page_title: Jimmy Marks (RAF officer)
section_title: Early bomber missions
hierarchical_section_title: Jimmy Marks (RAF officer) / Early bomber missions
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Rotterdam brennend, nach dem Bombenangriff Information added by Wikimedia users.Nederlands: Luchtopname vanuit het noord-noordoosten van het brandende Rotterdam. De spoorlijn rechtsonder op de foto is de Hofpleinlijn, de woonwijk op de voorgrond het Kleiwegkwartier. Opname uit mei 1940.
context_page_description: James Hardy Marks, DSO & Bar, DFC was an officer in the Royal Air Force. An early proponent of developing a target marking method, he was the commanding officer of 35 Squadron when it was selected as one of the five founding squadrons of the Pathfinder Force. He was considered by his contemporaries as one of the top aviators of his time. He was killed while returning from a raid against Saarbrücken when his Halifax was set afire from an attack from a German night fighter. Marks stayed at the controls to allow his crew to escape before his aircraft crashed near Blesme in northern France.
context_section_description: At the outset of the Second World War in September 1939, Marks was a bomber pilot with No. 102 Squadron, flying the two engine Whitley bomber. Marks flew with Leonard Cheshire at 102 Squadron. At the outset the squadron was tasked with the dropping of leaflets over Germany and the occupied countries, with many of its early missions going to Poland. On 1 November 1939 Marks and his squadron flew to RAF Dishforth, where it stood for inspection by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, commander-in-chief of Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Cyril Newall, the Chief of the Air Staff, and King George VI. The pamphlet campaign continued through the end of the year, during a period known as the phony war.
  In 1939 102 Squadron was based at Driffield, along with 77 Squadron. The two squadrons were a part of 4 Group Bomber Command. In January 1940 the leaflet policy was changed, and Bomber Command was freed to begin bombing raids against targets in Germany in earnest. No. 77 Squadron undertook its first bombing mission against a German target on 19 March, when it was flown against the German sea plane base at the southern tip of the island of Sylt. In the coming months Marks was engaged on raids on variety of disparate targets, including Posen, Prague, Warsaw, Hanover, Trondheim and Oslo, and was mentioned in despatches "for gallant and distinguished services."
  In May 1940 German forces invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and France. British bomber forces did what they could to stem the German advance, but were largely ineffective. On 20 May whilst attacking bridges in France Marks' aircraft was hit by flak and the plane's hydraulic system was knocked out. He lost the use of his flaps, but he was still able to land his aircraft, though his ground speed at landing was much higher than normal. The following night 21 May he participated in a raid against Cologne and returned on one engine. For the rest of the month he was involved in attacking German transport support, striking Quesney Cross-roads in France on 23 May, Walcheren on 25 May and the Neuss railway junction on 27 May.
  On 1 June 1940, Marks was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). According to his citation, he "has shown tenacity of purpose, a high courage and thoroughness of planning and execution which is beyond praise."
  Early in the war, such targets as railway junctions and cross roads could be located and attacked from the air during the day, but it proved difficult to effectively attack individual vehicles and other small targets with air assets, as bomber aircraft lacked the ability to deliver bombs with that kind of precision. At night time attacking larger targets such as troop concentrations, rail lines and road junctions was essentially impossible. Flying in the dark of night each aircraft was in its own world. They were unaware of the position of other bombers around them, were unable to see them, and with the target itself shrouded in darkness it was very difficult for the squadron to deliver its bombs in a concentration upon the target.
  Following the German air raid against Rotterdam the center of the city was set afire, which could be seen at night from a very great distance. Marks believed this created an opportunity for the base's bombers from 102 Squadron and 77 Squadron to strike at German troop concentrations under the cover of night. He wanted the navigators to use the center of the fire as a start point of a timed run against German forces to the northeast of the city. Leading a group of 12 Whitleys, Marks instructed the aircrews to fire off Very lights over the target area so the bombers could find each other and group back together. They were also to drop marker flares over the target itself. The planes would then bomb the troop concentration. This was the first time the RAF attempted to locate a target at night by making a timed run from a known point.
  The attack was carried out as planned, but when the Very flares were fired off not one of the aircraft saw any of the others, and their bombs were scattered ineffectively. Undeterred, Marks ask
caption: Rotterdam's city centre afire as seen during the day
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