F/L Dennis Alfred Newman DFC RCAF and crew – 103 Squadron - 1945
Newman was born 22 January 1911 in Maidstone, Kent. His parents emigrated when he was quite young and his home address is shown as Buffalo, New York and, in March 1944, Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to enlistment he was an engineer by profession. He enlisted Ottawa, Canada 1 November 1940. He was then posted to No.1 ITS, 17 March 1941, promoted LAC 10 April 1941 and posted that date to No.7 EFTS and then to No.5 SFTS On the 28 May 1941 Newman graduated and was commissioned 8 August 1941.
He embarked overseas to RAF overseas, 28 August 1941 and promoted to promoted Flying Officer, 9 August 1942 and Flight Lieutenant, 9 August 1943. At this time he was serving with 148 Squadron flying Vickers Wellingtons in North Africa.
He was posted missing on the 11 July 1942 and was captured becoming a POW. Newman eventually escaped from his captivity in Italy and successfully evaded. See details at the foot of the page.
He was repatriated to Canada, 4 December 1943 and was posted to the UK soon after arriving in the UK in January.
He was then posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds with the following very experienced crew which must have been hand picked :-
F/L D A Newman RCAF
P/O H R Martin
P/O J Ellis
F/O H Bilbrough
F/O G E Irons
F/O G Musk
W/O J G E Edwards
This crew were quickly in action and flew the following ops together :-
28-Jan-45 - Stuttgart/Zuffenhausen - Aero engine factory - Lancaster - RA500 - F/L DA Newman RCAF - Combats. Twice attacked by enemy aircraft prior to bombing run and lost both inner engines. Landed at Manston
03-Feb-45 - Bottrop - Benzol - Lancaster - ME449 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
07-Feb-45 - Kleve - Army support - Lancaster - ME698 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
13-Feb-45 - Dresden - Operation Thunderclap - Lancaster - RA515 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
14-Feb-45 - Chemnitz - Operation Thunderclap - Lancaster - RA515 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
01-Mar-45 - Mannheim - Point of Aim - Lancaster - RA528 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
07-Mar-45 - Dessau - Point of Aim - Lancaster - RA528 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
11-Mar-45 - Essen - Point of Aim - Lancaster - RA528 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
12-Mar-45 - Dortmund - Point of Aim - Lancaster - RA528 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
15-Mar-45 - Misburg - Oil - Lancaster - RA528 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
16-Mar-45 - Nuremberg - Point of Aim - Lancaster - RA528 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
19-Mar-45 - Hanau - Point of Aim - Lancaster - RA528 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
21-Mar-45 - Bremen - Oil - Lancaster - LM177 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
25-Mar-45 - Hannover - Army support - Lancaster - ME551 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
09-Apr-45 - Kiel - Ship yard and naval base - Lancaster - ME551 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
18-Apr-45 - Heligoland - Naval base and airfield - Lancaster - ME551 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
22-Apr-45 - Bremen - Army support - Lancaster - ME551 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
25-Apr-45 - Berchtesgaden - Hitler's chalet and SS barracks - Lancaster - NG173 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
28-Apr-45 - Brussels - Operation Exodus - Lancaster - ME698 - F/L DA Newman RCAF - Recalled to base because of bad weather at Brussels.
30-Apr-45 - Leiden - Operation Manna - Lancaster - ME551 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
02-May-45 - Rotterdam - Operation Manna - Lancaster - ME551 - F/L DA Newman RCAF
At the conclusion of hostilities Newman was repatriated to Canada 9 July 1945 and released 10 September 1945.
Post war Newman lived for many years in San Diego, California where he acquired the Desert View Tower which was and still is a well known local landmark in the Jacumba area.
Newman sadly passed away on the 29 October 2004 at San Diego, California
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Escape and Evasion
Vickers Wellington El Kabrit
On 10th July 1942 Newman was one of the crew of a Wellington which was detailed to bomb Tobruk. Whilst over the target the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and a crash landing was made on the beach. After walking for four days and nearing Sidi Barani the crew were about to commandeer a German truck at the point of a gun when another truck came up and they were taken prisoner. An attempt to escape was made at Mersa Matruh but they were almost immediately recaptured.
At the infamous Campo 21 near Chieti in Italy Newman assisted in a tunnel scheme but he managed to escape with two comrades before it was completed by crawling through the barbed wire. Some days afterwards, an Italian provided them with civilian clothes and took them to Francavilla where they hoped to be evacuated by boat with a large number of other prisoners of war. The scheme failed and they were all ordered by the British SAS officer in charge of the operation to leave the district and go overland to the British lines. Newman and his companion reached the British lines and safety near Guglionesi on 28 October 1943.
DFC Citation
NEWMAN, F/L Dennis Alfred (J6641) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.103 Squadron - Award effective 20 March 1945 as per London Gazette of that date and AFRO 625/45 dated 13 April 1945.
Flight Lieutenant Newman and Flying Officer Bilbrough were pilot and navigator respectively in an aircraft detailed to attack Stuttgart one night in January 1945. When nearing the target area the aircraft was attacked by a fighter. Almost at the beginning of the fight, owing to an electrical failure, the mid-upper turret was rendered inoperative while at the same time the guns in the rear turret became jammed. Despite this, Flight Lieutenant Newman manoeuvred with great skill and finally evaded the attacker. The port inner oil tank had been badly pierced and the affected the running of the port inner engine. Attempts to feather the propeller were unavoidable. Despite this Flight Lieutenant Newman continued to the target. During the bombing run another fighter was encountered but a successful run was made. As the target area was left both the inner engines became unserviceable and some height was lost. Almost all the navigation aids had been rendered inoperative and the navigator, Flying Officer Bilbrough, was faced with a difficult task. Although compelled to work by the light thrown on to the compasses by a torch, he plotted his way across enemy territory. Eventually the compasses became unserviceable. Nevertheless, using the stars as his guide, he navigated the aircraft to an airfield near the English coast where a safe landing was effected. That this sortie was successfully accomplished reflects the greatest credit on the skill, determination and devotion to duty shown by these officers.
Mentioned in Dispatches
NEWMAN, F/O Dennis Alfred, DFC (J6641) - Mention in Despatches - No.148 Squadron - Award effective 14 June 1945 as per London Gazette of that date and AFRO 1478/45 dated 21 September 1945.
Desert View Tower
Compiled by David Fell with photos from Wiki and WWP. Thanks to WARTIMES.ca for much of the background info and citations info.
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