Enemy Coast Ahead is quite a unique and personal release for JJ. Not only does it celebrate the original 1955 'Dambusters' film and the men in the original 617 squadron who bravely carried out the infamous dam raid. It also commemorates the heroic members of JJ's family who served in the bomber command.
Both JJ's grandfather's brothers on either side of his family dies aged 21 while flying in Lancaster and Wellington bombers. Both men ''Sgt Wilfred Adams'' and Sgt JJ Cooper'' are featured in the credits at the bottom of the artwork.
The main focus of Enemy Coast Ahead is Sgt JJ Cooper (see photo attached to website listing), who was an experienced flight engineer and the loss of both his bomber and his crew. The aim of this artwork was to give them their own film poster along with their rank and crew. The crew had the distinction of serving alongside Wing Commander Guy Gibson (who led the Dambuster raid) in the famous Squadron 106 shortly before the Dambusters were formed. Gibson ran Squadron 106 before forming Squadron 617 known as 'The Dambusters'. Had his great uncles survived JJ firmly believes that they would have made the cut for 'The Dambusters' crew.
The pilot of the Lancaster R5748ZN-R (F.H Robertson), who was JJ's great uncle, sat next to and helped fly the bomber, was the Squadron leader and in charge of A-Team and a close friend of Guy Gibson's. Gibson fondly mentions JJ's great uncle in his book 'Enemy Coast Ahead'.
Lancaster R5748-ZN-R was lost on the night of the infamous Hamburg raid on the 27th July 1942. The bomber had 8 hours flying time and was a brand new machine, having been delivered to RAF Coningsby just a few days earlier. The Lancaster R5748-ZN-R took off at 8:30pm flying in formation towards the enemy coast. Upon nearly reaching Hamburg they discovered their rear guns had stopped working and the hydraulics for the bomb bay doors had malfunctioned so they had to turn back fully loaded with bombs. They had intended on ditching their bombs over the North Sea but were shot down by a German Hotshot pilot called Lothar Linke in a JU-88 Night Fighter over Holland and crashed near the village of Opeinde. The crash sadly destroyed several houses and buildings due to the huge bomb blast from the crashed plane. The pilot, mid gunner and radio operator died on impact. Sgt JJ Cooper bailed out at the last minute but sadly died when his parachute did not open in time. The three remaining crew who also bailed out and bcame prisoners of war.
In the 1990s the crash site of the Lancaster was excavated in an attempt to find the remains of the bomb aimer but to no avail. Parts of the wreckage were bought back to the UK and are currently on display at Metheringham Airbase Museum near RAF Coningsby.
The Pilot, Wireless Operator and Sgt JJ Cooper are buried in a small cemetary in Opeinde in Holland. There is also a memorial dedicated to them in the town centre at Opeinde and an airfield at Metheringham. They are also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial and the museum in Lincolnshire.
JJ Adams' other Great Uncle 'Sgt Wilfred Adams' from Yorkshire also aged 21 died during a training exercise in 23 OTU while he was training Canadian air crew when another Wellington bomber collided with them mid air.
