The Death of Red Bow

On 4th April 1945 Liberators of the 2nd Air Division took off from their bases in East Anglia to bomb airfields in Germany. At 0539 that morning aircraft serial number 44-50838 nickname Red Bow was airborne and headed in the direction of the jet airfields near the German town of Parchim. Piloted by Lt. Robert Mains it’s ten-strong crew were like any other, taking one day at a time until they completed their allotted number of missions and could get back home. I wonder what went through their minds that morning? Most likely nothing grandiose, the real eggs they had for breakfast? The hangover from hitting the pubs the night before? An upcoming pass and the opportunity for a few days in London? They would have to hope for an uneventful mission and that seven or eight hours later, god willing, they could return to Seething unscathed.

But these were the days of the German jet fighter, the Me262 that terrorised allied bomber formations as long as the Luftwaffe could find the pilots and the fuel to fly. Armed with 30mm cannons and R4M rockets the Schwalbe could attack at speeds upwards of 500 miles per hour…

Ed Paretti, a gunner on the Torrance crew witnessed the events of April 4th first hand:

We was very, very scared and when the gunnery office said to me you know you’re supposed to start firing at 600 yards. He said “when did you start firing?” “it must have been 3 miles out” I said “I started firing when I assumed he was gonna come towards me and I never let up” he said “Good boy!” that’s all he said. I never let up and as I’m sitting here he came right over and you can see him and he was smoking like hell. Now whether that was smoke from the jet engine I don’t know

Kills claimed by bomb crew gunners could be notoriously difficult to corroborate. At around 20,000 feet in a physically demanding environment and under extreme pressure with several gunners firing at the same targets it was often impossible to be accurate about who hit what.

I don’t remember when I first became aware of this incident and the infamous photo that was taken on that mission but it has gradually taken hold in my imagination and the hope is that it will become an important part of the documentary.

Tagged as:  Me262 · Red Bow