Story
On the night of 17/18 August 1943 RAF Bomber Command carried out one of the most important bombing raids of the war, attacking the German secret weapon research station at Peenemünde. A total of forty bombers were lost that night, with 243 airmen killed including two New Zealanders (45 became POWs). The attack proved a success, seriously disrupting German secret weapon development. On the 70th anniversary of the raid, and at the exact time the raid took place, a group of 7 individuals will carry out an overnight walk from the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, where the names of 127 airmen lost on the raid are listed, to the RAF Bomber Command Memorial, The Green Park, London.
The walk will start at the Air Force Memorial, Runnymede and end at the Bomber Command Memorial, The Green Park. A Peenemunde Raid Bomber Command veteran will start the walk and greet the walkers at the Bomber Command memorial.
The walk will start on Saturday 17 August 1943 at 8.28 pm (exactly the time when the first aircraft took off from the raid - a 90 Squadron Stirling). The aim is to arrive at the Bomber Command Memorial at 5.53am on Sunday 18th August (exactly the time the last aircraft landed - a 419 Squadron Halifax).
A small party of 7 people, headed up by Steve Darlow of Fighting High Publishing, and representing a 7-man Bomber Command heavy bomber crew, will carry out the walk.
Visit http://www.fightinghigh.com/peenemunderaidwalk.htm to see their story.