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26/27.11.1943 No. 625 Lancaster III ED809 CF-T F/O McSorley

Operaton: Berlin

Date: November 26/27, 1943

Unit: No. 625 Squadron

Type: Lancaster III

Serial: ED809

Code: CF-T

Base: Kelstern

Location: Crashed in Apeldoorn, Holland, on way home

Pilot: F/O Rob McSorley J21393 RCAF Age 22 Killed (1)

Fl/Eng: Sgt Brien Liell Gooding 1851689 RAFVR Age 22 Killed (2)

Nav: F/O George Francis Rowland Green 132744 RAFVR Age 22 Killed (3)

Air/Bmr: F/O John Donald Lynch J22422 RCAF Age 26 Killed (4)

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt Eric Lewis Foulkes 1034817 RAFVR Age 20 Killed (5)

Air/Gnr: Sgt Nelson Bolt 1836087 RAFVR Age 19 Killed (6)

Air/Gnr: F/O Peter Reginald Paice 152004 RAFVR Age 22 Killed (7)

INTRODUCTION:

Between October 13 and 20,1943, thirty aircraft and crews landed at RAF Kelstern to become 625 Squadron. The nucleus consisted of 100 Squadron’s “C” Flight based at Grimsby. A similar number would be rookie crews from 1656, 1662 and 1667 HCUs, and a smattering from 12 and 101 Squadrons. This included six RCAF or Canadian skippers, two from 100 Squadron and the four from HCUs. P/O Rob McSorely and crew would arrive on October 13th from 100 Squadron. However, they did not come alone but were accompanied by their talisman black terrier, ‘Darkie’. He was an integral part of this crew to the point he would be aboard for training flights, never on ops. He had a total of 150 hours flying time!

1 (ADD PHOTOS: 1.Darkie, 1a. Rob McSorely and Darkie. 2. F/O McSorely and Darkie, Kelstern 1943. Courtesy of the McSorely Collection)

When they were on the Battle Order, he would wait in the briefing room until their return.

Between August and September P/O McSorely had flown on six missions before his posting to the Squadron. At the time his brother, Jack, was serving with the Canadian 1st Battalion, Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment. He would visit his brother as often as possible, spending hours with the crew. He even accompanied them on a local training flight. The crew was not impressed when Rob allowed his brother to take control for several minutes! After five days to settle in he was on the Battle Order as second ‘dickie’ in F/L Day’s crew, for reasons unknown.

18.10.43 W5009 F/L Day and crew, Hanover: uneventful trip.

20.10.43 ED382 F/O McSorely and crew, Leipzig: uneventful trip.

22.10.43 ED317 F/O McSorely and crew, Kassel: Abortive. Task abandoned over Base at 18.25 hrs, intercom u/s.

3.11.43 ED382 F/O McSorely and crew, Dusseldorf: uneventful trip.

10.11.43 ED940 F/O McSorely and crew with Sgt L.G. Anderson as R/G, Modane: …”Nice quiet trip”.

26.11.43 ED809 F/O McSorely and crew, Berlin: Failed to return. No news after takeoff at 17.20 hrs.(sic)

Following this raid, ‘Darkie’ disappeared from Kelstern, never to return.

ORB Summary:

KELSTERN 26.11.43 OPERATIONS: Yes, for the third night in succession, the target is BERLIN, and of the 14 aircraft detailed 8 succeeded in attacking PRIMARY despite numerous searchlights and flak moderate to heavy over the target…”T” piloted by F/O R. McSorely is missing from this operation, nothing being heard after 1722 hours… This was a particularly happy crew showing the right spirit and determination.

The Bomber Command War Diaries

26/27 November 1943 BERLIN 443 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes. The Berlin force and the Stuttgart diversionary force (see details later) flew a common route over Northern France and on nearly to Frankfurt before diverging, the German controllers thought that Frankfurt was the main target until a late stage and several bombers were shot down as they flew past Frankfurt. Only a few fighters appeared over Berlin, where Flak was the main danger, but the scattered condition of the bomber stream at Berlin meant that the bombers were caught by fighters off track on the return flight and the casualties mounted. 28 Lancasters were lost, 6.2 per cent of the force, and 14 more Lancasters crashed in England… Total effort for the night: 666 sorties, 34 aircraft (5.1 per cent) lost.

Nachtjagd War Diaries Volume One

Theo Boiten confirms the success of the Stuttgart diversion in convincing the German controller the main target was Frankfurt, resulting in vectoring fifty-five Tame Boar crews to hold in the low countries and NW of Frankfurt. A mixed bag of Tame Boar aircraft were led into bomber stream the over southern Belgium. Eighteen aircraft were directed to patrol in southern and SW Germany.

It was not until the combined bomber stream was approaching Frankfurt when the Nachtjagd controllers announced it as the target for the raid, directing Tame and Wild Boar aircraft to the area. As a result the night fighters intercepted the bomber force and short battle engaged with the loss six bombers. In the process the Nachtjagd would lose five Wild Boar aircraft and two young pilots.

50 km NE of Frankfurt the bomber stream diverged to the NE(Berlin) and south (Stuttgart). This tactic to confuse the Nachtjagd controllers worked to perfection making it all but impossible for the night fighters to catch up to the bombers.

To further complicate the situation, weather played a significant role with conditions of dense haze and 7-10/10ths shower clouds with icing up to 6,000 metres. As a result most of the night fighters lost contact with the bomber streams completely.

In addition, the picture was blurred further for the Nachtjagd controllers being unable to receive Y-service information from H2S indications from the Berlin-bound heavies.

Berlin was not identified as the target until it was too late. Remarkably, Stuttgart was not identified as a target at all!

REASON FOR LOSS AND AFTERMATH:

“…November 26th, 1943 Bomber Command continued the air war. This time 450 Lancasters and Halifaxes (sic) were to attack Berlin. The weather had improved at last. The crews were not too happy, better weather meant also more night fighters in the air. On the airport base Kelstern in Lincolnshire the Lancasters of No. 625 Squadron were prepared for the attack on the ‘Reichshauptstadt’ Berlin.

The Lancaster III ’T for Tommy’ serial number ED809 started late afternoon for Berlin. The plane already had 318 flying hours, most of them with the 101st squadron and since the end of October with the No. 625 Squadron with code letters CF. At 17:22 hrs Rob McSorely piloted the heavily loaded Lancaster for take off.

That night Bomber Command ordered a double attack, one formation with primarily Halifax’s to attack Stuttgart, Berlin would be bombed by 407 Lancasters. The flight plan took them over Hessen and near Frankfurt am Main the Halifaxes split off from the formation.

The air above Berlin was so clear that fires caused by the previous attack were still in full sight. The sirens started wailing at 20:50 hrs and at exactly 21:00 hrs the Pathfinders dropped their marking flares. Search lights lit up the sky and anti aircraft guns fired furiously at the English bombers which dropped their bombs on Reinickendorf, Tegel, Spandau en Siemenstadt. In the centre of the city air mines inflicted major damage and again the city was on fire.

Because of the diversion attack on Stuttgart the German night fighters were too late to attack the first wave of Lancasters over Berlin. That night, Unteroffizier Amsberg of the 9th Staffel of Nachtjagdgeshwader 1, took off from air base Twente in the Netherlands with his Messerschmitt 110. Around 23:00 hrs he was guided by a radar base station to an English bomber flying westward. Flying Officer McSorely was flying ’T for Tommy’ west back to its home base flying over the eastern part of the Netherlands.

The rear gunner, Peter Paice, was constantly scanning the skies and on top of the Lancaster the guns of the middle upper gunner were turning around searching for danger. The threat of the German night fighters weighed heavily on the gunners; they were the only crew members that could protect them. For hours they scanned the dark skies and often they saw phantom night fighters. Reflections in the Plexiglas bubbles became life sized Messerschmitts. When a gunner located an approaching fighter, he shouted a warning to the pilot over the intercom. One way to escape a night fighter was to perform a corkscrew, a manoeuvre where the pilot put the plane in a twisting dive hoping the German pilot would lose the bomber from sight.

Most likely the crew did not see the Me110 with Unteroffizier Amsberg. The twin engine night fighter found its prey and that meant the end of Rob McSorely’s Lancaster. Over Eerbeek the fighter’s guns blasted at the Lancaster which caught fire almost immediately. The plane came down in flames rapidly, it skimmed the trees of the Veluwe and crashed heavily into the ground at the country estate Varenna. Rob McSorely and his crew met a horrible death about 300m from the Arnhemsweg. The aircraft exploded near an open spot in the forest and now, after all these years, no hay or berries will grow at the crash site. A bare plot of sand, where one can still find pieces of metal from T for Tommy.

(ADD PHOTOS: 3. ED809 Crash debris. 4. Crash site 2005 and 4a Crash site 2014 Courtesy of Robert Nijhof. 5. Map of Targets and Crash site. JEA and RW)

After the war, six crew members were identified but there was no trace of middle upper gunner Nelson Bolt. In the inferno of the crash he disappeared completely…”

Review and completion: Jelle Reitsma and Adriaan van der Pol, Research Team Canadian War Graves NL April 12th, 2021. Translation: Stephanie van der Pol.
Sources: Original text: A. Meijer publication 55 NAMEN OP HEIDEHOF 1985 p. 48-51…

F/O McSorely and his crew fell victim to a night fighter attack by Uffz. Heinz Amsberg of 9./NJG1 at 23.02 hours in the vicinity of Apeldoorn (4D). This was Uffz. Amsberg’s third claim. He would only claim one other Bomber Command aircraft before being KIA on February 8, 1945, following a combat at Ostönnen near Soest with Mosquito, NT361 of 239 Sqn (F/L D.A.D. Cather DFM and F/Sgt L.J.S. Spicer DFM).

CREW’S BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS:

1. McSorely, Rob Flying Officer Royal Canadian Air Force No. 625 (R.A.F.) Squadron J/21393

(ADD PHOTO: 6. F/O Rob McSorely. Courtesy of 625squadron.com.)

Rob McSorely was born on April 12th, 1921 in Stratford/London as the son of Charles Herbert and Elizabeth Florence (nee Staniforth) McSorely.
(His sibling were as follows: Doris Millicent McSorley, 1920–1988, born London; Peter Douglas McSorley,1922–1976, Ditto; Jack Albert McSorley, 1923–1996, Ditto; Arthur Charles McSorley Jr., 1928 -2020, born Greenfield Park Longueuil Quebec; Malcolm Staniforth McSORLEY, 1930–2019, Ditto; Jean Kathleen Mary McSorley, 1931-2017, Ditto). RW

The McSorely family emigrated to Canada when Rob was 6 years of age. The family settled in Green Park/Montreal, where he attended the Royal George School and graduated in 1936 with his diploma. From1937 to 1939 he attended George William College where he studied chemistry and attended technical school.

During these years he also volunteered with the RCAF where he followed ground school training and worked a summer season as a caddie with the Mt. Bruno Golf and Country Club.

He moved to Verdun (Quebec) where he worked as a silversmith for the firm Henry Birks from Montreal and was joined there a year later by his younger brother Jack, also as silversmith.

From a young age Rob was already obsessed with flying and made his maiden solo flight in 1938 from Trenton Airport (Ontario).

Besides flying he was an all-round sportsman. He played ice hockey, water polo, basketball, he enjoyed swimming and sailing and was a good skier. He was fascinated by fast cars and heights, whenever possible he climbed in and on everything he fancied. Rob McSorely was a talented young man.

On July 25th, 1940 he volunteered with the Royal Canadian Air Force in Montreal and attended the military pilot training at the Edmonton Air Base in Alberta and graduated with his pilot’s license in December 1940.

(ADD PHOTO: 7. Rob McSorely, Basic Flight Training. Courtesy of the McSorely family collection.) 6 (ADD PHOTOS: 7a and 7b. F/O McSorely Missing and Presumed Killed. Courtesy of Roy Wilcock.)

After his graduation he flew trainer planes: T2 Harvards, Avro Ansons and Fairy Battles. In 18 months he trained to be a fighter pilot and then attended a technical training course at Camp Borden. He was promoted to pilot officer and received his Flying Badge on Dec 4th, 1942.

Rob was transferred to England for active duty as a fighter pilot. In spring 1943 he took the opportunity to become a bomber pilot and transferred to the No. 100 Squadron in Waltham (Lincolnshire). He finished the retraining for AVRO Lancaster bomber pilot successfully. In the No. 100 Squadron he piloted in August and September 1943, six bombing raids, each time with the same crew…

Jelle Reitsma and Adriaan van der Pol, Research Team Canadian War Graves NL

2. Sgt. Brien Liell Gooding was born in 1920, his birth being registered in the December quarter of that year at Croydon. In the register his surname and that of his mother are both recorded as Gooding. Although the details in the CWGC records state that he was the son of Russell and Elizabeth Gooding no marriage for Elizabeth Gooding to anyone of that or any other name has been found. (ADD PHOTO 7a: Sgt Gooding. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com) Elizabeth Gooding was born in 1892, at Croydon the daughter of James Gooding and Emily Gooding née Daws. Another daughter Emily Mary Gooding had been born in 1888 at Croydon. James Gooding died in 1903. The 1921 census records that Emily Gooding aged 67 (a Widow and Charwoman) was living with Frederick William Congram and family at 216 St.James Road, Croydon. Also living there was Elizabeth Gooding a single woman aged 28, Russell R. Gooding 4 years and 5 moths and Brien L Gooding aged 7 months. Russel R. Gooding was another child of Elizabeth Gooding born at Croydon in 1917. Emily Gooding died in 1938. No record of Brien Liell Gooding or Russell Roger Gooding has been found in the 1939 National Registration. Russell Roger Gooding born 8 January 1917, married Dorothy M. Crafter (born Croydon 1916) March qr 1940, at Surrey Mid Eastern. He died Nov 4 1976, at 203 Limpsfield Road, Sanderstead Surrey. 7 In 1940 Brien Liell Gooding married Lucy Violet Turner, the marriage being registered in the December quarter of the year at Croydon. There were no known children of the marriage. His service number of 1851689 is one of the batch 1850001 to 1853991, the issue at Oxford commencing in November 1940. RW 3. F/O George Francis Rowland Green was born on 21 March 1921, at Swindon, Wiltshire the son of William Edward Robroy Green DCM and Florence May Green née Truman. He had four siblings; Leslie J.R. Green born 1923, Gwendoline F. Green born 1926, Keith E.J. Green born 1930 and Lionel C. Green born 1933. (ADD PHOTOS: 8. George Green and parents. 9. LAC Green. 10 F/O Green. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com. In 1921 the William and Florence Green together with their son George Green lived at 9 Page Street Swindon at which time William Green was a Railway Fireman. In 1939 family lived at 46 Harcourt Road Swindon at which time George F.R.Green was a Railway Locomotive Cleaner-Qualified to do A Spare Loco Firing whilst his father was now a Railway Locomotive Driver. In 1942 George Green married Gladys Florence E. King (1923-1999) at Swindon. There were no known children of the marriage. On 23 October 1942 1318943 LAC George Francis Rowland Green was commissioned as a Pilot Officer (132744) on probation (emergency) as promulgated in the London Gazette of 23 March 1943, and promoted to Flying Officer (war subs) on 23 April 1943, as promulgated in the London Gazette of 2 July 1943. RW 4. F/O John Donald Lynch, son of Joseph and Mary Lynch of Ayton, Ontario, was born on November 25, 1917. He received his education at S.S. #5, Grey County, Ontario and DeLaSalle H.S., Toronto (Jr. Matric.) His sporting activities included bowling. He was employed as a service station manager for Goodrich Oil Company. (ADD PHOTO: 11. F/O Lynch, enlisting photo. Courtesy of LAC/Ancestry.ca.) He enlisted in August 1940, awarded his Air Gunners Badge on October 27, 1940. He served in this role with 4 (BR) Squadron Ucluelet, B.C. from November 4, 1940 to 8 March 3, 1942. He remastered and graduated as an Air Bomber. He embarked for the UK on January 14, 1943. He received his commission as Pilot Officer on December 30, 1942 and promoted to Flying Officer on June 29, 1943. As noted by Roy Wilcock, F/O Lynch was KIA the day after his 26th birthday. 5.Sgt. Eric Lewis Foulkes was born on 30 June 1923 at Weaste, Salford, Lancashire the son of a Joiner and Carpenter, Robert Cartwright Foulkes and Annie Elizabeth Foulkes née Morgan. He had one sibling: Winifred A. Foulkes born 1915. (ADD PHOTO: 11a Sgt Foulkes. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com) In 1939 the family lived at 14 Hazel Grove Salford at which time Eric Foulkes was a Post Office Telegraph Messenger. RW 6. Sgt. Nelson Bolt was born on 30 May 1924 at Taunton Devon the son of Ernest Edwin Bolt and Elsie Gertrude Bolt née Bowerman. He had one sibling: Maurice Bolt born 1922. (ADD PHOTO: IF AVAILABLE, No.) In 1939 the family lived at The Gardens Ashton Manor, St Thomas, Devon where Ernest Bolt was the Head Gardner. Nelson Bolt, at this time, was employed as a Boy Assistant - Government Contract. RW 7. F/O Peter Reginald Paice was born on 3 August 1921, at Hartley Wintney, Hampshire the son of Reginald Paice and Dorothy Irene Paice née Stephens. (ADD PHOTO: 12. F/O Paice. Courtesy of Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com) In 1939 the family lived at Trelawny, Ship Lane, Farnborough, Hampshire at which time Peter Paice was a Brewers Clerk (Accounts Dept) whilst his father was a Brewers Military Representative. On 26 April 1943, 1332722 LAC Peter Reginald Paice was commissioned as a Pilot Officer (152004) on probation (emergency) as promulgated in the London Gazette of 13 July 1943, and promoted to Flying Officer (war subs) on 26 October 1943, as promulgated in the London Gazette of 29 October 1943. RW BURIAL DETAILS: 9 1. F/O Rob McSoreley is buried in the Apeldoorn (Ugchelen-Heidehof) General Cemetery, Plot 4. Coll. Gr. 294-298. His epitaph reads: O for the touch Of a vanquished hand, And the sound of a voice That is still Personal effects: …1 dog coat, 1sliding rule, 1dog harness, 1 box cont.; mathematical instruments… 2. Sgt Brien Liell Gooding is buried in the Apeldoorn (Ugchelen-Heidehof) General Cemetery, Plot 4. Coll. Gr. 294-298. His epitaph reads: In loving memory Of a dear husband Who will always be In our hearts 3. F/O George Francis Rowland Green is buried in the Apeldoorn (Ugchelen-Heidehof) General Cemetery, Plot 4. Coll. Gr. 294-298. 4. F/O John Donald Lynch is buried in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, cemetery reference XV. A. 5. Reburied in the Nijmegen Canadian War Cemetery on October 5, 1945. His epitaph reads: Born in Ayton, Ontario,Canada. God bless our boy 5. Sgt Eric Lewis Foulkes is buried in the Apeldoorn (Ugchelen-Heidehof) General Cemetery, Plot 4. Coll. Gr. 294-298. His epitaph reads: A loving son and brother Sadly missed by all at home, Loved by everyone 6. Sgt Nelson Bolt is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 143. 7. F/O Peter Reginald Paice is buried in the Apeldoorn (Ugchelen-Heidehof) General Cemetery, Plot 4. Coll. Gr. 294-298. 10 DECORATION SUGGESTIONS: 1. F/O Rob McSorley J21393 RCAF: DFC. 2. Sgt Brien Liell Gooding 1851689: DFM. 3. F/O George Francis Rowland Green 132744: DFC. 4. F/O John Donald Lynch J22422 RCAF: DFC. 5. Sgt Eric Lewis Foulkes 1034817: DFM. 6. Sgt Nelson Bolt 1836087: DFM. 7. F/O Peter Reginald Paice 152004: DFC. Author’s Notes: We are grateful to Jelle Reitsma, Adriaan van der Pol and Robert Nijhof for their background information and photos of this loss. Their research in collaboration with Jack McSorely and Robert’s photos have added a personal dimension to this report. F/O McSorely and crew’s Squadron operational experience would last a mere six weeks before they found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately, their demise exemplified the fate of the majority of Squadron losses resulting from Nachtjagd encounters. Of the Squadron’s 42 who fell to a similar fate, for 22, the result was the sobering loss of the entire crew—no survivors to relate their final moments—only those who witnessed their demise. THE CANADIAN CONTRIBUTION TO THE SQUADRON AND BOMBER COMMAND Of the six Canadian pilots who arrived with the original contingency of thirty, only two would survive seven months of operational flying to tour expire. P/O Middlemiss would be first with a flawless record and P/O Price would follow shortly thereafter. However, his path included an early aborted op that was perhaps one of the hairiest we have encountered. F/Sgt Price and his crew, on their second op, shortly after departure, experienced a starboard inner, engine fire followed almost immediately by failure of the port inner. This rookie crew was able to respond promptly and appropriately, saving their lives and the aircraft. https://aircrewremembered.com/price-reginald-dfc.h... This crew would continue to tour expire despite six aborted sorties, including three with the above aircraft. 11 We were fortunate to have the honour and privilege of Reg as a mentor, co-author and technical advisor of the 625 Squadron Project, for six years, before he died on May 10, 2022, days short of his 101st birthday. Of the six original Canadian Skippers, F/O Cameron and crew had the unfortunate distinction of being the first to fail to return to Base—on their first operational flight to attack Leipzig on October 20/21, 1943. They had been with the Squadron for less than week and in the hustle and bustle of it spooling up to operational status, did not have the luxury of one to two weeks of customary familiarization to adapt to the cauldron of bomber ops—no training flights to adjust to local landmarks, practice night cross country flights or bombing practice on the nearby range. (ADD PHOTO: 13. F/O Cameron. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com.) Two nights prior F/O Cameron took his second ‘dickey’ ride with W/O Cunningham and his crew, in Lanc ED398, on the Squadron’s very first bombing attack on Hanover, October 18/19th, an uneventful trip. Two nights later this crew found themselves on the Battle Order detailed to attack Leipzig. Their out bound journey was abbreviated following an encounter with an expert Nachtjagd crew and shot down into the sea before crossing the enemy coast. There were no survivors and only the body of the bomb aimer was recovered after washing up on Terschelling Island, Netherlands, where he was laid to rest. The rest of the crew is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. After almost two years of intense training, this crews operational flight time was one hour and twenty-three minutes. They did not have the satisfaction of dropping their bomb load on the enemy or the celebration on returning to Base to savour a deserved breakfast of bacon and eggs, and entering their first op in their log books, However, from the Nachtjagd pilot’s perspective this was the ideal claim: enemy bomber destroyed, no survivors and the target was not bombed. F/O Cameron and his crew would be awarded their Operational Wings, after being with the Squadron for a week and failing to return from their first operation. Under the circumstances it was reasonable to bend the rules. Sadly, only mothers and wives of Canadian crew members were eligible for the Canadian Memorial Cross. Only one other Squadron loss would end in a shorter time: F/O Lloyd Hannah and his crew of seven in Lanc LL956, crashing and exploding six minutes after departure, due to an engine fire on the takeoff roll beyond the point of no return. Only F/O Hannah and rookie bomb aimer, F/Sgt Lloyd Bennett would perish. Six would parachute to safety, 2nd Pilot Paige and three of his crew. This would be a dress rehearsal for their second bale out four months later after an encounter with a load of incendiaries dropped from above! 12 https://aircrewremembered.com/hannah-lloyd-albert.... https://aircrewremembered.com/paige-d-r.html Sadly, another Canadian crew was the only other one failing to return from their initial op. P/O Tweter and his crew on the return leg of the October 23/24, 1944, Essen raid. After crossing the English coast, PA174 was witnessed descending out of the cloud base and crashing with loss of the entire crew. The Court of Inquiry was unable to identify a specific cause for this loss but suggested airframe icing or spatial disorientation in instrument conditions as possibilities. In addition, note was made by a senior officer that battle damage may have prevented the pilot from avoiding icing conditions. Five of the crew, including the pilot, were RCAF members. https://aircrewremembered.com/tweter-lloyd.html After three and a half months with the Squadron, P/O Cook DFM and crew failed to return from the January 27/28 1944, Berlin raid as a result of flak damage. Lost over France and low on fuel F/O Cook ordered his crew to bale out. As a result F/O Cook and rear gunner, Sgt Ringwood, would lose their lives. https://aircrewremembered.com/cook-roy-james.html Last to go was F/Sgt Owen and his crew five months after joining the Squadron. They had a rocky start with a high rate of early returns at the beginning. Following a meeting between the Squadron CO and pilot the aborts dropped to zero. The crew remained intact until the January 30/31 1944, Berlin raid when two of them were ‘volunteered’ as spare bods for other crews; bomb aimer, Sgt Magee and mid-upper gunner, F/O Normandin. Sgt Magee returned safely, F/O Normandin did not, perishing with F/Sgt Gallop and his crew. The seven link, gold chain had been broken. Following a discussion to maximize their chances of surviving their tour, in February, they requested a positing to a Pathfinder squadron. For reasons unknown this was cancelled the same month and they continued to operate with Sgt Nixon as their replacement MUG. Their luck would run out on the March 24/25, Berlin raid. They were attacked by a Nachtjagd ace on the return leg, crashing out of control in Holland. Sgt Magee was the sole survivor, managing to evade capture until liberated by the advancing Allied armies. During its eighteen month operational history 625 Squadron would have seventy-four aircraft and crews fail to return or do so in catastrophic fashion. Thirteen would be skippered by RCAF members or a Canadian enlisted with the RAF. Between October 13 1943 and November 1944 ten of them would be KIA. Between February and April 1945 the remaining three would live to tell the tale. Lady Luck and the fickle finger of fate! The stats for airmen involved in the Squadron’s seventy-four losses are sobering: SUMMARY OF 625 SQUADRON AIRCREW OPERATIONAL (KIA) AND TRAINING LOSSES (7 RAFVR) R.A.F./R.A.F.V.R.- 297 (Includes 3 Canadians, 1 American, 1 South African and 1 British West Indian), 76.3% R.C.A.F.- 58 (Includes 1 American), 15% R.A.A.F.- 32, 8.2% R.N.Z.A.F.- 1, .25% U.S.A.A.F.- 1, .25% Total: 389 Married 72, Fathers 10 SUMMARY OF 625 SQUADRON AIRCREW FATES Updated/February 2, 2026. TOTAL KIA POW EVADERS INJURED SAFE UNKNOWN 524 389 47 16 12 60 0 % of MIA 100 74 9 3 2.5 11.5 0 Note: These figures include operational and training losses as well as the individual losses of F/S F.P. Adams, F/O D.N.A. Cooper and W/O F.T. Price who died as a POW during the forced march west, as a result if injuries sustained from cannon fire by a strafing Typhoon. Total revised with Loss #4 having a crew of eight. February 22, 2025. Totals revised for POWs and Unknown, courtesy of Ralph Snape for his efforts in confirming the majority of unknowns with the archive reports for the following losses: PB158, NG240, NG324 and RF145. February 2, 2026. JEA. 14 Of those failing to return to Base, three would crash on English soil leaving an indelible reminder of the fate facing the majority of their squadron mates—P/O Cosgrove and crew in ME734, F/O Hannah and crew in LL956 and P/O Tweeter and crew in PA174. These traumatic losses were witnessed by the civilians and military personnel on home soil. The silent unwritten message was the citizens of the occupied countries were forced to bear witness to their deaths, and on many occasions involved with the recovery of the crew’s remains. Only they could fully understand the sacrifices made by these young airmen in the struggle for their liberation from Nazi occupation. BOMBER COMMAND WAR DIARIES: AIRCREW CASUALTIES Killed in action or died while prisoners of war: 47,268 (85 per cent) Killed in flying or ground accidents: 8,195 (15 per cent) Killed in ground battle action: 37 (.06 per cent) Total fatal casualties to aircrew: 55,500 BOMBER COMMAND WAR DIARIES: AIRCREW CASUALTIES BY NATIONALITY Royal Air Force: 38,462 (69.2 per cent) Royal Canadian Air Force: 9,919 (17.8 per cent) Royal Australian Air Force: 4,050 (7.3 per cent) Royal New Zealand Air Force: 1,679 (3.0 per cent) Polish Air Force: 929 (1.7 per cent) Other Allies Air Forces: 473 (0.9 per cent) South African Air Force/Other Dominions: 34/27 (0.1 per cent) This raid exemplifies the never-ending cat and mouse game, with one side endeavouring to outfox the other. Bomber Command senior staff was constantly strategizing how to deceive the Nachtjagd controllers of the actual target until it was too late and bombers crews were able to successfully identify and bomb the target. This involved torturous routes to and from the target and often a multitude of diversionary raids to lure Nachtjagd crews as far away as possible from the actual target. In the case of the November 26/27 1943, Berlin raid it was one of the rare times when the Nachtjagd controllers were caught with their pants down and the target and alternate were not identified until the last minute or not at all. As a result the bomber losses were significantly reduced to almost half of that predicted for a similar raid, coupled with atrocious weather conditions with low visibility and freezing conditions. However, it must be noted the losses for this raid of 28 Lancs does not include the 14 crashing on English soil. Although not included as operational losses, the latter were obviously included on the Battle Order of their respective squadrons. As a result they would have been on ops from the moment they started engines until they were shut down after return to base. The fact they crashed on English soil is interpreted they did not go down as a result of direct contact with the enemy. i.e. weather related, mechanical failure or aircrew incapacitation due to fatigue or other 15 factors, but most definitely not due to delayed battle damage or injury resulting from a night fighter attack over enemy territory. Impossible! This would have increased the loss rate for this raid from 6.2 to 9.5%. The March 24/25 1944, Berlin raid would provide a reasonable comparison of the impact of conditions in which ideal Nachtjagd interception was established over most of the bomber stream’s course over Occupied Europe—coupled with ideal weather conditions, clear at altitude with a rising new moon, and the stream dispersed by the first encounter with the jet stream. The result was catastrophic for the Squadron and the Command with a new record for bomber crews lost on a single raid. The loss rate for this raid of 577 Lancasters, 216 Halifaxes and 18 Mosquitoes was a stunning 8.9%—72 aircraft, a mix of 44 Lancs and 28 Hallies. No mention is made of any aircraft lost over English soil. There could be no doubt these were pure operational losses. This leaves us with a differential of operational losses of 2.7% (8.9-6.2) attributable to the fact the the diversionary Stuttgart raid was so successful in baffling the Nachtjagd controllers. In effect this amounts to 12 (2.7 x 443) more aircraft returning to their bases. If the ruse had not been as successful as it was, the loss rate for this raid would have been a Squadron record of 12.2% (2.7 + 9.5). We are aware of two Bomber Commands raids that were catastrophic as a result of leadership and planning errors. Both had a significant impact on Command and Squadron loss rates and morale. First was the March 30/31, 1944, Nuremberg raid, symbolically the last one of the Battle of Berlin. During the planning phase many of the station and squadron commanders questioned the wisdom of this raid due to an extended outbound leg over enemy territory with a rising moon, and a Mossie recce flight reporting clearing weather over the outbound route, and in particular cloud obscuring the target. An additional, unpredicted development was the bomber stream leaving telltale condensation trails en route to the target. Despite pleas from his commanders Air Vice Marshal Harris refused to cancel this op. Across the Channel the Nachtjagd controllers and crews were in disbelief when it was reported a large force of bombers were assembling to carry out a bombing raid. They were scrambled in force and vectored to intercept the stream shortly after crossing the enemy coast. The outcome was predictable and devastating. When the dust had settled and the final loss tally was released by Command senior staff, it was a staggering loss of 95 aircraft out of the 795 dispatched—11.9%. However, it is known the total number of aircraft lost was in fact 108, as 13 crashed or were damaged beyond repair on UK soil—for a total loss rate for this raid of 13.6%! As Martin Middlebrook noted in The Bomber Command War Diaries: It was the biggest Bomber Command loss of the war. In a matter of eight hours this operation would cost 545 RAF airmen their lives, compared to 12 of the Nachtjagd. As Middlebrook noted: This casualty list of only twelve men, compared with the RAF’s huge losses, requires no further comment. 16 It is noteworthy the RAF loss of airmen for the Battle of Britain, from July 10, 1940 to October 31st, was 537. With this in mind it is understandable how Air Vic Marshall Harris acquired the moniker, Butch or Butcher Harris, and the fact this raid was no included in his memoirs. As a result by war’s end he would have a lot less young lads than old ‘lags’ by his side. The Nuremberg raid would not leave the Squadron unscathed, with the loss of W5009, S/L T.M. Nicholls and crew, including two Canadians; bomb aimer, W/OII E.C. Johnson and mid-upper gunner, F/Sgt L.G. Anderson. (ADD PHOTOS 14: WO II Johnson and F/Sgt Anderson. Courtesy of LAC/Ancestry.) This was a demoralizing loss for the Squadron as this crew was on their twenty-first op and S/L Nicholls was ‘B’ Flight Commander. In particular, this was a devastating loss for the Anderson family from Craigmyle, Alberta, as their eldest son, F/Sgt Lloyd Anderson, was their eldest and last of their sons KIA serving with Bomber and Coastal Commands. They had not recovered from the loss of their twins, Billy and Jimmie. On two occasions F/Sgt Anderson’s father had pleaded with the RCAF senior staff to repatriate him on compassionate grounds—to no avail. It is significant as catastrophic as this raid was, the conditions of clear visibility, rising moon and the stream leaving contrails, it was the first time surviving crews returned to their bases after witnessing the loss of Bomber Command aircraft to the deadly Shräge Musik weapon system in action. Unfortunately, this information would go largely ignored to war’s end, resulting in loss of many more young airmen full of potential, than warranted. To make matters worse post raid assessment revealed it to be a failure for a number of reasons. Badly forecast winds caused navigational problems with two Pathfinder aircraft marking Schweinfurt, with approximately 120 aircraft bombing this unintended target. At Nuremberg a fierce crosswind caused Pathfinder aircraft too far to the east. This coupled with at 10-mile-long creep-back into the countryside north of the target. Little damage was caused in the city itself. Both Pathfinder and Main Force aircraft were under heavy fighter attack throughout the raid. This multitude of complications resulted in the perfect storm that left Bomber Command licking its wounds for weeks to come, as aircrews transitioned from high altitude area bombing to low/ medium altitude attacks required for precision bombing, in preparation for Operation Overlord, Normandy June 5/6, 1944. For the Squadron this campaign would result in four of their multi-loss raids of three or greater aircraft and crews. The June 30/July 31, 1944, Vierzon raid would prove to be the absolute zenith of the Squadron’s multiple loss raids, three aircraft and a fourth crew serving with the Special Duties Flight operating from RAF Binbrook: PB126, F/L Elmhurst-Baxter and crew; JB743, P/O Hale and crew; ND459 F/O Wright and crew and SDF ND975, P/O Knowles and crew. The Elmhurst Baxter crew would be the only ones to run the gauntlet encountered over the target with five crew members baling out to become evaders for the duration. The only casualties would be the two gunners, F/Sgt W.J. Adcock RAAF and F/Sgt R.E. Gledstone. From the remaining three crews there would be no survivors, including five RCAF members. This raid was one of those included in the D-Day preparation and support of the advancing Allied armies aimed at hampering the Germans from transporting reinforcements to the front via 17 rail. Time was a factor and precision bombing essential to minimize civilian casualties. This required conditions of clear visibility and bombing from a lower altitude than was customary. In addition moonlight was a risk to be accepted by the planners. 118 Lancasters were detailed to attack the railway yards of this small town, with a loss of 14 aircraft, nearly 12% of the force. The four Squadron aircraft lost on this raid were a horrific 29% of the crews failing to return—wrong place, wrong time! A Nachtjagd crew’s dream! This archive report is dedicated to RCAF aircrew and all other Commonwealth Air Forces who sacrificed their lives in the effort to defeat Nazi Germany. Over the course of two decades researching the Squadron’s operational history we have had the privilege of meeting and interviewing many of the surviving aircrew vets and/or their families. Many contributed to the seventy-four archive reports of the aircraft and crews who failed to return. At the end of each interview they were asked: If given the opportunity today, would they do it all over again? Almost without exception the response was an immediate and emphatic: No! However, some commented it was the most exciting time of their lives. Many became very emotional in recounting their wartime experiences. It is now eight decades since WW II hostilities ended and the terms democracy and communism have transformed into figments of the imagination—autocracy, dictators, hegemony and genocide have replaced them. The Nuremberg Trials resulted in the hanging of Nazis guilty of such criminal acts. How our world has changed. The conclusion is simple and obvious: mankind is not capable of solving conflicts through acts of war. Blinded by these acts we have not been able to see the elephant in the room that will consume us all as certainly as nuclear Armageddon, and fuelled by the previous wars—global warming with its associated catastrophes, wildfires, flooding by torrential rainfalls and glacial meltdowns. There has to be a better way! THE BOMBER COMMAND WAR DIARIES by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt, 1985 This publication has been a mainstay research source for the 625 Squadron Project and the rabbit hole archive reports that spun off from it. In particular, Part Three: Operational Performances of Units, pp 712-781, is the glue that holds it altogether: SQUADRONS NOTES Sorties and Losses…The definition of a ‘lost’ aircraft is the same as that used throughout these diaries: crashed into enemy territory, into the sea or behind Allied lines in Europe; shot down over Britain by German Intruders or by ‘friendly’ defences… A grand total of 129 squadrons are listed as being operational with Bomber Command at various times, serving in various roles including bombing, radio-countermeasures (RCM), Airborne Cigar (ABC), Pathfinder, Light Night Striking Force, Serrate/Intruder and Meteorological Flight. 18 44 128 SQUADRON SERVICE A maritime squadron in West Africa from October 1941 to March 1943…Reformed as a Mosquito squadron in 8 Group’s Light Night Striking Force on 15 September 1944 and operated in that role, flying from Wyton, unfit the end of the war. OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE 128 Squadron flew 1,531 sorties and lost 2 aircraft (0.1 per cent) in 157 bombing raids. (A record low loss rate of all the Command’s squadrons, including 129 1409 METEOROLOGICAL FLIGHT) 50 149 (EAST INDIA) SQUADRON POINTS OF INTEREST Victoria Cross: Flight Sergeant R.H. Middleton, posthumously, Turin, 28/29 November 1942. (It is noteworthy F/O Doug Cameron DFM was the rear gunner of this crew and awarded his only medal for his actions during this trip. He is mentioned later as the rear gunner who contributed to the decoration of a second Skipper to awarded a posthumous VC.) 57 162 SQUADRON OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE 162 Squadron flew 913 sorties and lost only 1 aircraft (0.1 per cent) in 89 bombing raids. POINTS OF INTEREST Suffered the lowest casualties and the lowest percentage casualties in Bomber Command… 69 199 SQUADRON POINTS OF INTEREST Suffered Bomber Command’s last casualties of the war when two Halifax’s collided near Kiel on 2/3 May 1945 and 13 aircrew were killed. (While in practice, the author had a patient, Harry Hill, now deceased at 92, was serving as a Hallie navigator when he and his crew witnessed this collision, mere days from war’s end. He had not forgotten and was visibly distraught in recounting it.) 89 419 (MOOSE) SQUADRON POINTS OF INTEREST Victoria Cross: Pilot Officer A.C. Mynarski, posthumously, Cambrai 12/13 June 1944. (P/O Mynarski is our gold standard in judging 625 Squadron airmen who were overlooked for this decoration.) 118 617 SQUADRON OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE 100 bombing raids and the eve of D-Day ‘spoof’ raid were carried out. POINTS OF INTEREST Victoria Crosses: 19 Wing Commander G.P. Gibson, D.S.O., D.F.C.. The Dams Raid, 16/17 May 1943. (Wing Commander Gibson was killed on 19/20 September 1944.) Wing Commander G.L. Cheshire, D.S.O., D.F.C.; the Victoria Cross was awarded on 8 September 1944 for many acts of courage during four tours of operations. (It is our view F/O D. Cameron was also deserving of this award as his wartime actions equaled those of W/C Cheshire.) 122 625 SQUADRON SERVICE Formed in 1 Group on 1 October 1943 and flew Lancasters from Kelstern until nearly the end of the war and then 5 raids from Scampton in April 1945. OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE 625 Squadron flew 3,385 Lancaster sorties and lost 66 aircraft (1.9 per cent) in 191 bombing and 2 minelaying raids. A further 8 Lancasters were destroyed in crashes. (We note the Squadron took two paragraphs to summarize its operational contribution and losses. Two of these losses were training flights from Kelstern. It has taken us two decades to chronicle the eighteen month operational history of the Squadron and are aware many of the other 129 squadrons received the same coverage. We can be quite certain that these squadrons has a many catastrophic raids as 625 but for many no one has had the time to document their histories in detail.) 126 635 SQUADRON POINTS OF INTEREST Victorian Cross: Squadron Leader I.W. Bazalgette, D.F.C., posthumously, Trossy-St-Maxim flying-bomb site, 4 August 1944. (We would like to point out S/L Bazalgette was Canadian by birth.) 129 1409 (METEROLOGICAL) FLIGHT SERVICE Formed at Oakington on 1 April 1943 and flew weather-reconnaissance flights for Bomber Command and the American Eighth Air Force until the end of the war. Unarmed Mosquitoes were used for all of these flights. OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE 1409 Flight flew 1,364 sorties and lost 3 aircraft (0.2 per cent) on 632 occasions ( mostly days). When keen young recruits volunteered to join the Commonwealth air forces they had no idea how the fickle finger of fate could seal their destiny depending on the path chosen for them on completion of basic training. The majority aspired to be pilots in control of their single engine fighter. However, the meat-grinder losses suffered by Bomber Command dictated their futures and only a minority were trained as pilots. It did not take long for reality to sink in on posting to an operational bomber base. The odds of 20 surviving a tour of thirty ops was roughly a third. Of those failing to return the chances of becoming a POW or evader was only 15%. However, the lucky ones would find themselves posted to a Mosquito squadron carrying out Serrate/ Intruder, Pathfinder or Meteorological flight roles—most having a loss rate of 1% or less. As a result their chances of surviving a tour of ops was much more palatable. Unfortunately, those airmen who found themselves posted to a four-engine equipped bomber squadron had few options once reality sank in. Tough it out with the rationalization it will always be another crew to get the ‘chop’ or go the route of ‘lack of moral fibre’ (LMF) once the fear of sudden, traumatic death became overpowering. There can be no doubt the concept of ‘crewing up’ enabled many airmen to extend their operational commitments in order not to letdown their crew mates. JEA REFERENCES 625 Squadron ORB The Bomber Command War Diaries by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt The Nuremberg Raid by Martin Middlebrook Nachtjagd War Diaries Volume One and Two by Theo Boiten CWGC website Traces of War: McSorely, Rob, Flying Officer, Royal Canadian Air Force, No. 625 (RAF) Squadron, J/ 21393. 2021 website; Review and completion, Jelle Reitsma and Adriaan van der Pol, Research Team Canadian War Graves NL, April 12, 2021. McSorely family collection. LAC/ancestry.ca, Canada, World War II Records and Service Files of War Dead, 1939-1947 CO-AUTHORS John Naylor Maureen Hicks Philip Townsend Roy Wilcock, photo-editing, RAF bios and F/O McSorely Submission by Robert Nijhof and Jack Albrecht PHOTOS TITLES AND CREDITS TO BE ADDED TO THE TEXT 1. Darkie. Courtesy of the McSorely Family Collection. 1a. Rob McSorely and Darkie. Courtesy of the McSorely Family Collection. 2. F/O McSorely and Darkie, Kelstern 1943. Courtesy of the McSorely Family Collection. 3. ED809 Crash site debris. Courtesy of Robert Nijhof. 4. ED809 Crash site, 2005, Courtesy of Robert Nijhof. 4a. ED809 Crash site, 2014, Courtesy of Robert Nijhof. 21 5. Map of targets and crash site. JEA and RW. 6. F/O Rob McSorely. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com. 7. Rob McSorely, Basic Flight Training. Courtesy of the McSorely Family Collection. 7a. F/O McSorely MIA. Courtesy of Roy Wilcock. 7b. F/O McSorely Presumed Dead. Courtesy of Roy Wilcock. 8. George Green and parents. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com. 9. LAC Green.Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com. 10. F/O Green. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com. 11. F/O Lynch, RCAF enlisting photo. Courtesy of LAC/Ancestry.ca. 11a. Sgt Foulkes. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com. 12. F/O Paice. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com. 13. F/O Cameron. Courtesy of Phil Townsend, 625squadron.com. 14. F/Sgt Anderson and WO II Johnson. Courtesy of LAC/Ancestry.ca. 15. W5009, after Nuremberg. Courtesy of The Bomber Command War Diaries *** 22 23 24