Mosquito: Menacing the Reich: Combat Action in the Twin-engine Wooden Wonder of World War II Read Online Free PDF Page A

the last operation by Bomber Command in support of the Walcheren campaign and the opening of the River Scheldt. Walcheren was attacked by ground troops the following day. Commandos sailed their landing craft through the breaches in the sea walls made by the Lancasters and the island finally fell after a week of fighting.
    Despite the intensity of raids, ‘Don’ Bennett’s LNSF Mosquito squadrons had the lowest losses in Bomber Command (one per 2,000 sorties). During October eleven Mosquitoes of the LNSF were lost on operations. New squadrons joined the force, with 142 Squadron re-forming at Gransden Lodge on 25 October and flying their first operation when their only two Mosquito B. XXVs were despatched to Cologne. That same day Flight Lieutenant A.P. ‘Pat’ O’Hara DFC * DFM of 109 Squadron at Little Staughton, who was on his second tour, found himself on ops as he recalls:
    At this time I was flying with Wing Commander Peter Kleboe, O/C ‘A’ flight. Frank Griggs, who was also my pilot on my first tour on Stirlings on 214 Squadron, had been repatriated to Australia in December 1943. Peter Kleboe and I had been to Essen on the 23rd. I was under the impression that he had done his quota and I was about to depart for Bedford but I was mistaken. Pete called me in and said we were on a daylight to Essen. We were first on target with Red TIs for the heavy boys. Our ETA target was Zero-5 minutes. Turning on the bombing run, Oboe functioning, the flak was heavy at 30,000ft. I had just received ‘C’ when a voice on sixth sense said, ‘Open the bomb doors’. I had never before on seventy-odd flights opened before ‘D’, which was the signal to be ready for the bombing signal. Anyway, I leaned forward and pressed the lever. As I did so there was a loud bang and a piece of flak came through the windscreen and took the epaulette off my battledress left shoulder and went out the back. The aircraft dived. I grabbed the stick and looked at Pete. His face was peppered with fragments of perspex but he said, “Wait for the bombing signal, which I did and we turned off. We descended to a reasonable level as we were icing up inside. During the flight home I worked out that if I hadn’t leaned forward on hearing ‘C’ to open the bomb doors that piece of flak would have taken my head off instead of my epaulette. Although Pete was practically blinded we got back to Staughton. He said, “Tell me when we are crossing the hedge.” Pete had been a BAT Flight instructor before joining 109 and he made a good landing. Pete recovered and the next time I bumped into him was at Melsbroek in March 1945 when he was CO of 21 Squadron. We had a chat and a little celebration and he asked me to join 21 Squadron. I said, “No thank you.” I returned to Evere after a promise to meet up again.
    On 6/7 November RAF Bomber Command sent out two major forces of bombers. Some 235 Lancasters of 5 Group, together with six Mosquitoes of 627 Squadron again attempted to cut the Mittelland Canal at its junction with the Dortmund-Ems Canal at Gravenhorst but crews were confronted with a cold front of exceptional violence and ice quickly froze on windscreens. Only thirty-one Lancasters bombed before the Master Bomber abandoned the raid due to low cloud. Ten Lancasters failed to return from the Mittelland debacle. (On 21/22 November 138 Lancasters and six Mosquitoes of 627 Squadron successfully attacked the canal banks of the Mittelland Canal at Gravenhorst and 123 Lancasters and five more Mosquitoes of 627 Squadron attacked the Dortmund-Ems Canal near Ladbergen and a breach was made in the only branch of the aqueduct which had been repaired since the last raid.)
    Meanwhile, 128 Lancasters of 3 Group carried out a Gee-H night raid on Koblenz on 6/7 November. Eighteen Mosquitoes raided Hannover and eight more went to Herford, while forty-eight Mosquitoes of the LNSF carried out a Spoof raid on Gelsenkirchen to draw German night-fighters away from the two