Sgt Reuben Ainsztein RAFVR - 576 Sqn - RAF Fiskerton - 1944/45 - Air Gunner.
F/O C R Pegg DFC RAAF and crew
Sgt Ainsztein was a member of Clarence Pegg’s 576 Squadron crew in the autumn winter of 44/45. Pegg’s crew completed 26 operations and on their 27th were forced to abandon their damaged aircraft over Allied Held Belgium in Jan 45.The aircraft had sustained serious damage reportedly in an attack by two German jet fighters, one of which was possibly shot down. The crew baled out successfully however the mid upper gunner, Sgt Reuben Ainsztein, broke his ankle on landing.
Ainsztein is a very interesting and controversial chap. He was a Jew born in 1917 in Wilno, Poland, the son of Zelman and Hannah Ainsztein. He attended schools in his native country, but as he came of age, he discovered many of the usual routes were barred to him because he was Jewish. As such, he could not attend university, enlist in the army or pursue several professions. This was his opinion at the time and throughout his life however his views on Polish anti-semitism are strongly disputed by many Poles.
He left Poland 1936 to enrol in a medical school in Brussels, Belgium and supported himself as an English tutor until 1939 when war was declared. After the outbreak of World War II, he was determined to get to England to enlist in the fight against the Germans, but the Germans soon occupied Belgium. He was trapped in Brussels but escaped to Spain where he was interned.
Eventually Ainsztein managed to get to England where he enlisted in the Royal Air Force and served as an air gunner. He absolutely refused to join the Polish Free Forces.
Ainsztein participating in over 20 bombing missions between September 1944 and January 1945 with Pegg's crew. These seem to have been flown under his own name and not an assumed name which was usually the case for Jewish aircrew.
After he broke his ankle he served in Intelligence for the RAF. This is no doubt because of his fluency in several languages and first hand knowledge of Poland. Following the armistice he discovered that his parents had died at the German extermination camp at Ponary and his sister at a similar facility at Kaiserwald.
Post war Ainsztein pursued a career in journalism working for Reuters and the BBC. He was also a contributor to various publications, including the Jewish Quarterly, New Statesman, and The Times of London.
Ainsztein wrote widely on pre-war and wartime Jewish issues and was, and still is, a very highly regarded Jewish writer, scholar and historian. He devoted his life to a study of Jewish Resistance to oppression and wrote the seminal work on Jewish Resistance in German occupied Europe. He also wrote his own wartime memoirs entitled - In Lands Not My Own - A Wartime Journey which I have read and is an excellent book.
Source - In Lands Not My Own – A Wartime Journey by Reuben Ainsztein
Item written by David Fell
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P/O C R Pegg RAAF
Sgt R Pearson RAFVR
F/O A R A Careri RAAF
F/O B Fitzpatrick RAAF
F/S R Taylor RAAF
Sgt R Ainzstein RAFVR
Sgt A A Shearer RAAF
F/O Pegg’s Tour as follows :-
08/09/1944 - Le Havre - PD309 - P/O CR Pegg RAAF
10/09/1944 - Le Havre – PD309 - P/O CR Pegg RAAF
16/09/1944 - Leeuwarden - PD309 - F/O CR Pegg RAAF
20/09/1944 – Calais – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
23/09/1944 – Neuss – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
25/09/1944 – Calais – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
26/09/1944 - Cap Griz Nez – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
28/09/1944 – Calais – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF - Raid aborted by Master Bomber due to worsening cloud conditions
05/10/1944 – Saarbrucken – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
07/10/1944 – Emmerich – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
11/10/1944 - Fort Frederik Henrik – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
14/10/1944 – Duisburg – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
14/10/1944 – Duisburg – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
25/10/1944 – Essen – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
30/10/1944 – Cologne – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
18/11/1944 - Wanne Eikel – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF - Landed at diversionary airfield due to bad weather at base
27/11/1944 – Freiburg – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
29/11/1944 – Dortmund – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
03/12/1944 – Urft – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
06/12/1944 – Leuna – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
22/12/1944 - Koblenz – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF - Bad weather at Base. Landed at Charterhall
28/12/1944 – Bonn – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
02/01/1945 – Nuremberg – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
05/01/1945 – Royen – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF
14/01/1945 – Leuna – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF - Combat.1 NF claimed destroyed.
16/01/1945 – Zietz – PD309 – F/O CR Pegg RAAF - Abandoned on return over Allied held Belgium.
Clary Pegg and crew and Lancaster PD309
This Lancaster was in the news in 2011 as a major dig was undertaken on the crash site in Belgium.
The aircraft was the regular machine of F/O Clarence Pegg RAAF in which he completed 25 ops.
The full crew was
F/O C.R Pegg RAAF,
Sgt R.Pearson RAFVR,
F/O B.Fitzpatrick RAAF,
F/O A.R.A Crameri RAAF,
F/S R.Taylor RAAF,
Sgt R.Ainzstein RAFVR
F/S A.A.Shearer RAAF.
On the night of the 16/17th Jan 1944 this crew were detailed for a raid on the synthetic oil plant at Zeitz in eastern Germany. Outbound they lost the port inner engine and over the target they were hit by flak losing the port outer engine as well. There followed a difficult flight back across Germany and the aircraft was finally abandoned over Belgium. The crew baled out and all landed safely except Sgt Ainzstein who broke his ankle.
F/O Pegg was awarded a DFC for this incident and the citation is shown below :-
"This officer was pilot and captain of an aircraft detailed to attack a target near Leipzig one night in January 1945. While on the outward flight the port inner engine failed. In spite of this Flying Officer Pegg continued to the target which he finally bombed at a much lower height than intended.
Whilst over the target area the aircraft was hit by anti aircraft fire. The port outer engine was damaged and had to be put out of action. The aircraft became difficult to control. One end of the dinghy rope was lashed to the rudder pedals, however, and the air bomber was thus enabled to assist his pilot in operating the rudder.
Course was set for this country but the aircraft began to lose height almost immediately and soon became almost uncontrollable. Flying Officer Pegg thereupon altered course for Allied territory. The port outer engine was restarted but caught fire and had to be stopped. The port inner engine was then tried but it broke up and pieces flew into the fuselage.
By this time the wireless operator obtained a fix which established their position over Allied territory and Flying Officer Pegg ordered his crew to leave by parachute. As two of them left, the starboard engine caught fire. Flying Officer Pegg managed to keep the aircraft straight until all his comrades were clear. As he himself jumped the aircraft was down to 1000 feet.
Reuban Ainzstein sustained a fractured leg when he landed.
In the face of harassing and dangerous circumstances, this officer displayed skill, courage and determination worthy of the highest praise."
Reuben Ainzstein refers to the episode in some detail in his excellent book - In Lands Not My Own. He records that the Engineer and Wireless Operator were awarded DFMs and quite rightly so. However these awards were made on the recommendation of their Section Leaders.
The Navigator and Air Bomber, both commissioned Aussies like their pilot, received nothing in spite of their admirable efforts. This led to some bad feeling amongst the crew who "had ceased to be a band of friends" and went their separate ways.
I do recommend Ainzstein's book if you can find a copy. As a Pole and a Jew who escaped from occupied Europe and he knew only too well exactly what he was fighting and why.
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Excavation of PD309
PD309 crashed near Sart-Risbart (a small village of Incourt), along the Longueville road. In early August 2011 an extensive dig was undertaken by a dedicated band of enthusiasts in the field where the crash took place. This attracted considerable interest in the locality and I believe was covered on Belgian TV. Fortunately the weather was kind and good progress was made thanks to the use of some very substantial heavy earth moving equipment.
Four Rolls Royce Merlin engines with several other sizeable items of wreckage plus much general debris. There are a series of very well made videos of this project on Youtube if anyone is interested. Search for PD309 and they will show up. These clearly show what a demanding project it was and must have taken some time and considerable planning to organise.
Item written by David Fell.
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