Flight Officer Robert J Sarvis USAAF & crew - 576 Sqn - RAF Elsham Wolds - 1944.
Failed to Return - 24/25th July 1944 - Avro Lancaster III - PB265 - Op Stuttgart
Robert Sarvis was an interesting chap who came to my attention a long time ago. He was from the Tennessee USA and volunteered for service in the RCAF after Pearl Harbour when the USA entered the war. He was also a graduate and a very accomplished sportsman.
There are several pages on the web about Robert. Simon Weir's page site is particularly informative and well illustrated. My contribution is the following article which I wrote in 2008 and appeared in a newsletter I edited and published in 2009.
Robert Sarvis
The Royal Air Force was, for the most part a British and Commonwealth service, but it should not be forgotten that about 5% of aircrew were drawn from other nationalities. Most of these were from occupied Europe. Both 103 Sq and 576 Sq had several airmen who came into this category, the most famous being the Belgian legend Florent Van Rolleghem.
However the most numerous nationality, other than British or Commonwealth, to see service with both 103 and 576 Squadrons was American. The United States of America had a several representatives who served with either Squadron. Some of these were to lose their lives.
In the early days of the war these men headed north to Canada and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. From the information I have managed to gather on this topic it seems that most had Canadian family connections which no doubt was a strong motivating factor. A typical example being Robert J Sarvis.
Robert was actually born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada in 1917. His parents moved to the Tennessee, USA when he was very young and he received his junior and high school education in the USA. He attended Tennessee State University in 1937, married Juanita Hindman at Franklin, Kentucky in July 1939 and graduated from university with a BSc in 1941. At High School and University he was noted as a very accomplished American Football player.
From Jan 41 to Feb 42 he worked for the National Life and Accident Insurance Company. For whatever reason he headed for Canada and enlisted in the RCAF at Toronto in April 42.
After basic training Robert was posted to No. 20 EFTS at Oshaura, Ontario in Oct. 42 and then to No. 1 SFTS at Camp Borden, Ontario in Jan. 43. He was promoted to Sergeant in April 43, awarded his pilot's badge in May 43 and sailed for Britain on the 23rd June 43 arriving on the 1st July.
He was then posted to No. 3 PRC on the 2nd July and then, on the 27th July, to the business of flying at No. 11 (P) AFU. During this period he was issued with 3 leave passes of 1 week each, no doubt to see some of the sights, meet a few people and generally get to know his new environment. Robert's father was born in Britain and he may well have had relations over here.
In November 43 he was posted to No. 28 OTU at Wymeswold, Leicestershire. Here he crewed up with his Navigator, Air Bomber, Wireless Operator and Rear Gunner and commenced bomber training on Wellingtons.
In December 43 he has applied for a discharge from the RCAF and re-enlisted in the United States Army Air Force. This was not unusual for American citizens in the British and Commonwealth Air Forces who took advantage of this option. The better pay could have been significant. He did however continue to serve in the RAF. I am not sure whether he had the option to transfer to a USAAF unit at this stage but it seems unlikely as he was well into his training. In any case it seems probable he would choose to stay with his crew as they would be in the process of working up into a proficient team and have formed a strong mutual bond by that stage.
From OTU Robert, with his crew, were posted to a Heavy Conversion Unit, probably 1656 HCU at Lindholme, Yorkshire. and then to 576 Sq. at Elsham Wolds in late May 44 along with another crew with an American pilot, Flight Officer C Sawyer.
Below Robert Sarvis ( right ) at the wedding of his Wireless Operator Jack Coates. Robert was best man
Robert's crew consisted of :-
Sgt A J Balfour RAFVR - Flight Engineer, Sgt J M Weir RAFVR - Air Bomber, Sgt R T Gordon RCAF - Navigator, Sgt J Coates RAFVR - Wireless Operator, Sgt E Reed RAFVR - Air Gunner and Sgt T A Clark RCAF - Air Gunner.
Robert flew his first operation on the night of the 6/7th June 44 to Vire as second pilot in the crew of S/L Stan Slater. On the night of the 12/13th June Robert captained his own crew for the first time as part of a very accurate Bomber Command attack on Gelsenkirken.
In the days following D Day bomber operations came thick and fast and Robert and his crew were constantly on the Squadron Battle Orders. Throughout June and July operations were flown against a variety of targets by both day and night. These operations ranged from army support, attacks on oil plants and storage installations, V Weapon installations, German naval units, railway communications as well as strategic targets in Germany.
These operations proved very effective due to the excellent work of the Pathfinders. The exceptions being the raids on Revigny in mid July which were hampered by cloud cover and the second being aborted altogether without a bomb being dropped.
Robert's crew flew their 18th operation on the 23/24 July 44 against the important German naval port and ship building centre of Kiel.
This was a Bomber Command masterpiece being brilliantly conceived and executed to perfection. Extensive use was made of Radio Counter Measures and Jamming and the German fighter controllers were taken completely by surprise when the force of over 600 Lancasters and Halifaxes suddenly appeared from behind a Mandrel jamming screen with no prior warning. Kiel suffered its most damaging air raid of the war as a result with the port, naval facilities and ship yards being particularly badly hit.
The next night Robert and his crew were detailed to take part on an operation against the German city of Stuttgart. A difficult target situated in a series of narrow valleys deep inside Germany. 576 Sq tasked 16 crews for this attack. The total Bomber Command effort was 461 Lancasters and 153 Halifaxes.
Robert and his crew took off from Elsham Wolds at 2108 in Lancaster PB265. They headed south with the main force across the Channel to Dieppe and on to Rouen and Dreux. Approaching the turning point near Orleans Robert's aircraft was attacked by a night fighter. The Lancaster was seriously damaged and he had no option but to abandon the operation. He gave the order to abandon the aircraft and Sgt Balfour baled out in the region of Orleans. This order was then countermanded and they headed north west in an attempt to seek safety at the Allied held Normandy Beachhead
Nearing Carentan at 8,500 ft the Lancaster was fired on by US anti aircraft units and further damaged. The aircraft was now well ablaze. Robert gave the order to bale out and the rest of his crew left the aircraft in good order. All survived. Sgts Balfour and Gordon evaded capture. Sgts Weir, Coates, Reed and Clark all landed in Allied held territory and were safe. All returned to the UK with Sgts Weir and Coates joining other 576 Sqn crews. I am not sure what happened to the other 4.
What happened after crew baled out is unclear. The aircraft crashed onto a road between Carquebut and Liesville. It seems Robert was unable to leave the aircraft and was sadly killed in the crash. He is now buried at the American Cemetery at Colleville-Sur-Mer, Calvados.
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FltO Robert J Sarvis USAAF – Pilot – 576 Sqn – US Military Cemetery, St Laurent-sur- Mer, France.
Sgt A Balfour RAFVR – Flight Engineer – 576 Sqn – Evaded
Sgt R T Gordon RCAF – Air Bomber – 576 Sqn – Safe.
Sgt J M Weir RAFVR – Navigator – 576 Sqn – Safe.
Sgt J Coates RAFVR – Wireless Operator – 576 Sqn – Safe
Sgt E Reed RAFVR – Air Gunner – 576 Sqn – Safe.
Sgt T Clark RCAF – Air Gunner – 576 Sqn - Safe
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The remains of the aircraft were bulldozed off the road into swampy ground next to the road.
In 1989, during a road widening project, wreckage of the aircraft was found along with human remains which were buried in Robert's grave. The wreckage recovered included a number of interesting items in surprisingly good condition. These included machine guns, parachute and oxygen bottles.
Like a good captain Robert ensured the safety of his crew but was tragically unable to save himself. All part of the job in those difficult times.
Sarvis crew tour :-
12/06/1944 - Gelsenkirchen - ME583 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
14/06/1944 - Le Havre - ME583 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
16/06/1944 - Sterkrade - ME583 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
17/06/1944 - Aulnoye - ME583 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
23/06/1944 - Saintes - ME800 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
24/06/1944 - Flers - ME583 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
27/06/1944 - Chateau Benapre - ME583 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
29/06/1944 - Domleger - JA868 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
02/07/1944 - Domleger - LM594 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
04/07/1944 - Orleans - JB555 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
05/07/1944 - Dijon - JB555 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
07/07/1944 - Caen - JA868 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
12/07/1944 - Revigny - PB265 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
14/07/1944 - Revigny - PB265 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
17/07/1944 - Sanneville - PB265 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
18/07/1944 - Scholven Buer - PB265 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
20/07/1944 - Wizernes - PB265 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
23/07/1944 - Kiel - PB265 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
24/07/1944 - Stuttgart - PB265 - FltO RJ Sarvis USAAF
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Lancaster PB265
This machine was lost on its 7th operation all with Robery Sarvis and crew
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Simon Weir's Blogspot on the Sarvis Crew is very good and well illustrated. Probably more up to date as well. See here.
Also see Article - The Last Flight of PB265 - which appeared in a French historical aviation magazine some years ago here
Footnote - The Stuttgart attack on the 24/25 July 1944 was the blackest night of the war for both Elsham Wolds Squadrons. 103 Sqn and 576 Sqn lost 4 crews each with several other aircraft badly knocked about.
Compiled by David Fell. Photos courtesy of the Coates family, Simon Weir. Tthe grave photo is from a French contact.
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