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Thursday, 17 December 1942, and the crews from 103 Squadron had been briefed for a mining operation to the mouth of the river Caronne in France. However, one crew from 103 squadron had been briefed for a mining operation into Danish waters, just outside Nyborg harbour in the Great Belt. The area was codenamed the "Broccoli". The weather was a very poor with cloud and fog severely reducing visibility. Landing conditions in England were also expected worsen during the night. It was finally decided to cancel the Caronne operation, but the mining trip to Denmark was still to take place. Among the other crews there were some discussion about the wisdom of sending just one aircraft. They felt that it was too risky, without the protection of flying in a vast stream of bombers. It was felt that the German defences could focus all their efforts on individual aircraft. The 103 Squadron Lancaster wouldn't be the only Bomber Command aircraft operating that night. 49 other aircraft were also sent on mining ops to various places, ranging from Denmark to the Bay of Biscay. But they didnt fly in a stream, each aircraft was on its own. The crew selected for the mining operation was that of Pilot Officer Harry Bernard Smith. P/O Smith and his crew flew Lancaster W4786, PM-V. The crew was as follows: Pilot: Pilot Officer Harry Bernard Smith RAF. Navigator: Flying Officer Samuel Tweedy Hewitt RAF. Bomb Aimer: Sergeant Norman Frater RAF Flight Engineer: Sergeant Frederick Reginald Collins RAF Wireless Operator: Sergeant Gerald Thomas Canterbury RAF Mid Upper Gunner: Warrant Officer Jack Athelston Hollinsworth RCAF Rear Gunner: Warrant Officer Angus Daniel MacDonald RCAF For the pilot, bomb-aimer, wireless-op and rear gunner, it was to be their 20th operation together, for the flight engineer and the navigator it was number fifteen, and for the mid-up-gunner it was number eighteen. At 17:30 hours they took off and headed for the southern tip of Ringkobing Fiord near the Danish west coast. What happened on this flight exactly will remain unknown. Perhaps they were slightly south of their intended track, or maybe they choose a route further south. At 19:50 hours they were over an area just south of Ribe and were intercepted by a German night fighter. A furious battle commenced which lasted for some minutes. During this time, both heavy and light machine gun fire could be heard by people on the ground below.
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The crew of W4786 PM-V,(L to R): W/Op Sgt G. T. Canterbury, B/A Sgt N. Frater, Nav F/O S. T. Hewitt, Pilot P/O H. B. Smith ( here still a Sgt ) R/G W/O A. D. MacDonald, MU/G W/O J. A. Hollinsworth, F/E Sgt F. R. Collins. The aircraft behind them is Halifax DV697, PM-V | |||
