA, December 1944 to1 January 1945
DFC,
W/C, C. H. Baigent. RNZAF, 1 January 1945 to September 1945
DSO, DFC,
BASES
Feltwell, Norfolk, April 1940 to August 1942
1 A/C and Crew to 215 Squadron at Wick April 1940
6 A/C and Crews to Salon, Southern France, June 1940
Mildenhall, Suffolk, August 1942 to November 1942
Newmarket, Suffolk, November 1942 to June 1943
Mepal, Cambridgeshire June 1943 to July 1945
Spilsby, Linconshire July 1945 to October 1945
AIRCRAFT TYPES
WELLINGTON B1C , B3 April 1940 to November 1942
STIRLING B1 , B3 November 1942 to March 1944
LANCASTER B1 , B3 March 1944 to October 1945
OXFORD
[Tail No’s DF 258, DF 262]
Feltwell Wellington Mk 1, 1A, 1C
Mildenhall Wellington Mk 1A, 1C Stirling Mk 1
Newmarket Stirling Mk 1
Mepal Stirling Mk 1, 111 Lancaster Mk 1, 111
Spilsby Lancaster Mk 1, 111 Lincoln Mk 11
CODE LETTERS
A & B Flight AA April 1940 to October 1945
C Flight JN February 1943 to October 1945
ROLES
Heavy Bomber April 1940 to October 1945
Mine Laying April 1940 to October 1945
Squadron Badge was Presented at Newmarket 20 June 1943
EFFORTS
Sorties, 8150 [Highest total for the whole RAF Bomber Command]
Operations, 739
Hours Flown, 41,247 Hrs
Bombs 21,630 Ton [2nd largest of any Allied Sqn ]
Mines 2,344 [2nd highest total in Bomber Command]
Aircraft Destroyed 60 +
Aircraft Lost 193 [Second highest loss rate in RAF Bomber Command]
Losses 1139, NZ 452, [1/4 of all NZ losses]
Only NZ Squadron engaged against Germany from 1939 to VE Day .
Logistics Operational Performance Operational Sorties and Losses
Group, Aircraft, Bombing, Mine laying,Leaflets,Total Aircraft,Targets, Laying, Tasked,Sorties, Lost
Tasked Tasked Flown %
3 Group Wellington 291 24 4 2540 74 2.90
3 Group Stirling 103 107 0 1736 72 4.10
3 Group Lancaster 190 18 1 3741 47 1.30
584 149 5 8017 193 2.40
Flew 1 photo-reconnaissance raid with 3 Group Wellingtons
First and only NZ Squadron in Bomber Command
VC Sgt J A Ward, Munster 7/8 July 1941
Carried out the fourth highest number of bombing raids of all heavy bombers Squadrons
In the first 2 years of the war, 75 [NZ] Squadron lost 34 bombers, 20 had returned with dead or wounded crew, crashed on return, or been abandoned over England on return.
In the first 1,000 bomber raid on Germany 30 - 31 May 1941 there were 1047 aircraft that left the United Kingdom, there was one mid-air collision.
678 Aircraft were from mainstream bomber Squadrons, the rest were from Heavy Conversion Units, Operational Conversion Units and sundry other training units.
The target was to have been Hamburg but the weather dictated Cologne, Germany’s 3rd largest city.
About 890 aircraft reached the city in three waves, over a period of one and a half hours.
They dropped 1,500 ton of bombs, approx 500 people were killed, and 150,000 fled the city.
The losses were 27 aircraft from the main bomber force, 12 from OTC units plus 1 or 2 from the other units.
The 2nd 1,000 bomber raid was on Essen on 1 - 2 June 1941, Bomber Command could only raise 956 aircraft for the raid, of which 31 were lost.
Due to the weather over the target, there were more people killed in Oberhausen and Duisburg than in Essen.
The 3rd 1.000 bomber raid was on Bremen on 25 - 26 June 1941, Bomber Command raised 960 aircraft.
472 Wellingtons, 124 Halifaxes, 96 Lancasters, 69 Stirlings, 51 Blenheims, 50 Hampdens, 50 Whitleys, 24 Bostons, 20 Manchester, and 4 Mosquitos.
Coastal Command sent 102 Wellingtons, and Hudsons, While Army Co-op added another 5 Wellingtons. A total of 1067 aircraft in all
Bomber Command lost 48 aircraft while Coastal Command lost 5.
75 [NZ]Squadron put up a record 23 Wellingtons for the Cologne Raid, and 20 for the Essen and Bremen Raids.
Only 1 Aircraft was lost by the Squadron and that was on attachment from a Gunnery School.
Decorations
VC 1
DSO 6
BAR TO DFC 4
DFC 88 [Maybe 114]
DFM 17 [Maybe 58]
CGM 2 [Maybe 3]
MBE 2
BEM 5
Padre, Rev. A. G. Kayll. [the only NZ Padre in RAF] served on No 75 [NZ] Squadron from early 1940.
On his arrival, he found no Church. A Church is not on the equipment list required for an Operational Bomber Station, so, with Kiwi ingenuity, he contacted Boulton & Paul [Aircraft Manufacturers] in Norwich who “loaned the workmen and the Cedarwood” to construct a Church that was on “Loan” to the Station for the Duration
The Squadron Bible
In 1945 a Bible was presented to the Squadron by the Padre of Royal Air Force Station Mepal, the Station where No 75 [NZ] Squadron was stationed at the end of the war.
The Bible contains the Names of 783 members of the RNZAF, RAF, who were killed while serving with the Squadron, this list is acknowledged as being incomplete.
In 1949 the Bible was laid up in the Station Chapel at RNZAF Station Ohakea, during a fitting service, which was attended by past and present members of the Squadron from all over New Zealand.
The Bible was provided with a cushion and suitably embroidered cover, the Bible was kept with the Squadron at RAF Station Tengah, Singapore, during its stay in Singapore.
On return from Singapore in April 1962, the Bible once again took up its place in the Chapel at Ohakea.
The Letter Accompanying The Bible’s Presentation Reads
Mepal, Cambs.
31 July ‘45
Dear Wing Commander,
Here is a token of our regard for the Squadron you now command. I send it to you in the name of the people on this station who counted it an honour to know and work with 75.
You are all very sadly missed here – that is why we wanted you to have some permanent reminder of Mepal with you.
My idea is that you should carry this Bible and use it when necessary and finally hand it on to some Church, preferably some Central Shrine where relations of deceased personnel may see it.
I want you to have all the names of Deceased Members of 75 written under the title “ We will remember them”.
We have no complete list here and accuracy is essential – moreover, numbers will dictate the size of the lettering. This we leave to someone who can write well.
With very good wishes and God’s Blessing
Sincerely
Jos B Harkus
Padre
The Reply Reads
No 75 [N.Z.] Squadron,
R. A. F. Station
Spilsby,
Lincs:
8th August 1945
Ref: 75NZ / CO / DO
Dear Padre,
On behalf of 75 Squadron, I should like to express our appreciation of your very kind gesture in presenting the Squadron with such a magnificent Bible.
We shall take it with us on our travels and if the Squadron is broken up – I certainly hope it won’t be – we shall hand it to someone in New Zealand capable of taking very good care of it.
We are at present engaged in compiling a record of deceased members of our Squadron and shall certainly enter their names in the bible on the pages as you suggest.
With our sincere thanks and wishing you and R.A.F. Mepal the very best, always,
Yours sincerely
C.H.Baigent
S/Ldr J. C. Harkus,
R.A.F. Station, Mepal
Nr. Ely,
Cambs:
The first operational flight was on 27 March 1940, a pamphlet drop in Germany.
Along with other units in Bomber Command, much of the work of the Wellington squadrons during 1940 had been largely of a defensive nature dictated by the pressure of events, but by October, as the threat of invasion began to fade, there came a turning over to the offensive.
With the arrival of additional crews and aircraft and after the intensive training of past months, No. 75 [NZ] Squadron was now well equipped for this role.
Reinforcement had not only increased the fighting power but given added New Zealand character to the squadron, the number of men from the Dominion having almost doubled since July.
The weather was responsible for most of the misfortunes which befell No. 75 [NZ] Squadron during October.
On the night of the 16th October 1940, when nine aircraft flew to attack enemy battleships at Kiel, they met dense cloud on the return journey.
The crew of one Wellington, after losing the trailing aerial on high-tension cables while attempting to break through the murk, found themselves among the close-hauled balloons and factory chimneys of Hull and then over some woods ‘whose topmost branches scraped horribly against the bottom of the fuselage.’
After two hours' vain search for a clearance, and with petrol running low, the crew were forced to bale out after the bomber had climbed to a safe height.
They escaped without serious injury.
When the squadron next operated, on the night of 21st October, two aircraft crashed in a fog after attacks directed against the Bismarck, then at Hamburg.
One was burnt out but the occupants were not injured.
The other lost its port propeller on the way back and crashed while attempting a forced landing, with slight injuries to the crew.
Berlin was the target on the night of the 23rd October 1940, when the Wellington captained by Pilot Officer Sanderson failed to return—the bomber was believed to have crashed into the sea, but an intensive air-sea rescue search proved fruitless.
The most important raids in which the New Zealand Squadron took part during November 1940 were against Munich, Hamburg, and Berlin.
At Munich, large fires were started in the marshalling yards and crews saw many explosions.
For the attack on Hamburg, with oil installations and power and rail facilities as the targets, a force of 131 aircraft was dispatched by Bomber Command.
Five Wellingtons from the New Zealand Squadron bombed the marshalling yards and a sixth attacked the docks.
November was also to bring a change in command, Wing Commander Buckley, who had led the squadron since its formation, handing over to Wing Commander Kay on the 25th of the month.
Happily, Buckley was not to sever all connections with the squadron as a few months later he was placed in command of the base at Feltwell.
Objectives for the Wellingtons during December 1940, included marshalling yards in Berlin, Charlottenburg and Hamm, the docks at Bremen, and targets in Mannheim and enemy-occupied territory.
The squadron's biggest effort was made on the 6th December 1940, when 13 Wellingtons operated, the principal targets being aerodromes in enemy-occupied territory.
There now came a definite change in the bombing policy.
Instead of aircraft setting out to bomb a specific target, which often proved impossible to locate, it was decided to turn to area bombing.
The first operation of this kind was mounted on the night of 16th December when a force of 134 aircraft was dispatched by Bomber Command against Mannheim.
Ten Wellingtons were sent by No. 75 [NZ] Squadron, eight of which attacked, crews reporting many fires and explosions in the target area.
Six nights later Pilot Officer Saxelby and his second pilot, Pilot Officer Hewitt, were returning from a further raid on Mannheim when a sudden change of wind occurred and the Wellington was carried southwards over the very thick cloud.
Astro-fixes were obtained and, under difficult flying conditions, the aircraft brought directly and safely back to base.
The same night Pilot Officer Morton was unable to find Mannheim because of thick cloud, so he selected an aerodrome near Rheims as an alternative target.
The bombs started several fires among hangars and aircraft which could be seen in the light of the flames.
Searchlights attempted to pick up the Wellington but illuminated instead a Messerschmidt which was flying just below and slightly ahead.
Expecting an easy kill, Morton dived to attack but the front guns jammed; the German pilot then switched off his lights and attacked the Wellington from the rear.
Fortunately, his shooting was inaccurate, and return fire from the Wellington drove him off with an engine beginning to spurt flames.
From this raid, one of the eleven Wellingtons dispatched by No. 75 [NZ] Squadron failed to return.
A week later another Wellington was lost in the attack on the marshalling yards at Hamm.
There was a prolonged cold spell in the United Kingdom from January to April 1941, the snowfall being exceptionally heavy and the weather unusually stormy.
This considerably restricted bombing operations, particularly in January and February, when No. 75 [NZ] Squadron was only able to operate on seven nights in each month, releasing 48 tons and 49 tons of bombs respectively.
In March, however, it was possible to send out aircraft on eleven occasions and the bomb tonnage was raised to over 81 tons.
In these months the weather also seriously interfered with flying training, but every opportunity was taken to give new crews additional practice before they went on operations.
New pilots flew as second pilots with experienced crews; untried crews were usually sent to coastal targets in the enemy-occupied territory before they were allowed to tackle the longer and more dangerous flights into Germany.
The most prominent target in January was Wilhelmshaven, which was attacked on three nights by a total of 16 aircraft.
Other targets this month were Bremen, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Hanover in Germany, Turin in Italy, and the enemy-held ports of Brest and Flushing.
Cologne, Gelsen- Kirchen, Hanover and Wilhelmshaven were all subjected to single raids by squadron aircraft during February, along with dock areas in enemy-occupied territory, of which the most important were Boulogne and Brest, and oil storage tanks at Rotterdam.
For March the principal target was Cologne, which was visited on three nights by a total of 24 aircraft.
Berlin received two attacks and other objectives in Germany were Bremen, Hamburg and Kiel.
Places occupied by the enemy came in for rather more attention than in the previous two months, the oil storage tanks at Rotterdam being bombed on two nights, while Boulogne, Brest, Calais, Dunkirk, Lorient and Ostend were also attacked.
On operations during this period the most depressing factor crews had to face was the uncertainty about the conditions prevailing at the base.
The most difficult part of a flight frequently came at the end, when crews had been in the air for five or six hours and were tired and very cold.
Over the North Sea crews often experienced treacherous weather, and if an aircraft had been damaged it was here that difficulties were most likely to develop, leading to a forced landing in the sea.
When the aircraft reached England, too often it would be to find the countryside hidden under a blanket of fog.
The typical determination in adverse weather was displayed by the crew of one of the Wellingtons sent to attack Hanover on the night of 26 January.
When they took off visibility was down to 100 yards, cloud base was at 300 feet, and the aircraft had to climb through 6000 feet of an ice-laden cloud.
During the North Sea crossing the wireless set became useless but the captain, Flight Lieutenant MacFarlane, decided to continue with his mission.
The target was reached on astro-navigation and bombed successfully, although flak was so intense that the aircraft was thrown about in the air by the force of the bursts.
On the return journey, MacFarlane went down low so that his gunners could rake De Kooy airfield with machine-gun fire.
He then flew his Wellington back to base without wireless aid and, in poor visibility, with a cloud base of less than 500 feet, made a successful landing.
The night of 11 January saw the squadron's first attack against Italy when five Wellingtons, with crews specially selected for the task, set out to make the long and arduous flight to Turin.
Three of the bombers, two flown by New Zealanders, Morton and Saxelby, and the third by an English captain, reached their objective and reported successful attacks in spite of cloud which ‘twice obscured the target area just as the bombs were due for release’.
All three aircraft returned safely to base after a trip which had taken ten hours. On the same night, five other aircraft from the squadron flew to Wilhelmshaven, where the Tirpitz had been the target for six aircraft three nights earlier.
There was a thick cloud over the German port and strong opposition from flak, but all the bombers made attacks.
A menace against which the bomber crews had now to be constantly on their guard was the possibility of an attack by enemy ‘intruder’ aircraft over England.
Lurking in the vicinity of airfields or guide beacons, they waited to pounce upon the bombers as they returned from operations.
At the end of a long and tiring flight, with danger from enemy defences and the elements over, it was natural that the aircrews should be tired and at times tempted to relax their watch. It was then that the intruders were able to take their toll.
One night towards the end of February, a Wellington was circling the beacon at Marham on return from an attack against Cologne.
Fortunately, the crew were still alert, and Flying Officer Brown, the rear gunner, saw an aircraft approaching which he identified as hostile.
He quickly gave directions to the captain, who manoeuvred the Wellington so that fire from the enemy machine went beneath it.
Brown replied with a long burst and tracer was seen to enter the fuselage of the German aircraft, which was driven off.
Even at the beginning of a flight, crews had to be alert and keep a careful watch.
A favourite ruse of the enemy fighters was to patrol stretches of the English coast in the hope of intercepting bombers as they began their journey.
On the night of the squadron's fourth attack on Hamburg early in May, one Wellington was attacked just after crossing the coast.
The bomber was badly damaged and the rear gunner, Sergeant Gannaway, fatally wounded.
Between January and March enemy aircraft also made periodical attacks on the squadron's base at Feltwell.
However, the ‘nuisance’ raiders had little success, the damage was comparatively slight, there were few casualties, and the airfield was kept in operation.
The heaviest raid by Bomber Command at this time was against Hanover on the night of 10 February when eleven Wellingtons from No. 75 [NZ] Squadron formed part of the attacking force of 220 bombers.
On this occasion, crews were assisted by clear weather and moonlight, which enabled them to identify their target and deliver a heavy attack.
Enemy defences were active, there was much light and heavy flak, fighters were out in force and dummy fires were used in an attempt to confuse the bombers.
The Wellington captained by Flight Lieutenant Morton was attacked three times by night fighters during its return flight.
The crew escaped injury but their machine fared badly.
Cannon shells burst inside the bomb bay and punctured all the hydraulic pipelines with the result that the bomb doors fell open and the undercarriage hung down, reducing speed and causing the bomber to lose height whenever evasive action was taken.
Fortunately, the attacks were not pressed home, and Morton was able to reach a base in East Anglia and crash-land without injury to his crew.
On the night of 12 March 1941, three New Zealand Wellingtons flew in the force of 72 bombers which attacked Berlin.
A vivid impression of this early raid on the German capital has been left by Sergeant Reid, who flew as second pilot in the Wellington captained by Hewitt. Reid was to lose his life four months later in an attack on Essen.
In the crew room, men were dragging on fur-lined suits, sweaters, boots and parachute harnesses.
The same stale wisecracks were flying.
Three dull, foggy days of sitting about had dulled conversation.
No excitement in the lorry load of pilots, navigators, wireless ‘ops’ and gunners bound for the dispersal points and scarcely a glance for the signal light winking overhead from the first machine as it set course for Germany.
Our stumpy wireless-operator crawled underneath to write ‘Love from Sheffield’ on the biggest bomb.
Final engine tests were reassuring.
Torchlight showed the face of the ground crew corporal in the escape hatch to wish us luck.
Airfield control signalled permission to take off; we wheeled and then plunged off down the flare path, tail high to gain speed.
Bomb and petrol loads were heavy. We staggered off the ground, struggled slightly and then climbed ponderously in a slow circuit before turning on the route leading eastward to Berlin.
On the night of 18 March when No. 75 [NZ] Squadron attacked Kiel, the weather was very bad.
One Wellington from the squadron, in which Sergeant Mee was the second pilot, lost its way in thick cloud during the return journey, and finally, the petrol supply was exhausted.
The crew baled out, but the wireless operator was killed when his parachute failed to open.
Five days later, when the squadron bombed Berlin, the Wellington captained by Flight Lieutenant Gill was forced down low when over the city and held by a concentration of searchlights.
The bomber was continually hit by flak, and when Gill finally succeeded in getting clear it was to find that he was some considerable distance to the east of Berlin.
The navigator had lost his bearing, and it was only the pilot's fine airman-ship which brought the aircraft back to base and narrowly avoided disaster as, on landing, the petrol tanks were found to be almost empty.
March 1941, was an eventful month for Gill. On the night of the 12th, his aircraft was attacked by a Junkers 88 during the outward journey to Berlin.
His rear gunner opened fire at close range and the enemy fighter was seen to stall and dive towards the sea.
In the engagement the Wellington was extensively damaged, the port petrol tank being holed and the elevator so shot away that the aircraft became hard to control, but the crew flew on and completed their mission.
Before joining the New Zealand Bomber Squadron, Gill had flown Battle aircraft in France.
By the end of July 1941, he was a veteran with 47 sorties to his credit.
The improvement in the weather and the hard work of the ground crews in attaining a high standard of aircraft availability were reflected in the squadron's “per month’s” of 1941.
In April 1941, 95 sorties were dispatched and this figure was bettered by only three squadrons in No. 3 Group.
Berlin and Kiel were each attacked on two occasions, other German targets being Bremen and Mannheim.
Brest and oil storage tanks at Rotterdam were also raided on three and two nights respectively.
In May 1941, No. 75 [NZ] Squadron climbed to the top of the Group table with 114 sorties, 102 by night and twelve by day, 32 more than their nearest rivals.
The squadron took part in four raids on Hamburg, Cologne was visited on two occasions, and other objectives in Germany were Emden and Mannheim; targets in the enemy-occupied territory included Brest and Boulogne.
The daylight sorties were sent out in an attempt to locate the German cruiser Prinz Eugen in the Atlantic.
No. 75 [NZ] Squadron maintained its position at the head of the Group table in June, when the total sorties rose to 128, ten more than the second squadron.
Dusseldorf was the main target for this month, four attacks being made by a total of 28 squadron aircraft.
Cologne was again the objective on two nights, while single raids were made on Bremen, Hamm and Kiel.
19 sorties were also dispatched over enemy-occupied territory against Boulogne, Brest and Dunkirk.
Whenever Berlin was the target, crews could expect to encounter strong opposition.
Pilot Officer Matheson and his crew distinguished themselves on the night of 9 April 1941, when nine aircraft from the squadron attacked the German capital.
Matheson was instructed to bomb and to obtain photographs of Tempelhof aerodrome.
On the bombing run, just after the first photograph had been taken, the Wellington was caught by a concentration of searchlights and had to pass through a heavy barrage of anti-aircraft fire.
Matheson was forced to go down to 2000 feet over the centre of the city before he was able to escape from the blinding glare of the searchlights, by which time the aircraft had been extensively damaged in the wings and fuselage.
Before the bombs could be released he had to regain height and make another bombing run, but his determination was rewarded when the crew saw that their explosives had started large fires.
On the same night, Pilot Officer Simich was attacked by a fighter when over the Zuider Zee, and shortly afterwards had a short engagement with a Dornier near the Dutch coast.
Berlin was not a strange target for Simich.
Eight days later he was on his fourth trip to the city when, approaching the target area, he ran into a fierce barrage of light and heavy flak assisted by a group of searchlights on the outskirts.
Several attempts to run into the target were thwarted by the strength of the opposition and the aircraft was forced so low that Simich had to turn away.
Nevertheless, he tried again, identified the aiming point and completed a successful bombing run.
Another target well known to the crews of the squadron was Hamburg which, as an important port and industrial area, was well protected.
On the night of 6 May 1941, 13 crews from No. 75 [NZ] Squadron bombed the city as part of a force of 118 aircraft.
It was on this raid, after escaping from the Hamburg defences, that the Wellington flown by Sergeant Nola struck a balloon barrage cable at the mouth of the River Humber and crashed into the sea.
The same week 23 sorties were flown by the New Zealand Bomber Squadron in two further attacks on Hamburg.
All the Wellingtons returned without major damage, but on each occasion, crews reported having to make their way through heavy anti-aircraft fire and strong concentrations of searchlights.
Towards the middle of June 1941, a further change in bombing policy was introduced.
Targets, some already well known to crews of No. 75 [NZ] Squadron, were now selected principally for their close association with the German transportation system.
One of the first attacks was against Hamm, the most important and largest railway centre in Germany.
Its marshalling yards, which had been a frequent target in 1940, were attacked on 12 June by a force of 82 bombers, including eleven from the squadron.
One New Zealand Wellington, flown by an English captain, Pilot Officer Curry, was attacked by three fighters, one of which was claimed as destroyed.
The same night Pilot Officer Hobbs also reported an engagement in which the enemy aircraft was damaged.
During an attack on Dusseldorf on the night of 11 June 1941, Squadron Leader Lucas, one of the squadron's flight commanders, turned back over the target after bombing to take a photograph.
On this run, his Wellington received a direct hit.
One engine was damaged, the undercarriage hung down and the bomb doors refused to close, with the result that on the long return flight the bomber steadily lost height.
It crossed the English coast at 500 feet with petrol gauges showing almost empty and was diverted to land at another airfield, just as it rolled off the flare path, the engines cut out.
Pilot Officer Thomson and his crew had a harrowing experience in another attack on the same target a few nights later.
After the target had been bombed the Wellington was twice caught and held by a cone of searchlights.
Intense anti-aircraft fire was directed at the aircraft and one burst turned it over on its back and sent it hurtling down in a steep dive.
Thomson blacked out for a few moments but recovered in time to pull his machine out of the dive and climb again to a safe height.
Then, 25 miles north-east of Antwerp, the bomber was again picked up by searchlights and engaged by the ground defences.
Suddenly the anti-aircraft fire stopped to make way for a Junkers 88 which riddled the Wellington with machine-gun and cannon fire.
The rear gunner replied and the enemy machine turned sharply away and disappeared.
Meanwhile, a fire had broken out in the bomber, but it was soon extinguished by the crew.
On seeing the flames the second pilot, Sergeant Allen, went to assist:
‘Suddenly I found myself half out of the aircraft. I had slipped through the mid-under-hatch, for the cover had been blown out by the blast.
I hadn't got on my parachute, and for a few moments, which seemed like years, I clung on, half in and half out the aircraft, which was in a screaming dive to escape from the fighter.
Frankly, I don't remember how I got back. I just clawed at everything and finally got inside again.’
June the 24th 1941, was an eventful day in the squadron's history. His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent—he was killed 14 months later flying to Iceland—visited the station and during the evening met a number of New Zealand crews, afterwards watching them take off on the night's operations.
Thirty-two bombers from Feltwell were dispatched to attack Kiel and Dusseldorf.
The New Zealand Squadron sent 18 aircraft, ten of which were ordered to bomb Kiel and the other eight Dusseldorf.
This was a record number of sorties for No. 75 [NZ] Squadron at this time and all but two crews reported bombs dropped on their objectives.
On the last night in June, when the squadron sent eleven bombers to attack Cologne, Flying Officer Prichard and his crew had an eventful flight.
When 35 miles from the target and on the edge of a searchlight belt, their Wellington was attacked by a Junkers 88 at close range.
A cannon shell hit the starboard engine.
The bomb doors were blown open and both front and rear turrets damaged.
Although his machine was now defenceless and incapable of effective evasive action, Prichard carried on with his mission, penetrated the city's main defensive zone and dropped his bombs in the target area.
He then managed to keep the bomber airborne and got it back to base, where a crash-landing was made.
This was Prichard's fiftieth sortie. He had begun operations flying with Battles in France and had afterwards flown with Coastal Command before joining No. 75 [NZ] Squadron.
The squadron's achievements in June brought congratulations from Air Vice-Marshal Baldwin, Air Officer Commanding No. 3 Group:
‘Will you please congratulate the C.O. and maintenance personnel of No. 75 (N.Z.) Squadron on their exceptional record of serviceability and operational effort during this month.”
“The following days must be a record for the unit:—on 18th June, 16 aircraft out of a strength of 16; 21st June, 17 aircraft out of a strength of 17; 24th June, 18 aircraft out of a strength of 18”.
“As is only to be expected, I note No. 75 (N.Z.) Squadron tops the serviceability list of the squadrons in the Group”.
“ Such an exceptional standard can only be achieved by the competence and enthusiastic effort of the ground staff, ably backed by good engine manipulation by pilots and captains, and also in no small degree to the operational skill of the crews who have carried out their missions without sustaining any major damage to their aircraft”.
With the launching of the German attack on Russia, the newly begun offensive on transportation and morale assumed additional importance for it was considered that the concentration of air attack on communication centres would prove of direct assistance to the Russians.
From the beginning of July until the end of the year, No. 75 [NZ]Squadron was to take a full share in this important task and win further distinction, although, in contrast to the good fortune enjoyed in previous months, there were to be heavier losses.
Altogether 14 Wellingtons were lost during the period, including one which crashed into the sea off Corton Beach, another near Coltishall, a third which crash-landed in Brandon Woods, and two others whose crews were forced to bale out after arriving back over the United Kingdom.
Certainly, it was a period of intensive effort. In the three months from July to September 1941, 312 sorties were dispatched in attacks which included such distant targets as Berlin, Genoa, and Stettin.
The main transportation target during July was Munster, which Bomber Command attacked on four consecutive nights.
Thirteen aircraft were sent by the New Zealand Squadron on the night of the 5th, twelve on the 7th, and seven on the 8th. On these 32 sorties, all but two crews reported they had attacked.
On the first two occasions, crews found excellent visibility over the target, and photographs were obtained which showed hitherto unparalleled results.
It was while returning from the second raid on Munster that Sergeant Ward, by a particularly gallant action, gained the Victoria Cross [the first of three such awards won by New Zealanders for outstanding valour in air operations during the Second World War].
Ward was flying as the second pilot in the Wellington captained by Squadron Leader Widdowson of Winnipeg.
The other members of the crew were Sergeant Lawton, RNZAF, navigator; Sergeant Mason, RAF, wireless operator; Sergeant Evans, RAF, front gunner, and Sergeant Box, RNZAF, rear gunner.
The Wellington had bombed its target and was over the Zuider Zee on the return flight when it was attacked by a Messerschmitt 110 and the front gunner wounded.
Box, however, got in a burst from point-blank range and the fighter was last seen diving towards the sea with its engines on fire.
But during the attack, the bomber had been hit by cannon shells and incendiary bullets which set the wing on fire near the starboard engine, and the flames, fed by petrol escaping from a broken pipe, soon threatened to engulf the entire wing.
Using an axe, the crew broke a hole in the fuselage in order to bring their extinguishers into play, but the blaze was too far away for their efforts to make an impression.
They even tried pouring coffee from their vacuum flasks along the wing, but without effect.
Ward then proposed that he should get out on the wing and smother the fire with an engine cover which had been serving as a cushion.
He intended leaving his parachute behind but was persuaded to take it with him.
A rope from the aircraft dinghy was then tied to him and, with help from Lawton, he climbed through the narrow astro-hatch and put on his parachute.
Then he kicked holes down the side of the fuselage to gain a foothold and, after the wind had several times lifted him up and thrown him back, eventually managed to get down flat on the wing with his feet well dug in.
‘It was just a matter of getting something to hang on to,’ he said afterwards.’ It was like being in a terrific gale only worse than any gale I've ever known.’
For as he worked his way along the wing he came behind the propeller and was in the slipstream as well.
Taking the engine cover from beneath him, Ward now tried to push it down through the hole and onto the leaking pipe from which the fire was coming.
But the wind kept lifting him up and the cover nearly dragged him off.
However, he tried again and finally was able to stuff the cover down into the hole, only to see the wind blow it out and whisk it away before he could seize it.
After that, there was nothing to do but get back.
This was worse than going out as Ward was now almost exhausted.
The navigator kept a strain on the rope as he slowly pulled himself back along the wing and up the side of the fuselage to the astro-hatch, where Lawton finally dragged him in.
There was now little danger of the fire spreading further and it finally burnt itself out.
Just before the Wellington reached base, some petrol which had collected in the wing flared up but only for a few moments.
Widdowson, who had flown the aircraft with exceptional skill and made a safe landing, adds in this report,
‘Lawton also did a very fine job in navigating us back to base solely by astro-navigation as the radio was destroyed during the attack.
In fact, the aircraft was so badly damaged that it never flew again.’
Box, in addition to destroying the enemy aircraft, had remained at his post although, with the intercommunication system shot away, he was isolated from the rest of the crew.
Duisberg, situated inland on the Rhine with its three large marshalling yards at Hochfeld, Hochfeld-Sud and Ruhrort, was the largest rail-water transhipment port in Europe.
It was attacked on the night of 15 July 1941, when nine Wellingtons from No. 75 [NZ] Squadron were among a force of 38 aircraft dispatched.
Although it was cloudy over the target, searchlights, guns and night fighters were able to co-operate effectively and only 19 aircraft claimed attacks, of which eight were from the New Zealand Squadron.
The Wellington captained by Pilot Officer Rees, of Seaham, Durham, had bombed and was near Roermond when it was caught in a cone of searchlights and damaged by flak.
Then, almost immediately, a night fighter attacked.
Machine-gun bullets and cannon shells struck the aircraft, and one shell, bursting in the cockpit, blew open the mid-under turret hatch.
The second pilot, Sergeant Joyce, was killed instantly and the front gunner wounded so seriously that he subsequently died in hospital.
The rear gunner was temporarily blinded by a shell splinter and the navigator, hurrying to give him assistance, stepped through the open hatch.
By good fortune, he had donned his parachute and was taken prisoner.
Sergeant Lewis, the wireless operator, was shocked and deafened by the explosion of a shell close to his head, so that for a time Rees was virtually alone and had to fly the aircraft without help from his crew.
Eventually, Lewis recovered and was able to give first aid to the wounded.
Then, after repairing his wireless set, he collected the navigator's maps and instruments and assisted Rees to set course for base, which was reached safely.
On the same night, the Wellington captained by Sergeant Fotheringham landed in the North Sea about sixty miles from the English coast.
An SOS message was received before the aircraft went down and air rescue searches began immediately.
But although an empty dinghy was sighted, none of the crew was rescued.
These losses were countered by the destruction of a night fighter by a New Zealand gunner flying with No. 57 Squadron from Feltwell.
His Wellington was on its way back over Holland when a Messerschmitt suddenly came in from the rear and opened fire.
The gunner, Sergeant F. C. Sergent, held his fire until he could see the enemy clearly and then replied with a long burst.
It found its mark.
The Messerschmidt fell away and dived into the ground, where it exploded in a sheet of flame.
The victory was confirmed by the crew of another bomber flying in company.
Three other communication centres were attacked in July. They were Bremen, Cologne and Mannheim, of which the first and last were also Battle of the Atlantic targets.
The squadron's last operation of this month was also against a Battle of the Atlantic target, the Deutsche-Werke submarine and shipbuilding yards at Kiel, which were attacked on the night of the 24th.
Of the 13 raids in which the New Zealand Squadron took part during August, eight were directed against targets in Germany, with Hanover as the main objective.
In three visits to this city, 28 aircraft claimed successful sorties.
Mannheim was bombed early in the month and again towards the end, while other targets for the Wellingtons included Cologne, Duisburg and Hamburg, all of which were closely linked with the German transport system.
In the enemy-occupied territory, Boulogne, Calais, Dunkirk, Le Havre, and Ostend were also attacked.
There were a number of incidents during these raids. On the night of 3 August 1941, one of the Wellingtons bound for Hanover was intercepted by an enemy fighter about twenty miles west of Lingen in Holland.
The bomber was badly damaged but the pilot brought it back and made a safe landing at Newmarket.
Another Wellington was flying towards Hamburg on the night of 8 August when it was engaged by an unidentified fighter.
To make good his escape, the pilot jettisoned his bombs over the Westerhaven area.
A third crew, among those detailed to attack Mannheim on the 29th October, had an encounter with a Messerschmitt 110 which was claimed as destroyed.
Their Wellington, however, suffered considerable damage and, on landing back at base, it overshot the runway and crashed.
The crew escaped injury.
During this same raid, another crew flew a large part of the return journey with their port engine on fire.
On the night of the 6th November 1941, one Wellington was hit by flak over Mannheim.
During the homeward flight the oxygen supply was exhausted and for a time three members of the crew, including the navigator, were unconscious.
Despite these difficulties the captain, Sergeant Breckon flew his machine back to England and landed safely at Manston.
A few nights later the crew of the Wellington captained by Pilot Officer Roberts, of Brisbane, had a harrowing experience.
They had attacked Hanover and were over the Zuider Zee on the return flight when, as Roberts afterwards related:
“Without warning, I saw a stream of tracer going past the fuselage between the starboard motor and the cockpit”.
“The whole plane seemed to shudder under the impact of the striking bullets and cannon shells”.
“I Tried to turn sharply to port, but found that I could get no response from aileron control, so immediately dived”.
“However the gunner was able to get a good burst into our attacker, and as we dived, the Me. went overhead and was last seen diving steeply away to starboard”.
“I pulled out of the dive at about 10,000 feet, and with the strong odour of petrol in my nostrils, tried to collect my scattered wits”.
“The first thing I noticed was that the airspeed indicator was not registering, and the second pilot who was standing in the Astrodome, reported that petrol was leaking from one of the pipes inside the kite”.
“The wireless operator said that several bullets had entered his cabin, and made our wireless receiver unserviceable;
the rear gunner also reported petrol flying past his turret in the slipstream from the starboard motor”.
“Then looking out of the side windows I could see that the undercarriage was hanging down and the bomb doors were opened”.
“A bullet had pierced the main hydraulic pipe, and so I knew that if we did reach England we would have to crash-land without flaps”.
“Our dinghy had been released during the attack and was lying punctured on the starboard wing”.
“About fifteen minutes later, as we were crossing the Dutch coast, I again checked the petrol, and it seemed that we would have sufficient to take us across the North Sea, so I finally decided to carry on for home”.
“Luck was with us and we did get safely across the water. I tried to gain more height in case my petrol should suddenly run out”.
“It did, though the engines fired spasmodically for the next few seconds, and I immediately ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft.”
“Everything was strangely quiet after the boys had gone, and I muttered a quiet prayer for something soft to land the kite on”.
“All I could do at the moment was to keep the plane going down in something like a glide, but without an air-speed indicator I could not tell how sharply I was approaching the ground”.
“At 500 feet I switched on the landing light, and below me, I saw what I took to be a roadway, which seemed to me to be running more or less in the same direction as I was landing”.
“I kept along the track, and in less time than it takes to tell I felt the starboard wing brushing over the tops of the wood which flanked each side of the roadway”.
“In the next instant the plane swung sharply to the right and with a rather drawn-out crash, it came to a stop”.
September 1941, was to bring a change in command of the squadron when Wing Commander Sawrey-Cookson, an Englishman with a distinguished career in the RAF, relieved Wing Commander Kay at the beginning of the month.
Under its new leader, No. 75 [NZ]Squadron operated on twelve nights in September, the objectives being widely distributed, from Hamburg in the north to Stettin in the east and Genoa in Italy.
Three visits were made to Frankfurt, two to Hamburg, and single raids were flown against Berlin, Emden, Huls, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Kiel, Stettin, Boulogne, Brest, Ostend and Genoa.
One of the night bombing successes of the autumn of 1941 was the raid against Kassel on 8 September 1941, when the Henschel railway locomotive works and the Mittelfield rail junction were the main targets.
The attack was made in the moonlight and there was little cloud or haze.
Kassel was not heavily defended by flak and German night fighters had a profitless night, the bombers returning without loss.
Of the 95 bombers which took off from England, 74 claimed they had attacked.
The contribution of the New Zealand Squadron was ten aircraft, of which nine bombed Kassel and the other an alternative target.
When daylight photographs were obtained a few days later it was seen that the main railway station had been hit and other railway buildings damaged, with further destruction to the east of the station.
On the night of 15 September 1941 Hamburg was the destination for a force of 159 aircraft which included twelve Wellingtons from No. 75 Squadron.
It was an unhappy night, as Sergeant J. A. Ward, VC, was lost on this his second sortie as a bomber captain.
Over the target his Wellington was caught by searchlights and, despite strenuous attempts to escape, was held and hit by flak.
A fire broke out and spread rapidly.
Ward ordered the crew to bale out and was last seen still at the controls.
He went down with the aircraft to his death.
A second Wellington, captained by Sergeant Hawkins, was also lost on this raid.
The weather was so bad on the night of 21 September 1941, that a general recall signal was sent out, but this was not received by some crews and squadron aircraft bombed several targets, including their primary objectives in Berlin, Frankfurt and Ostend.
A few nights later, five aircraft from the New Zealand Squadron were among the 34 Wellingtons which set out for Genoa, but the bombers had again to be recalled owing to deterioration in the weather at their bases.
On the 28th, when six crews took part in another attempt to reach the same target, they encountered much cloud along their route and over the city.
Nevertheless, five attacks were reported after a flight of almost ten hours involving a double crossing of the Alps.
One captain afterwards reported:
“Going out it was moonlight and we saw the coast, but as we neared the Alps the clouds began to build up and we had to skirt a heavy electrical storm”.
“There were two layers of cloud over Genoa itself and we had great difficulty in finding the docks as there was also considerable ground haze”.
“We saw nothing of the Alps on the return journey”. “In fact, until we got back, we only had one brief glimpse of the ground”.
On the last night of the month, when six New Zealand Wellingtons were sent to Stettin as part of a force of 40 bombers, there was clear weather and a half moon.
The Wellingtons dropped their bombs and completed the long flight without incident.
During the last three months of 1941, the onset of the northern winter had a marked effect on the scale of the Royal Air Force bombing offensive.
In October operations were possible on only 17 nights, No. 75 [NZ] Squadron sending a total of 81 aircraft on ten of these occasions, when the emphasis was again on transportation targets at Cologne, Bremen, Nuremberg, Dusseldorf, Emden and Hamburg.
Indifferent weather in November reduced the number of nights on which operations were practicable, but the squadron provided a total of 88 sorties on nine nights.
Emden was attacked three times, Essen and Ostend twice, while single raids were mounted against Berlin, Hamburg, Kiel, Brest, Dunkirk and Le Havre.
On 21 nights during December operations were either not contemplated or had to be cancelled.
No. 75 [NZ] Squadron dispatched aircraft on six nights, when the enemy battleships at Brest were the principal objective, with a few sorties against Le Havre.
The only raid on a German target was against Dusseldorf.
The outstanding feature of these months was the heavier casualties which the squadron experienced.
During October six aircraft were lost over Germany and three others crash-landed on return.
Two more Wellingtons were lost in the raid on Berlin on 7 November 1941, and the following night three squadron aircraft were among those which failed to return from the attack on Essen.
A further loss was sustained on the last night of the month when one Wellington failed to return from the attack on Hamburg.
On the night of 22 October, crews flew through several violent electrical storms to deliver their attack on Mannheim.
Four nights later, when the squadron went to Emden, many bombers had difficulty regaining their bases, a sudden change in the wind blowing them off course.
On the ill-fated trip to Berlin on 7 November, the weather was very bad on both the outward and homeward flights.
The city was hidden below a layer of thick cloud and only a comparatively small proportion of the force succeeded in dropping their bombs.
But conditions were more favourable on the last night of November, when the squadron sent ten Wellingtons to Hamburg as part of a force of 181 bombers.
Clear skies and good visibility enabled crews to identify the railway yards which were the main target.
In addition to these raids on Germany and Italy, the squadron made a substantial contribution to the repeated attacks that were made at this time on French ports, in particular, those directed against Brest.
The German battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had reached this port in March 1941 and were joined by the Prinz Eugen at the beginning of June.
Against these vessels, Bomber Command had dispatched intermittent raids during the year, and aircraft from No. 75 [NZ] Squadron flew on one daylight and 13-night attacks.
The first attack in which the squadron was engaged after the arrival of the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau took place on the night of 3 April 1941, when eight out of the nine aircraft dispatched made attacks.
The Wellington captained by Flying Officer Prichard had bombed and was on the way back to base, when his rear gunner, Flying Officer W. D. Brown, saw that the bomber was being shadowed by a Messerschmitt 110.
When first sighted the enemy fighter was flying about 300 feet astern and below the Wellington, but it quickly climbed to attack.
Skilful manoeuvring by Prichard enabled Brown to fire three short bursts.
Tracer was seen entering the fuselage of the fighter and it went into a loop before going down to hit the sea in a dull red glow.
This success was confirmed by the crew of another bomber flying nearby.
Unfortunately, with the English coast only a short distance away, the Wellington collided with a Blenheim, which crashed and was totally destroyed.
The Wellington remained airborne but also fared badly.
‘The port wing was buckled and the leading edge smashed into a depth of about two feet.
Half the port elevator was ripped away, the remaining portion being torn out of its bearings but still attached to the control rod.
The underneath portion of the rear turret also suffered damage.’ Prichard nevertheless managed to retain control and make a safe landing.
On the night of 18 June 1941, when 14 crews from No. 75 [NZ] Squadron attacked the Scharnhorst, they were hampered by haze, patches of cloud, and by the smoke screen which was used by the enemy to cover the port.
Intent on pressing home his attack, Pilot Officer Ashworth showed great determination and resourcefulness in spending over an hour in the target area during which time he made eight surveying runs, some at a very low level.
Eventually, in the face of intense opposition from flak, Ashworth succeeded in
dropping flares immediately North and South of the target, which enabled him to make a final run exactly over the warship.
For Bomber Command's heavy daylight raid against Brest on 24 July 1941, the contingent from Feltwell consisted of twelve aircraft, Nos. 57 and 75 [NZ] Squadrons each sending six Wellingtons.
New Zealand captains were Squadron Leaders Freeman and Lucas, Pilot Officer Ashworth, and Sergeants Breckon, Stanford and Streeter.
Their target was the Gneisenau and the crews were briefed by Freeman, who led the formation.
The bombers took off shortly before midday and flew westwards over Devon and Cornwall until just beyond the Scilly Isles, where they turned south towards Brest.
‘At first, all went smoothly and we approached the French coast in a clear sky,’ writes one of the senior captains from the New Zealand Squadron.
‘On we went in a very tight formation, now in vics of three in line astern.
Ahead of us, we could see small groups of bombers beginning their runs over the target.
Then suddenly it seemed as if all hell was let loose, with the crack of exploding shells and the sky filled with ominous black puffs.
We aimed our bombs together with the rest of the Wellingtons before turning away still in formation.’
But unfortunately, at this stage, the bomber captained by Sergeant Streeter began to lag behind.
It had been hit by flak and, with the undercarriage down and the bomb doors open, it lost speed.
As the Wellington fell out of formation, it gave the waiting fighters an opportunity to close in.
Other squadron aircraft had seen its plight and had slowed down in the hope that it would regain formation, then as it was engaged they gave covering fire. Streeter's gunners destroyed the first enemy machine, a Messerschmitt 110, but the second, a Messerschmitt 109, sent the bomber spinning down.
This loss to the squadron was not to go un-avenged.
As the fighter came out of the attack, it came under fire from Lucas's Wellington and was itself destroyed.
Meanwhile, the bomber captained by Breckon had been attacked by a fighter.
One burst tore a large hole in the fuselage but the rear gunner, Sergeant Corrin, got in an effective reply which sent the enemy machine down towards the sea with smoke pouring from it.
At night the warships at Brest were a difficult target, and although the bomber crews did their best, circumstances combined to prevent them from inflicting decisive damage.
On most nights it was necessary to use reconnaissance flares which were not altogether satisfactory.
The bomber had first to fly across the port and drop a flare to illuminate the dock area for identification and bomb aiming.
Then, when the pilot succeeded in locating his target, he had to get his machine round again for a bombing run while the flare was still alight.
Balloons, searchlights, smoke and anti-aircraft fire did not make this any easier.
Another adverse factor was that the 500-pound bombs usually employed in these attacks had to be dropped from a height of about 8000 feet to attain sufficient velocity to pierce the thick deck armour of the German ships.
This meant that, having been fortunate enough to locate his target at a lower altitude, the pilot then had to climb his machine to that height before bombing.
No. 75 [NZ] Squadron's main night effort was made towards the close of the year when there were signs that the ships were preparing to break out of port.
Thirty-three sorties were detailed to attack during December and 4000-pound bombs were dropped on four of the five raids.
When returning on the night of 23 December, one aircraft crashed near Berners Heath and the captain, Flight Sergeant Bentley, was killed.
Four nights later the members of a crew which baled out near Buckfastleigh were fortunate to escape without injury.
Although the raids in which the New Zealand Squadron operated did not inflict decisive damage on the enemy ships, their confinement to port during the year was a major contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic.
The close of the year saw the squadron partially withdrawn from operations to re-equip with a new type of Wellington which was faster and of longer range.
However, the conversion period was not one of inactivity.
Delivery was taken of the new machines while the old, which had served the squadron so well, were dispatched to various destinations.
Training with the new aircraft for both air and ground crews proceeded as quickly as the delivery rate and winter weather allowed.
By the beginning of March 1942, when the bombing offensive against Germany was renewed on a heavier scale, No. 75 [NZ]Squadron was ready to take its place among the leading squadrons of No 3 Group and win further distinction for its operational efficiency.
[this info was copied from a book in the Ohakea museum, its name I didn’t record]
with thanks to son-of-satire for the banner
