Page 167 - KBHA BULLETIN 6

OUR BOMBS WENT UP

“We roared on past the town. Then I had the painful experience of
seeing one of my formation catching fire.

“That aircraft was ablaze, hit all over by flak. It turned out of
formation, and I was thankful to see it make a perfect forced
landing. I feel sure the crew should be all right.

“At that moment all our bombs went up. I had turned and could see
the target well. Debris and dust were flying up in the air. Then I set
course for home.

“The light was beginning to fail. I was not attacked again. Until it
was dark we again flew a few feet above the ground. Then we rose
to normal height and got home without further incident.” (Sapa-
Reuter).

The raid made Nettleton and the aircrews into overnight heroes at a time when Allied

fortunes in the war were probably at their lowest point. Prime Minister Winston Churchill,

in a message to Air Marshall A. T. Harris, Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command,
wrote:

“We must plainly regard the attack of the Lancaster bombers on the
U-boat engine factory at Augsburg as an outstanding achievement
of the R.A.F.

“Undeterred by heavy losses at the outset, the bombers pierced in
broad daylight into the heart of Germany and struck a vital point
with deadly precision. Pray convey the thanks of His Majesty’s
Government to the officers and men who accomplished the memor-
able feat of arms, in which no life was lost in vain.” (Sapa-Reuter.)

Seven Lancasters had been lost and of the 85 aircrew involved in the raid 37 had been

killed and 12 taken prisoner. Bomber Command therefore concluded that the losses

incurred by daylight raids were too great and reverted to night bombing. Later, the damage
done to the factory was found to be much less than was at first thought the case: 32 bombs

had been dropped and 17 had hit targets, but 5 failed to explode, and only 3% of machine
tools and a few cranes had been destroyed. Also, the Lancasters’ .303 rifle-calibre machine

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