Hi to all from Melbourne, Australia, Would any forum member have photos of Ludford Magna 1. As it was in WW2 2. Current day photographs of the area occupied by the airfield. My brother, W/O Laurence COLLINS, RAAF, was attached to 101 Squadron 1943/4-1945 (Wireless Air Gunner) at Ludford Magna. He was killed in action, 16 January 1945. I am trying to trace his war time history/record. Ray (berkyboy)
Hi Ray, If i head to Lincolnshire at anytime i will see if i can geet to Ludford Magna and get some pics for you. Give me a few days and i will see what i can find out about the aircraft your brother was in when he was killed. As he's buried in Berlin 1939-1945 Cemetery its possible that he was captured after bailing out but possibly died later of injuries. Anyway give me a few days to see what i can dig up. Sniper
Thanks for your response, Sniper. I have probably worded by request badly, but I will try to clear it up. I have been researching my brothers RAAF/RAF career for about a decade now, and have been able to obtain a huge amount of details about his record, found relatives of the other seven crew members (there were 4 RAF, 3 RAAF, & 1 RCAF), some photos of the crew, details of their sorties, have been able to identify the aircraft (their final flight was in LM472, some information on RAF 101 Squadron, their war graves in Berlin Cemetery etc, but when I was reviewing my research, I realised I had very little on Ludford Magna particiarly photos (in WW2 & current time).So, now I am trying to find out more about the wartime airfield at Ludford Magna, and obtain photos to complete the story. I have found that because of the secret ABC equipment carried by 101 squadron,there is very few photos or information available on this airfield. Thus my request for information. Thanks for you interest berkyboy (Ray).
Hi Sniper, I forgot to mention that I live in Melbourne, Australia, making it difficult to obtain informaion from so far away, berkyboy (Ray)
Hi Ray, Bit of info you might not have on Ludford Magna. No. 101 Squadron was moved to the domestic comforts of nearby Binbrook in October 1945 thus ending Ludford Magna's use by flying units. The establishment was eventually returned to civil use and gradual decay. However, in 1958 it was selected as one of the sites for Thor missiles, three separate launch pads and stores being constructed in the centre of the airfield. No. 104 Squadron, the designated operating unit, was in residence from July 1959 to May 1963 when the unit was disbanded following the removal of the missiles. Thereafter Ludford Magna gradually returned to agricultural use, the land being sold in 1965-66. The hangars were sold and dismantled, although many buildings survive for small business use. The most poignant reminder of its existence is the memorial to No. 101 Squadron dead erected in 1978 in Ludford Magna village. The brick built accommodation buildings were sold in a public auction on 22 July 1964. On 19 October 1965, the remaining 505 acres were sold to local farmers and some temporary buildings were demolished while others have fallen into disrepair or have been adapted for other uses. Parts of the runway perimeter and the three Thor missile launchpads still remain, as do most of the accommodation buildings north of the village. In 1978 a war memorial was erected in the village. I will get up to Ludford at some stage as i would like to take my other half to see my old haunting ground at Conningsby so i will get you some pics of what it looks like now. Sniper [Mike]
For those that are interested here is the record for the aircraft. 101 Squadron flying a Lancaster 111 LM472 SR-V2 on Operation Brux. Crew members were: F/O FD McGonigle RAF Sgt JR McDowell RAF F/S JE Knight RAAF F/S RWL Hart RAAF F/S L Collins RAAF P/O JK Armour RCAF Sgt RJ Beckett RAF Sgt D Conroy RAF Operation Brux Aircraft took off at 1748 hours from Ludford Magna with two Navigators to bomb a synthetic oil plant in western Czechoslavakia. All but F/S Knight were killed and he became a POW. Those that were killed are buried at Berlin 1939=1945 War Cemetery. F/O Armour RCAF was the specialist eqipment operator. Regards Sniper
Thanks Sniper, The Aircraft involved, LM472,SR-V2, with a crew of eight(Pilot- F/O Des McGonigle RAF, Flight Engineer-Sgt John McDowell RAF, Navigator-F/Sgt John Knight RAAF, Bomber Aimer-F/S Warren Hart RAAF, Wireless Operator W/O Laurie Collins RAAF, Mid-upper Gunner F/S Bob Beckett RAF, Rear Gunne-Sgt Dan Conroy, and a Special ABC Operator P/O Jack Armour RCAF.) was part of 238 aircraft (231 Lancaster bombers with 7 from 101 squadron equiped with ABC equipment, and 6 Mosquitoes) from RAF Bomber Command Nos 1 and 5 Groups on a mission to bomb a synthetic oil plant at Brux, West Czechoslovakia. Initially they were joined by by another formation of 328 Lancasters (from 1,6, & 8 Groups) bound for Zeitz (synthetic oil plant) and followed by a third force of aircraft for an "area raid" on Magdeburg (320 Halifax, 44 Lancaster & 7 Mosquito) from 4,6, & 8 Groups. At 21.55 hours, the Brux group split from the other formation, at at approx 22.04, 16 January 1945 the burning Lancaster LM472 flew ver low over the village of Geilsdorf and crashed into high tension wires and crashed into a snow covered field (it was snowing very heavy at the time) Unfortunately seven of the eight were killed, and Navigator Jack Knight remarkably survived and was taken POW (Jack Knight's survival was a miracle/mystery and quite a story in itself-he passed away in Sydney, Australia in 1999) The 7 deceased were initially buried in the Geilsdorf cemetery, 18 January 1945, after identification procedures were completed. Their bodies were later exhumed on 14 December 1948 under the control of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and re-interred in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Memorial Cemetery, Germany. My brother was W/O Laurie Collins aged 20. The area of the crash was part of East Germany after the war, and therefore was difficult to go there, but Jack Knight returned to visit the site in 1968. berkyboy (Ray)
Hi Ray, Thanks for putting the rest of the story up, i put my bit up for post readers so they can see the basic story of the last flight of these men. Regards Sniper
Hi Ray, My sister's life long friend has an Uncle who's name you will recognise 'Rocky' Hart. I am currently living some 10 miles away from Ludford and have just sent her a couple of photo's of the war memorial in Ludford. I would be pleased to forward same to yourself and any other oddments should that be of any interest. The Black Horse Pub in Ludford has a lot of memorabilia of the operational days of Ludford Magna plus photo's of the last surviving crew's get together in September 2011. Unfortunately they went 'bust' earlier this year and the premises are locked and For Sale. My email contact detail is beswick2011@yahoo.com regards
Hello Ray I note that you're in Mebourne. My wife and I are from near Warragul in Gippsland. We're in the UK at the moment, on holiday. I saw your request when I was googling Ludford Magna this morning. We were less than 10 miles away at the time, and we've visited today. The site (on this sunny day) was a huge paddock of brilliant yellow rape/canola. There are some very old patches of concrete roads evident here and there, but nothing more really. I've taken a couple of photos and you would be welcome to copies when we get home in September. I think it would be interesting to look at the site from above (Google Earth) and will do this once I get a better internet connection. The reason I was googling Ludford Magna is because my wife's father was a Lancaster pilot (from Australia, trained in Canada) and was based there. Luckily he was one of the small number who came back. I have photos of the small memorial in town referred to by you other correspondent. I joined up to this service in order to reply to you, and don't really know how it works, so not sure how to ensure contact. Bit reluctant to put email or phone number on the system. Will look here for a reply. Regards, Rob
Hello Ray I note that you're in Mebourne. My wife and I are from near Warragul in Gippsland. We're in the UK at the moment, on holiday. I saw your request when I was googling Ludford Magna this morning. We were less than 10 miles away at the time, and we've visited today. The site (on this sunny day) was a huge paddock of brilliant yellow rape/canola. There are some very old patches of concrete roads evident here and there, but nothing more really. I've taken a couple of photos and you would be welcome to copies when we get home in September. I think it would be interesting to look at the site from above (Google Earth) and will do this once I get a better internet connection. The reason I was googling Ludford Magna is because my wife's father was a Lancaster pilot (from Australia, trained in Canada) and was based there. Luckily he was one of the small number who came back. I have photos of the small memorial in town referred to by you other correspondent. I joined up to this service in order to reply to you, and don't really know how it works, so not sure how to ensure contact. Bit reluctant to put email or phone number on the system. Will look here for a reply. Regards, Rob
The only survivor seems to have been promoted whist a P.O.W. 429068 P/O. Jack Edward Knight 101 Sqn. Was Hospitalised until 18th February Home address 70 Tavistock Road. Hurstville. N.S.W. He gives his Civilian occupatio0n as Clerk.
Hello Ray, my mother's husband was a wireless radio operator with the RAF 101 Squadron, shot down during the Nuremberg Raid Mar 30/31 1944, Lancaster DV-276. All crew were killed. I'm hoping to collect information about the men, operations, and photos to memorialize these brave men. I would appreciate it if anyone can point me to any collection of photos to locate their actual plane, photos of the crash site, and any of the crew members. please feel free to contact me .
Hello, I am doing research to help finally memorialize my mother's first husband Sgt. Robert Russell Roberts, assigned to the RAF 101 Squadron in Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire, England during WWII. Robert (Bobby) was a wireless radio operator/gunner who was trained to work with the radar/radio jamming device (CIGAR?). used to jam the German planes during their bombing missions. He was assigned under Pilot James Batten-Smith. The Lancaster Bomber plane (DV-276) and crew was lost during the Nuremberg Raid Mar 30/31 1944. I recently found a collection of telegraphs in my mothers belongings (now deceased) several telegrams and letters informing her of Bobby being shot down, and later confirmed being killed. I am interested in finding what I can to help memorialize these brave men. I live in the United States, but my close cousin is a school teacher near London, and is hoping to develop a curriculum around the story of these men, to teach her students about WWII, Bomber Command, and the sacrifices made by these men. She hopes to take them to museums, and ultimately to the crash site and burial site. She would very much like to get in touch with any surviving 101st Squadron members, to possibly speak to her class (time is running out!). Any help with documents, photos of the crew members, plane (DV-276), Ludford Magna airbase, life of a bomber crew, and information on their crash site, etc is very much appreciated. I'm new to this sort of research so I am reaching out to you experts to help.
