The deeds and sacrifice of RAF Bomber Command's squadrons and aircrews in the Second World War are well-recorded. However, whilst there has been much focus on high profile units such as 617 Squadron (the 'Dambusters'), other units played a part in the war of attrition that was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. The heroism of their crews was every bit as prevalent as the exploits in more celebrated squadrons and tales abound of unbelievable courage, ingenuity and sheer guts. 514 Squadron was one such unit. Its service life was only eighteen months but its contribution, and the sacrifice of its crews, was considerable. Over the course of 220 operations 514 Squadron's Lancasters dropped nearly fifteen thousand tons of bombs at a cost of 88 aircraft. 437 members of the squadron gave their lives in the cause of our freedom with many others suffering serious injuries. Once shot down, those who survived tried to walk, or in some cases swim, home. One 'played dead', lying in a makeshift grave for 36 hours then, having been rescued by his Resistance helpers, shot an SS officer who chanced upon him. Others joined the Resistance or otherwise made life as difficult as possible for the Nazis. Some were sent to Buchenwald concentration camp whilst at least one was murdered by his captor. One pilot, burned alive as he struggled to keep his Lancaster steady so his crew could escape, was turned down for a VC as he had dropped his bombs seconds before, rather than after, the aircraft was hit. Nothing Can Stop Us is the companion volume to Striking Through Clouds, the War Diary of 514 Squadron. It combines the official operational record with personal stories of many who served with the unit, collated by Harry Dison who served in the squadron as a Flight Engineer. It is illustrated with over 150 contemporary photographs, most of which have never previously been published. With the benefit of painstaking research, along with contributions from veterans and their families, it is the definitive history of 514 Squadron, its people and aircraft.

Nothing Can Stop Us: The Definitive History of 514 Squadron RAF

History

Hepworth, Simon

Porrelli, Andrew

Dison, Harry

Military

Mention the War Ltd.

On June 8th, 1944, two days after D-Day, 514 Squadron Lancaster DS822 and her crew were part of a large RAF bombing raid on German communications and transport targets near Paris, intended to slow down the progress of German reinforcements heading for the Normandy beaches. The aircraft was shot down by a Luftwaffe night fighter at around 2:00 am, crashing in a forest near the village of La Celle Les Bordes. Three airmen died in the crash, whilst the four survivors baled out and attempted to evade the occupying German troops and the Gestapo. Francois Ydier was a small child who lived near the crash site and tells of the profound effect the event had on his community. Over many years he traced many people whose lives were inextricably linked through the event and its aftermath. He painstakingly put together the individual stories of the seven airmen and those on the ground, including local members of the famous Comet Line, who tried to help the survivors evade the clutches of the Nazi regime. All too often, those brave French citizens paid for their bravery with their lives. The author weaves the strands together to tell a moving story of incredible heroism and fortitude in terrible circumstances. It is a tribute to those who risked, and often lost, their lives to liberate Europe from the clutches of evil.

The Boy and the Bomber

Ydier, Francois

This is the true story of a young RAF pilot, his crew, a Halifax bomber and their attempts to carry agents and supplies, from bases in Libya and Italy, deep into Europe, the Balkans and Poland during the Second World War. The crew were forced to bale out during a supply drop to southern Poland, but unlike many, they survived, thanks to Polish and Russian partisans, who risked everything to shelter and protect them. They became the first RAF crew to be repatriated through Russia and, though they all survived, the personal cost forms the central thread of this story.

A Special Duty: A Crew's Secret War With 148 (SD) Squadron

Elkin, Jennifer

Harry Dison completed a tour of operations as a Flight Engineer in Lancasters, flying with 514 Squadron from RAF Waterbeach, near Cambridge. Four decades after the war was won, Harry contacted many of his fellow veterans from the squadron, determined to collect as many recollections as possible so that the memory of the unit and its members might be preserved for posterity.  Now, seventy years after the squadron was disbanded, the words of the veterans still speak loudly about the experiences of this incredibly brave group of men and women. The power of recall of the contributors provides a wealth of detail about life in one of the many bomber squadrons that carried the war to Germany.  It includes harrowing stories of the loss of friends, and the bravery and resilience of those who, shot down, tried to evade and escape from the German forces. But, as Harry points out, there were so many who were unable to tell their story as they did not survive.  For that reason, this can only ever be ‘some of the story’. This book is the authentic voice of those who served and survived and, in one case, who wrote an account of his first raid before failing to return from a subsequent operation.  It also remembers and honours their comrades, 437 from 514 Squadron amongst the 55573 aircrew lost from Bomber Command as a whole. For our tomorrow they gave their today.

Lancasters at Waterbeach: Some of the Story of No. 514 Squadron RAF

One of the finest units to grace the roll-call of RAF Bomber Command units during the Second World War was 103 Squadron. Immortalised by Don Charlewood in his epic classic of wartime literature, No Moon Tonight, the squadron was at the forefront of the conflict from the first to the last. Selected to be part of the Advanced Air Striking Force, it moved to France on the day before the declaration of war, and remained there until its outdated and outperformed aircraft were literally knocked out of the fight during the futile campaign to save France.  Once back on English soil the remnant rose phoenix-like from the ashes of defeat, and, with new equipment, committed itself again to the battle. Characterised by leadership of the highest quality the squadron proudly carried the 1 Group banner through campaign after campaign, and even during its bleakest time, when briefly equipped with the unpopular early versions of the Halifax, retained its esprit de corps. The mighty Lancaster saw it through the campaigns against the Ruhr, Hamburg, Berlin, railways, oil, V-Weapons and tactical support for the land forces, and then the second Ruhr offensive in the autumn of 1944. The squadron’s casualties were amongst the highest sustained by any bomber unit active throughout the five years and eight months of hostilities, but so also was the number of operations it flew and sorties it launched.  Soon there will be none left to provide personal testimony of the deeds of 103 Squadron, but history has recorded their exploits and we will remember those who served and, in so many cases, gave their lives.

103 Squadron (Bomber Command Squadron Profiles)

Ward, Chris

Formed as a bomber unit in June 1938 at Abingdon, 106 Squadron initially operated Hawker Hinds. It soon re-equipped with the Fairey Battle before receiving its first Handley Page Hampdens in May 1939. It was with this type that 106 Squadron went to war, albeit initially as a training unit with 5 Group. Its operational war did not start in earnest until the 9th of September 1940, when it joined the night bombing campaign against Germany. The Hampden was replaced in early 1942 by the Avro Manchester, which by then was approaching the end of its unspectacular service as a frontline bomber. W/C Guy Gibson took command of the squadron in March 1942, and began the process of turning it into the finest unit in the group. He was able to achieve a level of serviceability with the Manchester that was unsurpassed, although, it should be said, at a time when most of the type's wrinkles had been ironed out. Gibson was keen on innovation, and the first to completely equip his squadron with cameras to improve bombing accuracy. The Manchester was replaced by the Lancaster in May 1942, and from that point onwards the squadron participated in all of the Command's campaigns, and was often selected to take on special operations. After Gibson's departure in March 1943 to form 617 Squadron for Operation Chastise, the squadron continued to benefit from outstanding flight and squadron commanders, whose style was to lead from the front. This enabled it to remain at or near the top of the group bombing table. From the start of 1944 to the end of the war the squadron became almost the permanent owner of the 5 Group trophy for the fewest avoidable accidents. The squadron participated in many notable actions, including the first 'Thousand Bomber Raid', against Cologne in May 1942, the low-level attack on the Schneider plant at Le Creusot, Peenemunde and shuttle raids to Italy, before supporting the D-Day landings and attempting to obliterate the V1 and V2 menace in 1944. The unit ended its war with attacks against German troops holding out in Norway. Having spent time at Finningley, Coningsby and Syerston, 106 Squadron moved into the newly constructed station at Metheringham in November 1943, and remained there until it was disbanded in February 1946. The names of those who graced 106 Squadron include W/Cs Bob Allen, Guy Gibson, John Searby, Ronnie Baxter, E K Piercy and M M Stevens, along with S/L Peter Ward-Hunt, John Hopgood, David Shannon, L John Burpee and Bill Whamond. The VC of Sgt. Norman Jackson was one of 267 decorations awarded to the unit's members during the conflict. In a total of 5,834 operational sorties, the squadron was to lose 187 aircraft. Its war was hard, but heroic, its entire purpose, perhaps, best summed up by the squadron motto; Per Libertarte. (For Freedom). The memory of the airfield and those who served there is perpetuated by the Friends of Metheringham Association (FOMA) at the Visitors Centre, Westmoor Farm, Martin Moor, Metheringham.

106 Squadron (Bomber Command Squadron Profiles)

Bijlard, Herman

514 Squadron (Bomber Command Squadron Profiles)

83 Squadron began the Second World War as one of six front-line units representing 5 Group, and, together with 49 Squadron, occupied the well-established station at Scampton, four miles north of Lincoln. RAF Scampton was destined, later, to become part of the folklore of Bomber Command through the exploits of another squadron. The future leader of that squadron, 617, had joined 83 Squadron in 1937 in the rank of pilot officer, and, at the outbreak of war, had not progressed a single step up the commission totem pole. P/O Guy Gibson was among a group of dashing young men, who faced the impending conflict with courage, determination, and, in most cases, the conviction that they were destined to die. The squadron operated on the first day of the war, the 3rd of September 1939, and, when Gibson was posted out in September 1940, with almost forty operations behind him, he was the last of the originals, most of his closest friends and mentors having sacrificed their lives, or, at the very least, their freedom. With Gibson and his contemporaries departed, a new squadron arose, with a spirit of its own, bolstered from time to time by the return of some of the originals for a second tour. Equipped with the trusty twin-engine Hampden medium bomber, the squadron continued to play a magnificent part during the dark days of 1940 and 1941, roaming deep into Germany to attack economic and industrial targets, albeit, to little effect. Mining operations from south-western France to the Baltic kept the squadron gainfully employed when not engaged in bombing, and the loss of brothers-in-arms was a constant theme. With 1942 came the passing of the Hampden and the brief interlude with the ill-fated Manchester, but then came the Lancaster, and from May to August of that year, 83 Squadron was at the tip of the 5 Group spear. When the Pathfinder Force was formed in August 1942, 83 Squadron was selected as a founder member, representing 5 Group, and drawing fresh crews from its squadrons. It continued proudly to serve the Pathfinders, or 8 Group, as it became, through the campaigns against Italy, the Ruhr, Hamburg and Berlin. Its commanding officers were renowned for leading from the front; three lost their lives on operations, two of them during the Berlin offensive. In April 1944, advances in bombing tactics led to the effective independence of 5 Group, and 83 Squadron returned to its former family to perform a marking and illuminating role on permanent loan from 8 Group until war's end. There was never a time when the influence of 83 Squadron was not felt within the ranks of Bomber Command. It distinguished itself with outstanding performances and below average losses from the first day of the war to the last. Its achievements will live forever in the annals of RAF Bomber Command in WWII.

83 Squadron (Bomber Command Squadron Profiles)

Formed in February 1918, the RFC’s 148th Squadron was disbanded in 1919 but eventually reformed as 148 Squadron RAF in 1937. It began the Second World War in a training role before being disbanded again in May 1940. A loose flight of Wellington bombers on the island of Malta formed the next incarnation of 148 Squadron in December 1940. Forced to withdraw to Egypt in March 1941, its Wellingtons flew bombing operations against Axis forces in the Western Desert. In early 1942 the Squadron achieved the dubious, and possibly unique, distinction of having all its NCO aircrew flying operationally whilst on charges of insubordination, with five of them ultimately being court-martialed. In December 1942, with the Axis forces in North Africa in full retreat, the Squadron was disbanded yet again. However Prime Minister Winston Churchill was keen to increase resistance in the Balkans, and a small RAF Flight of long-range Liberator aircraft in North Africa had been dropping a modest amount of supplies to the Partisans in 1942. On Churchill’s direct orders six Handley Page Halifax bombers joined the Liberators. In March 1943 the Flight became 148 (Special Duties) Squadron. In January 1944 the squadron moved to Brindisi in the south of Italy and, until the cessation of hostilities in May 1945, flew hundreds of tons of supplies and dropped many Allied agents to support resistance movements in Eastern Europe and the Balkan countries. The Squadron suffered numerous casualties, but its worst moments saw it come close to being wiped-out as it attempted to drop supplies in July and August 1944 in Poland, including the ill-fated Warsaw Uprising. The stories of courage and sacrifice of bomber crews in the Mediterranean and on Special Duties in the Balkans have received less attention than those in Bomber Command’s more mainstream operations. Oliver Clutton-Brock’s comprehensive history of 148 Squadron in its various guises goes some way towards putting that right.

Trusty to the End: The History of 148 (Special Duties) Squadron 1918-1945

Clutton-Brock, Oliver

Most of the deeds of Bomber Command's war are well documented. In the main, the wartime record of each squadron's service, written with reasonable accuracy at the time, is available for scrutiny. As a result, many heroes have emerged since the end of the war, and the full extent of the various roles performed by Bomber Command's squadrons is a matter of history. There is just one exception. Such was the secrecy surrounding the activities of the moon squadrons at Gibraltar Farm, which became RAF Tempsford, that records, initially at least, were a luxury only occasionally indulged in. Brief hand-written entries allow a glimpse into this end of the Special Operations Executive, an organisation, which dispensed information on the strictest need-to-know basis. It was not unusual in the early days for a pilot to arrive at Tempsford on posting, only to kick his heels for days and even weeks, before being given an insight into the station's activities and his part in the grand plan. Later on, the demand to service resistance organizations saw crews pressed into service with much greater alacrity, but the level of security never wavered. The greater one's insight into SOE and SIS matters, the more insistent becomes the question, how did they do it? In 1943 and 1944, with all the latest electronic gadgetry to hand, giant armadas of bombers were failing to find the centre of huge urban areas like Berlin, Stuttgart, Hanover, Leipzig and Nuremberg. Meanwhile, Whitley crews in 1940 and 1941 manage to navigate to Poland, southern Germany and Austria, and find a tiny pinpoint deep in the countryside, whilst the diminutive Lysanders were able to locate and land in specific fields deep in Occupied Europe. Chris Ward's 138 Squadron Profile, drew in part on the unique insight of F/O Freddie Clark, who flew from Tempsford between late January and early April 1944. Each sortie was an operation in its own right, and had to be dealt with individually. This Profile provides the necessary facts, supplemented by the personal stories of some of those who took part, and includes a large number of photographs including a collection relating to the squadron's 'C' Flight, manned by Polish aircrew, between April and November 1943.

138 Squadron (Bomber Command Squadron Profiles)

Hodyra, Piotr

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