W/O Hugh Campbell RAAF and crew – 103 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1943
Failed to Return – 16/17th December 1943 – Avro Lancaster III – JB658 – Op Berlin
The loss of this experienced crew was another heavy blow to the Squadron at a difficult time. They had served with 103 Squadron for nearly 6 months and completed many hard trips to heavily defended targets in the Reich. Hugh Campbell's crew were posted to 103 Squadron around the beginning of July 1943 and flew the following operations :-
29-Jul-43 – Hamburg – Lancaster – ED888 – Sgt H Campbell RAAF
02-Aug-43 – Hamburg – Lancaster – ED888 – Sgt H Campbell - RAAF
09-Aug-43 – Mannheim – Lancaster – ED725 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
10-Aug-43 – Nuremberg – Lancaster – JA957 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
12-Aug-43 – Milan – Lancaster – JA957 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
29-Aug-43 – Munchengladbach – Lancaster – ED888 – F/S H Campbell RAAF – Did not take off
31-Aug-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – ED888 – F/S H Campbell RAAF - Damaged by flak.
03-Sep-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – ED888 – F/S H Campbell RAAF – Early return - Starboard outer engine unserviceable.
05-Sep-43 – Mannheim – Lancaster – ED888 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
06-Sep-43 – Munich – Lancaster – ED888 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
01-Oct-43 – Hagen – Lancaster – JB349 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
03-Oct-43 – Kassel – Lancaster – JB350 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
07-Oct-43 – Stuttgart – Lancaster – ED888 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
08-Oct-43 – Hanover – Lancaster – ED888 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
08-Oct-43 – Hanover – Lancaster – ED888 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
18-Oct-43 – Hanover – Lancaster – JB403 – F/S H Campbell RAAF – Did not take off - Engine fault.
20-Oct-43 – Leipzig – Lancaster – JB454 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
03-Nov-43 – Dusseldorf – Lancaster – JB403 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
10-Nov-43 – Modane – Lancaster – JB403 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
18-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB403 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
22-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB403 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
23-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB403 – F/S H Campbell RAAF
26-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB403 – F/S H Campbell RAAF - Diverted to Tholthorpe because of bad visibility at base.
16-Dec-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB658 – W/O H Campbell RAAF – FTR – Night fighter victim. Crashed edge Teufelssee lake at Berlin-Grunewald, Germany.
Reportedly shot down by night fighter pilot Oberfeldwebel Herbert Altner of 8/NJG5
It is interesting to note that Campbell and his crew flew ED888, the top scoring Bomber Command heavy bomber, on 10 occasions
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W/O Hugh Campbell RAAF – 27 – 103 Sqn - Son of William John and Marjory Reid Campbell, of Yandanooka, Western Australia – Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Philip William Alderton RAF - 24 – 103 Sqn - Son of William Henry James Alderton and Winifred Rose Alderton; husband of Iris Alderton of Dagenham, Essex – Runnymede Memorial
F/S Matthew Hartley RAFVR - 26 – 103 Sqn - Son of Matthew and Hilda May Hartley, of Manchester – Runnymede Memorial
F/S Denis McGrath RAF - 24 – 103 Sqn - Son of Denis and Norah McGrath, of Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Republic of Ireland – Runnymede Memorial
Sgt Thomas Watson Moore RAFVR – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - 23 – 103 Sqn - Son of John and Dorothy Moore, of High Howdon, Wallsend, Northumberland – Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Charles O'Neill RAFVR – Air Gunner - 29 – 103 Sqn - Son of William and Kathleen O'Neill, of Greenock, Renfrewshire; husband of Helen O'Neill of Greenock – Runnymede Memorial
Sgt William Henry Chambers RAFVR – Air Gunner - 21 – 103 Sqn - Son of William Robert and Fanny Chambers of Hull – Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany
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16-Dec-43 - Berlin
103 Squadron detailed 15 aircraft for this attack on the Nazi capital Berlin. F/S Richter and crew collided in mid air in cloud with a 576 Squadron aircraft soon after take off. He and his crew were all killed. Bombing heights were between 20500 ft and 23000 ft. The Pathfinders used both ground and sky marking and provided a spoof of fighter flares 25 miles from the target. Heavy flak was as usual unseen but felt and may have been predicted as well as in barrage form. Three crews bombed alternative targets. Conditions were very bad on return with cloud base at a few hundred feet. F/O Russell-Fry broke cloud at 300 ft to 400 ft but visibility was very bad and he suddenly saw the ground 50 ft below. He opened up the throttles but the aircraft touched down in a ploughed field near Barton. None of the crew were injured. W/O Frost failed to take off and F/S Campbell failed to return. All others landed at base except F/S McMahon who landed at Kirmington and F/O Churchill who was diverted to Lindholme.
For this attack on Berlin Bomber Command detailed a total of 483 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos on the main raid and 5 further Mosquitos dropped decoy fighter flares south of Berlin. The bomber route again led directly to Berlin across Holland and Northern Germany and there were no major diversions. The German controllers plotted the course of the bombers with great accuracy; many German fighters were met at the coast of Holland and further fighters were guided on to the bomber stream throughout the approach to the target. More fighters were waiting at the target and there were many combats. The bombers shook off the opposition on the return flight by taking a northerly route over Denmark. 25 Lancasters, 5.2 per cent of the Lancaster force, were lost. Many further aircraft were lost on returning to England. Berlin was cloud-covered but the Pathfinder skymarking was reasonably accurate and much of the bombing fell in the city. In the city centre, the National Theatre and the building housing Nazi military and political archives were both destroyed. The damage to the Berlin railway system and to rolling stock, and the large numbers of people still leaving the city, were having a cumulative effect upon the transportation of supplies to the Russian Front; 1,000 wagon-loads of war material were held up for 6 days. The sustained bombing had now made more than a quarter of Berlin's total living accommodation unusable. On their return to England, many of the bombers encountered very low cloud at their bases. The squadrons of 1, 6 and No 8 Groups were particularly badly affected. 29 Lancasters (and a Stirling from the minelaying operation) either crashed or were abandoned when their crews parachuted. The group with heaviest losses was No 1 Group with 13 aircraft lost; the squadron with heaviest losses was 97 Squadron, No 8 Group, with 7 aircraft lost.
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Lancaster – JB658
This machine was lost on its 4th operation. See below :-
26-Nov-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB658 – P/O MP Floyd - Diverted to Croft because of bad visibility at base
02-Dec-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB658 – P/O MP Floyd
03-Dec-43 – Leipzig – Lancaster – JB658 – P/O MP Floyd
16-Dec-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB658 – W/O H Campbell RAAF – FTR – Night fighter victim. Crashed edge Teufelssee lake at Berlin-Grunewald Germany.
Item compiled by David Fell with photo courtesy of the Chambers family.
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