OMBER COMMAND STIRLING
32 FLYPAST February 2018
“Things were so bad that night that I thought they had got me
again. I very nearly had to do a crash-landing in Holland and for
about a quarter of an hour it was touch and go”attributed to the aircraft’s low ceiling –
especially in icy conditions – making
them more vulnerable to flak.
Icing conditions in cloud over
the North Sea caused many
aircraft to abandon the raid. The
Pathfinders were unable to produce
concentrated target marking,
causing the Main Force’s bombing
to be scattered. Overall, the results
were disappointing.
Only 20 miles from the target,
Barron’s port outer engine failed.
The Stirling lost height quickly, so
he abandoned the operation and
released his bombs.
Still unable to gain sufficient
height, he flew right into a storm
and icing became so bad that more
height was lost until the bomber was
at only 2,000ft.
“Things were so bad that night
that I thought they had got me
again. I very nearly had to do a
crash-landing in Holland and for
about a quarter of an hour it was
touch and go.” Barron fought to
keep the aircraft speed above its
105mph (168km/h) stalling speed.
“However, luck has always been
on my side since I’ve been over
here.” Suddenly, over Rotterdam,
they entered a rainstorm. Within
a few minutes the ice was melting
and the aircraft gradually gained
height. Barron nursed the Stirling
up to 4,000ft, and completed the
remainder of the flight safely.Fraser Barron went on to become a
Pathfinder, having completed 79 ‘ops’.
He ended the war as Wg Cdr James
Fraser Barron DSO* DFC DFM.and get the fuel through.
The next problem for the crew
was returning to England. “The
navigator lost all his stuff [during
the evasive action] and couldn’t
tell where we were. However, we
navigated from memory and got
back home.”
They found themselves flying over
Luton with a big chimney sticking
up higher than the aircraft! They
shot up again, then when they
were about to land found that one
main wheel had not come down.
Robinson again worked his magic
and fixed it in time. The crew
braced themselves for a crash, but
the undercarriage held. Robinson
was awarded the DFC for his efforts
that night.
After touchdown, the relieved crew
kept thinking the same thing: had
Barron delayed his evasive tactics by
just a couple of seconds, the night-
fighter would have sent them down
in flames.
It was Barron’s skill and experience- and a cool head – that kept the
crew alive. But most important of
all was luck; when the crew looked
at the aircraft the following day,
they realised just how fortunate they
were.
TOUCH AND GO
Barron bombed Hamburg on
February 3/4, 1943 – ‘op’ No.59.
A force of 263 aircraft
was dispatched,
including 66
Stirlings. Eight of
the 16 aircraft lost were
Stirlings. This high loss wasfighter, a Ju 88, attacked from below
and came up past the tail. The Stirling
crew said they could hear thuds and
bangs as shells exploded on the port
wing.” The mid-upper and rear turrets
were knocked out in the burst.
Taking instant evasive action
Barron dived his Stirling from
12,500 to 5,000ft, but the fighter
was still there, firing into the
starboard wing. By this time Plt Off
Jack Cunningham in the rear turret
“managed to get one gun going out
of his four and drove it off ” while
Barron descended a further 3,000ft.
They finally managed to shake the
Junkers off.
Meanwhile, a fire had started in
the rear and the fuselage filled with
fumes. The wireless operator, Flt Sgt
Roch, and the flight engineer, Plt
Off Robinson, managed to put the
blaze out during the steep dive.A COOL HEAD
Barron wrote that the raid was:
“...a bit on the warm side. A piece
about a foot square was blown out
of the left wing, three petrol tanks
punctured, two gun turrets [mid-
upper and rear] put out of action,
the rear-gunner’s parachute shot to
ribbons, the petrol control wires
shot away, the wireless aerial shot
off, big holes all over the plane.”
The port side changeover petrol
cocks had been severed. The tanks
that the aircraft was running on at
the time had little petrol left and
there was no way to supplement
them. Robinson
managed to connect
up the tanks in timeBelow
‘F for Freddy’ of 15
Squadron buzzing
Wyton, 1941. ALL VIA
AUTHOR