+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Light Bomber Raid on the Philips Factory, Eindhoven, Holland.

Click here to increase the font size Click here to reduce the font size
  1. #1
    Contributing Member Flying10uk's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Last On
    Yesterday @ 10:42 PM
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    5,072
    Local Date
    03-19-2024
    Local Time
    09:12 AM

    Light Bomber Raid on the Philips Factory, Eindhoven, Holland.

    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.

    Information
    Warning: This is a relatively older thread
    This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

  2. The Following 5 Members Say Thank You to Flying10uk For This Useful Post:


  3. # ADS
    Friends and Sponsors
    Join Date
    October 2006
    Location
    Milsurps.Com
    Posts
    All Threads
    A Collector's View - The SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield 1903-1989. It is 300 8.5x11 inch pages with 1,000+ photo’s, most in color, and each book is serial-numbered.  Covering the SMLE from 1903 to the end of production in India in 1989 it looks at how each model differs and manufacturer differences from a collecting point of view along with the major accessories that could be attached to the rifle. For the record this is not a moneymaker, I hope just to break even, eventually, at $80/book plus shipping.  In the USA shipping is $5.00 for media mail.  I will accept PayPal, Zelle, MO and good old checks (and cash if you want to stop by for a tour!).  CLICK BANNER to send me a PM for International pricing and shipping. Manufacturer of various vintage rifle scopes for the 1903 such as our M73G4 (reproduction of the Weaver 330C) and Malcolm 8X Gen II (Unertl reproduction). Several of our scopes are used in the CMP Vintage Sniper competition on top of 1903 rifles. Brian Dick ... BDL Ltd. - Specializing in British and Commonwealth weapons Specializing in premium ammunition and reloading components. Your source for the finest in High Power Competition Gear. Here at T-bones Shipwrighting we specialise in vintage service rifle: re-barrelling, bedding, repairs, modifications and accurizing. We also provide importation services for firearms, parts and weapons, for both private or commercial businesses.
     

  4. #2
    Contributing Member Gil Boyd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Last On
    02-28-2024 @ 11:09 AM
    Location
    Home of The Parachute Regiment & 16 Air Assault Brigade
    Posts
    4,772
    Real Name
    Gil Boyd
    Local Date
    03-19-2024
    Local Time
    09:12 AM
    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.
    'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA

  5. Thank You to Gil Boyd For This Useful Post:


  6. Avoid Ads - Become a Contributing Member - Click HERE
  7. #3
    Contributing Member Flying10uk's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Last On
    Yesterday @ 10:42 PM
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    5,072
    Local Date
    03-19-2024
    Local Time
    09:12 AM
    Thread Starter
    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.

  8. #4
    Contributing Member Gil Boyd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Last On
    02-28-2024 @ 11:09 AM
    Location
    Home of The Parachute Regiment & 16 Air Assault Brigade
    Posts
    4,772
    Real Name
    Gil Boyd
    Local Date
    03-19-2024
    Local Time
    09:12 AM
    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.
    'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA

  9. Thank You to Gil Boyd For This Useful Post:


  10. #5
    Legacy Member GeeRam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Last On
    Yesterday @ 03:21 PM
    Location
    Berkshire, UK
    Posts
    853
    Local Date
    03-19-2024
    Local Time
    09:12 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by Gil Boyd View Post
    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.

  11. #6
    Contributing Member Flying10uk's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Last On
    Yesterday @ 10:42 PM
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    5,072
    Local Date
    03-19-2024
    Local Time
    09:12 AM
    Thread Starter
    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

  12. #7
    Advisory Panel Surpmil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Last On
    @
    Location
    West side
    Posts
    4,648
    Local Date
    03-19-2024
    Local Time
    02:12 AM
    The best ideas always win? Sadly not.

    http://www.2worldwar2.com/mosquito.htm

    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 Britishicon 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 Germanicon 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.
    Makes one wonder how many tens of thousands of aircrew needn't have died?

    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.
    Last edited by Surpmil; 01-18-2020 at 02:52 AM.
    “There are invisible rulers who control the destinies of millions. It is not generally realized to what extent the words and actions of our most influential public men are dictated by shrewd persons operating behind the scenes.”

    Edward Bernays, 1928

    Much changes, much remains the same.

  13. Thank You to Surpmil For This Useful Post:


  14. #8
    Legacy Member echo1's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Last On
    02-12-2024 @ 08:34 PM
    Location
    Kali
    Posts
    79
    Local Date
    03-19-2024
    Local Time
    01:12 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by Surpmil View Post
    The best ideas always win? Sadly not.
    http://www.2worldwar2.com/mosquito.htm
    "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 Germanicon side, Erhard Milch, the deputy head of the Luftwaffe, said about the Mosquito
    Makes one wonder how many tens of thousands of aircrew needn't have died?
    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. PAX

  15. The Following 2 Members Say Thank You to echo1 For This Useful Post:


  16. #9
    Contributing Member #1oilman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Last On
    03-15-2024 @ 03:45 PM
    Location
    southern Ontario
    Posts
    253
    Local Date
    03-19-2024
    Local Time
    05:12 AM
    Better set aside a couple of days for that trip its a fantastic museum!!!

+ Reply to Thread

Similar Threads

  1. No.4(T) Rifles and the wartime records of Holland & Holland
    By Jager.303 in forum The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 10-31-2018, 07:27 PM
  2. correct sling for a holland e holland n. 4 sniper rifle
    By andy_ita in forum The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 08-26-2015, 07:52 PM
  3. some factory Holland & Holland cartridges
    By RCS in forum Ammunition and Reloading for Old Milsurps
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-01-2014, 05:12 PM
  4. Did Holland & Holland use recycled scopes?
    By Lance in forum The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 06-21-2013, 12:17 AM
  5. Holland & Holland & the No 4 Mk I(T) question
    By Longshaor in forum The Lee Enfield Knowledge Library Collectors Forum
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 01-11-2012, 11:27 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
Raven Rocks