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The elusive motherload of Stirling wreckage still attracts my interest, I found these two interesting records on the 214 squadron page:
Stirling Mark III BF516 PX-E
BF516 was a Stirling Mk III of 214 Sqn lost on the way back from a raid on Nuremberg by 653 aircraft on the night of 10 / 11 August 1943. The aircraft was coded ‘PX-E’ which was a little unusual as most 214 Squadron aircraft were coded ‘BU-‘. PX was the ‘C’ Flight Squadron code.
They were based at Chedburgh in Suffolk. The port outer engine cut when they were 5 miles west of Nuremberg and nearly caught fire when the pilot attempted to re-start it so the propellor was feathered (blades turned to reduce drag). The aircraft then strayed off course on the way home and they lost a 2nd engine over France. The crew questioned if they should bale out but decided against that, instead they would try to get home.
They then ran out of fuel and had to ditch into Pevensey Bay off Bexhill. All were rendered unconscious in the crash but F/S Hall was the first to recover and immediately began to try to get his crew out. Two crewmen (Sgts Buckle and Smith) were killed and the other five men were subsequently rescued by a Sea Rescue dinghy and brought ashore. Robert Moorby was taken to Naval Sick Quarters in Lewes, where he stayed for 2 weeks. The rest of the crew went back to the Squadron.
There is a letter of thanks to the Air Sea Rescue Launch Captain from Robert Moorby in a small museum at Breznett, near New Romney in Kent, along with parts of the Stirling.
Date of loss : 11 August 1943
Crew of Stirling Mark III BF516 PX-E consisted of :
Sgt Kenneth Ronald Buckle, Flight Engineer, KIA
FS Harry Ernest Hall BEM, 1436050, Pilot, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 22 September 1943, Aged 21
Sgt J Hanna, Mid Upper Gunner
Sgt Robert Victor Moorby, NCO 1287570 COM 185918, Wireless Operator, Nationality : United Kingdom
Sgt G Parnell, 1579972, Mid Upper Gunner, Nationality : United Kingdom, POW 22 September 1943
Sgt A F Short, Bomb Aimer
Sgt Eric Ronald Smith, Navigator, KIA
Source : Nightjar Newsletter Autumn 2003 and Robert Moorby and Shirley Whitlock and Ian Hunt
Date record last updated : 5 August 2009
Stirling Mark III EF445 BU-J
The crew of EF445, coded BU-J consisted of:
1485104 F/Sgt. G.A. Atkinson, Captain & Pilot. (missing).
1388280 Sgt. H.J. Friend, Bomb-Aimer.
1807915 Sgt. D.C. Hughes, Flight Engineer.
1513213 Sgt. W.B. Edwards, Navigator.
1892607 Sgt. R.L. Bouttell, Mid-Upper Gunner.
1368303 Sgt. J.C.Wilson, Wireless-Operator.
R.79844 Sgt. W. Sweeney, Rear-Gunner. (wounded & missing).
The above-named formed the crew of a Stirling aircraft detailed to bomb Berlin on the night of 22nd/23rd November 1943 ( 22/11/1943 ). Just before they reached the target area the oil pressure on the port outer engine began to drop and the captain noticed that the propeller was revolving at excessive speed. He decided to complete the bombing run and the Bomb-Aimer sighted and released the bombs correctly one minute after E.T.A. dangerously low and the propeller was feathered to prevent a seizure wit the result that the aircraft was losing height. At 9,000 ft. it was dropping into icing cloud and the pilot restarted the engine to gain more height for crossing a bad front. The engine started but had to be stopped almost immediately to prevent it catching fire and the propeller then failed to refeather but continued to “windmill”. The aircraft lost height steadily until it was only 1500 ft. above ground at a position given by the Navigator as 20 miles east of Hanover. Near this place, the aircraft was engaged by “flak” which wounded the Rear-Gunner in the right leg but he refused to leave the turret.
The Wireless-Operator sent out an S.O.S. at about 21.45 hours and repeated it until it was acknowledged. It was picked up at 22.30 as a very faint signal and he was given a fix. From then onwards, although reception was very bad, he maintained communication with the ground sending the height, speed, course and D.R. position, obtained from Navigator, at intervals.
Near the Zuider Zee, the aircraft was picked up by the searchlights which were attacked by the gunners and, crossing the island at about 50 ft. the aircraft was again engaged by flak and searchlights; fifteen to twenty five of the latter were shot at by the gunners and doused. A F.W. 190 intercepted the Stirling but was shot down in flames by the Rear-Gunner.
When the Flight-Engineer reported there was only 10 minutes of fuel remaining, the captain ordered the crew to take up their ditching stations. Because of icing, a head wind and the wind-milling airscrew, the speed had been very low. Information of their plight was signaled to the ground station and the aircraft was fixed accurately as the Operator pressed his key down when the aircraft ditched halfway across the North Sea at 00.34 hours. Prior to ditching , the Captain called out the height of the aircraft as it approached the water and the Navigator gave him a surface………???????
The aircraft bounced off a swell and then made a very heavy impact with the water which caused the nose to sink in and the fuselage to break in half. The pilot was trapped in the nose and went under as the aircraft broke in two. The Navigator jumped into the dinghy and dragged in the Mid-Upper Gunner from the water. They heard the Wireless Operator calling, paddled up to him and helped him on board. The Rear-Gunner, who had been observed to jump into the sea was also heard to call but they failed to find him and he was not picked up. After drifting for about an hour blowing their whistles, they heard an answering whistle, in the darkness, and eventually picked up the Flight Engineer from his “K” type dinghy. When the Stirling hit the sea, the Bomb-Aimer got out of the astro hatch but was swept into the sea by the waves. The Flight Engineer passed him a “K” dinghy which was swept away. The Bomb-Aimer re-entered the almost submerged fuselage, found another “K” dinghy, held his breath and swam out again as the aircraft sank, three minutes after ditching. He inflated the dinghy and climbed in, but although he heard other members of the crew shouting and answered, he was too weak to paddle towards the sound and lost touch with them. After sunrise, he hoisted a red sail and fired a star cartridge when an Air-Sea Rescue Hudson approached.
The Hudson crew dropped smoke floats alongside and he was shortly after taken on board a high speed launch which continued the search and picked up the other four surviving members of the crew from the big dinghy about 40 minutes later. The Captain and Rear-Gunner could not be found.
THE ABOVE IS AN OFFICIAL RAF DOCUMENT POSTED IN MEMORIAL TO GEORGE ATKINSON BY HIS FAMILY, THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT IS ON THIS SITE UNDER PERSONNEL
Both long shots after this time in salt water, and one is like fishing for a needle in a haystack, but it would seem fishing for a deep sea Stirling, would seem more worthwhile than a third Halifax?
regards
Mark Pilkington
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