Date of birth:

September 7th, 1919

Date of death:

July 5th, 1944 (above Villeneuve-St-Georges, Frankrijk)

Buried on:

Commonwealth War Graves Clichy
Plot: 16. Row: 13. Grave: 16.

Nationality:

British

Alec Panton Cranswick was born September 7th, 1919. He was the son of a professional soldier. His father was an RAF officer and was killed in a planecrash when Alec was just eight years old. He showed an early interest in aviation. He received his basic education at St. Edward's School in Oxford. When he was ready to enroll as a student, he decided to end further schooling and joined the Metropolitan Police. Soon however, he deemed himself unfit for a long career in the police force. July 24th, 1939, as the dark clouds of Nazi-Germany gathered over Europe, he decided to join the RAF for pilot training and was appointed Temp. Acting Pilot Officer on September 18th, 1939. June 1940, he joined 214 Sqn, based at Stradishall, Suffolk flying Vickers Wellington bombers.
April 7th, 1940, he was promoted to Temp. Pilot Officer and flew his first operational mission on June 18th, 1940, as copilot with the commander of A Flight, Squadron Leader W.P.J. Thomson. Their objective was to bomb factories near Leverkussen north of Cologne.
July 24th, 1940, after having completed seven missions, he was promoted to Pilot Officer and given command of his own aircraft.

After having completed 29 missions, he requested a voluntary transfer to the Middle East for him and his crew and they ended up in Malta in December 1940. Once there, he awaited orders to continue on to Egypt but he was ordered to remain in Malta and was posted to 148 Sqn. He flew missions against targets in Italy and North Africa which were relatively soft until the Germans arrived in Sicily. Opposition from fighters and Flak grew progressively heavier. At the end of March 1941, Cranswick had completed 46 operational sorties, flown from Malta and Kabrit in the area around the Suez Canal in Egypt where his squadron had taken up residence in March 1941. April 7th, 1941, Cranswick was promoted to Flying Officer and transferred to Takoradi in West Africa where he served four to six months on an airlift operation to North Africa.

Mid October 1941, he returned to his former unit, 148 Sqn. still flying Wellingtons from Kabrit. He flew three long range missions on the famous Benghazi Mail Run but took part in other operations in support of the British Eighth Army as well. At the end of the year he was repatriated to England. April 7th, 1942, he was not only promoted to Flight Lieutenant but was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for having flown 61 missions.

Early December 1942, when Cranswick was declared fit again for operational duties, he was posted to 1659 Conversion Unit at Leeming for retraining on the Handley Page Halifax heavy bomber. After three weeks, Cranswick and his crew were posted to 419 Sqn. RCAF where he flew only five missions.

January 1943, Cranswick and his crew were selected for Pathfinder Operations and posted to 35 Sqn at Gravely, flying Halifaxes. An important task for the Pathfinder Force was to mark the targets for the main assaultwave. As the raids on Germany grew steadily in range and bombloads, Cranswick and his crew gained valauable experience in their specialised task. July 27th, 1943, saw Cranswick being awarded the Distinguished Service Order and named commander of B Flight, 35 Sqn. Cranswick did not relish his latest promotion at all, he hated flying a desk. The only thing he craved was to be in command of a bomber. October 20th, 1943, after having completed 30 PFF sorties out of a total of 96, Cranswick, much to his dislike, was withdrawn from operational duties for at least six months. He was transferred to 8 Group (PFF) Headquarters in Huntingdon where he met his future wife, Val Parr. The young couple got married April 14th, 1944.
Around that time, his numerous requests to return to active duty began producing results. April 7th, 1944, Cranswick returned to his role with his former unit, 35 Sqn. He did not however, succeed in re-uniting his old crewmates who had also been given non-operational duties. Only his former rear gunner, Ivor Howard accepted. Ultimately, he returned to Gravely with his new crew to get acquainted with 35 Sqn's new bomber, the Avro Lancaster

In the night of July 4th, 1944, Squadron Leader Cranswick, who had by then completed 100 sorties, flew to his next target without his rear gunner, Ivor Howard who had fallen ill and had been replaced. Their mission was to bomb the railway junction near Villeneuve-St. George on the outskirts southeast of Paris. The junction had been bombed before but German troops on their way to the invasion area were still passing through. As the Lancasters closed in on their target, an unexpectedly thick cloud cover forced them down from 12.000 feet to 5.000. After Cranswick had been warned of this and had descended quickly, they made an almost straight run-in to drop their markers. After the flares marking the target had been dropped, Cranswick received directions from his navigator Reg Kille for a course home. Seconds later, the Lancaster was hit in the open rear bomb bay by shells from a Ju 88 night-fighter from No 6 Staffel in No 2 Nachtjagdgeschwader. The aircraft caught fire and exploded, breaking its fuselage in half and hurtling Wireless Operator Wilf Horner into the air. He was to be the only survivor. Afterwards, the wreckage of Lancaster ND 846 was found in the French commune of Villecresnes, some 5 miles from Villeneuve-St. George. The remains of the crew were taken to the town hall and buried by the Germans the next day with full military honours. After the war, Alec Cranswick and his crew were reburied at the Nouvelle Cimétière Communale de Clichy.

Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Flying Officer

Unit:

No. 148 Squadron, Royal Air Force

Awarded on:

April 7th, 1942

Citation:
"This officer has carried out 61 sorties over Germany and enemy occupied territory, against Italian targets and in the Mediterranean. Throughout he has proved himself a most capable captain, whose determination to complete his task, often under difficult conditions, has been exceptional.
He has excelled in the training of new crews in whom he has instilled the greatest confidence."

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Flight Lieutenant

Unit:

No. 35 (Madras Presidency) Squadron, Royal Air Force

Awarded on:

July 23rd, 1943

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

• Photo 1: Alex Cranswick
• Photo: Cranswick family
• - BOWYER, C., Bomber Barons, Pen & Sword Books Limited, Barnsley, England, 2001.
  - CUMMING, M., Pathfinder Cranswick, Exposure Publishing, 2006.
  - Cumming, M., Pathfinder Cranswick, 50th Anniversary Edition, Extended and updated with new material and previously unpublished photographs, Fighting High Limited, Hitchin, England, 2012
  - BBC WW2 People’s War
  - Lachlan Cranswick's Personal Homepage
  - Flight Global - Archive
  

Helaas geen map gevonden.