Archive Report: Allied Forces

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27/28.07.1943 No. 467 Squadron Lancaster III W5003 PO-H P/O. James L. Carrington

Operation: Hamburg, Germany

Date: 27/28th July 1943

Unit: No. 467 Squadron.

Type: Lancaster III

Serial: W5003

Code: PO-H

Base: RAF Bottesford

Location: Wohrden,  6 km. South West of Heide

Pilot: P/O. James Llewellyn Carrington AUS/413167 RAAF Age 25. Killed

Fl/Eng: Fl/Sgt. E.C. Brookes PoW No: 1288 Camp: Stalag Luft Heydekrug

Nav: Fl/Sgt. Michael Rodney Warr King 1315580 RAFVR Age 20. Killed

Air/Bmr: Sgt. Henry Victor Hawkins 658138 RAFVR Age ? Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. William Green 1081353 RAFVR Age 34. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Herbert Bradley 620508 RAF Age 27. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. S. Drake P.O.W. (Repatriated to England on the Arundel Castle on 6th February 1945.)

REASON FOR LOSS:

Took off from Bottesford as part of a group of 787 aircraft - 353 Lancaster's, 244 Halifaxes, 116 Stirlings, 74 Wellingtons. 17 aircraft were lost. A total of 2,326 tons of bombs were dropped.

This was the night of the firestorm and the burnt out area was almost entirely residential. 16,000 multi-storeyed apartments were destroyed. 

           

There were very few survivors from the firestorm area, approximately 40,000 people died, most of them from carbon monoxide poisoning when all the air was drawn out of their basement shelters. In the period following this raid, approximately 1,200,000 people fled the city in fear of further raids.

     

Lancaster W5003 was shot down by the German Night-fighter Ace Major Günther Radusch of Stab II./NJG3at 00.43 hrs over Wöhrden, 6 KM South West of Heide at a height of 5.900 mts. 

"Fips" Radusch (shown left) had a total of 65 night kills and 1 day kill by the end of the war. He survived but no further information on his post war activities. 

He died on July 29th 1988 of natural causes in Nordstrand, Schleswig-Holstein. (By strange coincidence the same area W5003 came down!)

     

During the war the family of Sgt. William Green had a German Prisoner of War staying with them at their home. After the war was over the man returned to Germany and he went to Bill's grave and took some pictures and sent them back as a thank you for looking after him. (Travel then was impossible for relatives, photographs were also a luxury, so this gesture was truly tremendous and the relatives wanted us to point this out)

     

Burial Details:

P/O. James Llewellyn Carrington. Hamburg Cemetery 5A. L.13. Son of James and Clara Middleton Carrington, of Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia.

Fl/Sgt. Michael Rodney Warr King. Hamburg Cemetery Joint grave 5A.L.10. Son of Wing Cdr. Dudley Warr King and Yvonne Muriel King, of Careby, Lincolnshire, England.

Sgt. Henry Victor Hawkins. Hamburg Cemetery 5A. L.12. Next of Kin details currently not available - are you able to assist completion of these and any other information?

Sgt. William Green. Hamburg Cemetery Joint grave 5A..L.10. Son of Samuel and Jane Green, of Bryn, Lancashire, England.

Sgt. Herbert Bradley. Hamburg Cemetery 5A. L.11. Son of Selina Patton, of Brompton, Yorkshire, England.

With thanks to Joseph Green for the use of the photographs and information on his Uncle, Sgt. William Green. Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and  2', Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Tom Kracker - 'Kracker Luftwaffe Archives'. Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries’.

           

Above left the certificate the family received for looking after the German Prisoners of War and right, Hamburg Cemetery today.

A word from the Editor: your contribution is important. We welcome your comments and information. Thanks in advance.

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