23 Jul 2003

Chaff at sixty – Chemring celebrates a great British invention that is still protecting lives and aircraft

Chemring Group PLC is holding two receptions tomorrow to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first operational use of chaff, the radar deception material code-named 'Window' in WWII.

Chaff continues to be used by combat aircraft to defeat radar controlled gun and missile systems - not dissimilar to its role in WWII, when it was deployed to defeat principally the Würzburg radars controlling German Anti-Aircraft Artillery and searchlights.

Veterans of the first mission will be among those attending the celebrations. The guests of honour will be some twenty veterans of 'Operation Gomarrah', the first raid on Hamburg on the night of 24th/25th July 1943. These aircrew veterans - in their late 70s and early 80s - were part of a 791-aircraft RAF Bomber Command mission, comprising 347 Lancasters, 246 Halifaxes, 125 Stirlings and 73 Wellingtons.

The lunch-time reception at Chemring's Portsmouth chaff manufacturing plant will be followed by a larger evening reception at the RAF Club in London. This will be attended by the RAF aircrew veterans together with current serving and senior members of the RAF, and other guests associated with the countermeasures business.

It is likely that these will be the last gatherings of this band of veterans. They all have interesting stories to tell. (Attached is a list of these gentlemen together with a brief description of some of their activities.)

For most of the world's military organisations, chaff continues to be a key means of defence for combat aircraft and helicopters against anti aircraft gun & missile threat systems, and is increasingly being used by transport aircraft being drawn into peace-keeping operations. It was used extensively in the recent conflict in Iraq, and is in daily use in the Middle East and elsewhere. New materials, packaging methods and dispensing techniques have been developed over the years since 1943, but the core application remains virtually unchanged. Chemring is the world's foremost producer of expendable decoys, both IR and RF, to protect aircraft from missile attack.

Attached is a PDF copy of a commemorative brochure produced by Chemring to mark the anniversary.

For further information:

Jonathan Rooper
CardrewChancery
0207 930 0777

Vic Pheasant MBE
Chemring Group PLC
07802 635110

NOTES on 60TH ANNIVERSARY of WINDOW RECEPTION VETERAN ATTENDEES

Ken Lewis
Flew Stirlings out of Mepal with 75 Sqn. Half way through tour selected for Special Operator duties ('Do you speak German?', 'I did it at school', 'You will do'). He joined 101 Sqn flying Lancasters operating the comms jammer 'Airborne Cigar'. A few weeks later his previous Lancaster crew were all lost over Manheim.

A Briggs
Flew as all four Hamburg raids (24th, 27th, 29th, July & 2 August 1943 – volunteered for the last operation) as WOP/AG in a Halifax (DK240) of 76 Sqn. (Lt Hoverstad – pilot). On 21st operation to Berlin with 35 Sqn, 3rd Dec 1943, shot down & bailed out. On the run for a couple of days with his nav, who had a bad knee, gave them selves up. Remainder of war as POW. When he bailed out, the whole of the countryside was covered in Window.

Bob Knights DSO DFC
Flew as pilot on Lancasters with 619 Sqn out of Woodhall Spa on all four Hamburg raids. Then transferred to 617 Sqn amassing a total of 70 ops.

Frank Diamond DFC
Flew Stirlings on 15 Sqn as navigator out of Mildenhall – 20 ops, then flew Mosquitoes with No 8 Group 'Pathfinders' – 50 ops, then 271 Sqn on Dakotas. Later seconded to civil flying with BOAC.

Doug Purdy
Flew as Flt Eng first on Stirlings with 15 Sqn, then on Lancasters with 7 Sqn & flew on all four Hamburg raids. 45 ops in all.

James H Berry DFC
Pilot on Lancasters with 100 Sqn out of Waltham, Nr Grimsby. Flew 3 of the Operation Gomorrah raids (1, 3&4)

Tom Thackray
Flt Eng on Halifaxes with 10 Sqn/4 Group. Flew on the 1st & 4th raids (pilot on commissioning leave on 2nd & 3rd). Expecting another raid suffering high losses, but surprised at how few they were. The 4th raid was a nightmare due to the violent weather – thunderstorm, heavy icing, much cloud. While going in & out of cloud saw a ME109 pass over the top of them without it seeing them – lucky escape. The WOP/AG did the Window dropping on Halifaxes.

F Eaglestone
Flew with Sgt Plum as WOP/AG on 115 Sqn out of Mildenhall then East Wrentham; tour interrupted by three weeks in hospital following bale out in December 1942. Completed Plum's tour then joined 1st Lt J Andrews (US) crew, replacing his Canadian WOP/AG who transferred to the RCAF. Not such a hot crew. The first Hamburg raid on 24th July was the Flt Eng's first, who was detailed to drop Window at 1 bundle/minute. On going aft to the Window chute, the Flt Eng could not find his oxygen connection & switched on the lights; they were quickly extinguished but not before they were spotted &eived some – a bit hairy, & a steep bit of learning for the Flt Eng. However, the Window tube was not good, much Window in the aircraft on return. Fixed for future trips when the WOP/AG did the Window. His last operation was the last Hamburg raid on 2 Aug.

Denys Teare
Flew on all fours Hamburg raids as Bomb Aimer on Lancasters with 103 Sqn out of Elsham Wolds with F Sgt Cant's crew. Rational for Hamburg raids (heaviest so far in the war) given at briefing: [Hamburg…first to display desire to surrender in 1981; …last to accept Hitler's regime; …survivors/refugees from Hamburg would disperse throughout Germany in vast numbers causing unrest;…war over in a few weeks.' Shared Window dropping with Flt Eng using stop watch (Flt Eng pseudo injured – bullet caused bruising to buttocks, amusing afterwards but not at time.)

Baled out over Luxemburg on Manheim raid - 5th/6th September 1943, three crewman got to Switzerland & were interned, two crewman made it back to the UK crossing the Channel in a fishing boat, & one – Denys Teare, joined the French Resistance for a year under a false identity. ('Evader' – Crecy Publications.)

Ivan Ure
Flew on all four Hamburg raids as WOP/AG on Halifaxes with 10Sqn/4 Group. Shot down on night 10th/11th August over Nuremburg, ditched in the Channel (non-swimmer) 35mls from the English coast, drifted for 16 hrs – unfortunately the wrong way, captured & POW for remainder of war.

Harry G McClean
First flew Wellingtons, then Halifaxes as Bomb Aimer with 427 Sqn. Flew with the squadron on all four Operation Gomorrah raids on Hamburg, although the operation on the last raid was abandon due to atrocious weather. Tour not completed being shot down over Munich in September 1943. ('Pompey Lad', born in Stamshaw, family members in the Portsmouth area.)

Stan Collins
Flew as BA on Wellingtons with 466 Sqn out of Leckinfield on all four Hamburg raids. Then on 102 Sqn. Completed 27 ops.

Jack Pragnell
Flew as Observer/Nav on Halifaxes with 102 sqn out of Pocklington. On the first Hamburg raid, due to the effects of Window the flak was not directed up but 'hose-piped' Completed operational tour in August on the Berlin raid. (Twin brother was on the same raid but he was shot down & is buried in Holland.)

Jack Wingate
Flew as Rear Gunner on Halifaxes with 10Sqn/4 Group out of Melbourne, Yorks, on all four Hamburg raids with the Essen raid in between – 'ops tally up by 5 in 9 nights'! (not with regular crew on the first two Hamburg ops & Essen but, returning to ops after injury, as 'odd-bod' with other crews). Sitting in his 'lonely seat at the back', was able to see 'the devastation …..wrought on the city…….saw the glow in the sky almost back to the coast on return journey'. 'No regrets…only the need for it' – visiting Aunt in London, 1941, before joining RAF '…in the air raid shelter…..bombs raining down', Aunt said “When you get over there give them one for me” - 'achieved that' on Hamburg raids.

Alan Gamble
Flew as WOP/AG on Stirlings with 620 Sqn out of Chedburgh. On crew of F C Mcdonald, flew on all four Hamburg raids, and were the only crew to complete a tour of operations on the squadron. Then flew with XV Squadron on Lancasters out of Mildenhall & was shot down on 7th February 1943 near Krefeld. All crew baled out to be POWs for the remainder of the war.

Jack Elliott
Flew Stirlings with 620 Sqn out of Chedburgh

Ken Hoult
Flew Stirlings with 214 Sqn out of Chedburgh

Jack Dixon DFC
Flew Stirlings as Pilot with 214 Sqn out of Chedburgh. DFC awarded for successfully evading night-fighter attack over Nurenburg, then recovering his very badly damaged aircraft back to the UK.

Bob Leadbeater
Flew Stirlings with 214 Sqn out of Chedburgh

Ken Chapman
Flew Stirlings with 214 Sqn out of Chedburgh

Morris Cooper
Flew Stirlings with 214 Sqn out of Chedburgh

Download the brochure of the Sixtieth Anniversary of Window (PDF:690 KB - opens in a new browser window)