The Military Workshop
1st Lieutenant
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2005
- Messages
- 4,778
New book reviewed in Daily Mail today.
Link below shows all the photos of the crew and where they came from. Was not aware one of the pilots was American. Good number of Canadians shown.
A good link with quotes from various crew and those on the ground. I have copied some below in particular relating to comments about when the raiders returned and those on the ground realised how many planes and crew had been lost.
Flight Lieutenant Dave Shannon
As we were walking out to our aircraft, Hoppy Hopgood grabbed me and we went round the back of a hangar to smoke a cigarette. He said: 'I think this is going to be a tough one and I don't think I'm coming back, Dave.'
That shook me a bit. 'Come off it, Hoppy,' I said, 'you'll beat these b******s; you've beaten them for so long, you're not going to get whipped tonight.'
At 9.30pm, with a full moon, we took off.
Gibson went in first and made an excellent run but the wall was still there. Hoppy Hopgood went next. He had been hit coming over with light flak and was hit again in the petrol tanks, so his starboard wing caught fire.
He did his best to gain height and got his plane up to about 500ft, then it burst into flames and exploded in mid-air. His prediction had been proved right.
Wing Commander Guy Gibson
Hoppy's aircraft disintegrated and fell to the ground in cascading, flaming fragments. There it began to burn quite gently and rather sinisterly in a field some three miles beyond the dam.
A furious rage surged up inside my own crew, and my rear-gunner said: 'Let's go in and murder those gunners.'
As he spoke, the mine which Hoppy's bomber had dropped blew up the dam's power station with a tremendous yellow explosion and left in the air a great ball of black smoke.
Aircraftwoman Morfydd Gronland
There was no sleep for anyone that night - our hearts and minds were in those planes. We WAAFs just sat waiting. We had laid out the tables and a hot meal would be ready on their return. The night wore on.
As the first of the Lancasters began to return, it became apparent that of the 19 aircraft which had left Scampton only a few hours previously, eight had been shot down. Three men from 617 Squadron had been captured by the Germans but 53 had lost their lives.
Harry Humphries, adjutant
I saw the crews in, and even though they were in high spirits, they confirmed that we had taken a beating as regards casualties. I decided to walk over to the watch office - the flying control tower.
My worst possible estimation was insignificant compared with the shock I received. Eight blanks on the blackboard. It was hard to accept.
Flight Sergeant Ken Brown, pilot
We didn't notice until we got out of the aircraft that all of the ground crew were crying, and it was rather disturbing. We were rather elated that we'd made it back, and there was this bunch of people crying.
I don't think it hit me until Flight Sergeant 'Chiefy' Powell came in, and the tears were just pouring down his face. We looked at him and said: 'Chiefy, what's wrong?' And he said: 'Have you any idea where any of the other boys are?'
Aircraftwoman Morfydd Gronland
Our WAAF sergeant called us together. 'I must tell you now the very sad news - 56 of our young boys will never return.'
We all burst into tears. We looked around the Aircrew's Mess - the tables we had so hopefully laid out for the safe return of our comrades looked empty and pathetic.
Beck Parsons, ground crew
Nobody wanted that sort of loss or expected it, but that was yesterday and we had to move forward. It seems hard but it wasn't really. As soon as anyone went missing, shot down or whatever, they moved all their chairs around in the mess so it wouldn't be so noticeable.
Letter to Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane from Barnes Wallis
For me, the success was almost completely blotted out by the sense of loss of those wonderful young lives.
In the light of our subsequent knowledge, I do hope that all those concerned will feel that the results achieved have not rendered their sacrifice in vain.
Flight Lieutenant David Shannon
Although we had proved his bombs would work, Barnes Wallis never for a moment thought the cost would be so high.
A more distressed figure it would have been hard to imagine by the time the last aircraft had landed. He had not realised that there would be this tremendous sacrifice of life. He was in tears and quite pathetic the following morning.
When the immediate blaze of publicity died down, there was time to consider the impact of the raid, which had claimed 1,701 lives in the valleys below the Mohne and Eder dams, and to weigh the achievement against the losses and the extent to which German industry had been crippled.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hotographs-113-men-took-daring-WWII-raid.html
Link below shows all the photos of the crew and where they came from. Was not aware one of the pilots was American. Good number of Canadians shown.
A good link with quotes from various crew and those on the ground. I have copied some below in particular relating to comments about when the raiders returned and those on the ground realised how many planes and crew had been lost.
Flight Lieutenant Dave Shannon
As we were walking out to our aircraft, Hoppy Hopgood grabbed me and we went round the back of a hangar to smoke a cigarette. He said: 'I think this is going to be a tough one and I don't think I'm coming back, Dave.'
That shook me a bit. 'Come off it, Hoppy,' I said, 'you'll beat these b******s; you've beaten them for so long, you're not going to get whipped tonight.'
At 9.30pm, with a full moon, we took off.
Gibson went in first and made an excellent run but the wall was still there. Hoppy Hopgood went next. He had been hit coming over with light flak and was hit again in the petrol tanks, so his starboard wing caught fire.
He did his best to gain height and got his plane up to about 500ft, then it burst into flames and exploded in mid-air. His prediction had been proved right.
Wing Commander Guy Gibson
Hoppy's aircraft disintegrated and fell to the ground in cascading, flaming fragments. There it began to burn quite gently and rather sinisterly in a field some three miles beyond the dam.
A furious rage surged up inside my own crew, and my rear-gunner said: 'Let's go in and murder those gunners.'
As he spoke, the mine which Hoppy's bomber had dropped blew up the dam's power station with a tremendous yellow explosion and left in the air a great ball of black smoke.
Aircraftwoman Morfydd Gronland
There was no sleep for anyone that night - our hearts and minds were in those planes. We WAAFs just sat waiting. We had laid out the tables and a hot meal would be ready on their return. The night wore on.
As the first of the Lancasters began to return, it became apparent that of the 19 aircraft which had left Scampton only a few hours previously, eight had been shot down. Three men from 617 Squadron had been captured by the Germans but 53 had lost their lives.
Harry Humphries, adjutant
I saw the crews in, and even though they were in high spirits, they confirmed that we had taken a beating as regards casualties. I decided to walk over to the watch office - the flying control tower.
My worst possible estimation was insignificant compared with the shock I received. Eight blanks on the blackboard. It was hard to accept.
Flight Sergeant Ken Brown, pilot
We didn't notice until we got out of the aircraft that all of the ground crew were crying, and it was rather disturbing. We were rather elated that we'd made it back, and there was this bunch of people crying.
I don't think it hit me until Flight Sergeant 'Chiefy' Powell came in, and the tears were just pouring down his face. We looked at him and said: 'Chiefy, what's wrong?' And he said: 'Have you any idea where any of the other boys are?'
Aircraftwoman Morfydd Gronland
Our WAAF sergeant called us together. 'I must tell you now the very sad news - 56 of our young boys will never return.'
We all burst into tears. We looked around the Aircrew's Mess - the tables we had so hopefully laid out for the safe return of our comrades looked empty and pathetic.
Beck Parsons, ground crew
Nobody wanted that sort of loss or expected it, but that was yesterday and we had to move forward. It seems hard but it wasn't really. As soon as anyone went missing, shot down or whatever, they moved all their chairs around in the mess so it wouldn't be so noticeable.
Letter to Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane from Barnes Wallis
For me, the success was almost completely blotted out by the sense of loss of those wonderful young lives.
In the light of our subsequent knowledge, I do hope that all those concerned will feel that the results achieved have not rendered their sacrifice in vain.
Flight Lieutenant David Shannon
Although we had proved his bombs would work, Barnes Wallis never for a moment thought the cost would be so high.
A more distressed figure it would have been hard to imagine by the time the last aircraft had landed. He had not realised that there would be this tremendous sacrifice of life. He was in tears and quite pathetic the following morning.
When the immediate blaze of publicity died down, there was time to consider the impact of the raid, which had claimed 1,701 lives in the valleys below the Mohne and Eder dams, and to weigh the achievement against the losses and the extent to which German industry had been crippled.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hotographs-113-men-took-daring-WWII-raid.html
