Operation: Wesseling

Date: 21/22nd June 1944 (Wednesday/Thursday)

Unit: No. 619 Squadron (motto: Ad Altoria - 'To higher things'). 5 Group

Type: Lancaster I

Serial: LL808

Code: PG-D

Base: RAF Dunholme Lodge, Lincolnshire

Location: Gindorf, Grevenbroich, Germany

Pilot: P/O. Peter Johnson 173903 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

Shown left (courtesy Michael West)

Fl/Eng: Sgt. George Ireland Martin 1048607 RAFVE PoW No: 228 Camp: Stalag Luft Bankau near Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia

Nav: Fl/Sgt, Eric H. Tranter 1577056 RAFVR PoW No: 241 Camp: Stalag Luft Bankau near Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia

Air/Bmr: Fl/Sgt. James Vaughton 1505077 RAFVR Killed

Air/Bmr: F/O. Peter Alfred Pearson 428779 RAAF PoW No: 6298 Camp: Stalag Luft Sagan and Belaria

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Richard Brown 1145879 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Maurice Cyril Mansbridge 1852202 RAFVR PoW No: 176 Camp: Stalag Luft Bankau near Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia

Air/Gnr: Sgt. Thomas Henry Tuckwell 1876211 RAFVR PoW No: 195 Camp: Stalag Luft Bankau near Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia

Update October 2025: Relatives of yje pilot contacted us and they would very much like to hear from relatives or indeed anyone who knew P/O. Peter Johnson as they have very few details of his service life.

Elizabeth Lake (daughter of Fl/Sgt, Tranter) has typed out his diary of his last day from England and his complete stay as a prisoner of war. Elizabeth has sent us a copy and we have prepared it to download below.

REASON FOR LOSS:

A force of 133 Lancasters left to bomb the synthetic oil plant at Wesseling.

The allies suffered huge casualties to both the night fighters and anti-aircraft units.

Sixteen Lancers were detailed from the squadron Six aircraft did not return, a very black blot in the history of the squadron. Never before have so many failed to return from one operation. Other squadrons in the Group were also very unfortunate, East Kirkby base losing Seventeen aircraft, and No's. 44 and 49, squadrons losing six aircraft each.

The others lost from 619 squadron:

Lancaster I LL977 PG-H Flown by Fl/Lt. David Charles Saunders 125573 RAFVR. The only member of 8 crew after being blown out of the aircraft. PoW No: 6506 Stalag Luft 2 in Łódź. (Survived the war, remained in the RAF retiring as Air Commodore)
Lancaster I ME846 PG-C Flown by P/O. Mark Anthony Hamilton Davis 174023 RAFVR . Killed with two others from his crew, 4 taken PoW.
Lancaster III ED859 PG-V Flown by Fl/Sgt. John Arthur Buckley 1451456 RAFVR. Killed with all 6 other crew.
Lancaster III ND986 PG-S Flown by P/O. Kent Elliott Crawford Aus/23484 RAAF. Killed with all 6 other crew.
Lancaster III NE151 PG-W Flown by F/O. Geoffrey Anthony Baker 162508 RAFVR. Killed with 4 other crew, 2 taken PoW.

LL808 took off at 23:29 hrs and unusually carried two air bombers. They were intercepted by Uffz. Gottfried Schneider of the 3./NJG3, flying a Messerschmitt Bf110 G-4 at 4,800 metres at 01:27 hrs with the aircraft crashing in the Aachen area.

The above photo below is taken whilst training at Rivers Airbase, Winnipeg Canada. Eric Tranter is 5th from the right centre row. We do have a photo of the reverse showing signatures. (courtesy Elizabeth Lake)"

Eric Tranter 4th from left. No further details apart from taken in UK (courtesy Elizabeth Lake)"

Extract from the diary of Fl/Sgt, Eric H. Tranter (courtesy Elizabeth Lake)"

'We fly on, over the coast, where we are greeted by a few flak bursts, we alter course to port, then again to starboard, to avoid a heavily defended town or to fox the enemy as to our final destination.

Everybody suddenly tenses as our target comes into sight but it is some way off yet. Occasionally the kite will lurch and drop a few feet as we hit the slip stream of an invisible aircraft not far ahead.
The gunners look out into an inky blackness, sometimes seeing something that isn’t there, but rarely missing anything that is.

Read here for the diary of Fl/Sgt, Eric H. Tranter


Everyone is on his toes, the zero minute is approaching, we are almost there. I give the skipper his last course on to the target and his instructions for leaving the target but before we turn on something happens. As from nowhere something hits us, a flak burst it was and the starboard outer is on fire'.

Read the camp song of Stalag Luft 7

Burial details:

P/O. Peter Johnson. Rheinberg War Cemetery. Grave 17.F.13. Born on the 15th January 1922 in Fulham, London, England. Son of Ernest Henry and Gladys Louise Emily Johnson, of Notting Hill, London, England. Epitaph: 'Deep In Our Hearts His Memory Lives'.

Sgt. Richard Brown. Rheinberg War Cemetery. Grave 17.F.12. Son of Mr. and Mrs. William Brown, of Cowgate, Newcastle-On-Tyne, England. Epitaph: 'In Loving Memory Of Our Dear Son Always Remembered By Mother And Father'.

Fl/Sgt. James Vaughton. Rheinberg War Cemetery. Grave 17.F.11. A bricklayer print to service. Son of Samuel Vaughton and Sarah Ann Vaughton (née Scott) of Sylvan Street, Oldham. Younger Brother of Dora Vaughton (b.1892) and Lena Vaughton (b.1905)

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to National Archives Air-27-2131-25/26, Michael West and family (relatives of P/O. Peter Johnson) Also to Paul Markham for details on James Vaughan.

other sources as quoted below:

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