Operation: Bochum, Germany

Date: 4th/5th November 1944 (Saturday/Sunday)

Unit: 466th (RAAF) Squadron, 4 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Halifax III

Serial No: LV936

Code: HD:D

Location: Windrath (today part of Velbert) near Neviges, Germany

Base: Driffield, Yorkshire, England

Pilot: Flt Lt. Joseph Bernard Herman 425697 RAAF Age 21. PoW No 5005 * (1)

Flight Engineer: Sgt. Harry Walter Knott 189617 RAF Age 29. PoW No 1148 ** (2)

Navigator: Fg Off. William Nicholson 423855 RAAF Age 25. Killed

Bomb Aimer: Flt Sgt. David Underwood 437236 RAAF Age 21. Killed

WOp/Air Gnr: Plt Off. Alexander Duncan 38367 RAAF Age 32. Killed

Air Gnr (Mid Upper): Flt Sgt. John Martin Vivash 432023 RAAF Age 20. PoW ** (1 & 3)

Air Gnr (Rear): Flt Sgt. Michael McIvor Wilson 432611 RAAF Age 20. Killed

* Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland.

** Stalag Luft 7 Bankau nr. Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia. Today called Bąków nr. Kluczbork (Poland).

Crew image: Collection Paul Knott

Crew photographs: Collection Paul Knott

REASON FOR LOSS:

In the afternoon of the 4th November 1944 at 16:54 hrs Halifax III LV936 HD:D took off from Driffield and joined a force of 749 aircraft (384 Halifaxes, 336 Lancasters, 29 Mosquitoes) tasked with the last major raid of this war on the steel works and coal mines at Bochum, Germany.

Halifax Mk.III LV936/HD:D over Germany, 466 Squadron, c.1944. via Mike Mirkovic (ADF-Serial & NZDF-Serials web site)Crew photograph: Collection Paul Knott

LV936 was claimed by Ofhr. Rolf Ramsauer, his 1st Abschuss, from 4./NJG1, south of the target Essen at 5.200 m. at 19:37 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (16 October 1944 - 31 December 1944) Part 5 - Theo Boiten)

Note: Five minutes after dropping their bombs on the target, the surviving aircrew believed that aircraft was hit by flak behind the rear spar, setting the aircraft on fire. Shortly after that, two more shells hit the wings, setting both wings on fire. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (16 October 1944 - 31 December 1944) Part 5 - Theo Boiten)

The pilot ordered the crew to bale out. While he was leaving his seat, the right wing tore off, the plane flipped over on its back and exploded. Altitude was then 17,500 feet. The plane came down in several parts in a wooded area 2½ km east of Neviges, damaging a cottage so severely that it had to be torn down later.

In February and March 2014, volunteers working in collaboration with the state archaeologists made excavations on the crash site which was pointed out to them by eyewitnesses. They found about 40 parts of the aircraft, including the type label of a suspension strut in the undercarriage, a panel from the upper gun turret, one cylinder from an engine with relics of the cylinder head and the spark plug, and one large part, presumably belonging to the mechanism with which a flap of some kind was moved.

The pilot, Flt Lt. Herman, had not yet clipped on his chute which was stored in the engineer’s compartment when he was blown out. After a free fall of about 12,000 feet he fell into something which he could manage to hold on to, and which turned out to be the legs of Flt Sgt. Vivash who was just opening his chute. The two men both survived the landing, but Flt Herman broke several of his ribs when Flt Sgt. Vivash landed on him. Flt Sgt. Vivash fractured both of his ankles.

Civilians arrived at the crash site at about 22:00 hrs, about 30 minutes after the crash, and found there one (1) airman who was still alive and, when spoken to, asked for water. A horse drawn farm cart was fetched, padded with straw, and the wounded airman put on it. Four (4) men accompanied him on the journey to a hospital in the nearby town of Neviges. On arrival, the airman was dead.

From other eyewitness accounts it seems that there were three (3) more airmen seen on the site, apparently dead. One was in the wreck, one lying in the meadow, and one hanging in a tree in his parachute. Eyewitnesses state that the man hanging in the tree was not removed until the salvage team of the German army had arrived on 5th November. By way of elimination it appears that the injured man and the man hanging in the tree were Fg Off. Nicholson and Flt Sgt. Underwood, but researchers could not yet determine who was who.

Post-war letters of the Neviges police and the Neviges mayor to the then Military Government state that two (2) dead bodies were recovered from the crash site and taken to the morgue of the Neviges hospital during the evening or night of the 4th, upon orders of an officer of the criminal police who copied the numbers on their ID tags into his notebook. The numbers were those of Plt Off. Duncan and Flt Sgt. Wilson.

All four casualties were buried initially by the German army on 8th November 1944 in the Protestant Cemetery of Neviges, Plot L, Row 3, Graves 4 through 7. For reasons unknown, the inscription on the wooden cross on their graves spoke of “American airmen”, and the burials were never entered in the burial register.

On 10th April 1946, an American team opened the graves and mis-identified the occupants as Canadians, whereupon they closed the graves again and departed. On 1st Dec 1947, the four bodies were transferred to Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Initially, only Plt Off. Duncan was identified (Graves Concentration Report of 17th February 1948).

A British Missing Research & Enquiry Service (MRES) report dated 3rd July 1948 identified Fg Off. Nicholson and Plt Off. Duncan from details of their clothing, and said in order to identify the two others, their dental charts from their service files would be needed. A letter from the RAAF, Overseas Headquarters, London, to the Secretary of the Air Board, Melbourne, dated 1st November 1948, stated that the identification of Plt Off. Duncan and Flt Sgt. Wilson, using their dental records, had now been achieved.

The letters to the Military Government mentioned above also reported a rumour that the injured airman had been shot to death en route to the hospital by one of the four men who rode along. Research was so far unable to find out whether the Military Government took action of any kind to follow up on this rumour. So far an investigation or trial file has not been found. However, it has been established that the main suspect survived the war and continued to live in the area under his real name until he died in 1995.

(1) Flt Lt. Herman and Flt Sgt. Vivash evaded capture by travelling by night and sleeping in barns and forests during daylight. On the morning of the 9th November they approached a farmhouse at Wülfrath for help but were instead handed over to the police. They were held in the local civil jail and were interrogated by Gestapo officials who threatened them with a pistol and beat them with a cane.

The next day, the 10th November, they were taken to the Reserve-Lazarett VIIJ at Dusseldorf. After eleven (11) days of treatment Flt Lt. Herman was transferred to Stalag Luft 3 (Belaria), Sagan-Silesia arriving there on the 3rd December.

The Belaria compound was opened in January 1944. Around the 1st January some 500 British prisoners from the east and centre compounds of Stalag Luft 3 were sent to Belaria. Belaria was situated about 5 km (3 mls) west of Stalag Luft 3 on a grassy hill overlooking Sagan.

On the night of the 27th January 1945, with Soviet troops only 26 km (16 mls) away, orders were received to evacuate the PoWs to Spremberg which is to the West in Germany. The was amongst the PoW’s who were informed of the evacuation, which was on foot, at about 22:00 hrs the same night and were given 30 mins to pack and prepare everything for the March. The weather conditions were very difficult, with freezing temperatures, and it was snowing accompanied by strong winds. There was 15 cm (6 in) of snow and 2000 PoWs were assigned to clear the road ahead of the main groups.

After a 55 km (34 mls) march, the PoWs arrived in Bad Muskau where they rested for 30 hours. The PoWs were then marched the remaining 26 km (16 mls) to Spremberg where they were housed in empty garages, storerooms and in military barracks. There they were provided with warm soup and bread.

During next days, PoWs were divided up according to Compounds, and they were led to railway sidings and loaded into tightly packed carriages.

On the 31st January, Flt Lt. Herman was amongst the South Compound prisoners plus 200 men from the West Compound were sent to Stalag 7A at Moosburg in Bavaria arriving there on the 4th February. The camp was liberated on the 29th April 1945 by elements of the US 14th Armoured Division. Flt Lt. Herman was interviewed on the 18th May 1945.

Joseph Bernard Herman was born on the 9th February 1923 in Blackall, Queensland. He was a Gold Miner in Queensland prior to enlisting in the RAAF on the 26th April 1942. Joseph passed away on the 20th November 1991 in Coolum, Queensland, Australia.

(2) Sgt. Knott injured his left knee in landing but managed to evade capture for four (4) day during which time he walked from Bochum to Wuppertal. He was captured by German guards and transferred for the statutory visit and interrogation at Dulag Luft, Oberursel. He was then transferred to Stalag Luft 7, Bankau nr. Kreuzburg arriving there on the 14th November 1944.

On the 19th January 1945, he was amongst the 1,500 prisoners who were marched out of the camp in the bitter cold. They crossed a bridge over the river Oderon the 21st January, reached Goldberg on 5th February and were loaded onto a train.

On the 9th February they reached Stalag 3Alocated about 52 km (32 mls) south of Berlinnear Luckenwalde, On the 22nd April 1945 as the Russians approached the camp the guards fled leaving the prisoners to be liberated by the Red Army.

Stalag 3A was turned over to the Americans on the 6th May at which time the Senior American Officers (SAO) took over the running of the camp until all the PoWs were evacuated.Sgt. Knott was interviewed on the 27th May 1945

Harry Walter Knott was born on the 13th March 1915 in London. He was an Instrument Maker prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 27th July 1943. Harry passed away in February 1919 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

(3) On the 22nd November Flt Sgt. Vivash was transferred from the Reserve-Lazarett VIIJ at Dusseldorf to Stalag Luft 7 Bankau nr. Kreuzburg arriving there on the 30th November 1944.

On the 19th January 1945, he was amongst the 1,500 prisoners who were marched out of the camp in the bitter cold. They crossed a bridge over the river Oderon the 21st January, reached Goldberg on 5th February and were loaded onto a train.

On the 9th February they reached Stalag 3Alocated about 52 km (32 mls) south of Berlinnear Luckenwalde, On the 22nd April 1945 as the Russians approached the camp the guards fled leaving the prisoners to be liberated by the Red Army.

Stalag 3A was turned over to the Americans on the 6th May at which time the Senior American Officers (SAO) took over the running of the camp until all the PoWs were evacuated. The now Warrant Officer (WO) Vivash was interviewed on the 12th May 1945

John Martin Vivash was born on the 3rd October 1924 in Coogee, New South Wales. He was employed as a Banker prior to enlisting in the RAAF on the 20th November 1942.

John tragically died on the 25th February 1949. He was having tea with friends at a waterside café and left on his motorcycle too collect a friend. He collided with a car at a junction in Newcastle and died of his injuries 30 mins after being admitted to Newcastle Hospital.

Burial details:

(Grave Marker Photographs: Collection Paul Knott)

Plt Off. Alexander Duncan. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Grave 31.G.1. Grave inscription: “EVER REMEMBERED”. Born on the 7th January 1912 at Midland Junction, Western Australia. Son of William and Margaret Duncan. Husband of Kathleen Duncan of Cottesloe, Western Australia.

Plt Off. Michael McIvor Wilson. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Grave 31.G.2. Grave inscription: “HIS DUTY FEARLESSLY AND NOBLY DONE. EVER REMEMBERED”. Born on the 22nd November 1923 at Albury, New South Wales. The son of Michael Kavanagh and Ethel Louisa Wilson of Balldale, New South Wales, Australia.

Flt Sgt. Wilson was posthumously appointed to commission and promoted to Plt Off. effective 18th October 1944.

Plt Off. David Underwood. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Grave 31.G.3. Grave inscription: “QUIET COURAGE, THEN PEACE, PERFECT PEACE”. Born on the 9th May 1923 at Henley Beach, South Australia. Son of Hubert John and Ada Underwood of Grange, South Australia.

Flt Sgt. David Underwood was posthumously appointed to commission and promoted to Plt Off. effective 20th October 1944.

Fg Off. William Nicholson. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Grave 31.G.4. Grave inscription: “THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD; I SHALL NOT WANT”. Born on the 19th October 1919 at South Shields, Durham County, England. Son of William and Ellen Robson Nicholson of Lane Cove, New South Wales, Australia.

Researched by Traugott Vitz for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to Jürgen Lohbeck for his permission to use details from his book. Thanks also to Mr. Paul Knott for his permission to use images from his collection. Update to loss information by Aircrew Remembered (Sep 2021). New PoW information added by Aircrew Remembered (Nov 2025).

Other sources listed below:

References:

1. Dr. Helmut Grau, Marcel Lesaar, Jürgen Lohbeck, Sven Polkläser, Abgestürzt. 2016 (2nd edition). 192 p. (ISBN 978-3-9816362-2-2; out of print).

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