John Vere Hopgood’s Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Book
Title
John Vere Hopgood’s Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Book
Description
John Vere Hopgood’s Pilot’s Flying Log Book from 23rd September 1940 until 16th May 1943. Trained as a pilot at No. 3 Elementary Flying Training School, Flying Training School (RAF College Cranwell), No. 2 School of Air Navigation and 14 Operational Training Unit. Operational posting to 50 Squadron in July 1941. Further training at 25 Operational Training Unit. Posted to 106 Squadron in February 1942 for operations.
Posted to 106 Squadron HQ as an instructor, Fighter Interception Unit, and 1485 Bombing and Gunnery Flight. In March 1943 posted to 617 Squadron for Operation Chastise. On May 16/17th he was killed in action bombing the Möhne Dam.
Served at RAF Watchfield, RAF Cranwell, RAF Cranage, RAF Cottesmore, RAF Lindholme, RAF Swinderby, RAF Finningley, RAF Bircotes, RAF Coningsby, RAF Syerston, RAF Ford, RAF Fulbeck, RAF Scampton.
Aircraft flown were AVRO Cadet, Tiger Moth, Oxford, Anson, Hampden, Manchester, Lancaster, Mosquito, Martinet, Defiant, Lysander, Wellington III.
With 50 Squadron he flew ten night bombing operations as second pilot to Bremen, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hannover, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Magdeburg, the Hüls Rubber Factory. His pilots for these operations were Flying Officer Abbott, Pilot Officer Smith and Wing Commander Walker.
When flying with 106 Squadron he flew seven night minelaying, two day and 29 night bombing operations. His pilot for the first five of these operations was Pilot Officer Whamond. He was the pilot for the remainder. His targets were Frisian Islands (Nectarine), Lorient (Artichoke), Bordeaux (Deddar), Cologne, Hamburg, Helgoland Bight (Rosemary), Rostock, Warnemunde, Essen, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven, Danzig, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, , Flensburg, Frankfurt, Gdynia, Saarbrücken, Munich, Wismar, Aachen, Le Creusot and Berlin.
His final operation was with 617 Squadron undertaking the bombing of the Möhne Dam, during which his aircraft was shot down.
Overall John Hopgood completed 49 operations (7 night minelaying, 2 day and 30 night bombing).
Posted to 106 Squadron HQ as an instructor, Fighter Interception Unit, and 1485 Bombing and Gunnery Flight. In March 1943 posted to 617 Squadron for Operation Chastise. On May 16/17th he was killed in action bombing the Möhne Dam.
Served at RAF Watchfield, RAF Cranwell, RAF Cranage, RAF Cottesmore, RAF Lindholme, RAF Swinderby, RAF Finningley, RAF Bircotes, RAF Coningsby, RAF Syerston, RAF Ford, RAF Fulbeck, RAF Scampton.
Aircraft flown were AVRO Cadet, Tiger Moth, Oxford, Anson, Hampden, Manchester, Lancaster, Mosquito, Martinet, Defiant, Lysander, Wellington III.
With 50 Squadron he flew ten night bombing operations as second pilot to Bremen, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hannover, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Magdeburg, the Hüls Rubber Factory. His pilots for these operations were Flying Officer Abbott, Pilot Officer Smith and Wing Commander Walker.
When flying with 106 Squadron he flew seven night minelaying, two day and 29 night bombing operations. His pilot for the first five of these operations was Pilot Officer Whamond. He was the pilot for the remainder. His targets were Frisian Islands (Nectarine), Lorient (Artichoke), Bordeaux (Deddar), Cologne, Hamburg, Helgoland Bight (Rosemary), Rostock, Warnemunde, Essen, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven, Danzig, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, , Flensburg, Frankfurt, Gdynia, Saarbrücken, Munich, Wismar, Aachen, Le Creusot and Berlin.
His final operation was with 617 Squadron undertaking the bombing of the Möhne Dam, during which his aircraft was shot down.
Overall John Hopgood completed 49 operations (7 night minelaying, 2 day and 30 night bombing).
On 27/28th August 1942, he was part of the operation to bomb the Graf Zeppelin, Germany’s only aircraft carrier, whilst it was under construction.
On a number of operations his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and attacked by fighter aircraft including a Junkers JU 88 and a Focke-Wulf FW190, which was claimed as shot down.
During the operation to Le Creusot on 17th October 1942, his aircraft was extensively damaged by bomb bursts from his own bombs.
On a number of operations his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and attacked by fighter aircraft including a Junkers JU 88 and a Focke-Wulf FW190, which was claimed as shot down.
During the operation to Le Creusot on 17th October 1942, his aircraft was extensively damaged by bomb bursts from his own bombs.
Creator
Temporal Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
One booklet
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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
LHopgoodJV64286v1
Collection
Citation
Great Britain. Royal Air Force, “John Vere Hopgood’s Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Book,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed May 21, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/55218.