Halifax MZ654 damaged by enemy action, landed at Dishforth airfield.

On the night of 3rd / 4th March 1945 Bomber Command attacked various targets in mainland Europe including Kamen and Ladbergen. In the main, Lancasters crews of No.5 Group supplied 222 aircraft and were tasked with attacking the Dortmund-Ems Canal near Ladbergen while some 234 aircraft were supplied by various Groups, mainly Halifaxes and they attacked a synthetic oil production plant at Kamen. A diversionary force of some ninety five bomber aircraft made up from 100 Group aircraft and the training establishments were supplied to act as a diversionary for the main bomber forces. These tactics were employed on a number of nights in 1945 and became known as "Operation Sweepstake". They appear to have been used to drop parcels of window to confuse German early warning or what we now call "radar" systems. The training aircraft and crews were pulled mainly from crews serving with the Heavy Conversion Units.

No.6 Group's training establishment at 76 Base was asked to supply fourteen aircraft; two from 1659 H.C.U., six from 1666 H.C.U. and six from 1664 H.C.U. were to have flown. The crews were probably nearing the end of their Heavy Conversion Unit training. Of the 1666 H.C.U. aircraft two did not get into the air because of technical trouble. Both 1659 H.C.U. appear to have flown the task without incident. The 1664 H.C.U. had the most problems; one "-U" was a non-starter, one returned early, two were damaged on their return by enemy action and either crashed or crash landed, as will be detailed below, so in the end only two completed the task and landed safely. 581 bundles of window were dropped by No.6 Group H.C.U. aircraft on this night.

On the same night the Luftwaffe undertook "Operation Gisela", this involved over one hundred Junkers Ju88 aircraft following the returning operational bombers back to their bases in England and in near perfect skies the night-fighters picked off a number of bombers as they approached landings with their navigation lights switched on. One such pilot, who may have actually been the only one over the general Ripon / Thirsk area, was Lt Arnold Doring, of 10/NJG3. There is slight confusion surrounding the events that Döring later claimed as the locations do not fit. He gave an account of this night in 1945 which is printed in William Chorley's Bomber Command Losses Book 1945. Döring stated that he flew in low from the North Sea over Scarborough and then headed inland until he located the morse lights at Dishforth airfield to direct their aircraft home. In his account he only claimed to have shot down a "B17" and a "Lancaster" and possibly damaging another bomber before heading back out over Scarborough. The confusion exists because in modern-day accounts there are too many aircraft where he is credited with involvement in their destruction on this night. The first aircraft he is credited with in modern day research was Fortress HB815 which crashed near Oulton airfield, Nottinghamshire with the loss of eight airmen, Döring's account and the known orders of his unit state that he only operated over Yorkshire on this night and therefore very unlikely he would come in over Scarborough and end up so far south over Nottinghamshire. Given Döring claimed his first aircraft to have been a B17 (Fortress) the assumption seems to have been made that it was Fortress HB815 near Oulton, this was the only Fortress to be shot down in the wider Nottinghamshire/Yorkshire area on this night and it probably explains the claim. Oulton is many miles south of where he made landfall and it does seem unlikely that this was the actual victim to his guns. He stated that he saw this "B17" catch fire and he watched it crash but did not catch fire on the ground. I would suggest that his first victim was actually a 10 Squadron Halifax HX332 which was attacked by a night-fighter and crashed at Spellow Hill, near Boroughbridge with the loss of most of the crew but with the pilot being able to keep control long enough to allow some of his crew to bale out. Döring's account fits for what is believed to have happened to Halifax HX332. Doring's account then states he attacked a "Lancaster" and watched this catch fire in the air before crashing "in a big fire", this aircraft is almost certainly Halifax NA612. Halifax NA612 was one of the 1664 H.C.U. aircraft that were returning to Dishforth following the diversionary raid. NA612 was badly damaged in Doring's attack, it was seen to turn on it's back and dive into the ground at 01.44hrs near Brafferton. Doring stated that he also attacked another bomber at low level and head-on and had to pull his aircraft up to avoid hitting it, he did not see this aircraft crash. This third aircraft was probably 1664 H.C.U. Halifax MZ654 which was coming into land at Dishforth, three of the crew managed to bale out while the aircraft was still flying at 3,000 feet and the pilot of this aircraft was able to keep control and make an emergency landing at Dishforth. Halifax MZ654 was badly damaged, the damage was later assessed and it was not repaired. This webpage relates to that incident. The crew of Halifax MZ654 had taken off from Dishforth at 19.20hrs and landed at around 01.15hrs. They had been posted into 1664 HCU in January 1945 but then don't seem to have been posted out to a squadron together. The bomb aimer was posted to 408 Squadron with another crew in April 1945 but the rest didn't go anywhere onward and upward. Maybe suggesting injury ?

If there was just one pilot over the general Ripon / Thirsk area then Doring's route after this final attack of 1664 H.C.U. aircraft can be plotted, a diverted 77 Squadron Halifax MZ769 was making a landing at Skipton on Swale and he straffed that as well as a hanger which damaged two parked 433 Squadron Halifaxes. He then headed east and was probably the pilot who over-flew Topcliffe airfield and fired shots across the airfield slightly damaging various buildings. Unfortunately a WAAF driver was sleeping in the M.T. office at the time and was struck in the neck by a cannon shell, LACW Frances Elsie Clinker WAAF (2065275) died a few minutes after being injured. She was 22 years old and is buried in Bristol (Shirehampton) Cemetery. Doring then kept flying east, he fired on a car and an empty-stock passenger train between Husthwaite Gate and Sunbeck, the train had left Helmsley station and was heading back to York empty, except for the guard who was in the rear of the train. The body of Mr Thomas Inman was found when the train stopped, he was thirty four years old and he had lived next to Gilling East railway station at No.3 Railway Cottages. Lt Döring then headed towards the coast and overflew Wombleton airfield, firing across the airfield but scored very little damage and no injuries. He then headed back to the coast and used his ammunition up on the streets of Scarborough before flying across to land in Denmark. On 17th April 1945 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions throughout the War as a pilot.

Exactly how many other enemy aircraft were in this area of Yorkshire on this night but the timings fit for him being the only one. My only issue would be the capacity of one aircraft to hold all the amunition required for this such list.

Pilot - F/O J L Maunder RCAF (J/42142).

Navigator - F/O J Cruickshank.

Bomb Aimer - Sgt A K Ballantyne RCAF (R/218284).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt E P Mangin.

Flight Engineer - Sgt J Wilson.

Air Gunner - P/O W E McQuestion.

Air Gunner - P/O Maitland (Possibly P/O P J Maitland RCAF (J/47612?)).