Jim Brough, RIP - first WW2 air raid

[adrian roberts]

A friend in Australia sent me this obituary of Jim Brough, who took part in the very first RAF air raid of WW2, on Wilhelmshaven on 4/9/39. Presumably this would have been in Wellingtons.
Later he was an examiner in Boeing 707s for Qantas.


http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/brave-star-in-the-theatre-of-war/2007/06/21/1182019277257.html

[Kyt]

The Wilhelmshaven raid was by Blenheims - 107 Squadron lost 5.

However, 2 Wellingtons of 9 Squadron were lost attacking Brunsbüttel (which would explain why the article states that 7 aircraft were lost).

Lost Bombers - World War II Lost Bombers

[Kyt]

NLS - Sgt. (Pilot) Albert Stanley Prince

[adrian roberts]

Kyt
Thanks for these links; I knew I had "Lost Bombers" in My Favourites so should have checked it.

This threw up a few questions.

Firstly, the unanswerable one, about how fifteen men [25 including the Wellington crews] were killed on their first operation, becoming the first British Empire fatalities of a long war, whereas Jim Brough survived this raid, survived probably the most high-risk aerial warfare ever - Blenheims 1939-41 - and lived to be 90?

Also:

- The Pilot of N6189 was P/O Lightoller. I think he must have been the son of Charles Lightoller, the senior surviving officer of Titanic - his CWGC ref shows his father as Cdr Charles Lightoller RNR. Do you know this for certain?

- Why would F/O Emden's aircraft be carrying four crew? Not much space in a Blenheim, and in a small aircraft weight would be critical as well.

- A Whitley was lost on 4/9/39, with the crew POW: it was apparently on a "Nickel" operation - what did this mean? Leaflet dropping?

- I remember reading that two of the gunners on a Wellington lost on the first day of the war were members of the British Union of Fascists. If this is true, do you know which of the men listed they were?

Adrian

[Kyt]

Originally Posted by adrian roberts

- The Pilot of N6189 was P/O Lightoller. I think he must have been the son of Charles Lightoller, the senior surviving officer of Titanic - his CWGC ref shows his father as Cdr Charles Lightoller RNR. Do you know this for certain?

- Why would F/O Emden's aircraft be carrying four crew? Not much space in a Blenheim, and in a small aircraft weight would be critical as well.

- A Whitley was lost on 4/9/39, with the crew POW: it was apparently on a "Nickel" operation - what did this mean? Leaflet dropping?

- I remember reading that two of the gunners on a Wellington lost on the first day of the war were members of the British Union of Fascists. If this is true, do you know which of the men listed they were?

Adrian

Blimey Adrian, it's nice to see you exercising those 48 year old brain cells

As to your questions:

- A Nickel or Nickling operation was indeed dropping leaflets. A Nickel was the codename for propaganda leaflets and somewhere on this forum someone once posted a link to the different types (shall look for it later)

- Emden's crew (N6199) had, as an extra navigator, Sgt Grossey who had been attached from 42 Squadron, Coastal Command. However, it seems that extra passengers were not that uncommon. I found out on another forum about the number of cases of passengers (both new pilots along for "acclimitisation" and even erks given a reward for good work) on Beaufighter missions. And they were even more cramped than Blenheims.

- And yes you are right about Lightoller's father being on the Titanic:

The Lightollers youngest son, Brian, was in the RAF as a pilot. On the first night of World War II, he was killed in a bombing raid on Wilhelmshaven. Their eldest son, Roger, went on to join the Royal Navy where he commanded Motor Gun Boats*. During the final months of the war, he was killed during a German Commando raid on Granville on the North French Coast.

Mr Charles Herbert*Lightoller

* Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Officers 1940-1945

- I don't know about te BUF connection but I'll check out the interweb.

[Kyt]

Re: BUF, it seems that one member of 617 Squadron was a member:

Dennis Lucan DFM - Blackshirt Airman

(however, due to the nature of the source, I'd be cautious as to the veracity of the info).

According to the above site both Day and Brocking of L4275 were members:

Roll of Honour

[Peter Clare]

A bit more info on the loss of Blenheim N6199.

In his book ' The Right of the Line', John Terraine reports that N6199 crashed on the training cruiser Emden killing nine of her crew and wounding several more.

[Peter Clare]

The aircraft lost on the 'Nicklel' op was was Whitley III K8969 GE-G. It took off from Leconfield at 2219 hrs on 3 September for a Nickel raid on the Ruhr. The aircraft forced landed at 0545 hrs on 4 September in a cabbage field at Dormans (Marne) on the east bank of the River Marne. The crew escaped injury despite some of the crop entering the aircraft.

[Kyt]

Originally Posted by Peter Clare

The crew escaped injury despite some of the crop entering the aircraft.

I'm glad that they escaped injury or death - but imagine the response from their NoK if they'd been told that their son had been killed by a cabbage! Or having to explain their injuries in a PoW camp.

[adrian roberts]

Kyt, Peter
Thanks for all this.
Charles Lightoller seems to have had a very adventurous career; what a shame he lost two sons in WW2. I knew he had sunk a U-boat in WW1; it seems from this link that he also did a stint as an observer in seaplanes in 1915 - he would have been 41 by then, old for a first-time airman.

I also looked up the first two British airmen to go into action in WW2, according to "Lost Bombers", leading 110 sqdn in the Wilhelmshaven raid. Selby Henderson, the Observer, was killed on 4/7/40, with 206 sqdn which was flying Hudsons by then. At least, that is what the CWGC website says but I can't find this confirmed in "Lost Bombers". I wonder if he was killed in an air raid on his base?
S/L K C Doran, the pilot, was shot down over Norway on 30/4/40 and POW, still in command of 110 sqdn, his crew being killed - "Lost Bombers" and rafcommands.com agree on this.