Operations

By April 1945, many Prisoner of War camps in occupied Europe had been liberated. Though free, the ex-prisoners were hundreds of miles from home with many suffering from illness, fatigue and starvation. It was clear that a swift method of repatriation was needed - RAF bombers were tasked to fly the POWs home.

New Zealanders formed a greater proportion of Bomber Command in the first year of war than at any later period. With acute shortages of trained air crews they made an important contribution to the RAF bombing effort, and helped set the foundations of the force Bomber Command would become.

Twenty-six bombers of 75 (NZ) Sq. set out on 20 July for a night raid against the synthetic oil refinery at Homberg on the western edge of the Ruhr Valley. It turned out to be the worst night in the Squadron’s history with seven Lancasters shot down and forty-nine crew lost.

Britain’s aviation bomb development culminated in the Grand Slam – the largest non-nuclear air-dropped weapon of WWII. So large was the Grand Slam it could only be carried by specially modified Lancasters that required skilled crews both to fly the aircraft and bomb with precision. Once again the task fell to 617 Squadron.

Not all missions went to plan. At the request of General Montgomery, RAF Bomber Command mounted its first attack against enemy troop positions in Caen, France one month after the D-Day landings. Sadly the raids resulted in significant civilian casualties and the damage was such that ground troops struggled to take advantage.

As part of the Allied focus on German oil production in 1944, twenty-six bombers of 75 (NZ) Squadron departed Mepal on the evening of 20 July for a raid against the synthetic oil refinery at Homberg, in the Ruhr Valley. It turned out to be the worst night in the Squadron’s history.