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209502 Sgt. Peter William Lewis Moore Royal Air Force 57 Squadron from:Hove (d.26/27 Aug 1944) My Uncle, Sgt Peter William Lewis Moore, was a Flight Engineer in RAF Bomber Command, 57 Squadron at East Kirby. He was Engineer on board Lancaster LM232 - DX-G/F. This plane was airborne at 20:13 on 26 Aug 44 from East Kirkby on a raid to Konigsberg. It was lost without trace. I have been collecting information about Peter's sorties, this information is from 57 Squadron's Operational Records Books. 3rd/4th June 1944. Target Ferme D'Urville W/T Station. Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book: 10 Aircraft were detailed and took off to attack Ferme D'Urville W/T Station. The red T.I.s went down at 00:57 hrs in two pairs about 400 yards apart and the Westerly pair was immediately backed up by a Green T.I. All crews report the bombing to have been very well concentrated. A large explosion was seen in the target area at 01:02 hrs. Ground defences were very slight and there were some search lights. All aircraft returned safely to base. The visibility was good with some ground haze. Aircraft Type and Number: Lancaster III LM.580 Crew: P/O. Owen.N. - Pilot Sgt Moore.P.W.L - F/Eng F/S Bennett.E. - Nav. F/S/Shaw.E. - A/B Sgt Grice.J. - W/Op Sgt Stevens.M.L - M/U Sgt Kirwan.K. - R/G They took off at 23:00 and returned at 02:50 Sortie Completed. The Bomb Load was 1 x 4,000 lb H.C. and 16 x 500 lb M.C. Background: From Bomber Command Campaign Diary: 96 Lancasters of No 5 Group and 4 Pathfinder Mosquitos to attack the important German signals station at Ferme d'Urville (near "Invasion coast") which had escaped serious damage in bombing 2 nights earlier. 3 of the Oboe Mosquitos placed their markers perfectly and the Lancasters wiped out the station. No aircraft lost. 4th/5th June 1944. Target - Maisy Gun Emplacement. Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book: 15 aircraft were detailed and all took off to attack this target. Owing to poor visibility, little could be seen of the results of the attack. Most crew saw only the glow of Red or Green T.I.'s though cloud and bombed this assisted by navigational aids. Defences very very slight. Heavy flak. All aircraft returned safely to base. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III LM.573 Crew: P/O. Owen.N. - Pilot Sgt Moore.P.W.L - F/Eng F/S Bennett.E. - Nav. F/S/Shaw.E. - A/B Sgt Grice.J. - W/Op Sgt Stevens.M.L - M/U Sgt Kirwan.K. - R/G They took off at 01:10 and returned at 05:06 Sortie Completed. Bomb Load was 18 x 500 lb G.P. Background: From Bomber Command Campaign Diary: 259 aircraft - 125 Lancasters, 118 Halifaxes, 16 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups to bomb 4 gun positions; 3 of these were deception targets in the Pas de Calais but the fourth battery, at Maisy, was in Normandy between what would soon be known as Omaha and Utah Beaches, where American troops would land in less than 36 hours' time. Unfortunately, Maisy was covered by cloud and could only be marked by Oboe skymarkers, but it was then bombed by 52 Lancasters of No 5 Group. Two of the three gun positions in the Pas de Calais were also affected by bad weather and could only be bombed through cloud but the position at Calais itself was clear and was accurately marked by the Mosquitos and well bombed by Halifaxes and Lancasters of No 6 Group. No aircraft lost on these operations. 5th-6th June 1944. Target - La Pernelle Coastal Guns. D-Day. Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book. 16 Aircraft were detailed and all took off to attack the Coastal Guns at La Pernelle. The Red T.I's appeared to be a little late in going down but at 03:39 hrs the controller broadcast the order to bomb. Bombing ceased at 04:03 hrs. Most crews had no difficulty in bombing the markers or the glow reflected on the clouds. Ground defences were negligible and no fighters were seen. All returned safely to base. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III ND.954 Crew: P/O. Owen.N. - Pilot Sgt Moore.P.W.L - F/Eng F/S Bennett.E. - Nav. F/S/Shaw.E. - A/B Sgt Grice.J. - W/Op Sgt Stevens.M.L - M/U Sgt Kirwan.K. - R/G They took off at 01:41 and returned at 05:47 Sortie Completed. Bomb Load was 11 x 1,000 lb M.C. 4 x 500lb G.P. Background: From Bomber Command Campaign Diary: 1,012 aircraft - 551 Lancasters, 412 Halifaxes, 49 Mosquitos - to bomb coastal batteries at Fontenay, Houlgate, La Pernelle, Longues, Maisy, Merville, Mont Fleury, Pointe du Hoc, Ouisterham and St Martin de Varreville. 946 aircraft carried out their bombing tasks. 3 aircraft were lost - 2 Halifaxes of No 4 Group on the Mont Fleury raid and 1 Lancaster of No 6 Group on the Longues raid. Only two of the targets - La Pernelle and Ouisterham - were free of cloud; all other bombing was entirely based on Oboe marking. At least 5,000 tons of bombs were dropped, the greatest tonnage in one night so far in the war. 7th-8th June 1944. Target - Foret de Cerisy - Tank Depot Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book. 11 Aircraft were detailed to attack the tank depot Foret de Cerisy. The bombing of the green T.I.s was very concentrated and resulted in one very large explosion at 01:44 hrs whilst a series of mminor explosions occurred throughout the attack. Black smoke was also abserved coming up from the ground. Fighter activity was on a very small scale. One aircraft returned early due to failure of S.O. Engine but the remainder all attacked the target and returned safely to base. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III NN.977 P/O. Owen.N. - Pilot Sgt Moore.P.W.L - F/Eng F/S Bennett.E. - Nav. F/S/Shaw.E. - A/B Sgt Grice.J. - W/Op Sgt Stevens.M.L - M/U Sgt Kirwan.K. - R/G They took off at 23:37and returned at 01:26 Sortie not completed, failure of S.O. Engine. Bomb Load was 18 x 500 lb G.P. Background: From Bomber Command Campaign Diary: 112 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 5 and 8 Groups carried out an accurate attack on an important 6-way road junction half-way between Bayeux and St-Lo at Foret De Cerisy. The surrounding woods were believed to contain fuel dumps and German tank units preparing to counter-attack the Allied landing forces. The nearest French village was several kilometres away. 2 Lancasters lost. 9th-10th June 1944. Target - Etampes. Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book: 15 Aircraft were detailed and all took off for this operation. The yellow T.I.s and the initial red spot fires at the target were punctual, but the first red spot fire was about 400 yards N.E. of A/P. Some crews bombed this but at 23:59 hrs the controller ordered "stand By- stop bombing". The target was re-marked with several red spot fires, one of which was backed up by green T.I.s and the bombing resumed at 00:13hrs. The bombing was reported as being well concentrated. All aircraft bombed and return safely. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III NN.977 P/O. Owen.N. - Pilot Sgt Moore.P.W.L - F/Eng F/S Bennett.E. - Nav. F/S/Shaw.E. - A/B Sgt Grice.J. - W/Op Sgt Stevens.M.L - M/U Sgt Kirwan.K. - R/G They took off at 1:46 and returned at 02:42 Sortie completed but suffered a hang up over target of 1 x 500lb M.C. Bomb Load was 16 x 500 lb M.C.: 2 x 500lb G.P. Background: From Bomber Command Campaign Diary: 108 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No 5 Group, with 5 Pathfinder Mosquitos, attempted to bomb a railway junction at tampes, south of Paris. 6 Lancasters lost. The marking was accurate but late and the bombing spread from the railway junction into the town. This was a 5 Group attack, led by Mosquito Pathfinders, on the railway junction at Etampes, south of Paris. It had rained for most of the day across Lincolnshire with the dull overcast bringing visibility down to 1 mile. But in the evening, shortly after 21.00hrs, a force of 108 Lancasters took to the air including 21 Lancasters from Fiskerton, all bound for France once again. Over the target marking was accurate but late, causing the Lancasters to orbit. During this dangerous period many aircraft were seen to go down in flames. Bombs started to spread from the junction into the town, and sadly over 400 houses were destroyed before the 'Master of Ceremonies' could halt the attack. Etampes was one of the headquarters of the Luftwaffe and an important railway junction. 12th -13th June 1944. Target - Bridges at Caen. Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book: 18 aircraft were detailed to attack the Bridges at Caen. The initial marking appears to have been on time but at 02:18hrs the Controller ordered "stand by. Do not bomb", and at 02:20 hrs "Bomb Visually". The latter order was variously interpreted by crews to mean that illuminating flares were going to be dropped or that they were to come below cloud and bomb visually on the markers on the bridges. Photographs show the attack to have fallen in the vicinity of the bridges and in the town immediately north of the river. 8 aircraft bombed the target, 1 returned early due to failure of S.I. Engine and the remainder were abortive owing to inability to identify the target or markers. All returned safely to base. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III NN.560 P/O. Owen.N. - Pilot Sgt Moore.P.W.L - F/Eng F/S Bennett.E. - Nav. F/S/Shaw.E. - A/B Sgt Grice.J. - W/Op Sgt Stevens.M.L - M/U Sgt Kirwan.K. - R/G They took off at 21:46 and returned at 02:42 Sortie completed. Target bombed. Bomb Load was 13 x 1000 lb NA-M. Background: From Bomber Command Campaign Diary: 671 aircraft - 348 Halifaxes, 285 Lancasters, 38 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups to attack communications, mostly railways, at Amiens/St Roch, Amiens/Longueau, Arras, Caen, Cambrai and Poitiers. (It is interesting to note that, with the exception of Caen, all of these targets were the sites of well-known battles of earlier wars and Caen was soon to be the scene of fierce fighting.) Bomber Command's records state that the Poitiers attack, by No 5 Group, was the most accurate of the night and that the 2 raids at Amiens and the raid at Arras were of reasonable accuracy. The target at Cambrai was hit but many bombs also fell in the town. The most scattered attack (also by No 5 Group) was at Caen. 23 aircraft - 17 Halifaxes and 6 Lancasters - were lost from these raids; all of these losses were from Nos 4 and 6 Groups. 14th-15th June 1944. Target - Aunay Sur Odon Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book: 17 Aircraft were detailed for this operation and all took off and returned safely to base. Flares and red spot fires were accurate and punctual and some of the crews saw the road junction clearly in the light of the bomb bursts. The target was re-marked at 00:43 hrs and bombing re-commenced at 00:53 hrs. Apart from some difficulty in seeing the red spot flares and T.I's due to smoke, the crews had no trouble in bombing. There were about 20 heavy flak guns in the vicinity of the target and some light flak about 4 miles north. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III ND.977 P/O. Owen.N. - Pilot Sgt Moore.P.W.L - F/Eng F/S Bennett.E. - Nav. F/S/Shaw.E. - A/B Sgt Grice.J. - W/Op Sgt Stevens.M.L - M/U Sgt Kirwan.K. - R/G They took off at 22:01 and returned at 02:43 Sortie Completed. Bomb Load was 11 x 1,000 lb M.C. 4 x 500lb G.P. Background: From Bomber Command Campaign Diary: 337 aircraft - 223 Lancasters, 100 Halifaxes, 14 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 5 and 8 Groups attacked German troop and vehicle positions at Aunay-sur-Odon and vrecy, near Caen. These raids were prepared and executed in great haste, in response to an army report giving details of the presence of major German units. The weather was clear and both targets were successfully bombed. The target at Aunay, where the marking was shared by Nos 5 and 8 Groups, was particularly accurate. No aircraft were lost. Fearing a German armoured offensive southwest of Caen, the British high command decided to bomb the important crossroads at Aunay-sur-Odon, in order to bar the Panzers' route. In the early hours of 12 June 1944, two waves of aircraft raked the high street and totally destroyed the centre of the village, killing around a hundred inhabitants. On the nights of the 14 and 15 June, the rest of Aunay-sur-Odon was reduced to rubble by a second bombardment. Nothing was left standing, except for the dangerously unstable church tower, which was later demolished for safety. The town was re-built (Marshal Plan) during the 1950s. 4th-5th July 1944. Target St. Leu D'Esserent Allied intelligence firmly identified late in June 1944 that Saint-Leu-d'Esserent and Nucourt were V-1 storage depots. On 27 June 1944, Saint-Leu-d'Esserent was initially bombed by the US Army Air Force,then on July 4/5 1944 by two RAF forces (the first unsuccessfully used Tallboy bombs in an attempt to collapse the limestone roof of the caves). Finally on 7 July 1944, an evening RAF raid successfully blocked the tunnels. Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book: 17 Aircraft were detailed to attack a supply site at St. Leu D'Esserant. All took off. The attack started at 01:33 hours, marking was punctual and seemed accurate. The original markers were well backed up and most crews bombed red T.I.s picked out by Green T.I.s Bombing is said to have been well concentrated on the markers. Ground defences were less than expected but there was considerable fighter activity, both on the outward and homeward routes and in the vicinity of the target. Photographs indicate that the markers were probably accurate and that the bombing was close to the markers. The attack closed at 01:45 hours. Two aircraft reported missing, nothing was heard from them after take-off. 1 aircraft abandoned the sortie, having heard in plain language at 01:12 and 01:16 hours what he thought was an order to return to base. 15 aircraft returned safely to base. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III ND.977 P/O. Owen.N. - Pilot Sgt Moore.P.W.L - F/Eng F/S Bennett.E. - Nav. F/S/Shaw.E. - A/B Sgt Grice.J. - W/Op Sgt Stevens.M.L - M/U Sgt Kirwan.K. - R/G They took off at 23:34 and landed at 04:40 Sortie Completed landed at Strubby (another airfield virtually next door to East Kirby) Bomb Load was 11 x 1,000 lb M.C. 4 x 500lb G.P. 7th/8th July 1944. Target St. Leu D'Esserent On this mission Peter Moore and J Grice had food poisoning and were replaced by Sgt J. Gains and F/L K. Stevens (the Squadron's Australian Signals Leader) respectively. P/O. Owen.N. - Pilot Sgt Gains J. - Engineer F/S Bennett.E. - Nav F/S/Shaw.E. - A/B F/L Stevens.K. - W/Op Sgt Stevens.H.L - M/U Sgt Kirwan.K. - R/G The flight Lancaster III ND.977, went missing. They were shot down. Amazingly they all survived. Flt Sgt Keith Kirwan (RAAF) - Bailed out, became PoW No395 in Camp L7. Flt Sgt George M. Shaw (RAF) - Bailed out, became PoW No 412 in Camp L7. Flt Sgt G. Bennett (RAF) - Bailed out, probably initially evaded because he is reported to have been imprisoned in the notorious Buchenwald before being interned in Camp L3, PoW No.8077. Sgt H.L.J. "Herb" Stephen (RCAF) Bailed out, evaded capture. Sgt Keith J. Stevens (RAAF). Bailed out, evaded capture. Sgt J.A. Gains bailed out and evaded capture. Peter now joined a new crew. Day 2nd August 1944. Target Trossy St. Maximin. Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book: An attack on a flying bomb site. Punctual and accurate marking. Crews bombed red T.I.s or visually, an excellent concentration of bombs. No enemy fighters were seen but moderate and accurate heavy flak was experienced over the target. Several aircraft reported minor damage. Excellent visibility. Time of attack 17:01/17:05 hrs. Height 15,000-18,000 ft. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III LM.626 F/O. P. Ainley - Pilot Sgt P. Moore - F/Eng F/O. L. Bradbeer - Nav F/O F. Cole - A/Br. F/O A. Fishburn - W/Op Sgt E.McTrowe - M/U Sgt D. Salisbury - R/G They took off at 14:22 and returned at 18:40 Sortie Completed. Bomb Load was 8 x 1000lb AN.M.59 3 x 1000lb MC 3 x 500ln G.P. Background: From Bomber Command Campaign Diary: 394 aircraft - 234 Lancasters, 99 Halifaxes, 40 Mosquitos, 20 Stirlings, 1 Lightning - attacked 1 flying bomb launch site and 3 supply sites. Visibility was clear at all targets and good bombing results were claimed. Day 5th August 1944. Target Target St. Leu D'Esserent. Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book: The target was the underground storage for flying bombs, which had been attacked by the squadron on two previous occasions. Very few crew saw the yellow T.I.s and the cumulous cloud made visual identification of the target difficult. The leading formation was well to starboard of track for most of the way to target and only made the necessary correction when within 25 miles of the target. This materially increased the difficulty of crew to make a good bombing run. In consequence the bombing headings were chaotic and the bombing itself very scattered. Moderately heavy flak was experienced over the target, several aircraft sustaining flak damage. No enemy fighters were seen. Times of attack 13:32 to 13.35 hours. Height 16,000 ft. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III LM.626 F/O. P. Ainley - Pilot Sgt P. Moore - F/Eng F/O. L. Bradbeer - Nav F/O F. Cole - A/Br. F/O A. Fishburn - W/Op Sgt E.McTrowe - M/U Sgt D. Salisbury - R/G They took off at 10.48 and returned at 15:26 Sortie Completed. Bomb Load was 10 x 1000lb AN.M 4x 500lb G.P. Background: From Bomber Command Campaign Diary: 742 aircraft - 469 Halifaxes, 257 Lancasters, 16 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the Foret de Nieppe and St Leu d'Esserent storage sites. Bombing conditions were good. 1 Halifax lost from the St Leu d'Esserent raid. Night 26th 27th August 1944. Target Target Konigsberg. Text from 57 Squadron Operational Records Book: Weather at the target was clear, visibility good. The normal 5 group technique of illumination was employed, the aiming point to be marked visually and backed up if accurate. Crews were to bomb T.I.'s direct. Illumination was punctual, three markers identifying the target simultaneously, and dropping their markers together. The first was 350 yards North West of the aiming point, the second 100 yards to the north east. The Master Bomber dropped his own markers about 500 yards east of the aiming point and midway between the two previous markers. He then ordered the backers up to back these up, but the first 'backer up' disobeyed these instructions and backed up those which had fallen 1200 yards to the north east, which he believed to be accurate. The Master Bomber was not aware of this misplacement of the concentration and once the bombing started he found assessment difficult due to glare. As the result the concentration of bombing fell to the North East of the aiming point. Aircraft Type and Number Lancaster III LM.232 F/O. A. Russell - Pilot Sgt P. Moore - F/Eng F/O. G. Christensen - Nav. F/O J. Cahir - A/Br F/S T. O'Callaghan - W/Op Sgt A. Watton - M/U Sgt B. Young - R/G They took off at 20:13 and were declared missing as nothing more was heard from them after take-off. Bomb Load was 1 x 2000 HC 11 x J type clusters For most of this crew this was only their 3rd Sortie. It was their first with Peter Moore (For Peter this was his at least 11th). The Pilot (F/O Russell) flew as 2nd pilot with Charlie Southfield's crew on the August 16 raid on Stettin to gain operational experience. Two Luftwaffe pilots (Oblt. Arnold Brinkmann and Fw. Otto Hiller) claim separately to have shot down LM 232 on the night of August 26/7 1944 near the Danish coast. The pilots were from the 8./NGA3 and 12./NGA5 squadrons (NGA = Nachtjagdgeschwader = Night-fighter Wing) and would have been flying Messerschmitt Bf 110s (ME 110) which were twin-engined heavy fighters. From records of Luftwaffe pilots, it appears that Brinkmann was later credited with the hit. The Luftwaffe used a complicated map reference system called Jagdtrapez that divided sectors into smaller and smaller squares. The combat took place in Jagdtrapez 15ON NA 3 which I calculate as being a square centred on Tune Island off the east cost of Denmark and bounded by the coordinates 55deg 55min N, 10deg 20min E (bottom LH corner) and 56deg 0min N, 10deg 30min E (top RH corner). Most of this square is sea, so this could explain why there is no entry for LM 232 on the very comprehensive Danish site that lists all known WWII crash sites. Please type your message:      We recommend you copy the text about this item and keep a copy on your own computer before pressing submit. Your Name:             Email Address:       @ **Please type the first part our your email in the first box (eg. john.smith) the @ sign is added automaticallly, please type the second part in the second box (eg. gmail.com). Do not enter your full email in each box or add an @ sign or random spaces.** Please type in the code shown here:    If you are unable to read the code please click here. 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