F/Lt. Joe Bourke

Hello. I am interested in information that may be related to my father's service in WWII. He was a Canadian from North Bay, ON. and inlisted in early 1942. He became a heavy bomber pilot initially seeing action With RAF Sqn 620 on Stirlings then later was assigned to RAF Sqn 514 on Lancaster II's. He was shot down Jan 21/22 on route to Magdeburg Germany. Two of the crew were lost, he was captured and spent the remainder of the war in Stalag Luft III.
In memory of my father I do volunteer on a restoration crew of a Lancaster Mk X in Toronto,ON. Canada.
Inviting Comments.

 

21-22 January 1944.

514 Squadron
Lancaster II LL672 A2-C2
Op: Magdeburg

Crew.
F/L. J J. Bourke RCAF pow
Sgt. P. McQueeney +
Sgt. S G. Cuttler pow
F/O. J E S. Clare RCAF pow
Sgt. R L. Smith pow
Sgt. J. Brewer pow
Sgt. A. Williston +

Took off 2001 hrs Waterbeach. Outbound believed hit by flak at 21,000 feet over Perleberg. The two airmen who died lie in Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery.

BCL's Vol.5 - W R. Chorley.

 

The Magdeburg raid 21-22 January 1944.

684 aircraft -421 Lancaster’s, 224 Halifax’s, 3 Mosquitoes – on the first major raid to this target. The German controller followed the progress of the bomber stream across the North Sea and many night-fighters were in the stream before it crossed the German coast. The controller was very slow to identify Magdeburg as the target but this did not matter too much because most of the night-fighters were able to stay in the bomber stream, a good example of the way the Tame Boar tactics were developing. 57 aircraft – 35 Halifax’s, 22 Lancaster’s were lost it is possible that three quarters of the losses were caused by German night-fighters.

The heavy bomber casualties were not rewarded with a successful attack. Some of the Main Force aircraft now had H2S and winds which were stronger that forecast brought some of these into the target area before the Pathfinder’s Zero Hour. The Pathfinder’s blamed the fires started by early bombing, together with some very effective German decoy markers, for their failure to concentrate the marking. No details are available from Magdeburg but it is believed that most of the bombing fell outside the city. An RAF man who was in hospital at Magdeburg at the time reports only, ‘bangs far away’



Bomber Command War Diaries. - Middlebrook. Everitt

 

good to have you here. This is going to be a real 514 Squadron lair! The more the merrier, so welcome.

 

Liberator
Thank you so much for your response. You obviously have some great research information available. My appreciation.

 

Hello LancRestorer, welcome on this great website.