OMBER COMMAND LANCASTER CREW
44 FLYPAST February 2018
THE ‘BIG CITY’
The Clement crew was destined
for Berlin on March 24. This was
the last major raid on the ‘Big City’
by the RAF in the Battle of Berlin;
after this, smaller attacks would be
made by the de Havilland Mosquito
force. Out of a total force of more
than 800 bombers, 106 Squadron
contributed 14. The stream routed
over Denmark and the Baltic coast
running southwest over the target,
escaping over Holland.
One new crew returned on three
engines after flak damage over
Berlin. Another Lancaster landed on
two engines, having suffered engine
fires that were only extinguished
by pushing the aircraft into a high-
speed dive. Rather than bale out, the
crew elected to attempt to return on
two.At the briefing, the crews were told
that the winds would be northerly at
around 60mph (96km). Pathfinder
updates reported much stronger
winds of around 160mph. Acting on
erroneous wind information, many
aircraft drifted a long way off their
intended course. On the homeward
leg over Holland, some were blown
south – placing them right in the teeth
of murderous flak and radar-directed
searchlights over the Ruhr. Of the
800-plus bombers sent out that night,
72 were lost – nearly 9% of the force.
Pilot Clement reported that he and
the crew had seen some aircraft run
out of fuel and ditch in the freezing
waters of the English Channel. The
flight engineer, McLachlan, suggested
that they shut one engine
down to saveThey returned to base, but were
taken out of service for repair.
A ‘double’ to Frankfurt took place
on the 18th and 22nd. Of the first,
Wilkinson noted: “Group set up a
new record by dropping 1,000 tons in
one night.” The second was reported
as accurate and concentrated. The
smoke column from the fires extended
up to 15,000ft (4,572m) and the glow
from the blaze could be seen from the
air 200 miles (321km) away.
Only 17 of 106’s aircraft bombed
the target. B-for-Baker, Mk.III
JB648, under the command of
Australian Plt Off E W Rosser failed
to return. Only Sgt J E Charnock,
the mid-upper gunner survived. The
Lancaster was hit, exploded, and
Charnock was blown out into the
empty sky. Only half attached to his
parachute, he landed thigh-deep in
a freshly dug grave in a cemetery in
the middle of Frankfurt. From there,
he witnessed the full onslaught
of the main force bombing, and
became a prisoner of war.Above, left to right
The crew and a Stirling
at Swinderby, December- COURTESY LES
CLEMENT
Norm Gautschi and
Bill Wilkinson with 106
Sqn Lancaster ‘ZN-H’.
COURTESY JACK WILKINSONLancaster III JB641
of 106 Squadron, May- The name ‘X-tra
Weight’ came from the
unit code ‘ZN-X’. Note
the 32 bomb tallies.
COURTESY GEORGE BALMER