MN691

MN665

MN989

JR500

MN379

PD465

MP152

F/L Burton

P/O Carr

F/O Stelter

F/O Henderson

F/O Smith

W/O Gray

F/O Stitt

F/O Laurence

Details of Sortie or Flight

F/L Burton led eight aircraft of our Squadron on an armed recce of the area Dondrecht - Utrecht - Hertogenbosch this morning. The recce resulted in ten MET being discovered on the road in the Dondrecht area and ten more near Goringhem. Red Section took this MET on and reaped a fair harvest with their 20mm scythes. When they pulled away with ammunition expended, one MET was flaming, two were smoking and ten were damaged.

Meanwhile Blue Flight was searching for targets of their own and found a goods train moving northeast of Hertogenbosch (E.3547). The train was attacked and the engine heavily damaged. Two trains were seen in the town but discreetly were not attacked. Scattered barges in the canal were attacked, but only one was claimed as damaged. Red Section flew through some light flak northeast of Hertogenbosch. All aircraft returned safely to base.

Total Score: - 1 MET Flamer  -  2 MET SMOKERS - 10 MET DAMAGED

                        1 TRAIN DAMAGED  - 1 BARGE DAMAGED.

MN665

MN352

MN989

MN691

MP136

MN379

MP152

PD465

Judd

F/O Roberts

F/O Monson

F/O Fraser

F/O Brown

F/O Swingler

F/O MacDonald

F/O Hewson ⁽¹⁾

F/O Bernhart

'

'

'

'

'

'

13:40

13:55

Details of Sortie or Flight

For the first time in many days, the Squadron was briefed to carry out a genuine Ramrod. The target was a concentration of barges on the canal at map reference D.4123 on the Zutid Beveland peninsula just a few miles east of Flushing. For this show the aircraft carried 500 pound bombs (tail instantaneous) and were led into the air by W/C Judd, DFC, AFC, at 13:15 hours. Lowering clouds made it necessary to fly at 4000 feet over the target area and the target was attacked in a rather shallow dive from the east. All bombs burst in the target area and twelve barges were believed destroyed or heavily damaged.

Intense light flak was thrown up from the target area and the aircraft flown by J.21152 F/O G.W. Hewson was hit at the bottom of the dive. The aircraft streamed glycol and then black smoke. Hewie pulled up and baled out. His parachute opened safely and he was last seen floating down easily into the inlet. He may have touched down on the mainland. We all hope to see him again. All other aircraft returned safely to base.

Webmasters's notes:

(1) Just twenty-five minutes into his flight, F/O GW Hewson took to the silk canopy changing from a Typhoon Fighter Bomber Pilot to a POW. He had successfully completed 50 operational sorties against the enemy accumulating 54.25 flying hours in the Typhoon. His story in pictures can be seen in here WW II Photo Memoirs  of F/O G.W. Hewson

MN379

MN345

MP136

PD465

MN352

MN869

MN989

MN969

F/O  Johns

W/O Gray

F/O Smith I.

F/O Laurence

F/O Stitt

F/O Stelter

F/O Rassenti

F/O Henderson

F/O Smith R.V.

Details of Sortie or Flight

Someone claimed 20mm fire could be used with good effect against barges on these canals so our Squadron, under leadership of F/O Johns was airborne at 16:00 hours to carry out an armed recce over the Antwerp-Turnhout Canal. A heavy rainstorm was encountered over most of the Canal but four barges were damaged - no results visible. In the course of the attacks, a high tension transformer was knocked out in the factory by the Canal at map reference D.9807. A small amount of light flak was encountered at D.8811 but no damage done. All aircraft returned safely to base at 16:40 hours.