Eric's Story.
Eric Brookes was the son of Conrad and Lenore Mable Brookes of Crewe. He qualified as an Air Gunner and served with 50 Squadron RAF flying in Lancaster bombers.
50 Squadron Lancaster Bomber
Operation Record for one of Eric's flights earlier in January 1944 is interesting as it shows that at that time Lancasters were using three types of Electronic Counter Measures ( ECM) in early 1944. They were Monica, Windows and Mandrell.
Monica
Monica was a rearward looking radar that was designed to give the crew a warning when an enemy fighter came up behind them. However it was not very effective as it would also be triggered by other bombers in the formation. Further the RAF found out that German nightfighters were using the Monica signal to home in on the bomber so in August 1944 its use was discontinued.
Windows.
Windows were bundles of aluminium foil strips that were dropped as they approached the target. The strips reflected radar signals confusing the German radar operators by filling their screens with spurious signals.
Mandrell
Mandrell was an amplifier that transmitted white noise on the same frequency as the German radar causing their screens to be filled with noise. Mandrell took a signal from a microphone located in one of the engine bays as the white noise source.
On 28th/ 29th January 1944 he flew in Lancaster LM428 on a mission to bomb Berlin. The aircraft never returned, and the operation record notes that no distress signal or radio communication was heard from the aircraft during the mission. It was later determined that the aircraft had been shot down near Steinberg about 40 miles Northwest of Berlin with the loss of all 7 crew members. It is believed that they were shot down by a German night fighter but this wasn’t confirmed.
Operation Record for the final flight
Five of the 7 crew members of the plane were buried initially at Steinberg but after the war they were reburied at Berlin War Cemetery. The crew members were as follows:
Temporary grave at Steinberg
RAF Flying Officer Rowland David BETTY,
RAFVR Sergeant Eric BROOKES,
RAF Flight Lieutenant Robert Petchell BURTT,
RAFVR Flying Officer Harold Eric DAYNES,
RAFVR Sergeant John Alfred PARKMAN,
RCAF Flying Officer Gordon Richard PRESLAND and
RAFVR Sergeant Ronald TAYLOR.
Eric Brookes is commemorated on the Crewe War Memorial and the Coppenhall St Michael’s Church memorial
Crewe War Memorial
Coppenhall Memorial