Ken Hampton’s Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book
Title
Ken Hampton’s Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book
Description
Ken Hampton’s Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book from 6th August 1943 until 18th August 1945. During this time trained as a navigator, bomb aimer and air gunner.
Trained with No. 24 Bombing, Gunnery and Navigation School. Further training as an air gunner at No. 76 Operational Training Unit and No. 1675 Heavy Conversion Unit. Posted to 178 Squadron for operation in May 1944.
After completing his first tour he was posted to No. 85 Operational Training Unit in April 1945, followed by No. 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit.
Served at RAF Husbands Bosworth, RAF Wigsley.
Aircraft flown were Anson, Oxford, Lockheed Lodestar, Wellington, B-24 Liberator, Lancaster.
Carried out one night leaflet operation with 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit to Crete, piloted by Sergeant Nicholas.
With 178 Squadron carried out 36 night bombing and mining operations. Target included Valmontone, Viterbo, Turnu Severin, Szolnok, Giurgiu, Bosanski Brod, Almásfüzitő, Munich, Budapest, Aquila oil refinery Trieste, Verona, Feuersbrunn Aerodrome, Milan, Smederevo, River Danube, Ploesti, Herman Goering Nibelungen works at Sankt Valentin, Miskolc, Ravenna, Ferrara, Bologna, Eleusis Airfield, Athens, Brescia, Rimini.
His pilots for these operations were Sergeant Nicholas, Lieutenant Knight, Lieutenant Van Der Merrwe, Sergeant Gill, Flt Lt Eardley, and Sergeant Rush.
Trained with No. 24 Bombing, Gunnery and Navigation School. Further training as an air gunner at No. 76 Operational Training Unit and No. 1675 Heavy Conversion Unit. Posted to 178 Squadron for operation in May 1944.
After completing his first tour he was posted to No. 85 Operational Training Unit in April 1945, followed by No. 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit.
Served at RAF Husbands Bosworth, RAF Wigsley.
Aircraft flown were Anson, Oxford, Lockheed Lodestar, Wellington, B-24 Liberator, Lancaster.
Carried out one night leaflet operation with 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit to Crete, piloted by Sergeant Nicholas.
With 178 Squadron carried out 36 night bombing and mining operations. Target included Valmontone, Viterbo, Turnu Severin, Szolnok, Giurgiu, Bosanski Brod, Almásfüzitő, Munich, Budapest, Aquila oil refinery Trieste, Verona, Feuersbrunn Aerodrome, Milan, Smederevo, River Danube, Ploesti, Herman Goering Nibelungen works at Sankt Valentin, Miskolc, Ravenna, Ferrara, Bologna, Eleusis Airfield, Athens, Brescia, Rimini.
His pilots for these operations were Sergeant Nicholas, Lieutenant Knight, Lieutenant Van Der Merrwe, Sergeant Gill, Flt Lt Eardley, and Sergeant Rush.
The log book includes four target photographs.
Photo 1: Taken on 1-2 September 1944 of Bologna Marshalling Yards from 12000 feet dropping 8 x 1000 lb and 4 x 500 lb bombs. Bright flares across the photo.
Photo 2: Taken on 6-7 July 1944 of Feuersbrunn Aerodrome from 6500 feet dropping 8 x 1000 lb bombs.
Photo 3: Taken on 17-18 September 1944 of Brescia Marshalling Yards from 10000 feet dropping 8 x 1000 lb bombs. Bright flares across the photo.
Photo 4: Taken on 10-11 July 1944 of Milan Marshalling Yards from 7300 feet dropping 8 x 1000 lb bombs. Bright flares on the photo.
Photo 1: Taken on 1-2 September 1944 of Bologna Marshalling Yards from 12000 feet dropping 8 x 1000 lb and 4 x 500 lb bombs. Bright flares across the photo.
Photo 2: Taken on 6-7 July 1944 of Feuersbrunn Aerodrome from 6500 feet dropping 8 x 1000 lb bombs.
Photo 3: Taken on 17-18 September 1944 of Brescia Marshalling Yards from 10000 feet dropping 8 x 1000 lb bombs. Bright flares across the photo.
Photo 4: Taken on 10-11 July 1944 of Milan Marshalling Yards from 7300 feet dropping 8 x 1000 lb bombs. Bright flares on the photo.
Creator
Temporal Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
One booklet
Publisher
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
LHamptonK1673270v1
Collection
Citation
Great Britain. Royal Air Force, “Ken Hampton’s Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed January 16, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/53699.