7 December 1942 Part 5b

Summary

RAF report: Roadstead 45 attack on shipping off Jersey; shipping damage claims and loss of two Whirlwinds. Combined squadron diary, sortie report and historical summary. Parallel Allied account of the convoy attack recorded under 7 December 1942 Part 5 and Part 5a.

Location Details

Jersey; St Brelade’s Bay; waters west of Guernsey

Diary Entry

7 December 1942 — RAF: Roadstead 45 — Attack on shipping off Jersey

Eight Whirlwinds of No. 263 Squadron RAF departed at 13:10, supported by No. 66 Squadron for anti-flak suppression and No. 118 Squadron as close escort. After passing west of Guernsey, they attacked a convoy off St Brelade’s Bay, Jersey. Targets included merchant vessels, a seiner-type vessel and a barge.

The squadron diary claimed one vessel probably sunk, two seriously damaged and one probably damaged. Squadron Leader R. S. Woodward, DFC, flying P7105, was hit by flak and apparently ditched approximately 400 yards from the ships. Warrant Officer D. B. McPhail, RCAF, flying P6987, encountered a heavy flak burst, thought to originate from Jersey, and entered the sea. Both were reported missing; the diary expressed hope that Woodward had survived as a prisoner of war. Two aircraft experienced bomb-release difficulties. The returning Whirlwinds landed at 14:40.

The squadron’s retrospective history described four ships sunk or seriously damaged, a stronger assessment than the daily diary. These are RAF wartime claims and have not been independently confirmed here against German records.

Source of Information

The National Archives, AIR 27/1548, No. 263 Squadron RAF Operations Record Book, 7 December 1942