I am researching the raid on Le Creusot, June 19/20 1943 made by Halifaxes from 408 Sqn. One aircraft (Halifax JD-107 EQ-Y) failed to return having been hit by light flak near Caen. The navigator P/O James Denholm, a friend of my father, was killed. Any information would be gratefully recieved.
290 aircraft - 181 Halifaxes, 107 Stirlings, 2 Lancasters - to bomb the Schneider armaments factory and the Breuil steelworks at Le Creusot. The tactics for this raid were that the Pathfinders would only drop flares and that each crew of the Main Force was to identify their part of the target by the light of these flares. The Main Force crews were then to make 2 runs over the target area, dropping a short stick of bombs on each run from altitudes between 5,000 and 10,000ft. By this stage of the war, however, Main Force crews were used to bombing target indicators and many had difficulty in making a visual identification of their target. Lingering smoke from the large number of flares was blamed for most of the difficulty. Bombing photographs showed that all crews bombed within 3 miles of the centre of the target but only about one fifth managed to hit the factories. Many bombs fell on nearby residential property but no report could be obtained from France to give details of casualties. 2 Halifaxes lost.
26 of the H2S-equipped Pathfinders who had released flares at Le Creusot were intended to fly on to drop flares over the electrical-transformer station at Montchanin. By the light of these flares, a further 26 Lancaster bombers of No 8 Group were to attack this second target. Most of the attacking crews, however, mistook a small metal factory for the transformer station and bombed that target instead. A few aircraft did identify the correct target but their bombs scored no hits on it.
6 Mosquitos to Cologne, Duisburg and Düsseldorf, 12 Lancasters of No 3 Group minelaying in the River Gironde. 1 Lancaster was lost.
From Chorleys Bomber Command Losses 1943 ....................
Halifax JD107 Information
Type
Halifax
Serial Number
JD107
Squadron
408
X1D
EQ-Y
Operation
le Creusot
Date 1
19th June 1943
Date 2
20th June 1943
Further Information
"Serial Range JD105 - JD128. 24 Halifax Mk.11. Part of a batch of 350 HP59 Halifax Mk.11. JB781-JB806; JB834- JB875; JB892-JB931; JB956-JB974; JD105-Jd128; JD143-JD180; JD198- JD218; JD244-JD278; JD296-JD333; JD361-JD386; JD405-JD421; JD453- JD476. JD212 was used in rocket projectile experiments. JD300 was fitted with a .5 inch ventral gun position. Delivered by English Electric Co. (Salmesbury & Preston) between 22apr43 and 7May43. Airborne 2159 19Jun43 from Leeming. Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed near Caen (Calvados), France. Those killed are buried in Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian Cemetery. Sgt Brown was repatriated in 1944. P/OR.A.Symes BEM PoW P/O D.C.Horner KIA Sgt J.Denholm KIA F/L M.Samuels RCAF KIA P/O P.R.Quance RAAF KIA Sgt H.A.Brown RCAF Inj F/O R.J.J.Ball RCAF PoW F/O R.J.J.Ball RCAF was interned in Camp L3. PoW No.1691 with P/O A.Symes, PoW No.1823. "
Name:DENHOLM, JAMESInitials:JNationality:United KingdomRank:Pilot Officer (Nav.)Regiment/Service:Royal Air Force Volunteer ReserveUnit Text:408 (R.C.A.F.) Sqdn.Age:21Date of Death:20/06/1943Service No:157440Additional information:Son of Robert Kerr Denholm and Elizabeth Watt Denholm, of Bo'ness, West Lothian, Scotland.Casualty Type:Commonwealth War DeadGrave/Memorial Reference:XX. B. 10.Cemetery:BRETTEVILLE-SUR-LAIZE CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY
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- Winthorpe 1661 HCU - 630 Squadron " Nocturna Mors " East Kirkby - The LE-K for Kitty Crew - " There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly " stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
Many thanks for the information. Some I had found e.g. the Commonwealth War Graves Commission but not the rest. Interesting the difference between the cause of the crash - night fighter or light flak. Many thanks Andrew
Rear gunner: F/O R. Ball J-12326 pow Time off: 21:59 Time down: missing
Bomb load: 1 x 2,000 lb, 1 x 1,000 lb and 8 x 500 lb high explosives.
Shot down by a flak gun and crashed near Caen.
NAME. Symes R.A
HOW MANY OPS. 20
DUTY. Pilot
There was a full moon and very clear. Everything went according to plan. I flew out at 10,000 feet and bombed at 4,000 feet. I saw 2 JU-88 night fighters, but they apparently did not see me. Owing to the fact that I had no mid upper turret and that the operation was originally intended to be a low level one, I decided to fly back from the target low. The visibility was very good. I reached a turning point on course, here I saw 2 other Halifaxes one on either side about the same height as myself. Everything was quiet and I avoided all villages, towns, etc until I approached the French coast where I turned to starboard to avoid coastal flak and flew over Caen. 4 guns, 20 mm turret opened up all around, especially on the beams. The aircraft was hit and the port outer caught fire, but since it was still working I did not feather it. A searchlight picked me up dead ahead. The aircraft started to spin, having only one wing the aircraft crashed nose first and broke up on its back. I remember nothing about the crash. The rear gunner says the wing came off. I regained consciousness sometime later. The rear gunner and some German personal extracted me from under an engine. Does not think he hit the ground and tore the wing off. Fairly sure that the wing was shot off. Did not strictly follow the return flight plan.
NAME. Ball R. J
HOW MANY OPS. 14
DUTY. Rear gunner
Took off from Leeming, Yorks on evening of June 19,1943. Headed south to target of Le Cruesot, France, bombed approximately midnight, single jet of light flak in target area, clear sky, full moon. On turning from target to return to base, pilot considered it best to avoid night fighter attack by descending to low level, 2 JU-88's having been spotted flying parallel course just after leaving the target. Passed over Caen at its western extremity , about 3 miles north we passed over a thin strip of trees and dead over a flak battery of which we were unaware of until it opened fire. The guns in the pits with soil and grain growing around and over them as was ascertained later when the German soldiers brought us to their O.Cs billet following the crash. On opening barrage of flak, the rear turret opened up to retaliate, aircraft penetrated through fuselage by flak, rear turrets guns damaged and reflector sight by a passing shell from starboard to port. Intercom still working, last message from pilot "well be out of this in a minute" port outer engine then burst into flames followed immediately by an explosion. The port outer engine and wing tip dropping away from the aircraft, with the aircraft dipping sharply to port, diving to the deck, hitting skidding on its nose and then giving a quick flip over. The rear turret becoming disengaged during the flip and landing some 50 feet away from the tail of the aircraft. On leaving the turret I crawled to the ****pit, found the pilot held in an inverted position by his harness in the ****pit. I tripped the harness and made him as comfortable as possible on the ground, bound a deep gash on his temple with a handkerchief and then endeavoured to locate the rest of the crew. The mangled remains of P/O Quance, the wireless operator, the only other member seen before my removal by German soldiers to the German billet, approximately 10-15 minutes after the crash.
Thank you so much for this additional information. It certainly clears up the flak vs. night fighter problem. It is difficult to imagine just what it was like in the moments before the crash. It looks as if those killed were in the main "cabin" area of the aircraft with the pilot surviving by being higher. Andrew
I was fascinated by the surviving crew reports you provided. Are these from 408 Squadron records? I am hoping you can dig out such reports for me please. Halifax NP744 EQX crashed on the night of 2 Nov 1944. Three crew members survived - Woodworth, Sutton and Anderson(RAF). I am sure there must be an official squadron record of what occurred from de-briefing the survivors. Any help very much appreciated.
