My fathers crew went on a mine laying operation in 1944, to block off a German destroyer................ as told by Harry Parkins RAF, his Flight Engineer, who is still alive. ( in Lincolnshire ) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dropping Mines in Kiel Bay This was an operation from RAF East Kirkby, 630 Squadron, with Joe Lennon and crew. 630 Squadron were often called upon to carry out special missions, pin-point bombing (what today is called precision bombing). On our 9th operation on the 21 May 1944 we were told at briefing that we were going to a very special target, and that three Lancasters would not carry any bombs. This surprised us (no bombs!), whatever was going on, it sounded crazy! We were then informed that instead of bombs, we would carry 9,000 lbs of mines, to be dropped into the sea at Kiel Bay. Information had been received from our spies that a large convoy of ships was being loaded with armaments and soldiers, and was almost ready to set sail to sea. Therefore, if at least one, and ideally all three, Lancasters could fly in low under the cover of darkness, without being spotted, drop their deadly cargo of mines, the ships would sail into them and be destroyed. The three Lancasters were selected for the job, and ours was one of selected crew. We were to fly out under the diversionary cover of the main bomber fleet, who would continue on to their designated targets, then at at a specified navigation point, we were to break away, and if possible, below radar, without being spotted, head off towards Kiel Bay. We then had to rely on the skill of our navigator, bomb aimer and pilot to pinpoint the exact spot in Kiel Bay without any markers or flares to guide us in. A very difficult task. We managed to drop our mines without incident, then headed straight back home. Back at East Kirkby we were debriefed. Not that we had a lot to report. The Squadron Leader then informed us that our Lancaster was the only one of the three that made it to the target. One Lancaster had technical problems and had to return home. The other Lancaster was shot down before getting anywhere the target, which saddened us all to learn this news. It meant though, that our Lancaster was the only one that succeeded in reaching the target. About a month later we were summoned to the Group Captain's office. Very worrying. For what, why? It was very rare, almost unknown, for a crew to receive a summons to the Station Commander's office. The Duty WAAF showed us in and the Group Caption told us to 'stand at ease', then sit down. He then proceeded to tell us that the intelligence agents had just got through to London informing them that the mines we dropped had caused a considerable amount of damage to the ships and prevented them from sailing. The Group Captain said he was very proud of us, shook our hands and asked us to keep up the good work. Word soon got around the camp and we didn't have to buy our own beer for a week. Our crew for this missions was ........... Joe Lennon - Pilot RNZAF Harry Parkins - Flight Engineer RAF Jimmy Hurman - Bomb Aimer RAAF Bruce Reece - Navigator RNZAF Jimmy Marriot - Wireless Operator RAF Joe Malloy - Mid Upper Gunner RAF Joe Pollard - Rear Gunner RAAF
Proper history https://twitter.com/classicbritcom/status/1662214683208843264?s=46&t=IY6M0zI1h1T3HNaXabWIhQ
The original ANTIFA 79 years ago today, paratroopers of Easy Company pose for a picture in the town square of Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont the day after surviving their first combat jump into Normandy please log in to view this image 6
When the US Postal Service began parcel delivery service in 1913, there were no regulations on what you could mail. Some people took advantage, bought stamps and mailed their kids (usually to their grandparents or other relatives). The post office banned mailing humans in 1914. please log in to view this image 3
