RCAF|AVRO LANCASTERS
Thunderbirds OVER BERLIN
ABOVE
The badge of
The Royal
Canadian
Air Force.
(VIA AUTHOR)OVER BERLIN
service in October 1942. Its first
operation, a raid on Essen in
mid-January 1943, highlighted an
unexpected reduction in performance.
However, former Wellington crews
greatly appreciated the improvements
in speed, armament and fast time-to-
climb over their previous equipment
and many preferred the radial engines
over the more vulnerable liquid-cooled
Merlins. In mid-July, 426 Squadron’s
aircraft were delivered, most of them
fitted with bulged bomb doors and an
FN 64 ventral turret.DEBUT AT PEENEMÜNDE
Training continued and in mid-
August No.426 was declared
operational. Its first
Lancaster missionwas on August 17 when it participated
in the attack on the German rocket
research establishment at Peenemünde
on the Baltic coast. The first of its nine
aircraft left Linton at 9.30pm. One
returned early and, under the direction
of a Master Bomber, the others
dropped loads from the relatively low
altitude of 8,000ft.
The high-risk raid inflicted huge
damage, setting back the enemy special
weapons programme. In a costly
debut, two of 426’s Lancasters were
lost, along with 38 aircraft from other
units. Just after bombing, the CO’s
crew flying DS681 was attacked by
a night-fighter that set the engines
alight, then further strikes riddled the
nose and started several fires. Crooks
ordered the crew to bale out just as
the port wing startedto crumple and only Sgt Reading, the
bomb aimer, survived. The second loss
involved Flt Lt Doug Shuttleworth
and his crew in DS674 – the Lanc
disappeared without trace on the
return flight.
With Wg Cdr Les Crooks gone,
flight commander Sqn Ldr Bill
Swetman, who was just starting his
second tour, was promoted to lead the
unit. The first ‘op’ under his control
was to Leverkusen on August 22 when
Sqn Ldr James Millward’s Lancaster
was attacked by a night-fighter, which
they evaded and which Fg Off William
Maxwell, the rear gunner, hit with
several bursts. The fighter crashed in
flames. It was 426’s first success,
but in an http://www.britainatwar.com^49