Operation: Stuttgart, Germany

Date: 24th/25th July 1944 (Monday/Tuesday)

Unit No: 576 Squadron, 1 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Lancaster III

Serial: PB265

Code: UL:V2

Base: RAF Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire

Location: Near Liesville, some 10km NW of Carentan

Pilot: FO. Robert Joseph ‘Bob’ Sarvis T223124 DFC, USAAF Age 27. KiA (1)

Flt Eng: Sgt. Alexander Balfour 1021030 RAFVR Age? Evd (2)

Navigator: Sgt. Robert T. ‘Roy’ Gordon R181524 RCAF Age? Evd (3)

Bomb Aimer: Sgt. John Morrison ‘Jackie’ Weir 1560450 Age 21. Safe

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Jack Coates 1622241 RAFVR Age 21. Safe (4)

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. E. Reed 1541804 RAFVR Age? Safe

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Thomas A. ‘Tom’ Clark R200128 RCAF Age? Safe

Above Flight Officer Sarvis and his crew

Update April 2022: Monument planned for the crew - contact us for further details

Update August 2026 – In memory of Robert SARVIS and his crew

REASON FOR LOSS

On the night of the 24th/25th July 1944 PB265 took-off from RAF Elsham Wolds in Lincolnshire at 21:08 hrs along with fifteen (15) other bombers from the squadron to join a force of six-hundred and fourteen (614) aircraft to bomb the city of Stuttgart in Germany. They headed south with the main force across the Channel to Dieppe and on to Rouen and Dreux.

Approaching Orléans PB265 was hit from below flying NW of Orléans at 9,500 ft and fell into a dive with its port wing and two engines damaged and on fire. The pilot managed to regain control an limp back to Normandy only to be shot down by US ack-ack near Liesville, some 10km NW of Carentan (Ref 1 p4)

PB265 was claimed by Hptm. Paul-Hubert Rauh from Stab II./NJG4 as his 20th Abschuss, some 10-50 km north to north-west of Orléans at 2.800 m. at 00:17 hrs (Ref 1, p6).

Maj. Rauh survived the war and was credited with twenty-two (22) confirmed Abschüsse with eight (8) awaiting confirmation. (Ref 2, p78);

After the war he returned to Austria and joined the Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte, (Austrian Air Force) where he reached the rank of Oberst (Col). He died on the 30th August 2005 (Ref 3, p1015).

A statement regarding the circumstances of the accident was provided by Sgt. Weir and Sgt. Coates who had returned to the squadron.

"Whilst on the way to the target Lancaster V2 was attacked by an unidentified fighter from the port bow at 9,500 ft. Height was lost to 8,500 ft. and as the Lancaster appeared to be extensively damaged the Captain gave the order to abandon aircraft. The Flight Engineer left the aircraft, the position at this time was in the vicinity of Orleans. Orders were then given by the Captain to remain in the aircraft as he would endeavour to return to the beach-head in Normandy.

Height was maintained to Carentan, and the crew were again ordered to leave the aircraft. The Bomb Aimer then abandoned the aircraft, which was immediately engaged by extremely accurate heavy and light flak from United States Batteries in the Carentan area. It was again hit and went into a dive. The Navigator, Wireless Operator and Mid-Upper Gunner then abandoned the aircraft, and the Rear Gunner was on the point of leaving when it was again hit by flak.

The Wireless Operator reported that when parachuting down, he saw the aircraft repeatedly hit by flak until it crashed and began to burn."

(1) Robert Joseph ‘Bob’ Sarvis joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1942, and received his primary training in Canada. On the 10th December 1943, Flight Officer (FO) was transferred to the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) at the US Army 12th Replacement Deport. He became attached to the RCAF because of his experience and. skill with the Lancaster.

No information about the award of his Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) has been found.

Above: Courtesy of the Nashville Banner, dated 9th August 1944

(2) Sgt. Balfour landed near St. Denis-en-Val and evaded capture. He wa assisted in crossing into Allied held territory and left for the UK on the 17th August 1944 from A-22 Advance Landing Ground (ALG) at Colleville-sur-Mer, near the commune of Carentan, landing at RAF Northolt that day.

(3) After Sgt. Gordon landed he was immediately given help and came under the protection of the French Resistance. Early in August he was taken to a camp situated in the Forêt (Forest) Fréteval in France.

This camp was part of ‘Operation Marathon’ which was a plan to hide evading Allied airmen in secret camps in France and Belgium. The Forêt Fréteval camp was code named ‘Operation Sherwood’ and eventually held more than one-hundred and thirty (130) Allied airmen. The camp was liberated on the 11th August 1944.

Above: Courtesy of the Star Phoenix, dated 8th August 1944

The following is a transcript of a letter sent to the wife of FO. Sarvis by Sgt. Gordon dated 31st August 1944:

Dear Mrs. Sarvis:

“It was not until last week that I knew Bob was missing. Until that time, I had been in a hospital in Southern England, and had no news concerning the rest of the crew. Since then, I have seen most of the others, and can tell you what happened, partly from what I have learned from the other chaps. We were over the interior of France when we were hit. The aircraft was very badly damaged, and immediately went into a dive. While Bob was trying to regain control of the plane, he gave the order to abandon the aircraft.

The engineer, who was closest to the escape hatch, jumped just before Bob was able to pull the plane out of the dive, and hold it on an even keel. As soon as he was able to do this, Bob told the rest of us to remain in the aircraft, and we altered course for the Allied lines in Normandy, hoping to get as near to them as possible before bailing out. By skill and sheer strength. Bob was able to keep us up until we reached Allied territory. He said there was no chance of making a safe landing, and told us to prepare to jump. After the bomb-aimer jumped. I went forward to the escape hatch to check the others out. I had barely reached there when the aircraft was hit a second time by an anti-aircraft shell, and the plane went into a dive. The sudden lurch threw me off my feet, and I fell through the hatch. After a few seconds of confusion, I found the ripcord on my parachute, pulled it, and dropped to earth safely. Before we had gone forward to jump, the bomb-aimer had assisted Bob to adjust the straps of his harness, and make every preparation to jump. Bob told us in detail what he intended to do after all of us had jumped – such as trimming the aircraft for level flight, and so on. The wireless operator jumped after me, and he was followed by the mid-upper gunner. They didn’t have much to tell about what happened after I left, except that Bob was alright, and ready to jump.

They were at a good height at the time, and for that reason I had hopes that everyone had gotten out safely. That is the story of the experiences of the crew. Bob was much more than skipper to the rest of us—or perhaps I mean that he was a captain in the finest sense of the word. With the good - humoured perversity of a crew, the boys rarely let Bob know in words how much we all thought of him, but when we were flying together, we were able to show him in deed what his inspiration meant to us. For our various duties, the rest of us have only average abilities, but in response to Bob’s leadership, we were able to achieve better-than-average performance as a crew. This was realised not only by ourselves, but also by our friends in the squadron, and by the squadron commanders. I mention this so that when you receive the Distinguished Flying Cross that has been awarded Bob, you will know that the award was merited not only by this final gallant achievement, but just as much by the constant fine example he set for all of us. Jack Balfour, the engineer, who dropped behind enemy lines, has recently arrived safely in England.

Tom Clark, the rear gunner, is still in a hospital under treatment for an injury he received when he jumped. For all of us, the realisation that we owe our lives to Bob’s courage and endurance is final vindication of our faith in our skipper. This letter, written on behalf of the whole crew, is an inadequate expression of our feelings. But, though we realise that words are small comfort at this time, we want you to know that Bob’s friends over here are hoping and praying with you.

Very sincerely,

Roy Gordon

(4) Flt Sgt. Jack Coates was posted missing along with his crew on a operation to Dortmund on the night of the 20th/21st February 1945. His 576 Sqn Lancaster I NF975 UL:J2 failed to return to base.

The site of the crash of Robert Sarvis’s Lancaster on 24 July 1944, on the edge of ‘La Chassée’ in Carquebut, Liesville-sur-Douve, on the left, on the north side, 50 metres from a culvert (Courtesy of Guy FEUILLYE and Jacques Torres)

In 1989, during a road widening project, wreckage of the aircraft was found along with further human remains were discovered. The remains were buried in Robert's grave. The wreckage recovered included a number of interesting items in surprisingly good condition. These included machine guns, parachute and oxygen bottles.

The following is a translation of a French piece written by Jacques Torres.

Why a monument ?

Another monument to the war.

"It’s been 78 years in the past, some will tell you. To all these jaded people with short memories, it is good to remind the debt of honour that we have contracted, through our Elders, our parents and our grandparents, to the Allies and particularly in our region, to the Americans.

Let us recall the facts that the protagonists of the event and their descendants established.

The British Lancaster PB 265 bomber, UL:V2, which left England on July 24, 1944 at 9:08 p.m. for a bombing mission on Stuttgart, was attacked by a German fighter near Orleans at 1:00 a.m. On the pilot's order to evacuate the damaged aircraft, one of the crew, Engineer Sergeant Alexander Balfour, therefore parachuted. It will be recovered by the Resistance networks.

The American pilot, Robert Joseph Sarvis, decided to take refuge in the liberated zone on June 6, 1944. While passing through Carentan, the plane was attacked by the American D.C.A. He was mistaken for an enemy, probably because he had deviated from the planned route. Who would not be moved by the appalling misfortune of this tragic mistake?

The pilot then ordered the aircraft to be abandoned and the five other airmen, British Sergeants Robert T Gordon, John Morrison Weir, Jack Coates, E. Reed and Tom Clark, parachuted.

But Sarvis remained in the driver's seat to control the flight so that the Lancaster did not strike anywhere and on homes. He knew for a fact that below a certain altitude, he would no longer be able to parachute. The burning plane made a U-turn over Carque but before crashing in the marshes of La Petite Plaine, against "la Caucherie". This proves that, until the fall, Robert Joseph Sarvis was alive and manoeuvring.

For what reasons would Sarvis have redirected its plane to the South? During the night, would he have seen the Causeway and attempted a landing? The heroic pilot took the answers with him. Who would not be touched by the exceptional sacrifice of this young man of 27 years? Who would have done the same? It is an extremely rare act that should be reminded of future generations.

It is for this reason that we feel we owe a monument to the height of this man's supreme sacrifice. Admittedly, our time is seeing the spread of selfishness and navel-gazing, but we are convinced that there are still humans who care about memory and who persist in believing in generosity, altruism and recognition.

We wish to complete this project and we hope to share this ideal. We are counting on the contribution of all goodwill, the population, the public authorities, and neighbouring municipalities.

We are offering membership cards and we are opening a pot on the Internet to fund this beautiful project of memory and gratitude”.

Burial details:

FO. Robert Joseph Sarvis. Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) (British), Purple Heart (PH), Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster (AM(OLC)). Normandy American Cemetery, Plot B, Row 5, Grave 38. Born on the 4th July 1917 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Son of Charles Freeman and Francis J. Sarvis of Cleveland, Ohio. Husband to Juanita (née Hindman) Sarvis of Lewisburg, Marshall County, Tennessee, USA.

Researched by Simon Weir (Grandson of Sgt. Weir) for Aircrew Remembered (Additional research by webmaster) and dedicated to the relatives / friends of the crew. The full story can be read on Simon Weir’s Blog. Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remember with thanks to Michiel de Nijs for the reference to the American Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) (Aug 2026)

Other sources listed below.

References:

1. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 9741.

2. Nachtjagd Combat Archive (24 July 1944 - 15 October 1944) Part 4 - Theo Boiten.
3. Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten.
4. Luftwaffe ACES - Biographies and Victory Claims (Mathews and Foreman) - Vol 3.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
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