Following on from my other thread, I was particularly moved by this account about 2 Halifaxes involved in an abortive raid on the Tirpitz, in particular the part about one of the crew being buried on site and 2 others possibly still in the wreckage.
Does anyone else know more about this side of the event? CWGC still gives the names of those not recovered as being on the Runnymede Memorial so were the other bodies ever recovered to be given a decent burial and if not what advice can you give about steps to trying to do so, other than contact with relatives and to warn me off about the usual MOD lack of interest? Obviously if relatives did not want any eforrts to be made I’d leave well alone, but on face value it sounds like a poor do.
40. 31/03/42 Halifax I R9438 H/35 Sqn. & R9453 K/76 Sqn.
These two Halifaxes were part of a force of 34 from 4 Group supported by two Lancasters which were sent to bomb the Tirpitz I Aasen Fjord, Norway. For any aircraft which got into difficulties there were three destroyers staged along their route to act as guard ships. The diversionary airfield was Sumburgh. The instructions given to Sumburgh were that the Drem lighting on runways A and B should be lit, that the T landmark beacon should be located 1 ½ miles NW of the airfield and also that the obstruction light on Ward Hill should be lit but not the one on Fitful Head. There should also be a continuous watch on the “Darkey” frequency of 6440Kcs.
The target was obscured by cloud and frustrated crews had to turn around and head back for home but not before four of their number had been shot down. On the return journey they ran into cloud and icing and our two Halifaxes became short of fuel and diverted to Sumburgh but when they arrived they found that Sumburgh was covered with low cloud and fog and they were unable to land. S/L Burdett in K/76 headed south hoping to reach either Orkney, Wick or one of the destroyers but after only a few minutes the tanks ran dry and he crashed when trying to ditch. S/L Burdett’s body and a wheel were found 16 miles south of Sumburgh.
F/Sgt. Bushby in H/35 decided that the crew would bale out over Sumburgh so parachutes were donned and hatches opened. Approaching Sumburgh from the west, the auto-pilot was engaged and the men congregated around the hatches. At the pre-raid briefing, pilots and navigators had been warned of the high ground around Sumburgh but the Halifax flew headlong into the sea cliffs at Fitful Head. The bad weather persisted and although it must have been obvious what had happened to the Halifax, it was posted as missing. Then at last on the 6th April the weather cleared and wreckage was seen on the cliffs. The only way to reach it was for a volunteer to be lowered down the cliff on the end of a rope. At 165ft above the sea he found the body of Sgt. Meredith hanging from an open parachute which had snagged on a rock. The bodies of P/O Usher and F/Sgt. Buckley were both recovered and buried at Lerwick but it was considered impossible to get Sgt. Meredith’s body up the cliff so he was wrapped in his parachute and laid between two rocks on a ledge. The body was then covered with rocks and grit and marked with a wooden cross. The gallant Sumburgh station padre then made the perilous trip down the cliff on the end of the rope to carry out a service. Sgt. Meredith still lies in this stormy place but because the grave is impossible to maintain his name is recorded on the Runnymede Memorial as having no known grave.
On 30/05/43 an unidentified body of a sergeant was recovered from wreckage on the cliff face. He is buried as an unknown airman alongside the other crew members at Lerwick. It is possible that the remains of the two missing crew members are still trapped in the wreckage and it is considered a war grave.
Crew – R9453 K/76 – S/L A P Burdett (pilot); P/O N F Bowsher RCAF; F/Sgt. W J Cadger RCAF; F/Sgt. L W Fletcher RCAF; Sgt. S Davies, Sgt. D C Martin; Sgt. L W Hanson RAAF. S/L Burdett is buried at Lerwick; all the others are missing with no known grave.
Crew – R9438 H/35 – F/Sgt. Joseph Bryan Bushby (pilot); Sgt. Anthony John Peach; Sgt. Geoffrey Noel Edward Powell; F/Sgt. John Peter Burton Buckley (buried Lerwick); P/O Moses Lewis Usher RCAF (buried Lerwick); Sgt. John Allen Wood; Sgt. Ronald H. Meredith
As written originally by David Hanson
Thanks in advance, Dean
By: archieraf - 3rd November 2004 at 11:36
True. But 2 Lancasters of 97 Sqn were SCHEDULED to fly top Tain and attack the German fighter aircraft known to be based at Vaernes Aeropdrome. They did not actually undertake this mission as 1 crashed on take off, and the mission was scrubbed due to ‘grounding of aircraft’
The two Lancasters from 97 Squadron did not take part in the raid. One crashed on take off from Woodhill Spa, the other landed at Lossiemouth rather than Tain as was planned. There then followed some confusion, during which the Lancaster at Lossiemouth believed that the operation had been cancelled, and it returned to Woodhill Spa on the 28th March. The operation against Tirpitz was not flown until the night of 30/31st March.
‘Tirpitz the Halifax Raids’ by Nigel Smith is an excellent book on these ops and covers most but not all of the Halifax losses in detail. The reason that the Halifax W1048 TL-S (at Hendon) is covered in such detail in the book is that Nigel Smith is the son-in-law of Vic Stevens (FE onboard W1048 TL-S).
It should be noted that the cliffs at Fitful Head on Shetland where Halifax R9438 crashed are almost 1,000 feet high.
By: paulmcmillan - 3rd November 2004 at 09:23
I would say, however, there are several errors in David Hansons account, for example, no Lancasters took part in this operation.
True. But 2 Lancasters of 97 Sqn were SCHEDULED to fly top Tain and attack the German fighter aircraft known to be based at Vaernes Aeropdrome. They did not actually undertake this mission as 1 crashed on take off, and the mission was scrubbed due to ‘grounding of aircraft’
By: paulmcmillan - 3rd November 2004 at 09:17
There is a writeup of both these crashes in ‘Tirpitz, The Halifax Raids’ by Nigel Smith – Air Research 1994 – ISBN 1-871187-27-3
R9438 H/35 ‘are believed by more than one member of the Squadron to have crashed as a result of a simple error. The Kollsman number setting on the altimeter had to be adjusted as the barometric pressure altered during the flight and warnings to do so were broadcast when necessary. It is presumed the crew omitted to make the critical adjustment and ended up believing that they were flying higher above the surface than in fact they were. However, they may have been unable to, through lack of fuel or through damage, to maintain height at the cruticial moment’..
A witness at the time said “most of one wing and an engine were on top of the cliff, the rest of the plane on the beach below. Obviously Bushby had banked sharply when Fitful Head loomed through the dawn haze, and he almost made it”
It also covers the recovery of Sgt Merediths body and ALSO THAT OF Sgt Peach that both their subsequent ‘burial’ services – The latter by an RAF Padre
(It also covers the recovery of S-Sugar in Hendon!)
By: archieraf - 2nd November 2004 at 18:06
For many years a wooden cross marked the spot there the aircraft hit the cliff. However, over the years the elements took their toll and eventually it fell to pieces. Willie Mainland (son of John Mainland who had played a part in the recovery of some of the crew) approached Dunrossness Community Council about the possibility of a more permanent memorial. In June 1995 a granite boulder bearing the names of the crew from the Halifax R9438 TL-H was unveiled and dedicated at a memorial service.
The new memorial was unveiled by Mr Ted Whittles, cousin of the Second Pilot Anthony Peach, and the dedication ceremony was conducted by The Reverend Trevor Williams, the local parish minister. Wreaths were laid from The Royal Air Forces Associaton, RAF Saxa Vord and the family of Anthony Peach. A bagpipe lament was played before the ceremony was concluded by a benediction.
© material from http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/archie_bombercommand/9438tlh3031.html
By: skypilot62 - 2nd November 2004 at 17:27
Superb Archie! At least someone cares somewhere. Any idea who paid for and erected the memorial?
By: archieraf - 2nd November 2004 at 16:08
I forgot to add;
There is a memorial at Fitful Head on Shetland to commemorate the crew of Halifax R9438 TL-H which crashed on the return journey from the March 30/31 attack on the German Battleship Tirpitz. The memorial reads as follows:-
To the memory of the crew of Halifax R9438 (H), 35 Squadron, who crashed into the cliffs here on returning from an air raid on the Tirpitz, 30/31st March 1942.
Captain F/Sgt J B Bushby 1057442
2nd Pilot Sgt A J Peach 1268062
Observer Sgt G N E Powell 922967
1st W/Op A.G. F/Sgt J P B R Buckley R56144
Tail Gunner Sgt J A Wood 9011460
Flt Engineer Sgt R H Meredith 937585
By: archieraf - 2nd November 2004 at 15:23
I have quite a bit of gen on these particular losses but can’t get easy access to my records at this time.
I would say, however, there are several errors in David Hansons account, for example, no Lancasters took part in this operation. Tirpitz was moored in Fættenfjord. As far as I am aware there were no witnesses to the demise of either of these aircraft or crews and what Mr Hanson writes about the 35 Sqdn crew donning parachutes etc is what he imagines to have happened rather than what he knows happened.
I have been in contact with relatives of two members of the crew, although one has since died.
Further info about the two Halifaxes and the operation they were on can be found here:
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/archie_bombercommand/9438tlh3031.html
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/archie_bombercommand/9453mpk.html
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/archie_bombercommand/30_31march1942.html
I may have more info in my notes and files when I can get to them.
Sign In
November 2, 2004 at 1:15 pm