SMITH John Benjamin Joseph
124796, Flight Lieutenant
169 Squadron, 100 Group
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Killed in action 8.2.1945
Aged ?
On the night of Wednesday 7 February 1945, a Mosquito VI, Serial No: NT 176 of 169 Squadron, part of 100 Group, took off from Great Massingham, Norfolk, at 2226 hours bound for the ancient German Rhineland town of Bonn. The Mosquito was carrying out a BS (Bomber Support) operation and its Squadron identification code, painted on both sides of the fuselage, was VI-C. The aircraft carried a crew of two, the pilot Flight Lieutenant John Benjamin Joseph Smith, and his Navigator Flying Officer Kenneth Russell Goldthorpe, both members of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
The Mosquito was probably on a high-speed reconnaissance/special objective run to Bonn as the town had been subjected to a major air raid by heavy bomber Squadrons on the night of 4/5 February. 238 aircraft had taken part in the operation – 202 Halifax, 20 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitoes. This was not a successful attack as the majority of bombs fell to the south of the target or over the Rhine in the Beuel area. 19 people were killed in the raid and three Lancasters and a Mosquito were lost with their entire crews, a total of 21 men.
At some time during the early hours of Thursday morning on 8 February 1945, Mosquito VI-C crashed between Terlinden (Limberg) and Hoogcruts, two small hamlets almost on Holland’s Belgium border and approximately 13 kilometres south east of Maastricht. (Exact time, cause and if outward or homeward bound are unknown.) Unfortunately, F/Lt Smith and F/O Goldthorpe were killed outright either before, or when, the aircraft impacted.
Both crew members were originally buried in a United States Military cemetery at Margraten. At some time after the war, they were finally laid to rest side by side in Venray War Cemetery, Limburg, Netherlands.
The ongoing mystery unfolds as John Beeching, Dave Berry and Janine Bradley enter into correspondence. Dave writes to John:-
‘… we were up in York some weeks ago and visited the old RAF airfield/Museum at Elvington, just around York, we were staying in Harrogate. Strangely and interestingly in the hangar they had a Mosquito under re-construction/re-build from salvaged? planes but I was not, due to time, able to take down details… however, one important thing of note is that it had VI-C painted on the side!! There was no one there to ask. It was my intention to write to the field and team/enthusiast to question them on the relevance of that but to date have not done so.’
John’s response added more weight to the mystery:-
‘I get the impression at Elvington that this is a Project taken on by enthusiasts to bring this Mosquito up to scratch/working order and that some parts have been salvaged … to facilitate the build … My knowledge is limited, but I remain intrigued at the use of VI-C on the fuselage..’
John Beeching served in the same Squadron as Flight Lieutenant J Smith and Flying Officer Goldthorpe. He had been flying on A.I training that same night and was not on operations, so he is very interested to unravel the mystery and to find where it leads. There is also a mystery surrounding what actually happened to the aircraft to cause it to crash, as both men were originally buried in a U.S.A military cemetery at Margraten before being moved to Limberg in The Netherlands.
John Lilley, of The People’s Mosquito Project, was asked whether he knew about the Mosquito at Elvington. And his response adds further pieces to the puzzle evolving:-
‘A great story of huge interest. Thanks for sharing it. The Mosquito at Elvington is a bit of a hybrid of other Mosquitoes and re-manufactured new bits. It has been largely hand-restored by the owner, Tony Agar, over 25 years!! They aim to have it ground running soon. It is an NF.II – early Night Fighter/Intruder and in terms of the markings, I think he wanted to base it on a Mosquito Squadron in Yorkshire/Night Fighter Unit. I don’t believe it is the original airframe.’
Does any other member have any knowledge of this aircraft or have anything to offer. We would love to hear additional information if so.
Contributors: Dave Berry, John Beeching, Janine Bradley
This article is from the Spring 2014 issue of Confound and Destroy
