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  The last flight of Lancaster ED559

WW2 Bomber Command Minefield Code Names

9/6/2016

2 Comments

 
Between 1942 and the end of the war in 1945, Bomber Command was tasked with the mining many areas around the coast of Europe - from Norway, to the Baltic Sea coast and all along the Atlantic coast.

ED559's target was the Bordeaux Estuary known as Deodars. Below is a list of the code names for other areas. The term ' Gardening Operation' was used for the 'sowing' of the sea mines but as can be seen below not every location has a theme based on trees and plants. A number were based on fish, there's one called 'Bottle' and the Channel Islands were 'Hostile Air' and 'Hostile Ozone'...

  1. Oslo Harbour – Onions
  2. Oslo fjord approaches Frederikstad) – Tomatoes
  3. Kattegat channel – Silverthorne (seven areas A to G)
  4. Kattegat (Frederikshavn) – Undergrowth
  5. Kattegat (Læsø channel) – Yew Tree
  6. Lim fjord (Aalborg to Hals) – Krauts
  7. Copenhagen Sound (North) – Nasturtiums
  8. Great Belt (North) – Pumpkins
  9. Copenhagen approaches – Verbena
  10. Little Belt – Carrots
  11. Copenhagen Sound (South) – Daffodil (A to D)
  12. Great Belt (Middle) – Broccoli
  13. Great Belt (South) – Asparagus
  14. Little Belt – Endives
  15. Kiel Bay – Quinces
  16. Kiel canal (Eckernförde) – Melon
  17. Kiel canal – Lettuce
  18. Kiel harbour – Wallflowers
  19. Kiel harbour – Forget-me-not
  20. Travemünde – Hollyhock
  21. Fehmarn Belt – Radishes
  22. Rostock & Arcone Light (Baltic Sea) -Sweet Peas
  23. Warnemünde – Jasmine
  24. Sassnitz (Arcone to Dziwna River) – Willow
  25. Bornholm – Pollock
  26. Swinemünde – Geranium
  27. Gdynia – Spinach
  28. Pillau – Tangerine
  29. Danzig - Privet
  30. Haugesund (Norway) – Bottle
  31. Esbjerg approaches – Hawthorns (A to C)
  32. Heligoland Bight – Rosemary (A to D)
  33. Heligoland approaches – Eglantine
  34. Rivers Jade and Weser Estuaries – Yams
    32A Spiekeroog – Young Yams
  35. Friesian Islands – Nectarines (A to D)
  36. River Ems (east) – Xeranthemum
  37. River Ems (west) – Zinnias
  38. Terschelling – Mussels
  39. Skaggerak to Kattegat – Polyanthus
  40. Den Helder and Texel (north) – Limpets
  41. Texel (south) – Trefoils
  42. Ijmuiden / Zuider Zee – Whelks
  43. Rotterdam and Hook of Holland – Oysters
  44. Maas and Scheldt Estuaries – Newt
  45. Mass and Scheldt – Flounder
  46. Antwerp – Juniper
  47. Zeebrugge – Barnacle
  48. Ostend – Turbot
  49. Dunkirk – Cypress
  50. Calais – Prawns
  51. Boulogne – Dewberry
  52. Dieppe – Vine Leaves
  53. Rouen – Scallops
  54. Le Havre – Anemones
  55. Cherbourg – Greengage
  56. Channel Islands
    Guernsey – Hostile Air
    Alderney – Hostile Ozone
  57. Saint-Malo – Hyacinth
  58. Morlaix – Upas Tree
  59. Ushant Island – Sultana
  60. Brest – Jellyfish
  61. Lorient – Artichokes
  62. Quiberon Bay – Gorse
  63. Saint-Nazaire – Beech
  64. La Rochelle – Cinnamon (A and B)
  65. Bordeaux – Deodar
  66. Bayonne – Elderberry
  67. Saint-Jean-de-Luz – Furze
2 Comments

Photographs of 100 Squadron's Lancaster ED549 JA-S

1/6/2016

0 Comments

 
I recently came across clear photos of ED549 - a sister Lancaster to ED559 - and lost on the same first raid that 100 Squadron undertook on March 4/5 1943. You can make out the serial number but the aircraft has not yet had the JA-S painted on to the fuselage. ED549 crashed while attempting to land at Langar airfield due to poor weather at RAF Grimsby. Only the mid-upper gunner survived the crash.

Photo from IWM archive
Picture
Photo from IWM archive
Picture
Photo from IWM archive
Picture
I wonder if either of the two Lancasters in the background happen to be ED559... we'll probably never know.
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  • About ED559
  • The Crew
  • Building ED559
  • RAF Grimsby (Waltham)
  • 100 Squadron
  • The Target
  • The Lost
  • Remembering ED559
  • Research about ED559
    • Caterpillar Club
    • Lancaster loss card
    • Crew memorials
    • F/Lt Richard A Curle RAFVR Record of Service
    • Harry Riding's Flying Log Book - 1942/43
    • Letter from Wing Commander J.G. Swain
    • Night Bomber Report
    • German defences in the Gironde
    • RAF Gardening Operations during the Second World War
    • Pilot Officer Robert Herbert Chapman
  • About me
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Site Map