Jack Whymark’s Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book

Jack Whymark’s Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book

Jack Whymark’s Flying Log Book as an Air Gunner from 1st October 1940 until 4th October 1945 when his aircraft crashed in to the Mediterranean Sea.

Initial training at No. 8 Bombing and Gunnery School and 225 Squadron. Posted to 149 Squadron for operations in December 1940. In April 1941 posted to the Middle East with 148 Squadron, returning to the United Kingdom in September 1941. Become an Air Gunner Instructor in February 1942 with No. 1 Air Armament School. Further posting as an Instructor to No. 4 Air Observer’s School. February 1943 saw a posting to the Central Gunnery School as an Air Gunner for further training before returning to No. 4 Air Observer’s School as an Air Gunner Instructor.

His second operational posting was to 101 Squadron in February 1944. A further operational posting to 103 Squadron in November.
On 3rd/4th October 1945 his aircraft was reported missing over the Mediterranean Sea during an Operation Dodge flight carrying 17 ATS females and two Army Nursing Sisters as well as the crew of six.

Served at RAF Evanton, RAF Old Sarum, RAF Tilshead, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Manby, RAF West Freugh, RAF Syerston, RAF Sutton Bridge, RAF Ingham, RAF Elsham Wolds, RAF Glatton, RAF Kabrit (Egypt).

Aircraft flown were Harrow, Battle, Hector, Lysander, Wellington, Botha, Anson, Lancaster, Oxford, Martinet.

With 149 Squadron he flew 15 night operations to targets including Mannheim, Lorient, Bremen, Gelsenkirchen, Wilhelmshaven, Hannover, Brest, Kiel, Cologne. His pilots were Flt/Sgt Marr, Flt/Sgt Goss, Flt/Sgt Hawley, Flt/Sgt Milsted,
With 148 Squadron, 21 night operations to Gazala, Benghazi, Scarpanto, Heraklion, Tripoli, Naples, Messina, Palermo, His pilot in 148 Squadron was Flt/Sgt Milsted.
A single night operation while with No. 4 Air Observer’s School to Danzig, his pilot being Pilot Officer Curtin.
20 night operations with 101 Squadron to Leipzig, Stuttgart, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Essen, Nuremburg, Aulnoye, Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Karlsruhe, Friedrichshafen, Hasselt, Orleans. With this squadron his pilots were P/O Evans, P/O Holland, (P/O Waughman.
Finally a total 17 bombing operations with 103 Squadron (7 day, 10 night). Targets included Wanne-Eickel, Samso Fjord, Denmark, Nuremburg, Munich, Merseburg, Stuttgart, Ludwigshafen, Bottrop, Gelsenkirchen, Chemnitz, Essen, Dortmund, Hannover, Paderborn, Hamburg, Mining-Kattegat, Bremen.
Also 1 Operation Manna (Rotterdam), 2 Operation Exodus (Brussels) and 2 Operation Dodge (Pomigliano).
Pilots included Flight Lieutenant Garton, Squadron Leader Hague, Flying Officer Saxe, Flying Officer Mosley, Flying Officer Wright, Squadron Leader Butler, Flight Lieutenant Anderson, and Flight Lieutenant Newman.

Newspaper clippings of the last flight in October 1945 included.

The last couple of pages of the logbook have been signed by those who attended the squadron reunion at Elsham in 1995.

One booklet

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