1
25
46
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2557/45578/LBlamiresRG139996v1.2.pdf
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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
Blamires, Robert Geoffrey
R G Blamires
Description
An account of the resource
99 items. The collection concerns Robert Geoffrey Blamires (b. 1921, 139996 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, diary, correspondence, documents, charts and an <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2645">Album</a>. He flew operations as a navigator with 103 Squadron. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Judith Coad and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2022-05-11
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
Blamires, RG
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 Blamires' South African Air Force observer’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBlamiresRG139996v1
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
R G Blamires Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book covering the period from 25 November 1942 to 10 May 1946, detailing his flying training and operations flown as Navigator. He was stationed at South African AF Port Elizabeth (42 Air School), RAF Millom (2 OAFU), RAF Wymeswold (28 OTU), RAF Blyton (1662 HCU), RAF Hemswell (1 LFS), RAF Elsham Wolds (103 Squadron) and RAF Scampton and RAF Lindholme (57 Squadron). Aircraft flown in Anson, Wellington, Halifax, Lancaster and Lincoln. He flew on one night operation with 1662 HCU, and 17 night and 13 day operations with 103 Squadron, total 31. He also flew three Operation Manna and three Operation Dodge POW repatriation flights. Targets were Orleans, Duisburg, Dortmund, Aachen, Calais, St Martin-de-Varreville, Vire, Flers, Gelsenkirchen, Cahagnes, Le Havre, Belle Croix les Bruyeres, Trossy St Maximon, Paulliac, Blayes, Fontenay, Le Culot, mining Stettin, Rieme, Russelheim, mining Danzig, Chapelle-Notre-Dame, Stettin, Agenville, Eindhoven, Leeuwarden and Neuss.
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
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Terry Hancock
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Netherlands
Great Britain
Poland
South Africa
Belgium--Beauvechain
Belgium--Ghent Region
England--Cumbria
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Auxi-le-Château
France--Caen Region
France--Calais
France--Creil
France--Flers-de-l'Orne
France--Le Havre
France--Orléans
France--Pauillac (Gironde)
France--Saint-Lô
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Rüsselsheim
Netherlands--Eindhoven
Netherlands--Leeuwarden
Poland--Gdańsk
Poland--Szczecin
South Africa--Port Elizabeth
France--Vire (Calvados)
France--Saint-Martin-de-Varreville
France--Fontenay
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-03-24
1944-05-19
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-24
1944-06-02
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-09
1944-06-12
1944-07-11
1944-07-12
1944-08-01
1944-08-03
1944-08-04
1944-08-05
1944-08-07
1944-08-15
1944-08-16
1944-08-18
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1944-08-28
1944-08-29
1944-08-31
1944-09-03
1944-09-06
1944-09-10
1944-09-17
1944-09-20
1944-09-23
103 Squadron
1662 HCU
28 OTU
57 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
bombing
bombing of Luftwaffe night-fighter airfields (15 August 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lincoln
mine laying
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operation Manna (29 Apr – 8 May 1945)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Blyton
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Hemswell
RAF Lindholme
RAF Millom
RAF Scampton
RAF Wymeswold
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2557/44778/SBlamiresRG139996v10010-0001.1.jpg
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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
Blamires, Robert Geoffrey
R G Blamires
Description
An account of the resource
99 items. The collection concerns Robert Geoffrey Blamires (b. 1921, 139996 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, diary, correspondence, documents, charts and an <a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2645">Album</a>. He flew operations as a navigator with 103 Squadron. <br /><br />The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Judith Coad and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2022-05-11
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
Blamires, RG
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
Navigation charts for operation to Orleans
Description
An account of the resource
Track and calculations on chart. On the reverse 'F/O Blamires Orleans 20 May'.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Geoff Blamires
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
France
France--Orléans
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
Map. Navigation chart and navigation log
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One printed chart with handwritten annotations
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SBlamiresRG139996v10010-0001, SBlamiresRG139996v10010-0002
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
103 Squadron
aircrew
Lancaster
Lancaster Mk 3
RAF Elsham Wolds
-
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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
Siddle, William Elliot
W E Siddle
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
2015-12-08
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
Siddle, WE
Description
An account of the resource
Two items. The collection concerns Sergeant William Elliot Siddle (1038438 Royal Air Force) and contains documents and research. He flew operations as a pilot with 9, 83 and 97 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Chris Wilson and catalogued by Trevor Hardcastle.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
WILLIAM ELLIOTT SIDDLE
1038438 FLT Sgt
Information below is from:
a) A book called Lancaster Valour, The Valour and the Truth by Clayton Moore published by Compaid Graphics 1995 in co-operation with Yorkshire Air Museum ISBN no 09517965 6 9
[Clayton Moore was a Canadian (and not to be confused with the actor who played the “Lone Ranger”) and he was the tail gunner in “Bill Siddles” Lancaster crew}
b) Flying certificate for Instrument Flying issued to Embryo Pilot William E. Siddle by the Army Air Forces Advanced Flying School, Moody Field, Georgia on the 28 Day of September, 1942
c) Flying certificate issued to W.E Siddle by the United States Army Forces Advanced Flying School Moody field Georgia U.S.A on the 9th Day of October, 1942
d) Obituary from the Cumberland and Westmoreland Herald 1970
e) Royal Air Force Service and Release Book for Flight Lieutenant 149619 W.E. Siddle.
f) book called Lincolnshire Airfields in the Second World War by Patrick Otter
[underlined] Information [/underlined]
William E. Siddle, otherwise known as “Bill” joined the RAF in or around 1942 aged 22 and was trained to fly by the United States Army at their Flying School at Moody Field, Georgia in September/October 1942
He was a Sergeant when he attended operational flying training at Upper Heyford and he formed his crew in June 1943.
Navigator- Dick Lodge
Flight Engineer- Reg Mosely
Mid Upper Gunner- Dick Jones
Wireless Operator- Clem Culley
Bomb Aimer- Ken Mills
Tail Gunner- Clayton Moore (Canadian)
21 July, 1943 The crew’s first posting was with 9 Squadron of 5 Group Bomber Command at Bardney Lincolnshire. Bardney Airfield was opened in April 1943. Squadron Code was WS
27 July, 1943 Hamburg Lancaster DV-198 (WS/U) This was the crew’s first operational flight Then
[page break]
28 July, 1943 Hamburg Lancaster ED-666 (WS/G)
2 August, 1943 Hamburg Lancaster ED-654 (WS/W)
9 August, 1943 Mannheim Lancaster DV-198 (WS/U)
27 August, 1943 Nurenburg Lancaster ED-975 (WS/Y)
30 August, 1943 Munchen Gladbach Lancaster ED-975 (WS/Y)
5 September, 1943 Mannheim Lancaster ED-975 (WS/Y)
6 September, 1943 Munich Lancaster ED-975 (WS/Y)
On this Munich trip the plane was badly hit by flak. Bill was given priority landing as they were losing fuel and they nearly made it back to Bardney but Bill had to put the plane down in a field in Minting as all engines failed. Everyone survived although Bill lost teeth from being flung through the windscreen; Mosely, Hill and Jones had back injuries; Lodge broke his arm getting off the downed plane. Moore was found still in his rear turret under a hedge and he suffered concussion. There is a picture of the crashed ED-975 in Moore’s book.
26 September, 1943 new crew with Jock Wilson, Mick Machin and Gerry Parker (American) replacing Mosely, Hill and Jones respectively took ED-499 (WS/X) on a night flying test. Bill found he could not land and took 9 attempts. Bill then kicked everyone else out expect the flight engineer and after checking the landing gear went straight back up and made a number of landings to get his nerve back. Bill only got a telling off.
22 October, 1943 Kassell Lancaster CV-340 (WS/Q)
2 November, 1943 Crew allocated “Spirit of Russia” Lancaster EE-136 (WS/R)
10 November, 1943 Modane Lancaster EE-136 (WS/R) short on fuel Bill landed in Cambridgeshire and the field forgot to tell Bardney and so all reported missing!
General shortages of crews and crew members stopped Bill and his crew flying together. Jones (who had returned to the crew after recovering from the Minting crash) flew 2 Dec as spare mid upper gunner with WS/C and did not return/shot down. Parker, the American was then made the permanent mid upper gunner. Lodge the Navigator returned to the crew 20 December, 1943.
23 December, 1943 Berlin EE-136
29 December, 1943 Berlin EE-136
5 January, 1944 Stettin EE-136
January, 1944 Braunschweig EE-136
Entire Crew applied to join the Pathfinders
Crew went to PFF Navigation Training Unit at RAF Station Upwood, Cambs
[page break]
3 February, 1944 Crew Posted to 83 Squadron based at Wyton, Cambridgeshire.
15 February, 1944 Berlin Lancaster JB-309 (OL/N)
20 February, 1944 Leipzig Lancaster ND-494 (OL/G) (plane badly hit by flak)
Crew allocated ND-464 (OL/S)
15 March, 1944 end of 2 week training
18 March, 1944 Frankfurt Lancaster ND-390 (OL/V)
24 March, 1944 Berlin Lancaster ND-400 (OL/Q) (72 bombers lost on that raid as met office’s projected wind speeds all wrong- Bill’s navigator Lodge realised something wrong and set new course to adjust to actual very high wind speeds but others did not)
26 March, 1944 Essen Lancaster ND-402 (OL/R)
Bill made Flying Officer and received a DFC at the age of 23
March 1944 83 Squadron transferred from Eight Group to Five
Group’s 97 Squadron- Groups Special Marker Force based in Coningsby, Lincolnshire
March/April 1944? La-Chapelle Paris Lancaster ND-400 (OL/Q)
26 April, 1944 Schweinfurt Lancaster ND-464 (OL/S)
28 April, 1944 St Medard en Jalles nr Bordeax
1 May, 1944 St Martin Du Touch (OL/S)
8 May, 1944 Lanveoc Lancaster ND-551 (OL/V) (German airfield in France)
11 May, 1944 Bourg-Leopold Belgium Lancaster ND-464 (OL/S)
1 June, 1944 Saumur Lancaster ND-464 (OL/S)
6 June, 1944 La Parnelle Lancaster ND-464 (OL/S)
Invasion of Europe- Bill volunteered for a second tour- crew did too.
7 June, 1944 Caen Lancaster ND-464 (OL/S)
10 June, 1944 Orleans Lancaster ND-933
Daylight Raid formation training
21 June, 1944 Wesselling, Cologne Lancaster ND-464 (OL/S)
Crew Changes- Gerry Parker (American) transferred and replaced by Paddy Blanche who after 1 trip transferred to 617 Squadron and replaced by Hine as mid upper gunner.
23 July, 1944 St Vitry le Francoise Lancaster
[page break]
Bill was awarded a bar to his DFC and promoted to Flight Lieutenant due to his actions during this raid as “by skilful and evasive tactics, Flight Lieutenant Siddle manoeuvred his aircraft and continued to make a steady run, although his aircraft was plainly visible in the light of flares around the target” (Obituary says June 1944)
No date Wizerne
23 July, 1944 Keil (from Wyton base) Lancaster ND-400 (OL/Q)
24 July, 1944 Stuttgart (from Wyton base) Lancaster ND-400 (OL/Q)
Crew changes- Hine and Culley (wireless op) left- Alan McDonald (Canadian) new wireless op but no mid upper gunner as shortage.
26 July, 1944 Givors Lancaster PB-230 (OL/V)
July/August 1944- crew shortages meant enforced inactivity
September 1944- crew allocated new plane PB-368 (new OL/S)
10 September, 1944 Munchen Gladbach Lancaster PB-368 (OL/S)
11 September, 1944 Darmstadt Lancaster PB-368 (OL/S)
12 September, 1944 Stuttgart Lancaster PB-368 (OL/S)
Crew Change- Bill Trotter joins as mid upper gunner
19 September, 1944 Stuttgart Lancaster PB-368 (OL/S)
23 September, 1944 Munster Lancaster PB-368 (OL/S)
27 September, 1944 Kaiserslaughtern Lancaster PB-368 (OL/S)
October was spent training in OL/S
This is the end of the information found in the tail gunners book (Clayton Moore). Clayton had done 45 runs and head injuries in the Minting crash were catching up on him with increasing headaches and sight problems. Clayton went back to Canada. At this time only 3 of the original crew remained. Siddle (pilot), Lodge (navigator) and Moore (tail gunner).
Bill Siddle remained on active service until the cessation of hostilities having completed more than 60 operational sorties.
His last day of service was 1 April, 1946.
He died in 1970 aged 48.
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
William Elliot Siddle
Description
An account of the resource
Bill Siddle's time in the RAF pieced together by research. He was a pilot who flew the Lancaster with 9 and 83 Squadrons. He was commissioned in 1944, was awarded the DFC and Bar and completed more than 60 operations. He left the service in 1946 and died in 1970.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-07-21
1943-07-27
1943-07-28
1943-08-02
1943-08-09
1943-08-27
1943-08-30
1943-09-05
1943-09-06
1943-10-22
1943-11-02
1943-11-10
1943-12-23
1943-12-29
1943-12-29
1944-01-05
1944-02-03
1944-02-15
1944-02-20
1944-03-15
1944-03-18
1944-03-24
1944-03-26
1944-04-26
1944-04-28
1944-05-01
1944-05-08
1944-05-11
1944-06-01
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-10
1944-06-21
1944-07-23
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-09-10
1944-09-11
1944-09-12
1944-09-19
1944-09-23
1944-09-27
1946-04-01
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
United States
Georgia--Moody Air Force Base
Great Britain
England--Oxfordshire
Germany
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Germany--Munich
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Berlin
England--Cambridgeshire
France
France--Modane
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Essen
France--Paris
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Wesseling
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Lanvéoc
France--Saumur
France--Orléans
France--Caen
France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
France--Givors
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Darmstadt
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Kaiserslautern
Belgium--Leopoldsburg
Belgium
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
United States Army Air Force
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
Four typewritten pages
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MSiddleWE1038438-151208-030001, MSiddleWE1038438-151208-030002, MSiddleWE1038438-151208-030003, MSiddleWE1038438-151208-030004
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 review
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
William Cragg
83 Squadron
9 Squadron
aircrew
bombing of Hamburg (24-31 July 1943)
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Lancaster
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
pilot
RAF Bardney
RAF Coningsby
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Upwood
RAF Wyton
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2513/43535/LDavyFR1108748v2.2.pdf
5676b500bdc68f33ff059b8472e06acc
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
Davy, Frederick R
Davy, F R
Description
An account of the resource
21 items. The collection concerns Frederick R Davy (b. 1912, 1108747 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 625 Squadron.
The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Frederick Popoff catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-05-30
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
Davy, FR
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
Frederick Davy's pilot's flying log book. Two
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LDavyFR1108748v2
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
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
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Davy’s Pilot’s Flying Log Book from 1 April 1943 to 28 March 1945 detailing his further pilot’s training at 15 AFU, 81 OTU, 28 OTU, 1656 HCU, 1 LFS and operational posting to 625 Squadron. Posted to Bomber Command Instructors’ School in December 1944. Served at RAF Tatenhill, RAF Grove, RAF Ramsbury, RAF Castle Coombe, RAF Tilstock, RAF Wymeswold, RAF Castle Donnington, RAF Lindholme, RAF Kelstern, RAF Hemswell, RAF Finningley. Aircraft flown were Oxford, Wellington, Anson, Whitley V, Horsa, DC3 Dakota, Halifax, Lancaster. Conducted 3 leaflet drops with 28 OTU to Rouen and Orleans. Then 16 day and 17 night bombing operations with 625 Squadron to Boulogne, Domleger, Rheims, Ligescourt, Vaires - Paris, Siracourt, Vierzon, Orleans, Foret du Croc, Tours, Sannerville, Gelsenkirchen, Wizernes, Kiel, Ardouval, Stuttgart, Foret de Nieppe, Œuf-en-Ternois, Douai, Brunswick, Volkel, Stettin, Raimbert, Gilze Rijen, Le Havre, Frankfurt.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-03-29
1944-03-30
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-22
1944-06-23
1944-06-25
1944-06-27
1944-06-29
1944-06-30
1944-07-01
1944-07-04
1944-07-05
1944-07-06
1944-07-12
1944-07-13
1944-07-18
1944-07-19
1944-07-20
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-07-28
1944-07-29
1944-07-31
1944-08-01
1944-08-10
1944-08-11
1944-08-12
1944-08-13
1944-08-15
1944-08-16
1944-08-17
1944-08-26
1944-08-27
1944-08-29
1944-08-30
1944-08-31
1944-09-03
1944-09-05
1944-09-06
1944-09-08
1944-09-12
1944-09-13
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Shropshire
England--Staffordshire
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
France
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Douai
France--Le Havre
France--Nieppe Forest
France--Normandy
France--Orléans
France--Paris
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Reims
France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
France--Forêt du Croc
France--Siracourt
France--Somme
France--Tours
France--Vierzon
Germany
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Stuttgart
Netherlands
Netherlands--Tilburg
Netherlands--Uden
Poland
Poland--Szczecin
France--Œuf-en-Ternois
France--Domléger-Longvillers
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Nick Cornwell-Smith
1656 HCU
28 OTU
625 Squadron
81 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
bombing of Luftwaffe night-fighter airfields (15 August 1944)
bombing of the Boulogne E-boats (15/16 June 1944)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Flying Training School
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
Initial Training Wing
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
Magister
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Oxford
pilot
RAF Castle Donington
RAF Cranwell
RAF Finningley
RAF Hemswell
RAF Hullavington
RAF Kelstern
RAF Kirmington
RAF Leconfield
RAF Lindholme
RAF Tilstock
RAF Torquay
RAF Uxbridge
RAF Wymeswold
tactical support for Normandy troops
Tiger Moth
training
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2283/41896/SCarterR1620578v10004-0001.1.jpg
d34160e0479249edd09c1bd57ef325c0
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
Carter, Ronald
Description
An account of the resource
32 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Ronald Carter (1924 - 2014, 1620578 Royal Air Force) and contains his biography, research, documents and photographs. He flew operations as a rear gunner with 44 Squadron before becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Susan Margaret Perrow and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021-12-06
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
Carter, R
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
Ron Carter's List of Operations
Description
An account of the resource
25 operations completed by Ron Carter.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany
Germany--Nuremberg
France
France--Toulouse
France--Tours
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Munich
Germany--Schweinfurt
Norway
Norway--Oslo
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Orléans
France--Gennevilliers
Belgium
Belgium--Leopoldsburg
France--Amiens
Germany--Kiel
France--Caen
France--Normandy
France--Beauvoir-sur-Mer
Germany--Wesseling
France--Marquise Region
France--Creil
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
SCarterR1620578v10004-0001
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.
1944-03
1944-04
1944-05
1944-06
1944-07
44 Squadron
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
bombing of the Creil/St Leu d’Esserent V-1 storage areas (4/5 July 1944)
bombing of Toulouse (5/6 April 1944)
Lancaster
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
shot down
tactical support for Normandy troops
V-1
V-weapon
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1993/41338/LHowkinsF1576710v1.1.pdf
152cfcf74ea85cc9ba9c191962c4cb30
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
Howkins, Frank
F Howkins
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
2017-11-30
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
Howkins, F
Description
An account of the resource
Four items. The collection concerns Frank Howkins (1546410 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, flying programme and photographs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 467 and 617 Squadrons.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Keith Howkins 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
Frank Howkins’ navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s flying log book for F Howkins, wireless operator, covering the period from 29 April 1943 to 30 August 1953. Detailing his flying training, operations flown, and post was flying with number 5 Reserve Flying School. He was stationed at RAF Yatesbury, RAF Bobbington [aka RAF Halfpenny Green], RAF Lichfield, RAF Wigsley, RAF Syerston, RAF Waddington, RAF Woodhall Spa and RAF Castle Bromwich. Aircraft flown in were Dominie, Proctor, Anson, Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster. He flew a total of 48 operations. 36 with 467 Squadron, 5 daylight and 32 night operations, and 12 with 617 Squadron, 11 daylight and one night operation. Targets were Frankfurt, Toulouse, Tours, Juvisy, Leipzig, Lille, Bourg Leopold, Duisburg, Brunswick, Eindhoven, Nantes, Saumur, Ferme D’Urville, St Pierre du Mont, Argentan, Rennes, Orleans, Gelsenkirchen, Limoges, Prouville, Vitry, Beauvoir, St Leu D’Esserent, Villeneuve St Georges, Nevers, Thiverny, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Pas De Calais, Brest, L’Isle Adam, Darmstadt, Dortmund-Ems Canal, Westkapelle, Kembs Dam, Tromso, Urft Dam, Bielefeld Viaduct and Bremen. His pilots on operations were Wing Commander Tait and Flight Lieutenant Sayers.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Norway
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
Belgium--Leopoldsburg
England--Birmingham
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Staffordshire
England--Wiltshire
France--Abbeville Region
France--Argentan
France--Beauvoir-sur-Mer
France--Brest
France--Creil
France--Kembs
France--Lille
France--Limoges
France--L'Isle-Adam
France--Nantes
France--Nevers
France--Orléans
France--Paris
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Paris Region
France--Rennes
France--Saint-Pierre-du-Mont (Landes)
France--Saumur
France--Toulouse
France--Tours
France--Valognes Region
France--Vitry-sur-Seine
Germany--Bielefeld
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Darmstadt
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Urft Dam
Netherlands--Eindhoven
Netherlands--Walcheren
Norway--Tromsø
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
LHowkinsF1576710v1
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944-04-03
1944-04-04
1944-04-05
1944-04-06
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-04-29
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-11
1944-06-21
1944-06-22
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-06-25
1944-06-27
1944-06-28
1944-06-29
1944-07-04
1944-07-05
1944-07-07
1944-07-08
1944-07-14
1944-07-15
1944-07-16
1944-07-19
1944-07-25
1944-07-26
1944-07-28
1944-07-29
1944-07-30
1944-07-31
1944-08-01
1944-08-14
1944-08-18
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1944-09-23
1944-09-24
1944-10-03
1944-10-07
1944-10-29
1944-11-12
1944-12-08
1945-02-14
1945-02-22
1945-02-24
1945-03-13
1945-03-14
1945-03-21
1946
1951
1952
1953
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.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
1654 HCU
27 OTU
467 Squadron
617 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
bombing of the Creil/St Leu d’Esserent V-1 storage areas (4/5 July 1944)
bombing of the Juvisy, Noisy-le-Sec and Le Bourget railways (18/19 April 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Dominie
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Mosquito
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operation Catechism (12 November 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Proctor
RAF Castle Bromwich
RAF Halfpenny Green
RAF Lichfield
RAF Syerston
RAF Waddington
RAF Wigsley
RAF Woodhall Spa
RAF Yatesbury
Tallboy
Tirpitz
training
Wellington
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/636/40423/SRoyallGL1801494v10060.1.jpg
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47f0fc8d2d64005b43397e7e5379dc5f
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
List of Lancaster losses
Description
An account of the resource
A list of 129 Lancasters lost on 79 operations between September 1943 and April 1945. Target, date and aircraft tail numbers are listed in chronological order.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-09
1943-10
1943-11
1943-12
1944
1945-01
1945-02
1945-03
1945-04
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
France
France--Aulnoye-Aymeries
France--Caen
France--Calais
France--Creil
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Orléans
France--Pauillac (Gironde)
France--Poissy
France--Revigny-sur-Ornain
France--Versailles
Germany
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Chemnitz
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Emmerich
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Freiburg im Breisgau
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Hildesheim
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Koblenz
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Giessen (Hesse)
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Munich
Germany--Neuss
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Osterfeld
Germany--Pforzheim
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Zeitz
Poland
Poland--Szczecin
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
Five-page printed document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SRoyallGL1801494v10060, SRoyallGL1801494v10061, SRoyallGL1801494v10062, SRoyallGL1801494v10063, SRoyallGL1801494v10064
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Royall, George. No 166 Squadron
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. Allocated
166 Squadron
bombing of Kassel (22/23 October 1943)
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Lancaster
mine laying
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
shot down
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2180/38359/S102SqnRAF19170809v30007.2.pdf
f7a4f6c251944de14d4d8c982b327e4a
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
102 Squadron Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Thirty-one items.
The collection concerns material from the 102 Squadron Association and contains part of a Tee Emm magazine, documents, photographs, accounts of Ceylonese in the RAF, a biography, poems, a log book, cartoons, intelligence and operational reports, an operations order and an account by a United States Army Air Force officers secret trip to Great Britain to arrange facilities for American forces.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Harry Bartlett and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-05-23
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
102 Squadron Association
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
Weekly appreciation of German air force on the western front - commands, groups and stations
Description
An account of the resource
Covers period 28 January 1944 to 4 February 1944. Lists units for long range bombers, long range recce, fighter bomber, twin engine fighters, tactical recce and coastal. Followed by short note of disposition of fighters on western front. Follows a table with numbers and types of aircraft at bases in France, Belgium, Netherlands, North West Germany, Denmark and Norway, South West Germany, South East Germany, and Russian Front. Notes on squadron strengths, training units, fighter bombers and single engine fighters. Followed by estimate of strength and disposition of single engine and twin engine rocket-motor fighters in the German Air Force as at 1 February 1944. Followed by table of order of battle changes.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-02-04
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01-28
1944-02-04
1944-02-01
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Belgium
Netherlands
Germany
Denmark
Norway
Russia (Federation)
Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)
France--Nîmes
France--Marseille
France--Toulouse
France--Biarritz
France--Bayonne
France--Pau
France--Cazaux (Gironde)
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--La Rochelle
France--Châteauroux
France--Tours
France--Brest
France--Saint-Méen
France--Mauron (Canton)
France--Dinard
France--Lannion
France--Morlaix
France--Cherbourg
France--Normandy
France--Evreux
France--Bernay (Eure)
France--Conches
France--Chartres
France--Paris
France--Orléans
France--Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne)
France--Dole
France--Dijon
France--Reims
Belgium--Florennes
France--Laon
France--Nancy Region
France--Metz Region
France--Oise
France--Cambrai
France--Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)
Belgium--Sint-Truiden
Netherlands--Breda
Netherlands--Tilburg
Netherlands--Eindhoven
Netherlands--Uden
Netherlands--Venlo
Netherlands--Arnhem
Netherlands--Leeuwarden
Netherlands--Eelde
Netherlands--Twente
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Bad Lippspringe
Germany--Krefeld
Germany--Münster in Westfalen
Germany--Osnabrück
Germany--Quakenbrück
Germany--Vechta
Germany--Oldenburg
Germany--Cuxhaven
Germany--Borkum
Germany--Wittmund
Germany--Jever
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Wunstorf
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Husum (Schleswig-Holstein)
Germany--Schleswig-Holstein
Germany--Sylt
Germany--Magdeburg
Germany--Zerbst
Germany--Stendal
Germany--Jüterbog
Germany--Döberitz
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Berlin Region
Germany--Ludwigslust (Landkreis)
Germany--Parchim
Germany--Neuruppin
Germany--Mecklenburg (Region)
Poland--Chojna
Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Wiesbaden
Germany--Frankfurt am Main Region
Germany--Wertheim (Baden-Württemberg)
Germany--Kitzingen
Germany--Fürth (Bavaria)
Denmark--Viborg
Denmark--Herning
Denmark--Kastrup
Norway--Kristiansand
Norway--Vanse
Norway--Stavanger
Norway--Sola
Norway--Bergen
Norway--Trondheim
Norway--Bodø
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Munich
Germany--Bad Wörishofen
Germany--Augsburg
Austria--Bad Vöslau
Austria--Vienna
Austria--Gänserndorf
Austria--Zeltweg
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Bulgaria
Black Sea
Denmark--Ålborg
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
Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Service material
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Six page typewritten document
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
S102SqnRAF19170809v30007
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
Fw 190
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Title
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Perry, Pete
W R P Perry
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-07-19
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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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Perry, WRP
Description
An account of the resource
Sixty-nine items and an album sub collection with twenty-four pages of photographs.
The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant WR Pete Perry DFC (1923 - 2006, 1317696, 146323 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, photographs, correspondence, memoirs and documents. He flew operations as a pilot with 106 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Helen Verity and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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[book cover]
[page break]
SHORT HISTORY
--of—
106 SQUADRON
[page break]
[underlined] SHORT HISTORY OF NO. 106 SQUADRON [/underlined]
No. 106 Squadron was formed at Andover in September 1917 and equipped with R.E.8 aircraft, its duties were those of an Army Co-operation Unit. After eight months at Andover, it was moved to Fermoy in Northern Ireland, where it was when the Armistice was signed, and where it remained until its disbandment in October, 1919 – it had by then been re-equipped with Bristol Fighters. Early records of the Squadron are meagre but there is nothing to suggest that the Squadron was ever in the front line and it does not appear to have any claim to distinction.
In June, 1938, the Squadron was reformed at Abingdon and was under the Command of S/Ldr. W.C. Sheen. The original aircraft were Hinds, but Fairey Battles were later introduced and in September, 1938 the Squadron moved to Thornaby where it stayed until after the outbreak of war. By this time the Fairey Battles had been had been superseded by the Handley Page ‘Hampden’ and thus equipped the Squadron, after a short stay at Cottesmore, was moved to Finning in October, 1939.
No. 106 Squadron was not immediately employed as a front line Squadron – it was not employed as such for over a year – but became an advanced training Unit and crew pool for Operational Squadrons of No. 5 Group. Its duties consisted of normal flying training, intensive night flying and an occasional North Sea sweep. Later, its curriculum was extended to include conversion of second pilots to Captains, moving target (Motor Boat) bombing and sundry other training commitments of a miscellaneous character. Owing to the constantly changing personnel – between 90 and 100 aircrew passed through the Squadron every week, making it little more than a clearing house – it was impossible to adopt any consistent policy as the large flow of aircrew for Operational Squadrons belonged to us on paper only.
It was under these circumstances and against an historical background very far from inspiring, that No. 106 Squadron, then under the command of S/Ldr. R.D. Stubbs, DFC., was converted into a semi-operational unit and carried out its first sorties on 9th Sept. 1940. Three aircraft were sent ‘Gardening’ and the event was such as to arouse quite extrardinary [sic] enthusiasm and practically the whole camp – from Station Commander downwards, were present at the take-off. The primary object of this new policy was to provide No. 5 Group Squadrons with fully trained crews who had operational experience. Later, the posting of these experienced crews ceased and the Squadron was gradually built up to full strength with a view to itself being made fully operational. Throughout the winter of 1940-41 under the Command of first W/Cdr. W.J.H. Lindley and then W/Cdr. J.P. Polglaise, mining sorties were carried out regularly – with varying degrees of success and without incidents of special interest.
On 25th, Feb. 1941, the Squadron moved to Coningsby and now almost at full strength, took its place alongside the other 5 Group Squadrons – admittedly the Cinderella in such gallant company and rather jealous of their ‘kudos’ but determined to make its way to the front. It was not long before this had been achieved.
The first bombing raid was made on the 1st. March, 1941 – the target was Cologne. The first event of outstanding importance was on the night of 4 – 5th. April, 1941, when three aircraft made a fifty feet attack on the notorious German Warships which had recently arrived in Brest. In the face of fierce opposition, at least one 1900 lb. bomb scored a near miss on the Gneisenau. The Squadron won its first awards on this attack – Pilot Officer R. Waring winning the D.F.C. and Sergeant R. Purnell with the D.F.M. The price paid for such success as was achieved at the loss of the Squadron Commander, W/Cdr. J.P. Polglaise, who was one of the low-level attackers.
[page break]
Early in May, 1941, the Squadron was taken over by W/Cdr. R.S. Allen, DFC. and a little later was converted into a three flight Squadron. This enabled raids to be carried out with increased strength and throughout the summer we achieved, comparatively, a high standard of success with light losses. The targets on those summer nights were not very varied – they were chiefly in the Ruhr – but attacks were very frequent and on several occasions 20 aircraft were put into the air. Some excellent take-off times were achieved, too, the best being the despatch of fifteen aircraft in 9 minutes.
On 24th. July, 1941, after several weeks of intensive training, formation of six aircraft led a daylight raid on the warships at Brest. The crews claimed to have straddled the Gneisenau despite fierce and accurate opposition – the formation remained unbroken and, although every aircraft was damaged, all returned safely. For this magnificent work, W/Cdr. Allen was awarded the D.S.O. and awards were made to three other members of the crews. Later, the same formation (even the escorting fighter Squadrons admitted that it was good) made a daylight attack on Gosnay in occupied France.
With the coming of the longer nights the targets could be varied and the enemy naval ports received frequent attention, as well as Berlin. The art of sea-mining was not neglected and amongst other operations of that type the most note worthy was the mining of Oslo by 14 aircraft, which were temporarily based at Wick. Several successful ‘sneaker’ raids were made, – these were great favourites amongst the more adventurous spirits – and other attacks which readily come to mind are those on the Huls Rubber Factory in December, 1941, and the smashing of the Renault Factory at Billencourt in March, 1942.
In March 1942, the time came for the Hampden, rapidly becoming obsolete, to be replaced with the latest type of Bomber and the Squadron was re-armed with the A.V. Roe ‘Manchester’ as a transition stage to the final re-equipment with the four engine Lancaster. With the change over from Hampdens, accomplished very creditably in ten days without a single accident, there came a change in Command, the new Squadron Commander being W/Cdr. G.P. Gibson, DFC., who had already completed tour of operations on bombers and one on night fighters.
The Manchesters were operated continuously throughout March, April and May, and despite the aircraft’s many shortcomings, no small measure of success was achieved. Lubeck and Warnemunde were amongst the targets attacked and aircraft were despatched on all four nights of the ‘blitz’ on Rostock. In addition to bombing, the Squadron’s mining activity was considerable – over 200 mines were laid which is a total greater by far than that laid by the Hampdens in 18 months.
The Squadron was in the process of converting to Lancasters at the time of the first ‘thousand raid’ and, in fact, the first sorties with these aircraft were made against Cologne on 30th. May, 1942. 11 of the 16 aircraft despatched on that occasion were Lancasters – none were lost – which was no mean feat considering that the pilots had only an hours experience of them. A few weeks later 17 Lancasters and 2 Manchesters dropped 54 tons of bombs on Bremen, establishing a new record for one nights work.
The size, scope and success of our bombing grew rapidly. Most readily there comes to mind the daylight attack on Danzig in July, 1942, which was followed by several mining sorties in that area and a bombing attack (using the 550 lb. C.S. bomb) on the Graf Zeppelin in Gdynia. On 31st. July, 1942 we set up a new record – 21 of our aircraft dropped 62 tons of bombs on Dusseldorf – the greatest weight ever dropped by a single Squadron. On this raid, too, we carried the first 8,000 lb. bomb.
2.
[page break]
During the fine nights of August and September, 1942, the intensity of our bombing continued unabated. We achieved still more excellent results, both in bombing and mining – specially in the latter when many mines were accurately laid in the Baltic, often under appalling weather conditions. Sometimes we were the only Squadron to operate on these missions and our reward was the frequently expressed appreciation of the Admiralty.
Photography was coming into its own just now and in the number and quality of our pictures we were not lagging – holding a high place in Bomber Command and on two consecutive nights in September we took more photographs than any other Bomber Command Squadron.
At the end of September 1942, we severed, temporarily at least, our connection with Coningsby and were transferred to Syerston. We arrived there with a good reputation and we were not long in living up to it. October, 1942, was a month of spectacular success for No. 5 Group and 106 Squadron was well to the fore. On 17th. October, 1942, ten aircraft took part in a daylight raid on Le Creusot and on 22nd. October, 1942, 12 aircraft bombed Genoa, which was our first incursion of Italian territory. Two days later, we went to Italy again, this time in daylight when 11 aircraft bombed Milan. Not a single aircraft was lost on these three raids.
November, and December, 1942, were notable for the frequency of our attacks on Italian Targets – attacks which were usually highly successful and which produced an abundance of superb photographs. Germany was not forgotten, however, and in mid-January, 1943, two heavy raids on successive nights were made on Berlin. Mr. Richard Dimbleby the B.B.C. War Correspondent, flew on one of these and his story was subsequently broadcast to the World.
In January 1943, a new Pathfinder technique (Wanganui and Parrametta) was introduced and the Squadron assisted in these experiments – usually five aircraft were supplied for attacks on Essen or Duisburg. The entire attacking force normally numbered no more than about 25 aircraft, and owing to the limited numbers the raids were exceedingly dangerous and unpleasant. The losses incurred were not light but these experiments led to the sudden smashing assault on 5th. March, 1943, on Essen – an attack which may well be regarded as a forerunner of the scores of concentrated assaults which were to follow on the Ruhr and elsewhere.
Unusually fine weather enabled operations to be carried out with great frequency and the Squadron roamed far and wide over France, Germany and Italy. Many successes came our way. After having been second in January, we headed the No. 5 Group ladder in February and were second again in March. On a raid against Milan we obtained six aiming point photographs – a new Bomber Command Record which earned a congratulatory message from the A.O.C.
In March, 1943, came a change of Command. W/Cdr. G.P. Gibson D.S.O. D.F.C., (he had won the DSO. And Bar for his brilliant work on the Squadron) was posted to form a new Squadron which subsequently achieved fame by its ‘Dam Busting’ raid. Be it noted that apart from W/Cdr. Gibson 25% of the pilots who reached the target were ex-106 Squadron.
The new Commanding Officer was W/Cdr. J.H. Searby DFC, who had joined the Squadron as ‘B’ Flight Commander in October, 1942. Under his Command the Squadron continued to hold its high place amongst Bomber Command’s best Squadrons Nuremburg, Munich and Berlin, in March, Stettin, Spezia and the Skoda works in April were, perhaps, the most notable efforts.
At the beginning of May, 1943, W/Cdr. Searby left us to take Command of a Pathfinder Squadron – he was shortly afterwards promoted Group Captain and was later to win the D.S.O. His successor was W/Cdr. R.E. Baxter.
3.
[page break]
Encouraged by the overwhelming success of the bombing of Essen, the avowed intention of Bomber Command was the destruction of the industrial Ruhr, and in May, the battle was joined in earnest. For three months the Ruhr was bombed ceaselessly and remorsely – enormous areas were devastated in each raid. Sometimes whole towns such as Wuppertal and Remscherd, were virtually eliminated in a single night. The Squadron was well to the fore in this series of grim, determined attacks which were met with fierce and desperate opposition. Many fine crews were lost but we may well be proud of our part in a battle which finally resulted in complete victory.
At the end of July, 1943, Bomber Command started – and won – the Battle of Hamburg. In four attacks, startling in their ferocity and concentration – a vast tonnage of bombs was unloaded on a vital target. In less than a week Hamburg had been reduced to a smouldering ruin. In these attacks we sent 58 aircraft and dropped 240 tons of bombs.
As a welcome variation of the almost nightly run to the Ruhr, a favoured few made a trip to North Africa by way of the R.D.F. factories at Friedrichshaven the first of the shuttle service raids. Later still, three crews made low-level attacks on an Italian power station.
Raids on a miscellany of targets followed, outstanding amongst them being the attack on the R.D.F. and experimental at Peenamunde. The Squadron did extremely well on this raid – nine aircraft made the attack, two landing point photographs were taken, a fighter was shot down and not an aircraft was lost.
September and October saw heavy bombing of Nuremburg, Munich Kassel and Leipzig. Hanover had several attacks as did Berlin – a preliminary round maybe? During this late summer and early Autumn period, the Squadron operated steadily and consistently. It had one bad spell and owing to repeated losses it was reduced to only seven aircraft but there were several fine performances, both by the Squadron as a whole and by individual crews.
In November, 1943, after a years happy and successful residence at Syerston the Squadron moved to Metheringham, then a satellite of RAF. Coningsby and later embraced by the newly formed No. 54 Base. The camp was a new one – indeed, it was very far from complete. Apart from personal difficulties the obstacles to efficient operating were very real, not the least of which were the widely dispersed sites. Lack of transport, unpleasantly cold and wet weather, and a very large number of influenza victims. Despite these handicaps the Squadron rose to the occasion magnificently – on four of our first six raids we despatched more aircraft and dropped more tons of bombs than any other Squadron in No. 5. Group.
Coincidental of our arrival at Metheringham, Bomber Command opened its night offensive against Berlin. It was an assault which resolved itself into a grim unrelenting battle against cunning and bitter defences and, not infrequently appalling weather. The Squadron was in the thick of the fray from the first raid on 17/18th. November, 1943 and during the next three months took part in 15 attacks on the Reich Capital. Including an attack in late March, 1944, we despatched 233 aircraft and dropped over 900 tons of bombs – it may be claimed with confidence that our contribution to the Battle of Berlin was not exceeded by any other Squadron in Bomber Command.
There were, of course, other targets bombed during the 1943/1944 Winter. Leipzig, Magdeburg and Stettin are examples but even these targets were interwoven with campaign against Berlin, employed as they were to confuse the enemy defences. With the virtual elimination of Berlin, achieved in February, other targets were chosen – Schweinfurt, Augsburg and Stuttgart to name only three.
4.
[page break]
In March 1944, a most important development in Pathfinder technique was evolved and the Squadron assisted in the experiments which finally led to the ‘Spot-fire’ target marking. The Commanding Officer of the famous No. 617 sqdn was employing a technique of marking an objective from the very low-level and then instructing the bombing force to bomb the target in relation to its position to the spot fire. The objective chosen for the experiments were small but important factories in France – Claremount, Ferrand Rubber Factories, the explosives factory at Angouleme, the munitions factories at Bergerac. Six experienced Squadron crews would precede the 617 Sqdn. aircraft, locate the target and illuminate it with flares, in the light of which W/Cdr. Cheshire, in a Mosquito would drop the markers. There invariably followed a highly accurate bombardment (with 12,00 lb bombs), our own aircraft adding to the general destruction with loads of incendiaries. Very soon this technique was universally employed and without doubt was largely responsible for the countless successful attacks on targets, large and small, in the following months.
At this time the Squadron was once more on the crest of a wave of success. For the first quarter of 1944, we were leading every other 5 Group Squadron by a handsome margin. Our accident rate was the lowest, our operational losses were proportionately less than those of any other Squadron. Our training hours were the highest by far, and for three consecutive months we won the 5 Group Bombing competition.
In March, 1944, W/Cdr. R.E. Baxter, recently awarded the D.F.C., was posted and W/Cdr. E.K. Piercey assumed command.
With the advent of Spring, the sole topic of war conversation was ‘Invasion’. Although it did not take place until June, the Squadron was busily employed in paving the way with attacks on lines of communications, military camps and munition factories in France – although German cities were not entirely neglected, two outstanding attacks in those on Munich and Schweinfurt in April.
Considerable success was achieved and we assisted in the destruction of many vitally important targets. Anti-aircraft opposition was generally less intense than that experience in Germany and the majority of targets were accordingly bombed from a comparatively low level – between 4,000 and 10,000ft. Usually careful routeing enabled us to avoid the fighter packs – but not always. On two or three occasions the Squadron suffered heavy and bitter losses – five aircraft were lost on 26th. April, 1944, a few nights later another four failed to return. A total of 12 was lost in less than a fortnight.
Sea mining was not neglected and the Squadron effected a remarkable performance on 9/10th. April, 1944, when three aircraft, in face of intense flack, laid mines from 150 ft. in the Konigberger See-Kanel. It may be remarked that my Lords of the Admiralty, as on previous occasions, were so delighted by the success of the operation and so impressed by the gallantry of the crews, that they were constrained to send their congratulations in terms so effusive as to bear no relation to their traditional unemotional silence.
Towards the end of May our targets included Coastal Gun Batteries in France – targets obviously so important and urgent that the weather incredibly adverse was repeatedly defied. On the last night of May, for example, 12 aircraft took off to bomb the Maisy Gun Battery in a thunderstorm of unusual violence.
Returning at dawn on 6th June, 1944, having bombed the Coastal Gun Battery at St. Pierre Du Mont our crews saw some of the vast armada of ships heading for the Normandy Coast. “D.Day” had arrived and it heralded a period of intensive work by the Squadron – that same night 16 aircraft were making a low level attack on the bridges at Caen. Broadly, the Squadron was employed during the ensuing weeks on two missions – firstly, tactically and strategic bombing in accordance with military requirements, secondly in the assaults upon the Flying Bomb Dumps.
5.
[page break]
By day and night, the Squadron operated consistently. It is impossible to record the many targets which we bombed with repeated success – they were targets of priority which mostly had a bearing of military operations. At first, they were confined to Railway Yards – Orleans, Poitiers, Nantes, Nevers and Vitry le Francois, are a few which come readily to mind. Occasionally we were called into assist the Ground Forces, notable occasions being the obliteration of Aunay-sur-Odon and whatever enemy Panzer divisions which were sheltering there, and the tremendous bombing on Caen on 18th. July. Special mention must be made of the daylight bombing of St. Syr Air Park when all 20 crews taking part obtained aiming point pictures.
Soon after the invasion, the enemy launched against London and the Southern Counties, his much heralded ‘Secret Weapon’ campaign – his missile becoming known, officially as the Flying Bomb. A.D.G.B. and the A.A. defences shot down enormous numbers whilst Bomber Command sought out the launching sites, and deluged them with incredible quantity of bombs. No. 106 Squadron was seen in action against these sites and dumps and took part in four night and nine daylight attacks upon them. Sometimes, especially at night, large fighter forces were deployed to protect the objectives and against the St. Leu De’Esseraunt dump, the Squadron lost two aircraft on 4th. July and two nights later lost another five. In all other cases, however, the attacks were completed without loss.
August 1944 was a month of high endeavour and was a splendid climax to our great efforts of the past few months. In the first half of the month we operated on no fewer than eight days and five nights, our targets ranging from Flying Bomb Dumps to German industrial centres, from enemy troop concentrations to submarine pens, from airfields to marshalling yards. The month ended with notable mining sorties and two devastating attacks on Konigsburg. The last of which saw the loss of the Station Commander, G/Capt. W.N. McKechnie, G.C. who was taking a new crew on their first operational flight. During this month of consistent achievement, the Squadron despatched 291 aircraft and dropped 1199 tons of bombs – no other Squadron in 5 Group has despatched so many aircraft or dropped such a tonnage of bombs in any single month of the War.
On this triumphant note, the Squadron entered its fifth year of Operational flying.
At the end of August, 1944, W/Cdr. M.M.J. Stevens assumed Command of the Squadron, he was the Squadron’s tenth wartime Commanding Officer.
The return of the longer nights saw the Squadron turning away from the Military targets to the Strategical targets of pre-invasion days. The month saw more incendiary raids on major German cities such as Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Muchen Gladbach to name a few.
On 13th September, 1944, the Squadron received a great compliment, it was allotted the task of training all the new crews of No. 5 Group’s Pathfinder Squadrons. This meant that only a nucleus of six permanent crews were kept, the rest, after a period of intensive training and operating were passed on to 83 and 97 Squadrons, and it was expected that this would cause a drop in the Squadron’s operational effort.
The month of October, 1944 saw the Squadron back in its old stride, despite its commitments as a nursery for P.F.F. Its targets were again getting deep into Germany, and again all strategical targets. Only two military targets were attacked, one was the breaching of the Sea Wall at Westkappelle on the island of Walcheren.
6.
[page break]
Mining was not neglected this month, the Squadron dropping a total of 100 mines in three nights.
November, 1944, saw the attacks against the Dortmund Ems Canal and Millteland Canal increasing. The Squadron taking part in raids on them at various points, on the first of these one aircraft, JB.663 completed its 100th sortie.
On November, 23. 1944, the Squadron created a New Record; on the raid against Munich it had 23 aircraft airborne, all of which successfully completed their missions and returned to Base, the aircraft being landed on F.I.D.O. due to bad visibility.
In the next month, December, 1944, the Squadron was busy attacking the German Navy, both with mines and bombs. On December, 13th 1944, 106 Squadron with the rest of 54 Base (617, 83 and 97) took part in a strike against the Emden at Horten. On December, 16th. 1944, 15 aircraft of the Squadron were the only aircraft in command of operations, they dropped 70 mines in the entrances to the Ports of Danzig and Gydnia.
A heavy but successful year ended with the bombing of enemy troop concentrations at Houffalaize when the German Ardennesoffensive was at its height
The Squadron could look back with pride over its achievements of 1944. In addition to its fine operational record and its new job of P.F.F. training, it had also held the 5 Group Trophy for the least number of avoidable accidents for nine months out of the year. The first day of 1945 saw two attacks on the German inland water system the Dortmund Ems Canal and the Mittland Canal, one by day and one by night , both of which were highly successful. The canals being completely breached at both places. The end of the month saw the start of the final battle for German oil, with two attacks, one to Leuna nr Leipzig and the other to Brux in Czechoslovakia.
Again in Feb. 1945, the Dortmund Ems Canal was heavily attacked and the Germans having been given just enough time to get the damage cleared away and the breeches mended. The month included more mining, and attacks against oil targets, and the Squadron also participated in the historic attack on Dresden.
On Feb. 8th. 1945, it was allotted another new role, being given the task of making a ‘spoof’ attack at New Brandenburg, while the rest of five Group was making an attack at Politz, about 70 miles away. The Squadron provided its own controller, marker leader, marking force, flare force and main force. The ‘spoof’ was a great success – helping to divert the enemy night fighters from the main attack – and was considered a good nights outing by everyone taking part.
The immediate award of the D.F.C. was announced this month to Sqdn. Commander, W/Cdr. M.M.J. Stevens.
March 1945, produced another new innovation for Bomber Command, the thousand bomber daylight attacks on Essen and Dortmund. In both of these 106 Squadron played its part. These were essential military attacks, and greatly assisted the coming allied offensive, for the crossing of the Rhine.
The rest of the month was taken up with increasingly heavy attacks against the German Oil supplies – mostly in the Leipzig area.
On 15th. March 1945, W/Cdr. L.G. Levis assumed Command of the Squadron W/Cd. M.M. Stevens, D.F.C. being posted to the Command of R.A.F. Station, Coningsby.
7.
[page break]
The month of April, 1945, commenced with a daylight attack on enemy concentrations at Nordhausen. This was quickly followed by more attacks on enemy oil installations, on one of which the Squadron Commander W/Cdr. Levis had to do a forced landing at Wing, after being well and truly ‘shot up’
The Squadron’s last sortie of the War was against small oil refinery at Tonsburg near Oslo, on 25th April, 1945.
With the coming of May, 1945, the Squadron was standing by to help with operation ‘Exodus’ – and on May, 9th. 1945, when peace was at last a reality, 15 aircraft of the Squadron were at Rheine airfield, near the Dortmund Ems Canal, helping to evacuate released P.O.W.
No. of Nights operated . . 496. Number of days operated . . . . . . 46
Total . . . . 542.
Total number of sorties . . 5834 Total bombs & mines dropped . . . 17,781 tons
Losses. . . 187 Aircraft.
Enemy aircraft destroyed. 20. Probably destroyed . . . . . 3
Damaged . . . . . 29
Decorations awarded to members of the Squadron . . V.C. 1,
DSO. 4,
Bar to D.S.O 1,
DFC. 144,
Bar to DFC. 9,
AFC. 1,
DFM. 95,
Bar to DFM. 5.
Conspicuous Gall M.1.
B.E.M. (Mil. Div.) 1.
Total . . . . . . . . . . . 262.
No attempt has been made in this short history to analyze the work the Squadron has been called upon to perform or to place such work in the vast frame work of Bomber Command’s activities. The foregoing pages strive merely to chronicle, simply, briefly and objectively the operational activities of No. 106. Squadron from its inception to May 9th. 1945 – the end of hostilities in Europe.
8.
[page break]
[underlined] SQUADRON COMMANDERS [/underlined]
February, 1918 – Major E.A.B. Rice
November, 1918 – Captain R. Duncan
September, 1938 – S/Ldr. W.C. Sheen
October, 1939 – W/Cdr G.R. Montgomerie
June, 1940 – S/Ldr. R.D. Stubbs, DFC
November, 1940 – W/Cdr. W.J.H. Lindlay
April, 1941 – W/Cdr. J.P. Polglaise
May, 1941 – W/Cdr. R.S. Allen, DFC
March, 1942 – G.P. Gibson, VC. DSO. DFC.
March, 1943 – W/Cdr. J.H. Searby, DFC
May, 1943 – W/Cdr. R.E. Baxter, DFC
March, 1944 – W/Cdr. E.K. Pearcy, DFC
August, 1944 – W/Cdr. M.M.J. Stevens, DFC
April, 1945 – W/Cdr. L.G. Levis.
[underlined] AIRCRAFT FLOWN BY NO. 106 SQUADRON [/underlined]
May, 1918 to January 1919 – R.E.8.
Jan. 1919 to Oct. 1919 – Bristol Fighters
June 1938 to July 1938 – Fairey Hind.
July 1938 to May 1939 – Fairey Battle.
May 1939 to May 1942 – Hampden
May 1942 to July 1942 – Manchester
July 1942 – Lancaster.
[underlined] LOCATIONS [/underlined]
30.9.17 – Andover
21.5.18 – Ayr
30.5.18 – Fermoy
1.6.38 – Abingdon
1.9.38 – Thornaby
26.9.38 – Grantham
14.10.38 – Thornaby
2.9.39 – Cottesmore
6.10.39 – Finningley
8.2.41 – Coningsby
10.9.42 – Syerston
12.11.43 – Metheringham.
9.
[page break]
[book cover]
[inserted][circled] 26 [/circled][/inserted]
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
History of 106 Squadron
Description
An account of the resource
A short history of 106 Squadron. Covers formation in world war one. Reformed in 1938 with Hinds and Battles. Equipped with Hampden at beginning of the war. Initially a advanced training unit. Became operational in September 1940. Describes early bombing operations and mentions commanding officers. Re-equipped with Manchester in March 1942 and the Lancaster in May. Continues with descriptions of operations through 1942 and 1943. Gibson handed over as commanding officer in March 1943. Mentions new pathfinder techniques being developed. Continues with description of operations 1943 move to Metheringham, operation in 1944, invasion, covers commanding officers throughout, operating as pathfinders. Concludes with description of events and operations in 1945. Gives data on operations, lists squadron commanders, aircraft, and locations.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1917
1918
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Yorkshire
Germany
Germany--Cologne
France
France--Brest
France--Gosnay
Norway
Norway--Oslo
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Lübeck
Germany--Rostock
Poland
Poland--Gdynia
Germany--Bremen
Poland--Gdańsk
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Germany--Peenemünde
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Munich
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Magdeburg
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Stuttgart
France--Clermont-Ferrand
France--Normandy
France--Orléans
France--Poitiers
France--Nantes
France--Nevers
France--Vitry-le-François
France--Caen
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Mönchengladbach
Netherlands
Netherlands--Walcheren
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Mittelland Canal
Czech Republic
Germany--Neubrandenburg
Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia)
England--Oxfordshire
England--Rutland
England--Yorkshire
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
Czech Republic--Most
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
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Nine page typewritten document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SPerryWRP1317696v60011, SPerryWRP1317696v60001
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
Steve Baldwin
106 Squadron
5 Group
617 Squadron
Battle
bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Service Order
FIDO
Gibson, Guy Penrose (1918-1944)
Hampden
Lancaster
Manchester
mine laying
Mosquito
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
RAF Abingdon
RAF Coningsby
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Finningley
RAF Metheringham
RAF Syerston
Tallboy
target indicator
training
V-weapon
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1394/36124/LHerbertWJ1819925v1.2.pdf
3ecf7f17106531984e3de7255ced4a06
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
Herbert, W J
Herbert, William James
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
2016-01-21
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
Herbert, WJ
Description
An account of the resource
Two items. The collection concerns sergeant Williams James Herbert (1819925 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book and certificate of service. He flew operations as a flight engineer with 50 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by [name] and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
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
William James Herbert’s flying log book for navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s
Description
An account of the resource
Flight Engineer’s flying log book for William Herbert, flight engineer, covering the period from 10 March 1944 to 23 August 1945. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Swinderby (1654 CU), RAF Syerston (5 LFS), RAF Skellingthorpe (50 Squadron) and RAF Wigsley (1654 HCU) as an instructor. Aircraft flown in were Stirling and Lancaster. He flew a tour of 34 operations (11 day and 23 night) with 50 squadron. Targets were Orleans, Poitiers, Aunay-sur-Odon, Chatelleraut, Gelsenkirchen-Buer, Limoges, Prouville (Pas de Calais), Limoges, Vitry le Francois, Beauvois, St. Leu d’Esserent, Villeneuve St. George, Nevers, Caen, Stuttgart, Caragnes, Joigny, Siracourt, Bois de Cassan, Trossy, Secqueville, Givors, Russelheim, Brest, Bois de Lisle Adam, La Pallice, Darmstadt, Konigsberg, Bergencuse. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Oliver.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944
1945
1944-06-10
1944-06-11
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-06-20
1944-06-21
1944-06-22
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-06-25
1944-06-27
1944-06-28
1944-07-04
1944-07-05
1944-07-07
1944-07-08
1944-07-14
1944-07-15
1944-07-16
1944-07-18
1944-07-28
1944-07-29
1944-07-30
1944-07-31
1944-08-01
1944-08-02
1944-08-03
1944-08-05
1944-08-07
1944-08-08
1944-08-09
1944-08-10
1944-08-11
1944-08-12
1944-08-13
1944-08-14
1944-08-18
1944-08-19
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1944-08-27
1944-08-29
1944-08-31
1944-09-11
1944-09-12
1944-09-13
1945-06-23
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
France--Brest
France--Caen
France--Châtellerault
France--Givors
France--Joigny
France--La Pallice
France--Limoges
France--Normandy
France--Orléans
France--Poitiers
France--Nevers
France--Vitry-le-François
Germany--Darmstadt
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Rüsselsheim
Germany--Stuttgart
Russia (Federation)--Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)
Russia (Federation)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Aunay-sur-Odon
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
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.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike French
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LHerbertWJ1819925v1
1654 HCU
50 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
bombing of the Creil/St Leu d’Esserent V-1 storage areas (4/5 July 1944)
bombing of the Pas de Calais V-1 sites (24/25 June 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Cook’s tour
flight engineer
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Swinderby
RAF Syerston
RAF Wigsley
Stirling
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1254/36057/MBakerWB1392752-161128-06.2.pdf
7f72644b2513fb7c0e933579896ba4e2
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
Baker, William Benjamin
Biff Baker
W B Baker
Description
An account of the resource
45 items. The collection concerns William Benjamin "Biff" Baker DFC (Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents art work and and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 115 and 626 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Pamela Baker and catalogued by Nigel Huckins and Peter Adams.
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
2016-11-28
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
Baker, WB
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
Crew photograph and list of operations
Description
An account of the resource
First page - photograph of seven airmen wearing battledress with brevet standing in front of a Lancaster. Captioned 'Lancaster - 138 Squadron, Alf Warren (3rd from the left) mid upper gunner'. Then follows a list of thirty-one operations between 2 December 1943 and 7 July 1944. In all cases F/L W Breckenbridge was the captain and in most (not in 10) P/O Baker was the mid upper gunner. Mentions operation to Berlin on 30 January 1944 when three crew, including Baker, were wounded and the wireless operator Sgt J Hall was killed.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-12-02
1943-12-16
1943-12-23
1944-01-14
1944-01-21
1944-01-27
1944-01-30
1944-04-18
1944-04-20
1944-04-22
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-05-03
1944-05-07
1944-05-09
1944-05-19
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-27
1944-06-06
1944-06-09
1944-06-12
1944-06-15
1944-06-17
1944-06-22
1944-06-25
1944-06-27
1944-06-30
1944-07-06
1944-07-07
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
France--Bruz
France--Normandy
France--Merville-Franceville-Plage
France--Orléans
France--Paris
France--Flers-de-l'Orne
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Maubeuge
France--Neufchâtel-en-Bray
France--Abbeville
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Vaires-sur-Marne
France--Vierzon
France--Caen
France--Reims
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
Photograph
Text
Text. Personal research
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph and six page (3 duplicate) printed document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MBakerWB1392752-161128-06
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Baker list of operations
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
138 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bomb aimer
bombing
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of the Boulogne E-boats (15/16 June 1944)
flight engineer
killed in action
Lancaster
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
pilot
tactical support for Normandy troops
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1254/36056/LBakerWB1392752v1.2.pdf
876df17ecaacfd201aea50bf13964f69
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
Baker, William Benjamin
Biff Baker
W B Baker
Description
An account of the resource
45 items. The collection concerns William Benjamin "Biff" Baker DFC (Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents art work and and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 115 and 626 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Pamela Baker and catalogued by Nigel Huckins and Peter Adams.
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
2016-11-28
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
Baker, WB
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
W B Baker’s observers and air gunners 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
Description
An account of the resource
Observers and air gunners flying log book for W B Baker, air gunner, covering the period from 11 November 1942 to 9 June 1944. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Stormy Down and RAF Wickenby. Aircraft flown in were Whitley, Defiant and Lancaster. He flew a total of 20 night operations with 626 Squadron. Targets were, Berlin, Brunswick, Magdeburg, Rouen, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen, Fredrichshafen, Maille-Le-Camp, Bruz, Merville, Orleans, Duisburg, Dortmund, Aachen, Achewre and Fleurs. His pilot on operations was Flight Lieutenant Breckenridge. 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.
1942
1943-12-16
1943-12-17
1943-12-23
1943-12-24
1944-01-14
1944-01-15
1944-01-21
1944-01-22
1944-01-27
1944-01-28
1944-01-30
1944-01-31
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-05-03
1944-05-04
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-18
1944-05-19
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
France--Bruz
France--Flers-de-l'Orne
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Merville (Nord)
France--Orléans
France--Rouen
France--Yvelines
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Germany--Magdeburg
Wales--Bridgend
Germany--Ruhr (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
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
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBakerWB1392752v1
626 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
Defiant
Distinguished Flying Cross
forced landing
killed in action
Lancaster
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
RAF Stormy Down
RAF Wickenby
training
Whitley
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1568/35501/LFreemanW1806695v1.1.pdf
b6299130f11ae1e15234a3edc3359332
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
Freeman, Bill
William Freeman
W Freeman
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
2016-12-07
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
Freeman, W
Description
An account of the resource
11 items. The collection concerns Bill Freeman (1806695 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book memoir and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 550 and 300 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Monica Snowball 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
Bill Freeman's Log Book
Description
An account of the resource
W. Freeman’s RAF Navigator’s, Air Bomber’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book, from 1st August 1943 to 29th November 1944, detailing training, operations and instructional duties as an air gunner. He was stationed at RAF Stormy Down (No. 7 Air Gunnery School), RAF Hixon and RAF Seighford (30 OTU), RAF Binbrook (1481 (B) Gunnery Flight), RAF Blyton (1662 Conversion Unit), RAF Hemswell (No. 1 Lancaster Finishing School), RAF North Killingholme (550 Squadron), RAF Faldingworth (300 Squadron) and RAF Manby (No. 1 Empire Air Armament School). Aircraft in which flown: Anson, Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster. He completed a total of 31 operations (26 night, 5 day), on the following targets in France and Germany: Aachen, Acheres, Aulnoye, Caen, Caumont, Chateau L’Hortier, Cologne, Dieppe, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Emieville, Essen, Flers, Foret de Nieppe, Foret du Croc, Karlsruhe, Le Havre, Mailly-le-camp, Maintenon, Orleans, Rennes, Revigny, Rheims, Rouen, Scholven, Siracourt and Vierzon. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Jones.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
England--Lincolnshire
England--Staffordshire
France--Aulnoye-Aymeries
France--Caen
France--Caumont-L'Eventé
France--Dieppe
France--Dieppe (Arrondissement)
France--Flers-de-l'Orne
France--Le Havre
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Maintenon
France--Orléans
France--Rennes
France--Revigny-sur-Ornain
France--Rouen
France--Siracourt
France--Neufchâtel-en-Bray
France--Vierzon
France--Yvelines
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Karlsruhe
Wales--Bridgend
France--Reims
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Forêt du Croc
France--Nieppe Forest
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
LFreemanW1806695v1
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-04-30
1944-05-01
1944-05-03
1944-05-04
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-06-06
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-11
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-17
1944-06-18
1944-06-22
1944-06-23
1944-06-27
1944-06-28
1944-06-29
1944-06-30
1944-07-01
1944-07-04
1944-07-05
1944-07-06
1944-07-07
1944-07-12
1944-07-13
1944-07-18
1944-07-19
1944-07-30
1944-07-31
1944-08-01
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
1662 HCU
30 OTU
300 Squadron
550 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of the Le Havre E-boat pens (14/15 June 1944)
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Binbrook
RAF Blyton
RAF Faldingworth
RAF Hemswell
RAF Hixon
RAF Manby
RAF North Killingholme
RAF Seighford
RAF Stormy Down
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
V-1
V-weapon
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1568/35500/BFreemanWFreemanWv1.2.pdf
3f3caa442d86d0abdb3348aa0c6b5c21
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
Freeman, Bill
William Freeman
W Freeman
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
2016-12-07
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
Freeman, W
Description
An account of the resource
11 items. The collection concerns Bill Freeman (1806695 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book memoir and photographs. He flew operations as an air gunner with 550 and 300 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Monica Snowball and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined] 1 [/underlined]
5TH APRIL 1943 SAW ME LEAVE TWICKENHAM to REPORT FOR SERVICE IN THE ROYAL AIR FORCE. MOST OF MY FRIENDS HAD ALREADY BEEN CALLED UP, SO IT WAS A RELIEF TO BE JOINING THEM AT LAST. EVEN SO IT WAS A WRENCH TO BE LEAVING HOME. I MADE MY WAY TO LORDS CRICKET GROUND NEAR REGENTS PARK IN LONDON, UPON REPORTING TOGETHER WITH MANY MORE, WE FILLED IN MASSES OF PAPER WORK & WERE KITTED OUT. FIRST A MASSIVE KIT BAG & EVERYTHING ELSE WAS JUST SHOVED IN. IT WEIGHED A TON. AFTER LUNCH WE WERE PARADED IN SOME SORT OF ORDER & MARCHED TO VICEROY COURT. A RECENTLY BUILT LUXURY BLOCK OF FLATS, WITHOUT ANY LUXURIES. THE FLOORS WERE PLAIN CONCRETE, THE ROOMS CONTAINED 1 BED AND 1 CUPBOARD PER BODY, OF WHICH THERE WERE ABOUT 1 DOZEN PER ROOM. WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO UNPACK OUR KIT, CHECK EVERYTHING FOR SIZE. ANYTHING NOT FITTING WAS TO BE EXCHANGED THE FOLLOWING DAY. PARADE THE FOLLOWING MORNING, IN UNIFORM WAS AT 8 AM, BREAKFAST WAS AT 7 AM BED HAD TO BE MADE UP IN ARMY FASHION, READY FOR OFFICER’S INSPECTION. A DRILL SERGEANT WAS ASSIGNED TO INSTRUCT US AND INFORM US ABOUT WHAT WAS TO BE EXPECTED, THERE WAS ABOUT 20 OF US IN OUR FLIGHT. OUR FIRST DAY WAS TO BE TAKEN UP WITH MEDICAL & INJECTIONS. SO OFF WE WERE MARCHED TO SOMEWHERE NEAR THE ZOO. WE WERE A RAGGED LOT, BUT HAVING DONE TRAINING & DRILL WITH THE HOME GUARD IT WAS EASY FOR ME TO FIT IN. THE MEDICALS & INJECTIONS & LUNCH TOOK ALL MORNING QUITE A FEW OF THE LADS WERE OVERCOME & LAID OUT ON BENCHES. THE SERGEANT WASN’T TOO PLEASED AT THIS, HE [missing words]
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THAN THE OTHERS, COULD YOU FIND YOUR WAY BACK TO VICEROY COURT?” I SAID “YES SERGEANT” HE SAID “VERY WELL, MARCH THOSE THAT CAN WALK BACK, I WILL HAVE TO GET A WAGON TO TAKE THE OTHER SHOWER BACK”. STAY IN YOUR BILLET UNTIL I COME BACK” I TOLD THE OTHER LADS WHAT WAS GOING ON & THEY ACCEPTED THAT IT WAS BETTER THAN HANGING AROUND FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS. SO OFF WE WENT AND IN 15 MINUTES WERE BACK AT VICEROY COURT. THE LADS WERE GLAD TO LAY ON THEIR BEDS FOR THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON, I MANAGED TO SEE THE SERGEANT IN THE KITCHEN AND SCROUNGED TEA & BISCUITS, WHICH WENT DOWN WELL. THE DRILL SERGEANT WAS QUITE HAPPY ON HIS RETURN TO SEE ALL HIS FLIGHT WAS ACCOUNTED FOR & DISMISSED US UNTIL 8 AM PARADE THE FOLLOWING MORNING, BUT WE HAD TO REMAIN IN QUARTERS, NO TRIPS INTO TOWN. THE FOLLOWING MORNING WAS TAKEN UP WITH CLASSROOM WORK ON AIRFORCE PROCEDURE & WORKING. AFTERNOON FREE TO GET OVER THE EFFECTS OF THE INOCCULATIONS. THE FOLLOWING MORNING WAS TAKEN UP WITH DRILL & MARCHING, AFTER A WHILE THE SERGEANT PULLED ME OUT & TOLD ME TO TAKE OVER. HIS WORDS WERE “LETS SEE JUST WHAT YOU DO KNOW”. SO THE HOME GUARD TRAINING WAS COMING IN USEFUL & ALL WENT WELL. IT WENT SO WELL THAT FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK I WAS GIVEN THE JOB OF DRILLING THE OTHERS WHENEVER THE NEED AROSE. TO MY ASTONISHMENT THE LADS TOOK IT WELL – WE HAD NO TROUBLE. MAINLY BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DRILL SESSION WE WERE ALWAYS FIRST IN THE QUEUE FOR MEALS. WE WERE POSTED to [missing words]
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of THE WEEK. BEFOR [sic] WE LEFT, THE DRILL SERGEANT SAID “GOOD LUCK, YOU’VE HAD A GOOD REPORT ON YOUR RECORD, THIS WEEK HAS BEEN AN EASY ONE FOR ME.” BRIDLINGTON OUR BILLET WAS A HOUSE IN RICHMOND ROAD. THE COURSE WORK WAS AIRCRAFT RECOGNITION MORSE CODE SIGNALLING & GENERAL DRILLING ETC. THIS LASTED 6 WEEKS. THOSE THAT PASSED THE TEST WERE POSTED TO BRIDGENORTH IN SHROPSHIRE. HERE WE WERE INSTRUCTED IN THE WORKINGS OF THE FRAZER NASH TURRET & THE BROWNING 303 MACHINE GUN, AIRCRAFT RECOGNITION WAS AGAIN A MUST. ALL WAS CLASSROOM WORK WITH A MAJOR EXAM AT THE END OF A FUTHER [sic] 6 WEEKS, THEN OFF TO STORMY DOWNS IN SOUTH WALES. STORMY DOWNS WAS APTLY NAMED. THE DROME WAS ON THE HILLS CLOSE TO THE SEA & THE AIRCRAFT WERE AVRO ANSONS WITH A GUN TURRET MIDWAY ALONG THE FUSELAGE. THE PILOTS WERE THOSE BEING RESTED AFTER A TOUR OF OPPERATIONS. [sic] ALL OF US CADETS HAD NOT FLOWN BEFOR [sic] & THE PILOTS TOOK GREAT DELIGHT IN THROWING THE AIRCRAFT ABOUT TO SEE IF THEY COULD MAKE US AIRSICK. FORTUNATELY I STOOD UP TO IT PRETTY WELL, AND WHILST FEELING A BIT SQUEEZY AT TIMES, MANAGED TO KEEP THINGS UNDER CONTROL. HERE WE DID AIR TO AIR FIREING [sic] & PRACTICE CINE CAMERA GUNNERY, WITH OTHER AIRCRAFT ATTACKING. HAVING AT LAST GOT THE RUDIMENTS OF WHAT AIR GUNNERY WAS ABOUT, WE WERE EXAMINED & PASSED OUT AS AIR GUNNERS, GIVEN 3 STRIPES & THE RANK OF SERGEANT AND SENT ON 7 DAYS LEAVE. I [missing words]
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AIR GUNNER, ALL IN A MATTER OF 5 MONTHS OF JOINING. THE LEAVE WENT QUICKLY & I HAD BEEN NOTIFIED THAT I WAS TO REPORT TO HIXON IN STAFFORDSHIRE, TO BE CREWED UP, & SO IT WAS AT THE END OF AUGUST ’43 THAT I WAS TO MEET THE CHAPS I WAS TO FLY WITH. IT WAS A QUEER MEETING. WE STOOD AROUND IN OUR VARIOUS GROUPS WIRELESS OPS, BOMB AIMERS, NAVIGATORS, & AIR GUNNERS THE PILOTS THEN APPROACHED EACH GROUP AND ASKED INDIVIDUALS IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO JOIN HIS CREW. BY THE TIME HE CAME TO THE GUNNERS HE HAD ALREADY GOT THE OTHERS TOGETHER. HIS OPENING LINE AS HE CAME UP TO ME WAS “CREWED UP YET GUNNER?” I LOOKED UP TO SEE A CHAP OF MY OWN AGE, FAIR HAIRED & WITH A BIG SMILE AND A TWINKLE IN HIS EYES, AND A SERGEANTS STRIPES ON HIS ARM. WHY I ASKED MYSELF WAS HE ONLY A SERGEANT. MOST PILOTS WERE OFFICER RANK. I REPLIED THAT I WASN’T CREWED UP, HIS NEXT WORDS WERE OFF PUTTING “HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BECOMING A HERO & WINNING MEDALS” HE SAID. “NO THANKS” I REPLIED “THE ONLY MEDAL I WANT IS THE LONG SERVICE ONE” HE LAUGHED AND SAID “YOU’LL DO, COME AND MEET THE OTHERS” WITH THAT WE INTRODUCED OURSELVES. THE PILOT WAS RON JONES FROM BRIGHTON. HE HAD BEEN PUT BACK TO SERGEANT PILOT BECAUSE HE HAD UPSET too MANY “BIG WIGS” THE NAVIGATOR WAS ART CRICHE CANADIAN FARMER. THE BOMB AIMER ANOTHER CANADIAN DAVE BREMNER A YOUNG COLLEGE BOY FULL OF FUN THE WIRELESS OPERATOR WAS KEN SMITH, SHORT, TUBBY FROM DEWSBURY & A COMIC. SO [missing words]
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GET THEMSELVES INTO A TEAM, FOR THE ESSENCE OF A BOMBER CREW WAS EACH TO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE OF THE OTHERS. HIXON WAS AN OPPERATIONAL [sic] TRAINING UNIT. FLYING WELLINGTON TWIN ENGINE BOMBERS, OR WIMPYS AS WE LOVINGLY CALLED THEM. WE FLEW AS A CREW MAINLY. PRACTISING TAKE OFFS & LANDINGS. HIGH & LOW LEVEL BOMBING CROSS COUNTRY NAVIGATIONAL TRIPS OF 4 TO 5 hours AND GUNNERY EXERCISES. I ALSO HAD TO GO ON A SPECIAL GUNNERY COURSE & RECOGNITION COURSE AT THIS TIME MY SHOOTING WAS NOT VERY BRILLIANT, BUT THANKFULLY IMPORVED BEFOR [sic] IT WAS NEEDED. GRADUALLY IN THE WEEKS AHEAD, WE BECAME RELIANT ON EACH OTHER, WE WORKED HARD TO BECOME A TEAM, UNTIL WE ALMOST KNEW WHAT THE OTHERS WERE THINKING. SOCIALLY WE HAD VERY LITTLE CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER, BUT ONCE A WEEK WE HAD A CREW MEAL IN A LOCAL PUB, THE 2 CANADIANS BEING OFFICERS, PAID FOR THE MEAL & THE SERGEANTS PAID FOR THE DRINKS. OUR OTHER CONTACT WAS ONLY DURING FLYING TRAINING, WHICH WE ALL TOOK SERIOUSLY AND IT PAID OFF LATER ON. MY SPARE TIME, MOSTLY EVENINGS WAS SPENT IN STAFFORD, DARTS SNOOKER & DRINKING IN THE LOCALS. I HAD MADE FRIENDS WITH ANOTHER GUNNER NAMED TONY. HE WAS ABOUT THE SAME AGE AS MYSELF. A BLONDE, BLUE EYED, HANDSOME FELLOW. AN ONLY CHILD OF DOTING PARENTS & VERY SHY. I DONT THINK HE HAD EVER HAD A DRINK BEFORE JOINING THE AIRFORCE. MANY TIMES I HAD TO TAKE HIM BACK TO CAMP WORSE FOR WEAR. DURING ONE OF OUR EVENINGS [missing words]
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GIRL FRIEND, WE USED TO GET THE LORRY TO TAKE US IN TO STAFFORD, THE [sic] INTO THE PUB FOR DRINKING DANCING. HE WOULD GO OFF WITH HIS GIRL & I WOULD PLAY DARTS OR SNOOKER, UNTIL IT WAS TIME TO GO BACK TO CAMP. ALL OUR MATES WOULD PILE INTO THE LORRY, IN VARIOUS STATES OF INEBRIATION ESPECIALLY TONY, TOWARD THE END OF OCTOBER ’43 OUR CREW HAD BEEN ON A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT OF ABOUT 5 hours AND WERE READY TO LAND, WHEN WE SAW THAT THERE WAS A PLANE ON THE GROUND ON FIRE. WE WERE ALLOWED TO LAND & IN THE FLIGHT OFFICE WERE TOLD THAT THE CREW WAS TONY’S & THAT THEY MANAGED TO GET OUT, EXCEPT TONY IN THE REAR TURRET BEING TONY’S MATE I HAD THE TASK OF COLLECTING HIS PERSONAL BELONGINGS AND PRESENTING THEM TO HIS PARENTS WHEN THEY CAME TO CAMP. I VOWED THEN THAT I WOULD NOT GET INVOLVED IN ANY CLOSE FRIENDSHIP WHILST FLYING AGAIN & NEVER DID. THE EVENING AFTER THE ACCIDENT I WENT INTO STAFFORD, INTO THE PUB WHERE I KNEW HIS GIRL FRIEND WOULD BE. AS SOON AS SHE SAW ME ON MY OWN SHE KNEW THAT SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED. THERE WERE NO TEARS AS I TOLD HER. WE FINNISHED [sic] OUR DRINKS AND SHE JUST SAID “THANKS BILL” & OFF SHE WENT WITH HER CROWD. SHE HAD SEEN IT HAPPEN BEFOR [sic] & NO DOUBT WOULD SEE IT HAPPEN AGAIN, AS WE ALL DID. A WEEK LATER WE HAD OUR LAST FLIGHT AT THE OTU it was TO BE A TRIP OVER SOUTHERN FRANCE. WE WERE LOADED UP WITH [missing words]
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DETAILING ALL THE NEWS OF THE PROGRESS OF THE WAR. ALSO WE HAD BUNDLES OF FOIL STRIPS WHICH WERE TO BE RELEASED AT A GIVEN TIME AT A GIVEN PLACE, THESE FOIL STRIPS REFLECTED THE SIGNALS OF GERMAN RADAR & GAVE THE APPEARANCE OF A HUGE FORMATION OF BOMBERS, IT ACTED AS A DECOY & DREW FIGHTER AIRCRAFT AWAY FROM THE TRUE BOMBER FORCE. WE ACCOMPLISHED THIS MISSION WITHOUT MISHAP & WERE THRILLED THAT AT LAST WE HAD BEEN PART OF A RAID. THEN IT WAS A 14 DAY LEAVE. IT WAS DURING THIS LEAVE THAT I CELEBRATED MY 21ST BIRTHDAY ALBEIT, A LITTLE EARLY, BUT AFTER FLYING IT SEEMED QUEER NOT TO HEAR THE ROAR OF AIRCRAFT ENGINES. ALSO THE FLYING ROUTINE WAS MISSING, SO WHILST IN [sic] WAS NICE TO BE HOME WITH THE FAMILY I WAS NOT SORRY TO BE GOING BACK. THERE WAS MORE TRAINING TO BE DONE & I HAD TO GO FOR A WEEKS GUNNERY COURSE TO BINBROOK. THIS WAS AN AUSTRALIAN BOMBER STATION, VERY OPPERATIONAL [sic] & THEIR LOSSES WERE HIGH. THE FIRST PERSON THAT I MET AT BINBROOK WAS A CHAP I HAD DONE MY INITIAL TRAINING WITH AT STORMY DOWNS. A WELSHMAN FROM TREDEGAR & AN EX POLICEMAN NAMED VICTOR JONES. VIC & I HAD BEEN PUT FORWARD FOR OFFICER SELECTION AS WE HAD TOPPED THE COURSE TABLES. THERE WAS ONE OFFICER PLACE PER COURSE. I WAS NOT OVERKEEN & THOUGHT THAT ONLY 5 MONTHS DID NOT JUSTIFY BEING MADE AN OFFICER. THE BENEFITS [sic] OF BEING AN [missing words]
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WHEN SHOT DOWN YOU WOULD BE ENTITLED TO BETTER TREATMENT. VIC GOT THE OFFICERSHIP, MUCH TO MY RELIEF. AFTER THE DAY’S GUNNERY PRACTICE, I USED TO MEET UP WITH VIC, BORROW HIS SPARE UNIFORM & WE WOULD HAVE A DRINK OR TWO IN THE OFFICERS MESS, WHICH WAS VERY ENJOYABLE. AFTER A WEEK I LEFT BINBROOK THANKFULLY MY SHOOTING HAD IMPROVED & I WAS MORE CONFIDENT IN MY JOB. SADLY I HEARD A FEW MONTHS LATER THAT VIC HAD BEEN SHOT DOWN I REJOINED MY CREW AT BLYTON 1662 CONVESION [sic] UNIT. WE WERE TO FLY HALIFAXES. ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS AND CONTRARY AIRCRAFT AND SO EASY FOR INEXPERIENCED PILOTS TO CRASH. HOWEVER, RON, OUR PILOT MASTERED THE BRUTE & WE COMPLETED 10 DAYS THERE. DURING THIS TIME OUR CREW INCREASED BY 2. THE FLIGHT ENGINEER CALLED GEORGE, I NEVER DID KNOW HIS SURNAME. HE WAS A LONDONER & HAD WON HIMSELF THE GEORGE CROSS MEDAL FOR HIS PART IN THE BLITZ. OUR PILOT TOOK AN INSTANT DISLIKE TO HIM & ALWAYS FELT THAT GEORGE WAS ONLY WAITING TO WIN MORE MEDALS, WHICH WAS AGAINST OUR CREWS WAY OF THINKING. WE ALWAYS SAID THAT OUR JOB WAS TO REACH THE TARGET DROP THE BOMBS & GET HOME IN ONE PIECE. HOWEVER GEORGE WAS GOOD AT HIS JOB & WAS NEVER GIVEN THE CHANCE TO PLAY THE HERO. – MUCH TO HIS DISGUST - . THE OTHER MEMBER WAS THE MID-UPPER GUNNER JOHNNY JOHNSON, SHORT & [missing words]
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HIMSELF TO HIMSELF & CAME FROM NORTHAMPTON OUR ORIGINAL 5 NEVER REALLY GOT USED TO BECOMING 7. BUT WE ALL DID OUR JOBS AND MADE A DECENT CREW. WE TRANSFERED [sic] (MUCH TO OUR RELIEF) to LANCASTERS AT HEMSWELL FOR A WEEK AT ELSHAM WOLDS AFTER A COUPLE OF FLIGHTS IT WAS FINALLY ONTO 550 SQUADRON AT NORTH KILLINGHOLME NEAR GRIMSBY, OUR FIRST TASTE OF OPPERATIONAL [sic] LIFE. IT WAS NOW MARCH 1944. KILLINGHOLME KILLINGHOLME [sic] HAD ONLY JUST OPENED UP IN JAN 44 & THE FACILITIES WERE VERY SPARTAN & WE HAD TO ROUGH IT FOR SOME TIME. SLEEPING ACCOMODATION [sic] WAS A NISSEN HUT, STRAW MATTRESSES ON IRON BEDS & TWO COKE STOVES FOR HEATING, BUT AS THE C/O SAID “YOU’LL BE PLENTY WARM ENOUGH, FLYING.” WE SETTLED IN WELL TO SQUADRON LIFE. WE STILL HAD TO TRAIN DURING THE DAY. WE WORKED WELL TOGETHER & DEVISED A SYSTEM SO THAT WE WERE AS EFFICIENT AS WE COULD BE. THEN ON THE 10TH APRIL 1944 OUR PILOTS NAME APPEARED ON THE FLIGHT LIST. THE ROUTINE THEN & IN FUTURE TO BE REPEATED OFTEN, WAS, 10 AM IN THE MORNING, CREW BUS TO THE AIRCRAFT WE WERE TO USE. Q-QUEENIE, EACH OF US CHECKED & RECHECKED HIS PART. THE ENGINES WERE RUN UP & THE PILOT CHECKED EACH ENGINE SEPERATELY. [sic] ANYTHING HE DIDN’T LIKE WAS ATTENDED TO & CHECKED AGAIN THE WIRELESS OP. CHECKED HIS EQUIPMENT. WE [missing words]
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HAD TO CHECK MY GUNS WERE IN WORKING ORDER AMMUNITION RAN SMOOTHLY INTO THE GUN. THE AMMUNITION BELT WAS FOLDED INSIDE THE FUSELAGE & RAN IN TRACKS INTO THE TURRET. COULD NOT AFFORD A JAMMED BULLET, IF NEED AROSE, TO MESS THINGS UP. THE TURRET HAD TO WORK SMOOTHLY THE HYDRAULICS FREE FROM LEAKS & AIRLOCKS THE ELECTRIC HEATING FOR MY FLYING SUIT HAD TO BE WORKING, FROZEN FINGERS AT A CRUSIAL [sic] MOMENT to BE AVOIDED. THE INSIDE PERSPEX WAS CLEANED so THAT VISION WAS CLEAR. EVERYTHING CHECKED & RECHECKED, THEN & ONLY THEN THE PILOT WAS ADVISED THAT EVERYTHING WAS O.K – THE BOOK SIGNED. WE HAD A FIRST CLASS GROUND CREW & RARELY FOUND A FAULT, WHEN WE DID, IT WAS PUT RIGHT. BY FINDING OUT HOW MUCH PETROL WAS BEING PUT IN & THE WEIGHT AND TYPE OF BOMBS WE COULD WORK OUT THE DISTANCE AND TYPE OF TARGET of the opperation. [sic] ALL WAS TO BE REVEALED AT THE BRIEFING ABOUT 2 hours BEFOR [sic] TAKE OFF NO ONE WAS ALLOWED OUT OF CAMP UNTIL TAKE OFF. AT THE BRIEFING it WOULD BE DISCLOSED THE TARGET, THE COURSE to BE SET TIME OF TAKE OFF, TIME OVER TARGET & TIME BACK. WE WERE ISSUED WITH AN ESCAPE KIT IN CASE WE HAD TO BALE OUT & CHOCOLATE & CANNED DRINK FOR THE JOURNEY. ALL RELEVANT INFORMATION WAS GIVEN & DIJESTED. [sic] THE NAVIGATOR THEN HAD TO WORK OUT HIS FLIGHT PLAN. OUR NAVIGATOR WAS SLOW & METHODICAL. I NEVER KNEW HIM TO [missing words]
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ON, TOO SOON OR TOO LATE MEANT THAT YOU WERE ON YOUR OWN & EASILY PICKED UP BY RADAR, SEARCHLIGHTS or FIGHTERS, SO THEN TO TAKE OFF. OUR TARGET ON THAT FIRST TRIP WAS MARSHALLING YARDS AT AULNOYE. TAKE OFF 23.35 time over TARGET 02.25 WE PILED INTO THE CREW BUS WITH 2 OTHER CREWS & WERE TAKEN OUT TO OUR AIRCRAFT THERE WAS A BIT OF LAUGHING & JOKING & AS EACH CREW LEFT, IT WAS “CHEERIO, SEE YOU AT BREAKFAST”. WHEN OUR AIRCRAFT WAS REACHED, WE ALIGHTED, SAID “CHEERIO” to the GROUND CREW & CLIMBED ABOARD, THE JOKES STOPPED & WE WERE EACH LEFT TO OUR OWN THOUGHTS “HOW WOULD WE COPE UNDER FIRE” WE SHOOK EACH OTHERS HAND, PATTED THE SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT & MADE OUR WAY TO OUR POSTS. MINE WAS A LONG WALK TO THE REAR, STOWING MY PARACHUTE OUTSIDE THE TURRET I SWUNG MYSELF IN, PLUGGED IN MY ELECTIC [sic] HEATER, CHECKED IT & SWITCHED OFF, RUNNING THROUGH ALL THE CHECKS I REPORTED OVER THE INTERCOM THAT ALL WAS O.K. EACH MEMBER IN TURN REPORTED AND ALL WAS SET. AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME THE ENGINES WERE STARTED & CHOCKS AWAY WE WERE MOVING TO THE END OF THE RUNWAY. GIVING THE THUMBS UP SIGN FROM THE GROUND CREW SERGEANT. ONE PLANE AFTER THE OTHER WERE SIGNALLED OFF & SOON WE WERE AIRBOURNE [sic] & REACHING 20,000 FT [missing words]
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LIKE A TRAINING EXERCISE. SOON IT WAS OVER THE FRENCH COAST & COURSE SET FOR TARGET TARGET [sic] REACHED SPOT ON TIME. FEW SEARCHLIGHTS AND A BIT OF “ACK-ACK” GUNFIRE. THE BOMB AIMER LINED UP HIS TARGET & GAVE THE PILOT DIRECTIONS. I FELT THE AIRCRAFT RISE AS HE REPORTED “BOMBS GONE SKIPPER” THE PILOT REPLIED “THANK YOU BOMB AIMER, LETS GO HOME” & AS WE PASSED OVER THE TARGET I COULD SEE A SERIES OF EXPLOSIONS, FIRES BURNING & SEARCHLIGHTS TRYING TO PICK US UP, VERY LITTLE “FLACK” SUGGESTING THAT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF NIGHT FIGHTERS ABOUT. I REPORTED THIS TO THE SKIPPER. HE SAID “KEEP YOUR EYES WELL PEELED GUNNERS. THE WORST IS BEHIND US.” WE HAD A QUIET JOURNEY BACK. LANDED. REPORTED IN & WENT TO BREAKFAST. ALL OUR CREWS WERE BACK SAFELY AFTER WHAT WAS A RELATIVELY EASY TRIP. BUT AS ONE OLD CREW SAID IT DOESNT HAPPEN OFTEN, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS BREAKFAST WAS A GOOD FRY UP AND SUDDENLY I WAS TIRED & SURPRISED TO SEE IT GETTING LIGHTER IT WAS 6 AM THE TRIP HAD TAKEN 5 hours NO REPORTING UNTIL 12 NOON AND SO TO SLEEP. AS IT HAPPENED WE WERE NOT OPPERATIONAL [sic] AGAIN FOR OVER A WEEK, BUT THERE WAS NO SLACKING, WE STILL HAD TO PRACTICE AND WERE ALWAYS KEPT INFORMED OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES BEING USED. IF WE WEREN’T REQUIRED FOR FLYING WE COULD GO INTO GRIMSBY FOR CINEMA, PUBS & ENTERTAIN [missing words]
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WHICH WAS USED BY THE RAF, AND NICKNAMED THE “MUCKY DUCK,” NOISEY & SMOKEY. IT WAS THERE THAT I FIRST MET UP WITH THE “YANKS”. WE GOT ON REASONABLY WELL ONCE WE WERE USED TO THEIR WAYS, BUT COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY THE WHITES WOULD INSIST ON BLACKS BEING FORCED TO DRINK ELSE WHERE, AND ANY TROUBLE USUALLY AROSE BETWEEN THE TWO. BACK IN CAMP WE KEPT LOOKING AT THE OPPERATIONS [sic] BOARD AND AT LAST ON THE 18TH APRIL WE WERE DETAILED. OUR ROUTINE CHECKS OF THE AIRCRAFT WERE DONE AND ABOUT 8 pm WE HAD BRIEFING. THE TARGET WAS ROUEN. THE DOCKS & MARSHALLING YARDS. AGAIN EVERY THING WENT WELL. WE STAYED OUT OF TROUBLE, DID THE JOB AND CAME BACK TO BASE. TWO NIGHTS LATER WE WERE FLYING AGAIN, THIS TIME TO COLOGNE IN THE RHUR. THE HOT SPOT OF GERMANY. THE LARGE MUNITIONS FACTORIES OF KRUPPS & STEEL WORKS WERE ALL ALLONG [sic] THE RHUR. WELL DEFENDED. THIS TIME IT WAS NO JOY RIDE. WE SAW IT ALL. SEARCHLIGHTS “FLACK” AND THE AIRCRAFT TOSSED ABOUT BY NEAR SHELL BURSTS. NO DAMAGE TO WORRY ABOUT. WE SAW OTHER AIRCRAFT BEING ATTACKED BY NIGHT FIGHTERS & GO DOWN IN FLAMES. THE TARGET WAS ONE MASS OF FIRES & BOMB BURSTS. IT SEEMED ENDLESS. BUT EVENTUALLY WE WERE THROUGH, BOMBS DROPPED & TARGET BEHIND US. THE SKIPPER CHECKED EVERY ONE WAS O.K. APPOLOGISED [sic] FOR THE BUMPY RIDE & SAID “I’LL BUY YOU ALL A BEER WHEN WE GET BACK”[missing words]
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A COUPLE OF SCARES FROM NIGHT FIGHTERS, BUT MANAGED TO EVADE THEM AND LOSE OURSELVES INTO THE DARK NIGHT SKY. THE C/O HAD BEEN RIGHT, IT HAD BEEN PRETTY WARM FLYING NO NEED FOR COKE FIRES. TWO NIGHTS LATER WE WERE IN THE RHUR AGAIN TO DUSSELDORF. MUCH THE SAME HAPPENED, BUT WE RETURNED O.K. NO DAMAGE. THEN KARLSRUHE A COUPLE OF NIGHTS LATER, WE HAD A BIT OF DAMAGE, BUT MADE IT HOME, BUT THAT WAS A LONG TRIP AND TOOK 6 1/2 hours. MOST OF IT TRYING TO KEEP OUT OF TROUBLE, WE HAD TO PICK UP ANOTHER AIRCRAFT FOR OUR NEXT FLIGHT TO ESSEN ON THE 26TH APRIL. BY NOW WE HAD EXPERIENCED IT ALL. EVERYTHING THAT COULD HAPPEN AND THOUGHT WE WERE BEING LUCKY TO GET AWAY WITH IT. WE HAD DEVELOPED A GOOD WORKING SYSTEM BETWEEN US GUNNERS WHICH KEPT US OUT OF THE WORST OF IT. THE REST OF THE CREW ALWAYS CAME AND SAID THANKS ON LANDING GEORGE WOULD HAVE PREFERED MORE ACTION. ON THE 27TH WE WERE BRIEFED FOR FRIEDRICHAFEN AFTER ABOUT 30 MINUTES ONE ENGINE BEGAN SIEZING UP AND HAD TO BE CUT, THE SKIPPER SAID WE WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK. GEORGE WANTED TO CARRY ON ON [sic] THREE ENGINES BUT RON WAS AGAINST IT & TO GEORGES DISGUST TURNED THE PLANE ROUND AND HEADED HOME. RON RADIOD [sic] BASE & WAS TOLD TO JETTISON THE BOMB LOAD OVER THE NORTH SEA. THIS WAS DONE AND WE [missing words]
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ENGINE WAS PLAYING UP, SO IT WAS A RELIEF TO PUT FOOT ON LAND. ON THE 30TH APRIL WE WERE BRIEFED FOR A TRIP TO MAINTENON MARSHALLING YARDS IN FRANCE THIS TIME A NEW TECHNIQUE WAS TO BE USED. WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO ARRIVE AT THE TARGET AREA AT A GIVEN TIME. TARGET INDICATORS WERE BEING DROPPED (YELLOW FLARES) AND WE WERE TO CIRCLE UNTIL ORDERED TO OUR SPECIAL TARGET (GREEN FLARES) OTHER AIRCRAFT WERE GIVEN (BLUE FLARES OR RED FLARES TO BOMB ON. EVERYTHING WENT ACCORDING TO PLAN AND THIS WAS THE BEGINING [sic] ON THE PATHFINDER TECHNIQUE AND PROVED A GREAT SUCCESS FOR PINPOINT BOMBING. THE AIRCRAFT USED WERE THE MOSQUITO’S WITH A 2 MAN CREW THEY WERE FANTASTIC. THERE WAS, HOWEVER, TO BE A SERIOUS SET BACK A FEW DAYS LATER A PERIOD OF FULL MOON HAD JUST BEGUN, AND USUALLY THAT MEANT A STAND DOWN. WE WERE THEREFOR [sic] SUPRISED [sic] ON THE 3RD MAY TO SEE THE ROSTA UP FOR EVENING OPS. AND OUR CREW DETAILED. WE DID OUR USUAL CHECKS IN THE MORNING. EVERYTHING O.K AND THEN BRIEFING ABOUT 8 PM. WE WERE INFORMED THAT THE TARGET WAS MAILLY-LE-CAMP IN FRANCE JUST SOUTH OF PARIS. THIS WAS A GERMAN PANZER TANK TRAINING CAMP AND WITH THE IMPENDING INVASION WAS BETTER DESTROYED. THERE WAS TO BE TWO TARGETS. WITH OUR NEIGHBOUGHS, [sic] GROUP 5 TAKING THE FIRST. OUR GROUP [missing words]
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TO DROP TARGET INDICATORS AND EACH GROUP TOLD WHEN TO ATTACK AND WHAT COLOUR FLARE TO BOMB ON. GROUP 5 ARRIVED AND CIRCLED ON YELLOW MARKERS UNTIL GIVEN THE ORDER TO BOMB. THIS THEY DID SUCCESSFULLY. GROUP I (OUR GROUP) ARRIVED, SOME A LITTLE EARLY AND WERE INSTRUCTED TO CIRCLE OVER THE YELLOW MARKERS UNTIL GIVEN THE ORDER TO BOMB. IN THE MEANWHILE GERMAN FIGHTERS HAD ARRIVED AND GIVEN BRIGHT MOONLIGHT AND LANCASTERS FLYING AROUND IN CIRCLES, HAD EASY PREY. THE PATHFINDERS ORDERED THE PLANES TO KEEP THEIR POSITION AND THE AIR WAS BLUE WITH PILOTS REMONSTRATING, IT WAS PANDEMONIUM. OUR PLANE WAS APPROACHING THE AREA AT THE CORRECT TIME AND THE PILOT DECIDED TO CIRCLE SOME WAY AWAY FROM THE ACTION UNTIL WE HAD THE ORDER TO BOMB ON THE RED FLARE. THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH DUE HASTE AND ACCURACY. ONCE THROUGH THE TARGET WE WERE CONTINUALLY HARRASSED BY GERMAN FIGHTERS. ONE IN PARTICULAR CAME FROM AFAR AND I COULD SEE HIS TRACER BULLETS GOING OVER THE TOP OF US. AS HE GOT WITHIN RANGE I OPENED FIRE AND HE PEELED OFF. I KNOW SOME OF MY SHOT HIT HIM. HE WHEELED ROUND AND CAME IN AGAIN, WELL OUT OF MY RANGE. BUT AGAIN HIS TRACERS WERE HIGH AND I SAT THERE FULLY EXPECTING TO GET THE FULL IMPACT. OUR PILOT WAS TWISTING AND TURNING [missing words]
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[underlined] 17 [/underlined]
SUDDENLY HIS FIRING CEASED AND ROUND HE WENT AGAIN. THIS TIME HE JUST SAT OUT OF RANGE, WAGGLED HIS WINGS AND FLEW OFF. – WHY? – EITHER HE HAD RUN OUT OF AMMUNITION, OR HIS GUNS HAD JAMMED, EITHER WAY, IT WAS A RELIEF AND I SAID A FEW WORDS OF THANKS TO OUR GARDIAN [sic] ANGEL WE HAD OTHER ENCOUNTERS AFTER THAT BUT ARRIVED BACK WITH ONLY A FEW GASHES. ALL OUR OTHER CREWS ARRIVED BACK TO BASE AS WELL, AND HAD FARED [sic] IN THE SAME MANNER. OUR GROUPS LOSSES WERE 28 AIRCRAFT AND GROUP 5 LOST 14. WE WERE LUCKY BUT NONE OF US WOULD EVER EXPERIENCE ANYTHING LIKE IT AGAIN – OR FORGET IT – THE PATHFINDERS NEVER AGAIN MADE SUCH A MESS OF THINGS AND WENT ON TO BECOME A GREAT SUCCESS. THERE WAS A STORY THAT WENT AROUND SOME TIME AFTER. THE SPECIAL DUTIES FLIGHT AT BINBROOK UNDER COMMAND OF SQUADRON LEADER BILL BREAKSPEAR HAD BEEN AGAINST THE RAID BECAUSE OF THE BRIGHT MOON AND CLEAR SKY AND HAD SAID SO TO HARRIS, BUT HAD BEEN OVER RULED. AT THEIR NEXT MEETING BREAKSPEAR STORMED OUT OF THE ROOM WITHOUT SALUTING, HARRIS CALLED HIM BACK AND SAID “DON’T YOU SALUTE AIR CHIEF MARSHALLS” BREAKSPEAR REPLIED “NOT STUPID ONES – SIR,” HARRIS WAS NOT NAMED THE BUTCHER FOR NOTHING AND APPEARED NOT TO CARE ABOUT LOSSES OF MEN. AFTER MAILLY WE HAD A REST FOR A [missing words]
[page break]
[underlined] 18 [/underlined]
WHICH BY NOW WAS BECOMING A WAY OF LIFE RENNES (FRANCE) DIEPPE (FRANCE) ORLEANS (FRANCE DORTMUND, AACHEN (GERMANY) TWICE ACHERES (FRANCE THIS WAS ON THE 6TH JUNE (D. DAY). WE TOOK OFF JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT AND RETURNED 5 1/2 hrs LATER TO BE TOLD THAT BRITISH & ALLIED TROOPS HAD MADE A SUCCESSFUL LANDING IN FRANCE. ALL OPERATIONS AFTER THAT WERE TO FULLY SUPPORT GROUND TROOPS FLEURS (FRANCE) ON THE 9TH ACHERES (FRANCE) 10TH THEN ON THE 13TH JUNE CAME THE SHOCK. WE WERE TO BE POSTED TO 300 (POLISH) SQUADRON TOGETHER WITH 5 OTHER EXPERIENCED CREWS IT SEEMED THAT 300 SQUADRON WERE LOSING A LOT OF AIRCRAFT AND WAS UNDER STRENGTH NO ONE WANTED TO LEAVE KILLINGHOLME WE HAD BUILT UP A GOOD REPUTATION LOSSES WERE LOW MISSIONS WERE ACCOMPLISHED AND WEIGHT OF BOMBS PER AIRCRAFT WERE THE HIGHEST IN THE GROUP. HOWEVER, ORDERS WERE ORDERS AND WITH MUCH MISGIVINGS WE WENT TO FALDINGWORTH NEAR LINCOLN. WE ARRIVED AND WERE SHOWN OUR QUARTERS, SAME NISSEN HUTS SAME TYPE OF BEDS NO OTHER COMFORTS THEN TAKEN TO THE MESS FOR A MEAL. TO PUT IT MILDLY POLISH FOOD HAD LITTLE ATTRACTION FOR US AND WE SETTLED FOR A GOOD FRY UP OF EGGS AND BACON. WE MANAGED TO INSIST ON AN ENGLISH MENUE. [sic] THE AIRCRAFT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO FLY WERE A DISGRACE AND FALLING TO PIECES [missing words]
[page break]
[underlined] 19 [/underlined]
to FLY THEM AND OUR C/O BACKED US UP. WITHIN 2 DAYS WE HAD NEW LANCASTERS DELIVERED AND ON THE 14TH DID OUR FIRST OPERATION FOR 300 SQUADRON TO LE HAVRE. THE STATE OF THE OTHER AIRCRAFT THE POLES WERE FLYING GAVE US A GOOD IDEA WHY THEIR LOSSES WERE SO HIGH. BUT WITH OUR SUPPORT THINGS WERE TO CHANGE AND NEW AIRCRAFT ARRIVED ALMOST DAILY. THE POLES WERE A FRIENDLY LOT. VERY QUICK TO BUY A DRINK FOR THEIR ENGLISH FRIENDS, WE HAD BEEN WARNED NOT TO DISCUSS POLITICS, AS PART OF POLAND HAD BEEN HANDED OVER TO RUSSIA IN A DEAL BETWEEN ROOSEVELT CHURCHILL & STALIN. WE SETTLED IN VERY UNEASILY TO OUR NEW SQUADRON. MORE THOROUGH CHECKS ON EVERY NUT AND BOLT. WE DID OPPERATIONS [sic] TO AULNOYE (FRANCE) RHEIMS (FRANCE) AT THIS TIME LONDON WAS BEGINING [sic] TO GET ROCKET ATTACKS AND WE WERE SENT OUT WITH PATHFINDERS MARKING TARGETS, TO THE ROCKET SITES, THESE WERE MAINLY IN WOODLANDS HIDDEN BY TREES AND HEAVILY CAMAFLAGED [sic] WE STARTED DAILIGHT [sic] BOMBING. SOMETHING NEW FOR US. WE WERE USED TO BEING ON OUR OWN, NOT FLYING IN FORMATION. WHICH WAS FOR US, DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS & DISPENSED WITH RIGHT FROM THE START. THE “YANKS” HAD OUR ADMIRATION FOR THE WAY THEY FLEW IN FORMATION AND IT WAS LAUGHABLE WHEN, AS [missing words]
[page break]
[underlined] 20 [/underlined]
IN PRETTY PATTERNS AND OUR STRAGGLY LOT ALL OVER THE PLACE. IT WAS ABOUT THIS TIME I WAS PROMOTED TO FLIGHT SERGEANT THIS MEANT A LITTLE EXTRA CASH AND WAS MOST WELCOME, AS VERY OFTEN WE HAD TO VISIT A RESTAURANT IN LINCOLN TO GET A DECENT MEAL. I BECAME QUITE A REGULAR CUSTOMER AT MRS HOLDEN’S FOR HER DELICIOUS CHICKEN LUNCH, AFTER WHICH AN EVENING IN THE SARACENS HEAD. OR AS IT WAS AFFECTIONALLY KNOWN “THE SNAKE PIT”. BY NOW THE 2ND FRONT WAS GETTING ESTABLISHED AND WE WERE ATTACKING TARGETS SUCH AS AULNOYE (MARSHALLING YARDS) RHEIMS (TROOP PLACEMENTS) SIRACOURT (ROCKETS) VIERZON (TROOPS) ORLEANS ROCKET LAUNCHERS IN DAYLIGHT, ALMOST EVERY DAY AND NIGHT WE WERE OUT. SOMETIMES RUNNING INTO FIGHTER AIRCRAFT, SOMETIMES HEAVY GUNFIRE BUT WE STEERED CLEAR OF TROUBLE. THEN CAME CAEN ON THE NORMANDY FRONT. THE BRITISH TROOPS WERE BEING HELD UP IN THEIR ADVANCE AND THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR US, WERE TO BOMB A VERY HEAVILY DEFENDED TOWN AND PANZER DIVISION. THE PATHFINDERS WERE TO GO IN FIRST AND DROP THEIR FLARES AND GIVE US INSTRUCTIONS ON WHICH COLOUR TO BOMB WE TOOK OFF AT 8 PM AND STILL VERY LIGHT WE COULD SEE ALL OUR OTHER LANCASTERS MAKING THEIR WAY TO DIFFERENT TARGETS, THERE WOULD BE 20-30 PLANES ON 1 COLOUR FLARE [missing words]
[page break]
[underlined] 21 [/underlined]
WAS STILL LIGHT. OUR USUAL BOMBING HEIGHT WAS 20,000 FT FOR THIS ONE WE STARTED OFF AT 10,000 FT. BUT BECAUSE OF CLOUD HAD TO DECEND UNTIL WE COULD SEE OUR FLARE. BOMBING HAD TO BE SPOT ON BECAUSE OF THE NEARNESS OF BRITISH TROOPS ON THE GROUND. WE COULD SEE THE HOUSES, TROOPS, EVERYTHING – ESPECIALLY OTHER AIRCRAFT CONVERGING ON THE SAME TARGET SOME LOWER SOME HIGHER, THOSE THAT WERE HIGHER WERE OPENING THEIR BOMB BAYS RIGHT OVER HEAD OF US, AND AS I HEARD OUR BOMB AIMER SAY “BOMBS GONE” I COULD SEE ABOUT 3 OTHERS HIGHER, RELEASING THEIRS. I JUST SAT THERE AND PRAYED. THE BOMBS WERE FALLING ONE AFTER THE OTHER AND THANKFULLY MISSED THE TAIL, BY HOW MUCH I DONT KNOW BUT IT LOOKED PRETTY CLOSE. OUR LOSSES DURING THAT TRIP WERE PUT DOWN TO OUR OWN. WE WERE TO DO A COUPLE MORE TRIPS LIKE THAT. ON ONE WE EVEN GOT DOWN TO 1500 FT WHICH WAS VERY, VERY LOW. THEN ON THE 31ST JULY WE WERE TO DO OUR 30TH TRIP AND THE LAST ONE OF OUR FIRST TOUR. THEN ON TO 14 DAYS LEAVE. WE TRIED NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT UNTIL WE HAD OUT FOOT ON ENGLISH SOIL AGAIN, THIS TIME A ROCKET SITE. NO HASSEL. [sic] NO FLACK. NO FIGHTERS ONLY ON THE RETURN DID AN ENGINE PACK IN, AND WE HAD TO LAND AT A DIFFERENT BASE. WE WERE DEBRIEFED, AND WHEN THEY HEARD IT WAS OUR [missing words]
[page break]
[underlined] 22 [/underlined]
THE AIRCREWS CAME OUT. IT WAS ABOUT 3 AM IN THE MORNING. WE HAD A BIT OF A PARTY BUT WE WERE LOOKED UPON LIKE FREAKS THE QUESTIONS WE WERE ASKED, IT WAS ALL A BIT OVERPOWERING. NEXT MORNING WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO FLY BACK TO BASE THEY SENT A CAR TO TRANSPORT US AND A FRESH CREW TO TAKE OUR PLANE. ON ARRIVAL BACK AT FALDINGWORTH WE WERE DROPPED OFF AT THE C/O’S OFFICE TAKEN IN HAD A SHOT OF WHISKEY WITH HIM, SHOOK HANDS AND TOLD THAT ON THE FOLLOWING DAY WE WERE TO START OUR LEAVE. GET EVERY THING PACKED. THAT EVENING WE MET UP AS A CREW FOR THE LAST TIME. HAD A DRINK OR TWO AND SAID OUR CHEERIO’S. THE FOLLOWING MORNING RON, OUR PILOT & I WENT TO LINCOLN STATION CHANGED TRAINS AT PETERBOROUGH AND HENCE TO LONDON. THERE HE WENT OFF TO BRIGHTON & I TO TWICKENHAM.
JOB DONE, - NONE OF US MET UP AGAIN.
[page break]
TAILENDERS END TALES.
[circled 1] IT WAS DURING OCTOBER 43 THAN [sic] OUR PILOT CALLED A CREW MEETING. HIS OPENING WORDS WERE “WE HAVE BEEN TOGETHER LONG ENOUGH, I TAKE IT THAT WE ARE HAPPY WITH THE WAY WE OPPERATE [sic] TOGETHER”. WE ALL AGREED. HE CARRIED ON. “AS I SEE IT. I AM JUST THE DRIVER. ART (NAVIGATOR) GIVES ME THE COURSE. I FLY IT OVER THE TARGET. DAVE (BOMAIMER) [sic] GIVES ME DIRECTIONS. – I FLY IT -. KEN. [deleted] YOU [/deleted] I RELY ON YOU TO GIVE ME CORRECT MESSAGES THAT COME OVER THE RADIO. AND I ACT ON IT. BILL. – AS GUNNER, YOU ARE OUR EYES. ANY TIME YOU SEE WE ARE BEING ATTACKED, YOU GIVE ME DIRECTIONS FOR EVASIVE ACTION. – STRAIGHT AWAY. ALL OF YOU, TELL ME, I WILL FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS WITHOUT QUESTION OR HESITATION. – ANY QUESTIONS NOW.” DURING PRACTICE RON & I EVOLVED A SERIES OF MANOEVERS [sic] FOR EVASIVE ACTION. THAT THEY WORKED WAS ONLY DUE TO THE WAY THE LANCASTER WAS BUILT.
[circled 2] ONE NIGHT WHILST ON A TRAINING FLIGHT WE RAN INTO AN ELECTRICAL STORM. LIGHTENING FLASHED AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS TOSSED ABOUT BUT WHAT WAS MOST FRIGHTENING WAS THE WAY SPARKS WERE LEAPING FROM ONE METAL OBJECT TO ANOTHER. RUNNING THE LENGTH OF THE GUN BARRELL AND ALL ROUND THE TURRET I WAS GLAD WHEN WE WERE OUT OF IT.
[circled 3] ON SQUADRON THE GROUND CREW WERE FANTASTIC
[page break]
THE SERGEANT WAS THERE IN THE MORNINGS AND THERE WHEN WE TOOK OFF AT NIGHT. – AND THERE AGAIN ON OUR RETURN, WHEN HE SLEPT I DONT KNOW. BUT THEY WERE DEDICATED TO GIVING US THE BEST SERVICE.
[circled 4] OUR SQUADRON BASE AT KILLINGHOLME WAS CLOSE TO THE HUMBER RIVER. THE PORT OF HULL ONE SIDE AND GRIMSBY THE OTHER. VERY OFTEN BOTH PLACES WERE SUBJECTED TO HEAVY BOMBING BY THE GERMAN AIR FORCE. QUITE OFTEN THESE RAIDS CO-INCIDED WITH OUR TAKE OFF TIME, SO THAT BOTH AIRFORCES WERE IN THE AIR OVER GRIMSBY AT THE SAME TIME AND WE WERE OFTEN CAUGHT UP IN OUR OWN SEARCHLIGHTS. WITH THE NEXT GROUP OF SEARCHLIGHTS HOLDING A GERMAN BOMBER IN ITS BEAMS. WE HAD TO SIGNAL IN MORSE TO THE GROUND FOR THEM TO SWITCH OFF.
[circled 5] DURING THE TRIP ON AACHEN AT THE END OF MAY, ART, OUR NAVIGATOR ANNOUNCED THAT HE WAS ALWAYS SO BUSY PLOTTING THE NEXT COURSE AFTER THE TARGET, THAT HE HAD NEVER THE CHANCE TO SEE THE TARGET. THE NAVIGATORS CUBBY HOLE WAS ALL SHUT IN BECAUSE HE HAD TO HAVE LIGHT TO WORK BY. ON THIS TRIP HE DECLARED HE WOULD GIVE THE PILOT THE COURSE TO FOLLOW BEFORE HAND. SWITCH HIS LIGHTS OUT AND SEE WHAT WENT ON. THIS HE DID. IT HAPPENED THAT IT WAS A HECTIC NIGHT. AND THE FIREWORK DISPLAY WAS BRILLIANT. WE HEARD ART GASP. [missing words]
[page break]
I WOULDN’T HAVE COME.” I DONT THINK HE PEEKED OUT AGAIN.
[circled 6] 3RD MAY. THE PERIOD OF FULL MOON. WE TOOK OFF CLIMBED THROUGH BILLOWING WHITE CLOUD AT 10,000 FT INTO FULL MOONLIGHT. THE SIGHT WAS BREATHTAKING THE MOON SHONE ON THE CLOUDS LIKE DRIFTS OF SNOW. YOU COULD SEE FOR MILES, LANCASTERS ALL OVER THE SKY. OUR PILOT WAS SO CARRIED AWAY AT THE BEAUTY OF IT, HE FLEW THE AIRCRAFT LIKE A SLEIGH, SKIMMING THE TOPS OF THE CLOUDS AND WHOOPING LIKE A COWBOY. IT WAS INDEED A GRAND SIGHT. PITY IT WAS GOING TO BE SPOILT LATER THAT NIGHT.
[circled 7] AFTER WE HAD FINISHED OUR TOUR AND THE CREW HAD GONE OUR DIFFERENT WAYS, I WAS TO BE POSTED TO BRIDGENORTH AS INSTRUCTOR. IT WAS THERE THAT I WAS INFORMED THAT I WAS ELIGIBLE FOR 2 SERVICE MEDALS. THE 1939/45 STAR. AND THE AIRCREW EUROPE STAR AND CLASP. MY THOUGHTS IMMEDIATELY WENT TO GEORGE. HE MUST HAVE LAUGHED HIS SOCKS OFF.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Bill Freeman's Service Career
Description
An account of the resource
A detailed account of Bill's time in the RAF, starting with drill at Lords, training at Bridlington and Bridgnorth then RAF Stormy Down. He passed the course and after seven days leave reported to Hixon for crewing up. He discusses training and his social life. He then transferred to Binbrook then Blyton, Hemswell, Elsham Wolds and N Killingholme.
He describes individual operations in detail. He and his crew were transferred to Faldingworth where the condition of their aircraft was poor. These were quickly replaced with new aircraft. His crew were successful and survived their 30 operations never to meet up again.
He concludes his memoir with seven tailender tales.
Creator
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Bill Freeman
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. Memoir
Format
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25 handwritten sheets
Identifier
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BFreemanWFreemanWv1
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--London
England--Brighton
England--Dewsbury
Canada
England--Stafford
Wales--Tredegar
England--Northampton
England--Grimsby
France--Rouen
Germany--Cologne
Germany--Essen
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Karlsruhe
Denmark--Frederikshavn
France--Maintenon
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Rennes
France--Dieppe
France--Orléans
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Aachen
France--Paris
England--Lincoln
France--Le Havre
Poland
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Caen
France--Vierzon
France
Germany
Denmark
France--Reims
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
England--Northamptonshire
England--Yorkshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Staffordshire
England--Sussex
Conforms To
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Pending text-based transcription. Under review
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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Tricia Marshall
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-04-05
1944-03
1944-04-10
1 Group
1662 HCU
300 Squadron
5 Group
550 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Anson
anti-aircraft fire
bomb aimer
bombing
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of the Le Havre E-boat pens (14/15 June 1944)
briefing
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
crewing up
entertainment
flight engineer
George Cross
ground crew
Halifax
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
mess
military living conditions
military service conditions
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
Mosquito
navigator
Nissen hut
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
pilot
RAF Binbrook
RAF Blyton
RAF Bridgnorth
RAF Bridlington
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Faldingworth
RAF Hemswell
RAF Hixon
RAF North Killingholme
RAF Stormy Down
searchlight
Stalin, Joseph (1878-1953)
tactical support for Normandy troops
target indicator
training
Wellington
Window
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1901/35332/MRobertsEJH[See -DoB]-170712-030039.jpg
7f8c2e2d4d593f454a76fa861f13cb35
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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Roberts, E J H
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-07-12
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
Roberts, EJH
Description
An account of the resource
50 items. The collection concerns E J H Roberts DFC (408451 Royal Air Force) and contains maps, documents, news clippings and photographs. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 61 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Carole Grant 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
Bomb Aimer's Notes
Description
An account of the resource
The notes indicate the bomb distribution in the bomb bay, the total weight of the bomb load, the all up weight of the aircraft, height of the bombing, forecast winds and heading and target indicator colours.
Aircraft code 'G'.
Target is Orleans, 10 June 44.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
EJH Roberts
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-06-10
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
France--Orléans
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. Service material
Format
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One typewritten sheet with handwritten annotations
Identifier
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MRobertsEJH[See#-DoB]-170712-030039
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.
1944-06-10
aircrew
bomb aimer
bombing
target indicator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1901/35234/NRobertsEJH170712-04.1.jpg
1fc4cf0d73395dfde005674c58bf88d3
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
Roberts, E J H
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
2017-07-12
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
Roberts, EJH
Description
An account of the resource
50 items. The collection concerns E J H Roberts DFC (408451 Royal Air Force) and contains maps, documents, news clippings and photographs. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 61 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Carole Grant and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined] LATE WAR NEWS [/underlined]
FRIDAY, MAY 5, 1944
BATTLE OF FRANCE STARTS IN AIR
Massed Nazi Tanks Wiped Out in Great Raid.
By COLIN BEDNALL, Air Correspondent
A PRE-INVASION aerial battle of France, in which fantastic moonlight dog-fights not only between fighters and bombers but between the first-line fighters of both sides may be seen, has been precipitated by Wednesday’s night operations of R.A.F. Bomber Command.
Large numbers of German tanks and military vehicles expressly marshalled to fight on a wide stretch of the enemy’s Western lines are believed to have been destroyed under a 1,500-tons attack.
Following immediately upon the devastation of so many railway marshalling centres behind the Western lines, the challenge offered by the heavy bombers could no longer be ignored by the enemy.
With fighter reinforcement temporarily borrowed from the defence of Germany proper, he fought for the attacked depots with ferocity equalling that seen in attacks on Berlin itself.
The R.A.F. loss of 49 aircraft during the night must be regarded as above the average for all forms of bombing operations.
The R.A.F. will be certain to reply to the enemy’s offer of battle. It can turn bombers and intruders upon the airfields from which the enemy fighters are operating.
And as for the next week or so it will be attacking in moonlight it should be possible to provide an actual fighter escort for the night bombers.
In this respect the attacks on France present a different proposition to the long journeys into Germany on dark nights when the difficulties of maintaining contact between a fighter escort and a long-strung-out bomber force would be great.
In switching his fighters to the defence of the invasion targets in France the enemy has obviously decided to gamble on the R.A.F. main bomber forces staying out of Reich territory while the moon is up.
Mosquitoes can be expected to maintain the bombing offensive there during the moonlight period, but, generally, it is just a waste of time for any enemy fighter to try to catch a Mosquito at night.
[underlined] FEW ESCAPE [/underlined]
A reconnaissance aircraft had located the tank concentration at a military depot at Mailly, near Rheims. The new “night precision” technique was employed to place the great bomb load squarely across this depot despite the fierce opposition.
It is believed that the tanks and vehicles were parked down in the depot a few hours before the attack took place, and there is little likelihood that men or materials survived it.
A pitched battle was fought over this target, with our bombers making their runs with unfailing precision through dog-fights lighted by the moon, fighter flares, and target indicators.
Soon a pall of smoke covered the whole area of the depot, and violent explosions were seen.
One pilot saw the biggest explosion of his career, with flames going up to a thousand feet.
More battles were fought as the armada sped home.
Of the bombing, Sergeant C. Duthoit, of Burnley, said: “I saw our 4,000-pounder go off, taking a large building with it and throwing a mass of debris into the air.”
[underlined] ARMS DUMP HIT [/underlined]
Aircraft stores and equipment at Montdidier, 23 miles south-east of Amiens, an ammunition dump at Chateaudun, north-west of Orleans, which was exploding for 35 minutes, and the chemical and explosive centre at Ludwigshaven, in the Upper Rhineland, were also heavily attacked.
Our bombers were sent out in “great strength” which probably means nearly 1,000.
These great night attacks dove-tailed into new day raids and with attacks from east and south on vital centres of Hitler’s invasion belt.
Yesterday an armada of planes based in Britain, including Fortresses, struck at railways and other war targets in many parts of Northern France.
Others bombed an airfield in Holland and pierced the German frontier as far as the Hanover-Brunswick area. The Holland force shot down nine fighters for the loss of three.
During the night Allied bombers pin-pointed railway targets at Bucarest, [sic] Rumanian capital. Others smashed viaducts and bridges on the Riviera railway from Marseilles through Vintimiglia [sic] to Spezia, causing particular damage at Ventimiglia.
And far to the east, as zero hour looms for the new offensive, the Red Air Force has been hammering at enemy railway junctions and aerodromes on their invasion belt from the Black Sea to Lvov and Stanislavov and down to Rumania. Here their air blows link up with the British and American attacks.
Air Squeeze on the Axis
[map of Europe]
MAP shows how the triangular bombing blows from east, west, and south are hammering at the Axis war potential. From Russia key German air defence points in Rumania and pre-war Poland were hit on Wednesday night, while Allied bombers based in this country kept up the non-stop attack on military and aircraft installations in France and Germany. At the same time Italy-based bombers struck again at Bucarest. [sic]
‘INVASION DECISION PUT OFF’
Says Goebbels
THE assertion that the Allied leaders are postponing taking a decision on the invasion of Europe is made by Goebbels in his weekly article Das Reich, quoted by the German Official News Agency.
Every day and night, he admits, the Germans take invasion precautions. He also admits Allied air superiority, but claims that the German fighter plants have been moved to places where they cannot be hit. He says:-
“The present chances of either side are not clear as long as the decisive factors of future developments remain undefined.
“As long as the air war had led to no decision, and as long as the opening of the second front remains a war of nerves, the war itself still remains an open question.
“However, the enemy knows as well as we do that both factors harbour as many dangers for him as for us. The enemy cannot afford a defeat in the one or the other without losing his last chance of victory.
“It is not without reason that both London and Washington are again and again postponing the decision which, once taken, is irrevocable.
‘We Have Some Trumps’
“Not only has the enemy had time enough to prepare an invasion, but so have we to repel it.
“We still hold some trumps. Behind the fortifications which are known, there are hidden a great number of unknown preparations. If the enemy troops envisage the invasion on the lines described in London papers, or by General Montgomery, they can only be pitied.
“The Anglo-Americans place their hopes mainly on their present air superiority. We do not dispute that by any means. We refuse, however, as a great error the thesis that the enemy has eliminated our fighter weapon, or that there is a chance of achieving such a result.
“The example of Cassino has, moreover, proved that air bombardments, however massive, are by no means sufficient to pierce a firm defensive line.” – B.U.P.
ALLIED ‘SEA, AIR BATTLE’
Signals Failed
From Daily Mail Correspondent
SYDNEY, Thursday. – Details of the accidental clash between Allied ‘planes and warships, in which two patrol ships were wrecked and two ‘planes shot down, show that the incident began when a patrol boat in difficulty off Northern New Guinea was attacked by fighters from the Solomons.
One fighter was shot down, but the ‘planes returned with reinforcements. A second patrol ship came to the aid of the first: both were attacked, and a second ‘plane was shot down.
This is the seventh clash between friendly forces in recent weeks. A failure in recognition signals is blamed.
Red Army’s ‘Hush-hush’ Battles
Big Axis Losses
MOSCOW, Thursday.
THOUSANDS of Germans and Rumanians are dying in officially unrecorded battles near Jassy and in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains.
Every day the enemy launches counter-attacks here, but they fail to gain ground, according to latest despatches from the Second Ukrainian front.
Although these sharp local engagements are not mentioned in Soviet communiques the battlefields are strewn with wrecked tanks, burnt-out lorries, and shattered guns.
Air Mastery
Soviet troops have penetrated deep into the foothills and along the valleys and tracks leading to the main passes, and experienced Red Army mountaineers are carrying heavy boxes of munitions and food supplies up to the forward positions.
Simultaneously the Soviet air offensive is gathering force in its softening-up of the German rear communications from Rumania to the Polish border region.
Great fleets of planes are bombing German troop concentrations, rail junctions, and airfields on an increasing number of key sectors.
The Soviet communique to-night again reported “no important changes,” but told of another mass air raid on Sebastopol, which caused ten fires in arms dumps and heavy losses in manpower to the Germans.
Berlin is expecting a new Sebastopol blow. The German commentator, Colonel von Hammer, said to-night that the Russian preparations for launching a great offensive in that area are going ahead rapidly. – B.U.P. and Reuter.
LATEST
GERMANS ADMIT RUSSIAN SUCCESS
The Germans admitted last night that the Russians had won temporary possession of a sector on the Sereth front. – Reuter.
NEW ROMMEL TOUR
Rommel is on a tour of inspection of the Mediterranean Coastal Defences, the German News Agency said last night. – Reuter.
S. AFRICA AIRPORT
Details of a new airport, complete with the most modern equipment, built by the Fleet Air Arm, were released yesterday. The airfield, called “Malagas,” is within a few miles of Capetown and cost nearly £4,000,000. – A.P.
[article on food facts]
Dublin Core
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Title
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Battle of France Starts in the Air
Description
An account of the resource
A report on RAF operations over France. The tank depot at Mailly was attacked as were railways, aircraft stores and an ammunition dump.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-05-05
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Montdidier (Hauts-de-France)
France--Amiens
France--Reims
Great Britain
England--Burnley
France--Châteaudun
France--Orléans
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Braunschweig
Romania--Bucharest
Italy--Ventimiglia
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Ukraine--Stanislav
Italy
France
Germany
Ukraine
Romania
England--Lancashire
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
Format
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One newspaper cutting
Identifier
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NRobertsEJH170712-04
Conforms To
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Pending text-based transcription. Under review
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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Tricia Marshall
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-05-03
B-17
bombing
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Mosquito
propaganda
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1874/34824/LCropperEW1655303v1.2.pdf
f88f6fb528ed66723be5e4de2ff41906
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1874/34824/LCropperEW1655303v2.2.pdf
d22e5a5b3765c935d430baf26790a835
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
Cropper, E W
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
2017-06-18
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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Cropper, EW
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. The collection concerns Group Captain EW Cropper (Royal Air Force) and contains his log books and documents. He flew operations as a navigator with 57 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by [name] and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
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Title
A name given to the resource
EW Cropper's Log Books
Description
An account of the resource
Two flying log books for navigators, air bombers, air gunners and flight engineers for E.W. Cropper. Between them they cover the period 17 May 1943 to 6 October 1950. There is much overlap between them and an original log book was destroyed by fire.
<p>Log book One.<br /><br />E W Cropper’s RAF Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book from February 1944 to 6th October 1950, recording training, operations, instructional and staff duties as a navigator. Aircraft in which flown: Stirling, Lancaster III, Lancaster VII (FE), Halifax II and V, Wellington XIII, Oxford, Anson, Proctor, Mosquito B35, Lincoln 2B. Based at: RAF Jurby (No. 5 Air Observer School), RAF Wratting Common (1651 Conversion Unit), RAF Hemswell (1 Lancaster Finishing School), RAF Elsham Wolds (103 Squadron), RAF Blyton (1662 Heavy Conversion Unit), RAF Shawbury (Empire Central Navigation School/Empire Air Navigation School), RAF Lindholme (1656 Heavy Conversion Unit), RAF Oakington and RAF Mepal (7 Squadron), RAF High Wycombe and RAF Booker (Bomber Command Communications Flight), RAF Waddington (57 Squadron) and RAF Scampton (Bomber Command Instrument Rating and Examining Flight).</p>
Records a total of 29 completed operations (26 night, 3 day)) on the following targets in Belgium, France and Germany: Aulnoye, Caen, Calais, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Flers, Friedrichshaven, Gelsenkirchen, Hasselt, Karlsruhe, Kiel Bay, Le Havre, Mailly-Le-Camp, Maintenon, Mardyck, Marquise-Mimoyecques, Orleans, Rennes (St Jacques airfield), Revigny, Saintes, Sanneville, Scholven, St Martins-de-Varreville, Sterkrade, Vire and Wimereux.<span><span> He also flew 3 Cook's Tour flights and two Operation Dodge flights. Post-war he served with 7 and 57 Squadrons. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Moore.<br /><br />Log Book Two.<br /><br /></span></span>
<p>E W Cropper’s RAF Flying Log Book for Navigators, Air Bombers, Air Gunners and Flight Engineers from 17 May 1943 to 16th April 1945, recording training, operations, instructional and staff duties as a navigator. Entitled “PERSONAL LOGBOOK”, includes detailed personal notes about training courses, first operational tour (“29 sorties”), instructor and staff navigator training. Aircraft in which flown: Tiger Moth, Stirling, Lancaster III, Halifax II and V, Wellington XIII, Oxford, Anson. Based at: RAF Shellingford (No. 3 Elementary Flying Training School), RAF Jurby (No. 5 Air Observer School), RAF Wratting Common (1651 Conversion Unit), RAF Hemswell (1 Lancaster Finishing School), RAF Elsham Wolds (103 Squadron), RAF Blyton (1662 Heavy Conversion Unit) and RAF Shawbury (Empire Air Navigation School).</p>
<p>Records a total of 29 completed operations (26 night, 3 day) on the following targets in Belgium, France and Germany: Aulnoye, Caen, Calais, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Flers, Friedrichshaven, Gelsenkirchen, Hasselt, Karlsruhe, Kiel Bay, Le Havre, Mailly-Le-Camp, Maintenon, Mardyck, Marquise-Mimoyecques, Orleans, Rennes (St Jacques airfield), Revigny, Saintes, Sanneville, Scholven, St Martins-de-Varreville, Sterkrade, Vire and Wimereux. <span>His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Moore.</span></p>
Creator
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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
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Log book and record book
Format
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Two printed books with handwritten annotations
Identifier
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LCropperEW1655303v1, LCropperEW1655303v2
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Isle of Man
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--Kiel Bay
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Shropshire
England--Yorkshire
Belgium--Hasselt
France--Caen
France--Charente-Maritime
France--Flers-de-l'Orne
France--Le Havre
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Maintenon
France--Mimoyecques
France--Nord (Department)
France--Orléans
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Rennes
France--Revigny-sur-Ornain
France--Vire (Calvados)
France--Wimereux
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Duisburg
Germany--Essen
Germany--Friedrichshafen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Oberhausen (Düsseldorf)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Saint-Martin-de-Varreville
France--Manche
France--Calvados
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-04-30
1944-05-01
1944-05-03
1944-05-04
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-15
1944-05-16
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-21
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-06-02
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-05-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-14
1944-06-16
1944-06-17
1944-06-18
1944-06-19
1944-06-20
1944-06-22
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-06-25
1944-07-04
1944-07-05
1944-07-07
1944-07-12
1944-07-13
1944-07-17
1944-07-18
1944-07-19
1945-07-03
1945-07-13
1945-11-28
1945-11-30
1946-01-14
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.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
103 Squadron
1651 HCU
1656 HCU
1662 HCU
57 Squadron
7 Squadron
Air Observers School
aircrew
Anson
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of the Le Havre E-boat pens (14/15 June 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Cook’s tour
Flying Training School
forced landing
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Halifax Mk 5
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lancaster Mk 3
Lincoln
mid-air collision
mine laying
Mosquito
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operation Dodge (1945)
Oxford
Proctor
RAF Blyton
RAF Elsham Wolds
RAF Hemswell
RAF High Wycombe
RAF Jurby
RAF Lindholme
RAF Mepal
RAF Oakington
RAF Scampton
RAF Shawbury
RAF Upwood
RAF Waddington
RAF Wratting Common
Stirling
tactical support for Normandy troops
Tiger Moth
training
V-1
V-weapon
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2097/34661/BBrindKJBrindKJv1.1.pdf
b8c765f6e18d169a6bc660eb824a7028
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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Brind, Kenneth John
Brind, K J
Description
An account of the resource
Two items. The collection concerns Kenneth John Brind (b. 1922 Royal Air Force) and contains his memoir and transcript of the ceremony awarding him the Légion d'Honneur. He flew operations as a navigator with 626 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Angela Way and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-04-30
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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. 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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Brind, KJ
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Royal Air Force 626 Squadron crest]
A Year In The Life
By
K.J. Brind
[page break]
To My Beloved
MARY,
our children
and grandchildren
I wish to express my appreciation to
"The Wickenby Register"
and in particular to its president
Don Wells and archivist
Jim MacDonald who, as well as
flying on many of the operations
described here, researched and
provided me with much of the factual
information in this book.
i
[page break]
A Year In The Life
By Kenneth Brind
In the village of Aldbourne on October 17th 1922, Ken was born to William and Emily Brind, the oldest of their three sons. Educated at St. Michael's School and Marlborough Grammar School, he entered the Royal Air Force shortly after the outbreak of World War II.
Trained as an Air Navigator, he flew a tour of operations with 626 Squadron Bomber Command, was commissioned and continued to serve in the RAF after the war as a navigation instructor, fighter controller and administrative officer.
He transferred to the RCAF in 1955 and served in a similar capacity until his retirement from military service in 1968.
This book is a description of the events which took place between his 21st and 22nd birthdays.
iii
[page break]
[photographs]
Kenneth John Brind CD C de G
[photograph]
Able Two
iv
[page break]
Prelude To Action
I'm not quite sure where to begin this narrative, but I suppose the R.A.F. Hospital Rauceby, Lincs. would be as good a place as any. I was there because of a pilonoidal sinus which was operated on and refused to heal so I spent a fairly lengthy period from early October 1943 to January 1944 (including my 21st Birthday on October 17th) out of action. It was my wife, Mary, who insisted I get treatment so I suppose, in a way, I owe her my life.
I had trained as a navigator and, after graduation from #10 Observers Advanced Flying Unit, Dumfries Scotland, had spent much of 1943 with a crew captained by Sgt. Geoff Clark. Geoff and I had met at No. 18 Operational Training Unit, Finningley, in May 1943, and taking an instant liking to each other, decided to throw in our lot together and jointly invited other crew members, bomb aimer, wireless operator and air gunner, to join us. During the summer we learned to operate as a crew on Wellington aircraft and completed our first operational sortie, which was an O.T.U. training exercise, on July 25th to Alencon, France, dropping leaflets inviting the Germans to surrender! On August 4th we moved on to No. 1656 Conversion Unit at Lindholme, picked up a flight engineer and second air gunner and learned to operate the Avro Lancaster Bomber. During the conversion process we had one very unfortunate experience. We were at the end of the runway one very dark night in the middle of September when another Lancaster taxiing behind us collided with our rear turret. One engine of the following aircraft smashed into the turret with Graham Uttley inside. Both pilots switched off all engines immediately and we managed to extricate Graham, but he was dead before the ambulance arrived. Another rear gunner immediately joined us and by the end of September the crew of Sgt. Clark, Pilot; Sgt. Brind, Navigator; Sgt. Naylor, Bomb Aimer; Sgt. Parkinson, Flight Engineer; Sgt. Whitmarsh, Wireless Operator; Sgt. Sugden and Sgt. Walker, Air Gunners was considered competent and ready to join a squadron, and were duly posted to No. 625 Squadron, Kelstern.
With our training now completed it seemed a good time to get the very minor surgery required to fix my pilonoidal sinus so I reported to the hospital. What we didn't know was that my recovery would take much longer than expected and that Geoff and the boys would not be able to await my return. They were forced to commence operations without me and were shot down over Berlin two days before Christmas, on December 23rd, 1943. They were all killed. I never met my replacement as Navigator, but I have always had guilt feelings that I should have been with them. Had I been there things might have been different. One thing is certain, they were a group of dedicated, enthusiastic, well trained young men.
Following my discharge from hospital I went on sick leave and it was not until April 1944 that the doctors certified me ready to crew up again and return to the war. In the meantime Mary had become pregnant and gone to Aldbourne where she would be safe. She had been with me during my O.T.U. and Conversion Unit Training.
I met Flying Officer Hicks and his crew at No. 1662 Conversion Unit, Blyton on May 14th. So many Lancasters had been lost during the winter of 1943/44 that they had been withdrawn
1
[page break]
[photograph]
The Wellington Crew
No. 18 O.T.U. Finningley
July 1943
Sgt. G. Uttley Sgt. W.E. Whitmarsh
Sgt. K.J. Brind Sgt. G.E. Clark Sgt. R.A. Naylor
from the heavy conversion units and replaced by Halifaxes. So crews converted on to the Halifax, then to the Lancaster at No. 1 Lancaster Finishing School, Hemswell. I did 3 cross country exercises (1 day and 2 night) with my new crew on the Halifax followed by a short conversion at No.! L.F.S. on to the Lancaster (with which I was very familiar from my time spent with my former crew) and then to No.626 Squadron, Wickenby on June 5th, 1944.
I should mention some of the characteristics of the Lancaster which by now had become the preeminent bomber aircraft of the Royal Air Force. It had a wingspan of 102 feet with a
2
[page break]
[photograph]
The Lancaster Crew
No. 626 Sqdn. Wickenby
July 1944
F/S J. Saletto F/S K.J. Brind F/L.A.C. Hicks F/O C. Bursey F/O P.M. Graves
Sgt. A.B. Jones Sgt. S.G. King
length of 69 feet and maximum height of 20 feet 6 inches. Powered by four Rolls Royce Merlin engines each developing 1,460 horsepower it had a maximum speed of 240 knots at 15,000 feet fully loaded and a cruising speed of 175 knots. The range varied with the load carried being 2,200 nautical miles with a 7,000 lb load, and 1350 nautical miles with a 22,000 lb load. Maximum fuel capacity was 2,154 gallons. Maximum bomb load varied with modifications which were made but essentially the main force carried not more than 15,000 lbs. Service ceiling was 19,000 – 20,000 feet depending on load and maximum ceiling was 24,000 feet. Take off distance loaded was 1,550 yards and the rate of climb was 250 ft/minute. Landing distance was approximately 1,000 yards. Maximum take off weight was 72,000 lbs. The aircraft carried a
3
[page break]
defensive armament of 3 gun turrets, the front carrying 2 x .303 machine guns, the mid upper the same and the rear turret 4 x .303's. Later the mid upper and rear turret were equipped with 2 x .5's. The primary navigation system was "GEE" by which the navigator could calculate the position of his aircraft by observing the time taken to receive pulse signals from three different ground stations. By now the enemy was aware of frequencies, etc., and jammed the signals before one reached the European coast. The other radar navigation system was "H2S". Here the aircraft transmitted signals which were reflected back from the terrain over which it was flying by providing a map of coastlines, islands, rivers, etc. But because the aircraft was transmitting it became vulnerable to interception by enemy fighters or prediction by anti aircraft guns. So it had to be used with discretion. The crew required to man this aircraft was seven as I have already mentioned.
My new crew was quite different from my previous one. Here 3 of the 7 were officers and Arthur Hicks himself was ten years older than I. He had done most of his flying training in the U.S.A., at Pensacola, Florida, and wore a silver bracelet proclaiming his proficiency. The other officers in the crew were Peter Graves, a burly London policeman, the bomb aimer and Bill Bursey, strangely enough the rear gunner, both were Flying Officers. The other N.C.O.s were Jack Saletto, an Australian and sole survivor of a 460 squadron crew, the wireless operator, Stan King, a youngster from London, the flight engineer, and Bert Jones the mid upper gunner.
We were welcomed by the Squadron Commander, Wing Commander Rodney, in his office and advised of two things; one was that a crew had just completed a tour of operations (the first to do so for some time) and the second was that the invasion (Operation Overlord) was to take place tomorrow, so we had arrived at a good time. We were then allocated to "A" Flight with whom we would remain for the duration of our tour with the squadron. We settled into our quarters but this crew, being mixed, officers and N.C.O.s, did not all share the same accommodation. The officers went to their quarters and the N.C.O.s to theirs.
The next few days saw us getting acclimatized, going through the various administrative procedures to ensure we would be paid and fed and generally getting to know our way around.
On June 13th an aircraft was made available for us to demonstrate that we were ready to operate so we took it on a 5 1/2 hour night cross country. On our return we were debriefed and our logs and charts were analyzed and checked. We passed muster.
4
[page break]
Operation No. 1 Rheims
The invasion of Europe (Operation Overlord) had commenced on June 6th 1944 and the allied armies were struggling to establish a bridgehead in Normandy. The Germans were trying to reinforce their defences so railway marshalling yards became prime targets. So it was that our first operation was against the railway yards at Rheims, France. It was June 22nd.
Our route took us from Wickenby to Gravesend then south to cross the English coast near Hastings, across the channel to a point on the French coast just east of Dieppe then south east directly towards the target. After bombing we headed west to a point just west of Dieppe then north back across the channel to make a landfall near Brighton, thence to Reading and back to base.
The bombload was 9,000 lbs consisting of eighteen 500 lb high explosive bombs which Peter Graves dispatched without difficulty. The aiming point was marked with cascading yellow target indicators (TI's) at H-5 and H-4 (H being the Time on Target of the first wave of bombers) and backed up with green TIs. The initial markers were scattered and short of the target but the Master Bomber backed up with red spot fires.
The weather called for patchy clouds enroute increasing to 9/10's clouds with tops at 6,000 feet. As the main force was at 18 – 20,000 feet some crews could not see the reds so bombed the glow of the markers through the clouds. The weight of the attack fell on the sorting sidings cutting every line and destroying 61 rail cars.
Ground defences were not heavy but there was heavy flak (anti-aircraft fire) and searchlights in the Abbville area. We were coned in searchlights for several minutes which is always a hair-raising experience but Hicky put the nose down and we eventually dived clear and resumed our homeward course. We returned to base without further incident and landed at approximately 0240 having been airborne for four hours and forty minutes.
Of the 19 aircraft of 626 Squadron which had started out one developed an engine fire, aborted the mission and returned to base, and one (Sgt. Woolley and crew) was shot down and all on board were killed. Bomber Command always kept statistics and on this night our squadron loss was 5.26%. Statistically if we continued at this rate we would last for twenty missions and our tour called for 30. We ate our eggs and bacon and went to bed.
5
[page break]
Operation No. 2 Les Hayons
In the summer of 1944 the Germans had developed their "ultimate weapons" the V1 and V2 and were using them indiscriminately against London and Southern England. The V1 was a winged bomb with a jet propelled engine which flew until it ran out of fuel then crashed and exploded. The V2 was a rocket propelled bomb which left the ground on a high trajectory, crossed the channel and came almost straight down on to it's target. There was some defence against the V1 in that it could be shot down by ground fire or by a fighter aircraft. There was no defence against the V2. The launching sites for both were in the Pas de Calais area of Northern France and in the low countries so the obvious way to eliminate the problem was to destroy the launching sites and storage sheds on the ground. A job for Bomber Command.
Our first attack against a launching site followed two days after our trip to Rheims, on June 24th, and the target chosen for 626 Squadron was Les Hayons in the Pas de Calais. These operations were not considered difficult as they were fairly short with not too much time over enemy territory. Our squadron's contribution of 17 aircraft included the squadron commander.
We took off at 1535 hours with a bomb load of 9,000 lbs (18 x 500 lb bombs) and climbed enroute to our bombing height of 18,000 feet. There were scattered patches of cloud between 3 and 8,000 feet, but the target area was clear with good visibility.
Our route took us again to Gravesend (but this time in daylight), to Hastings where we crossed enroute outbound, then straight to the target crossing the French coast near Calais. Calais was heavily defended and we came under a heavy and accurate flak attack on our approach to the target area, but fortunately we did not see any enemy aircraft. The aiming point was marked by red TIs but they were not dropped until after several of us had already bombed the target. Visibility was good and we were able to identify the launch ramps and storage buildings visually and attack them. We came under attack again as we crossed the French coast on our way home. We returned via Reading and arrived at Wickenby having been airborne 3 hours and 40 minutes. Two of our squadron aircraft sustained damage from the flak attack but no one was injured.
6
[page break]
Operation No. 3 Ligescourt
The next day we were at it again. This time our target was the flying bomb site at Ligescourt just a few miles from Les Hayons which we visited yesterday. But now we were going in the early morning rather than late afternoon. Twice in less than 24 hours.
Take off commenced at 0722 hours and our aircraft, A2 (Able Two) was airborne at 0730. The 626 squadron force was again 17 aircraft each carrying 18 x 500 lb bombs. The weather again was cloudy over England clearing over the channel with no cloud and excellent visibility in the target area.
The target marking of cascading red and yellow TIs was carried out by Mosquito aircraft. The red TIs were 2 minutes late and were slightly north east of the target but visibility was so good that the bomb aimers were able to visually identify and attack the target.
For some reason we did not come under the accurate flak attack which we experienced yesterday. Except for a few bursts at Berck sur Mer we were trouble free. A lone German fighter was sighted over the channel and was promptly shot down by spitfires of No. 11 Group who were providing fighter cover for us. The squadron sustained no losses and there were no reports of damage to our aircraft.
We again returned via Reading and at 1045 hours landed at Wickenby. At this period of the war everyone avoided flying over London so as not to impede those defending the city against flying bombs, so we were routed east or west of London depending on the location of the target.
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Operation No. 4 Sirracourt
It was now June 29th and operations scheduled for the 27th and 28th had been cancelled because of poor weather. There was now a slight improvement with a forecast of fair to cloudy with light showers. At 1000 hours we were advised that the daylight operation planned for yesterday was to be put on at once. Lots of rushing around getting everything ready, bombs, fuel, briefing, etc. The target was another flying bomb launching site, this time at Sirracourt, a few miles south of Les Hayons and Ligescourt.
For this operation we were joined by aircraft of 12 squadron which shared Wickenby with us. The force consisted of 29 Lancasters, 15 from 626 and 14 from 12 squadron. We were part of a concentrated attack on flying bomb launching sites by 286 Lancasters and 19 Mosquitoes of Bomber Command.
Our bomb load for this operation was a mixture of 1,000 lb and 500 lb high explosive for a total of 13,000 lbs per aircraft. Fuel load was 1,450 gallons. We always knew from the fuel and bomb loads, even before being given the target at briefing, whether we were going on a short or long trip. The maximum fuel load for a Lancaster was 2,154 gallons. We knew if full fuel load was called for the trip would be long and the bomb load smaller to remain within the maximum takeoff weight of 72,000 lbs. Conversely on shorter trips we carried less fuel and more bombs.
Getting 29 Lancasters off one runway takes a little time but we had got it to a fine art. Number one started rolling and when he was halfway down the runway number two started. By the time number one became airborne number two was halfway along and number three started so there were always 3 aircraft on or just leaving the runway. It was very efficient so long as there were no problems.
The first aircraft took off at 1151 and we were airborne at 1210 hours. Our route to the target was again via Gravesend and Dungeness and the weather was good to within a few miles of the target, then the cloud thickened to about 7/10s with tops at about 14,000 feet which meant that Peter Graves could not visually identify the target so we reduced height to bomb at 12,500 ft. We were above the clouds but came under intense and accurate heavy flak from the French coast to the target. We were again escorted by 11 Group Spitfires and saw no enemy fighters.
The target marking was by red TIs cascading from 4,000 feet on to the Master Bomber's yellow TIs cascading from 3,000 feet. Unfortunately, the Master Bomber was shot down while dropping his yellow TIs. This resulted in scattered bombing particularly in the early stages of the attack. Because of the weather it was difficult to assess the results of the attack but at 1402 hours a large explosion was reported with smoke rising to 4,000 feet.
We again returned via Reading and arrived back at Wickenby at 1540 hours. Four of Wickenby's aircraft were hit by flak, two from each squadron and one from 12 Squadron (P/O Underwood) was lost. It was on fire and abandoned in the air and crashed at Troisvaux. The pilot, navigator and rear gunner were killed while the wireless operator, bomb aimer, flight engineer and mid upper gunner were all taken prisoner of war. The Wickenby loss rate was 3.45%.
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Operation No. 5 Vierzon
Vierzon is a town some 120 miles south of Paris. It was a major rail and transportation centre for German troops and supplied on their way to the front some 160 miles to the north west. It was our "target for tonight" on June 30th and 31 Lancasters from Wickenby were detailed for the mission. Twelve Squadron supplied 13 and 626 Squadron 18.
Take off commenced at 2151 hours and our aircraft became airborne at 2155 with a bomb load of 13,000 lbs, mixed 1,000 and 500 lb high explosive and 1,450 gallons of fuel. We climbed towards Reading, the assembly point, and reached our operational altitude earlier than normal as we were briefed for 8 - 10,000 feet instead of our usual 18 - 20,000 feet. We were aware that disruption of rail traffic was vital to stop German troops and supplies reaching the beachhead in Normandy. We were also aware that inaccurate bombing would kill innocent French civilians. Targets were, therefore, brilliantly lit with chandelier flares and to ensure accuracy we flew at less than half our normal bombing height. From Reading we headed to a point midway across the channel then crossed the French coast between Dieppe and Le Havre and headed south towards the target.
On arrival in the target area we found the aiming point illuminated with flares and marked with impact yellow TIs backed up by red spot fires. The TIs fell to the north east of the yards but the reds were accurate and the bombing was concentrated on them. The Master Bomber instructed the main force to bomb between two sets of TIs. At 0119 hours a broadcast was heard on the radio telephone (RT), not the Master Bomber's voice but using his call sign, instructing the main force to cease bombing and go home. No code word for "stop bombing" was used so the broadcast was ignored. Shortly after a Canadian voice interjected over the RT telling the German, in the most ungentlemanly fashion, what to do.
In spite of everything the bombing appeared to be extremely accurate and results showed that all through lines were cut, much of the rolling stock and two thirds of the locomotive depot was destroyed. Regretfully residential and business property to the east of the target was severely damaged.
There was some light flak in the target area and because of our reduced altitude, it was exploding at our height but the one searchlight was shot out by the first marker. The fighters were initially confused as to our location but after we had been over enemy territory for 54 minutes they were ordered to Orleans and, having identified our target, they attacked with considerable ferocity. They made contact by moonlight and held the bomber stream for 80 miles on the return route when most of our losses occurred.
This was the deepest penetration my crew had made so far and in spite of all the activity going on around us we were able to fly home unscathed and arrived back at Wickenby at 0325 hours having been airborne for 5 1/2 hours.
Of Wickenby's aircraft on this night one from 626 Squadron aborted the mission with an electrical failure and one from 12 Squadron was damaged by light flak. Four combats with fighter were reported, 3 by 12 Squadron aircraft and one from 626. Of the 30 Wickenby aircraft
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to reach the target 4 were lost, two from each squadron. 12 Squadron lost P/O Honor and P/O Pollard, and both crews were killed. 626 lost P/O Pocock who was killed together with his whole crew on their very first operation, and P/O Orr who was killed together with his flight engineer and both gunners while his navigator, bomb aimer and wireless operator managed to bail out. The navigator and bomb aimer were both wounded and taken prisoner but the wireless operator evaded capture.
Bomber Command loss rate for this operation was 11.86% while that for Wickenby was 12.9%. We had paid the price for operating a lower level than normal. 626 Squadron had lost 2 aircraft out of 18, a loss rate of 11.1%, the highest we had experienced since starting our tour. It was now 9 days since we started operational flying and we had already flown on 5 operations. And so we reached the end of June 1944.
On July 1st the weather was cloudy but becoming fair with showers – 23 Lancasters were detailed for a night attack which was cancelled. "Salute the Soldier Week" was held from July 1st to 8th with a target of £2000. Whether the target was reached is not known. A discipline notice on the bulletin board read "Airmen with cycles in their charge fitted with "rat trap" pedals are to ensure that all sharp points liable to damage footwear are filed off".
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Operation No. 6 Domleger
On July 2nd the weather was cloudy becoming fair with showers later. Twenty five Lancasters from Wickenby were detailed against a flying bomb site at Domleger. We were part of a force of 286 Lancasters and Mosquitoes attacking 2 flying bomb sites. 626 Squadron provided 14 aircraft. Domleger was in the vicinity of the other flying bomb sites we had already attacked. Our bomb load was 13,000 lbs mixed 500 and 1,000 lbs high explosive.
We were the first aircraft to takeoff and were airborne at 1215 hours and climbed to our normal bombing height of 18,000 feet enroute to Gravesend. The weather as we progressed was 8 - 10/10s cloud with tops between 7 and 10,000 feet.
As we approached the target area the Master Bomber instructed all crews to bomb on DF (Direction Finding) radar or radio then 3 minutes before H hour these instructions were cancelled and we were instructed to bomb the TIs. In the meantime we reduced height to 14,000 feet, the cloud layer broke, and a large hole enabled us to bomb visually at 1415 hours. As with all visual bombing the concentration was good with smoke rising to 5,000 feet.
There was a minimal amount of light flak in the target area but considerable heavy flak in the Abbville area on the homeward route. No enemy fighters were seen, fighter cover again being provided by 11 Group.
Our losses were nil and only one of our aircraft was hit by flak with no casualties. We returned to Wickenby 3 1/2 hours after we left.
On July 4th twenty-two Lancasters from Wickenby were detailed as part of a force of 151 plus 6 markers against the railway yards at Les Aubrais near Orleans. 626 Squadron's effort was 11 aircraft.
Take off commenced at 2147 with our aircraft becoming airborne at 2200 hours. All went well until we were over France and, as we thought, heading in the direction of the target. But at H hour when the target should have been in view, or at least the TIs should have appeared ahead of us, there was nothing to be seen. We were flying over an unbroken layer of cloud and were certainly not where we were supposed to be. As the navigator it was my responsibility to know where we were at all times. Something had gone wrong and I was not certain what it was. We could not go on to the target, we didn't even know where it was, so Hicky made the only decision possible. We would head for home. It is a rather scary position to be in – flying around over enemy territory with 9,000 lbs of bombs on board – knowing you are somewhere between your base and your target, but not knowing how to get to either and with navigational equipment which is unserviceable. Under such conditions you revert to basics. I stuck my head into the astrodome and located Polaris – the North Star, and directed Hicky to fly north, using the star to steer by. We knew that by flying north we would cross the French coast and eventually the English channel but at this point did not know where or when. Once we had settled on course I was able to assess what had happened.
The Distant Reading (DR) compass had become destabilized and was slowly rotating so that we had not been steady on any course but going round in a huge circle. We were alone and
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at the mercy of any defences we might encounter. In the meantime, Hicky, Peter Graves and Stan King were all looking ahead searching for any sign of the French coast. Bert Jones and Bill Bursey in the gunners turrets were searching the black skies for anything approaching us while Jack Saletto and I were working feverishly for any bearings or any radar fix which would help us locate our position. Then it happened! Heavy flak appeared before us and about the same time the H2S told me we were approaching Le Havre, one of the most heavily defended ports on the coast. We had no choice but to fly through the defences which we proceeded to do weaving gently to try and prevent the anti aircraft prediction radar getting a "lock on" to us, and we were lucky enough to get through unscathed and headed out over the channel.
We still had our 9,000 lbs of high explosive just beneath where we were sitting and the prospect of landing with it still on board, in the dark, was not a pleasant one so, discretion being the better part of valour, it was decided to jettison our bomb load over the channel. We were back within GEE range by now so I selected a spot well away from the shipping lanes which were very busy between southern England and the Normandy beachhead and Peter dropped them safe, i.e. not fused, into the English Channel.
We returned home without further incident after almost 6 hours and had to report that we had aborted the mission. The log showed the reason as "DR compass unserviceable". So for us this counted for naught and our number was still 6 completed operations.
For the rest of the squadron the night had been successful. The assessment of the attack was that all through rail lines were cut and a large quantity of rolling stock destroyed or damaged.
626 Squadron reported one aircraft damaged and one combat with a JU88. 12 Squadron lost one aircraft with the pilot (F/S Turner), bomb aimer and flight engineer taken prisoner and the other four crew members killed.
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Operation No. 7 Dijon
On July 5th the weather was fair to cloudy with moderate visibility. I had our instrument technicians working on the DR compass and had the master unit replaced and swung. Hopefully it will be O.K. for tonight we go to Dijon.
Twenty two Lancasters from Wickenby, 12 from 12 and 10 from 626 Squadron were part of a force of 154 detailed against the marshalling yards at Dijon, a city some 160 miles south east of Paris and about 60 miles from the Swiss border. Because of the distance involved the fuel load and bomb loads were adjusted and we carried 9,500 lbs (8 x 1,000 lb and 3 x 500 lb).
We took off at 2000 hrs in daylight and were gradually wrapped in darkness as we headed towards France. Our route took us south west from Wickenby to Bridport crossing the English coast just west of Weymouth. We then headed south to a point near the Channel Islands before turning south east towards France. We had deliberately kept clear of the European battlefield and now crossed the coast at a point some 35 miles north of Rennes and moved in a series of zig zags towards the target area. A tactic used by Bomber Command was to try not to indicate to the enemy until the last minute where the actual target was, so we finally headed to a point north west of Dijon then made a sudden turn south east for a relatively short bombing run over the marshalling yards before turning west and heading for home.
The weather over England was 10/10 cloud with tops to 7,000 feet so we soon climbed through it and were in the clear above. The cloud layer dispersed by mid channel and visibility was perfect from then on. Perfect visibility is a two edged sword though, not only can you see where you are going and who is with you, but you can also be seen by the enemy fighters and anit aircraft defences. Visibility was so good that the Swiss Alps were clearly visible from a distance of one hundred miles or so. It was worth the trip just to see Mont Blanc at 15,780 feet glistening in the moonlight.
There was a good deal of light flak in the target area which considerably troubled the Master Bomber. Initial yellow TIs were dropped by using radar and were found to be one mile north west of the target. The Deputy Master Bomber arrived in the target area ahead of the Master Bomber and dropped one red and one yellow TI within 50 yards of the aiming point. Bombing was accurate though some crews bombed the early markers. Photographic reconnaissance assessed that all the through rail lines were cut and the locomotive round house and workshops destroyed.
There was some night fighter activity over the target and as far as Tours on the way home. Four of 626 Squadron crews reported combat with night fighters and one of our aircraft was damaged.
We returned home on a reciprocal route and arrived back at Wickenby at 0440 hours after a flight of 8 hours 40 minutes and the furthest penetration yet into Fortress Europe. There were no losses.
Until now our operations were against flying bomb sites to reduce these attacks on Southern England, and railway marshalling yards and communication centres in France to try
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[map]
[underlined] DIJON [underlined].
[underlined] 5/6 JULY 1944 [underlined].
[page break]
to prevent German reinforcements from reaching the battle area. Now we were going to use bomber aircraft as heavy artillery in direct support of the forces on the ground. The Allied armies had established a beachhead in Normandy but were experiencing difficulty in breaking out and advancing. Particularly troubling was Caen where German resistance was especially stubborn.
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Operation No. 8 Caen
On July 7th a Bomber Command force of 283 Lancasters, 164 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitoes were detailed against troops and armour at Caen. Wickenby's contribution was 30 Lancasters, 13 from 12 Squadron and 17 from 626. The weather was cloudy with intermittent rain in the morning, fair later. The operation was scheduled for evening.
The bomb load was 13,000 lbs, mixed 1,000 and 500 lbs high explosive. Takeoff commenced at 1910 hours and we became airborne at 1930. The enroute weather was 7 – 8/10's cloud with a base at 5,000 feet and tops at 12,000 feet until nearing the French coast then clearing to small amounts of broken cloud only.
Target marking with red and yellow TIs was on time and accurate which made the work of the bomb aimer that much easier. However, there was intense heavy and light flak in the target area. After all we were attacking an army on the ground who were well trained and well equipped and who were going to defend themselves. As we flew through the target area there was smoke, exploding shells, exploding bombs and aircraft everywhere. A very confusing scene.
However, the bombs straddled the markers and it was apparent that a raid of outstanding success was achieved. Photo reconnaissance showed the bulk of the bombing fell within a radius of 450 yards with very few isolated sticks of bombs.
A message from 2nd Army Headquarters read "The heavy bombing that took place this evening was a wonderfully impressive show. The 2nd Army would like appreciation and thanks passed to all crews".
One of 626 Squadron's aircraft aborted with an unserviceable port inner engine. Three of 12 Squadron and 3 of 626 Squadron aircraft were damaged. Among them was ours. We were hit by flak in the mid upper turret and the front windscreen over the target but fortunately none of us was injured though Bert Jones obviously had a close call.
626 Squadron lost one aircraft (P/O Oram) which was hit in the target area and subsequently became uncontrollable. The crew abandoned over the channel and 5 of them were rescued from the sea and returned to fly again. Unfortunately, both air gunners were killed. The squadron loss rate was 5.9%.
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Operation No. 9 Tours
Thirty-four Lancasters from Wickenby were detailed against Tours on July 12th as part of a force of 378 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes attacking railway targets. This was a continuation of the attacks against marshalling yards and communication centres in France in support of Operation Overlord. Dijon, Orleans, Vierzon and Rheims were previous targets. 626 Squadron's contribution was 18 aircraft. As with previous attacks of this type the bomb load consisted of 1,000 and 500 lb high explosive. On this occasion it was again 13,000 lbs with 2,000 gallons of fuel.
Again, we headed southwest from Wickenby to Bridport and crossed the English coast near Weymouth then south east to the French coast and the target. After the attack we returned to Bridport via the Channel Islands then back to Wickenby.
The weather was clear enroute except for some broken patches of medium cloud. There was some thin cloud between 4 – 6,000 feet north of the target area but it cleared before we arrived and all that remained in the target area was some haze.
The first TIs undershot the aiming point by 500 yards, but the Master Bomber was able to direct the main force to overshoot the markers. As the target was clear the marshalling yards were visible and bombing was concentrated on the target though smoke rising to 9,000 feet eventually obscured it.
Photo reconnaissance confirmed the target to be completely covered in craters with all railway tracks cut, the bridge collapsed and embankment roads obliterated. The storage sidings and railcars were so covered with close packed craters an estimation of railcars destroyed could not be made.
Some light flak and sporadic heavy flak was experienced and fighters were active on the homeward journey. A diversionary raid to the low countries drew many night fighters from the main raid.
One of our aircraft sustained flak damage while in the target area and one of 12 Squadron reported an engagement with a JU88. There were no losses.
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Operation No. 10 Caen
On July 18th an early morning raid in direct support of the British Second Army against troops and armour east of Caen was ordered. This was the second occasion we were used as heavy artillery prior to a ground attack against enemy troops. The allied armies at this stage of Overlord were experiencing very stubborn resistance all along the front and even though we had helped by bombing Caen on July 7th resistance east of Caen was still very strong, and a major attack was required.
Bomber Command's force was 667 Lancasters, 260 Halifaxes and 15 Mosquitoes – over 900 aircraft in all. 38 of the Lancasters were from Wickenby with 626 Squadron providing 20. The bomb load was again 13,000 lbs with 11 x 1,000 lbs and 4 x 500 lbs.
Whereas our raid on July 7th was in the evening, on this occasion takeoff commenced at 0300 hours so that we were over the target at first light. The enroute weather consisted of low cloud over England with thick haze at the English coast. It cleared as we crossed the channel and the target area was clear with excellent visibility.
The marking was by low bursting red TIs from H-5 to H-1 then by yellow TIs bursting at 4,000 feet leaving a trail of white smoke. Markers were accurate and punctual except for one which the Master Bomber identified as being 100 yds south. Accurate marking and bombing was essential as we were attacking the enemy a short distance ahead of our own troops, a fact we were all well aware of. Bombing commenced one minute early and excellent concentration was achieved. The aiming point was soon obscured by dust and smoke but the TIs were still visible.
Flak was negligible in the target area but accurate predicted heavy flak was encountered as we left. No enemy fighters were seen as cover was again provided by No. 11 Group.
Three of 12 Squadron and 3 of 626 Squadron aircraft were hit by flak, including ours, but fortunately no one was injured. One of 626 Squadron found a live 1,000 lb bomb rolling on the closed bomb bay doors after leaving the target area. I had failed to release with the rest of the bomb load but was safely jettisoned over the channel.
We arrived back at Wickenby at about 0700 to debrief, breakfast and bed.
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Operation No. 11 Courtrai
Courtrai was a rail centre and marshalling yard some 50 mile west of Brussels, the Belgian capital, through which supplies, reinforcements and equipment passed on their way from Germany to the front. It was our first target not in France and received the attention of 302 Lancasters and 15 Mosquitoes on the night of July 20th. 35 Lancasters from Wickenby were detailed as part of this force and 626 Squadron's contribution was 18.
The bomb load was again 13,000 lbs with the usual mixture of 1,000 and 500 lbs high explosives. Our route took us south east to Orfordness, across the North Sea to the Belgian coast west of Ostend then to the target.
We took off at 2330 and climbed in darkness towards the coast. We passed through a 10/10th layer of cloud over England which cleared as we crossed the North Sea. As we approached the Belgian coast we were startled to see a streak of light from the ground rush vertically past us at tremendous velocity and disappear above us. It was a rocket propelled V2 on it's way to London. One launching site down there somewhere which needed to be dealt with, or perhaps it had been and was already repaired. We were aware, of course, that the German war machine, with it's huge quantity of slave labour, worked to repair everything which we damaged as soon as possible.
In the target area there was no cloud but some haze with fair visibility. As we were climbing out Hicky was having some trouble with the Constant Speed Unit (CSU) on the port outer engine which he and Stan King were unable to stabilize but we carried on with them nursing the problem as this was not a very long trip.
As we approached the target Mosquitoes marked the aiming point with red TI's at H-8. Other pathfinders dropped flares and red and green TIs. The marking was on time and accurate and resulted in bombing being well concentrated on the target. Peter Graves released our bombs at 0156 hours. Photo reconnaissance reported that reception, forwarding and sorting sidings were utterly destroyed. A large water tank was hurled from the centre of the track to property outside the yard. The main loco sheds, passenger station, and a bridge carrying 5 tracks across a road were all virtually destroyed.
Flak defences were light but fighters were extremely active in the light of our marker flares (we could be seen from above silhouetted against them) and near Ostend and over the sea on our way home. The result was predictable, 5 of 626 and 2 of 12 Squadron crews reported combat but the only damage to returning aircraft came from a 626 and 12 Squadron aircraft which collided in circuit over the aerodrome on return. Both landed safely but the incident emphasised the importance of proper height and distance separation in the landing pattern particularly when returning a large number of aircraft in a short space of time. After returning from any operation everyone is stressed and tired and anxious to land as soon as possible.
However, we did suffer major casualties. One of 626 Squadron (F/O Wilson) and one of 12 Squadron (P/O Hagarty) were lost and both crews were killed, and another of 626 Squadron (F/O Bowen) was shot down over the target. The rear gunner was killed but all others either evaded or were taken prisoner.
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[map]
[underlined]COURTRAI. [/underlined].
[underlined] 20/21 JULY 1944 [/underlined].
[page break]
The Wickenby loss rate was 8.57% while Bomber Command's was 2.84%. 626 Squadron lost 2 of 18 – 11.1%. Hicky nursed A2 back home and we landed at Wickenby after being airborne 3 hours 15 minutes.
I should mention here that we have now completed 11 operations, 6 by day and 5 by night (and aborted one) and have been hit by flak only twice and so far never attacked by an enemy aircraft. The navigation section at Wickenby had a sign on the wall which read, "KEEP ON TRACK, KEEP ON TIME, KEEP ON LIVING". A Bomber Command operation was always a concentration in time and space with literally scores of aircraft crossing a target every minute. If you could stay on track and on time you were assured of being somewhere in the centre of a huge gaggle of aircraft. It was generally the stragglers or those who wandered off course who were attacked by fighters. My crew maintained that my ability as a navigator kept us close to the middle of the pack and minimized the risk, but I like to think that it was a crew effort. Everything that went on outside the aircraft around us even if it seemed inconsequential was reported and if necessary acted upon.
Weather on the 21st and 22nd of July was cloudy with drizzle and moderate visibility. On the 21st 28 Lancasters from Wickenby were detailed against Dortmund but the operation was cancelled and on the 22nd 36 were detailed for a daylight operation which was also cancelled. On the 21st we took advantage of the cancellation to carry out some fighter affiliation exercises to keep the gunners sharp. They had not yet had to fire their guns in self defence. On July 23rd the weather was cloudy but visibility was good and our target was announced as Kiel naval base.
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Operation No. 12 Kiel
A force of 519 Lancasters, 100 Halifaxes, and 10 Mosquitoes were detailed against Kiel and Wickenby's contribution was 33 with 15 of these from 626 Squadron. This was our first attack against a target in Germany and our first purely strategic attack, so we were both excited and apprehensive. Kiel was a port city on the Baltic Sea with shipyards, a naval base and manufacturing facilities known to be well defended.
We took off at 2100 hours on July 23rd and climbed through a layer of cloud with tops about 5,000 feet into the clear with good visibility. We carried 9,000 lb of bombs (18 x 500 lbs). Our route took us to Mablethorpe then across the North Sea to a point west of the North Frisian Islands then east into Germany proper and on to a southerly heading for the bomb run. This route gave me a good opportunity to use the H2S equipment to fix our position accurately before entering enemy territory. H2S was the radar equipment which transmitted a signal from the aircraft to the ground and the returns showed features such as islands, coastlines, etc. So we were on track and on time as we crossed the German coast and headed for Kiel and our target at 21,000 ft.
The target marking was by sticks of flares which were dropped at H-6 followed by Path Finder Force (PFF) marking the aiming point with mixed red and green TIs. The marking was punctual, reasonably accurate but scattered in the early stages. As we were above cloud and the markers were only visible by glowing through the clouds Peter bombed what he could see, as did all the other bomb aimers.
So we were unable to access the accuracy of the bombing until later when photo recce showed that severe damage was caused to the north east portion of the shipyards, buildings and hangars of the airfield and seaplane base were partially destroyed and considerable damage was caused to a large barracks and other buildings in the marine depot. As we left the target area we could see the glow of the fires reflecting on the clouds for a hundred miles.
We experienced heavy flak and some light flak in the target area, some of which appeared to come from ships in the harbour. There were a few searchlights. There was some fighter activity over the target and on the homeward route for distance of about 100 miles.
Two of 12 Squadron's aircraft reported combat and one of 626 Squadron engaged an ME 110 on two occasions some two minutes apart at 16,000 feet.
No damage was reported and no casualties. I have no report on Bomber Command losses for this operation but Wickenby and 626 Squadron had none.
I should mention that F/O Hicks was promoted to F/Lt and I was promoted to F/Sgt during July. These were the only promotions my crew received during our tour.
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[map]
[underlined] KIEL [/underlined].
[underlined] 23/24 JULY 1944 [underlined].
[page break]
Operation No. 13 Stuttgart
On July 25th the weather was fair becoming cloudy with intermittent rain when Bomber Command decided to send a force of 412 Lancasters and 138 Halifaxes against Stuttgart, a large manufacturing city in southern Germany. 25 of the Lancasters were from Wickenby with 626 Squadron providing 12 of them.
The bomb load was fairly typical for operations against major German targets being 1 x 2,000 lb high explosive bomb and 12 incendiary clusters. For a mission to southern Germany full fuel tanks of 2,154 gallons were required.
Takeoff commenced at 2058 and seven minutes later we roared down the runway and off for our longest trip so far to a German target. The route took us a long way south before turning east towards the target area. We went to Reading then south across the channel and turned east after we were well south of Paris. We then went almost to the Swiss border before turning north east towards the major centres in that general area in the hope of confusing the defences. Our target could have been any one of half a dozen cities, including Frankfurt, Russelheim, Mannheim, Karlsruhe or Stuttgart. We made our final turn on to the bomb run between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. The weather enroute was cloudy and in the target area there was 10/10th thin cloud with a base about 16,000. At 20,000 feet we were above this layer.
Sticks of flares and red TIs were dropped at H-6, P.F.F. then marked the aiming point with mixed red and green TIs. Release point flares of green and yellow stars were also dropped. The result of all this was that the bombing was scattered as several separate groups of markers each attracted concentrated bombing. Many fires were observed taking hold well and the glow from these was visible for 150 miles on the homeward route. This was the first occasion we had carried incendiary bombs which were designed to create damage by fire as opposed to damage by high explosive.
In spite of our efforts to conceal our route and target the enemy guessed we were going to Stuttgart some 30 minutes before H hour and elements of 14 night fighter Gruppen were deployed against us. Numerous combats were reported but flak was light to moderate over the target itself.
Our route home was also circuitous and was, in general, a reciprocal of our outbound flight. We came back via Reading and let down to arrive over Wickenby and land again after 8 hours 35 minutes of flying time.
Two of 626 aircraft failed to reach the target for quite different reasons. On one the navigator was sick so they returned early and the second was attacked before reaching the target, the bomb doors were damaged and would not open so they were forced to return with their bomb load still on board. They landed safely despite a flat tire[sic] caused by the enemy action. Two other 626 aircraft were damaged by flak as was one of 12 Squadron. Combat with night fighters was reported by 2 of 12 Squadron and 3 of 626 Squadron. There were no losses.
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Operation No. 14 Stuttgart
We returned from our long haul against Stuttgart in the early morning of July 26th, had a day off on the 27th and were detailed for the same target again on the 28th. Whilst we appreciated the necessity to follow up raids on some targets for a variety of strategic reasons those of us who were called upon to make the trip were not too enthusiastic. You may get away with bearding the lion in his den once but not twice in 3 days so we expected strenuous opposition.
The 22 Lancasters from Wickenby were part of a Bomber Command force of 494 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitoes. 626 Squadron's contribution was 10 aircraft.
Our route out and back was very similar to three nights ago with Reading the assembly point. Wickenby takeoff commenced at 2115 hours and again we were amongst the first to go taking off at 2120 hours. The weather had changed somewhat since the 25th. Now we encountered strata cumulus on the outward route with 10/10th low cloud with some slight breaks in the target area.
The target was marked with long sticks of flares and red TIs were dropped at H-6. P.F.F. then marked the aiming point with green and red TIs. Release point flares with green and yellow stars were also dropped so for the main force the marking for both the Stuttgart raids was very similar. Bombing was well concentrated on the markers but because they were scattered so was the bombing. Three groups of fires and 3 large explosions were seen. Photo recce later reported that many parts of the old city were devastated, the main railway station being damaged. It became apparent to myself and my crew that the further we had to travel to reach a target the more scattered the bombing became, and the less likely we were to achieve good concentration. Thus the importance of keeping on track and keeping on time became imperative.
There was moderate flak in the target area but there was intense fighter activity from south west of Paris all the way to and over the target but things were pretty quiet on the way home.
Two of 626 Squadron aircraft were damaged, both by fighter attack. One of 12 Squadron and 3 of 626 reported combats, and two of 12 Squadron (F/O Downing and F/O White, and one of 626 Squadron (F/Sgt Ryan) were shot down. Everyone in all 3 aircraft were killed except F/Sgt Ryan's navigator who became a prisoner. It was F/O Downing's 28th operation – two short of completing his tour. The loss rate for Bomber Command was 7.86%, for Wickenby 13.64%, and for 626 Squadron 10%.
German records for this night show that F/Sgt Ryan's aircraft was engaged in an air battle with a night fighter flown by Martin Becker which had taken off from Nurenburg. Becker's report shows that the Lancaster 626/Y2 was destroyed with serious burning to the starboard wing. "Parts fell off" reads the radio operator's log book. Only the navigator was saved by parachute. All other crew members were interred in a joint grave at Vachinger and in 1948 re-interred in a special cemetery for allied airmen at Durnbach near Munich. 626/Y2 was one of 4 British aircraft destroyed by Martin Becker that night. He was credited with destroying 58 aircraft during the war.
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We flew unmolested back to Wickenby, landed at 0515 hours, debriefed, had some sleep and went home for a few days leave. We did not know until we returned from leave that we had sustained a good sized hole in the starboard tailplane. It was repaired while we were away.
We had now completed almost half of our operational tour without any major problem and while we were unscathed through 14 operations between June 22nd and July 28th, our squadron, 626, had lost 7 aircraft as had 12 Squadron. So it averaged out to one Lancaster lost on each operation we had flown. In terms of crews the record shows that 77 crew members were killed and 12 taken prisoner. I must emphasize that this was the casualty figure for the operations on which I personally flew. There were others taking place when my crew was on stand down and I do not have the figures for these.
I mentioned earlier that I had taken Mary to Aldbourne while I was flying with the squadron. Just about all of the crew members who had wives and families preferred them to be away from the base. Fighting a war from a base in Britain and getting back to that base after each foray against the enemy was a radical departure from the accepted norm but it was the official opinion of the Air Force and the opinion of the combatants that they preferred their loved ones to be somewhere away where they would not be in day to day contact with what was going on. Can you imagine saying to your wife "Oh by the way dear I shall be late tonight I have to go and bomb Germany". The lady's nerves would be shattered after a week or two of this. When I was at O.T.U. Mary had given me a rag doll which looked rather like a gremlin (those of us who have seen gremlins know what they look like). This one was long and skinny with a green jacket and pants and a pointed cap. It was a good luck charm which I carried with me on every operation suspended over my navigation table. It never let me down.
So it was good to head for Aldbourne to see Mary and my family for a few days. Mary was by now about 6 1/2 months pregnant with Keith, our first child, and was in the longing way for sharp tasting fruit. She had already stripped the gooseberries from my mother's bushes and was waiting for apples to ripen a bit. She told me that she and my mother listened to the radio every morning to hear what Bomber Command had been up to the night before and to hear what losses we had sustained, then they waited hoping there would not be a telegram. If they hadn't heard by noon they figured I was still safe. This is certainly not the way to go through a pregnancy and thank goodness it was the only one she had to undergo in this way. My leave was over and I returned to Wickenby on August 6th but not until after a tearful farewell. Mary and my mother did not know if they would ever see me again so it was a poignant departure. I arrived back to typical summer weather for Britain, cloudy with intermittent light rain or showers and occasional sunny periods.
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Operation No. 15 Air-sur-Lys
On August 8th the weather was fair in the morning and afternoon with a build up of thunderstorms in the evening. I have not yet mentioned the American 8th Air Force who by now had been in Britain for some time and were operating by daylight only. Their tactics were different to ours – where we tried to sneak in under cover of darkness and escape without detection, they flew in huge formations and tried to fight their way in and out. Their bomber aircraft, B17s and B24s primarily, were much more heavily armed than we were but carried a significantly smaller bomb load. During this period of the war we were able to dovetail our operations with theirs with considerable success. They would visit a target by day, and we would repeat the effort by night. On this occasion we were to attack oil storage facilities at Air-sur-Lys in the morning but deferred to the 8th Air Force as they wished to attack the same target. So we were somewhat surprised when we were told that the U.S.A.F. had bombed the wrong target and we were going anyway.
Bomber Command detailed a force of 170 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes to attack two oil storage targets. Wickenby supplied 25 aircraft, 13 from 12 Squadron and 12 from 626.
I mentioned the forecast was for thunderstorms in the evening and as takeoff commenced at 2150 large thunderstorms lay across our intended track east of Lincoln. We climbed through the cumulo nimbus clouds but conditions were very difficult and numerous course alterations were necessary to avoid the worst of the weather. Once clear of the storm we were able to head for Orfordness, the assembly point. We were carrying our usual bomb load for this type of operation, 13,000 lbs of 1,000 and 500 lbs high explosive. After leaving Orfordness weather improved and by the time we reached the target there was no cloud and visibility was moderate to good.
Mosquitoes marked the aiming point at H-4 with red TIs. Other pathfinders backed up with green TIs. The reds were scattered but the greens were accurate so crews bombed the greens which resulted in accurate bombing. A large orange explosion at 2334 was followed by a dense column of black smoke indicating a direct hit on an oil storage tank. The glow of fires was visible for 75 miles. Photo recce showed many bombs in the target area; all the building[s] had their roofs stripped and there were hits on the canal wharf and rail tracks.
There was some flak and some fighter opposition was experienced. The fighters appeared to be using searchlights as assembly points but the tactic was not very successful.
We got back to Wickenby after a relatively short flight of 2 hours 55 minutes. One of 12 Squadron's aircraft was hit by flak and sustained some damage but no casualties. Another of 12 Squadron reported an engagement with a "Fishpond" radar indicator in which the rear gunner fired a burst but no enemy was seen.
We suffered our worst problems from the weather. Three aircraft, 2 from 12 and 1 from 626, aborted the operation. One was unable to get out of the Cu Nim and another dropped 12,000 feet in a Cu Nim. Not only are there violent currents and downdraughts in these clouds but also severe icing under certain conditions. The third aircraft to abort had it's starboard outer Constant
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Speed Unit (CSU) unserviceable so returned to base. Interestingly enough we had the same problem on our operation No. 11 to Courtrai, but elected to press on.
There were no losses on this night and we have now reached the halfway mark of our tour of operations. I wonder if the second half will be any more difficult than the first. Our gunners still have not fired their guns in anger. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
On August 9th the weather was not good and we were stood down for the day.
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Operation No. 16 Ferme du Forestal
On August 10th 15 of Wickenby's Lancasters were detailed, as part of a Bomber Command force of 60 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitoes, against flying bomb sites. Our target was Ferme du Forestal in the Pas de Calais area of Northern France.
This was a morning operation with takeoff commencing at 1045 hours. The enroute weather was cloudy, breaking up over the English Channel but thickening again from the French coast. Over the target was a 10/10th layer with a base about 2,000 feet. We carried our normal 13,000 lbs of bombs.
The Mosquitoes marked the aiming point with red TIs cascading from 5,000 feet and leaving smoke trails but because of the cloud in the target area we descended from our bombing height of 10,000 to try and get below the cloud layer and bomb visually. Our aircraft was successful in identifying the target and Peter bombed the launching ramp which he could see clearly.
We were then supposed to climb back to 10,000 feet for the return journey but chose to continue down to treetop level and return "on the deck". As we flew across fields and houses at rooftop level we could clearly see the local inhabitants waving a friendly greeting though I expect some of them were startled to hear a heavy bomber roar overhead. A short distance from the coast we passed near a military rifle range and as we flew past first Peter from the front turret, then successively Bert Jones and Bill Bursey all fired a few rounds in the general direction of the targets. This was much more fun than stooging back at 10,000 feet. As we approached the coast we were fired upon by the local defenders but they didn't expect to see the enemy approach them from the rear so by the time they had us in their sights we were safely out to sea. We climbed back to 10,000 feet over the channel and returned home, after a flight of 3 hours 35 minutes, as briefed.
One of 626 Squadron aircraft aborted the mission as he could not find the target, and one was hit by flak and damaged, but no one was hurt. Bomber Command did not sustain any losses.
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Operation No. 17 Falaise
On August 12th 626 Squadron participated in two attacks against widely divergent targets, one in support of the invasion forces in northern France and the other against a strategic target, Brunswick, Germany, some 120 miles west of Berlin.
I guess we were lucky on this occasion as we were selected with two other crews for the shorter mission to Falaise. We were part of a force of 91 Lancasters, 36 Halifaxes, 12 Stirlings and 5 Mosquitoes detailed for this target.
We took off at 2336 hours and climbed towards Reading on a clear summer night with no cloud. From Reading we headed to Selsey Bill on the English south coast (a place I used to visit as a child on Sunday school outings from Aldbourne) thence across the channel to the target. As we approached the French coast the cloud thickened until over the target it was 10/10th with tops about 8 – 10,000 feet.
The target marking was by flares and red TIs backed up by green TIs. They were plentiful and accurate and in spite of the cloud layer we were able to bomb accurately laying our 13,000 lbs of HE across the target. The bombing was well concentrated and extensive damage was done. The German army used Falaise as a hardened position from which they were determined not to fall back, so the allies were left with no alternative but to attack it. There was some flak, both heavy and light, and some fighter activity in the target area, but the Bomber Command loss rate was nil. We returned back to Wickenby via Reading and landed safely after a trip of just over 3 hours.
In the meantime 22 Lancasters, 11 each from 12 Squadron, and 626 Squadron, were detailed as part of a force of 242 Lancasters and 137 Halifaxes against Brunswick. They commenced their takeoff at 2116 hours so we were able to watch them go before we departed ourselves.
They experienced clear weather until 50 miles from the target when it clouded over to 10/10th in the target area. They carried a bomb load of 1 x 2,000 lbs and 12 clusters of incendiaries, the typical bomb load for strategic targets.
There was no marking carried out on this target so crews bombed using their H2S equipment. H2S shows a differentiation between land and water, but it was much more difficult to differentiate between land and built up areas so bombing was not concentrated and not very effective though scattered damage was seen with hits on the power station and gas works.
Both light and heavy flak were experienced and there was considerable fighter activity particularly from the target back to the North Sea. One 626 aircraft reported several combats but no damage.
One 12 Squadron aircraft (F/O Hancox) was shot down and all on board, except the wireless operator and mid upper gunner were killed, and one 626 Squadron (F/O Bennett) was attacked by a fighter and set on fire. The crew bailed out and 4 were taken prisoner. The wireless operator, mid upper gunner and rear gunner were all killed.
Wickenby's loss rate was 9.09% while that of Bomber Command was 7.12%.
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Operation No. 18 Falaise
By August 14th the allied armies had managed to push forward on both sides of Falaise and had effectively trapped a very large force of the enemy in a pocket extending from Falaise to Posigny. To save allied lives on the ground we were asked to bomb them into surrender.
So 16 Lancasters from Wickenby were part of a force of 411 Lancasters, 352 Halifaxes, and 42 Mosquitoes detailed against this target, which would be our last operation in direct support of the invasion armies. 626 Squadron's contribution was 10 aircraft.
We took off at 1207 carrying a bomb load of 13,000 lbs high explosive and climbed towards Reading, our assembly point, then south to the coast and across the channel. We did not climb to our normal height but levelled out at 7,000 feet as we were briefed to choose our own bombing height depending on weather in the target area. We flew above a cloud layer until we reached the English coast then the cloud thinned as we crossed the channel and the target area was clear. With some 800 aircraft all heading in the same direction it seemed the sky was full, a huge gaggle stretching from the French coast all the way back to the English coast. Fighter aircraft from 11 Group provided cover and could be seen above us.
As we approached the target, and wishing to bomb as accurately as possible, we reduced height to 3,000 feet. We knew that our own troops were within 2,000 years of the aiming point which was marked with green TIs, but which quickly became obscured by smoke. There was considerable fire from the ground as the enemy fought back. Peter released the bombs and we turned away to clear the target area for those behind and as we did so the aircraft received a sudden violent pounding. We had been hit but at this point did not know with what or by whom. Then Bill Bursey's voice from the rear turret, "Skipper I've been hit, and I'm bleeding". The aircraft was still flying so we knew it had not sustained fatal damage. Peter Graves, having dropped his bombs was now free to assist Bill and went to the back of the aircraft. As he made his way he reported flak damage all the way to the rear turret. By now Bert Jones had left the mid upper turret to assist and between them they got Bill out of his turret and forward to the rest bed where they lay him down and administered morphine from the first aid kit carried on all aircraft. Peter then applied field dressings to Bill's wounds and made him as comfortable as possible. The important thing now was to get Bill to a hospital as soon as possible so Hicky and I discussed our options. We elected to go for Boscombe Down which we knew could handle a Lancaster and was close to a major hospital in Salisbury (I knew the area well as Mary and I had been stationed at Old Sarum, next door, some 3 years before).
I calculated a course for Boscombe Down and we were on our way. Over the channel Hicky wanted to check that the aircraft would not do any unusual manoeuvres when placed in the landing configuration so we climbed above a suitable patch of cloud and he and Stan King carried out a practice approach on the cloud including reducing power and speed, lowering the undercarriage, applying full flap and stalling on to the cloud patch as though landing on it. Satisfied that all systems were O.K. we continued to Boscombe Down.
We called Boscombe on the emergency frequency and were given permission to land our
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wounded rear gunner. We were met by an ambulance, doctor and medical team. Bill was removed from the rest bed and transferred by ambulance to the American General Hospital, Salisbury.
We had the aircraft checked by the engineering and technical people at Boscombe to make sure we could take it off again, took a look at all the shrapnel [sic] holes, climbed aboard and headed back to Wickenby, arriving in time for supper.
We were the only Wickenby aircraft to sustain damage but 12 Squadron had one aircraft abort the mission. It was forced to abandon over the target when the electrical supply to the bomb release mechanism failed. He brought his bombs back.
Photo recce assessed that every street in Falaise was blocked by craters or rubble and whole sections of the town were completely devastated. The German troops surrendered shortly after their bombardment.
We later discovered that Bill Bursey had received a gunshot wound to the right leg and a shrapnel wound to the right thigh with a fractured femur. The Americans came round the hospital next day and offered him a "Purple Heart" for shedding blood against the enemy. Bill declined with thanks. He did not return to the squadron and never flew with us again. The next day we were joined by Sgt. Stott, his replacement, who was also a sole survivor from another crew. So now out of the seven crew members, 3 of us were sole survivors, Saletto, Stott and I.
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Operation No. 19 Stettin
On the night of August 16th 461 Lancasters of Bomber Command were detailed against Stettin. Wickenby's contribution was 24 aircraft shared equally between the two squadrons. Stettin was a major city on the Baltic and some 120 miles north east of Berlin. It is now part of Poland. It was a long, long way from Wickenby and entailed a crossing of the North Sea from Mablethorpe to a point near the Danish coast at 5600N 0800E then due east across Denmark to Longitude 1045E, then south east across the Kattegat, the Danish island passing west of Copenhagen, and the Baltic Sea to the target. Much of the time we expected to be under enemy attack as Denmark had been occupied by German troops for some time.
We took off at 2041 hours carrying 1 x 2,000 lb and 12 incendiary clusters, rendezvoused at Mablethorpe and headed across the North Sea climbing as high as we could get with a full fuel and bomb load. The weather enroute was clear across the North Sea and Denmark building up to 10/10th cloud with tops at 17,000 feet over Germany but cleared just short of the target which was free of cloud. Our outward trip was long but relatively uneventful. On these long North Sea crossings I always attempted to get as many accurate GEE fixes as possible prior to losing it to the enemy jamming. It was very important to get an appreciation of the wind, to compare it to that forecast and to calculate a correction to be applied to courses and speeds once we were out of range of GEE. So I always attempted to get a fix and calculate the wind every 6 minutes. This gave me a good understanding of what was happening with regard to the weather, which always stood us in good stead when I had to navigate on DR (Dead Reckoning) as we became further away from England. There was light to moderate flak at isolated points on route and some fighter activity. Because there were good coastline responses on the H2S I was able to navigate without difficulty to the target.
Flares and green TIs were dropped at H-6 and P.F.F. marked the aiming point with mixed red and green salvoes backed by red TIs. There were so many markers and decoys operated by the enemy that Peter had difficulty identifying which one he should bomb. In the confusion of aircraft, flak, tracer fire and target markers we overshot and rather than bomb the wrong target went round again. With everyone keeping a sharp eye out for other aircraft in our vicinity Hicky closed the bomb doors and made a gentle turn to the left and eventually a complete 360 degree turn and we came over the target a second time. This time Peter selected the proper target marker and the bombs were duly released. We were all glad to leave the target area. Going across the target and being shot at once is dangerous enough but twice? Phew!! We left the area with relief and headed north west to cross Denmark then south west across the North Sea back home. There was some flak and isolated fighter activity on the way home but Wickenby did not sustain any losses. However, 2 of 12 Squadron reported combat where the gunners fired but were not fired upon and 3 aircraft, 2 from 12, and 1 from 626 were hit by flak. There were no casualties. Bomber Command losses were 5 aircraft – 1.08%.
The attack was considered successful with fires in the centre and south east of the city though considerable bombing was attracted by the decoys or wrong marking. Photo recce
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showed severe damage to shipbuilders Oderwerke A.G., sugar refinery and naval fitting out yard. Also a large area of devastation in the town centre.
This operation took us 8 1/2 hours from takeoff to landing back at Wickenby and the crew becomes very tired particularly on a long stooge home across the sea. Once clear of the Danish coast we are reasonably safe from enemy attack so Hicky put the aircraft on auto pilot and everyone relaxes. I am sure there were periods when I was the only one awake and the only reason for this was that it was my job to get us back home.
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Operation No. 20 Russeheim [sic]
On August 25th a force of 412 Lancasters were ordered against the Opel Works at Russelheim [sic]. Among them were 18 aircraft from each of Wickenby's two squadrons: a maximum effort. On July 25th and 28th we had paid visits to Stuttgart which together with Russelheim, Frankfurt, Mannheim and Karlsruhe form a heavily defended portion of southern Germany. Our trip to Stuttgrat [sic] on July 28th had not been a happy one for Wickenby aircraft so we approached Russelheim with some trepidation.
We carried a full fuel load of 2,154 gallons and a bomb load of 1 x 4,000 lb (Cookie) and 12 clusters of 4lb incendiaries. Our route was quite similar to that used previously for this area. Reading was the assembly point then south across the channel to a point S.W. of Paris, then east north east in a series of zig zags to the target. The weather was good all the way and the target area was clear with slight haze. Takeoff commenced at 1957 hours.
The target was well marked following sticks of flares dropped at H-7. The aiming point was then marked with mixed red and green TIs and backed up by red TIs.
The bombing was well concentrated and the fires could be seen for 150 miles. Photo recce showed severe damage to the plant with all the major units hit, including assembly shops, research labs, drop forge, machine shop and aircraft engine shop.
The target area was, as expected, well defended with intense heavy flak and very active fighters which made contact with the bomber stream in the target area and well into the return journey.
One of 12 Squadron aborted the mission with a sick navigator. Seven of 12 Squadron's aircraft reported combat with night fighters and one was so badly damaged that it crash landed on return and was written off. The only casualty in this aircraft was the navigator who suffered superficial wounds. One other 12 Squadron aircraft was hit by flak. One 626 Squadron aircraft suffered damage caused, it was believed, by an unusual incident. Shortly after bombing the aircraft was thrown out of control by a nearby explosion. All four engines cut but the pilot and engineer managed to get them restarted and flew home safely. It is believed the explosion was another aircraft blowing up. It is interesting that while 7 of 12 Squadron reported combat none of 626 did. However, 626 did lose two aircraft. F/O Harris who, together with 3 members of his crew were taken prisoner, the other 3 were killed and F/O Whetton who was killed together with all of his crew except the bomb aimer who was taken prisoner.
The Bomber Command loss rate for this operation was 3.64%, that for Wickenby 5.56%, while that for 626 Squadron, 11.1%.
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[map]
[underlined] RUSSELHEIM. [/underlined]
[underlined] 25/26 AUGUST 1944. [/underlined]
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Operation No. 21 Stettin
We had visited Stettin on August 16th and had been briefed several times between the 16th and 29th but weather had forced cancellations. So here we are on August 29th poised to go once again. The crews involved were concerned that our intentions may already have been communicated to the enemy and the element of surprise lost. So we expected a difficult time.
The total force consisted of 402 Lancasters and one Mosquito. For Wickenby the contribution was 31 aircraft. For 626 Squadron it was again a maximum effort of 18 aircraft. We were of course carrying a maximum fuel load of 2,154 gallons and our bomb load on this occasion was a total of 8,440 lbs - 1 x 4,000 lb H.E., 660 x 4 lb incendiaries and 60 x 30 lb incendiaries. If you add in 7 men, thousands of rounds of ammunition and the various other stores we carried such as bundles of "window" we were very close to our maximum takeoff weight of 72,000 lbs. Window was the code name for specially designed metal strips which, when dropped from an aircraft, gave a similar radar response to the aircraft itself. We dropped them by the thousands when in an area of high enemy defensive activity to confuse the defenses.
We were among the first to takeoff and on this occasion were followed down the runway by F/O "Lofty" Lofthouse whose crew shared our Nissen hut. As we left the ground and climbed away Lofty was moving along the runway when his feet slipped on the rudder pedal and he "ground looped" the aircraft. A ground loop is a rotation in the horizontal plane and inevitably tears off the undercarriage as it did on this occasion, the story was that Lofty required wooden blocks attached to the rudder pedals to reach them properly and his feet had slipped while pumping the pedals to keep the aircraft straight under full power. Sgt. Stott from his observation point in our rear turret looked right down on this incident and yelled to warn us all. In the few seconds it took for the rest of us to have a look every door and hatch on Lofty's aircraft had opened and seven bodies were running in every direction. Fortunately for everyone his bombs did not explode. Had they done so not only would his crew have been killed but we would have been blown out of the sky as we were very close. A fully laden aircraft now lay in the centre of the runway so it could no longer be used. We were O.K. as we were already airborne but there was a delay on the ground while the whole matter was sorted out, the runway changed and the departure of the rest of the force reorganized. I have spoken recently with Ernie Peressini, the bomb aimer in Lofty's crew, who now lives in Victoria, and he remembers the incident vividly even after 50 years.
We rendezvoused at Mablethorpe and set course north east across the North Sea but remained below a layer of cloud with tops at 5,000 feet to stay below the enemy's radar warning system. We were routed further north than on our last visit to Stettin passing over northern Denmark before heading south east towards the target. We were so far north that to get to the target we had to fly over Sweden which was a neutral country. This was deliberate and we were briefed to head for Sweden if we were unable to get home for any reason. Better to land in a neutral country than to be taken prisoner of war. We stayed low across the sea until approaching the Danish coast then climbed to our operational altitude and remained there until near the target. Below us were layers of thin cloud with tops at 17,000 feet.
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The target marking was punctual and accurate. At H-7 the target was illuminated by long sticks of flares followed by red and green TIs on the aiming point.
We experienced some light flak over Denmark but the serious problem on this night was fighters. The main force was plotted over the Danish coast and interceptions commenced immediately and continued to the target with a few on the return from the target. There was heavy flak in the target area, some bursts being so large they could only have come from high calibre naval guns. Searchlights were also very active. As we were approaching above the clouds in moonlight it was not difficult to see or be seen. As we neared the target the Master Bomber called us down below the cloud layer which was between about 12 and 14,000 feet. We let down and bombed at 12,000 feet.
The results of the bombing were good because we could see the markers as visibility was clear below the cloud layer. As well as high explosive we were all carrying large quantities of incendiaries and very soon fierce fires were burning with smoke almost to our bombing altitude. P.R.U. reported that buildings in Stettiner Oderwerke Shipbuilding A.G. were gutted, Labelsdorf Bahnhof Gasworks destroyed, telegraph office and five factories severely damaged. Three merchant vessels were sunk in the port.
We turned north west after bombing to head back to northern Denmark before returning across the North Sea. The fighter activity decreased as we left the target largely because a well timed force of Mosquitoes attacked Berlin and this drew them away from us. Letting down in the target area involves risks which are not normally there when all aircraft fly over at their predetermined altitude. In this case we were below someone else who did not reduce as low as we and released his bombs while above us. The consequence was that we were hit in the port wing by an incendiary bomb dropped from above. Fortunately for us it smashed right through the wing without damaging vital controls or control surfaces and did not set us on fire. We were very fortunate.
Two of Wickenby's aircraft aborted this operation. I have already mentioned F/O Lofthouse. The second abort was a 12 Squadron aircraft which started out but the wireless operator lost his nerve after setting course so the crew returned. Incidents of nerve failure on the part of crew members were not very frequent, fortunately, but I am sure there were times when we all felt like this poor wireless operator. I think what prevented more of it was the fact that everyone felt an overwhelming loyalty to their crew and would not do anything to let the crew down. On the rare occasion when it did happen the victim left the squadron immediately and was posted to a unit on the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames estuary, east of London for disposal. The R.A.F. used the term L.M.F., Lack of Moral Fibre, to describe these unfortunate souls and their hasty removal from the squadron was to ensure that their inability to cope did not spread. After all, we were all living on the edge wondering each time whether we would return.
Four of 626 Squadron crews reported combat with night fighters, two on the outward trip, one over the target and one on the return. Five of our aircraft sustained damage, including ours, being holed in the port wing, but others were more severe and one had to land at Dunholme Lodge being unable to get back to Wickenby.
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One of 12 Squadron (F/O Spurrs) was shot down over the target. Everyone who managed to bail out was taken prisoner but the two gunners were killed. One of 626 Squadron (F/O Hawkes) was attacked over the Kattegat on the way towards the target and he was able to maintain control only long enough to allow the crew to bail out, but they were close enough to Sweden that they all landed there and were interned. They were carrying a second pilot along for experience so there were 8 instead of the usual 7 aboard. The advice to head for Sweden if possible was sound.
F/O Hawkes later reported "On September 1st we were taken to Falun and kept for 2 days in an interment [sic] camp. On September 3rd we were billeted in the Solliden Pensionat Hotel, where we stayed until October 24th. On that day we were taken to Stockholm and stayed at the Continental Hotel until October 27th when we were sent by air to the U.K." On August 31st, 2 days after they were shot down, the squadron received the news that they were safe.
We left the target area and headed north west passing over Malmo, Sweden which, being neutral, was well lit. We climbed across the Baltic to 20,000 feet as we still had to cross Denmark which was defended. We were glad we did as the squadron aircraft which was attacked by a night fighter in this area was flying at only 14,000 feet.
We successfully negotiated our crossing of Denmark and proceeded out to sea before commencing a gradual let down towards the English coast. At 10,000 feet we took off our oxygen masks and breathed normally for the first time for several hours. Hicky, as was his wont, lit his pipe and the rest of us in the cabin enjoyed a cigarette. We came back into GEE range so I was able to fix our position accurately and get us safely home. We landed at Wickenby without further incident having been airborne 9 hours 35 minutes which turned out to be the longest of our 30 operations. Wickenby loss rate was 6.45% while that of Bomber Command was 5.71%. 626 Squadron's loss rate was 5.55%, one out of the 18 which were detailed to go, or 5.88% one out of the 17 which actually went, but in this particular incident the crew, having landed safely in Sweden, were all returned to the squadron.
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[map]
[underlined] STETTIN. [/underlined]
[underlined] 29/30 AUGUST 1944. [/underlined]
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Operation No. 22 St. Requier
We had not arrived back from Stettin until the early morning of August 30th (about 0630) so by the time we had debriefed, had a meal and got to bed the sun was high in the sky. We did not fly again that day but on the following day August 31st we carried out another attack against a V2 rocket store at St. Requier.
Twenty Lancasters from Wickenby were detailed as part of a Bomber Command force of 418 Lancasters, 147 Halifaxes and 36 Mosquitoes raiding 9 rocket storage sites. There were 10 from each squadron. St. Requier was the most southerly of the Pas de Calais targets.
We took off at 1325 hours carrying 15,000 lbs of H.E. (13 x 1,000 and 4 x 500 lb) and climbed towards Reading our assembly point, climbing through a cloud layer with tops at 17,000 feet. We encountered severe icing as we passed through the clouds. Ice builds up on leading edges of aerofoils and on the propellers. Leading edges were always de-iced if we knew we would be experiencing icing, to try and prevent build up reaching dangerous proportions. It was always reassuring to know that it was not building up on the propellers when you could hear the chunks of ice hitting the side of the fuselage as it flew off. Disconcerting at first, but reassuring as one got used to it. We cleared the tops and flew towards the target at 18,000 feet. The cloud formation changed to broken as we crossed the channel and approached the target.
The aiming point was marked by red TIs which were backed up with green and yellow throughout the attack. The marking was scattered consequently the bombing was not concentrated and some bombs fell between the target and the village. There was only light flak near Abbeville and little was experienced in the target area so there was really no excuse for not pressing home the attack.
Two of Wickenby's aircraft aborted this operation both under rather unusual circumstances. One of 12 Squadron was instructed to abandon by the Master Bomber and one of 626 found the target covered by cloud. I would think that both probably arrived late.
In spite of there not being a heavy concentration of flak what there was was predicted with great accuracy and no less than 5 of Wickenby's aircraft were hit by it, some with serious results. Two of 12 Squadron were hit, one so severely that he crash landed at Woodbridge. The pilot and second pilot received shrapnel wounds to the right leg, the bomb aimer had a shattered left foot and wounds to the right foot and the flight engineer had shrapnel wounds to the right ankle and left wrist. All of these crew members were at the front of the aircraft so the exploding flak was very close to the front. In crash landing at Woodbridge they went to an airfield which was specially equipped to handle such emergencies. The R.A.F. had equipped several airfields very close to the east coast for such eventualities - Manston, Woodbridge and Manby amongst them. They were equipped with long, wide runways, foam, special lighting to disperse fog, heavy equipment to move crashed aircraft quickly out of the way and of course, emergency medical facilities.
Three of 626 Squadron were also hit by flak. One had no casualties but one was damaged so that he was forced to feather both inboard engines and jettison his bombs. He made an
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emergency landing at Manston. The third (F/O Oram) suffered perspex wounds to the face and his flight engineer shrapnel wounds to the left leg. This is the same F/O Oram who on July 6th was hit and, with his crew, had to abandon his aircraft over the channel with the loss of his gunners.
We flew unmolested back to Wickenby and landed safely after a trip of 3 1/4 hours. The Bomber Command loss rate was 1%. All of Wickenby's aircraft got back to England but not to Wickenby so officially we had losses.
And so passed the month of August 1944. We had flown 8 operations since returning from leave and been briefed for several others which were cancelled for one reason or another. Of the 8, five were by night, 3 of which were long flights into Germany (2 to Stettin). We had sustained damaged to our aircraft on two occasions and had lost rear gunner Bill Bursey to injury.
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Operation No. 23 Le Havre
The allied armies had advanced south and spread outward from their initial bridgehead and it was now time to head eastward along the coastal areas and towards Paris. A deep water port was needed and the obvious one was Le Havre so on September 6th a force of 311 Lancasters, 30 Mosquitoes and 3 Stirlings was detailed against the German fortifications at Le Havre. This was the same Le Havre that had opened up on us when we were all alone on July 4th. Wickenby's contribution was 21 Lancasters of which 626 provided 11.
The weather was mainly cloudy with showers and thunder all day so it was decided to go in the evening but even then there was no improvement.
Takeoff commenced at 1656 hours and we followed a route pretty well due south taking us east of London to the target area. Our bomb load was 15,000 lbs H.E. We experienced 10/10th cloud all the way to the target and in the target area the base was at 7,000 feet with heavy rain.
The target marking commenced with green TIs at H-5 backed up with red TIs bursting at 4,000 feet and cascading leaving white smoke trails. Though we were above cloud these TIs burned with such intensity they could be seen and we had the added advantage of H2S. I was able to pinpoint the target and confirm for Peter that he was running up on the correct aiming point. There was some heavy flak in the target area but it was not severe. The bombing was accurate, a large explosion at 1927 hours was followed by flames and black smoke – probably a fuel storage.
One of 626 Squadron aborted on instructions from the Master Bomber.
Bomber Command sustained no losses on this operation and Wickenby aircraft all returned without damage. We landed back at Wickenby after a flight of 3 1/2 hours.
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Operation No. 24 Le Havre
On September 10th we were called upon to make a repeat visit to Le Havre to attack strong points which had survived the attack of September 6th. Bomber Command dispatched a force of 521 Lancasters, 426 Halifaxes and 45 Mosquitoes of which 33 Lancasters were from Wickenby. 626's contribution was 17 aircraft of a total force of nearly 1,000 attacking various targets.
Takeoff commenced at 1643 hours and we climbed on a southerly heading through broken cumulus cloud with tops about 10,000 feet. Above the cloud the sky was clear all the way to the target area with good visibility. We again carried 15,000 lb of H.E. The marking was similar to our attack of September 6th with green TIs and H-5 followed by red TIs bursting at 4,000 feet leaving trails of white smoke. However, on this occasion as the visibility was good the bomb aimers were able to see the aiming point and the bombing was concentrated in this area. Near misses were reported on 6 gun batteries, close enough to incapacitate them, and damage to business property.
There was no opposition and no losses or casualties were sustained. We arrived back at Wickenby after just under 4 hours of flying time. The army captured Le Havre shortly after.
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Operation No. 25 Frankfurt
I mentioned earlier there were a number of German cities in the southern part of the state which were considered good strategic targets. On September 12th we were detailed for another attack on Stuttgart which was changed at 1345 hours to Frankfurt. Wickenby's contribution to a force of 378 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitoes was 34 Lancasters, of which 626 Squadron supplied 15. We must have had an influx of new crews because no less than 7 of the 15 carried second pilots along for experience before going with their own crews. Our second pilot was F/O Hollowell.
The bomb load for this operation was 1 x 4,000 lb., 14 x 4 clusters and 120 x 4 lb incendiaries. The fuel load was 1,900 gallons, not quite full tanks. We took off at 1808 hrs.
Our route was fairly typical for an operation to this area. We headed for Reading, then south to cross the coast at Beachy Head. We then proceeded [sic] to 48°N 05°E passing north of Paris then north east towards the target. After bombing we turned west, crossed the French coast near Calais and home via Orfordness.
The weather en route was clear all the way and the target was also clear with some slight haze. Because we would be flying over friendly territory for much of the outward leg we were allowed to fly at low level and climb to our bombing height prior to reaching the target area. On the leg north of Paris another aircraft flying close to us flicked his navigation light on and off a couple of times. Bert Jones reported this from his mid upper turret and while we were considering the significance Stan King said "My God, we've got our nav lights on". They were promptly switched off. Our thanks went out to our unknown benefactor. It's not advisable to assist the enemy by lighting up your location.
When we reached the target we found that the Pathfinder Force had dropped long sticks of flares at H-7. The aiming point was then marked with mixed salvoes of red and green TIs and kept marked with red TIs. Crews were able to identify the target by the light of the flares. Most target markers were just south of the marshalling yards.
The bombing was concentrated though tended to spread a little to the west. Smoke rose to some 5,000 feet and the fires were visible for 100 miles. Photo recce showed that large areas of the city were severely damaged. The main railway station was half destroyed with damage to workshops and engine sheds. Twelve factories, the gas works and power station were also damaged.
Some light flak and moderate heavy flak was experienced up to about 18,000 feet but we managed to get above it. Numerous searchlights were coning, believed to be cooperating with night fighters which were active inward, over the target and outward.
One of 626 Squadron was coned over Mannheim, extensively damaged by heavy flak and landed at Woodbridge at the emergency airfield there. Two of 12 Squadron were attacked and damaged by night fighters. The mid upper gunner of one received gunshot wounds to both legs.
One of 626 Squadron (F/O Thorpe) was attacked by a night fighter and destroyed. Thorpe, his wireless operator and mid upper gunner were taken prisoner, all other crew members
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including the second pilot, who was along for experience, were killed. It was his first and only operation. His crew were returned to the Lancaster Finishing School to crew with another pilot.
We arrived back at Wickenby after flying for 7 hours 55 minutes. F/O Hollowell thanked us for the experience and went on to complete a tour with his own crew.
The Bomber Command loss rate was 4.39%, that of Wickenby 2.94% and 626 Squadron 6.66%
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FRANKFURT 12-9-44
626 SQUADRON
A/C
(a) Captain - 2nd PIL. (b) Nav. - W/Op (c) B/A - F/E (d) MuG - R/G
JB661 C2
(a) F/O G.A. Price - P/O R. McAinsh (b) Sgt. F.B. Beaton - Sgt. B. Walley (c) F/S T.H. Lightfoot - Sgt. S.A. Frew (d) Sgt. V.A. Lane - Sgt. J. Lee
LM113F2
(a) F/O T.H. Ford (b) F/S J.M. Jackson - W/O H.A.S. Tween (c) F/S J.C. Payne - Sgt. R.A. Wood (d) Sgt. J.C. Moore - Sgt. P.L. Potter
PD295 B2
(a) F/O G. Lofthouse (b) P/O R.C. McMillan - F/S A.V. Bettney (c) W/O E. Peressini - Sgt. K.W.T. Adams (d) F/S R.W. Smith - F/S F.C. Child
LM141 D2
(a) F/O D.S. Nelson (b) F/O T.R. Murray - P/O R.J. Lacey (c) F/O V.H. Halstead - Sgt. O. Old (d) Sgt. A.M. Walker - Sgt. C.C. Merriman
PB412 Z2
(a) F/O W.J. Cook (b) F/S H. Sulz - Sgt. L.A. Rolfe (c) F/S K.C. McCormick - Sgt. D.W. Garside (d) Sgt. A.H. Jones - F/S E. Smith
PA990 R2
(a) F/O G.A. Green - F/O R.J. Tierney (b) F/S W.A. Stephens - F/S W.A. Dickson (c) F/O K.E.F. Taylor - Sgt. O.F. Farley (d) Sgt. W. Norman - F/S G.C. Newton
ND163 T2
(a) F/O R.A. Collens - P/O L.A. Titmuss (b) F/Lt. J.H. Leuty - Sgt. K.T. Rainbird (c) F/S W.E. Birch - Sgt. H.S. Merry (d) Sgt. E.W. Roberts - Sgt. H. Davy
PB411 Y2
(a) F/O H. Winder - Sgt. R.C. Yule (b) P/O J.J. McDevitt - Sgt. A.W. Reid (c) F/S M. Parker - Sgt. H.S.G. Rich (d) Sgt. R.A. Albone - P/O W.G. Green
LL959 A2
(a) F/Lt. A.C. Hicks - F/O R.A. Hollowell (b) F/S K.J. Brind - F/S J. Saletto (c) F/O P.M. Graves - Sgt. S.G. King (d) Sgt. A.B. Jones - Sgt. D. Stott
PD287 U2
(a) F/O J.Y.N. Walbank - F/O R.M.Smith (b) F/S L.A. Sparrow - F/S J.M. Dewar (c) F/S R.N. Purves - Sgt. E. Shepherd (d) F/S G. Derrington - F/S J.C. Harris
LM137 G2
(a) F/O D.R.B. Thorpe - F/O G.T. Bolderstn (b) F/S A.C.L. Cox - Sgt. J. Peart (c) F/S S.E. Dunnett - Sgt. F.C. Foster (d) F/S R.H. Cross - F/S L.F. Beattie
NF907 K2
(a) F/O E. Fitzsimmons (b) F/S G.E. Dunsford - Sgt. C. Summers (c) F/S J.V. Gray - Sgt. D.W. Richards (d) Sgt. D. De Silva - F/O G.A. Pearce
LM689 N2
(a) F/O R.G. Harvey (b) Sgt. S.J. Partridge - Sgt. J.L. Nuttall (c) F/O R. Kelly - Sgt. R. Heys (d) Sgt. J.K. Hogan - Sgt. G.T. McMasters
PD 286 02
(a) F/O J.C. Campbell (b) F/O R. Cluston - F/S R.C. Champagne (c) F/S W.F. Palmer - Sgt. J. Akhurst (d) Sgt. J.G. Reynolds - Sgt. A.D. Winser
LL961 S2
(a) F/O E.W. Parker (b) Sgt. E. Arrowsmith - F/S J.D. McPherson (c) Sgt. J. Tordoff - Sgt. R.H. Westrop (d) Sgt. W.J. Standen - Sgt. G. Hopkins
AIR 27-2146 PUBLIC RECORDS OFFICE
With the weather fair to fine, 378 Lancasters carried out the last major attack on Frankfurt of the war.
12 Squadron dispatched 19 aircraft and all returned safely. 626 Squadron detailed 16 aircraft but F/O Jones failed to take off. On return, F/O Collens landed at Woodbridge with flak damage. LM137 UM-G2, F/O Thorpe failed to return.
F/O D.R.B. Thorpe. PIL.
F/O G.T. Balderstone RCAF 2nd PIL. Killed.
P/O A.C.L. Cox NAV. Killed.
Sgt. J. Paert. [sic] W/T
F/Sgt. S.E. Dunnett B/A. Killed.
Sgt. F.C. Foster F/E. Killed.
F/Sgt. R.H. Cross. MuG
F/Sgt. L.F. Beattie R/G. Killed.
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Operation No. 26 Rheine-Hopsten
The allied armies had by now broken out from their original bridgehead and pushed north west through Belgium into Holland, and a strategy was conceived for a massive airborne landing using gliders and paratroops in the Arnhem area to create a bridgehead across the Rhine River and ultimately link up with the forward moving army. On September 16th our job was to neutralize German held airfields in the area to minimize the opposition to our landings the next day. Different squadrons and different bases were allocated to specific targets. This was a pinpoint precision attack rather than area bombing.
Wickenby's target was the airfield at Rheine-Hopsten, other squadrons were given other targets. Thirty one Lancasters, 19 from 12 Squadron, and 12 from 626 were detailed for this attack.
Because of the nature of the target, buildings, runways, etc. we carried 10,000 lbs of H.E., in the form of 20 x 500 lb bombs. This was a night attack and we took off at 2200 hours climbing to Mablethorpe, then across the North Sea to a point on the Dutch coast just north of The Hague and so to the target.
The weather en route was good with small amounts of cloud and the target area was clear with slight ground haze. The target marking was carried out by "Oboe" equipped Mosquitoes. Oboe was a modification of the GEE navigation system used for precision bombing and marking. As the allied armies moved across Europe they overran some of the Jamming stations so we were able to use our navigation aids further east. On this night I was able to get accurate GEE fixes all the way to the target. So as we approached the target and I advised the crew we were there the target markers appeared before us. They consisted of red TIs. We had already opened the bomb doors and Peter had fused the bombs so release was a simple matter.
We experienced a small amount of light flak in the target area and night fighters were active but we did not engage in any night fighter activity. The night was very dark so visual assessment of the attack was not possible but photo recce showed that the airfield sustained considerable damage. At least 75 craters were created including 45 on the main runway and 3 on the secondary with 13 on the taxi way. The airfield was out of commission for 48 hours which was the object of our exercise.
The glider troops landed at Arnhem the next day but their effort (and ours) was for nought as they were never able to link up with the main army, became over extended, and were either captured or killed. A costly mistake, it was made into a very successful film, called "A Bridge Too Far" after the war.
Two of 12 Squadron reported combat with night fighters but no damage and no casualties were sustained by Wickenby aircraft on this night. Nor indeed did Bomber Command lose any aircraft. We arrived back at Wickenby and landed after a flight of almost 4 hours. F/O Hollowell completed his first operation with his own crew on this night.
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We were now into our last 5 operations. The conventional wisdom among Bomber Command crews was that if you weren't shot down during your first 5 missions, when you were inexperienced, you would be during your last 5 when you became over confident. We hoped our last few would be against lightly defended targets. Some hope, as it turned out.
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Operation No. 27 Calais
The allied armies had now fanned out across Europe but had bypassed a number of strong points along the French and Belgian coasts where the opposition was very stiff. One such strong point was Calais and the area surrounding the city which was our target on September 20th. This was an operation which had previously been planned for the 21st but was brought forward to the 20th. The Bomber Command force consisted of 437 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes and 40 Mosquitoes. Wickenby's contribution was 39 Lancasters of which 626 Squadron provided 20. We assembled at a point east of London and headed straight for the target in the afternoon, but conditions were very cloudy with poor visibility which improved a little as we crossed the channel. In the target area there were thin layers of stratus with tops about 4,000 feet.
We carried 15,000 lbs of 1,000 and 500 lb H.E. Target marking was by green TIs from H-5 and H-3 then red TIs bursting at 2,000 feet leaving a trail of white smoke. The Master Bomber called us down to 3,000 feet and we bombed from there against the TIs which were accurately placed on the aiming point. Our own troops were only some 2.000 yards away so accurate bombing was mandatory, and as there was no real opposition not too difficult.
One interesting aspect of this operation was revealed by photo recce - a gun casement which received several direct hits only suffered shallow depressions in it's roof. Reinforced concrete several feet thick required much more than 1,000 lb bombs to do any real damage.
There was no damage to any of Wickenby's aircraft but we did have great difficulty getting back on the ground when we arrived home, as the weather had deteriorated significantly while we were away. We landed at 1750 hours after almost 4 hours flying. Comber Command loss rate was 0.15% - one aircraft.
It was now some seven weeks since we had leave and the rule of thumb was every six weeks or so, so off we went for a few days vacation. Aldbourne looked about the same as it always did but Mary had increased her measurements somewhat. She was now about 3 weeks away from her due date and was pretty uncomfortable. Stan King was getting engaged on this leave and had invited us to attend the party at his parents home on the outskirts of London. My mother did not want us to go as she was worried Mary might give birth on the train or in a London taxi or somewhere. However, being young and impetuous we decided to take the chance, so off we went to London. We were to stay at the King home by invitation of Stan's parents but when the party was in full swing the air raid sirens went off and we all trooped to the air raid shelter in the basement of their home, and there we stayed. It was ironic that in spite of the raids the R.A.F. and U.S.A.F. had carried out against the V1 and V2 launching sites the Germans were still able, as late as September 1944, to submit London to harassing air raids.
As a result of their efforts we never did get to bed and the next day took the train back to Hungerford and the bus to Aldbourne.
The few days went all too quickly but now we only had 3 more operations to complete and I felt very confident of success.
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Operation No. 28 Westkapelle
At the beginning of October there was some uncertainty about who should be going where. For example – on October 1st 40 aircraft were to standby for a tactical target in Northern France. At 1415 the squadrons were stood down. Then at 1730 they were again placed on standby for an attack on Bergen, which was cancelled at 1845 hours. On October 2nd at 1100 hours the squadrons were stood down and at 1645 18 aircraft were ordered to standby for an operation against Westkapelle tomorrow. And so it was that on October 3rd we became part of a force of 252 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes detailed against tactical targets in north west Europe. The 18 Wickenby aircraft were equally divided between the squadrons.
As I have already mentioned the allied armies moved out from their bridgehead but bypassed the coastal ports and cities and "mopped up" later when they had been softened by the air forces. They now needed a major supply port in Belgium and Antwerp had been captured but it's approaches were still under German guns. The island of Walcheren dominates the sea approach and was well defended. So the idea was to breach the sea wall at Westkapelle, at the western tip of the island, and allow flood waters to overrun the German positions.
A "Dambuster" type raid but with ordinary high explosive bombs. We carried 12,500 lbs consisting of one 4,000 lb, 8 x 1,000 lb and one 500 lb H.E. We took off at noon, headed to Aldeburgh, near Ipswich, then straight across the North Sea to the target. There was a cloud layer right from base to target but the base was at 5,000 feet so we stayed below where visibility was good.
The target marking was by green TIs at H-5 backed up by red TIs. The pathfinders were punctual, their initial marking undershot slightly but it didn't matter as we could see the target clearly as we approached. There were some small puffy clouds below the main layer so to make absolutely certain we went as low as was safe. We dropped our bombs from 1,500 feet which is, in fact, below the safety height for a 4,000 pounder and we felt the compression hit the aircraft as it exploded. We climbed away from the target and as we turned for home could see we had made a hole in the sea wall and water was already pouring through.
The photo recce report stated that the original breach was enlarged to approximately 130 yards due to the corrosive action of water passing through. A vast area was inundated, with sea water at least 2 miles inland and to the boundaries of Middleburg and Flushing.
There was some flak activity in the target area, mostly from Flushing, but Wickenby aircraft did not experience any damage or casualties.
The squadron commander, who participated in this operation had an unusual experience when he came under what may have been a mock attack by two fighter aircraft believed to be Mustangs. His rear gunner fired a short burst which appeared to be sufficient to drive them off as they were not seen again.
We landed back at Wickenby after a flight of 2 hours 50 minutes.
Bomber Command did not lose any of it's aircraft in today's efforts.
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Operation No. 29 Saarbrucken
While the British and Canadian armies pushed north east through Belgium and Holland, the American Third Army was heading east into Germany and were now some 20 miles from Saarbrucken and the other industrial towns which we had previously attacked in this area. Our attack on Saarbrucken on October 5th was at the request of the advancing Americans.
Thirty-nine Lancasters from Wickenby were part of a force of 531 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitoes detailed against Saarbrucken. 626 Squadron supplied 19. This was, of course, a night operation and takeoff commenced at 1817 hours.
Our route took us to Gravesend, Beachy Head, south to the French coast then east to the target. We climbed through a layer of 10/10th cloud which persisted to about 6°E then gradually cleared so that the target had merely some thin broken cloud and ground haze. Our bomb load was one H.E., a 4,000 lb "Cookie" and 7,000 lb of incendiaries for a total of 11,000 lbs.
The target marking consisted of long strings of flares over the target at H-7 followed by salvoes of red and green TIs.
For some reason there were no searchlights in the target area. There was however a moderate, heavy flak barrage with explosions above 15,000 feet. There were also some enemy fighters active in the target area.
Because visibility was good we were able to see that the markers were accurate and good concentrated bombing ensued. Several large explosions were observed and smoke rose to 12,000 feet. The glow of the fires could be seen for 100 miles on the return journey. At 2036 hours the Master Bomber gave the code word to abandon the mission adding that allied troops were getting near the target. Our aircraft had not been furnished with the code word, consequently most crews bombed the target. Photo reconnaissance showed that the steel works of Vereinigte Huttenwerke had every large building damaged. The Luttgens Wagon Factory, the Maschinenbau A.G. and the Portland Cement Werke were severely damaged. The infantry Barracks, the Dragoon Barracks and the Artillery Barracks were all gutted.
On leaving the target area we headed north west and crossed the French coast near Calais. We returned to Wickenby only to find the airfield fogged in and were unable to land. This presented a major problem as most of the airfields in the Lincolnshire area were similarly fogged in and it was from this area that many of the 531 Lancasters originated. However, the operations people on the ground were able to find diversionary airfield which were open and everyone got down safely. We landed at Methwold in East Anglia and spent the night there returning to Wickenby the next day.
One of 626 Squadron aborted this mission. He got airborne but his starboard inner engine cut out over base so he had no alternative but to land again.
Two of Wickenby's aircraft sustained flak damage, one from each squadron and one from 626 had two encounters with fighters but did not sustain any damage. Wickenby did not lose any aircraft on this occasion but Bomber Command lost 3 for a loss rate of 0.54%.
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Operation No. 30 Emmerich
There are certain days, certain events which are imprinted indelibly on the mind. The declaration of war, the day you marry, the birth of your children, days of great joy or great expectations or great terror. Such a day was October 7th, 1944. The weather was fairly typical for early October in Lincolnshire – cloudy with occasional rain.
The airborne landings at Arnhem had failed and there were heavy concentrations of enemy troops in the area of Arnhem, Nijmegen, Emmerich and along the Rheine river. Wickenby's target was to be Emmerich and this was the first daylight attack on Germany from Wickenby.
Forty-two Lancasters were detailed as part of a Bomber command force of 340 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes. Each squadron provided 21 aircraft – a maximum effort. We carried one 4,000 lb H.E. and 2520 x 4 lb incendiaries in clusters for a total of 14,080 lbs. We climbed to rendezvous at Cromer, on the Norfolk coast then cross the North Sea to The Hague and so to the target.
We had climber through a 10/10ths layer of cloud and at our bombing height of 10-12,000 feet we were in bright sunshine above it. Three hundred and forty Lancasters in a huge gaggle all headed in the same direction, sun glinting on perspex cabins and turrets. As we approached the Dutch coast the cloud cleared and all that remained was a slight ground haze.
I had given Hicky the final course to the target and as we approached I was standing between he and Stan King and slightly behind so I could see ahead, all round and behind us. We were nicely in the middle of the stream. Peter Graves was prone in the bomb aimers position in the nose watching the target coming down the drift wires of his bomb site. The flak was intense (we later learned the Germans had turned their 88mm anti tank weapons skyward and the shells were exploding at our altitude) and we were on a straight and level bombing run. Peter's voice over the intercom "Steady, Steady, Bomb Doors Open". Hicky, "Bomb Doors Open". Ahead I can see the intensity of the exploding flak – an aircraft is hit and catches fire. As it loses height I see one – two – three parachutes drifting down but no more. Then another is hit, this time a part of the wing is blown off and the aircraft spirals down – again parachutes but not seven. I think – my God, we're next. After all this time – after dark cold nights in the skies over major German cities – after warm sunny afternoons against V1 launching ramps in France – after 29 operations we are going to get written off. "Left, Left – Steady". I look behind just in time to see a Lancaster right behind us take a direct hit and spin out of control. "Steady, Steady – Bombs gone – Bomb Doors Closed".
The aircraft leaps as the 14,080 lbs of bombs drop away – then – thud – we are hit. "Bomb Doors Closed". We climb and turn away from the target and check for damage. No one is hurt and everything seems to be O.K. so we head for home. We have survived – we've come through – a cheer goes up from the crew, all the pent up emotion is released.
The reports state that there was moderate to intense predicted heavy flak from 11-13,000 feet on the run up, through the target and for a few miles after leaving the target area. No enemy aircraft were seen. Fighter cover was provided by 11 Group.
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Mosquitoes marked the aiming point with green TIs at H – 5 and maintained the marking with red TIs. The marking was accurate and the Master Bomber instructed the main force to bomb the red TIs. Bombing was accurate and many fires were started with smoke drifting up to 12,000 feet.
Allied troops who were only 8 miles south west must have had a good view of the afternoons activities.
The flight home, though routine, was full of joy as we knew we would not be called upon to do this kind of thing again. We landed at Wickenby after 4 hours 15 minutes of flying.
Wickenby did not lose any aircraft on this operation, but 3 of 12 Squadron and 4 of 626 sustained varying amounts of flak damage. Our aircraft, A2, had the "port undercarriage holed by heavy flak in the target area".
After briefing I sent Mary a telegram to let her know I had completed my tour of operations then we took our ground crew out to the local pub to celebrate our joint success. These were the men who kept A2 serviceable for us and who repaired her when we brought her back damaged. A rip roaring good time was had by all.
[telegram]Brind Cherry Tree
Aldbourne [indecipherable word]
Tour completed love darling
Ken[/telegram]
The next day the 8th was Sunday so we could not proceed with our clearance until the 9th (Mary's 22nd Birthday) which we did with all despatch and headed for home and leave on 10th. Just as a matter of interest the weather on the 8th, 9th and 10th was cloudy with rain and drizzle and no operations were scheduled for either day.
I arrived at Aldbourne on October 10th and of course by now Mary is due to have her baby.
54
[page break]
On the morning of October 12th she started in labour, we were driven to Savernake Hospital by a lady of the W.V.S. (Women's Volunteer Service) and at 6 pm Keith John arrived. All in all a masterpiece of timing.
The crew went their several ways after we had finished our tour. The normal practice was to become an instructor at an O.T.U. or H.C.U. I went briefly to Wigtown, Scotland, accepted a commission, and managed to get a posting to Cardington, Bedford where I became O.C. Headquarters Unit and where Karol was born. Gillian, Janet and Rod were to come along later. Jack Saletto was commissioned and returned to his native Australia. Peter Graves, the policeman, transferred to the Provost Branch and went to Germany after the war was over as a member of the control commission. The others were demobbed at the end of the war. Hicky went home to pursue his career as a civil engineer. I heard later he had died in the 1960s of a heart attack. Stan King went home, married his sweetheart, had a family, worked in the printing industry and died on December 1st, 1982.
Bert Jones went home to Yorkshire where he married and had a family. He became an Assistant Executive Engineer with the post office and died in retirement on December 16th, 1989.
Casualties sustained by 626 Squadron and 12 Squadron from the operations in which our crew participated:- 626 lost 10 Lancasters with 43 crew members killed, 12 taken P.O.W. and 8 Interned (albeit briefly) in Sweden. 12 Squadron lost 11 Lancasters with 58 crew members killed and 19 taken P.O.W. And, of course, there were a number of occasions when aircraft arrived home with wounded crew on board, the one most vividly remembered was the injury to Bill Bursey on August 14th. Our aircraft was damaged by flak on 5 occasions and by one of our own once (the incendiary through the wing on August 29th) but we never came under attack by enemy fighters and our gunners never did have to fire their guns in our defence. At the conclusion of our operational tour F/L Hicks was awarded the D.F.C. and later I received the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palme.
I had spent my 21st Birthday in hospital, I had lost my first crew, I had crewed up again and completed a tour of operations, I had gone home afterwards and taken Mary to hospital where she had given birth to Keith on October 12th and on October 17th I celebrated my 22nd Birthday. All in all an eventful year.
55
[page break]
ROYAUME DE BELGIQUE
[crest]
[italics] Le Ministredela Défense Nationale
a l'honneur de faire savoir [/italics] au
Flight Sergeant: Kenneth - John [underlined] B R I N D [//underlined],
que, par Arrêté de S.A.R.,le Prince Régent, du 16.1.1947,No 3424,
LA CROIX DE GUEERE 1940 AVEC PALME,
lui a été décernée,
"Pour le courage et la bravoure dont il a fait preuve dans les glorieuses batailles qui ont amené la libération de la Belgique."
[signature]
56
[page break]
The Wickenby Squadrons
Twelve Squadron moved from Binbrook to Wickenby on September 25th, 1942. It was and still is a permanent R.A.F. squadron with battle honours dating from World War I to the Gulf War.
Their first WWII operation from Wickenby was on September 26th 1942 when 6 Wellingtons laid mines in the Baltic Sea. One aircraft was lost.
The Wellingtons were replaced by Lancasters in November 1942. On November 7th, 1943 No. 626 Squadron was formed from "C" Flight of 12 Squadron. Their first operation was on November 10th. The last operation of 12 and 626 Squadrons from Wickenby was against Berchtesgaden on April 25th 1945.
Both squadrons played a prominent role in Bomber Command offensive, and suffered their proportion of the heavy losses, with 763 members of 12 Squadron and 317 members of 626 Squadron losing their lives on operations from Wickenby, a total of 1,080 Killed in Action.
57
[page break]
Bomber Command Statistics
Air Crew Casualties
Of the 125,000 who trained and served in Bomber Command there were 73,841 Air Crew Casualties:
47,268 Killed in Action
[underlined] 8,232 [/underlined] Killed in Accidents
55,500 Total Killed (44.4% of total)
9,938 Shot down and taken P.O.W.
[underlined] 8,403 [/underlined] Wounded
18,341 (14.6% of total)
[underlined] 73,841 [/underlined] Casualties (59% of total)
58
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 year in the Life
Description
An account of the resource
Ken Brind's autobiography detailing his tour of operations.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
KJ Brind
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France--Alençon
Great Britain
England--Aldeburgh
Germany--Berlin
United States
Florida--Pensacola
France--Reims
England--Gravesend (Kent)
England--Hastings
France--Dieppe
England--Brighton
England--Reading
France--Domléger-Longvillers
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Calais
France--Berck-sur-Mer
England--London
England--Dungeness
France--Vierzon
France--Le Havre
France--Orléans
France--Dijon
England--Bridport
England--Weymouth (Dorset)
France--Rennes
Great Britain Miscellaneous Island Dependencies--Channel Islands
Europe--Mont Blanc
France--Tours
France--Normandy
France--Caen
Belgium--Kortrijk
Belgium--Brussels
Belgium--Ostend
Germany--Dortmund
Germany--Kiel
England--Mablethorpe
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Rüsselsheim
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Munich
England--Selsey (West Sussex)
France--Falaise
England--Old Sarum (Extinct city)
Poland--Szczecin
Atlantic Ocean--Kattegat (Baltic Sea)
Denmark--Copenhagen
Sweden
Sweden--Malmö
Sweden--Falun
England--Beachy Head
Germany--Rheine
Netherlands--Arnhem
Netherlands--Hague
Netherlands--Vlissingen
Norway--Bergen
Belgium--Antwerp
Netherlands--Walcheren
Germany--Saarbrücken
Germany--Emmerich
Netherlands--Nijmegen
England--Cromer
Germany--Berchtesgaden
England--Marlborough
Florida
Poland
France
Germany
Denmark
Belgium
Netherlands
Norway
Europe--Frisian Islands
England--Berkshire
England--Dorset
England--Kent
England--Lincolnshire
England--Norfolk
England--Suffolk
England--Sussex
England--Wiltshire
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
Civilian
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
62 printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BBrindKJBrindKJv1
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.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
12 Squadron
1656 HCU
18 OTU
460 Squadron
625 Squadron
626 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
air gunner
aircrew
anti-aircraft fire
B-17
B-24
bomb aimer
bombing
bombing of the Pas de Calais V-1 sites (24/25 June 1944)
Distinguished Flying Cross
entertainment
evading
FIDO
Gee
H2S
Halifax
Heavy Conversion Unit
incendiary device
Ju 88
killed in action
lack of moral fibre
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Me 110
mine laying
Mosquito
navigator
Nissen hut
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Oboe
Operational Training Unit
P-51
Pathfinders
Photographic Reconnaissance Unit
pilot
prisoner of war
RAF Binbrook
RAF Blyton
RAF Boscombe Down
RAF Cardington
RAF Dumfries
RAF Dunholme Lodge
RAF Finningley
RAF Hemswell
RAF hospital Rauceby
RAF Kelstern
RAF Lindholme
RAF Manby
RAF Manston
RAF Methwold
RAF Wickenby
RAF Wigtown
RAF Woodbridge
searchlight
Spitfire
tactical support for Normandy troops
target indicator
training
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
Window
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1970/33701/LWakefieldHE174040v1.1.pdf
6abf5d017113b82dd6d95a604f4f8667
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
Wakefield, Harold Ernest
H E Wakefield
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
2017-10-16
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
Wakefield, HE
Description
An account of the resource
93 items. The collection concerns Harold Ernest Wakefield DFC (1923 - 1986, 1582185 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, documents, training publications, decorations and badges, training notebooks, correspondence, newspaper cuttings, photographs and parachute D ring.
He flew operations as a flight engineer with 51 and 617 Squadrons.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Jeremy Wakefield 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
Harrold Wakefield's navigator's, air bombers 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
LWakefieldHE174040v1
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
Harold Wakefield's RAF Navigator's, Air Bomber’s and Air Gunner's Flying Log Book, from 16th August 1943 to 16th August 1946, recording training, operations, instructional duties and Transport Command duties to India and the Far East as a flight engineer. Based at RAF Marston Moor (1652 Conversion Unit), RAF Snaith (51 Squadron), RAF North Luffenham (Heavy Glider Conversion Unit), RAF Syerston (5 Lancaster Finishing School), RAF Woodhall Spa (617 Squadron), RAF Riccall (1332 Heavy Conversion Unit), RAF Holmsley South (246 Squadron) and RAF Lyneham (511 Squadron). Aircraft in which flown: Halifax, Oxford, Whitley, Lancaster, Horsa Glider, York. Records a total of 59 operations in two tours (23 day, 36 night) including 10 returned early or did not drop bombs. Targets in France, Germany, Netherlands and Norway are: Alencon, Amiens, Arnsburg, Augsburg, Berlin, Bielfeld, Bochum, Bremen, Chateau Dun, Colline Beaumont, Dortmund Ems Canal, Dusseldorf, Essen, Farge, Fouillard, Frankfurt-Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Heligoland, Herquelingue, Ijmuiden, Kassel, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Lille, Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Mont Fleury, Morsalines, Nienburg, Orleans, Oslo Fiord (German cruisers “Emden” and “Koln”), Politz, Poortershafen, Rotterdam, Stuttgart, Trappes and Urft Dam. His pilots on operations were Squadron Leader Johnson and Squadron Leader Calder. Also includes notes of dates of promotion and award of DFC, lists of crews and a picture of a Halifax Mk III. Some detailed notes on ops with 617 Squadron.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-09-22
1943-09-23
1943-09-24
1943-09-27
1943-09-28
1943-09-29
1943-10-03
1943-10-04
1943-10-05
1943-10-08
1943-10-09
1943-11-03
1943-11-18
1943-11-19
1943-11-22
1943-11-23
1943-11-25
1943-11-26
1943-12-03
1943-12-04
1943-12-29
1943-12-30
1944-01-28
1944-01-29
1944-01-30
1944-01-31
1944-02-19
1944-02-20
1944-02-21
1944-02-25
1944-02-26
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-06
1944-03-15
1944-03-16
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-04-09
1944-05-10
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-15
1944-06-16
1944-12-08
1944-12-11
1944-12-15
1944-12-15
1944-12-21
1944-12-29
1944-12-30
1944-12-31
1945-01-01
1945-02-03
1945-02-06
1945-02-08
1945-02-14
1945-02-22
1945-02-24
1945-03-13
1945-03-14
1945-03-15
1945-03-19
1945-03-21
1945-03-22
1945-03-23
1945-03-27
1945-04-06
1945-04-07
1945-04-09
1945-04-19
1946
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Atlantic Ocean--North Sea
France
Germany
Great Britain
India
Middle East
Netherlands
Norway
England--Hampshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Nottinghamshire
England--Rutland
England--Wiltshire
England--Yorkshire
France--Alençon
France--Amiens
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Brittany
France--Châteaudun
France--Lille
France--Normandy
France--Orléans
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Yvelines
Germany--Augsburg
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Bielefeld
Germany--Bochum
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal
Germany--Düsseldorf
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Helgoland
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Leverkusen
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Mannheim
Germany--Nienburg (Lower Saxony)
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Stuttgart
Germany--Urft Dam
Netherlands--Hoek van Holland
Netherlands--Ijmuiden
Netherlands--Rotterdam
Poland
Germany--Herne (Arnsberg)
Germany--Hannover
Atlantic Ocean--Oslofjorden
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Herquelingue
France--Morsalines
France--Ver-Sur-Mer
France--Manche
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Leitch
1652 HCU
51 Squadron
617 Squadron
aircrew
bombing
bombing of Helgoland (18 April 1945)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Distinguished Flying Cross
flight engineer
Grand Slam
Halifax
Halifax Mk 3
Heavy Conversion Unit
Horsa
Ju 88
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Me 262
mid-air collision
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Oxford
promotion
RAF Lyneham
RAF Marston Moor
RAF North Luffenham
RAF Riccall
RAF Snaith
RAF Syerston
RAF Woodhall Spa
Tallboy
training
Whitley
York
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32365/BWittyARWittyARv1.2.pdf
a568d561e92d25b45be271b0cecccb86
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
Witty, A R
Witty, Ron
Witty, Ronald
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
2017-03-23
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
Witty, AR
Description
An account of the resource
118 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Ronald Witty DFM (1520694 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, navigation charts and logs of all his operations, photographs and correspondence home from training in South Africa. He flew thirty operations as a navigator with 12 Squadron before going as an instructor on 1656 HCU and then 576 and 50 Squadrons after the war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by David Witty and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
TIME OUT FOR WAR
[black and white sketch of Avro Lancaster bomber]
A factual account of war-time experiences
By Flight Lieutenant Ronald Witty D.F.C., B.Sc., A.R.I.C.
[page break]
TIME OUT FOR WAR
A factual account of war-time experiences
By Flight Lieutenant Ronald Witty D.F.C., B.Sc., A.R.I.C.
[page break]
[underlined]Author’s Foreword[/underlined]
At the insistence of my family, who are somewhat in the dark as regards what I got up to during World War Two, I have compiled the following account.
My memory of the wartime years still remains very clear, helped by some brief notes in diaries, my log book, some letters and, importantly, the navigational logs and charts of all thirty bombing operations in which I took part in 1944. Using them I could still tell you where our Lancaster crew was, within two or three miles, at anytime during those operations of more than fifty years ago.
[underlined]Acknowledgements[/underlined]
Many thanks to my wife Yvonne and my family for their various contributions in getting the raw material organised, and to Mike Fong for his help with the photographs.
[page break]
[underlined] CONTENTS [/underlined]
[underlined] Chapter. [/underlined] [underlined] Page No. [/underlined]
1. Decisions 5
2. The Stirling Castle 15
3. South Africa 21
4. Back to England 33
5. Operations 1 - 20 43
6. Operations 21 - 30 55
7. Instructing “ferry trips” & crewing up for second tour. 69
8. Lancaster ME 758 PH-N “Nan” 81
9. GEE, A.P.I. and H2S 85
10. The German Defences 87
11. Reflections on Survival 89
12. Postscript 93
Bibliography 97
Glossary of Terms 99
1
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
[underlined] PHOTOGRAPHS [/underlined]
Following [underlined] Page No. [/underlined]
[underlined] East London, 1943 [/underlined] 32
Left to Right - Fred Rolph, Author, Dorita, ? Parker (uncertain)
[underlined] ‘B’ Flight, Air Navigation Course No. 12 at 41 Air School, Collondale, East London [/underlined] 32
Left to Right - Bond, Chippendale, Cox, Osborne, Jones, Sadler, Author, Hill, Woodland, Wilson, Marshall, Albans
[underlined] Ops Crew, 1944 [/underlined] 54
[italics] Mid Upper [/italics] - Stan Swain, [italics] Bomb Aimer [/italics] - Tom Crook, [italics] Navigator [/italics - Author, [italics] Pilot [/italics] - Fred Holbrook, [/italics] Rear Gunner [/italics] - Tom Tibb, [italics] Flight Engineer [/italics] - John Squires, [italics] Wireless Operator [/italics] - Jock Poyner
[underlined] Ops Crew and PH-N (‘Nan’) [/underlined] 54
Poyner, Tibb, Author, Swain, Crook, Holbrook, Squires
[underlined] The Author and PH-N [/underlined] 54
[underlined] Second Tour Crew, May 1945 [/underlined] 80
Two Gunners, [italics] Wireless Operator [/italics] - ‘Artie Shaw’, [italics] Pilot [/italics] - Bill Addison, [italics] Bomb Aimer [/italics] - Jack, [italics] Navigator [/italics] - Author, [italics] Flight Engineer. [/italics]
3
[page break]
[underlined] The author en-route to Wickenby, June 1945 [/underlined] 84
[underlined] PH-N, June 1945, with the author and member of the old ground crew [/underlined] 84
4
[page break]
[underlined] Chapter 1 : Decisions [/underlined]
Hull Grammar School - an old established seat of learning, with many famous pupils. I was proud of the old school and here I took the School Certificate Examination in June 1937. I passed in eight subjects with a Distinction in Chemistry. A selected group took Additional Maths, taught by the Headmaster, F. Mayor. This introduced me to differential calculus at the age of fourteen. I spent two terms in the Lower Sixth Science pending my sixteenth birthday, in March 1938. Although Maths was my favourite subject, it was more practical at that time to use the Chemistry. In those days, there were fewer universities and unless ones parents were very wealthy, one left school at sixteen.
I started work in the laboratories at British Oil & Cake Mills, H.O.M.Co, Stoneferry, Hull, within easy cycling distance from home. They were part of the Unilever Group, and were a very good firm, with sports and social facilities. I had little spare time for these as I immediately enrolled at the Hull Municipal Technical College, beginning in September 1938. I found that my School Certificate qualification gave me exemption only from the Northern Universities Matriculation and not from the London University Matriculation. This meant that I couldn’t enter for the External London B.Sc. in Chemistry. The difference between the Northern Matric. and the London Matric. was that English Literature was a compulsory subject for the latter. This seemed irrelevant in the context of a Chemistry Degree. However, I entered for the A.I.C. (Associate of the Institute of Chemistry). The A.I.C. and B.Sc. people took the same classes, but instead of taking the Inter-B.Sc. examination, after two years of Evening Classes one was given slips of paper certifying that one was up to Inter B.Sc. standard in Maths.
5
[page break]
[NOTE: PAGES 8 AND 9 MISSING]
and Physics. (These I duly obtained in May 1940.)
Meanwhile, I was fully aware of what was brewing up in Europe with Hitler and his gang making monkeys of the old-school politicians. The ruthless annexation of Austria, followed by that of Czechoslovakia, despite the pathetic delaying tactics of Britain and France, in addition to Hitler’s bellicose threats, made it very evident to me that war was becoming almost inevitable. The facts and figures produced by Winston Churchill underlined the growing military potential of the German forces. The weak capitulation of the British and French diplomats on the matter of the Sudetenland confirmed my belief that it was only a matter of time.
I was heartened when at last Britain and France gave their support to Poland, and actually felt relief when, after the German attack on Poland on September 1st 1939, they honoured their obligations and declared war on Germany. I realised fully how terrible a step it was, but there was no reasonable alternative. Sooner or later we had to face reality.
It was still very eerie when the first air-raid warning sounded on Sunday, September 3rd. 1939.
I carried on with my evening classes (three evenings a week), cycling to and from the Technical College throughout the black-out and occasional air-raid alarms. In fact, I didn’t miss a single class up to the time I went into the R.A.F. in April 1942.
I seem to remember that it was during the very first session of evening classes that I first met Walter Suddaby, who lived in North Hull. He was a quietly-spoken pleasant lad and we had similar ideas of humour and became friends for the duration
6
[page break]
of our time at the Tech. Of course, having full-time day jobs plus three nights a week at the Tech. and other evenings writing up notes and studying at home, we didn’t get together outside the course.
When the war started I was just coming up to seventeen and a half and “Sudd” was about the same age, maybe a month or two older. We followed the events of the war, wondering how it was going to affect us, but with no clear idea what we were about to do in the future.
War came to Hull spasmodically but with increasing intensity as the years passed. The German Luftwaffe found the city an easy option. Placed on a distinctive bend of a wide river estuary, it wasn’t too difficult to spot even at night, when most of their attacks were made. Also it wasn’t a great distance for them to travel, reducing navigational problems on the way. There were many air-raid warnings when inland targets were being sought and the “All-clear” didn’t sound until the last of the enemy aircraft cleared the coast on their way home. Hull often received an extra “bonus” if the Germans couldn’t find their original target.
As the war progressed the age of conscription for service in the armed forces was reduced to nineteen years but there was provision for students who were within two years of the final exams. to obtain deferment until after those exams. I remember quite clearly discussing the situation with “Sudd” and another Tech. student as we stood with our ‘cycles in the middle of the town. We agreed that we wouldn’t apply for deferment because “our qualifications wouldn’t amount to much if Hitler won the war”. “Sudd” and I would volunteer for the R.A.F. and the other lad (I can’t remember his name now) preferred the Fleet
7
[page break]
would be affected by the transition from my mundane earthly existence into the realms of flight. I had at the back of my mind some disturbing recollections of not being too comfortable on fairground rides, so I was just a little apprehensive. On this account I asked my mother not to tell people that I was going as aircrew, so if things didn’t turn out too well I wouldn’t be a public disgrace.
At Lord’s the centre of the famous stretch of turf was cordoned off but the perimeter offices had been converted into depots dispensing all the items of kit we were likely to require plus the inevitable kit-bag. Here we had our introduction to authority in the shape of sergeants and corporals, who shepherded us around the establishment until eventually we were marched off to our billets. My lot were in a converted block of flats in Viceroy Court, St. John’s Wood, which had been re-equipped with service beds and lockers.
It was all very strange, finding oneself amongst a crowd of strangers from various walks of life. The only thing we definitely had in common was that we were “all in the same boat”. We had so many adjustments to make from our previous individual routines that we more readily accepted our imposed companions and most of their idiosyncrasies. The main exceptions as far as I was concerned were smoking and crude language. I had earlier decided that smoking was bad for the health and ruled that out. After hearing some of my new associates, apparently unable to complete sentences without including at least one “f” word, I concluded that the repeated insertion made both the speech and the user appear idiotic and resolved never to stoop to it. I never did.
Various N.C.O.s, mainly corporals, undertook to instil
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some military discipline on our “shower” and in a few weeks we were marching around in shiny boots and brand new uniforms with shiny buttons and getting regular hair-cuts so we didn’t get picked out during inspections.
Although I was in London there was no scope entertainment-wise. Pay for an A.C.2 was 2s. 6d. a day. I was making a voluntary allotment home of 1s 0d. a day, so when pay day came after two weeks I had to quote my last three numbers, 694, step forward, salute and receive the princely sum of £1. I think I managed to get to a Lyon’s cafe once or twice whilst in London. Most of the “entertainment” consisted of walking around some of London’s famous streets.
We all looked forward to getting to an I.T.W. (Initial Training Wing) and acquiring some more useful instruction than the rudiments of drill. Unfortunately, by the time my posting to No. 5 I.T.W. at Torquay came through I had a problem. Due probably to being a little run down towards the end of the evening class session in Hull, combined with swinging arms up to shoulder-level during our marching exercises I developed an abscess under one arm. If I reported sick I would miss my posting and would be stuck in London for another three weeks, so I kept quiet and only mentioned the matter when I got to Torquay on 9.5.42. I was immediately hospitalised with a temperature of 104 degrees F. and operated on the next day.
“Home” in Torquay was the Toorak Hotel, appropriately modified with service beds and lockers. We commenced a range of studies including navigation, meteorology, signals, armament, aircraft recognition, hygiene and anti-gas. We continued with drill and physical training in addition to the regular exercise we
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got marching along the hilly streets in Torquay. The thing that regularly bothered me, being only five feet six and a half, was the constant effort to keep pace with the taller people at the head of the column, generally six-footers. I seemed to be airborne most of the time! We had as our N.C.O. Sergeant Ditchburn, who was the Tottenham Hotspurs goalkeeper. We found him to be quite a reasonable type and certainly preferable to a pre-war regular. He was firm but genial and had a good sense of humour.
As we progressed with our I.T.W. course we were rewarded by promotion to L.A.C. (leading aircraftman) which involved wearing a propeller badge on the sleeve. This embellishment in addition to the white flash worn in the forage cap gave us quite a smart appearance. Pay shot up to 5s. 6d. a day! Much of the time that summer in Torquay we didn’t wear our tunics – it was too warm, particularly when being marched around at 140 paces to the minute. I must admit that marching like that with arms swinging to shoulder height did look impressive and when it was N.A.A.F.I. or W.V.S. break time there was no problem achieving 140 despite the hilly streets, particularly when “racing” other squads.
I can remember learning Morse and using the buzzer and the Aldis lamp, also learning to rectify faults in the Browning 303 machine gun. Two other events associated with those days spring to mind. On one occasion we were all on the beach when we got our first sight of the enemy. A couple of Messerschmitt 109s came swooping in at low level to attack the shipping in the harbour. They also opened up with machine gun and cannon fire at random. We lay flat on the beach and had a very good view of the crosses on their wings. Fortunately we had no casualties.
The other memorable event was a dramatic introduction
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to dinghy drill. An inflated aircraft dinghy floating in the harbour at Torquay was the objective of our escapes from a mock ditching. In turn and singly we had to don a sodden uniform and a Mae West and jump into the harbour and make our way to the dinghy. This was reasonably straightforward for swimmers, but as a complete non-swimmer it certainly presented me with a problem.
For a start the water was about 14 feet below the harbour wall so there was no easy option. It was a case of jumping into the unknown or not showing up very well in front of everyone – so I jumped.
It seemed a long time before I surfaced and then managed rather laboriously to dog-paddle to the dinghy. I realised that it would not have been a realistic exercise in, say, the North Sea for real.
Time passed and we were kept well occupied with lectures, exams and drill (including rifle and continuity drill) and a memorable cross-country run of a mile or two which included ploughing through a duck-inhabited pond. We returned to the Toorak Hotel soaking wet, smelling horribly and legs stinging from nettle contact. On another occasion we were taken by a rather ancient local train and dropped off in small groups at stations along the line skirting Dartmoor and given the task of finding our various ways across country to a pub four or five miles away, somewhere in the middle of the moors. There we downed a pint or two of excellent cider. Fortunately we didn’t have to walk back!
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[underlined] Chapter 2: The Stirling Castle [/underlined]
Eventually, I think it was about 15.10.42, we were posted to Blackpool after some embarkation leave. We were billeted in typical Blackpool boarding houses complete with landladies. Ours was “Holmleigh”, Crystal Road. When “Sudd.” got my letter with the Blackpool postmark he was surprised but rightly deduced that I was going abroad. He said he wouldn’t mind being in my place. He was completing a wireless course at Cranwell. He had at one time also been billeted in Blackpool and had enjoyed his accommodation. He wished me good luck and suggested that to be on the safe side I should send my future letters to his home address in 5th Avenue, North Hull.
I received his letter just before we were moved to Liverpool and transferred to the “Stirling Castle” one of the Union Castle Line’s fleet which had been converted for troop carrying. That was on 26.10.42. Our accommodation consisted of long narrow benches and tables for the day-time and hammocks for sleeping. I recall the awkward and maddening time getting even the blankets to stay in the hammock. At night we must have looked like a tin of sardines. Next day the ship moved out into the river and our time was spent “spud-carrying” (2 hours) and then “fatigues” such as cutting butter, etc. from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Talk about slave labour!
On the 28.10.42 the ship turned to face the river mouth and we had our first boat drill. At 1 p.m. the following day we sailed, leaving Liverpool and the Royal Liver Buildings, then passing the Isle of Man and Stranraer as we headed round Northern Ireland. We got used to the hammocks but there was a snag. They isolated us from the movement of the ship and the full extent of the sea movement was not apparent until we
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dismounted next morning and hit the heaving deck. By now of course, we were getting into the Atlantic. It was better, if somewhat chilly on deck. I was a little sick and didn’t bother about fish breakfast. The afternoon was pleasant and we were entertained watching Aldis signals from escorting warships and a sister ship, the “Athlone Castle”. There were six ships in our convoy.
On the third day our convoy had increased to seven ships with six escorts and we were moving more slowly. Depth charges were dropped during the afternoon. Two days later we were joined by a merchant cruiser but there were now only two destroyers or frigates in sight. The temperature was increasing as we headed in a generally southerly direction and we changed into tropical kit.
We wrote letters and listened to the B.B.C. when we could, and were pleased to have good news of the North African theatre. Pontoon was a popular pastime but we also spent some time swotting our I.T.W. notes. In between we watched flying fish and were fascinated by the phosphorescence of the water. One ship left the convoy, with a small gunboat as escort.
As the temperature rose and we estimated our position as approximately 28 degrees West we speculated about the possibility of visiting South America. Our thoughts were re-focused when a destroyer Aldis message mentioned U-boats. This was a particularly profitable time for the German submarines, as the Royal Navy had not had time to recover from a series of severe set-backs in ’41 and ’42 and had only the minimum capacity for escorting convoys. On the credit side, the German Enigma Code had been broken, (we, of course, knew nothing about that) and so it was possible using devious routes to
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avoid the U-boat packs.
On 10.11.42 we were reduced to two escort vessels. Next day, Armistice Day, I bought a poppy – amazing that someone had such foresight! We reckoned that we were now about 4 degrees S. and 28 degrees W. We were now joined by the cruiser H.M.S. London and were also rejoined by the merchant cruiser. On 12.11.42 we spotted a Catalina flying boat so we knew land wasn’t too far away and from then on we saw aircraft every few hours. It reminded one of the dove with the olive branch. On 14.11.42 we were told we would be in port tomorrow.
AT 0530 next morning I got my first glimpse through a porthole of a low-lying stretch of land on the starboard with an orange-coloured beach, backed by trees, palm and deciduous. We were in an inlet running roughly north-south. A Brazilian biplane (it looked like an Italian C.R. 42) flew past and I spotted a Grumman Goose (American amphibian) and a Catalina – at least the aircraft recognition was paying off! There was a small harbour vessel with white-dressed pilots and officials to see us in, together with what appeared to be a tug (the “Aquina”). We were surrounded by canoes and skiffs of all sizes, fitted with sliding seats and crewed by handsome Brazilian boys. There were sailing boats looking somewhat like Red Sea feluccas. We saw loads of bananas and pineapples passing by and liberty men going ashore in launches. We had arrived at Bahia.
In the evening it was impressive, after weeks at sea and years in blacked-out England, to see all the lights ashore and red flashing street signs, together with the green flashes of trams. The land rose steeply from the sea shore with buildings at the foot and the top with trees in between.
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About 5 p.m. the next day our ship took the place of the “Athlone Castle” at the quayside. We had a London fire-engine pumping fresh water aboard and a British-made crane (Bath) loading stores. Some of the firemen threw oranges and bananas up to us. The water replenishment seemed to go on for quite a bit of the next day.
Wednesday 18.11.42 was a red-letter day. We went ashore for a couple of hours. (We had the “honour” of being the first Allied troops to land in Brazil after their belated declaration of war on the Axis). We were marched through the colourful streets, being followed by children who were delighted to have coins thrown to them. We halted and dismissed for a few minutes in a local park where there was a monument to the foundation of the Brazilian Republic. Everyone was after drinks and fruit, a complication being the exchange rate. I had a shilling, 100 reis = 1/4d.; 1,000 reis = 1 milreis. We then formed up and marched back to the ship.
We left Bahia the following afternoon on the final long leg of our journey to South Africa. We were escorted, presumably as a precaution against loitering U-boats, by a Brazilian “Harvard” fitted with bombs. Our convoy now consisted of three transports, two smaller ships, a destroyer and an armed merchant cruiser. By the next day we were well away from Bahia with no sign of U-boats.
Our time was occupied by tests in navigation, signals etc. We played chess and pontoon, and wrote letters (“airgraphs”). We listened to Wing Commander Ritchie, D.F.C., the author of “Fighter Pilot”. We had boat drills at regular intervals. Then on 25.11.42 we changed back into “blues”, and were duly inspected, prior to our second pay parade aboard the “Stirling Castle”.
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We estimated our position as roughly 25 degrees South and 5 degrees West, i.e. about halfway from Bahia to South Africa. I have a note on 27.11.42 that I saw the doctor and an albatross! I’d been bothered by bronchial catarrh for about a fortnight, possibly due to the stuffy conditions below decks at night-time. I used to take a book to the stairwell and read to get myself good and sleepy before climbing into my hammock so that I had a chance to fall asleep without coughing and disturbing everyone around. I can still remember the label “Mist. Expect.” on the medicine bottle in the sick bay which I visited at regular intervals!
During the next few days we were joined by a merchant cruiser and then saw two Venturas over our convoy. We were obviously in another danger zone and portholes had to be closed during the day as well as at night.
On the afternoon of 30.11.42 we sighted Table Mountain and very soon afterwards the wreckage from a ship torpedoed early that morning. By 8 p.m. we reckoned we were well east of Table Mountain when paravanes were brought into use against the possibility of sea-mines in the seas around the Cape.
We continued out of sight of land until on 4.12.42 we arrived at Durban. Everyone crowded on deck as we edged slowly into harbour at the end of our 5 weeks voyage. We were told to look out for the “Lady in White”, who made it her business to greet all the visiting troops at the dockside. Suddenly, there she was in a long white dress and picture hat.
She began to sing to us, using a megaphone, in a song clear voice several heart-warming songs such as “Rule Britannia”
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and finally “We’ll Meet Again”. At the end of her mini-concert the troops responded with cheers and whistles and the ships’ sirens joined in.
By 6 p.m. we had disembarked in our khaki uniforms and were entrained, six to a compartment, on our way to 48 Air School, a joint R.A.F./S.A.A.F. base, near East London. The journey was fascinating – I suppose being back on land and away from the ship helped a lot. We were back in civilised surroundings, a comfortable train and enjoyable meals served without us having to move a muscle. The scenery was magnificent, rolling hills with rocky outcrops. We often caught sight of forward and rear section of our train as we negotiated the snaking track. The evenings were notable for the brilliant displays of fireflies.
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[underlined] Chapter 3: South Africa [/underlined]
We reached Woodbrook, just three miles outside East London, on 6.12.42 after our two-day rail journey and were pleased by the wooden huts provided for our accommodation. We had an excellent dinner, filled in various bits of paperwork and got the bus into East London for the evening. It really was another world, walking through well-lit streets past well-filled shops, rather like a throw-back to 1939.
We discovered that new courses began every three weeks so we had quite a bit of time on our hands. In the meantime, I reported sick and got further treatment for bronchial catarrh, but really it was just a matter of time and it wasn’t long before I was O.K. again.
It wasn’t long before we were acclimatised, conditions being just about ideal in East London, temperatures being generally about 10 degrees F. warmer than we were used to in England. The coastal situation had quite a modifying effect compared with more inland Air Schools. We had the occasional sharp storm with heavy rain, but generally in short spasms, not enough to inconvenience our exploration and enjoyment of our unexpected “holiday”. Car lifts were readily available to and from the town. The harbour was usually worth a visit – we encountered various nationalities including Dutch seamen from a submarine depot ship. The shops were all set out for Christmas – this seemed at odds with an evening temperature of 70 degrees F. at 19.45 hours. A favourite indulgence was fresh strawberries and ice-cream in a local restaurant. For our entertainment and refreshment there were several volunteer-run facilities including the U-NO-ME Club, Toc H, and S.A.W.A.S., rather like the W.V.S. at home, where you could sit around and chat or play
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games. I was quite keen on table-tennis and snooker which I generally played with my pal Fred Rolph (an ardent Brentford F.C. supporter). It was also quite pleasant on the beach, or attending the “Colosseum” cinema. I also caught up with my correspondence, sending airgraphs and receiving letters from my parents, dated October.
Christmas Day was spent in the camp with lunch served by officers and sergeants. We went short of nothing. There was turkey, pork, pudding, cake, fruit, sweets, nuts, ices, beer etc. In the afternoon we rested and we had little room for tea.
It seemed a life in limbo. There was a world war going on many miles away but we were temporarily detached from it and waiting to get on the conveyor belt.
We obviously had some of our time occupied with lectures, drill etc., but were impatient to get on with something more meaningful. We were intrigued by the political situation and the segregation of the white and black communities. The coloured people did the menial jobs and seemed to accept their lot with resignation. They were housed generally in single-room huts on the outskirts of the European city. Quite a few thousands of black South Africans were enlisted in the Army but they served only in menial ways. Strangely enough they seemed quite keen on Army life. One day when I was on police guard near the main gate I witnessed a squad of them being drilled by one of their own N.C.O.s in their free time on the road just outside the camp. They put quite a lot of effort into it and were trying hard to be smart. They didn’t have any firearms, of course, or we might have been anxious! By and large, the R.A.F. lads sympathised with their situation in their own country.
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On 7.1.43 there were rumours of our course starting on 25.1.43. We filled in the time attending lectures, carrying out various duties, marching etc., and going into town when we were free. About this time I bought myself an Omega watch (£5.10s.) and a Tissot watch for my brother. The Omega watch is worth mentioning as I relied on it exclusively during all my navigation (training and operational). I got them from a Swiss jeweller’s shop in East London in early January ’43. (I still have the Omega, though it was accidentally broken around 1970).
We played a lot of table-tennis and snooker and I wrote home and to Walter Suddaby, and my brother Norman who was also in the R.A.F. (training as a wireless operator). Keeping up with the washing was another regular activity. My wash-day was usually at the weekend and consisted simply of washing my clothes in the wash basin using a bar of “Sunlight” soap, rinsing thoroughly and then spreading them out on large rocks in the sun to dry. Trousers were creased by placing them carefully under the mattress.
Eventually, we started our course proper on Monday 25.1.43, with three periods of dead-reckoning (D.R.) navigation, one period on instruments, two periods on signal procedure and one practicing on the Morse buzzer. From this time on we were kept solidly at our studies for the next eight weeks, including examinations to keep us up to the mark.
It was during this time, however, that Fred Rolph and I were invited to visit the home of Dr. G.J.C. Smyth of 30 St. Georges Road, in East London. He and his family were most hospitable and regularly entertained us when we and two other R.A.F. lads had a few hours to spare at weekends.
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We spent a lot of time in the spacious garden playing tenni-quoits, which was most enjoyable and enabled us to “let off steam”. We maintained this contact until just before we left South Africa. We didn’t see a lot of the Doctor himself, as he was pretty busy, but Mrs. Smyth and the family looked after us very well.
For the flying stage of our training I was posted on 27.3.43 to No. 41 Air School at Collondale which, I was pleased to discover, was only about eight miles from East London, thus enabling me to continue having pleasant weekend breaks at the Smyth’s. Fred wasn’t quite so fortunate, in that he was posted to No. 47 Air School near Queenstown, approximately 100 miles inland, which made it more awkward for his journeys to the Smyth’s. Fortunately he could make it by rail.
After the minimum time to settle in and only three days into our studies our class of twentyfour trainee navigators, divided into “A” and “B” flights, came face to face with reality by way of the Avro Anson. This was a twin-engined monoplane with a great safety record. I can recall it was already practically obsolete from a military point of view, being far too slow and almost unarmed, but provided a good steady platform for training purposes.
Appropriately, my first flight ever in an aircraft was on April 1st. (This by strange coincidence happened also to be the 25th. anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Air Force in 1918). I was first navigator with another pupil as second navigator in Anson “V” (3153) piloted by 2nd. Lieutenant McIndoe of the S.A.A.F. The aim was to give us air experience and to try out our map-reading skills while navigating as best we could from Potsdam, (a nearby village) around a laid-down
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cross-country route of about 250 miles. As first navigator I sat at the plotting table carrying out the chart plot and maintaining the log of events. The second navigator armed with a topographical map (i.e. showing the main ground features on the route) tries to identify features passing below the aircraft which are shown on his map. When he gets a positive identification he notes the spot on the map, the precise time of this observation and passes both pieces of information to the first navigator, who then plots them, using the latitude and longitude on his chart. This flight became the first entry in my flying log-book.
On subsequent flights the two navigators took it in turns to be first and second navigator.
The earlier trips were inclined to be a bit rough and ready technique-wise, but as experience increased we became more confident in our judgement of when to give the pilot an alteration of course. In reality, we had many factors in our favour, navigating in South Africa. The weather was generally very good and so was the visibility. The ground features were easy to interpret, nowhere near as congested as we were to encounter later back in Britain. The aircraft was usually only a few thousand feet up and the pilots were quite familiar with the territory, so although they played the game one was aware that they wouldn’t let things get out of hand navigation-wise. If you spotted a railway track it was a big help because there weren’t many railway lines in the whole of the area. Sizeable towns were few and far between and so were much more readily identified.
At this stage we were already encountering the fundamental problem of air navigation – estimating and allowing for the effect of the wind, a continually varying factor. As anyone observing a light aircraft flying in a crosswind will know,
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the aircraft doesn’t travel in exactly the direction it is pointing. It drifts sideways to an extent depending on the wind-speed and direction, (wind velocity). If the aircraft is supposed to be travelling from point A to point B it is not sufficient to point the nose directly at point B unless the wind is from dead ahead or dead astern, a most unlikely occurrence. One has to apply a correction to the heading according to the wind velocity. Knowing the aircraft’s heading from the compass and its airspeed from the airspeed indicator the navigator can plot an “air position” according to the time elapsed on that course. If at that time he can identify the actual position of the aircraft relative to the ground by visual or other means and plot that “fix”, the line joining the “air position” with the “fix” shows both the wind direction and the effect of the wind over the time of the plot and hence the wind velocity. This velocity can then be used as the most up-to-date information for use in making any necessary alteration of course to allow for the wind effect.
We proceeded with ever more sophisticated exercises as the course progressed, flying mainly with South African but occasionally R.A.F. pilots and included photography, astro-navigation (night-flying), over sea exercises, formation flights, flame-float exercises (also involving night flying), and low-level map reading.
Meanwhile we were kept hard at it with our ground studies which involved D.R. (Dead Reckoning) theory, D.R. plotting, compasses meteorology, maps and charts, instruments, radio navigation, reconnaissance, photography, aircraft recognition, signals (both lamp and buzzer) and Astro-navigation.
With any subject involving calculations I found no real difficulty because I had always enjoyed Maths. Notwithstanding
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the confidence this gave me, I could not see much relevance between the training we were getting and the realities of operating at heights of 10,000 to 20,000 feet on dark nights with the ground practically invisible, under enemy fire. Astro-navigation seemed to be about the only independent means of navigation, but when one thought about what that entailed in practice it didn’t seem such a good idea. Inherently Astro-navigation did not appeal to me as sufficiently accurate. In order to get a fix one needed to take observations by sextant on three stars distributed at reasonable angles in the night sky through the perspex dome in the roof of the bomber aircraft, each observation taking a minimum of 2-3 minutes, not forgetting to note the time of the observation and having to calculate a position line from a book of tables and transfer it along the track on the chart. Then, if one was lucky, one had three lines which crossed producing a sizeable triangle, somewhere within which lay, hopefully, the position of the aircraft. The biggest criticism was the vulnerability of an aircraft flying straight and level at a steady airspeed for up to ten minutes over predicted anti-aircraft fire and being followed by night fighters with radar. At this stage I was puzzled how the job could be done and I just had to hope that all would be revealed in the fullness of time. Meanwhile, I was thankful not to have experienced any ill effects from my encounter with aviation and felt that I should be able to cope reasonably well in the future.
It must have seemed very tame for some of our South African pilots after coming from combat in North Africa to spend time “taxi-driving” we “sprog” navigators. We heard strange stories about some of their antics as they tried to relieve the boredom, but the Anson was a most tolerant aircraft and almost flew itself. In my log book I have the names Jooste, Nasmith, Efroiken, Van Rensburg, Moll, Mannheim, Van
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Heerden, Steyn and Duveen, along with R.A.F. pilots Cowan and Hill.
Suddenly, on 1.7.43 I, with four other members of pour course (No. 12) at 41 Air School was sent for interview by W/C Pettit and two Squadron Leaders. I was genuinely taken by surprise, wearing a somewhat scruffy battledress with two or three buttons missing. I had nothng [sic] to lose and I ran down the C.E.B. exams in general. I noted “it seemed to work”.
The following day, more prepared on this occasion, I was interviewed by Group Captain O’Grady. I was stumped by a question on details of the D.F.C. He was very pleasant and at the end I felt I would have liked to have another interview, knowing more about him. It turned out that I was considered O.K. for commissioning, along with John Tebbut from “A” flight.
I was somewhat surprised, considering that I had at no time applied for or even thought about a commission at this early stage in my training. More so, because during the first interview I had rejected the possibility of staying in South Africa as an instructor on the grounds that pupils would be likely to take more notice of instructors with operational experience. I omitted to say that I would have felt like the blind leading the blind.
[underlined] Results of Courses from 29.3.43 to 10.7.43
Air Navigation Course No. 12 Held at 41 A.S. South Africa [/underlined]
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[underlined] Subject – Poss. – Obtd. [/underlined]
D.R. Theory – 100 – 63
D.R. Plotting – 300 – 229
Compasses – 100 – 74
Meteorology – 100 – 72
Maps and Charts – 100 – 94
Instruments – 100 – 76
Radio Navigation – 100 – 79
Reconnaissance – 100 – 72/A
Photography – 100 – 94/AA
A/C Recognition – P. – P.
Signals – 100 – 96
Astro-Navigation – 100 – 97
Flying times on Course Day 76.45 Night 17.20
A/C Type Anson
Air Exercise Assessment AA (Above Average)
[underlined] TOTAL MARKS OBTAINED 81 PERCENT PASSED [/underlined]
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Remarks: An Above Average Navigator
Signed by W/Commander Pettit
There were still three more air navigational exercises to fit in before our graduation day on 10.7.43. To present our brevets we had Rear-Admiral Scott. When it came to my turn the conversation was as follows:-
“Where do you come from, my boy?” “Hull, Yorkshire, Sir.”
“There’s not much of Hull left is there?” “No, Sir.” etc.
The evening celebration was quite informal but the Group Captain did take the opportunity to compliment us on a good parade.
A big dampener, as far as I was concerned, was the news I had received from Fred Rolph, about the time I had my first interview for a commission. He’d made a mess of the Astro-Navigation exam and then came up against a problem in the D.R. Plotting. He said in his letter of 29.6.43, “Do you think I could remember how to do it? I sat there cudgelling my brains and thinking of Edna” (his girl-friend back home) ”and the Astro exam and I couldn’t think how to do it.” He tried to remedy the plotting but only succeeded in getting deeper in the mire. In fact he needn’t have worried so much about the Astro exam – he obtained 67 percent, but he didn’t know how. It was worrying unnecessarily about the Astro that contributed to his failure in the D.R. Plotting. The outcome was that nine members of his course, including Fred had to re-sit their D.R. Plotting exam a day or two before I was getting my brevet. This meant a delay of three weeks for Fred but he added a P.S. “Edna won’t mind waiting three weeks extra after nine months. (I hope!)”.
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Unfortunately those three weeks meant that he never caught up with me again, and his next letter, posted from the Smyth home on 26.7.43 didn’t catch up with me until four months later, when I had no idea where he would be.
I had done my packing and said goodbye to the Smyth’s and boarded the train for Cape Town. Denis Smyth, probably about eighteen or nineteen years old, took me to the station by car, followed the train and saw me again at Cambridge just down the line. I was really sorry to leave the Smyth’s, after all their kindness. Next day, Tuesday, we passed through Queenstown very early in the morning, and on Wednesday afternoon we arrived at Cape Town. We completed the journey to the I.F.T.C. Westlake (Imperial Forces Transit Camp) by electric railway and we were ensconced in Hut 6/26.
During the next ten days I explored part of Cape Town and did some shopping. I managed to get items such as 1/2 yd. braid (pilot officer), a badge, some shirts, shoes, socks, gloves, hankies, and a raincoat and posted several small parcels of goodies to the family in England.
On Sunday, 25.7.43 I settled up my mess fees, collected my pay and a £15 travelling allowance, packed the little that remained to be packed and was transferred at the last minute to the draft prior to the one I had expected. In a very short time we boarded the “Mauretania”. There were eight of us in a cabin, but it was luxurious compared with the hammocks and benches in the “Stirling Castle”. There were five R.A.F. Pilot Officers, two Navy types and one civilian attached to the R.A.F. Next morning we sailed for England about 11 a.m., after a boat drill at 10 a.m.
Like the “Queen Elizabeth”, the “Mauretania” was
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constructed just before the war and proved extremely useful in transporting troops throughout the war. The “Mauretania” alone carried more than 380,000 troops during 55 voyages and must have been a high priority target for German U-boats. My brother travelled to Canada in the “Mauretania” for his aircrew training, shortly afterwards.
Our accommodation was section C3 on C Deck and our Mess No. 69. Mealtimes were pleasant affairs – I have an autographed menu from the luncheon on Wednesday August 11th 1943 in the Officers’ dining room. Nothing pretentious of course, but a big leap back to civilised behaviour. In contrast, acting as orderly officer one day, accompanied by a corporal I had the job of seeing the other side of life and asking the airmen on the mess decks for “Any complaints?” Thankfully everyone seemed reasonably happy with their lot.
So we passed our time in comfort on our fairly direct (apart from a brief call at Freetown), journey back to Liverpool. This took about half of the five weeks of our outward journey on the “Stirling Castle”. By this time the submarine menace had been reduced considerably.
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[photograph of three men and one woman]
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[photograph of the crew with signatures]
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[underlined and centred] Chapter 4: Back to England [/underlined and centred]
Once we docked in Liverpool we were soon on the train and on our way to No. 7 P.R.C. (presumably Personnel Receiving Centre) at Harrogate on 14.8.43. From there we went on our disembarkation leave. I believe I got most of my officer’s uniform fixed up in Hull and maybe some items in Harrogate, where we had to return before posting.
On 8.9.43 my posting came to 3(O) A.F.U., Halfpenny Green, an airfield situated in the West Midlands between Bridgnorth and Dudley. (Today it is a civil airport). There during the next few weeks, I was to take part in No. 138 Air Observers Advance Navigation Course. It seemed an impressive title although a little anachronistic when the replacement of Observers by Navigators had already spread to South Africa and Canada with the Empire Training Scheme. We were already wearing the “N” brevets which replaced the previous observer “O”, as we arrived for the course.
The “advanced navigation course” conducted on Ansons served two purposes. It showed us the difference between map-reading over the wide-open spaces of South Africa, where it was relatively easy to pick out significant features such as a main road or a railway line, and the more complex problem in European map-reading. The more densely populated areas introduced a corresponding profusion of ground detail. Secondly, it extended our experience quite logically without the further complication, on a short course, which might have been occasioned by using an unfamiliar aircraft. On the other hand, the disquieting feeling remained over the relevance of map reading from a few thousand feet, half the time in daylight, compared with the coming operational navigation mainly at
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night, largely out of sight of the ground and at around 20,000 feet, while covering the ground more rapidly in a four-engined aircraft and with the added distractions caused by the opposition.
The thirty-eight and a half hours flying time accrued at Halfpenny Green, brought my total flying time to one hundred and thirty-two and a half hours, roughly one-quarter being night flying. My one recollection of those days was, on the completion of a particular night exercise, walking from the airfield to the hut on a beautiful Autumn night along a narrow country road with not a soul in sight and humming a popular tune of those days.
The next posting was to No. 84 O.T.U. (Operational Training Unit) at Desborough in Northamptonshire. That was on 12.10.43. This was a recently established O.T.U. and the roadways had only been laid that Autumn. It was also pretty wet weather during the first few weeks there and we aircrew, marching between our Nissen huts and lectures found ourselves on roads covered with mud from the soil excavated during their construction and piled nearby.
The O.T.U. was equipped with Vickers Wellington twin-engined bombers, which had been the main-stay of Bomber Command for some time but was being progressively replaced by four-engined types. However, the Wellingtons, or “Wimpeys” as they were usually called, looked large and impressive and very business-like compared with the Anson to which I was accustomed.
Other huts were occupied by other categories of aircrew – pilots, bomb-aimers, wireless operators and air-gunners. Very soon we would have to perform the transition from individuals to aircrews. To this end we were assembled in a large hangar and
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told to get ourselves sorted out. This was very much a lottery. We were teaming up with people we had never met before to undertake dangerous operations during which we would be bound to depend implicitly on these strangers being able to do their jobs efficiently. I suppose this was accepted because we were “all in the same boat”. In hindsight, I don’t think anyone could have suggested a rational alternative.
I cannot remember just how it came about but I found myself “crewed up” with three sergeants (pilot, Chris Derrick; wireless operator, John (Jock) Poyner; a rear gunner, Tom Gibb from Glasgow), and a Pilot Officer bomb-aimer making up the crew of five for the Wellington. This was the stage at which the division between commissioned and non-commissioned aircrew became apparent. We commissioned “types” were quartered in huts segregated from the huts of the N.C.O.s, and we had separate messes. We attended lectures according to our aircrew duties, e.g. navigator or whatever and only got together as a crew when flying was in the offing. It wasn’t done for officers and N.C.0.s to go around in “matey” groups.
On the morale-boosting side, we navigators were soon relieved to learn that our big worry about how we could possibly navigate accurately at night would be considerably relieved by our introduction to an almost magical device known as a Gee box. Basically this measured the aircraft’s distance from each of two ground stations and where these measurements coincided gave the geographical position of the aircraft. On the debit side it was jammable by the enemy and could not be relied upon beyond the enemy coast. Nevertheless it would give us a sound beginning to our task when we went out on operational flights.
We flew in a “Wimpey” for the first time on 8.11.43 with
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a “screened” pilot instructing our pilot, Sgt. Derrick on the take-offs, circuits and landings, commonly known as “circuits and bumps”. The significance of this dawned on me in the course of time.
Our pilot was given his solo check, went solo (with members of the crew) and had three further lots of “circuits and bumps”. Then we took the gunners on an air-firing exercise and did some dual “circuits and bumps”, two thirds of them with six different screened pilots. I think we must have met most of the instructors of “B” flight, some of them several times. Sometimes we were airborne several times a day, four times on three occasions. Our pilot seemed to have some trouble with his steering around the perimeter track and wandered off it occasionally. When this happened we were liable to be bogged down as the ground was so muddy.
On a couple of occasions I flew in the rear turret because the gunners were occupied with ground training and the policy was for there always to be a pair of eyes in the rear turret to warn of the proximity of other aircraft both in the air and on the ground. I did not care for the cramped conditions and I cared less about the landings, when my helmeted head hit the turret. In my ignorance I thought it was just one of the things that went with flying heavy aircraft. I was thankful I was a navigator.
Now the bomb-aimer had to “get in” a bit of practical work, dropping eleven and a half pound practice bombs at the local bombing range. We had been to the bombing range once at night and once by day, both times with a “screened” pilot. Now we had to carry out the same exercises “solo”. The high-level bombing by day was carried out, apparently satisfactorily but night bombing presented difficulties. We had bomb-sight trouble
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on a number of occasions and four attempts were aborted. On the last occasion our bomb aimer was sick and on our return to base our pilot reported “bomb-aimer u/s” instead of “bomb-sight u/s”.
At this stage we parted company with Chris Derrick – he was considered unsuitable as the pilot of heavy bomber aircraft. We heard that he carried on flying Oxfords, twin-engined aircaft. [sic] We also saw no more of our bomb aimer, F/O Valentine. I missed listening to his gramophone and classical records of an evening.
During these early weeks we were rudely brought up against the realities of the job. One of our Wellingtons was shot down one night by a German intruder aircraft from a height of about 10,000 feet, possibly on a practice bombing exercise. Two members of the crew, including the F/Lt pilot, who had some operational experience on other aircraft, were fellow occupants of the same hut as Valentine and myself. I was one of the bearers at the funeral service in the local church.
Within a few days we had a replacement pilot, Sgt. Redman, a rather taciturn character and we were transferred from “B” flight to “D” flight. We also had a replacement bomb-aimer, Sgt. Tommy Crook.
Obviously Sgt. Redman had already satisfied the Air Force that he was competent to fly Wellingtons because, without any preliminaries whatsoever, our first outing with him was on a daylight cross-country (i.e. navigational exercise) in the company of a screened pilot. That was on 28.12.43. By the 10.1.44 we were completing our series of navigation exercises (in which we suffered simulated attacks by R.A.F. fighters) in what must have been record time, as the Air Force attempted to
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makes us catch up on lost time.
Unfortunately the cross-country on Route 92/19 turned out to be a somewhat traumatic experience. (In those days I don’t think the word “traumatic” was part of the vocabulary as it is today). Part of the route during a five and a half hour flight took us about 100 miles out over the North Sea and everything was going satisfactorily and the Gee set was working O.K. when Sgt. Redman suddenly announced that the aircraft had stalled. In front of me on the navigator’s table, was a duplicate altimeter, showing 8,000 feet. I watched, somewhat numbly, as the needle began to “unwind”. I can only suppose the other crew members were similarly afflicted. There was certainly no chatter and no panic.
We all knew that the next words from the pilot were most likely to be “Prepare for ditching” which would mean taking up positions to minimise injury when the aircraft hit the sea. The altimeter continued to “unwind”. There was no instruction from our pilot to the wireless operator to try to inform base of our predicament and no word as to what was happening. At 4,000 feet, halfway down to the cold North Sea with virtually no chance of survival, the aircraft levelled off, still without a word of explanation from our pilot. It transpired what had happened was that the pitot tube, which feeds the air pressure for the airspeed indicator had “iced up” so the air-speed appeared to fall. The pilot, partly through inexperience, had feared the worst and informed us accordingly. We were relieved to get “home”.
In unanimous agreement the crew decided that we had no confidence in our pilot and did not wish to fly with him again. Because of my commission, I had the unpleasant job of forwarding the crew’s views to our superiors and we did not
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meet Sgt. Redman again. However, by the contribution of our two pilots, the rest of the crew were deemed to have completed the O.T.U. course, and after a spot of leave we were posted to a holding unit at Methwold, in Suffolk on 8.2.44.
It must have been at Methwold that, whilst puzzling over the fate of our temporarily headless crew, I happened to meet an American lieutenant pilot serving with the R.A.F. He had a very English name, Braithwaite, and hailed from Hollywood and had lots of flying hours behind him before he left the U.S.A. He was waiting to be given a crew. He didn’t have a pronounced American accent and discussing our mutual situation we got on very well together. We both thought it would be the ideal solution if we could join forces, i.e. if he could take our pilotless crew. Unfortunately, the authorities preferred to give him a crew who had lost their pilot doing an operation as second pilot with another crew for experience before operating with his own crew.
Our crew was posted on 25.2.44 to No. 1653 H.C.U. at Chedburgh, (also in Suffolk), which was in No. 3 Group of Bomber Command. Here we were in the land of the Stirling four-engined bomber – we would much rather have been on Lancasters. However, looking back on those days, I am certain that it was a turning point as far as our crew was concerned. In addition to acquiring a new pilot, Sgt. G.F. (Fred) Holbrook and a mid-upper gunner, Sgt. Stan Swain, we were joined by our flight engineer, Sgt. Johnny Squires, an extremely useful asset over the next six months or so. Johnny was already serving in the Army when the war started and had got to the rank of Captain in the Black Watch, pretty good going considering he wasn’t much taller than my five foot six and a half inches! Anyway, during the middle years of the war the Army had a comb-out of junior officers of 40 years and more and it was
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decided that he would be better employed in his basic occupation, engineering, in civilian life. He was not enraptured with the idea and, knocking ten years off his age, joined the R.A.F. for aircrew training as a flight engineer.
He was, of course, much older than the rest of us. I was just coming up to 22, our wireless operator, John Poyner, was just 22 and Fred Holbrook was probably about the same age. The rest of the crew were younger, the gunners probably 19 or 20. You could say he was almost a father-figure, but we daren’t have suggested any such thing at the time.
He was really first class at the job, always calm and never at a loss, whatever the circumstances. He was a really steadying influence and, personally, having already “lost” two pilots along the way and now having a third unknown factor taking over, I felt much happier about our future knowing that Johnny was sitting up there alongside Fred. That feeling was reinforced as we progressed steadily with the local flying and then with navigational exercises on Stirlings (Mark I and III).
The Stirling, which was the first of the R.A.F.’s four-engined bombers, built to a 1936 specification, gave the impression of a long dinosaur waiting to attack or pounce. The undercarriage was enormous and at first sight made me wonder what the altimeter in the cockpit read! It was a good aircraft but had serious limitations, the main one being its maximum altitude. I understand that this was due to its wingspan being limited by the standard hangar width of the day.
Whilst other Bomber Command aircraft normally operated at about 20,000 feet, this ‘plane could barely manage 15,000, so it seemed it would be unwise to get mixed up with
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people dropping things from a mile above.
After five weeks at Chedburgh we were able to erase such thoughts from our imagination as we went on leave prior to being transferred to the Lancaster Finishing School at Hemswell in No. 1 Group. I still have one souvenir from the Stirling era, a horizontal scar on the bridge of my nose, due to colliding with the rear end of the tailplane whilst walking around a Stirling on a very dark night. Fortunately it was only local flying – not a navigational trip – and I was able to clamp my first aid dressing on to the spot immediately and stop the bleeding until we returned. That was to be the only injury I sustained in the Air Force.
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Walter Suddaby
I kept in touch with Walter at varying intervals throughout our R.A.F. careers and I knew he’d been with his crew to 1658 H.C.U. (Heavy Conversion Unit) at Riccall (halfway between York and Selby) to train on Halifax bombers. I had plenty of reminders when I later travelled through Riccall on my way to and from work at Selby. I heard when he got onto 158 Squadron at Lissett, near Bridlington and then no more.
I cannot remember just how it happened that his brother, Frank, cycled over from their home in North Hull and found me home on leave, but his tidings were terrible and I was shocked. Walter had been killed in extremely unfortunate circumstances. In “The Bomber Battle for Berlin”, Air Commodore John Searby explains what happened on the night of 24/25th March 1944. “Over the Dutch coast P/O Simpson” (Walter’s pilot) “called base saying his port and starboard outer engines were damaged”. (It would be Walter transmitting the message). “and nothing more was heard until he was reported having crashed at the water’s edge at Ingham near Cromer, Norfolk, where a minefield was laid years before against possible invasion. The aircraft blew up and all were killed.” Apparently, having little altitude, the pilot attempted a crash landing on the beach, and had either forgotten about the mined beaches or had little alternative but to take the risk.
A later publication, by W.R, Chorley. reported the crash as happening on the sand dunes near Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk.
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[underlined] Chapter 5: Operations 1-20 [/underlined]
I can still remember my first close-up encounter with the Lancaster – no, I didn’t bump my nose. Compared with the ungainly appearance of the Stirling, the Lancaster looked sleek and business-like. On entering the cockpit I was greatly impressed by the appearance of the in-line Rolls Royce Merlin engines, of which I had heard so much since I became interested in aviation. My confidence soared. It increased further when I heard about the H2S (air-borne radar equipment) and the A.P.I. (air position indicator). Not that I had any time for practice at Hemswell – the object of the exercise was the transference from one four-engined bomber (the Stirling) to the other (the Lancaster) which mainly meant lots of take-offs and landings for our pilot and familiarisation with the new aircraft and its numerous instrument panels and dials for pilot (Fred) and flight engineer (Johnny).
We were airborne for a total of barely eleven hours (some day and some night) during our brief stay at Hemswell and in no time at all we were making the short journey, on 26.4.44, by crew bus I believe, to Wickenby and No. 12 Squadron. At Wickenby, which was a war-time constructed airfield, I was again segregated from the rest of the crew as they were all sergeants. My accomodation [sic] on the officers’ site was in a Nissen hut, similar to that of the crew on the N.C.O.S’ site, which I later wandered over to inspect.
I had a distinctly unusual and rather disquieting introduction to my new “home”. There was only one person there when I arrived, P/O Adam (Jock) Varrie, who I believe hailed from Lockerbie. (Currently domiciled in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe). He had lost his crew on operations whilst he was ill,
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and had been given the job of assistant to the Flight Engineer Leader. He had arrived at Wickenby in September ’43 and had done quite a lot of ops. before losing his crew. He told me that during his time at Wickenby he knew of only one crew and “one odd bod” who had survived a tour of 30 operations, i.e. from the two squadrons Nos. 12 and 626, operating from Wickenby. I decided there was no point in worrying and to take a limited objective.
I had a few science books with me and I did look at them on several occasions but I decided to defer the idea. Instead, I suppose partly in bravado, I decided to read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” which I found in the Library at Wickenby Officers’ Mess. I wondered how far I’d get with it under the circumstances. I did in fact get through the lot, more than 1,000 pages, in instalments! For moral support I said the “Lord’s Prayer” each night as I lay in bed, trying to give full interpretation to the words. Secondly (and rather trivially) I always polished by flying boots before going off to briefings. It was rather foolish in hindsight, because if I’d had to parachute down in enemy territory, polished boots would not have been a good idea, if one was trying to evade capture even if you managed to rear off the leg parts. Looking back, I suppose it was a case of “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition”.
At the Navigation Office I encountered F/Lt. R. Stancliffe, our Squadron Navigation Officer and was impressed by his relaxed and friendly attitude. I soon encountered something which I found very inspirational. In some pigeon holes or racks in the Nav. Office there were a few navigators’ logs, one of which left an enduring impression on me. It had been compiled by F/O D.A. Colombo who had gone missing, along with his crew, on the Berlin raid of 24/25 March ’44, i.e.
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just over a month earlier and the one on which Walter Suddaby and his crew were lost. His log seemed to me like a work of art, hardly the kind of craftsmanship one would have believed possible, given the circumstances prevailing at that particularly hazardous period in the history of Bomber Command. I decided, then and there, that if I couldn’t make Colombo’s standard I’d have a good try. I never met him but I never forgot him.
Our crew was placed in “B” Flight of 12 Squadron and we were airborne just twice, both on 28.4.44, for “fighter affiliation” (i.e. dodging a Spitfire) combined with air-sea firing practice for the gunners and a simulated night attack on Bristol. I don’t remember whether we managed to fit in a short leave but just over a week later we were detailed for our first op. on 7.5.44.
The first and second ops. were not very demanding, one on a target near Rennes in France and the second to a target in Belgium. The latter attack was aborted on the instruction of the Master Bomber, due to poor visibility and we were ordered to return with our load.
Between our first and third ops. we got in quite a lot of navigational practice (and much needed H2S practice) on five cross-country exercises. This period also helped very considerably in getting us working together as a crew and becoming familiar with our surroundings, both aloft and on the station.
Our third and fourth ops. were on German territory, but only just over the border from Belgium. They were attacks on two marshalling yards at Aachen and met with considerable resistance, the loss rates being 6 percent in the first case and 7 percent in the
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second.
Railway marshalling yards were beginning to assume very considerable importance in view of the impending invasion of Europe by the Allied Armies. Anything that would impede the free transit of German forces to the coast could obviously be helpful to our forces, and Aachen was an important railway junction in that respect.
On the second of the Aachen trips we made the aquaintance[sic] of Lancaster Mk.1 ME758, PH-N, the former being the Manufacturers (Metropolitan Vickers) number and the latter comprising No. 12 Squadron’s letters and the aircraft letter. This was to become our regular aircraft, in which we were to do 25 of our 30 ops. The Aachen trip was N-Nan’s tenth.
On all night operations and quite a lot of the day ones I travelled secluded from the outer world by my black-out curtain. I sat at the navigation table, which was situated to the rear of the pilot’s armoured back-rest (the only armour in the aircraft), facing the port (left) side of the aeroplane. The reason for the black-out precaution was, of course, the angle-poise light which illuminated my chart and navigation log. Any emerging light would not have been appreciated by the crew as a whole and would not have been good for the pilot’s night vision.
I had devised my personal system of navigation in an effort to simplify the calculations. In fact, I had gone decimal and worked in tenths of hours and tenths of minutes instead of minutes and fractions. For example, in the early stages of an operation when I wanted to ascertain the actual wind velocity, which was ever-changing and sometimes considerably at variance with the meteorological information, I took Gee-fixes at
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6-minute intervals or sometimes 12, knowing it was then simple mental arithmetic to multiply the measured vector from the air position (thank goodness for the A.P.I.) to the fix by 10 or 5 respectively to find the wind speed in knots (nautical miles per hour). This saved a lot of messing about with the manual computer.
It was just as essential to keep in touch with the wind velocity as with your actual position so that you had the ability to correct your course in order to hit the next turning point on your route. It was always a case of working with hind-sight. You could only assume that the wind affecting you over the next few miles would be similar to what you had just experienced.
Miscellaneous observations such as times of bombs being fused and released, times to drop and rates of dropping of “window” (i.e. anti-radar aluminised strips), times and rough location of the positions of aircraft being shot down (including some alleged to be “scarecrow” devices fired into the air by the enemy to pretend they were R.A.F. aircraft which had been destroyed in mid-air), whether parachutes were seen, sightings of enemy aircraft, target indicators, radio information via the wireless operator, and anything which might be of use to “intelligence”, all had to be logged with time of occurrence and estimated positions relative to our aircraft and its heading.
We fitted in yet another cross-country exercise on 29.5.44 for H2S practice. (See page 88. for technical details). The log book entry reads “Window (aircraft) lost and aileron damaged. A.S.I. (Air Speed Indicator) read 360 m.p.h. plus in dive”. The necessary repairs were soon made.
With the invasion imminent we got a number of short-
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haul trips, including attacks on a radar-jamming station near Dieppe which was later found to have been made “with great accuracy”, a gun position at Sangatte, near Calais, (as part of a deception programme to keep the enemy guessing where the landings would come), and the attack on a coastal battery at St. Martin de Varreville on the Normandy coast on the eve of the invasion. On the latter occasion the H2S screen was covered with numerous luminous pin-point echoes of the invasion fleet on its way across the Channel.
On the next evening we were supposed to bomb a railway switch-line at Acheres in the suburbs of Paris, but there was too much cloud for the safety of French civilians so the Master Bomber ordered us to return with our loads. (Not much fun, landing with a full bomb load!)
That counted as our eighth operation. The next couple of night operations were also concerned with inhibiting the Hun, one being against a landing-ground at Flers in Southern Normandy and the other attacking the important railway junction of Evreux, about 50 miles west of Paris. So far our ten ops. had not been too stressful and had averaged only about four and a half hours night flying.
Targets were marked by the Pathfinder Force (PFF) with various coloured devices which could be varied according to pre-arranged plans during the period of the attack and could be over-ridden by instructions from the “Master of Ceremonies” (Master Bomber) according to eventualities arising during the progress of the raid.
By the time I was operating, the P.F.F. system had been developed over the better part of two years into a formidable
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system, but there were occasional human errors. When this happened the whole or part of a raid could go awry.
On the night of 12/13 June 1944 we took part in the first raid of a new oil campaign, the target being the Nordstern synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr. In addition to my normal duties I was one of a number of navigators on the operation to be detailed for “wind-finding”. The idea was for the force as a whole to have the benefit of the information obtained from selected navigators and apply it to their individual needs. We calculated the wind velocities at successive stages en route and had our wireless operators transmit the coded information back to base for analysis and consideration by meteorological staff, who then reported back to the main force the outcome of their deliberations in terms of up-to-date information on wind vehicles.
From my log for the trip I see that I sent back wind velocities from seven stages of the outward and return trips. I was quite happy with the navigation and had given the pilot the final correction to the course to the target, then calculated and given a wind velocity to Jock Poyner, our wireless operator, when our pilot spotted what he believed to be the target markers about 30 degrees to starboard and altered course towards them despite my disbelief, when we were approximately 20 miles from the target. Our clear instructions were to bomb the markers so that is what happened. We bombed just after 0101 hours, i.e. within our allotted range of 0100 to 0104 hours.
Many years later I read an illuminating account in “Bomber Command News” in an article spanning “Six months in the life of Bomber Command, a day-by-day account of support for the Allied invasion forces.” This covered the period 23.5.44
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to 31.12.44, including the attack on Gelsenkirchen. It reported – “Owing to the good work of the Pathfinders the attack opened with exceptional accuracy. Later a rogue target indicator fell ten miles short of target and was bombed by 35 aircraft. All production at the oil plant ceased with a loss of 1,000 tons of aviation fuel a day for several weeks.” On my part, I compared the photograph taken automatically when our bombs were released, with the large wall mosaic in the Intelligence library of photographs taken by R.A.F. reconnaissance aircraft. Not having the benefit of the information which was quoted so many years later in “Bomber Command News”, I estimated from our last alteration of course before the target approximately where to look on this huge map for the place we had actually bombed.
From a few distinctive features on our photograph I was able to find the matching spot on the wall map – with a difference. Our picture showed unmistakably a dispersal point on the perimeter of an airfield which must have been constructed during the years since the reconnaissance photographs were taken. So the airfield personnel probably had an exciting night! The probable explanation is that whilst the real target was obscured by thick smoke from burning oil, the markers dropped ten miles away in open country were clearly visible. Seventeen Lancasters were lost, 6.1% of the Lancaster force of 286.
For a bit of variation we flew the following night for a couple of hours practicing night fighter evasion (with an R.A.F. fighter).
On the evenings of 14th and 15th June ’44 we operated in Bomber Command’s first daylight raids since May ’43. The objectives were the fast German motor torpedo boats (E-boats) and other light German naval forces based at Le Havre and
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Boulogne, which were threatening Allied shipping off the Normandy beaches. We flew in loose “gaggles” (there had been no training in formation flying) escorted by Spitfires of 11 Group. The E-boat threat to the invasion beaches was almost completely removed. R.A.F. casualties were very light.
We next had an aborted attack on a switch-line at Aulnoye, about 20 miles south of Mons. After a discussion between the Master Bomber and his deputy it was decided not to risk civilian casualties as it was too cloudy to bomb with accuracy, so we set off back with our loads, jettisoning the delayed-action bombs shortly after we left the French coast.
On the night of 12/13 June ’44 the Germans began their V-1 (flying bomb) attacks on London. Between 15-16 and 16-17 June, 144 flying bombs crossed the Kent coast and 73 reached London. This stung the British authorities into action and Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the invasion forces, agreed that retaliatory action (code name CROSSBOW) should rank second in priority only to the urgent needs of the battlefield. From mid-June to mid-August attacks on V-weapon objectives became one of Bomber Command’s major concerns, absorbing about 40% of its effort and correspondingly reducing its ability to bomb Germany.
Our first involvement came with a daylight attack on a flying-bomb site about 10 miles south-west of Calais. As the promised target indicators were not visible at the stated time we bombed on the Gee co-ordinates. That was on 22.6.44.
I think we must have had a week’s leave after our 15th “op”, because “N-Nan” flew five operations with three other crews before we returned to the fray. Then it was back to the
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Pas de Calais to attack the Domleger V-1 site, (my log says “flying-bomb supply lines”) in another daytime operation on 2.7.44. It was rather cloudy so again we “homed” to the target on Gee before the bomb-aimer, Tommy Crook, was able to take over and bomb visually.
Now followed a trio of fairly lengthy night operations all involving railway marshalling yards at important centres in France. On the nights of 4/5, 5/6, and 12/13 July, we visited successively Orleans, Dijon, and Tours (not exactly Cook’s tours). On the first night the loss rate was 5 percent, on the second nil, and on the third about 3 percent. This was rather strange because the Dijon trip was by far the longer route, taking eight and a quarter hours, compared with about six hours for each of the others. The results were satisfactory, particularly at Orleans.
I had cause to remember the bombing of the French railway system just over a year later when involved in flying our forces home on leave from Italy because the French railway system was still in a mess from our efforts in 1944 (see later). There was also an occasion when I was attending a symposium on analytical chemistry at Birmingham University in either 1954 or 1958 when I became involved in a discussion with a young French scientist, whilst queueing at the refectory. When he asked me if I’d been to France, I said “Not exactly” and admitted I hadn’t set foot in France although I had visited during the war.
I had no idea what his reaction would be, and was greatly relieved and pleased when he slapped me on the back and spoke warmly of his admiration for the way the R.A.F. had managed to knock out railway goods yards close to the towns whilst causing the minimum of civilian casualties. He did not have such a good opinion of the U.S.A.A.F. with whom he chose to make the
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comparison. I wish that I had made a note of his name and address! It was a completely unsolicited testimonial. After a gap of another week we went on our 20th operation to the railway yards and junction at Courtrai (or Kortrijk as the Belgians have it nowadays). Both targets were devastated. Casualties were 3 percent.
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[black and white photograph of 7 airmen in uniform standing in a row in front of a Nissen hut]
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[underlined] Chapter 6: Operations 21-30 [/underlined]
Taking part in the first major raid on a German city for two months, on the night of 23/24 July, we went to Kiel. It was our twentyfirst [sic] operation. The elaborate deception and the surprise return to a German target must have confused the opposition because Bomber Command lost only four aircraft out of 629 taking part. Kiel suffered heavy damage. The bombing force appeared suddenly from behind a Mandrel jamming screen, operated by the Radio Counter-Measures squadrons of 100 Group, and took the defences by surprise. In the space of 25 minutes nearly 3,000 tons of bombs fell on the town and port, inflicting enormous damage to the U-boat yards and many other areas.
Rescue and repair was hampered by 500 delayed-action bombs and unexploded duds. There was no water for three days, no trains and buses for eight days and no gas for cooking for three weeks. Looking at my log, I see that I had a fault on the H2S and also that when we were well on the way home I had a dabble with the bubble sextant, taking three star shots for practice. I was glad I wasn’t dependent on them.
On the night of 24/25 July we took part in the first of three heavy raids on Stuttgart. This was a more arduous trip, the return trip taking eight hours forty minutes. I had to Sellotape two Mercator charts together to lay down the route which took us via Normandy and south of Orleans to just beyond 9 degrees E longitude, and the majority of two double-sided log forms. Once again, I had the added duty of “wind-finding” for the main force. As it happened, the winds were the lightest I encountered on operations, barely reaching 20 knots at any stage and often less than 10 knots from between west and north-west.
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From the intercom. and audible noises off I gathered, in the seclusion of my snuggery, that the reception committee was doing its best to welcome us as we neared the target. Someone spotted a night-fighter immediately ahead of us but fortunately it was crossing our route and was banked away from us, probably after some othe [sic] prey.
(See page 91 “The German Defences” for further information on the tactics of the night-fighters).
We bombed within half a minute of the time I had in my flight plan and speeded up to the next turning point on our route, just three minutes beyond the target, where we made a sharp turn to starboard on to the next leg of 18 nautical miles, before another starboard turn over the Schwabische Alb range. We had just settled onto our homeward route when trouble arose. The port inner engine packed up, probably due to flak, and had to be feathered.
That meant we had ahead of us, all being well and no further complications, a four hour journey on three engines. We hoped we didn’t encounter any night fighters and were thankful for light winds for the next part of our journey.
Actually, being relieved of the bomb load, “N-Nan” managed very nicely on its three Rolls Royce engines and I was able to continue the job of sending wind velocities back to base, the first on our return journey being only fifteen minutes after “losing” the engine. Altogether, on this op. I see that I managed to send back ten wind velocities covering various stages en route. We did lose a little time but by the time we crossed the south coast of England we were only ten minutes later than our planned time and we didn’t have to queue for landing back at Wickenby. Casualties amounted to 3.4 percent of the 614 attackers.
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Two days later, on 27.7.44 we were airborne locally to air test the new engine and also the replacement for a damaged tail-fin, do some air-sea firing and take a passenger to Sandtoft.
Our 23rd operation was much shorter and less exciting. On 30.7.44 we were part of a very large force of 692 aircraft sent to bomb six German positions in front of a mainly American ground attack in the Villers Bocage-Caumont area. Our target was near Caumont. Cloud caused difficulties and we had to orbit and descend to see the target indicators before bombing. Only four aircraft were lost. We were down at Wickenby after four hours.
During the previous week I had been greatly surprised to see among new arrivals on 12 Squadron an old acquaintance from South African days. Furthermore, he was the other navigator commissioned at the same time and so we had consecutive Air Force numbers. We had both been on No. 12 course at 41 Air School though he was in “A” flight and I was in “B”. Due to the vagaries of the R.A.F. posting system, he had arrived at Wickenby three months after myself. He was F/O J.A. (John) Tebbut. We were naturally both excited by this coincidence – he could easily have gone to one of the many other airfields and squadrons and I hadn’t encountered any of the other navigators of No. 12 course since I left 41 Air School.
I readily agreed to fly with him locally (and unofficially I believe) so that I could help him master the H2S equipment. We flew in “N-Nan” on a local cross-country lasting just over two hours on 31.7.44. When he wasn’t tied up with his crew we had a good natter about things in general and then he asked if I would like to borrow a book he had been presented with at Christmas 1943. I still have the book in front of me as I write, with its
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inscription “from Harold and Sylvia”.
Operation No. 24 couldn’t have been more brief. It was on a flying-bomb site at Les Catelliers, in the Pas-de-Calais. Navigation was normal down to the south coast near Selsey Bill except that I concentrated on H2S to the exclusion of Gee equipment. After that I relaxed as our formation was led to the target by Mosquitos. (I do not thing the Navigation Officer approved – he scribbled “Average Nav.” at the foot of my log). We were home again after three and a half hours.
Next day, 3rd August, we were briefed for a daylight attack on a flying-bomb site at Trossy St. Maximin, not far from Chantilly, about 25 miles north of Paris. The wind was light and the navigation straightforward. This time I relied mainly on Gee and my decimal-hour system taking Gee fixes at 1215, 1221, 1227, 1233, 1239, 1245, 1251, 1257, and 1303 hours i.e. 6 minute intervals and obtaining seven measurements of wind velocity in that time. For the next fix, at 1309, my fix was a bearing and distance from Selsey Bill, using H2S.
On crossing the coast the bombs were fused and selected and we proceeded at our eventual bombing altitude of 11,000 feet. We kept “bang on” our route and crossed the French coast within seconds of our predicted time. Other Lancasters were visible all around. At position “H” on our route the time was 1408 as we turned (dead over the turning point according to Tommy Crook, our bomb-aimer, and headed towards Compiegne, our last turning point before the target. Compiegne was only 14 nautical miles (4.3 minutes) away at this time and I thought I would have a look at this historic place as we turned towards our target. It was the place where the Armistice was signed in a railway-carriage in 1918 and the self-
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same place where Hitler insisted on reversing things in 1940.
I moved forward into the cockpit and was feeling pleased as Compiegne appeared below our banked wing-tip. Then I looked for our accompanying aircraft and eventually spotted them as small specks ahead of us. They had obviously cut the corner, missing out the right-angled bend at Compiegne and were well on the way to the target. There was only one other Lanc. anywhere near us and it was probably half a mile away on the beam.
We were now faced with a straight run onto the target of 21 nautical miles, which would take over 6 minutes, at only 11,000 feet in a cloudless sky and with no-one with whom to share the flak. The odds were very heavily stacked against us, but we carried on according to form. No-one panicked – we were all pretty quiet – but that run-in onto target seemed to take an awful long time.
We were subjected to very intense anti-aircraft fire – the gunners must have been rubbing their hands in anticipation. The conditions were ideal for them – a large aircraft at moderate height on a steady course in clear visibility. We were surrounded by shell-bursts, to the extent that the crew of the other aircraft thought we’d “had it”. We bombed in the middle of our allotted time bracket for bombing, which was obviously not the case with the vast majority of our companions, who were now miles away. Our aircraft was very fortunate to survive. Our recent replacement port inner engine was hit and had to be “feathered”. One of the other engines was damaged and three petrol tanks hit.
Our bomb-aimer, Tommy Crook, and flight engineer,
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Johnny Squires, received minor injuries from the “flak” which they later professed to be worthwhile in exchange for the wound-stripes they were then entitled to wear on their sleeves.
About 12 minutes after leaving the target and nearly halfway back to the coast, we saw a Lancaster on fire about five miles ahead and counted five parachutes opening as the crew baled out. That Lancaster “hit the deck” two minutes later.
It might just as easily have been our aircraft. Once we had crossed the French coast we breathed a sigh of relief and reduced the airspeed to ease the burden on our remaining engines. We were only 8 minutes later than scheduled back at Wickenby.
It so happened that our Squadron Navigation Officer had taken part in this operation and he was obviously in one of the aircraft which had taken the short cut, missing out Compiegne. I quite surprised myself by marching into his office later and telling him what I thought about it. I wondered, later, if it wasn’t our pilot I should have had words with, as he should have realised what was happening and stayed with the “gaggle”, or at least told me what was afoot. On the other hand it was possibly a throw-back from the Gelsenkirchen raid when he missed the target by sticking strictly to orders rather than follow my directions.
The outcome was that our aircraft “N-Nan” needed extensive repairs, having between 50 and 60 flak holes. (Johnny Squires gave me a piece of German flak found in the Lanc. – I still have it). It didn’t take part in operations again until ten days later, piloted by F/O G.S. Whyte to Falaise on 13/14 August.
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In the meantime we were sent on a sea-mining (or “Gardening”) operation in Lancaster PH-W off the French coast to the west of La Rochelle on 10/11 August.
This was our 26th op. and in this regard our crew was running neck and neck with another crew captained by F/Lt G.C. Owens, with a Canadian navigator F/O G.L. Wistow, who were both in my hut on the Officers’ site. I didn’t know George Wistow all that well, but I knew he was very well thought of in Canada. Mail delivered to the Mess was generally placed in a pigeon-holed framework but the “W” pigeon-hole was inadequate for the volume of Wistow’s letters so his were tied in a separate bundle placed just below the W’s. Like many Canadians he was a very outgoing type and usually went around with his pilot in his free time. Although only eight aircraft were taking part in this operation, Wistow’s was one of them, PH-X, JB716.
The object was to lay mines (or “Vegetables”) in channels believed to be used by U-boats operating from La Rochelle. This was where our H2S was to be of use in determining the dropping points of the mines on a bearing and distance from a feature on the Ile de Oleron.
The obvious hazard was the flak we were likely to encounter at our mine-dropping height of only 5,000 feet from both the Ile de Oleron and the Ile de Re. Night fighters wouldn’t have to make much altitude either.
Our route took us via Bridport on the south coast, then south across the Channel and the Brest peninsular and descending gradually to 5,000 feet to reach a turning point at 47 degrees N and 4 degrees W over the Bay of Biscay, from where
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we headed south-east towards our destination.
The islands indicating our mining zone appeared quite clearly on the H2S so I directed our route, map-reading by the H2S for the last few miles. When we reached our release point on a bearing of 335 degrees (true) from Boyard Ville we dropped our mines at 4 second intervals whilst maintaining the same bearing. There was a considerable amount of light flak but we did not receive any damage and were soon climbing back to 10,000 feet on our way home. Our mines had been dropped around 0058 G.M.T., i.e. within the 0050 and 0100 range allotted and we landed back at base at the time our pre-flight plan had calculated for our arrival, all despite a certain amount of apprehension about having to use a different Lancaster from our old faithful “N-Nan”.
Unfortunately, PH-X, with F/Lt Owen’s crew did not return. We heard later that they were badly shot up by flak near the mining area, struggled back to England but left it too late to bale out, crashed and caught fire. The wireless operator and the mid-upper gunner were the only survivors. They were both badly injured but fortunately they managed to crawl out without getting burned. They were in hospital for some time but both survived the war. Stan Canning, the wireless operator still lives in Birmingham. (I managed to contact him in 1997).
There were continual reminders for me in the post-war years of both George Wistow and Walter Suddaby as I journeyed between York and Selby. On the main road I passed through Riccall where Walter was stationed at the H.C.U. (Heavy Conversion Unit) prior to going on to Lisset and 158 Squadron. On the alternative route I had to pass through the village of Wistow.
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I think our crew must have gone on a week’s leave because the next entry in my log book was ferrying Lancaster PH-Z from Wickenby to Ludford for a major inspection on 21st August. Perhaps it was a good job it was only a twenty minute flight! Anyway we travelled back by road.
We discovered, on our return from leave, that John Tebbut and his crew had gone missing during our absence, so I was left with the slim blue book on “Cloud reading for pilots.” which he had lent me two or three weeks before. By this time of course, all his kit and possessions had been collected and I couldn’t see a lot of point in trying to catch up with them for the sake of the small inexpensive book which remains among my souvenirs.
Very strangely, a couple of years ago, I found John Tebbut’s name recorded on the Wickenby Roll of Honour with the date 24th June 1944 although my log book records my flight with him on 31st July 1944. W.R. Chorley in “R.A.F. Bomber Command Losses in 1944” obviously had the same source of information, reporting the loss of John’s crew “without trace” on 24th June during an operation on Saintes. I know they’ve got the records wrong but how can I do anything about it after 54 years? So many people were involved in making the records of operational casualties that inevitably mistakes were made. One such instance I can point to is the appearance on the Wickenby Roll of Honour of the two crew members who survived the crash which killed George Wistow and four of his crew mates. One of them, the wireless operator, is still alive and the other, the mid-upper gunner died in 1992. I presumed they must have died of their injuries until I came across their names in the Register of Members!
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By the time we renewed our acquaintanceship with “N-Nan” she had completed two more missions, her 42nd and 43rd, with two other 12 Squadron crews. We got her back for her 44th and our 27th operation on 25/26 August. This time the target was the Opel motor factories at Russelheim, E.S.E. of Mainz, where amongst other products, components were being made for flying-bombs.
Navigation was becoming pretty routine by this stage in my career, and although it was a nine-hour trip I managed to keep my concentration all the way, filling in reams of calculations with no noticeable variation in quality right through the exercise. This was recognised by the commendation “Very good nav.”. from our Squadron Navigation Officer written on the bottom of the log. Wind-finding for the main force was again an extra duty. Our scheduled time on the target was 0106 to 0110 – we actually bombed at 0107.
My log included two entries at 0054 and 0126.2 recording aircraft being shot down, with rough bearings relative to our heading. Also noted was a precautionary practice stall with just over twenty minutes to go to Wickenby. Our tailplane had received some damage and it was considered best to try out pre-landing manoeuvres whilst we still had plenty of height (about 8,000 feet). Anyway it can’t have been too bad. One thing I found was that after so many hours of continuous concentration, and then going through de-briefing, I didn’t have any problem sleeping!
The verdict on the operation, not immediately available, was that it inflicted very considerable damage and that the forge and gearbox factory were put out of action for several weeks. The attack was considered ”much more profitable, both in
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damage inflicted and in the lighter losses incurred” than the visit by a force a fortnight earlier.
Operation 28, our second attack on Kiel, turned out to be a rather bumpy ride. On the outward journey we stayed at 2,000 feet, heading E.N.E. until we were three-quarters of the way to Denmark before climbing on the same track to 12,000 feet. At 7 degrees East we turned to starboard and headed almost S.E. as if to attack Hamburg. Navigation was simplified by the fact that Heligoland stood out quite sharply on the cathode ray tube of the H2S with, of course, no confusing signals possible. I obtained bearings at ranges of twenty seven and three quarters and nineteen nautical miles as we passed well to the north of the islands, placing us right on track. At the same time we were climbing to 19,000 feet, and I sent back to base the third of the wind velocities I had dutifully measured.
We crossed the German coast dead on track, crossed the Kiel Canal still heading as if for Hamburg, but when about 25 nautical miles short we turned sharply port on a north-westerly heading to Kiel. As we turned we saw red target indicators going down S.E. of us, so it looked as if there was a diversionary attack on Hamburg. Ahead we saw the first illuminating flares going down but it looked as if there would be low stratus cloud over the target. Then we saw red indicators going down ahead of us. Using the H2S I measured the remaining distance to Kiel at 15 nautical miles, or 3.6 minutes time-wise. Then the green target indicators appeared dead ahead and our bomb-aimer, Tommy Crook, took over. The bombs were dropped at 2309.7 so we were very close to our planned time on target of 2310. We turned away at 2310.1 and, looking at the H2S, I reckoned we must have been “bang on” our aiming point.
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Our H2S fix at 2312.3 showed us right on track to our turning point over Kiel Bay, from which we turned westwards to cross the narrow neck of Germany roughly 20 nautical miles south of the Danish border. From our next turning point on the western German coast, we were to descend from 19,000 feet to 7,000 feet as we put the nose down and pushed up our airspeed from 160 to 200 knots. We had only left the coast between 10 and 15 miles astern when we saw a burning aircraft falling about five miles away on the port beam.
At 2340 all was going well and we were only 2 miles south of track, but only seven minutes later we were encountering static in heavy cloud at about 17,000 feet so Fred altered course, first onto 150 degrees, and then 180 degrees and then 210 degrees, as I could see from my repeater compass, to try to go round to the south of the cumulo-nimbus band. I managed to get a fix using Heligoland which now showed us 14 miles south of track, but we were still heading predominantly south looking for a gap in the clouds. We levelled out at 12,500 feet and turned onto 240 degrees. We were now about 24 miles due west of Heligoland and 20 miles south of track.
Fred decided to descend below freezing level on a heading of 270 degrees (west), but we encountered severe turbulence which upset some of our instruments, (apart from the crew!) and without any action by the pilot the aircraft was thrown around onto an easterly heading, all in the space of a couple of minutes! Fred turned south once more and I got another fix on Heligoland which showed that in a period of almost six minutes we had actually made good only 5 miles and that in a southerly direction. We kept on trying to avoid cloud, first on 240 degrees, then 210 degrees and back to 240 degrees.
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Another fix at 0010 hours showed us only 10 miles north of Nordeney, in the East Friesian Islands, known to be the outposts of German flak batteries. We weren’t keen on re-entering German territory and fortunately we found a gap in the clouds and altered course, thankfully, onto 290 degrees as an estimated direction whilst I calculated a more accurate course to intercept our originally intended track back home.
By 0051 we were practically back on track and hastening homeward at 220 knots. I resumed full navigational control of the aircraft and was soon back in the old routine. We arrived over Wickenby only 15 minutes later than our flight-planned time, thanks partly to using a somewhat higher airspeed than planned over the last hour of our journey, despite a certain section of our route seeming rather like an eternity.
The Navigation Officer’s comment written on my log was “Must have been a big, big cloud!!!” I wish he’d been with us to enjoy it! I think we had probably encountered what is know as a “line squall”. The report in Bomber Command News“ (Summer 1988) says “472 aircraft attacked, very heavy bombing in the town centre with widespread fires fanned by strong winds. 17 Lancasters were lost. In W.R. Chorley’s “R.A.F. Bomber Command Losses in 1944” six Lancasters are individually listed with their crews as “lost without trace” and two as “crashed in the North Sea” on that operation. One of the aircraft lost without trace was PH-A from 12 Squadron. I wonder whether they had cloud trouble but fared worse than we did?
Looking back on this experience I marvel not only at the robustness of the Lancaster but also that of the gyrocompass and the air position indicator (A.P.I.) which it served.
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It was back to routine on our 29th operation, which took us by day over Reading and Eastbourne to another flying-bomb site at Fromentel in the Pas-de-Calais. This was such a short-haul trip, lasting barely three hours, that we were able to take our maximum bomb load of 15,300 lb, or very nearly 7 tonnes in today’s parlance. One innovation this time was that the bomb-aimer took over the navigation from the French coast onwards and map-read us the 21 miles to the target, which was in any case, well marked with red target indicators, (T.I’s). We bombed one minute later than planned, but it was all pretty uneventful.
Our final (30th) operation took us on a daylight attack on a V-2 rocket store at St. Riquier, just a few miles from Abbeville. Eight other V-2 stores were being attacked on the same day, involving a total of 601 aircraft. Again things went very much according to plan and we bombed right on time. We did, however, climb to 14,500 feet to avoid flak as we headed back for the coast near Dunkerque. There was some flak damage to the aircraft, just to prove it’s not wise to take things for granted. Six Lancasters were lost. So we ended our operational tour of 30 ops. tidily on the last day of the month (31.8.44). I got an “excellent” proficiency assessment from the O.C. of 12 Squadron, Wing Commander Maurice Stockdale, which is recorded near the end of my log book. That gentleman now lives in Fleet, Hampshire.
One outcome of a successful tour of “ops” was my receiving the D.F.C., gazetted on 12 December 1944. I later learned that our pilot Fred Holbrook (who began his tour as sergeant, progressed to warrant officer half-way through the tour, and was commissioned after 23 “ops”) also received this award.
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[underlined] Chapter 7: Instructing, Ferry Trips & Crewing up for second tour [/underlined]
Just as quickly as our crew assembled in O.T.U. days we were dispersed. We went on leave, (I think it was for a week and I visited the B.O.C.M. laboratory early in September. The only home address I had for a member of the crew was for Johnny Squires. It’s such a long time ago I can’t remember how and when we got our postings, but I can’t remember meeting up again with the others at Wickenby. I was posted to No. 1656 H.C.U. (Heavy Conversion Unit) at Lindholme, near Doncaster, early in September.
I found I was amongst a bunch of experienced navigators condemned to instructing pupil navigators in the use of H2S (airborne radar). Part of the instruction we could do using simulators in a sort of classroom but the nitty-gritty part was actually flying with them on cross-countries. The four-engined aircraft at Lindholme were at first mainly Halifaxes (Mk II) but over the time I was there, (nearly eight months), they were steadily being replaced by Lancasters.
The one common factor in the flying instructing in H2S was that on each occasion (and there were forty-six of them) I flew with a different trainee crew who were leaving the airfield for the first time in a four-engined aircraft without the assurance of a “screened” pilot aboard. In every case they were all complete strangers to me, with the occasional exception of the navigator who I might have met on ground training exercises, and so there was a considerable element of the unknown when one took off with them on a four or five hour cross-country exercise. This might sometimes be extended to include simulated bombing by H2S or the dropping of small practice bombs at the local
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bombing range. When the “screened” pilot flew with a “sprog” crew he at least had his salvation in own hands in the case of emergency – while I knew nothing about piloting an aircraft for real. A “screened” pilot had generally successfully completed a tour of “ops” which was a fair enough way of sorting out the men from the boys.
Maybe I shouldn’t have put it quite like that – after all I was now a “screened” navigator, not that I felt all that screened in this situation. Anyway, I did my best to pass on my experience to a succession of navigators and there was never any suggestion of my being “grounded” and someone else doing the job.
Generally the H2S simulated bombing was done at the turning points on the navigational exercise. When the bombs would have been released if we were bombing for real, we operated (without looking out of the aircraft) a downward pointing camera to give us a line-overlap series of photographs which could be examined later to check the expertise of the use of the H2S as the sole bombing aid.
I still have some line-overlap series as souvenirs of the time we “bombed” Luton, Skomer Island (off S.W. Wales) and the Skerries (just to the N.W. of Anglesey). These were most impressive when the target happened to be largely obscured by cloud that would have made visual bombing difficult and yet there were identifiable points visible through breaks in the clouds on the photographs to prove that the bombing run had been “bang on”. As the H2S was just as effective by night as by day, these photographs helped instil confidence of its effectiveness in the pupil crews. Later we had a more sophisticated camera attached to the H2S set which took pictures of the scene on the cathode ray tube.
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Inevitably there were tricky moments. I can well remember coming in to land at Lindholme after a cross-country with one pupil crew. The pilot misjudged his landing and we touched down on the grass some distance from and running roughly parallel to the runway. Ahead of us loomed some large building. The pilot tried to turn the Lancaster and the undercarriage collapsed, so we skidded to a belly-landing. As calmly and unhurriedly as I could, I suggested that we got out quickly in case the aircraft caught fire. (We might have ruptured a petrol tank and the engines were still hot). Fortunately all was well and no-one was hurt. I have a picture in my log book of this unhappy Lancaster lying on its tummy and the succinct comment on the exercise of 15.1.45 – “Last trip by “X”. In another similar incident “Jock” Niven, another of our flying nav-instructors had to leave an aircraft somewhat hurriedly and, in squeezing his rather plump form through the emergency exit, got out either without his trousers or with them in disarray.
On another cross-country the powers that be tacked on a fighter affiliation exercise (to practice evading fighters) which upset my stomach somewhat and I had to go back down the fuselage to use the Elsan (chemical toilet) – in my log book I have a minute sketch of myself as a match-stalk man, being sick into a bucket! I survived other fighter affiliation exercises without undergoing that particular indignity.
It was just before the half-way stage of my sojourn at 1656 H.C.U. I learned that I had been awarded the D.F.C. for my work on 12 Squadron, and when I went on Christmas leave Mother presented me with a cutting from the “Hull Daily Mail” – I’ve no idea what happened to that.
Judging from the gap between entries in my log book I
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presume I had another leave after completing my duties as an instructor because the next entry shows me flying as navigator in a crew headed by F/Lt Bill Addison, who had acted as flight commander towards the end of his duties at Lindholme.
We were part of a newly assembled crew, each member having completed a tour of thirty operations, preparing for a possible second tour of operations. We had been laid off for a minimum six months (in my case eight months), to rest us from our first tours and at the same time make use of us in the training of further batches of aircrew.
In typical inflexible service fashion we found, much to our chagrin, that we were treated as beginners without an “op” behind us. Another possible explanation is that with the ending of the war in Europe, the R.A.F. had to keep us temporarily occupied and this was the easiest way to do it. For a couple of months (May to July ’45) we went through the same routine that our first crew had to undergo at No. 1653 H.C.U., omitting the “circuits and bumps” but making up for this by doing twice as much of the other H.C.U. catalogue. Halfway through this our crew was transferred to No. 576 Squadron, based at Fiskerton near Lincoln. To use a prevalent expression we were all “cheesed” or “browned off” with our lack of recognition. The war in Europe had ended but we were expecting to be sent to tackle the Japanese.
On 17.7.45 we had a cross-country with a difference, code-named “Cooks Tour”, visiting Rotterdam, Arnhem, Essen, Cologne, Aachen and Antwerp. The idea was partly to impress the natives and partly to let us see the havoc wrought by Bomber Command during the recent campaign. I believe we carried a few ground-staff personnel as observers.
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Then the R.A.F. at last found something to keep a large number of bomber crews occupied. We were used as troop carriers, flying to and from Italy, taking service personnel from and on leave, respectively. This was, I suppose, a kind of poetic justice. We had wrecked the railway system in France so that it was impossible to transport troops by land at anything like a reasonable speed, if at all, so we got the job.
On our first trip, early in August, we went to Bari, on the Adriatic coast and brought back on leave twenty members of the 8th Army. It can’t have been at all comfortable for them, sitting on the metal floor of a Lancaster, but I expect the novelty of the situation helped to distract them, and at least they were getting home quickly. Another novelty was that their kit bags were slung up in the bomb bays of the aircraft in place of bombs, but we didn’t drop any. On arrival in England we had to land at an airfield with Customs facilities, where the troops had to display their acquisitions (or loot).
The second trip was to Naples on 22.8.45. We had glorious views of Vesuvius on the approach to Pomigliano airfield. The next day was free and we managed to visit Pompeii. In Naples we were beset by bare-footed urchins competing with one another to swop lire for pound notes. Some R.A.F. types took packages of coffee to sell at inflated prices to the deprived Italians. On the following day we were due to carry another twenty passengers back to England.
Bill and I had to attend an early morning briefing, ready for a very early start, but take-off was postponed for a few hours and we had to attend a second briefing. Bill was rather tired and asked me to modify our official route by cutting off one of the corners. Instead of taking a north-westerly route running roughly
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parallel to the west coast of Italy and then heading due west towards the French Riviera I was to go over the top of Corsica to the French Riviera. As the highest ground on Corsica rose to about 9,000 feet it would be essential to be sure of a good safety margin for our passengers but as we didn’t have oxygen for them we would have to compromise – I reckoned that if we crossed Corsica at 11,000 feet that should be satisfactory. In fact I observed the approach to the east coast of the island on the H2S. We climbed to 11,000 feet and stayed there until we left the west coast behind us and then descended to our authorised height for the rest of the journey. The twenty minutes or so at 11,000 feet had negligible effect on our passengers. (The rule was that you needed to use oxygen if you flew over 10,000 feet for more than one hour).
The results of this change of route, whilst not affecting our passengers, remained to be seen. Whilst the pilot and myself were attending our second briefing some of the other members of the crew had wandered off to our aircraft where they were accosted by an R.A.F. groundstaff airman who was on leave in Italy but would rather spend his leave in England. Our crew members didn’t see why not and when the rest of us reached the Lancaster they seemed to have got it all arranged. Bill didn’t like it, but surprisingly, agreed on condition that if this “hitch-hiking” was discovered we knew nothing about it.
Our stowaway apparently got away from the Customs airfield at Glatton and went on his way. The trouble began when my chart was routinely scanned by the Navigation Officer and our short cut was revealed. Bill and I were interviewed separately about this breach of discipline but as I was subject to the captain’s instructions it largely devolved on Bill. Whilst the matter was still under consideration our stowaway put his
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spanner in the works. He had somehow to get back to Italy before his leave expired.
He knew we were from 576 Squadron from the aircraft’s lettering and notwithstanding the fact that he had already put us in jeopardy with his outward flight from Italy, he tried to get to our airfield at Fiskerton, near Lincoln, in the hope of a return trip. Unfortunately, he got mis-directed to our base airfield, where, being dressed in khaki drill whilst everyone else was in blue, the service police soon spotted him and took him for questioning. He told them almost the whole story – the only thing he didn’t give away was with which crew he had travelled. The pilot and I were confronted with this chap and we both denied having seen him – I truthfully didn’t recognise him as I hadn’t paid particular attention to him at the critical time.
We could have been right up to our ears in it but for our station intelligence officer withholding a vital piece of evidence. He knew from the time of the ‘bus that our stowaway had caught from Glatton that ours was the only aircraft from our squadron which could possibly have landed him in time, thanks to our cutting the corner on our route and being one of the first aircraft back to England. The intelligence officer told us later how he had worked things out. I suppose one or both of us might possibly have been court-martialled for this serious breach of discipline but nothing happened. Except, one day Bill Addison had to report to Group Headquarters where he saw one senior officer and was reprimanded for cutting the corner, then went (on the same visit) to see another officer to be told that he had been awarded the A.F.C. for his work as an instructor, to add to the D.F.C. he already wore. As it happened, I didn’t fly again with Bill Addison as his demobilisation cropped up very soon afterwards.
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The Japanese surrendered that August, so now there was a general feeling of anti-climax. Personally, I knew I couldn’t throw away four years of studying and I couldn’t get out of the Air Force quickly enough now that the “raison d’etre” had been removed. I tried to get back into the habit of studying science at Lincoln Technical College but found the available course too elementary and had to give up that approach. Later on I had a piece of good news from our R.A.F. education officer. He had made enquiries and discovered that London University had modified its regulations, my School Certificate of 1937 now being acceptable and giving me exemption from the London Matriculation exam. This meant that when I did get back to studying I could aim for the London B.Sc. Special qualification, which had the advantage of an intermediate examination (with certificate) en route.
Our crew was broken up and despatched to various points of the compass. I received a letter from our wireless operator, “Artie” Shaw a year later, just after I was demobilised, from R.A.F. Seletar, Singapore but never heard from any of the others. However, by strange coincidence I did run across Bill Addison again. I encountered him at Lloyd’s Bank in York somewhere about 1960, and it turned out that he was living in Osbaldwick, barely half a mile from our house on Hull Road, York
I was posted to 50 Squadron at Sturgate, a recently constructed airfield near Gainsborough and joined the crew of F/O Titchener. That was in September 1945. We were soon on the Italian ferry trips again, flying to Naples on three more occasions to bring home service personnel. Twice we brought twenty army types and once we afforded the ladies a bit more room to spread themselves by seating only fourteen of them
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(A.T.S. and Q.A.I.M.N.S.) in the space normally occupied by twenty army blokes, but it was the same metal floor.
After that it was back to routine with plenty of cross-countries thrown in. I see that on one night exercise, operation “Bullseye”, we went via Hamburg, among other places, to a target on the island of Spiekeroog in the German chain of East Frisian Islands. This was very near the scene of our memorable exploits whilst battling with the elements during our return from Kiel about sixteen months previously. This time however, things were entirely different – no cumulo-nimbus and no danger of flak. On the way back to Sturgate there was a problem. Visibility had seriously deteriorated and for the first time in my flying experience our aircraft was diverted to Carnaby, near Bridlington, where there was a special emergency airfield, much used during the war. This had exceptionally long runways to accommodate crippled aircraft returning from ops and also an emergency flare path called F.I.D.O. (Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation) which used containers of burning gasoline down the sides of the runway to cause local dispersal of the fog.
We landed safely and found that we would have to stay there till next day. We didn’t think much of the food or the very cold accommodation (it was early January 1946). Maybe there was some problem with our aircraft because another Lancaster from 50 Squadron collected us the following afternoon and flew us back to base.
Nissen huts were never warm in the winter. I can well remember a period during the winter at Sturgate when icicles formed on the inside of the door and my bed was one of the two either side of the entrance.
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The solid fuel stove was halfway back down the hut and I finished my insulation by piling the contents of my kit-bag on the bed before trying to sleep. Some of the stuff consisted of flying gear which I never needed on operations because the Lancaster was warm enough without it.
By late January, 50 Squadron was transferred to the much more hospitable Waddington airfield, just south of Lincoln. Waddington was constructed originally during the first world war and opened as an R.F.C. flying training station in 1916. Now it was a thoroughly modern establishment with permanent accommodation, workshops and offices. I was soon pottering around with various pilots on trivia like bombing at the local range, air-sea firing (for the gunners), four short cross-countries with A.T.C. cadets, air tests (one with an A. V. Roe test pilot who managed to take off in less than half the length of the runway).
There was operation “Frontline”, a propaganda tour of the British Zone in Germany. Just for a change we did a couple of meteorological trips (code name “Operation Seaweed”, both lengthy exercises in excess of eight hours, which took us up to latitude 62 degrees North, passing Fair Isle and the Shetlands with a turning point roughly halfway between the Faroe Islands and the most westerly coast of Norway.
We carried a meteorological observer to take the required data readings, to which I was able to contribute the locations in latitude and longitude and measurements of wind velocity at our height. It was all rather boring but after seeing such wide expanses of ocean for such a long time it was nice to return to land.
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Then there was the novelty of my one and only trip in a Lincoln bomber, the successor to the Lancaster, in which we would probably have done our second tour of operations (against the Japanese). My last flight in the R.A.F. was an abortive air sea mission on which we had to search an area of the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. We did sight an empty dinghy, which was very good going considering how tiny they are from any appreciable height, but no sign of any people or aircraft debris. The lost aircraft was later found in the hills of Northumberland.
To fill in a few more weeks before I was demobbed, in August 1946 I was sent, under protest, on an instructor’s course at Finningley. It was interesting in that I got to appreciate more fully the equipment I had been using on a regular basis, but futile from the teaching point of view since I would be leaving the Air Force almost immediately. I suppose our C.O. had been required to send so many persons and it was just a matter of making up the numbers, the Air Force being well into a state of disintegration.
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[photograph of the crew in front of their aircraft]
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[underlined] Chapter 8: Lancaster ME 758 PH-N “Nan” [/underlined]
Whilst I was home on leave, sometime in June 1945, it so happened that my brother Norman was also at home. We took our bicycles and crossed the Humber by paddle steamer, then cycled south to Wickenby. By great good fortune we found my old aircraft, ME 758 PH-N “Nan” still very much in existence. She had eventually completed more than a hundred operations, the latest ones being to drop food to the starving Dutch just before the Germans capitulated. There was also one of our old ground crew in attendance and he told us that “Nan’s” next exercise would be to take part in a fighter affiliation exercise, i.e. manoeuvering [sic] violently with a fighter aircraft. This didn’t seem at all considerate after what that aircraft had gone through! Anyway Norman took a photograph of “Nan”, myself and my ground crew corporal to add to tone he had already taken of me and my bike! I still have both pictures.
It was only a few years ago that I learned more about “Nan”. That was when I obtained a copy of “Claims to Fame. The Lancaster.” by Norman Franks. This book celebrates the Lancaster “centenarians” – 34 machines that achieved the remarkable goal of flying 100 or more operations. A Lancaster crew’s first tour of duty stood at 30 operations, but both men and aircraft often failed to reach even half of that total. Skill, training and team work would all increase the chances of survival, but luck played a large part in deciding which Lancaster would be found by a night fighter or hit by flak and which would escape to attack again. Only 34 Lancasters in Bomber Command survived 100 operations, about 1 percent of the number which were lost on operations. “Nan” was the only centenarian from Wickenby which was the base for two squadrons, 12 and 626. Franks, through some meticulous
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research has been able to compile a fairly comprehensive narrative for each Lancaster, including crew changes, missions flown and events and incidents during the service career of the aircraft.
Our crew flew in PH-N for the first time when we did a two and a half hours cross-country exercise on 26.5.44 after we had completed three ops. on different Lancasters. We did our fourth op. in her (it was her tenth) when we went to the Rote Erde railway marshalling yards at Aachen. The defences were strong and losses 7 percent (12 out of 170). A day later, 29.5.44, we did another cross-country in her and it turned out to be a rather “hairy” experience.
My log entry merely states “Window lost and aileron damaged. A.S.I. (air speed indicator) read 360 m.p.h. + in dive”.
I cannot remember the cause, but no great harm was done. The damage was repaired and we began a series of eleven ops. in her over the next three weeks up to 22.6.44 covering a variety of targets, including the first daylight raids by Lancasters since 1943, when we attacked the docks at Le Havre and Boulogne, on two successive evenings and virtually ended the E-boat threat to our cross-channel invasion shipping.
This took our total of ops. to 15 and “Nan’s” to 22. Whilst we enjoyed a week’s leave, “Nan” did five more operations with three other crews. We then did four of “Nan’s” next five ops., three of them being to the important French marshalling yards at Orleans, Dijon and Tours, bringing us to 19 and “Nan” to 32.
“Nan” then managed two more trips without us before
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we did three night ops. in five days, returning from Stuttgart on 24/25.7.44 on three engines. Two days later we were air-testing “Nan” with a new engine and tail fin. This damage was not mentioned in Norman Franks’ account nor indeed was there any mention of the operation on Stuttgart, which was our 22nd and “Nan’s” 37th op.
After a couple of short daylight ops. to French targets we were scheduled to attack the V-weapon launching site at Trossy St. Maximin. This, as I have already described in some detail, was the worst experience of our tour and which we were very lucky to survive. Once again this was not mentioned in Norman Franks’ account. In fact he summarises “Nan’s” record as follows:-
“Nan” was almost totally free of mechanical problems, although towards the end of its career the aircraft’s starboard engine caught fire on 2nd February 1945, causing the crew to abort a trip to Wiesbaden. This particular Lanc. was also lucky to escape serious damage from the German defences: only once was damaged recorded when its hydraulics were hit by light flak at 0612 hours during the attack to support Operation “Goodwood” – the Allied breakout from Caen on 18th July 1944.”
This was one of a couple of ops. done by other crews, presumably whilst our crew was on leave after our 19th op. on Tours. That damage cannot have been too bad because the Caen trip was followed, the same evening, by an op. on Scholven!
In the aftermath of the Trossy operation we had to do our next op. in PH-W whilst “Nan” was being repaired. “Nan” didn’t get back on ops. until ten days after Trossy – a long lay-off in
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those days!
We had “Nan” back for the op. on Russelsheim on 25/26th August. Our tailplane was damaged to the extent that we practised landing manoeuvres whilst we still had plenty of height before actually landing at base on our return. With the exception of our op. in V-“Victor” on 28.8.44, when “Nan” was not flying with any crew, possible due to overhaul, we completed our tour in “Nan”, receiving light flak damage on our last operation.
So once we’d got “Nan”, after our three “starter” ops., we did 25 of our remaining 27 trips in her, which must be something of a record in itself.
Altogether she completed 106 operations, six “Manna” sorties (taking food to the starving Dutch people) and two “Exodus” trips (the flying home of released prisoners of war).
Looking back it seems such a shame that after seeing out the war she was “struck off charge” on 19.10.45 and “reduced to produce” i.e. scrapped.
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[black and white photograph of airman in uniform on a bicycle leaning against a wall]
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[underlined] Chapter 9: GEE. A. P. I. and H2S [/underlined]
My work as a navigator was enhanced out of all recognition by three devices put at my disposal over a six-month period. “Gee” was a godsend after the dismal future I had anticipated relying to any extent on str-navigation. It was a system based on the transmission of synchronised pulses from a “master” (A) and two “slave” (B and C) ground stations. The two “slaves” were situated about 200 miles apart, with the “master” in the middle, and the cathode ray display on the “Gee” set in the aircraft showed the respective differences between the times at which the AB and AC signals were received. When these measurements were plotted on a special chart covered with two distinct sets of parabolic lines it was a simple matter to fix the aircraft’s position with great accuracy. This accuracy gradually declined as the distance from the transmitting stations increased and the crossings of the two sets of curved lines became more acute. Furthermore it was susceptible to interference from enemy jamming stations to the extent that it could not be relied upon beyond enemy shores.
It still gave us the all-important chance of determining accurate measurements of wind velocity and so getting off to a good start on every operation. It also helped to verify one’s position on the way home after leaving the enemy coast and simplified getting back to the right airfield. The Air Force had understandably kept the information about “Gee” from us until it was absolutely necessary to introduce this master stroke. It certainly “bucked up” we navigators no end.
The second of the marvellous pieces of equipment was the air position indicator (A.P.I.). This showed the changes in latitude and longitude of the moving aircraft which would occur
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if there were no wind. It was a mechanical device which combined the inputs of the gyro compass and the air speed indicator, keeping a continuous record of the actual courses and speeds flown, including all deviations from the intended, and including “spur of the moment” tactical manoeuvres. This made life a lot easier by removing much of the drudgery in the manual plotting of lines on a chart by means of ruler, protractor, dividers and calculator.
The third item was airborne radar, known as H2S. This had a rotating transmitter, known as a scanner, housed in a “blister” beneath the aircraft and a receiver at the navigator’s side, the whole system being self-contained. It produced, on a cathode-ray tube, a rough picture of the ground over which the aircraft was flying, irrespective of cloud or darkness.
Water areas, which reflected none of the transmitting signals from the rotating scanner showed darkly on the screen. Land areas (or ground returns) appeared green, but a more reflective area such as a built-up area showed up as a more luminous patch often, but not always approximating in outline to the shape of a town. It was up the navigator to use his other information gleaned en route to decide which town he was observing on the screen. The chief use was navigational for there was a range-finder on the screen and a bearing indicator so one could obtain a bearing and distance from an identified town or feature. It was also possible to carry out bombing attacks without sight of the ground and the equipment could not be jammed by the enemy.
Unfortunately, German night-fighters had, for some time before our tour of operations, the capability of homing onto H2S transmissions - more about this later under “The German Defences”.
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[underlined] Chapter 10: The German Defences. [/underlined]
To counter R.A.F. and U.S.A.A.F. attacks the Germans had to deprive the German forces of 75% of their heavy anti-tank weapons. These 88mm guns had to be used for ant-aircraft purposes, scattered all over Germany and occupied territories because the possible targets were so numerous. 900,000 soldiers manned those guns and, in addition, hundreds of thousands of expert tradesmen could not be used by the German Army because their skills were needed to repair bomb damage. Meanwhile, the increasing requirement for day and night-fighters for defence against the bomber offensive, deprived the German Army on the Russian front of much of its accustomed close support as Messerschmidt 110s and Junkers 88s were drawn westwards.
Our most deadly opposition came from the German night-fighters. The German pilots had long known that the blind spot of the British bombers was below the fuselage but had not been able to exploit this fully because the fighter had generally to be aimed at the bomber to make use of its fixed forward-firing weapons and this could be difficult at night. However, in the autumn of 1943, an ingenious fitter at a Luftwaffe airfield devised the prototype of the deadly “schrage musik” - “jazz music” - a pair of fixed 20mm cannons pointing upwards at 60 degrees. Having located a bomber with the aid of radar or using the bomber’s radar (H2S) transmissions, the fighter pilot could then fly unseen and fairly safely manoeuvre below their target and fire incendiary cannon shells into the petrol tanks between the two motors in the wing, being particularly careful to avoid the bomb bay in the belly of the aircraft. It was then only a matter of seconds before the bomber exploded. The victims had no chance.
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Using this technique, an experienced night-fighter pilot could account for several four-engined bombers in a single excursion, there being so many targets available.
I sometimes wonder if and at what stage our superiors realised the situation and whether they had to decide between warning the crews of the dangers of H2S transmissions and maintaining the advantage of the navigational aid. I am sure a lot of H2S sets would have been little used over Germany if the crews had been presented with the true scenario. To be fair, our leaders would not at the time have been in a position to accurately attribute the proportion of bomber losses due to night fighters as opposed to anti-aircraft fire, but they must have had a rough idea.
What other crews saw was a sudden mid-air explosion and burst of flame. Someone put out the story that these were “scarecrows” fired into the air by the Germans with the intention of making the crews believe they were bombers being shot down and thereby affecting the bomber crews’ morale!
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[underlined and centred] Chapter 11: Reflections on survival [/underlined and centred]
Many factors contributed to my survival, beginning with my decision that I wanted to do the navigation on a bomber aircraft. At the time I volunteered for aircrew this was one of the two jobs of the observer, who was also responsible for dropping the bombs. The latter task was subsequently delegated to a specialist bomb aimer. When I enlisted in November 1941 (after passing the preliminaries three months earlier), there was a bottle-neck in the training scheme for navigators. I was deferred for five months, otherwise I would have been starting my tour in the winter of 1943-44, probably about January. That would have been a rotten time with bad weather and numerous long-distance trips including a high proportion to Berlin.
Then there was the length of the training period which took two years from the end of my deferred service to reaching the operational squadron, partially due to the necessity of fitting in to laid-down training schedules at the succeeding stages, notably:-
(a) the gap between completing the I.T.W. course and catching the boat to South Africa,
(b) five weeks at sea on a circuitous submarine-evading route to South Africa via South America,
(c) several weeks between arriving at 48 Air School, South Africa and starting the course there,
(d) the return to England,
(e) several more weeks delay at O.T.U. whilst the R.A.F. decided that our original pilot wouldn’t make the grade.
All these delays took me nearer to D-Day and the invasion of Europe by the Allied Armies. The increasing
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diversity of the targets needing to be attacked in order to assist the coming assault meant that there was a greater proportion of shorter range tactical targets and only seven over Germany itself. (Air Marshal Harris would have preferred to keep hammering away at German targets but had to give priority to the invasion requirements.) In the final stages before the landings there were attacks on coastal batteries, and radar stations, but the longer term “softening up” was by attacking a large number of railway centres to seriously impede German troop movements and supplies to the invasion front.
We were fortunate in not being “downed” by anti-aircraft fire on a few occasions, particularly near Stuttgart, when we returned on three engines and on the occasion near Compiegne when we got 50-60 holes in the aircraft and two of the crew received minor injuries. We were lucky in our encounter with the severe storm on the way back from our second trip to Kiel. And we were never attacked by a night-fighter, despite getting a close-up view of one on the Stuttgart operation.
On the positive side, we had a well-disciplined crew who didn’t waste time on unnecessary nattering on the intercom. What’s more, there was never any visible or audible sign of fear or distress.
We kept very close to our scheduled routes and times on almost all occasions, i.e. we kept in the middle of the bunch so it wasn’t quite so easy to be singled out.
I am sure that the toughest time for bomber crews was in the six months prior to us joining 12 Squadron. Nevertheless, I was surprised to discover in an “Analysis of Total Losses of Lancasters by Months” in the Wickenby Register Newsletter of
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May 1994 that 12 Squadron lost 31 Lancasters in the six months Nov. ’43 to April ’44 and 27 in the four months that our crew was operating. I suppose that might be explained by the ops. not being so frequent during the winter months.
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[underlined and centred] Chapter 12: Postscript. [/underlined and centred]
After all these years I cannot remember just when or where I was demobbed and received my “civvy” suit. I know that officially my last day of service was 16.10.46 but I believe I was out a few weeks earlier.
I know that I picked up where I left off. I went back to work for B.O.C.M. at the laboratory in Stoneferry and I re-enlisted for Hull Technical College evening classes. As an ex-member of the forces and a background of studying chemistry for almost four years I knew I was eligible to apply for an educational grant of something over £3 a week to proceed on a full time course to a professional qualification. (Out of this, textbooks etc. had to be purchased). This would have meant giving up the day job which paid over £4 a week.
I knew that after four and a half years complete absence from my studies I would have to revise from the very beginning, but now that my School Certificate was accepted as giving me exemption from the London Matriculation exam. I decided that I would defer my application for a grant and aim to take the London Inter B.Sc. examination the next June. The Inter B.Sc. course took two years of evening class work so it meant I would have to cover one-half via the 1946-47 evening class course and the other half by swotting up from textbooks and my old notebooks. If I succeeded in passing the exam, comprising Maths., Physics and Chemistry, I would at least have that certificate to my name and I couldn’t have been further on if I’d taken advantage of the grant. Anyway I took the gamble although I found the readjustment rather tough. It was very amusing when attending an early lecture in Physics to hear the same old lecturer, Mr. Robson, repeat the same hoary joke that
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Walter Suddaby and I had heard in 1938 concerning his friend’s dog who was christened “Hysteresis” because it was always lagging behind.
Back at home there was a problem. My parents had been separated for some years, partially due to the war. The Luftwaffe destroyed Spillers’ flour mill, where my father worked, during a night raid in July 1941. Shortly afterwards, his firm offered him alternative employment at their Wallasey mill, which he accepted. At the tip of the Wirral peninsula he was now well over a hundred miles from Hull, so he wasn’t able to come home every weekend. My brother Norman, although a year younger than I, joined the R.A.F. shortly before I left home, due to my five months deferred service.
So by the time I had to report to the R.A.F. in London my mother, in a matter of a few months, was reduced from a family of five to my young sister Hazel and herself. This was very hard for her in the middle of the war, particularly as the air raid alerts still sounded regularly in Hull.
It was assumed that we should resume as a family when the war was over, although no-one knew when that would be or whether it would be possible. My father settled in Wallasey and mad regular payments to mother. At one time he tried to persuade her to join him in Wallasey but she declined for two reasons. She had worked hard all her life and used a very small legacy from a relative in New Zealand to enable the family to move into a modest home of our own and she was intent on having it ready for our return.
By the time I was “demobbed” things had become more complicated. My father had formed a relationship with his
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landlady and had no intention of returning to Hull. Mother’s situation was uncertain unless there was a legal separation, which would obviously take some time to come to court.
After passing the Inter B.Sc. exam, in June ’47, I had another decision to make. I could apply for the ex-serviceman’s grant or continue at evening classes for another year and then take the Subsid. Maths qualification, clearing the way to the B.Sc.(Special) in Chemistry. This would mean dropping all contact with chemistry for a year. Being slightly mad, but having confidence in my maths, I carried on at the Tech. evening classes for another session! and continued to work full-time at B.O.C.M. I duly passed the maths exam in June ’48.
In the meantime, the legal formalities of my parents’ separation had been formalised on a proper financial basis.
When I got my exam results I composed a letter applying for an educational grant as an ex-member of the forces, pointing out that I had already saved the country money by completing part of the course via evening classes. How could anyone resist that? I got a favourable response and I arranged to leave B.O.C.M. and complete my education full-time but still at the Hull Technical College, commencing in the autumn.
My two post-war years at B.O.C.M. had been spent on the routine testing of ingredients for animal feedstuffs, a boring occupation which I had now endured for six years altogether, plus six years of evening classes. I knew it had to be full-time or nothing.
Fortunately for me those last two years at B.O.C.M. were by no means wasted because it was there that I met a charming
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young lady assistant. Yvonne and I found that we had very similar outlooks and much in common and, although I was transferred to the Foster Street laboratory for the latter part of my stay with B.O.C.M., we maintained contact. In subsequent years I must have cycled a few hundreds of miles between North Hull and East Hull!!
It was rather odd attending the degree course. There were a couple of other ex-forces students, but the majority of our fellow pupils were about eight years younger. An advantage over attending a university was that the staff and the geography were all familiar and I had great faith in the staff, especially Messrs. L. Balmforth and G. R. Dennis.
I proposed to Yvonne on New Year’s Eve ’48 – ’49 with the proviso that I had to concentrate on first passing my final exams in 1950. Fortunately, she accepted!
I found those final two years hard going but I took my A.R.I.C. exams in April and the B.Sc. Special in Chemistry (London External) exams in June 1950 and waited in some trepidation for the results. I didn’t wish to go through all that again. I was now 28 and I’d had enough of college for my lifetime! However, all was well and I had both qualifications.
Now the way was clear to seek employment and plan for the wedding, which took place on September 30th, 1950. It rained all day! Subsequent events would take another book!
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[underlined and centred] Bibliography [/underlined and centred]
FRANKS, Norman
“Claims to Fame. The Lancaster” (Arms and Armour, 1994)
RICHARDS, Denis
“The Hardest Victory. R.A.F. Bomber Command in the Second World War.” (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. 1994)
HASTINGS, Max
“Bomber Command” (Michael Joseph Ltd. 1979)
CHORLEY, W.R.
“Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War. Vol. 5 Aircraft and Crew Losses. 1944” (Midland Counties Publications. 1997)
SEARBY, John (Air Commodore)
“The Bomber Battle for Berlin” (Guild Publishing, 1991)
HARRIS, Sir Arthur
“Bomber Offensive” (Greenhill Books, 1998)
97
[page break]
98
[underlined and centred] Glossary of R.A.F. Terms. (Official and Unofficial).
A.P.I.
Air Position Indicator
A.S.I.
Air Speed Indicator
“Bang on”
Spot on, “Wizard”, 100%
“Cheesed off”
Browned off, fed up.
“Circuits and Bumps”
Practice take-off and landing
Cumulo-nimbus
Thunder clouds
D.R.
Dead reckoning with a calculated wind
Elsan
Aircraft toilet
Feathered
Engine switched off with propellor blades turned to reduce air resistance
Flak
Anti-aircraft fire
F.I.D.O.
Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation
“Gardening”
Laying sea mines
GEE
Radio navigation aid, grid box
H2S
Radar navigation and bombing aid
99
[page break]
I.T.W.
Initial Training Wing
O.T.U.
Operational Training Unit
P.F.F.
Path Finder Force
Pitot/tube
An open-ended tube mounted externally on the aircraft facing directly into the air flow to provide a convenient and accurate measurement of the aircraft’s speed.
“Screened”
aircrew rested from ops at end of tour and transferred to instructing
“Solo”
Unsupervised flight
Sprog
Inexperienced aircrew
V1 and V2
Robot flying bombs used by the Germans commonly called “doodlebugs”
“Vegetables”
Mines laid by the R.A.F.
“Window”
Aluminised strips used as an anti-radar device.
100
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
Time out for war
Description
An account of the resource
History of wartime experiences of Ronald Witty. Starts with schooling and early employment just before the war in Hull. Mentions German bombing of Hull and volunteering for the RAF. Describes training in London and Torquay before departing on a troop ship for South Africa. Describes navigator training and activities at Woodbrook and Queenstown. Continues with trip back to England and continuation of training at RAF Halfpenny Green, Desborough (Northamptonshire), RAF Chedburgh, and RAF Hemswell. Goes on to describe his operational tour on 12 Squadron at RAF Wickenby including accounts of some operations including some daylight operations during the Normandy campaign and against flying bomb sites as well as mine laying. Tour culminates with award of Distinguished Flying Cross. Concludes with account of subsequent tours as an instructor at RAF Lindholme and other stations and including account of flying on Cook's tour of German cities. Adds chapters about his Lancaster ME758 PH-N "Nan" as well as another on GEE, A.P.I and H2S. Contains many b/w photographs of RAF personnel and aircraft.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A R Witty
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
100 page printed book
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BWittyARWittyARv1
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
England--London
England--Devon
England--Torquay
England--Lancashire
England--Liverpool
South Africa
South Africa--Durban
South Africa--East London
South Africa--Cape Town
England--Staffordshire
England--Northamptonshire
England--Suffolk
England--Lincolnshire
France
France--Rennes
Germany
Germany--Aachen
France--Paris
France--Normandy
France--Evreux
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
France--Le Havre
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
France--Calais
France--Dijon
France--Tours
Belgium
Belgium--Kortrijk
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Stuttgart
France--Orléans
France--Pas-de-Calais
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Domléger-Longvillers
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-03-29
1943-07-10
1943-07-27
1943-09-08
1943-10-12
1944-02-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-28
1944-06-14
1944-06-14
1944-06-12
1942-06-13
1944-06-22
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-07-30
1944-08-03
1944-08-31
1944-12-12
1945-07-07
1945-07-17
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
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.
1 Group
12 Squadron
1653 HCU
1656 HCU
3 Group
50 Squadron
576 Squadron
84 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
aircrew
Anson
bombing of the Boulogne E-boats (15/16 June 1944)
bombing of the Le Havre E-boat pens (14/15 June 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Cook’s tour
coping mechanism
crewing up
Distinguished Flying Cross
faith
Gee
H2S
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Heavy Conversion Unit
Initial Training Wing
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Master Bomber
military living conditions
military service conditions
mine laying
navigator
Nissen hut
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Desborough
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Halfpenny Green
RAF Hemswell
RAF Lindholme
RAF Methwold
RAF Sturgate
RAF Torquay
RAF Waddington
RAF Wickenby
Stirling
tactical support for Normandy troops
target indicator
training
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
-
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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
Witty, A R
Witty, Ron
Witty, Ronald
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
2017-03-23
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
Witty, AR
Description
An account of the resource
118 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Ronald Witty DFM (1520694 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, navigation charts and logs of all his operations, photographs and correspondence home from training in South Africa. He flew thirty operations as a navigator with 12 Squadron before going as an instructor on 1656 HCU and then 576 and 50 Squadrons after the war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by David Witty 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
Navigation log - Op No 17
Description
An account of the resource
Details of navigator, date, orders, route and two and a half pages of en-route navigation observations. Annotated in blue pen. Note on top right 'Op No 17'.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A R Witty
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-07-03
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four page printed form with handwritten entries
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
CWittyAR-170323-010057, CWittyAR-170323-010058, CWittyAR-170323-010059, CWittyAR-170323-010060
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
France
France--Orléans
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-07-03
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.
aircrew
bombing
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
RAF Wickenby
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32317/CWittyAR-170323-010056.2.jpg
05c330322afd649ef1aca5c443020638
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
Witty, A R
Witty, Ron
Witty, Ronald
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
2017-03-23
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
Witty, AR
Description
An account of the resource
118 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Ronald Witty DFM (1520694 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, navigation charts and logs of all his operations, photographs and correspondence home from training in South Africa. He flew thirty operations as a navigator with 12 Squadron before going as an instructor on 1656 HCU and then 576 and 50 Squadrons after the war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by David Witty 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
Navigation chart - operation number 17
Description
An account of the resource
Map showing southern England and northern France with pencilled route from the Lincoln area to target in Orleans. Annotated top right 'Op No. 17, 3/7/44'.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-07-03
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One map with pencilled navigation marks
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Map
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
CWittyAR-170323-010056
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Lincolnshire
France
France--Orléans
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-07-03
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
A R Witty
aircrew
bombing
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
RAF Wickenby
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32279/LWittyAR1520694v1.2.pdf
dfeb88f111e1be8091783d8a2c508035
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
Witty, A R
Witty, Ron
Witty, Ronald
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
2017-03-23
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
Witty, AR
Description
An account of the resource
118 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Ronald Witty DFM (1520694 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book, navigation charts and logs of all his operations, photographs and correspondence home from training in South Africa. He flew thirty operations as a navigator with 12 Squadron before going as an instructor on 1656 HCU and then 576 and 50 Squadrons after the war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by David Witty 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 K Witty’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 K Witty, navigator, covering the period from 1 April 1943 to 24 July 1946. Detailing his flying training, operations flown, Instructor duties and post war flying duties with 576 and 50 squadrons. He was stationed at RSAAF East London, RAF Halfpenny Green, RAF Desborough, RAF Chedburgh, RAF Hemswell, RAF Wickenby, RAF Lindholme, RAF Fiskerton, RAF Sturgate and RAF Waddington. Aircraft flown in were Anson, Wellington, Stirling, Lancaster, Halifax, and Lincoln. He flew a total of 30 operations with 12 squadron, 9 daylight and 21 night. His pilot on operations was Sergeant Holbrook. Targets were Bruz, Hasselt, Aachen, Berneval Le Grand, Sangatte, St Martin de Varreville, Acheres, Flers, Evreux, Gelsenkirchen, Le Havre, Boulogne, Aulnoye, Wissant, Domleger, Orleans, Dijon, Tours, Courtrai, Kiel, Stuttgart, Caumont, Le Catelliers, Trossy St Maxim, La Rochelle, Russelsheim, Fromental and St Reguier
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mike Connock
Cara Walmsley
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
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
LWittyAR1520694v1
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
South Africa
Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea
Atlantic Ocean--English Channel
Belgium--Hasselt
Belgium--Kortrijk
England--Lincolnshire
England--Northamptonshire
England--Staffordshire
England--Suffolk
England--Yorkshire
France--Argentan
France--Berneval-le-Grand
France--Boulogne-sur-Mer
France--Bruz
France--Calais
France--Cherbourg Region
France--Dieppe (Arrondissement)
France--Dijon
France--Evreux
France--Flers-de-l'Orne
France--La Rochelle
France--Le Havre
France--Longvilliers
France--Maubeuge
France--Orléans
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Paris Region
France--Sainte-Maxime-sur-Mer
France--Saint-Riquier
France--Tours
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Kiel
Germany--Rüsselsheim
Germany--Stuttgart
South Africa--East London
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Les Catelliers
France--Domléger-Longvillers
France--Saint-Martin-de-Varreville
France--Sangatte
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944-05-07
1944-05-08
1944-05-11
1944-05-12
1944-05-24
1944-05-25
1944-05-28
1944-06-02
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-05
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-11
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-17
1944-06-18
1944-06-22
1944-07-02
1944-07-04
1944-07-05
1944-07-06
1944-07-12
1944-07-13
1944-07-20
1944-07-21
1944-07-23
1944-07-24
1944-07-25
1944-07-30
1944-08-02
1944-08-03
1944-08-10
1944-08-11
1944-08-25
1944-08-26
1944-08-27
1944-08-28
1944-08-31
1945
1946
1944-06-16
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
12 Squadron
1653 HCU
1656 HCU
50 Squadron
576 Squadron
84 OTU
Advanced Flying Unit
air sea rescue
aircrew
Anson
anti-aircraft fire
bombing
bombing of the Boulogne E-boats (15/16 June 1944)
bombing of the Le Havre E-boat pens (14/15 June 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
Bombing of Trossy St Maximin (3 August 1944)
Cook’s tour
Gee
H2S
Halifax
Halifax Mk 2
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Lancaster Finishing School
Lancaster Mk 1
Lancaster Mk 3
Lincoln
mine laying
navigator
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operation Dodge (1945)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Desborough
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Halfpenny Green
RAF Hemswell
RAF Lindholme
RAF Sturgate
RAF Waddington
RAF Wickenby
Stirling
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
V-1
V-2
V-weapon
Wellington
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/490/27465/LMillarJ1893458v10001.2.pdf
e352f9e02b4c620fe44613b7e6486819
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
Chinery, Donald
Donald Robert Chinery
D R Chinery
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Chinery, DR
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. An oral history interview with Donald Chinery (1921 - 2017, 1465877 Royal Air Force) his log book, and the log book of J Millar. Donald Chinery flew operations as an air gunner with 61 Squadron.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Pam Winter and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
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 Millar’s navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s flying log book
Description
An account of the resource
Navigator’s, air bomber’s and air gunner’s flying log book for J Millar, air gunner, covering the period from 29 July 1943 to 27 June 1944. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Pembrey, RAF Newmarket, RAF Stradishall, RAF Leicester East, RAF Coningsby and RAF Skellingthorpe. Aircraft flown in were Blenheim, Wellington, Stirling and Lancaster. Having initially joined 620 Squadron he flew a total of 35 night operations with 61 Squadron. Targets were Chateauroux, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin, Essen, Nuremberg, Tours, Aachen, Paris, Brunswick, Munich, Schweinfurt, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Mailly-Le-Camp, Eindhoven, Nantes, Saumur, Ferme D’Urville, Pierre du Mont, Argentan, Rennes, Orleans, Poitiers, Aunay, Watten, Gelsenkirchen, Limoges, Rouville and Vitry. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Auckland. This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.
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
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
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
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
LMillarJ1893458v10001
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
England--Leicestershire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Suffolk
France--Argentan
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
France--Caen Region
France--Châteauroux
France--Limoges
France--Nantes
France--Orléans
France--Paris
France--Poitiers
France--Rennes
France--Saumur
France--Saint-Pierre-du-Mont (Landes)
France--Toulouse
France--Tours
France--Troyes
France--Valognes Region
France--Vitry-sur-Seine
France--Watten
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Essen
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Netherlands--Eindhoven
Wales--Carmarthenshire
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Bolbec
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1944-03-10
1944-03-11
1944-03-16
1944-03-17
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-22
1944-03-23
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-12
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-04-29
1944-04-30
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-03
1944-05-04
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-24
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-11
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-19
1944-06-21
1944-06-22
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-06-25
1944-06-27
1944-06-28
1657 HCU
61 Squadron
620 Squadron
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
Blenheim
bombing
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
bombing of the Juvisy, Noisy-le-Sec and Le Bourget railways (18/19 April 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
bombing of the Pas de Calais V-1 sites (24/25 June 1944)
bombing of the Watten V-2 site (19 June 1944)
Heavy Conversion Unit
Lancaster
Me 109
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
RAF Coningsby
RAF Leicester East
RAF Newmarket
RAF Pembrey
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Stradishall
Stirling
tactical support for Normandy troops
training
Wellington
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/490/27459/LChineryDR1465877v1.1.pdf
9da2a560e832821bb136ce059c92f214
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
Chinery, Donald
Donald Robert Chinery
D R Chinery
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Chinery, DR
Description
An account of the resource
Three items. An oral history interview with Donald Chinery (1921 - 2017, 1465877 Royal Air Force) his log book, and the log book of J Millar. Donald Chinery flew operations as an air gunner with 61 Squadron.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Pam Winter and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
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
Donald Chinery’s flying log book for observers and air gunners
Description
An account of the resource
Flying log book for observers and air gunners for D R Chinery, air gunner, covering the period from 16 August 1943 to 19 October 1945. Detailing his flying training, operations flown and instructor duties. He was stationed at RAF Barrow, RAF Llandwrog, RAF Newmarket, RAF Waterbeach, RAF Witchford, RAF Coningsby, RAF Skellingthorpe, RAF Barford St John, AF Turweston, RAF Silverstone and RAF Finningley. He initially joined 196 Squadron but flew a total of 34 night operations with 61 Squadron. Targets were, Chateauroux, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin, Essen, Nuremburg, Tours, Aachen, Paris, Brunswick, Munich, Schweinfurt, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Mailly le Camp, Eindhoven, Nantes, Saumer, Ferme Dur Ville, Pierre Du Mont, Argentan, Rennes, Orleans, Poitiers, Aunay, Watten, Gelsenkirchen, Limoges, Rouville and Vitry. His pilot on operations was Pilot Officer Auckland. This item was sent to the IBCC Digital Archive already in digital form. No better quality copies are available.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
Atlantic Ocean--Bay of Biscay
England--Cambridgeshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Oxfordshire
England--Suffolk
France--Argentan
France--Châteauroux
France--Limoges
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Nantes
France--Orléans
France--Pas-de-Calais
France--Poitiers
France--Paris
France--Rennes
France--Saint-Pierre-du-Mont (Landes)
France--Saumur
France--Toulouse
France--Tours
France--Vire (Calvados)
France--Vitry-sur-Seine
Germany--Aachen
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Braunschweig
Germany--Essen
Germany--Gelsenkirchen
Germany--Munich
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Schweinfurt
Germany--Stuttgart
Netherlands--Eindhoven
France--Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
France--Bolbec
France--Watten
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943
1944
1945
1944-02-24
1944-03-01
1944-03-02
1944-03-10
1944-03-11
1944-03-16
1944-03-17
1944-03-18
1944-03-19
1944-03-22
1944-03-23
1944-03-24
1944-03-25
1944-03-26
1944-03-27
1944-03-30
1944-03-31
1944-04-10
1944-04-11
1944-04-12
1944-04-18
1944-04-19
1944-04-20
1944-04-21
1944-04-22
1944-04-23
1944-04-24
1944-04-25
1944-04-26
1944-04-27
1944-04-28
1944-04-29
1944-04-30
1944-05-01
1944-05-02
1944-05-03
1944-05-04
1944-05-19
1944-05-20
1944-05-22
1944-05-23
1944-05-24
1944-05-27
1944-05-28
1944-05-31
1944-06-01
1944-06-03
1944-06-04
1944-06-06
1944-06-07
1944-06-08
1944-06-09
1944-06-10
1944-06-11
1944-06-12
1944-06-13
1944-06-14
1944-06-15
1944-06-19
1944-06-21
1944-06-22
1944-06-23
1944-06-24
1944-06-25
1944-06-27
1944-06-28
1945-06-22
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
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
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One booklet
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
LChineryDR1465877v1
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
16 OTU
1651 HCU
17 OTU
196 Squadron
61 Squadron
Advanced Flying Unit
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
bombing
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
bombing of Nuremberg (30 / 31 March 1944)
bombing of the Juvisy, Noisy-le-Sec and Le Bourget railways (18/19 April 1944)
bombing of the Normandy coastal batteries (5/6 June 1944)
bombing of the Pas de Calais V-1 sites (24/25 June 1944)
bombing of the Watten V-2 site (19 June 1944)
Cook’s tour
Heavy Conversion Unit
Me 109
mid-air collision
Normandy campaign (6 June – 21 August 1944)
Operational Training Unit
RAF Barford St John
RAF Barrow in Furness
RAF Coningsby
RAF Finningley
RAF Llandwrog
RAF Newmarket
RAF Silverstone
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Turweston
RAF Waterbeach
RAF Witchford
tactical support for Normandy troops
training