The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

at the limits of their range, struggled to get back. Three were lost and three
more fell into the sea on their return leg.
The bombers were sent there again on the night of 28/29 August, and
this time some Wellingtons were included. Amongst those on this epic
bombing raid were Andrew Jackson and his crew. ‘Berlin,’ says Andrew,
‘was a hell of a long way.’ At that stage, each bomber was still heading off,
independently from the rest of the squadron or other bombers that were
flying that night. ‘You could go on your own, in your own times,’ says
Andrew. ‘There was no restriction at all – the height you bombed at, for
example, you chose that yourself.’
They were given little guidance about how best to get there because
apart from a few Hampdens, no-one had flown the route yet, and not from
their base or in a Wellington. Andrew and the pilot got together beforehand
and plotted the route. The only major city on the way was Hanover, so they
needed to avoid the flak defences around it, but otherwise they decided to
head pretty much due east.
Because of the distance and because Berlin was at the extreme range of
the Wellington as well as the Hampden, they flew first from Marham to
Norwich, where they refuelled. Andrew always liked to have a last cigarette
and a pee against the tail-wheel before clambering aboard; these rituals had
quickly become an important part of any mission routine. Once aboard and
rolling around the perimeter towards the runway, he felt a tightening in his
stomach, but no intense fear, despite the importance of the mission and the
distance they needed to cover. They took off again at 9.25 p.m., and once
airborne there was much for Andrew to think about – it was his task to get
them there and over their target then safely home again. It was a big
responsibility and he could not afford to switch off for a minute.
To further conserve fuel, they began a very gentle climb over the North
Sea, which that evening was covered with low cloud. Much to their
annoyance, however, they were shot at by anti-aircraft fire from their own
ships below. Fortunately, they were not hit.
During the long flight, they met both searchlights and flak, but over
Berlin they encountered little of either. There was little cloud over the city
and they could see it clearly, lying spread out beneath them. ‘It was quite
something to think you were flying over the capital of Germany,’ says
Andrew. ‘Quite thrilling really.’ They had been given a choice of two
targets, either marshalling yards in the centre of the city or the Siemens