Ian McLachlan - Night of the Intruders

Detail from a map found in the buried wreckage of a 448BG Liberator shot down during the Night of the Intruders.

IN 1968, THE discovery of maps in the wreckage of a World War II bomber, long buried beneath East Anglian marshland, proved to be the starting point for this book. The navigator, whose pencilled lines led to Seething, never did reach his destination. Neither did a tragic number of other USAAF pilots and crews that night.

Mission 311, on 22 April 1944, went badly wrong. With invasion of Europe threatened, the Allies launched an audacious assault on Germanys largest marshalling yard, at Hamm, nerve-centre of the Reichs railway system. Any raid would face fierce opposition from enemy fighters and flak. But this one was even more dangerous. Because of adverse weather reports, the American airmen, usually deployed as daytime bombers, did not depart for Hamm until late afternoon. The 824 B-17s and B-24s with more than 8,000 aircrew had to contend with the additional hazards of darkness. Nearly 1,000 American and British fighters accompanied the bombers, but they could do little to alleviate risks such as disorientation, mid-air collisions, getting lost, or being savaged by night fighters.

The fighting over Europe was ferocious. Then, as the survivors limped home, Luftwaffe intruders mingled with them, under cover of darkness. The battle-worn Americans were attacked by the enemy as they sought the sanctuary of their own airfields and in the resulting carnage and confusion, Allied coastal and airfield defences were firing on friend and foe alike. Agonized, local inhabitants could only look on as aircraft, consumed in flames, seared across the night sky to destruction on farmland and marshes. Others, too low for baling out and too damaged to climb, struggled to land before fire severed vital controls or detonated ruptured fuel tanks.

That night the Americans suffered their highest ever losses to German intruders. I hope that this book, which tells the full story for the first time, will serve as a memorial to the men who died, and a tribute to the courage of all those involved.

Ian McLachlan
Suffolk, 2010

I INTENDED THIS book to be my first, but changing circumstances saw Final Flights and Eighth Air Force Bomber Stories appear, hopefully providing a platform of credibility before the challenge of Mission 311. While not a constant activity, my research started nearly 30 years ago and has threaded through my life ever since. I would like to thank Jenny and Julie for the contributions they made, and admire my partner Susan Rose, for not only typing this lengthy manuscript, but taking on an author still smitten with the writing bug.

Throughout the years of preparation, one feature clearly emerged the courage of that special generation now in the twilight of their lives. Ordinary people, they faced the horrors of war and surmounted them to win a peace for us all. Mission 311 was a small part of that conflict, but exacted a heavy toll. It is important that the generations inheriting that peace will value and protect it, in a world where tyranny still exists. To those who played a part in resisting the Nazis during World War II, I offer my respect and admiration. Specifically, I would like to thank the following veterans, East Anglians, fellow enthusiasts, organizations, friends and family:

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