In 1941, a Blenheim of 139 Squadron crashed into the sea just off the coast of Holland. Parts of
the fore section of this aircraft were recovered in 1979. Recently, the tail end has been discovered and
an exhibition of the remains are to be officially opened in Holland by Bob "Smudger" Coles, one of
its crew members, in May this year.

During the night of 7th & 8th May 1941, Sgt. K.R. Coles was Observer in 139 Sqn. Mk 4 Blenheim P4860. The aircraft was piloted by Sgt. J. W. Middleton and A. G. Hale was Wireless Operator / Gunner. Under a bright moon, they had set course for the Hook of Holland.

Their main objective was an enemy convoy which they soon found and decided to have a go at its largest ship. Swooping in, they released one bomb and as their reception was somewhat unwelcoming, decided to carry on to a secondary target: moored barges and transport ships at Delzyl (not sure of spelling here). It was on this leg that Bob Hale spotted a German fighter closing in. He shouted a warning over the intercom and Bill Middleton immediately took severe evasive action. The strategy was a little too frantic as the Blenheim smacked into the sea, breaking its fuselage in two. Bob Hale was left in the gun turret as the fore section with pilot and observer tumbled on. As the wreckage finally came to rest in very shallow water, it caught fire.

Smudger, who had sustained the lesser injuries of the three crewmen, got clear and found he was in water up to his chest. He managed to get the rubber dinghy inflated, hauled the stunned and bleeding pilot aboard and then started paddling towards the rear part of the aircraft and Bob Hale. Smudger yelled trying to find out if Bob had survived but at this stage, there was no reply, he was in fact unconscious, slumped against his guns. Fortunately, his head remained above the surface of the water and he was soon to be woken.

From the main wreck came flashes and bangs as flares and ammunition went off. Suddenly, a terrific explosion. The remaining bombs blew up. This tremendous detonation sent flaming debris in all directions and as things started to settle and the sound rumbled away, Smudger and Bill heard a barely audible cry. Their mate was still alive!

With his two comrades in the dinghy, Smudger started wading towards the shore which was some way off. The tide was out but there was no beach, ..... only deep, sticky mud.

Eventually the three airmen managed to get ashore where they were taken into custody by enemy troops who'd had plenty of time to receive them. This was the start of a long adventure which included several escapes and re-captures. The first was from hospital within days of the crash and then from p.o.w. camps. On one of these occasions, Smudger and his friends managed to get into Germany's second largest fighter factory and testing base at Regensburg where they planned to steal an aeroplane, Undetected, they crept beneath the wing of one aircraft but found that all the planes were securely tethered and tarpaulined. It became apparent that to remove the covers let alone get the engines started would be pushing luck too far..... So, they crept silently away.

Whilst enduring the privations of POW life, Smudger Coles secretly recorded his experiences in an illustrated journal which he kept in a tin beneath the floorboards of his hut and eventually sown into his haversack. On his final escape, he made it back to the British lines and home. Below is just one of the intricate pages of the handwritten journal (approx half size).

The action which started this adventure was not the first which Smudger Coles had experienced. Earlier, he'd been mentioned in dispatches for beating out a fire aboard his aircraft with his bare hands. This was the result of ack-ack. A shell had hit the aeroplane and bounced into his upturned tin-hat (no, he wasn't wearing it!). It smashed the radio accumulators, releasing choking sulphuric acid fumes, The gas was so bad that the pilot had to press his streaming eyes against the windscreen in a desperate bid to see ahead. Charts and other items caught fire and it was up to Smudger to clear it away but, that was nothing compared to what then happened. The rack of Very-Light cartridges started popping off. Searing magnesium flares turned the innards of the aircraft into a flying, flaming hell. As the aeroplane careered through the sky, Smudger Coles grabbed into the molten crucible and stuffed it all out through the jagged hole made by the ack-ack shell.

After the war, Smudger was awarded the MBE and became an accomplished photographer, He has always painted and now in retirement, produces superb canvases. He is really fit and a fine swordsman. If you would like to read more of his wartime exploits, have a look at these books:- "No Time for Fear" by Vic Gammon and "Blenheim Strike" by Theo Boiten. If you'd like to find out more about his paintings, contact me and I'll put you in touch and by the way, .... I have known the man for many years and I can assure you he is the last to shout of his own deeds. I know him, not by his old wartime nick-name "Smudger" but by his professional name:

Robert Coles ABIPP ARPS MBE or simply "Bob".

As there is another Bob mentioned in this narrative, to avoid confusion, I have used his old RAF nick-name.

Update Jan 2004 : : See new painting / prints