1
25
77
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2635/46206/LKeelingRV82689v1.1.pdf
614702122603a1a6bac8c0c911c28346
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Keeling, Robert Victor
Description
An account of the resource
48 items. The collection concerns Robert Victor Keeling, DFC (b. 1916, 82689 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, correspondence, decorations and a <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2655">Scrapbook</a>. He flew operations as a pilot with 51 Squadron. Following his retirement from the Royal Air Force with the rank of Squadron leader he became a civilian pilot. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by David Keeling and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2023-06-01
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Keeling, RV
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Robert Victor Keeling's pilot's flying log book. One
Description
An account of the resource
Pilot's flying log book for Robert 'Bob' Victor Keeling covering the period 15 June 1939 to 30 June 1943. Details his training and operational duties. Bob flew 27 night operations, 15 as second pilot to Pilot Officer Deacon, Sergeant Prior and Squadron Leader Hollrick and 12 as pilot with 51 Squadron. Operations, all flown in Whitley aircraft, were to Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux, Boulogne, Bremen, Brest, Chemnitz, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Kiel, Leipzig, Le Havre, Leona, Lorient, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Pilsner, St. Naazare and Turin. The log book continues with details of Bob's time as a flying instructor with the School of Navigation, 7 Squadron and Royal Aircraft Establishment.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-09-11
1940-09-12
1940-09-14
1940-09-15
1940-09-17
1940-09-18
1940-09-21
1940-09-22
1940-09-23
1940-09-24
1940-09-25
1940-09-26
1940-10-11
1940-11-12
1940-10-15
1940-10-16
1940-10-27
1940-10-28
1940-10-30
1940-10-31
1940-11-01
1940-11-02
1940-11-08
1940-11-09
1040-11-13
1940-11-14
1940-11-15
1940-11-16
1940-11-17
1940-11-18
1940-11-27
1940-11-28
1940-12-08
1940-12-09
1940-12-13
1940-12-14
1940-12-17
1940-12-18
1941-01-09
1941-01-10
1941-02-11
1941-02-12
1941-03-01
1941-03-02
1941-03-10
1941-03-11
1941-03-13
1941-03-14
1941-03-15
1941-03-16
1941-04-10
1941-04-11
1941-04-12
1941-04-13
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
Belgium--Antwerp
Belgium--Zeebrugge
Czech Republic--Plzeň
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Brest
France--Le Havre
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leuna
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Mannheim
England--Bedfordshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Cheshire
England--Derbyshire
England--Gloucestershire
England--Hampshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Warwickshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Wiltshire
Italy--Turin
Germany--Düsseldorf
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LKeelingRV82689v1
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
10 OTU
21 OTU
22 OTU
51 Squadron
7 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
Battle
Blenheim
Flying Training School
Hampden
Hudson
Hurricane
Lancaster
Magister
pilot
RAF Abingdon
RAF Burnaston
RAF Cranage
RAF Dishforth
RAF Farnborough
RAF Hullavington
RAF Kemble
RAF Moreton in the Marsh
RAF Oakington
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford
Spitfire
Stirling
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1524/46016/LBaxterPD52604v1.1.pdf
69a04247ebf660ce271c6b621068596a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Baxter, Peter Dennis
P D Baxter
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-12
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Baxter, PD
Description
An account of the resource
63 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Peter Baxter (b. 1922, 52604 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs and documents. He was trained as an airframe apprentice at RAF Halton and served as ground crew before volunteering to become air crew. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 12 and 153 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Michael Baxter and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Peter Baxter’s Flying Log Book as Flight Engineer.
Description
An account of the resource
Extracts from Peter Baxter’s Flying Log Book as Flight Engineer from February 1938 until 16 June 1946. The extract only includes his flying record and is missing front and end covers, details of postings and aircraft flown.
After pre-aircrew flying, he was posted to 12 Squadron for operations in 1942. After completing his first tour of 30 operations posted to 1667 Conversion Unit, then No. 1 Lancaster Finishing School. In November 1944 posted to 153 Squadron for 2nd tour. Post war posting to 50 Squadron and attachment to 57 Squadron.
Served at RAF Penrhos, RAF Wickenby, RAF Faldingworth, RAF Hemswell, RAF Scampton, RAF Sturgate, Raf Waddington.
Aircraft flown were Avro Tutor, Fairey Battle, Whitley, Anson, Lancaster, Halifax.
He flew 33 night bombing and mining operations with 12 Squadron as Flight Engineer to targets including La Rochelle, North Frisian Islands, Essen, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Turin, Lorient, Milan, Bremen, Nuremberg, Saint-Nazaire, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Spezia, Stuttgart, Gulf of Danzig, Bay of Biscay, Mulheim, Wuppertal and Cologne. His pilots in 12 Squadron were Wing Commander Villiers and Squadron Leader Slade.
With 153 Squadron he flew 3 night and 1 day bombing operations to Wanne-Eickel, Bonn, Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and Paderborn. Also 3 Operation Manna, 2 Operation Dodge and one Cook’s Tour. In 153 Squadron his pilots were Flying Officers White, Bolton, Searle, Freeborn, Squadron Leader Rippingale, Flight Lieutenant Ramsden and Wing Commanders Rodney and Villiers.
Also two Operation Dodge with 50 Squadron. Flight Lieutenant Lundy was his pilot in 50 Squadron.
This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-01-03
1943-01-08
1943-01-09
1943-01-11
1943-01-13
1943-01-17
1943-01-18
1943-01-27
1943-02-04
1943-02-05
1943-02-13
1943-02-14
1943-02-15
1943-02-16
1943-02-21
1943-02-22
1943-02-25
1943-02-26
1943-02-28
1943-03-12
1943-03-22
1943-03-27
1943-03-28
1943-03-29
1943-04-03
1943-04-08
1943-04-09
1943-04-11
1943-04-13
1943-04-14
1943-04-15
1943-04-27
1943-04-28
1943-04-29
1943-05-20
1943-05-21
1943-05-25
1943-05-27
1943-05-28
1943-06-11
1943-06-12
1943-06-22
1943-06-23
1943-06-24
1943-06-25
1943-07-08
1943-07-09
1943-07-12
1943-07-13
1944-11-18
1944-11-28
1945-01-28
1945-01-29
1945-03-27
1945-04-30
1945-05-04
1945-05-07
1945-05-25
1945-07-24
1945-07-26
1945-11-26
1945-11-28
1946
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
Wales--Gwynedd
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
France
France--La Rochelle
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bonn
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Friesland
Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Paderborn
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
Germany--Wuppertal
Italy
Italy--La Spezia
Italy--Milan
Italy--Pomigliano d'Arco
Italy--Turin
Netherlands
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Netherlands--Hague
Germany--Düsseldorf
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Nick Cornwell-Smith
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBaxterPD52604v1
12 Squadron
153 Squadron
1667 HCU
50 Squadron
57 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
Battle
bombing
Cook’s tour
flight engineer
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lincoln
mine laying
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
RAF Faldingworth
RAF Hemswell
RAF Lindholme
RAF Penrhos
RAF Scampton
RAF Sturgate
RAF Waddington
RAF Wickenby
sport
training
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2619/45583/LHubbardGA519989v1.1.pdf
6216cd9fa3ea3da2d6bbf4695811e4e1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hubbard, G A
Description
An account of the resource
One item. The collection concerns Sergeant G A Hubbard (b. 1919, 519989 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 408 Squadron.
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Robert Bell and catalogued by Nick Cornwell-Smith.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-09-11
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hubbard, GA
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
G A Hubbard’s Royal Canadian Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LHubbardGA519989v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Description
An account of the resource
G A Hubbard’s Flying Log Book as Air Gunner and Wireless Operator from 2 October 1941 until 17 June 1946. Initial training at No. 2 Wireless School, RCAF Calgary and No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School, RCAF Dafoe. Further training at 24 Operational Training Unit. Posted to 44 Squadron as wireless operator for operations. 1943 saw posting to 14 OTU as an Instructor. Posted to Canada for one month before moving to 1659 HCU as a wireless operator. Second operational posting to 408 Squadron in October 1944. Posted to 242 Squadron (Transport Command) in March 1945. Final posting was with 437 Squadron (Transport Command) which ended in June 1946 when the squadron was disbanded. Served at RCAF Calgary, RCAF Dafoe, RAF Dunholme Lodge, RAF Topcliffe, RAF Linton-on-Ouse, RAF Stoney Cross, RAF Blakehill Farm. Aircraft flown were Noorduyn Norseman, DH Moth, Battle, Whitley, Manchester, Lancaster, Wellington, Anson, Oxford, B-24, Halifax, Stirling, C-47. He flew 31 night operations with 44 Squadron, his pilots being Flight Lieutenant Walker (26 operations), Flying Officer Pilgrim (1 operation) and Warrant Officer Sanderson (4 operations). His targets were Genoa, Hamburg, Turin, Mannheim, Nienburg, Duisburg, Gironde River, Essen, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Lorient, Milan, Wilhelmshaven, Nurnberg, St. Nazaire, Stuttgart, Gdynia, Rostock. With 408 Squadron he flew 20 operations (5 day and 15 night). His pilot was F/O Wylie. His targets were Cologne, Oberhausen, Dusseldorf, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Julich, Munster, Duisburg, Hagen, Karlsruhe, Soest, Osnabruck, Opladen, Troisdorf, Hanover, Saarbrucken, Grevenbroich. Last entry is a log of a flight in Concorde in 1983.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Alberta
Alberta--Calgary
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan--Dafoe
Great Britain
England--Hampshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
Italy
Italy--Genoa
Italy--Milan
Italy--Turin
France
France--Gironde Estuary
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Grevenbroich
Germany--Hagen (Arnsberg)
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Jülich
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Nienburg (Lower Saxony)
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Rostock
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Soest
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Troisdorf
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Poland
Poland--Gdynia
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Transport Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Nick Cornwell-Smith
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-11-06
1942-11-07
1942-11-09
1942-11-13
1942-11-14
1942-11-20
1942-11-21
1942-12-06
1942-12-07
1942-12-08
1942-12-09
1942-12-10
1942-12-17
1942-12-20
1942-12-30
1943-01-08
1943-01-13
1943-01-16
1943-01-17
1943-01-18
1943-01-23
1943-02-04
1943-02-05
1943-02-13
1943-02-14
1943-02-15
1943-02-16
1943-02-17
1943-02-18
1943-02-26
1943-02-27
1943-02-28
1943-03-01
1943-03-02
1943-03-03
1943-03-04
1943-03-05
1943-03-06
1943-03-08
1943-03-09
1943-03-10
1943-03-11
1943-03-12
1943-03-14
1943-03-15
1943-03-22
1943-03-26
1944-10-28
1944-10-30
1944-10-31
1944-11-01
1944-11-02
1944-11-04
1944-11-06
1944-11-16
1944-11-18
1944-11-30
1944-12-02
1944-12-03
1944-12-04
1944-12-05
1944-12-06
1944-12-24
1944-12-28
1944-12-29
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-05
1945-01-13
1945-01-14
14 OTU
1659 HCU
24 OTU
242 Squadron
408 Squadron
437 Squadron
44 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
Anson
B-24
Battle
bombing
Bombing and Gunnery School
C-47
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Ju 88
Lancaster
Manchester
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
RAF Blakehill Farm
RAF Dunholme Lodge
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Stoney Cross
RAF Topcliffe
Stirling
training
Wellington
Whitley
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1433/44668/BYatesRPYatesRPv1.1.pdf
893603c8b8a05658e79498035ad29c2c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Yates, Richard
R P Yates
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-08-18
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Yates, RP
Description
An account of the resource
One item. The collection concerns Warrant Officer Richard "Dick" Yates (Royal Air Force) and contains his memoir. He flew operations as a wireless operator/ air gunner with 35 Squadron and became a prisoner of war
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by R P Yates and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
My Wartime Memories by Richard Yates
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Richard Yates
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Bedfordshire
England--Wiltshire
France
France--Brest
Germany
Germany--Hamburg
France--Boulogne-Billancourt
Germany--Essen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Lorient
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
86 printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BYatesRPYatesRPv1
Description
An account of the resource
Richard 'Dick' Yates was a wireless operator/air gunner on 35 Squadron flying Halifax. He was shot down and became a prisoner of war. Dick did his basic training at Blackpool. While at Cranwell for wireless training he flew in DH 86 and Valentia.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-10-01
1941-02
1941-04
1941-06
1941-08
1941-08-16
1941-11
1941-11-24
1941-11-30
1942-01-06
1942-02
1942-03-09
1942-03-13
1942-05-08
1942-06-08
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
19 OTU
35 Squadron
Air Observers School
aircrew
bale out
bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942)
Dominie
Dulag Luft
forced landing
Gneisenau
Halifax
Halifax Mk 1
Halifax Mk 2
love and romance
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
Operational Training Unit
prisoner of war
Proctor
RAF Cardington
RAF Cranwell
RAF Jurby
RAF Kinloss
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Wyton
RAF Yatesbury
recruitment
Scharnhorst
Stalag Luft 3
Stalag Luft 6
the long march
training
Whitley
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2512/44647/LDaviesDC1304355v2.1.pdf
e7444f6cd871fcca68f00c50e4ff7814
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Davies, David Charles
Davies, D C
Description
An account of the resource
36 items. The collection concerns David Charles Davies DFC (b. 1920, 1304355 Royal Air Force) and contains documents, photographs and two log books, one being the copy of the other. The collection also includes <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2584">one album with photos of personnel and aircraft</a>. <br /><br />He flew operations as a gunner, wireless operator and bomb aimer with 61 Squadron. David was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal on 12 March 1943 after completing 33 operations. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by David Michael Davies and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-10-01
2020-02-26
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Davies, DC
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
David Charles Davies' observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Wiltshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Norfolk
England--Yorkshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Cornwall (County)
France
France--Paris
France--Lorient
France--Toulouse
France--Tours
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Saumur
France--Caen
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Lübeck
Germany--Hamburg
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Munich
Germany--Saarlouis
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Essen
Germany--Wismar
Germany--Aachen
Italy
Italy--Genoa
Italy--Milan
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
France--Châteauroux
Germany--Braunschweig
France--Saint-Médard-en-Jalles
France--Saint-Pierre-du-Mont (Landes)
France--Argentan
France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
France--Donges
France--Creil
Ireland
Ireland--Waterford
Scotland--Drem
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Bedfordshire
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Düsseldorf
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Description
An account of the resource
<span>Observer's and air gunner's flying log book for David Charles Davies from November 1940 to 24 March 1948 detailing his training, operational and post conflict duties. Training was with No.5 Air Observer's School at RAF Jurby and Operational Training Units at RAF Finningley and RAF Bircotes. Aircraft flown in were, Dominie, Proctor, Blenhiem, Anson, Wellington, Manchester, Oxford, Lancaster, Halifax and Stirling, He flew a total of 59 operations all with 61 Squadron, 11 daylight and 48 night operations. Pilots flown with were Pilot Officer Clarke, Flight Sergeant Turner, Squadron Leader Deas, Flight Officer Foster and Squadron Leader Beard. David flew as bomb aimer in 52 operations, wireless operator/gunner in five and air gunner in two. The operations were to Paris, Lorient, Essen, Cologne, Lübeck, Hamburg, Saarbrücken, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Kassel, Nuremberg, Saarlouis, Karlsruhe, Bremen, Duisburg, Wismar, Aachen, Genoa, Milan, Berlin, Leipzig, Schweinfurt, Stuttgart, Châteauroux, Toulouse, Tours, Brunswick, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Saumur, Cherbourg, St. Pierre du Mont (Landes), Argentan, Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais), Caen, Donges, Creil, in the Baltic Sea, Atlantic Ocean and North Sea including anti sub patrols, convoy escort and dinghy search.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One log book
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDaviesDC1304355v2
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-02-24
1942-02-25
1942-03-09
1942-03-10
1942-03-11
1942-03-13
1942-03-14
1942-04-28
1942-04-29
1942-04-08
1942-04-09
1942-07-23
1942-07-26
1942-07-29
1942-07-30
1942-07-31
1942-08-01
1942-08-13
1942-08-15
1942-08-18
1942-08-19
1942-08-21
1942-08-24
1942-08-25
1942-08-27
1942-08-28
1942-08-29
1942-09-01
1942-09-02
1942-09-03
1942-09-04
1942-09-05
1942-09-06
1942-09-07
1942-09-08
1942-09-09
1942-09-10
1942-09-11
1942-09-13
1942-09-14
1942-09-16
1942-09-17
1942-10-01
1942-10-02
1942-10-05
1942-10-06
1942-10-12
1942-10-13
1942-10-22
1942-10-23
1942-10-24
1942-11-07
1942-11-08
1942-11-17
1942-11-18
1942-11-20
1942-11-21
1943-05-22
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1943-12-23
1943-12-24
1944-01-02
1944-01-03
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-10
1944-03-11
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-04-05
1944-05-06
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-29
1944-04-30
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-03
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-19
1944-06-20
1944-07-18
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-08-03
1943-12-23
1943-12-24
1944-01-02
1944-01-03
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-10
1944-03-11
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-04-05
1944-05-06
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-29
1944-04-30
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-03
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-19
1944-06-20
1944-07-18
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-08-03
105 Squadron
1660 HCU
25 OTU
57 Squadron
61 Squadron
air gunner
Air Observers School
air sea rescue
aircrew
Anson
Blenheim
bomb aimer
bombing
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
bombing of Toulouse (5/6 April 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Cook’s tour
Distinguished Flying Medal
Dominie
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
incendiary device
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 2
Lancaster Mk 3
Manchester
mine laying
navigator
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Proctor
RAF Bishops Court
RAF Burn
RAF Compton Bassett
RAF Coningsby
RAF Feltwell
RAF Finningley
RAF Fulbeck
RAF Jurby
RAF Manby
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF St Eval
RAF Swanton Morley
RAF Swinderby
RAF Syerston
RAF Woolfox Lodge
RAF Yatesbury
Stirling
submarine
training
Wellington
wireless operator
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2512/44447/LDaviesDC1304355v1.2.pdf
1a0b6ce8cb68e5e20d65bf6a9eb6d616
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Davies, David Charles
Davies, D C
Description
An account of the resource
36 items. The collection concerns David Charles Davies DFC (b. 1920, 1304355 Royal Air Force) and contains documents, photographs and two log books, one being the copy of the other. The collection also includes <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2584">one album with photos of personnel and aircraft</a>. <br /><br />He flew operations as a gunner, wireless operator and bomb aimer with 61 Squadron. David was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal on 12 March 1943 after completing 33 operations. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by David Michael Davies and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-10-01
2020-02-26
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Davies, DC
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
David Charles Davies' observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Observer's and air gunner's flying log book for David Charles Davies from November 1940 to 24 March 1948 detailing his training, operational and post conflict duties. Training was with No.5 Air Observer's School at RAF Jurby and Operational Training Units at RAF Finningley and RAF Bircotes. Aircraft flown in were, Dominie, Proctor, Blenhiem, Anson, Wellington, Manchester, Oxford, Lancaster, Halifax and Stirling, He flew a total of 59 operations all with 61 Squadron, 11 daylight and 48 night operations. Pilots flown with were Pilot Officer Clarke, Flight Sergeant Turner, Squadron Leader Deas, Flight Officer Foster and Squadron Leader Beard. David flew as bomb aimer in 52 operations, wireless operator/gunner in five and air gunner in two. The operations were to Paris, Lorient, Essen, Cologne, Lübeck, Hamburg, Saarbrücken, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Kassel, Nuremberg, Saarlouis, Karlsruhe, Bremen, Duisburg, Wismar, Aachen, Genoa, Milan, Berlin, Leipzig, Schweinfurt, Stuttgart, Châteauroux, Toulouse, Tours, Brunswick, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Saumur, Cherbourg, St. Pierre du Mont (Landes), Argentan, Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais), Caen, Donges, Creil, in the Baltic Sea, Atlantic Ocean and North Sea including anti sub patrols, convoy escort and dinghy search.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-02-24
1942-02-25
1942-03-09
1942-03-10
1942-03-11
1942-03-13
1942-03-14
1942-03-28
1942-03-29
1942-04-08
1942-04-09
1942-07-23
1942-07-26
1942-07-29
1942-07-30
1942-07-31
1942-08-01
1942-08-13
1942-08-15
1942-08-18
1942-08-19
1942-08-21
1942-08-24
1942-08-25
1942-08-27
1942-08-28
1942-08-29
1942-09-01
1942-09-02
1942-09-02
1942-09-03
1942-09-04
1942-09-06
1942-09-07
1942-09-08
1942-09-09
1942-09-10
1942-09-11
1942-09-13
1942-09-14
1942-09-16
1942-09-17
1942-10-01
1943-10-02
1942-10-05
1942-10-06
1942-10-12
1942-10-13
1942-10-22
1942-10-23
1942-10-24
1942-11-07
1942-11-08
1942-11-17
1942-11-18
1942-11-20
1942-11-21
1943-05-22
1943-12-20
1943-12-21
1943-12-23
1942-12-24
1944-01-02
1944-01-03
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-02-15
1944-02-16
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-24
1944-02-25
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-10
1944-03-11
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-04-05
1944-04-06
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-29
1944-04-30
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-19
1944-06-20
1944-07-18
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-08-03
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lancashire
England--Wiltshire
England--Norfolk
England--Yorkshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Hampshire
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man
France
France--Paris
France--Lorient
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Essen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Lübeck
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Munich
Germany--Saarlouis
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Wismar
Germany--Aachen
Italy
Italy--Genoa
Italy--Milan
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
France--Châteauroux
France--Toulouse
France--Tours
France--Saint-Médard-en-Jalles
France--Saumur
France--Cherbourg
France--Saint-Pierre-du-Mont (Landes)
France--Argentan
France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
France--Caen
France--Donges
France--Creil
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
France--Châteauroux
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Düsseldorf
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDaviesDC1304355v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
105 Squadron
1660 HCU
25 OTU
57 Squadron
61 Squadron
air gunner
Air Observers School
air sea rescue
aircrew
Anson
Blenheim
bomb aimer
bombing
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
bombing of Toulouse (5/6 April 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Cook’s tour
Distinguished Flying Medal
Dominie
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
incendiary device
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 2
Lancaster Mk 3
Lincoln
Manchester
mine laying
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Proctor
RAF Bishops Court
RAF Burn
RAF Compton Bassett
RAF Coningsby
RAF Feltwell
RAF Finningley
RAF Fulbeck
RAF Jurby
RAF Manby
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF St Eval
RAF Swanton Morley
RAF Swinderby
RAF Syerston
RAF Woolfox Lodge
RAF Yatesbury
Stirling
submarine
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
Wellington
wireless operator
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2341/43830/LDennettGJ1195401v1.2.pdf
ab2b1da4bf4c20f05ab2fedcb85620e6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Dennett, Gordon John
Description
An account of the resource
Nine items. The collection concerns Gordon John Dennett (1195401 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 196 Squadron and 355 Squadron in the Far East.
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Kate Smart and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-04-17
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Dennett, GJ
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Gordon Dennett's observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDennettGJ1195401v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending review
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
Description
An account of the resource
G. Dennett’s RAF Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book from 14/5/42 to 17/3/46, detailing training, operations and instructional duties as a Wireless Operator, Air Bomber, Air Gunner and Radar Operator. Based at: RAF Yatesbury (No. 2 Signals School), RAF Evanton (No. 8 Air Gunnery School), RAF Harwell and RAF Hamstead Norris (No. 15 OTU), RAF Leconfield (196 Squadron), RAF Driffield (No.1484 Bombing and Gunnery Flight), RAF Salbani (355 squadron), RAF Digri and RAF Raipur (1341 Special Duty Flight, 298 Squadron), RAF Baroda (1334 TSCU). Aircraft flown: Dominie, Proctor, Botha, Wellington, Anson, Oxford, Liberator, Halifax, Dakota.
Records a total of 25 night operations (plus one with Duties Not Carried Out) with 196 Squadron. Targets in Germany, France and the Netherlands are: Bochum, Brest (minelaying), Cologne, Dortmund, Duisberg, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Frisians (minelaying), Gelsenkirchen, Heligoland Bight (minelaying), Kiel, Krefeld, Lorient (minelaying), Manheim, Mulheim, St Nazaire, Wuppertal.
Pilots on operations with 196 Squadron were W/O Ritchie and Sgt Sneddon.
Also records 33 operations (23 Night, 10 day, 5 with Duties Not Carried Out) with 355 Squadron against Japanese forces during the Burma campaign 1944-5. Targets in Burma, Thailand and Vietnam include:
Akyab, Amarapura, Andaman Islands, Bangkok, Hanoi, Jumbhorn, Khorat, Kyaukse, Kyetsha, Madaya, Mahlaing, Mandalay, Martaban Point, Martaban, Maymyo, Mokpalin railway yards, Monywa, Myingyan, Myittha, Na Nien, Ramree Island, Rangoon, Tiddim-Impall Road, Yenangyaung, Ywataung.
Pilots on operations with 355 Squadron were Squadron Leader MacDougall, Flight Lieutenant Giles, Flight Lieutenant Jackson, Flight Lieutenant Scott, Squadron Leader Falconer, Pilot Officer Dean, Warrant Officer Campbell, Flight Sergeant Turner, Warrant Officer Long and Warrant Officer Painter.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Burma
France
Germany
Great Britain
India
Netherlands
Pakistan
Thailand
Vietnam
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Berkshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
Scotland--Ross and Cromarty
Atlantic Ocean--Helgoland Bight
Burma--Akyab (District)
Burma--Amarapura
Burma--Kyaikto
Burma--Kyaukse (District)
Burma--Kyaukse (Township)
Burma--Magwe Division
Burma--Mandalay
Burma--Mandalay (Division)
Burma--Maymyo
Burma--Monywa
Burma--Moulmein
Burma--Myingyan (District)
Burma--Rakhine State
Burma--Rangoon
Burma--Tiddim
Burma--Yenangyaung
France--Brest
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Mülheim an der Ruhr
Germany--Wuppertal
India--Andaman Islands
India--Imphāl
India--Raipur
India--Vadodara
Netherlands--Friesland
Pakistan--Digri
Thailand--Bangkok
Thailand--Chumphon
Thailand--Khorat Plateau
Vietnam--Hanoi
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942
1943-02-25
1943-02-26
1943-03-01
1943-03-05
1943-03-06
1943-03-09
1943-03-12
1943-03-13
1943-03-26
1943-03-27
1943-03-28
1943-03-29
1943-03-30
1943-04-04
1943-04-05
1943-04-10
1943-04-11
1943-04-16
1943-04-17
1943-05-04
1943-05-05
1943-05-16
1943-05-17
1943-05-23
1943-05-24
1943-05-25
1943-05-26
1943-05-27
1943-05-28
1943-05-29
1943-05-30
1943-06-02
1943-06-03
1943-06-21
1943-06-22
1943-06-23
1943-06-24
1943-06-25
1943-06-26
1943-06-28
1943-06-29
1943-07-02
1943-07-03
1943-07-04
1944-03-29
1944-03-30
1944-04-08
1944-04-09
1944-04-23
1944-04-24
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-29
1944-06-01
1944-06-07
1944-06-12
1944-06-30
1944-08-02
1944-08-03
1944-09-11
1944-09-16
1944-09-19
1944-10-29
1944-10-30
1944-11-08
1944-11-19
1945-01-21
1945-01-25
1945-01-31
1945-02-03
1945-02-05
1945-02-11
1945-02-15
1945-02-18
1945-02-21
1945-02-23
1945-02-24
1945-02-28
1945-03-04
1945-03-05
1945-03-07
1945-03-09
1945-03-19
1945-08-02
1946
15 OTU
196 Squadron
298 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
B-24
bale out
bomb aimer
Botha
C-47
Dominie
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Halifax Mk 7
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Proctor
RAF Driffield
RAF Evanton
RAF Hampstead Norris
RAF Harwell
RAF Leconfield
RAF Yatesbury
Sunderland
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1564/43465/MCurtisA1579599-161130-02.1.pdf
6ade64adf230bddeecdea07af9f1c55d
Dublin Core
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Title
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Curtis, A
Curtis, Len
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2016-11-30
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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
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Curtis, A
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns "Len" Curtis (1579599 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents and a manuscript. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 106, 630 and 617 Squadrons.
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Cary Curtis and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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LANCASTER J B 139
[drawing]
DARK VICTOR
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[Photograph]
Don Cheney’s crew (photograph taken in London circa December 1943).
Back row (L-R): R. Pool, J. Rosher, W. N. Wait, McRostie. Front row (L-R): R. Welch, D. Cheney, A Curtis
L’équipage de Don cheney [sic] (photo prise à Londres vers décembre 1943).
Debout, de gauche à droite: R. Pool, J. Rosher, W. N. Wait, McRostie.
Assis, de gauche à droite: R. Welch, D. Cheney, A Curtis.
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617 Squadron’s campaign against the V-Sites in the Pas de Calais had concluded with the final assault on the V-1 site at Siracourt on 1st August, 1944. The Pas de Calais had been over-run by various units of the Allied Armies, positively breaking out from the consolidated beach-head area, and sending the German forces into headlong retreat along the whole front, save for the various French coastal redoubts, which the Allies initially by-passed without making any strong effort to subdue them.
617 Squadron, in company with other squadrons of Bomber Command, had pulverised the enemy’s E-Boat flotillas in the French harbours of Le Havre and Boulogne, forcing the remnants to retreat to the comparatively safer harbours of Holland, notably Ijmuiden. These units now had a much longer voyage to oppose the invasion support convoys and this, together with the short summer nights, had rendered their efforts against these convoys almost innocuous and very costly in the casualties inflicted by the convoy escorts.
With the underlying threat of the V-Sites firmly removed, 617’s efforts were re-directed against the French Biscay ports of Brest, Lorient and La Pallice. The aim was to deny these ports and their facilities to the ocean-going U-Boats and to drive them to other, and more northerly lairs. There was an additional purpose in the matter of Brest. Strong American forces had broken out of their bridgehead area and were deploying rapidly and with great purpose through the “bocage” country of Normandy and Brittany. American units had isolated the German garrison in Cherbourg, one of the planned redoubts, whilst other motorised and armoured columns were making all speed towards Brest. The Allies needed to capture a large established
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deep-water port as soon as possible. Thus, the German garrison in Brest, with their numbers greatly increased by the many other German units which had sought refuge from the American advance, needed to have demonstrated to them just exactly what the total Allied air supremacy would bring to them during any period they might resolve to hold out. “Drive out the U-Boats and intimidate the garrison” . . . these were the deadly purposes of the assaults about to be launched from the air on Brest.
Flying Officer Don Cheney eased Lancaster “KC – V“ (JB 139) into the air at 0949 hours on Saturday, 5th August, 1944, from RAF Woodhall Spa. The squadron effort was sixteen Lancasters, each armed with a Tallboy bomb, and “V – Victor” was the ninth aircraft to get airborne. Beside the pilot, Flight Sergeant Jim Rosher prepared to ease back the throttles and later set the “revs and boost” his captain would request for the climb to height, once the full take-off procedure had been fulfilled. Flight Sergeant Len Curtis prepared to take his Bomb Aimer’s position in the nose from his perch on the step immediately below the flight engineer’s position. At the navigation table Pilot Officer Roy Welch was busy “setting out his stall” . . as was the wireless operator Flight Sergeant Reg Pool at the W/T set. In the mid-upper turret Warrant Officer Ken Porter settled himself comfortably, whilst Pilot Officer William Noel Wait did likewise in the rear turret. Both gunners prepared to unlock and test their turrets when the engines were throttled back and it was safe to do so.
The aircraft circled the airfield until the navigator warned that it was almost time to set course. Don brought the Lancaster round on to the
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required heading over the airfield and commenced the long, unhurried climb to the operational height of 18,000 feet.
It was a beautiful summer’s day . . . very warm with almost cloudless skies affording continuous sunshine. The mighty Merlins lifted the heavily-laden aircraft effortlessly and without one discordant note. Don checked with each member of the crew that all systems were operational and that there were no snags. He actioned the occasional slight course correction offered by the industrious navigator. When the aircraft had reached the operational height, Don called for the necessary cruising “revs and boost” to be set on the dials, checking the readings when he had Jim Rosher’s assertion that this had been carried out.
Don felt quite elated that another operational phase was beginning for the squadron against the U-Boat pens, with formidable Brest as the first target. He had found the tasks on 617 much more self-satisfying than those long, and very demanding, hauls in the enemy darkness, to bomb Target Indicators laid by other unknown crews. In the daylight raids of 617, captains were required to identify their aiming-points visually and to aim their bombs at this point . . often able to observe the success of the squadron’s effort before the confirming reconnaissance photos were available. Even on the 617 night operations, the Lancaster crews knew that the target had been identified and marked with meticulous accuracy by the squadron’s Mosquito marking force, so that the red spot fires could be bombed with the certain knowledge that they were on the aiming point. Don’s mind slipped back to the attack on the Watten V2 site in the Pas de Calais on July 25th, when the very accurate flak defences had knocked out one engine of his aircraft and so severely damaged the hydraulic system that all turrets became inoperable: the bomb doors hung limply open and the
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availability of the undercarriage became a matter of conjecture and prayer. The fuselage was awash with hydraulic oil and filled with the acrid smell of cordite. Miraculously, the intercomm was working and Don had raised all the crew, save the mid-upper gunner, the Aussie “Mac” McRostie. Don instructed the wireless operator to investigate the silence, in case the gunner was in need of assistance. A shaken Reg Pool appeared beside him some moments later, puled Don’s right earpiece aside and yelled “Mac’s gone!”. Don banked the aircraft, to bring it round course back to the UK, at the same time surveying the area below. His eye picked up the white silk of a parachute against the background of green countryside. It was about four thousand feet below the Lancaster and drifting gently inland. Mac’s prisoner-of-war status had been reported to Allied sources within a few days by the Resistance network. Don had taken stock of the damage to the aircraft during the return flight, and was greatly relieved to discover that no fires had started and that no member of the crew was injured. Some desultory heavy flak was aimed at them as they neared the French coast, but it was inaccurate and did no damage. Jim Rosher called Don’s attention to something overhead and there, sitting some thirty feet above the Lancaster, and sliding gently across and back again, was a Spitfire. The Spit then perched just off the starboard wing, with he pilot giving “Thumbs Up”, until the English coast was reached and then, with a salute of farewell, it peeled off to starboard and was gone. There was a temptation to “drop in“ at one of the many ‘dromes en route, but dogged persistence drove them on to Woodhall Spa. Fortuitously, the emergency air bottles “blew down” and locked the undercarriage and “T for Tare” flopped in without ceremony or waste of time, on clearance from the Control Tower.
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It was this series of events that had introduced Ken Porter into the crew. Ken had finished his first tour with 619 Squadron at Coningsby and had immediately opted to join 617. By coincidence, Don Cheney had been the pilot of the Lancaster which had flown the short distance from Woodhall Spa to Coningsby to pick him up and effect his transfer to his new squadron. Don was very pleased to have a fellow Canadian in his crew, for all the other members were from the United Kingdom and . . . Len Curtis’ voice broke in on his musings. “English coast coming up, navigator . . . we look to be OK on track and I’ll give you “crossing coast” when we’re overhead”. Roy Welch duly acknowledged the message and Don alerted himself for the passage across the Channel and into enemy territory. Once over the sea, both gunners performed the ritual test of the turret guns and reported all guns serviceable. ”V – Victor” crossed the enemy coast without any opposition manifesting itself, with the promised Spitfire escort ranged above and around the assembling 617, as they marshalled at the rendezvous point. Don took his allocated position in the “gaggle”, which proceeded on its stately and irrevocable purpose. The bomb-sight data passed between the navigator and the bomb-aimer, to be re-checked once it had been fed to the bomb-sight and before the aircraft was committed to the bombing run. Then the formation swung sharply to starboard, denying confirmation to the defenders of Brest that the port was really the objective of the operation until the last possible moment., The campaign against the U-Boat bases had begun in deadly earnest.
The run-up to the target was some twenty miles in length. As always, the Stabilised Automatic Bomb-Sight demanded the closest tolerances of height, course and airspeed from the pilot and Don Cheney’s total concentration was
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on these three factors. He knew from Len Curtis’s calm voice and quiet, unhurried directions that the bomb-aimer had the target well and truly lined up in his bomb-sight. Sweat trickled into Don’s eyes and down the side of his face, soaking into the collar of his shirt . . . not much longer now, and the Tallboy would be on its lethal way and he would have the luxury of drying himself with his handkerchief . . . not much longer for that blessed relief . . . not much longer. Suddenly, the voice of the rear gunner broke into the intercomm. “Looks as if some quite heavy barrage fire is coming up, skip!”. Don did not answer, his whole being concentrated on the final crucial moments of the bombing run. Ken Porter swung his turret to check the rear gunner’s observation. A second string of black bursts appeared above the black cotton-wool of the initial salvo and his experienced eye could see that the salvos were creeping higher and nearer. Don heard the dulled explosions . . . under the nose and to each side, he surmised, but the bomb-aimer’s directions held him in thrall. Then came the memory-stirring clangs and thumps as direct hits struck the aircraft with giant hammer-blows. A gasping cry came over the intercomm but still the bomb-aimer continued his relentless commentary. The cockpit filled with cordite fumes and again fiery red bursts erupted around the aircraft. Another involuntary cry came over the intercomm, almost drowned by the triumphant cry of “Bomb Gone!” from the bomb-aimer. With the main duty now performed, Don began the task of extricating the crew from the serious situation in which they obviously were. He banked and dived the Lancaster to port to elude further predicted bursts. Jim Rosher folded his seat and moved towards the navigation table. Don was still holding the dive from the danger zone when Jim came on the intercom. “Roy and Reg are both hurt, Don” he reported. “I’m attending to Roy . . . Ken and Noel have come forward
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[inserted] 7 [/inserted]
and are attending to Reg”. “Any idea of the damage, Jim?” asked Don. “All the gauges on the Engineer’s panel are wrecked, Don” replied Jim. Ken Porter came on the intercom. “I got down from my turret after the first strike, Don, to see what the score was . . and then the second shell struck home, just aft of the main spar, I figure. I almost choked on the fumes from the explosion of that shell! The damage seems to be confined to the starboard side of the kite, in the wing-root area”. “There’s a large hole in the nav table” interjected Jim “and the radio compartment is pretty badly smashed!”. “Thanks both” replied Don. “Could Roy give me a course for Base when he’s ready?”. Jim Rosher realised that Don did not quite know the extent of the navigatgor’s [sic] wounds. Shrapnel had struck him in the face, tearing away the oxygen mask and removing his upper teeth and gums. Jim had just applied a field dressing to the area . . . despite the pain he was suffering, Ron had managed to smile crookedly when the pad was put in place. When Don’s request came over the intercomm, and to Jim’s utter amazement, Roy sat up in his chair, pored over his log and wrote some figures on a clip-board pad. He then stood up with a great effort. Aware of movement on his right, Don turned quickly. Roy was standing by the pilot’s seat, one hand grasping the high, armour-plated back and the other carrying the clip-board. His face was covered from nose to chin with a large antiseptic pad. There were large spots of blood on his shirt collar and on the side of his head. He was unable to speak but relinquished his grip on the seat-back, to hold the clip-board where Don could read it, indicating with his pencil the message he had written. “Heading 060”. . Don gave him a grateful nod and set the course on his compass repeater. Roy tottered back to his seat for Jim Rosher to continue to minister to his wounds. Len
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Curtis had switched off the SABS and all the bombing gear and brought the First Aid kit to assist the two wounded members.
Don continued the descending turn to port, aiming to bring the Lancaster on to the course so gallantly proffered by the navigator. He had noted that Ron was not on oxygen and assumed that Reg was in the same predicament, so he had increased the rate of descent in order to get down below oxygen height as quickly as possible. The compass needle was nearing a southerly heading in the continuing turn, when he felt a poke in the side. He looked to his right and saw Jim Rosher pointing to the starboard wing. Don looked along the raised wing and was appalled to see a large jagged hole between the two engines. It looked large enough for a man to crawl through! Beyond this chasm, was a number of smaller holes, from which were emerging small light blue flames and wisps of smoke. He continued the diving turn to port, to keep the possible fire hazard away from the fuselage. He mentally summed up the prospects and gave the order “Prepare to abandon aircraft! Prepare to abandon aircraft!”.
Jim Rosher checked that his ‘chute was readily to hand. He saw that Len Curtis was still busily engaged, ministering gently to the badly-wounded Wireless Operator, who had sustained wounds in the chest and legs from large jagged pieces of shrapnel. Jim lowered himself into the bombing well to prepare the escape hatch for abandonment, a duty which normally Len would have performed. He was lifting the hatch from its location when he noticed that Len Curtis’s ‘chute was lying loose on the floor. Fearing that the slipstream might suck it from the aircraft when the hatch was jettisoned, Jim let go of the hatch, which by this time was half-way out of the aircraft. The impact of the slipstream jammed the hatch across the
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escape exit. Jim crawled carefully around the partially-blocked exit and secured the rogue ‘chute in its proper stowage. He then endeavoured to deal with the recalcitrant hatch cover. He managed to budge it a few inches but that was all. He gave up and returned to his post beside the pilot.
On receipt of the captain’s order, Ken Porter and Noel Wait immediately went back to their ‘chute stowages to clamp their parachutes on their chests, leaving Len Curtis still ministering to the wireless operator. Noel Wait was having some trouble with his ‘chute pack and Ken Porter went to help him. Noel must have thought that Ken was on his way to the rear door, for he called urgently “Wait for me!” . . . which Don heard on the intercom and he sought to reassure the rear gunner that the order was only preparatory at that time. Suddenly the starboard inner engine failed and began to belch flames and black smoke. Jim Rosher quickly feathered the engine and threw the appropriate graviner switch to quell the flames in that engine. This seemed to deal effectively with the situation. “Both wings are holed, Don” reported Jim “and the fuselage is badly holed and torn in many places!”. Don could see a blue flame burning ominously in the No 2 fuel tank. It seemed to be growing even as he watched. He could feel heat building up from the starboard side of the cockpit. There was not a moment to Lose! . . “ABANDON AIRCRAFT! ABANDON AIRCRAFT!” he ordered.
At the rear of the aircraft, Noel Wait had plugged into the intercomm socket whilst Ken Porter had secured the rear door open. Ken saw that flames were streaming back from the starboard wing, almost the length of the fuselage. The flames and smoke dispersed suddenly, but hard on the heels of this Ken received a visual signal from Noel that the order to
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abandon aircraft had been given. He signed for Noel to go first, but Noel indicated for Ken to lead the way. Ken sat on the door sill with his legs dangling in the slip-stream. He leaned back and then tried to roll himself forward, as had been so easy in the practice drills. But due to the aircraft’s “starboard wing up” attitude, the roll forward took a great deal of effort and Ken found himself leaving the aircraft much closer to the fuselage than he might have expected. However, that seemed to ensure he was well clear of the tail assembly. He had no doubt that Noel would quickly follow him.
Jim Rosher slid forward into the bombing well and tried desperately to free the jammed hatch. Suddenly he was aware that Roy Welch was beside him, ‘chute clipped on and a large dressing still strapped across his face. In spite of his injuries, Roy assisted Jim to such effect that, although their efforts failed to free the hatch cover, it was moved sufficiently to allow a somewhat cramped escape route. Roy waved his hand in farewell to Jim and, with some difficulty, launched himself from the aircraft. Jim turned to see that Len Curtis was now in the bombing well. He put his mouth close to Len’s ear and said “How’s Reg?” “He’s right behind me!” replied Len “You leave now and I’ll follow you!” Immediately Jim manoeuvred himself through the restricted escape exit and was gone. Len edged his way around to his ‘chute stowage, clamped the ‘chute on to his harness and returned to the jammed hatch cover. He could see that he was not going to be able to negotiate the exit as he constituted at the moment, being, in his own words, “somewhat portly”. He tried without success to budge the jammed cover. Reg Pool was sitting dazedly on the fuselage floor, above the step leading into the bombing well. Len signalled Reg to retreat a bit, to give Len more
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room, but it was obvious that Reg just did not understand what Len was indicating. Len released the ‘chute straps from his main harness, whilst keeping the ‘chute secured in the clamps. He used both hands to raise the pack above his head and sat down at the escape exit with his feet through the narrowed opening. Gripping the pack above his head as tightly as his fingers would allow, he uttered a silent prayer and thrust himself into space. His stratagem worked and he cleared the aircraft without difficulty.
Don Cheney had ceased turning the aircraft to port on issuing the order to abandon and held it at height on a southerly course whilst his crew got out. He could see that the aircraft was just out to sea and felt that his crew would have a better chance of escaping capture in the area south of Brest, if the surge of the German retreat had been pell-mell northwards towards Brest once Wehrmacht units had been appraised of the American “break-out in great strength” some days previously. One of Jim Rosher’s last acts before leaving the aircraft had been to lay a ‘chute pack under Don’s seat, to expedite Don’s own departure from the Lancaster. Don had been fully informed of the situation with the jammed hatch cover. He was aware of the departure of the navigator, flight engineer and then his bomb-aimer. He knew that the two gunners had left by the rear door and appreciated that the badly-wounded wireless operator and himself were the sole remaining aircrew. He climbed down from his seat and, holding the aircraft as steady as possible by keeping his left hand on the control column, he strove with his right arm to help Reg to his feet. Slowly he managed to raise Reg and used both hands to steady the weakened aircrew. As soon as he had taken his hand from the control column, the aircraft began to wallow ominously from side to
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side. Don was forced to regain his seat and settle the aircraft again. Reg clung precariously to the side of the seat whilst this was happening. When he was satisfied that the aircraft was on even keel again, Don left his seat and clipped his wireless operator’s ‘chute on to Reg’s harness. Reg had been holding the pack, but was obviously too weak to do this task for himself. The Lancaster insisted on nosing into a steep dive each time Don took his hand from the controls and repeatedly Don had to regain his seat to bring the aircraft out of the dive. Eventually, Reg had been prepared for abandoning the aircraft. In one of the Lancaster’s “behaviour lulls”, Don was able to lead him down to the escape exit. Reg dangled his feet through the escape exit and, with Don’s help and guidance, was able to grasp the silver D-ring. Again, Don had to leave him to “recover” the aircraft from a dive. As soon as he could, he returned to Reg’s side. Don had some misgivings about Reg’s capacity to act correctly once he had left the aircraft and sought to reassure himself, although there really was no alternative to what had to happen. Don removed Reg’s helmet and, putting his mouth close to Reg’s ear, he said urgently “You will be OK, Reg, won’t you? . . . once you’ve left the aircraft?” The injured man nodded a couple of times. Somewhat reassured, Don continued “Keep hold of the ring, Reg and don’t pull it until you are well clear . . . understand?” Again he was answered with nods of the head. Don put his hands under Reg’s armpits, lifted him and eased him gently through the exit. Suddenly, Reg was gone without any further hurt or hindrance. Don peered through the exit but failed to pick up any sign of a parachute. He became aware that the aircraft was diving again and hurried back to regain control and to prepare for his own departure.
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Don had scarcely retrieved the situation when there was a surge of heat from the starboard side of the fuselage. Instinctively he turned to the engineer’s panel and was aghast to see bubbles appearing in the yellow paint of the panel. He climbed down from his seat and stooped to retrieve his ‘chute pack and clipped it to his chest. He had to remove his hand from the controls to effect this and immediately the Lancaster went into a steep dive. A noise like a roaring tornado developed as the slipstream tore in through the escape hatch and ravaged through the battered fuselage to escape at the open rear door. The engine noise was rising to a crescendo! . . . he fought his way back into his seat and with a superhuman effort, brought the nose up . . up . . up . . and then pushed the column forward until a semblance of “straight and level” flight was assumed. His mind had been racing ahead . . . no way was he going to be able to get down into the bombing-well and launch himself into space before the stricken Lancaster went into its final death-dive . . . no way could he reach the rear door exit, either! No, it HAD to be through the ditching hatch above his head! He turned in his seat, so that he was able to kneel on the seat cushion and jam his rump against the control column. He gave the release handle a firm twist and the hatch cover windmilled off into the slip-stream. The wind-noise increased ten-fold! Don removed his helmet and sun-glasses and tossed them towards the floor, but they were immediately whisked off down the fuselage. With his feet now on the seat, he forced his head and shoulders through the hatch opening but found he was unable to clear it. Urgently, he sought to get first one foot and then the other on the seat armrests . . . and then was shattered to find that the ‘chute pack prevented him from getting through the hatch! He crouched back again inside the cockpit. The
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aircraft was in a steep dive and his best efforts could only bring the nose up slightly. He knew he HAD to get out NOW! He resumed his attempt to get through the dinghy hatch, but this time was able to flip the pack upwards and clear of the hatch before beginning to wrestle the rest of his body through the opening. He stood on the armrests again and managed to get his right knee on the edge of the hatch. His left foot groped frantically for additional purchase below. Miraculously, he made contact with the back of the seat . . . felt his way upwards until his foot was at the top of his seat which provided a promise of firm leverage. He paused to gather all his reserves of strength and then gave a tremendous push on his left foot. He bulleted out into a roaring cacophony of sound. The blurred hump of the mid-upper turret flashed past and, with that peculiar human sense that allows one to observe the innocuous in moments of great personal stress, he gave mental thanks that Ken had remembered to depress the turret guns. The two large tail fins loomed and went safely by and with them the W/T aerials that could have cut through him like a wire through cheese . . . and then he was tumbling in space, with his knees drawn up to his chest. In his gyrations he saw blue sky and white clouds framed between his flying boots . . . then water . . . then land . . . then the sky and clouds again to complete the cycle. His consciousness was no longer dominated by the roar of the aircraft. Instead, there was a rushing of air past his ears. He felt around the pack for the release handle and seized it thankfully. He waited a further five seconds and gave it a very firm pull. It gave with incredible ease and he was conscious of holding the D-ring in his hand, with a two-feet length of wire attached to it and not the slightest slackening of his speed of fall! “Hell!” he thought “I’ve pulled it too
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hard and the “chute just isn’t going to work! What an ending after all I’ve escaped!”. A definite “whumpf” halted these thoughts in their tracks . . . his headlong fall was arrested . . . he assumed an upright position . . . no more rushing air in his ears. He was floating gently aloft, with only the gentle flapping of the beautiful white canopy above him to break the silence of that lovely summer afternoon. He heard the drone of an aircraft and looked around to see “V for Victor” in its death throes. It had reared from its downward plunge, with its nose rising until the Lancaster toppled over. For one frightening moment Don felt that there was a distinct possibility of the aircraft banking round and perhaps striking him, but then it went into a gentle spin towards the sea. An eternity seemed to pass before it finally struck the surface with one final roar. A great burst of red flames and thick black smoke was followed by a boiling circle of churning sea. The Don saw a series of smaller splashes as lesser debris hit the water, but finally nothing remained to mark the grave of “V for Victor” but a column of spiralling smoke which the sea breeze quickly dispersed.
A dull, muted droning of aircraft engines became faintly audible. Peering into the distance, Don could make out the specks of other 617 aircraft which, having delivered their bomb-loads, were now haring back to Woodhall Spa. Soon they were gone and an unbroken silence descended. Don could see no other ‘chutes in the sky around him. To all intents and purposes he was completely alone.
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Len Curtis was greatly relieved when the billowing silk canopy of his parachute arrested his headlong fall through space. He became aware that, whilst he had been wrestling his way through the narrowed escape hatch, the racing slip-stream had torn off his right flying boot, and for a few moments he was non-plussed . . . why hadn’t his left flying boots joined its companion? But he was swiftly dragged back to reality when he saw the Lancaster turning towards him in a shallow dive. For a few agonising moments, he was sure that it would hit him, but suddenly it resumed straight and level flight and the danger passed, but too close for real comfort. Len examined the area around and below him but failed to pick up the ‘chutes of Roy Welch and Jim Rosher. He began to assess his own situation and estimated that he would enter the waters of the bay some two miles from land. The sensation of rapid descent increased as he neared the water. He prepared himself for the plunge by unlocking the quick-release unit of the ‘chute. When he judged himself to be about fifteen feet above the surface of the sea, he struck the unit with his clenched fist, at the same time operating the automatic inflation lever on his Mae West. He fell out of his ‘chute and harness, which drifted away, clear of the spot where Len eventually hit the water. He went down only a few feet before rising buoyantly to the surface. He surveyed the geography of the bay and found himself in the broad base of its sweep. Undaunted, he commenced to swim towards the shore, deflating his Mae West slightly to allow himself to assume a comfortable swimming posture. He was glad to find that the water was quite warm and felt that, under less intimidating circumstances, it would have been quite a pleasant way to spend a summer afternoon. He glanced at his watch . . it had stopped at 1220 pm.
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He made steady progress towards an outcrop of rock and estimated that he had been in the sea for about two hours, when a burst of automatic fire split the silence. He heard the hiss of the bullets as they passed overhead and he turned to face the direction from which they had come. He made out a knot of German troops on the beach. About half-dozen had their weapons trained threateningly on him, whilst one beckoned him imperiously to change his direction towards them, making it plain what would happen if he refused. Cursing his luck, Len swam towards them and soon he was standing on the beach, dripping wet, surrounded by Germans. They expertly removed all his valuables and possessions, which they pocketed with great satisfaction, but the reception was generally cordial. Obviously, they remarked between themselves on his missing boot. Len discarded his Mae West, and it was immediately examined by the interested troops. Len was disgusted to find that they were armed with Sten guns . . . the guns that the supply squadrons regularly dropped to the Resistance! His captors were obviously a platoon under the command of a Corporal, but quite soon a car appeared from which emerged a Wehrmacht officer. He strode across to Len, who stood to attention, as military etiquette demanded. The German studies Len for a few moments. “Ah, Feldwebel” he said and motioned Len into the car. With Len flanked in the rear by two “Sten-armed” soldiers, and the officer in the front passenger seat, the car moved off. It sped through a town which Len was to learn later was Douarnenez and on for some way until it reached a small military camp. Len was escorted to a cell and a meal of German field rations and hot black erzatz coffee was provided, again with the same cordiality that had reigned on the beach. He rested for an hour or so, when the door was unlocked and a Feldwebel beckoned him out. He was taken to an office block and escorted into a room where a different
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Wehrmacht officer sat at a table. Len saluted as he entered and the officer indicated the chair which faced him across the table. Len sat down and prepared himself for the interrogation. “Number . . . rank and name” he was asked, in quite reasonable English and Len provided this information, which was entered on the form in front of his interrogator. “Unit?”, came the next question. Len shook his head “I am afraid I cannot give you that, sir” he replied. The officer looked at him quizzically and after a few moments, pushed himself back from the table and left the room through a door behind his desk . . . Len heard a muffled conversation between perhaps three or four voices and then the officer returned. “Sergeant, you will be taken to Quimper airport tomorrow and handed over to the Luftwaffe. The information you have given us will be forwarded, as required, but we have more important things to do at this moment than to interrogate RAF prisoners.” He called for the Feldwebel and soon Len found himself back in his cell. Relief allowed him to sleep quite soundly that night.
In the morning he was given a meal and transported under guard to Quimper airfield. Before he left the camp, he was handed a pair of German Army issue boots. Len took a grip on the leg and boot of his flying boot with a few swift jerks, separated them by breaking the stitching, as provided by their design. He tore out the silk linings of the legging, folded them into small packs, and put them in the back pockets of his battle-dress trousers. He managed to have some conversation with his guards on the drive to Quimper and discovered that the majority of the troops holding this part of France were Austrian and Czech formations. There was an awareness of the American break-out from the invasion beaches and Len was left with the distinct impression that his guards wanted nothing more
[Page break]
than to be captured in one piece and get out of this war! This cheered him no end, and went a long way in explaining the cordiality with which he had been received.
At Quimper airfield, he was placed in the custody of a Luftwaffe corporal, who seemed to be the only Luftwaffe representative left. His Wehrmacht guards and driver insisted on shaking hands with him before they left, and Len was becoming more and more at ease with his situation. The Luftwaffe corporal turned out to be a conscripted Czech who had a few similar Czech troopers under his command. He was quite amenable and spoke some English. Len gathered that the corporal was hourly expecting orders to evacuate the airfield and this would mean moving a band of about two hundred French Algerian prisoners-of-war . . and Len! He spent a not unpleasant day at Quimper and could see that morale amongst the German “mercenaries” was plunging.
The following day, Monday 7th August, the Luftwaffe corporal informed Len that orders had come through to evacuate the airfield and move all prisoners into the Crozon Peninsular. It was estimated that a march of some 45 kilometres lay ahead, which Len interpolated as around 28 miles. The corporal added that the march would be accomplished at night, since the Allied Air Forces had made the roads in Brittany very dangerous for the movement of large formations in daylight hours. Len rested most of the day in preparation for what lay ahead. At about 1700 hrs, the corporal and his troop began the thankless task of assembling their French-Algerian prisoners, many of whom had so many large packages draped about them that they looked like pack-mules! Just before 1800 hrs the party, in some fifty
[Page break]
files of four abreast, trudged out of the camp, en route for the Crozon Peninsular, with the corporal pushing his beloved bike. It was a warm clear evening, with the guards anxiously scanning the skies and straining their ears for the first possible warning of an air attack. Fortune favoured the column in this respect and dusk fell with no interference from marauding Allied fighters. Dusk turned to night, with bright moonlight effectively lighting the road. The party, which had had a degree of compactness at the outset, was now strung out over a distance of some four hundred yards. Consequently, the escort became ever more thinly spread along the length of the column. They passed through what appeared to be sleeping French villages, although Len was certain that curtains were raised in darkened upstairs windows to observe their progress. He wondered if “underground” radios were passing the information on to Maquis squads and fervently hoped that no clandestine ambush would be laid against the party before its identity had been checked.
Occasionally a halt was called for a short break, generally in the area of a village pump, or public water supply. The dispersal of the marchers had one advantage, in that it made for less crowding around the drinking area. It also allowed the mass to coagulate somewhat, although the more lightly-weighted elements were soon ahead of the “beasts of burden” once the march was resumed. Len’s feet became blistered, and so he sat down on a grassy bank, removed his German field boots and put his feet in the cool water of the brook that ran past. He soaked some of the linings from his flying-boot and carefully bound up his blistered feet, revelling in the relief that the silk pads immediately afforded. He became aware that many of the Algerians now passing him were limping badly. Ignoring the guards, Len called to them, indicating for them to sit on the bank and bathe their feet as he had
[Page break]
done. They did this gratefully. Len set to work to minister to as many as he could until his lining stock was exhausted, but he still signalled to others to bathe their feet. The guards shrugged their shoulders . . . some even joined their charges in their ministrations.
Still the trek dragged on its weary way. Fruit trees and occasional root crops gave sustenance to the prisoners, for no ration provision had been made for them when the march was ordered. Len quite understood when he saw them stuffing items into their baggage after each “windfall” . . . they were providing against what might lie beyond their next camp.
Len was padding along beside the bike-pushing corporal, who was becoming quite concerned about the spread of the column, now that their destination was about two hours walk ahead. The corporal called a halt for the prisoners at the head of his party and indicated to Len that he would be going back to “chivvy along” the stragglers. He left his bike in Len’s charge and strode back down the road. When he was out of sight, Len mounted the cycle and pedalled off towards the squad of prisoners ahead. Some of the Algerians thought he was escaping and gave him encouraging cheers, but Len felt his best bet in the obvious chaotic battle situation was to accept his present captivity until a genuine opportunity presented itself to make contact with Allied troops. In the meantime, using the corporal’s bike would take the weight off his blistered feet! When he was almost upon the leading batch, he dismounted and rested by the roadside. When the first file of the laggards hove into hearing and view, he remounted the bike and caught up with the leaders once more. He continued this routine of “riding and resting” for an hour or so before actually riding through the ranks of the pace-setters and finally making the guards understand that their batch should wait for the remainder of the prisoners
[Page break]
to catch up, so that the party could arrive as a whole unit at their destination, which could not be all that far ahead. The prospect of a break appealed to the guards and the prisoners and they were quite content to rest for the hour it took the whole of the rear party to catch up. The corporal was pleased with Len’s arrangements but took the precaution of reclaiming his bike, so that Len finished the trek on his own two well-rested feet.
It was just after 1100 hours on Tuesday, 8th August that the whole party arrived at their destination in the Crozon Peninsular, some eighteen hours after leaving Quimper airfield. The Algerians were marched on to a makeshift camp, but Len was taken by the Czech corporal to a house that had been commandeered by the Wehrmacht. Len was accommodated in a bedroom converted into a cell and was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the rough pillow.
[Page break]
Len was kept in this location for two days, with very little restriction on his movements. His corporal “friend” accompanied him on exercise walks in the immediate areas and Len was “on the ration strength” of the guard-room staff, eating the same food as they did. Len observed that the Wehrmacht were just as opportunist at supplementing rations as any other army in the field and included him in the share of the “extras”.
On the evening of the third day, a small Wehrmacht lorry stopped outside the guard-room. The driver produced orders for Len’s transfer to Brest and Len was duly handed over, after hand-shakes all round, much to the amazement of the lorry driver who proved to be a genuine ”German” German! Two Wehrmacht soldiers with fixed bayonets watched over him in the body of the truck, but they also showed great concern about the almost-continuous aircraft engine noise that accompanied that nocturnal journey to what proved to be Brest, but, to the great relief of all, they made the journey without incident. Len was initially kept in a small school, barricaded with barbed wire, along with mainly American Army prisoners, although he did come across two more RAF aircrew during his stay.
Yet again the Germans decided to move him and he was transplanted within the Brest boundaries to a castle which housed some one hundred and fifty American soldiers. He was occasionally included in the fatigue parties that were roughly assembled and marched down into the dock area to help clear the rubble-strewn streets, the legacy of the many bombing raids that the port was enduring. Low-flying and dive-bombing American fighter-bombers strafed and bombed the port’s defences continually throughout the daylight hours, with great effect. Len was crossing a street when he heard a bomb coming down that he knew was going to be very close. He dived into the
[Page break]
gutter, with his face turned in towards the kerb and his hands clasped behind his neck. He sensed more than heard the explosion but felt the blast on his hands. He leapt to his feet and headed for a shelter like a scalded cat. He literally dived into the shelter which was mainly filled with German personnel but they made room for him and no-one objected to his presence.
On another occasion in the dock area he took shelter when the Air Raid sirens screamed their warning and an ominous silence descended on the port for a few minutes, until the heavy flak began to spit in anger. Instinct told Len this was a “heavies job” but he didn’t stand in the open to decide whether it was the RAF or the Eighth Army Air Force. A few minutes later the walls of the shelter trembled as salvos of bombs plummeted into the harbour area, although Len was pretty sure they were not Tallboys!
The Germans decided to move the prisoners from Brest. The military situation was becoming extreme for them and they could no longer spare the considerable number of front-line personnel needed to maintain the prisoner-of-war organisation. These guards were now needed as replacements for the defenders killed by the Allied Air Forces. The column of prisoners was moved out at night and marched, via the town of Le Fret, to the small seaside resort of Rostellec, in the Crozon Peninsular.
The days passed, with the food stocks dwindling. All French civilians had long been cleared out of Rostellec and Len and his immediate companions began to scavenge for food to supplement their meagre fare. It was a great find to discover onions in the overgrown wilderness of what had once been a lovingly tended vegetable garden of one of the village houses. The military population of the Crozon Peninsular grew each day, as the German troops
[Page break]
retreated before the American mobile forces. Rostellec provided Len and the other Allied prisoners with a grand-stand view of the bombing of Brest by RAF and American aircraft. Soon the concentrations on the Peninsular were bombed heavily and regularly by light bombers and fighters, inevitably causing casualties among the American prisoners and some of the members of the French Resistance confined with them. Over fifty were wiped out in one raid alone.
Eventually, on Monday, 18th September, six weeks after he had been shot down, liberating forces of the American Army rolled into the Crozon Peninsular. The bottled-up Germans had had enough and the surrender was swift and unanimous. With magnificent perception, among the early arrivals with the US Army were large lorries liberally laden with “PX supplies” and soon field-kitchens were providing almost “peace-time” meals for the hungry hordes of prisoners. Len ate and drank his fill before slipping off to find a comfortable billet for the night. He found himself in a house that had been an impromptu Mess for Wehrmacht officers. The beds were clean and comfortable. He lowered himself thankfully into the depths of the most inviting of them and was soon sleeping that sound and deeply refreshing sleep which was known in the Air Force as “a short course of Death”.
The sun was well up when he surfaced again. He lay luxuriating in the bed, gathering his thoughts and making plans for the day. He would have to make contact with some US officer who could arrange transport . . or offer help . . to get him back to England and Woodhall Spa. Eventually he sat up and began to dress, when suddenly he became curious to know what might be contained in the furniture with which the room was furnished. The chest of drawers
[Page break]
revealed nothing of interest but the wardrobe yielded a pair of German officer’s field boots! The leather was beautifully soft and shiny. Len drew them on, scarcely daring to breathe, and he almost shouted with delight at their perfect fit. He drew his battledress trouser-legs down over them which served to make it appear that he was wearing normal shoes. He finished dressing and made his way to the nearest field-kitchen where he was supplied with food by the American cooks without demur. When he was finished, he approached a huge sergeant-cook and asked where he could find a US officer. The sergeant stared at him for a moment “A god-dammed Limey!” he said “Jeez, they had one of everything in this place!” “Officers? Boy, they’re as thick as flies around here” he continued “Just walk around and you’re sure to find one!”. Len took his advice and soon saw a jeep with an American officer and two sergeants aboard. He approached the jeep, threw up a smart salute and said “Excuse me, sir!”. The dust-covered American looked quite startled but Len pressed on. “I am a bomb-aimer in the RAF. I was shot down six weeks ago and am anxious to get back to my unit in England. Can you help me?”. “Not personally, sergeant” replied the officer. “You see, there’s this war on and we’ve got to gather in all the Kraut prisoners and ship out all our own captured personnel for assessment and re-allocation . . and that’s quite a job in any man’s army!” He paused for a moment and then went on “Just down there, on the right, they’ve established an MT compound and Mess. Your best bet is to speak to one of the quartermasters. The lorries are running supplies from the dump at Rennes and the boys from up in the wild blue yonder have a makeshift airfield at Rennes . . chances are you can thumb an aerial lift there”. “Thank you, sir . . very helpful” replied Len, saluted and turned away. He heard one
[Page break]
of the sergeants say “These Limeys! Always correct and military, even when they’ve been six weeks adrift!”.
Len found the compound and watch [sic] the activity for a while. He saw that the drivers of lorries arriving with stores vacated their seats to the Camp personnel and hurried off to the large marquee which was obviously a temporary Mess. German prisoners-of-wat supplemented the American Army personnel in the unloading of the vehicles. Once a vehicle was unloaded, it was driven off the site and parked in a lager where it was refuelled and checked. After some ten minutes or so, drivers came to reclaim their vehicles which were driven off westwards at a fair rate of knots. Len wandered over to where the top-sergeant was standing and occasionally bawling. “Excuse me, sergeant . . . how can I get a lift to Rennes?” The sergeant wheeled at the sound of Len’s voice and in a voice heavy with amazement said “A god-damn Limey! I heard you were all still stuck on the beaches!” “No, I’ve been here six weeks, sergeant” replied Len innocently. “Six weeks, eh?” rejoined the sergeant “Guess you want to get back to Limeyland real quick. Best you can do is go over to the chow tent and ask around . . . most of the trucks are running from Rennes”. Len thanked him and turned towards the marquee. “Limey” called the sergeant “Make sure you take some of the hard-tack for the journey. There are no roadside cafes along that road now!”.
Len sauntered into the marquee and marvelled at the quality of the food that was being offered to the drivers. He approached one driver who seemed to be almost finished eating. “Excuse me . . any chance of a lift back to Rennes?”. The American surveyed him for a few moments and said “Who are you?”. “RAF aircrew, shot down over Brest six weeks ago. I want to get back
[Page break]
to England and an officer out there said the best way was to hitch a lift back to Rennes, with a chance of getting an air trip from the airfield there”. “Your luck’s in, fellah” smiled the American “My orders take me to Rennes airfield, to load up and return to this Base. I’ll be glad of the company!”. Len waited until the driver had finished his coffee and followed him out of the marquee. From a table close to the entrance, the American grabbed two bags and tossed one to Len. “Hard tack for the journey” he explained, at the same time lifting a large Thermos flask from the side of the table. The lorry was quickly located and soon they were heading westwards, on the 150 miles journey to Rennes. The driver was most anxious to hear about Len’s previous six weeks in France and that conversation, together with the “chow break”, made the five hours journey pass reasonably quickly. It was getting quite dark when they pulled into Rennes airfield. “No night-flying from this field, Limey” said the American. “Best plan is to find yourself somewhere to sleep for the night and try your luck in the morning”. Len thanked his for his help and descended from the truck near a group of airfield buildings. He found a camp bed and a blanket in one of the rooms and settled down for the night.
Len awoke around 7 am on what promised to be another fine day. There was no sound of flying activity from the airfield as he dressed. He found a stand-pipe tap between the buildings and had a refreshing cold-water wash which revived him no end. He looked across the airfield and saw what appeared to be Dakota aircraft on the farther side and began to walk around the grass perimeter towards this dispersal. Suddenly a wonderful small of cooking assailed his nostrils and reminded him that he was quite hungry. He followed his nose, somewhat like the kids in the “Bisto” advert, and came
[Page break]
upon an underground air-raid shelter from which the aroma was issuing. He called down “Anyone there?” which immediately struck his as trite, since obviously some-one had to be cooking the food! His call brought the head and shoulders of an American sergeant into view. He looked questioningly at Len, without saying a word. “Any chance of some grub, sarge?” queried Len hopefully. “What’s a Limey doing here at this time of the morning?” countered the American. Len gave him a rapid potted history of the past six weeks, which seemed to satisfy the soldier. “Anything to trade?” queried the sergeant. Len offered him the choice of the few German badges and insignia he had gathered during his sojourn in France and the satisfied sergeant withdrew into the shelter. He appeared some minutes later with a huge sandwich, which Len found to contain a large portion of beautifully cooked Texas longhorn steak, topped with two eggs, to be washed down with as much coffee as he wished. Len did not rush this meal . . . such a feast needed to be savoured and appreciated to the last crumb! Finally he took his leave of his benefactor and made his way to the dispersals, which were now a hive of activity.
A study of the area revealed to Len what appeared to be the Administrative centre. He made his way over to this hut and explained his position to the top-sergeant seated in a smaller office inside. “Yeah” said the sergeant “Plenty of flights to England! Where are you heading?”. Len explained that he needed to get to London. “Fine!” came the rejoinder “Got one flight for London due to leave in about thirty minutes! Come with me, Limey”. He escorted Len across the tarmac and introduced him to two fur-jacketed American officers. “One returning Limey prisoner-of-war to be added to your manifest, sir” said the sergeant to one of the officers and sauntered off. Len found himself outlining the last six weeks to the two very interested
[Page break]
Americans. Before long, the Dakota was taxying to the take-off point with Len comfortably settled in the fuselage.
The flight took a little over three hours and the aircraft landed at what is now Heath Row [sic]. Len thanked his hosts for the lift and made his way to a cluster of huts, to locate some RAF authority to report to and from whom to obtain instructions. He explained his circumstances to a sergeant who said “Follow me, Chiefie! There’s been quite a trickle of aircrew through here this past fortnight. I’ll take you to the officer who has the “drill” off pat now!”. Soon Len was on his way to the Central Hotel in London, where returning former P.O.W. aircrew were required to report for debriefing. He arrives at the nearest station to this Central Hotel and was walking the final stage when he heard behind him “Excuse me, Flight Sergeant”. He turned round, to find himself confronted by two Service MPs, beautifully turned out and burnished. He had time to note that one was of Warrant Officer rank, while the other, a flight sergeant, began to berate him for his appearance and threatening a charge for being improperly dressed. Mentally, Len could only agree with him, for his wardrobe consisted simply of his battledress blouse and trousers, the legs of the trousers still covering the German officer field boots . . . no socks, shirt, tie, pants or vest. However, his resentment welled up within him and he explained forcefully, with many epithets thrown in, just how he had come to this pass, and advised the SPs to allow him to continue on his journey to report his return to Higher Authority. Speechless, and suitably chastened, the SPs stood mute as Len turned his back on them and arrived at his destination.
[Page break]
Once his identity had been checked and proved, Len was allowed to have a bath and provided with a shaving kit to make himself presentable for the programme which followed. First, he was given the full stringent aircrew medical, which he passed without any trouble. He was then given the items of clothing he needed to assume a “smart, airmanlike appearance”, although he retained the field boots as a souvenir of his exploits. He was given a meal and then subjected to a thorough debriefing, covering the period from the moment the Lancaster was hit until his arrival at “Heath Row”. He was required to stretch and search his mind for any detail that he had observed that might prove of value to Intelligence sources. Special interest was shown in his report that the Czech and Austrian elements he had encountered appeared to be looking for the opportunity to surrender and get out of the war whole. Eventually, when he had run the full course of the Central Hotel, he was again fed, given six weeks leave, with free warrant home and the appropriate ration cards, and two pounds in cash for subsistence on the journey home . . . most of which disappeared “down the hatch” by the time his train left London.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lancaster JB139 Dark Victor
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Le Havre
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
Netherlands
Netherlands--Ijmuiden
France--Brest
France--Lorient
France--La Pallice
France--Brittany
France--Normandy
France--Cherbourg
France--Watten
France--Douarnenez
France--Quimper
France--Crozon Peninsula
France--Rennes
Great Britain
Heathrow Airport (London, England)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
United States Army Air Force
Wehrmacht
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
33 printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MCurtisA1579599-161130-02
Description
An account of the resource
A memoir of an operation involving Len Curtis and his crew members. During the operation his aircraft was shot down and Len was captured. However, he was liberated by American soldiers and returned to London six weeks later.
This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
1944-08-05
1945
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Anne-Marie Watson
617 Squadron
619 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bale out
bomb aimer
bombing of the Boulogne E-boats (15/16 June 1944)
bombing of the Le Havre E-boat pens (14/15 June 1944)
C-47
flight engineer
Lancaster
mess
Mosquito
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
pilot
prisoner of war
RAF Coningsby
RAF Woodhall Spa
Resistance
Spitfire
Tallboy
target indicator
target photograph
V-1
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1468/43464/LHarrisRJ[Ser -DoB]v1.pdf
ba3b67754b3a8fcfda1c8f09082d64fc
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Harris, Raymond John
R J Harris
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-11-05
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Harris, RJ
Description
An account of the resource
Five items. The collection concerns Raymond John Harris DFC (174625 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 9 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by John Harris and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Raymond Harris's Pilot's log book
Description
An account of the resource
Raymond Harris was a pilot who flew the Lancaster on 34 operations with No 9 Squadron. The log book runs from 19 September 1942 to 24th August 1945. After his initial flying at the No 9 EFTS at RAF Ansty, flying in the Tiger Moth, Raymond went out to No 32 EFTS RAF Bowden, Alberta, Canada, flying the Stearman and occasionally the Tiger Moth. He remained there until December 1942 when he was posted to No 37 SFTS, Calgary, Alberta to fly the Harvard and occasionally the Anson. He remained there until April 1943 when he graduated and returned to Britain. Raymond was posted to 3 (P) AFU RAF South Cerney, flying the Oxford. He attended a BAT course at No 1532 BAT Flt, RAF Bagdown Farm in August. He was posted to 17 OTU, RAF Silverstone & RAF Turweston, 2 November 1943 to fly the Wellington. In April 1944 he was moved to 1661 HCU at RAF Winthorpe flying the Stirling, until May when he was posted to 5 LFS at RAF Syerstone flying the Lancaster. In May Raymond was posted to 9 Squadron at RAF Bardney flying the Lancaster. He did his first operation to Nantes on the 22 May and his second with his crew to Martin-de-Varreville on the 28 May. He did operations to Ferme D'urville, Point du Hoe, Argentan, Gelsenkirchen, Limoge, Prouville,Vitry le-francois, Creil, Culmont Chalimoray, Vileneuve st George, Stuttgart, Camagnes, Rilly la Montagne, Bois de Cassen, Trossy, Etaples, Lorient, La Pallice, Bordeax, Givorg, Brest, Girzerigen, Karlsruhe, Flushing, Tromso (Tirpitz), Urft Dam, Munich, Bergen, Ijmuiden, Altenbeken, Dortmund-Ems Canal, Sassnitz, Arnsberg, Vlotho, Bremen and Swinemunde. He flew a Cook's Tour and also took part in one of the Post Mortem operations. He was posted to 50 Squadron at RAF Sturgate in June. The last flight in the Log book was on 24 August in Lancaster PA474 which now flies with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.<br /><br /><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW73911805 BCX0">This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No </span><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW73911805 BCX0">better quality</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW73911805 BCX0"> copies are available.</span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-09-19
1942-12-09
1942-11-18
1943-04-02
1943-08-03
1943-08-30
1943-11-02
1944-04-04
1943-11-02
1944-05-09
1944-05-23
1944-05-28
1944-06-03
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-19
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-06-27
1944-07-04
1944-07-12
1944-07-14
1944-28-07
1944-07-28
1944-07-31
1944-08-02
1944-08-05
1944-08-07
1944-08-09
1944-08-10
1944-08-11
1944-08-13
1944-08-15
1944-09-26
1944-10-07
1944-10-29
1944-11-12
1944-11-17
1945-01-12
1945-02-05
1945-02-06
1945-02-24
1945-03-06
1945-03-13
1945-03-19
1945-03-27
1945-04-13
1945-04-19
1945-06-15
1945-08-24
1944-07-30
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Canada
Alberta--Red Deer Region
Alberta--Calgary
England--Gloucestershire
England--Northamptonshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Buckinghamshire
France
France--Nantes
France--Valognes Region
France--Reims Region
France--Argentan
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
France--Limoges
France--Vitry-le-François
France--Creil
Germany--Stuttgart
France--Etaples
France--Lorient
France--La Pallice
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Brest
Germany--Karlsruhe
Netherlands--Vlissingen
Netherlands--IJmuiden
Norway--Bergen
Norway--Tromsø
Germany--Munich
Germany--Roetgen
Germany--Altenbeken
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Sassnitz
Germany--Arnsberg
Germany--Vlotho
Germany--Bremen
Poland--Świnoujście
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Flensburg
Poland
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text. Log book and record book
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One photocopied booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LHarrisRJ[Ser#-DoB]v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
1661 HCU
17 OTU
50 Squadron
9 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
bombing of Helgoland (18 April 1945)
bombing of Luftwaffe night-fighter airfields (15 August 1944)
bombing of the Creil/St Leu d’Esserent V-1 storage areas (4/5 July 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Cook’s tour
Flying Training School
Fw 190
Harvard
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Ansty
RAF Bardney
RAF South Cerney
RAF Sturgate
RAF Syerston
RAF Turweston
RAF Winthorpe
RCAF Bowden
Stearman
Stirling
tactical support for Normandy troops
Tallboy
Tiger Moth
Tirpitz
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1447/43097/SCosgroveAE968259v10010-18.1.pdf
8e20e7655ab3872cc276faeef00f5ccf
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cosgrove, Teddy
Alfred Edward Cosgrove
A E Cosgrove
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-02
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Cosgrove, AE
Description
An account of the resource
16 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Alfred Edward "Teddy" Cosgrove (1921 - 1941, 968259 Royal Air Force) and contains a biography and a scrapbook. He flew operations as a navigator with 12 Squadron and was killed 11 October 1941. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Pat Applegarth and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Alfred Edward "Teddy" Cosgrove is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/104960/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Teddy's Career in the RAFVR 9th September 1939 - 11th October 1941
Description
An account of the resource
A detailed account of Teddy's service in the RAFVR.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Leeds
England--Devon
England--Yorkshire
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Vegesack
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Dessau (Dessau)
Germany--Bremen
France
Germany
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Rhineland
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Stuttgart
England--Lincolnshire
England--Bexhill
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Nine printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SCosgroveAE968259v10010, SCosgroveAE968259v10011, SCosgroveAE968259v10012, SCosgroveAE968259v10013, SCosgroveAE968259v10014, SCosgroveAE968259v10015, SCosgroveAE968259v10016, SCosgroveAE968259v10017, SCosgroveAE968259v10018
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Cosgrove, Teddy. Album
1 Group
11 OTU
12 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aerial photograph
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
anti-aircraft fire
Battle
Blenheim
bomb aimer
bombing
Bombing and Gunnery School
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
crash
crewing up
Defiant
ditching
flight engineer
Flying Training School
ground personnel
Halifax
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Initial Training Wing
Lancaster
meteorological officer
military ethos
military living conditions
military service conditions
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
navigator
observer
Operational Training Unit
pilot
propaganda
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Binbrook
RAF Evanton
RAF Kinloss
RAF Odiham
RAF Padgate
RAF St Athan
RAF Wickenby
recruitment
sport
Stirling
take-off crash
training
Wallis, Barnes Neville (1887-1979)
Wellington
Whitley
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2238/41416/LFairbanksLW10611800v1.1.pdf
be60bc44ce85466f33f4cf324d15618d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Fairbanks, Leonard William
Fairbanks, LW
Description
An account of the resource
16 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Leonard William Fairbanks (b. 1911, 1061800, 136326 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, photographs, and propaganda leaflets in French.
He flew operations as a wireless operator and a special operator with 408 and 223 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Jean Carol Carter and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-15
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Fairbanks, LW
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Leonard William Fairbanks' Observer' and Air Gunner's Flying Log Book
Description
An account of the resource
Leonard William Fairbanks' log book covering two tours from 3 January 1941 to 15 April 1945, detailing his training schedule and operations flown. Training was undertaken at Air Gunnery School at RAF Stormy Down, 25 OTU RAF Finningley, 25 OTU RAF Balderton and 20 OTU Lossiemouth. Operations were flown with 408 Squadron, RAF Leeming and 223 Squadron RAF Oulton. Aircraft flown were Dominie, Proctor, Whitley MK1, Wellington, Hampden, Oxford, Halifax, B-24 and Anson. The first tour, with 408 Squadron, comprised 28 night operations to Brest, La Rochelle, Wilhelmshaven, Paris, Heligoland, Rennes, Emden, Essen, Lorient, Bremen, Saarbrücken, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Osnabrück, Flensburg, Frisian Islands, Turin and Berlin. Many of the second tour's 20 nightime operations, with 223 Squadron, provided Window cover for the main force in addition to shore patrols. Target areas were the Ruhr, Dortmund-Ems Canal, Friedrichshafen, Bremen, Mannheim, Münster, Hagen, Würzburg, Kassel, Hamburg and Berlin. His duties were as air gunner, wireless operator and special operator. The pilots on operations were Sergeant Anderson, Flight Sergeant Wood, Sergeant Locker, Sergeant Jennings, Sergeant Ross, Sergeant Bell, Pilot Officer Kaye, Wing Commander Ferris, Squadron Leader Carrington, Flight Officer Thompson, Flight Lieutenant Allnutt, Flight Lieutenant Allnutt, Flight Lieutenant Croft and Flight Lieutenant Levy. Leonard was described as being 'an average air gunner' and as 'above average' with Special Duties (RCM).
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-12-14
1942-01-02
1942-01-06
1942-01-07
1942-01-10
1942-01-11
1942-05-05
1942-05-06
1942-05-07
1942-05-08
1942-05-09
1942-05-10
1942-06-01
1942-06-02
1942-06-03
1942-06-04
1942-06-06
1942-06-07
1942-06-08
1942-06-09
1942-06-16
1942-06-17
1942-06-22
1942-06-23
1942-06-25
1942-06-26
1942-07-14
1942-07-15
1942-07-16
1942-07-29
1942-07-30
1942-08-04
1942-08-05
1942-08-06
1942-08-07
1942-08-15
1942-08-16
1942-08-17
1942-08-18
1942-09-19
1942-08-28
1942-08-29
1942-09-14
1942-09-15
1943-01-21
1943-01-22
1943-02-04
1943-02-05
1943-03-12
1943-03-13
1943-03-27
1943-03-28
1944-09-19
1944-10-01
1944-10-04
1944-10-05
1944-10-15
1944-10-16
1944-11-06
1944-11-07
1944-11-10
1944-11-11
1944-11-18
1944-11-19
1944-11-25
1944-11-26
1944-11-29
1944-11-30
1945-02-03
1945-02-04
1945-02-07
1945-02-08
1945-02-13
1945-02-14
1945-02-15
1945-02-28
1945-03-01
1945-03-02
1945-03-03
1945-03-05
1945-03-06
1945-03-07
1945-03-08
1945-03-15
1945-03-16
1945-03-17
1945-03-18
1945-03-19
1945-03-30
1945-03-31
1945-04-04
1945-04-05
1945-04-08
1945-04-09
1945-04-10
1945-04-11
1945-04-13
1945-04-14
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Norfolk
Scotland--Moray
France
France--La Rochelle
France--Paris
France--Lorient
France--Rennes
France--Brest
Germany
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Essen
Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Flensburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Würzburg
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Hamburg
Italy
Italy--Turin
Europe--Frisian Islands
Germany--Hagen (Arnsberg)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LFairbanksLW10611800v1
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Lynn Corrigan
20 OTU
223 Squadron
25 OTU
408 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
B-24
bombing
bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942)
Dominie
Halifax
Hampden
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Proctor
RAF Balderton
RAF Finningley
RAF Leeming
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Oulton
RAF Stormy Down
training
Wellington
Whitley
Window
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/636/40412/SRoyallGL1801494v10003.1.jpg
b3f0a7b90ba6c20cf497ba406cdcba4f
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/636/40412/SRoyallGL1801494v10004.1.jpg
647c69ad84a9d01a7b1a4e38641abdb7
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/636/40412/SRoyallGL1801494v10005.1.jpg
3034e0690253edfbce602ffd42043ddc
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Royall, George
G Royall
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Royall, G
Description
An account of the resource
46 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer George Royall (1801494 Royal Air Force) his flying log book, photographs, correspondence, course notes, examinations, newspapers and parts of magazines. He served as a bomb aimer on 166 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by George Royall and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-07-20
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
No 166 Squadron history
Description
An account of the resource
A three-page potted account of the squadron's history.
Page one begins with the reformation of the squadron in 1936 and gives details of the aircraft operated, the stations flown from and the roles the squadron played in training and operations.
Page two describes three miscellaneous incidents that occurred on the squadron, including one where the mid-upper gunner accidentally shot and killed the rear gunner.
Page three contains details about three notable Lancasters.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1936-11
1938-06
1939-05
1940-04
1943-01-27
1943-01-28
1943-01-29
1943-01-30
1943-05
1943-09-20
1943-10-18
1943-11-22
1944-04-10
1944-06-26
1944-06-27
1944-10-07
1944-11-10
1945-04-24
1945-05-07
1945-08-20
1945-09-28
1945-02-20
1947-01-08
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
France--Lorient
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
England--Oxfordshire
Germany
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kassel
Netherlands
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three-page printed document
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Royall, George. No 166 Squadron
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SRoyallGL1801494v10003, SRoyallGL1801494v10004, SRoyallGL1801494v10005
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
10 OTU
103 Squadron
142 Squadron
150 Squadron
153 Squadron
1656 HCU
166 Squadron
550 Squadron
576 Squadron
97 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
crash
Heavy Conversion Unit
killed in action
Lancaster
mine laying
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Abingdon
RAF Kirmington
RAF North Killingholme
RAF Scampton
take-off crash
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2228/40327/LWardHVT1150434v1.1.pdf
d26941ce58ca4ae2481c2ea9c4d4b217
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ward, Hugh Vivian Toms
Ward, HVT
Description
An account of the resource
38 items. The collection concerns Hugh Vivian Toms Ward (b. 1917, 1150434 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs, drawings and documents and an album. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 44 and 463 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Patricia McCabe and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-02-11
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Ward, HVT
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hugh Ward's Royal Air Force observer's and air gunner's flying log book
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LWardHVT1150434v1
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Observer's and air gunners flying log book for Warrant Officer HVT Ward, flight engineer, from 15 September 1942 to 9 September 1945. Detailing his training schedule, operations flown and instructional duties. He was stationed at: RAF St. Athan, RAF Waddington, RAF Wigsley, RAF Syerston and RAF Skellingthorpe.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Ward flew in the following aircraft: Oxford, Manchester, Lancaster Mk1 and Mk 3, Halifax and Stirling. As a flight engineer he carried out 34 operations, 26 night time operations with 44 Squadron followed by a second tour of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>four daylight and four night time operations with 463 Squadron. Targets were (in order): Genoa, Hamburg, Turin, Stuttgart, Mannerheim, [sic] Nienburg, Gronde river (Gardening), Duisburg, Essen, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Lorient, Milan, Wilhelmshaven, Nürnberg [sic] (Nuremberg), St, Nazaire, Lutzkeneron [sic], Würzburg, Bremen, Wesel, Frage [sic], Nordhausen, Komutov [sic], Juvencourt [sic] (Juvancourt). His pilots on operations were: Pilot Officer Walker, Flight Sergeant Elger, Flight Lieutenant Walker, Flying Officer Riggs and Flying Officer Findlay. In between tours he served as a flight engineer instructor on1661 Conversion Unit, 1654 Conversion Unit and No. 5 Lancaster Finishing School. Ward also took part in Operation Exodus and a Cooks Tour. Ward's log book also records his time spent in a Link Trainer and his time at the controls of an aircraft. After the war he joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and flew in Auster aircraft as an air observation post with pilot Captain Huggins.</p>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Czech Republic
Czech Republic--Chomutov
France
France--Aube
France--Gironde Estuary
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nienburg (Lower Saxony)
Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Germany--Würzburg
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
Wales--Glamorgan
Italy--Genoa
Italy--Milan
Italy--Turin
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-11-06
1942-11-07
1942-11-09
1942-11-13
1942-11-14
1942-11-19
1942-11-20
1942-11-22
1942-11-23
1942-12-06
1942-12-07
1942-12-08
1942-12-09
1942-12-10
1942-12-17
1942-12-29
1943-01-08
1943-01-13
1943-01-16
1943-01-17
1943-01-18
1943-01-23
1943-02-04
1943-02-05
1943-02-13
1943-02-14
1943-02-15
1943-02-16
1943-02-17
1943-02-18
1943-02-25
1943-02-26
1943-02-28
1943-03-01
1943-03-02
1943-03-03
1943-03-05
1943-03-08
1943-03-09
1944
1945-03-12
1945-03-14
1945-03-15
1945-03-16
1945-03-17
1945-03-22
1945-03-23
1945-03-24
1945-03-27
1945-04-04
1945-04-19
1945-04-20
1945-05-06
1654 HCU
1661 HCU
44 Squadron
463 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
Cook’s tour
flight engineer
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Manchester
mine laying
Operation Exodus (1945)
Oxford
RAF St Athan
RAF Syerston
RAF Waddington
RAF Wigsley
Stirling
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2001/38301/LTravellAE1460176v1.2.pdf
49f050127e885a6f1d37cf206325bd30
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Travell, Ted
Arthur Edward Travell
A E Travell
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-12-11
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Travell, AE
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Ted Travell (1460176 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 214 and 576 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Nicola Schweikhardt and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
A E Travell’s observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book for A E Travell, air gunner, covering the period from 4 September 1942 to 28 May 1945. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Dalcross, RAF Marham, RAF Stradishall, RAF Chedburgh and RAF Fiskerton. Aircraft flown in were Defiant, Wellington, Stirling, Oxford, and Lancaster. He flew a total of 36 operations, 31 night operations with 214 Squadron and 2 daylight and 3 night operations with 576 Squadron. He also flew on 3 Operation Manna flights. Targets were Duisburg, Lorient, Fresian Isles, Cologne, St Jean de Luc, St Nazaire, Berlin, Hamburg, Kiel, Baltic Sea, Dortmund, Bochum, Wuppertal, Dusseldorf, Krefeld, Mullheim, Elberfeld, Gelsenkirchen, Aachen, Remscheid, Nurnberg, Nordhausen, Lutzkendorf, Plauen, Cuxhaven and Berchtesgaden. Operation Manna flights were to The Hague and Rotterdam. His pilots on operations were Pilot Officer Smith, Sergeant Forbes, Pilot Officer Johnson Flight Lieutenant Falconer, Flight Lieutenant Strachan and Flight Sergeant McDermott.<br /><br /><br /><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB" class="TextRun SCXW227392149 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW227392149 BCX0">This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No </span><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW227392149 BCX0">better quality</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW227392149 BCX0"> copies are available.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW227392149 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":200,"335559740":276}"> </span>
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-12-10
1942-12-22
1943-01-18
1943-01-19
1943-01-21
1943-01-22
1943-02-07
1943-02-08
1943-02-13
1943-02-14
1943-02-15
1943-02-16
1943-02-17
1943-02-26
1943-02-27
1943-02-28
1943-02-29
1943-03-01
1943-03-03
1943-03-04
1943-03-29
1943-03-30
1943-04-04
1943-04-05
1943-04-08
1943-04-09
1943-04-26
1943-04-27
1943-04-28
1943-04-29
1943-05-04
1943-05-12
1943-05-13
1943-05-14
1943-05-29
1943-05-30
1943-06-11
1943-06-12
1943-06-17
1943-06-18
1943-06-21
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
England--Lincolnshire
England--Norfolk
England--Suffolk
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berchtesgaden
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Cuxhaven
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Elberfeld
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Merseburg Region
Germany--Müllheim
Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Plauen
Germany--Remscheid
Germany--Wuppertal
Netherlands--Friesland
Netherlands--Hague
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Scotland--Highlands
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LTravellAE1460176v1
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
1657 HCU
1660 HCU
214 Squadron
576 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
Defiant
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
mine laying
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
Oxford
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Dalcross
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Marham
RAF Stradishall
Stirling
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1977/38298/LPalmerRAM115772v1.2.pdf
8db94aa59370f323eee064d0d42ec158
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Palmer, Robert Anthony Maurice
R A M Palmer
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-10-30
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Palmer, RAM
Description
An account of the resource
38 items. The collection concerns Squadron Leader Robert AM Palmer VC, DFC and Bar (115772, Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, photographs, fact sheets, newspaper cuttings, documents, correspondence and a substancial history of his last operation. <br /><br />He flew one hundred and eleven operations as a pilot with 75, 149 and 109 Squadrons and was killed 23 December 1944 when leading a daylight operation as an Oboe marker.<br /><br />The collection also contains 51 items in a <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2178">Photograph album</a>.<br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Penny Palmer and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />Additional information on Robert AM Palmer is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/221528/">IBCC Losses Database</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Robert Palmer's pilot's flying log book. One
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LPalmerRAM115772v1
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Description
An account of the resource
Robert Palmer’s RAF Pilot’s Flying Log Book from 12 April 1940 to 12 May 1942 detailing his training and operations as a pilot and instructor. He was stationed at RAF Desford (No. 7 Elementary Flying Training School), RAF Grantham (No. 12 Flying Training School), RAF Harwell (No. 15 OTU), RAF Feltwell (75 Squadron), RAF Mildenhall (149 Squadron) and RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Lakenheath (No. 20 OTU). Aircraft in which flown: DH82 Tiger Moth, Anson, Wellington, Magister. Records 3 night operations with 75 Squadron, and 9 night operations with 149 Squadron on the following targets in France and Germany: Bordeaux, Boulogne, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Hanover, Lorient, Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Wilhelmshaven. His first or second pilots on operations were Pilot Officer Horton and Pilot Officer Gilmore.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-11-18
1940-11-20
1940-11-23
1940-12-04
1940-12-05
1940-12-08
1940-12-09
1940-12-16
1940-12-17
1940-12-23
1940-12-28
1941-01-02
1941-01-09
1941-01-10
1941-01-29
1942-01-30
1941-01-31
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Norfolk
England--Oxfordshire
England--Suffolk
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Lorient
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Scotland--Moray
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
149 Squadron
15 OTU
20 OTU
75 Squadron
aircrew
Anson
bombing
Flying Training School
Magister
Operational Training Unit
pilot
RAF Desford
RAF Feltwell
RAF Grantham
RAF Harwell
RAF Lakenheath
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Mildenhall
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1953/36961/LHitchcockJS740899v2.1.pdf
b34aa45ad6ac4f1ae54f533e7ac92d0f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hitchcock, John Samuel
J S Hitchcock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-26
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hitchcock, JS
Description
An account of the resource
87 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant John Samuel Hitchcock (740899, 106813 Royal Air Force) and contains his decorations, log books, uniform jacket, sunglasses, parachute logbook, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 37, 57 and 78 Squadrons. <br /><br />The collection also contains <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2142">an album</a><span> from his training in North Africa.<br /></span><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by P J Hitchcock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
J.S. Hitchcock’s RAF Pilot’s Flying Log Book. Two
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LHitchcockJS740899v2
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Description
An account of the resource
J.S. Hitchcock’s RAF Pilot’s Flying Log Book from 5 December 1941 to 1 November 1945 detailing training and operations as a pilot and flying instructor. He was stationed at RAF Upavon (Central Flying School), RAF Little Rissington (No. 6 Flying Training School and No.6 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit), RAF Riccall (1658 Conversion Unit), RAF RAF Linton on Ouse (78 Squadron), RAF Abingdon (10 Operational Training Unit), RAF Hullavington (Empire Central Flying School) and RAF Shallufa (No. 11 Flying Instructors School). Aircraft in which flown: Tutor, Oxford, Magister, Halifax, Whitley, Anson, Master, Wellington, Stirling, Havoc, Hurricane, Mosquito, Spitfire, Hotspur, Hudson, Sunderland, Liberator, Gordon, Harvard, Argos.
Records a total of 17 night operations on the following targets in France and Germany: Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Essen, Hamburg, Lorient, Nuremburg, Wilhelmshaven and minelaying (4 unspecified targets).
His pilots on his first ‘second dickie’ operations were Pilot Officer Knight and Flight Lieutenant Wigley-Jones.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-11-25
1942-11-26
1942-11-27
1942-12-17
1942-12-18
1942-12-20
1942-12-21
1943-01-09
1943-01-10
1943-01-14
1943-01-15
1943-01-27
1943-01-28
1943-01-29
1943-01-30
1943-02-02
1943-02-03
1943-02-04
1943-02-07
1943-02-08
1943-02-11
1943-02-12
1943-02-13
1943-02-14
1943-02-15
1943-02-16
1943-02-17
1943-03-05
1943-03-06
1943-03-08
1943-03-09
1944
1945
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Air Force. Transport Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Egypt
France
Germany
Great Britain
England--Gloucestershire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Lorient
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
10 OTU
1658 HCU
78 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
B-24
Flying Training School
Halifax
Harvard
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hudson
Hurricane
Magister
mine laying
Mosquito
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Abingdon
RAF Hullavington
RAF Linton on Ouse
RAF Little Rissington
RAF Riccall
RAF Shallufa
RAF Upavon
Spitfire
Stirling
Sunderland
training
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1953/36946/MHitchcockJS740899-170926-33.2.jpg
b311e5e5f185a4c0b4a15d51694f3698
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hitchcock, John Samuel
J S Hitchcock
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-26
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Hitchcock, JS
Description
An account of the resource
87 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant John Samuel Hitchcock (740899, 106813 Royal Air Force) and contains his decorations, log books, uniform jacket, sunglasses, parachute logbook, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 37, 57 and 78 Squadrons. <br /><br />The collection also contains <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2142">an album</a><span> from his training in North Africa.<br /></span><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by P J Hitchcock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[photograph]
Wellington Bomber
[photograph]
Halifax Bomber
Enclosed are extracts from "Guv's" two log books kept during his service with Bomber Command during WW2."
The first group of extracts in 1941 is all we have from his Wellington Bomber days. There must have been an earlier log book but it has always been missing.
He completed his first Operational Tour on 19th April 1941 and on 25th April the entries showed that he "ferried" a Wellington to Egypt – a perilous task. His brother, Uncle Con (also a Wellington Bomber pilot) had been killed in action over Kiel on 8th/9th April 1941.
In Egypt Guv was on Communications and there are entries showing that he flew General Wavell twice (he was Commander in Chief Middle East) and on 26th June 1941, he crashed whist [sic] flying a Lysander. He also told us that he had transported King Farouk of Egypt on more than one occasion.
The second group of extracts in 1942/3 relate to his second tour of Operations following his return from Egypt, flying Halifax Bombers from Linton on Ouse, Yorkshire, with 78 Squadron. His first Operation was on 25th November 1942 and his last on 8th March 1943.
Of particular interest is the entry for 17th December 1942 when he landed at Elsham Wold, probably due to a shortage of fuel or some other problem. On 14th January 1943 he landed at Ford on the South Coast, probably for similar reasons following a raid on L'Orient. On 7th February 1943 he records that the "port outer engine was u/s," again during a raid on L'Orient where U boat pens were the target.
The remaining subsequent entries in that log book recorded his activities training or himself acting as Instructor. The back page shows his postings and the aircraft he had flown.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
John S Hitchcock DFC AFC
Description
An account of the resource
A brief extract of John's service life.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Egypt
Germany--Kiel
France--Lorient
Germany
England--Lincolnshire
England--Sussex
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One printed sheet
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MHitchcockJS740899-170926-33
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1941-04-25
1941-06-26
1942-12-17
1943-01-14
1943-02-07
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
78 Squadron
aircrew
Distinguished Flying Cross
Halifax
killed in action
Lysander
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Ford
RAF Linton on Ouse
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/934/36538/MLovattP1821369-190903-74-01.1.pdf
fb8bdc0a3359bad330631a99725ecf91
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/934/36538/MLovattP1821369-190903-74-02.1.2.pdf
518e2b514f18dba39e9302770bce90ba
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lovatt, Peter
Dr Peter Lovatt
P Lovatt
Description
An account of the resource
117 items. An oral history interview with Peter Lovatt (b.1924, 1821369 Royal Air Force), his log book, documents, and photographs. The collection also contains two photograph albums. He flew 42 operations as an air gunner on 223 Squadron flying B-24s. <br /><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1338">Album One</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2135">Album Two</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Nina and Peter Lovatt and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-27
2019-09-03
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Lovatt, P
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Offensive Phase
Volume Two of Two
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Peter Lovatt
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Norway--Trondheim
France--Brest
Russia (Federation)
England--Hartland
England--Beer Head
Europe--Elbe River
England--Dover
England--Folkestone
England--London
France--Bruneval
France--Pas-de-Calais
Germany--Lübeck
Germany--Rostock
England--Norwich
England--Cheadle (Staffordshire)
England--Salcombe
England--Sidmouth
France--Cherbourg
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Dunkerque
France--Cassel
England--Salisbury
Russia (Federation)--Kola Peninsula
Russia (Federation)--Arkhangelʹskai︠a︡ oblastʹ
Germany--Berlin
Poland--Szczecin
France--Desvres
France--Arcachon
France--Nantes
France--Chartres
France--Reims
England--Swanage
England--Malvern
England--Plymouth
France--Lorient
England--Lincoln
Scotland--Edinburgh
England--Hull
England--London
England--Bristol
France--Montdidier (Hauts-de-France)
England--Guildford
France--Poix-du-Nord
Germany--Mannheim
Czech Republic--Pilsen Basin
England--Harpenden
France--Morlaix
Spain--Lugo
Spain--Seville
England--Radlett (Hertfordshire)
Germany--Cologne
France--Boulogne-Billancourt
Germany--Rostock
Germany--Essen
Germany--Schleswig-Holstein
Belgium--Liège
Germany--Bremen
England--High Wycombe
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
England--Sizewell
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Munich
Germany--Kassel
England--Crowborough
England--Huddersfield
Netherlands--Den Helder
England--Mundesley
Germany--Schweinfurt
Europe--Baltic Sea Region
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Wolfenbüttel
Germany--Magdeburg
France--Limoges
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Munich
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Augsburg
France--Yvelines
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Kiel
Poland--Poznań
France--Dieppe
Turkey--Gallipoli
Egypt--Alamayn
Egypt--Cairo
Morocco
Algeria
Italy--Sicily
England--Ventnor
England--Beachy Head
France--Abbeville
France--Somme
France--Seine River
England--Southampton
England--Portsmouth
Scotland--Firth of Forth
Iceland
England--Brighton
France--Normandy
France--Cherbourg
England--Littlehampton
England--Portland Harbour
France--Amiens
Netherlands--Arnhem
France--Normandy
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
France--Le Havre
France--Arromanches-les-Bains
France--Bayeux
Belgium--Wenduine
France--Beauvais
England--Ditchling
England--Henfield (West Sussex)
England--Canterbury
England--Crowborough
England--Dover
England--Chiswick
Netherlands--Hague
Sweden
Belgium--Antwerp
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Trier
Germany--Siegfried Line
Netherlands--New Maas River
Netherlands--Waal River
Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)
Germany--Darmstadt
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Braunschweig
Netherlands--Walcheren
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Cologne
Europe--Ardennes
Belgium--Bastogne
Germany--Leuna
Germany--Essen
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Ulm
Rhine River Valley
Germany--Mittelland Canal
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Castrop-Rauxel
Germany--Hannover
Belgium--Houffalize
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Grevenbroich
Germany--Dülmen
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Bonn
Germany--Kamen
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Dessau (Dessau)
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kiel
England--Coventry
Italy
Poland
France
Great Britain
Egypt
North Africa
Germany
Belgium
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Norway
Russia (Federation)
Spain
Turkey
Europe--Frisian Islands
England--Milton Keynes
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Devon
England--Dorset
England--Gloucestershire
England--Hampshire
England--Herefordshire
England--Kent
England--Middlesex
England--Norfolk
England--Staffordshire
England--Suffolk
England--Surrey
England--Sussex
England--Wiltshire
England--Worcestershire
England--Yorkshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Warwickshire
Russia (Federation)--Poli︠a︡rnyĭ (Murmanskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Coastal Command
Royal Navy
United States Army Air Force
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
178 printed pages
Description
An account of the resource
A continuation of Peter's thesis on electronic warfare during the war.
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MLovattP1821369-190903-74-01
1 Group
100 Group
101 Squadron
109 Squadron
141 Squadron
169 Squadron
171 Squadron
192 Squadron
199 Squadron
214 Squadron
218 Squadron
223 Squadron
239 Squadron
3 Group
4 Group
462 Squadron
5 Group
617 Squadron
8 Group
aircrew
B-17
B-24
Beaufighter
Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986)
Chamberlain, Neville (1869-1940)
crash
Defiant
Do 217
Fw 190
Gee
Gneisenau
Goering, Hermann (1893-1946)
H2S
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Hampden
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
He 111
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Hudson
Ju 88
Lancaster
Me 110
Me 410
mine laying
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
Mosquito
navigator
Oboe
Operational Training Unit
P-51
Pathfinders
radar
RAF Defford
RAF Downham Market
RAF Farnborough
RAF Foulsham
RAF Little Snoring
RAF North Creake
RAF Northolt
RAF Oulton
RAF Prestwick
RAF Sculthorpe
RAF St Athan
RAF Swannington
RAF Tempsford
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Uxbridge
RAF West Raynham
RAF Wittering
Scharnhorst
Stalin, Joseph (1878-1953)
Stirling
Tirpitz
training
Typhoon
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
Window
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/934/36457/BLovattPHastieRv2.1.pdf
295406378e70aa4d2aeb43baeaddc085
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Lovatt, Peter
Dr Peter Lovatt
P Lovatt
Description
An account of the resource
117 items. An oral history interview with Peter Lovatt (b.1924, 1821369 Royal Air Force), his log book, documents, and photographs. The collection also contains two photograph albums. He flew 42 operations as an air gunner on 223 Squadron flying B-24s. <br /><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/1338">Album One</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2135">Album Two</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Nina and Peter Lovatt and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-09-27
2019-09-03
Rights
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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
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Lovatt, P
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hastie DFC: The Life and Times of a Wartime Pilot
Description
An account of the resource
A biography of Roy Hastie.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Peter Lovatt
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2003-10
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
United States
Rhode Island--Quonset Point Naval Air Station
Bahamas--Nassau
New York (State)--New York
Bahamas--New Providence Island
Great Britain
England--Harrogate
Scotland--Perth
Scotland--Glasgow
England--Warrington
England--Blackpool
Luxembourg
France
Belgium
Netherlands
France--Dunkerque
England--Dover
England--Grantham
England--Torquay
Wales--Aberystwyth
Iceland
Greenland
Sierra Leone
Russia (Federation)--Murmansk
Singapore
France--Saint-Malo
Denmark
Sweden
Germany--Lübeck
Netherlands--Ameland Island
England--Grimsby
Germany--Helgoland
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
England--Lundy Island
Germany--Cologne
North Carolina
North Carolina--Cape Hatteras
Aruba
Curaçao
Iceland--Reykjavík
Greenland--Narsarssuak
Canada
Québec--Montréal
Rhode Island
New York (State)--Buffalo
Gulf of Mexico
Caribbean Sea
Virginia
Florida--Miami
Cuba--Guantánamo Bay Naval Base
Puerto Rico--San Juan
Cuba
Florida--West Palm Beach
Cuba--Caimanera
India
Sierra Leone--Freetown
Jamaica
Jamaica--Kingston
Jamaica--Montego Bay
Virginia--Norfolk
Washington (D.C.)
Newfoundland and Labrador
Northern Ireland--Limavady
England--Chatham (Kent)
Newfoundland and Labrador--Gander
Gibraltar
England--Leicester
Massachusetts--Boston
Egypt--Alamayn
Algeria--Algiers
Algeria--Oran
Algeria--Bejaïa
Algeria--Annaba
Italy--Sicily
England--Milton Keynes
Germany--Essen
England--Dunwich
Europe--Scheldt River
England--Sizewell
Germany--Hamburg
England--Kent
Germany--Stuttgart
England--Crowborough
Netherlands--Hague
England--Peterborough
England--Bristol
Germany--Homburg (Saarland)
Belgium--Brussels
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Wanne-Eickel
Belgium--Liège
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Aschaffenburg
Germany--Castrop-Rauxel
Germany--Mittelland Canal
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Hagen (Arnsberg)
Germany--Leuna
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Ulm
Germany--Munich
Poland--Szczecin
France--Ardennes
Germany--Bonn
Belgium--Houffalize
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Grevenbroich
Germany--Dülmen
France--Metz
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Zeitz
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
England--Dungeness
Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Germany--Wiesbaden
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Koblenz
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Worms
Germany--Pforzheim
Germany--Darmstadt
Europe--Lake Constance
Germany--Bergkamen
Germany--Dessau (Dessau)
Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia)
France--Aube
Germany--Augsburg
England--Feltwell
England--Croydon
Norway--Oslo
Sweden--Stockholm
Czech Republic--Prague
Italy--Florence
Portugal--Lisbon
Monaco--Monte-Carlo
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
Netherlands--Venlo
Netherlands--Amsterdam
France--Paris
France--Lyon
France--Digne
France--Nevers
France--Lille
Norway--Ålesund
France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
France--Bailleul (Nord)
Belgium--Ieper
Belgium--Mesen
France--Cambrai
France--Somme
France--Arras
France--Lens
France--Calais
Germany--Emden (Lower Saxony)
Netherlands--Vlissingen
France--Brest
France--Lorient
France--La Pallice
Egypt--Suez
Germany--Berlin
Yemen (Republic)--Aden
Cyprus
Turkey--Gallipoli
Black Sea--Dardanelles Strait
Turkey--İmroz Island
Turkey--İzmir
Greece--Lesbos (Municipality)
Greece--Thasos Island
Greece--Chios (Municipality)
Greece--Thasos
Bulgaria
Turkey--Istanbul
Europe--Macedonia
Greece--Kavala
Kenya--Nairobi
Africa--Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Tanzania
Sudan
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Sudan--Kassalā
Eritrea--Asmara
Yemen (Republic)--Perim Island
Ethiopia--Addis Ababa
Sudan--Khartoum
Ghana--Takoradi
Libya--Cyrenaica
Libya--Tobruk
Egypt--Cairo
Iraq
Greece--Crete
Libya--Tripolitania
Tunisia--Mareth Line
Libya--Tripoli
Tunisia--Qaṣrayn
Tunisia--Medenine
Italy--Pantelleria Island
Malta
Italy--Licata
Italy--Brindisi
Italy--Foggia
Italy--Cassino
Italy--Sangro River
Italy--Termoli
Yugoslavia
Croatia--Split
Croatia--Vis Island
Italy--Loreto
Italy--Pescara
Trinidad and Tobago--Trinidad
North America--Saint Lawrence River
Newfoundland and Labrador--Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Bahamas
Florida
Italy
Poland
Massachusetts
New York (State)
Algeria
Tunisia
Libya
Egypt
North Africa
Ontario
Québec
Germany
Croatia
Czech Republic
Ghana
Greece
Kenya
Norway
Russia (Federation)
Turkey
Yemen (Republic)
Portugal
Trinidad and Tobago
North America--Niagara Falls
France--Reims
Europe--Frisian Islands
Germany--Monheim (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Norfolk
England--Suffolk
England--Gloucestershire
England--Lancashire
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Greece--Thessalonikē
Germany--Herne (Arnsberg)
Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)
Libya--Banghāzī
Russia (Federation)--Arkhangelʹskai︠a︡ oblastʹ
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Jersey
Virginia--Hampton Roads (Region)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
142 printed sheets
Identifier
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BLovattPHastieRv2
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
1 Group
100 Group
101 Squadron
157 Squadron
2 Group
214 Squadron
223 Squadron
3 Group
4 Group
6 Group
8 Group
85 Squadron
88 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
B-17
B-24
B-25
bale out
Beaufighter
Bismarck
Botha
C-47
Chamberlain, Neville (1869-1940)
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
crash
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
entertainment
evacuation
Flying Training School
Gee
Gneisenau
Goldfish Club
ground personnel
H2S
Halifax
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Harvard
He 111
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Hudson
Hurricane
Initial Training Wing
Ju 88
Lancaster
love and romance
Martinet
Me 109
Me 110
mine laying
Mosquito
Mussolini, Benito (1883-1945)
navigator
Nissen hut
Oboe
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
Pathfinders
pilot
Proctor
radar
RAF Banff
RAF Catfoss
RAF Catterick
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Cranwell
RAF Dishforth
RAF Farnborough
RAF Horsham St Faith
RAF Kinloss
RAF Leuchars
RAF Lichfield
RAF Lyneham
RAF Manston
RAF North Coates
RAF Oulton
RAF Padgate
RAF Prestwick
RAF Riccall
RAF Silloth
RAF South Cerney
RAF St Eval
RAF Thornaby
RAF Thorney Island
RAF Windrush
RAF Woodbridge
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1882-1945)
Scharnhorst
Spitfire
sport
Stirling
Swordfish
Tiger Moth
Tirpitz
training
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Whitley
Window
wireless operator
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1881/36328/SChristianAL29160v10050-0001.1.jpg
985ac56a053f2f5e59b1b95f1ab81277
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1881/36328/SChristianAL29160v10050-0002.1.jpg
9c0525296752c0aa7e46baabc42cac06
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Christian, Arnold Louis
A L Christian
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-26
Rights
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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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Christian, AL
Description
An account of the resource
93 items. The collection concerns Wing Commander <span>Arnold Louis</span> <span>Christian </span>(1906 - 1941, 29160 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents and photographs. He flew operation as a pilot with 105 Squadron and was killed 8 May 1941.<br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Steven Christian and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br />Additional information on <span>Arnold Louis</span> <span>Christian</span> is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/204958/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[inserted] [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] [/inserted]
[underlined] BATTLE-AXE BLENHEIMS
NO. 105 Squadron. RAF at War 1940-41
Stuart R. Scott [/underlined]
A new face had arrived at Swanton Morley on 25th November from 13 OTU at Bicester. Well known to many of the crews as an instructor. Squadron Leader Arnold Louis Christian had arrived to become Flight Commander of ‘B’ Flight, and was ultimately to prove a very popular CO
The newly arrived S/L Christian and PO G Goode attacked the docks at Antwerp in PO 4918: 0 and R3682 respectively. The raid was effective. The two Blenheims touched down at base after 2 hours and 45 minute sortie. On 24th December S/L A Christian was promoted to Wing Commander and took over as Squadron Commander. On 4th January W/C Christian led the Squadron against targets in Northern France. The docks at Ostend, Dunkirk and Dieppe were targeted, as were the aerodromes at Eveseux, Marselles [sic] and St. Omer, all of which were successfully bombed without loss.
On 21st Lorient, home of the submarines was to be the target. Six aircraft took off led by W/C Christian and his crew – a successful raid.
On 15th February the remaining five Blenheims led by W/C Christian departed on route to Brest. The armament dropped included, in addition to 10 40lb bombs, ten 500lb SAP bombs. The first time such large bombs had been used by the Squadron.
On 10th March the Squadron was ordered to attack Brest, in order to help Coastal Command. W/C Christian responded and led six aircraft.
On 17th March participating aircrew were called for their briefing and were addressed by W/C Christain. [sic]
On 5th May the Squadron moved to Lossiemouth in order to harass shipping entering and leaving Scandinavian ports. It was possible during spare time to venture into the neighbouring town of Elgin. A few rounds of golf were even put in by the CO, A Christian, on the first evening.
8th May, six aircraft, led by W/C/ A.L. Christian lifted off and set forth for the sweep. Prior to departure the CO had taken Jack Buckley aside and asked him to keep an eye open to ensure the Squadron formation kept together properly. With this instruction in mind Buckley tucked his Blenheim neatly in at the leaders right side in No. 2 position – During his run in for a beam attack on the flag ship, Buckley was settling his aircraft level, when he realised that W/C Arnold Christian and his crew had not reappeared on the port side. Their Blenheim was last seen with the port engine on fire, heading for the Norwegian coast some 2 miles distant. They and their Blenheim were posted missing. There was, however, a witness to their demise. Herr Leidland, a fisherman, saw the aircraft crash into the water and he later retrieved a flying boot from the sea.
[page break]
The loss of the CO hit squadron morale very badly, and was well remembered by the then S/L Bennett who paid the following tribute:
Arnold Christian, an A1 Category CFS (Central Flying School) Instructor, could fly a Blenheim better than most and inspired us all with his skill and leadership. He was a relative of Fletcher Christian of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ fame. Like his ancestor, our Squadron Commander was a stubborn, never-say-die character, with inborn leadership of somewhat rebellious nature, traits possessed by many 2 Group Squadron Commanders. He had been responsible for our rapid conversion from night bombing to daylight low level operations in April 1941. Training was intense and I remember carrying out four sorties in a day; dropping 32 practice bombs in the Wash, as Christian encouraged us to fly accurately over the sea at 50ft and lower. ‘The lower the better’ were his words, and effective jerking manoeuvres near the deck can get you out of trouble in the target area. He was right, a Blenheim could be thrown around, and his example inspired us all. Arnold’s sense of fun and his good, dry humour, added to his superb airmanship, made 105 Squadron a good Squadron.
Since the loss of Wing Commander Christian, morale had been low and the subsequent operations had yielded few results. This would present quite a dilemma for any CO but Edwards characteristically firmly grasped the mettle. He gathered the Squadron together and told them that he was going out with them and that they were going to ‘find a ship and sink it’
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Battle-Axe Blenheims
No 105 Squadron. RAF at War 1940-41
Description
An account of the resource
An account of operations at the time Arnold took over as Flight Commander. He describes the operation when Arnold Christian was lost.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Stuart Scott
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Belgium--Antwerp
Belgium--Ostend
France--Dunkerque
France--Dieppe
France--Marseille
France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
France--Lorient
France--Brest
Scotland--Elgin
Norway
France
Belgium
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Format
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Two printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SChristianAL29160v10050-0001, SChristianAL29160v10050-0002
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
105 Squadron
13 OTU
2 Group
aircrew
Blenheim
bombing
killed in action
missing in action
Operational Training Unit
pilot
RAF Bicester
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Swanton Morley
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1794/35819/BWilsonRCWilsonRCv1.2.pdf
46537616119db7e3fe539c2255ec6eb9
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wilson, Reginald Charles
R C Wilson
Description
An account of the resource
166 items. The collection concerns Reginald Charles Wilson (b. 1923, 1389401 Royal Air Force) and contains his wartime log, photographs, documents and correspondence. He few operations as a navigator with 102 Squadron. He was shot down on 20 January 1944 and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Janet Hughes and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-01-13
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
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Wilson, RC
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
October 2001
[underlined] BOMBER COMMAND & NOTES OF SOME OF MY EXPERIENCES DURING 1941 – 1945 [/underlined]
[underlined] Churchill's Minute of 8 July 1940 about Bomber Command to Beaverbrook (Minister for Aircraft Production) [/underlined] – made [italics] after the fall of France and the retreat of the British Forces from Dunkirk, when Britain stood alone against the might of Germany under the control of Hitler. [/italics]
"But when I look round to see how we can win the war I see that there is only one sure path. We have no Continental army which can defeat the German military power. The blockade is broken and Hitler has Asia and probably Africa to draw from. Should he be repulsed here or not try invasion he will recoil eastward, and we have nothing to stop him. But there is one thing that will bring him back and bring him down, and that is an absolutely devasting, exterminating attack by very heavy bombers from this country upon the Nazi homeland. We must be able to overwhelm them by this means, without which I do not see a way through."
A sustained air bombardment of Germany was therefore a major instrument of military policy, all the more appealing to the Nation as a whole because of the Blitz – As Churchill himself said, the almost universal cry was "Give it to them back!" (Extract from Most Secret War – R.V. Jones)
With regard to the Blitz, I personally experienced before I joined Aircrew in August 1941, seventy-eight consecutive nights when the German Bombers flew up the Thames and bombed London (East London had extensive damage and suffered many thousands of civilian casualties).
One of the last of these raids, and also the worst, occurred on 29 December 1940 when 300 tons of bombs (mostly incendiary bombs) were dropped on the City and surrounding area. The whole area was a mass of flames. (There is a famous photograph of St. Paul's in sharp relief against a skyline of fire). I walked through the devastated area the next morning on my way to Unilever House (my place of work before I joined the RAFVR).
On 29 December 1943 [underlined] exactly three years later to the night [/underlined], I 'gave it to them back!' I flew as navigator, in a Halifax Bomber as one of a force of over 700 Bombers to Berlin. It was the fifth heaviest raid ever made against Berlin and over 2300 tons of incendiaries and bombs were dropped in about twenty minutes!
[underlined] When Britain stood alone [/underlined]
After Dunkirk in 1940 there was no hope of bringing the war [underlined] to Germany [/underlined] on land until the success of the Second Front in 1944 and the Invasion of Germany in 1945. For the first three and a half years only one force, [underlined] Bomber Command [/underlined] was able to do so from the Air, and keep the torch of freedom burning for Britain and occupied Europe.
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For the rest of the war Bomber Command was joined by the American Airforce who supported the air war with a substantial heavy bomber force operating in daytime from East Anglia.
[underlined] 1943 – The growth point for Bomber Command [/underlined]
By 1943 Bomber Command, now under the direction of Air Chief Marshall Arthur Harris, had grown into a powerful heavy bomber force. A famous biblical quotation used by Arthur Harris about Germany's earlier bombing of British cities, summed up the future for Germany's industrial heartland – "they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind".
Bomber Command was able to sustain some 700 to 1000 aircraft, which could deliver in excess of 2000 tons of bombs on a target in one bombing raid. It flew at night throughout the year at relatively high altitudes; and in all weathers. It also used the long winter nights to penetrate deep into Germany to reach their industrial cities. Flying at over 10000ft required crew to wear oxygen masks and at 20000ft., temperatures could be minus 40 degrees centigrade! The sole heating for the crews would be from movable flexible pipes from the engines, or for the air gunners, electrically heated suits. Only fog, snow and ice around their base airfields and perhaps a full moon, would hold the squadrons back from operational flying.
Bomber Command flew in a concentrated stream and bombed targets in a matter of 20 minutes or so. Techniques were developed to smother the ground-to-air radar defences by all aircraft dropping metalised strips ('window') en route and over the target. The mass of strips obliterated the German radar responses from the bombers, so that the ground defences were unable to direct nightfighters or ack-ack to their quarry. Ground control of the nightfighters was also broken by jamming their intercom frequencies. Bomber wireless operators would tune to the nightfighters' frequencies and transmit engine noise to drown out communication. Specially equipped squadrons flying in or near the bomber stream would carry out operations known as ABC (Airborne Cigar), which interfered with radar responses from nightfighters, causing confusion in ground control operations. These squadrons would also tune to the ground control frequencies and with the aid of German speaking specialists gave false directions to the German pilots. When the German defences resorted to broadcasting coded music over national broadcasting channels, to indicate to the nightfighters where the targets were, these were jammed by over-playing the broadcasts, very loudly, with previously recorded Hitler speeches!
The development of the Pathfinder Force and the introduction of more sophisticated radar aids, especially H2S, enabled Bomber Command to keep closely to prescribed routes and to locate targets more accurately. This was achieved by the Pathfinders dropping coloured sky or ground markers near turning points and directly on the target, the whole operation being directed by Master Bomber crews flying at the forefront of the main force. In addition, other radar techniques for guiding bombers and indicating the release point for bombs, known as Oboe and G – H, were very accurate methods for pinpointing targets, especially in areas like the Ruhr Valley. All these techniques helped to produce highly concentrated bombing results.
These successes however were not without heavy losses to Bomber Command * as the German ground control revised their procedures and the German nightfighter force expanded. The nightfighter force (especially squadrons equipped with twin
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engined aircraft) became more freelance and extremely skilled due to the re-equipment of their aircraft with cannon firepower and radar air interception and homing techniques.
Bomber Command took a major part in destroying much of German's industrial base. It also caused the German ground defence forces to divert, in 1943-45, a huge number of men (almost 900,000) and all types of artillery (56,500) from the Western and Eastern Fronts to defend the skies over German cities, especially Berlin and cities in the Ruhr Valley. Additionally 1,200,000 civilians were employed in civil defence and in repair work.
Bomber Command delayed the use of the V weapons in 1944 by many months, and saved thousands of lives and possible destruction of much of London, especially the eastern areas of Greater London.
It was responsible, along with the American Airforce, for destroying in 1944-45 much of the armament, transport, radar and communications infrastructure in occupied Europe and Germany. Additionally the German oil refining industry was destroyed. These successes eventually grounded the German Airforce, paralysed the German Army, and advanced their surrender.
[underlined] *Bomber Command suffered very heavy losses [/underlined]
From 1939 – 1945 Bomber Command suffered some 60% casualties; a number greater than any other British and Commonwealth Force during the Second World War (only exceeded by the German U-Boat Force who suffered some 70% casualties).
Out of a force of 125000 Aircrew:
* 56000 were killed (equivalent to almost one fifth of all the deaths sustained by the British and Commonwealth forces for World War 2, and equal to all the Officer deaths on the Western Front – Vimy Ridge, the Somme, Passchendaele, Ypres etc during World War 1).
* 9000 were injured or wounded.
* 11000 were POWs or were missing.
In the peak times of 1943 and 1944 less than 10 crews in a 100 crews would survive their first tour of 30 operations. The Halifax and Lancaster Bomber would have an average life of 40 operational hours – about 5 or 6 missions.
The worst month of the war for aircraft losses was January 1944 when 633 aircraft were lost out of 6278 sorties – just over 10%.
This was also the month I was shot down over Berlin on my tenth operation, when my Squadron (102) lost 7 out of 15 aircraft – a loss of 47% (a loss of aircraft in percentage terms greater than that suffered by 617 Squadron on the Dam Busters Raid). The following night my Squadron lost a further 4 aircraft out of 16 on a mission to Magdeburg, Germany. Shortly after these disastrous losses, the Squadron was withdrawn from operations over Germany until they were re-equipped with the improved aircraft, the Halifax MK 3.
The worst single operation of the war was in March 1944, when 94 aircraft were lost on the Nurnberg raid with 14 more aircraft crashing on return to UK. On this raid more aircrew in Bomber Command were killed, than were killed in Fighter Command for the whole of the Battle of Britain.
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[underlined] Battle of Berlin [/underlined]
There were 16 raids during the Battle of Berlin from the end of 1943 to early 1944. In this time some 500 aircraft were lost on the Berlin raids. Over 3500 aircrew were lost, of which some 80% were killed! More than 2000 of them lie buried in the British War Graves Cemetery in West Berlin – two of my crew are buried there, two others who have no known graves are remembered on the RAF War Memorial at Runnymede.
[underlined] Bomber Command was heavily criticised for the destruction of Dresden and Chemnitz in February 1945 [/underlined]
Dresden and Chemnitz were regarded as non-military targets. Dresden in particular was a cultural and arts centre since medieval times. They were also great fire risks because of their wooden architecture.
As the Russian Forces on the Eastern Front entered East Germany in 1945, Stalin requested to Allied Command that Leipzig, Chemnitz and Dresden be bombed [underlined] as these cities were strategic railheads for moving German troops to the Eastern Front. [/underlined]
At that time I was a POW at Stalag IVB (Muhlberg on Elbe) and I was being moved to Oflag VIIB (Eichstat, Bavaria) with four other POW's. The route took us through Chemnitz station and we spent the best part of a day waiting with our German guards on the station for a connection to go south to Bavaria. [underlined] During this time we witnessed several German Panzer troop trains en route for the Eastern Front pass through the station. [/underlined] The date was 2 February 1945 just 10 days before Chemnitz and Dresden were bombed. I understand since, that the information about the date of these troop movements was not known at the time; otherwise the Allied Command might have taken action earlier.
Nevertheless Stalin was right, they were strategic railheads, and we (POW's) were [underlined] in the unique position of being the only Allied witnesses to see it. [/underlined] (I have a reference to this event in my wartime log entered whilst I was still a POW in Oflag VIIB).
The bombing was shared by Bomber Command and the American Airforce. The towns were burnt out and the casualties were very high indeed.
Personally I refute the charge, having seen the Panzer troop trains passing through Chemnitz, that these were open cities, wilfully destroyed. The Allied Airforces carried out what they were ordered to do – to aid the Russian Forces in what was total war in those days.
These charges of wanton destruction were, after the war, levelled at Air Chief Marshall Arthur Harris (who was denied a Peerage), and Bomber Command by the post war Labour Government. The accusations have been made ever since by all and sundry. They choose to forget that some 60,000 British civilians were killed as a result of German Airforce bombing and use of V weapons, on London and other Cities.
As a result campaign medals were not awarded to Bomber Command.
Arthur Harris said "Every butcher, baker, and candlestick maker, within two hundred miles of the Front got a campaign medal, but not Bomber Command".
When one reflects on the contribution that Bomber Command (a front line force without doubt) made to the success of World War 2; and the casualties and the
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stress the aircrew (mostly in their early 20's) suffered in achieving it, it is a travesty of justice to level the accusation of wanton destruction. Fortunately, with more thorough research, especially involving veterans of Bomber Command, the books of recent years have put the records straight.
[underlined] Summary of my aircrew training days [/underlined]
I joined the RAFVR in August 1941, wore a white flash in my forage cap to indicate aircrew; and after a long wait at St John's Wood, London, I was posted to Initial Training Wing Torquay, Devon.
Here I learnt the rudiments of subjects such as meteorology, air navigation, aircraft recognition, wireless telegraphy etc, alongside some square bashing and clay pigeon shooting.
I was promoted from AC2 to LAC and posted to Marshalls Airfield, Cambridge for a flying test. I flew with an instructor in a Tiger Moth for about eight hours and passed the initial experience requirement necessary to join the Arnold Training Scheme in the USA.
After some Christmas leave and a short stay at Heaton Park, Manchester, I joined the troopship 'Montcalm' at Gourock, on the Clyde, bound for Halifax, Canada. We were accompanied by another troopship the 'Vollendam' and we were supposed to have had a destroyer as escort for the crossing. Unfortunately the destroyer had to return to base. (It was a World War 1 American destroyer, one of fifty given to Britain in exchange for the use of Bermuda I believe, and it could not cope with the bad weather we were experiencing).
Luckily our two weeks crossing in January 1942 was uneventful although half a dozen ships were sunk in the same area of the Atlantic as ourselves. At this time in the war as many as 60 ships a week were sunk by German U boats in the North Atlantic.
From Halifax we were the first RAF aircrew trainees to travel to the USA in uniform. America had become our Ally just a few weeks before, (after the infamy of the Japanese who had bombed Pearl Harbour, on 7 December 1941, without formal declaration of war, sinking much of the Pacific fleet).
After suffering the privations in Britain – bombing, blackout, blockade, rationing of virtually everything, and the military setbacks such as experienced in Norway, France and the Middle East, America was no doubt the land of milk and honey.
We travelled to 'Turner Field' in Albany, Georgia for a month's acclimatisation, during which time I celebrated my 19th birthday. It was a base for the American Army Aircorps cadets.
Here we were given Army Aircorps clothing and were to be treated like the cadets to all their style of intake training such as:-
– drilling and physical training (callisthenics at 6 o'clock in the morning)
– being given literature on expected behaviour and etiquette!
– marching behind a brass band, playing Army Aircorps music, to all meals and to Retreat (lowering of the American Flag in the evening).
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Having endured basic rations in Britain for a considerable time, every meal at 'Turner Field' was a feast, and as cadets, we were waited on hand and foot by coloured waiters (at this time in the South, coloured people were not considered equal to whites; they were required to sit in the back of buses and in separate parts of the cinema etc and were treated generally as second class citizens). Back in Britain you had to queue up for your meals, get all your meal on one plate, take your own cutlery (in your gas mask case) and wash it up afterwards in a tank of tepid greasy water.
After a month I was posted to Lakeland, Florida (in March 1942) to a Civilian Flying School for Primary Flying Training.
Here I had a very pleasant time indeed. I went solo in a 'Stearman' biplane after the Instructor had 'buzzed off' a herd of cows from the auxillary [sic] landing field by diving at them! I had 40 hours solo, much of which was aerobatics – stalls, spins, loops etc. The flying was over lakes and orange groves in the Florida sunshine. As English Cadets we had much hospitality with local American families and their daughters!
After completion of the Course, we had a few days leave, and a colleague and I hitched a lift to West Palm Beach. We booked into an hotel, but within a short while we were invited to stay with an American lady (Mrs Hubbard), who turned out to be the daughter of Rockefeller (a multi-millionaire and philanthropist). She had an English lady staying with her (who had a son in the RAF) and between them they looked after us for the next two days, like two long lost sons. Her home could have been in Hollywood; it had a beautiful swimming pool within a magnificant [sic] Italian styled garden, with an arcaded drinks bar at one end.
My greatest memory of this occasion, was to meet – and be photographed with – one of the few surviving Fleet Air Arm pilots, who in the previous year had torpedoed the pocket battleship 'Bismark', damaged its rudder, and enabled the British Fleet to sink it in the English Channel. He was touring America as a hero and had been invited to Mrs Hubbard's home. (The sinking of the Bismark was a great British victory, it having sunk the battleship 'Hood', with the loss of nearly 1500 lives.)
After this short break (at the end of April 1942) we were posted to an Army Aircorps Flying School in Georgia for Intermediate Training. Here I started a course of flying on a basic trainer with an Army Instructor. After a number of flying lessons I was unable to convince my Instructor I was safe to go solo on this plane and that was the end of my pilot training. (The US Army Aircorps had a policy of failing a high proportion of cadets and I was one of them; had I been trained in an RAF Flying School in the States the story might have been different). I was disheartened at the time but took the view that I could have killed myself, as one of my friends did shortly afterwards!
I took the train back to Canada (in June 1942) to the RCAF Camp at Trenton, Ontario, and after some interviews and an exam I remustered to U/T Navigator. This transfer did at least give me a chance to see some more of Canada, and I was able to visit Lake Ontario, Toronto and Niagara Falls before I moved on.
A party of us were moved westward for a day or so by train, through impressive Canadian countryside with pine forests and rivers solid with floating logs. The train was pulled by an enormous steam engine, snorting its way through this majestic
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scenery with hardly a sign of civilisation anywhere. We stopped eventually at Brandon, Manitoba, where we stayed awaiting a posting to an Air Navigation School. Whilst at Brandon I managed to spend a weekend at Clear Lake about 60 miles north. It was a beautiful lake surrounded by pine forests (with log cabins, a restaurant, a central hall), where swimming, fishing, and rowing facilities were available. In the evening dances were held in the hall and a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman was in attendance – it was just like a picture post card! At the dance I met a girl who lived in Winnipeg, who I was able to see again on a number of occasions, as I was posted to the Winnipeg Air Navigation School about a week later (August 1942).
Winnipeg Air Navigation School services were run by civilians, with the teaching of all the subjects by the RCAF.
Winnipeg was situated in the vast grain growing area of Manitoba which was as flat as a pancake – when flying at a few thousand feet you had an unrestricted view to the horizon. The towns, marked by grain elevators and water towers (with the town's name painted on the side), were spaced along the railway line, with other towns scattered in the countryside. All were visible on any cross country route, thus it was impossible to get lost during navigational exercises, even at night, as there was no blackout in Canada!
It was a pleasant, comfortable three months training, spending about half our time in the class room and half on air exercises. We flew in ancient Anson aircraft with civilian pilots, and apart from our air exercises we had to wind up the wheels on take off and down on landing!
The main things I can remember were: the crash of a light aircraft only a few yards away, and the raging fire that ensued that made it impossible to rescue the pilot; the freezing nights practising astro sextant shots. And the more pleasant activitity [sic] of eating Christmas-like turkey dinners every Sunday, and going to dances in Winnipeg, with my friend whom I had met at Clear Lake, Brandon, at weekends. I was awarded my Navigator's Wing on 20 November 1942 and was promoted to Sergeant (I was just a few marks short of getting a Commission).
A few days later we were all on the long train journey back to Moncton, Halifax, breaking our journey for a memorable stopover in Montreal. We returned to England on the luxury liner the Queen Elizabeth, which had been converted into a troopship. We had two meals a day, there were 17 bunks to a state cabin, and we travelled without escort taking only four days to cross the North Atlantic. We were home on leave for Christmas – just one year had elapsed since I was on embarkation leave for my training in North America.
The beginning of 1943 brought about a glut of trained aircrew from the North American and Commonwealth Training Schools.
As a result many hundreds of us were held in holding centres in Harrogate and Bournemouth to await postings. To fill in the time I was posted with others to an RAF Regiment Training Course at Whitley Bay on the coast near Newcastle in the freezing weather of February 1943.
It was not until late April 1943 that we took up flying again, when a party of us were posted to the RAF Air Navigation School at Jurby, at the northern end of the Isle of Man.
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For the next three weeks, still flying in Ansons, I brushed up my navigation (not having flown for five months) with day and night cross country exercises around the Irish Sea, the east coast of Northern Ireland and the west coast of Britain. The weather was quite cool and we even experienced snow in the first two weeks of May. On free days we would take the small 'toast rack' railway from Jurby to Douglas (capital of the Isle of Man) for a day out – it was very quiet in wartime. The only feature I can remember was that all the hotels along the sea front were wired off, as they housed many of the aliens that had been interned for the duration of the war.
On the completion of the course we had some leave and I was posted to the RAF Operational Training Unit at Kinloss, Scotland, on the Moray Firth. I was now set for 'crewing up' in Bomber Command and getting nearer to operational flying.
I arrived at Kinloss in the first week in June. The weather was marvellous and stayed like it for the six weeks we were there. For part of the time a party of us were housed in a large mansion-like property (just for sleeping purposes) and each of us was given a bike to get to and from the airfield. The countryside was beautiful and with the consistent fine weather and the birds singing in the trees and hedgerows, cycling was an added pleasure. It was so peaceful the war seemed very far away indeed. RAF Kinloss was equipped with Whitley Bombers (withdrawn from operational flying in 1942) and were known as 'flying coffins' as they were very sluggish responding to the flying controls – a major defect we were to discover when flying in formation over Elgin (to celebrate a special occasion).
After a few days we were crewed up and our crew consisted of:-
F/O S.R. Vivian – Pilot – 'Viv'
F/Sgt R.C. Wilson – Navigator – 'Reg'
F/O L.A. Underwood – Bombaimer – 'Laurie'
Sgt W. Ross – W/OP AG – 'Bill'
Sgt J. Bushell – Rear AG – 'John'
During the ensuing six weeks we had day and night flying fairly frequently, carrying out exercises such as cross country and formation flying, airfiring, fighter affiliation and bombing practice.
We had some ground work also. I can remember being introduced to the Distant Reading Compass, located near the tail of the aircraft away from magnetic influences. It was a giro-controlled compass, very stable (which could be adjusted by the navigator for the earth's magnetic variation to give true north readings), with electric repeaters for the pilot, navigator and bomb aimer.
I can also remember flying at night, trying to practise astro-navigation, with the sky being barely dark. In the north of Scotland in mid-summer at a height of 10000 ft the sun's glow was present on the horizon most of the night. In this light the Grampian mountains and the Highlands below looked very gaunt and awesome indeed.
At the end of our training our crew had become great friends. We spent time together at Findhorn Bay (on the Moray Firth) on some afternoons, and in the pub in Forres town on some Saturdays. And once in the Mess all one weekend, when we were confined to the Station by the C.O. because we landed in error at RAF Lossiemouth (an adjacent airfield on the Moray Firth) instead of Kinloss! But we drank a lot of beer that weekend!
We left Kinloss for some leave towards the end of July, never to see 'Viv' our pilot again. Little did we know that 'Viv' would be killed in three weeks (just a few days
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after getting married on leave). This was before we even reached RAF Rufforth in Yorkshire, our Conversion Unit for Halifax Heavy Bombers.
We arrived at RAF Rufforth in the middle of August to find that 'Viv' had been reported missing on 10 August 1941 flying as second pilot on a raid to Nurnburg. (I have learned since that the aircraft crashed near Ramsen/Bollanden, Germany. Six were killed including 'Viv' and two became POWs).
All pilots, as captains of their aircraft, had to have two operational flights – 'second dickey trips' – before they could fly their own crews on operations. 'Viv' was on the second of his flights.
We were now a headless crew, awaiting the appointment of another pilot.
From now on it would be apparent that our lives in Bomber Command were becoming a lottery. There was no way we could tell, even at a Conversion Unit before Operations, whether from day to day we would live or die.
During our short stay at Rufforth, about 60 aircrew were killed due to mechanical failure or accidents. Among other accidents, I can remember that two aircraft collided in mid-air, another crashed when a propellor flew off into the fuselage, and a further aircraft crashed at night on a practice bombing raid exercise.
After a few days F/L PGA Harvey was appointed as our pilot, Sgt A McCarroll as our mid/upper gunner (formerly the drummer in Maurice Winnick's dance band – well known on BBC radio pre-war) and Sgt J McArdle as our flight engineer. This completed the crew for our 4 engined bomber, i.e. the Halifax.
F/L Harvey was an experienced pilot having two operational tours in the Middle East in 1941 on Wellington Bombers. It was a mystery to us why he was taking on another tour. Flying on operations deep inside Germany in 1943 was another dimension for him, (with cities heavily defended by ack-ack and night fighters armed with cannon and equipped with radar homing devices), to what he had experienced in the Middle East in 1941. Especially as many of his sorties (whilst being in a war zone) had not been bombing missions.
As F/L Harvey was an experienced pilot, the minimum time was taken to crew up, get familiar with the Halifax, and take on the new disciplines of a flight engineer and a mid/upper gunner. For my part I had to learn how to use 'Gee', a radar device for measuring pulses from two transmitting stations displayed on a cathode ray tube, which were then plotted on a special gridded map, to give pinpoint accuracy of your ground position.
There were air exercises for bombing, airfiring and fighter affiliation. The latter was an exercise to remember (the date was 2 September 1943). For this exercise we flew at 10000ft and a fighter would 'attack' from behind. The two gunners would then cooperate with the pilot so that he could take evasive action. F/L Harvey in taking evasive action managed [underlined] to turn the aircraft on its back, [/underlined] and it was several thousand feet later before the aircraft was righted again. I had spun round in the nose of the 'plane, broken rivits [sic] were rattling around inside the fuselage, and the chemical Elsan toilet at the back of the aircraft had emptied its contents all over the rear of the plane. We were all shaken up by the experience, especially as F/L Harvey had [underlined] 390 operational flying hours to his credit [/underlined] and we did not expect him to lose control. However some good came out of it, in that John the rear gunner decided that from then on he would store his parachute in his gun turret, rather than in the fuselage as required by regulations – this action would later save his life!
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I also decided I would be prepared and have a routine to cover baling out and I learnt the following procedure:-
'Helmet off' – You could break your neck with the helmet still attached to the oxygen supply and intercom!
'Parachute on' – You could jump out without it!
'Handle on the left hand side' – I was left handed (aircrew have been killed with an un-opened parachute with the handle – D ring – on the 'wrong' side!).
In addition (as navigator) I decided that over the target I had a minute or so to spare, so I could fold back my seat, lift up the navigation table clear of the escape hatch and be ready to bale out immediately if necessary. I believe these plans gave me and Laurie (bomb aimer) additional vital seconds, and with the action John took, the three of us saved our lives nearly five months later.
In a week or so we were posted to 102 Squadron to commence our operational service.
[underlined] 102 Squadron 4 Group Bomber Command – Pocklington Yorkshire [/underlined]
Pocklington airfield was situated 12 miles south-east of York, with 800ft hills 3.5 miles NE of the airfield. (Whilst I was there two Halifaxes with heavy bomb loads crashed into these hills after takeoff – that particular runway was not used after that.) It was a wartime airfield with only temporary accommodation, thus all our billets were in Nissen Huts. They had semi-circular corrugated iron roofs and walls, with concrete ends and were dispersed in fields nearby. They were dreary inhospitable places in winter, each heated only by a small central coal burning stove.
Where possible, when not on duty, we sought refuge and relaxation in the 'comfort' of the Sergeants' Mess or in the pubs (i.e. Betty's Bar) or dance halls (i.e. DeGrey Rooms) in the city of York.
Pocklington had three affiliated aifields [sic] – Elvington, Full Sutton and Melbourne. All the airfields were commanded by Air Commodore 'Gus' Walker, at that time the youngest Air Commodore at age 31 in the RAF. He had lost his right arm when a Lancaster exploded on the ground at the airfield he commanded, Syerston, in 1942.
We arrived at Pocklington in mid-September 1943. F/L Harvey was promoted to Acting Squadron Leader in charge of 'A' Flight and we became his crew, which meant we would not fly as frequently on operations as other crews. (This was considered to be a mixed blessing as a tour – 30 operations – would take longer.)
Over the next two weeks we completed a number of cross country exercises, mostly for me to practise my navigation with new equipment. At Rufforth I had 'Gee' radar which enabled me to plot accurate ground positions essential for calculating wind velocities – the basis of all air navigation. Unfortunately the Germans were able to jam this equipment, so that as an aircraft approached the coastline of Continental Europe, the radar pulses were obliterated. Thus the navigator had a race against time to get as much data as possible before we reached the 'Enemy Coast'.
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At Pocklington we had a very new piece of radar equipment called 'H2S' (height to surface). Located in the aircraft it sent out pulses to the ground around the aircraft for 15/20 miles. Reflections were received back as bright specks on a cathode ray tube. The density of the reflections depended on whether the aircraft was flying over sea, land, hills, rivers, cities, lakes etc thus a rough topographical map of the ground (the quality of the picture varied) was displayed on the cathode ray screen.
Best map results were between land and sea, but provided the navigator was reasonably aware of his ground position, he could recognise coastlines, large rivers and lakes, and sizable towns, to and from the target. Thus he could plot accurately the bearing and distance from these land marks, and be able to recalculate wind/velocities maintain required tracks, ground speeds and times to the target. For some more experienced navigators, they would have the ability to blind bomb, without the need to use the markers dropped by Pathfinders (who incidentally also used H2S equipment).
H2S could not be jammed, but nightfighters could 'home on' to the H2S frequency if it was continuously switched on (a hazard not known to aircrews for some time after the system was in operation!). Some aircraft were shot down this way. Another new piece of equipment called the 'airplot indicator' was available to the navigator. This linked the giro compass and airspeed indicator to provide a continuous read out of the air position in latitude and longitude. It was a useful guide to have available, but no navigator would rely on it entirely and give up his own airplot drawn on his own navigational chart.
We also had a hand held 'I.C.A.N. computer', a manually operated vectoring device on which we could plot a course and calculate the airspeed (to make good our desired track and ground speed), before we added this information to our main chart. Two other navigational aids we had used in training were radio bearings taken by the wireless operator and our own astro sight shots. The astro shots were converted to position lines by use of air almanacs. Both these methods were not practical when operating over 'enemy territory'. Even more so when considering that operational aircraft were faster, and the need at any moment to take evasive action (because of flak or nightfighters) would make these methods inoperable.
There were times when navigational aids were not available to us and map-reading over cloud or at night, especially at high altitude, was not possible. Then fall back on 'dead reckoning' methods was necessary. This required accurate plotting of the air position and the use of wind velocities supplied by the Meterology [sic] Officer, or use of those already calculated by the navigator en route. In both these cases they would need to be modified to cater for forecast weather and wind velocity changes and any alterations in altitude during the flight.
Preparing for a bombing mission on an operational squadron was quite a lengthy procedure, occupying a good a [sic] part of the day prior to the night's operation. About mid-morning 'Ops On' would be announced if there was to be a raid that night. Soon the ground crew were busy checking each aircraft's radar, guns, engines etc and filling the wing tanks with over 2000 gallons of fuel. Armourers would load the guns with ammunition and bring up and mount a mix of high explosive and incendiary bombs in the bomb bays for that night's target. (The bombs were stored in a remote part of the airfield for safety, behind blast walls. They would be fused for the target and towed on long low trolleys, by tractor, to the aircraft dispersal points.) Although the target was not disclosed at this stage because of the strict security rules, ground
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crews would have a good idea from the amount of fuel loaded and the type of bomb load, as to where the target would be.
About the same time as the ground crew activities, aircrew would be briefed by their respective leaders. There would be a leader for each discipline e.g. pilots, navigators, bomb aimers etc. The navigator would be one of the busiest; the navigation leader would issue them with flight plans and meteorological information (they would be the first to know the target). They would then plot the route on their chart and smaller topographical maps highlighting towns, lakes and rivers near to their track. Initial courses and airspeeds would be calculated from the wind velocities supplied (these would be modified as more information was gained from 'Gee' and 'H2S' during the flight). It was essential that they kept to their prescribed altitudes, tracks and time table, to maintain concentration of the bomber stream and their time slot over the target (no more than three minutes long).
The aircrew would then go to the Mess, have their operational meal of eggs and bacon (civilians were lucky to get one egg a month!), and fill their thermos flasks with coffee. They would also draw their flying rations of chocolate and orange juice to sustain them during the long night. They would also have available caffeine tablets to keep them alert.
The squadron briefing would follow when all aircrew operational that night (about 150 personnel) were assembled in front of a large wall map of Europe, showing the route and the target. If it was the 'Big City' (Berlin) a gasp would go round the hut, as it was considered to be the most dangerous target of them all. The briefing was carried out by the Squadron Commander, the Intelligence officer, the Meteorology officer and any other specialist whose views were pertinent to that night's raid. The briefing would cover overall details of the operation such as:
– size of the bombing force and the objective of any diversionary raids taking place.
– the weather en route and when returning to base; the forecast wind changes; the extent of cloud on route and over the target; icing risks at various altitudes.
– how the pathfinders would be marking the route and target.
– danger spots for flak and nightfighters.
Finally, all personnel, especially navigators, were asked to synchronise their watches (to the second) to GMT
After this the aircrew drew their Parachutes and Mae Wests, left any personal items in a bag to be picked up when they returned(!), and departed by truck to their dispersal points around the airfield.
At the dispersal point they had time to smoke a cigarette outside the aircraft (not frowned upon in those days), and then to check their equipment thoroughly before they took off. The airgunners checked their guns over the North Sea!
(At times they would get to this point of preparation and have to wait for clearance of fog. The 'Met' officer had guaranteed it would clear but mostly it did not, and the operation had to be abandoned!)
At last it was take-off time and they were directed by the Airfield Controller to the runway, where many of the groundcrew would wave them off into the gathering darkness. Then commenced the long ordeal (5-8 hours) of freezing cold and the heavy vibration and incessant roar of four Rolls Royce Merlin engines, in an unpressurised aircraft, until they returned (with luck unscathed) in the early hours the following morning. On return they went to the de-briefing hut where they were given hot coffee and a tot of rum dispensed by the Padre(!) Then followed by a debriefing
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by the Intelligence officer, who took notes about their bombing run and any details of flak and nightfighters they had experienced during the night. After an egg and bacon breakfast, they trekked back to their respective Nissen huts, crawled into bed and attempted to get some sleep if that was at all possible, and await the next call.
After ten days of cross country flights at Pocklington as S/L Harvey's crew and practising with 'Gee' and 'H2S' equipment, we were considered ready for our first operation. This was a mine-laying trip (described as 'Gardening and planting vegetables') to the coastal waters on the east side of Denmark. Mine-laying was regarded as a reasonably safe and easy task and ideally suited to be a first mission – this turned out not to be so!
On 2 October 1943 we took off, carrying in the bomb bay two mines and their parachutes. 117 aircraft took part mining various places from Lorient to Heligoland. We climbed on track across the North Sea to a height of 10000ft. About halfway across the North Sea, S/L Harvey asked Laurie to take over the controls whilst he visited the toilet at rear of the aircraft. Laurie as bomb aimer would have had some training to assist the pilot on take off but not to fly the 'plane. In fact Laurie had never sat in the pilot's seat of a Halifax before.
[underlined] Now Laurie was asked to fly the 'plane on his first operation and, even worse, as we approached the 'enemy coast'! [/underlined] S/L Harvey really must have had an urgent call of nature! If the rest of us had known at the time what a predicament he was putting Laurie in, then I think we would all have needed 'to go', as well! Luckily for everyone S/L Harvey was back in his place before we crossed the Danish coast.
On crossing the coast there was a loud bang which lifted the aircraft alarmingly, afterwards restoring to level flight. At this point both 'Gee' and 'H2S' went out of action, but we continued across Denmark to our dropping zone described as the 'Samso Belt', which we identified visually through broken cloud.
The bomb doors were opened and we made our dropping run at 8000ft. We then attempted to release the mines but they would not drop. Several attempts were made to release them manually but without success. S/L Harvey then decided to return to base with the mines and tried to close the bomb doors. These would not close. It was now evident that the hydraulic system had been damaged as well as the radar equipment, probably caused by a flak ship as we crossed the Danish coast earlier.
We reduced our height to 2000ft to get under the cloud base and some nasty electric storms across the North Sea; also to pick out a landfall as soon as possible, as I had only 'dead reckoning' means by which to navigate!
As we did not need oxygen at this height I decided to visit the Elsan toilet at the rear of the aircraft. Taking a torch I groped my way to the back in the darkness. I was just stepping over the main spar when by torchlight I noticed a gaping hole beneath me; had I completed the step I would have fallen 2000 ft. into the North Sea! I relieved myself through the hole! I returned to the nose section immediately to confirm to S/L Harvey that there was no doubt that we had been hit by flak. I then had a drink of coffee from my thermos flask to restore my shattered nerves.
It was now obvious the damage was more serious than we first thought. Loss of hydraulic power meant that not only were the bomb doors down, but when the flaps and wheels were lowered for landing, the bomb doors, flaps and wheels could not be
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raised again. If we were to overshoot the runway on landing, we would have crashed – with two mines still on board!
These thoughts kept us silent, with all eyes skinned for our landfall 'Flamborough Head' on the Yorkshire coast, and the sight of of [sic] the flashing pundit that would indicate the close proximity of our airfield.
Luckily my dead reckoning navigation brought us back home on course and we landed safely (otherwise these notes would not have been written).
On landing one of the mines fell out onto the runway. At our dispersal point the ground staff were amazed that we had survived as a crew without a scratch.
Both mines, their release mechanism, the bomb doors and the fuselage had been damaged by shrapnel, and the parachutes badly torn. The hydraulics were severed, the 'Gee' and 'H2S' also damaged. Above the flak hole we discovered the fuselage was peppered with shrapnel holes within inches of the mid-upper gunner's turret.
We were told originally that the aircraft would be written off, but I learned since that the aircraft was repaired. It carried out a number of missions, including targets such as Kassel and Berlin, but sadly was shot down by a nightfighter off Denmark in April 1944, again on a minelaying operation. All the crew died when the aircraft crashed into the sea. (This crew had saved their lives three months before, coincidentally on the night we were shot down, having baled out of a Halifax, short of petrol. Such was the fragility of life in Bomber Command at that time).
Reading the [underlined] Squadron's [/underlined] Operational Record after the war, I found S/L Harvey's statement on our minelaying mission to be totally inaccurate. There was no mention of flak damage and having to bring the mines back, though the [underlined] Pocklington Station [/underlined] Operations Record did report it accurately. I believe S/L Harvey wanted to have a successful tour of operations and a possible DFC award later on.
Having had a near miss with shrapnel close to his turret, Alec McCarroll the mid-upper gunner, decided to report sick before the next operation. In fact he never flew again, and sadly he was labelled LMF (Lack of Moral Fibre), reduced from Sergeant to AC2 and posted to Elvington (one or our affiliated airfields) to general duties. Such arbitrary action was taken by Commanding Officers as a deterrent to all aircrew.
At this time losses in aircrew were extremely high, so much so that one crew hardly knew another before one of them went missing (often becoming obvious by a number of empty beds in your Nissen Hut). Every operation to Germany, especially to places such as Berlin, was almost like 'going over the top'. A succession of such raids could bring on exhaustion and a fit of nerves to anyone. The threat of being branded LMF was made to prevent the possibility of some aircrew refusing to fly. In point of fact only about 0.4% of all aircrew in Bomber Command were branded like this during the war. Nevertheless some, who had as many as 20 operations before they came off flying, were cashiered or demoted with ignominy. For these, it was a great injustice, especially as there were many civilians of military age (in reserved occupations) who would never be exposed [to] such risks. And a large proportion of servicemen, in all Services, who fortunately would not have to face the high risk of death on [underlined] every [/underlined] operational mission.
As the minelaying mission was my first operation and because of the experiences I had on that flight, the Squadron Navigation Officer decided to check through my log
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and chart. He found both completely accurate and commended me on the results which he knew were made under testing conditions. Later he informed me that he was recommending me for a Commission. (Actually this was long overdue and should have been made at the time I qualified as a navigator).
Our next operation was on 4 October 1943 to Frankfurt. This was not a success as firstly S/L Harvey decided to weave all the way to Germany (not normally done unless there is some predicted flak or there are nightfighters about, as it doesn't aid good navigation!). Then without explanation he turned back to base, dropping our bombs into the North Sea on the way. (We had flown five hours out of about seven to complete the bombing operation and had been less than a 100 miles from the target.)
S/L Harvey reported in the Squadron Operations Record "Overload petrol pump U/S. Returned early". I had a feeling that S/L Harvey wasn't very happy that night after our minelaying experiences just two days before. It was frustrating for us, having got near the target, as this raid turned out to be the first serious blow on Frankfurt so far in the war.
Later the flight engineer went sick and as far as I can recall he did not fly again.
Our third operation was on 8 October 1943 to Hanover, when 504 aircraft took part. This mission went without mishap. No trouble on route, it was clear over the target, we bombed on red target indicators (Pathfinder markers) from 17200 ft, and fires were see [sic] to start. This raid was reported as the most successful attack on Hanover of the war. We began to think we were at last OK as a crew but this proved not so.
Apart from a cross country flight and an air test we did not fly any more operations in October. In fact we did not fly any more missions again with S/L Harvey(!) although 'officially' he remained the 'A' Flight Commander until the end of November 1943. Shortly after our third operation I was interviewed by Air Commodore 'Gus' Walker for my Commission. During that meeting he informed me that S/L Harvey was being withdrawn from operational flying, indicating that he had had enough. It did not really surprise me though, especially as Bomber Command had entered a phase when life was becoming very fragile indeed. What did surprise me however was to learn (only recently) that at the end of November 1943 when he relinquished command of 'A' Flight, S/L Harvey was recommended for a DFC. The award was described as "long overdue" for his tours in the Middle East in 1941 and his operations over Germany (one in June 1942 and two with us in October 1943, which included the 'returned early' operation). He was awarded the DFC on 28 December 1943.
Now we were a headless crew all over again, awaiting the posting of another pilot. In the meantime destined to fly as spares, replacing crew members in other crews who were sick or otherwise unable to fly. This was a very demoralising position to be in. As a crew you develop a team spirit and a trust in each other; without a crew you are just a floating part. You have little or no faith in the crew you are joining for that night, or for that matter neither are they likely to have any faith in you. Your life is in their hands and their lives are in yours!
I complained on one occasion to the Acting 'A' Flight Commander about flying as a spare. His reply was "You will probably just carry on like it, until one day you don't come back". Later I checked his career and luckily he survived his first tour and got a
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DFC at the end of May 1944. I have often wondered whether [underlined] he [/underlined] survived the rest of the war!
Laurie Underwood, John Bushell and I (the wireless operator seemed to have disappeared), then flew as spares for the next five or so operations, which was one of the most potentially unnerving periods I can remember.
More than a month had elapsed since I flew on the Hanover operation, before my next mission on 11 November '43 minelaying off the Frisian Islands (near the Dutch coast). I flew with F/O Eddy and 45 aircraft took part. We dropped our mines from 6000ft and we lost one aircraft from our Squadron, shot down by a flak ship. The aircraft ditched in the North Sea. All the crew were missing presumed killed. This was the same aircraft that I flew with S/L Harvey when we went to Frankfurt and returned early on 4 October '43!
My fifth operation was on 18 November '43 to Mannheim/Ludwigshafen flying as a spare with P/O Jackson (Australian pilot) when 395 aircraft took part. It was a raid to divert German nightfighters away from the main force of bombers who were bombing Berlin. We bombed from 17000ft on the green target indicators – bombing was well concentrated. The diversion was successful in that the main force only suffered 2% losses, whereas our losses were high at 5.8%. 102 Squadron did not lose any aircraft that night.
I flew again as spare with F/O Jackson on 22 November '43 to the 'Big City' – Berlin – the most heavily defended city in Germany. 764 aircraft took part, dropping 2501 tons of incendiaries and high explosive in about 20 minutes. This was the second out of 16 raids described as the Battle of Berlin. For all raids the target was the centre of Berlin (Hitler's Chancery) and for each raid the City was approached from a different point of the compass. Unless Pathfinders directed otherwise, bombing on each raid would 'creep back' like a wedge from the target point; thus the whole city over the period of 16 raids would be covered by bombing.
This night our bombing run was from the west and we bombed at 18000ft on the centre of the flares (checked by H2S). A glow of fires were seen through 9/10 clouds. This raid was the third heaviest of the war on Berlin and it was also the most successful. Much damage was done to industrial areas and munitions factories, the Ministry of Weapons and Munitions and many political and administrative buildings. The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was also badly damaged, and post war was part restored and became a Berlin tourist attraction. (I suppose it can be compared with Coventry Cathedral, which back in 1940 was ruined by the German Airforce when they devasted the City. And after the War, a new Cathedral was built alongside the ruins of the old.)
The equivalent of nearly three German Army Divisions were drafted in, to tackle the fires and clear the damage which extended from the centre to the western limits of the City. Luckily we experienced no nightfighter attacks or flak damage, and we narrowly missed an accident on return to Pocklington;
Whilst we were still on the outer circuit waiting to land, another Halifax from our Squadron flying on the same outer circuit as ourselves, had met head-on with a Halifax from 77 Squadron. It had been returning to our affiliate airfield at Full Sutton and was also on its outer circuit preparing to land. The two outer circuits unfortunately overlapped and as a result of the mid-air collision both crews were killed outright –
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we had missed that fate by a small margin! John Bushell (rear gunner in our crew also now flying as a spare) had the unenviable task of representing 102 Squadron at the funeral of one of those killed.
I continued my time as spare, flying with F/O Jackson (his navigator must have had a long time off for sickness or, for some other reason, was not flying). This time, 25 November '43, our target was Frankfurt and only 262 aircraft took part. The flight was uneventful, although the gunners had heated discussions about seeing nightfighters, until F/O Jackson, in his casual Australian voice, settled the argument by saying "If they've only got two engines, shoot the bastards down!". We bombed on the red target indicators from 17500ft. Some fires were seen, but it was cloudy over target and the bombing appeared to be scattered. Despite the small force of aircraft, 102 Squadron managed to lose 2 aircraft over Germany, keeping up its record for high losses.
We had hardly got to bed after debriefing from the Frankfurt raid in the early hours of 26 November, when the tannoys blared out for all aircrew to report to their sections to be briefed for another raid that night. We were supplied with caffeine tablets and given 'pink gins' to drink in the hopes that it would keep us 'on our toes' that night. I flew again with F/O Jackson with a small force of 178 aircraft to Stuttgart. This was a diversionary raid to draw off German nightfighters from the main force of bombers whose target was yet again Berlin. We bombed on the red target indicators from 17500ft. Large fires were seen and bombing was scattered but, as planned, a part of the German nightfighter force was drawn off from the main bomber force sucessfully [sic]. We lost one aircraft which crashed near Pocklington and one returned badly damaged by nightfighter (airgunner killed).
We were diverted to Hartford Bridge airfield in the south, so that the main force of Lancasters could use 4 Group airfields, as some of their airfields were fog bound. They were also short of petrol after an exceptionally long flight. Nevertheless 14 Lancasters crashed in England that night. We returned to Pocklington after a weekend in Hartford Bridge, on three engines after one engine failed on take off. This was my last flight with F/O Jackson, who incidently [sic] was previously awarded the DFM. He finished his tour and was awarded the DFC in June 1944 – perhaps I should have stayed with him rather than return to my original crew!
Before Laurie Underwood and John Bushell and I came together again as a crew, I had just one other experience when I was due to fly as a spare. Fortunately the pilot, prior to take off, taxied off the concrete dispersal point into the mud of the outfield and the flight had to be abandoned. Just as well, as I had premonitions about flying that night with this particular crew.
The month of December 1943 proved to be a month of non activity first there was a full moor, then the weather was poor. I was also waiting for a week's leave to get my officer's uniform (my promotion, although it had been approved had not yet been promulgated) and we were awaiting the names to complete our crew.
Eventually, besides Laurie, John and myself, we learned the additional names to the crew. They were:
Pilot – F/O G.A. Griffiths DFM 'Griff' – On his second tour
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Flight Engineer – Sgt J. Bremner ) all had previous ops. as spare crew
Wireless Op. – F/S E.A. Church ) all had previous ops. as spare crew
Mid/Upper Gr. – F/S C.G. Dupuies (French Canadian) ) all had previous ops. as spare crew
It seemed beyond belief that our new Flight Commander did not authorise any cross country 'runs' for us to gain crew experience, or to practise H2S, bombing and gunnery procedures, before we flew on operations together. However it was not to be, and on 29 December '43 we were scheduled on a main force operation to Berlin.
This was the eighth raid on Berlin and the fifth heaviest. 712 aircraft took part, and 2314 tons of incendiaries and high explosives were dropped in 20 minutes. It was an uneventful flight. I remember clearly seeing the outline of the Zuider Zee on the radar screen (H2S always at its best on coastal outlines) as we flew over Northern Holland. Bad weather restricted the German nighfighters [sic] to 66, but these were the more experienced crews with air interception and H2S homing radar and upward firng [sic] cannon. Fortunately, due to two spoof raids by RAF Mosquitos the nightfighters reached Berlin too late to be effective.
We flew into Berlin from the southeast and dropped our bombs from 17500ft on the target indicators but no results were seen owing to 10/10ths cloud. Aircraft losses that night were down to 2.8%, but 102 Squadron yet again managed to beat the average with two aircraft missing! In one of these aircraft Harold Paar, a Chigwell neighbour of mine, was shot down on his first operation. He became a POW in the same camp – Stalag IVB – indeed the same hut, as myself. (I discovered he was a neighbour when my son met Harold's son in the same class at the same grammar school some 20 years later.)
January 1944 began as another month of inactivity, again as a mixture of bad weather. Also a full moon period prevailed, and there was a reluctance to send Halifax 2's out to Berlin because of their increasing vulnerability. However another maximum effort to Berlin was ordered, so our second operation, as full crew again, was scheduled for Berlin on 20 January '44. In addition a second pilot Sgt K F Stanbridge (flying as a 2nd dickey pilot for operational experience) was also included in the crew.
For this operation I was responsible as one of four navigators operating H2S equipment in 4 Group (4 Group comprised of 15 squadrons totalling 250/300 aircraft), to radio at intervals my calculated wind velocities back to 4 Group. These wind velocities from the four navigators were to be averaged and rebroadcast to the whole of 4 Group for their use in maintaining concentration in the bomber stream. In addition I was to do my own blind bombing that night (not bombing on Pathfinder markers), using H2S to identify the homing point for a timed run into Berlin.
This bombing raid on 20 January '44 was to be the ninth raid and the fourth heaviest on Berlin; 769 aircraft took part and 2400 tons of incendiary and high explosive bombs were dropped in 20 minutes. This riad was considered to have been successful although less concentrated than planned. Due to bad weather again over Germany, the German nightfighters were limited to 98 experienced crews equipped with 'schrage musik' upward firing cannon, and radar interception and H2S homing devices. The nightfighters (all twin engined) were also operating a new procedure called 'tame boar', where they were directed by ground control into the bomber stream at intervals and over the target. From this point they could fly freelance and
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use their own equipment to locate bombers, fly beneath them out of sight of the bomber's gunners and fire cannon shells into their petrol laden wings. Additionally on this night, thin cloud covering Berlin with tops about 12000ft was illuminated from below by many searchlights, allowing the nightfighters flying above the bomber stream to locate them, silhouetted against this bright backcloth. Thus, despite the limitation of nightfighters, it was a highly successful night for them, as they claimed 33 victories (nine of them over Berlin) out of the 35 bombers lost.
We took off at 1630hrs GMT on 20 January 1944 in a Halifax nicknamed 'Old Flo' by the ground crew and were soon flying above 10/10ths cloud. Using Gee radar initially and then H2S to 'map read', we flew uninterrupted over a northerly route into Germany, turning southeast about 60 miles from Berlin. Berlin was a large city and there were too many stray reflections on the H2S screen to identify the target position. I was instructed personally at the navigators' briefing in Pocklington to identify a turning point, by taking a precise bearing and distance on my H2S screen, of a small town about 10 miles north of Berlin. This was the commencement of a timed bombing run to the target – Hitler's Chancery. We flew in straight and level at 18000ft, maintaining a pre-calculated track and groundspeed, and at the time set by stop watch we dropped our bombs (2000hrs GMT).
This bombing procedure made us a sitting target for the nightfighter expertise available that night, for we had hardly closed our bomb doors when we were hit by a nightfighter. He had trailed behind and below our aircraft, waiting for our bombs to be released, then fired cannon shells upwards into our starboard wing. With more than 1000 gallons of petrol still aboard it was only seconds before the whole wing was aflame.
I heard 'Griff' our pilot call out; "graveners, Engineer!". (These were switches to activate the engine fire extinguishers.) This was to no avail, and the blaze was so fierce 'Griff' realised the aircraft was stricken and immediately called out; "parachute, parachute, bale out!". I already had my parachute on, and my seat and navigator's table folded back clear of the escape hatch (a discipline I always carried out over a target). I lifted the escape hatch door and dropped it diagonally through the escape hatch, but it caught the slipstream and jammed half in and half out of the aircraft. With the combined efforts of myself, the wireless operator and Laurie, we managed to kick the hatch door clear. I sat on the edge of the escape hatch and dropped through immediately, followed closely by Laurie. The wireless operator had no time to follow us and was killed. I believe after Laurie dropped out, the blazing aircraft went out of control and into a spiral dive.
After baling out at 17000ft, I spun over a few times, then pulled the rip cord. The canopy opened and my harness tightened with a jerk around my crutch, which brought me to my senses in double quick time! Below me and to my left I could see another parachute; it might have been Laurie but I couldn't be sure (I didn't see him again until his wedding after the war!). I was over a layer of light cloud and could see the glow of fires beneath it, and coming up was plenty of heavy flak and tracer shells hosepiping around the sky – I prayed it wouldn't come too near!
I floated down for 10/15 minutes; somehow I didn't feel too cold although it would have been minus 34 centigrade when I jumped out! With a 60 mph northerly wind prevailing I soon drifted away from being near to the centre of the City. The deafening noise from the aircraft's engines, present during flight, had gone and now the sound
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of bursting flak had died away. Instead there was an uncanny silence and the blackness of the night, as I decended [sic]through cloud which covered the area. Nearing the ground I thought I was going to land in marshes and my hand was on the lever to inflate my 'Mae West' (lifejacket), but it turned out to be the tops of trees of a small wood in a southern suburb of Berlin. I crashed through these, falling the last 15 feet and finishing up with a grazed face and a sprained ankle. I think it was remarkable that this was the only injury I sustained throughout this ordeal.
In less than 20 minutes my life had gone through a dramatic change. I had survived death by a hair's breadth. I was elated at being alive, but what of my crew, were they alive or dead? What traumas will my family suffer when they are informed by telegram that I am missing tomorrow morning? A few hours before I was eating my eggs and bacon (only available before operational flights) in the mess at Pocklington, my aircrew colleagues were around me, the friendly town of York was only 12 miles away and home leave to get my officer's kit was imminent.
I was now in hostile Germany, probably in the south-east suburbs of Berlin. What would happen if I were caught by civilians, having just bombed their City? There was nobody here who would care if I lived or died. Germany was now in the depth of winter. I was in enemy territory 600 miles from home, with only some french francs, a handkerchief with a map of France printed on it, and a magnetic trouser button (with a white spot on it which, when cut off my flies and balanced on a pencil point, would point north!). And a tin of Horlicks tablets. Only these to sustain me, whilst I evaded capture and got back to England!
I was a still in my F/Sgt's uniform although Commissioned on 1 December 1943 and I was five days off my 21st. birthday.
About eight hours, later having disturbed a dog whilst trying to hide up in a barn, I was captured by the civilian police. From here to the end of the war will have to be another story.
Laurie 'blacked out' I believe during part of his parachute drop, but landed uninjured and was captured by the Military early the next day.
Out of our crew of eight, only four survived. The other two survivors, 'Griff' (pilot) and John Bushell (rear gunner), had most remarkable escapes from death!
After Laurie and I baled out and the aircraft had gone into a spiral dive, 'Griff' was thrown forward towards the controls. He was held in his seat by the 'G' of the spiral dive. He saw the altimeter unwind past 7000ft and wondered when his end would come, before going unconscious. I believe the petrol tanks of the blazing aircraft exploded and 'Griff' was blown out, regaining consciousness just in time to pull his ripcord a few hundred feet from the ground. His parachute was still on the swing when he thumped down amongst the debris of the aircraft on waste ground in Berlin! He was uninjured but in shock. He wrapped himself in his parachute and went to sleep under a bush nearby, where he was discovered the next morning by a party of civilians led by a soldier.
John was thrown over his guns when the aircraft went into the spiral dive and he lost consciousness. He also 'came to' in the air in similar circumstances to 'Griff' and opened his parachute near the ground, but landed close to a searchlight battery and was captured immediately. John had a bad cut over his right eye and bruised face but otherwise was OK.
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The four crew who were killed, strangely, were all those fairly new to us. The wireless operator and co-pilot were buried in the British War Cemetery in Berlin. When he was captured 'Griff' our pilot was asked by the German Military "Tell us the name of your wireless operator so that we can bury him with a name". The flight engineer and mid upper gunner were not found nor identified, and having no known graves are remembered only on the War Memorial at Runneymede.
It was very sad that the mid upper gunner, F/S C G Dupuies, had avoided flying to Berlin on his 13th operation by flying on a comparatively 'safe' mission instead; only to be killed on this raid to Berlin, his 14th operation. The lucky rabbit's foot he always carried with him was to no avail. I also regret that I had said to the wireless operator, F/S E.A. Church, before this operation, he shouldn't take milk from the Sergeant's Mess for his own use. I had not known that it was for his young wife living near Pocklington who had just had a baby.
After the war we survivors came to realise that 20 January 1944 was a night to remember. We learned through a German archivist that we had been shot down by an ace nightfighter pilot, Hptm L Fellerer, in a twin engined Messerschmitt Bf 110 G 4 nightfighter. He had 41 victories to his credit, had been awarded the Knights Cross and had shot down five aircraft including ourselves on the night of 20 January 1944! He became Gruppenkommandeur of the Nightfighter Group 11/NJG5 at Parchim near Berlin. After the war he became a high ranking officer in the Austrian Airforce but was killed in a Cessna flying accident in the 1970's.
The archivist also gave us a map of Berlin showing where our aircraft crashed, which was about seven miles southeast of Hitler's Chancery at Oberspree. This confirms that we were on target that night, as the crash point was on our track less than two minutes flying time from the release of our bombs.
20 January 1944 was also a significant date for 102 Squadron, as the following extract from the Squadron Operation Record summary on that date shows (microfilm held at the Public Records Office Kew):
"Weather foggy clearing later, Vis: mod to good. Wind s'ly 20 - 25 mph.
[underlined] 16 Aircraft detailed to attack Berlin on what proved to be probably the most disastrous operation embarked by the Squadron [/underlined] which suffered the loss of 5 crews missing (F/O Griffiths DFM, PO Dean, F/S Render, W/O Wilding, & F/S Compton)
Moreover two aircraft were lost in this country, F/O Hall short of petrol had to abandon his aircraft near Driffield, the whole crew baling out successfully. F/S Proctor crash landed near Norwich, the Airbomber F/O Turnbull unfortunately dying from his injuries. The rest of the crew suffered minor injuries as a result. [underlined] Thus no less than 7 of the 16 aircraft which took off were lost including 5 crews – fortunately, an exceptional night of misfortune & unlikely to be repeated. There was also one early return, [/underlined] F/O W.B. Dean, 'W'."
So this was the end of our time in Bomber Command. After re-forming as a crew again, we had done only two more operations making for me only 10 in all.
2 October 1943 – Minelaying (Denmark)
4 October 1943 – Frankfurt
8 October 1943 – Hanover
11 November 1943 – Minelaying (Frisian Islands)
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18 November 1943 – Ludwigshaven
22 November 1943 – Berlin
25 November 1943 – Frankfurt
26 November 1943 – Stuttgart
29 December 1943 – Berlin
20 January 1944 – Berlin
Nevertheless we will go down in the annals of 102 Squadron as being shot down on the night when the Squadron suffered the loss of 7 out of 15 operational aircraft, a 47% loss, [underlined] which was a loss greater than in any other operation in the Squadron's history in both world wars. [/underlined]
102 Squadron was not a lucky squadron; after the disastrous night of 20 January 1944, another 4 aircraft were lost on the following night's raid to Magdeburg.
Shortly after this, as the losses continued, the Squadron was ordered not to operate over Germany. Subsequently the Halifax 2's were withdrawn to be replaced by the Halifax 3's, which were equal to the Lancasters of that time in their operational efficiency.
(Unfortunately for our crew the new aircraft arrived too late for us, otherwise we might have had a better chance of survival and been able to complete at least one tour – 30 operations – and perhaps been able to enjoy freedom for the rest of the war).
[underlined] In World War 2, 102 Squadron suffered the highest losses in 4 Group Bomber Command (15 Squadrons), and the 3rd highest losses in the whole of Bomber Command (93 Squadrons). [/underlined]
January 2000
Dublin Core
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Title
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Bomber Command and Notes of Some of My Experiences During 1941-1945
Description
An account of the resource
Reg summarises Bomber Command's role in the war then details his personal experiences from training days. He covers in detail the navigational techniques he used. He describes the operation he was on when he was shot down.
Creator
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Reg Wilson
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2000-01
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany--Berlin
Great Britain
England--London
France--Dunkerque
Germany--Magdeburg
England--Runnymede
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Mühlberg (Bad Liebenwerda)
Germany--Eichstätt
England--Torquay
England--Cambridge
England--Manchester
Scotland--Gourock
Canada
Nova Scotia--Halifax
United States
Georgia--Albany
Florida--Lakeland
Florida--West Palm Beach
Ontario--Trenton
Lake Ontario
Ontario--Toronto
Manitoba--Brandon
Manitoba--Winnipeg
New Brunswick--Moncton
England--Harrogate
England--Bournemouth
England--Whitley Bay
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Douglas (Isle of Man)
Scotland--Elgin
Scotland--Findhorn
Scotland--Forres
Germany--Ramsen
England--York
France--Lorient
Germany--Helgoland
England--Flamborough Head
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Stuttgart
Netherlands--IJssel Lake
England--Chigwell
England--Kew
England--Norwich
Europe--Frisian Islands
Florida
France
Georgia
Ontario
New Brunswick
Germany
Nova Scotia
Netherlands
North America--Niagara Falls
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Devon
England--Essex
England--Hampshire
England--Norfolk
England--Northumberland
England--Surrey
England--Yorkshire
England--Lancashire
England--Surrey
Manitoba
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
United States Army Air Force
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Format
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22 printed sheets
Identifier
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BWilsonRCWilsonRCv1
Temporal Coverage
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1941
1942
1943
1944
1943-10-02
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-11-11
1943-11-12
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-25
1943-11-26
1943-11-27
1943-12-29
1943-12-30
1944-01-20
1944-01-21
Rights
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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.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
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Sue Smith
102 Squadron
4 Group
617 Squadron
77 Squadron
air gunner
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
anti-aircraft fire
bale out
Bismarck
bomb aimer
bomb trolley
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
entertainment
Flying Training School
Gee
H2S
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Initial Training Wing
killed in action
lack of moral fibre
Lancaster
Me 110
memorial
mid-air collision
military living conditions
military service conditions
mine laying
missing in action
navigator
Nissen hut
Oboe
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
perception of bombing war
pilot
prisoner of war
RAF Driffield
RAF Elvington
RAF Full Sutton
RAF Hartford Bridge
RAF Jurby
RAF Kinloss
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Melbourne
RAF Pocklington
RAF Rufforth
RAF Syerston
RAF Torquay
service vehicle
Stalin, Joseph (1878-1953)
Stearman
target indicator
Tiger Moth
training
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
Whitley
Window
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1549/35521/LHansonJE46968v1.1.pdf
4b0fc8fbb3e8b03820e6719b128cd957
Dublin Core
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Title
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Hanson, Joseph Edward
J E Hanson
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2016-10-18
Rights
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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
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Hanson, JE
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Flying Officer Joseph Edward Hanson DFM (<span>46968 </span>Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, remembrance and photograph. He flew operations as an air gunner with 50, 44 and 61 Squadrons. He was killed 1 October 1942. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Colin Thompson and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br /><span data-contrast="none" xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB" class="TextRun SCXW134679673 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW134679673 BCX0">Additional information on<span> Joseph Edwar Hanson Joseph Edward Hanson</span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW134679673 BCX0"><span> </span>is available via the</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW134679673 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":200,"335559740":276}"> <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/109837/">IBCC Losses Database.</a></span>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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JE Hanson flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for J E Hanson, wireless operator/air gunner, covering the period from 3 January 1939 to 1 October 1942. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Finnningley, RAF Upper Heyford, RAF Lindholme, RAF Warmwell, RAF Coningsby, RAF Scampton, RAF Waddington, RAF Boscombe Down, RAF Nutts Corner and RAF Syerston. Aircraft flown in were Tiger Moth, Wellesley, Anson, Whitley, Hampden Hereford, Blenheim, Battle, Lysander, Lancaster, Manchester, Hind, Botha and Wellington. He trained with 76 Squadron which became 16 Operational Training Unit. He flew a total of 46 operations. 29 with 50 Squadron, 3 with 44 Squadron and 14 with 61 Squadron. The aircraft crashed on take off on their 47 operation, with the loss of all crew when the dinghy deployed fouling the tail plane. Targets were Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Lorient, Bremen, Brest, Cuxhaven, St Nazaire, Wilhelmshaven, Dunkirk, Hannover, Kiel, La Rochelle, Copenhagen, Bordeaux, Essen, Saarbrucken, Atlantic Ocean, Kassel, Konigsberg, Wismar and mine laying. The log book also contains photographs of him and aircraft. His pilots on operations were Pilot Officer Paramore, Pilot Officer Woodward, Squadron Leader Weston DFC and Squadron Leader Burnett.
Creator
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Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
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Atlantic Ocean
Denmark
France
Germany
Great Britain
Russia (Federation)
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Denmark--Copenhagen
England--Dorset
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Brest
France--Dunkerque
France--La Rochelle
France--Lorient
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Cuxhaven
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Wilhelmshaven
Germany--Wismar
Northern Ireland--Antrim (County)
Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)
Great Britain
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
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One booklet
Identifier
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LHansonJE46968v1
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-10-29
1940-10-30
1940-11-15
1940-11-16
1940-11-25
1940-11-26
1940-11-28
1940-11-29
1940-12-08
1940-12-09
1940-12-16
1940-12-17
1940-12-21
1940-12-22
1940-12-28
1940-12-29
1941-01-01
1941-01-02
1941-01-04
1941-01-05
1941-01-08
1941-01-09
1941-01-14
1941-01-15
1941-01-30
1941-01-31
1941-02-05
1941-02-06
1941-02-07
1941-02-08
1941-02-10
1941-02-11
1941-02-12
1941-02-21
1941-02-22
1941-02-24
1941-02-25
1941-02-26
1941-02-27
1941-03-18
1941-03-19
1941-03-20
1941-03-21
1941-03-29
1941-03-30
1941-04-08
1941-04-09
1941-04-13
1941-04-14
1941-04-17
1941-04-18
1941-04-24
1941-04-25
1941-04-28
1941-04-29
1942-05-02
1942-05-03
1942-05-31
1942-06-01
1942-06-02
1942-07-26
1942-07-27
1942-07-29
1942-07-30
1942-08-09
1942-08-13
1942-08-17
1942-08-19
1942-08-28
1942-08-29
1942-09-01
1942-09-02
1942-09-10
1942-09-11
1942-09-14
1942-09-15
1942-09-16
1942-09-17
1942-09-24
1942-09-25
1942-10-01
Conforms To
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Pending review
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1939
1940
1941
1942
16 OTU
44 Squadron
50 Squadron
61 Squadron
76 Squadron
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
Battle
Blenheim
bombing
bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942)
Botha
crash
Distinguished Flying Medal
Hampden
killed in action
Lancaster
Lysander
Manchester
Me 109
mine laying
Operational Training Unit
RAF Boscombe Down
RAF Coningsby
RAF Finningley
RAF Lindholme
RAF Nutts Corner
RAF Scampton
RAF Syerston
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Waddington
RAF Warmwell
take-off crash
Tiger Moth
training
Wellington
Whitley
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1509/34606/BTunaleyJNettletonJDv1.1.pdf
54e050f05dcfba0e9e1dead4ea7651e5
Dublin Core
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Title
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Nettleton, John Dering
J D Nettleton
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-05-13
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Nettleton, JD
Description
An account of the resource
Seven items. The collection concerns John Nettleton VC (1917 - 1943. Royal Air Force) and contains photographs and a biography including descriptions of the Augsburg operation. He flew operations as a pilot with 44 Squadron. <br /><br />Additional information on John Nettleton is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/117147/">IBCC Losses Database.</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by J Tunaley and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
John Dering Nettleton, VC (28 June 1917-13 July 1943)
Date of Birth: 28 June, 1917
Place of birth: Nongoma, Natal Province, South Africa
Early Life:
John Nettleton was the grandson of Admiral A T D Nettleton, Paymaster-in-Chief of the Royal Navy. He was educated at Stanbury's private school in Cape Town, and wishing to follow the family tradition, attempted to gain entrance to RN College Dartmouth. However, he failed to pass the entrance exam. Consequently, in 1930 he joined the famous South African training ship "General Botha" as a cadet at age 13 yrs, from where he graduated three years later, becoming Third Officer on MS Mattawin, one of the ships of the Elder-Dempster Line. After serving for 18 months, he returned to Cape Town and took up a civil engineering apprenticeship. He worked in various parts of South Africa, all the while remaining a member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR).
RAF Career:
During a visit with his mother to England, seeking a more fulfilling career, he decided to join the RAF, which he did on 6 October 1938 (aged 21). After elementary pilot training he was accepted as a short service commissioned officer, beginning his flying career in Reading. He was commissioned in December 1938 and graduated as a pilot on 22 July 1939.
His first posting was to 207 Squadron at Cottesmore to fly the Fairey Battle. He then transferred to Handley Page Hampdens on 185 Squadron, also at Cottesmore. He was promoted to Flying Officer in July 1940 and to Flight Lieutenant in February 1941. Four months later, on 26 June 1941, Nettleton joined 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, at RAF Waddington, again flying Hampdens – his first operational posting, which involved him flying several sorties over Europe. Just a month later he was promoted to Squadron Leader and was Mentioned in Despatches in December 1941.
On Christmas Eve, 1941, the first Lancaster Bombers to reach an operational unit arrived at Waddington and John Nettleton led the first raid on 3 March 1942 – a mining drop in the Heligoland Bight. The Augsburg Raid, for which he was awarded his Victoria Cross, took place on 17 April 1942 (see details below)
John met his wife, Betty Isabel Hevelock, during a visit to London five weeks after the Augsburg Raid (May 1942). Betty was originally from Paignton in Devon and was a WAAF. Just one week later, on 1 June, 1942, they were engaged. Shortly afterwards, he was sent on a goodwill tour to America, with 14 other war heroes. This took in visits to 21 American cities and included a ticker-tape parade along Broadway in New York, as well as a dinner in Hollywood with 15 film actresses. He returned to the UK and almost immediately married Betty in Lincoln on 17 July.
On 1 November, Nettleton attended the investiture at Buckingham Palace and received his Victoria Cross from HM The King. He refused to be grounded or become an instructor, so was promoted to Wing Commander and, in early 1943, returned to operations as the
[page break]
Commanding Officer of 44 Squadron, who were by now based at Dunholme Lodge, just five miles north of Lincoln.
In the weeks to follow, he led the Squadron on two major raids, one on Berlin and the other on the U-boat pens at Lorient.
John Nettleton was killed on the night of 12/13 July 1943 (aged just 26), during a heavy raid on Turin in Italy. The Sicilian invasion had begun two days earlier and it was imperative that German reinforcments [sic] were prevented from being brought through to Turin and Milan. His Lancaster KM-Z ED331 took off from Dunholme Lodge in Lincolnshire and, having successfully attacked Turin, was believed to have been shot down by a night-fighter off the Brest peninsular on his way home. His body and those of his crew were never recovered. All are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
John Nettleton's death was officially announced on 23 February, 1944, just four days after the birth of his son, also named John, was announced. [John Dering Nettleton junior is still alive and himself has a son, (James I think but not absolutely certain)].
Memorial
RAF Dunholme Lodge ceased to be an operational station at the end of World War 2. Part of the airfield and buildings were purchased by The Reverend William Farr to establish a secondary school, and this was opened in 1952.
On 4 November 2010, a memorial to John Nettleton VC was dedicated in the William Farr School. The Headmaster, Paul Strong (himself the great grandson of a VC winner), even managed to arrange for a Lancaster from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight to pass over the school to mark the occasin. [sic] Subsequently, the Victoria Cross Society added its own contribution to the school's memorial room, presenting a framed Victoria Cross display, dedicated to John Nettleton VC.
In addition, John Nettleton and his crew of seven on the Turin raid are commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede. (The memorial's panels contain the names of more than 20,000 air force personnel who died during the Second World War and have no known grave. They served in Bomber, Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came from all parts of the Commonwealth. Slome [sic] were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force.)
There is also a painting of the Augsburg Raid, commissioned by the Sergeant' Mess at RAF Waddington, where it now hangs, and executed by Gordon Sage. The artist consulted with Bert Dowty, a front gunner on the raid (part of WO Crum's crew in T-Tommy) and Pat Dorehill (Nettleton's crew), on the details he portrays.
Award of the Victoria Cross
John Nettleton was awarded his Victoria Cross for his leading role in the Augsburg Raid on the MAN factory near Munich. His VC was gazetted on 24 April 1942, less than a week after his return from the raid, as follows:
[page break]
"Squadron Leader Nettleton was the leader of one of two formations of six Lancaster heavy bombers detailed to deliver a low-level attack in daylight on the Diesel engine factory at Augsburg, in Southern Germany, on the 17 April 1942. The enterprise was daring, the target of high military importance. To reach it and get back, some 1000 miles had to be flown over hostile territory. Soon after crossing into enemy territory his formation was attacked by 25 to 30 fighters. A running fight ensued. His rear guns went out of action. One by one the aircraft of his formation were shot down until in the end only his own and one other remained. The fighters were shaken off but the target was still far distant. There was formidable resistance to be faced. With great spirit and almost defenceless, he held his two remaining aircraft on their perilous course, and after a long and arduous flight, mostly at only 50 ft. above the ground, he brought them to Augsburg. Here anti-aircraft fire of great intensity and accuracy was encountered. The two aircraft came low over the roof tops. Though fired at from point blank range, they stayed the course to drop their bombs true on the target. The second aircraft, hit by flak burst into flames and crash-landed. The leading aircraft, though riddled with holes, flew safely back to base, the only one of the six to return. Squadron-Leader Nettleton, who has successfully undertaken many other hazardous operations, displayed unflinching determination as well as leadership and valour of the highest order."
Nettleton's Mother, upon hearing of her son's endeavours and his award of the VC, apparently expressed a mother's anxiety when she related that although thrilled, she hoped her son would not be sent on "too many of these dangerous exploits after this", and although proud, was also "thankful" for his safe return.
The Augsburg Raid – 17 April 1942
In April, a daylight bombing mission was planned by RAF Bomber Command against the MAN diesel engine factory at Augsburg (near Munich) in Bavaria. With the increasing Allied losses being suffered in the Battle of the Atlantic, this factory, which was responsible for the production of half of Germany's U-boat engines, was rated as one of the most important targets in Germany. The mission was to be the longest low level penetration so far made during World War II, and it was the first daylight mission flown by the new Avro Lancaster.
Unfortunately, radar aids which facilitate precision bombing at night were not yet available and past performance precluded any likelihood of such an operation being successful without them. For this reason the raid was to take place in daylight. In addition, long-range escort fighters did not exist at that time, therefore, the force had to carry out the raid unsupported.
The operation, involving a round trip of some 1250 miles, mostly over enemy territory, was among the most audacious undertaken to date by Bomber Command. From the point of view of precision, in both bombing and navigation, it was certainly one of the most ambitious. For a week prior to the attack, the selected crews were withdrawn from operations to practise formation flying at low level, including flights over the hills in Scotland. The greatest secrecy was maintained and the crews themselves were not told of the target until briefed just hours before take off on the day of the raid. The whole operation was planned very carefully and, since the crews had to be able to identify a single shed in the middle of the complex factory, they studied photographs and pencil sketches.
[page break]
Twelve Lancasters, in two sections of six, from each of Nos 44 and 97 Squadrons were to fly the outbound leg at the lowest possible level. The attack was also to be made at low level, using 1000 lb general purpose high explosive bombs, fused with a delayed action of eleven seconds.
The return flight, most of which would be at night, was to be made individually at a more customary altitude. The low level approach was intended to delay the appearance of the aircraft on enemy radar screens and, in the event of interception, to make the task of the German fighters more difficult. It was also considered the best defence against Flak. A large scale diversion, in the form of raids in the Pas de Calais area by 30 Bostons with fighter escorts, was also arranged.
The mission was scheduled for 17 April 1942, to be led by Squadron Leader Nettleton, flying Lancaster Mk 1, R5508, coded "KM-B". Briefing took place at [12 noon] and at [15.00]
Nettleton took off from Waddington with the first vic, followed by Flt Lt R Sandford leading the second.
The second section of six No 97 Sqn aircraft took off from Woodhall Spa. Sqn Ldr J S Sherwood led the first vic and Flt Lt D J Penman the second. At the French coast Nettleton took his section down to 20 feet. Maintaining between 20 and 30 feet, the formation kept as tight as possible as they flew wing tip to wing tip over hills and skimmed down valleys, anticipating by twenty years the tactics adopted as standard in the sixties by subsequent generations of bomber crews.
Frequently the Lancasters had to ease up to clear trees that appeared ahead. Then their flight path clipped the German fighter base at Beaumont le Roger, where Me109s and FW190s were recovering after operations against the very diversionary forces intended to draw enemy aircraft away from the Lancaster force. These fighters belonged to the II Gruppe/Jagdgeschwader 2 (Richthofen). Spotting the unescorted Lancasters, they turned towards their prey, a fighter pilot's dream!
Attacking first the rear vic, L7575 skippered by WO Beckett was subjected to a hail of fire from Hauptman Heine Greisert. Within seconds it was transformed into a mass of roaring flames and then dived into a clump of trees. Feldwebel Bosseckert tackled Flt Lt Nick Sandford, setting fire to all four engines before his R5506 hit the ground and exploded in a fireball. Then the pack turned on WO Crum, and L7548 was subjected to numerous attacks from a number of directions in the course of which the interior became a nightmare of ricocheting bullets. Both rear and mid upper gunners called out that they had been hit, and a fire started in the port wing. To climb would have been fatal and Crum ordered the bomb load to be jettisoned safe while he prepared to force land on any open ground that presented itself. Such a manoeuvre had been foreseen and discussed during the preparation for the raid. Now Crum and his crew were to benefit from his thorough preparation, for they all survived the subsequent arrival. Their assailant had been Unteroffizier Pohl, flying Me109 "Black 7", and his victory was recorded in the Jagdgeschwader's "Game" book as their 1,000th "Luftsieg" of the war.
[page break]
Having disposed of the rear vic, the German fighters turned on Nettleton's formation. Major Oesau and his wing man, Oberfeldwebel Edelmann, commenced firing and closed to within 10 metres of WO Rhodes. Both port engines erupted into flames followed quickly by the starboard motors. L7536 reared up abruptly, stalled and plunged vertically straight down, missing its compatriots by inches. They, too, had suffered. The engagement had lasted barely 15 minutes yet fortunately, at this point, the fighters broke away, presumably to refuel and re-arm.
Nettleton flew on, together with the remaining survivor, Flt Lt Garwell. Fortunately, they met no further opposition until they reached Augsburg. To men more accustomed to flying at great heights in darkness, this flight seemed full of incident. Horses and cattle in fields scattered in front of them and two Germans out riding had their horses bolt as the Lancasters roared overhead!
At Lake Constance, Nettleton circled before running in for a timed attack. Augsburg was hidden behind a hill at this stage and did not come into view until he was clear of the crest. From there it was straight ahead.
The two bombers crossed the Munich-Augsburg railway at Mering and had originally intended to fly directly to the target. However, since the presence of many tall factory chimneys would have forced them to climb, they chose instead to follow the river Lech and then turned in to attack the target from the east.
The factory showed up as predicted in the pre-flight brief, where a canal forks from a river. Light flak came up and, because they were so low, the German gunners frequently shot into their own buildings. There were a large number of quick-firing guns and the bursting shells made holes in both the Lancasters. Their target – the engine shed – appeared on the nose and Nettleton rose slightly as he released his four 1000lb bombs. He then commenced evasive action.
Garwell then attacked, but was almost immediately hit and burst into flames. Nettleton saw him turn and carry out a forced landing about two miles from Augsburg. The rear gunner, Sgt Huntley, saw their bombs explode, throwing whole sections of building into the air. As Nettleton turned for home, light was just beginning to fail. He remained at low level and waited until it was quite dark before climbing.
Sherwood's formation arrived just as the previous two aircraft attacked. They, too, flew in against a heavy and well-concentrated fire. One rear gunner retaliated successfully and shot a German counterpart off the roof of a building. Three miles from the target, WO Mycock's aircraft was hit in the front turret. The hydraulic oil caught fire and the aircraft fell in a mass of flames.
Sherwood then bombed but was also hit and set on fire. He was last seen 10 miles from Augsburg, burning on the ground. Flt Lt Deverill was also hit and a fire started in the fuselage. Fortunately, this was extinguished just as the aircraft came to the release point and he was able to bring his aircraft home.
Nettleton finally landed near Blackpool and returned to RAF Waddington with his crew by train.
[page break]
Of the total force of 12 aircraft, eight had bombed the target but only five returned home. All of these had been severely damaged. However, their target, the main diesel shop, was severely damaged by direct hits and a subsequent fire. It was believed that the production of diesel engines was severely delayed.
HM The King, approved the following awards for gallantry to members of the Nettleton crew and, in addition, Flt Lt Nick Sandford, who was reported missing during the Augsburg raid, was also awarded the DFC.
Sqn Ldr J D Nettleton – Victoria Cross
Ft Lt L S McCure – Distinguished Flying Cross
Plt Off D O Sands – Distinguished Flying Cross
Pt Off P Dorehill – Distinguished Flying Cross
Sgt C F Churchill – Distinguished Flying Medal
Sgt D N Huntley – Distinguished Flying Medal
Flt Sgt P H Harrison – Distinguished Flying Medal
Ft Sgt L Mutter – Distinguished Flying Medal
Other than Nettleton himself, three other members of his crew, (McClure, Huntley and Mutter) were later lost on operations with 44 Squadron. Of the remaining four, Charlie Churchill later became a POW, Pat (Patrick) Dorehill finished the current and a subsequent tour with the Squadron while Frank Harrison also survived a further tour, in this instance with No 97 Squadron.
[page break]
First hand accounts by surviving crew members:
Sgt C Churchill (Wireless Operator, Sqn Ldr Nettleton's crew): Nettleton opened by saying that, unlike a normal briefing, at the end of this one there wouldn't be the ritual "Any questions?" We were to listen attentively and then keep quiet. We, who represented the most experienced crews on the Squadron, were temporarily withdrawn from operations. We were to undertake special training in the course of which we would develop techniques for flying in daylight in close formation, not only at high speed but also at very low level! It sounded very exciting and, as he warned us, very dangerous. We were told to say absolutely nothing about the flying we were doing. "Think what you will", said Nettleton, "but keep your mouth shut".
Of course, this opened the gates to speculation, hasty types saw us as the beginning of a new formation like the later Pathfinders. More speculative observers considered we were to reduce enemy defences prior to the invasion of France. The 'couldn't care less' types only saw it as a reprieve from Ops so they could whoop it up more regularly in Lincoln.
We started with the loose formation over the sea, which gradually got tighter and lower. Finally, we were flying with our wing tips overlapping just over the sea. Then we moved to flights over land, to sorties over Scotland. It was exhilarating, flying down the valleys, scattering sheep in the process. Now and again we flew alongside trains and, much to the amazement of the passengers, even below them where the tracks ran along an embankment.
On 17 April it was on. In the manner of all aircrew, as soon as we entered the briefing room we scanned the wall map to determine the "Target for Tonight". This one was different and that's the understatement of the year. That morning will live in my memory when all else has faded. The course drawn on the map went across one wall and well into that on the adjoining one. I thought I was dreaming. This I cannot believe, I thought, it takes us to Bavaria!
Also present were some very high ranking officers which, with everything else, made the briefing a very solemn affair. One of them opened proceedings observing that this was the biggest attempt to date made by the Lanc. (How right you are, I thought.) Do not be overawed by the distance to your objective, the position is this. The allies are being brought to their knees by efficient German submarine packs which operate in the Atlantic. Our convoys are being massacred and we are losing this battle. The situation is now critical. We in the RAF have been tasked with striking a major blow in an attempt to break, if only for a short time, a very efficient and formidable foe. He went on to explain at length that, if we could successfully bomb and neutralise our target, the M.A.N. Diesel Factory at Augsburg, the supply of diesels to more than half the submarine fleet would be interrupted, thus dealing a heavy blow to the enemy's war effort. The Lancaster was the only aircraft in Bomber Command that could strike a target some 1,000 miles inside enemy territory in daylight and stand a fighting chance of survival.
[page break]
This made us feel a little easier. Nevertheless, I could not see us getting away with it. Bomb the target, yes, I thought but to get back afterwards, ha! This I cannot visualise.
We were to f1y [sic] in two vics of three and were also to be followed by six more kites from 97 Sqn based at Woodhall Spa.
Seven very serious crews returned to their quarters to make preparations. I wrote some letters and had a meal, then I tried to take a nap, but was far too tense to think of anything other than the impending operation.
At 1500 hrs. six Lancasters with their 1,000lb bombs and laden to capacity with fuel, left Waddington. As we coasted out we went right down to sea level to avoid detection by the enemy radar. I can recall our slipstream ruffling the water as we flashed along. Overland, crossing the patchwork of fields, people waved sheets and suchlike and we all had a good laugh at the sight of a group of Germans on horseback scattering in all directions.
As we passed over some wooded country, some flak opened up and I could see lines of tracer peppering two of our kites. In the process, we presumed that they put paid to Beckett's rear turret for it was to remain silent throughout the action that we were shortly to encounter. Overall, we were lucky to escape from such an engagement so lightly. We were at the peak of our alertness and, reminiscent of our training in Scotland, we flew alongside a train passing along an embankment. We could see straight through the windows. There were no passengers to be seen, presumably they were all lying on the floor, even the engine seemed to be driving itself. Our gunners, Frank Harrison mid upper, Buzzer Huntley front and Len Mutter in the rear, all asked to rake the train, but Nettleton would not hear of this and told them to hold their fire until we were either intercepted or at the target. How wise he was!
We thundered over France but, unknown to us, overhead were two fighter squadrons returning to their base near Evereux. Beckett spotted some 30 or so and called over the RT, "109s 11 o'clock high". Nettleton tersely told the formation to close up and use concentrated gunfire. At this height there was no question of evading. The Messerschmitts subjected us to severe fire and came so close during their break away that I could clearly see the pilots' faces behind their oxygen masks. One aircraft sported a distinctive yellow spinner. When I reported this during my post flight debrief, I was subsequently told that this sighting had identified the location of a unit that had been withdrawn from the Middle East.
In the running battle that followed, we were sitting ducks for such a force of fighters. WO Beckett was the first casualty; almost at once he was ablaze and disintegrating. There was no chance of any survivors as he hit the deck. WO Crum was next. Later, I found out that, amazingly, he had managed to pancake successfully and all his crew survived.
Nick Sandford, leader of the rear vic, was now alone and no match for the three 109s that harried him. He flew low with his damaged Lanc but to no avail. I believe that a wing
[page break]
touched the ground and that was it. I saw the undercarriage wheels bouncing through the flames, again surely no survivors.
Then the aircraft on our starboard side took a fatal hit. It reared up poised [sic] for a second and then turned on her back and dived to the ground. No hope for Dusty Rhodes and his crew. Four gone and only two of us left. Jerry came in for another attack and gave both of us a battering. Garwell's wing tip was flapping like a bird's wing, but we pressed on. We summed up. We were still less than half way to the target but we were going on and for two more hours on we went.
Suddenly, we were there, Augsburg. There was the factory alongside the river as briefed. Then it all started as the flak began pumping shells up at us. Buzzer Huntley, in the front turret, shouted excitedly that he had scored a direct hit on a flak position. Shortly afterwards McClure, the bomb aimer, placed his bombs plumb on the factory roof. Ginger Garwell was in close attendance. The fuse delays of 11 sec. enabled us to see our bombs explode. Then Ginger collected another shell just about midships and it was curtains for him. He pulled back his window and gave us an inverted V sign and then pancaked.
We turned for home and, thank the Lord, saw no more flak or fighters, just a few searchlights. After we seemed to have been airborne for hours I heard Nettleton say to Des Sands, the Navigator, that we should have spotted the coast of France long ago. "I am going to call for assistance despite the radio silence". He then spoke to me and said, "Radio Operator, call base and get a fix". I asked if I could use the top priority SOS, to which he replied "Use what you like but get me a course for home". This was my moment. I tapped it out, SOS.... SOS.. followed by our special callsign V, followed by our aircraft call sign and a request in code for a fix and homing. All radio traffic seemed to stop and there was only a gentle mush in my earphones. Then, suddenly, it was broken by the most beautiful resonant morse I have ever heard. First we received instructions to turn through 90 degrees and then K. This meant carry on, maintain contact and don't lose me, as if I would! Eventually, we were brought to Squires Gate, Blackpool, where we landed with our tanks all but dry. I tapped out X496, which meant, 'We have landed'. This was acknowledged, AR, followed by the unofficial GBY – God Bless You. From then on we were famous.
Sgt F Harrison (Mid Upper Gunner, Sqn Ldr Nettleton):
On 13 April, we carried out a short daylight formation sortie. After two more such trips, there followed on 15th a cross country of 5hrs 20min duration. Two days later, we went to Augsburg. This was my first bomber Op. My one undying memory of the briefing is of a Rhodesian WAG who spent the time reading a novel! When I mentioned it, he replied that this was his last opportunity to finish it. He was wrong, although his chance to finish his book was delayed by a number of years. By that evening he was a POW!
On the raid, we flew in two vics of three. Nettleton led with Garwell to port and Rhodes to starboard. The second vic tucked in close behind. I never saw the No. 97 Sqn contingent. All went well until shortly after crossing the French coast. Then I saw a mass of German fighters manoeuvering [sic] and diving down onto our tails. Len Mutter, in the rear turret, and I fired like mad throughout the entire engagement as the fighters, one after another, came
[page break]
up behind us and then broke off to port. They were only within range of my 303s for a short time, whereas they seemed able to fire at us throughout their pass until they broke away.
The rear vic was shot down almost immediately. Then Rhodes was hit in the port wing and it began to drop, which would have meant curtains for us. He levelled momentaril1y and seconds later hit the deck. A wheel bounded out of the inferno and seemed to chase after us. The end of the action saw but two of us remaining. Only one of my twin Brownings was operating and only one of Len's four.
All went well until the target, where we carried out a successful attack at low level as briefed. The brisk light AA claimed Garwell and, alone, we headed for home. As the light failed we were able to climb but, with the heavy broken cloud, it became apparent that we were very lost. At a late stage a beacon was spotted. Des Sands consulted his flimsies and concluded the code letters indicated either Hurn or Squires Gate. The Skipper plumped for Squires Gate, used their call sign on RT and asked for permission to land which, after 9 hrs 45 min, we did with much relief.
Squires Gate kindly accommodated us for the night and then, next day, Nettleton asked us whether we wanted to fly home or go by train. We went by train. I, for one, had been amazed when undressing, to find my underwear as clean as it had been that morning.
Later the crew was scheduled to tour the USA on a propaganda trip, for which I was allocated a new uniform. Apparently objections were raised over an exclusive No 5 Group Bomber 'Do' so only Nettleton and Buzzer Huntley eventually went, accompanied by bods drawn from other Commands.
WO Crum (pilot): The long training trip with six of us in formation at nought feet had been a very enjoyable affair. We had left our base at Waddington, flown south to Selsey Bill, done a smart about turn and proceeded to the North of Scotland, done another about turn and, finally, did a shoot up of the hangars at Waddington. We had all suspected that this was a prelude to something more sinister, and so it was, for the subsequent briefing revealed that our target was to be the MAN diesel engine factory at Augsburg. Thus, it all tied in, for we were to travel the whole distance in formation and at low level, and the target was to be this particular factory, to deny the Germans getting engines for their convoy sinking submarines. To carry out the intentions, we each carried 1,000 lb bombs and our full complement of 2100 gallons of petrol.
Recalling the day's events more than thirty years later, WO Crum was to lapse into the present tense as, mentally, he flew the trip again. Came the day, 17 April, a very nice one and, for me, a day of decision. Taking off was uneventful, as was the trip to Selsey Bill. Right there stood the Navy and one of the things we never did was to fly near them for fear of attracting their gunfire. Thus we did a quick turn which, at nought feet in a thirty ton bomber in close formation, causes one to perspire. The English Channel sped by and the French cliffs appeared. Nothing shot at us. Onwards, over their countryside we flew.
[page break]
while briefly in the distance I could see another Squadron heading for the same target as ourselves.
Then things began to happen for, suddenly, we are flying alongside a German aerodrome where fighters are taking off to intercept us. We keep very close as cannon and tracer shells from the rear pass through the formation, ricocheting off the land and hitting the sides of haystacks and houses. Some confusion seems to set in as aircraft are hit; flames from Joe Beckett and smoke from Dustv [sic] Rhodes. My own port outer becomes useless as I press even lower up one of the forest firebreaks below tree top level and under power cables. Soon my port inner goes along with part of the fuselage at my side. Shells rattle off the steel plate at the back of my seat. Because we are maintaining a fast speed and my port engines are useless, I have to keep my starboard engines racing more than I would want to. This is carrying me over to the port side of the Squadron where I have to shut off and allow myself to drift back to my own position. By doing this I am dropping behind and it must not be long before I have more attention from the fighters. This is not long in coming and, when half of my tail unit is missing, the RT goes dead and smoke starts coming from one of the dead engines. I had to make that decision that I mentioned before. The bombs have to be dropped safe, the new equipment we carry destroyed and a quick landing attempted. Everything goes to order and we finish up with a wheels up landing 20 yards from the edge of a wood.
Poor Bert Dowty, the front gunner, was trapped in his turret unable to turn it. Dick Dedman the co-pilot was still holding on beside me, John Miller in the mid upper turret had suffered a cut face and later found a spent bullet in his flying boot. As for me, I too had a cut face, while the others, Nick Birkett, Sandy Sanderson and Frank Cobb, came out of it OK. I was able to step out, for the side of the Lanc had disappeared, as had the windscreen in front of me. Nick Birkett had climbed through the top hatch expecting the wheels to be down and jumped, landing on ground much sooner than he expected. I had to take the axe and chop Bert Dowty out. It must have been an awesome sight for a lad in his teens to be attacked by a man with blood on his face wielding an axe on this, his first operational daylight trip.
The Lanc lies there bent but proud. Still on the secret list! She would be a valuable asset to the Germans. It must have been quite a sight, British aircrew standing around trying to set fire to their aircraft. With petrol flowing we were trying to light it with matches and cigarette lighters until someone attacked it with a Verey pistol and then she started to burn. As the blaze increased, so the ammunition started to explode and we departed in haste. Remembering that at least one of our aircraft had come down nearby. I decided to dash over and see what help I could render after putting the other five on their way.
It was like looking for the end of the rainbow, the clouds of smoke never seemed to get nearer while overhead, German fighters were milling around, no doubt gloating over the fallen Lancs burning below them. Then, hearing the engine noise of motor cycles and other vehicle, I abandoned my mercy mission. So, remembering the rule to put 15 miles between yourself and your aircraft, I set off to join a party of French folk working in the
[page break]
field. One of them took me to his very substandard house and changed my uniform for civvies. He gave me some food and I gratefully went on my way.
I walked into the night but, after passing a military barracks, decided not to push my luck any more and lay down in a copse for a rest. To acclimatise myself, I advanced slowly until the following night when I slept under some hay in a barn. Early next morning, I was still dozing when a woman came in with her pike, presumably to get hay for her cattle, and chose the bit covering me. Not relishing her pike, I stood up, giving her quite a fright in the process. I feigned to be Belgian. She summoned her husband and within a short time they offered me breakfast. As I was eating and conversing with them in basic French, a party of German soldiers walked in. The coincidence leaves little to the imagination.
So my trip landed me in German hands and then via Chartres, Paris, Frankfurt on Main, to Stalag Luft 3. The rest of my crew stayed free from capture until they reached the South of France. To complete the circle, one night towards the end of the war, as we were marching through a town in East Germany, I heard a voice calling "Crummy". There to greet me were four of my crew.
In the front of WO Crum's Lanc was Bert Dowty (Front Gunner): We set off with the intention of forming up over Grantham. Ahead of us in the distance I could see the 97 Sqn aircraft. Once we had coasted out at Selsey Bill, we were quite low and stayed there for the rest of the trip. We thundered across France getting an occasional excited wave from the ground when, suddenly, I was aware that we were flying across an airfield, which later I was to discover was at Beaumont Le Roger. We were the right hand aircraft of the vic, Sandford was leading, and Beckett was off to the left in the No. 3 position. We tracked along the tarmac peri track while off to my right three Jerry aircraft were in the act of landing. One was well down the runway, another just on and the third in the act of touching down. Around the perimeter were gun emplacements, similar to our Bofors, and I watched the passage of two clips of five that were loosed at us. Fortunately they did not come close to causing any discomfort.
A short time later the fighters were among us. never heard subsequent transmissions over our intercom, presumably because an early hit had caused some damage. I remember checking during a brief pause in the action to see if my jack plug had been pulled out. I would estimate that we were at this stage around 100 to 200 ft, but not so low that the fighters couldn't pass beneath us. The action was lively with the Me109s coming very close. One presented a full wing span to me as he broke below, I could clearly see into the cockpit and pick out the pilot's face and mask. Naturally I gave him a squirt in the process but to no immediate effect. I did see a couple go down in such a manner that I think it unlikely that they recovered, but I was too busy with the next phase to be able to wait and observe an impact. Then I looked across and saw that we were a little behind the formation, Joe Beckett to our left and now slightly forward was a mass of flames. He plunged into the deck.
I was still hammering away with my guns when we hit the deck ourselves. Although this was a surprise because Crummy had done such a good job that, apart from a shaking, I
[page break]
wasn't at all hurt. It was thanks to his efforts that, out of all those brought down that fateful day, ours was the only crew to survive intact. Unfortunately, because of the action, my guns were swung to the beam and I couldn't get out.
Without intercom I was, of course, completely unaware of events elsewhere in the crew. All I could think of was a full load of delays which I thought were still sitting in the bomb bay. I dismounted the gun, using it as a battering ram to smash away at the perspex windows. Suddenly an axe head appeared through the side of the fuselage to my left; Crummy was getting me out. In no time at all, I was freed. Our Lanc. rested in a wheat field belonging to the farm Bois-Normand, near the hamlet of Folleville, and some 10 km North of Conches.
A number of crews had completed the preparation but had not participated in the raid, WO Wright was one of these.
Flt Sgt Bud Gill, Rear Gunner (WO Wright): Initially we were not told anything about the raid but simply that we were to practise flying at low level or 'hedge hopping' as we called it. Although the flights were laid out in general taking place over Yorkshire and Scotland, sometimes but not always in formation, we were at liberty to do anything that would give us the feel of low level. We took great delight in attempting, and succeeding, in blowing the heads off the tulips in Lincolnshire. WO Jones came back with sheep's wool in the engine cowlings.
When we did get the message about the target, everyone was really excited. We had trained hard and earnestly, calling for skill and endurance especially from the pilots and navigators and felt that we were good at it. I was personally quite down when, through no fault or shortcoming in the crew, we were not selected for the raid. Even afterwards, when the results and casualties were known, I still felt the same. It was a very important target and it would have been a great achievement to have been part of it.
[page break]
Sources of Information:
Grateful thanks to Mr Henry Horscroft, Secretary of 44 Squadron Association, who freely provided invaluable information and most especially photographs from the Association's records.
The Journal of The Victoria Cross Society, 18th edition, March 2011, pp46-49. Ed: Brian Best BA (Hons)
Wikipedia entry for John Dering Nettleton
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dering_Nettleton)
Information regarding the Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede:
http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/runnymede.htm
Low Level Lancaster Raid on Augsberg (sic)
http://ww2today.com/17th-april-1942-low-level-lancaster-raid-on-augsberg
No 44 (Rhodesia) squadron and the Raid on Augsburg. 17 April 1942 by Ross Dix-Peek:
[missing words]
[photograph]
[page break]
Six photographs
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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John Nettleton VC
Description
An account of the resource
A biography of John from his attempts to join the South African navy to his time in the RAF.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
South Africa--Nongoma
South Africa--Cape Town
Great Britain
England--Reading
Germany--Augsburg
England--London
United States
New York (State)--New York
England--Paignton
England--Lincoln
Germany--Berlin
France--Lorient
Italy--Turin
Italy--Milan
France--Brest
England--Runnymede
France--Pas-de-Calais
Germany--Mering
England--Blackpool
England--Grantham
Italy
France
California
New York (State)
Germany
South Africa
England--Berkshire
England--Devon
England--Sussex
England--Lancashire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Surrey
England--Selsey (West Sussex)
California--Los Angeles--Hollywood
France--Folleville (Somme)
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Personal research
Format
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15 printed sheets
Identifier
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BTunaleyJNettletonJDv1
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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.
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
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Sue Smith
185 Squadron
207 Squadron
44 Squadron
5 Group
97 Squadron
anti-aircraft fire
Battle
bombing
Bombing of Augsburg (17 April 1942)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Medal
Fw 190
George VI, King of Great Britain (1895-1952)
Hampden
Lancaster
Me 109
memorial
mine laying
prisoner of war
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Dunholme Lodge
RAF Waddington
RAF Woodhall Spa
Stalag Luft 3
training
Victoria Cross
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1742/34421/LHowellJ552601v1.2.pdf
cc749b53567b78c38db7042a350db0a9
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Howell, Jack
J Howell
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-04-23
Rights
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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
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Howell, J
Description
An account of the resource
Five items. The collection concerns sergeant Sergeant Jack Howell (55260 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, photographs ans newspaper clippings. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 144 Squadron and was killed 10 April 1941. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Jeff Howell and catalogued by Barry Hunter. <br /><br />Additional information on Jack Howell is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/111358/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Jack Howell's RAF observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
I J Howell’s wireless operator/ air gunner’s flying log book covering the period from 6 September 1939 to 10 April 1941. Detailing his operations flown as wireless operator/air gunner. He was stationed at RAF Finningley (76 Squadron and 7 BATFlt), RAF Upper Heyford (76 Squadron), RAF Hemswell (144 Squadron) and RAF Cottesmore (14 OTU). Aircraft flown in were Valentia, Anson and Hampden. He flew a total of one daylight and 41 night-time operations with 144 Squadron including one early return and one recall totalling 42. Targets were Hamburg, Oslo, North Sea sweep, Cologne, Bordeaux, Gelsenkirchen, France and Kiel plus many unspecified.His pilots on operations were Pilot Officer Sooby, Pilot Officer Adams and Pilot Officer Kerr. His log book is stamped ‘Death presumed 10 April 1941’ but no operation is recorded on that date.
Creator
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Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Norway
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--Oslofjorden
England--Lincolnshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Rutland
England--Yorkshire
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Brest
France--Lorient
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Elbe River Estuary
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Sylt
Norway--Stavanger
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
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Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
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One booklet
Identifier
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LHowellJ552601v1
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1940-03-01
1940-03-20
1940-04-12
1940-04-14
1940-04-20
1940-04-23
1940-05-02
1940-05-09
1940-05-14
1940-05-17
1940-05-23
1940-06-01
1940-06-05
1940-06-07
1940-06-09
1940-06-11
1940-06-13
1940-06-19
1940-06-21
1940-06-23
1940-06-25
1940-06-27
1940-06-30
1940-07-05
1940-10-13
1940-10-16
1940-10-24
1940-10-25
1940-11-05
1940-11-08
1940-11-13
1940-11-23
1940-11-26
1940-12-06
1940-12-12
1940-12-21
1940-12-28
1941-01-09
1941-02-08
1941-02-21
1941-03-18
1941-03-21
1941-03-23
1941-03-30
1941-04-10
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Terry Hancock
Mike Connock
14 OTU
144 Squadron
76 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
Anson
bombing
Hampden
killed in action
Operational Training Unit
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Finningley
RAF Hemswell
RAF Upper Heyford
training
wireless operator / air gunner
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1165/34343/PTownsleyH1801.2.jpg
225713ef47bb08f60982793b075b886b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Townsley, Henry
H Townsley
Description
An account of the resource
Four items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Henry Townsley DFM (b. 1920, 994575 Royal Air Force), a memoir, list of operations and artwork. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 97 Squadron.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Henry Townsley and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-03-14
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Townsley, H
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lancaster
Aiming Point Certificate
Description
An account of the resource
Drawing of a Lancaster with names of crew (including Sgt Townsley) on bombs falling from bomb bay. Clouds in background and signatures on bottom. Annotated 'Lorient 13/14/2/43, 97 Squadron'.
This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-02-12
1943-02-13
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
France
France--Lorient
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Artwork
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Black and white artwork with text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PTownsleyH1801
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
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.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
97 Squadron
aircrew
arts and crafts
Lancaster