CREW MEMBER PROFILE

Surname:

BRAY

First Name/s:

Charles Robert "Charlie"

No Image

Service No/s:

(545511) 52818

Service:

RAF

Branch:

Navigator

Awards:

Return

SERVICE RECORDS

Date

Event

Aircraft Flown

25 Nov 1943

Joined 576 Sqn at Elsham Wolds, Linconshire

Auto loaded with upgrade to v1.0.07

13 Sep 1944

Set Rank from Flight Record

06 Dec 1944

Set Rank from Flight Record

02 Mar 1945

Set Rank from Flight Record

576 Squadron FLYING RECORDS

Date

Aircraft

Code

Flight Details

T/O

Land

Flt Time

Crew

13 Sep 1944

NF975

UL-J2

Training

nk

nk

4h25

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Night pre-op cross country.

14 Sep 1944

ME801

UL-C2

Training

nk

nk

4h30

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Pre-op cross country with bombload.

24 Sep 1944

NE115

UL-B2

CALAIS

1650

1920

2h30

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Enemy fortifications & heavy gun positions Load: 13x 1000lb, 4x 500lb bombs Bombed up late – unable to reach target on time. Jetissoned bombs at sea. Burst tyre. Derek Till: 'We then did several short daylight ops in support of the invasion forces. On our first trip as a crew the target was Calais. As we approached the takeoff position in "ltem", (later to become our favorite aircraft) a tire burst, so I called the tower with the code "ltem; Dunlop". We sat in the aircraft while the ground crew came rushing out with the necessary jacks and a spare, and although they worked tremendously hard, ( remember, they were jacking up a fully laden 30-ton aircraft), we were over an hour late taking off. It was obvious we had no way of catching up on the main force, so after some discussion and observing that we could already see aircraft retunting, I decided that the prudent thing to do was to abort and return to base. This did not please the Squadron Commander as you can imagine, but given our lack of experience it seemed sensible to me.'

25 Sep 1944

PD232

UL-F2

Training

nk

nk

2h00

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Fighter affiliation; air to air firing.

27 Sep 1944

LM227

UL-I2

CALAIS

0910

1245

3h35

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Enemy fortifications between marshalling yards and the Canal de Calais Load: 13x 1000lb, 4x 500lb bombs

28 Sep 1944

LM227

UL-I2

Training

nk

nk

2h15

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Bombing; air to sea firing.

07 Oct 1944

NG119

UL-D2

EMMERICH

1210

1630

4h20

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Enemy strong point within the built-up area. Load: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ & 2520x 4lb incendiaries Aircraft diverted on the return due to low cloud at base – only 5 aircraft landed at Elsham, the others (including the Till crew - Sandtoft) landed at Sandtoft or Lindholme.

08 Oct 1944

NG119

UL-D2

SANDTOFT TO BASE

nk

nk

0h15

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Return from diversion.

11 Oct 1944

NE115

UL-B2

Training

nk

nk

1h40

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

'Y' cross country.

12 Oct 1944

LM227

UL-I2

FORT FREDERIK HENDRIK, BRESKENS

0635

1000

3h25

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Coastal Battery (1st aiming point from 11 Oct) Load: 13x 1000lb and 4x 500lb bombs.

13 Oct 1944

PB467

UL-K2

Training

nk

nk

nk

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   Fg Off T.C. Dawson
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Fighter affiliation. P2: T C Dawson

13 Oct 1944

PB472

UL-E2

Air test

nk

nk

0h35

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Air test

14 Oct 1944

PB472

UL-E2

DUISBURG

0630

1105

4h35

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Operation HURRICANE – 3 aircraft detailed to attack August Thyssen Steelworks (C2, G2, M2), rest detailed to attack 4 APs (mines and coke ovens) in the Hamborn district (19 a/c) Loads: C2,G2,M2: 13x 1000lb, 4x500lb bombs A2, I2, N2, T2, V2: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 2,212x 4lb incendiaries All other aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 108x 30lb & 1170x 4lb incendiaries. Till crew unable to identify Aiming Point so bombed the Thyssen works as an alternative. Derek Till; 'Shortly after this, we were part of a force of several hundred Lancasters that attacked Duisburg in the Ruhr in daylight, targeting the munitions factories. This was I think the first significant daylight penetration of Germany by a large force from Bomber Command. We were instructed to tuck in as best we could behind the leading aircraft, which were flying in two , three-member "V" formations, one above the other. None of us had experience in formation flying and so this was a bit of a joke. We called this loose aggregation of aircraft a "gaggle". The raid seemed to go as planned and there was no serious resistance. We got back to base in the early afternoon, having been woken about 3 a.m. for a dawn takeoff. After the usual debriefing, we went to our huts to sleep, only to be rudely awakened in the late afternoon for a night raid on the same target. At the briefing we learned that the U.S. Air Force had also bombed the same target in the aftemoon, and so between the three raids, Duisburg with its munitions factories was pretty much destroyed.'

14 Oct 1944

LM227

UL-I2

DUISBURG

2220

0425

6h05

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Operation HURRICANE. Built-up area to the north of the docks. Load: B2, K2, M2: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 2,732x 4lb incendiaries. All other a/c: 12x 1000lb & 4x 500lb bombs.

19 Oct 1944

LM227

UL-I2

STUTTGART

2135

0415

6h40

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Bad Constatt marshalling yards & Robert Bosche works Load: F2,G2,K2,N2,Q2,Y2,Z2: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ & 1,800x 4lb incendiaries All other a/c: 9x 1000lb and 4x 500lb bombs. Second wave: Bosch works.

23 Oct 1944

LM227

UL-I2

ESSEN

1610

2210

6h00

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Built-up & Industrial areas (incl. Krupps) Load: B2,J2,N2,Z2: 1x 4000lb and 2220x 4lb incendiaries. All other a/c: 11x 1000lb & 4x 500lb bombs.

25 Oct 1944

LM227

UL-I2

ESSEN

1255

1815

5h20

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

2 APs in the Krupps works Load: B2, J2, N2, Z2: 1x 4,000lb, 2,220x 4lb incendiaries. All other aircraft: 11x 1,000lb, 4x 500lb bombs.

28 Oct 1944

LM227

UL-I2

COLOGNE

1335

1930

5h55

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Two APs: Mulheim district of Cologne, and the SW part of the city. Load: A2, B2, C2, F2, G2, N2: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 2,332x 4lb incendiaries. All other aircraft: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 5x 1,000lb, 6x 500lb bombs. 6 aircraft were scheduled to attack the Mulheim AP first, followed by the rest on the second AP.

30 Oct 1944

LM227

UL-I2

COLOGNE

1745

2030

2h45

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

NW Area of City Load: F2, G2, I2, J2, M2, R2: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 2070x 4lb incendiaries. All other aircraft: 1x 4,000lb ‘Cookie’, 6x 1,000lb, 6x 500lb bombs. Returned early – Stbd inner overspeed. Engine shut down. ‘Cookie’ dropped at sea. Other bombs brought back. Deek Till: 'One of the more exciting, not to say hairy, incidences I remember was when we started out on our tenth mission. We were loaded with a 4000lb "cookie" plus 8 - l000lb HE's and were headed for Cologne. However, just as we got airborne, the starboard inner engine overspeeded, creating a lot of vibration and the danger of a catastrophic failure. Derek immediately rammed the three good engines "through the gate", cut the throttle and gas to the starboard inner and tried to feather the prop, without success. The windmilling prop which was at the "fine" setting for take-off, created a lot of drag and we staggered along just above the hedges, gaining height excruciatingly slowly as we raised the undercaniage and, very carefully, the 15 degrees of flap. Fortunately we were headed east and the terrain in that direction was very flat farmland. When we finally reached a few hundred feet, I radioed flying control, and they told us to proceed to the North Sea, drop the cookie and bring the rest of the bomb load back to base. I think that few aircraft other than the lanc could lose an engine on take-off and still climb fully laden. This was our worst experience while over friendly territory, and we were all a bit shaken up.'

02 Nov 1944

LM227

UL-I2

DUSSELDORF

1615

2105

4h50

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Northern built-up area of the city. Load: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 6x 1000lb, 6x 500lb bombs.

09 Nov 1944

LM227

UL-I2

WANNE-EICKEL

0830

1255

4h25

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Synthetic Oil Plant. Load: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 16x 500lb bombs.

11 Nov 1944

LM227

UL-I2

DORTMUND

1550

2110

5h20

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Hoesch Benzin GmbH synthetic oil plant. Load: J2, Q2: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, ?x 1000lb, 6x 500lb bombs. All other aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 6x 1000lb, 6x 500lb bombs.

21 Nov 1944

LM227

UL-I2

ASCHAFFENBURG

nk

nk

nk

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Marshalling yards. Master Bomber: Chatham 1 & 2. MF: Disrupt. Last resort: Upside Down. Load: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 16x 500lb bombs. DNTO. Burst tyre whilst taxying.

27 Nov 1944

LM227

UL-I2

FREIBURG

nk

nk

nk

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Troop concentrations in built up area. Flown in support of the French 1st Army. Load: K2, Q2, R2, W2, Z2: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 2332x 4lb incendiaries. All other aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 5x 1000lb and 6x 500lb bombs. DNTO. W/T failure.

28 Nov 1944

NN749

UL-G2

Training

2000

nk

1h30

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Night bombing. LM227 in FE logbook.

29 Nov 1944

LM227

UL-I2

DORTMUND

1225

1725

5h00

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Industrial and rail targets within the built-up area RUHR Load: K2, Q2, R2, W2, Z2: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 14 x No.14 incendiary clusters, and 120 x 4lb incendiaries. All other aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 5x 1000lb and 7x 500lb bombs. Hit by flak. FIDO deployed on landing. Derek Till: 'On a daylight trip to the Ruhr - I've forgotten which one - a senior officer asked to fly with us as an unofficial supernumerary to "see what it was like". I think he got more than he bargained for because on this trip the front turret was hit by flak. The problem was that oil came back from the broken turret hydraulic lines onto the windscreen, With a cer[ain amount of glee, I got the unofficial passenger to crowd around behind my seat until he could use a small window to the left of the windscreen to wipe the oil off with his gloved hand. He was a good sport, but was not amused! On another trip to the Ruhr we passed over the Pas de Calais area in twilight and I suddenly saw a vertical vapour trail, which was the exhaust from one of the V2 rockets that were aimed at London.'

03 Dec 1944

LM227

UL-I2

URFT DAM

0735

1200

4h25

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Walled masonry dam. Load: 14x 1000lb bombs. Master Bomber called off the attack due low cloud over target and the proximity of Allied troops. All aircraft returned with bombloads. Derek Till: 'The Urft Dam was considered to be an important strategic target. It was a different type of dam to that featured in the famous "dam-busters" raids and wasn't susceptible to the "bouncing" fype of bomb. We were therefore sent out with 12 -l000lb high explosive bombs. Unfortunately there was continuous cloud cover over the target, so the Master Bomber told us to circle while he investigated.. This was in daylight, and I'll never forget the sight of several hundred bombers following one another around in a huge circle. The Master Bomber concluded that it was not practical for us to get down below the cloud, and so we returned to base with our bombs.'

04 Dec 1944

LM227

UL-I2

KARLSRUHE

1630

2300

6h30

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Built-up area. Load: C2, H2, Q2, X2: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 14 x No.14 incendiary clusters and 120x 4lb incendiaries. A2: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 4x 1000lb, and 9x 500lb bombs. All other aircraft: 13x or 12x 1000lb bombs.

06 Dec 1944

LM227

UL-I2

MERSEBURG / LEUNA

1635

0035

8h00

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt V.C. Mattocks
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

IG Farbenindustrie synthetic oil refinery Load: F2, I2, L2, P2, W2: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 3x 1000lb, 5x500lb bombs A2, G2, Q2, R2, X2: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 3x 1000lb, 6x 500lb bombs Y2: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 10x 500lb bombs B2, D2, J2: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 11x No.14 Incendiary Clusters, 120x 4lb incendiaries C2, H2, K2, M2: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 12 x No.14 Incendiary Clusters, 120x 4lb incendiaries. Coned by searchlights on way home. Derek Till: 'Our l7th op was an eight hour trip to the huge Leuna oil refinery at Merseberg. This was an important target because it produced a great deal of aviation-grade petrol. We were told there were approximately 600 heavy flak guns surrounding the refinery area and the flak over the target was indeed extremely heavy but we did not get into trouble until on the way back, when we were coned by several searchlights. The "greenhouse" was of course very lit up and I felt very vulnerable. By throwing the very maneuverable Lanc around we successfully got out of trouble.'

09 Dec 1944

LM294

UL-P2

Air test

nk

nk

1h35

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Air test

09 Dec 1944

PD232

UL-F2

Training

nk

nk

1h45

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Night fighter affiliation; night bombing. Holland shows 1h45 in his logbook; Till 6h05.

15 Dec 1944

LM227

UL-I2

MANNHEIM-LUDWIGSHAFEN

1450

2055

6h05

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt V.C. Mattocks
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

I.G. Farbenindustrie Chemical Works / Marshalling Yards / Oil Refinery Load: J2: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 14x No.14 Incendiary Clusters, 120x 4lb incendiaries All other aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 4x 1000lb, 7x 500lb bombs

17 Dec 1944

LM227

UL-I2

ULM

1515

2240

7h25

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt V.C. Mattocks
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Marshalling yards, and Magirius-Deutz & Kassbohrer lorry factories Load: A2, H2, I2, P2, T2, Y2: 1x 4000lb, 1604x 4lb incendiaries All other aircraft: 1x 4000lb, 6x No.15 and 5x No.14 Incendiary Clusters, 120x 4lb incendiaries

28 Dec 1944

LM227

UL-I2

BONN

1515

2105

5h50

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt V.C. Mattocks
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Marshalling yards Load: A2, J2: 8x 1000lb, 8x 500lb All other aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 6x 1000lb, 8x 500lb bombs

31 Dec 1944

LM227

UL-I2

OSTERFELD

1450

2055

6h05

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt V.C. Mattocks
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Marshalling yards Load: Z2: 6x No.15 and 5x No.14 Incendiary Clusters, 120x 4lb incendiaries All other aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 6x 1000lb, 6x 500lb bombs

02 Jan 1945

LM227

UL-I2

NUREMBURG

DNTO

nk

N/A

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt V.C. Mattocks
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Marshalling Yards & Built-up Area Load: C2, D2, J2, L2, O2, X2, Z2:1x 4000lb, 1,598x 4lb incendiaries A2, F2, G2, H2, K2, Q2, V2, W2, Y2: 1x4000lb, 14x 500 R2: 1x 4000lb, 4x 1000lb, 5x 500lb Did not take off due to electrical failure

12 Jan 1945

ME317

UL-C2

Training

nk

nk

3h10

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

'Y' cross country.

14 Jan 1945

LM227

UL-I2

MERSEBURG - LEUNA

1905

0315

8h10

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Fg Off D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

IG Farbenindustrie synthetic oil refinery. Load: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 12x 500lb bombs. Derek Till: '... we went to the oil refinery at Merseberg again, We were now one of the "windfinder" crews which meant that periodically Geoff would transmit avery short coded report back to base with winds that Charlie had calculated. We were close to being the first aircraft over the target after the Pathfinders, and we had to listen carefully to the Master Bomber, since the Germans had fake fires and target indicators burning.'

16 Jan 1945

ME735

UL-B2

ZEITZ / TROGLITZ

1735

0120

7h45

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Braunkohle Benzin synthetic oil plant (low grade MT fuel). Load: All aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 12x 500lb bombs. Navigator passed out due to hypoxia as a result of a disconnected O2 pipe. Derek Till: 'A long flight to Zeitz, almost 8 hours, is perhaps one of my most vivid recollections. We were coming up to an abrupt turning point prior to a long run-in to the target, but I did not get the new course from Charlie as I had expected and had glimpsed other aircraft turning. I called him up and he said, not to worry, we're doing OK. About 10 minutes went by and I called him up again, and again he responded that we were on the right track. Suddenly the Wireless Operator yelled that Charlie has passed out - his oxygen had become disconnected. Geoff plugged him in again, Charlie revived and I told him how long I estimated we had overshot the turning point. He gave me a new course to the target, which fortunately we could soon see in the distance because it was thoroughly lit up. We arrived after everybody else had left - as we judged by the absence of bombs bursting on the target - and felt very lonely trundling across by ourselves. Charlie later showed us what he had written in his log when he thought he was being perfectly sensible - it was a lot of nonsense, typical of what happens when one suffers from oxygen lack. About this time, we were told that the "tour" of ops had been increased from 30 to 35, much to our dismay. I felt cheated- just as the end of the tour seemed in sight, we were faced with more trips and the strain was beginning to take its toll on our nerves.'

22 Jan 1945

LM227

UL-I2

DUISBURG / HAMBORN & BRUCKHAUSEN

1650

2155

5h05

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Steelwork coking ovens & rolling mills in the Hamborn area of the city and a benzol plant in Bruckhausen.

28 Jan 1945

NF975

UL-J2

Training

nk

nk

1h00

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Fighter affiliation.

01 Feb 1945

LM227

UL-I2

LUDWIGSHAFEN

1600

2235

6h35

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Marshalling yards, factories & troop positions. (Mannheim). Load: All aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 1620x 4lb incendiaries.

02 Feb 1945

LM227

UL-I2

WIESBADEN

2045

0250

6h05

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Built-up Area (where large amounts of troops were resting). Load: All aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 1604x 4lb incendiaries.

04 Feb 1945

NF975

UL-J2

Base - Scampton

nk

nk

0h10

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Base to Scampton

07 Feb 1945

PD363

UL-K2

KLEVE

1900

0005

5h05

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Enemy strong points. Flown in support of 1st Canadian Army and 15th Scottish Division attacking the town. Load: All aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 16 x 500lb bombs.

14 Feb 1945

PB785

UL-L2

Training

nk

nk

2h10

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Air to air firing; bombing.

14 Feb 1945

ME801

UL-N2

CHEMNITZ

2000

0440

8h40

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Operation THUNDERCLAP - City. Load: B, C, F, J, K, N: 1x 2000lb, 1478x 4lb incendiaries. L: 1x 2000lb, 1650x 4lb incendiaries. All other a/c: 1x 4000lb, 1170x 4lb incendiaries. Derek Till: 'On Feb 14th, we all groaned in disbelief when the curtain in the briefing room was drawn back to reveal a track that was almost a straight line across Germany to Chemnitz, close to the Polish border. I believe that this target was the farthest east to be attacked from England. We were told that the Joint Chiefs of Staff had laid it on at Stalin's request. We were over enemy territory for about five hours - it was somewhat nerve wracking, and the total time of almost nine hours left us completely shagged out.'

20 Feb 1945

ME735

UL-B2

DORTMUND

2140

0350

6h10

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Rhenania Ossag oil refinery, Reisholz district RUHR Load: M, N, O, P, Q, R, T, V: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 1604x 4lb incendiaries. X: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 2220x 4lb incendiaries. J, K, L: 1x 2000lb bomb and 2100x 4lb incendiaries. B, C, D, F, H: 1x 2000lb bomb and 1846x 4lb incendiaries.

02 Mar 1945

PD271

UL-T2

COLOGNE

0705

1210

5h05

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt R.W.G. Young
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Target: Roads to West of the Rhine leading to Hohenzollern Bridge. Load: 1x 4000lb ‘cookie’, 10x 500lb, 2x 500lb, 4x 250lb bombs

05 Mar 1945

ME492

UL-J2

CHEMNITZ

1645

0200

9h15

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Built-up area – Flown in support of Operation THUNDERCLAP. Load: D, F, H, M, N, P, X, Y: 1x4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 1170x 4lb incendiaries. Derek Till: 'A week later we were depressed to discover that Chemnitz was again the target - this time the trip took 9 hours 15 minutes, my longest. Although the target was not heavily defended and it was getting towards the end of the war (although we didn't know it at the time), the long flight was grueling, the danger of night fighter attacks still present, and it was hard for us to stay sharp over such a long period.' All other aircraft: 1x 2000lb bomb and 1650x 4lb incendiaries.

07 Mar 1945

LM227

UL-I2

DESSAU

1710

0200

8h50

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Built-up area. Load: D, G, H, K, L, M, N, W, X, Z: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 1170x 4lb incendiaries. All other aircraft: 1x 2000lb, 1650x 4lb incendiaries.

08 Mar 1945

LM227

UL-I2

KASSEL

1700

0035

7h35

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   Flt Sgt P.F. Sattler RAAF
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Plt Off S.R. Strand
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Built-Up Area Load: All aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 1470x 4lb incendiaries.

12 Mar 1945

LM227

UL-I2

DORTMUND

1315

1830

5h15

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Flt Sgt P.E.T. Brookes
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Built-Up Area - Flown in support of advancing Allied ground forces. RUHR. Load: All aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 16x 500lb bombs. FIGO used on landing.

20 Mar 1945

SW276

UL-G2

Training

nk

nk

0h40

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Fighter affiliation. Derek Till: 'After 36 ops, we were surprised to find that we had been scheduled for fighter affiliation - it seemed an odd thing to give us after so much "on-the-job" training! Perhaps the CO had laid this on as a sort of recreational exercise to keep us busy - I wonder. In an event, it proved to be a lot of fun. The usual procedure was for the Lancaster to fly straight and level, a fighter would approach from the rear on a characteristic curved attack, the rear or upper gunner would call for "corkscrew left" or "corkscrew right", and we would go through the standard evasive procedure. All very predictable. We planned a surprise for the fighter. The Lancaster was a well-stressed aircraft, and it was okay to put the flaps partially down and drop the undercarriage at cruising speed, which slowed the aircraft very rapidly. As soon as Bob called for "corkscrew left", Derek quickly dropped the undercariage and 15° of flap, and I put the Lanc into a tight steep turn to the left, instead of the diving maneuver the fighter was expecting. He overshot us, and by the time he discovered what was happening, we were on a reverse course miles away, laughing ourselves sick! However, when we got back to base, I was called into Squadron Leader Rooke's office. Apparently the Fighter Affiliation Unit Commander had been on the telephone to our Squadron Commander, complaining bitterly about the dangerous tactics which "l Item" had exhibited. Rooky wanted to know what the hell was going on. So I explained our little subterfuge. He said, "The proper procedure, Till, is to go into a corkscrew, as well you know", (although I think his language was rather more colourful than that!) I said, "But, sir,I thought the idea was to prevent the fighter getting on our tail." Silence, then "Get out" said Rooky!'

21 Mar 1945

LM227

UL-I2

BREMEN

0750

1205

4h15

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Deutsche Vacuum oil refinery, Oslebhausen; close to docks on N outskirts of city. Load: All aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 16x 500lb bombs. Derek Till: 'Our trip to Bremen on March 21st completed my tour of 35 trips but we agreed to do two more so that all the crew would finish together, since some had missed trips through colds etc, lt showed a good crew spirit, but I must admit it began to get a bit nerve-wracking. Memory can play tricks, but I know that the tension during those last few trips increased a lot - notjust because of the enemy, but we wanted to get it over with, and we desperately hoped that nothing would go wrong at the last minute. So near and yet so far. (A post-war analysis showed that most losses occurred in the first and last quarters of a tour, attributed to inexperience and over-confidence, respectively, but I think that some of the latter was due to over-strained nerves.)'

22 Mar 1945

LM227

UL-I2

HILDESHEIM (HANOVER)

1120

1620

5h00

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Railway yards. Load: All aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 1920x 4lb incendiaries.

24 Mar 1945

NX562

UL-F2

DORTMUND / HARPENER WEG

1255

1810

5h15

P1   Fg Off D.E. Till
P2   
FE   Sgt D.B. Holland
AB   Fg Off J. Shorthouse
NAV  Fg Off C.R. Bray
WOp  Fg Off G.W. Griggs RAAF
MUG  Sgt K. Oliver
RG   Sgt R. Hamilton

NOTES:

Harpenerweg oil refinery RUHR. Load: All aircraft: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’ and 16x 500lb bombs. Crew screened (tour completed). Derek Till: 'Our last trip was to Dortmund in the Ruhr in daylight. Because ltem was undergoing a maintenance inspection, we had to take another aircraft, to the great disappointment of my crew and our ground staffsince we'd hoped to finish in "ltem", the aircraft that we had come to love so well. The practice was to associate a crew with the same aircraft whenever possible, which built up a strong relationship between the air and ground crews At this time Item had done over 90 trips, including our 28, and went on to do over 100 before being withdrawn from service. (This is written up in the book about the 23 Lancs that completed 100 ops, 'Claims to Fame - The Lancasters' by Norman Franks. He interviewed me and Norm Bryan and there are several photos of crew and ground-crew in the book. Earlier we did a trip in another veteran 576 Lanc that did over 100 ops - "Nan".) On our last trip, I was the first to take off and we really belted to be first home. I did a low level "beatup" along the main runway before entering the circuit and I hate to say it, but I made one of my worst landings. I had flown the Lanc for the last time. My tour had taken 232hrs flying time, almost three-quarters at night, for an average of 6 l/4 hrs per operation. I felt a great sense of satisfaction and relief, tremendous camaraderie with my crew, love for the wonderful aircraft, and gratitude for the skill and conscientiousness of the ground crew. I think the dominant feeling during this period was self-preservation - "lets get on with it and get out of here". We'd all volunteered, of course for something vaguely hazardous, but I don't think any of my crew relished the excitement of battle. I couldn't imagine volunteering for a second tour of ops, although I admired those who did. One bright spot during the tour was when Derek Holland got married in a small country church close to Birmingham. I was Best Man, and the rest of the crew occupied a rear pew, having come straight from the village pub.' No. 576 Squadron - Tlll groundcrew: Norman Bryan, Senior Fitter, Bernie Klixman, Fitter, Tom Cookson, Rigger.

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