Operation - Essen - 5/6th March 1943.
The first Raid of the Battle of the Ruhr.
This raid was the first of a series of devastating attacks on the targets in the Ruhr area which was known as the Battle of the Ruhr. This area was the industrial heartland of Germany and there fore of great strategic importance. At this time Bomber Command had been growing in strength with nearly 600 bombers available and this figure was to increase to around 800 in May. 80% of these were the new generation of 4 engined heavy night bombers.
The major advantage that Bomber Command had when attacking targets in this region was that the Pathfinders could identify and mark the objectives accurately with the use of the newly introduced Oboe blind bombing device. The system depended on upon signals transmitted from 2 ground stations in England. These transmitted 2 beams which could be laid with great accuracy over the target which could be as small as a particular factory. A receiver in a Pathfinder aircraft guided the bomber exactly to this point.
There were 2 main disadvantages :-
1/ The system could only handle 1 Pathfinder aircraft at a time and, when 3 pairs of Oboe transmitters were operating, a Maximum of 18 in an hour. In addition the aircraft making an Oboe controlled marking run had to fly straight and level for several minutes making it an easy target for flak and fighters.
2/ The range of the Oboe system was limited by the curvature of the earth. This ruled out its use against targets deep in Germany. The Ruhr however was within operating range.
The aircraft chosen to be equipped with this device was the De Havilland Mosquito which could fly at 30,000ft and with its high speed was not in the same danger as the 4 engined heavies. The height advantages of the Mosquito also extended the range of the Oboe system. The Pathfinders were able to use the Mosquito in this way to drop the opening markers with great accuracy which were backed up by the other Pathfinder aircraft in their 4 engined aircraft and followed up by the main force of bombers.
The opening attack of the Battle of the Ruhr took place on the 5/6th March 1943 with the massive Krupps industrial complex at Essen chosen as the target. Bomber Command detailed 442 aircraft for this raid with 103 Squadron contributing 10 Lancasters and crews. On this night Bomber Command flew its 100,000 sortie of the war so far. Among those taking part were several well known figures in the Squadron history including W/C R A C Carter ( the Squadron CO), S/L J A Temperley and F/O K Bickers. Several notable NCO pilots also took part in particular F/S J V Roper, Sgt S G Burton and F/S G Maddern. W/C Carter was the first to take off from Elsham Wolds at 1912 on the 5th March.
Out of the total force of aircraft involved 56 turned back with technical and other problems including 3 of the 8 Mosquito Oboe equipped Pathfinders. This was a high proportion of the force and a disappointing feature of the raid. The weather for the outward flight was relatively good. There was some cloud over England and the North Sea but this dispersed when the bombers crossed the Dutch coast and the target was clear of cloud. The 5 Pathfinder Mosquitos were able to mark the target perfectly on time at the opening of the raid with further markers dropped as the attack progressed. The Pathfinder backers up dropped their own markers to guide the bombers along the route to the target and on the target itself as set out in the plan. The whole of the target marking was done blind as ground detail was not visible through the industrial haze which was a feature in the industrial areas of Germany.
The main force of bombers followed in 3 waves with the Halifaxes opening the attack followed by a second wave of Wellingtons and Stirlings and a third wave of Lancasters. The attack lasted 40 minutes and 362 aircraft claimed to have bombed the target.
The 103 Squadron records state that the defences in the target area were usual for this target with heavy flak in evidence. The Squadron aircraft bombed from between 15,000ft to 18,500ft between 2121 and 2126. It was noted that thick ground haze made observation of the results of the bombing very difficult but the returning crews reported a great concentration of bombing around the markers and the opinion was that the raid had been a big success. W/C Carter remained in the target area for several minutes after bombing to observe the effects of the raid.
German night fighters were encountered in some force over Holland on the return flight with a number of bombers seen to be shot down. All 10 103 Squadron aircraft returned safely to base, the last being S/L Temperley who landed at 2345
In all 14 bombers failed to return from this operation. It is estimated 7 bombers were shot down in the target area and the remainder on the return flight.
The only other operation taking place that night was minelaying in the area of the Frisians undertaken by 7 aircraft from 4 Group.
The reconnaissance photographs taken the following day showed the main area of damage extending from the Krupps works to the city centre. 53 separate buildings within the Krupps plant were damaged or destroyed. In addition the Goldschmidt factory, Maschinenbeau Union factory and the main power station and gas works were badly damaged. German reports show that 3,018 houses were destroyed and 2,166 houses damaged. Approaching 500 people were killed in Essen which probably the highest total in a raid on Germany in one night up to that point.
This attack was considered a most productive start to the Battle of the Ruhr which continued for the next 5 months and inflicted considerable damage to the German industrial machine. The Battle was fought at considerable cost to the RAF however and during this period the attacks on the targets in the Ruhr region cost the RAF 1045 aircraft with over approximately 6700 aircrew killed, missing or taken prisoner.
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. Valley of the Shadow of Death by J Alwyn Phillips and Battle of the Ruhr by Alan Cooper.
....................
|
