Interview with Alan "Jock" Richardson. One

Interview with Alan "Jock" Richardson. One

Jock begins the interview with joining up and first flying on 201 Squadron, with flying boats from Sullom Voe. He then, briefly, covers training as wireless operator/air gunner. He was posted to 38 Squadron Wellingtons in July 1940 at RAF Marham and flew 16 operations as nose gunner. Jock mentions some incidents during operations to Hamm, Hamburg and Berlin, including forced landings and bringing bombs back when unable to attack, which sometimes fell off and exploded after landing. He includes an account of flying into a balloon barrage. He talks about the three pilots he flew with. Jock volunteered to go to Malta and flew operations against Italian and North African targets in Wellingtons. He mentions incidents on several operations. He was injured (blinded) in an enemy bombing attack on an RAF airfield and hospitalised in Egypt. Jock was transferred to 70 OTU flying Blenheims in Egypt and the Kenya. He then went to the far east and joined 211 Squadron flying Blenheims from Java, against the Japanese.He was evacuated before the loss of Java and Singapore and, eventually, went back to India where he flew many types on 308 MU. Jock then went to Southern Rhodesia to train as a pilot, graduating in 1945. Due to the lack of opportunity back in England, he volunteers for a flight engineers' course and flies in this role on Lancasters. He eventually refreshes as a pilot and ends up as a Shackleton pilot on 120 Squadron.

2013-07-29

01:09:11 audio recording

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