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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 24, 2011 0:42:04 GMT 12
Recently I mentioned on the forum that my friend Ron Noice revealed to me that he was the Navigator-Bomb Aimer who marked the target for the infamous Dresden Raid. I thought it amazing to know a person who was a key man involved in a real turning point in history.
Last week I visited Bill bridget who I had previously interviewed in the past for my book project. It turns out he has an equally amazing claim to fame. Before becomng a pilot and flying Venturas in the Pacific, Bill was an Observer and flew in Blenheims and Wellingtons in Europe.
Bill was Observer aboard No. 75 (NZ) Squadron Wellington Z1570 flown by Flight Lieuteant Ball on the night of the 30th of May 1942. They were the lead aircraft in the lead squadron, No. 75 (NZ) Squadron, on the first ever 1000 Bomber Raid, attacking Cologne. Or as his logbook records it, Koln. His log records the words, "Operations Koln. Big Raid (1000). Target Identified, Bombed 12,000ft."
A real turning point in the bombing campaign and it was Bill who dropped the first bombs in the raid. It's amazing the people you meet. I never even realised that our kiwi squadron had lead the raid till he mentioned it.
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Post by errolmartyn on Jun 24, 2011 12:36:44 GMT 12
Last week I visited Bill bridget who I had previously interviewed in the past for my book project. It turns out he has an equally amazing claim to fame. Before becomng a pilot and flying Venturas in the Pacific, Bill was an Observer and flew in Blenheims and Wellingtons in Europe. Bill was Observer aboard No. 75 (NZ) Squadron Wellington Z1570 flown by Flight Lieuteant Ball on the night of the 30th of May 1942. They were the lead aircraft in the lead squadron, No. 75 (NZ) Squadron, on the first ever 1000 Bomber Raid, attacking Cologne. Or as his logbook records it, Koln. His log records the words, "Operations Koln. Big Raid (1000). Target Identified, Bombed 12,000ft." A real turning point in the bombing campaign and it was Bill who dropped the first bombs in the raid. It's amazing the people you meet. I never even realised that our kiwi squadron had lead the raid till he mentioned it. No.75 was one of the lead squadrons but not the lead squadron on the raid, according to Ralph Barker's account of the raid - 'The Thousand Plan'. First over the target were the Stirlings of No.15 Squadron. Errol |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 24, 2011 12:49:03 GMT 12
I'm just going by what Bill told me and he was there.
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Post by errolmartyn on Jun 24, 2011 12:50:34 GMT 12
Recently I mentioned on the forum that my friend Ron Noice revealed to me that he was the Navigator-Bomb Aimer who marked the target for the infamous Dresden Raid. I thought it amazing to know a person who was a key man involved in a real turning point in history. Although the Anglo-American Dresden raid later attracted a certain degree of notoriety, it could not in any way be described as 'a real turning point' - its effect on the direction of the war at this late stage was minimal, despite the large-scale devastation and approximate 25,000 casualties on the ground that resulted from it. Errol |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 24, 2011 12:55:01 GMT 12
Fair enough, perhaps I should have phrased it as "an important point in history". However the Dresden Raid does seem to be a point where certain elements turned against Bomber Command, and the one-eyed view that it created continues to this day thanks to the media.
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Post by errolmartyn on Jun 24, 2011 16:16:18 GMT 12
I'm just going by what Bill told me and he was there. Dave, And probably in good faith, too, but latter day memories of ancient events are, in my experience, more often astray than on track (as anyone who has followed the Richard Pearse story can surely attest!). Unless there is documentary evidence to back up such remembered accounts then it's better they are left unsaid. Errol |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 24, 2011 17:18:10 GMT 12
Yes I see what you are saying Errol and do agree that care must be taken. Evidence from his logbook states he was clearly on that raid. He was also in the crew of the No. 75 (NZ) Squadron commanding officer at this time, although he said the CO seldom actually flew ops with the squadron and they often had another pilot flying with them as bombing leader, which I assume was Ball as he features a fair bit as the pilot of Bill's crew. Was Ball a Flight Commander?
As the lead crew of No. 75 (NZ) Squadron it seemed plausible enough to me that they would lead the squadron in on a raid, so with both his memory and the logbook evidence it seemed likely that there was to be truth to it.
I can say that at least I have met someone who was in very early and perhaps at the beginning of the first Thousand Bomber Raid, even if he did not drop the first bombs as he states - though I'm yet to see evidence against his word.
Dropping from 12,000ft at night is not that high and I'm sure that if previous squadrons had been through he'd have known that, as the place would be ablaze, unless they dropped their bombs in the wrong place?
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Post by errolmartyn on Jun 24, 2011 23:19:08 GMT 12
As the lead crew of No. 75 (NZ) Squadron it seemed plausible enough to me that they would lead the squadron in on a raid, so with both his memory and the logbook evidence it seemed likely that there was to be truth to it. Yes, but not the raid itself. Note that the lead aircraft for the raid were Stirlings - as one would expect rather than the inferior Wellingtons. . . . even if he did not drop the first bombs as he states - though I'm yet to see evidence against his word. No. 15 Sqn's Wg Cdr J C Macdonald dropped his bombs at 0047 (they were actually eight mins early over target but went ahead and dropped immediately anyway). What time did Bridget drop his bombs? Dropping from 12,000ft at night is not that high and I'm sure that if previous squadrons had been through he'd have known that, as the place would be ablaze, unless they dropped their bombs in the wrong place? Cologne had already experienced over 100 raids and its emergency services were well organised (though overwhelmed in the end due to the unprecedented scale of the attack). It does not appear that the city was immediately 'ablaze' and that this took time to develop as the bombs continued to rain down over the nextg 90 mins. Errol |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 25, 2011 12:58:30 GMT 12
Thanks for the details Errol, much appreciated.
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Post by corsair67 on Jun 25, 2011 13:10:55 GMT 12
In those early 1000 bomber raids, were incendiary clusters used in the numbers that were employed in the later massed raids on German cities to create the intense fires to overwhelm the city's defences?
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Post by errolmartyn on Jun 25, 2011 19:32:24 GMT 12
In those early 1000 bomber raids, were incendiary clusters used in the numbers that were employed in the later massed raids on German cities to create the intense fires to overwhelm the city's defences? About 450,00 x 4 lb incediaries were dropped on the Cologne '1000' raid (also 86 x 4000 lb 'cookies'). Only about a quarter of the aircraft were 'heavies'. As time went on and the numbers of heavies increased naturally so did the bomb loads, which also grew to include 8000 and 12000 'block busters' (that broke open buildings and allowed the incendiaries to more easily create fires on a large scale). Another aspect to keep in mind, however, is the construction of the target cities - Hamburg and Dresden were tinder boxes of old, closely packed buildings, while Berlin, on the other hand was made up of more widely-spaced modern structures. During the RAF's 19 or so raids during the 'Battle of Berlin' over the winter of 1943-1944 'The Big City' never experienced a large-scale firestorm. Errol |
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waynem
Pilot Officer
Posts: 46
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Post by waynem on Jun 26, 2011 1:12:12 GMT 12
I have a little info on the Cologne raid and 75 squadron's part in it, from the Operational Record Book.
30 May 42. Operations. Bombing Attacks Against Cologne.
Twenty three Wellington aircraft, including IA, IC, and III, were detailed from this unit to carry out the above attacks. One of these aircraft, Wellington IA T2894 captained by P/O Johnson, failed to return to base. The bomb load carried consisted of 4,000 lbs, 1,000 lbs, 500 lbs, 30 lbs, and 4 lbs incendiaries. Another aircraft, X3751 captained by P/O Jarman, was badly damaged by flak, both fuel tanks being holed and both port and starboard airspeed indicators rendered unserviceable. The operation was a complete success, bombs being dropped and many fires started in all parts of the town. A.A. fire was very erratic and searchlights were working in cones. A large number of enemy aircraft were seen but no attacks resulted. The weather was excellent, there being no cloud, and good visibility. Navigation was by D/R, TR, Q.D.M., and Loop.
F/L Ball flew Wellington III Z1570.
Time up 23:10. Time down 02:45.
Crew.
F/L Ball. Captain.
Sgt Johns. 2nd Pilot.
P/O Bridget. Navigator.
F/S Semmence. W/Operator.
P/O Ingleby. Front Gunner.
P/O Clarke. Rear Gunner.
I hope this is of some help.
Regards,
Wayne.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 26, 2011 1:40:40 GMT 12
Thanks for those details Wayne.
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