Stories

Each Bomber Command operation is a story in itself, in fact a culmination of many stories. A single operation could include hundreds of aircraft and thousands of airmen. Each crew member with their own perspective of putting their life on the line. Most sorties went unrecorded, beyond a neatly written line in a logbook and the RAF’s own blunt operational facts.

Yet with 364,514 sorties flown, there are more than two million times individual experiences of taking off from British airfields toward enemy territory. Memories were shared amongst those that returned, with those who understood, perhaps at the RSA on ANZAC Day, or later at NZBCA events, but sadly too few have been published. So every record we have of wartime experience is a valuable insight into those times.

Philip Pullyn was the Bomb-Aimer in the Alexander crew in 75 (NZ) Squadron. At Philip’s funeral, Allan Alexander shared an account of one of their mid-tour ops from his wartime diary that had sat in a bottom drawer for 55 years. This is what he wrote.

The crew of AA-U. L to R – William McDonald, Desmond Andersen, Frank Howard,
Armstrong Lyon, Allan Alexander, Thomas Mayhew and Philip Pullyn.
(Credit: Pullyn Family) 

We seemed to be in bed for a very short time before there was a shake on the shoulder and it was time to report, but although we had only got home that morning from the Ruhr Valley it meant another very long trip to Berlin (Editor: the crew had landed that morning at 0425 hours. They took off again at 2025 the same day).

It seemed surprisingly quiet on the trip to the target. The German aircraft had dropped huge parachute flares well above the bomber fleet. Also, Berlin was ringed with searchlights and with our colour markers hanging in the air and the fires already on the ground, it seemed almost like daylight.

We got a straight run in to bomb and got our photograph. We were just about ready to turn on the new heading for home, when one of the crew said “Enemy fighters on our starboard. As I looked across I could see three 109’s in formation and told one of the crew to watch them.

Assumed to be one of the aircraft the Alexander crew flew in, though it is unclear whether it is AA-U, or another.
(Credit: Allan Alexander/ NZBCA Archive)

We had no sooner straightened up on our westerly course and Mac said the fighters were turning behind us and gave me the warning ‘Starboard corkscrew’ which he kept repeating because I did nothing until he said ‘Go.’

Suddenly Mac called ‘Go’ and I put the aircraft into a severe corkscrew which means the controls were used to the maximum, that is – stick hard forward, full aileron and full rudder. The aircraft then is on its side and skidding downwards. As soon as the aircraft is heading down you immediately reverse all the controls. Once again, that is stick fully back, opposite aileron and full rudder so that you were once again skidding upwards.

While I was doing this, which is only a matter of seconds, the gunners had opened fire on the first fighter. We were not hit and apparently the fighter was not either, because as I straightened up, the fighter was just above us and slightly to starboard. Doc the Mid-upper gunner gave him a terrific burst that appeared to hit his cockpit and the fighter seemed to turn and go straight down.

While this was going on, Mac was still giving me a starboard corkscrew message and as the second aircraft came in once again I corkscrewed and although I did not see the fighter, they both were certain that they had also shot this one down.

No sooner had the Gunners stopped firing than Mac gave me the third corkscrew ‘Go’ and they both opened fire on the third fighter. They were absolutely positive that they had shot down all three fighters.

As we straightened up from the last corkscrew there was a tremendous bang and all the dust in the aircraft was flying around – I asked Frank what the hell had happened. He told me that the window in the side of the aircraft behind the Navigator had blown out. Unfortunately, it had sucked all the Navigator’s charts and maps out, so we were sitting over Berlin a long way from home with nothing to navigate with.

Phil was on his way upstairs from the Bomb Aimer’s position when that happened and immediately sat in the hole. Des in the meantime had been hit on the head by something flying about we thought, but when Frank checked him he was just taking cover from the bullets that were flying around.

One of the crew grabbed a cushion and tried to put it over the window to save Phil from getting a frostbitten bum, but that of course also went straight out the window. The only thing they could find was the wooden pyramid used to stand on to look out the astrodome. Frank broke this up and put this across the window before putting several cushions across and tying it down. This at least stopped the noise from the open window

Allan Mason Forbes Alexander, Pilot. Taken around 1943.
(Credit: Allan Alexander/ NZBCA Archive)

Now we came to the interesting part of flying over Germany and part of France, and how to get home without navigation. I slowed the aircraft well below usual normal cruising speed and headed in a westerly direction, knowing that our track was going to take us between Cologne and Frankfurt, that it was essential we found the way through here without going over any cities.

We carried on at this slow speed and waited until we could see the bursting shells from the Ack Ack. This soon gave us the idea of where the cities were, so we could make a heading between the two, and opened the throttles as wide as possible. When we got past that lot of flak we slowed down again waiting to see ahead of us if there was any more flak. We only got one steady burst of flak as we went towards the coast but fortunately spotted the flak on the ground and moved the aircraft very quickly to one side and kept weaving until we were past any further danger. We saw flak well up on our starboard so knew that we must be to our turning point to head for home.

We had no further trouble and it was not long before we were in range for our radar sets to be able to operate. Frank during the fighter attacks had been in the astrodome and swore there were grooves all round it and when I was mug enough to ask him why, he told me it was where his eyes had popped out and travelled around on their own searching for fighters!

At a later date our crew was credited with one definite fighter, one probable and one possible. We called that fairly good, seeing our aircraft, apart from losing a window, did not have a mark on it.

The trip took 7 hours 30 minutes. Out of sixteen aircraft sent from 75 (NZ) Squadron, unfortunately four were lost.

Stirling Mk.III EH880 AA-J

F/O Allan Mason Forbes Alexander, RNZAF NZ41712 – Pilot.
F/S Maurice Desmond Andersen, RNZAF NZ415675 – Navigator.
F/S Philip Hutcheson Pullyn, RNZAF NZ416643 – Air Bomber.
F/S Thomas James Mayhew, RNZAF NZ415549 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. Frank Howard, RAFVR 643578 – Flight Engineer.
F/S Armstrong ‘Doc’ Lyon, RCAF R.108340 – Mid Upper Gunner.
F/S William Hamish ‘Mac’ MacDonald, RNZAF NZ417219 – Rear Gunner.

Take Off 20:25 – Landed 03:55. Flight Time 07:30