Bomber Command Survival Rate ww2

Bomber Command suffered horrendous casualties during WW2.

Only 26% survived unhurt.

 

They suffered something like 55,000 killed in action. We used to tell the army that we had got it right, we sent senior ncos and officers off to war when they sent the Ors!

 

Interestingly, until the midlle of the war, Bomber Command losses were not the highest, and correspondingly, the survival rates not the lowest. The from "The Armed Rovers" by Nesbitt

 

This paper is an interesting read, and the author takes great pains at explaining how difficult it is to collate casualty figures. Numerous examples are given of the conficting figures between sources:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/r_m_g.varley/Strategic_Air_Offensive.html

 

Seen this before: We had a debate on this somewhere on *******

 

I have the white paper about the casulties from all the services in the war and that gives the offical figures up until 1946

 

Would be good to see some of the more interesting facts.

 

Black Thursday December 1943

Black Thursday:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/92/a5204792.shtml


Did you know that following a raid on Berlin on the night of 16 / 17th December 1943 (to become know as 'Black Thursday') the official communiqué stated that 24 of our aircraft failed to return?
Further to that, however, because of severe weather and fog, 32 aircraft crashed over England with 127 killed and 34 injured. These were by far the worst bad weather casualties sustained throughout the war and brought the overall total for the night, in grim reality, to 294 killed and 14 prisoners of war.

 

During the Battle of Britain 537 Fighter pilots were killed.

 

A total of 545 aircrew of Bomber Command were killed on one raid at Nuremburg on 31st March 1944.

 

Almost one third of Britain's War Effort went into Bomber Command.

 

Yet, there was always fights caused by others who wanted to use either aircraft or the command itself for something other than bombing Germany!

 

Interestingly, The Bomber Command Diaries states that 25 were lost on the mission, and a further 30 crashed due to bad weather, making a total of 55 aircraft for that operation. However, Chorley BCL puts the figure at 58 (I need to do a recount to confirm the split). But 97 Squadron suffered the most from the bad weather, lossing 1 aircraft on the mission and 7 aircraft due to the weathe:

http://www.97squadronassociation.co.uk/flightops4.html

JB963Q F/L D.Brill, F/L J.Handley (2nd Pilot), Sgt J.Stone, P/O T.McIntyre, P/O R.Butler, Sgt H.Chappell, P/O G.J.Little, F/Sgt E.Battle. Up 1655 – missing.

JB119F S/L D.Mackenzie, P/O J.Pratt, F/Sgt R.Marshall, F/O W.A.Colson, F/Sgt A.Hunter, F/Sgt W.A.Lang, F/Sgt K.Kirby. Up 1645 Down 0045. 5 x 2000lb. Crashed on landing at base. Captain, Flight Engineer and Air Bomber killed.

JB531Y P/O F.Smith, Sgt F.E.Durn, P/O J.W.Arturson, F/Sgt J.A.Wilson, Sgts G.H.Townend, N.Stewart, C.A.Bradshaw. Up 1700 Down not shown. 5 x 2000lb. Bombs released on Berlin from 20,000’. No results of bombing seen. On return to base fog and low cloud made landing dangerous so crew baled out from 7,000’. All landed safely.

JB117C F/Sgt I.W.Scott, Sgts E.W.Collishaw, J.Peek, D.R.Irvine, S.G.Parrott, K.Foxcroft, S.L.Hope. Up 1650 No down time. 5 x 2000lb. Aircraft crashed on return to base due to fog and low cloud. All members of the crew were killed.

JB243P S/L E.A.Deverill, F/Sgt A.Russell, P/O J.T.Brown, F/Sgt J.Farr, F/Sgt R.Crossgrove, W/O J.Benbow, W/O D.J.Penfold. Up 1645 Down 0015. 5 x 2000lb. Crashed at Grevelay on returning from attack on Berlin owing to very bad visibility and low cloud. All members of the crew were killed except the mid upper gunner who was injured.

JB219R P/O J.Kirkwood, F/Sgt E.Hubbard, Sgt R.Stewart, F/O G.A.Wigley, Sgts R.G.Cleeve, L.Madeley, J.Killen. Up 1650 Down 0010. 5 x 2000lb. Crashed on landing on returning from raid on Berlin owing to bad visibility and low cloud, all members of the crew being killed.

JB482S F/O R.L.Mooney, Sgts F.B.Gray, G.A.Johnson, F/Sgt J.Worsdale, Sgt N.D.Cameron, F/Sgt G.Woolf, F/Sgt L.Smith. Up 1705 Down 0035. 5 x 2000lb. Berlin bombed from 19,500’. Target identified by red and green TIs and Wanganui flares. On return crew baled out owing to weather conditions making landing too dangerous.

JB176K F/O E.Thackway, Sgts G.Grundy, J.Powell, P/O L.K.Grant, P.H.Mack, R.Lawrence, L.N.Laver. Up 1655 Down 0100. 5 x 2000lb. Crashed on landing after raid on Berlin due to fog and low cloud. The Captain, Flight Engineer, Navigator, Air Bomber and mid upper gunner were killed. Wireless Op was injured but the rear gunner escaped injury.

The attachment is from the Bomber Command Diaries by Middlebrook.

 

97 Squadron "Black Thursday" web site.

http://www.97squadron.co.uk/Intro Black Thursday.html

 

Thanks for that link David. Very informative.

I have two RAAF outbound in 97sq for the 16th and two for the 17th (Foxcroft & Scott) however I don't have the photos yet for the 253 RAAF burials at Cambridge War Cemetery.