The view from navigator, 033157 Flying Officer (later Flight Lieutenant) Forbes Macintyre's ...

Accession Number P05831.016
Collection type Photograph
Object type Black & white - Film original negative 3x4" safety base
Maker Macintyre, Forbes
Place made Atlantic Ocean: North Sea
Date made 25 August 1944
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Copyright

Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain

Public Domain Mark This item is in the Public Domain

Description

The view from navigator, 033157 Flying Officer (later Flight Lieutenant) Forbes Macintyre's cupola as a swarm of Beaufighters attack German shipping in the North Sea, off the Freisian Islands near Borkum. The operation was a combined Langham Wing and North Coates Wing strike that included 14 Beaufighters from 455 Squadron, RAAF. The afternoon haze and fog made conditions difficult for the air crews, however the German minesweeper M347 was sunk. The strike was led by 403403 Squadron Leader Jack Napier Davenport (later Air Commodore, DSO, DFC and bar, GM) and was escorted by Mustang fighters. Often mistaken for a bomb, a barrage balloon (visible left) is being trailed from the German escort vessel that is under attack.