Raymond William Elliott

BERLIN 1939-1945 WAR CEMETERY 5 E 24

Raymond Elliott was the Flight Engineer of Lancaster II LL628 which took off on January 20th 1944 from Linton on Ouse, one of eighteen 426 Sqdn aircraft forming part of a 769 aircraft attack on Berlin. 495 Lancasters took part along with 264 Halifaxes and 10 Mosquitoes. 4.6% of the force was lost. Elliott was killed along with six crewmates – Leslie Neil McCaig (Pilot), Robert James (Navigator), Thomas James Preece (Wireless Operator), Robert Duncan Polson (Air Bomber) and two Air Gunners Ernest Stewart Hawkes and Gerald Ralph. All are buried in the Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetery. This raid killed 243 civilians and made around 10,000 homeless. Five industrial buildings were destroyed and 41 damaged. Railways were damaged and the Lichtenberg power station put out of action. At least 4 small firms making military electronic equipment and flak fire control systems were destroyed. However, according to Martin Middlebrook, German records also show that ‘a considerable quantity’ of bombs fell outside of Berlin with 45 communities reporting damage with 13 people being killed (The Berlin Raids p.228).

During World War II, aircraft attacking Germany faced massive anti-aircraft fire from heavy ground batteries and massive Flak towers. Flak - Fliegerabwehrkanone (meaning "aviator-defence gun") probably accounted for around 25% of allied air force fatalities. Direct hits frequently crippled bombers like the Lancaster and the American B-17 Flying Fortress, tearing off wings, igniting fuel tanks, and causing catastrophic losses during both RAF night raids and USAAF daylight missions.

Nazi Germany built flak tower complexes in three key cities. Berlin had three main locations (Zoo, Humboldthain, and Friedrichshain). Hamburg had two major sites (Heiligengeistfeld and Wilhelmsburg). Vienna had three primary locations (Arenbergpark, Augarten, and Gedenkstätte Mauthausen/Arne-Karlsson-Park area).

Additionally, smaller single-purpose or projected installations were used or planned in cities like Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and important outlying military strongpoints outside Germany proper such as Angers (France), Heligoland (Germany), and Trondheim (Norway).

Berlin's Air Defences
Berlin was especially well defended against air raids and its flak defences were particularly effective against RAF raids mounted between January 20th and 22nd 1944. At least six airmen with strong connections to Nottinghamshire were killed by flak during this period.
Flak Towers: Huge concrete fortresses mounted massive 12.8 cm FlaK 40 guns.
Intense Barrages: Ground radar-guided searchlights and anti-aircraft guns put up thick black smoke and shrapnel fields over the city centre.

Youth Deployment: As the war progressed, most able-bodied men and older teenagers having been taken by the German army, many flak batteries were manned by fourteen year olds of the Hitler Youth and League of German Girls. Interview evidence suggests these youngsters were proud to attempt the defence of their city out of patriotic duty.

The lives of many Berliners were undoubtedly saved by flak towers which doubled as public air raid shelters particularly during the war's later months as damage and destruction within Berlin intensified.

The left hand photo shows weary Berliners leaving the Zoological Gardens flak tower in February 1945. Most flak towers have since been demolished but in Volkspark, Humboldthain (a few stops from central Berlin on the U-Bahn) one stands more or less intact. This photo was taken by David Nunn in April 2026.