We did seven trips against Berlin

Heroes Remember

We did seven trips against Berlin

Transcript

We then converted from Wellingtons, went onto Halifaxs and then onto Lancasters and joined number 156 Pathfinder Squadron and that was in . . . we joined the squadron in December of 1943, which incidentally, was in the mists of what was called the Berlin Series, starting in, I think it was about October of 1943 and it went on until the beginning of March, 1944, was what they call, the Berlin Series of Raids. And I think there were something like15 raids against Berlin. All of them done by, between four and 900 heavy bombers. And of course, this was thought this might be a way of finishing the war. Actually it didn't finish the war, but what was the intention. The German.... I should perhaps mention now German defences. The Germans had very, very strong anti-aircraft defences. And they had about, a total of about a million men involved in total. With the anti- aircraft guns, with the search light, batteries, but primarily with the, the night fighter force, which was very strong, very good. And it was nothing remarkable to lose 40, 50 aircraft a night. And in fact during the Berlin Series, that I had mentioned, we lost over a thousand heavy bombers. The RAF lost a thousand heavy bombers, in that period from October to March against Berlin. We did seven trips against Berlin and all of them were rough, you know. You could expect you would be in search lights part of the time, that you were going to be hit by flak. And it was very rare that we would get back home with out a whole bunch of holes in the aircraft that the ground crew had to fix, before you could fly again. But up until then, we'd only been attacked by fighters on two occasions and neither one had pressed home the attack against us. The Lancaster had a rear gunner, and a mid-upper gunner, not like the American Aircraft who had a downward facing gunner and side gunners as well. So anything that formatted underneath , you couldn't see it. And they would then fire on you and you wouldn't know they were there, until you were attacked. That is what had happened to us, I'm sure because we were flying along and then next thing we know, is the aircraft is on fire. And there were sparks everywhere. The wireless operator who was sitting here, is dead. There's a fire in the cockpit, looking down the fuselage, its dark than sparks. And then the next thing I know is, I'm walking along on the ground, in about 18 inches of snow.

Description

Mr. Yeomans describes German anti-bomber defence, RAF losses, and being shot down.

John Yeomans

Mr. Yeomans was born in Manchester, England. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was an apprentice electrical engineer. Too young to enlist, he was still involved as a firewatcher during the German air raids on his city, during which time he witnessed heavy destruction and numerous deaths. In 1941, Mr. Yeomans volunteered for the RAF, and went to South Africa, where he took Navigator training. His combat activity saw him take part in the bombing campaign against Berlin. Mr. Yeomans was the lone survivor when his Lancaster bomber was shot down and after spending a year in several different POW camps, he escaped and finally returned to England. After the war, he spent time in the RAF before moving to Canada as a flight instructor for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 4:20
Person Interviewed:: John Yeomans
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Europe
Battle/Campaign:: Germany, The Berlin Series
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: 156 Pathfinder Squadron
Rank:: Wing Commander
Occupation:: Navigator

Language selection

We did seven trips against Berlin

Heroes Remember