This country is at war with Germany
As these tragic words rang out across Great Britain, a timer began to countdown for 25 men. In just over 30 hours all of them would be dead. The first of an eventual 57,750 airmen sacrificed on the altar of freedom while serving in RAF Bomber Command. This day would also see one of the most amusingly tragic deaths of the entire Second World War.
While the majority of British society would remain fairly immune from the horrors of war for several more months, there was nothing phony about this period for the bomber crews. A further 700 airmen would be killed before the balloon truly went up in the West.
This is the story of the first full day of war and how 24 men, one of whom need not have been in the air that day, knowingly paid the ultimate sacrifice. It’s also the story of another man killed in a futile accident.
3rd September 1939 – Britain goes to war…but with some limitations
Britain’s strategy in the first months of its entry into the Second World War was dictated by three main factors.
Firstly, the apparent absence of the enemy. Although the British Expeditionary Force would be deployed to France from the 4th of September, they would not have to face the full might of the Wehrmacht until May of the next year. The BEF was supported in the field by the Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF), which was actually first deployed to the Continent the day before war was declared. So, in the beginning, Britain had no enemy to engage on the ground in France.
Secondly, Britain was bound by a promise, one that would significantly reduce the RAF’s ability to wage war on Germany. Franklin D. Roosevelt had pleaded with the new belligerents to avoid all targets that might result in civilian casualties. This was a request that the British and French governments immediately agreed to, by way of a formal message via American ambassadors. Germany also agreed, but not before the end of the Polish campaign and the aerial attack on Warsaw.
Nevertheless, as early as the 13th of September a discussion in the House of Lords raised the point that the promise made to Roosevelt reduced any mission’s objective over Germany herself to reconnaissance or propaganda. Yes, men were sent on no fewer than 113 sorties over 22 nights, between 3 September and Christmas Eve 1939, just to drop propaganda leaflets.
The final constraint that RAF bomber command faced in the opening days of the war, and one that really dictated its targets of choice, was neutrality. The most direct routes to the heart of Germany from British bases were blocked by Neutral Belgium and the Netherlands. To carry out any sort of mission over Das Reich, British aircraft had to either fly over the North Sea to the East Frisian Islands, or South through France to at least Thionville, before entering enemy territory.
This is why the first attacks on Germany by Bomber Command would be against shipping and naval installations. No one could argue that these weren’t legitimate military targets.
RAF Bomber Command’s First Raid Against Nazi Germany
Following a successful reconnaissance over Wilhelmshaven the day before, Flying Officer Andrew McPherson and his Blenheim crew from 139 Squadron, had conducted a second, early on the 4th of September. The weather was very poor, and the crew of N6125 was forced to fly very low over the coast.
During the reconnaissance flight, the crew identified Naval units near Brunsbüttel, a small harbour town near the Danish border. They also returned to Wilhelmshaven.
Both locations were key naval targets, Brunsbüttel being the site of an important naval base on the western end of the Kiel Canal. Wilhelmshaven was the major Naval base in the North Sea.
Moored there, McPherson and his crew found several vessels including the Battleship Admiral Scheer, Admiral Hipper and the training cruiser Emden. At Brunsbuttel in the Elbe estuary, were moored the battle cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. (Luftwaffe war diaries)
Immediately the message was transmitted back to base, but due to some confusion or faulty equipment, the message received was garbled. This early in the war, likely it was thought best to wait for the return of the reconnaissance flight rather than risk the precious few aircraft at Britain’s disposal on a miscommunication.
So, nothing happened until the early afternoon.
At this point, No. 9 Squadron and No. 149 Squadron, both operating the Vickers Wellington were issued with orders to attack Brunsbüttel and the Kiel Canal. The orders were accompanied by a letter directly from the King.
The Royal Air Force has behind it a tradition no less inspiring than those of the older Services, and in the campaign which we have now been compelled to undertake you will have to assume responsibilities far greater than those which your Service had to shoulder in the last war. I can assure all ranks of the air force of my supreme confidence in their skill and courage, and in their ability to meet whatever calls may be made upon them.
Perhaps this call to arms would influence the actions of the men later that day.
The attacking RAF force grows
In addition to the force of Wellingtons, 15 Bristol Blenheims, 5 from 110 107, and 139 Squadrons were ordered to target Wilhelmshaven.
It was now getting very late in the day. In addition to the delay in receiving the reconnaissance report, there was a further wait as the right bombs were fitted to the Blenheims. These would have to be armed with 11-second fuses to reduce the risks of low-altitude attacks on the crews. As these attacks would be so low, the originally fitted semi-armour piercing bombs also had to be swapped out for two 500-pound general-purpose ones.
The reason for this change of ordinances, the fourth since the war had begun, was the weather.
As each force flew out on its first operation, they faced a cloud bank that rose from about 300 right up to 17,000 feet. It would be a miracle if they even found their German targets, let alone bomb them.
That being said, while yet unblooded in war, the crews sent out were fully trained professionals in their roles, the exception being the air gunners. Many of whom were, at this point of the war, enthusiastic erks, who had volunteered to fly on the sortie.
Leading 110 Squadron was acting Flight Lieutenant Ken Doran. He led his flight of five Blenheims at a few hundred feet more than 300 miles across the North Sea, relying on nothing but a watch and compass. When the clock said to turn into the target, he doggedly did so and amazingly arrived exactly where he intended to. It was an impressive display of airmanship and navigation by dead reckoning.
Fortunately for the men of 139 Squadron, they lost their way in the abysmal weather, jettisoned their bombs, and headed back to their base at Wyton.
Meanwhile, Doran and the rest of his flight from No.110 Squadron had reached the Schillig roads and sighted the pocket battleship, Admiral Scheer. Immediately they adopted the pre-planned attack formation.
No. 110 Squadron’s attack formation
Sitting in the ready room the plan must have seemed sound, but at 500 feet over an enemy base and being shot at by some of the best anti-aircraft operators in the world, it came unstuck.
As they prepared to attack, two of the Blenheims slid behind Doran as he flew directly at the target. The other two Blenheims climbed to the left and right, briefly entering the clouds, turning to line themselves up for simultaneous bomb runs from either side of the ship. The theory was that this would overwhelm the defenders, and give them more targets than they could concentrate on.
The only flaw in this plan was that each aircraft had to complete its attack run within 11 seconds of the first bomb being dropped. If they didn’t they would likely blow up along with their leader’s bombs.
While the RAF crews maneuvered for the attack, the crew of the Admiral Scheer was going about their daily tasks. On board, a Luftwaffe officer had been instructing the Captain on aircraft recognition when a call came over the loudspeaker. “ Captain, 3 aircraft at 6 O’clock”.
The naval man, thinking it was some foolish Luftwaffe unit, turned to berate the airmen on deck and explain just how trigger-happy his AA crew could be. He was met with a look of surprise in the other man’s eyes. “They’re not ours, they’re Bristol Blenheims”. That moment the first bombs began to fall among clothes drying on washing lines strung up across the deck.
Before the crew of the Admiral Scheer could jump into action, two bombs had fallen on the after-deck. One came to a halt on deck while the other rolled over the side into the sea. 11 seconds left until detonation. The second Blenheim dropped its bombs, scoring a near miss with the bomb falling into the water right next to the ship. There was still a danger of this bomb exploding below the water and blowing a hole in the side of the ship. 7 seconds to detonation.
Before the third Blenheim following Doran could attack, the sky was alive with shot and shell. This crew had to rapidly abort its attack, seeing that it would not arrive within 11 seconds of the first bomb drop. Its own bombs fell harmlessly into the sea.
The fourth and fifth Blenheim had also miss timed their approaches.
One, which was reported by Cajus Bekker in The Luftwaffe War Diaries as crashing in flames on the island of Mellum, actually just lost its way and eventually returned to base, according to Gordon Thorburn. At the very least the aircraft described by Bekker didn’t come from 110 squadron
What is clear is that only one crew from 110 Squadron was lost that day, and it has to be one of the most tragic coincidences of the war.
The tragic story of Flying Officer Emden
While number 3 in the attack formation aborted and his colleague had become lost in the cloud,
Flying Officer Henry Emden saw a target. He also saw the ferocious AA barrage being sent up to meet him.
Without hesitation, Emden flew straight at another ship, a training cruiser, anchored below. Whether by accident or design, Emden’s Blenheim collided with the side of the vessel and ripped a huge hole in it. The ship’s name? The Emden. Harry Emden was one of the first British airmen to die in WW2, along with his crew Ralph EVANS and Stanley George OTTY. Flying as an extra man was Raymond Charles GROSSEY, a member of 42 Squadron Seconded to 110. His body was never recovered.
In addition to the British crew, an estimated 9 German Sailors were killed when Emden crashed into the Emden.
The bombs that had been dropped on the Admiral Scheer did no damage according to Bekker, all three hits being by dud bombs.
No. 107 Squadron launches its attack
With the Wilhelmshaven area now at full alert. No 107 squadron arrived over the target. Only four of the five Bleinheims had managed to remain in formation, and these four British bombers committed themselves to the attack. All four were shot out of the sky.
Flight Lieutenant Bill Barton and his crew were shot down over the harbour, more than likely by fire from the Admiral Hipper.
One Bleinheim exploded, hit by the blast of its own bombs as they detonated on a target. It’s unclear whether this was the crew of Pilot Officer William Murphy, an Irish volunteer from County Cork or Flying Officer Herbert Lightoller. The other Bleinheim was simply shot down and might be the one referred to by Bekker in his book.
The fourth Bleinheim was more fortunate than the others. Hit by Ack Ack, the Canadian pilot, Sergeant Albert Prince managed to ditch in the water. While he died later of his wounds, he had managed to save the lives of his two squadron mates, Sergeant Booth and Aircraftman First Class Slattery. These two men have the dubious honour of becoming the first British prisoners of the war.
Back at Wattisham the airbase shared by 110 and 107 squadrons, Doran and the other 3 surviving crews waited anxiously for their comrades to return. After some time, a lone 107 Squadron Bleinheim touched down, still carrying its bombs.
14 men were dead, but the day’s fighting hadn’t finished yet.
The Vickers Wellington’s first action of WW2
While the 15 Bleinheims of No. 2 Group had been ordered to attack Wilhelmshaven, the 14 Wellingtons from No. 3 Group were picking their way towards Brunsbüttel. They had taken off at about 4 O’clock, around the same time as the Blenheim force. However, their progress towards the target seemed more affected by the weather and a clear lack of proficiency in formation flying for one unit.
Squadron Leader Harris lost two aircraft as they fell out of formation, and being unable to keep up, jettisoned their bombs and headed for home. Flying on, another three 149 Squadron Wellingtons found the weather too overwhelming to continue.
About this time Harris ordered that the guns on board be tested. None of them were able to fire a shot. Pressing on regardless, he became separated from his two wingmen in the cloud. Finally, approaching the target, Harris’s Wellington was hit by AckAck from a patrol ship, and suffered damage to the already non-operation rear turret.
Giving it up as a bad job, Harris jettisoned his own bombs, and set a course home to Mildenhall. It was probably a wise decision, seeing that a lack of defensive armament would have sealed his and his crew’s fate that evening.
As it was, No 149 squadron suffered no loss to its aircrew that day. The only fatality being 19-year-old AC2 Thomas Thomson who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Newmarket. It seems an extraordinary way to go in the middle of a war.
Nevertheless, No. 149 was able to achieve one noteworthy mention that day. One of the eight Wellingtons flying that day dropped its bomb load on Esbjerg in Neutral Denmark, itself at least 110 miles north of the target area. No doubt some embarrassing questions were directed toward Bomber Command over the following days and weeks.
No. 9 Squadron launches its attack
No. 9 Squadron did better than the other Wellington squadron in the sense that they found the target. This squadron was known for its excellent formation flying ability, and it showed. Nevertheless, they had made the same mistake as Nos.110 and 107 squadrons.
For the mission, a pair of 9 Squadron sections of three Wellingtons were sent to attack Brunsbüttel. One led by Squadron Leader Lamb and one by Flight Lieutenant Peter Grant. These were experienced and mature pilots with most men being married and in their mid to late 20s. Which was actually quite old for the RAF.
The exceptions were the air gunners, who were often young members of the ground crew who had jumped at the chance to do their bit. 19-year-old Harry Dore was an example of this.
Flight Lieutenant Grant got his section airborne at about 3.40 PM and arrived over the target just after 6 PM. The weather seems to have cleared up as he reports bombing from an altitude of 6,000 feet. His three aircraft were met with a wall of anti-aircraft fire from the battleships below. They quickly dropped their bombs, then took evasive action and darted into the cloud for safety before seeing their results. Grant’s aircraft was hit, but he and his wingmen managed to return to their base at Honington.
Now the German defenders were awake. As S/L Lamb had delayed his section’s take off by 30 minutes, by the time he arrive over Brunsbüttel, they were greeted not only with anti-aircraft fire but by a flight of 9 BF 109s from II/ JG 77, led by Major Harry von BUllow.
Lamb reports being attacked by the German fighters at very low altitude, 400 feet. He says:
‘Towards the end of a fighter attack carried out by nine German fighters at approx 18.35, I jettisoned my three bombs “live and in stick” at 400 feet on the south side of the harbour. At the moment of bombing I felt sure there was no shipping in the vicinity but having pressed the bomb release I saw a merchant ship, approx 7,000 tons, athwart-ships. I climbed rapidly, still being attacked by fighters and succeeded in reaching cloud cover. It was necessary for the safety of my crew that these bombs were jettisoned as the decreased load enabled the machine to successfully evade the attack.”
While Lamb managed to set his target on fire and give the 109s the slip, the rest of his section wasn’t so lucky.
When first attacked, Lamb and one of his wingmen, most likely Flight Sergeant Ian Borley flying L4275, broke away, while the third man, Flight Sergeant John Turner, in L4268, kept true to course. This Wellington was blown out of the sky by Feldwebel Alfred Held.
Later, Lamb’s second wingman was also shot down, this time by Feldwebel Hans Troitsch. However, this second victory was incorrectly reported as a Blenheim by Bekker in the Luftwaffe War Diaries (Shop On Amazon). A Leutnant Metz also claimed a Blenheim over Wilhelmshaven, but only 5 Blenheims were lost that day, all of them seemingly shot down by Ack Ack.
So, it just goes to show you can’t believe everything you read or hear.
And on this note, I found a very interesting claim in Gordon Thorburn’s book about the crews lost that day. – Bomber Command 1939 -1940, The War Before War (Shop On Amazon)
Air battles always bring about confusion. In a fight where closing speeds are in excess of two or three hundred miles an hour or more, you can forgive contemporary accounts for being wrong. It has never been confirmed which Wellington was shot down by Held or Troitsch.
As the crew in L4268, the one piloted by John Turner were found by the Germans, it’s likely that he was shot down over the target by Troitsch, who claimed to have attacked a formation of three aircraft. Held said he attacked a lone bomber over the sea. As no sign has ever been found of Borley’s crew, it’s likey they were the victims of this 109 pilot.
If you look at the records on the International Bomber Command Center’s website, you see that 10 men from No. 9 squadron are listed as killed on the 4th of September 1939. The youngest being Harry Dore at 19. He was joined by AC1 Ernest William LYON and AC2 Edward PATEMAN of No. 107 squadron, also aged just 19.
What Thorburn claims in his book is that Flight Sergeant Turner had a 6th man on board, possibly to man the dustbin turret. A 23-year-old man by the name of Sergeant Alexander Heslop. This in itself isn’t strange. Both Squadron Leader Lamb and Flight Lieutenant Grant had taken off with a crew of 6 that day.
What is strange about this comment is that in both, the International Bomber Command Center and Commonwealth war graves commission records, Sergeant Heslop didn’t die that day. He isn’t even listed as a member of No. 9 Squadron.
This discrepancy intrigued me, so after a bit of digging this is what I found.
Sergeant Alexander Oliver Heslop had been a member of No. 9 Squadron but had been seconded to 206 Squadron then part of Coastal Command flying Avro Ansons. (Source)
He was actually lost on the 5th of September when the Anson he was flying in, piloted by Pilot Officer L.H. Edwards, engaged in the first British-German dogfight of the war. The Anson was eventually downed by fire from the Heinkel He 115 it was attacking, which radioed a rescue call when they saw British survivors in the water below. Of the four men aboard, only P/O Edwards survived. He would join Sergeant Booth and Aircraftman First Class Slattery as the first 3 British prisoners of war, and the first RAF officer.
So the confusion seems that while Sergeant Heslop did die in the first week of the war and was officially a member of No.9 Squadron, he was not aboard Flight Sergeant Turner’s Wellington the evening before.
I don’t blame the author for the error, but again it goes to show you that you have to cross-check your sources. Something I’m learning to do with every video I make.
The attacks on Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel made heroes of the aircrews involved, and of RAF Bomber Command. Andrew McPherson who flew the dangerous Reconnaissance mission and Kenneth Doran who led No. 110 Squadron into the attack were both awarded the DFC and these were the first of the war. Many more acts of bravery would follow, some would be recognized with medals, but most were never heard about.
The losses suffered on the 4th of September 1939 would not remain the most devastating for long. Further shipping attacks on the 14th of December led to 33 airmen losing their lives from No. 99 Squadron alone. Just 4 days later, the Battle of the Heligoland Bight would claim 58 lives on the British side alone. This would remain the single highest loss of lives for Bomber command until after the invasion of the West by the Wehrmacht in May 1940.
