Another interesting archive film featuring a low level raid by light bombers including Bostons and Mosquitos on the Philips factory at Eindhoven, Holland.
Unfortunately a number of the bombers didn't make it home and no doubt there were also casualties on the ground too; sadly these things happen in war.
RAF Raid Holland In Daylight (1942) - YouTube
I made a 30 minute film about that Boston Squadron based at RAF Great Massingham a few years ago now, when the pilots were still alive, great footage and great to view again on VHS. This raid on the Philips factory was brilliant as they all came home with bits missing on their respective planes. One pilot Teddy HOEG crashed into a Dutch flooded field that had been flooded by the Germans.
As I made the film, I was informed a farmer had recovered a flying boot with his name clearly visible on the dog tag attached to it that had floated up to the surface, pinpointing the remains of what was believed a belly landing so the aircraft would have been in tact to a high degree.
I was about to lead a diving expedition to the area when the Dutch Government revoked all licences and assitance from their Navy Divers..............sad, as they knew it was never the intention to remove any remains if found, but just to pinpoint the aircraft and hold a service for the family of the pilot Teddy Hoeg who were Dutch too.
Gil, do yo have any further information on specifically what this Philips factory, in Eindhoven, was producing for the Germans at the time that it was bombed, other than what is stated on the video, please? I believe that Philips was/is well known for producing quite a wide range of electrical/electronic based products.
It was Operation Oyster on the 6th December 1942. The crews were briefed that this sole factory was producing the main electronics for the radar dishes used to defend the Fatherland. This fact was only known through the 2 PARA raid Operation Biting on Bruneval in February 1942 from the identity plates on the parts recovered from that raid to let us fully understand how it all worked.
Not sure why it took them 11 months to respond as they did, but the crews I interviewed were given a lot of "precision bombing is all that was acceptable" talk as too many Dutch homes lay close to the factory.
For precisely that reason. Once they worked out that a normal night attack would be too costly given the accuracy of that and the proximity of the local houses, they had to work out how to do it, given that daylight ultra low level attacks had not been attempted before, on top of which, there was a lack of suitable aircraft to undertake the raid until enough Bostons in squadron use during the summer of '42. As it was they had to make do with a large number of Ventura's which were less than suitable for the task.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gil Boyd
A bit careless of the Germans to leave manufacturer's i.d. on their radar equipment, although they were probably not expecting it to "go missing".
Apparently Philips also made the hand cranked torch for the Germans during WW2 in Holland.
Nazi Wehrmacht Dynamo Flashlight
The best ideas always win? Sadly not.
http://www.2worldwar2.com/mosquito.htm
Makes one wonder how many tens of thousands of aircrew needn't have died?Quote:
Bomber command used the De Havilland Mosquito to improve the very poor accuracy of the heavy bombers and to reduce their losses, but it refused to consider the alternative, which was finally adopted only after World War 2 and dominates modern air power since. The alternative was to replace the big and slow and expensive heavy bombers with the Mosquito as Bomber command's main bomber. The points in favor of this alternative were also clearly presented by group commander Bennett, as a comparison between the Mosquito and the Lancaster, which was the best British heavy bomber:
Mosquito carries to Berlin half the bomb load carried by a Lancaster, but...
Mosquito loss rate is just 1/10 of Lancasters' loss rate
Mosquito costs a third of the cost of a Lancaster
Mosquito has a crew of two, compared to a Lancaster's crew of seven
Mosquito was a proven precision day bomber and the Lancaster was not.
Bennett added that any way you do the math with those data, "It's quite clear that the value of the Mosquito to the war effort is significantly greater than that of any other aircraft in the history of aviation". In the German side, Erhard Milch, the deputy head of the Luftwaffe, said about the Mosquito "I fear that one day the British will start attacking with masses of this aircraft". But in one of the greatest allied mistakes in World War 2, bomber command persisted with its heavy bombers, and less than 1/4 of the Mosquitoes produced were of bomber types.
And then there was the little upstart firm with probably the best and most powerful fighter flying in 1940. Another one the Air Ministry didn't want, and neither did Stuffy Dowding it seems.
I worked for a crop dusting outfit in southern Idaho last May. On my way back to Kali, I diverted to Paul Allen's Air & Armor museum in Everett, WA, specifically because they have the only airworthy Mosquito in North America. Along with it was a Hurricane and a MKIII Spitfire. Spent the entire day there, was cool beans. I'm going to Dayton some day to take a gander at the only P61 Black Widow left. PAXQuote:
Originally Posted by Surpmil
Better set aside a couple of days for that trip its a fantastic museum!!!