RAF Station Tangmere ORB (July 1944) desperately needed!

Hello Andy!
Thank you for your efforts to help me.
I think that the entry concerning landing of Halifax with injured rear gunner at 07.30 in fact must have referred to the incident of forced landing of the polish Lancaster that I described in my previous posts…

By the way, do you know who was the Station OC at that time?

Cheers,
Grzegorz

Gregorz

It has been a long time coming, but I finally have some information from the Tangmere ORB. I very much regret that there is virtually nothing there to add to what you know.

On 18 July 1944 there is reference to a B-24 Liberator in distress landing at 08.50 with the Halifax recorded has having landed at 07.30 with an injured rear gunner. That is all!

RAF podcast tells tale of Polish pilots

A new set of podcasts produced by the RAF Museum in the United Kingdom reveals
the bravery of Polish pilots during the Battle of Britain, whose 70th
anniversary falls this year.

Today’s date, 11 October, has been specifically selected to commemorate the 70th
anniversary of the withdrawal of 303 (Polish) Squadron from the front line after
a successful tour of duty which recorded the destruction of 126 enemy aircraft
in 42 days.

The record made `303′ the most successful of all the RAF Squadrons that defended
Great Britain and its peoples during the Battle of Britain.

The recognition of the Polish pilots is described in the podcast. “In all, 145
Polish pilots fought in the Battle of Britain. For 29 of their number killed,
they shot down 203 German aircraft,” assistant curator of the RAF Museum Peter Devitt told Polish Radio

http://www.thenews.pl/international/?id=141322

Have you tried the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum?

http://www.pism.co.uk/index.html

Yes, I spent a week there this year and I managed to copy many documents which were of interest to me .
Unfortunately I didn`t have enough time to check RAF Station Faldingworth Daily Orders for the month of July 1944. This is my only missing source that may eventually add more details to the incident I refer to.
The same concerns this Tangmere ORB I asked about.

Have you tried the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum?

http://www.pism.co.uk/index.html

Thank you Antoni for your assistance.
Indeed this is the additional entry on the very end of F540 Form of 300 Sqn ORB.
However I am still curious of any eventual record in Tangmere ORB in order to find any additional info on that incident.

The entry in 300 Squadron ORB exactly as written.

The following article appeared in the Press having been released by the Air Ministry News service.

The Air Gunner referred to is 782874 Flight Sergeant F. ZENTAR and the other two members of the crew who helped this airman are 704108 Flight Sergeant Derewienko J Mid Upper Gunner and 781051 Sergeant Pialucha J.

The article begins:- A POLISH rear – gunner blown out of the turret of his Lancaster over Caen by blast from an anti-aircraft shell, was flown back to England hanging from the bomber by only one foot. The Lancaster was one of the force of more than 1,000 bombers which attacked targets near Caen early on July 18. Telling the story of the rear gunner’s remarkable escape, the Polish Mid-Upper Gunner said – “Three second before we bombed a shell burst just to the right of the rear gunner. The blast swung the turret beyond its usual position, ripped open the door at his back, and sucked him out of seat. He fell backwards, finishing up head downwards, but with his left foot somewhat jammed. That was the only thing that saved him. I broke a hole in the vision panel and pressed a valve which moved the turret, so as to turn it back and jam his leg firmly. I was afraid of breaking his leg, but something had to be done. Then I leaned over and held his shoes, but they began to slip off. I clawed at his trousers, but they began to tear. As we flew on over France I hung on to him somehow however and kept on holding the valve at the same time. The Germans were still firing at us and the pilot had to throw the aircraft about. When we got over the channel I shouted for help and the Flight Engineer got a rope which we dropped out from the turret. The Engineer supported the rear-gunner and gave him one end of the rope. I had to grip the engineer with my free hand while still pressing the valve, and I was afraid he would fall out too. But the rear-gunner managed to tie the rope around himself and then we fastened it firmly to the inside of the aircraft. We found an airfield soon after we crossed the English coast, got permission to land and signalled that we had a wounded rear-gunner. We landed very well indeed; it was wonderful. As the Lancaster touched down the rear-gunner managed to swing to one side and keep his head out of the way of the ground. When we stopped he was bleeding from the ears and mouth, but he was not badly hurt, though he ws suffering from severe Shock.” (NOTE, This aircraft landed at Tangmere with a full bomb load, the bombing equipment being put out of action by flack).

What an amazing story!

Still waiting for any details from the Tangmere ORB.

Yes, indeed this story is extremely interesting. This Flight Engineer Sgt Pialucha was awarded CGM as the only Pole among 111 awards given during WWII.

I am reserching this story, that`s why I am interested in any details that could be eventually be found in Tangmere ORB. I am also curious of the CO`s name who recommended this airman to such distinguished award!

What an amazing story!

Still waiting for any details from the Tangmere ORB.

Hello Grzegorz,
“The following was extracted from 300 Sqn ORB, several years ago;

“Hit by flak on approaching the target (Emienville). The rear gunner was blown out of his turret, but his left foot was trapped inside. He was, therefore, left dangling in the slipstream. The mid-upper gunner went to his aid and decided that, to make certain that his colleague would not fall, he would operate the rotation valve, to hold the leg tighter! This was successfully accomplished. When they were flying over the Channel, the flight engineer came to their assistance, with a rope, which thrown out to the rear gunner. This he tied around himself, but it was not possible to haul him back inside. Therefore, the aircraft was landed at Tangmere with him still hanging outside. Luckily, he was able to move his upper body out of the way, on touchdown. The landing was also made with a full bomb load of 11 x 1,000 and 4 x 500 HEs, as the bomb release mechanism had beed damaged by the flak burst.”

No awards appear in the London Gazette, because of security concerns for relatives remaining in Poland.
Regards,
Doug.

Of course.

However, the ORB did not always go into much detail related to such incidents. Very often it does not even mention events that one would think to be quite important.

We’ll see!

I have e-mailed my colleague asking him to look and get back to me.

Yes, I have the complete Tangmere station ORB from 1930s to 1947.

It is currently with a colleague and I have sent him a message asking him to look it up.

Stand by….

Thank you Andy for your offer to help!
In case there are some remarks on the incident I refer to, would it be possible to get the copy of the appropriate page of ORB?
I would really appreciate that!

Regards,
Grzegorz

Now why didn’t I think of that!:D

Yes, I have the complete Tangmere station ORB from 1930s to 1947.

It is currently with a colleague and I have sent him a message asking him to look it up.

Stand by….

Yes, it`s my last chance.
However I still do hope that one of our fellow members is able to help me in my researches.

Unless someone here has gone through and hopefully copied the relevant pages, you will need to contact The National Archives, http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/, to either visit and look at the ORB or organise a copy service.

It was Lancaster Mk III JA922 BH*J, but I expect you already know that.

Yes, I know that, but I would like to check if there are any details on that incident in RAF Station ORB.
I am also keen on checking if there`s any remark on future reccomendation for Sgt Pialucha to award him with CGM for the act of courage he displayed during that sortie.

I would like to know the name of the Station CO as well…

It was Lancaster Mk III JA922 BH*J, but I expect you already know that.