Record of Service

F/O 186958 DEREK PATFIELD RAF  1941-46

61 SQDN. R.A.F. CONINGSBY & SKELLINGTHORPE. 5 GROUP BOMBER COMMAND Enlisted 10th June 1941. Aircraftsman 2nd Class 1392059 Sergeant April 1943 Flight Sergeant May 1944 Pilot Officer Sept.1944 186958 Flying Officer March 1945 186958 Demobbed 25th October 1946 Flew as bomb-aimer on Lancasters with 61 Sqdn, Coningsby ( 3 operations)& 30 operations from Skellingthorpe,Lincolnshire,completing 33 ops in total

Training

Derek Patfield joined the air force at the age of 19, after his childhood friend, Joe Whittaker, was killed on a raid to Saabrucken in 150 Squadron in 1942 (see Requiem for a Friend). In 1942 Derek was sent to Canada under the Air Training Scheme, he spent Christmas with a family from Moncton, New Brunswick.  Mr. Frank Parker, his wife Alice and their two daughters, Francis and Norma who were aged about 13 & 12 respectively at the time. Derek remembers their kindness to him and also remembers a very large, long & high metal railway bridge nearby & also the nearby "Magnetic hill", a geographic oddity where a ball appears to roll uphill.

 He trained at No. 8 Bombing and Gunnery School at Lethbridge, Alberta and No.1 Air Observers School in Malton, Ontario before returning to England. Derek's training in England covered many places from Newquay in Cornwall to near the Welsh border at Hereford and quite a number of airfields around the Midlands and Lincolnshire, concluding at Lancaster Finishing School at Syerston, near Nottingham, before joining 61 Squadron, 5 group Bomber Command at Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

Operations with 61 Squadron

Nuremberg - Night of the Big Chop

Lancaster . R 5856 .From operational Records book: Up 21.58. Down 03.43. The Crew. P/O D.C.  Freeman Pilot Sgt. F. Devonshire Flt.Eng. Sgt.G.Thomas Nav., Sgt.D.G. Patfield A.B. Sgt.L.Chapman WOP, Sgt. A.A.Sherriff A.G.1 Sgt. W.Smith A.G.2.

In the words of Derek Patfield: "My Third mission was the dramatic raid on Nuremberg 30th March 1944 when 94 aircraft were shot down. This has also been known as "the biggest chop night" of the war for Bomber Command.

"On this raid, we were shot up South of the Ruhr by three night fighters. Two JU 88's and one ME 110 sustaining considerable damage and four of the crew being wounded. I was instructed by the pilot to jettison the bombs and we turned for home. As the navigator was injured, we made for anywhere in England. Coming in over Norfolk calling "Mayday", we were eventually guided to Foulsham airfield (not far from Fakenham), and with no brakes and only one undercarriage leg locked down, we made a one wheel crash landing. The aircraft dug in the starboard wing tip and swung round, facing the opposite direction. The four wounded were taken by ambulance to the station hospital. The pilot, rear gunner and my self (bomb aimer) were eventually sent on 10 days leave. During this time, the squadron moved to Skellingthorpe, just outside Lincoln, where flying with other crews I completed a further 30 ops."

Two members of the crew were decorated for their actions during the Nuremberg operation. The pilot, P/O Denny Freeman was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) while Wireless Operator F/Sgt Leslie Chapman was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM). In an extract from the London Gazette archives detailing the awards to P/O Freeman & Sgt. Chapman for 9/5/1944 it states:

 "This officer and airman were pilot and wireless operator respectively of an aircraft detailed to attack Nuremberg one night in March 1944.During the operation the aircraft was attacked by a fighter. It was driven off but shortly afterwards two more enemy aircraft attacked. Before they also were driven off, the bomber had sustained much damage. The starboard wing, the flaps and the undercarriage nacelles were all hit by bullets.The mid-upper and front turrets were damaged. The windscreen was shattered and other parts of the airframe were shot away. Four members of the crew were wounded. Most of the navigational equipment was useless but course was set for home. Sergeant Chapman had been wounded in the back, neck and head but bravely remained at his post obtaining fixes which were of inestimable value in establishing the aircrafts' position at various stages on the return flight. Finally the English coast was reached and Pilot Officer Freeman landed the aircraft safely although a tyre on one of the landing wheels would not lock down. Pilot Officer Freeman displayed great skill, courage and determination throughout; Sergeant Chapman also proved himself to be a gallant member of aircraft crew. It was not until the aircraft had been safely landed that he informed his captain of his wounds. He set a splendid example."

 The injuries sustained by some of the crew resulted in the crew being split up while they were hospitalized, Flight Engineer Sgt. F. Devonshire was invalided out due to his injuries. Sadly most  of the other crew members were later killed flying on operations with other crews.

 Sgt. William Smith (Air gunner) was killed on 8/7/1944 and is buried at Marissel French National Cemetery. Sgt Arthur Sherriff was killed on 1.2.1945 with the rest of the crew of Lancaster NF912 code QR, when their Lancaster took off from R.A.F.Skellingthorpe on ops to Siegen and force landed after take off due to an engine failure, the aircraft exploded on the airfield.  Sherriff was posthumously awarded the D.F.M.

 P/O Desmond Clayton "Denny" Freeman DFC, aged 21 was killed on 24/9/1944 and is memorialized at Runnymede. Sergeant Leslie Chapman (W.Op/Air gunner) aged 23 was killed on 1/2//45 and is buried at Whaplode cemetery.

 The Nuremberg raid was the worst night of the war for Bomber Command, 94 of 794 aircraft launched did not return, representing a casualty rate of 20.8 percent.

Mid Air Collision Over France

From the Operational Record Book TOURS. 19.5.1944: P/O R.J.Auckland Captain Sgt. J. Slome, Flt.Eng. F/S J.Moran Nav., F/S D.G. Patfield Air Bomber, Sgt. E.V.Jackson Wt/Air, Sgt J.Miller A.G.1, Sgt G.R.Chinery A.G.2., Flying Lancaster ND 902. Up: 22.15 Down: 02.51.

In the words of Derek Patfield: " We were on an op to the marshalling yards at Tours, this was my sixth operational flight and as we were not flying over Germany,we were not unduly worried. The outward flight apart from a fair amount of flak was fairly uneventful. Some distance from Tours, we could see the area illuminated by the marker flares and got ready for the bombing run. By now the flak was more intense and trying to ignore it as much as possible, concentrated on getting the target aligned up in the bombsight graticule by giving the usual instruction to the pilot; " left, left, right, steady" etc.

 "Just as I was about to give the order "open bomb doors", there was a hell of a crash and a shout from the pilot and the aircraft vibrated like a mad thing. Obviously, I thought we had been hit by flak. "We're o.k. Pat, can you bomb?" called the pilot and although the bombsite graticule was vibrating badly, things seemed to be o.k. We had by now swung slightly off target, but by quick corrections, brought it into the graticule and released the bombs. After an exchange of questions over the intercom, the pilot informed us that we had been hit by another Lancaster but were flying reasonably well on three engines."

 "As we left the target area I was told by the pilot to come up into the flight deck to see what had happened. In spite of the poor light I could see that the port outer propeller was bent backwards over the wing itself, from the engine almost to the wing tip was ripped open. The Perspex top of the cabin, just above the pilot's head was also broken. We were told that the aircraft which had hit us was flying in almost the opposite direction and had just skimmed over us-only another foot or so lower and it would have been "curtains" for both aircrews!. With the vibrations now minimized by the nature of the dead engine, we carried on three engines and headed for home. It wasn't long before the port inner engine started to run very roughly and was shut down, so we carried on with the two starboard engines only and were gradually losing height. Over the sea we were told to "prepare for ditching" but fortunately just managed to reach the south coast of England and landed at Tangmere airfield, Sussex.'

 "The next day, relieved at landing safely, leaving our somewhat bent aircraft on the airfield and after collecting our maps and other items of kit, we were flown back to our base near Lincoln. In such cases there was a standard procedure to gradually veer off and by steering certain courses, come back into the bomber stream from the rear. This one seemed to have crossed the stream on an almost reciprocal course. The aircraft was later identified by damage to its underside, caused by our propellers. For bringing his damaged aircraft safely back, Ron Auckland, the pilot, with whom I was to do a further 14 'ops' (before joining another crew for the remainder of my 'tour') was awarded a well deserved D.F.C.. Incidentally, on this flight our target photograph showed a direct hit on the marshalling yards, so we'd done our bit!"

The Raid on Mailly-Le-Camp  May 3,1944

 The raid on Mailly-Le-Camp is remembered as one of the most terrifying of the war for the aircrews that participated. Aircraft of 1 & 5 Groups participated on the raid on Mailly-Le-Camp, a German training camp just outside the French village of Mailly, south west of Paris. The attacking force was made up of 346 Lancasters & 14 Mosquito's. This was at the time of the lead up to Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion and the aim of the strike was to reduce its' potential to reinforce German troops at the landing sites in Normandy.

 Approximately 1700 tons of bombs were dropped and resulted in German losses of ammunition dumps, barrack buildings, transport sheds,37 tanks and  218 soldiers. The target was accurately marked this was carried out by Group Captain Leonard Cheshire and  also the no 1 Group SDF marked the repair depot for the small force of 29 Lancasters from 460 & 625 squadrons. In the maelstrom over the target area, Flt/Lt. Hull D.F.C. who was marker leader for the S.D.F. was hit & crashed just south of the target area. He instructed his Deputy to take over the marking of the area but nevertheless, communications difficulties led to a delay in the Main force attack.  German Nightfighters arrived during the raid and 42 Lancasters were lost. with approx 300 personnel.

 Derek Patfield describes the operation: "This raid was a notable one for its pinpoint accuracy, at night, with the French village being very close to the target indeed. Unfortunately we lost 42 aircraft on that raid, mainly due to the fact that we were told to orbit a flare on the ground for fifteen minutes, whilst the marker flares were placed on target- thus giving the location of the bomber force away to the German Nightfighters, who had a whale of a time shooting us down"

 No French civilians were killed during this raid, although some were injured when a Lancaster hit a house. Some of the problems with communications were due to an American broadcast jamming the frequency. All 12 aircraft despatched from 61 Squadron made safe returns.

Author's Notes:  Special thanks to Derek Patfield for graciously sharing his experiences and the photograph which appear on this site. Thanks to RAF commands for additional information. For parties seeking more information please contact Linda Ibrom at cathogs2000@tiscali.co.uk

Books on the Mailly Raid "Battle under the Moon " by Jack Currie "A Pathfinders War & Peace by G/C Laurence Dean, one of the Marker Leaders. "Bomber Group at War" by Chaz Bowyer.