Operation Manna Operation Manna An airplane skims over the land The low country called Holland Country of hunger, persecution, and sorrow In the streets people gaze at the sky An airplane circles around The pilots drop their food! People cry, people cheer to the skies Food, food, food! A Thank You to the Bomber Boys In April of 1945 the Canadian Army had liberated much of the Netherlands but 120,000 well armed enemy soldiers were cut off in the western part of the country. The Allies did not have enough troops available to conquer the area without terrible losses. After making the decision not to invade, the Allied commanders faced the problem of how to help the 3.5 million Dutch citizens who were starving after four years of occupation, including the recent difficult winter. J. Vrouwenfelder who lived in the Hague at the time recalled, "I queued for hours to get some salted endive or some beans. Always that hunger...And then there was less and less. There remained nothing, not even in the black market. Sugar beets from which we first made syrup and then some kind of cookies from the leftovers. Impossible to eat, but it kept many people alive.

Fried tulip bulbs were the last resort." As the war progressed the Dutch people heard the aircraft of Bomber Command passing over their country in increasing numbers en route to and from enemy targets. Sometimes a fire would be seen falling from the sky; another bomber shot down. In May of 1943 the Americans became an effective force and the Dutch watched their aircraft passing over Holland to make their daylight attacks. Then on April 29th, 1945 the bombers flew over Holland again, not at 20,000' but so low that the aircrew could be seen in the cockpit and gun turrets. The Dutch first heard of the plans for Operation Manna on April 24th when it was announced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Then on April 29th the people of Holland heard the BBC announce, "Bombers of the Royal Air Force have just taken off from their bases in England to drop food supplies to the Dutch population in enemy-occupied territory." A seventeen year old student at the time, Arie de Jong wrote, "There are no words to describe the emotions experienced on that Sunday afternoon.

More than 300 four-engined Lancasters, flying exceptionally low, suddenly filled the western horizon." Arie's diary recorded, "One could see the gunners waving in their turrets. A marvellous sight. One Lancaster roared over the town at 70 feet. I saw the aircraft tacking between church steeples and drop its bags in the South. Everywhere we looked, bombers could be seen. No one remained inside and everybody dared to wave cloths and flags. What a feast! Everyone is excited with joy. The war must be over soon now." It was a memorable day for the Bomber Command aircrew as well. Although there had been discussions with the Germans, an agreement to allow the Lancasters to drop the food supplies had not been finalized and on the first day of Operation Manna the Germans were manning their anti-aircraft guns as the bombers flew over, so low that they could have been easily shot down. But the Germans held their fire. The approaches to the drop zones were made at very low altitude in order not to damage the food any more than necessary as it was dropped in gunny sacks without parachutes.

One Canadian pilot recalled, "flying by a windmill and people waved at us from its balcony. You understand, we had to look up to wave back!" Sgt. Ken Wood, a rear gunner remembered, "People were everywhere -on the streets, on the roofs, leaning out of windows. They all had something to wave with; a handkerchief, a sheet -it was incredible." F/S Gibson wrote, "I will always remember seeing 'Thank you Tommy' written on one of the roofs" and recall, "those flights as a beautiful experience, it was as if we brought the liberation closer to reality." A total of 3100 flights were made by Bomber Command, and an additional 2200 by the American Air Force which joined the operation on May 1st. Operation Manna ended with Germany's surrender on May 8th. Although over 11,000 tons of food were dropped in the ten days of the operation, some 20,000 people died of starvation. Joe English, one of the Society's founding directors, participated it the first day's operation.

Lower three photos taken at Terbreggen (north of Rotterdam) [ courtesy Ron Groeneveld and J.L. De Johns ] Bomber Command Museum of Canada 1945 1945 British Military Aviation in 1945 January The RAF Helicopter Training School is formed at Andover, under the command of Squadron Leader B.H. Arkell. The school was equipped with Sikorsky R4 helicopters. 1 January Operation Bodenplatte (Baseplate): the Luftwaffe launches over 800 fighters and fighter-bombers, predominantly Focke Wulf Fw190s and Messerschmitt Bf109s, in a low-level surprise attack on Allied advanced airfields in Belgium and the Netherlands. Surprise was complete, although the attacks on some airfields were ineffective. Nevertheless, 224 Allied aircraft were destroyed (144 RAF) with a further 84 damaged beyond unit repair. Despite this, Bodenplatte proved to be a phyrric victory. Allied pilot losses were minimal, and the aircraft destroyed were replaced within two weeks.

By contrast, the Luftwaffe lost 300 aircraft during the course of the operation to Allied airfield defences, German anti-aircraft units that had not been warned of the planned assault, and accidents. Surviving records indicate that 237 Luftwaffe pilots were killed, went missing or were captured and 18 wounded, including some of Germany's most experienced fighter leaders. 1 January The Victoria Cross is posthumously awarded to Flight Sergeant G. Thompson, a wireless operator, for saving the lives of his fellow crewmembers during a dawn bombing raid on the Dortmund-Ems canal in Germany in an Avro Lancaster (PD377 'U') of No.9 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command. 11 January A ceasefire is announced in Greece between government forces and the National Popular Liberation Front (ELAS) guerillas and agreement is confirmed by the government on 12 February. Despite numerous infringements of the ceasefire during 1945, the Royal Air Force (RAF) units began to withdraw during the year. RAF squadrons comprising Greek personnel were transferred to the Royal Hellenic Air Force in mid-1946 and the RAF presence in Greece had ended by the end of that year.

13-14 February RAF Bomber Command opens what will become one of the most controversial aerial bombardments in the history of the Combined Bomber Offensive - the raids conducted on the city of Dresden by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the night and by the Eighth United States Army Air Force (USAAF) during the following day. During the opening weeks of 1945, consideration within the higher Allied politico-military leadership turned to the manner in which British and United States strategic bomber forces might be used to aid the Soviet advance into Germany.

The desire to provide some tangible assistance to the Soviet armed forces led to the conception of a plan, codenamed Thunderclap, to disrupt German defensive operations by striking at vital urban centres where, as Sir Charles Portal, the Chief of the Air Staff, noted on 26 January 1945, "a severe blitz will not only cause confusion in the evacuation from the East but will also hamper the movement of troops from the West." Debate within the Air Ministry with regards to the merit of diverting RAF Bomber Command and the US Eighth Air Force from their current primary targets - oil production facilities, jet aircraft factories and submarine yards - to Thunderclap was spurred by the intervention of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. On 26 January, Churchill pressed the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Archibald Sinclair,"I asked [on 25 January] whether Berlin, and no doubt other large cities in East Germany, should not now be considered especially attractive targets. Prey report to me tomorrow what is going to be done." Moreover, the possible advantages of such attacks were not lost on Soviet military leaders. At Yalta on 4 February, General Antonov advocated air attacks against communication centres including Berlin and Leipzig.

The first such centre to be attacked was Dresden. A planned USAAF attack on the city on 13 February 1945 was abandoned due to unsuitable weather. However, on the night of 13-14 February 796 Avro Lancasters and nine de Havilland Mosquitoes of RAF Bomber Command, attacking in two raids separated by a gap of three hours, dropped 1,478 tons of high explosive and 1,182 tons of incendiaries on the city. Following the second raid, a firestorm developed, which led to large areas of the city being burned out. At the time of the attack, Dresden was crowded with refugees fleeing the advancing Soviet Army. It is now accepted that between 40,000 and 50,000 casualties resulted from these attacks. 14 February A second attack was carried out by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) on the following day, when 311 Boeing B17 Flying Fortresss of the 1st Air Division, US Eighth Air Force dropped a further 771 tons of bombs on the city.

Two further US attacks were mounted on 15 February and on 2 March 1945. Subsequently, Chemnitz was also attacked by the Royal Air Force as a Thunderclap target and on 26 February 1,066 USAAF Boeing B17 and Consolidated B24 Liberator bombers dropped 2,796 tons of bombs on Berlin. 23 February The Victoria Cross is posthumously awarded to Captain E. Swales of the South African Air Force for his action in the bombing of the rail junction at Pforzheim in Germany in an Avro Lancaster PB538 'M', No.582 Squadron RAF Bomber Command. 3 March The V1 flying bomb campaign against the United Kingdom reopens with the launch of an extended-range variant of the missile from launching sites in the Netherlands. This bombardment ceased at the end of March, by which time 275 missiles had been fired. However, of these only thirteen reached London. During the V1 campaign as a whole, over 10,000 weapons were launched at the United Kingdom. Of these, 7,488 crossed the British coast.

3,957 were shot down by the defences. Of the 3,531 that were not shot down, 2,419 landed in the London area, approximately 30 hit Southampton and Portsmouth and a single weapon landed on Manchester. 6,184 people were killed and 17,981 people injured. 14 March The first 22,000 pound Grand Slam bomb is dropped by Squadron Leader C.C. Calder of No.617 Squadron on the Bielefeld railway viaduct. The viaduct collapsed as a consequence of the attack. 19 March Bomber Command drop six 22,000 pound Grand Slam bombs on the viaduct at Arnsburg. 24 March Operation Varsity: a total of 440 aircraft and gliders (sailplanes) belonging to No.38 and No.46 Groups, RAF Transport Command and 234 aircraft of the US IX Troop Carrier Command drop the British 6th Airborne Division in support of an amphibious attack across the Rhine near Wesel.

27 March The last V2 rocket to fall on Britain falls at Orpington in Kent at 1645hrs. 27 March Argentina declare war on Germany and Japan. 29 March The last V1 flying bomb, of 2,419 to arrive over England during the Second World War, is destroyed near Sittingbourne in Kent. 31 March The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), also known as the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), prior to June 1942, officially ends. By 30 September 1944, EATS/BCATP had generated a total of 168,662 aircrew in training schools located in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Rhodesia. Of this total, 75,152 were pilots, 40,452 navigators, 15,148 air bombers and 37,190 belonged to other aircrew categories. Although South Africa was not part of EATS/BCATP, under a parallel agreement, Royal Air Force aircrew were trained in South African Air Force Air Schools.

10 April The German Air Force flies its last organised operation over Britain - a reconnaissance sortie by an Arado Ar234 jet aircraft over Scotland. 24 April Royal Air Force (RAF) jet aircraft fly their first operation on the Continent, when Gloster Meteors of No.616 Squadron attack the Luftwaffe airfield at Nordholz. 29 April RAF Bomber Command commence mass food drops to the Dutch civilian population in areas still occupied by the German armed forces (Operation Manna). Following the conclusion of an agreement that German anti-aircraft units would not fire on aircraft dropping food on designated dropzones, between 29 April and 8 May 1945, thirty-three squadrons from Nos. 1, 3 and 8 Groups RAF Bomber Command flew approximately 3,150 sorties and delivered 6,685 tons of food. The United States Eighth Army Air Force delivered a further 3,700 tons in 5,343 sorties (Operation Chowhound). 30 April Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, whom he had recently married, commit suicide in the air raid shelter in the Chancellery in Berlin and their bodies are burnt.

May RAF armoured cars, supported by No.114 Squadron (de Havilland Mosquito), suppress hostilities within the Subeihi tribe, Aden. 2 May Axis forces in Italy surrender and approximately one million German personnel are taken prisoner by the Allies. 2 May Wing Commander J.B. Nicolson VC is killed when the No.355 Squadron Consolidated Liberator in which he was flying as an observer crashes into the sea following an engine fire 130 miles south of Calcutta. 4 May The first prisoners of war are repatriated by air in RAF Bomber Command aircraft (Operation Exodus). Bomber Command flew 2,900 sorties over the next 23 days, carrying 72,500 prisoners of war. 7 May The last U-boat to be sunk by an aircraft under RAF Coastal Command control, the Type VIIC submarine U-320, is attacked by a Consolidated Catalina of No.210 Squadron flown by Flight Lieutenant K.M. Murray. The submarine subsequently sank on 9 May off the Norwegian coast - none of the crew survived.

Between 3 September 1939 and 8 May 1945, Royal Air Force (RAF), United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and United States Navy (USN) aircraft under RAF Coastal Command control had participated in the destruction of 207 U-boats and sunk 513,804 tons of Axis shipping (343 ships). A total of 5,866 aircrew and 1,777 aircraft were lost on operations. 7 May The agreement for total and unconditional surrender of the Germans forces is signed at the headquaters of the Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, near Rheims. The German delegation was led byGeneral Alfred Jodl, chief of the Operations staff of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (the German High Command). The surrender was subsequently ratified in the presence of senior Allied officers at the Soviet headquarters in Berlin on 8 May. 8 May The Royal Observer Corps is stood down and re-formed on a peacetime basis.

As at this date there were a total of 1,420 Royal Observer Corps posts and forty operations rooms, manned by 32,000 observers. 16 May Avro Lancaster 'Aries' of the Empire Air Navigation School left the United Kingdom in order to fly over the True North and Magnetic North Poles. The aircraft returned to RAF Shawbury on May 26 after covering a total distance of 17,720 miles 25-26 May Incendiary raids by the United States 20th Army Air Force burned out nearly 17 square miles of the city of Tokyo, approximately 50% of the area of the city. 31 May The strength of the Royal Air Force (RAF) stands at some 55,469 aircraft as at this date, of which 9,200 were first-line machines. 15 July The Royal Air Force's Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) is redesignated British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO). With the end of the Second World War in Europe, the RAF within Germany is initially tasked with assisting the British Army in maintaining order within the British Zone and supervising the dissolution of the Luftwaffe.

The first Air Officer Commanding of BAFO was Air Chief Marshal Sir William Sholto Douglas. 16 July At 0529hrs, the first atomic weapon is successfully detonated at the Trinity test site at Alamogordo in New Mexico, USA. The weapon generated a yield of 18,600 tons of TNT. 26 July Results of the British general election are made known. The Conservative Party and its leader, Winston Churchill were defeated and the Labour Party were now in power. Labour leader Clement Atlee became Prime Minister. 26 July A declaration to the Japanese, drawn up at Potsdam and signed by President Truman, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Generalissimo Chaing Kai-sek is issued, calling for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese forces. It did not mention the atom bomb, but stated "the alternative for Japan's complete and utter destruction." 28 July Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki states in a press release: "Japan is not on her knees" and "not one enemy soldier stands on Japanese soil" and "Japan is determined to fight tooth and nail for every inch of her sacred land." 1 August Royal Air Force Northern Ireland loses its independent command status and is placed under RAF Coastal Command.

8 August The Soviet Union declares war on Japan. 9 August The Victoria Cross is awarded posthumously to Lieutenant R.H. Gray RCNVR for his attack on the Japanese destroyer Amakusa in Onagawa Bay in a Chance Vought Corsair IV (FG-1D KD658) of No.1841 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm. 14-15 August The unconditional surrender of Japan is announced at midnight by President Truman and Prime Minister Attlee. 26 August Operations Birdcage and Mastiff commence. Operation Birdcage involved the dropping of leaflets on prisoner of war and internment camps, detailing the actions to be taken by the inmates in the aftermath of the Japanese surrender. Operation Mastiff was the codename applied to the dropping of airborne medical teams to the camps, RAPWI (Recovery of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees) teams, including RAF personnel and supplies were parachuted to camps in Burma, Siam, French Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies. September During this month, British forces rapidly build up in the Netherlands East Indies, which fall within the South East Asia Command area.

An Air Headquarters, Netherlands East Indies is formed and a RAPWI (Recovery of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees) control unit arrived on 15 September to join a reconnaissance group parachuted into Batavia on 8 September. Following the declaration on 17 September of an independent Republic of Indonesia by the People's Preservation Force, lead by Achmed Soekarno, No.28 Squadron RAF (Supermarine Spitfire FR XIVs) arrived at Medan in Sumatra to deter any nationalist attempt to disrupt the evacuation of Allied detainees. Also during this month, 'A' Flight of No.656 Squadron (equipped with Auster AOP V light aircraft) became operational at Soerabaya and on 31 September a flight of No.110 Squadron (de Havilland Mosquito FBVI) arrived at Kemajoran in Batavia. 2 September The 1939-45 war ends at 1030hrs Tokyo time (0130hrs GMT), when the unconditional surrender of Japan is signed on board the battleship USS Missouri, at anchor in Tokyo Bay.

Following the surrender, the operational phase of Operation Mastiff (the despatch of RAPWI teams to prisoner of war and internment camps by parachute) began in earnest. 11 September Following an agreement at the Potsdam Conference that the United Kingdom would accept the Japanese surrender in French Indo-China south of the 16th parallel, prior to the resumption of French colonial control, Douglas Dakotas of No.62 Squadron began to airlift the leading elements of the 80th Brigade, 20th Indian Division, into Saigon. On the following day, the first French troops flew into Saigon. In practice, British troops concentrated on disarming Japanese forces in the country, allowing French troops to deal with local nationalist movements affiliated to the Viet Minh. 12 September Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder is promoted to the rank of Marshal of the Royal Air Force. 15 September Headquarters, RAF Hong Kong was formed to administer all units based in Hong Kong or operating along the Chinese coast. 19 September No.273 Squadron RAF (Supermarine Spitfire IXs) is deployed to Tan Son Nhut airfield in French Indo-China.

Following its arrival, the squadron flew armed reconnaissance sorties in support of British troops in the French colony. Subsequently, No.273 Squadron was joined at Tan Son Nhut by No.267 Squadron (Douglas Dakotas) and a flight of Mosquito PR34s belonging to No.684 Squadron engaged on photo-mapping duties. The airfield was also occupied by the Gremlin Task Force - a unit consisting of Japanese aircrew under British command, formed to operate Japanese transport aircraft in support of British and French forces. 13 October Following rioting around Saigon, the airfield at Tan Son Nhut comes under attack. British forces were now obliged to use Japanese personnel to assist in containing the Viet Minh. 17 October The air component of Air Headquarters, Netherlands East Indies, No.904 Wing, land at Batavia. This includes No.60 and No.81 Squadrons, equipped with Republic P47 Thunderbolts and No.2739 and No.2962 Squadrons of the RAF Regiment. Both flying squadrons were operational from Kemajoran by 19 October and immediately began to fly sorties in support of SEAC forces.

30 October -15 November Following the outbreak of widespread and fierce conflicts between British troops attempting to occupy the Netherlands East Indies and Indonesian nationalists, Air Headquarters, Netherlands East Indies is heavily reinforced. Additional combat assets included elements of Nos. 47, 81 and 110 Squadrons (de Havilland Mosquito FBVI) search and rescue support was provided by No.27 Squadron (Bristol Beaufighter X) and photo-reconnaissance by No.681 Squadron (Spitfire PR XIX). Additionally, No.31 Squadron (Douglas Dakota) provided transport support to British troops in the colony. Royal Air Force aircraft were regularly called upon to fly armed reconnaissance and close air support sorties. 7 November A new World speed record is established by Group Captain H.J. Wilson of the RAF High Speed Flight. Flying a Gloster Meteor MkIV over a course above Herne Bay in Kent, Group Captain Wilson achieved a speed of 606mph. This was the first officially recognised record to be established by a jet aircraft. 23 November RAF Mediterranean and Middle East is renamed RAF Mediterranean/Middle East (MED/ME).

The command encompassed RAF stations and units in the Central Mediterranean, North Africa, Middle East, the Levant, Iraq, the Sudan, Aden and East Africa. The first Air Officer Commanding was Air Marshal Sir Charles Medhurst. 30 November As part of the restructuring of Air Command South East Asia (ACSEA), RAF Air Command Far East is formed to control AHQs in existence or being established throughout the Far East, including those in Burma, Malaya, Hong Kong and Ceylon. 30 November The Air Transport Auxiliary is disbanded. During the war its pilots have ferried 307,378 aircraft. December Attempts by the British Government to limit Jewish immigration and the desire to create an independent Israeli state lead to an upsurge of terrorism within Palestine. In response, during the course of 1945 a number of Royal Air Force squadrons were despatched to Palestine to carry out anti-terrorist, anti-immigration and transport operations in support of British Army units within the country.

By December, these included: No.6 Squadron (Hawker Hurricane IV), No.32 and No.208 Squadrons (Supermarine Spitfire LF9), No.213 Squadron (North American Mustang III/IV), Nos. 37, 178 and 214 Squadrons (Consolidated Liberator VI), No.644 Squadron (Handley Page Halifax VII/IX) and detachments from No.78 and No.512 Squadrons (Douglas Dakota C4), No.651 Squadron (Auster AOP5) and No.680 Squadron (Mosquito PR16). December No.230 Squadron (Short Sunderland GRV) commence repatriation flights from Batavia in the Netherlands East Indies to Malaya. 1 December Lord Mountbatten visits Saigon in order to officially receive the sword surrendered by the Japanese Supreme Commander in French Indo-China, Count Terauchi. During his visit, Lord Mountbatten praised the Royal Air Force for its work in the area under difficult circumstances.

11 December Supermarine Spitfire IXs of No.273 Squadron carried out strafing attacks on Viet Minh guerrillas surrounding a French force at Banme Thuet, French Indo-China. Leaflets were dropped in advance to warn the Viet Minh of this action. 13 December The first Armee de l'Air fighter unit in French Indo-China, GCII/7, is formed at Tan Son Nhut using ex-RAF Supermarine Spitfire VIII fighters. The unit was subsequently re-equipped with Spitfire XIs in January 1946. As more French units returned to Indo-China, British troops gradually handed over control of Saigon. Discover the National Cold War Exhibition, Cosford. Visit our Online Exhibitions View our online collections through Navigator Read the official RAF Museum Blog. Explore the Casualty Cards of those who served in the RFC and RAF during the First World War.

The Midlands premier air event taking place Sunday 19 June 2016 Turn images from our collection into framed prints and art Get your name on a Red Arrows plane Useful links Manna from heaven | Blog | RAF Museum Manna from heaven 7th April 2016 By Adam Sutch : Researcher, Archive & Library in Collections Division This story explains the background to a situation where, by the end of April 1945, the people of Western Holland were on the edge of a human catastrophe, almost completely without food, and how Allied Air Forces in England responded with Operations “Manna” and “Chowhound”, the dropping of food from the air by bomber aeroplanes. I suppose the story begins in May 1940, when Holland was invaded by Germany. For 5 years, Dutch citizens lived in an occupied country, directed, sometimes imprisoned or worse, by their captors and hoping for liberation. Resistance organisations were formed, information passed to the Allies and strong communications maintained with the exiled Government in England and with the Dutch Royal Family in Canada. Growing Allied strength in the air was a powerful influence on the population.

They listened to the roar of RAF bombers flying over Holland to attack German targets and many Dutch people say that this was the sound that convinced them they would one day be liberated. Unfortunately, the Germans were also aware of these routes and the population saw many combats in the night sky with bombers and crews falling to nightfighters, many of them stationed on Dutch airfields. Great courage was shown by many Dutch people, not only helping and hiding crews who survived the loss of their aircraft, but also in tending the graves of fallen crewmen. This was equally true for the crews of the United States 8th Air Force, sending hundreds of daylight bombers at high altitude on their way to Germany. For much of the War, Holland could just about feed itself, although the Germans removed large numbers of livestock, especially cattle, and requisitioned many other foodstuffs. There may not have been the pre-War variety, but food distribution systems worked and rationing, plus some black market for those who could afford it, ensured an adequate diet. This began to change soon after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.

German priorities moved from being an Occupying to a Defending Army, with effects on the distribution system; the railways, waterways and Agriculture. Over 500,000 acres were flooded or otherwise taken out of use by the Germans during 1944, many barges had been seized and there was no fuel for transport by lorry. These measures made distribution of food very difficult, particularly to the Western Provinces, which are less agricultural and contain the biggest cities. Although the Allied Armies advanced relatively quickly through France and Belgium to capture the port of Antwerp, there were areas on the left flank that were left in German hands whilst the British 21st Army Group pushed towards Germany. Thus some of Holland was liberated, but much remained occupied. The British did try Operation Market Garden in September 1944. This was an attempt using paratroops to seize bridges across a number of major river obstacles. You will all have heard of ‘The Bridge Too Far”, at Arnhem, where the attempt stalled. In anticipation of success at Arnhem, the Dutch Government in Exile called on the railway workers to strike, which they did.

After the Germans defeated the airborne troops, they took revenge against the civilian population still in their hands. Men were rounded up for slave labour, electricity and gas supplies were severely restricted, partly through lack of fuel, and the transportation of food was forbidden for seven weeks, just as winter was approaching. Railway rolling stock was seized and taken to Germany. The workers maintained their strike, many going into hiding. These measures and the unusually severe weather conditions of winter 44/45 brought the ‘Hongerwinter’. Canals and rivers froze, denying transport of food. This was especially difficult in the so-called ‘B-2’ area of the Western Provinces, containing some 3.5 Million people and the major population centres of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Despite a system of food distribution and rationing which was well administered by Dutch civil servants, Food supplies were completely inadequate, particularly in these major cities. Some people cycled to the country to exchange valuables for food, some found black market food but most, particularly the old and children, were slowly starving to death.

Lois de Jong, one of the most prominent Dutch writers on this time, estimates that about 20,000 civilians died of cold, malnutrition and associated disease before sufficient food became available. He also calculated that about 800,000 souls suffered some lasting effects from the hunger. The Dutch government in exile was informed of these circumstances and in January 1945 Queen Wilhelmina wrote a letter to King George and President Roosevelt. "It is the duty of the Dutch government to strongly plead for military action with the aim to drive the Germans out of The Netherlands. She feels that this request is reasonable and necessary and she will be grateful for the assurance that nothing will be left undone to reach this goal. If, which the Dutch government hopes will not happen, immediate military aid will not be possible, than immediate aid in the shape of massive evacuation or in the shape of food supplies, clothing, fuel and medicine is necessary.” A Dutch “Committee of Confidence” negotiated with the German Reichskomissar for Holland, Seyss-Inquart, for limited shipments of Flour, Fats and other food by Switzerland and Sweden under Red Cross arrangements.

These began in late January and February 1945, but did not come anywhere near to solving the problem. Although they started to stockpile rations in Europe, against the day when Holland could be liberated, Eisenhower and Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) high command were concerned. German forces in Holland, had been ordered to fight to the end by Hitler, and might cause complete devastation by flooding the rest of the Western Provinces, if they were attacked. The Dutch Committee of Confidence then reported in early April that Seyss-Inquart might be open to negotiate a truce, which could allow the supply of much more food to avert an imminent humanitarian catastrophe. This led the Allies to an imaginative plan. Perhaps safe passage for airdrops of food from England, only 130 or so miles away, could be arranged? Allied transport aircraft fleets were badly stretched by the demands of the War and delivering food quickly to Holland by ship was beset by difficulty through mines and the damage the Germans had done to ports, docks and cranes. However, there was a huge lifting capacity within the RAF’s Bomber Command and the United States Eighth Army Air Force, based in the United Kingdom.

By this time in the War, there was a real sense that the Bombers were running out of worthwhile targets. Air Commodore Andrew Geddes, whose job was Operations and Plans at 2nd Tactical Air Force, was summoned to Eisenhower’s Headquarters on 17th April to be told that he must plan for feeding 3,500,000 Dutch souls from the air, commencing in 10 days’ time. There were no parachutes available for dropping supplies, therefore Geddes should plan for low-level free drops and assume that the German troops on the ground would grant safe conduct for the flights. RAF Bomber Command would provide No 1 and No 3 Group operating Lancasters, together with appropriate Pathfinder Mosquito and Lancaster support; altogether 33 Squadrons. The Americans would provide the B17 Flying Fortresses of 3rd Air Division of 10 Bombardment Groups. Whilst Geddes and his small staff were planning, Engineers in the Air Forces were working out how to pack the food and then drop it, with some changes to the bomb bay of the B17 aeroplanes.

Material for the modifications, cargo nets, sacks and of course the food was being transported to the airfields in England. At the same time, details of the plan were communicated to Holland, in order that arrangements for collecting, safeguarding, transporting and distributing the food could be made. The planners even specified the provision of medical services at the Drop Zones, in case hungry people invaded them and were hit by the tins and bags from the air. Crews from the nominated Squadrons were practicing flying and drops at low level, in daylight, mostly with sandbags. Not everything went perfectly. At one demonstration; cascading tins of meat, sugar and other food were very close to hitting the senior officer spectators! Early on in the practice drops it was discovered that two sacks, one inside the other, were needed to avoid cargo being ruined or dispersed on landing. Geddes also turned his plan into a sort of “Heads of Agreement” to be signed by Allied, Dutch and German Representatives. Neither Geddes, nor his seniors were interested in protracted negotiations or horse-trading. His document simply set out arrangements for the Air Supply of food to the population of the occupied Netherlands through flights to 10 specified drop zones.

Meanwhile, the Germans had flooded more land and the meagre remaining food was fast running out completely. The first meeting with German Representatives was planned for the 28th April, in a School House at Achterveld. However, on the 27th, Resistance representatives, in touch with the Dutch Civilian Food Distribution organisation, reported to His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard that supplies and distribution had broken down and that they stood at the edge of catastrophe. Seyss-Inquart had indicated that he would agree to 4 drop zones. Despite this, the German Representatives at Achterveld on the 28th said they were only there to hear what the Allies proposed and report back. The Allies then stated that food drops would begin next day at 5 locations, this would be announced on Radio Oranj, for the Dutch population and Radio Luxembourg, which at that time was a SHAEF station broadcasting to German Forces as Nachtsender 1212. The Germans were not to interfere with the drops and were to return to Achterveld as soon as possible with authorised Representatives.

On the next day, 29th April, 239 RAF Lancasters dropped 535 tons of food at 5 locations, followed by 1021 tons on the 30th. This was the day that Hitler committed suicide in Berlin and the day that Seyss-Inquart agreed to the arrangements at a second meeting at Achterveld. RAF aircrew were suspicious of German intentions when flying the first sorties of Operation Manna, which was the name for the RAF element of this plan. The crews knew how vulnerable they would be, flying low and slow at the height where light flak and even rifle fire would be very effective against them. However, apart from a few rifle calibre holes in a very few aeroplanes, the Germans carried out their part in the plan throughout. And aircrew confidence rapidly grew. In sorties from the 1st May until 8th May, the RAF dropped a further 5586 tons of food. I say ‘RAF’. But the crews comprised airmen from around the world. 300 Squadron, your own Polish bombers, flew many sorties, as did Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders.

There was even a Dutchman, Heukensfeld-Jansen, flying a Lancaster of 90 Squadron, to drop food at Rotterdam. The Americanoperation, ”Chowhound”, ran from 1st to 7th May and delivered 3770 tons of food By B17 onto 10 Drop Zones in 2189 sorties. In total, almost 11, 000 tons of food was dropped in 5,391 successful sorties, for the loss of 3 B17s and 1 Lancaster in accidents, which caused the death of 12 American crewmen. Des Hawkins DFC, an RAF Navigator on Operation Manna has told how he normally stayed behind his curtain in the aeroplane but, on his Manna trips, he came out to see amazing sights on the ground; from German soldiers looking up at them to Dutch civilians in their thousands, around and on the Drop Zones, on roof tops, in the streets, waving flags and sheets or just their hands. Similar stories have been told by many of the aircrew. Everyone on the ground also knew what was happening and why. The aeroplanes meant life and hope and there were hundreds of them.

People who were children in Holland then, but aging now, also tell of their absolute joy and renewed hope for the future as they watched the aeroplanes and the sacks and boxes come tumbling down to be collected. Their thanks were spelled out for the crews to see. What was this food? At the start, the British sacks contained some pre-packaged combat rations, but contents quickly moved to a single type in each sack. It could be flour, tinned meat, sugar, coffee, peas, and chocolate or dried egg powder. Mostly, these were staples, not many luxuries. The Americans, too, started off dropping field rations but soon switched to single types of foodstuffs per sack. Some tell stories of ‘finding’ and keeping a box or a sack, but that had its dangers as well. Some sacks might just have pepper in them, and there were dangers in eating too much high calorie food, too quickly, after so long on a very poor diet. Despite the general hunger, discipline and organisation on the ground mostly worked very well. German soldiers and Dutch Policemen kept order and escorted the food as it was collected and carried off.

Barges, wagons and manpower were all used for distribution, which started up very quickly, as did the kitchens to provide meals. This was all bolstered from 3rd May by another Operation, “Faust”, which was Canadian Army transport, with the agreement of the Germans, crossing through the lines and delivered food, coal and medicines into the Western Provinces. 200 or more lorries were quickly given to the Dutch to help with the onward distribution. After the German capitulation in Holland on 6th May 1945, Chowhound ended on the next day and Operation Manna on the 8th. As Dutch Government was re-established, reinstating Mayors and a civil administration, the supply of food by land continued, but the airdrops were over. They only lasted just a few days but the Manna and Chowhound drops have had a massive impact on many levels. They made a real difference to the survival and future health of millions of people. Secondly, the people of Holland have not forgotten and have regularly honoured both the Veterans and the event itself. Prince Bernhard decorated Geddes after the War and they remained friends since meeting during the planning and at Achterveld.

There is a formal memorial to Manna and Chowhound in Holland and many households still cherish an old food sack, or a ration tin from those days. Many contacts have been established and maintained between the aircrew and the Dutch citizens involved. There are Memorials across the world from stamps in Holland, a tile mosaic in Canada to paintings and commemorative coins. Also, these Operations showed the world a new use for Air Power, in the service of humanity, if you like. Ironically, one of the first and major recipients was the German nation, or at least those in Berlin. Commonwealth and American Air Forces found themselves running a massive airlift, Operation Plainfare and Operation Vittles, when the Soviets closed the access corridors to Berlin. This lasted almost a year and delivered over 2 Million tons of supplies. Since then we have seen many other examples of this humanitarian use of Air Power; the delivery of aid from Ethiopia to Grenada and many places in between. This combination of Strategic Reach and the ability to plan, organise and implement effectively and quickly is a hallmark of the best Air Forces and will be needed around the World, again and again, in the future.

If you want to find out more about Manna and Chowhound, there is research material within the Archive and Library at the RAF Museum, Hendon, which can be inspected by appointment at the Reading Room. York and Dakota aeroplanes, of the type used on the Berlin Airlift are on display at Cosford Museum. There is also much material available on the internet. Finally a Dutch author, Hans Onderwater, has worked for many years to document both the operations themselves and the situation on the ground at the time. One of his books ‘Operation Manna/Chowhound: The Allied Food Dropping April/May 1945’ is also in English. Although it was published in 1985, it is still possible to find a copy even if, as I did, you have to secure it from a Dutch second hand book seller. About the Author Adam Sutch : Researcher, Archive & Library Adam joined the Museum in March 2016 after a full career in the Ministry of Defence and some years as a ‘customer’ in the research room at Hendon.

Currently working on general enquiries and researching elements of the Museum’s RAF Centenary programme, Adam likens his job to being locked in a sweetshop with the guards bringing fresh treats every day and saying “ These are good, try some”! Discover the National Cold War Exhibition, Cosford. Visit our Online Exhibitions Manna From Heaven - Legion Magazine Manna From Heaven May 1, 2005 by Ted Barris PHOTOS: HANS ONDERWATER; HARVEY GOTTFRIED From top: Thankful civilians in the western Netherlands collect food parcels after they are dropped by Allied aircraft; an Operation Manna aircrew poses in front of their Lancaster bomber in April 1945. The following is an excerpt from Days of Victory: Canadians Remember, 1939–45 by Ted Barris. Published by Thomas Allen Publishers of Toronto, the book sells for $34.95, not including tax, and is available at bookstores everywhere. The sky was falling again. Aircraft had suddenly appeared over the western horizon, out beyond the approaches to Waalhaven airfield near the centre of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Next came the roar of the piston engines, growing louder as the planes got closer to the city. Mosquito fighter-bombers led the way, dropping red flares. Lancaster bombers followed, dozens of them filling the skies over downtown Rotterdam. Their bomb-bay doors were gaping. Their payloads beginning to fall like the bombing operations of so many other visits. Seeing and hearing such aircraft generally meant destruction and death. For more than five years these Royal Air Force warbirds had come on the darkest nights to drop thousands of tons of incendiary and phosphorous bombs on railway and military targets in Holland and on the German munitions factories of the Ruhr Valley to the east. Then sometimes during the day, the American B-17 bombers would come. But the Flying Fortresses would fly so high—at perhaps 15,000 or 20,000 feet—that all anybody on the ground could see were their exhaust trails. But today—April 29, 1945—was different. This time the armada of aircraft was approaching just after one in the afternoon. It was RAF Lancasters at low altitude, maybe 300 to 500 feet off the ground, in broad daylight.

They weren’t dropping bombs, but hundreds and hundreds of bags and boxes, all tumbling toward pre-arranged drop zones such as the one at Waalhaven. Nor was there returning fire from German anti-aircraft batteries on the ground. This was the first airdrop of food rumoured to be coming for the starving populations of western Holland. This was Operation Manna. Not a moment too soon. Though the Allies had by now liberated Rome, Paris, Brussels, Antwerp, and even some roads leading to the Rhine on the doorstep of Nazi Germany, freedom had seemed a long way off for Dutch citizens trapped in the occupied cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague. More pressing for most of them was subsistence food. While German troops had occupied Holland since May 1940, they had generally not restricted Dutch civilian access to food. That changed suddenly in late 1944 when the German governor in Holland, Reichskommissar Arthur Seyss-Inquart, imposed an embargo on food supplies.

Food stocks, particularly in the densely populated western Netherlands, where nearly 40 per cent of the Dutch population lived, were clearly insufficient to feed city dwellers during the winter of 1944-45. Urban families, perhaps three million people, were forced to scrounge through garbage. Some pulverized vegetable roots or boiled nettles, sorrel leaves and flower bulbs for sustenance. Maaike Verhagen, who at the time was living in south Rotterdam, was among those who survived what would become known as the Hunger Winter. Just 20 years old, she was one of eight children, but that winter she and her mother were living with her sister, “sharing what food we had. We cooked sugar beets into everything. A lot of people ate tulip bulbs. That was how we stayed alive.” In January 1945, with a severe winter tightening its grip on northwestern Europe, Dutch Queen Wilhelmina (in exile in London) wrote to U.S.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and King George VI, predicting “if a major catastrophe, the like of which has not been seen in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, is to be avoided in Holland, something drastic has to be done now.” The British Air Ministry and Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, (SHAEF), drafted a plan to airlift food into the Netherlands. Officials calculated if each bomber involved carried 5,000 pounds of emergency foodstuffs per trip, just under two million pounds could be delivered by 380 aircraft sorties. In March, aircrews conducted trial runs in central England, dropping bags full of sand from low altitudes at minimum airspeed. The real bags and boxes in the airdrop would deliver such food staples as dried eggs, milk powder, salt, margarine, dried yeast, mustard, cheese, luncheon meat, tea, chocolate, and white flour for what the Dutch would call “liberation bread.” Several problems remained. To succeed, the plan would require an entire Allied bomber group of perhaps 200 aircraft conducting up to two sorties a day; but pulling that many aircraft out of direct combat operations could cripple the Allied war effort.

Allied commanders demanded the airlift be guaranteed free, unmolested access to Dutch drop zones. On the other hand, German occupation commanders were suspicious; they did not want Allied bombers flying unchallenged over a war zone. Secret meetings among British, Dutch, Canadian and German representatives went on even as ground crews in England prepared the first food-packed bombers before noon on April 29. Pilot Joe English of Calgary and his crew of four Canadians, one Briton, and an Australian had just completed their 30th operation, the equivalent of a full tour of duty. Although English was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, he and other Canadians were attached to the RAF’s 625 Squadron. If his crew flew again, they fully expected Bomber Command might send them on perhaps one more bombing run that Sunday. In fact, the crew’s British flight engineer, Jack Munday, had cycled out to the flight-line Saturday night to see what, if anything, was loaded aboard their Lancasterbomber, named H for How. Munday returned, saying, “Daylights tomorrow, boys. We’re loaded with HEs,” which meant a daylight bombing operation with high-explosive bombs.

“However, at briefing (Sunday morning),” said Burke Thomas, the Lancaster crew’s mid-upper gunner, “a letter from the British Air Ministry…said 16 aircraft from 625 Sqdn. have been selected as the first to drop food in Holland…. It would be the first drop of its kind, an experiment trip.” Thomas, from Cardston, Alta., also learned that a temporary truce was in the works so that German anti-aircraft gunners apparently would not shoot at the bombers carrying food to the Dutch drop zones. RAF armament technicians at their Scampton station, in Lincolnshire, had even placed plastic caps over the muzzles of every machine-gun aboard their substitute bomber named M for Mabel. This was to reinforce the order that Allied guns were not to be fired, unless fired upon. “If they had fired at us,” English said, “it would have been easy to blow us right out of the sky. We were flying so low.” So just after noon that Sunday, April 29, M for Mabel and 15 other bombers from 625 Sqdn. joined 242 Lancasters and dozens of pathfinder aircraft en route to the Dutch coast.

The Canadian content in Operation Manna wasn’t huge, but it was still important. Between 25-30 Canadians attached to 625 Sqdn. flew in the operation. Also included in the effort to mark various drop zones were aircraft from Canada’s 405 Sqdn., assigned to No. 8 Pathfinder Group. M for Mabel’s Canadian navigator, Harvey Gottfried, had been briefed that the drop zones, (DZs), would be clearly marked with green lights and white cloth crosses on the ground; the Mosquito pathfinders—flying in the vanguard—would further outline the DZs with red smoking markers. For the first leg of the trip, Gottfried had to pilot the Lanc through rain and snow showers, and a cloud base at about 500 feet. But by the time the squadron approached the Dutch coast, just after 1:30 p.m., the clouds had dispersed and visibility had improved. At first contact with the Dutch coast, Sqdn. Leader A.B. Fry banked to port and let English’s crew take the lead.

The sky was so clear and the bombers in such tight formation, the crew of M for Mabel could actually see the squadron leader’s hand signal. The towns and villages along the waterways leading inland from the coast were still occupied by units of German paratroopers and “the riverbank bristled with German anti-aircraft guns,” which were also in plain view of English’s crew. Normally, navigator Gottfried never left his post, behind blackout curtains plotting courses throughout a nighttime operation; but this being a daylight trip, he quickly ventured to a nearby window just in time to witness history in the making. “When we went across the coast,” Gottfried said, “somebody said, ‘The guns are still down there and they’re pointing at us.’” The navigator from Saugeen, Ont., had flown enough ops to know the damage 88-mm anti-aircraft guns could inflict on a Lancaster flying at 15,000 or 20,000 feet, let alone just a few hundred feet. “I turned around and I looked right down the barrel of an 88. It was a scary sight.” But the guns remained silent.

Within minutes, English’s crew had sighted the drop zone and descended to the appointed altitude. Each aircraft carried a three-ton payload, nearly 300 bags or boxes of food staples. M for Mabel opened bomb-bay doors and dropped the food from an altitude of 500 feet. Fry’s crew followed and dropped at 400 feet. The third Lancaster dropped at 300 feet, the fourth back to 500 feet, and so on. But even those estimates may well have been off, since mid-upper gunner Thomas remembered seeing “the tops of haystacks being blown off” by the low-flying Lancasters. More impressive than the wind-blown landscape, however, was the sea of humanity. For residents of the larger Dutch cities such as The Hague, Utrecht, Haarlem, Amsterdam and Rotterdam—where occupying German troops had intentionally cut off food supplies throughout the desperate winter of 1944-45—these rations were a godsend, a miracle. And the hungry people on the ground showed their gratitude openly. “Great tension.

Everybody is standing in the street looking to the West,” wrote high school student Arie de Jong in the town of Vlaar-dingen. “One Lancaster roared over the town at 70 feet…. Everywhere we looked bombers could be seen. No one remained inside and everybody dared to wave cloths and flags. What a feast!” Along the flight path of the low-flying Lancasters, at Lisse, not far from Rotterdam, Dini van der Spruit lived with her mother, father, sister, married brother, his wife and child. The food restrictions of the German blockade had left the 15-year-old and her family scrounging and improvising to stay alive. Each time Dini’s mother received tulip bulbs from neighbouring flower farms, she would cook and re-cook them and mix in flour to create a mush for the family to eat. But toward the end of April, Dini recognized her mother’s desperation. “If a miracle doesn’t happen soon,” Dini remembered her mother saying, “I don’t know what to put on the table.” That’s when the family heard a sound unlike any they’d known.

Instead of the high-altitude drone they’d heard nightly since 1940, this time the aircraft engines seemed to be right on top of them. So they ran to the fields, the rooftops, to wherever they could to get a better view. “We were so excited,” Dini said. “We had never seen a plane that low. Besides, they were dropping all this food, so everybody went crazy. Actually crazy. Jumping and hollering…. The food came down in clouds—biscuits, powdered milk, and eggs. It was fantastic.” In Rotterdam, M.J. van Rijn would not forget what happened that afternoon. In particular, he recalled “when the Lancasters flew over very low…even German soldiers watched the bombers with their mouths wide open.” April 29 was also van Rijn’s wife’s birthday. For the first time in years they would have a reason to celebrate and the “bread from heaven” to make it memorable.

That first day of Operation Manna, 246 Lancasters flew from RAF stations north of London and 239 of them successfully dropped more than 500 tons of food at four appointed Dutch drop zones—the Waalhaven airfield in Rotterdam, the Ypenburg airfield, the Valkenburg airfield, and the racetrack near The Hague. The racetrack drop zone posed its own unique set of problems. Len Bawtree of Enderby, B.C., piloted his Lancaster, Champagne Charlie, from Scampton to The Hague racetrack that Sunday and delivered 292 bags of food right on the dot. Ernie Croteau of Grande Prairie, Alta., was his bomb-aimer. “On the way in, I spotted the white cross on the ground,” Croteau said.

“But just as we were getting there, (Len) raised the nose of the aircraft up, which meant he had come in over something to get into that racetrack and then raised it again to get out.” Bawtree had steered the Lancaster over a church steeple, down over the racetrack, and out over some other buildings to deliver the cargo as close to the ground as he dared. “It was as if we went in on a wave,” Croteau said. “We went in at 250 feet,” Bawtree added. It was likely lower than allowed, but he realized how much damage could be done to such a valuable cargo if his crew dropped the food from too great an altitude. “Some of the bags would break open, especially the ones with flour.” Another RAF crewman flying Operation Manna that day was a pilot born in Amsterdam. Flight Lieutenant Heuke Jansen was awestruck by the widespread flooding in the polders (reclaimed farmlands) of his home country. Though preoccupied with the job of getting his Lancaster to the target and back, he couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the masses of people running to the drop sites and waving madly back at the bomber crews.

The sights so mesmerized Jansen and his crew that on the final approach to Rotterdam, there was complete silence aboard the Lancaster save the voice of the Canadian bomb-aimer. “Left, left. Keep her steady, skipper,” Charlie McIntosh said over the intercom. “Pathfinder markers straight ahead.” “I always considered it a privilege… a Dutchman allowed to deliver this precious cargo to the brave city of Rotterdam,” Jansen said. Operation Manna continued for 10 days, delivering more than 7,000 tons of food to three million residents of western Holland. On the fifth day, RAF Bomber Command’s daily reports offered the usual clinical descriptions of the operation—the weather conditions, dropping accuracy, and lack of enemy opposition—but signed off by reporting that “a large note was seen northwest of the dropping zone at Rotterdam, saying ‘Many Thanks.’” Two days into the operation, the Americans joined the effort by launching Operation Chowhound. More than 400 Flying Fortresses of the U.S. Army Air Force, (USAAF), 3rd Air Division, began the operation and in the days that followed they delivered more than 4,000 tons of emergency food supplies.

Despite the apparent truce along air corridors designated for food relief, the operation sustained casualties. Frequently during the 10-day operation, Lancaster and Flying Fortress crews landed at their home stations in England to discover bullet holes in wings and fuselages; apparently not all German troops recognized the truce. On May 7, the very day the Germans signed unconditional surrender documents in France, an Operation Chowhound B-17 went down. Reports said the aircraft sustained fire from German ground troops near Ijmuiden, and halfway home the Fortress filled with smoke and crashed into the North Sea. Though returning RAF and USAAF crews spotted plenty of parachutes around the wreckage, by the time help arrived only three of the B-17’s crew of 13 were found alive and one died en route to England. A survivor, Staff Sergeant David Condon, said, “The saddest part was that two members of the crew were flying with us at their own special request. Because the Germans had capitulated, there seemed to be no risk involved, so they had received permission to come with us.

Their first flight was their last.” During the Hunger Winter, the German occupation of western Holland starved more than 10,000 people to death. That winter, Klaas Schoenmaker turned 15 in his hometown of Haarlem, west of Amsterdam. The Germans considered 15-year-olds adults and forced them to carry passports containing a photograph, fingerprints, and other vital statistics. Just prior to his 15th birthday, however, Schoenmaker was stopped by German guards who demanded his papers. Since he was tall for his age, the guards didn’t believe he was not an adult. He was nearly arrested. His father quickly took him to “dive under” (hide out) in the country, near the town of Beemster. It was there, in the last days of April 1945, that Schoenmaker saw some of the Lancasters and Flying Fortresses criss-crossing the countryside and dropping food at low altitude, but none close enough for him to enjoy any direct benefit. Then oddly, during one of the Operation Chowhound ops, a single B-17 bomber passed overhead.

Schoenmaker waved madly to the American aircrew in hopes of a response and miraculously a single bag fell to earth in its wake. “All I could think of was that it contained chocolate bars,” Schoenmaker said. “When I got to the bag and opened it, all I found inside was pepper…. I guess the crew had a single bag left over and thought they should throw me something.” If not the contents, it was the message that mattered, even to a 15-year-old boy. If military airplanes were dropping food and not bombs, the war must nearly be over. Allied armies, fighting closer every day, must have German armies on the verge of surrender. And so the miracle of liberation must be at hand. Food from heaven must be the final act. “As far as I was concerned,” said Canadian pilot Len Bawtree, “we had one desire and that was to free Europe. First it meant demolishing factories and other military targets.

But when we started the food drops, it was to improve people’s lives and give them back their freedom.” Fellow RCAF pilot English agreed: “The food packs were the best kind of bombs we ever dropped.” Four days after the crews of M for Mabel and Champagne Charlie completed their first food drops over western Holland, on May 3, General Harry Crerar’s 1st Canadian Army received orders to call off planned attacks on towns in western Germany. On May 4, German troops in Denmark and Holland surrendered unconditionally to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery at his army headquarters. At 8 a.m. on May 5, 1945, all Canadian armed services observed the ceasefire there. And just three days later, pilots English and Bawtree and their crews joined multitudes of celebrants. The greatest miracle of all was that they had made it to Victory-in-Europe Day. SEARCH

Question: Over which country did RAF Bomber Command make food drops, codenamed ‘Operation Manna’, in April 1945?
Answer: THE NETHERLANDS