The Battle of the Heligoland Bight took place on 18 December 1939 and is now regarded as a turning point in the war following heavy losses for the Royal Air Force during the disastrous daylight raid.
The Heligoland Bight is an area near the German ports of Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven, the Air Ministry decided to launch an attack on German ships there to prevent them from supporting U-boats in the North Atlantic.
On 18 December 1939, 24 Wellington bombers from RAF stations in Honington and Mildenhall in Suffolk and Feltwell in Norfolk were sent to sink or damage as many ships as they could, the targets were strictly military ones only and civilian casualties had to be avoided. The mission took place in the daylight to ensure accuracy and they were ordered not to attack at less than 10,000ft to avoid the worst of the enemy flak.
There was a false belief that bombers flying in close formation in daylight could defend themselves against fighter aircraft.
Of the 22 bombers that reached the target area, the weather conditions were cloudless with perfect visibility resulting in German ships being sighted off Wilhelmshaven being bombed from 13,000ft.
The Germans were experimenting with a new radar system called Freya that was sited on a nearby island of Wangerooge. The radar had detected the incoming bomber force 70 miles out on their approach.
As the bomber force approached the target area, enemy flak opened up causing the close knit formation to spread out and the operators of the experimental Freya radar system directed Luftwaffe fighters from IV/JG2 int0 attack.
The Luftwaffe shot down 12, over half the force with 2 losses of their own.
No 9 Squadron based at RAF Honington lost 5 Wellingtons during the attack. Four aircraft were shot down and crashed in the sea of Wilhelmshaven with the loss of 23 airmen.
A fourth aircraft, N9283, was badly shot up by Luftwaffe fighters and ditched into the North Sea off Cromer in Norfolk. The Wireless Operator, LAC Walter Lilley was killed during the fighter attack and went down with the aircraft. The remainder of the crew were rescued by the trawler Erillas and its skipper, S Sinclair.
The front gunner of this aircraft was Aircraftsman 1st Class Charles Ronald Driver who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for his actions that day. His citation reads “Aircraftman Driver was the front gunner in an aircraft engaged in operations over an enemy naval base in December 1939. Although the aircraft was subjected to very heavy fire he remained at his post until both guns were put out of action and the flooring shot away or in flames, which he extinguished with his hands. As by this time the petrol system had been severely damaged, he proceeded to the hand petrol pump and continued manual pumping until shortage of petrol caused the aircraft to land in the sea. Despite these exertions, Aircraftman Driver subsequently succeeded in launching the dinghy and assisted in saving the remainder of the crew, some of whom were wounded. It is undoubtedly largely due to his alertness that the members of the crew of this aircraft were brought to safety.”
Number 37 Squadron from RAF Feltwell also lost 5 Wellingtons with 21 crew members killed and 5 taken as prisoners of war.
Number 149 Squadron from RAF Mildenhall lost 2 Wellingtons with 11 crew killed.
The battle had a huge influence on both sides’ strategies. It led the RAF to abandon daylight missions in favour of night bombing as the self-defending bomber formation was now in serious doubt due to daytime casualties being too high.
Another issue that this raid highlighted was the lack of useful bombsights. The Wellingtons at the time were equipped with the mechanical Mk IX Course Setting Bomb Sight (CSBS) which was originally developed in World War One for aircraft flying at much slower speeds.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt noted at a meeting on 22nd December 1939, that the CSBS demanded that the aircraft fly a straight path for a relatively long period of time prior to the drop. This action not only made it difficult to attack opportunity targets but also made it easier for enemy anti-aircraft gunners and fighters to attack the bombers.
As a result, Ludlow-Hewitt requested a new design that required a shorter time to settle and would allow manoeuvring throughout the bomb run. This requirement led to the introduction of the Mark XIV Stabilised Vector Sight (sometimes referred to as the ‘area sight’ or the ‘Blackett sight’ after its inventor, Patrick M S Blackett), which was the RAF standard from the summer of 1942 onwards.
Battle of Heligoland: a Vickers Wellington Mk 1 Medium Bomber
Battle of Heligoland: Airmen from 149 Sqaudron
Battle of Heligoland: a Mk XIV SVS bomb sight
