Jim Brough, RIP - first WW2 air raid

[Kyt]

Lostbombers only covers Bomber Command and not Coastal Command or OTUs. But there's a lot of info on Henderson, with details of his career and his DFC at:

EDE, F/O Herman Francis Grant (23307) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No

(scroll down)

[Kyt]

Doran's two DFCs

10th October; 1939. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Flying Officer (acting Flight Lieutenant) Kenneth Christopher DORAN (37467)..
Early in September, 1939, this officer led an attack against an enemy cruiser. In face of heavy gun fire and under extremely bad weather conditions he pressed home a succesful low attack with great determination.

10 January, 1940. Awarded a Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross. Flying Officer (acting Squadron Leader) Kenneth Christopher DORAN, D.F.C. (37467)- This officer was the leader of a formation of bomber aircraft which was attacked by enemy fighters over the North Sea during January, 1940. By his clever tactics and gallant leadership he successfully maintained a close defensive formation throughout the engagement, two of the fighter aircraft being compelled to break off the fight, a third being shot down in flames into the sea, and the remainder eventually abandoning the attack. Although one of our aircraft was lost and a second returned to its base, Squadron Leader Doran showed great determination in leading the remaining aircraft a distance of about 130 miles further on 'to his objective.

[Kyt]

From: HyperWar: Royal Air Force 1939–1945: Volume I: The Fight at Odds [Chapter II]

The war was only 24 hours old', writes Flight Lieutenant K. C. Doran, 'but already the bomb-load had been changed four times. Lunchtime on 4th September found us standing by at an hour's readiness, the Blenheims bombed up with 500-pound S.A.P.' [Semi Armour-Piercing].

Suddenly we got some more 'gen'. Units of the German Fleet had been sighted, but the weather in the Heligoland Bight, it appeared, was bloody, and the only attack possible would be a low-level one.
We could not carry torpedoes, so off came the 500-pound S.A.P. and on went 500-pound G.P. [General Purpose] with 11 seconds delay fuse. At last everything was ready, and the final briefing had been given by the Station Commander, who finished up with these words to the rear gunners: 'Don't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes.' Owing to the weather over the target, only ten aircraft from Wattisham were to take part, five from No. 110 Squadron and five from No. 107 Squadron. Each squadron was to proceed independently.¹
Soon after crossing out over the North Sea we ran into the bad weather. The Met. forecast was only too accurate, a solid wall of cloud seemed to extend from sea-level to 17,000 feet. We obviously had to keep below it to stand any chance of finding our target. So we went down to sea-level and flew in and out of cloud between 50 and 100 feet. We turned on E.T.A. [Estimated Time of Arrival] by what should have been Heligoland and flew on towards Wilhelmshaven. Suddenly a couple of barges appeared out of the murk and vanished. At the same time we got our first sight of the German coast.
After a bit of feverish map-reading, we decided we were in the approach to the Schillig Roads. By an incredible combination of luck and judgement we were bang on our track.

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Within a few minutes, cloud base lifted to 500 feet and we saw a large merchant ship; just beyond it was the Admiral Scheer.
No. 110 Squadron had planned to attack in two sections of three and two, hoping to get all the aircraft from each section attacking from different directions and over the target within the 11 seconds delay before the bombs exploded. Nos. 4 and 5 of the formation were therefore ordered to break away, and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 opened out to make their attack.
The Scheer was anchored in shallow water, near the bank and protected from the landward side by a 'pin-cushion' balloon barrage. So we decided to make our attack slightly across the fore and aft line of the ship, and make our getaway by a sharp turn to port to avoid the balloon barrage.
which was about 500 feet, and made our attack in a shallow dive. As we approached, we saw the matelots' washing hanging out around the stern and the crew idly standing about on deck. It seemed as though we had caught them, literally, with their pants down.
However, when they realized that our intention was hostile they started running like mad, and as aircraft No. 1 came over at mast-head height and dropped its bombs bang amidships, their A.A. got into action, and this together with shore-based A.A. kept us pretty busy carrying out evasive measures. The bombs from the second aircraft undershot by about ten yards and exploded in shallow water directly under the ship. No. 3 found he could not get over within the 11 seconds and dropped his bombs on another target.
The leader of the second section, who attacked another target, did not return, and only one of the other five aircraft (from No. 106 Squadron), who attacked other units of the German Fleet, returned to base.

For leading this, the first Royal Air Force attack of the war, Doran was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The intention behind the attack, of course, was to bomb the German fleet in its North Sea bases at the very outset of hostilities, before the enemy's defences grew too strong.
In accordance with this plan, a Blenheim aircraft of No. 139 Squadron had been standing by at Wyton since 1st September. Its function was to reconnoitre and photograph the German bases. From 2nd September a striking force was also waiting. Forty-eight minutes after war was declared on 3rd September the Blenheim, piloted by Flying Office A. McPherson and carrying a naval observer, had departed on its mission. The two men saw several enemy warships emerging into the Schillig Roads from Wilhelmshaven; but the aircraft was flying at 24,000 feet and the intense cold had frozen the wireless. Not until the Blenheim landed could the crew report their vital information. With afternoon already turned to evening the striking force had taken off, only to be baulked by thunderstorms and the oncoming darkness

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Shortly after half-past eight the following morning McPherson, whose daring and persistence were also rewarded with the Distinguished Flying Cross, had again left Wyton. Thick low clouds forced him down almost to the surface, but he persisted with his task; and from 300 feet he and his observer saw and photographed warships in Brunsbüttel, Wilhelmshaven and the Schillig Roads. Once more there was an attempt to radio an advance report, and once more it failed—the message was received, but in corrupt form. Nothing could be done until the aircraft landed. Two hours of intense activity followed while the ground crews worked frantically to change the bombs of the striking force; then Doran and his companions took off for the attack. Of what occurred from this point Doran's account gives an accurate description, which it is necessary to supplement only from German sources. From these we now know that the bombs that hit the von Scheer failed to explode—being fused for 11 second delay they probably bounced overboard from the armoured decks—and that one of the missing Blenheims crashed on the fo'c'sle' of the Emden, killing and injuring many of the cruiser's crew.
The Blenheims were not the only British bombers to be active that afternoon. While Doran was attacking near Wilhelmshaven, fourteen Wellingtons of Nos. 9 and 149 Squadrons were making their way towards Brunsbüttel. Here McPherson had reported two battleships. But bad weather and fierce anti-aircraft fire shielded the targets, and only one crew claimed a possible hit. Two of the Wellingtons which penetrated the harbour failed to return.
These operations of 4th September, which cost seven of the twenty-nine aircraft taking part, may be regarded as characteristic of our first attempts to damage the enemy from the air. The over-optimistic view of what might be achieved: the care taken to avoid harming the German civil population: the large proportion of aircraft failing to locate the objective: the ineffective bombs and inconsiderable results: the expectation that crews would be skilful enough to find and bomb in atrocious weather a precise and hotly defended target on the other side of the North Sea: and the unflinching courage with which the attacks were pressed home—all these were typical, not merely of September 1939, but of many months to come.

McPherson's crew was Naval observer, Commander Thompson and wireless operator/air-gunner Corporal V Arrowsmith.

McPherson was killed in May 1940:
Lost Bombers - World War II Lost Bombers

Arrowsmith was killed in September 1940:
Lost Bombers - World War II Lost Bombers

Can't find any info on Thompson yet.