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NOTE ON DATES: IMPORTANT: For consistency, the Date is given as the date the mission TOOK OFF since the precise time of a loss is not always certain. Take Off date is unambigous and fixed in the official records, but obviously in those cases where the incident occurred before midnight UK time, then the Take Off Date will be the same as the Incident Date. Of course, most Bomber Command missions flew through midnight, therefore a Luftwaffe claim against a plane - or a locally generated crash report - may record the incident as occurring on the day following our Take Off Date. Bear this in mind when cross-referencing to our Luftwaffe Victories by Name/Date Database and other Luftwaffe sources. In some cases other sources may quote the date following our date, using locally generated reports as their source. To add to the potential for confusion, remember to take into account a Luftwaffe recorded date will be in local time, 1 hour ahead of UK time. When we discover a validated Incident Date we change our record if necessary.



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You searched for: “"BJ670"”

#Name* SORT (↑)First NamesTitleRankRAF Equivalent RankService No.Photo (Click to Expand)CommemoratedBornNationalityRoleAwardsAir ForceCommandUnitDateofIncident *See Note SORT (↑)AircraftTypeSerialCodeVictories (Fighters)BaseTimeMission                        Incident                        FateReferring Database                        Notes                        Links/Archive Reports
1 CleridesGlafkosSergeant924202
1919-04-24 Nicosia died +Nicosia, 2013-11-15CyprusWireless Operator/Air GunnerRAFVRBomber Command115Sqn
1942-07-26WellingtonIIIBJ670KO-KMarham2253Hamburg403 aircraft - 181 Wellingtons, 77 Lancasters, 73 Halifaxes, 39 Stirlings, 33 Hampdens dispatched in what was probably a full 'maximum effort' for the regular Bomber Command squadrons. Crews encountered a mixture of cloud and icing at some places on the route but clear weather at the target. Good bombing results were claimed. Hamburg reports show that severe and widespread damage was caused, mostly in housing and semi-commercial districts rather than in the docks and industrial areas. At least 800 fires were dealt with, 523 being classed as large. 823 houses were destroyed and more than 5,000 damaged. More than 14,000 people were bombed out. 337 people were killed and 1,027 injured. 29 aircraft - 15 Wellingtons, 8 Halifaxes, 2 Hampdens, 2 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings - were lost, 7.2 per cent of the force.

In every Wellington bomber there is a loose wooden box-like structure situated on the floor below the Astro Dome. It is for the crew member stationed in the Astro Dome to stand on. This had floated out of the open hatch just before the aircraft sank. They swam towards it. Each grabbed a corner with one hand and clung to it. The other hand held on to the adjacent crew member. So they drifted with the waves breaking over them continually. It was 0340 hours. The Wing Commander and his crew were dead. The crews of Sgts Howells and Burtt-Smith were drifting in the relative safety of their dinghies. This was a luxury and a lifesaver denied the crew of BJ670 KO-K. Sgt Clerides and Sgt Shoesmith both wounded. Sgt Clerides baled out and landed in the outskirts of a town (Bremen?) and was rushed to hospital. (Info by: Memory 7 - Don Bruce -115 Squadron - 1942 Courtesy 115squadron-raf-be)

The a/c was hit by flak after having bombed from 12000 feet. Sgt Clerides and Sgt Shoesmith were wounded and the aircraft hydraulics was severed. The a/c went into a dive and pulled out at 8000 feet. In the confusion Sgt Clerides bailed out and landed on the outskirts of Bremen. Sgt Feredey was struggling to keep the a/c airborne but as the they was steadily loosing height he was forced to ditch some 70 mls from Helgoland and 50 mls from Norderney at 0340 hours. Sgt Feredey, Sgt Lindley, Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith all got out of the a/c but had to rely on their Mae West’s as the a/c dinghy was ripped by flak. Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith died of exposure and injuries sustained. Shortly afterwards the rest of the crew was picked up by a German DO 24 seaplane. The Germans took a look at the two dead crew members drifting nearby and left them in the sea and continued to Norderney.		PoW No. 27163 Stalag 344 Lamsdorf Luftwaffe personnel rescued him from a hostile crowd of civilians who mistook his Greek features from those of a Jew and he was taken to a hospital in Bremen where shrapnel was removed from a wound in his leg.

Sgt Clerides went on to become the Prime Minister (President?) for the Greek Cypriots
2 FeredayBaden BSergeant1579620PilotRAFVRBomber Command115Sqn
1942-07-26WellingtonIIIBJ670KO-KMarham2253Hamburg403 aircraft - 181 Wellingtons, 77 Lancasters, 73 Halifaxes, 39 Stirlings, 33 Hampdens dispatched in what was probably a full 'maximum effort' for the regular Bomber Command squadrons. Crews encountered a mixture of cloud and icing at some places on the route but clear weather at the target. Good bombing results were claimed. Hamburg reports show that severe and widespread damage was caused, mostly in housing and semi-commercial districts rather than in the docks and industrial areas. At least 800 fires were dealt with, 523 being classed as large. 823 houses were destroyed and more than 5,000 damaged. More than 14,000 people were bombed out. 337 people were killed and 1,027 injured. 29 aircraft - 15 Wellingtons, 8 Halifaxes, 2 Hampdens, 2 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings - were lost, 7.2 per cent of the force.

In every Wellington bomber there is a loose wooden box-like structure situated on the floor below the Astro Dome. It is for the crew member stationed in the Astro Dome to stand on. This had floated out of the open hatch just before the aircraft sank. They swam towards it. Each grabbed a corner with one hand and clung to it. The other hand held on to the adjacent crew member. So they drifted with the waves breaking over them continually. It was 0340 hours. The Wing Commander and his crew were dead. The crews of Sgts Howells and Burtt-Smith were drifting in the relative safety of their dinghies. This was a luxury and a lifesaver denied the crew of BJ670 KO-K. Sgt Clerides and Sgt Shoesmith both wounded. Sgt Clerides baled out and landed in the outskirts of a town (Bremen?) and was rushed to hospital. (Info by: Memory 7 - Don Bruce -115 Squadron - 1942 Courtesy 115squadron-raf-be)

The a/c was hit by flak after having bombed from 12000 feet. Sgt Clerides and Sgt Shoesmith were wounded and the aircraft hydraulics was severed. The a/c went into a dive and pulled out at 8000 feet. In the confusion Sgt Clerides bailed out and landed on the outskirts of Bremen. Sgt Feredey was struggling to keep the a/c airborne but as the they was steadily loosing height he was forced to ditch some 70 mls from Helgoland and 50 mls from Norderney at 0340 hours. Sgt Feredey, Sgt Lindley, Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith all got out of the a/c but had to rely on their Mae West’s as the a/c dinghy was ripped by flak. Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith died of exposure and injuries sustained. Shortly afterwards the rest of the crew was picked up by a German DO 24 seaplane. The Germans took a look at the two dead crew members drifting nearby and left them in the sea and continued to Norderney.		PoW No. 159 Stalag Luft 7 Bankan near Kreulberg Upper Silesia
3 LindleyG H “Harry”Sergeant1381240ObserverRAFVRBomber Command115Sqn
1942-07-26WellingtonIIIBJ670KO-KMarham2253Hamburg403 aircraft - 181 Wellingtons, 77 Lancasters, 73 Halifaxes, 39 Stirlings, 33 Hampdens dispatched in what was probably a full 'maximum effort' for the regular Bomber Command squadrons. Crews encountered a mixture of cloud and icing at some places on the route but clear weather at the target. Good bombing results were claimed. Hamburg reports show that severe and widespread damage was caused, mostly in housing and semi-commercial districts rather than in the docks and industrial areas. At least 800 fires were dealt with, 523 being classed as large. 823 houses were destroyed and more than 5,000 damaged. More than 14,000 people were bombed out. 337 people were killed and 1,027 injured. 29 aircraft - 15 Wellingtons, 8 Halifaxes, 2 Hampdens, 2 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings - were lost, 7.2 per cent of the force.

In every Wellington bomber there is a loose wooden box-like structure situated on the floor below the Astro Dome. It is for the crew member stationed in the Astro Dome to stand on. This had floated out of the open hatch just before the aircraft sank. They swam towards it. Each grabbed a corner with one hand and clung to it. The other hand held on to the adjacent crew member. So they drifted with the waves breaking over them continually. It was 0340 hours. The Wing Commander and his crew were dead. The crews of Sgts Howells and Burtt-Smith were drifting in the relative safety of their dinghies. This was a luxury and a lifesaver denied the crew of BJ670 KO-K. Sgt Clerides and Sgt Shoesmith both wounded. Sgt Clerides baled out and landed in the outskirts of a town (Bremen?) and was rushed to hospital. (Info by: Memory 7 - Don Bruce -115 Squadron - 1942 Courtesy 115squadron-raf-be)

The a/c was hit by flak after having bombed from 12000 feet. Sgt Clerides and Sgt Shoesmith were wounded and the aircraft hydraulics was severed. The a/c went into a dive and pulled out at 8000 feet. In the confusion Sgt Clerides bailed out and landed on the outskirts of Bremen. Sgt Feredey was struggling to keep the a/c airborne but as the they was steadily loosing height he was forced to ditch some 70 mls from Helgoland and 50 mls from Norderney at 0340 hours. Sgt Feredey, Sgt Lindley, Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith all got out of the a/c but had to rely on their Mae West’s as the a/c dinghy was ripped by flak. Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith died of exposure and injuries sustained. Shortly afterwards the rest of the crew was picked up by a German DO 24 seaplane. The Germans took a look at the two dead crew members drifting nearby and left them in the sea and continued to Norderney.		PoW No. 25063 Stalag 344 Lamsdorf.
4 ShoesmithKelvin HewerSergeant403655
Esbjerg (Fourfelt) Cemetery Plot AIII Row 10 Grave 18.29 December 1920, Wingham, NSW, AustraliaAustralianAir GunnerRAAFBomber Command115Sqn
1942-07-26WellingtonIIIBJ670KO-KMarham2253HamburgThe a/c was hit by flak after having bombed from 12000 feet. Sgt Clerides and Sgt Shoesmith were wounded and the aircraft hydraulics was severed. The a/c went into a dive and pulled out at 8000 feet. In the confusion Sgt Clerides bailed out and landed on the outskirts of Bremen. Sgt Feredey was struggling to keep the a/c airborne but as the they was steadily loosing height he was forced to ditch some 70 mls from Helgoland and 50 mls from Norderney at 0340 hours. Sgt Feredey, Sgt Lindley, Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith all got out of the a/c but had to rely on their Mae West’s as the a/c dinghy was ripped by flak. Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith died of exposure and injuries sustained. Shortly afterwards the rest of the crew was picked up by a German DO 24 seaplane. The Germans took a look at the two dead crew members drifting nearby and left them in the sea and continued to Norderney.KilledSon of William Stanley Boyde Shoesmith and Ella Maude Greaves.

Sgt Shoesmith had been wounded by a shrapnel, and after some time he lapsed into unconsciousness and after a while he passed away

On 21 August 1942 Sgt Shoesmith body drifted ashore near Oksby and laid to rest on 22 August 1942.
5 SkelleyFrankSergeant1071281
Texel (Den Burg) Cemetery Plot K Row 5 Grave 105.1923Wireless Operator/Air GunnerRAFVRBomber Command115Sqn
1942-07-26WellingtonIIIBJ670KO-KMarham2253Hamburg403 aircraft - 181 Wellingtons, 77 Lancasters, 73 Halifaxes, 39 Stirlings, 33 Hampdens dispatched in what was probably a full 'maximum effort' for the regular Bomber Command squadrons. Crews encountered a mixture of cloud and icing at some places on the route but clear weather at the target. Good bombing results were claimed. Hamburg reports show that severe and widespread damage was caused, mostly in housing and semi-commercial districts rather than in the docks and industrial areas. At least 800 fires were dealt with, 523 being classed as large. 823 houses were destroyed and more than 5,000 damaged. More than 14,000 people were bombed out. 337 people were killed and 1,027 injured. 29 aircraft - 15 Wellingtons, 8 Halifaxes, 2 Hampdens, 2 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings - were lost, 7.2 per cent of the force.

In every Wellington bomber there is a loose wooden box-like structure situated on the floor below the Astro Dome. It is for the crew member stationed in the Astro Dome to stand on. This had floated out of the open hatch just before the aircraft sank. They swam towards it. Each grabbed a corner with one hand and clung to it. The other hand held on to the adjacent crew member. So they drifted with the waves breaking over them continually. It was 0340 hours. The Wing Commander and his crew were dead. The crews of Sgts Howells and Burtt-Smith were drifting in the relative safety of their dinghies. This was a luxury and a lifesaver denied the crew of BJ670 KO-K. Sgt Clerides and Sgt Shoesmith both wounded. Sgt Clerides baled out and landed in the outskirts of a town (Bremen?) and was rushed to hospital. (Info by: Memory 7 - Don Bruce -115 Squadron - 1942 Courtesy 115squadron-raf-be)

The a/c was hit by flak after having bombed from 12000 feet. Sgt Clerides and Sgt Shoesmith were wounded and the aircraft hydraulics was severed. The a/c went into a dive and pulled out at 8000 feet. In the confusion Sgt Clerides bailed out and landed on the outskirts of Bremen. Sgt Feredey was struggling to keep the a/c airborne but as the they was steadily loosing height he was forced to ditch some 70 mls from Helgoland and 50 mls from Norderney at 0340 hours. Sgt Feredey, Sgt Lindley, Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith all got out of the a/c but had to rely on their Mae West’s as the a/c dinghy was ripped by flak. Sgt Skelley and Sgt Shoesmith died of exposure and injuries sustained. Shortly afterwards the rest of the crew was picked up by a German DO 24 seaplane. The Germans took a look at the two dead crew members drifting nearby and left them in the sea and continued to Norderney.		KilledSon of Alfred and Margaret Skelley, of Whalley Range, Manchester.

They had been in the water for close to six hours when Skelley died from exposure.

The body of Sgt Skelley washed up at pole 24 Texel on 6 August 1942.

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