Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Hi All,

I'm hoping someone may be able to help me. I have just downloaded a combat report from the National Archives (ref: AIR 50/233/96) and I can see a relative is named on it however the type has bled on it to the point where it is virtually unreadable.

I'm wondering if anyone knows another way of finding out about the action?

I know from the title he was in 214 Squadron RAF and I can read the start of the report that says "on the night 14 / 15th February 1943 Stirling Mk 1".

The serial number of the aircraft is there but is unreadable along with the location. From what I can see my relative was in an astro???? and spotted a white light some distance away to the starboard.

The top of the page has a note saying ME 110 and from the bits I can read they obviously got into a fight with it as I can see bits saying X number of rounds were fired.

It seems to be quite a detailed report but I just can't read it.

I'd love to know what happened, can anyone help?

Thanks a lot,

Michael

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Was your relative a navigator? The Short Sterling had an astrodome on the top of the plane behind the cockpit. It would have been used by the navigator to take star sights.

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Hi, no it says he was an engineer.

Michael

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

The engineer's panel was just forward the astrodome. There are some cut-away diagrams you can download here: https://vistapointe.net/short-stirling.html

I think the interior crew positions changed somewhat based on the Sterling model, but you can get concept of the layout. I think the mission that night was to Cologne, do you know if that is correct?

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Quoting the Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1943 part one:


II./NJG 1 flew eight Bf 110 sorties, which led to two confirmed kills and five undecided 'Feindberührungen' (enemy contacts).

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Thanks very much for posting the link, the images are great. I don't know much about the RAF or aircraft so they really help me.

I have now managed to clean up the report a little in photoshop and decypher some of the text but it is full of abbreviations I don't understand.

It says:

On the night 14 / 15th February 1943 Stirling Mk 1 No ???? 214 squadron ????? 15 miles West of ??? feet heading ????.

There are some notes about visibility and so on then it says:

The engineer, Sgt Woodger, who was in the astrodome, reported a white light some distance away to starboard quarter which went out and then disappeared. After watching this light for several minutes, the engineer reported it was ????? M.U.G. Sgt Shipley then identified the A/C to be a T/E M/A, possibly ME 110 ???? a white light, probably on port side of ???. The presence of the white light made positive identification difficult. The H/A was at least 300 yards distant ???? on port quarter approximately ???? A/C’s height.

It ends by describing how many rounds were fired and says they weren't fired on or claiming it (I presume that would be a claim that they had shot it down?).

The question marks are bits I just can't read.

I'm guessing A/C is aircraft and H/A is hostile aircraft but what is M.U.G. and what could T/E M/A be (assuming I have read it correctly).

RSwank as you can see I just can't make out a location or where they were going if it is in there. I did find out via google that in early 1943 the squadron was based at RAF Stradishall near Haverhill in Suffolk but I don't know how close they were to that when this happened or if they were over enemy territory by then.

Michael

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Thanks TigerTimon,

I presume that is the German squadron they were likely to be up against?

Michael

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Yes, that's a possibility, although it should be noted that NJG 1 & 2 both flew an estimated 37 sorties. So it could have been any fighter. The above is just a 'highlight'.

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Ok great, thanks.

Michael

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

M.U.G. is mid upper gunner (he was in the top turret part way back along the fuselage.) (R.G. would be rear gunner).

T.E. is probably Twin Engine.

M/A and H/A maybe a misread of E/A (Enemy Aircraft)? They were likely seeing a twin engine Messerschmitt Bf-110 night fighter.

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

TE is always "twin-engined" in the RAF papers I have seen (and SE is single-engined). "MA" I'd guess should be EA, standard abbreviation for "enemy aircraft".

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Michael,
You might also locate the 214 Sqn ORB for Feb in AIR 27, and download the two parts, Form 540 and Form 541. These should have some of the details from the combat report.

Enjoy!

Frank.

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Sorry for the delayed reply but thank you very much for the help Gents.

The mis-read of the abbreviations are the most likely and make perfect sense, I take it the twin engine fits with the type of aircraft they were up against?

Frank I will definitely get onto that download now

Thanks again everyone.

Michael

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Sgt R. R. Shipley was on Sterling BF445 on the night of 14/15 February for the attack on Cologne (Koln). Others on the crew were Ft/Lt B C Wallace, and Sgts Bradley, F R Woodger, Dix, Whitehead and Brookfield. They did release their bombs on the marked target but the pilot was of the opinion (because of the small amount of flak over the marked "target") that they were bombing west of the actual city. They did note "one photo was attempted".

10 planes from 214 Squadron were dispatched, 2 turned back, 2 others did not make it to Cologne but released their bombs elsewhere and the remaining 6 planes bombed Cologne. BF445 took off (UP) at 18:40 and was back (DOWN) at 22:50

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Wow!

Thank you so much for that, it's brilliant. Could I ask where you got the detail from? If there's an original document somewhere I'd like to try and get a copy of it for my file.

I'm busy on the national archives website and getting absolutely nowhere.

Thanks again,

Michael

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

The information is from the two files Frank mentioned, 540 and 541 reports. You can download them for free (at the moment). You need a sign-on to the archives (also free).

Starting from this page, scroll down toward the bottom:
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/...oks-1939-1945/

Enter 214 for the Squadron and 1943 for the start and end dates.

That should get you 28 records.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.g..._dt=SQ&_hb=tna

The two files Frank mentioned would each be for February, 1943.

540 reports are the "Summary of Events" and the 541 reports are "Records of Events".


I did not look at the first few files listed (Appendices Y........) which seem to contain photos among other things. I wonder if their "attempted photo" is in the file. There may be some other things of interest in them also.

Re: Combat Report Help - 214 Sqn RAF - Feb 1943
 

Thank you so much, I had managed to find the ones with the photos but completely missed those ones. I have them now.

Thanks again for the help.

Michael