AAR Mission: 134
Date: 21/22 February, 1945
Target: Duisburg, Industry
Aircraft: Burke and Beyond (5th mission)
Pilot: William Farnham
Bomb aimer Henry Prentise, Navigator David Bristow, Flight Engineer John Denham, Radio Operator George Harris, Mid-upper Gunner Dennis Tryon, Tail Gunner Anthony D'Witt
This was a disastrous mission for us in spite of its shortness. The flight to Duisburg was uneventful but as we saw the fires of the target ahead all hell broke loose in the pilot compartment. An unseen Schrage Musik armed Me110 had crept up on us and put four shells into the compartment; the first struck the heating unit, a second damaged the control cables, while the last two seriously wounded Dave, the Navigator, in the upper head, and Johnno, the Flight Engineer, smashing his left shoulder. The enemy night-fighter paid for his success though as Tony, the tail gunner, poured fire into his cockpit on a return pass. George tried to stabilise the wounded crew members but their injuries were very bad.
We were missed by the search-lights and I kept the bomber as steady as possible for the bomb run; but, although light, the flak burst close enough to throw off Henry's aim and put Tony's heat out. Although we had Oboe assistance we were off target (but we did note a couple of explosions in the target area). I dropped to 10,000 for warmth. No wild boar appeared and we left the target without seeing another tame boar. The flight back was a bit slow with the navigator injured as I sought out land-marks but, as we were flying mostly over recaptured territory, low level flak was not a problem. Our landing was uneventful and the wounded were rushed off to hospital. John Denham, the Flight Engineer, recovered but never returned to the squadron. David Bristow lingered for some time with his head wound but I heard later that he eventually died from his wounds.
Bomb run: Off; 10%
Bomber Damage: 7 hits (3 from flak). Repairs by tomorrow
New Navigator and Flight Engineer to join crew