F/S Peter F Sattler RAAF and crew – 576 Sqn – RAF Fiskerton – 1945
Failed to Return – 16/17th March 1945 – Lancaster I – ME317 - Op Nuremberg.
Peter Sattler
Born 6 August 1923 and lived at Claremont Tasmania Australia. Occupation student. He enlisted at Hobart, Tasmania October 1942 and was selected for aircrew pilot and trained at pilot training.
This was undertaken at 7 Elementary Flying Training School, Western Junction, 6 Service Flying Training School, Mallala, 2 Air Observers School Mount Gambia.
12 December 1943 he embarked Australia arriving in the UK 26 January 1943
From there he was posted to 18 ( Pilots ) Advanced Flying Uunit, Church Lawford.
22 August 1944 he was losted to 85 Operational training Unit at Peplow. Then on the 25 November 1944 Heavy Conversion Unit 71 Base - probably 1656 at Lindholme.
On the 24 February 1944 Sattler and his crew were posted to 576 Squadron at Fiskerton
This crew completed 3 operations being lost on their 4th.
11/03/1945 – Essen - ? - F/S PF Sattler
12/03/1945 – Dortmund – RA562 – F/S PF Sattler
15/03/1945 – Misburg – ME317 – F/S PF Sattler
16/03/1945 – Nuremberg – ME317 – F/S PF Sattler – FTR - Crashed near Schwabach approx 5 miles from Nuremberg
Night Fighter victim. Probably Oblt Erich Jung 5/NJG2 - Ansbach-Futh area (TB): 4,500m at 21:31/21:33. Per John Jones
The Lancaster was attacked from underneath, the controls shot away and the aircraft ablaze. The Pilot ordered the crew to bale out. The rear gunner acknowledged. The Air Bomber, Flight Engineer and Navigator left the aircraft. The Pilot baled out and the aircraft was enveloped in flames and totally out of control. It exploded soon after he left the aircraft. Sattler landed in a clearing near Schwabach. He injured his right knee and left ankle and was captured next morning. The Air Bomber and Navigator landed OK and were captured. What became of the Flight Engineer is unknown although his ID card was shown to the Navigator during his interrogation at Munich. Peter Sattler was liberated 29th April 1945.
Extract from Sattler’s POW debrief report
Attacked by fighter from underneath. The controls were shot away and incendiary load set on fire. I ordered crew to bale leave. rear gunner acknowledged and then intercom went unserviceable. Injuries to crew not known. Bomb Aimer, Engineer and Navigator baled out. Not known if other members left the aircraft as it was blazing and had no communication. Estimated height of bale out 10000 ft. The aircraft was enveloped in flames and totally out of control and had gone into a slight dive. There was an explosion straight after leaving aircraft thought to be my own estimate
Navigator and Bomb Aimer returned OK. Engineer left aircraft OK but has not been heard of since. His identity card was seen by the Navigator at interrogation centre in Munich
Baled out. Navigator, Bomb Aimer, Engineer left Ok. Nav and Bomb repatriated. Nothing heard of Engineer since leaving the aircraft. Rest of crew nothing heard of. Suspect Mid Upper Gunner may have been shot in the attack. No reaon why Rear Gunner never turned up
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F/S Peter F Sattler RAAF – Pilot - 576 Sqn – POW – Camps VIIID/VIIA – POW No N/K
F/S William Edward Arthur Jeffery RAFVR – 21 – 576 Sqn - Son of William Henry and Edith Mary Jeffery, of Grove Park, Kent – Runnymede Memorial.
F/O N Whiteley RAFVR - 576 Sqn – POW - Camp N/K – POW No N/K
Sgt PFGA Garner RAFVR – 576 Sqn – POW - Camp N/K – POW No N/K
Sgt W Walker RAFVR – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner – 20 – 576 Sqn - Son of George and Janet Walker, of Shotts, Lanarkshire – Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany.
Sgt Kenneth George Durston RAFVR – Air Gunner - 21 – 576 Sqn - Son of Stanley James Durston and Grace Evelyn Durston, of Bedford - Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany.
Sgt Donald Frederick Wood RAFVR – Air Gunner – 576 Sqn - Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany.
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6 March 45 – Nuremberg – Germany – Night. 15 aircraft detailed. Cloud over England was 10/10ths stratocumulus tops 5000 ft to 8000 ft. From the French coast to 0800E this cloud was 10/10ths with tops to 11000 ft and from there to the target the cloud dispersed giving up to 3/10ths of very thin stratus for bombing. The return journey was similar with clear conditions for the last 50 miles.
PFF opened the attack promptly with red TIs and long sticks of white flares and kept the target marked with reds and greens/ The marking was well placed in the target area and adequate throughout the attack. The Master Bomber controlled the bombing giving various overshoots and undershoots on the TIs. Bombing was good with several large areas of the town burning well at the end of the attack.
Flak throughout the whole route and the target area was negligible but there was intense fighter activity. Fighter flares were dropped all along the last 80 miles of the route in to the target area and as far as the Rhine on the homeward route. Combats were frequent and many aircraft were seen going down. F/L De Mille in V2 was attacked by a Ju88 just short of the target and sustained considerable damage from the fighters first burst. This aircraft dived to 4000 ft before he regained control,. The aircraft bombed an alternative target from 9000 ft. Several other aircraft sighted fighters but no other combats were reported. F/L Halnan in T2 aborted immediately after take off due to u/s turret and compressor. The bomb load was jettisoned in the sea.
From this operation F/L Dotten and crew, F/S Sattler and crew and F/S Ryan and crew did not return.
Training – 3 fighter affiliation details, 3 bombing details, 1 air to air firing detail and 1 air to sea firing details.
( 293 aircraft of 1 and 6 Group attacked. 24 Lancasters, all from No 1 Group, lost, 8.7 per cent of the Lancaster force and 10.4 per cent of the No 1 Group aircraft involved. Most of these losses were due to German night fighters, which found the bomber stream on its way to the target. A local report states that the southern and south-western districts were hit as well as the ruins of the Altstadt which was destroyed in a previous raid. A serious fire was established in the Steinbuhl district. The main railway station was also on fire and the city's gasworks were so badly damaged that they did not resume production before the end of the war. This was the last heavy Bomber Command raid on Nuremberg. )
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Lancaster ME317.
This machine completed 41 operations with 2 Early Returns being lost on its 42nd.
It first flew with 576 Squadron on the 2nd November 1944 when F/L G A Campbell and crew took it to Dusseldorf. Campbell and crew flew ME317 17 times in total.
Compiled by David Fell with thanks to John Jones
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