War pilot who flew RAF's first 1,000-bomber raid joined bombers to avenge friends
A PILOT who flew in the RAF’s first 1,000-bomber raid on Germany joined Bomber Command to strike back after friends were killed in the Coventry blitz, he said this week.
Jo Lancaster, 98, was speaking on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the attack on Cologne, regarded as a turning point in the Second World War.
He said: “I was present on November 14 [1940] when Coventry was bombed. It is my second home so I was highly incensed about that. I lost some friends.
“I found a way into Bomber Command as I was keen to do what I could.”
I found a way into Bomber Command as I was keen to do what I could
The raid on Cologne damaged 12,840 buildings, killed hundreds and made 45,000 people homeless.
It was seen as a demonstration of the might of the RAF in response to Nazi raids on Britain.
This included the London Blitz in 1941 in which the Luftwaffe dropped 20,000 bombs, destroying 116,000 buildings.
Coventry, Liverpool and Southampton also suffered massive damage.
This Tuesday marks the 75th anniversary of the 1942 raid, codenamed Operation Millennium.
Two more RAF 1,000-bomber raids followed that summer on Essen and Bremen.
Steve Darlow, Bomber Command historian said: “It was an unprecedented aerial assault over Germany and it was a turning point in the war.”
In response, Germany had to pull in resources to defend their skies, forcing them to weaken air defences on the Eastern Front.
The plan was devised in February 1942 by commander-in-chief Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris and backed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Harris set about mustering as many aircraft as he could.
The eventual total was 1,047. Jo said: “Aircraft from training units had to be used. These aircraft were old Wellington bombers relegated to training duties, obsolete for operational use.”
Describing the night of the raid, he said: “The weather was very poor, we thought we would never be able to get back to the airfield. But once we were in the aircraft you were too busy to be apprehensive. As we approached we saw a mass of flames, then dropped the bombs from about 15,000 feet. After flying for five to six hours we were unscathed.”
More than 40 aircraft were lost that day.
Over the course of the war 55,573 men of Bomber Command gave their lives.
“After the war Bomber Command was a dirty word for about 60 years,” said Jo.
“People said we shouldn’t have done it even though Churchill told us to. We wanted a memorial for the friends we lost, but we got nothing until five years ago.”
In 2012 a £6million memorial to the airmen of Bomber Command who died in the Second World War was unveiled by the Queen in London’s Green Park.
The memorial is maintained by the RAF Benevolent Fund, the welfare charity supporting past and present RAF personnel.
This followed a series of Express crusades.
Bill Lucas, 100, who also flew in the Cologne raid, said: “Thousands of young men, in their late teens or early 20s, manned the bombers that night.
“They put their lives on the line taking the war directly back to Germany. That risk and the sacrifice of 41 crews who did not return must never be forgotten.”