They’d survived the flak over Germany. They’d made it across the North Sea. And then, as they lined up to land in England, the Luftwaffe came for them.
This is the Night of the Intruders – Mission 311 on 22 April 1944 – when 824 Mighty Eighth bombers hit the railway hub at Hamm in Germany’s north-east Ruhr.
Now the survivors were heading home to Norfolk. But they weren’t alone.
We tell the story through the eyes of one man who was there — George Glevanik of the 448th Bomb Group at Seething, south-east of Norwich
We visit Seething Church of St Margaret & St Remigius, which includes a memorial to the 448th BG; and Seething Control Tower Museum, which includes artefacts from the Night of the Intruders.
We examine what went right – and what went wrong – and why the Mighty Eighth attacked Hamm in the evening, rather than sticking to its tried-and-tested strategy of bombing in broad daylight.
Our special podcast guest is author, historian and aviation archaeologist Ian McLachlan, whose book ‘Night of the Intruders‘ is published by Pen & Sword.
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Visit the Mighty Eighth Podcast website: mighty8thpodcast.com
To contact Johann and Mike, email johann@ruralcity.co.uk
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