1942-06-02, Halifax W1143, Haringvliet near Hellevoetsluis

Halifax W1143 Information

Type Halifax

Serial Number W1143

Squadron 78

X1D EY-F

Operation Essen

Date 1 1st June 1942

Date 2 2nd June 1942

Mission

W1143 was one of three No.78 Sqdn Halifaxes lost on this operation. See: R9364; W7698, and one of three No.10 Sqdn Halifaxes and crews lost on the same operation. See: L9623; W1098

Airborne from Leeming borrowed by No.10 Sqdn and crewed by No.10 Sqdn personnel.

Cause of loss not established. Crashed in the Haringvllet off Hellevoetsluis (Zuid Holland), 25 km SW of Rotterdam. P/O Clothier is buried in Crooswijk General Cemetery; the rest of those killed are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

www.lostbombers.co.uk

1/2 June 1942

Essen

This was the second raid carried out by the 'Thousand Force' although the full 1,000 aircraft could not be provided on this night. 956 aircraft were dispatched: 545 Wellingtons, 127 Halifaxes, 77 Stirlings, 74 Lancasters, 71 Hampdens, 33 Manchesters and 29 Whitleys.

The plan was similar to the recent raid on Cologne except that many more flares were dropped by the raid leaders, Wellingtons of 3 Group. Crews experienced great difficulty in finding the target; the ground was covered either by haze or a layer of low cloud. Bombing was very scattered.

Essen reports only 11 houses destroyed and 184 damaged, mostly in the south of the city, and one prisoner of war working camp burnt out. Casualties were 15 people killed and 91 injured. Bombs also fell on at least 11 other towns in or near the Ruhr. Particularly heavy bombing occurred in Oberhausen with 83 people killed, Duisburg with 52 killed, and Mülheim with 15 killed.

31 bombers were lost: 15 Wellingtons, 8 Halifaxes, 4 Lancasters, 1 Hampden, 1 Manchester, 1 Stirling, 1 Whitley. This was 3.2 per cent of the force dispatched.

Intruders: 48 Blenheims to German airfields. 10 aircraft made attacks; 3 were lost. Fighter and Army Co-Operation Command aircraft were also operating.

A day later Essen was the target again.

2 June 1942

2/3 June 1942

Essen

195 aircraft - 97 Wellingtons, 38 Halifaxes, 27 Lancasters, 21 Stirlings, 12 Hampdens. 14 aircraft - 7 Wellingtons, 2 Halifaxes, 2 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings, 1 Hampden - lost.

This attack was also widely scattered. Essen records only 3 high-explosive and 300 incendiary bombs in the city, with no serious damage or casualties.

Minor Operations: 6 Wellingtons to Dieppe, 11 aircraft minelaying off Lorient and St Nazaire, 4 Hampdens on leaflet flights to France. 1 Hampden minelayer was lost.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jun42.html

Raid on Essen during the night (June 1-2) by 1036 RAF bombers. 35 fail to return. The success of the raid is questionable.

fielding 956 bombers against the industrial town of Essen. Due to the target-acquisition problems endemic to the Ruhr valley, relatively little damage was done.

Crash

Further Information

"Serial Range W1141 - W1190. 50 Halifax Mk.11. Part of a batch of 181 HP59 Halifax Mk.11. W1002-W1021; W1035- W1067; W1090-W1117; W1141-1190; W1211-W1253; W1270-W12776. Delivered by English Electric Co (Salmesbury & Preston) between 24May42 and 8Jul42.

From the trilogy 'For Your Tomorrow - A record of New Zealanders who have died while serving with the RNZAF and Allied Air Services since 1915' (Volume One: Fates 1915-1942):

"Mon 1/Tue 2 Jun 1942

Bomber Command

Raid on Essen, Germany (by 956 aircraft - 34 lost)...10 Squadron, RAF (Leeming, Yorkshire - 4 Group)

Halifax II W1143/F - on same raid as the above and brought down over the Netherlands, crashing into the Haringvliet off Hellevoetsluis, 25km SW of Rotterdam. An RAF Sgt survived, being the only one to successfully bale out before the Halifax hit the water. The captain’s body was later recovered and is buried at Rotterdam, but the five others who died are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

The other crew members were:

Sgt W R Forbes - PoW

Flt Sgt J S Clapham - +

Sgt J Simpson - +

Sgt O A Mireau, RCAF - +

Flt Sgt T A G Morris - +

Halifax W1143 belonged to Croft-based 78 Sqn but had been loaned to 10 Sqn for this raid.

Note that the crew were members of 78 Sqn whereas the aircraft belonged to 10 Sqn.

via: http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/l.rwilloughby/WWII/WWII_RNZAF/B-C-1942/clothier-henry-garfield.html

The following statement was recorded at the end of the war from W.R.Forbes.

"As a result of enemy action our aircraft crashed into the sea, the circumstances being such that I was the only member of the crew able to bale out in time. As I was going down I saw the machine crash into the sea, but I did not see anyone else leave it, and consider it highly improbably that anyone else succeeded in getting out. I was later called on to identify the body of P/O Clothier, and was informed by a German officer that the remaining members of my crew were trapped in the aircraft. The body of Pilot Officer Clothier was taken to Rotterdam, where I was told that he would be buried."

W.R.Forbes.

Crew

P/O H.G.Clothier RNZAF KIA (Henry Garfield)

Sgt W.R.Forbes PoW

F/O J.R.F.Ganderton RNZAF KIA

F/S J.S.Clapham KIA

Sgt J.Simpson KIA

Sgt A.O.Mireau RCAF KIA (Albert Onide)

F/S T.A.G.Morris KIA

Sgt W.R.Forbes was interned in Camps L3/L6/357, PoW No.499 "

Captain: NZ404442 Plt Off Henry Garfield CLOTHIER, RNZAF - Age 26. 374hrs. 8th op.

Navigator: NZ403599 Fg Off John Raymond Francis GANDERTON, RNZAF - Age 26. 328hrs. 8th op."

4. Aircraft W1143 was carrying the identification letters EY-F when it was lost on 2nd. June 1942 : It had been borrowed from 78 Squadron by 10 Squadron and took off from Leeming with a full crew of 10 Squadron men.

Unit

No. 78 Squadron RAF

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History

No. 78 Squadron was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps on 1 November 1916 for home defence at Harrietsham and tasked with protecting the southern English coast. It was originally equipped with obsolescent BE2 and more modern BE12 fighters. On the night of 25 September 1917 a Captain Bell of the squadron encountered a German Gotha and attacked it over Joyce Green. John Rawlings, writing in Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force (1969), stated that 'it was believed that he damaged it for one of the German raiders failed to return that night, being lost at sea.' The squadron received Sopwith 1½ Strutters in late 1917, followed by Sopwith Camels in mid-1918. It arrived at Sutton's Farm, under the command of Major Cuthbert Rowden, in September 1917 and was there until December 1919, with a detachment at Biggin Hill. The squadron disbanded on 31 December 1919 following the Armistice.

During the buildup of the RAF in the period before the World War II, No. 78 Squadron was reformed at RAF Boscombe Down on 1 November 1936, twenty-two years after it was first formed, by redesignating a flight of No. 10 Squadron. In July 1939 it was equipped with Armstrong Whitworth Whitley medium bombers, and on the outbreak of war was designated as a training squadron and moved to RAF Linton-on-Ouse. From September 1939 to April 1941, however, Whitley Mk V bombers were flown by No. 78 for night operations from the bases at RAF Disforth and RAF Linton-on-Ouse. In July 1940 it was returned to front-line duties, and served as a full-time night bomber squadron of RAF Bomber Command, being re-equipped with Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers in early 1942 flying from Breighton Airfield in East Yorkshire

In May 1945 it was transferred into Transport Command, re-equipping with Dakotas in July and moving to the Middle East in September. It remained active in the post-war period as a transport squadron, converting to Valettas in 1950, before being disbanded on 30 September 1954.

The squadron was again reformed in April 1956 at Aden, operating Pioneer and later Twin Pioneer light transport aircraft. In 1965 these were transferred to No. 21 Squadron and the squadron converted to a helicopter unit operating Wessexes; it remained in this role until being disbanded in 1971.

Aircraft

March 1942-January 1944: Handley Page Halifax B.Mk II

Location

20 October 1941-10 June 1942: Croft

Cause of crash

Flakkommandeur Vlissingen 03.40hr.

(Hellevoetsluis) meldet: Eine feindliche viermotorige Maschine (Halifax) überfliegt Hellevoetsluis und wird mit 4 cm, 3,7 cm und 2 cm Waffen bekämpft! Die Maschine erhält mehrere Treffer in den rechten inneren Motor und stürzt vor Hellevoetsluis ins Wasser ab.

Nach Aussagen des einzigen Überlebenden der Flugzeugbesatzung handelt es sich um eine Maschine, die in Essen beschossen wurde und einen Ausfall des rechten äußeren Motors hatte. Die Maschine kreiste längere Zeit bei und über Hellevoetsluis in der Absicht notzulanden!

Translation:

Hellevoetsluis reports; one enemy four engined machine (Halifax) flies over Hellevoetsluis and is fired upon by 4 cm., 3,7cm. and 2 cm. FLAK. The aircraft is hit several times in the right inside engine and crashes in the water in front of Hellevoetsluis.

Accoording to statements by the only survivor of the crew the plane was hit over Essen causing the right outside engine to stop working. The plane circled Hellevoetsluis several times in an attempt to make an emergency landing.

Possibly these claims are related to this crash as well:

• • Description: Walls of houses of Wesel still stand, as do the churches, but a great part of the town was destroyed when the German commander forced the Allied troops to fight their way street by street through the ruins. Germany, 1945

  • Source: US Archiv ARCWEB ARC Identifier: 535793

  • Post-Work: User:W.wolny

  • Licence: Public Domain

Nachtjagdgeschwader 2

Geschwaderkommodoren:

• • Obstlt Karl Hülshoff, 1.11.41 - 31.12.43

  • Maj Heinrich Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 1.1.44 - 21.1.44

  • Oberst Günther Radusch, 4.2.44 - 11.11.44

  • Maj Paul Semrau, 12.11.44 - 8.2.45

  • Obstlt Wolfgang Thimmig, 8.2.45 - 5.5.45

Stab:

Formed 1.11.41 in Gilze Rijen.

Bases:

I. Gruppe:

Gruppenkommandeure:

• • Hptm Karl-Heinrich Heyse, 1.9.40 - 23.11.40

  • Maj Karl Hülshoff, 24.11.40 - 31.10.41

  • Maj Erich Jung, 1.11.41 - 12.43

  • Hptm Franz Buschmann, 12.43 - 1.44

  • Hptm Albert Schulz, 1.44 - 31.1.44

  • Hptm Wolfgang von Niebelschütz, 31.1.44 - 20.2.44

  • Hptm Ernst Zechlin, 20.2.44 - 12.5.44

  • Hptm Gerhard Rath, 12.5.44 - 8.5.45

Formed 1.9.40 at Gilze-Rijen from II./NJG1 with:

Stab I./NJG2 from Stab II./NJG1

1./NJG2 from 4./NJG1 with Ju 88C-1

2./NJG2 from 5./NJG1 with Do 17Z-7/10

3./NJG2 from 6./NJG1 with Ju 88C-2

On 1.10.42 1./NJG2 was redesignated 5./NJG2, and a new 1./NJG2 was reformed from the rest of I./NJG2.

In 11.42 1./NJG2 was redesignated 10./NJG3, and a new 1./NJG2 was reformed from the rest of I./NJG2.

In 28.8.43 2./NJG2 was redesignated 6./NJG2, and a new 2./NJG2 was reformed from the rest of I./NJG2.

Bases:

* 2./NJG2 moved to Benghazi on 17.11.41 (Fl. Fü. Afrika), but returned to Catania 28.11.41

** 2. and 3./NJG2 was based at Benghazi, 1.42 - 20.3.42; From 4.42 I./NJG2 was scattered all over the Mediterranean, with detachments at Benina, Berca, Derna, Benghasi, El Quasaba and Kastelli/Crete. Main base was still Catania.

*** 2./NJG2 was based at Gilze Rijen

II. Gruppe:

Gruppenkommandeure:

• • Maj Helmut Lent, 1.11.41 - 1.10.42

  • Hptm Herbert Bönsch, 2.10.42 - 12.42

  • Hptm Dr. Horst Patuschka, 3.12.42 - 6.3.43

  • Hptm Herbert Sewing, 7.3.43 - 12.43

  • Maj Heinrich Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 12.43 - 1.1.44

  • Maj Paul Semrau, 1.1.44 - 1.11.44

  • Hptm Heinz-Horst Hissbach, 1.11.44 - 14.4.45

  • Hptm Franz Brinkhaus, 15.4.45 - 8.5.45

4./NJG2 was formed 11.40 in Gilze Rijen from 1./ZG2. In 11.41 the staffel moved to Catania, and would remain there until 25.2.42 (attached to I./NJG2 11.40 - 2.42), when it transferred back to Leeuwarden and joined II./NJG2.

Stab II./NJG2 was formed 1.11.41 in Leeuwarden with:

Stab II./NJG2 new

4./NJG2 (attached to I./NJG2 until 25.2.42)

5./NJG2 from 4./NJG1

6./NJG2 new

On 1.10.42 redesignated IV./NJG1:

Stab II./NJG2 became Stab IV./NJG1

4./NJG2 became 2./NJG3

5./NJG2 became 11./NJG2

6./NJG2 became 12./NJG1

Reformed 1.10.42 at Gilze Rijen from III./NJG2 with:

Stab II./NJG2 from Stab III./NJG2

4./NJG2 from 7./NJG2

5./NJG2 from 1./NJG2

6./NJG2 was formed 28.8.43 from 2./NJG2.

Bases:

* 4./NJG2 operated Do 17Z until early 1942.

III. Gruppe:

Gruppenkommandeure:

• • Hptm Herbert Bönsch, 3.4.42 - 1.8.42

  • Maj Paul Semrau, 8.43 - 1.1.44

  • Maj Berthold Ney, 1.1.44 - 11.44

  • Hptm Heinz Ferger, 11.44 - 10.4.45

  • Hptm Hans-Hermann Merker, 11.4.45 - 8.5.45

Formed 3.42 in Gilze Rijen with new crews:

Stab III and 7./NJG2 in 3.42

8./NJG2 in 5.42

9./NJG2 in 6.42

In 7.42 7./NJG2 moved to Grove (Karup).

On 1.10.42 redesignated II./NJG2:

Stab III./NJG2 became Stab II./NJG2

7./NJG2 became 4./NJG2

8./NJG2 became 10./NJG1

9./NJG2 became 11./NJG3

Reformed 15.8.43 in Stuttgart/Nellingen from V./NJG6 with:

Stab III./NJG2 from Stab V./NJG6

7./NJG2 from 13./NJG6

8./NJG2 from 14./NJG6

9./NJG2 from 15./NJG6

In 9.44 9./NJG2 absorbed Luftbeobachtungsstaffel 3. On 30.10.44 III./NJG2 was redesignated IV./NJG3:

Stab III./NJG2 became Stab IV./NJG3

7./NJG2 became 10./NJG3

8./NJG2 became 11./NJG3

9./NJG2 became 12./NJG3

while a new III./NJG2 was formed from the old IV./NJG3 with:

Stab III./NJG2 from Stab IV./NJG3

7./NJG2 from 10./NJG3

8./NJG2 from 11./NJG3

9./NJG2 from 12./NJG3

Bases: