Happy Valley
The valley of the River Ruhr 25 miles inside Germany was the hub of the Nazi armaments industry thanks to its rich coal and iron ore deposits and was therefore a key priority for Bomber Command throughout the war. Most pilots dreaded going to the Ruhr - which they dubbed Happy Valley - because it was heavily defended across a huge area by hundreds of anti-aircraft guns and searchlights, often radar-controlled.
A night raid in heavy rainstorms followed on the dock and factory areas of Neuss, a nearby city on the Rhine. "Heavy flak, good trip," noted Ginger; George saw flak and fighters but nevertheless thought it "very quiet for the Ruhr". Crews countered with 'window', which blocked the bomber stream to enemy radar. Bill, who chucked out window on virtually every op, said: "The Ruhr was the worst - probably more so than Berlin. The defences were very heavy to protect their war materials. They used to say you got a good reception there. Flak would hang in the air and it would be like entering a pin cushion with all the flak bursts that had already happened there. You were there. You couldn't turn back. You just had to accept it.
Returning in daylight on one trip, a plume of black smoke poured out of the port outer engine as it leaked oil. Fred pondered whether to feather the engine and come home on three, with the slightly heightened risk that would mean. He said: "We hadn't been hit - I don't think we had been on operations. We were going to land in ten minutes so I did not close the engine down. I carried on. I had the crew to think of."
There was no typical day on squadron. When airmen woke depended on whether there had been ops the day before and when they returned. On each sortie they took sandwiches, chocolate and flasks of coffee. Fred said: "On short trips we never ate our chocolate and very frequently brought it back and handed it to the ground crew. We had a very good ground crew." Ground crewman Alf Rowland recalls: "I was always on tenterhooks when they took off and was always glad to see them back." Alf, then 24 and responsible for maintaining controls, hydraulics and undercarriage, was taken up by Fred on a training flight all around England. "We tried to locate where I lived but it was covered in cloud."
A night raid in heavy rainstorms followed on the dock and factory areas of Neuss, a nearby city on the Rhine. "Heavy flak, good trip," noted Ginger; George saw flak and fighters but nevertheless thought it "very quiet for the Ruhr". Crews countered with 'window', which blocked the bomber stream to enemy radar. Bill, who chucked out window on virtually every op, said: "The Ruhr was the worst - probably more so than Berlin. The defences were very heavy to protect their war materials. They used to say you got a good reception there. Flak would hang in the air and it would be like entering a pin cushion with all the flak bursts that had already happened there. You were there. You couldn't turn back. You just had to accept it.
Bill Hardwick
"When we were flying there was no conversation. There was talk before take-off and during take-off - but during flight, nothing. The only conversation was from navigator to the pilot, or the rear gunner to pilot. Fred would say 'Keep an eye out, we are over enemy territory; watch out for fighters and searchlights'. When approaching the target the navigator would say 'Ten minutes to target'. You would see fires burning. Then we would start the bombing run. Once the bomb doors were open, with so many tons of bombs under there, you knew that if anything hit that.! The bomb-aimer would say 'Left, left, steady as you go, right a bit'. It seemed ages. 'Bombs gone'. The aircraft would lift a bit. Immediately the bombs were gone Fred and I would be in action. Full thrust, he would dive to turn and we would be away."Returning in daylight on one trip, a plume of black smoke poured out of the port outer engine as it leaked oil. Fred pondered whether to feather the engine and come home on three, with the slightly heightened risk that would mean. He said: "We hadn't been hit - I don't think we had been on operations. We were going to land in ten minutes so I did not close the engine down. I carried on. I had the crew to think of."
There was no typical day on squadron. When airmen woke depended on whether there had been ops the day before and when they returned. On each sortie they took sandwiches, chocolate and flasks of coffee. Fred said: "On short trips we never ate our chocolate and very frequently brought it back and handed it to the ground crew. We had a very good ground crew." Ground crewman Alf Rowland recalls: "I was always on tenterhooks when they took off and was always glad to see them back." Alf, then 24 and responsible for maintaining controls, hydraulics and undercarriage, was taken up by Fred on a training flight all around England. "We tried to locate where I lived but it was covered in cloud."
Easy's camera shows target indicator flares cascading down as its bombs were released over Fort Fredrik Hendrik, on the Schedlt estuary, Holland, on October 11.
