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Auction: 6007 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 382

A 1940 Bomber Command D.F.M. to Hampden Pilot Sergeant G.E. Cowan No. 61 Squadron, for Courage and Determination after Returning from a Raid when his Aircraft was Attacked and Hit by an Me.110; a Crew Member Wounded, his Wireless Unserviceable, and with Zero Visibility he Force-Landed his Damaged Hampden without injury to his Crew; he was Later Killed in Action Whilst taking Part in Operation Abigail Rachel over Mannheim, 1940, He and his Crew were Lost Without Trace Distinguished Flying Medal G.VI.R., 1st ´Ind: Imp:´ type (565574. Sgt. G.E. Cowan. R.A.F.), very fine Estimate £ 1,800-2,200D.F.M. London Gazette 24.12.1940 Sergeant George Edward Cowan No. 61 (R.A.F.) Squadron, The Recommendation dated 1.11.1940 states ´This N.C.O. was Captain of a Hampden bomber which was attacked by a Messerschmitt 110 fighter over the Dutch coast when returning from a raid. During the flight, the Wireless Operator was wounded in the foot. On reaching the English coast, visibility was nil due to low cloud and heavy rain and, as the wireless had been rendered unserviceable in the action, it was impossible to find an aerodrome. As the presence of the wounded man made it out of the question to abandon the aircraft, Sergeant Cowan decided on a forced-landing in conditions of nil visibility. In effecting this, he displayed admirable presence of mind omitting no safety precaution and although the aircraft was damaged, no injury was sustained by the crew. Sergeant Cowan has completed 26 operational flights involving 134 hours flying and has always pressed home his attacks with great determination.´ Sergeant George Edward Cowan, D.F.M., born Newcastle-on-Tyne 1916; educated at Heaton Junior Technical School, Newcastle-on-Tyne; six days after the Recommendation was given for his D.F.M., Cowan took part in the raid over Mannheim for which, ´Bomber Command was authorized by the War Cabinet to carry out a general attack on the centre of a German City in retaliation for the recent heavy bombing of English cities, particularly Coventry and Southampton.´ (The Bomber Command War Diaries refer). Operation Abigail Rachel, as the raid was named, was the largest force sent to a single target at that point in the war. It comprised of 134 aircraft-61 Wellingtons, 35 Whitleys, 29 Hampdens and 9 Blenheims. It was also the first occasion when the R.A.F. were aiming at targets that were not primarily of a military or industrial nature. The raid was not deemed a success but was a forerunner of ´Area Bombing´ or as the Germans termed it ´Terror Bombing´. Two Hampdens and one Blenheim were lost, whilst four more aircraft crashed on the return run, over England. One of the above Hampdens (X3128 QR-) was piloted by Sergeant G.E. Cowan, and he with his crew were lost without trace, and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

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£2,800