Page 4 - Albert Delieu

Albert William (Bert) Delieu was born 7 November 1920 and died in action on 23 February
th
rd
1945, aged 24.
He was a Flying Officer (Air Bombardier) with 150 Squadron, stationed at RAF Hemswell in
Lincolnshire, a Main Force squadron of No. 1 Group.

Albert and his crew took part on the evening of the 23 February 1945 in a Main Force raid on the
rd
Saxony town of Pforzheim in Germany, the Squadron supplying 16 Lancasters for this raid. Main
Force consisted of 367 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos of No. 1, 6 and 8 Groups with a Film Unit
Lancaster carried out the first, and only, filming of an area-bombing raid of the war.
10 Lancasters were lost and 2 more crashed in France. The marking and bombing, from only
8,000 feet, were particularly accurate and damage of a most severe nature was inflicted on
Pforzheim. 1,825 tons of bombs were it dropped in 22 minutes. The post war British Bombing
Survey Unit estimated that 83 per cent of the town's built-up area was destroyed, probably the
greatest proportion in one raid during the war. Albert’s Lancaster, Mk 1 PD 780 T-Tare was one of
the 10 shot down and crashed in the vicinity of Neuhausen, to the south of Pforzheim.

It is believed that the German night fighter pilot who shot down Albert’s Lancaster was either Major
Gerhard “Gerd” Friedrich of NJG 6 (Nachtjagdgeschwader) (Night Fighter Wing),( Friedrich shot
down four Lancasters that night), or Oberletnant Wilhelm Engel of NJG 6, both based at
Sachsenheim airfield 17 miles North East of Pforzheim.
The German night fighter this unit was equipped with was the Junkers JU 88 armed with upward
firing (Scräge Musik) 20mm cannon that allowed the fighter to destroy, in this case Albert’s
Lancaster from below. The night fighter being able to fly under the Lancaster undetected by the
Lancasters rear and mid upper gunners and fire the 20mm cannon into the port wing No.1 and
No.2 fuel tanks and both port engines of the Lancaster.

The crew of T-Tare

Flying Officer Gerry Ythier aged 22 years of Rose Hill, Mauritius - Pilot, killed
Flying Officer A. W. Delieu - Air Bombardier, killed
Sergeant J. A. Clark - Flight Engineer, POW
Flight Sergeant Leo B. Horrox - Navigator, POW
Flight Sergeant Ron S. Lewis - Wireless Operator, killed
Sergeant Robert H. Conning - Mid Upper Gunner, killed
Sergeant W. E. Buckley - Rear Gunner, POW

On repatriation Sergeant Clark was admitted to the RAF Hospital Wroughton near Swindon,
Wiltshire for treatment.
Albert bailed out of the stricken Lancaster and landed safely but was attacked by local villagers
and was last seen defending himself from the civilians near a hedge row. Sergeant Clark who saw
the assault on Albert was saved from a similar fate by German soldiers. At this time of the war the
German propaganda machine was labeling Allied airmen as Terror flieges (Terror airmen) and
turning a blind eye to captured airmen either being beaten up or murdered. Post war the Allied
authorities attempted to investigate these atrocities and in some cases brought the offenders to
justice where, if found guilty of murdering Allied airmen they would expect the death penalty.
Albert’s killers were never found by the War Crimes Group and his file was closed in 1948. What is
known is that those villagers interviewed were agitated and nervous, as well they would be after
what they did.