Encounter With a Me262

So, who was the first to shoot down a legendary Messerschmitt Me262 jet fighter during WWII?

According to the internet, credit goes to Maj. Joseph Myers and  Officer Manford Crory of the 78th Fighter Group, who managed to force the pilot of the Me262 into manoeuvring his aircraft into the ground on August 28, 1944.

However, credit for the first Me262 that was actually shot down by Allied forces' gunfire, goes to 5 Spitfire pilots from 401 Squadron RCAF on October 5th, 1944, who were patrolling the Arnhem-Nijmegen area at the time. Further research shows that the Tuskegee Airmen in their P-51 Mustangs are claiming credit while conducting operations on March 24th, 1945.

While  I may never have a definite answer to  my question, being Canadian, I'd prefer that the Spitfire pilots from 401 Squadron get the credit. But, as this is Glen's Blog, I'd like to tell you a little  story about  his first experience in shooting down one of  the War's first jet fighters.

The date was March 31, 1945 and Glen, the Mid-Upper Gunner, F/L Kitchen and their crew were once again flying a Lancaster X WL-L, named Lollipop- although in this case, not the original one as that was badly beaten up from its rough treatment on the night of March 5-6. The operation on this day was over Hamburg, Germany, an unusual daylight raid- the target possibly an oil depot or the many U-Boats under construction there, and included 469 aircraft-361 Lancaster Bombers, 100 Halifax Bombers and 8 Mosquitoes. Lost that day were 8 Lancs and 3 Halifax.

That day, they were  not flying in formation but in what was referred to as a gaggle, a disorderly grouping of aircraft. The Lancasters' had an American P-51 escort which was so far ahead of the Lancs that it was virtually useless and at one point, one of Glen's crew, Jack Rebman, used a Verey pistol to try to get the Mustang's attention, but to no avail. What happened next involved only the Lancs, Halifax bombers and Mosquitoes. The P-51s didn't return to the gaggle until all of the damage was done.

Due to some unexpected intervention by the Luftwaffe day fighter force, Glen and the crew from Lollipop encountered a Me262 in the skies over the Hamburg. From his turret, Glen watched as Allied Halifax aircraft were being attacked by the new jet fighters and in the course of the action, Glen managed to fire 200 bursts at one  Me262, finally shooting it down. Glen remembers, " The first moment I recognized we were in for trouble was when I looked straight back a couple of miles and could see fireballs - I counted 3 at once.  Flying right off our Starboard side at 600 yards was a Halifax and I never saw it on fire but the 262 Fighter was a ways  behind him and using a 30 mm cannon.  The Halifax crew all bailed out and I understand they were taken prisoners of war. "  Doug Reid, navigator in Lollipop crew noted in his navigator's log that this took place at 9:04 a.m.

Once Glen's  crew landed safely, at 12:10 pm (the duration of the mission was 6 hours 10 minutes) Glen attended a debriefing with the Air Commodore, a man who was politically placed by Prime Minister MacKenzie King (as a favour for support perhaps?) but not necessarily interested in recording history as it unfolded. As Glen told of seeing the attack on the nearby Halifax bomber, the Air Commodore stopped him, refusing to acknowledge Glen's hit on the Messerschmitt on the grounds that he knew of no Halifax Bombers being flown during that raid. Not only would he not listen, but he would not record Glen's hit on the infamous Me262.

In the past few years, Glen has come across several other accounts of that  night....Douglas Grey, of Ajax, Ontario (Legion Magazine March/April 2010) a flight engineer on a Halifax, witnessed a jet fighter destroy the aircraft ahead of theirs before attacking them. The crew bailed out and were taken prisoners of war-one of the very few complete air crews in Stalag  Luft #1. And Gene Lockhard  of Lindsay, Ontario, also a flight engineer, discovered that the Halifax crew he had first trained with before being replaced was one of the Halifax bombers that was hit by fire from an Me262. All on board were  killed. (Legion Magazine Jan./Feb. 2010)

 For Glen, the memory from that raid will live on forever; unfortunately, his claim of downing one of the first jet fighters in WWII will not. There is no mention of it in any of the books or websites dedicated to the War and to the brave men and women who risked their lives to fight in it. Fortunately for Glen, and many other veterans, their stories will be told-through blogs like this one, in books and by word of mouth, passed down from them to younger generations. Their bravery will be acknowledged, their selflessness praised.

  

Welcome!

Welcome to my very first blog....I've finally joined social media!!

This particular blog is dedicated to my dear friends, Glen and Joan. In fact, this wouldn't exist if it weren't for Glen's stories so this is really Glen's blog and I'm just the keeper of the page.

A few weeks ago I added another of Glen's stories from March 1945...a period of time most of us wouldn't have been alive to experience but one which lives in Glen's memory as well as that of many other veterans' of World War II.

If you enjoy these incredible stories, please share them with others....it's important that these wonderful men and women be recognized for giving us the freedom we take for granted.

Happy landings!

 

 I would like to thank the many people who have written to share with me their information, web sites and thoughts on these stories. Many have assisted with further research to try to solve the mystery of Lollipops' "bump"....at this time, it's still remains unclear whether it was an accidental brush, a mid-air collision or a warning.  
We are very grateful for your time and assistance!

Ps. Please remember these are the memories of a veteran as told to myself and I may not be 100%historically correct with all the details.

Glen's Story

My dear friend, Glen Heisler, is an 88 year old Canadian veteran from World War II who has a story, a memory of the war that he has lived with for the past 70 years. Up until 10 years ago, Glen hadn't told anyone what happened on the  night of March 5/6, 1945 but he wants to share it now so that another pilot, one who probably lost his life that night, might be posthumously recognized for his heroic actions.

Glen (Heisler, G.A. K254237) was a Flight Sergeant and Mid Upper Air Gunner at 434 Squadron (RCAF), based at Croft, Lincolnshire, England from November 14, 1944 until the end of the war. His crew, including P/O J.C. Kitchen, flew Lollipop, a Lancaster Bomber (Lanc X, Bmk.X.KB880, WL-L) and on the night of March 5/6, 1945 they were part of Operation Thunderclap, a raid over Chemnitz, Germany. Of the 760 aircraft involved that night, 498 were Lancasters, 256 were Halifax Bombers and 6 were Mosquitos....that evening, 14 Lancs and 8 Halifaxes were lost. Following is Glen's logbook entry:

March 5/6 Departed 16:36 Lanc X
Pilot: P/O Kitchen
Duty: Mid-Upper (gunner)
Remarks: OPS Chemnitz

Hit by Lancaster after bombs gone. Put in rear turret, cut nose off Lancaster. Few seconds later Ju-88 (Junkers 88) sighted off starboard quarter and up at 600 yards. Save corkscrew. Fighter fired one burst. Hit on starboard wing. Hit starboard elevator. Hits scored on fighter. Landed at Carnaby.

Duration of flight: 10:55

Glen recounts the story of that night in this way.....His crew had dropped their load of bombs and was unaware of any enemy aircraft in the area. Glen remembers looking down from his place in the turret and seeing two Merlin engines appearing on either side of the fuselage, knowing full well that it was another Lanc. The pilot gently eased the nose of his aircraft under Lollipop and proceeded to bump her with enough force to get P/O Kitchens' attention (and cause some damage to the landing gear) and disable the rear turret. Glen felt the other pilot was doing this to alert them of approaching enemy planes as  there was no radio contact between aircraft - this incredibly dangerous manoeuver would have been the only way to get their attention. Glen surmises the other plan was in bad shape and the plot would have know he had no hope of surviving.

As Glen watched the other Lancaster go down in a controlled manner, he also saw a Ju88 in a fast climb coming up past the other Lanc to where they were. Glen recalls "I told John Kitchen to HOLD-then I lost view of the fighter, realizing he was going too fast: he needed to slow his speed and come in on our flight path to keep his guns on us in the curve of pursuit. He would have to hide behind our starboard rudder. The only way I would know he was in attack mode was if he fired and hit our aircraft." At that moment, shells were fired from the Ju88 causing some damage to their landing gear-one armour piece hit Lollipops' landing gear and the stabilizer was hit by a high explosive 20mm. "That was when I yelled at John Kitchen - "Corkscrew Starboard! GO!" I set up a box right over the starboard rudder and fired my twin 303's knowing he would be moving into that space. Another crew sighted the Ju88 going down in flames and we claimed it as probably destroyed."

"We weren't aware of critical damage to our aircraft until Kitchen tried to let the landing gear down. The gear on the starboard side did not indicate it was locked and the air traffic controller wouldn't let us land at our home base but sent us to a crash dome. The navigator, Doug Reid, set up the co-ordinates for the crash dome. The night was pitch black and we were unable to locate the crash dome and were about to abandon when I heard Doug telling Kitchen he had set the wrong co-ordinates. Corrections made, John floated it in keeping the starboard wing higher than the port side and as he lost airspeed he came down.....past the lock position on the starboard main wheel. John then proceeded to give us one of his best landings."

For many years, Glen has lived with the knowledge that this other, unknown pilot, saved his life and those of his crew by putting himself in a dangerous position. At a time when he must have been facing his own death this man had the forethought and courage to help the crew of Lollipop.

Recently by accident, Glen came across the name of Abrams, Robert William in the book "They Shall Not Grow Old-RCAF". This name, in turn, led him to F/O (P) Rouse, Charles James. Another book entitled "The Bomber Command War Diaries-An Operational Reference Book" confirmed that this crew's aircraft was indeed involved in that raid.

The entry for Charles Rouse reads as follows:
Rouse, Charles James (F/O (P) J35290 from Milden Saskatchewan
Killed in action March 6/45 age 22 #576 Squadron

Also lost that night, and part of the same crew were:

Abrams, Robert William (P/O AG) J95424/R265753 from Rockhaven, Sask.
Pilot Officer Abrams has no known grave.

Dewar, W.W. (FS)(AG) R275670 from Langley Prairie, B.C.
Killed in action March 6/45 age 19 #576 Squadron

Magee, James Thomas Joseph (P/O, N) J95544/R189744 from Verdun, Quebec
Killed in action March 6/45 age 28 #576 Squadron (Carpe Diem)

Lancaster aircraft #PD 403 was in a mid-air collision with another aircraft over the target Chemnitz, Germany. Three of the crew, not Canadians, missing believed killed.

Glen has long wondered if one of these Canadians who were onboard Lancaster PD 403 -  all killed because of a mid-air collision during that operation - could possibly have been the heroic pilot who saved Lollipop and her crew. Information on the events of that night is scarce, in part, Glen thinks, because none of the crew was interviewed by Intelligence. And as much as we'd like to believe it was one of these Canadians, the fact is there were another 496 Lancaster bombers involved in Operation Thunderclap that night, most of whom were RAF.

For so many years, Glen Heisler has lived with this remarkable story of courage - in fact, not many nights go by that he doesn't wake up and relive that night over Germany. His one wish has always been to see the unknown pilot receive a posthumous commendation for this incredible act of bravery. If not for that man, the crew of Lollipop may also have been entries in the books listed in this story. Learning the identity of this gentleman could allow Glen to finally put to rest a memory which has been with him for most of his life. If you have any information that could help us in our search for this hero please leave me a comment at this blog, "View From a Lancaster".