Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Promotions:

AC2 on enlishtment 25/2/1943

Leading Aircraftman 22/5/1943

Sergeant 6/1/1944

Flight Sergeant 6/7/1944

Warrant Officer 6/7/1945

Navigator’s Badge awarded 2/12/1943

Postings:

3 ITS 25/2/1943

1 AOS 22/7/1943

1 BAGS 18/10/1943

1 AOS 9/12/1943

2 ED 7/1/1944

11 PDRC 13/3/1944

10 (O) AFU 11/4/1944

24 OTU 9/5/1944

74 Base 29/9/1944

466 Squadron 14/2/1945

Embarked Australia 27/1/1944

Disembarked UK 12/3/1944

Disembarked Australia 18/10/1945

Operational and non-operational flying:

Total flying hours by time of discharge: 397.4.

Flew 318.5 hours in training mostly in Wellington III and Halifax III bombers.

Flew 8 operational sorties in Halifax VI bombers in 466 Squadron; 46.05 operational flying hours, 23.35 non-operational flying hours in Halifax III bombers.

Sorties:

-27/2/1945: Bombed Mainz

-3-4/3/1945: Bombed Kamen; attacked by Ju88 on return to base; baled out over England. Plane was left in autopilot at time of bale-out; it proceed to fly over land and crashed into a farmhouse in Yawlingate, killing a mother, Mehetabel Severs, aged 50, and her daughter Ruth Mary, aged 15.

They were asleep at the time of the crash. Full story available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/44/a3263744.shtml

The crew were unlikely aware of this outcome as it was not mentioned in the Squadron’s war diary. The entire crew returned to flying.

-20/3/1945: Bombed Becklinghausen; received flak damage - “one hole in centre of fuselage forward/front of escape hatch”

-21/3/1945: Bombed Rheine; received significant flak damage - “large hole in port main plane between two rudders”

-24/3/1945: Bombed Gladbeck

-25/3/1945: Bombed Munster

-11/4/1945: Bombed Nurnberg

-25/4/1945: Bombed Wangerooge (last bombing run for 466 Squadron)

Attack and Bale-Out 3/4 March 1945:

Flight Sergeant Todd was the bomb aimer for Halifax NR250 (pilot P/O A E Schrank) which took off from RAF Driffield at 1849 hours on the night of 3/4 March 1945 to bomb Kamen. NR250 completed the mission and successfully delivered its payload on target, but on return to base was badly strafed by a Luftwaffe Junkers 88 intruder aircraft, part of a larger force of Ju 88’s attacking RAF Driffield.

The 466 Squadron diary notes:

“JU 88 ASTERN SLIGHTLY TO PORT. FIRE IN FUSELAGE WHICH COULD NOT BE PUT OUT PETROL TANK HOLED D.R. COMPASS SMASHED BUT COMPLETE EXTENT NOT KNOWN AS AIRCRAFT WAS ABANDONED. MID UPPER GUNNER WOUNDED IN LEGS.”

Pilot P/O Schrank and Rear Gunner F/S Kernaghan’s report notes:

“A/C ABANDONED BY ALL CREW ABOUT 10 MINS AFTER OUR ARRIVAL AS A RESULT OF COMBAT WITH E/A. WE ARRIVED AT DRIFFIELD ABOUT 0050 HRS. WE HAD NO TROUBLE UNTIL WE RETURNED TO BASE. WHILST AT THE CIRCUIT AT DRIFFIELD WITHOUT ANY WARNING A JU88 ATTACKED US FROM ASTERN GIVING US ABOUT A 2 SEC BURST AND BROKE AWAY. STRIKES WERE OBTAINED ON MAIN ENTRANCE PATCH, HYDRAULICS NO. 1 PETROL TANK ON ONE SIDE AND ALONG FUSELAGE FROM BACK DOOR OF R/T RIGHT TO THE FRONT OF THE A/C. THIS SET THE A/C ON FIRE BY THE MAIN ESCAPE HATCH. THE F/E RG AND NAV IMMEDIATELY TRIED TO PUT OUT THE FIRE USING ALL THE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS SUPPRESSED IT DOE THE TIME BEING. TWO MINS LATER THE FIRE GOT UNDER WAY AGAIN AND FURTHER ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO EXTINGUISH BUT WITHOUT SUCCESS. AS SOON AS THE SHOTS WERE FIRED ALL AIRFIELD LIGHTING WENT OUT AND THE CAPT. HEADED HIS A/C INLAND WHILST TRYING TO EXTINGUISH FIRE. ABOUT 3 MINS AFTER THE ORIGINAL ATTACK THE R/G SIGHTED THE JU88 AGAIN 3’ BOARD QTR SAME LEVEL 300/400 YDS. R/G GAVE CAPT. DIVING TURN TO 3’ BOARD AND THIS SUCCESSFULLY SHOOK OFF E/A. THE FIRE GAINED IN THE MEANTIME AND WAS BEING FED BY FLUID FROM THE HYDRAULICS AND HAVING REGARD TO THIS, SHORTAGE OF FUEL AND LACK OF AIRFIELD LIGHTING THE CAPT. DECIDED TO ABANDON A/C AND THE CREW ABANDONED IN AN ORDERLY MANNER BEFORE THE CAPT. ABANDONED HE HEADED THE A/C TOWARDS THE SEA AND PUT “GEORGE” IN AND THEN BALED OUT. ALL CREW HAVE LANDED SAFELY. MUG SLIGHT LEG WOUND OTHERWISE NO INJURIES EXCEPT FOR BRUISES.”

The mid-upper gunner Sgt P Stewart, RAF, was wounded by the strafing, but all crew successfully baled out over England. Seventeen aircraft from the Squadron took part in the mission and of these NR250 and NR179 were shot down on return to base.

Crew:

FO Schrank, A E Captain

434509 Flt Sgt J W Tobin, (Navigator)

435005 Flt Sgt J A Todd, (Bomb Aimer)

432788 Flt Sgt J A Hadlington, (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)

442299 Flt Sgt J H Kernaghan, (Rear Gunner)

Sgt P Stewart, (Mid Upper Gunner)

Sgt J W Hodgson, (Flight Engineer)