Victory day flypast
Title
Victory day flypast
Description
Item 1 is a list of the aircrew from 35 Squadron who took part in the Victory day flypast.
Photograph 1 is 12 Lancasters in formation at the Fly past. It is captioned 'Victory Day Fly Past 8th June 1946'
Item 2 is a newspaper cutting referring to the fly past.
Photograph 2 is an aircraft landing. It is captioned '"C" for Charlie comes in from the "Do".'
Photograph 1 is 12 Lancasters in formation at the Fly past. It is captioned 'Victory Day Fly Past 8th June 1946'
Item 2 is a newspaper cutting referring to the fly past.
Photograph 2 is an aircraft landing. It is captioned '"C" for Charlie comes in from the "Do".'
Date
1946-06-08
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
One printed sheet, two b/w photographs and one newspaper cutting on a scrapbook page.
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.
Identifier
SMathersRW55201v10007
Transcription
[underlined] NO. 35 SQUADRON FLYING PROGRAMME FOR 8th JUNE, 1946 [/underlined] Serial 104
A/C Letter Captain and Crew Spares or Passengers Details Call Meal Briefing Buses Take Off Duration of Flight
F W/C CRAIG (1) VICTORY PARADE - 1430 0910 1030 1200 2 hours
N F/O LAMB (2) FLY-PAST
C F/L MATHERS (3)
A S/L BEETHAM (4)
D F/L CLARINE (5)
H F/O HAMPSON (6)
M F/L PENNINGTON (7)
R F/O ROBINSON (8)
S P/O LEADON (9)
P S/L HARRIS (10)
G F/L GREIG (11)
L P/O CHESHIRE (12)
RESERVE AIRCRAFT: - “E” and “O”
OFFICER i/c W/C CRAIG
DUTY NAV. OFFICER F/L BARNES
DUTY SIGS. OFFICER F/L WALTON
S.D.O F/L DAWSON
NUMBER OF BUSES : 3 (THREE)
WING COMMANDER, COMMANDING,
NO. 35 SQUADRON.
[inserted] This Photostat supplied by Alan [indecipherable word] in January 1986 [/inserted]
[page break]
[photograph]
[underlined] VICTORY DAY FLY PAST. [/underlined]
[underlined] 8th JUNE 1946. [/underlined]
Bomber boys were bang on the target
RAIN and poor flying weather nearly “scrubbed” the R.A.F. Victory flypast over London yesterday, writes a “Sunday Chronicle” reporter who flew in the wedge formation of the Lancaster bombers belonging to the famous No. 35 Pathfinder Squadron.
But, despite the poor visibility, I saw from 1,300 feet the surging Victory crowds.
Whitehall and Trafalgar Square were a sea of white faces framed in splashes of colour from flags and bunting. Along The Mall, the blue square of the R.A.F. marching column was just coming up to the Saluting Base – at what seem a snail’s pace.
The fly past of 307 planes which may be one if the last formation flights by R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm planes for some years, was led by a tubby Battle of Britain Hurricane, piloted by the Unknown Warrior of the R.A.F.
His identity will never be known because he will symbolise all living and dead Fighter Command pilots.
The timing Was Split-Second
It was an operation of split-second timing.
The Lancaster Formation left the ground at Graveley, Herts, aerodrome at 30 second intervals.
They flew over Cambridge, turned at [indecipherable word] to Colchester, and over the mud flats of the Colne Estuary to Maldon.
They were guided by the un-seen hand of ground control interrogation, used in operations to spot German aircraft in the Battle of Britain.
At Romford the sky darkened, at Leyton fine rain started falling, and the weather worsened steadily during the run up to London.
As the planes left Buckingham Palace and passed over Kew, the leader, Wing-Commander A. J. I. Craig. D.S.O D.F.C. shouted through the inter-comm “Good show, chaps, the weather couldn’t have been worse, but you were bang on the target”. It was just like the old days coming back from a raid on Germany.
Crack Squadron To Fly In U.S.
The pilot of my plane was Flight Lieutenant Ken [indecipherable word], who won the D.F.C. on his second operation, and twice brought home his plane with the nose smashed in.
His only other passenger was a pretty W.A.A.F., L.A.C.W. Jeanne Forbes. She earned her trip by working overtime for two months on the squadron’s V-Day preparations.
But is not the last Victory Fly Past of No. 35 Squadron. On July 3 they leave for America as the only representative of the R.A.F. in the U.S. Army Air Force Day and Victory celebrations in New York, Washington and other American cities.
Meteors flew ‘blind’ in Victory flypast
During the fly-past the Tempests were ordered to break from line because the Meteor jet planes, the world’s swiftest fighters, were coming in very fast, and, owing to the weather, could not see anything ahead.
Vampires came in about 300 [indecipherable word] north of the line, again owing to weather conditions.
All aircraft landed at their [indecipherable word] stations except one Spitfire Squadron which landed at [indecipherable word] instead of Middle Wallop owing to the weather.
Highlights of the flypast by the R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm was the [indecipherable word] formation of the Meteors. They were cheered to the echo of thousands of watchers – mainly under umbrellas – perched on rain-swept rooftops or hanging precariously from windows. Millions [indecipherable word] in the saturated streets were [indecipherable word] by the display.
Rain fell steadily and visibility was poor when the lone Hurricane fighter, flown by an anonymous Battle of Britain pilot, led the [indecipherable word] at exactly one o’clock.
[photograph]
[underlined] ”C” FOR CHARLIE COMES IN FROM THE “DO” [/underlined]
A/C Letter Captain and Crew Spares or Passengers Details Call Meal Briefing Buses Take Off Duration of Flight
F W/C CRAIG (1) VICTORY PARADE - 1430 0910 1030 1200 2 hours
N F/O LAMB (2) FLY-PAST
C F/L MATHERS (3)
A S/L BEETHAM (4)
D F/L CLARINE (5)
H F/O HAMPSON (6)
M F/L PENNINGTON (7)
R F/O ROBINSON (8)
S P/O LEADON (9)
P S/L HARRIS (10)
G F/L GREIG (11)
L P/O CHESHIRE (12)
RESERVE AIRCRAFT: - “E” and “O”
OFFICER i/c W/C CRAIG
DUTY NAV. OFFICER F/L BARNES
DUTY SIGS. OFFICER F/L WALTON
S.D.O F/L DAWSON
NUMBER OF BUSES : 3 (THREE)
WING COMMANDER, COMMANDING,
NO. 35 SQUADRON.
[inserted] This Photostat supplied by Alan [indecipherable word] in January 1986 [/inserted]
[page break]
[photograph]
[underlined] VICTORY DAY FLY PAST. [/underlined]
[underlined] 8th JUNE 1946. [/underlined]
Bomber boys were bang on the target
RAIN and poor flying weather nearly “scrubbed” the R.A.F. Victory flypast over London yesterday, writes a “Sunday Chronicle” reporter who flew in the wedge formation of the Lancaster bombers belonging to the famous No. 35 Pathfinder Squadron.
But, despite the poor visibility, I saw from 1,300 feet the surging Victory crowds.
Whitehall and Trafalgar Square were a sea of white faces framed in splashes of colour from flags and bunting. Along The Mall, the blue square of the R.A.F. marching column was just coming up to the Saluting Base – at what seem a snail’s pace.
The fly past of 307 planes which may be one if the last formation flights by R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm planes for some years, was led by a tubby Battle of Britain Hurricane, piloted by the Unknown Warrior of the R.A.F.
His identity will never be known because he will symbolise all living and dead Fighter Command pilots.
The timing Was Split-Second
It was an operation of split-second timing.
The Lancaster Formation left the ground at Graveley, Herts, aerodrome at 30 second intervals.
They flew over Cambridge, turned at [indecipherable word] to Colchester, and over the mud flats of the Colne Estuary to Maldon.
They were guided by the un-seen hand of ground control interrogation, used in operations to spot German aircraft in the Battle of Britain.
At Romford the sky darkened, at Leyton fine rain started falling, and the weather worsened steadily during the run up to London.
As the planes left Buckingham Palace and passed over Kew, the leader, Wing-Commander A. J. I. Craig. D.S.O D.F.C. shouted through the inter-comm “Good show, chaps, the weather couldn’t have been worse, but you were bang on the target”. It was just like the old days coming back from a raid on Germany.
Crack Squadron To Fly In U.S.
The pilot of my plane was Flight Lieutenant Ken [indecipherable word], who won the D.F.C. on his second operation, and twice brought home his plane with the nose smashed in.
His only other passenger was a pretty W.A.A.F., L.A.C.W. Jeanne Forbes. She earned her trip by working overtime for two months on the squadron’s V-Day preparations.
But is not the last Victory Fly Past of No. 35 Squadron. On July 3 they leave for America as the only representative of the R.A.F. in the U.S. Army Air Force Day and Victory celebrations in New York, Washington and other American cities.
Meteors flew ‘blind’ in Victory flypast
During the fly-past the Tempests were ordered to break from line because the Meteor jet planes, the world’s swiftest fighters, were coming in very fast, and, owing to the weather, could not see anything ahead.
Vampires came in about 300 [indecipherable word] north of the line, again owing to weather conditions.
All aircraft landed at their [indecipherable word] stations except one Spitfire Squadron which landed at [indecipherable word] instead of Middle Wallop owing to the weather.
Highlights of the flypast by the R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm was the [indecipherable word] formation of the Meteors. They were cheered to the echo of thousands of watchers – mainly under umbrellas – perched on rain-swept rooftops or hanging precariously from windows. Millions [indecipherable word] in the saturated streets were [indecipherable word] by the display.
Rain fell steadily and visibility was poor when the lone Hurricane fighter, flown by an anonymous Battle of Britain pilot, led the [indecipherable word] at exactly one o’clock.
[photograph]
[underlined] ”C” FOR CHARLIE COMES IN FROM THE “DO” [/underlined]
Collection
Citation
“Victory day flypast,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/9611.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.