Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

Hi everyone.

Could anyone tell me about the dortmund ems canal raid on 12-13 august 1940. Im really interested to find out more information about the raid. Many thanks

Re: Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

Hello,
2 Hampdens of 83 Squadron were shot down.
Hampden I P-4340 2 KIA/2 POW crashed at Mesum (Germany)
Hampden I P-4410 4 MIA Lost without trace!
"11 Hampdens of 49 and 83 Squadrons were ordered to make a low level bombing attacks on the Dortmund-Ems Canal at a point, near Münster, where the Canal crosses the river Ems by means of twin aqueducts."
......"The German defences had now been increased and low level attacks were subject to intense light Flak. 2 Hampdens were hot down but 8 aircraft managed to drop their boms and caused damage which was still holding up barge traffic more than a month later."
The Bomber Command War Diaries page 72/73.
Regards
Karl Lusink
ARGA

Re: Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

I wonder if the one Hampden managed to crawl back to the channel and went down there, or if it crashed near the Canal, maybe even into the water. Danny

Re: Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

Thanks Karl

yes i wonder what happened to hampden p4410, i have read it is missing without trace but i have read several accounts that it was blown out of the sky next to the canal. Even in Gibsons book it says all they could see after the plane attacked was a flaming mass on the ground next to the canal.

Re: Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

John Ward's 'Beware of the Dog at War' (operational history of 49 Squadron) described the mission :

During Monday evening 12 August, 11 Hampdens lifted from their Scampton home around 21.00hrs, 5 were from 83 Squadron and 6 from 49 Squadron. Of the attacking force, 2 failed to locate the target whilst 4 carried out diversionary attacks, leaving the remaining 5 to make the main attack

Under intense enemy fire, F/Lt Pitcairn-Hill and crew of 83 Squadron went in first and although very badly shot up, they managed to put their bombs in the right spot. The second and third attacks were made by 83 Squadron crews; both were shot out of the sky, CRASHING NEAR THE TARGET. The fourth attacker was P/O Matthews and crew of 49 Squadron; they ploughed their way through the light flak being hit repeatedly. With one engine out of action, a successful attack was made. P/O Matthews and crew now had the task of nursing their battered aeroplane back to Scampton on the one remaining good engine.

F/Lt Learoyd and crew of 49 Squadron, having seen the previous attacks, now confronted the full force of the German defences head-on. With searchlights almost blinding him, the pilot brought his Hampden down to 150ft above the canal. Ignoring the ferocity of the deadly cannon shells, both pilot and bomb aimer concentrated intensely on the task at hand. The bombs were placed spot on target and their mission was accomplished with complete success! But now they too, like the Mathews crew, faced the return journey with a badly damaged aircraft. Both engines were still going strong, but there was a problem with the hydraulic system. Not wishing to endanger his crew any further, F/Lt Learoyd circled Scampton until it became daylight before bringing M-Mother in for a trouble free perfect landing. The Mathews crew had also made it safely home.

Re: Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

Thanks Andre. Thats great.

Re: Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

The MIA crew was most likely recovered by the Germans and burried locally as unknown British airmen. After the war, they were most likely picked up by Brit recovery teams and burried somewhere as unknowns. It would be great to be able to check locally if German reports or cemetery records confirm this and then check against the recovery team's data to see when they picked up the remains. Maybe from there we could track the remains to one of the Commonwealth cemeteries. Just a though. Danny

Re: Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

or even a thought!!!

Re: Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

Yes thats interesting. Trouble is i dont know where to start regarding contacting the recovery team. But if the crew are at rest somewhere in a grave in a CWGC in germany, to me it would be far better than nothing at all and just names on the Runnymede memorial.

Re: Dortmund ems canal raid 1940
 

The crew of P4410 was FO E H Ross DFC; Sgt J H Dewhurst; Sgt K A Sayer DFM; Sgt J R Buckley.

Pitcairn-Hill was flying P4420
From P4340, FO Mulligan DFC and Sgt W E Younger were made POW, while Sgt S Hill and Sgt R Abel were KIA. From lostbombers.co.uk ,