Lord, on this day we remember FLGOFF Martin Michael Corcoran who enlisted as
aircrew in the Royal Australian Air Force 09 November 1941.
Martin was born on the 8th of July, 1918. He was the son of Michael and Ann Corcoran
of Canungra. FLGOFF Corcoran was best described as a “young fellow from a small
country town.”
As a Flying Officer, he was the bomb aimer in a Halifax bomber of 640 Squadron Royal
Air Force. On the night of the 30th March 1940, he was a part of a large number of aircrew
who went on a bombing mission over Germany. The target was the township of
Nuremberg. The aircrews were briefed that cloudy conditions were expected, ideal for the
conduct of a bombing mission. Every effort was made to keep from crews the unpleasant
fact that they were to fly a constant course through a well-defended part of Germany for
265 miles in bright moonlight with little chance of cloud cover. 782 bomber aircraft took
off. 725 aircraft crossed the Belgian coast with several aircraft aborting. It was at this time
that the aircrew realised that they were flying in full moonlight. The Germans were
waiting for them with AAA and the Luftwaffe night fighters.
The following is taken from the book "Heroes Have Wings" by Peter Firkins.
"The Halifax was weaving over Nuremberg when a Me-110 night fighter executed the
classic attack against a bomber. The pilot flew underneath his target to position himself
in the bomber's blind spot, and fired a single burst of the 20mm cannon fire which, in
Luftwaffe slang was known as schragemusik, which translated as 'slanting music' but
really meant 'jazz music'.
The explosive shells hit the bomber's nose, starboard wing and engines, and slashed
through the cockpit. The Canadian pilot, Flying Officer J.D. Laidlaw was mortally
wounded, the flight engineer was killed, and the navigator, Pilot Officer F.W. Shuttle was
badly wounded.
Just before Laidlaw died he ordered the crew to bail out. They made for the nose hatch
but found that Shuttle had fallen across it and could not be moved. Three of the four
survivors then scrambled for the rear hatch, shouting for Corcoran to follow them, but he
refused to leave Shuttle to a helpless lonely death. He stayed with his mate, giving him
whatever comfort he could while the Halifax plunged down to destruction with flames
streaming from the fuselage and wings.
The other three men survived and were able to tell the story of Corcoran's heroism, but the
stories of thousands of other young men who died in Bomber Command will never be
told."
On the night of the Nuremberg raid, 96 bombers failed to return. 545 airmen died, more
airmen killed in one night than died during the entire battle of Britain.
Martin Corcoran was aged 25. He is buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery and
commemorated on the war memorial in Canungra.