1 Group

by Patrick Otter

  The three new airfields which were opened in the autumn and winter of 1943 were all to play a significant part in the future operations of 1 Group. First off the stocks was Kelstern, perched high on the Lincolnshire Wolds six miles from Louth. Neighbouring Ludford Magna could lay claim to be the highest operational bomber airfield in Britain at 428ft above sea level, but Kelstern was only a few feet lower and even more exposed to winds coming in from the North Sea. Ludford was also built alongside a large village served by the main Louth-Market Rasen road and boasting two excellent pubs. Kelstern had none of those attributes but was, nevertheless, becoming one of the most popular postings for all those who served there. It was hastily built, with some truly awful examples of how not to erect accommodation huts for those forced to spend winters on the Lincolnshire Wolds. But it was to be a well-run station, lacking the ‘bull’ found elsewhere with a first rate esprit de corps amongst those who served with its one and only squadron, 625. Much of the credit for all this went to G/Capt R.H. Donkin, a vastly experienced officer who had commanded 97 Squadron before the war, and was to remain in charge at Kelstern until just before the station closed in April 1945. Notes in the station records indicate in just how much regard he was held by those who served at Kelstern. The airfield had been commissioned by Air Commodore Arthur Wray, the base commander at Binbrook and it was Wray, another man held in the highest regard by those who served under him, who personally delivered the first Lancaster to Kelstern on October 7, 1943. 625 Squadron had been formed from ‘C’ Flight of 100 Squadron at Waltham and moved in to Kelstern a week later.

  100 Squadron’s M-Mother, ED583, pictured at Waltham in the early autumn of 1943 when it had already flown 42 operations. In the bomb-aimer’s position is Sgt Harry Ferdinand. It was destroyed early in October when it broke up in the air near the airfield, killing all six on board including the pilot, W/O John Goozee. (Jimmy Flynn)

  An unidentified 100 Squadron Lancaster alongside Waltham’s becalmed wind-sock, summer 1943. (Author’s collection)

  Faldingworth had opened in the late summer as a satellite of Lindholme and was initially earmarked for training purposes. 1667 HCU was formed at Lindholme on June 1 and a detachment moved to Faldingworth on August 8, with the entire conversion unit arriving two months later. Its formation meant that 1 Group now had three conversion units, the other two being 1656 at Lindholme and 1662 at Blyton. At the time 1667 operated a mixed force of Halifaxes and Lancasters and new crews would spend a large part of their course on Halifaxes before a final spell on Lancasters, the aircraft they would operate when posted to 1 Group squadrons. During the autumn of 1943 it was decided to concentrate all Lancaster training in special units, Lancaster Finishing Schools. Headquarters of 1 LFS was set up at Lindholme on November 21 with three flights being created, A Flight at Lindholme, B Flight at Blyton and C Flight at Faldingworth, all three moving to Hemswell early in 1944. This enabled 1667 at Faldingworth to become an all-Halifax unit. Most of the Halifaxes used here and at other training establishments were hand-me-downs, mainly from 4 Group squadrons. Earlier versions could be brutes to fly and lethal in inexperienced hands. Crews going through 1667 at Faldingworth were more fortunate as the unit had mainly Halifax Vs which were marginally more forgiving. Nevertheless, four aircraft were lost, along with a Lancaster in the pre-LFS days, killing 24 men. Training was sometimes almost as perilous as operation flying.

  A long way from home P/O Eric Milliken of Springfield, New Zealand and his navigator, Sgt Bill George, of St James, Manitoba, Canada, during their time with 100 Squadron at Waltham. (Eric Milliken)

  Sandtoft, which lay just over the Lincolnshire border a few miles from Lindholme, had opened in February 1944 and 1667 moved there for the remainder of the war, freeing up Faldingworth to become an operational station. It was to be the final home of the war of much-travelled 300 Squadron. The Poles had finally given up their trusty Wellingtons, the last squadron to fly them in Bomber Command, and had converted to Lancasters and, as ever, were to operate with great distinction until hostilities ceased. Their old home at Ingham, was occupied by 1481 Bomber and Gunnery Flight which moved in from Binbrook, later to be renamed 1687 Bomber Defence Training Flight. This unit was to provide invaluable training, towing targets over the ranges for gunners to hone their skills. After being formed at Binbrook in November 1941 from 1 Target Towing Flight, 1481 had become virtually a small squadron in its own right and by the end of 1943 had a complement of over 280 men and 24 aircraft, 10 Wellingtons, 13 single-engined Martinets and a Tiger Moth.

  Four further squadrons joined the strength of 1 Group in November 1943. At Wickenby, 12 Squadron’s C Flight was detached to form the nucleus of 626 Squadron and, at the same time, C Flight of 103 Squadron at Elsham became 576 Squadron. At the end of the month 100 Squadron’s C Flight formed 550 Squadron, which was to remain at Waltham until the start of the new year when it moved to the last of 1 Group’s wartime airfields at North Killingholme. 166 Squadron had converted to Lancasters earlier in the autumn with the formation of a third flight and, with 300 Squadron not far from following suit, 1 Group was reaching a new peak in its power.

  Chapter 10

  Confusion to the Enemy

  101 Squadron and Electronic

  Counter Measures

  On September 3, 1943 ground crews at Ludford Magna began preparing Lancasters for operations that night. From the fuel and bomb loads they guessed it was to be a long trip, and they were not wrong. It was to be Berlin.

  As they worked they heard the sound of aircraft approaching and soon the first of two new Lancasters IIIs destined for service with 101 Squadron was touching down. They were factory fresh but they differed from the rest of the squadron’s aircraft by sporting two seven-foot long aerials, one under the nose and another on top of the fuselage with a shorter aerial further back. Missing from the aircraft was the H2S dome with which most new Lancaster were fitted. A third aircraft arrived the following day, again fitted with the strange aerials. For weeks now rumours had been circulating Ludford that ‘something big’ was on the cards and this was yet more evidence that the rumours had some foundations. Earlier, crates of new radio equipment had begun arriving and a number of additional air crew had arrived at Ludford, all wireless operators.

  101 Squadron rear gunners wearing American-style body armour, Ludford Magna 1944. (Bill Churchley)

  ‘McNamara’s Band’ of 101 Squadron in one of the station’s hangars, late 1943 (Peter Green Collection)

  Earlier in the summer a number of new measures concerning tackling the growing menace from Luftwaffe night fighters had been discussed at a series of high level meeting at Bomber Command HQ and the Air Ministry. One had been the introduction of Window, which had succeeded spectacularly over Hamburg but which, no doubt, the Germans would find a way round. The second measure was a device known by the codename ‘Airborne Cigar’ or ABC for short. It was designed to locate and disrupt night fighter communications and involved fitting three 50 watt transmitters inside a Lancaster, each capable of sending out frequency-modulated jamming signals. The idea was that the operator would locate and then lock on to transmissions and then use the transmitters to jam the signals through that array of aerials on the Lancasters. It involved fitting a range of bulky equipment weighing more than 600lbs in the mid-section of a Lancaster plus adding accommodation for an eighth crew member, who would be known as the ‘special operator’. Aircraft carrying ABC later had a G suffix added to the serial number indicating access was limited to the aircraft while on the ground and that they should always be under armed guard.

  A carefully staged photograph at Ludford Magna in the summer of 1944 (one of the camp’s photograph section had worked for the Daily Mirror before the war) The aircraft in the background is 101’s Mike-Squared and just visible under the nose is one of the ABC aerials. (Vic Redfern, via Peter Green)

  101 Squadron was to become the RAF’s very first electronic counter measures squadron. 100 Squadron at Waltham had originall
y been selected to fly ABC aircraft which, because of the additional equipment, would operate without H2S equipment and the under-fuselage dome. However, delays in producing the jamming equipment meant that by the time it was ready, 100 Squadron’s aircraft had been converted to operate with H2S, leaving 101 Squadron, which was still without the new radar equipment, as the next in line. On such little matters the fate of so many men was decided.

  Within a few days of the introduction of Window the Germans had responded by co-ordinating the commentaries of several controllers at different locations and by giving command of night fighters in a specific area to a master controller who could then guide them towards the bomber stream, thus restricting the effect of the aluminium strips. Even before this happened work on ABC had been completed at the Telecommunications Research Establishment at Malvern and was ready for trials to begin. The original code name was ‘Jostle’ but had changed to Airborne Cigar (earlier they had developed a ground-based jamming device which was designed to operate from 15 transmitters which would have been sites in East Anglia but it was limited to a range of 140 miles. The code-name selected was Ground Cigar – hence the adaptation of Airborne) by the time the first three Lancasters had been adapted by the RAF’s Signals Intelligence Unit and flown to Ludford.

  ABC had a range of 50 miles and its three transmitters were designed to operate on the wave bands between 39.3 and 42.5 MHz, which would cover all German night fighter transmissions.

  There was to be no delay in testing the equipment. F/Lt Frank Collins, a radar specialist on secondment from Bomber Command HQ, was at Ludford to complete the installation work and test the equipment and the job of flying the trials was handed to F/Lt W. D. Austin. Initial trials took place on September 4, 5 and 6 and during the night of September 8 F/Lt Austin took an ABC-EQUIPPED aircraft on a four and a half-hour test flight to within 10 miles of the German coast. Aircraft had their H2S equipment removed at Ludford and were later sent to St Athan and Defford in the Midlands, the centre for RAF radar research, where more equipment was picked up and flown back to Ludford in readiness for the next stage of the trial work.

  The special operators themselves had to understand German though not necessarily speak the language. They had to be able to identify transmissions and be skilful enough in the use of the equipment to change frequencies rapidly as Luftwaffe controllers sought to get around the jamming. In particular, they had to recognise German code words and log transmission to pass on to intelligence officers. They were all recruited from various trades but were given little information about exactly what they would be doing when they arrived at Ludford.

  The dorsal ABC aerial is just visible on the right of this crew photograph from Ludford taken in 1944. Those on the picture are identified simply as Alec, George, Stan, Smithy, Jock, Bill and Ron. (P. Holway)

  SR-O with its ABC aerials just visible, Ludford, 1943. (Vic Redfern)

  Among those who volunteered was Ron Chafer. He had trained as a signaller at the RAF’s signals school at Madeley, Herefordshire and it was during this course that he happened to mention to one of the instructors that he had had some lessons in German before he joined up. He thought no more about it and, after completing the course, was promoted to sergeant and packed his bags ready to enjoy a spell of leave.

  He was then told his leave had been cancelled and he was posted to 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit at Lindholme from where he was taken to Boston Park just south of the airfield where he was issued with new flying kit to replace the equipment he had been given at Madeley. A few days later he was taken by car to Hemswell, by then home of No 1 Lancaster Finishing School, where he met three other newly-promoted sergeants, all, like Ron, somewhat mystified about what they were doing there.

  The next day all four were told to go to a hut on the airfield where they were met by a flight sergeant. He pointed to a door inside the building and told them: ‘Through that door is something top secret. If you go through it you will commit yourself to going on operations. If you wish to withdraw, do so now and you’ll not be considered LMF (lack of moral fibre, the worst label you could acquire in the wartime RAF). All four went through the door to become ABC operators. Ron Chafer was the only one to survive a tour of operations with 101 Squadron.

  Another of those who volunteered was Sgt Harry van Geffen who later recalled: ‘All that was really necessary was the ability to recognise an R/T transmission as definitely German, rather than Russian, Czech or Polish but obviously some special operators were more fluent in German than others.’ He was sent on a course at the 1 Group Lancaster Finishing School at Hemswell (earlier courses were run at Lindholme or at Kingsdown in Kent) before arriving at Ludford where they were given further training in searching for German transmissions and back-tuning the ABC transmitters in order to jam it. ‘Once we were able to do this in 30 seconds we were ready for business, although we often had to fly with another crew if our own was unserviceable.’

  The ground crew of T-Tommy of 101 Squadron. Apart from strange aerials, most of the squadron’s aircraft sported lurid nose art. (Vic Redfern)

  Many of the special operators who arrived at Ludford were men who had fled to Britain either to escape Nazi oppression before the war or from countries invaded by the Germans. There were a number of German-speaking Jewish refugees amongst them and many were given English-sounding names to help protect them if they were forced to bail out over enemy territory. Among them was F/Sgt Reuben Herscovitz from Manchester who flew under the name ‘Ron Hurst’ and never went on operations without a pair of civilian shoes around his neck in case he found himself on the run in Germany. He was to become something of an institution at Ludford, completing a full tour as a special operator and then volunteering for a second. Another specialist operator of German origin who flew with the squadron was 19-year-old Sgt Hans Schwarz, who served as ‘Sgt Blake’. He was killed on a raid on Brunswick in August 1944 and is buried in the British war cemetery in Hanover under his real name. Many of the Jewish airmen who did fly did so designated as members of the Royal Canadian Air Force in an attempt to further fool their captors. One of the first special operators to be killed at Ludford, F/Sgt George Herman, died as a member of the RCAF although he was officially a British Jew.

  Lancaster crews were usually tightly-knit units, men who had come together at OTUs, and many were to look upon the special operators as ‘outsiders’. As a result the special operators found themselves often flying with several different crews, certainly in the early days of ABC. It was perhaps because of this and the bond they shared as ‘specialists’ the operators tended to form their own little groups within the squadron. They were not billeted with crews and the story went around that their work was so secret the authorities were afraid they might talk in their sleep! Some did, however, fly regularly with the same crew. W/O Les Temple completed a tour of 30 operations as an ABC operator in 1944 with 101 and flew most of them as part of the crew of F/O Erik Nielsen, who later became an MP and minister in the Canadian Government. He was the younger brother of the actor and film star Leslie Nielsen. Another special duties operator, Yorkshireman Peter Holway, also completed a full tour with the same crew and was treated as ‘one of the boys’ by P/O Hames and the other aircrew members.

  The first extended trial took place on the night of September 22-23 when two ABC-equipped Lancaster took part in an attack on Hanover. Both returned (although a non-ABC aircraft from 101 was shot down) and the delighted special operator later reported the first German words he heard were: ‘Achtung, English bastards coming!’, a remark which has gone down in 101 legend. The following night three ABC Lancasters went to Mannheim on yet another trial but this time one of them, flown by 20-year-olds F/O Don Turner, was attacked by a night fighter and exploded over France. Two of the crew managed to escape but the special operator, F/O Arthur Stafford, who had won a DFM with 97 Squadron, was among the six who died. A further trial was flown, again to Hanover, at the end of September and another ABC aircraft was lost, this tim
e being shot down by an intruder near Lincoln. There were no survivors.

  A heavily doctored photograph from Ludford in the late spring of 1944. Blanked out are the ABC aerials on SR-G which is running up its engines ready for take-off. Note the FIDO pipes alongside the runway. (Terry Hancock via Peter Green)

  The first full-scale operation of ABC came on the night of October 7-8 when 343 Lancasters raided Stuttgart and only four were lost. There was little fighter opposition, due perhaps to a diversionary raid on Munich but helped, perhaps, by 101’s special operators.

  By October 6 half the Lancasters on 101’s strength had been converted to ABC. These aircraft had their maximum bomb load reduced by 1,000lbs to take account of the equipment and the extra crew member. The special operator’s position in the aircraft was close to the main spar and outside the heated area of a Lancaster meaning he had to wear one of the bulky heated suits issued to gunners. The conversion programme was a mammoth task for the ground crews at Ludford, each aircraft taking some 3,000 man hours to adapt. To help with the work six additional wireless mechanics were posted in along with, eventually, 33 special operators.

  The ABC Lancasters from Ludford were now expected to fly on all Main Force raids at least eight aircraft flying at eight-mile intervals in bomber streams to give the maximum coverage to the jamming equipment. On nights when 1 Group was stood down at least six ABC Lancasters were tasked to fly with other groups. There was to be little rest for the bomber crews at Ludford.