R.A.F. (Volunteer Reserve) – Service Number 655655
Based on research so far this is what I think happened to Uncle Willie, but as I explain, not all the information matches the sources.
He was lost on 16/17th August 1942 during a minelaying (codenamed – Gardening10) operation in an area of operations codenamed “Willows”9 which is between Cape Anconaia and the River Dievenowia. All the crew assumed dead when their Lancaster – Serial Number R5509 – 207 Squadron designation EM-G – was shot down by Major Gunther Radusch6 the Commander of Night Fighter Group II./NJG 3 at 02:42 in the morning of 17th August over Sonderborg, Denmark.
The other Lancaster from 207 Squadron lost that night was also shot down by Major Radusch at 02:56 which is confirmed by the lone survivor who bailed out and was taken ashore at Esbjerg on the west coast of Denmark. This corroborates the claim by Major Radusch that he shot down two bombers that night. As they were within 14 minutes of each other we can assume that they were roughly in the same area – that is over or near Denmark.
Based on timings we can conclude that both bombers had completed their missions and were intercepted on their return flights. The Lancasters took off at about 21:00 hours (9 p.m.) from Bottesford (near Grantham). The distance to “Willows” (one of the furthest targets in N.W. Poland) was about 600 miles. The Lancaster’s cruising speed with a bomb load was approximately 180 m.p.h..They would have arrived at the target area at about 1 a.m. on the 17th August. Once they had confirmed their position they then would have to descend to 200 feet12 to drop their mines and then climb back to altitude maybe taking 30 minutes. After this they would head back home. It is about 150 miles to Denmark so they would arrive somewhere between 2 and 3 a.m..
I assume that the German radar would have picked them up and the ground stations would vector the night fighter on to the bombers. The night fighter would then visually acquire the targets and shoot them down.
As described in “The Avro Lancaster” Pg 51 “. . a minelaying operation – often it must be said, a long flight to the Baltic – would be allocated to a freshman crew. Many a crew would testify that these “Gardening” flights were as difficult as many a subsequent bombing operation, for the minelayers flew out individually to their dropping point, which was not in any way marked, and the sorties, performed singly, were particularly vulnerable to the attention of prowling night fighters. The skill of every crew member in conditions of prolonged isolation, discomfort and danger were thus tested to the full.
Lancaster EM-G -R5509 was involved in the following raids and I am assuming was crewed by Uncle Willie. (from The Avro Lancaster pg. 333 and 77). We will need his Service Record to find if he was involved in any other missions before these.
1. 25/26th June 1942 – Bremen – northern port of Germany targeting Focke-Wulf factories
2. 27/28th June 1942 – Bremen
3. 29/30th June 1942 – Bremen
4. 12/13th August 1942 – Mainz
Research issues.
Areas of Operations.
The very first research based on the Bomber Command Diaries (by Martin Middlebrook) states that on the:
“16/17 August 1942 Minelaying: 56 aircraft to the Frisian Islands. 2 Lancasters lost.”
However, the 207 Squadron rafinfo Website8 says:
“Then came what turned out to be 207 Squadron’s final, and sad, mission from Bottesford, when six Lancasters took off on 16 August to drop mines in areas Willow and Geranium.”
The “Willows” and “Geranium” areas are not the Frisian Islands. Maybe the other aircraft on the operation went to the Frisian Islands or other areas.
There is also a conflict with these operational areas where the Bottesford History3 gives the following; Willows – Kiel Bay and Geraniums – Kattegat, whereas the Bomber Command Minelaying Area Codes gives Willows as Arcona to River Dievenow and Geraniums as Swinemunde (now called ?winouj?cie which is between Arcona and Dievenow).
From the 3. http://www.bottesfordhistory.org.uk/documents/App_2.pdf
ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND, 1942-1945.4
part of “CARR F (SQUADRON LEADER)” (photographs) Made by: No. 207 Squadron RAF 1942-06
Two Avro Lancaster B Mk Is, R5509 ‘EM-G’ and R5570 ‘EM-F’, of No. 207 Squadron RAF based at Bottesford, Linclonshire, in flight. Both aircraft were eventually lost on operations, R5509 while minelaying in the Baltic on 17 August 1942, and R5570 which…
1. http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/aug42.html – also Bomber Command Diaries.
16/17 August 1942
Minelaying: 56 aircraft to the Frisian Islands. 2 Lancasters lost.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Bottesford
RAF Station Bottesford is a former World War II airfield on the Leicestershire–Lincolnshire county border in England. The airfield is located approximately 11 miles (18 km) east-northeast of Radcliffe on Trent; about 107 miles (172 km) north-northwest of London.
The airfield was opened as a Bomber Command station in No. 5 Group area during the autumn of 1941, with No. 207 Squadron moving in with its troublesome Avro Manchesters during November. However because of continual difficulties experienced with their Vulture engines. operations were frequently curtailed, but in March 1942 the squadron was able to step up its bombing raids onGermany when it became one of the first to receive the new Avro Lancaster in March 1942.
No. 207 left in September 1942 for RAF Langar and in November a new Australian manned squadron, No. 467, arrived in November 1942 commencing operations on the night of 2/3 January 1943.
3. http://www.bottesfordhistory.org.uk/documents/App_2.pdf
This is a pdf file of 207 Squadron operations from 23rd November 1941 through to 10th March 1945.
4. http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections
This is the link for the pictures of Lancaster EM-G.
5. http://www.hellzapoppin.demon.co.uk/mines.htm
List of Bomber Command Minelaying Area Codes 1940 – 1945.
6. http://www.luftwaffe.cz/radusch.html
Claim by Major Gunther Radusch of 2 RAF Halifax Bombers shot down on night of 16/17 August 1942.
| No | Date | Time | A/c Type | Unit | Location / Comments |
| 1 | 22.4.1937 | – | I-15 | 2./J 88 | Spain |
| 2 | 10.4.1941 | 3:00 | Wellington | I./NJG 3 | 2km SW Papenburg |
| 3 | 27.2.1942 | 0:55 | Wellington | II./NJG 3 | W Westerland |
| 4 | 26.4.1942 | 2:08 | Stirling | II./NJG 3 | S Schelde Estuary |
| 5 | 28.4.1942 | 1:05 | Stirling | II./NJG 3 | Romo |
| 6 | 29.4.1942 | 2:18 | Wellington | II./NJG 3 | – |
| 7 | 17.8.1942 | 2:42 | Halifax | II./NJG 3 | Sonderborg |
| 8 | 17.8.1942 | 2:56 | Halifax | II./NJG 3 | 866 7O1 |
| 9 | 22.9.1942 | 1:01 | Wellington | II./NJG 3 | 18km W Blidsel |
I am assuming he misidentified the aircraft. The Halifax and the Lancaster were very similar and at night it would be easy to make a mistake.
Major Radusch was the Commander of II Group of Nightfighter Wing NJG 3.
Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 – II. Gruppe: Gruppenkommandeure:
Hptm Günther Radusch, 3.10.41 – 1.8.43
http://www.ww2.dk/air/njagd/njg3.htm also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachtjagdgeschwader_3
Night fighter group Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 was stationed at Wittmundhafen 3.42 to 4.44 which happens to be in Northern Germany near the Frisian Islands and, I assume, must have covered Denmark as an operational area.
They operated the twin engine Messerschmitt Bf 110 night fighter at this time.
7. http://www.flensted.eu.com/194246.shtml
Lancaster I R5616 crashed in the tidal area south of the island of Mandø 17/8-1942.
The aircraft belonged to RAF 207 Sqn. and was coded EM-J.
T/O 21:00 Bottesford. OP: Gardening Geranium.
At 02:58 Lancaster R5616 was attacked by a German night fighter piloted by Major Günther Radusch of Stab II./ NJG 3 and crashed burning in the tidal area 200 metres south of the Island of Mandø.
8. http://www.207squadron.rafinfo.org.uk/r5616.htm
207 Squadron Royal Air Force Association – Lancaster R5616 EM-J
This aircraft took off from RAF Bottesford at 2100 on 16th August 1942 for mine laying duties in the Kattegat coastal area of Denmark code named Geraniums. It crashed in the sea SSW of Mano (Fano) Island.
| Pilot | P/O Anthony Jeaffreson SOUTHWELL RAF(VR) |
| Flight Engineer | Sgt Jack READ RAF(VR) |
| Observer | F/O Dennis John QUINLAN RCAF |
| Wireless Operator/Air Gunner | F/O Wilfrid Milton EDMONDS RAAF |
| Wireless Operator/Air Gunner | Sgt Robert ROBSON RAF(VR) |
| Air Gunner (Mid Upper Turret) | Sgt Thomas DOUGLAS RAF |
| Air Gunner (Rear Turret) | F/Sgt John Andrew McLEAN RCAF |
All except Jack Read were killed. They were buried on 22 August in Fourfelt Cemetery, Esbjerg, Denmark. Sgt Jack Read was made POW and was in Stalag Luft III, prisoner no.42821.
The Squadron History ALWAYS PREPARED says: “Then came what turned out to be 207 Squadron’s final, and sad, mission from Bottesford, when six Lancasters took off on 16 August to drop mines in areas Willow and Geranium. Two failed to return: R5616 EM:J piloted by P/O AJ Southwell which crashed into the sea off Fano Island, Denmark, and R5509 EM:G with F/Sgt NJ Sutherland and crew, which was also thought to have come down in the sea. A Danish newspaper Nationaltidende report next day stated that a British aircraft had been shot down by a fighter and had crashed to the South of Fano, four of the crew being dead and the fifth brought ashore injured. This was Sgt J Read, flight engineer of R5616, who survived to be captured.”
JACK READ’S POW LOG (from the RAF ExPOW website)
QUINLAN CORRESPONDENCE & PHOTOS WEB PAGES (from the Canadian Letters & Images Project website)
9. Bomber Command Minelaying Area Codes 1940 – 19455
Below is a table with a list of the codes given to sea lanes and areas that Bomber Command dropped mines in. The codeword for a mining operation was “Gardening”, and the area codes used generally followed a horticultural theme, although there were a few exceptions, as can be seem from the list below. We are sure that this list is probably by no means exhaustive, and if anyone can add anything to it, please email us (please replace the “AT” with an “@” before sending your email) with details. The codes are listed alphabetically below, working down the left hand column first, and then down the right hand column. The codeword used is shown first, with the area or lane name following.
| Anemones – Le Havre | Melon – Kiel Canal |
| Artichokes – Lorient | Mullet – Spezia |
| Asparagus – Green Belt | Mussels – Terschilling Gat |
| Barnacle – Zeebrugge | Nasturtiums – The Sound |
| Beech – St Nazaire | Nectarines – Friesan Islands |
| Bottle – Haugesund | Newt – Maas and Scheldt |
| Broccoli – Great Belt | Onions – Oslo |
| Carrots – Little Belt | Oysters – Rotterdam |
| Cinnamon – La Rochelle | Prawns – Calais |
| Cypress – Dunkirk | Privet – Danzig |
| Daffodil – The Sound | Pumpkins – Great Belt |
| Deodar – Bordeaux | Quinces – Great Belt / Kiel Bay |
| Dewberry – Bologne | Radishes – Kiel Bay |
| Eglantine – Heligoland Approaches | Rosemary – Heligoland |
| Elderberry – Bayonne | Scallops – Rouen |
| Endives – Little Belt | Silverthorn – Kattegat Areas |
| Flounder – Maas and Scheldt | Sweet Peas – Rostock and Arcone Light |
| Forget-me-Nots – Kiel Canal | Tangerine – Pillau |
| Furze – St. Jean du Luz | Tomato – Oslo Fjord Approaches |
| Hawthorn – Esbjerg Approaches | Trefoils – Texal (South) |
| Hollyhock – Travemunde | Turbot – Ostende |
| Hyacinth – St. Malo | Undergrowth – Kattegat |
| Geranium – Swinemunde | Verbena – Copenhagen Approaches |
| Gorse – Quiberon | Vine Leaves – Dieppe |
| Greengage – Cherbourg | Wallflowers – Kiel Bay |
| Jasmine – Travemunde | Welks – Zuider Zee |
| Jellyfish – Brest | Willows – Arcona to River Dievenow |
| Juniper – Antwerp | Xeranthemums – River Jade |
| Krauts – Lim Fjord | Yams – Heligoland Approaches |
| Lettuces – Kiel Canal | Yewtree – Kattegat |
| Limpets – Den Helder | Zinneas – River Jade |
Operational Areas. The map below shows the general area of Kiel with the “Willows” operational area to the eastern side starting near Sassintz and stretching down to east of Swinoujscie (Swinemunde) at the mouth of the Oder River system. The Frisian Islands are to the west stretching along the Dutch, German and Danish coasts. The Kattegat is the straight between Denmark and Sweden at the centre top of the map. On the west coast of Denmark half way down is Esbjerg where the other Lancaster was lost and one of the crew rescued.
Willows – Arcona to River Dievenow.
Arcona – Cape Arkona (German: Kap Arkona) is a 45-metre-high cape on the island of Rügen inMecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It forms the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park. The protected landscape of Cape Arkona, together with the fishing village of Vitt, belongs to the municipality of Putgarten.
River Dievenow
Dievenow, the German and pre-1945 name of the Dziwna strait
Dievenow or Berg-Dievenow, the German and pre-1945 names of Dziwnów
Wald-Dievenow or Klein Dievenow, the German and pre-1945 names of Dziwnówek
Ref Wiki.
10. Gardening was the mining of ports, canals, rivers and seaways with a payload of 6 x 1,850 lb parachute mines. The mines were codenamed “VEGETABLES”.
11. Lancaster Crew.
The Lancaster had a crew of seven.
1. Pilot
Seated on the left hand side of the cockpit. There was no Co-Pilot.
2. Flight Engineer
Seated next to the pilot on a folding seat called a dicky seat.
3. Navigator
Seated at a table facing to the port (left) of the aircraft and directly behind the pilot and flight engineer.
(See below for a picture of this position).
4. Bomb Aimer
Seated when operating the front gun turret, but positioned in a laying position when directing the pilot on to the aiming point prior to releasing the bomb load.
5. Wireless Operator
Seated facing forward and directly beside the navigator.
6. Mid-Upper Gunner
Seated in the mid upper turret, which was also in the unheated section of the fuselage.
7. Rear Gunner
“Tail End Charlie” seated in the rear turret in an unheated and isolated position. Most rear gunners, once in their turrets, did not see another member of the crew until the aircraft returned to base, sometimes 10 hours after departing.
In 1942 the Navigator relied on dead-reckoning and visual aids. There were no electronics available to help. He would sit behind a curtain fitted to allow him to use light to work. This would be so that on a night flight the light would not show and give away the aircraft position. His position faced to port with a chart table in front of him. An instrument panel showing the airspeed, altitude, and other information required for navigation was mounted on the side of the fuselage above the chart table.
Above the wireless operator was an astrodome, a clear plastic bubble, which the navigator could use for celestial navigation.
Compared with other contemporary aircraft, the Lancaster was not an easy aircraft to escape from; in a Halifax, 25% of downed aircrew bailed out successfully, and in American bombers (albeit in daylight raids) it was as high as a 50% success rate while only 15% of the Lancaster crew were able to bail out.[
12. The Avro Lancaster – Francis K. Mason – pg. 73.
13. Ages of the aircrew.
Interestingly the crew seemed relatively old. Average age in Bomber Command was 22.
- F/Sgt N J Sutherland – 30
- Sgt A M Craig – 22
- Sgt W B McVicar – 27
- Sgt A H McKenzie – 31
- Sgt S Spencer – 28
- Sgt J McArthur – 28
- Sgt A Roddam – 29
Uncle Willie is commemorated at the Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede – Panel 89.
