3rd "Op" Ranger - 141 Squadron - RAF Predannack - 20th April 1943

"With a few weeks of intensive training, Bob Braham considered his (141) squadron combat ready and volunteered his crews to undertake Ranger operations over the Brest peninsular area seeking rail and road targets to destroy. Accordingly, the squadron flew it's first Ranger sorties on the night of 20th April 1943" 'Fighter Pilots of the RAF' - Chaz Bowyer

Log book April 1943

My Grandfather's Log Book now starts to reveal that his war was starting to seriously hot up. On 20th April 1943 he notes "RANGER PATROL Train pranged East of Landivisiau on BREST PENINSULAR" I will have to explain some of the jargon, but it basically means he shot up a train in France.

A Ranger patrol was a freelance flight over enemy territory by units of any size to either occupy enemy fighters or attack ground targets.  My Grandfather's patrol area was the Brest peninsular in France and it involved flying at low level over the sea to avoid German radar, then climb to 1500ft  over the Brittany coast and search inland for targets.

A "prang" is a slang word for a crash. So he is implying he not only shot at the train, but it also crashed as a result.

Landivisiau in France was quite a large town, with a fairly large goods marshalling yard. My research has shown that it was under fairly regular attack from Beaufighter squadrons in the early part of 1943 as can be seen in this "Wings for Victory" article.

Three Beaufighters from 141 Squadron carried out night Ranger operations on that night.

1. F/Lt D. C. Maltby with Nav/Rad P/O J. E. Watts in Beaufighter 1F X7805 took off from   Predannack at 23.15 hours and patrolled North of Quimper, France
2. F/O C. B. Thornton with Nav/Rad W/O C. Hall in Beaufighter 1F V8332 took off from Predannack at 23.35 but fog forced them to turn back shortly after crossing the French coast.
3. F/O H. C. Kelsey with Nav/Rad Sgt E. M. Smith in Beaufighter 1F X7589 took off from Predannack at 23.30 hours and patrolled Landivisiau, France.

Flight path Predannack to Landivisiau

The Squadron Operations Record gives the following detail;

141 Squadron ORB 20th April 1943. Signed by my Grandfather next to his attack report.

From "100 Bomber Support" - Bowman

During the attack Kelsey flew his Beaufighter so close to the stricken train that the steam, gushing out, enveloped the aircraft as it pulled out of the dive. On the return flight they were attacked by "accurate light flak" near Morlaix, to such an extent they thought they had been hit. A very eventful night!

Undoubtedly people, French people, would have been injured in this attack. Kelsey and Smith landed back at Predannack 01.25 hours. A total flight time of 1 hour 55 minutes.



This "141 Sqn. Ranger Effort" scoreboard, found in a store-cupboard in RAF Quedgley, is embellished with images of trains, trucks and boats that were attacked. These motifs were often painted on the side of the aircraft used in the attack to show off to other crews.

April 1943 was a tragic month for 141 Squadron with their first crew lost during combat, another crew to a tragic accident (please read my blog. 1st Op - Air/Sea Rescue) and two crew members killed by stepping on a minefield. LAC Smith and WAAF ACW Richards were both killed in a minefield at Church Cove. In Bob Braham's book, "Scramble", he makes much of the weather whilst stationed at Predannack, and how much the crews enjoyed exploring the coves and inlets of Cornwall in their free time. Sadly this turned out to be a dangerous pastime for one couple.

Bristol Beaufighter 1F

At the end of the month 141 Squadron transferred to RAF Wittering to begin work with a new secret "black box" for tracking and destroying enemy aircraft at night.

Alongside the dramatic but small events of my Grandfather's War, the rest of the conflict was also gathering pace. The allied forces were still fighting in North Africa with the British 8th Army finally taking "Longstop Hill" a key objective on the road to Tunis. The RAF sent 462 bombers to raid Stuttgart, with most of the bombs missing the target and falling North of the city. A large scale breakout of allied POWs from Davao Penal Colony on Mindanao Island in the Philippines alerted the World for the first time to Japanese atrocities including the Bataan Death March. The Nazis announce they have found the site of a massacre of Polish troops by the Russians in Katyn, near Smolensk. A macabre attempt at subterfuge was undertaken with 'Operation Mincemeat', where a dead body was used to try and distract the Germans from the imminent attack on Sicily by the allies. But perhaps the most portentous event was the conference held between 15th and 24th April to discuss the 'Manhattan Project'. Robert Oppenheimer, Hans Bethe, Albert Einstein and others met to update and discuss the outcomes of different areas of research regarding the power of atomic energy. The ultimate aim of this meeting was to design a 'gadget' that could be used as an atomic weapon.