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The following document is a transcript of a report given by F/L Eddy of 103 Squadron relating to the loss of his aircraft during a raid to Augsburg on the 25/26th February 1944. It was made by F/L Eddy immediately on his return to the UK after his successful evasion and escape from Occupied Europe and is a most interesting account of a difficult flight and crash landing. It makes no mention of his subsequent evasion which was dealt with in a seperate report. Bill Eddy was British but lived in Argentine and was married to an Argentinian girl. He was a family man with several children and also very wealthy, owning a large Estancia where he raised cattle. He could have easily stayed in Argentine throughout the war but, like many others, chose to return to the land of his birth to fight. He joined the RAF and trained at Cranwell on Oxfords and was then transferred to Operational Training Unit at Hixon to continue his training on Wellingtons. Following this he was posted to 1662 Heavy Conversion Unit at Blyton and then onto 103 Squadron at Elsham Wolds. He started operations with his crew on the night of the 2/3rd December 1943 with a raid on Berlin and up to the 25/26th February 1944 had competed 15 operations, seven to Berlin and all the others to distant German targets. In February 1944 he was Deputy Flight Commander of 103 Squadron A Flight.
SECRET
OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SECTION (B.C.) REPORT NO : K158 COPY NO : 4 REPORT ON LOSS OF AIRCRAFT ON OPERATIONS
Aircraft : Lancaster III No. ND.417 Date of Loss : 25/26th February 1944 Cause of Loss: Heavy Flak Position of Loss : Bertrix Area of Luxembourg - Homeward bound. Note. The Lancaster actually crash landed just inside the Belgian border. Information from : F/Lt. Eddy W.E.M. Captain & Pilot on 16th operation. Remainder of Crew : Navigator F/O King R.M. on 15th operation Fate unknown W/Op. Sgt Fry O.J.H.on 16th operation P/W F/Eng. F/Sgt Woodward J.on 15th operation Fate unknown B/Aimer Sgt Styles R.G. on 15th operation Fate unknown M/U/G Sgt Smith R.W. on 1st operation P/W R/G Sgt Emerson J.D. on 16th operation P/W 2nd Pilot F/Sgt Miller J.on 1st operation Fate unknown Briefed Route : Base - Sheringham - 5215N 0300E - 504ON 0550E - 475ON 0900E - 475ON 1100E - Augsburg - 4835N 1030E - 4820N 0720E - 5000N 0115E - Beachy Head - Base.
Narrative 1 The Lancaster took off from Elsham Wolds at about 22:30 hours. There was no moon and thick cloud was encountered over much of the route. This cleared before the target was reached. The Lancaster crossed the enemy coast at 20,000ft. and climbed steadily to 23,000ft. at the target. The pilot flew a straight and level course most of the time using George. Route markers were not seen at the expected position, but a number of red flares of an unfamiliar type were observed. These were very scattered and the informant was of the opinion that they were 'spoof' markers dropped by the enemy. H2S was not functioning satisfactorily and the Navigator was only able to get very feeble responses from the set. However, the target was reached without incident a little late and was found to be well alight. The Lancaster made an excellent run at 23,000ft. and bombed on the markers on the planned heading at the tail end of the raid, which appeared to be highly successful. 2 Leaving the target area a concentrated belt of searchlights was encountered and it was necessary to take considerable evasive action to avoid being coned. Once through the searchlights the pilot straightened out and ordered the flight engineer to check the fuel. He had just received the assurance that there was ample supply when the Lancaster was engaged by heavy flak and was hit by the first burst. Fragments passed through the bomb doors and entered the fuselage just behind the pilots seat. The aircraft was thrown very violently upwards by the explosion. No bursts had been observed before the attack and the informant believes that his aircraft's course had been predicted as he left the target. 3 The hydraulics were rendered unserviceable in the attack and the bomb doors fell open. A fire started on the underside of the aircraft close behind the pilot's seat. The flames which came up into the fuselage were later found to have burnt away the straps of the pilots harness. 4 The controls and engines were quite undamaged and the pilot at once took evasive action, making frequent changes of height and airspeed. The fuselage was filled with smoke and a strong choking smell, which probably emanated from the burning hydraulic mixture. This overcame the flight engineer who remained unconscious for a while. One of the other members of the crew ascertained that his oxygen supply was functioning, but was unable to attend to him further. The 2nd pilot and wireless operator worked hard fighting the fire and used up all the extinguishers without success. The fire continued to burn fiercely though it remained localised. Meanwhile, the navigator continued to carry on coolly with his own job and at the same time kept up a running commentary on the progress of the fire fighting for the information of the pilot. 5 When the last of the extinguishers was used up the Pilot ordered the crew to prepare to abandon the aircraft. He had already ordered the Gunners to leave their turrets and the Wireless Operator had gone back to release the Rear Gunner who was unable to get out of his own accord owing to the failure of the hydraulics. The 2nd Pilot had burned his wrists fire-fighting and these were bound up by the Navigator. One of the parachutes had been destroyed in the fire. 6. The Pilot now dived the Lancaster very steeply from 20,000 to 10,000 ft. and in the course of the dive the fire went out. He levelled out at 10,000 ft , but almost at once the Navigator reported that H2S, which was now working more satisfactorily, showed that they were over a built-up area. Immediately afterwards the Lancaster was again engaged by flak but sustained no further damage. The Pilot therefore climbed back to 15,000 ft and the Mid Upper Gunner returned to his turret. 7. The Flight Engineer had now recovered consciousness and the Pilot ordered him to check the fuel. It was then found that the level had dropped beyond all reason and that petrol was obviously escaping from somewhere. As the Flight Engineer was still very dazed the Navigator carried out a careful examination to determine which tank was holed. He ran the engines on all possible combinations of tanks for short periods, noting down the readings on the gauges on each occasion. The petrol continued to decrease rapidly all the time, however, and it was concluded that the leak must be situated in a main pipe. 8. It was clear that the Lancaster could not hope to reach the coast so the Navigator worked our the shortest course by which they could reach occupied territory. The Pilot kept the nose of the aircraft slightly down and lost height very gradually, flying a straight and level course. He was once compelled to take evasive action for a short time to avoid flak and twice had to make detours round built-up areas which were identified on H2S. 9. After flying for about an hour and having lost height to 8,000 ft. the port outer engine began to splutter and the fuel pressure warning light came on. The Pilot therefore ordered the crew to bale out. They expressed a wish to remain with him in the aircraft as he had no parachute, but when he insisted, prepared to carry out of order. They all left successfully from the front escape hatch. 10. After the crew had gone the port outer engine gave out, followed by the other three in rapid succession. Ft./Lt. Eddy feathered the propellers and glided downwards maintaining a speed of about 150 mph. From 4,000 ft. he could see the ground covered with snow against which the woods stood out clearly as dark patches. The Navigator had warned him that he was over the wooded Ardennes country with hills running up to 600 ft. He switched on the landing lights for a few seconds but the glare on the snow was blinding so he switched off again. At about 600 ft. he levelled out, finding himself above a small town. He passed close over the roof tops and a small wood beyond and down into an open patch with 3 or 4 ft. of snow. The Lancaster hit the ground gently once, bounced forward and touched down again rather more violently. As his harness straps had been burnt away, Ft/Lt Eddy was thrown forward against the windscreen, hitting his head. He was unconscious for a short while and when he came to the Lancaster had come to rest against a fence. 11. Ft/Lt Eddy climbed up on his seat and looked out. He found that the Lancaster was in the side of a small hill with woods close at hand. He then went back into the fuselage, detonated all the secret gear and broke the sets up further with the butt end of the axe. He then searched for the incendiary bomb to set alight to the aircraft but was unable to find it anywhere. He therefore collected together all the maps, charts and logs, sprinkled them with alcohol from a bottle which he carried and then set light to them. He placed the bonfire on the scanner of the H2S set which burnt well and he appeared to have got a good fire started. He dropped one lighted map into a petrol tank, but it went out at once. He remained by the aircraft for nearly an hour, by which time it was well alight and the ammunition had started to go off. The Lancaster had been very little damaged in the crash. The underside of the fuselage and the propellers were badly buckled but there was only slight damage to the wings and the aircraft showed no tendency to break up. According to information which he received later, the fire he started must have burnt itself out without spreading to the wings or engines which were still intact when his informant saw them. The crash occurred within about 10 miles of Bertrix. 12. Ft/Lt Eddy spoke highly of the behaviour of all members of his crew but especially of the Navigator who displayed great coolness and initiative in carrying out whatever tasks appeared to be necessary in the emergency without at anytime neglecting his navigation. 27444/5 BO/S. 30270/ORS 2nd May, 1944 Postscript Thankfully, all of F/L Eddy's crew survived after they had parachuted from the Lancaster and were subsequently captured and became prisoners of war. All survived the war and returned to their homes in the UK to resume their civilian lives. After his crash landing, F/L Eddy made his escape through the snow on foot. He was a fluent Spanish speaker and could also speak some French. He made contact with some local civilians who were prepared to help him and at this time met up with an American airman who was also on the run. The American was a fluent French speaker and had a good collection of funny stories which proved very popular with the local people who were helping them escape. The two airmen were passed on from village to village through France but decided to split up when they warned that their reputation was spreading. F/L Eddy made contact with a French Resistance group and they assisted him to make his escape over the Pyrenees into Spain. He went to the British Embassy in Madrid where he was debriefed and sent on to Gibraltar where he was given passage back to the UK in a destroyer. His return to Elsham Wolds in early May 1944 was a great boost to the morale of 103 Squadron. His arrival was even more welcomed because he brought with him from Spain a large number of bottles of wine and sherry and also lots of oranges which were very rare in wartime Britain. F/L Eddy was awarded an immediate and well earned DSO for his exploits and requested to be returned to operations with the Squadron to complete his tour. Wing Commander Nelson, the Squadron CO, thought he should have a break and be posted to a training unit and this was agreed by 1 Group HQ however F/L Eddy was not happy with this and managed to obtain a transfer to Pathfinder Mosquitos where he completed a further 60 operations and was awarded a DFC and bar. After the war Bill Eddy returned to Argentine to manage his Estancia. He was an extremely likeable and popular man and an excellent pilot and, during his time at Elsham Wolds, was very highly thought of. Acknowledgements We are grateful to the Public Record Office at Kew for providing this report and also Wim Govaerts in Belgium for his permission to use it. Other information about F/L Eddy was obtained from the book, Black Swan - A History of 103 Squadron- by Sid Finn. | |