with metal.
From their lofty perches , the Canadian flyers witnessed the delivery and arrival of tons of high explosive, all in total silence , save for the drone of their own Bristol Hercules engines.
They watched, eyes drawn to the spectacle, as the Russian guns fired salvo after salvo.
Their inexperience was the death of them, as it was for the crew of K-Kilo, a Lancaster from 626 Squadron RAF.
Both aircraft , their crews so intent on the Soviet display , drifted closer , until the mid-upper gunner in UM-K screamed in shock and fear as a riveted fuselage dropped inexorably towards hi m.
Aboard the Halifax , the crew was oblivious to their peril, the Lancaster crew resigned to it , as contact was made with the tail plane and rudders, the belly of the Halifax bending and splitting the control surfaces.
The Lancaster bucked slightly, pushing the port fin further up into the Halifax where the ruined end caught fast, partly held by a bent stay and partially by control wires caught on debris.
The Halifax captain , a petrified twenty-one year old Pilot Officer , eased up on his stick, dragging the Lancaster into a nose down attitude and ruining its aerodynamic efficiency. The young pilot then decided to try and move left, and at the same time , the Lancaster pilot lost control of his aircraft, the nose suddenly rising and causing the port inner propeller to smash into the nose of the Handley Page aircraft.
Fragments of perspex and sharp metal deluged the Halifax ’s pilot, blinding him. His inability to see caused more coming together and the tail plane of the Avro broke away, remaining embedded in the belly of the Halifax .
Both aircraft stalled and started to tumble from the sky. Inside the wrecked craft , aircrew struggled to escape, G forces building and condemning most to ride their charges into the ground.
NA-R hit the earth first, with all but two of its crew aboard. The resultant explosion illuminated the area enough for many Russian soldiers to watch fascinated as the ruined Lanc aster smashed into the ground some five hundred yards north, four parachutes easily discernable in the bright orange glow which bathed the area.
Fire licked greedily at o ne of the NA-R crew’s white canopy , taking hold and leaving only one man to witness his comrade’s fate, plunging earthwards, riding a silken candle into the German soil.
The Bomber stream tore the Gardelegen Woods to pieces, destroying acres of trees and occasionally being rewarded with a secondary explosion. Seventeen more bombers were lost but they reported success and the obliteration of the target.
Unfortunately for them and, more importantly , the British and Canadian units in the line at Hannover , the units of 6th Guards Tank Army that had occupied hidden positions in the target area had moved as soon as night descended on the countryside. Apart from a handful of supply trucks and lame duck vehicle s, nothing of consequence had been destroyed.
At Ceska Kubice , the results were far better, with the Soviet 4th Guards Tank C orps and 7th Guards Cavalry Corps still laagering , hidden and believing themselves safe. Medium and heavy bombers bathed the area in high explosives , destroying tanks, horses and men in equal measure. It was an awful blood-letting and the survivors were in no mood to take prisoners when the New Zealand crew of a stricken Lancaster parachuted down nearby. Cavalry sabres flashed in the firelight, continuing on when life was long since extinct and the victims no longer resembled men.
On the ground , the results of Soviet attacks on the Allied units were quite devastating , as the Soviet Armies resorted to their normal tactic of concentrating their attacks , focussing on specific points.
Whole battalions were swept away in an avalanche of shells and rockets.
On each of the five chosen focal points breakthrough was achieved swiftly, the leading Soviet units passing through a desolate landscape , tainted by the detritus of
From their lofty perches , the Canadian flyers witnessed the delivery and arrival of tons of high explosive, all in total silence , save for the drone of their own Bristol Hercules engines.
They watched, eyes drawn to the spectacle, as the Russian guns fired salvo after salvo.
Their inexperience was the death of them, as it was for the crew of K-Kilo, a Lancaster from 626 Squadron RAF.
Both aircraft , their crews so intent on the Soviet display , drifted closer , until the mid-upper gunner in UM-K screamed in shock and fear as a riveted fuselage dropped inexorably towards hi m.
Aboard the Halifax , the crew was oblivious to their peril, the Lancaster crew resigned to it , as contact was made with the tail plane and rudders, the belly of the Halifax bending and splitting the control surfaces.
The Lancaster bucked slightly, pushing the port fin further up into the Halifax where the ruined end caught fast, partly held by a bent stay and partially by control wires caught on debris.
The Halifax captain , a petrified twenty-one year old Pilot Officer , eased up on his stick, dragging the Lancaster into a nose down attitude and ruining its aerodynamic efficiency. The young pilot then decided to try and move left, and at the same time , the Lancaster pilot lost control of his aircraft, the nose suddenly rising and causing the port inner propeller to smash into the nose of the Handley Page aircraft.
Fragments of perspex and sharp metal deluged the Halifax ’s pilot, blinding him. His inability to see caused more coming together and the tail plane of the Avro broke away, remaining embedded in the belly of the Halifax .
Both aircraft stalled and started to tumble from the sky. Inside the wrecked craft , aircrew struggled to escape, G forces building and condemning most to ride their charges into the ground.
NA-R hit the earth first, with all but two of its crew aboard. The resultant explosion illuminated the area enough for many Russian soldiers to watch fascinated as the ruined Lanc aster smashed into the ground some five hundred yards north, four parachutes easily discernable in the bright orange glow which bathed the area.
Fire licked greedily at o ne of the NA-R crew’s white canopy , taking hold and leaving only one man to witness his comrade’s fate, plunging earthwards, riding a silken candle into the German soil.
The Bomber stream tore the Gardelegen Woods to pieces, destroying acres of trees and occasionally being rewarded with a secondary explosion. Seventeen more bombers were lost but they reported success and the obliteration of the target.
Unfortunately for them and, more importantly , the British and Canadian units in the line at Hannover , the units of 6th Guards Tank Army that had occupied hidden positions in the target area had moved as soon as night descended on the countryside. Apart from a handful of supply trucks and lame duck vehicle s, nothing of consequence had been destroyed.
At Ceska Kubice , the results were far better, with the Soviet 4th Guards Tank C orps and 7th Guards Cavalry Corps still laagering , hidden and believing themselves safe. Medium and heavy bombers bathed the area in high explosives , destroying tanks, horses and men in equal measure. It was an awful blood-letting and the survivors were in no mood to take prisoners when the New Zealand crew of a stricken Lancaster parachuted down nearby. Cavalry sabres flashed in the firelight, continuing on when life was long since extinct and the victims no longer resembled men.
On the ground , the results of Soviet attacks on the Allied units were quite devastating , as the Soviet Armies resorted to their normal tactic of concentrating their attacks , focussing on specific points.
Whole battalions were swept away in an avalanche of shells and rockets.
On each of the five chosen focal points breakthrough was achieved swiftly, the leading Soviet units passing through a desolate landscape , tainted by the detritus of
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