65 years ago

Hello ,
here are the names of the men who bombed the bridges .The T number is aircraft number .To note there were only two men in the aircraft as they were three in a British one .
Veldwezelt bridge:
T 73 Capt Pierre Lt Cloquette
T 60 Adj Verbraeck Adj Dome
T 58 Adj Timmerman (+) 1st sergeant Rolin (+)

Vroenhoven bridge :
T 70 Capt Glorie (+) Lt Vandenbosch
T 64 Adj Binon Cpl Legand
T 61 Adj Delvigne (+) Sgt Moens (+)

Briedgen bridge
T 62 Adj Jordens Sgt de Ribaucourt
T 71 Adj Wieseler Adj de Coninck
T 68 Adj Vandevelds Cpl Bergmans

From the nine aircrafts only three came back to their airfield .
A little memorial exists at Vroenhoven with the names of the deads .
Each year,they were celebrated on the eleventh of may .
regards

Hello Allan,
thank you .The gallantry of those men is well deserved by your message.I’ll send the names of the Belgians who died during the desperate mission of the 11th of may.

First Air war VC’s – 12 May 1940 (Garland & Gray)

Hello Marc – Interesting to read what your father went through – one loss has it’s 65th anniversary tomorrow (12th) and they are all buried at Heverlee war cemetery, Leuven – in a collective grave (Coll. grave 6. F. 14-16.)

On 12 May 1940, over the Albert Canal, Belgium, one bridge in particular was being used by the invading army, with protection from fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft and machine-guns.

The RAF was ordered to demolish this vital bridge, and five Fairey Battle bombers were despatched with Flying Officer Donald Garland (12 squadron) leading the attack. They met an inferno of anti-aircraft fire, but the mission was accomplished, due to the expert leadership of Flying Officer Garland and the coolness and resource of his navigator (Sgt. Thomas Gray). With both Garland and Gray being awarded the first air VC’s of the war.

Only one bomber managed to get back to base, the leading aircraft and three others did not return – The third man of the crew (the LAC gunner, classified W/Op (Air) Lawrence Royston Reynolds) did not receive a medal because he was not occupying a “decision making” position. cheers – Allan

Thank you guys for your replies. I’ll try to answer to some of your questions even if they aren’t complete.
My father war’s diary mentionned that,during his squadron’s retreat (5/III/3 Aé ),he heard that German’s troops were entering Brussel’s,the 17th.
He told to me (he is still alive,thanks to ? )that he couldn’t see the type of bombers because he was in a trench during the attack .The Belgian campaign ended the 28th,thus more than 10 days later.
My father was en enlisted man.He suffered,like many others,from hungry during the following years of occupation.He was ,two times,hostage of the Germans,draft evader (obligatory work ) and political prisoner.As we speak together about that,he always answers that many Belgians had suffered more than himself !It’s certainly true but I remain always amazed by such an attitude . I must say that ,meeting Belgian veterans of the RAF,their answers are very similar .
Regarding his squadron,a Battle squadron ,they suffered heavy losses the 11th when they bombed the bridges over the ‘Albert Canal”.
Is it possible to know if the llosses for the RAFare all above Belgian soil ?
One more time,thank you for your attention

Thank you Ettrick for starting this thread.

On the 10th of May, 1940, Bomber Command recorded the following losses….

12 Squadron. 4 Battles. 3 injured, 3 pow.
18 Squadron. 2 Blenheims. 2 killed, 1 pow.
40 Squadron. 5 Blenheims. 8 killed, 4 pow.
57 Squadron. 2 Blenheims. 3 killed, 1 injured.
103 Squadron. 3 Blenheims. 5 killed, 4 injured.
105 squadron. 4 Battles. 4 injured, 1 pow.
142 Squadron. 4 Battles. 3 killed, 1 injured, 3 pow.
150 Squadron. 4 Battles. 1 killed, 5 pow.
226 Squadron. 2 Battles. 1 injured, 3 pow.

Fighter Command recorded the following losses…..

1 Squadron. 3 Hurricanes.
3 Squadron. 1 Hurricane.
73 Squadron. 2 Hurricanes. 1 injured.
85 Squadron. 1 Hurricane. 1 injured.
501 Squadron. 1 Hurricane.
607 Squadron. 2 Hurricanes.

Information from Bomber Command and Fighter Command Losses by Chorley and Franks.

Regards,

kev35

Just typed a long reply that I lost. Bump instead.

Reading about the events in the Low countries is truely harrowing. I only hope that the bravery and courage of the people during those 10 days in May and the following four years is not forgotten.

Ettrick40,

I travel to Brussels a lot these days, mainly to Vilvoorde, just up the road from Evere and Melsbroek. It’s familiar territory to me now, but reading your post there I find it difficult to imagine what happened on that day 65 years ago.

Even more difficult to imagine how awful the next four and a half years must have been for the Belgian people… 🙁

When did the German land forces reach Brussels? Must have only been a few days later… 🙁