Operation Manna Remembered – Experiences of the Crews, Eighty Years On

29 April 2025 By Vernon Creek in Access and Learning

Exodus Chapter 16, v2-4, NIV:

‘In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat round pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you..”’

This portion of the ancient story of the Israelites tells of a nation saved from starvation by a raining down of supernatural food from the sky – called Manna – which was an experience that the Dutch nation could relate to at a time when their situation was equally desperate. Exactly eighty years ago this week, beginning on 29 April and extending to 8 May 1945, RAF Bomber Command undertook Operation Manna.

Following a seemingly unending campaign of night bombing over Germany, this unusual task suggested to the bomber crews that the war might end any day soon. It was a fortnight of daily low-level flights daytime flights flown over German-occupied areas of the western Netherlands by crews of Lancasters bombers, used to flying at high-level and in darkness. This time, no bombs but sacks of food dropped to feed the malnourished population below. It was the first humanitarian aid mission undertaken buy the Royal Air Force and it left an indelible memory shared between the saved Dutch citizens and the crews who flew to their rescue. Held dear by those who experienced it, memories of Manna are treasured by their descendants today.

The Dutch had already suffered five years of occupation by Germany and the requisition of much of its food resources, which had worsened in the months since D-Day when Western Holland suffered further with the effects of abandonment by an occupying army on the defence and only interested in feeding itself. An urgent solution to a population who had eaten the remaining food and were turning to sugar beet and inedible tulip bulbs to fill themselves, was needed.

The Dutch Government in exile appealed to the Allies for immediate help. Codenamed Manna, to reflect the story of the Israelites led by Moses in the wilderness and being fed supernaturally with manna – bread from heaven – the urgently needed food supplies dropped from the air, were vital in saving some lives who were very close to starvation, after many more sick and elderly people had already died from malnourishment.

A series of demanding food bombing raids followed over successive days, but happily and enthusiastically carried out by RAF crews, who knew that for once in this war, they were not destroying targets but directly saving the lives of their allies. Even in this final fortnight of the war in Europe, it didn’t mean the mission was simple – the enemy was still occupying the countryside where the bomber aircraft would fly over and the airfields designated for the food drops were still challenging targets to approach and deliver, undamaged, the vital food. Enemy infantry did sometimes still take shots at the low-flying aircraft, even if with few harmful consequences as the aircraft were so low, that shooting would be inaccurate.

© RAF Museum, X007/6957/003, Manna bomber approaching the coast of Holland.

An excellent full account of the operation, the reasons for it and its planning and execution, can be enjoyed in another RAF Museum blog, which I urge you to read and so I will not attempt to reproduce the story here.

Instead, please see:
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/operation-manna-29th-april-to-8th-may-1945/

The significant milestone of eighty years is a great opportunity to visit some first-hand accounts of a selection of RAF personnel who carried out these lifesaving missions and whose records, log books and unpublished accounts are held in our archive. We take a closer look here.

In his unpublished squadron history, ‘We Fly By Marking, A History of No 582 Squadron RAF’, Albert Butterworth recalled:

‘Operation Manna … began during the day on April 29th 1945 and lasted until May 8th. During these ten days, 145 Mosquitoes and 300 Lancasters made 3,156 flights, dropping 6685 tons of food to the starving Dutch citizens.

The hundreds of objects falling from the Lancasters, flying as low as 500ft (155m) and sometimes down to 300ft (91m), at 160mph (260kmh), were not bombs but bags of food, tins of butter, meat and cheese It was food which saved the lives of thousands of men, women and children, who for months had lived on a diet of boiled tulip bulbs, nettle soup and sliced beets, and were now at the end of their strength.

In April 1945 the southern part of Holland had already been liberated by advancing allied troops after five years of German occupation, but north-western areas, Rotterdam, the Hague, Amsterdam were still in the hands of the Germans. Towards the end of 1944 after the Gestapo had opened dyke sluices, putting thousands of acres of fertile land under water, they demanded that the populace should surrender all food supplies to feed their troops. Dutch railwaymen went on strike in protest, which meant no food could be distributed.

Eyewitnesses told of seeing people collapse on the street from hunger, while children were crying from starvation and exhaustion on doorsteps. Thousands of city dwellers trooped miles into the countryside, carrying pitiful bundles of table linen and their last clothes supplies to try to barter with farmers for potatoes, bread and milk.

The RAF began planning in February 1945, when a Lancaster of 115 squadron (HK696) was sent to Netheravon to help in formulating a suitable dropping technique. Later, panniers were made, of which five could fit in a Lancaster’s bomb-bay, with each pannier holding 70 sacks, each containing 25lb (11kg), of tinned meat, flour, dried milk, chocolate, tea and sugar, etc, Hights were arranged at between 200 and 500 ft (60 to 152m), with the pilot selecting half-flap, and flying at between 110 and 120 knots (220 km/h).

Dropping points were arranged to be marked by the Dutch authorities, and the leading aircraft was to mark the spot with a spot fire. No 115 squadron made the initial drop, and Lancasters took off from Witchford, Fiskerton and Stradishall, In all, seventeen Lancaster squadrons took part, undoubtedly averting s tragedy of enormous proportions.

Forty years later, at 1pm, on 20th April 1985, this episode was remembered with thanksgiving ceremonies in the Netherlands during a general remembrance of VE Day throughout Europe.’
Sergeant RS Fettes left his record of the event in no other form than his aircrew logbook, which although not recording any description or impressions of the event, as logbooks tend to record the bare facts of flights, the raw figures give a clear idea of the commitment made by the crews.

Typical of this is the following entry for Monday 30 April 1945, the second day of Manna, which states:
30.4.45 / Time – 1545 / Lancaster – LM132 “I” / Pilot – Pilot Officer McKenzie / Duty – Mid-Upper Gunner / Remarks, Ops. Manna, Food / Flying Times, Day – 3 hrs 15 mins

Then again on Tuesday 1 May:
1.5.45 / Time – 1429 / Lancaster – NG366 “F” / Pilot – Pilot Officer McKenzie / Duty – Mid-Upper Gunner / Remarks – Ops. Manna. Food. / Flying Times, Day – 3 hrs 45 mins

And for Wednesday:
2.5.45 / Time – 1224 / Lancaster – NG366 “F” / Pilot – Pilot Officer McKenzie / Duty – Mid-Upper Gunner / Remarks – Ops. Manna. Food. / Flying Times, Day – 3 hrs 5 mins

Then Thursday:
3.5.45 / Time – 1141 / Lancaster – RA566 “K” / Pilot – Pilot Officer McKenzie / Duty – Mid-Upper Gunner / Remarks – Ops. Manna. Food. / Flying Times, Day – 3 hrs 10 mins

Then following a break in his flying schedule, Fettes’ final Manna entry is on Monday 7 May:
7.5.45 / Time – 1315 / Lancaster – (serial unrecorded) “P” / Pilot – Pilot Officer McKenzie / Duty – Mid-Upper Gunner / Remarks – Ops. Manna. Food. / Flying Times, Day – 3 hrs 40 mins

What stands out here is the consistent flight time of between three and four hours, the necessity to do this in the day so that the food can be seen and retrieved by the Dutch officials, (in contrast to the many night raids the crew would have been familiar with), and the pattern of starting out times tending to be in the afternoon. The fiddly routine of loading the food packages into the bomb bay of the aircraft, took the best part of the morning, hence always going over in the afternoon.

X007/6957/002 Food sacks loaded into the bomb bay of a Lancaster.

The log book of Bomb Aimer, Flight Sergeant R Davies tells a similar story, this time revealing the locations of the drops, (Air Bomber’s flying log book of FS R Davies, 2 December 1943-28 June 1945):

29.4.45 / Time – 1310 / Lancaster – U / Pilot – Flying Officer Cowley / Duty – Air Bomber / Remarks, Ops. 19 Rotterdam (supply dropping) / Flying Times, Day – 2 hrs 35 mins

1.5.45 / Time – 1345 / Lancaster – Q / Pilot – Flying Officer Cowley / Duty – Air Bomber / Remarks, Hague (supply dropping) / Flying Times, Day – 2 hrs 30 mins

3.5.45 / Time – 1130 / Lancaster – W / Pilot – Flying Officer Cowley / Duty – Air Bomber / Remarks, Hague (supply dropping) / Flying Times, Day – 2 hrs 10 mins

4.5.45 / Time – 1135 / Lancaster – X / Pilot – Flying Officer Cowley / Duty – Air Bomber / Remarks, Hague (supply dropping) / Flying Times, Day – 2 hrs 35 mins

In his account of 550 Squadron, Through Fire We Conquer, Jack Kendall relates one pilot’s experience:
‘Pilot John Carsons from 550 Sqn recorded his impressions of one of these ops. “We crossed the coast at the island of Overflakkee and flew east. We were constantly greeted by countless people waving at us enthusiastically. Next to a smallish village we dropped our Manna and self written leaflets and after some sightseeing we turned northwest and returned to North Killingholme.” On 7th May, the day before the war ended 550 Sqn were over Holland again this time dropping many tons of food to the people of Rotterdam.”’

The urgent need for Operation Manna and its life saving potential had called for a rapid response at scale, and the crews of Bomber Command responded to that as professionally as in their bombing missions, but in doing so had invested themselves in a mission of mercy and selflessness that would remain in their memories for the rest of their lives.

Below is a link to some Manna artefacts and images that can be viewed on our online inventory of selected items from Royal Air Force Museum Collections.