Volume 25 www.legionnl.com 17 Newfoundland Labrador Command Born in Catalina, Newfoundland, Frederick Mifflin was the youngest son of Samuel William and Blanche (Manuel) Mifflin. He was captain of the Royal Air Force Lancaster Bomber during World War II when he was killed in a bombing raid over Germany, April 27, 1944. On May 1, 1944, there was a message saying Pilot Officer Fred Mifflin was missing since April 26 as a result of air operations over Germany and on July 3, 1944, the family received a letter from Air Ministry in London advising that out of seven members of crew of Lancaster bomber, five were prisoners of war and two were killed. The two killed being Fred (Mifflin) and a chap (Johnson). The big bomber lifted into the night sky from its base in England and joined the formation heading towards Swienfurt, Germany. At 21.35 hours, Flying Officer Mifflin, D.F.C., took off in Lancaster ME669 Z-NO from RAF Metheringham for the 1,000-mile round trip to Schweinfurt with the ‘Old Firm’, Flying Officer F.H. Higgins (Navigator), Flight Sergeants N.H. Johnson (Rear Gunner), E. Sanderlands (Wireless Operator), M.H. Toft (Bomb Aimer), Sergeants W. Smith (Mid Upper-Gunner) and Norman C. Jackson at the Flight Engineer’s instrument panel. The Lancaster bomber was piloted by a young man from Catalina, a tiny outport village in Newfoundland. Fred Mifflin, or “Miff”, as he was affectionately called by his crew members, had earned their respect by piloting them safely through 29 bombing missions against Hitler’s Germany in World War II. They were a tight bunch and this was their last mission before a much deserved break after thirty successful missions. Bomber command was not a place of longevity, 44% of all air crews serving were killed in action. Their average age was 23, so to get 30 missions was quite an accomplishment and says a lot about the skill and luck of this air crew. Unexpected strong head winds delayed the main bomber force of 215 Lancasters enroute which gave the German night fighters more time to detect the main bomber stream. Combats took place all the way to the target and during the period of the raid. 106 Squadron experienced its most tragic evening of the war – five Lancasters failed to return. They arrived at their destination and bombed the target, lit up by Mosquito pathfinders, but on their return they were attacked by German night fighter airplanes which caught one of the wing tanks on fire. Here is where the story gets heroic. Flight Engineer Norman Jackson did not have to go on this mission, he had one mission more than the rest of the crew so he had already served his thirtieth mission, put in the fact that his wife was now due with their first baby anytime now, but he didn’t want to jinx the crew by getting a new man so he decided to go. When the fighter was attacked, Jackson was wounded, but being the engineer he asked Mifflin for permission to try to put out the fire on the wing, which Miff agreed to. He strapped his parachute on and it opened up in the plane. His mates held onto it while he grabbed a fire extinguisher and crawled out on the wing. They let the parachute out as he crawled out onto the wing in the freezing night. The plane was travelling at a speed continued ... Frederick Manuel Mifflin
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