Arthur Dorrien Archer

RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL Panel 134.

Munich

294 crews from 1,5 & 8 Groups, 8 from Langar, were assigned to attack Munich on 2/10/1943. DV184/EM-O was accelerating towards take off when it was noticed by Wing Commander Jennings, standing by the control tower, that the cloth pitot cover was still in place.

As this would have made the plane dangerous to fly, he instructed the flying controller to fire a red Very light to abort the mission. Flying Officer Bremner cut his engines but realised the heavily laden Lancaster would be unable to pull up in time.

After the throttles were slammed open again, the aircraft limped into the air but crashed from fifty feet in a field behind an adjacent cement works. The bomb load, consisting of a 4,000lb cookie and 16 SBCs containing incendiaries, exploded killing everyone on board. Bremner’s wife witnessed the disaster.

Fatalities: AF Bremner (P), RM Appleton (FE), RR Woodhouse (N), JHV Horsley (W/Op), AD Archer (AB), FW Dyde (AG), AE Smith (AG). So devastating was the impact and the resulting explosion, that only three bodies were identified; F/O Bremner, Sgt Smith and F/S Dyde.

Once the fire was extinguished , the rest of the squadron took off over the smouldering remains to bomb Munich. They all returned.

NB. Pitot tubes were essential indicators of air speed. According to Ian Hunt,’without accurately knowing your speed, take off and landing would be extremely dangerous... and navigation to a distant target to get there at the required time would be impossible.’

Unknown