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Operation: Warnemünde Germany
Date: 8/9th May 1942 (Friday/Saturday)
Unit: No. 50 Squadron
Type: Manchester Mk.IA
Serial: L7489
Code: VN-?
Base: RAF Skellingthorpe
Location: Store Lind, Denmark
Pilot: Sgt. Maurice Gruber 777669 RAFVR Age 30. Killed (1)
Fl/Eng: Sgt Sydney Garbutt 1027581 RAF PoW No: 47 Camp: Stalag Luft Sagen and Belaria
Nav: P/O. Harold Frederick Avery R/1315 RCAF PoW No: 1758 Camp: Stalag Luft Sagen and Belaria
Air/Bmr: Sgt. John Pearce 1251293 RAF PoW No: 81 Camp: Stalag Kopernikus
W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Donald Broadhead 1311493 RAF PoW No: 798 Camp: Stalag Kopernikus
Air/Gnr: Sgt. Richard Solomon 107282 RAF PoW No: 92 Camp: Stalag Kopernikus
Air/Gnr: Sgt. Kenneth G.R. Johnson 940043 RAF PoW No: 63 Camp: Stalag Kopernikus
REASON FOR LOSS:
The Manchester crossed the Danish west coast north of the island of Sylt and flew on to the Heinkel works at Warnemünde. The attack was successfully carried out from 1500 feet even though flak was intense. Of the 193 aircraft taking part in this operation, 19 aircraft were lost with a remarkable 16 claimed by the flak divisions - night fighters claiming the remainder.
The Manchester managed to climb to 4500 feet but was not able to maintain the altitude even with engines running at full power. The starboard engine and wiring caught fire and could not be put out, when they approached the island of Møn they were down to 2000 ft.
Pilot Sgt. Maurice Gruber ordered the crew to bail out when over the island. The last of the crew to leave was Navigator/Bomb Aimer P/O Harold Avery who told Gruber that he would leave through the rear hatch and leave the front hatch clear for Gruber.
Avery hurried down to the rear hatch and jumped out in a hurry as they were down to 500 feet. When his chute came out the harness hit him in the face and rendered him unconscious. He came too after about an hour.
P/O. Harald Avery discovered at 06:30 hrs on Nøbøllegaard farm near Stege. At 07:00 Sgt, John Pearce and Sgt. Sydney Garbutt were found at a farm belonging to Farmer Jantsen, Lerbæk, Askeby. Shortly afterwards at 07:30 Sgt. Donald Broadhead was found at a farm near Hjelm and at the same time Sgt. Kenneth Johnson was found on a farm in Nr. Frenderup.
The last crewmember to be found was Sgt Richard Solomon who was located at 12:15 in Frenderup.
Later on the same day the flyers were handed over to Leutnant Detmar from the Luftwaffe based at Avnø airfield.
(1) The family of Sgt. Gruber also lost another son in the very same year. His younger brother 21 year old Sgt. Rufus Isaacs 777670 RAFVR - flying with 44 Squadron as an air gunner when Lancaster W4180 KM-D - lost on the 9th November 1942. Buried in Hanover Cemetery - Grave 10A.J.1.
One other aircraft from 50 Squadron, although made it back to base, was written off by the damage caused by flak, that of Manchester I R5778 flown by Sgt. J.B. Wilkie 1068112 RAFVR - all crew safe. However, just a couple of weeks later on a trip to Cologne on the 30/31st May the same pilot was forced to crash land his Manchester L7456 - 4 of the crew were made PoW with 3 others killed.
Sgt. Maurice Gruber. Svinø Churchyard, Denmark. Grave 1. Son of Sismund and Annie Gruber, of Mashaba, Southern Rhodesia.
Researched by Michael Beckers and submitted to Aircrew Remembered August 2015. For further details our thanks to Soren Flensted, Bjorn Aslog, Larry Wright at the Lancaster-Archive, Michel Becker collection. Other sources as shown below.
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them. - Laurence
Binyon
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Last Modified: 26 August 2015, 16:54