582 Squadron Pathfinders fact sheet
Title
582 Squadron Pathfinders fact sheet
Description
History since formation on 1 April 1944 until last operation 7 May 1945. Part of Pathfinder Force. Mention first award of DSO and last marking and bombing operations in 1945. Provides account of last operation of Captain Edwin Swales who was awarded posthumous Victoria Cross for action on 23/24 February 1945 while acting as master bomber for attack on Pforzheim. Lists numbers of bombing and target marking sorties, tons of bombs dropped, losses and awards. Includes drawing of Squadron badges for 582, 7 and 156 Squadrons, 8 Group and Bomber Command, Lancaster and Mosquito. Portraits of seven airmen with their various awards and Edwin Swales V.C. DFC SAAF. Mentions Robert Palmers Victoria Cross action.
Temporal Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Language
Type
Format
One page printed document
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Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
SPalmerRAM115772v10036
Transcription
582 PATHFINDER SQUADRON
[crest of 582 squadron]
‘We Fly Ahead To Mark’
No. 582 Squadron, Path Finder Force, was formed at Little Staughton, Huntingdonshire, on 1st April, 1944, equipped with Lancaster III heavy bomber.
The Squadron nucleus was formed of a flight each of Nos: 7 & 156 PFF Squadrons.
[sketch]
Pathfinder Badge
[sketch]
Capt. E.E. SWALES SAAF V.C., D.F.C.
Captain Edwin Swales was the only member of the South African Air Force to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The posthumous award was made for his actions on 23/24 February 1945. While acting as Master Bomber for an attack on Pforzheim he was attacked by enemy fighters. He lost an engine on each of 2 attacks and his controls were damaged, Swales continued to circle the target & issue instructions to the Main Bomber Force. The raid was one of the most concentrated of the war.
[sketch]
Victoria Cross
When Swales was satisfied that he had achieved his objective he set course for home, without blind-flying instruments. In cloud & turbulent air he had great difficulty in flying a steady course & they lost height rapidly. Assured that they were over France he ordered his crew to bale out. As the last jumped the aircraft plunged to earth. Swales was found dead at the controls. He had earned an immediate award of the DFC by shooting down 2 of 5 enemy fighters at Cologne/Gremburg 23 December 1944
[R.A.F. crest]
The Lancaster III flown by Swales to Pforzheim.
[sketch of Lancaster Bomber PB538]
The first operation took place on 9/10 April 1944 when 7 crews attacked Lille without loss.
The first loss was of F/O W. Squibb & crew who were Killed in Action attacking Laon 23rd April 1944
[sketch of Lancaster bomber PB371]
The first award of the D.S.O. was made to S/Ldr H. Heney. 6 days later the New Zealander was lost with his crew over Rennes.
Oboe formation leader Cologne/Gremberg marshalling yards 23 December 1944.
The last bombing/marking operation was against Wangerooge by 16 crews on 25 April 1945.
The last mission before VE Day was 7 May when crews marked a D.Z. in Holland on ‘Operation Manna’
The Squadron was disbanded 10 September 1945.
During its brief existence No. 582 flew 2157 bombing & target marking sorties. It dropped 8029 tons of bombs & many hundreds of target indicators.
173 members of its crews were Killed in Action. Crews were awarded 1 VC., 10 DSO + 1 Bar, 146 DFC + 22 Bars, 47 DFM + 1 Bar.
The squadron played a major Pathfinding role against transport & communication targets in preparation for D-Day; against German Rocket sites & troop concentrations. During the Autumn & Winter it continued operations deep into Germany. After the war in Europe the squadron flew troops home from Italy & prepared for ‘Tiger Force’ against Japan.
[crest of No. 156 squadron]
[crest of No. 7 squadron]
Nos: 7 & 156 Squadrons were founder members of 8 Group P.F.F.
No. 582 Squadron with its sister Mosquito No. 109 Squadron at Little Staughton, pioneered daylight Oboe formation bombing of ‘Pinpoint’ targets. S/Ldr R. Palmer of 109 flying in 582’s ‘Victor’ with 582 crew of F/Lt. Milne, led 8 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito to Cologne. The Mosquito & 5 Lancasters were shot down. S/Ldr Palmer DFC + Bar was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. It was his 111 operation.
[crest of 8 group headquarters]
[sketch]
F/Lt. E. Starker D.S.O. V.C. Engineer Leader
[sketch]
S/L Dudley Archer DFC. Bar. DFM Navigation Officer
[sketch]
W/C. R. Alabaster DSO. Bar. DFC. Bar Flight Commander
[sketch]
[indecipherable name, medals & trade]
[sketch]
F/Lt O.S. Milne DFC Pilot [indecipherable word]
[sketch]
W/O W. [indecipherable name] DFM F/Engineer. Bomb Aimer
[sketch]
G/C P.H. Cribb DSO-Bar DFC Squadron C.O. Station C.O.
[crest of Bomber Command]
[crest of 582 squadron]
‘We Fly Ahead To Mark’
No. 582 Squadron, Path Finder Force, was formed at Little Staughton, Huntingdonshire, on 1st April, 1944, equipped with Lancaster III heavy bomber.
The Squadron nucleus was formed of a flight each of Nos: 7 & 156 PFF Squadrons.
[sketch]
Pathfinder Badge
[sketch]
Capt. E.E. SWALES SAAF V.C., D.F.C.
Captain Edwin Swales was the only member of the South African Air Force to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The posthumous award was made for his actions on 23/24 February 1945. While acting as Master Bomber for an attack on Pforzheim he was attacked by enemy fighters. He lost an engine on each of 2 attacks and his controls were damaged, Swales continued to circle the target & issue instructions to the Main Bomber Force. The raid was one of the most concentrated of the war.
[sketch]
Victoria Cross
When Swales was satisfied that he had achieved his objective he set course for home, without blind-flying instruments. In cloud & turbulent air he had great difficulty in flying a steady course & they lost height rapidly. Assured that they were over France he ordered his crew to bale out. As the last jumped the aircraft plunged to earth. Swales was found dead at the controls. He had earned an immediate award of the DFC by shooting down 2 of 5 enemy fighters at Cologne/Gremburg 23 December 1944
[R.A.F. crest]
The Lancaster III flown by Swales to Pforzheim.
[sketch of Lancaster Bomber PB538]
The first operation took place on 9/10 April 1944 when 7 crews attacked Lille without loss.
The first loss was of F/O W. Squibb & crew who were Killed in Action attacking Laon 23rd April 1944
[sketch of Lancaster bomber PB371]
The first award of the D.S.O. was made to S/Ldr H. Heney. 6 days later the New Zealander was lost with his crew over Rennes.
Oboe formation leader Cologne/Gremberg marshalling yards 23 December 1944.
The last bombing/marking operation was against Wangerooge by 16 crews on 25 April 1945.
The last mission before VE Day was 7 May when crews marked a D.Z. in Holland on ‘Operation Manna’
The Squadron was disbanded 10 September 1945.
During its brief existence No. 582 flew 2157 bombing & target marking sorties. It dropped 8029 tons of bombs & many hundreds of target indicators.
173 members of its crews were Killed in Action. Crews were awarded 1 VC., 10 DSO + 1 Bar, 146 DFC + 22 Bars, 47 DFM + 1 Bar.
The squadron played a major Pathfinding role against transport & communication targets in preparation for D-Day; against German Rocket sites & troop concentrations. During the Autumn & Winter it continued operations deep into Germany. After the war in Europe the squadron flew troops home from Italy & prepared for ‘Tiger Force’ against Japan.
[crest of No. 156 squadron]
[crest of No. 7 squadron]
Nos: 7 & 156 Squadrons were founder members of 8 Group P.F.F.
No. 582 Squadron with its sister Mosquito No. 109 Squadron at Little Staughton, pioneered daylight Oboe formation bombing of ‘Pinpoint’ targets. S/Ldr R. Palmer of 109 flying in 582’s ‘Victor’ with 582 crew of F/Lt. Milne, led 8 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito to Cologne. The Mosquito & 5 Lancasters were shot down. S/Ldr Palmer DFC + Bar was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. It was his 111 operation.
[crest of 8 group headquarters]
[sketch]
F/Lt. E. Starker D.S.O. V.C. Engineer Leader
[sketch]
S/L Dudley Archer DFC. Bar. DFM Navigation Officer
[sketch]
W/C. R. Alabaster DSO. Bar. DFC. Bar Flight Commander
[sketch]
[indecipherable name, medals & trade]
[sketch]
F/Lt O.S. Milne DFC Pilot [indecipherable word]
[sketch]
W/O W. [indecipherable name] DFM F/Engineer. Bomb Aimer
[sketch]
G/C P.H. Cribb DSO-Bar DFC Squadron C.O. Station C.O.
[crest of Bomber Command]
Collection
Citation
“582 Squadron Pathfinders fact sheet,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed May 19, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/38293.