Lt. Robert Christopher Wickham Burgess
On August, 13 1944 B-24 Liberator KG138 K Lt. William Norval's crew with 2/Lt Robert Burgess as second pilot would set off for their seventh combat flight operated within the last few weeks. This time the mission was veiled in mystery. Ten crews were sent to leave their mother base in Celone and leave for Brindisi where they were to receive further orders. Although the airmen were not among the most experienced crew members of the 31st SAAF Sq., they had already operated night missions - bombing refineries in Czechoslovakia (July, 23), Romania (July 21 and 29); airfields in France (July, 26; Aug, 4) or mining the Danube (Aug, 11). Lt. W. Norval was the most experienced airman, flying as captain usually. First pilots had already had combat flights serving in other squadrons (most often bombing units). For the rest of the crew this was the first operational flight.
2/Lt Robert Burgess was born on 18 December 1919 in Durban (Natal). His parents, Christopher and Elizabeth Miriam came from Great Britain to South Africa in 1919. Christopher Burgess climbed the career ladder to become certified accountant (1933) and chartered accountant at Technical College when the family moved to Cape Town. Bob studied at SACS - one of the oldest schools in Cape Town. He was not particularly interested in sports (though the school was sport-oriented). He got interested in sailing when he got older as he sailed on friends' yachts with his father. Edwin, the only brother, died of brain cancer in early 1940's. Bob graduated from SACS and got trained as a printer at Technical College in Cape Town. He would work at Weeden's Printing Co. till the outbreak of WWII when he volunteered to join SAAF. He had his training in Pretoria flying Tiger Moth and a two-engine Avro Oxford. He became a pilot just a few months before being sent to 31st Sq. in 1944.
Let us get back to Aug, 13 1944 when in the afternoon pilots and a navigator went to the briefing room where an intelligence officer said: "Gentlemen, target for today – Warsaw" pointing at a huge map of Europe with the marked Brindisi-Warsaw route. Airmen were given the details of the mission which consisted in dropping supplies to insurgents fighting in Warsaw. They were informed on the enemy AA fire on their way, airfields where night fighters were located and that they should remain cautious towards Russians who might have turned hostile. During the briefing the bombers were loaded with 12 containers 150 kg each where weapons, ammunition, medicines and food were placed. They took off after 7 pm and when the bomber reached 3000 m above the sea level it turned east in order to head north over the Yugoslavian coast to reach Warsaw.
The crew was under huge stress onboard. Lt. Noel Sleed had lots to do as he had to steer the aircraft using maps, observing the Earth and analysing data from the pilot without any electronic navigation tools. They were the only crewmembers who exchanged any talk on the flight. Bombardier Sgt. Alan Bates (RAF VR) and radio operator/gunner Sgt. I.G. Payne (RAF VR) just like gunners Sgt. Levis, Sgt. Appleyard and Sgt. Cross (all RAF VR) were freezing while waiting for the target. When the navigator saw a fire ball over Warsaw, he asked the pilots to descend to 150 meters to prepare to drop supplies. When descending over Vistula the Liberator was attacked by a German night fighter or AA fire from the right river bank by Soviets. What made it more terrifying were the searchlights looking for any allied aircraft in sight. At that moment first pilot Lt. W. Norval unfastened his belt, took his parachute and saying "I'll see what's going on", left. Bob Burgess had no time to react as he was focused on flight instruments and finding the dropping zone. When the Liberator was hit again by a series of AA fire, Bob heard the noise of the bomb door opening, which meant that the bombardier was preparing to drop supplies. Bob was alarmed that the first pilot was not coming back and asked via intercom Lt. Sleed to make some decisions. The empty seat of the first pilot meant they could count solely on themselves and they had to save the aircraft and the remaining crew members. Unfortunately in this critical moment the Liberator got hit again and some hydraulics elements got seriously damaged disabling breaks, landing flaps and the mechanism responsible for lowering the landing gear. One of the left wing engines got silent, the other one was almost dead too. Oil kept leaking out of the damaged pipes and flight instruments stopped working. However, the Liberator kept flying. The crew voted for landing behind Russian lines. 2/Lt Bob Burgess, Lt. Sleed and Sgt Bates undertook the mission. They agreed there was no chance to fly high over the Carpathian peaks that is why they headed east towards Soviets. It has to be said that Bob Burgess flying experience in the Liberator was negligible and he had never touched down behind the steers of such a damaged aircraft. Burgess took the seat of the first pilot and Sgt. Bates took his, with the aim to look at the instruments and help with the engines. The flight was not an easy enterprise as the aircraft would lose the height several times. Pilots struggled to regain control as the Liberator would go in a tailspin and it was hard to bring it back to the previous altitude. The ground seemed lost in the dark of the night and gave no prospects for successful landing. The crew headed east waiting for the dawn. After a few hours and many dramatic moments, in the rays of raising sun at dawn of August, 14, the pilots saw something that looked like an airfield and decided to touch down without hesitation as fuel tanks were almost empty. Together with Lt. Sleed, Burgess checked the landing instruction in the Liberator's manual. This was to be their first Liberator landing on their own, not to mention with damaged engines and flaps. Lt. Sleed lowered the flaps manually, they circled around the airfield a few times and then tried to touch down twice. Burgess landed with success at 5.35 am, 10 hours after taking off from Brindisi. The airfield turned out to be in Emilchino in Zhytomyrs'Ka Oblast' in Ukraine. Soon Soviet soldiers appeared. After being identified as allies, the Soviets invited the airmen for a large meal. Then they were interrogated in Novograd Volynskiy and send to a hospital in Poltava. It turned out the crew members were not wounded so they were sent on board of DC-3 to Moscow and taken over by the British Military Mission responsible for transporting the airmen who landed in Russia to Egypt and then to their units. While staying in Moscow the Soviets showed them the city and invited them to cultural events, opera and a ballet performance. When watching "Swan Lake" Bob Burgess who was not much into classical music asked his friend: "When will they finally start singing???" They left Moscow on September, 4 1944 and touched down in Egypt a day later. The British Intelligence planned sending them to London for further interrogation due to their stay in the Soviet territory but the SAAF HQ rejected the idea and on October, 4 1944 they were sent home. In Pretoria Bob Burgess got promoted to become lieutenant and was decorated with one of the highest military decorations of the British Empire - the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), which meant that he became the youngest 2/Lt of the South African Army to have ever been awarded this honourable decoration. Navigator Lt. Noel Sleed was awarded Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and Sgt. Alan Bates - Distinguished Flying Medal.
After WWII Bob Burgess returned to his profession at Weeden's. Later he moved to Cape&Transvaal Printers (CTP) in Parow. He retired at 58 when being an executive at CTP controlling printers used for everyday press titles. In 1947 he married Inez Smuts, a nurse who served in the Army as well during WWII (in the North Africa and Italy). When retired, Bob Burges was dedicated to social work, travelling and tending a garden. He was a wonderful father and grandfather who took pleasure in taking care of children since they were born. He visited Poland for the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Rising in 1994. He came with the other airmen and was decorated among others the Home Army Cross (Krzyż Armii Krajowej). Robert and Inez passed away within 10 days in July 2007.
Robert Christopher Wickham Burgess was decorated with DSO, Stella d'Italia, Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, Cross of Valour, Home Army Cross, the Cross of the Warsaw Uprising.
As for Lt. William Norval, most probably he might have had a mental breakdown due to long-time stress caused by combat flights and separation from his wife and family, which resulted in his decision to leave the plane and the crew. Flying over Warsaw Lt. W. Norval jumped through the bomb doors, was captured by Germans and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner-of-war. In the POW camp, where he was kept, he met other SAAF's 31 Sq. airmen who were shot down during Warsaw Airlift. He claimed that he had left the plane after his order 'Jump!' given to all the crew. This was not confirmed by anyone later on. After WWII he returned home but history remains silent what happened to him then.
Many thanks to Barbara Ann Schlumpf (nee Burgess, daughter of 2/Lt Robert Christopher Burgess) for sharing valuable information.
Photos:
1. Lt. R.C.W. Burgess
2. Inez Burgess
3. Identification document issued by the British Military Mission in Moscow
4. 'Swan Lake' ticket
5. Log book with air missions over Russia
6. R.C.W. Burgess decorations
7. Burgess' Liberator B-24 operated by the Soviets (1947-1950)
On August, 13 1944 B-24 Liberator KG138 K Lt. William Norval's crew with 2/Lt Robert Burgess as second pilot would set off for their seventh combat flight operated within the last few weeks. This time the mission was veiled in mystery. Ten crews were sent to leave their mother base in Celone and leave for Brindisi where they were to receive further orders. Although the airmen were not among the most experienced crew members of the 31st SAAF Sq., they had already operated night missions - bombing refineries in Czechoslovakia (July, 23), Romania (July 21 and 29); airfields in France (July, 26; Aug, 4) or mining the Danube (Aug, 11). Lt. W. Norval was the most experienced airman, flying as captain usually. First pilots had already had combat flights serving in other squadrons (most often bombing units). For the rest of the crew this was the first operational flight.
2/Lt Robert Burgess was born on 18 December 1919 in Durban (Natal). His parents, Christopher and Elizabeth Miriam came from Great Britain to South Africa in 1919. Christopher Burgess climbed the career ladder to become certified accountant (1933) and chartered accountant at Technical College when the family moved to Cape Town. Bob studied at SACS - one of the oldest schools in Cape Town. He was not particularly interested in sports (though the school was sport-oriented). He got interested in sailing when he got older as he sailed on friends' yachts with his father. Edwin, the only brother, died of brain cancer in early 1940's. Bob graduated from SACS and got trained as a printer at Technical College in Cape Town. He would work at Weeden's Printing Co. till the outbreak of WWII when he volunteered to join SAAF. He had his training in Pretoria flying Tiger Moth and a two-engine Avro Oxford. He became a pilot just a few months before being sent to 31st Sq. in 1944.
Let us get back to Aug, 13 1944 when in the afternoon pilots and a navigator went to the briefing room where an intelligence officer said: "Gentlemen, target for today – Warsaw" pointing at a huge map of Europe with the marked Brindisi-Warsaw route. Airmen were given the details of the mission which consisted in dropping supplies to insurgents fighting in Warsaw. They were informed on the enemy AA fire on their way, airfields where night fighters were located and that they should remain cautious towards Russians who might have turned hostile. During the briefing the bombers were loaded with 12 containers 150 kg each where weapons, ammunition, medicines and food were placed. They took off after 7 pm and when the bomber reached 3000 m above the sea level it turned east in order to head north over the Yugoslavian coast to reach Warsaw.
The crew was under huge stress onboard. Lt. Noel Sleed had lots to do as he had to steer the aircraft using maps, observing the Earth and analysing data from the pilot without any electronic navigation tools. They were the only crewmembers who exchanged any talk on the flight. Bombardier Sgt. Alan Bates (RAF VR) and radio operator/gunner Sgt. I.G. Payne (RAF VR) just like gunners Sgt. Levis, Sgt. Appleyard and Sgt. Cross (all RAF VR) were freezing while waiting for the target. When the navigator saw a fire ball over Warsaw, he asked the pilots to descend to 150 meters to prepare to drop supplies. When descending over Vistula the Liberator was attacked by a German night fighter or AA fire from the right river bank by Soviets. What made it more terrifying were the searchlights looking for any allied aircraft in sight. At that moment first pilot Lt. W. Norval unfastened his belt, took his parachute and saying "I'll see what's going on", left. Bob Burgess had no time to react as he was focused on flight instruments and finding the dropping zone. When the Liberator was hit again by a series of AA fire, Bob heard the noise of the bomb door opening, which meant that the bombardier was preparing to drop supplies. Bob was alarmed that the first pilot was not coming back and asked via intercom Lt. Sleed to make some decisions. The empty seat of the first pilot meant they could count solely on themselves and they had to save the aircraft and the remaining crew members. Unfortunately in this critical moment the Liberator got hit again and some hydraulics elements got seriously damaged disabling breaks, landing flaps and the mechanism responsible for lowering the landing gear. One of the left wing engines got silent, the other one was almost dead too. Oil kept leaking out of the damaged pipes and flight instruments stopped working. However, the Liberator kept flying. The crew voted for landing behind Russian lines. 2/Lt Bob Burgess, Lt. Sleed and Sgt Bates undertook the mission. They agreed there was no chance to fly high over the Carpathian peaks that is why they headed east towards Soviets. It has to be said that Bob Burgess flying experience in the Liberator was negligible and he had never touched down behind the steers of such a damaged aircraft. Burgess took the seat of the first pilot and Sgt. Bates took his, with the aim to look at the instruments and help with the engines. The flight was not an easy enterprise as the aircraft would lose the height several times. Pilots struggled to regain control as the Liberator would go in a tailspin and it was hard to bring it back to the previous altitude. The ground seemed lost in the dark of the night and gave no prospects for successful landing. The crew headed east waiting for the dawn. After a few hours and many dramatic moments, in the rays of raising sun at dawn of August, 14, the pilots saw something that looked like an airfield and decided to touch down without hesitation as fuel tanks were almost empty. Together with Lt. Sleed, Burgess checked the landing instruction in the Liberator's manual. This was to be their first Liberator landing on their own, not to mention with damaged engines and flaps. Lt. Sleed lowered the flaps manually, they circled around the airfield a few times and then tried to touch down twice. Burgess landed with success at 5.35 am, 10 hours after taking off from Brindisi. The airfield turned out to be in Emilchino in Zhytomyrs'Ka Oblast' in Ukraine. Soon Soviet soldiers appeared. After being identified as allies, the Soviets invited the airmen for a large meal. Then they were interrogated in Novograd Volynskiy and send to a hospital in Poltava. It turned out the crew members were not wounded so they were sent on board of DC-3 to Moscow and taken over by the British Military Mission responsible for transporting the airmen who landed in Russia to Egypt and then to their units. While staying in Moscow the Soviets showed them the city and invited them to cultural events, opera and a ballet performance. When watching "Swan Lake" Bob Burgess who was not much into classical music asked his friend: "When will they finally start singing???" They left Moscow on September, 4 1944 and touched down in Egypt a day later. The British Intelligence planned sending them to London for further interrogation due to their stay in the Soviet territory but the SAAF HQ rejected the idea and on October, 4 1944 they were sent home. In Pretoria Bob Burgess got promoted to become lieutenant and was decorated with one of the highest military decorations of the British Empire - the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), which meant that he became the youngest 2/Lt of the South African Army to have ever been awarded this honourable decoration. Navigator Lt. Noel Sleed was awarded Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and Sgt. Alan Bates - Distinguished Flying Medal.
After WWII Bob Burgess returned to his profession at Weeden's. Later he moved to Cape&Transvaal Printers (CTP) in Parow. He retired at 58 when being an executive at CTP controlling printers used for everyday press titles. In 1947 he married Inez Smuts, a nurse who served in the Army as well during WWII (in the North Africa and Italy). When retired, Bob Burges was dedicated to social work, travelling and tending a garden. He was a wonderful father and grandfather who took pleasure in taking care of children since they were born. He visited Poland for the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Rising in 1994. He came with the other airmen and was decorated among others the Home Army Cross (Krzyż Armii Krajowej). Robert and Inez passed away within 10 days in July 2007.
Robert Christopher Wickham Burgess was decorated with DSO, Stella d'Italia, Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, Cross of Valour, Home Army Cross, the Cross of the Warsaw Uprising.
As for Lt. William Norval, most probably he might have had a mental breakdown due to long-time stress caused by combat flights and separation from his wife and family, which resulted in his decision to leave the plane and the crew. Flying over Warsaw Lt. W. Norval jumped through the bomb doors, was captured by Germans and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner-of-war. In the POW camp, where he was kept, he met other SAAF's 31 Sq. airmen who were shot down during Warsaw Airlift. He claimed that he had left the plane after his order 'Jump!' given to all the crew. This was not confirmed by anyone later on. After WWII he returned home but history remains silent what happened to him then.
Many thanks to Barbara Ann Schlumpf (nee Burgess, daughter of 2/Lt Robert Christopher Burgess) for sharing valuable information.
Photos:
1. Lt. R.C.W. Burgess
2. Inez Burgess
3. Identification document issued by the British Military Mission in Moscow
4. 'Swan Lake' ticket
5. Log book with air missions over Russia
6. R.C.W. Burgess decorations
7. Burgess' Liberator B-24 operated by the Soviets (1947-1950)
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