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Operation - Stuttgart – 28/29 July 1944 (Black Friday )
A truly horrible night for the Elsham Wolds Squadrons. This was the last of 3 big attacks on Stuttgart in quick succession the others being on the 24/25th July and the 25/26th July. Stuttgart was an important German industrial and rail communication centre. In particular it was home to the Bosch, Daimler-Benz, and the SKF ball bearings factories. The city had always proved a difficult target to find being situated in southern Germany along the River Neckar hidden away in the hills and valleys of the Wurttemberg region.
494 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 5 and 8 Groups took part in the raid. German fighters intercepted the bomber stream while over France on the outward flight. There was a bright moon and 39 Lancasters were lost.
103 Squadron tasked 16 crews for this operation and 576 Sqn 18. In total 8 Elsham crews failed to return, 4 from each Squadron. This was the highest Elsham loss of the war on one
night by some distance.
The first crews to take off from Elsham Wolds were those of F/L H B Guilfoyle RCAF of 576 Sqn at 2105 and F/L E Broadbent RAFVR of 103 Sqn at 2106 in poor weather with low cloud and haze.
From 103 Sq F/O A West, F/O R Armstrong, F/L E Broadbent and F/L J B Moss failed to return.
From 576 Sq F/L HAF Smith, F/O E J Mann RCAF, F/O J Archibald RNZAF and P/O R W Brown failed to return.
In addition, from 103 Sq -
F/O LJL Green. seriously damaged in a fierce combat and crashed on landing at Little Horwood. Aircraft SOC.
F/O C Ansley. Combat. Aircraft damaged and landed at base.
F/O J O Birch RCAF. Combat. Aircraft damaged. Landed at White Waltham.
P/O A J Henry RAAF. Combat. Aircraft seriously damaged and 2 crew members seriously wounded. Landed at Dunsfold
F/O P Furlong RAFVR from 103 Squadron was the first to land back at Elsham Wolds at 0506.
576 Sq crews reported numerous combats with a number of claims for fighters destroyed.
There was a bright moon that night and the stream was intercepted over France on the outward flight. The bombers clearly encountered considerable resistance all the way to the target as the losses and ORBs clearly indicate. The very high number of claims by returning Elsham air gunners is a feature of the operation.
The 3 Stuttgart raids caused considerable destruction and the second particularly so.
The order of Battle for this operation is as follows :-
103 Squadron
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – LM538 – F/O A West RAFVR – FTR - Crashed near Bad Rippoldsau, Germany
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – ME799 – F/O R Armstrong RAFVR - FTR - Night fighter victim. Crashed near Glonville, France
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – NE117 – F/L E Broadbent RAFVR – FTR - Crashed at Muenschingen, NW of Stuttgart, Germany.
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – PB147 – F/O JB Moss RAFVR – FTR - Night fighter victim. Exploded in mid air and fell near Charmes, France.
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart - PA985 - P/O LJL Green RAFVR – Crashed on landing. Very badly damaged by a night fighter. Crashed while trying to land at Little Horwood.
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – LM131 – F/O PJ Furlong RAFVR
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – LM116 – F/S HM Hill RNZAF
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – LM131 – F/O MJ MacDonald RCAF
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – LM132 – F/O CE Ansley RNZAF - Combat. Landed at base with damaged aircraft. Crew uninjured
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – ND632 - F/L JTA Marsden RAFVR
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – ND613 – F/O DA Ryerse RCAF
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – ME698 – F/O GR Haldane RCAF
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – JA962 – P/O LE Westcott RAFVR
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – N/K – F/O JO Birch RCAF - Combat. Aircraft damaged. Landed White Waltham. Pilot, Nav, Ft Engineer unhurt. Rest of crew baled out over UK
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – JB746 – F/O JG Avon RCAF
28-Jul-44 – Stuttgart – JB655 – P/O AJ Henry RAAF - Combat. Landed at Dunsfold with 2 seriously injured crew members
576 Squadron.
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - LM227 – F/L HB Guilfoyle RCAF - Combat. Destroyed SE NF.
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - PB128 – F/L HAF Smith RAFVR – FTR - Crashed in SW suburbs of Rheinstein, Germany.
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - LL905 – F/O EJ Mann RCAF – FTR - Crashed SSW of Sarre-Union, France.
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - ME800 – F/O WR Ireland RAFVR
28/07/1944 – Stuttgart – ME792 – W/O HD Murray RAFVR - Combat. Destroyed TE NF
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - PB253 – F/O J Archibald RNZAF – FTR - Crashed near Chaumousey, France.
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - ME801 – F/O J MacDonald RAFVR – ER - Navigator sick. Returned to base after being airborne for 6 hours.
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - NE115 – P/O RC Bailey RAFVR
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - ME854 – F/S ADL Greig RAFVR
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - JB555 - F/O FH Watts RCAF
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - JA868 – P/O JA Linklater RCAF - Inconclusive combat with unidentified night fighter
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - LM594 – P/O JB Bell RAFVR - Combat. Destroyed TE NF
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - LM439 – P/O JE Brown RAFVR
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - LL799 – P/O RW Brown RAFVR – FTR - Crashed near Strasbourg, France.
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - ME735 – F/O HL Hing RAFVR
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - LM651 – F/O – JJ Mulrooney RAFVR
28/07/1944 - Stuttgart - LM122 – F/O E Bennett RAFVR
The Reckoning
103 Squadron lost 4 aircraft with another written off after a crash in the UK
24 Killed 2 Evaded 2 POW 1 Died in Captivity. Also 2 seriously wounded on returning aircraft.
576 Squadron lost 4 aircraft.
22 Killed 1 Evaded 5 POW.
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Also that night :-
307 aircraft attacked Hamburg – 187 Halifaxes, 106 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitoes from 1, 6 and 8 Groups. German fighters again appeared in force on the home flight and 18 Halifaxes and 4 Lancasters were lost.
119 aircraft of 1, 4 and 8 Groups attacked the stores depot at the Foret de Nieppe. No aircraftw ere lost
Minor operations – 95 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 13 Mosquitoes to Frankfurt, 41 Radio Countermeasure sorties, 50 Mosquito patrols and 5 Halifaxes minelaying in the River Elbe. Not aircraft lost.
The total effort for the night was 1126 sorties with 61 aircraft lost.
Compiled by David Fell mostly from 103 and 576 Squadron ORBs, 1 Group ORB, By Day and by Night: Bomber War in Europe, 1939-45. Ken Merrick, Middlebrook's Bomber Command War Diaries.
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