Kembs Raid " Return is Secondary "

Frank Tilley – 617 Squadron

Frank was a friend and work colleague of AEG member John Harper.  Grateful thanks are due to John for sending us this obituary which was written by Dr Robert Owen, Official Historian of No. 617 Squadron Association.  Any augmentation is in italics and the photographs have been tracked down from the internet and ‘Beyond the Dams to the Tirpitz‘ by Alan W Cooper.

Frank Tilley was born in Hackney, London, on Boxing Day 1922, the youngest of 8 children.  After education at the Grocer’s Grammar School, Hackney and Hackney Technical College, he joined Dessouter Brothers, in Hendon, manufacturers of artificial limbs.  The work did not exactly fire Frank’s enthusiasm. The call for men to join the forces at the outbreak of war seemed to offer an escape route, but it was not to be. Much to Frank’s dismay he discovered that he was in a “reserved” occupation.  However, he eventually discovered a loophole – the embargo on his recruitment did not extend to RAF aircrew.  So, it was that in early 1943 that Frank presented himself at RAF Cardington as an aspiring aviator.  Deterred by the length of training required to become a pilot, he opted for a trade which admirably suited to his engineering aptitude – that of Flight Engineer.

 

Tallboys’ were in extremely short supply, and needed to be conserved whenever possible.  A daylight operation to attack the sea wall at Walcheren on 3 October saw the squadron positioned at the end of an attack by other aircraft of Bomber Command.  On arrival, the target was seen already to be breached and their bomb was brought home.   Their first opportunity to release this weapon came four days later, during an operation against the Kembs barrage on the River Rhine, near Basle.  The attack was to be made in two parts – an initial high-level force to cause confusion and distract the defences, followed by six aircraft coming in along the river at 600 feet.  Bombing from 7,500’ in the first wave, the crew reported a very near.

Based on his great flying skills he and his crew were invited to join the famous 617 Dambusters Squadron. Martin won his second DFC destroying the Kembs Barrage dam on the Rhine River with 617 Squadron. On that raid Martin’s crew watched in horror as the Lancaster in front exploded in a fireball after being hit by anti-aircraft fire. Pressing on, Martin’s bomb aimer Donald Day dropped a 9980kg Grand Slam or earthquake bomb before Martin nursed his crippled Lancaster back to England.