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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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44
44 Squadron Lancaster III ND576 Fl/Lt. Terence Hugh Fynn

Operation: Stuttgart

Date: 15/16th March 1944 (Wednesday/Thursday)

Unit: No. 44 Squadron (motto: Fulmina regis iusta - 'The King's thunderbolts are righteous')

Type: Lancaster III

Serial: ND576

Code: KM-M

Base: RAF Dunholme Lodge

Location: Kornwestheim

Pilot: Fl/Lt. Terence Hugh Fynn 126988 RAFVR Age 27. PoW No: 3814 Camp: Stalag Luft Barth Vogelsang

Pilot 2: F/O. John Raynor Berrington 160000 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

Fl/Eng: Sgt. Dennis David Orme 1603414 RAFVR Age 20. Killed

Nav: P/O. Mervyn Adder 175073 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

Air/Bmr: Sgt. Gerard Clark 1575494 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Ronald Johnson 1090092 RAFVR Age 23. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. William Cameron Jack 1365209 RAFVR Age 23. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Joseph Sagar 2204680 RAFVR Age 19. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Visibility over target 1 - 2 miles.

Weather - fine but becoming fair and cloudy in the afternoon.

Bomber Command mounted a heavy raid sending 617 Lancasters, 230 Halifaxes and 16 Mosquitoes to bomb Stuttgart between 23:10 and 23:30 hrs. Pilots later commented that the number of aircraft over the target area as extremely tight and that they had concentrated on avoiding other aircraft.

ND576 was one of fourteen detailed from 44 squadron, took off at 19:31 hrs.

The bombers flew over France nearly as far as the Swiss border before turning Northeast to approach Stuttgart. This resulted in delaying the Luftwaffe from making contact with the bomber force. The German night fighters split the force into two parts. When the German fighters did arrive just before Stuttgart was reached, fierce combat followed. A total of 37 aircraft were lost (27 Lancasters and 10 Halifaxes - 2 other Lancasters force landed in Switzerland). Adverse winds delayed the opening of the attack and the same winds may have caused the pathfinder marking to fall back well short of the target area - despite the clear weather conditions.

Some of the 2,609 tons bombs fell in the city centre but most were ineffective and fell into open country southwest of the city. The bombing destroyed some housing and a college. A total of 88 people on the ground were killed and a further 203 injured.

During the heavy attacks from the Luftwaffe there are two possible claims for ND576, for sure they both had claims:

Fw. Franz Laubenheimer of 1/JG301 at 23:28 hrs.
Uffz. Hans Muller also of 1/JG301 at 23:23 hrs.

Above: Uffz. Hans Muller and Fw. Franz Laubenheimer

The other aircraft was brought down by the same pilots. 115 squadron Lancaster II LL693 flown by P/O. James Menzies Rodger 171390 RAFVR - killed with 4 other crew, 2 survived as PoW.

Furthermore, Lancaster ME573 was flown by F/O. John Roberts Aus/416893 RAAF was hit by anti-aircraft fire from 1., 4. and 6./schw. Flak Abt. 436, 4./schw. Flak Abt. 241 and 2./schw. Flak Abt. 525. During its fall it collided with ND576 already spinning out of control. The pilot, Fl/Lt. Terence Hugh Fynn had been thrown out of the aircraft. F/O. John Roberts was killed with all his six other crew members.

Fl/Lt. Terence Hugh Fynn (1210854 as SNCO). Son of Edward Hugh McDonald Fynn (died 01st April 1964 and Winifred Burgess (died 04th June 1967) of Salisbury (Harare), Southern Rhodesia. Husband of Mary Christie Ritchie.

Above: L-R Rear. Sgt. William Jack, Sgt. Gerard Clark, Sgt. Ronald Johnson, Sgt. Dennis Orme. Front: Sgt. Joseph Sagar, Fl/Lt. Terence Fynn and P/O. Mervyn Adder. F/O. John Berrington was not a usual crew member - shown below right.

Burial details:

All crew from LL693 and ME573 were all later reinterred in Durnbach War Cemetery.

F/O. John Raynor Berrington. Durnbach War Cemetery. Grave 4.E.26. Also remembered on St. George's College War Memorial, Harare, Rhodesia. Born on the 18th December 1944. From Rhodesia, South Africa. A very close friend of F/O. Fynn and on his first operational forte as 2nd dickie before he crewed up.

Sgt. Dennis David Orme. Durnbach War Cemetery. Grave 4.E.29. Son of William Percy Orme (died 02nd April 1943), and stepson of Alice Louise Orme, of 27 Crawford Place St. Marylebone, London, England. Joined 44 squadron from 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit on the 30th November 1943. Epitaph"'In Loving Memory. "Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart In Peace" His Family'.

P/O. Mervyn Adder. Durnbach War Cemetery. Grave 4.E.27. Born on the 17th August 1922 in Hull, England. Son of Alexander and Ann Adder, of 4 Bhamm, Connington Grove, Hull, England. Fiancé 'Booty' Mary Bottyman - later Pearse. Joined 44 squadron from 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit on the 30th November 1943. Epitaph: 'It Is Not The Span Of Life That Counts, But What Is Achieved However Short The Span'.

Sgt. Gerard Clark. Durnbach War Cemetery. Grave 4.E.28. Son of Thomas William and Margaret Clark. of Harborne, Birmingham, England. Joined 44 squadron from 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit on the 30th November 1943. Epitaph: 'Eternal Rest Give Unto Him, O Lord; and Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Him RIP'.

Sgt. Ronald Johnson. Durnbach War Cemetery. Collective grave 4.E.30-33. Born on the 23rd October 1920. Joined 44 squadron on the 30th November 1943. Adopted son of George William Johnson and Elizabeth Annie Johnson (née Haigh - died 16th May 1968), of York. Husband of Dorothy who he married in May 1940 they later separated. Father of one daughter, Molly. Joined 44 squadron from 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit on the 30th November 1943 1943. Epitaph: 'Loved, Remembered, And Longed For Always. Good Night, Ron, And God Bless. Mam',

Sgt. William Cameron Jack. Durnbach War Cemetery. Collective grave 4.E.30-33. Born on the 17th July 1920Son of William Cameron Jack (died 05th January 1961, age 77) and Nellie Helen Jack (née Dickie - died 15th June 1966, age 82), of Barrmill, Ayrshire, Scotland. Epitaph: 'Asleep Until The Resurrection'.

Sgt. Joseph Sagar. Durnbach War Cemetery. Grave 4.E.25. Born on the 04th July 1924 in Bramhall, Son of Hyman (died on the 16th December 1982) and Hattie Sagar (née Kaufman - died 07th January 1963, age 69), of 40 Prince's St, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire, England. Epitaph: 'Beloved Son of Hettie Sagar. Sadly Missed By All His Family. M.H.S. RIP'.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to National Archives Kew, Air-27-451-5/6, International Bomber Command Centre IBCC, Kracker Archive, Remembering the Jews of the RAF, Theo Boiten 'Nachtjagd Combat Archive' 1944 part 1.

Other sources as quoted below:

KTY 15-04-2023

Pages of Outstanding Interest
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Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: 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', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and MWO François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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