Strana 15
lights. The strikes were recorded at the port
pool and port facilities north of the target.
In the still unfinished premises of the
distribution company Magyar Olajművek Rt.
five cubic meters of roofing materials were
damaged by the attack and the main building
was hit.
For example, Weiss Manfréd Works, located
south of the port, received 67 hits. In addition
to the Shell refinery and the distribution
company Magyar Olajművek Rt. Vacuum Oil
Company, The Steaua Hungarian Petroleum Co.,
Shell and Hungarian-Belgian Mineral Oil Co.
also had storage facilities for rent. During the
raid, the adjacent District IX (Ferencváros) and
the Fanto refinery on Soroksári Street and the
Hungarian Petroleum Industry on Kén Street
were not significantly affected.
Leaflets were also dropped over the target
area.
There was a slight, not very precise flak
of various calibers in the target area. Three
unidentified twin-engine enemy aircraft were
spotted. There were air battles with enemy
night fighters. Onboard gunners 231st Wing
claimed one probable victory. The British lost
six Wellingtons in this raid - three of the 231st
Wing and three of the 330th Wing, and one
Halifax of the 614th Squadron.
Fourteen Wellingtons (LP257, LP255, LN750,
LN810, ME875 „X“, MF121, LN790 „C“, LP182,
MF116, LN958 „A“, MF130, LP502 „H“, ME989 and
MF241 „B“) were prepared with crews of 37th
Squadron for action against the Shell refinery
in Budapest. Twelve of them got over the target,
where their crews dropped 18.5 tons of bombs
a minute to five minutes after midnight from
a height of 9,000 - 11,500 feet. The impact of
the bombs was observed in the northern part
of Csepel Island and in the area of the Manfred
Weiss Works factory.
After the action, the 37th Squadron was
missing two machines. The crew of P/O pilot
Bruce Eassie (RAAF) took off at 21:01 from the
airport. For no reason, their Vickers Wellington
Mk.X LN958 „A“ crashed near Gárdony, near
Lake Velence. However, the crew jumped on
parachutes and together with the pilot were
captured Sgt. J. Pettit, Sgt. R.L. Scott, Sgt. G.G.P.
Hine, Sgt. R. Lowing and F/Sgt J.J. McClurg.
After the initial internment in the Budapest
prison, some airmen traveled, probably non-
commissioned officers, including R.L. Scott on
July 10 to the Stalag Luft IV camp in Tychow and
at the end of the war they moved to Stalag Luft
XI.B located near Hanover. Pilot Bruce Eassie
spent captivity from Aug. 6. at the Stalag Luft
III camp in Sagan and at the end of the war he
also moved to Tarnstedt.
The second lost squadron machine was the
Wellington Mk.X ME875 „X“. The entire crew
fell victim to a night fighter, probably Oblt.
Knieling over the Hungarian city of Fürged.
Pilot W/O Richard Brandon Mander (RNZAF),
navigator Sgt. Laurence Forrester Grindle,
radio operator Sgt. William George Amey,
bombaimer F/Sgt. Edward Jones and gunner
F/Sgt. Leonard Robert Jones. They are all
buried in the military cemetery in Budapest.
Another victim of the same German fighter
was probably the crew from the 70th Squadron,
commanded by pilot W/O Kevin James Hiskins
(RAAF). After a night fighter attack, their
burning Wellington LP228 „W“ landed in
Erdösháza-puszta, near Martonvásár in
Hungary. Together with the pilot died also
bombaimer F/Sgt Sidney Raymond Lewis,
navigator F/Sgt Roy David McAlister Howden
(RAAF), W.Op / Air.G. W/O George Alexander
Williams and gunner F/Sgt. Finlay Ewart
Munro Crawford (RAAF). Hiskins is buried in
grave II.A.6., other airmen in common grave
II.A. places 7-10.
HISTORY
Oblt. Wolfgang Knieling. They award him 5 to 7 victories.
He died on the night of August 7-8, 1944, when he was
hit by the Wellington defensive fire near Graz. During
his military career, he flew with II./NJG 1, III./NJG 3,
4./NJG 5, Stab II./NJG 5 and Stab III./NJG 6.
Pilot Bruce Eassie in a photo from enlisting
in the military. (via RAAF archive)
W/O Richard B. Mander (RNZAF), pilot of the 37th Squadron, captain of the Wellington Mk.X ME875 „X“, who died with his
crew on June 26, 1944 near the city of Fürged and next to him a photograph of his tombstone in the cemetery in Budapest.
INFO Eduard
15
October 2024