100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
BOMBERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 51To p
Stirling III EF252 of
1657 Conversion Unit,
Shepherds Grove.
This was destroyed
when an engine
failed on take-off
on July 26, 1944;
the bomber swung
and demolished the
Shepherds Grove
watch offi ce.
PETE WESTAbove
Sqn Ldr Peter Boggis
and a crew member
giving a ‘thumbs up’
from the cockpit of
N6086; probably
at the hand-over at
Wyton, October 10,- KEC
Above left
Stirling cockpit.Left
Stirling Is of 15
Squadron at Wyton,
circa 1941.100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
“Lady MacRobert noted that through the Stirling her sons: ‘would
be glad that their mother replied for them and helped to strike a
blow at the enemy.’”
In late January 1942 the squadron
was detached to Lossiemouth for
operations against the warship Tirpitz,
moored near Trondheim in Norway.
On the 29th N6086 was one of seven
Stirlings crossing the North Sea, but
all were forced to turn back.
On February 7 the Stirlings set off
for Wyton in poor weather. A couple
got no further than Peterhead and
settled in for the night. The following
morning N6086 swung on take-off
and slammed into a Spitfire,
killing the
fighter’s pilot.
MacRobert’s Reply was a broken
and twisted hulk, but all of its cr ew
extricated themselves. Before hitching
a ride south, groundcrew cut the
family badges off the nose so they
could be attached to another Stirling.
The crests were riveted to the noseof Austin Motors-built Mk.I W7531
and the wording MacRobert’s Reply was
painted below them. This Stirling was
picked because it was F-for-Freddie
and 15 Squadron was keen to keep to
the same individual letter.
Freddie lifted off from Wyton with a
load of mines, bound for the Danish
coast on May 17, 1943. Hit by flak,
MacRobert’s Reply lost an engine andSHORT STIRLING
flew into a withering barrage of fire,
crashing in a forest near Galsklint
in Denmark. Eight men died, but
gunner Sgt D Jeffs was thrown clear
and became a prisoner of war.
Four Hawker Hurricanes were also
purchased by Lady MacRobert during
the war. MacRobert’s Reply was revived
in August 1980 when 15 Squadron
Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer S.2
XT287 F-for-Foxtrot was so named at
Lossiemouth by retired Sqn Ldr Peter
Boggis DFC.
From 1983 swing-wing Panavia
Tornado became 15 Squadron’s
equipment. By the time 15 disbanded
on March 31, 2017, the last Tornado
to carry the name MacRobert’s Reply
had been dispatched to Leeming to
be reduced to spares: a great pity, it
deserved a better fate.To pTo pTo p
Stirling III EF252 of Stirling III EF252 of Stirling III EF252 of Stirling III EF252 of Stirling III EF252 offlew into a withering barrage of fire,
crashing in a forest near Galsklint