Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

At 8:05pm, a 250kg bomb hit BBC Broadcasting House in London but didn’t explode. It’s unclear if it was a delayed action device, but in any case it detonated at 9:02pm during an attempt to move it, the noise being audible on that evening’s news bulletin. Seven people were killed.
📷 bbc.co.uk
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Curved frontage of a multi-storey building on a city street. A large section of the wall has been blown out, causing damage to two floors and leaving rubble on the pavement below. Passers by are examining the scene.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

Damage to Stationers’ Hall caused by an incendiary bomb on 15th October. The Hall Keeper, J A Price (who is in this photo) ran up to the roof and extinguished several more bombs, saving the building.
📷 stationers.org
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A grand room with ornate decorative details and a large glass chandelier. The corner shows extensive fire damage, where wood panels have burned away to expose the next room and a brick chimney breast. A suited man is examining the scene.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

To make matters worse, a culvert supplying water to many areas of London was breached, requiring extensive repairs. Over 400 people were killed and 800 wounded in London overnight.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

There were multiple reports of incidents involving heavy casualties and people trapped in the rubble. Areas particularly affected included Waterloo, Marylebone, Lambeth, Pimlico and Southwark. Hundreds of homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

A full moon that night produced ideal conditions for Luftwaffe bomber crews, who took full advantage over London. There was also an attack on Birmingham. Numerous fires were started by incendiary bombs in the first wave, followed by extensive use of high explosive bombs and parachute mines.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

F/Sgt Eric Williams of 46 Squadron was shot down in combat over the Thames Estuary. His Hurricane embedded itself deep in a wharf at Gravesend and couldn’t be recovered. An attempt to find Williams and his aircraft during redevelopment work in 2007 was unsuccessful.
📷©️ bbm.org.uk
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Eric Williams in his uniform, sporting a neat moustache as he smiles gently for the camera.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

Sqn/Ldr Arthur Banham of 229 Squadron baled out, but was severely burned, when his Hurricane was shot down on 15th October. Pictured here at his wedding in 1939, he became one of Archibald McIndoe’s ‘Guinea Pigs’ at East Grinstead and returned to active service in 1943.
📷 ©️ bbm.org.uk
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A smiling Arthur Banham, wearing a smart dark coloured wedding suit, with his bride who’s dressed in white with a veil and carrying a large bouquet of white flowers.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

Soldiers examining the shattered remains of a Bf 109 from LG2 which exploded over Elham, Kent at 9:20am, when its 250kg bomb detonated. The unfortunate pilot, Lt Ludwig Lenz, was found dead in what remained of the cockpit, which had been compressed by the blast.
📷 luftwaffelosses.com
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On a gentle uphill slope, the remains of a Bf 109 fighter are being examined by a number of soldiers. The rear fuselage and engine are missing and the cockpit has been compressed, but the wings are still attached. Two local women are watching in the background, while a schoolboy appears to be on the lookout for souvenirs.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

In the early afternoon, a raid of over 100 aircraft was plotted over the Channel, but most did not cross the coast. 13 Luftwaffe aircraft failed to return to base, while 15 RAF aircraft and six pilots were lost.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 7h

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 15th October 1940. During the morning, there were a series of Bf 109 Jabo raids against London, with a number of aircraft reaching the capital to drop their bombs. Railways, factories and docks all sustained damage.
📷 IWM HU 104480
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A RAF pilot, wearing a life jacket over light coloured overalls, uses his hands to describe a combat to an intelligence officer, who has a pipe clenched between his teeth and a notebook in his hands. Behind them stands a Hurricane fighter; the fact its guns haven’t been fired suggests this is a staged photograph!

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

Tadji Airstrip, New Guinea, 1944. Crew of 100 Sqn RAAF DAP Beaufort A9-557. They flew 34 sorties in this aircraft, only to be killed in a different Beaufort on 13th March 1945 when a bomb prematurely detonated due to a defective fuse. A9-557, however, survives in a museum.
📷 AWM P02067.001
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An airstrip formed from pierced steel planking, with grass growing through. In the foreground, four aircrew dressed in short sleeved shirts and trousers pose around a jeep which has a canvas roof. Behind them is their Beaufort, its side hatch open.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

700 aircraft, known as DAP Beauforts, were built in Australia and saw extensive service with the RAAF against Japanese forces in the South-West Pacific. In this theatre, they were used as much for ground attack as for maritime patrol, proving highly effective.
📷 AWM VIC0957
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DAP Beaufort Mark VIII low over Sydney Harbour in 1944. The image shows the aircraft over a built up coastal area, with the distinctive arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge prominent. Several boats are travelling through the water, with others moored near the shore.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

Lucky crew of a Beaufort which ditched near Gibraltar, about to be rescued by the cruiser HMS Hermione. The aircraft had been sighted by a masthead lookout.
📷 IWM A 6754
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Beaufort largely submerged underwater, only one wing still above the surface. Four crewmen are precariously perched on top, though luckily the sea is calm. A mountainous coastline is visible in the distance.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

Groundcrew check a Beaufort of 217 Squadron RAF, prior to a sortie from Luqa, Malta. Note the twin .303 Vickers Ks in the nose and the aerial of the ASV radar underneath, as well as a torpedo in its distinctive semi-recessed mounting. This aircraft was shot down on 20th June 1942
📷 IWM GM 1029
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Multiple groundcrew check the torpedo and left engine of a Beaufort in a dusty dispersal pen. Its wheels are held in place by large stones used as chocks.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

Four Beaufort Mark IIs of 86 Squadron based at Skitten, Caithness, flying in loose starboard echelon formation. Note the crewman peering out of the side hatch, where an extra 0.303 Vickers K gun was often fitted.
📷 IWM CH 7949
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Four Beauforts in echelon right formation above a thick layer of clouds.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

Groundcrew from an unidentified Beaufort squadron loading (or unloading) a torpedo. The perspex ‘blister’ under the nose housed a single rear-firing Browning 0.303 machine gun, found to be of little use in practice and often removed.
📷 IWM CH 2766
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6 RAF groundcrew flank a torpedo, mounted at an upward angle on a trolley fitted with a scissor lift mechanism. One man is manipulating a rope between the torpedo’s arming propeller and the trolley. They’re standing under the nose of a Beaufort on an airfield.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

Beauforts of 217 Sqn, based at St Eval in Cornwall. The type’s most famous operation came on 6th April 1941, when Kenneth Campbell of 22 Sqn torpedoed the battlecruiser Gneisenau in Brest Harbour. Campbell and his crew were killed, but he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.
📷 IWM TR 31
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Colour image showing two Beauforts, pictured from a third, flying in formation at low level over the sea, with the coast visible behind. The sky has a layer of broken overcast, with blue showing through in places.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

The pilot and navigator of a Bristol Beaufort of 22 Squadron RAF sitting at their respective positions in the aircraft before take off from North Coates, Lincolnshire. This picture was taken from the wireless operator’s compartment.
📷 IWM CH 641
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Light floods in to the forward fuselage of a Beaufort through its extensive nose glazing, viewed past radio equipment in the rear. The pilot, seated in a raised position on the left, is leaning over to talk to the navigator, who’s seated in the extreme nose, looking backwards.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

At this point, squadrons were moved to the Mediterranean for use against Axis supply convoys. The type was also used for minelaying, particularly early in the war, and often carried bombs rather than torpedoes. A Beaufort dropped the RAF’s first 2000lb bomb in May 1940.
📷 britmodeller.com
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RCAF Beaufort pictured with a 2,000lb bomb at Sidney airfield on Vancouver Island. A single such weapon was the type’s maximum bombload. The image shows a Beaufort on a tarmac hard standing, bomb doors open. In front is a bomb trolley with a scissor lift mechanism, carrying a long cylindrical weapon with a circular tail unit.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

15th October 1938: first flight of the Bristol Beaufort. Closely related to the Blenheim and Beaufighter, it was designed from the outset as an anti-shipping aircraft, with torpedo carrying capability. The Beaufort served with RAF Coastal Command over European waters until 1942.
📷 IWM MH 3178
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First prototype Beaufort pictured in 1938 around the time of its first flight. Modifications to the aircraft and issues with its Taurus engines delayed the type’s entry into service until late 1939, with the first operational mission not taking place until April 1940. The image shows a twin radial-engined aircraft with a glazed nose in natural metal finish. It’s parked on a grass airfield under a cloudless sky, the sun casting its shadow clearly.
📷 IWM (MH 3178)

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

Ultimately reaching Denmark, Leipzig ended her days as an accommodation ship before being scuttled at sea in July 1946. According to some sources, she was among several vessels loaded with chemical weapons from German stockpiles for disposal at sea as part of Operation DAVY JONES’ LOCKER.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

Leipzig was obviously in a far worse state and suffered a number of casualties, but was towed back to Gotenhafen (Gdynia). Repaired only enough to keep her afloat, Leipzig fired on approaching Soviet forces in March 1945 before limping to Hela with refugees on board, under constant air attack.
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Cruiser Prinz Eugen pulling away from the damaged cruiser Leipzig, leaving a gaping hole amidships. Her forward gun turrets are trained somewhat guiltily away from the sight. Even more personnel are on the decks of both vessels to view proceedings.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

Having suffered relatively minor damage, Prinz Eugen’s repairs took only a month. She survived the war, being taken to the U.S. before being used as a target during the Operation CROSSROADS atomic bomb tests in the Pacific. Damaged and irradiated, she sank at Kwajalein Atoll in December 1946.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 8h

In heavy fog off the Polish coast on October 15th, 1944, the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen rammed the light cruiser Leipzig amidships, almost cutting her in two. The two ships were wedged together for 14 hours before Prinz Eugen managed to extricate herself.
#NavalHistory
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Bow of German cruiser Prinz Eugen, bearing a swastika identification symbol on the foredeck, embedded deep in the cruiser Leipzig’s side. Personnel on the decks of both ships are contemplating what the next move should be.

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Reposted by Jamie McTrusty

Chris Sams @jerijerod14.bsky.social · 16h

This week’s podcast is on why von Spee made the choices he made in the Pacific’s theatre of World War One.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...

#ww1 #history #navalhistory

Heading East

Podcast Episode · Maritime History with Chris Sams (live and unplugged) · 15/10/2025 · 30m

podcasts.apple.com

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