115 Squadron

24/25 February 1944

Lancaster Mk II - LL701 KO-F

T/O Witchford 1850 - target Schweinfurt, Germany.
Lost without a trace.

Info received via Chris Thomson, Ontario, Canada,
115. Sqn. (RAF) / Avro Lancaster Mk. II / # LL701 / Operation Schweinfurt / Ursache unbekannt / Absturz in die Nordsee /
Flight Lieutenant James Clement Hornby / 7 vermisst.
source: Fred Trendle, Germany.

Source: 115 Squadron Roll of Honour by D. Bruce, W. R. Chorley, J. G. J. de Haan.

734 aircraft - 554 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes, 11 Mosquitos -
carried out the first Bomber Command raid on Schweinfurt, home of Germany's main ball-bearing factories.
266 American B-17s had raided the factories the previous day.

Bomber Command introduced a novel tactic on this night.
The Schweinfurt force was split into two parts - 392 aircraft and 342 aircraft, separated by a 2-hour interval.
Part of the German fighter force was drawn up by earlier diversions.

The first wave of the Schweinfurt bombers lost 22 aircraft, 5.6 per cent;
the second wave lost only 11 aircraft, 3.2 per cent, and it is believed that only 4 bombers from the
second wave were shot down by night fighters.

Total losses were 33 aircraft - 26 Lancasters, 7 Halifaxes - 4.5 per cent of the force.

Source: nationalarchives.gov.uk - Bomber Command - Campaign Diary February 1944.

ORB. 24th Feby. 1944.
19 aircraft (5 from 'A' Flight, 8 from 'B' Flight, 6 from 'C' Flight)
took off between 18.49 and 21.11 hours to attack SCHWEINFURT.
2 aircraft failed to return from operations - no messages were received. Lancaster Mk II LL644 KO-N, 7 KIA..
1 aircraft (A/C. U.LL.666 - Captain F/S. BIRNIE) was forced to abandon the sortie with hole in tailplane.
Furthest point reached SELSET HILL. Landed R.A.F. LYNEHAM at 00.02 hours after jettisoning bombs.
The remaining 16 aircraft identified the target by means of target indicators on which bombed from heights
varying from 18,000 feet to 22,000 feet.
Many fires were observed, large pall of smoke over target.
Attack seemed very successful. Photographs were attempted.
1 aircraft (A/C. D.DS.795 - Captain F/L. L. J. HALLEY) landed at TANGMERE at 04.14 hours, 25.2.44.

04.17. 15 aircraft had returned to base.

(A/C. C.DS.728 - Captain S/L. J. R. GRANT - a number of aerial combats seen.)

Chris Thomson, great nephew of Francis Leonard Kennedy from LL701, from Montreal, Canada,
has made a FB page, RAF Avro Lancaster Mk.II LL701 KO-F to search for other families,
please contact if you have any connection or information, thanks.