2
25
4598
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/262/28708/MGouldAG1605203-160708-07.1.pdf
fe9b24c39093b5a8f12e8cd7340eddb1
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
Gould, Allen
Allen G Gould
Allen Gould
A G Gould
A Gould
Description
An account of the resource
Twenty-seven items. Concerns Allen Geoffrey Gould (b. 1923, 1605203 Royal Air Force). He completed a tour of operations as a flight engineer with 620 Squadron and the Special Operations Executive. Collection consists of an oral history interview, his log book, flight engineer course notebooks, pilot's and engineers handling notes, mention in London Gazette, official documents and photographs.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Allen Geoffrey Gould and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-08
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
Gould, AG
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Sgt. Allen G. Gould – 1605203, was born in 1923, after leaving school in Bournemouth at 13, he worked for the Danish Bacon Company until being called up in 1943. Choosing to join the RAF, initially wanting to be a Navigator, he ended up as a Flight Engineer, flying in the Short Stirling Mk. I, II, III and IV variants. Training at RAF St. Alban, then the Heavy Conversion Unit. Allen joined No. 620 Squadron, flying from various bases, RAF Chedburgh, RAF Leicester East and then RAF Fairford. The roles for this squadron were not just bombing missions but Minelaying, Supply drops, Glider Towing and Paratrooper drops. He took part in D-Day, dropping paratroopers from the 6th Airborne Division over Caen, France on the night of 5th June 1944, returning on the 6th towing a glider of heavy equipment. He was also a part of Market Garden, towing a glider on 17th September 1944 and returning on the 19th and 21st on supply drops. There were also numerous drops on behalf of Special Operations Executive (SOE) as well as Special Air Service (SAS) dropping supplies and paratroopers.
Andrew St.Denis
Allen Gould was born on 16 June 1923 in Bournemouth. He left school at fourteen and worked for the Danish Bacon company until he was called up. His father having spent four years in the trenches, in WW1, advised him against joining the Army, so he volunteered for the Royal Air Force.
He joined the RAF on in October 1942 and following basic training he attended the first-ever direct entry, Flight Engineers’ Course at RAF St Athan.
On completion of flight engineering training, he joined up with his crew on 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Stradishall, then moved with them onto 620 Squadron at RAF Chedburgh and later RAF Leicester East.
The squadron later relocated to RAF Fairford where they trained to tow gliders. He was billeted with 12 others in a Nissan hut, conveniently close to a trout stream. They often caught trout, away from the watchful eye of the bailiff and cooked them in a tin on the large coke stove that heated the hut. The illicit bounty was a most welcome supplement to the barely adequate daily rations they received.
Direct out of training with no aircraft experience he had to earn the trust of his crew who up until then had only come across experienced flight engineers. On only his second operational trip and flying with an inexperienced crew, they arrived late over Ludwigshafen, where they found themselves alone and under concentrated anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft was being peppered and was full of holes while the pilot was executing extreme manoeuvres trying to avoid further damage. A fuel tank was hit and Allen had to work hard to ensure the engines received sufficient fuel to keep running. At the same time he had to make sure there would be enough fuel remaining to get back to the south coast of England for an emergency landing. As the aircraft approached the runway, the airfield lights went out and the pilot announced he was going to do another circuit. Allen told him, bluntly, he couldn’t as he didn’t have enough fuel, so the pilot made a steep turn and conducted a blind landing with no fuel to spare. Allen bonded well with his crew and in their free time they would often all go out to the pub together.
Throughout his tour his squadron undertook a variety of roles, much of was it in support of the Special Operations Executive personnel, operating covertly in occupied Europe. They also trained to tow gliders and dropped parachuting troops on D Day.
Allen completed 32 operations as a flight engineer with 620 Squadron and he totalled over 460 flying hours on Stirlings. PGouldAG1610.2.jpg (1600×2310) (lincoln.ac.uk)
For his services to 620 Squadron, he was ‘Mentioned in Despatches’ for distinguished service. MGouldAG1605203-160708-13.2.pdf (lincoln.ac.uk)
Post war, he married his wife, Norma, who was training as a mechanic at St Athan when he met her. PGouldAG1601.2.jpg (1600×2412) (lincoln.ac.uk)
Allen was discharged in October 1946 having attained the rank of Warrant Officer. PGouldAG1604.1.jpg (1600×2330) (lincoln.ac.uk)
He returned to the Danish Bacon company where he worked for another 40 years.
Chriss Cann
October 1942: Volunteered for the RAF
January 1943 - July 1943: RAF St Athan, Flight Engineer Training
July 1943 - September 1943: RAF Stradishall, 1657 HCU, flying Stirling aircraft
September 1943 - December 1943: RAF Chedburgh, 620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
January 1944 - March 1944: RAF Leicester East, 620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
March 1944 - April 1945: RAF Fairford,620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
8 October 1946: Released from service having attained the rank of Warrant Officer
Chris Cann
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
Notebook
Description
An account of the resource
RAF notebook. Contains notes on axis of aircraft, stability, heat, temperature, petrol, carburettors, fuels, thermal efficiency, electrics, physical laws, atmospheric pressures, ohms law, ignition, electromagnetic induction, power/weight ratio, torque, drag, detonation. exhaust, cetane number, fuel burning and other items concerning flying.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A Gould
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Multi page notebook
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MGouldAG1605203-160708-07
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
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Allocated
aircrew
flight engineer
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/262/28709/MGouldAG1605203-160708-08.2.pdf
cfb1dfd2d687ba5539fc28e2d99ddef9
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
Gould, Allen
Allen G Gould
Allen Gould
A G Gould
A Gould
Description
An account of the resource
Twenty-seven items. Concerns Allen Geoffrey Gould (b. 1923, 1605203 Royal Air Force). He completed a tour of operations as a flight engineer with 620 Squadron and the Special Operations Executive. Collection consists of an oral history interview, his log book, flight engineer course notebooks, pilot's and engineers handling notes, mention in London Gazette, official documents and photographs.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Allen Geoffrey Gould and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-08
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
Gould, AG
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Sgt. Allen G. Gould – 1605203, was born in 1923, after leaving school in Bournemouth at 13, he worked for the Danish Bacon Company until being called up in 1943. Choosing to join the RAF, initially wanting to be a Navigator, he ended up as a Flight Engineer, flying in the Short Stirling Mk. I, II, III and IV variants. Training at RAF St. Alban, then the Heavy Conversion Unit. Allen joined No. 620 Squadron, flying from various bases, RAF Chedburgh, RAF Leicester East and then RAF Fairford. The roles for this squadron were not just bombing missions but Minelaying, Supply drops, Glider Towing and Paratrooper drops. He took part in D-Day, dropping paratroopers from the 6th Airborne Division over Caen, France on the night of 5th June 1944, returning on the 6th towing a glider of heavy equipment. He was also a part of Market Garden, towing a glider on 17th September 1944 and returning on the 19th and 21st on supply drops. There were also numerous drops on behalf of Special Operations Executive (SOE) as well as Special Air Service (SAS) dropping supplies and paratroopers.
Andrew St.Denis
Allen Gould was born on 16 June 1923 in Bournemouth. He left school at fourteen and worked for the Danish Bacon company until he was called up. His father having spent four years in the trenches, in WW1, advised him against joining the Army, so he volunteered for the Royal Air Force.
He joined the RAF on in October 1942 and following basic training he attended the first-ever direct entry, Flight Engineers’ Course at RAF St Athan.
On completion of flight engineering training, he joined up with his crew on 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Stradishall, then moved with them onto 620 Squadron at RAF Chedburgh and later RAF Leicester East.
The squadron later relocated to RAF Fairford where they trained to tow gliders. He was billeted with 12 others in a Nissan hut, conveniently close to a trout stream. They often caught trout, away from the watchful eye of the bailiff and cooked them in a tin on the large coke stove that heated the hut. The illicit bounty was a most welcome supplement to the barely adequate daily rations they received.
Direct out of training with no aircraft experience he had to earn the trust of his crew who up until then had only come across experienced flight engineers. On only his second operational trip and flying with an inexperienced crew, they arrived late over Ludwigshafen, where they found themselves alone and under concentrated anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft was being peppered and was full of holes while the pilot was executing extreme manoeuvres trying to avoid further damage. A fuel tank was hit and Allen had to work hard to ensure the engines received sufficient fuel to keep running. At the same time he had to make sure there would be enough fuel remaining to get back to the south coast of England for an emergency landing. As the aircraft approached the runway, the airfield lights went out and the pilot announced he was going to do another circuit. Allen told him, bluntly, he couldn’t as he didn’t have enough fuel, so the pilot made a steep turn and conducted a blind landing with no fuel to spare. Allen bonded well with his crew and in their free time they would often all go out to the pub together.
Throughout his tour his squadron undertook a variety of roles, much of was it in support of the Special Operations Executive personnel, operating covertly in occupied Europe. They also trained to tow gliders and dropped parachuting troops on D Day.
Allen completed 32 operations as a flight engineer with 620 Squadron and he totalled over 460 flying hours on Stirlings. PGouldAG1610.2.jpg (1600×2310) (lincoln.ac.uk)
For his services to 620 Squadron, he was ‘Mentioned in Despatches’ for distinguished service. MGouldAG1605203-160708-13.2.pdf (lincoln.ac.uk)
Post war, he married his wife, Norma, who was training as a mechanic at St Athan when he met her. PGouldAG1601.2.jpg (1600×2412) (lincoln.ac.uk)
Allen was discharged in October 1946 having attained the rank of Warrant Officer. PGouldAG1604.1.jpg (1600×2330) (lincoln.ac.uk)
He returned to the Danish Bacon company where he worked for another 40 years.
Chriss Cann
October 1942: Volunteered for the RAF
January 1943 - July 1943: RAF St Athan, Flight Engineer Training
July 1943 - September 1943: RAF Stradishall, 1657 HCU, flying Stirling aircraft
September 1943 - December 1943: RAF Chedburgh, 620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
January 1944 - March 1944: RAF Leicester East, 620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
March 1944 - April 1945: RAF Fairford,620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
8 October 1946: Released from service having attained the rank of Warrant Officer
Chris Cann
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[cover]
[page break]
[inverted]
[table]
[calculations]
[/inverted]
[page break]
Oil Corrections. – [unreadable] Pumps – Fuel Pumps – Curved Pipe – Pressure Relief. Valve Unit [symbol] VP A/S lat.
[unreadable] Chamber [symbol] Reduction Gear sprogs.
Tail Bearing S.C. P. [unreadable] bearing in Steel Bearing not BB. [unreadable].
[diagram]
[page break]
[diagram]
[page break]
[underlined] Control Settings [/underlined]. 30° above horizontal = fully closed. 21 1/2 degrees below horizontal = fully open.
Recommended Procedure.
(1) Screw out Control Shaft stop screw.
(2) With B side magneto fully advanced and the 3 pin centres in line set control rod to correct length and shorten by 1/2 a turn. (This gives the required toggle action and produces a 3° retard at full throttle position).
(3) Repeat on A. side.
(4) With B Magneto fully retarded and pilots' throttle lever 30° above horizontal set control rod to correct length and connect up.
(5) Repeat on A side. [underlined] Mags [/underlined]
[page break]
[diagram]
ON MERLIN III BOTH MAGS FIRE AT 45° BTDC (FULLY ADVANCED
ON MERLIN X (MOD) XX TO 65, THE [underlined] PORT [/underlined] MAG FIRES 50° BTDC + STARBOARD 45° BTDC (FULLY ADVANCED IN BOTH CASES)
[page break]
AI is on exhaust where A6 is compression.
Mag Cross Drive rotates towards engine.
[underlined] SERRATED COUPLING [/UNDERLINED]
[diagram]
[symbol] II SERRATIONS
[symbol] ANGLE BETWEEN TWO ADJACENT
= 360/11 = 32.7°
[symbol] 12 SERRATIONS
[symbol] ANGLE BETWEEN TWO ADJACENT SERRATIONS
=360/12 = 30°
A VERNIER ADJUSTMENT OF [underlined] 1.8 ° [/underlined] (I.E. 2/3 (32.7° – 30°) IS PROVIDED
[diagrams]
CORRECT
EARLY. TO ADJUST. TURN THE SERRATED COUPLING BACKWARD THE NECESSARY NUMBER OF SERRATIONS THEN TURN MAG & SC BACK UNTIL IT MESHES.
LATE, TO ADJUST, [underlined] FORWARD [/underlined] AS ABOVE
[page break]
[inverted]
(5) Repeat operations 2 + 3 + 4 for the other mag and then check both mags for synchronisation.
(6) Firstly [underlined] remove the insulations from the primary pick-up tongue and completely assemble both magnetos [underlined] with care. [/underlined]
[underlined] Ignition timing sequence Merlin X (Mod) XX to 65 [/underlined]
The same as before, but with following Exceptions:-
The crankshaft is turned until the mark A6 E MA on the turning ring is coinciding [underlined] exactly [/underlined] with the pointer, and the port magneto is offered up and checked, as before, the the C/S. is turned [underlined] 5° [/underlined] in normal direction of R. until the mark A6 IMA is [underlined] exactly [/underlined] on pointer, and the starboard magneto is offered up, and checked. No synch check is necessary.
[/inverted]
[page break]
[underlined] Relay Piston Lever. [/underlined]
With relay piston fully forward pilot throttle lever 30° above horizontal & starboard differential lever 5° back from the vertical, set rod to correct length & connect up.
(alternative method for Merlin 3 – XX rod pin centres to 2 9/16 ".) On Merlin XII differential lever 7° back from vertical (rod pin centres 2 1/2 ". [unreadable]
Merlin XX – 45 differential lever 13° back from vertical. (alternative method – rod pin centres 2 9/16 ").
Throttle Curved Rod.
(1) Screw out Slow Running stop screw and close butterfly throttles fully in the bore (2) Screw in slow running stop screw to just touch stop.
(3) Insert a 20/000 feeler between
[page break]
[inverted]
screw + stop with the relay piston fully forward & pilot lever 30° above horizontal and connect up moved rod.
(4) Screw in stop screw to just touch stop. (Butterflies 6/000 open in bore at slow running).
[underlined] Change over lock. [/underlined]
With pilots [unreadable] 30° above horizontal and change over lever horizontal to 5° [underlined] above [/underlined] horizontal, connect rod with pinch bolt at the bottom.
[underlined] Progressive Com. [/underlined] III
(1) Set pilots' lever 21 1/2° below horizontal. (2) Insert a 30/000 between com cap & case, press whole assembly & correct rod. (3) With relay piston fully forward & pilots lever 21 1/2° below horizontal set control shaft stop screw. Merlin XII XV – 45 pilot
[/inverted]
[page break]
[underlined] Ignition Timing Sequence of Merlin III [/underlined]
(1.) Turn the crankshaft until the mark A6 MA on the timing ring is coinciding with [underlined] (exactly) [/underlined] the pointer, with [underlined] A6 [/underlined] cylinder on [underlined] compression stroke. [/underlined]
(2.) Set the Magneto as follows.
(1) Fully advance the contact breaker assembly (2) Check the C.B. points, and set to .012 + 1/000 Gap. (3) Insulate the primary pick-up tongue. (4) Set the distributor rotor so that, with the C.B. points just breaking (Comp & Battery) the main brush of the correct portion of the rotor is pointing to [underlined] A.6. [/underlined] segment
(3) Offer up the mag with the serrated coupling in any position, if it does not mesh, vary the coupling until it does
(4) Check timing, using a Comp & Battery and adjust, if necessary.
[page break]
[inverted]
lever 16° below horizontal, & [unreadable] lines on com & rocker com in line connect rod.
[underlined] Accelerator Pump [/underlined] Merlin III to XII
With Pilot lever 30° above horizontal, and ball end of pump lever in line with centre of linkage cover, set control rod to correct length & connect. Merlin XX – 45 (AXT 40 [unreadable])
Pilots lever 30° above horizontal connect rod to make pin & intermediate belt crank lever point vertically downwards.
[underlined] 2 Position Mixture Control. [/underlined]
Set back cover horizontal & connect up rod (Merlin XX & 45 all levers horizontal).
[/inverted]
[page break]
pointer, and repeat operations 3 & 5 for [underlined] B.I [/underlined] Cylinder.
(7.) Finally set all Inlet valve tappets to 0.010 clearance and all exhaust valve tappets to 0.020 clearance.
(N.B. If the firing order is followed, this operation can be carried out in two revolutions of the crankshaft.
Makers recommend setting C/S to 2° before A6IC to make up for Bank Sash. 1° = 16/000 or 1/16 approx on tuning ring
[underlined] Reduction Gear [/underlined] Spur Joyshaft type .477.1 Thrust [unreadable] & Rolls Fuel on A/S. Drive on front cover to [unreadable]esco & Cont[unreadable]tant speed unit.
[page break]
[underlined] TYPICAL MERLIN COOLING SYSTEM [/underlined]
[diagram]
[page break]
[underlined] Valve Timing Sequence – Merlin. [/underlined]
(1.) Disengage the serrated drive shafts.
(2.) Set one inlet tappet of [underlined] A6 & B1 [/underlined] Cylinders to 0.025[symbol] clearance.
(3) Insert a 5/000 Feeler in [underlined] A6 [/underlined] inlet tappet, and turn the "A" side camshaft [underlined] anti clock [/underlined] until the feeler is just nipped.
(4). Turn the crankshaft in normal D.O.R. until the mark [underlined] A6IC [/underlined] on the timing ring coinciding [underlined] exactly [/underlined] with the pointers.
(5). Engage the serrated drive shaft in its nearest setting, check the timing by use of the 5/000 feeler and adjust if necessary.
(6) Turn the crankshaft [underlined] 60° [/underlined] in normal D.O.R. so that the mark [underlined] B1IC [/underlined] is coinciding [underlined] exactly [/underlined] with the
[page break]
[inverted]
[underlined] Ducted Radi[unreadable] [/underlined]
[diagram]
LAYOUT OF "MERLIN" PRIMING & VOLUTE [underlined] DRAIN RETURN SYSTEM [/underlined] [symbol] = AN ATOMISER
[/inverted]
[page break]
The 11° drag causes a lag of16 1/2° on mags and 5 1/2° on valves.
[underlined] Wheel Case [/underlined]
[underlined] Upper Vertical Drive Shaft [/underlined] – (1) [unreadable] skew gear ([unreadable] bronze) to mag drive. 1 1/2 time engine speed. – (2) Cam drive.
1/2 engine speed.
Lower Vertical [unreadable] (1) Light alloy [unreadable] gear to fuel pumps (2) Mushroom pincer – [unreadable] pinion – 2 stoving pumps & 1 pressure gauge
(3) Self centring spindle to coolant gauge impellor.
Torqe [sic] Pinion on end of C/S drives train of Supercharger gears. 8.588-I-III
Impellor to 16 blades = 2.3-1
3. Slip Drives Phosphor Bronze [unreadable] engaged by plates. Generator Drive.
Bore plugs used for positioning when moulding.
[page break]
[inverted]
[underlined] Fuel Pumps [/underlined]
I Cogs Phosphor Bronze White [unreadable] 1 Cog Steel drive by interval [unreadable] to quill drive. 2-2 3/4 lb III relief valve, later [unreadable] 8-10 .
1 oil supply .
Hand Tuning Mesh
[/inverted]
[page break]
Rocker Shafts mounted in ends of Pedestal Brackets. Bottom of P. Bracket have tenons for location. End one has Y oil duct to com, will fit either bank. Oil also goes to rocker bearing through hollow shaft into rockers to com striking pod.
Oil sling fitted to outside of gears.
2 side gears rotate on bushes on extensions of rocker shaft.
[underlined] Whal Case [/underlined]
Spring drive shaft. Tested to 20° twist absorbs tortional vibrations through power stroke being 60° apart. From C/S to auxiliary drive. Dogs on Auxiliary pick up the drive from the C/S 11 degrees after spring drive take up, owing to log being 11° apart with 2° at the back.
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
[underlined] LAYOUT OF "MERLIN" [/underlined]
[diagram]
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
has 2 springs held by retaining plate secured by Phosphor Bronze split collects. Inlet valve guide mode of cast iron has same expansion of valve [unreadable]. valve seals made of aluminium bronze.
[underlined] Exhaust valves [/underlined] – austenitic S Steel hollow – filled with metallic sodium. Exhaust valve guides are Phosphor Bronze. Seals are made of Silicon Chromium Steel.
[underlined] Com Shaft [/underlined] held in 7 bearings hollow for oil inductor. Held in pedestal brackets. Nickel forged Steel drilled. Surface nitrated.
[underlined] Both cones rotate clockwise from rear [/underlined]
Front1 bearing light alloy, last 1 Phosphor bronze.
[page break]
[diagram]
[page break]
[underlined] Pin Boss & 1 below. [/underlined]
[underlined] The Cylinder Block. [/underlined]
The Monobloc type cast in one. it houses 6 cylinders in the form of inserted liners and form the combustion chambers and coolant jackets of those cylinders
Wet type [underlined] Cylinder liners [/underlined] fitted with 2 rubber synthetic washers and 1 aluminium alloy ring. 1 rubber washer round spigot fitting on bottom of liner below flange. Studs are surrounded by guard takes as protection against coolant. Two aluminium bronze spark plug adaptor per cylinder – 4 valves per cylinder 2 inlet 2 outlet
[underlined] Inlet Valves [/underlined] mode of austenitic SS steel, tip is coated with stellite stem nitrided, has fused onto the rim a ring of "Brightroy" all round face
[page break]
[diagram]
[page break]
Nickel Chrome Nitrided Hollow C/S.
180lb. fitted with adapter and timing ring. No 1 Journal no oil holes No 4 only 2 all the rest 3. All crank pins 2 oil holes.
Firing Stroke every 60° C/S rotation Con Rods Plain & York Forged Nickel Steel. Big End Bearings one Lead Bronze lined Steel Shell Small End for fully floating phosphor bronze. Cask. Gudgeon Pin made of air-hardening steel is fully floating. The Piston is a light alloy forging and the weight exclusive of rings is 3lbs (plus or minus a few droms), Fully skirted, concave crown. 3 Compression Rings of cast iron all having a 1° chamfer or appropriate 2 [unreadable] rings (Channel section) 1 above Gudgeon
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
Single Crankshaft 6 Throws.
1-6 2-5 3-4
7 Journals 6 Crank Pins
[diagram]
[underlined] Firing Order [/underlined]
[diagram]
"MERLIN" VALVE & IGNITION TIMING DIAGRAM.
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
Fuel Consumption (PTS/H.P./Hrs)
Max Takeoff .66/.73
Max Rich Cruising .58/.63
Max Econ. Cruising .54 max
Oil consumption. (PTS/Hrs) 6/18
Type of Fuel DTD 230 (87 Octone)
Type of Oil DTD [deleted] 109 [/deleted] 472
Net dry weight in lbs 1,375
Type of Coolant
Merlin 1-5 Echyline Glycol to DTD
344
CISE 12/95 Double Trock. Mags
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
Min Takeoff 2,080
Max Climb 2,600
Max Level Flight 3,000
Max Rich & Econ Cruising 2,600
Max Diving (more than 1/3 throttle) 3,600
Max Diving (less than 1/3 throttle) 3,000
B.H.P.
Rated at International R.P.M. 990
Minimum Rated Acceptance 950
Power at Max. Power Altitude 1,030
Max Takeoff 890
Boost.
Max Takeoff + 6.25
Max Climb & Level Flight +6.25
Max Rich Cruising + 4.5
Max Econ. Cruising +2.5
Altitude in feet
International 12,250
Max Power 16,250
[page break]
[printed calendar 1941 & 1942]
[page break]
[underlined] Merlin. [/underlined] Inline Upright Engine.
12 cylinder engine arranged 2 Banks of 6 on top of the crankcase with an angle of 60° between them.
Supercharged. Liquid Cooled.
Geared Engine. Compression Ratio 6-1
Bore 5.4" Stroke 6" Overall Capacity 1648 cubic inches or 27 litres
Main Oil Pressure (before increased capacity oil pumps was introduced)
60 to 75 lbs per [symbol]" (after) 75 to 95 lbs
Emergency Minimum (before) 45lb [symbol]" (after 60lbs [symbol]". Auxiliary Oil pressure 4 to 8lbs [symbol]" Emergency minimum of 2lbs [symbol]"
Performance Details Applicable to Type 2 - 3 - 4 - 5. Reduction Gear Ratio .477-1 R.P.M. Supercharge Gear Ratio 8.588-1
International 2,600
Max Takeoff 3,000
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
Notebook
Description
An account of the resource
Contains notes and diagrams on fuel tanks, control settings, aircraft engine systems, ignition, cooling systems, layout of Merlin and other flight data.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A Gould
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Multipage notebook
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MGouldAG1605203-160708-08
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
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
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Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Contributor
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Babs Nichols
aircrew
flight engineer
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/262/28710/MGouldAG1605203-160708-09.2.pdf
85dc7dfd6db1513bdcdc73dc01bb0bb2
Dublin Core
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Title
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Gould, Allen
Allen G Gould
Allen Gould
A G Gould
A Gould
Description
An account of the resource
Twenty-seven items. Concerns Allen Geoffrey Gould (b. 1923, 1605203 Royal Air Force). He completed a tour of operations as a flight engineer with 620 Squadron and the Special Operations Executive. Collection consists of an oral history interview, his log book, flight engineer course notebooks, pilot's and engineers handling notes, mention in London Gazette, official documents and photographs.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Allen Geoffrey Gould and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-08
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
Gould, AG
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Sgt. Allen G. Gould – 1605203, was born in 1923, after leaving school in Bournemouth at 13, he worked for the Danish Bacon Company until being called up in 1943. Choosing to join the RAF, initially wanting to be a Navigator, he ended up as a Flight Engineer, flying in the Short Stirling Mk. I, II, III and IV variants. Training at RAF St. Alban, then the Heavy Conversion Unit. Allen joined No. 620 Squadron, flying from various bases, RAF Chedburgh, RAF Leicester East and then RAF Fairford. The roles for this squadron were not just bombing missions but Minelaying, Supply drops, Glider Towing and Paratrooper drops. He took part in D-Day, dropping paratroopers from the 6th Airborne Division over Caen, France on the night of 5th June 1944, returning on the 6th towing a glider of heavy equipment. He was also a part of Market Garden, towing a glider on 17th September 1944 and returning on the 19th and 21st on supply drops. There were also numerous drops on behalf of Special Operations Executive (SOE) as well as Special Air Service (SAS) dropping supplies and paratroopers.
Andrew St.Denis
Allen Gould was born on 16 June 1923 in Bournemouth. He left school at fourteen and worked for the Danish Bacon company until he was called up. His father having spent four years in the trenches, in WW1, advised him against joining the Army, so he volunteered for the Royal Air Force.
He joined the RAF on in October 1942 and following basic training he attended the first-ever direct entry, Flight Engineers’ Course at RAF St Athan.
On completion of flight engineering training, he joined up with his crew on 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Stradishall, then moved with them onto 620 Squadron at RAF Chedburgh and later RAF Leicester East.
The squadron later relocated to RAF Fairford where they trained to tow gliders. He was billeted with 12 others in a Nissan hut, conveniently close to a trout stream. They often caught trout, away from the watchful eye of the bailiff and cooked them in a tin on the large coke stove that heated the hut. The illicit bounty was a most welcome supplement to the barely adequate daily rations they received.
Direct out of training with no aircraft experience he had to earn the trust of his crew who up until then had only come across experienced flight engineers. On only his second operational trip and flying with an inexperienced crew, they arrived late over Ludwigshafen, where they found themselves alone and under concentrated anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft was being peppered and was full of holes while the pilot was executing extreme manoeuvres trying to avoid further damage. A fuel tank was hit and Allen had to work hard to ensure the engines received sufficient fuel to keep running. At the same time he had to make sure there would be enough fuel remaining to get back to the south coast of England for an emergency landing. As the aircraft approached the runway, the airfield lights went out and the pilot announced he was going to do another circuit. Allen told him, bluntly, he couldn’t as he didn’t have enough fuel, so the pilot made a steep turn and conducted a blind landing with no fuel to spare. Allen bonded well with his crew and in their free time they would often all go out to the pub together.
Throughout his tour his squadron undertook a variety of roles, much of was it in support of the Special Operations Executive personnel, operating covertly in occupied Europe. They also trained to tow gliders and dropped parachuting troops on D Day.
Allen completed 32 operations as a flight engineer with 620 Squadron and he totalled over 460 flying hours on Stirlings. PGouldAG1610.2.jpg (1600×2310) (lincoln.ac.uk)
For his services to 620 Squadron, he was ‘Mentioned in Despatches’ for distinguished service. MGouldAG1605203-160708-13.2.pdf (lincoln.ac.uk)
Post war, he married his wife, Norma, who was training as a mechanic at St Athan when he met her. PGouldAG1601.2.jpg (1600×2412) (lincoln.ac.uk)
Allen was discharged in October 1946 having attained the rank of Warrant Officer. PGouldAG1604.1.jpg (1600×2330) (lincoln.ac.uk)
He returned to the Danish Bacon company where he worked for another 40 years.
Chriss Cann
October 1942: Volunteered for the RAF
January 1943 - July 1943: RAF St Athan, Flight Engineer Training
July 1943 - September 1943: RAF Stradishall, 1657 HCU, flying Stirling aircraft
September 1943 - December 1943: RAF Chedburgh, 620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
January 1944 - March 1944: RAF Leicester East, 620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
March 1944 - April 1945: RAF Fairford,620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
8 October 1946: Released from service having attained the rank of Warrant Officer
Chris Cann
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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Notes
Description
An account of the resource
Petrol system notes and list of manual for various aircraft systems.
Creator
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A Gould
Format
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Four page handwritten document
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Identifier
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MGouldAG1605203-160708-09
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
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. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
aircrew
flight engineer
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/262/28711/MGouldAG1605203-160708-10.1.pdf
3f56018291fa47f6c3e5b39e53df7c30
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
Gould, Allen
Allen G Gould
Allen Gould
A G Gould
A Gould
Description
An account of the resource
Twenty-seven items. Concerns Allen Geoffrey Gould (b. 1923, 1605203 Royal Air Force). He completed a tour of operations as a flight engineer with 620 Squadron and the Special Operations Executive. Collection consists of an oral history interview, his log book, flight engineer course notebooks, pilot's and engineers handling notes, mention in London Gazette, official documents and photographs.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Allen Geoffrey Gould and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-07-08
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
Gould, AG
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Sgt. Allen G. Gould – 1605203, was born in 1923, after leaving school in Bournemouth at 13, he worked for the Danish Bacon Company until being called up in 1943. Choosing to join the RAF, initially wanting to be a Navigator, he ended up as a Flight Engineer, flying in the Short Stirling Mk. I, II, III and IV variants. Training at RAF St. Alban, then the Heavy Conversion Unit. Allen joined No. 620 Squadron, flying from various bases, RAF Chedburgh, RAF Leicester East and then RAF Fairford. The roles for this squadron were not just bombing missions but Minelaying, Supply drops, Glider Towing and Paratrooper drops. He took part in D-Day, dropping paratroopers from the 6th Airborne Division over Caen, France on the night of 5th June 1944, returning on the 6th towing a glider of heavy equipment. He was also a part of Market Garden, towing a glider on 17th September 1944 and returning on the 19th and 21st on supply drops. There were also numerous drops on behalf of Special Operations Executive (SOE) as well as Special Air Service (SAS) dropping supplies and paratroopers.
Andrew St.Denis
Allen Gould was born on 16 June 1923 in Bournemouth. He left school at fourteen and worked for the Danish Bacon company until he was called up. His father having spent four years in the trenches, in WW1, advised him against joining the Army, so he volunteered for the Royal Air Force.
He joined the RAF on in October 1942 and following basic training he attended the first-ever direct entry, Flight Engineers’ Course at RAF St Athan.
On completion of flight engineering training, he joined up with his crew on 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Stradishall, then moved with them onto 620 Squadron at RAF Chedburgh and later RAF Leicester East.
The squadron later relocated to RAF Fairford where they trained to tow gliders. He was billeted with 12 others in a Nissan hut, conveniently close to a trout stream. They often caught trout, away from the watchful eye of the bailiff and cooked them in a tin on the large coke stove that heated the hut. The illicit bounty was a most welcome supplement to the barely adequate daily rations they received.
Direct out of training with no aircraft experience he had to earn the trust of his crew who up until then had only come across experienced flight engineers. On only his second operational trip and flying with an inexperienced crew, they arrived late over Ludwigshafen, where they found themselves alone and under concentrated anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft was being peppered and was full of holes while the pilot was executing extreme manoeuvres trying to avoid further damage. A fuel tank was hit and Allen had to work hard to ensure the engines received sufficient fuel to keep running. At the same time he had to make sure there would be enough fuel remaining to get back to the south coast of England for an emergency landing. As the aircraft approached the runway, the airfield lights went out and the pilot announced he was going to do another circuit. Allen told him, bluntly, he couldn’t as he didn’t have enough fuel, so the pilot made a steep turn and conducted a blind landing with no fuel to spare. Allen bonded well with his crew and in their free time they would often all go out to the pub together.
Throughout his tour his squadron undertook a variety of roles, much of was it in support of the Special Operations Executive personnel, operating covertly in occupied Europe. They also trained to tow gliders and dropped parachuting troops on D Day.
Allen completed 32 operations as a flight engineer with 620 Squadron and he totalled over 460 flying hours on Stirlings. PGouldAG1610.2.jpg (1600×2310) (lincoln.ac.uk)
For his services to 620 Squadron, he was ‘Mentioned in Despatches’ for distinguished service. MGouldAG1605203-160708-13.2.pdf (lincoln.ac.uk)
Post war, he married his wife, Norma, who was training as a mechanic at St Athan when he met her. PGouldAG1601.2.jpg (1600×2412) (lincoln.ac.uk)
Allen was discharged in October 1946 having attained the rank of Warrant Officer. PGouldAG1604.1.jpg (1600×2330) (lincoln.ac.uk)
He returned to the Danish Bacon company where he worked for another 40 years.
Chriss Cann
October 1942: Volunteered for the RAF
January 1943 - July 1943: RAF St Athan, Flight Engineer Training
July 1943 - September 1943: RAF Stradishall, 1657 HCU, flying Stirling aircraft
September 1943 - December 1943: RAF Chedburgh, 620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
January 1944 - March 1944: RAF Leicester East, 620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
March 1944 - April 1945: RAF Fairford,620 Squadron, flying Stirling aircraft
8 October 1946: Released from service having attained the rank of Warrant Officer
Chris Cann
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
1605203
SGT A.G. GOULD
2 WORKSHOP
CLASS 3
Form 619.
ROYAL AIR FORCE
[underlined] Stirling [/underlined]
Notebook for use in Schools.
91/3471. Wt. 3390. 900M. Bks. 8/42. J.D. & Co. Ltd.
[Page Break]
Hercules XI
[Graph]
[page break]
[blank page]
[Page Break]
Mark 1 Series 1 – Hercules II – 3 turrets, nose, tail, mid [missing word]
Mark 1 Series II – III X XI – nose, tail, mid under, [indecipherable word] held Beam Guns, Twin Bearings
Mark 1 Series III – III X XV, nose tail, mid upper. Provision for mid under not generally fitted
Mart II Series I Cyclone Engines, nose, tail, mid under & Beam Guns.
Mark 11 Series II Cyclone, nose, tail. Mid upper, provision for mid under.
Mark III Series I – Hercules 6, nose, tail, mid upper & a Frayer Nosk 64 Under turret.
Span 99’1” Overall Length 87’ 3 1/2” Height 28’ 10”
With Tail on Ground 22 ft 9”.
Maximum permissible T.O load 70,00lbs
Maximum Permissible landing load 60,000 lbs
Tare weight 43,200lbs [indecipherable words] Load 4,276 lbs. Tail plane span 40’85”
Maximum width of fuselage 6 ‘7 1 /2” maximum Height 8’ 7 1/2 “
Height of Rudder 12’ 9”
Front Turret 7N5-260lbs. Rear Turret 7N20-360lbs
Mid Upper 7N50-300lbs Complete under [indecipherable word] without wheels weight 2,430 lbs. Wheel & axel 109 lbs
[Underlined] 6 Engine hatches [/underlined]
No 1 x Nose flow of bomb aimers Compartment
2 x Pilot’s canape – centre section of roof.
3 x Astro hatch, (4) in front of mid upper turret
5 x Large size between plane shute & entrance door
[Page Break]
Between rear of tail plane & rear turret
[underlined] Fuel Systems [/underlined]
Take off and initial climb use 2 + 4 [indecipherable word] [inserted] [indecipherable words] [/inserted] Run Up turn to smaller turbo until over. [indecipherable word] when 2 & 4 again switch to smaller tanks & only use 2 & 4 if attached for reliable supply. Always keep 50 -60 in in 5 & 6 to use whilst jettisoning from 2 & 4.
Wait 4 or 5 seconds before changing [indecipherable words] after changing other Standard Procedure with a full Fuel Tank
Start Run Ups & Take Off for initial Climb on tank 2 & 4, after levelling, before climbing [indecipherable word] to 3 and wait 5 minutes to ensure correct functioning of [indecipherable word] system.
Turn off number 2 & [indecipherable words] on the 7 [indecipherable word] is following outer Engines 3-6-5-4 Inner Engines 7-1-2
Following quantities to the left in the
[Underlined] 1 x [/underlined] 5 – 10 galls
[Underlined] 7 x [/underlined]5 -10 galls
[Underlined] 3 x [/underlined]5 – 10 galls
[Underlined] 5 x [/underlined] 40 – 50 galls
[Underlined] 6 x [/underlined] 5- 10 galls
Change 1 side at & test [indecipherable word] Engine first
Tanks 2 used for :- Run up - [indecipherable words]
Target Run – Evasive Action & [indecipherable word] NO 4 used as per No 2 for the Outboard Engines.
[underlined] Damage Analysis [/underlined]
When ditching run on 5 tanks , jettison 2 & 4 & CLOSE VALVES. If damage is suspected to fuel system take contacts reading of all tanks; after 5 minutes take a further reading. Tanks which are turned off should show no loss, tanks in use should show equal loss dependant
[Page Break]
[Diagram]
[Page Break]
[Diagram drawn over both pages]
[Calculation]
[Page Break]
[Underlined] STIRLING FUEL SYSTEM STARBOARD WING. [/underlined]
High Valuable Fuel 34A/III
[Diagram continued]
[Page Break]
[Indecipherable words] boost & the mixture during the 5 minutes .
[Indecipherable words]
[underlined] Try [/underlined] to run all four engines off /the tank if [indecipherable word] is a large one if it is a small one try to get two engines on it.
New Hi-guss pumps have been fitted to Stirling holding 40 cc x
[underlined] F End Panel [/underlined]
Fuel contents gauges are made & calibrated to suit the tanks which the operate on.
[underlined] [indecipherable word] [/underlined]
Braking & Landing Lights operated permanently
Landing Lights are covered and [indecipherable word] by [indecipherable word] pressure & focused by Teleflux cable.
[underlined] Oxygen. [/underlined]
Master High Pressure value the [indecipherable words] from supply to system.
[Page Break]
[Diagram]
[Page Break]
No 2 Tank Inboard 4,5,6, Outboard
Outward journey after take off In bound no 2 outbound 6-5. After Banking bung No 5 on Balance locks .Take off No 2 & open back off No 5, charge no 4 to on Balance and [indecipherable word] no 5, run no 4 down to the level of no 2, then run off 2 & 4 on their separate systems.
[underlined] Oxygen Systems [/underlined]
Operation of System, How is works.
Gauge is toped on to 10,000 by left hand knob of Mark X Regulator, and is kept on until A/C returns to base. The following action is taken.
( 1) The F/E turns on the Oxygen H P [indecipherable word ]
(2 ) The Pilot opens the right hand [indecipherable word] pf Mark X Regulator to its fullest extent and with the [indecipherable words] cock adjusts rate of flow according to altitude.
Steps to up on left hand cock, 8,000ft set to 10,000 – 10,000 set to 15,000 – 15,000 set to 25,000 25,000 set to 30,000 – 30,000 set to 35,000 – 35,000 set to 40,000.
thus :-
ALTITUDE REGULATOR
8,000 / 10,000
10,000 / 15,000
15,000-25,000 / 25,000
25,000 / 30,000
30,000 / 35,000
35,000 / 40,000
[Calculations]
[Page Break]
[Diagram]
[Page Break]
R3003 Circuit Inertia Switch under [indecipherable words]
Gravity fire switch in nose.
[indecipherable word] Fire Switch in Bombardiers Compartment
Graviner Fire Particles on averg. [indecipherable word] Bulkhead.
[Diagram]
[underlined] Flame Switch [/underlined]
[Diagram]
[Page Break]
[Diagram]
100lbs Bare Minimum Pressure in Bottle. For Starting or Running Up Check. Take off minimum 170 lbs.
[Page Break]
Output of bottle of Graviner Fire Extinguisher Systems [indecipherable word on end of Bottle Handle.
Gravity Value condition Bottle, that bottle will work easily as well.
[Underlined] Peculiarities of Stirling Fuel System in Flight [/underlined]
Dive and Climb etc 6 K but when levelling off engines tens to flutter.
Click on recuperators, see that piston [indecipherable word] is not less than 3 1 /2” projections.
Recuperators maintenance pressure in [indecipherable word] balance control unit & jacks.
[Deleted] Front [/deleted] Hydraulic Pumps [/underlined]
3 pumps on the Port inner operate the front and Mid Upper *& Mid Lower Turret, 1 on the Starboard inner operates the rear turret.
Each Turret is fed by 2 Pressure Lines and fluid returnal to [indecipherable word] by 1 Return first the reservoir being [indecipherable words] recapirator Front & Rear turrets hone rotation valves. Each Turret is fitted with a Mesh & Thompson recapirator .
[Underlined] Recapirator [/underlined]
This is fitted to [indecipherable word] in [indecipherable word] on the exhaust line, should a small leak occur this can be compartmented for by parrying.
[Page Break]
[GALLAY [SIC] BOILER [/underlined]
[Diagram]
[Page Break]
more fluid into the system from the reservoir by means of the hand pump. Recapirator forms a relief valve for the circuit to idle through the system is initially fed through.
Allocation of Auxiliaries
[Table]
[symbol] Front, Mid Upper & Lower Turrets
[symbol] Rear Turret.
[Page Break]
[Diagram]
[page break]
[underlined] De-Icing. [/underlined]
De Icing of Main Planes & Ailerons is carried out by means of Dilfrost [indecipherable word].
De Icing of Visual members D.F.D. 406A.
[underlined] Engineer Checks
Prior to Flight [/inderlined]
(1) Check Wheel Chocks and see that all Covers are removed, Peto Wheel etc. Check that all cowlings are on & Battened up.
(2) All Latters and Equipment to be at best 14 yards from the hard standing
(3) Check Oleo Legs. Short Struts must have extrensions of 5 – 7 1/2”. Turner Leg has approx. 4”.
(4) On Mark I lanks I II & III Check that the hand Clutch is disengaged on U/C Gear box
(5) Ensure that Pressure Refuelling Cocks are in the off position & locked off & with dust caps fitted. Oil tanks drain backs to be locked off, behind Fireproof bulkhead, 1 in each nacelle’s
(6) Tail wheels aligned & chain tensioner serviceable. Tail Wheel oleo extension 3” – 4”. Visual Check to be carried out on all tyres
(7) Enter kite & check rear gunners escape hatch for security.
(8) See that [indecipherable word] wheel motor is engaged check wind tail wheel, see that tail wheel handle is stowed.
(9) See that Rear Hatch is locked & then proceed
[page break]
[sketch]
[Page Break]
onto upper surface of aircraft.
(10) Examine Upper Surface of aircraft visually and note that dingy cover, petrol flaps, Comb winch flaps, etc, are secure.
(11) Close and lock upper escape hatch, stow ladder,
(12) Ensure that flap & undercarriage normal handle are stowed.
(13) Ensure that undercarriage manual gear is correctly set & locked remember the real star wheel.
(14) Ensure that the flap motors are engaged.
(15) Dummy plug stowed & starter [indecipherable word] connected; if master switch fitted, switch to “ground”, return to “flight” when plug is removed.
(16) Traverse cocks & Balance locks 6FF.
(17) Check the oxygen system as follows:-
Ensure the Charging valve is turned off, and is not locking.
Check economics & flow meters for [indecipherable word] from damage.
See that economiser take one in clips.
Turn on Masters High Pressure Cock.
Go to regulator, open right hand cock [underlined]fully [/underlined] and see that supply gauge register fill, adjust left hand control until flow meter reads 40 then turn back until it reads 30.
Check all economisers and see that they are delivering at the rate of 5 to 9 puffs per minute.
Turn all cocks off.
[Page break]
(18) Bomb door handles stowed, motors engaged, bomb door closed, check indicator lights.
(19) Ensure that accumulator are connected. These are stowed under the lid and must be connected to the [indecipherable word]
(20) Astra Hatch locked.
(21) Air Intake Shutters set to cold air and superchargers set to M. Larkin Heating system set to hold and all petrol tanks off.
(22) Jettison valves closed and locked.
(23) Vacuum pump clocks set to No 2.
(24) All fuses contents by gauge & enter in engineers log that they function correctly.
(25) Check fuel contents by gauge & enter in engineers log.
(26) Item check air supply & operated brakes, to ensure that they function correctly.
(27) Note creep in Exaction & Compensate them all, leave in Compensating position.
(28) Check flop indicators.
Pull out meter switch, check that blue meter light shows, indicator will them flicker to wherever flaps are. Take lower knob & turn it on and check indicator for complete travel, also for red light when flaps are 1 /3 down.
(29) Undercarriage lever to be in down position, Master Switch in the off position. Check that U/C light on instrument panel & by emergency lowering gear are showing (GREEN). Note the Air Temperature.
(30) Gauge.
[Page Break]
(31) See that front escape hatch is secure and that camera or panel is fitted.
(32) Front Bulkhead panels in place.
(33) All Portable Oxygen & fire extinguisher bottle stowed.
(34) Check state of accumulators.
(35) Check with Ground Sergeant Fuel and Oil load also check state of the Galley heater tank.
(36) Examine the Snag Book and see that all snags are signed for.
(37) CHECK FEATHERING AND STARTER SWITCHES.
(38) CHECK WIND TAIL WHEEL BEFORE TAKE OFF & BEFORE LANDING.
KNOW YOUR DINGHY AND WHERE YOUR EMERGENCY SUPPLIES ARE STOWED.
[underlined] Method of filling Oxygen [/underlined]
Connect 2 Bottles to Charging Valves, these being fitted to 3600, repeat to full system to 1800.
[underlined] [indecipherable word] [/underlined]
Top up reservoirs with 50-50 Paraffin & anti freeze Type A Discarded Receiver Unit place that over open end of Pipe, raise transmitter piton & fully compensate, lower piston with that [indecipherable word] continue until bubble free oil emerges from end if pipeline. Wind transmitter piston at top of cylinder connect up receiver [indecipherable word], operate [indecipherable word] lens fully
[Page Break]
Compensating.
Operate several times fully compensating.
Bleeding.
Raise piston to top of cylinder. Slacken lock union and allow piston to travel 3 /4 of range. Tighten [indecipherable word]and compensate several times.
Damage
[indecipherable word] pipe is secured or badly damaged, the receiver unit will be at the following position.
Throttle fully open, mixture rich.
Airscrews course pitch
Incendiary Battles 3 or 4. 7” dly 3”
1 over navigator table 1 behind second pilot
Bakelite cover spike on Bottom for attachment.
[Underlined] Dinghys [sic][/underlined]
Dinghy is J Type Mark III Carries a crew of seven, carries a load of 3,000lbs.
Two handles at opposite side with 3 Hard Grips each side. Joined by rigging line. Life line round the outside.
[underlined] [indecipherable word] [Underlined]
4 pouches on Underside of bag
Prevent dinghy from spinning.
Help to prevent overturning of Dinghy
Each 1 has a tripline to shut for paddling.
These triplines are attached to the lifeline so that they can be found in the dark. 5 Handles on the Bottom
[Page Break]
Dinghy Valve Has 3 functions
Inflation (2) Relief (3) Deflation
4 Components, Button, Rubber plate, Top & Bottom. Always carry a cork to fit valve if leaking. Pressure contained in Dinghy 11 1/2 lbs [symbol] valve relies it over this.
[underlined] Dinghy Equipment [/underlined]
(1) 3 sets of leak stoppers centre of Rubber
Floating knife in leather holster on the side
(3) Sea Anchor
(4) Pump in heater pocket middle of floor
(5) Compass in Holder on side of Dinghy
(6) Rescue Line. Coil Rope with 100ft line when dinghy is overloaded ditch surplus weight.
[underlined] CO2 Bottle [/underlined]
Charge in bottle 6lb 2 oz in weight
Bend in brass seal
Do no hold discharge bottle [indecipherable word] frostbite
Operating Head [indecipherable words]
(1) Lock head light moves off winding cable in pulley & setting locking lever. Screw into bottle.
(1) [underlined] Normal Release [underlined]
(2) Electrical Immersion Switches
[Diagram]
[Page Break]
Cartridge fits into Operating Head and Blows needle through hose seal of bottle.
Normal release must be pulled even if [indecipherable word] has operated so that tension line does not hold dinghy to spite.
Electrical 2 pins socket and lead pulls out as dinghy inflates. CO2 bottle laced to underside of dinghy when head is locked green shows through halves back and front, if fired, red.
[underlined] Emergency Packs [/underlined]
2 Packs in fuselage type 7 & 4 in the dinghy stowage there is also a [indecipherable word] pack brown as a valise
(1) First Aid Kit
(2) 1 Pair of Paddles
(3) 2 set of Leak Stoppers
(4) 1 Tin of Matches
(5) 1 Graduated cup and bailer
(6) 1 Sponge
(7) 1 Weathersheet
(8) 1 Telescopic Ariel Mast
(9) 1 International Distress Flag
(10) 4 Marine Distress Signals or 1 Signal Pistol & 22 tins of Cartridges, 3 x 1” Red [indecipherable word]tin
(11) Four tins of water per man
(12) 1 Tin of Rations per man
(13) 4 Fluorescein Sea Marbles
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[Underlined] Dinghy Drill [/underlined]
Remove collar & tie before leaving aircraft. 2 pigeons &
[underlined] Pyrotechnics [underlined]
Flare fitted with smaller fins when photo flask flash has Red Band round the nose and Flash written underneath in white.
Flare just has single Red Band
[Underlined] Flare 4.5 or 5.5 42 FUSE MKII [/underlined]
[Diagram]
[underlined] 848 FUSE [/underlined]
[Diagram]
[underlined] Recco Flare 4.5 or 5.5 [underlined]
Burrs for 6 minutes @ 3000 feet & parachute 11 feet.
[underlined] Flash [/underlined]
Contains 13 1/ 2 lb magnesium, illuminates 17,500,000 Ca Rear
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[underlined] 42 FUSE [/underlined]
[Diagram]
[underlined] Electrics [/underlined]
[underlined] compasses [/underlined] needle mounted on 4 magnets
Grid ring rotating, rubber barb mounted fore & aft of a/c
[underlined] Altimeter [/underlined] 14.7 lbs – 1013 mille bars [Diagram]
[underlined] Rate of Climb [underlined] [Diagram]
[underlined] Air speed indicator [/underlined]
[Diagram]
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[indecipherable word] Indicators Group
[Diagram]
Amount of section to operate rotor 3-5 ins of mercury [indecipherable word] to amount of section [indecipherable word]
In the air. Switch to other pump.
[underlined] Artificial Horizon [/underlined] Gyro operated Controlled by air pressure forced in through 4 holes controlled by 4 veins which operate or airflow to return gyro to normal position after movement.
[underlined] Yarn & Bomb [/underlined]
Only 1 gyro ball ring for gyro mounting. Sloping Controller the movement of tipping.
Figure 1 = 360 ° per min
Figure 2 = 660° per min
Figure 3 = 880° per min
Figure 4 = 1080° per min
[underlined] Sideslip [/underlined] Operated from a pendulous weight moving a needle
All instruments operated by vacuum are unusable when glass is cracked.
[deleted] [indecipherable words] [/deleted]
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George (Automatic Pilot) Controls Rudder, Elevators & Ailerons, operated by air pressure.
3 Lever motors operate the 3 controls
The rotor is fitted or the port fuselage accurate on 2 Gymbal [sic] Rings
[Diagram]
[Diagram]
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When the 3 way cock is in the out position air [indecipherable word] from compressor through the air dryer and back to compressor. In the return [indecipherable word] to compressor is fitted an air inter be throttle. The Gyro takes 6 to 8 [indecipherable word] to run up and when at full open is doing 10,000 RPM.
Min Control Lock
It has a 3 way – out-spin-in All clutches must be engages on servo motors on the ground before a/c takes off. (this is done by moving controls through full range )
Pitch Altitude Control.
The turn regulator must be switched on before the left or right turn lever [indecipherable word]
be applied. George Ground Check.
Check oil level in oil bottle (oil is anti freeze Type A.) 34/A Also check silica gell [sic] in air dryer this lasts for about 10 Engine hours. See what the main control lock is in the out position, starting [indecipherable word]
In [deleted] Gyro [/deleted] zero, altitude control zero & all clutches
[underlined] IN [/deleted]
On Starting Engine check air rods cold in garage. Engaging George in air.
More main Control level to spin. Check altitude Control & Steaming lever in zero, Trim Eye to fly hands off & set on course, if rotation at Gyro has been for 6 to 8 minutes [indecipherable word]
Main Control back to [underlined] IN [/underlined] to climb in dive operate Control (attitude) accordingly.
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[Diagram]
Charging Circuit
To change course use Steering Lever. Auto Control Main Switch must be on to [underlined] TURN [/underlined]
Accumulators Tool Test
Switch in tool at approx. 8 amps (1/ 10 of acc’s capacity) Leave it on for 5 minutes. At the end of which time check recordings on Volt Meter with lever still switched on. Voltage should not have dropped below 14 V. Note if it has dropped below 14 v Get accs charged before flights.
[underlined] If 1 Battery is U.S [/underlined]
Due to enemy action disconnect the 1 in serves with it and run on too that are left. Keep the good one & ditch the U.S one.
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[underlined] Change Warning Light [/underlined]
Generators not developing any Voltage – [underlined] Light On [/underlined]
Generators developing 26 to 29V, Charging OK – [underlined] Light off [/underlined]
Main Fuse blown and a heavy load on the other Generator – [underlined] Bright red Light [/underlined]
[underlined] Accumulator Circuit [/underlined]
This is on auto switch electricity operated which connects the accs to the [symbol] when the generator rise above that of the acc’s and disconnects the [symbol] when the voltage falls below. It cuts out at 27 & cuts in at 29.
[underlined] Voltage Regulator [/underlined]
Colour File Type is designed to keep the V constant at all varying engine speed & loads. Consists of 2 main ports(1) The voltage coil which keeps the voltage constant at all engine speeds (2) The current which safeguards the [symbol] by redoing the voltage to a safe limit when the [symbol] is [indecipherable word] its maximum i.e 60 amps.
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[Diagram]
Broke solenoid allow motor to run after a/c has reached end of travel by declutching. Acc locks off brake.
[Underlined] Emergency Operation of Under Carriage [/underlined]
(1) Wind out Red Star Wheel [symbol]. Making some master. Switch is in off position.
(2) Pull out No 1 lever which engages the front engine shaft.
(3) Exert Pressure on Green Lever whilst rocking the agitators until green lever reaches the end of its travel.
(4) Engage operating handle and turn until the Green Light comes on then give extra turn as stated on instruction plate.
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[Blank Page]
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Makers Course
Fuel System
Inter-Wing balance lock opens [symbol]
Butterfly cock instead of [indecipherable word] lock for Pres. Ref. on the list.
Butterfly cock 3 way wobble provisioning – all off - [indecipherable words] on
Mortar locks – Hand locks – RAE Fuller - [indecipherable words]
Red Light – Arial Valve – knob 25 [symbol]
Fuel Press. Gauge moved from intake to [indecipherable words]
Comes on when fuel pres. drops to 15lbs.
Stop priming when red light goes out or watch gauge for fuel press approach to normal.
Primary lock – main - special – OFF. To 2nd locks Min outer off.
Prime at starting is correct method [underlined] not [/underlined] before.
No 7 cock least pull up to open & prime.
Wing cell tanks control Inboard of Red star wheel attached to button of spur frame.
Block Unionised Rubber or Superflexit.
[underlined] Wing Bell Tanks [/underlined]
Provision is made for 3 Overload tanks to be fitted in the wing Bomb bells on either side. These are all Self Sealing. A Common Filling Point & branch pipe line to each tank and a common vent make provision for refuelling. In the common fuel pipeline which runs to the inbound distributes only are situated 3 NRV’s to prevent fuel running from a full tank to an empty one. The fuel pip tune together with the MRV’s is fitted.
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Along in front of the rear spar frame at the rear of the wing bomb cell and joins the pipe line from No I & II tank as it runs into the distributor. I lock operate for all tree tanks and is situated in the feed line between the inner cell tank & the fuselage on either side, and the control bars converted by Bowler Cable to a pulley controlled cock and situated behind the rear spar frame on the floor. The Starboard Control is just in front of the Red Stow Wheel and the Port is a corresponding position on the opposite side of the fuselage.
In practise the Wing fuel tanks are being fitted when needed for long range flights [indecipherable word] work the naval [indecipherable word] which included Nos 7 tanks.
No 7 tanks are used under such circumstance with the first Engine Balance Cocks and where the system operates as a normal one with the Wing sell tanks taking the place of one tank on either side for the inbound system only, that is No 7 for bother inner and outer.
Change to No 1 for Inboard No 3 for Outboard.
Change to W6 % for Inboard No 6- 5 for outboard
Change to 2 for inboard No 4 for outboard.
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And balance if accessory.
When W 6 % are being used a good check [missing word] be kept on the sat fuel consumption by computer & comparison of the amount the outboard engine are consuming (by gauge)
Provided the R.P.M. Boost & mixture for all 4 Engines are synchronised as will be the general case they should all be consuming the same amount so a good idea of the amount left in the W 6% can be calculated. Also the F/E should keep a careful watch on the fuel pressure gauge or (warning lights) & change over if this should start to fall.
Tank Damage
Drill to be carried out by F/E after covering the target area, or at any time when the aircraft has been subjected to enemy fire.
(1.) If not already running on 2 &$ Port and Stbd, change over to these two tanks; [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] check that all other tanks & Balance locks are off. Check control cable to tank locks before changing over.
(2.) Take a reading of all fuel tanks containing fuel; note contents & time.
(3.) After a period of 5 minutes check the tank contents again, note especially 2-4 &5 tanks as these have the largest capacity.
(4.) If any loss is shown on tanks other than 2 & 4 then those tanks are obviously damaged.
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(5.) If loss is shown on 2 & 4 damage may be to the tanks or to the pipe line because these tanks are feeding the engines. To check tanks, change to another tank in each system already checked and then treat 2 & 4 as tanks not in use. If a loss is now shown on a 2 or 4 tanks it is the [underlined] tanks [/underlined] which is leaking.
Pipe Line Damage
(1.) Whilst carrying out the check on the tanks if the pipe line is damaged it will be noticed that the no 2 or 4 tank on the particular system in which the damaged pipe line is, will be giving an excessive Engine Consumption units in comparison with the other 3 engines or Computer check against boost & revs. It could be the tank or the pipe line, but having already checked the tanks the [sic] it must be the fuel line from the tank to the engines.
(2.) To Cross-check change over to a tank already checked, if the consumption is still in excess on this fresh tank then the damage is in the fuel line.
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Action to Take
If it is found to be a tank that is damaged the F/E should make use of the fuel remaining by running two or more engines (depending on the size of the tank & size of damage) off this one tank. He should take care to change over before the tank runs dry. Having [indecipherable words] drained the tank he should turn off the cock and leave it off for the rest of the flight thereby isolating the damage & the rest of the system can be used without further loss of fuel. If it is a pipeline that is damaged, then whichever tanks in that system is turned on it will show a loss, so it is necessary to drain the system, one tenth at a time on as many engine as is safe. When the system is drained feather the prop & proceed as normal on 3 engines, the corresponding system on the other side can be [undecipherable words] leaving sufficient fuel in the system to come into land with without having to use the inter-engine Balance lock in the undamaged mainplane.
Wobble Ramp
This too has found useful for airlocks but it is no use trying to make it take the place of a fuel gauge over -4 to 0 Boost at 1900RPM
An outbound Engine may be kept running by
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[indecipherable word] of the Wobble pump, providing that the main fuel to the inboard engine is not damaged on the tank side of the NRN.
If on the Inboard Engine may be run on the Wobble pumps providing the main fuel line is not damaged in any way on other side.
[underlined] Oxygen System [/underlined]
Test oxygen on the ground first is climbing to 15,000 ft at 2,000 per min.
When changing M to S with a Bomb load. If Mark X Regulator instruments glass goes long interchange with boost gauge cover.
A.M.O- A247 (18/3/93)
Para II (1.) Oxygen is to be used from ground level when climbing to over 15,000ft at a rate of 2,000 feet per minute.
(2.) To ensure goof night vision Oxygen is to be used from ground level by crews of night flights aircraft engaged on ops.
(3.) Oxygen is to be used by all occupants of aircraft flying at heights above 10,000ft.
(a) If the flight is likely to last more than 1 hour above 10,000ft
(b) If the flight is at night or (c) if the cold
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is extreme
(4.) Oxygen is to be used by all occupants when the aircraft reaches a height of 15,000ft
(5) At night pilots and air gunners of bomber aircraft are to continue to use oxygen until the aircraft has landed, in order retain minimum night vision.
Bomber a/c filled with [indecipherable word]
When oxygen is required as laid down in para II sub para I & (2) as above the Regulator is to be set initially to the 15,000 ft mark. When 15,000ft is reached the Regulator is to be set to 15,000 ft at 20,000 ft or above the regulator is to be set at least 5,000 in excess of the altimeter height.
Para 1g Lines on uses of oxygen order no form but may be beneficial during the performance of arduous task, the flow laid down above should be regarded as a minimum and may be increased but only if the endurance of the oxygen supply will still be adequate for the completion of the flight.
Oxygen Regulator X & XA
Endurance of 1 x 750 liter cylinder Mark V per man to manifold Mark IC.
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[Table]
Position of Portable Oxygen Bottle Mark III
(1) Port side bomb aimers compartment
(2) No 2 & 3 back of second pilot seat
(3) No 5 Starboard floor front of front spar frame.
(4) No 5 on the floor starboard side behind front apex frame.
(5) No 6 Port side on Floor between draft door & rear spar frame.
(6) No 7 Starboard side opposite main entrance door.
(7) No 8 On rear gunners parachute escape unit
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[underlined] Electrics [/underlined]
Fuse No 25 for Undercarriage circuit.
No general volt meter only 2 Red warning lights. No amp meter when; voltmeter fitted in long level circuit.
If red warning lights the [indecipherable words]
Accumulator Charging Circuit
There are 4 x 12 x accumulators situated in the rest position connected I series parallel supplying the power for the operation of all electrical circuits in the aircraft. These accumulators are kept fully charged by two generators driven by the inboard engines. The generators are connected to the accumulator automatically when the voltage of each generator rises above that of the accumulator i.e at an engine speed of between 1700 & 1800 RPM. The normal charge rate indicated on the ohmmeter (not in Mark III) in between 5 & 20 amps, depending in the state of the charge of the accumulator. Whilst a heavy load is being taken from the accumulator e.g. undercarriage retraction, the charge rate from the two generators will increase to 50 amps charging and the voltage will fall to about 22 volts. The F/E should check the charge rate & voltage frequently after starting the engine and during flight.
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every 5 minutes throughout the trip.
After the operation of starters, undercarriage motors etc, the F/E should check that the charge rate & voltage return towards normal within 3 minutes of the completion of the operation.
Fuse Position Service Operating
Bomb Aimer Compartment Starboard side on Selector Panel} 2 Fuses for Bomb firing, nose & tail 5 amp
Same Position {1 x 40 amp fuse for Bomb Releasing
Same Position {1 x 2.5 amp fuse for Distribution Heating
Bomb/A Compartment Port Side {1.25 amp fuse for LR compass 1 x 1.25 amp fuse for Bomb Sight Sign
Navigator Position, Port Side on Armoured Bulk Head {1 fuse for altimeter
Joe Soaps Shop, Starboard Side forward of Front Spar Main Fuse Panel for General Services (64 fuses)
Between Rear Spar & Soft proof Bulkhead on Relay Panel Port & Std 1 x 60 amp each side for Generators 2 Booster 5 amp coil fuses cock side
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In each Turret 1 Heated clothing Fuse 1 Reflective Light Fuse 1 Call light Fuse
[Diagram]
Engine Running in Feathering Circuit
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[Diagram]
[underlined] Short Make [/Underlined]
There are 7 valves inside the ly [sic] 2 large – 650 UA 4 @ 75lbs [symbol] + 1 return valve at75 lb [symbol]
The [indecipherable word] by which is indicated by a yard red bond around the outside of the beside a wooden block fitted in the upper portion and a 2 inch extra liner inside. [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] which shortens the external by 2”
Fitted Short Leg.
(1.) Leg fully extended
(2.) Connect oil pump to it & open half a turn remove (a) plug (if by is empty it will hold 1 gall of oil approx.) DTD 34A/44 type A into freeze.
(3.) Pump oil in at D when solid oil exudes from A replace plug A
(4.) Connect air pump to B and fill to 15 – 100 lbs [symbol]
(5.) Pump in required pressure from an 8 inch extruder 535-560 lbs [symbol]
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[Diagram]
Filling of Turner Leg
(1) Connect up oil pump to air & oil delivery valve, pump in out 5 pints of oil, disconnect oil pump
(2) Connect the air pump & deliver pressure 75-100lb [symbol] apply this pressure for 5 minutes then undo oil back plug & flow out surplus oil.
Close oil level plug & purge air to 600 – 630 lbs [symbol]
[Table]
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[Table]
Tail Strut Dowty Leg
4’2” 450
4” 485
3 1/2” 535 [indecipherable words] oil
3’ 595
2 1/2” 675
2” 755
1 1/ 2” 875
1 1040
Filling Dowty Leg
(1) Place jack in position
(2) Undo needle valve half a turn allowing the leg to fully compress
(3) Connect up oil pump & pump in oil
(4) Disconnect pump & allow [indecipherable word] oil to blow off
(5) Leg fully extended
(6) Connect pump (oil) & pump up to original pressure of 450 lbs [symbol]
(7) Close needle valve & remove pump
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Operations of selector lever & motor switch to raised position
When the undercarriage selector lever is operated from the down position to the raised position it operate the cable from in the undercarriage recall, select the up Selector Switch depresses the spring in the telescopic strut (this is connected at one end to the cable drum, the other end to the hell comb lever). Preloading the telescopic strut transfers the loading effect to the cell [indecipherable word] lever so that when the locking cam [indecipherable word] over it will return the locking cam in position.
The electric motor will now operate.
The undercarriage will [indecipherable word] at the brace hinge joint, in lever being, the Down Trip Switch will be pushed in making the contacts for the relay circuit & [indecipherable word]. The indicator light switch will come out extinguishing the Green Light. The Undercarriage controls to go up until the hook of the undercarriage comes up against the locking cam pushing it over & breaking the up trip switch (breaking contact for the relay circuit making contact for the Red Helicopter Light) At the same time allowing the hell crumb lever to come over and retain the locking cam position.
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Operation of Selector Lever & Undercarriage
When the undercarriage selection lever is moved from the raised position to the down position it turns the cable drum pushing in the down selector switch, releases the tension on the telescopic strut thus allowing the locking cam to move when the electric motor operates. Select down on the master switch. As the undercarriage commences to come down the undercarriage hook will push the locking cam into it original position, during this action the up trip switch will be pushed in (making contact for the up relay circuit) (breaking contact doe the red indicator light) Undercarriage continues to come down until the down trip switch is broken (down relay circuit & [indecipherable word] circuit ) The green indicator light switch is pushed in making contact for the Green light to come on.
Undercarriage [indecipherable word] lowering Operation
[indecipherable word] Type
When it is required to lower the undercarriage by manual means. Check whether off indicator lever & monitor switch. Check fuse & [indecipherable word], if this check fails to get it to operate, switch off master switch, move locking pin from red star wheel & turn clockwise to full extent, try circuit again.
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If it still refuses to operate, switch of [sic] master switch & remove fuse.
Remove locking pin from [indecipherable word] control box. Turn [indecipherable word] hard 180 & [indecipherable words] and at the same time press the green box through the hard position, continue to [indecipherable word]until press lever [indecipherable words]
Resetting of Undercarriage after manual operations
Manual Operation
Intermediate Type
(1) Wind rest star wheel anti clockwise to the full extent & replace locking pin.
(2) Return long lever to motor position & agitating [sic] [indecipherable word] to home position replace locking pin.
(3) Run flaps fully out
(4) Check that friction wheel is in correct position
(5) Rotate Torque Shaft until slots on tongue of clutch body are opposite the live returning pins, lift clutch body out of engagement with the cog on the strut shaft at the level gear (at this position the flange on the clutch body will be above the retaining pins) Rotate the torque shaft a few more degrees so that the retaining pins will come to rest in the grooves on the
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bottom side of the clutch body flange.
(6) Return the switch to its normal position i.e to the top of the rack.
(7) Rack level gear start shaft at the same [indecipherable word] arresting the pins on [indecipherable word] towards the top stop; when the pinion lever [indecipherable word] up at the to stop discontinue rocking gear.
(8) Lock torque shaft n fuselage.
1/3 Flap for take off
(1) Switch on [indecipherable word] Light by means of pull & push switch
(2) Switch flap motor switch to out position when Red light appears – switch off.
(3) Switch flap motor switch to in position & [indecipherable word] and light is extinguished switch off.
Clicking Flap [indecipherable word]
(1) In flap fully in place i.e. down on a/c straight position of the flap, take a reading
(2) With flap 1/3 out take a second reading having the [indecipherable word] on the norm position the first check the difference [indecipherable word] the first & second reading should be 8” [indecipherable word] + or- 10 mm
(3) With flaps fully out take a third reading having the [indecipherable word] as for the other 2 check the difference between the first and third reading
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should be 26° [symbol] 30mm.
[indecipherable word]
BTH Compressor with 300lb NRY, on port IMOR on front face of auxiliaries – oil seal is starboard side of a [indecipherable word] - [deleted] [indecipherable words][/deleted] Oil trap on Starboard side behind 2nd pilot – 2 NRV on T union – 2 Bottle before which is the charging valve NRV – air filter – Branch to triple pressure gauge is[indecipherable words] lunloys [symbol] relay valve attached to Rudder bars – Bowden Cable to Brake lever, giving progressive & full power looking – correction to Port & Starboard sides from which are to be 2 correction to triple indicators.
(landing light connection left of starboard hatch between NRV & Battle – Control Calve)
Position of Fire Extinguishers
(1.) Under the 2nd Step of Bomb Aimers Compartment (small)
(2) On the lock of 2nd Pilots Seat (small)
(3) Forward side of life in Deck (1 small)
(4) Right hand side of F/E Panel (Large)
(5) On Starboard side of fuselage aft of Escape Hatch (Large)
(6) On Turret side of Rear Turret Draft Screen
Position of Gravity Switch
(1) On Port Side of Front Turret Draft Door
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Merlin Switch
On sloping bulkhead, Port of B/A Compartment.
Flame Switches
2 On the engine side of lock live proof bulkhead
1 Horizontally up port – 1 vertically Bottom Centre
4 Press Button Switches left of Pilot Seat
Hydromantic Prop
5,500 Type made in 2 ranges (1) 10 -90° (2) 18-98 ° Stirling uses (2). Feathering P. 93 ° Fire Patch
25 °Course Pitch 53 ° Constant Speed Range 28 °
Oil Seals
1. Dome to Barrel Seal (Stomper Turret Barrel)
2. Dome Plug Seal
3. Spider to Shaft Oil Seal 1 Steel Washer under rack
4. Blade to Barrel Seals (4)
5. Spider to Barrel (4)
6. Barrel half oil seal.
7.Piston Gasket Seal
Any leakage from any seal but not No2 will be CS Oil & will cause fluctuation in R.P.M
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Damage to Dome if on front it can be feathered but will unfeathered.
Torque loading on the blocks is 50-90ft lbs
Low torque loading may result in prop unfeathering on its own after a time.
Pre loading on blade gear segment is 13-23/000 Pressure off C S oil [underlined] up to [/underlined] 200 lbs [symbol]
Feathering in the air
(1.) R.P.M. Lever in reverse position.
(2) Press Feathering Button
(3) Close throttles
(4) Switch off ignition & [indecipherable word] after engine stops
Unfeathering in air.
(1) R.P.M lever in reverse
(2) Throttle closed
(3) Press Feathering Button & hold in until 600 – 1000R.P.M is attained.
(4) If engine has travelled cold for some time wait until RPM has reached 600 pull out button till 1000 is reached press button to 600 & repeat to circulate oil.
Pressure [indecipherable words] 400 lbs [symbol]
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Installation of Prop.
(1) Press distribution sleeve into positive click unscrew shaft
(2) Install Blade and Barrel assembly onto shaft
(3) Place into position washer & spider to shaft and seal.
(4) Assemble split cone onto hub nut and screw onto airscrew shaft – torque loading 900ft lbs (RHT)
(5) Place [indecipherable word] in position (Extractor)
(6) Screw in Distributor value (LHT) torque loading 100ft lbs make sure of 100% seating
(7) [indecipherable word] lick hub nut & distributor valve, place the [indecipherable word] provided in the grove on the outside of the [indecipherable word] with the peg on the hirchip through one of the holes in the hubnut into one of the [indecipherable word] on the D.Vs
(8) Turn the blades to the backed position & pull the dome opposite the half numbered 1 as the stop plate, [indecipherable word] the outside of the barrel against the peg marked 1 x place done in position, 2 marks aligned & screw down dome nut to 650 lb torque loading. At correct position a lug on the barrel nut [symbol] should line up with a hole marked [symbol] on the blade assembly and grub screws inserted. Then check two blades lock to
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45° by arrow & check on other blades
Constant Speed Unit
Compress spring to [indecipherable word] RP17.
Lump Valve 400lb present Prop Feathering in a dive.
Snags
(1.) Drive to CSU sheared – maximum RP17. (Fine)
(2.) Broken Spring on Valve in CSU – minimum RPM (loose)
(3.) Np Oil to C.S.U. – Maximum PRM (Fine)
(4.) Lining in Distribution Valve Broken – Maximum RPM (Fine)
(5) Feathering Switch stuck. Pressure bit out Switch sticking – Feathers & Unfeathers
[underlined] Carburettors [/underlined]
C.H. AIT 132 M/CI
2 get Boxes
Starboard
Main, SR, Power, Power Bleed
Port
Main, SR, Enriched, Correction Jet
Chokes & Throttle Shaft warmed by oil.
Relief valve 35 lbs
Enrichment jet delivers through 1 hole in each choke wall
Main connector & Power deliver through main delivery
Accelerator & delayed pump deliver through 1 nozzle in each choke
Quality screws enrich slow R mixture by screwing in.
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Air intake Pressure inside link work. Chokers connected with Mixture Control [indecipherable word]
1/2 pint oil in Link Work Chamber. All jets are M.C Except enrichment.
Adjustment of Booster Settings
Start up engine & when worm open throttle to the rated boost position & set RPM to 2,400 and set boost pressure to +6, by adjusting the nut on top of the override stick. Throttle lock to cruising boost, RPM still 2,400 and adjust boost to +2 by means of the topper on the left hand side of the tappet block.
Throttle back to S Running, change to S gear, airscrew fully fine & open throttle to take off boost position, adjust boost to +8 1/4, by means of the centre tappet block. Right hand tappet is Boost Reversal Cam.
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[underlined] Hercules VI [/underlined]
[Diagram]
A.B.C.
Servo piston is pushed down to open throttle. If oil fails – throttle full control.
If capsule breaks = Full control of throttle.
M.C.
Sleeve operated
Still considered serviceable with 2 capsule U.8.
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[underlined] Hercules VI [/underlined]
Bore 5 3/4”
Stroke 6 1/2
Compression Ratio 7-1
Cylinders numbers 1-14 Front Even Back Odd 1 vertical Master Con Rods 4 + 11
Firing Order 1
10 – 5 – 14
9 – 4 – 13
8 – 3 – 12
7 – 2 – 11
6
Engine Handling
Cylinder Head Temps
Takeoff [sic] – Max 230°C at start of run
Climbing – 270 °C Max limit for 1/2 hour
Cruising – max 270° C indefinite
Emerging Maximum – 280°C
Minimum for Runup [sic] – 140 °C
Oil Temperature
Minimum for Takeoff [sic] – 5° C
Max for Cruising – 80° C
Max for Climbing – 90° C limit for 1/2 hour
Emergency (1 Engine Stopped) – 90° C
All out level Flight – 100° C limit for minutes
[Page Break}
Oil Pressures
Normal Oil Press. = 80 lbs [symbol]”
Minimum Oil Pressure = 70 lbs [symbol]”
[underlined] Ground Setting [/underlined] = 90lbs [symbol] “[indecipherable word] Temp 70 °C and RPM above 2,000
[Diagram]
IVO 15° BTDC
IVC 55° ABDC
EVO 55° BBDC
EVC 15 °ATDC
Slave Valve
3 [indecipherable word] 2 exhaust 1 [indecipherable word] Ring Induction Mark Connection on each junk head for Thermo Couple to pyrometer, only No 1 used on Sterling.
2 Gas Ring on junk head. Lifter Valve set to 350lb on no account to be reset.
Piston
Different on 4 & 11 = 2 Compression Rings
1 Chord Scraper Ring – 1 Rectangular Scraper Ring
All [indecipherable word] = 2 compression Rings – 1 Double turret Ring - 1 Chamfered Scraper Ring
[Page Break]
Jets – drain to Impellor – Breathers
Jets – Rear one set to 35-40. Front one 25-30 In crumb wets – primarily for cooking.
Drive to impellor – from Spring Drive to Hydraulic Clutches. Hydraulic Clutches to Centrifugal Clutch to Impellor.
Valve to Choker Feather, Blower Cover Breather
Front cover Breather, Lit Tank Breather.
Impellor supported on 2 Ball rolls.
Crank Shaft supported on 3 Roller rolls – Front & Centre Self aligning.
Automatic Coupling on Magnetic range of 8° from 16° - 24° of [deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] spark adornment BIDC
Scallops on Main Bearing towards inside, Rural Oil seals inside, Phosphor [indecipherable word]Oil Seal outside against webs.
[Page Break]
Worth Oil Dilution + Oil System Operatives.
After landing, top up all oil tanks and when oil temp has follow heater 45°C restart Engines & runs at approx. 1000 RPM.
Press oil dilution buttons and hold in for approx. 3-4 minutes according to the air temp, stop engines release oil distributor buttons
[Diagram]
SUFFICIENT FOR HEATER IN PIPES IF TANK IS HOLED.
[Page Break]
Lubrication System
Pressure oil is delivered up through a duct in the rear cover into the circular groove of the tail shaft bearing the oil goes through 3 holes into the centre of the tail shaft and along the tailshaft [sic] into the rear web of the crankshaft, some of this pressure oil comes out through a jet set is the web (35-40lbs) but the majority [indecipherable word] onto the rear crank pin, out through holes in the crank pin to lubricate the main bearing and the wrist pins. The oil carries on through the crankshaft to the front crank pin, lubricating the main bearing & unit pins as before, carries on to front crank nut out through & jet in crank nut (25-30lb) and the remainder carries on through the crank shaft into the tail end of the induction gears, up the 3 strut arms to lubricate the final pinion.
High pressure oil is also delivered by means of a pipeline to the front cover, if the front covering a U section ring & holes are drilled from this ring through the casting into the bottom of the slave spindled brushes, travels along the centre of sleeve gear spindles to lubricate the universal joints on the ends of the sleeve. The [indecipherable word] gets its oil from the U-section ring and delivers it to rear of piston in dome, ma/ducts drilled in Reduction Gear coning. 2 Ball Races supporting impellor Shaft are lubricated by an intermittent feed
[Page Break]
fuel pump.
Amal Valve must be mounted not more than a foot above or below the carburettor & with the big spring either towards the bottom or on the side.
Oil Pump
Relief Valve set at 80lb (scroll Restrictor)
Check Valve set at 4 – 10 lb
HIOP Relief Valve set at 200lb
In Hercules VI Check valve has Boil Valve with it to relieve lock pressure from prop.
[underlined] Engine Handling [/underlined]
Starting
If engine has not has [sic] run for 24 hours turn over at least twice by hand.
Starting Drill
Switches off
Throttle primed & Set (Exactor) 1 1/2 open
M.C primed & Set to Normal
Pitch Control primed & Set Fully Fire UP
Master locks – On
Cowling Gills fully open
Air Intakes – Cold
Supercharger – M
Fuel Tanks – 2 + 4 ON – Balance Locks OFF
[Page Break]
Ensure all clear – Wheels chocked
Do not prime Engine until turning over.
Start Engines one at a time PO PI SI SO
Contact
Switch of [sic] Mags & Booster boil
Start Priming
Press Starter & when engine starts screw in Priming Pump switch of Booster boil.
Warming Up
Slow run at approx. 800-1000 RPM until oil temp has risen to 5°- 15°C N.B Oil pressure should rise [underlined] immediately [/underlined] on starting. Wait until Cylinder Head Temp reaches 140 °C while S Running test mags.
Engine Checks
(1) Open throttle to 1500 RPM change to S. gear and observe drop in RPM, Change back to M Gear.
(2) Open throttle to max Cruising Boost, set RPM to 2000 & move throttle forward & backwards RPM should not change, Boost will vary.
(3) With throttle in Max Cruising RPM to 2400. Change to weak mixture – note drop in RPM (1 1/2 to 3 1/2)
(4) Open throttle to the TO Boost Position Pitch fully fire & observe static RPM & Boost
(5) Throttle back to cruising Boost & Test Mags
[Page Break]
Maximum drop 120 RPM.
[underlined] Taxying [/underlined] is normally done on the outboard engines but if the cylinder feed temps exceed 250 °C use alternative with inboard engines taxying RPM should not exceed 1500.
Clear engines prior to take off, hold throttle fully forward to prime.
Take Off
(1) Supercharger – M Gear
(2) Air intakes – cold
(3) Tanks 2 +4 on Balance locks off
(4) Cowling Gills – 3 open
(5) Undercart Fuse – In
(6) M/G Normal
(7) Airscrew – Increase position
(8) Open Throttle fully & takeoff [sic]
Climbing
At a 1,000 ft or after 3 minutes which ever is the sooner throttle back to [indecipherable word] Boost position. RPM 2,400. INS for climbing 155 Max Power is M Gear 5,500 ft. Climb limited to 1/2 hour change to S Gear 6.9000 ft or after losing 2 1/2 lb Boost Rated Altitude in S Gear 13,500.
[Page Break]
General Flying.
At the height required level out and throttle back to Cruising Boost position and set the I.A.S. by adjusting the RPM, M/C is weak.
.
Recommended speed IAS 170 loaded.
Prime Exactors every 20 minutes in flight . Test Weak Mixture every 20 minutes.
Never use S gear except when climbing above 9,000 ft or you cannot maintain correct IAS in M Gear but even then it is no good climbing to S Gear unless you can obtain 2 1/2 lb more boost in R mixture or 1 1/2 lb more Boost in weak mix. It is no good using S Gear below 14,500 ft for Cruising. Full Throttle Height in M - +2 – 2400RPM is 11,500 in S Gear 19,000
As aircraft becomes lighter Reduce BHP to maintain need economical IAS by reducing RPM or by flying above full throttle height
Tanks
(1) 80 2 + 4
(2) 331 7 + 3
(3) 63 7 + 6
(4) 254 7 + 5
(5) 164 1 + 5
(6) 81 3 + 5
(7) 154 2 + 4
[Page Break]
Return from Target
After bombs have been delivered IAS down to 165 by decreasing RPM or by flying above full throttle height.
Power Glide down to Base
Reduce RPM to 1800 Boost to -4 and maintain IAS by altering angle of glide.
Approach & Landing
Prime all Extractors. Supercharge – M Gear. Air Intakes – Cold. Tanks 2 + 4, Props – Fine Gills – 1/3 open, M/C – Normal
Landing RPM approx. 7,500.
After Landing
Open Gills fully, Check Supercharger M to S to M. Slow Run for 2 or 3 minutes, Open throttle to 18,00 RPM for 5 -1 0 seconds, Throttle back to Slow Running & pull Cutout [sic]. Switch of mags, turn of [sic] fuel. Close Gills & turn G to F Switch to Ground Remove underant Fuse.
Air Intakes
Always use cold air except when (1) Warming Up (2) Cruising in Cloud, rain, snow etc. (3) Prolonged Gliding.
[Page Break]
Cooling Gills
(1) Starting Up – Fully open
(2) Takeoff [sic] & Landing – 1/3 open
(3) Diving – Fully closed
(4) General Flying – Closes as much as possible without Cyl Head Temp Exceeding Limits.
[Diagram]
Weak Mixture Climb
This is permitted but not recommended this is because the engine overheat.
Engine log is made up every 20 mins and every change of aircraft or engine correction.
Full log is made up every hour and every time a tank is turned on or off.
[deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted]
Factors which effect Range.
Incorrect IUS. Low Boost. High Pres. Cruising is Rich. Using S if M will do. Gills unec[deleted] [indecipherable word] [/deleted] essarily open. Pour jet in through not priming. Flying too high/with heavy load.
[Page Break]
Hercules VI
Normal oil pressure 80lbs [symbol] minimum 70 lbs [symbol]
Minimum oil temp for opening up 15°C Emergency 5°C Maximum cruising oil temp 80°, 30 mins climb 90° Emergency 100° for 5 minutes.
Takeoff [sic] H.P 1615
Takeoff [sic] Cylinder Head Temp 230° before start of run. Max Cyl Head Temp is Flight 270° Emergency 290° All Auto Level Cyl Head 280° Emergency 300°C
Hercules XI
Bore 5.75
Supercharger gear ratio M – 5 .27 S – 7.56
Weigh Dry 1840lbs Carb CH.AIT 122/M
Oil Temp & Press some as VI
Takeoff [sic] H.P 1525-1590
Takeoff [sic] Boost & Runs +6 3/4 – 2800
Rated Boost +3 1/2 – 2500
Maximum Cruising +1 – 2500
Max diving Revs – 20 seconds – 3120 +6 3/4
Fuses to be taken out after [underlined] leaving English coast on operations [/underlined]
Fuses 5+6/ +7
5 – Navigation Lights
6 – Formation Keeping Lights
7 – Identification and Recognition Lights
[Page Break]
Fuses to be taken out before leaving [underlined] aircraft [/underlined]
Fuse 75 – Undercarriage
Fuse 74 – Engine Starting & Airscrew Hydraulic Control
Fuse 36 – Dinghy Inflation Circuit.
Fuse 43 – Engine Starting & Airscrew Hydraulic Control
Fuse 50 – Pets Head Healing
Fuse 58 – Tri – cell -Flore chute.
Fuse 14 – Grovinor System Circuit.
[Page Break]
[Blank Page]
[Page Break]
1st week – Airframe
2nd week – Electrics
3rd week Making Course
4th week – Engines & [indecipherable word]
5th – Engine Handling
6th week Revision & Back up
[underlined] Abandoning by Parachute. Stirling [underlined]
[underlined] Engineers [/underlined]
Normal Method.
(1.) At Engine Controls.
(2.) Acknowledge Order
Move forward.
Check Parachute Harness is secure.
Collect & fit Pack from stowage opposite W.C
(3.) Move to forward compartment
(4.) Prepare to jump.
(5.) Face forward & leave plane after front Gunner, head first
Emergency method.
(1) At Engine Controls
Acknowledge Parachute is secure (Harness)
(2) Collect & fit Pack
Move aft to Mid Escape Hatch
(3) Open Mid Escape Hatch
Face aft & leave aircraft by mid Hatch, feet first.
[calculations]
High Value Fuel; 3411/111
[Page Break]
R. Horrington
11 [indecipherable word] Road
North Chingford
E.4.
T Jeffconte
37 Walter Road
[indecipherable word]
On Thames
[indecipherable word]
[deleted] [indecipherable words] [/deleted]
[Diagram]
[calculations]
[Page Break]
[Graph]
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
Stirling course notes
Description
An account of the resource
AF Notebook. Contains graph, lists of engine types, aircraft details, diagram of aircraft, notes and diagrams of fuel system, handling notes and procedures. Notes on equipment including dinghies and drills, pyrotechnics, emergency packs, automatic pilot, various equipment and other drills.
Creator
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A Gould
Format
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Multi page booklet
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Identifier
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MGouldAG1605203-160708-10
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
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. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Conforms To
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Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Claire Monk
aircrew
flight engineer
Stirling
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/698/26261/EBattyAHDBattyGV41XXXX-010001.1.jpg
84b0bd144544839e65d7fbc332f69f0b
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/698/26261/EBattyAHDBattyGV41XXXX-010002.1.jpg
f189f542b546c440467ba37755e028a6
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
Batty, Dennis
Arthur Henry Dennis Batty
A H D Batty
Description
An account of the resource
Twelve items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Arthur Dennis Batty DFM (1920 - 1941, 619060, Royal Air Force) and consists of his diary, letters and documents. He flew operations as an air gunner with 226 Squadron. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Christine Aram and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />Additional information on Dennis Batty is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/201592/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2015-10-01
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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Batty, AHD
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
F/SGT. D. BATTY.
SGTS MESS.
CGS
RAF.
CASTLE KENNEDY.
STRANRAER
[underlined] SCOTLAND [/underlined]
[inserted] Dennis last letter to me. [/inserted]
Dear Mother,
I received the paper & cigs today, thanks a lot, I am getting used to this now & have my first exam tomorrow on Sights etc. it promises to be tough but I think that I have it weighed up OK.
Some good news, I shall manage to get Home on Monday the 11th of August late at night if everything goes OK. I am going to
[page break]
Belfast this Monday if I can get for 2 days but I couldn’t get home & back I time.
Well, I am now continuing I left this off last night, I had the exam today & think I got through OK, but still have another fortnight or so to go yet Well give my love to all, I’m getting pretty lazy here so I will finish now, must write to Joan Winnie & Rose so Au Revoir,
Love to all,
[underlined] Dennis [/underlined]
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
Letter from Dennis Batty to his mother
Description
An account of the resource
Reports arrival of paper and cigarettes. mentions taking exam and he will be able to get home for a leave. Continues next day, writes of taking exam that day and others in the future. Annotated 'Dennis last letter to me'.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A H D Batty
Format
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Two page handwritten letter
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Correspondence
Identifier
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EBattyAHDBattyGV41XXXX-01
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Scotland
Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway
Scotland--Stranraer
Scotland
Great Britain
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
Steve Christian
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
RAF Castle Kennedy
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/698/26262/EBattyAHDBattyGV-A[Date]-010001.jpg
2dba7a3555bfd8d513168a8c14208d2b
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/698/26262/EBattyAHDBattyGV-A[Date]-010002.jpg
8f03ce2649d660dc39d1a449687ef380
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
Batty, Dennis
Arthur Henry Dennis Batty
A H D Batty
Description
An account of the resource
Twelve items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Arthur Dennis Batty DFM (1920 - 1941, 619060, Royal Air Force) and consists of his diary, letters and documents. He flew operations as an air gunner with 226 Squadron. <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Christine Aram and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />Additional information on Dennis Batty is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/201592/">IBCC Losses Database</a>.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-01
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. 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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Batty, AHD
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
F/Sgt. D Batty.
SGTS MESS
CENTRAL GUNNERY SCHOOL
CASTLE KENNEDY
NR STRANRAER
[underlined] SCOTLAND [/underlined]
Dear Mother, & Dad,
Am pleased to say that I arrived OK yesterday & of course, I could have had another day at home ’cos [sic] no one knew that I was coming.
Well this place is terrible I am living in tents, there are 35 of us here & it seems that the Camp has only been made a fortnight & you can guess what it is like no shops for miles right out in the Highlands that’s why I am using part of my exercise books to write letters we cant get any writing paper, well I shall probably be home again within a month that’s all the course is. So all the best for now, Keep Well love to all,
Your loving Son
[underlined] Dennis [/underlined]
[page break]
Dennis [deleted] Last [/deleted] letter
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
Letter from Dennis Batty to his parents
Description
An account of the resource
Reports his arrival at Castle Kennedy and comments on the state of the camp. Mentions he should be home in a month after course complete.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A H D Batty
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EBattyAHDBattyGV-A[Date]-01
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway
Scotland--Stranraer
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 Christian
air gunner
Air Gunnery School
aircrew
military living conditions
RAF Castle Kennedy
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/416/7526/MMarshA542744-151026-01.2.pdf
cbf606a275ee1a837c42c6e492b30416
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
Twells, Ernest
Ernie Twells
E Twells
Description
An account of the resource
19 items. The collection concerns Flying Officer Ernie Twells DFC (1909 - 1979, 6042416, 805035 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books training notebooks, his medals and lucky mascot. It also includes a scrap book of photographs.
Ernie Twells served as an engine fitter before remustering as a flight engineer. He completed 65 operations with 619 and 617 Squadrons including sinking the Tirpitz.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Ernest Twells and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10-26
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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Twells, E
Access Rights
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Permission granted for commercial projects
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Form 619.
ROYAL AIR FORCE
Notebook for use in Schools.
[page break]
Climbing +6 Booot [sic] 2700 wpm
QFE Borometric [sic] Pressure
[page break]
Starting [underlined] 1 [/underlined] Check u/c Indicator.
[underlined] 2 [/underlined] Brake Pressure. [underlined] 3 [/underlined] Flap Gauge. [underlined 4 [/underlined] D.R. Compass [underlined] 5 [/underlined] Idle Cut off Switches. [underlined] 6 [/underlined] Check Supercharge Switches [underlined] 7 [/underlined] Exhust [sic] Muffs. [underlined] 8 [/underlined] Bomb Slips, Check leading edge hinge portions. [underlined] 9 [/underlined] Engine starting S0. S1. P0. P1. When engine kick put idle cut off to ON if engine fails t start idle off. Props to fine Rad 60 – 65o oil 20 – 25o oil pressure building up Run up engines, Test intercom, check M to S gear at 4lbs. – drop 1/2 lb. On take off if bomb load flaps at 15o if light 10o flaps. Switch on Pilot head, Do not take off with rad flaps down. Check oxygen. Check that Gauge has clutch in & pressure gauge reads 60lbs/[symbol]. When feathering press feathering button, switch off Idle cut off switch & turn off master cock
Engineers. Log
[underlined] Capt Total Fuel Bomb Load All UP Weight at Take off [/underlined]
[underlined] Airframe No Air Intake Supercharge Auto Controls [/underlined]
[underlined] Pressure Head Control Unlocked DR [/underlined]
[underlined] Target Track miles Sqdn No Date [/underlined]
[table]
[page break]
[deleted] Fuel System [/deleted] Engineers Checks
[underlined] 1 [/underlined] Petrol Head Cover.
[underlined] 2 [/underlined] Leading Edge Secure
[underlined] 3 [/underlined] Chocks in Position
[underlined] 4 [/underlined] Check Jury Strub External
[underlined] 5 [/underlined] General check on coulings.
[underlined] 6 [/underlined] Check oleo extension on unfamiliar machines
[underlined 7 [/underlined] First aid, starb hole
[underlined] 8 [/underlined] Marine distress signals. Port side
[underlined] 9 [/underlined] Fire extinguisher & portable oxygen bottles
[underlined] 10 [/underlined] Bomb slip covers & Escape hatches Fuselage
[underlined] 11 [/underlined] Check pyrotechnics
[underlined] 12 [/underlined] Main oxygen cock. Rear seat position
[underlined] 13 [/underlined] Check emergency air Bottles. [underlined] 1200 lbs [/underlined
[underlined] 14 [/underlined] Hydraulic accumulator 220lbs/[symbol]” no pressure.
[underlined] 15 [/underlined] Check oil reservoir – hydraulic system
[underlined] 16 [/underlined] Fuel balance cock.
[underlined] 17 [/underlined] Main fuse panel – [underlined] Negative earthing switch down [/underlined]
[underlined] 18 [/underlined] Ground to Flight switch.
[underlined] 19 [/underlined] Turn on master switch. [underlined] Eng [/underlined]
[underlined] 20 [/underlined] Check fuel contents, with tail down, chort [underlined] Pond [/underlined]
[underlined] 21 [/underlined] Check fuel [underlined] pumps [/underlined]
Starting XX & XXII
[underlined] 1 [/underlined] Select no 2 tank & put all fuel pumps on
[underlined] 2 [/underlined] Turn on master cocks all engine
[underlined] 3 [/underlined] Check brake pressure.
[underlined] 4 [/underlined] Check U/C lever – locked down, flaps neutral, & bomb doors closed
[page break]
[underlined] 5 [/underlined] Turn flap indicator switch on & U/C warning light
[underlined] 6 [/underlined] Hot & cold air lever to cold.
[underlined] 7 [/underlined] Airscrew to fine
[underlined] 8 [/underlined] Supercharger on M gear.
[underlined] 9 [/underlined] Boost cut out lever up
[underlined] 10 [/underlined] Ground/Flight switch off
[underlined] 11 [/underlined] Booster coil switch on.
[underlined] 12 [/underlined] Start engines & check oil pressure after starting each engine.
[underlined 13 [/underlined] After starting – Turn off booster coil.
[underlined] 14 [/underlined] Select No 1 tanks.
[underlined] 15 [/underlined] Ground/Flight switch to flight.
[underlined] 16 [/underlined] Wait for minimum temps & run up & test, checking both vacuum pumps.
Cross Checks
[underlined] 1 [/underlined] Bomb doors closed
[underlined] 2 [/underlined] H & C air to cold.
[underlined] 3 [/underlined] Nav lights off Before
[underlined] 4 [/underlined] T R 9 normal & special switch – off [underlined] Taxiing [/underlined]
[underlined] 5 [/underlined] Auto main control switch off
[underlined] 6 [/underlined] Mixer Box to isolated position I.C.
[underlined] 7 [/underlined] Auto controls, clutch IN, control out
[underlined] 8 [/underlined] D.R. compass ON & to setting
[underlined] 9 [/underlined] Set altimeter.
[underlined] 10 [/underlined] Check U/C warning lights change over switch
[underlined] 11 [/underlined] Lock magnets switches on
[underlined] 12 [/underlined] IFF switch off (Identification freind [sic] or foe).
[page break]
[underlined] 13 [/underlined] Oxygen regulator & oxygen test.
[underlined 14 [/underlined] T.R.9. Ground Test.
[underlined] 15 [/underlined] Check Jury struts removed
Taxi to take off position
[underlined] 1 [/underlined] Put correct flaps degree down 15o light 25o heavy
[underlined] 2 [/underlined] A/S fully fine friction nut tight
[underlined] 3 [/underlined] Trimmers ([underlined] centralised [/underlined])
[underlined] 4 [/underlined] Check Engineers panel. Main selector cocks to no 1 tanks & all fuel pumps on.
[underlined] 5 [/underlined] Pilot head heater on.
[underlined] 6 [/underlined] Final brake pressure check
[underlined] 7 [/underlined] Turn into wind, Directional Gyro to nought.
[underlined] 8 [/underlined] Turn all lights off
[underlined] 9 Clear engines [/underlined]
[underlined] 10 [/underlined] Check engine temperatures
[deleted] [underlined] 11 [/underlined] [/deleted]
Overide [sic] Switches:- Can only be automatic OP fully open.
Radiator flaps are to be open when the coolent temp reaches 90o or oil 80o C this should keep the oil pressure between 70 & 80 lb/[symbol]”
Following is a guide.
[bracketed] Ground running Taxiing Marshalling for TO. [/bracketed] All engine Rad flaps open
Take off & climb Inboard rad auto. Outboard open.
Cruising – all automatic normally
Only open for any particular engine if necessary
[page break]
Port Outboard, - AR operator for TR1335
& Rear Turret Pump
Port Inboard – RAE compressor
1500 watt generator – general service
Pesco vacuum pump
General service hydraulic pump
Mid under turret pump if fitted
Start Inboard – Maywood compressor – A Bank
1500 watt generator – General services
Pesco vacuum pump
Hydraulic pump general service
Front turret pump
Start Outboard – Mid upper turret pump
Lancaster III Merlin XXVIII Stromberg bomb
Starting procedure Merlin XXVIII
[underlined] 1 [/underlined] Note that pneumatic air pressure is 130 lbs/[symbol]” minimum
[underlined] 2 [/underlined] Set the throttle lever to about 1” from the slow running stop I.E. 1000 to 1200 rpm
[underlined] 3 [/underlined] Close the master fuel cocks of all stationary engines turn main selector cocks to No 2 tanks & turn on tank fuel booster pumps.
[underlined] 4 [/underlined] Put Idle cut off switches to the I.C.O. position switch on booster coil & main ignition switches
[underlined] 5 [/underlined] Turn on master fuel cock of engine to be started, prime in the normal manner, & press starter button
[page break]
[underlined] 6 [/underlined] As soon as the engine fires on the doping fuel [deleted] swit [/deleted] put the I.C.O. switch to the engine on position & the engine should then push up on the carb
[underlined] 7 [/underlined] If the engine fails to pick up immediately put the I.C.O. switch back to the I.C.O. position & carry on as in [underlined] 6 [/underlined]
[underlined] Note [/underlined]:- The fuel booster pumps must never be switched on with the fuel cock open & the engine stationary unless either the ICO switch is in the ICO position or the master fuel cocks are off, as flooding of the engine will result
Pneumatic System:- The radiator shutters are automatically operated by means of a capilliory [sic] & thermostatic switch which allows air to open or close the shutter. The shutters are opened at 115oC & closed at 109oC
If the services develope [sic] a leak the immediat [sic] action is come down to M gear altitudes watch engine temperatures & do not make any steep climbs keep boost pressure down, for I.C.O. no action in air necessary.
[page break]
[underlined] Emergency Air System [/underlined]:-
[diagram]
Controls
Rudder operated by pendulum type pedal fixed to general shafts, the port pedal is connected to upper push-pull rod which is in five lengths. the auxiliary rod connect to upper push pull rod disopears [sic] into the tail-plane & is connected to a bell crank lever on to the other end of bell crank lever is connected two rods which go out-board & are connected to two similar bell crank levers which in turn are connected to actualizing rods which are fixed to the king posts of Rudders.
[page break]
Elevators:- A arm from the control Column has a lug attached to which the middle push-pull rod is connected & this goes underneath the tail plane to a single lug attachment which controls elevators,
[diagram]
[deleted] indecipherable words [/deleted]
[underlined] Jammed Controls [/underlined] :-
Fuses:-
[underlined] 1 [/underlined] 5 amps Nav lights
[underlined] 2 [/underlined] 5 amps Wing Tip resin lamps
[underlined] 3 [/underlined] 5 amps/10 amps Up & Down Ident.
[underlined] 4 [/underlined] 10 amps D.R. Compass
([underlined] 5 [/underlined]) [underlined] 10 amps Stromberg Idle cutoff Merlin XXVIII[/underlined]
([underlined] 5 [/underlined]) 10 amps [underlined] Main feed to IFF Merlin XX
[underlined] 6 [/underlined] 5 amps 1 pilots floodlight
[underlined] 7 [/underlined] 10 amps Interior fuselage lighting, Cockpit, Cabin. Sockets etc
[underlined] 8 [/underlined] 5 amps Landing flap indicator
[underlined] 9 [/underlined] 10 amps Camera
[underlined] 10 [/underlined] 20 amps Fire Extinguishers
[underlined] 11 [/underlined] 10 amps Pressure Head
[underlined] 12 [/underlined] 5 amps Auto Controls
[underlined] 13 [/underlined] 5 amps U/c Indicator lamps.
[page break]
[underlined] 14 [/underlined] 5 amps U/C Warning Buzzer
[bracketed] [underlined] 15 [/underlined] 40 amps[underlined] 16 [/underlined] 40 amp [/bracketed] Wireless operator
[underlined] 17 [/underlined] 20 amp Bcom approch [sic] recievers [sic] (only on latest A/C)
[bracketed] [underlined] 18 [/underlined] [underlined] 19 [/underlined] [underlined] 20 [/underlined] [underlined] 21 [/underlined] [/bracketed] 20 amps Cowl gills for MKII Hercules Lancaster only
[underlined] 22 [/underlined] 20 amp – Landing lamp No 1 (Filament)
[underlined] 23 [/underlined] 20 amp “ “ No 2 (Filament)
[underlined] 24 [/underlined] Dinghy
[underlined] 25 [/underlined] Engine starting & Ignition Booster Coil
[underlined] 26 [/underlined] 10 amp Supercharge Control. (Fuse for warning lamp supercharge control is on Former F in Rose)
[underlined] 27 [/underlined] 10 amp – For Heated clothing excluding turrets.
[underlined] 28 [/underlined] 20 amp – For Automatic Bombsight.
[underlined] 29 [/underlined] 5 amp – Propellor [sic] anti icing Port
[drawings and diagrams]
30. 5 amp Propeller anti icing starboard
31. 5 amp Fuel contents meters & fuel warning lights
32. 20 amp Supply to rear turret
33. 5 amp Radiator Flap P.O.
34. 5 amp -:- P.I.
35. 5 amp -:- S.I.
36. 5 amp -:- S.O.
37. 5 amp Landing lamp motor No 1
38. 5 amp landing lamp motor No 2
39. 20 amp Supply to front turret
40. 5 amp Worth oil dilution
41. 10 amps Electric fuel pumps Stbd No 3. ( 20 amp if pulsometer type fitted)
42. 10 amps Propellor [sic] Feathering PO
43. 10 amps -:- PI
44. 10 amps -:- SI
45. 10 amps -:- SO
46. 10 amps Fuel pumps Port No3 (20 amp if pulsometer fitted)
47.
48. 5 amps Londex relay Start cut out
49. 10 amps Electric fuel pumps Pt 2 (20 amps if pulsometer fitted)
50. 10 amps -:- Pt 1 -:-
51. 10 amps -:- St 1 -:-
52. 10 amps -;- St 2 -:-
53.
54.
55.
56.
Fuse box on former 24 1. 2 amp for Beam approach [?] A/C only
2. 20 amp Supply to Mid upper.
3. 20 amp Supply to Mid under if fitted
4. 10 amp Intercom call lights
Hydraulics:-
Bleeding after emergency air operation:-
Whenever the U/C & flaps have been lowered by compressed air, the following operations must be carefully carried out to ensure that all air has been removed from the system
1. Ensure that the air control cock has been returned to the off position & that the U/C lever is locked in the down position
2. Jack up the A/C & open the bleeder plugs on the down side of the U/C jacks & on the down side of the flap jacks to release the compressed air
3. Establish the cause of the hydraulic failure & rectify it after topping up the oil in the reservoir.
4. Connect test rig to the ground test couplings & start up the rig at its slowest speed.
5. When a clear column of oil free of air issues from the bleeder plugs on the down side of U/C & flap jacks tighten and relock the plugs & build up to cut out pressure.
6. Select flaps up & U/C up. Should oil issue from vent pipe of emergency air valves give the valve concerned a sharp tap with a hide faced hammer so that the valve returns to to its normal position
7. Fully raise & lower the flaps U/C several times to ensure satisfactory operation & to remove all trapped air
[page break]
8. finally disconnect ground test rig. Remove the lifting jacks from the A/C & reinflate the air bottles to 1200 lbs/sq “. Top up reservoir.
Note :- If jacks are not available disconnect U/C rams from the knuckle joint, fit jury struts & bleed as above.
Defects & Remedies
Automatic cut out. defects in this unit which may cause trouble are as follows.
A. Automatic cut out alternating.
B. Failing to cut out at end of jack travel.
Cause of above A(1) leaking control valve
A(2) – Obstruction or local restriction in line
A(3) – Dirty non return valve in cut out
A(4) – Incorrectly adjusted cut out.
B(1) – Defective jack piston
B(2) – Lack of oil
General Hydraulic Faults and Remedies
Loss of Pressure:-
1. All services inoperative thro failure of either EDP’s or emergency hand pump, replace pump concerned.
2. Internal Leaks:- A. sluggish movement of all services due to excessive clearance in engine driven pumps which allows oil to leak from pressure to the suction side of the pump. Replace pumps concerned.
(B) Sluggish movement on a particular circuit due to oil leakage in control valve. Remove & hand test control valve.
(C) Sagging or returning of flaps, when A/C is stationary or is flying, due to oil leakage in the flap jacks or control box.
(D) If after thorough bleeding of the system the time for any circuit to operate is excessive the jack in the defective circuit should be dismantled & inspected. The trouble would probably be caused by oil leakage passed the jack piston
External leaks:- The most likely places for such leaks to occur are at the pipe connections, control valve operating shaft glands or jack piston rod glands. It is sometimes possible to cure such leaks by merely tightening the connection or gland nut concerned. If further tightening is impracticable or proves ineffective the unit or connection must be dismantled & inspected for damage
Note: tightening of the gland nut should not be resorted to unless permitted in the maintenance notes of the unit concerned
[page break]
Retraction test U/C Up 18 - 20 seconds
Down 20 - 22 seconds.
Flaps Up 8 – 10 seconds
Down 10 - 12 seconds.
Bomb doors Up & down 6 seconds.
Emergency Air U/C down 6 seconds.
[page break]
WITH HOT WATER FOR 5 MINS. PROTECTION FROM OTHER PARTS TIN’D BRASS GAUGE 80 MESH
RADITATERS [SIC]
A TYPE SOLDER 170[DEGREE] C GALLERY TYPE COPRO NICHOL [SIC]
B “ 210[DEGREE] C TUBE FLOW TEST 15 GALS PER ?
1. AFTER REPAIR USE CAUSTIC SODA 2[PERCENT]
2. 5[PERCENT] CHROMIC ACID .75[PERCENT] PHOSPORES [SIC] SYROP BT WEIGHT
3. WASH WITH WATER
PRESURE [SIC] TEST
FILL WITH WATER (COLD) AND AD [SIC] APPROPATE [SIC] PRESSURE FOR ½ HOUR HOT WATER FOR 10 MINS COLD WATER 5 MINS AFTER EACH TIME MESSURE [SIC] TO SEE IF IN ALLOWED DISTORTION. O.K.
[page break]
COOLANTS
[table of constituents of the various forms of anti freeze]
AMAL PRESURE [SIC] REGULATING VALVE
THE PURPOSE IS TO REGULATE THE FUEL SUPLY [SIC] TO THE CARB AT A PREDETERMD [SIC] FIGURE IRRESPECTIVE OF THE NDELIVERY PRESURE [SIC] OF THE FUEL TANK WHEN s/c IS EMPLOYED THE BALLANCE [SIC] CONNECTION PROVIDED ON THE DIAPHRAM COVER SHOULD BE CONNECTED TO THE AIR INTAKE SO THAT THE FUEL PRESSURE WILL BE REGULATED RELATIVE TO THE INTAKE PRESURE [SIC]
[page break]
[table showing FE log for a flight calculating fuel required]
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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Corporal A Marsh's engineering notes
Description
An account of the resource
Handwritten engineering notes recorded during training.
Creator
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A Marsh
Format
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21 page notebook with handwritten notes
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Training material
Identifier
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MMarshA542744-151026-01
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
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. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Conforms To
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Pending review
Contributor
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Tricia Marshall
Trevor Hardcastle
David Bloomfield
Anne-Marie Watson
aircrew
flight engineer
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/875/17105/BHollisANHollisANv1.2.pdf
a070b81c7aaffa390a66bba596e34d7c
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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Hollis, Arthur
Arthur Norman Hollis
A N Hollis
Description
An account of the resource
56 items. The collection concerns Arthur Hollis (b. 1922) who joined the RAF in 1940 and after training completed a tour on 50 Squadron before becoming an instructor. At the end of the war he was deployed as part of Tiger Force. Collection contains a biography and memoir, his logbook, correspondence, training records, photographs of people, aircraft and places, his medals and flying jacket. It includes an oral history interview with his son, Richard Hollis.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Richard Hollis and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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2017-11-07
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.
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Hollis, AN
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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A Memoir
By
Arthur Hollis
[page break]
[photograph of Arthur Hollis]
[page break]
A Memoir by Arthur Hollis
I was born in Highgate, North London, on 11th August 1922. My parents who had married a year earlier had an apartment there.
In 1924 they moved into a new bungalow near Hornchurch in Essex. It was all very rural then. We had gas for lighting and mainly coal for heating but no electricity. A special treat for me was to be taken down the lane to a forge to watch the horses being shod. At the age of four or thereabouts I was sent to a local "dames" school. It was mainly girls but there were a few boys. I didn't like it as the boys were not particularly favoured. I did have one little girl friend, Tina Branston. We were inseparable for years - in fact until my parents moved from the area around my eighth birthday. Tina was the penultimate child of a large family; the eldest was 22 years old and taught at the school. I was reproved by my mother for calling her "Christine" as, of course, all her family did. I was told very firmly "Miss Branston to you". Such were the manners of those days. Tina and I did have a favourite pastime which was to get into the long grass to explore in detail the differences between boys and girls. I thus had a very good early education between the ages of 6 and 7. I could also read, write and recite the multiplication tables up to number 12.
Events which took place during our stay in Hornchurch were the births of my brother Gerald and sister Rosemary. On each occasion I was sent off to Dover to stay with Grandpa Leigh (mother's father) and Aunt Mary who house kept for him. I loved my stays there in an old house in the lovely old town it was then and I was "spoilt rotten"
A great day at Hornchurch was when my mother was given a wireless - an old set which was operated by batteries. In the evenings we used to sit "listening in" with headphones over our ears.
As I have already recalled during the summer of 1930 my parents decided to move. The Ford motor factory had just come to Dagenham and the whole area was changing. They bought a house in Carshalton Surrey. The move took place during August. My parents chose a school for me to go to, more on the basis that I could walk there taking Gerald with me than for its academic attractions. It was an awful place and taught me very little. Anyway in the course of events I would have moved to a local secondary school at the age of 9 or 10.
My principal activity outside school was in the Cubs. By the time I left, when I went to Dulwich, I was a Sixer (platoon sergeant) with an arm full of badges indicating my ability to boil an egg or sew on a button or swim a length.
As mentioned later I was at the age of 8 in hospital for a mastoid operation. Shortly after discharge I was back in hospital again for a few days having gashed my leg very badly while riding another boy's bicycle. My parents thought things might be safer were I to have my own bicycle. For my 9th birthday I was taken to the then cycle manufacturer James and Co. in Holborn and bought a simple bicycle. This made a huge difference to my life. Apart from a few main roads which were taboo, I was free to cycle all over the district and beyond. It gave a great sense of freedom. Before my 12th birthday the bicycle was passed to Gerald and I was given a larger machine - a Raleigh with hub brakes and a three speed gear - a veritable Rolls Royce. For years thereafter Rodney Dove and I used to cycle frequently together all over Surrey and on some days would get to the south coast and back. When I was about 14½ years old I cycled alone down to Dover to stay with Grandpa Leigh. It was useful to have a bicycle there as another school friend (one "Clod" Jarvis) was in the Dover district at the same time
[page break]
and we were able to spend time together. I have used the word "Clod" as that was his nickname. He went to Rhodesia after leaving school and we wrote to each other rather infrequently. I found it difficult to write to an elderly gentleman as "My dear Clod" but I found out only from his widow that his name was Alan.
In 1932 my mother received a legacy from the estate of a widower uncle, Harry Webb, which amounted to about £2000. This gave my parents the background capital which was a financial protection for them. The plans for me were that I was to go to Dulwich College at the age of 11. Shortly after my 10th birthday I sat the Entrance Exam but was found to be weak in all subjects. I was immediately removed from the awful school mentioned above and sent to Wallington High School as I was now deemed old enough to cycle or take a bus. I flourished there under the headmaster who was an excellent teacher and determined that I should pass the Dulwich Entrance Exam next summer. I responded well and happily worked hard for and passed the exam.
In September 1933 I started in the 2nd form at Dulwich. It was hard going. Most of my contemporaries were there on scholarships from the London, Surrey or Kent County Councils and were therefore a pretty bright bunch. I was rather idle for the first few terms and content to coast along halfway up the form. When my time came to go into the Upper 3rd I was put into "Treddy's" form. Mr Treadgold is a legend to many Old Alleynians as a very strict task master. Personally, I respected and liked him. Whether through fear or dislike of failure I soon learned that by working hard I could be amongst the first few in the form. This stood me in very good stead later on.
I have jumped about slightly and could have mentioned that in the summer term of 1935 I was persuaded by my great school friend Rodney Dove, who was a very good swimmer, that we should try for a quarter mile standard medal (under 10 minutes for a bronze and under 7½ mins for silver). We both got a bronze, I in 9 min 7 seconds and he in under 9 mins. Not bad as we were both about 13 years of age. Rodney was an exceptionally strong swimmer. This may have contributed some years on in 1942 to his being picked, as an RNVR sub lieutenant, to carry out the horrendous task of riding a "human torpedo" and putting an explosive charge under an Italian troop ship. He did this and received a well earned DSO but was a prisoner of war until 1945. He was also a good boxer and we used to box together a lot when we were about 11 or 12. I later went on to become the Dulwich Middleweight Champion in 1939.
My mother spoke fluent French having spent some months at the age of 16 living with a French family. Between the two wars my mother's married brothers, Norman and Jack, lived and worked in Paris. Both had French wives. My parents visited them for Easter 1936 and took me with them. I had a tourist's view of Paris. During September 1937 I was kindly allowed to visit them for a fortnight on my own and spent many hours in the International Exhibition then on there as well as wandering on foot around Paris and Versailles.
I tend to be rather cynical when I hear someone say ''the best days of my life were at school." My reply is apt to be ''what a dull life." Nevertheless I did enjoy my years at Dulwich. I had many friends, some of them lifelong I was very sad when in the spring of 1939 my father said "I think that you have achieved most worthwhile things at Dulwich. I think that you should leave now and I will help you to become a Chartered Accountant." He was probably right and I was grateful. I had sat under some excellent mentors. I had obtained credits in all subjects in school certificate. I had obtained rugger and boxing colours. I was a corporal in the OTC with Cert "A". I was Form Captain and had been so on previous occasions. There was not much more that mattered to do. The Master (i.e. the Headmaster) was rather upset at my going but that was natural.
[page break]
So in early May I reported to the offices of Legg and Smith Chartered Accountants in the City of London. There were about five other Articled Clerks several years older than I was. My immediate senior Donald Draper became a life long friend. As junior I was given only rather menial jobs to do and I was rather bored but when war broke out four months later the managing clerk and myself were the only staff left, all the others being mobilized in various territorial units. My Principal, J.F. Legg said to me "You have rather quick promotion. I will give you any help you need." I had eighteen months very hard but rewarding work ahead of me.
One could not have had a more excellent man to work for than J.F. Legg. He was a friend of my father, they both having been soldiers in the 1 st battalion of the London Rifle Brigade when it went to France in 1914.
Unfortunately during the May of 1940 I suffered a burst appendix and was in the War Memorial Hospital at Carshalton for some weeks. This was a very serious condition at that time as there were no antibiotics although I think I did have penicillin when I had rather a relapse after three weeks.
I had had a four week stay in the same hospital when I was 8 years old having a mastoid operation, again very serious. During my stay there I was very sad to be told that Tina Branston had died of meningitis. That, together with scarlet fever and TB, were killers of children on quite a large scale. I mention these rather grisly facts to record how medical science has made great strides during my lifetime.
As soon as I was well enough after discharge from hospital I joined the LDV (Local Defence Volunteers) when invasion by the Germans looked a probability. A parade looked like the Peasants' Revolt - no uniforms, no arms (apart from the odd shotgun or pitch fork). Afterwards as arms became available from the USA the Home Guard replaced the LDV. Although we all enjoy a good laugh at Dad's Army it was generally more efficient than that. There was not much time between the two wars. Men who had fought in the trenches were still only in their early forties; they could shoot fast and straight. There would have been a lot of dead Germans had invasion been attempted. I was made a corporal probably on the strength of having Cert A from the OTC. About this time I embarked upon my life of crime. I was cycling on Home Guard Duty without front or rear lights when a special constable loomed out of the blackout and charged me. I had to go before the local magistrate. I made an impassioned plea and thought I had won when he said "Very dangerous, Mr Hollis, pay ten shillings." A severe punishment - it was a week's allowance.
After my 18th birthday in August 1940 I felt eligible to join one of he [sic] services. Not the Army or the Navy as I was too young to be considered for combat duty and I decided therefore to go for pilot training in the RAF. I mentioned this to JF (as Legg was known). He was very sympathetic having himself risen to the rank of Lt. Col. in the 1914-18 war but he asked if I would defer for a few months to allow others to catch up with me for work in the firm. I agreed and volunteered my services to the RAF early in 1941.
The RAF had rather a bottleneck of potential pilots at that time and for a start I was sent on a 6 month course at Manchester University to study such subjects as higher mathematics, mechanics, meteorology, air navigation etc. I arrived at Hulme Hall, Manchester in early April 1941 and found myself with about 20 other RAF cadets. We were a happy bunch who helped each other along. Some were more advanced than others in various subjects. I do remember our being always hungry. Although the food in Hulme Hall was well cooked and wholesome, the whole country was now severely rationed and we were very lacking in meat and fats. We used
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to meet in each others rooms of an evening and make toast; a small amount of butter and plenty of jam was produced.
After leave in September we were ranked as LACs with white flashes in our caps to indicate air crew in training and mustered for a sea trip to the USA to be taught to fly. We sailed from Avonmouth at the beginning of November in a 7000 ton ship which in previous days had done the New Zealand meat voyages. We were now the carcasses. The North Atlantic in November is a cruel place. We had an escort of naval corvettes for the first part of the voyage but one could seldom see them as the poor devils spent much of their time half under water. We were in hammocks close slung together and as most people were sick, the nights were very unpleasant. I volunteered to fetch food from the kitchen to mess table, partly because I was the only one interested in eating anything and the kitchen was warm and fairly close to the centre of the ship thus having the least movement. It was a great relief to reach Halifax, Nova Scotia. I shall always remember that first breakfast on shore. Plenty of eggs and bacon etc. etc.- things then unknown in the shortages of the UK. Life was not very comfortable in this staging station where we stayed for three weeks. It was December, the outside temperature was -20c., the huts were grossly overheated by primitive coal stoves and the latrines outside in the open air were very primitive.
After about three weeks we boarded the first of several trains on our journey to Florida. A most interesting journey. In three days we passed from the snow covered land of eastern Canada to the semi-tropical atmosphere of Florida.
The RAF station of modem comfortable huts around a parade ground and a swimming pool was just south of Lake Okeechobee (Fort Myers 70 miles west on the Gulf of Mexico, Miami 100 miles south east on the Atlantic). After the sun went down the insects on the screens to our living quarters had to be seen to be believed. Four engined mosquitoes. We slept under nets. The station was run by three RAF officers. The flying and ground instructors were American civilians. The flying instructors were good, the ground instructors were useless. If we were to pass the written wings exam we should need to study our manuals very resolutely.
After a day or so of settling in, we were paraded and inspected by the CO Wing Commander Kenneth Rampling. He appointed me as Course Commander. I was made an acting corporal (unpaid) and had general responsibility for the behaviour of the Flight (about 50 cadets). There were four Flights in the school at one time. As one passed out another one arrived. We trained on the PT 17 which was the primary trainer of the US Army Air Corps - like a Tiger Moth but rather more solid. After about eight hours in the air, most of us went solo. Thereafter the training continued until the mid-term ten days leave. People went various ways. Some adventurous chaps got as far north as New York. I preferred to stay with a couple of fellow cadets, Peter Cowell and "Flossie" Redman on the Gulf of Mexico coast. We ended up at the home of three elderly ladies who had befriended us. I have since renamed them "The Golden Girls". I have also since been told that one of them took "a particular shine to me". - the opportunities one misses in life!
After leave we went onto the Vultee BT13A - a monoplane, and after a further short leave, onto the Harvard, at that time the fighter aircraft of the Army Air Corps - just as well they didn't have to fight the Battle of Britain although the Harvard was a very nice aircraft to fly. At the end of that course we took the Wings exam and qualified. On the evening before the Wings Parade I, together with my two section leaders, was invited by the three officers to a celebration at the Clewiston Inn where they stayed. What a night. I arrived back at camp wearing the C.O.'s trousers, mine having got wet in a rainstorm. The next morning the Flight was drawn up on parade and I marched up to Kenneth Rampling to report "all present and
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correct. Sir." He said "Christ you look 'orrible" to which I replied "not 'alf as 'orrible as I feel". Just as well the doting onlookers could not hear these remarks. Dear Kenneth Rampling; he was killed two years later as Group Captain DSO DFC. CO of a Pathfinder Squadron.
We were at that time officially sergeants although a number of us were expecting to be commissioned officers once we got to Canada. We set off on an evening train. After three days of various stops and changes, including several hours in New York, we arrived at Moncton, New Brunswick, from where we had set off the previous winter.
Life was better. I was now a Pilot Officer. I met up again with other friends of the horrible voyage out. They were now fellow officers, some of them destined for distinction such as Bill Reid V.C.
After several weeks wait at Moncton, we boarded a train for New York where we went aboard the Aorangi, the ship which was to take us back to UK. This had a maximum speed of about 15 knots. I have since learned that it was the worst month of U Boat sinkings. We were nevertheless oblivious of this and had a happy voyage. As we neared UK shores the Americans on board, feeling that they were entering a war zone, mounted machine guns around the deck rails. After they had nearly shot down a Spitfire, which was foolish enough to come too close, we RAF officers were detailed to stand by the guns telling them when not to open fire.
We landed at Greenock, the port of Glasgow, and boarded a special train which took us all the way to Bournemouth where we spent two or three weeks getting uniforms, having medical and dental checks, several days leave etc.
I was then posted to Little Rissington in the Cotswolds to fly Oxfords, twin engined machines, so as to practice map reading (much more difficult than in USA) and to prepare for the larger machines of Bomber Command. After several weeks I was posted to a Wellington OTU at North Luffenham, Rutlandshire where I crewed up with FO Dick Palmer (navigator), Sgts Ted Kemp (bomb aimer), Tom Cheshire (wireless operator) and "Jock" Walker (rear gunner). We started working together on cross country flights, range bombing etc. It was all rather dangerous; a number did not finish the course. When we stepped out at night there was generally a blaze indicating that Cottesmore, our neighbouring station, was flying. As opposed to the Wellington Mark Ills which we had, they had only MKICs which I had later to discover by experience were underpowered. I had one or two near scrapes. I was a pupil one night with others when the aircraft flown by another pupil went out of control. It was righted by the instructor who then "bailed out" the remainder of the personnel. I had my parachute incorrectly fastened so that when I jumped the harness would have gone straight up over my head. Fortunately it caught on the edge of my flying jacket, giving me just enough time to grab hold of it so that I could come down holding it by hand and I slipped it off on landing. As I lay on the ground sweating somewhat, although it was a cold dark December evening, I heard a voice "Don't shoot Dad ! It may be one of ours". I yelled "Don't shoot I am one of yours!" Soon afterwards I was before the fire of a Fenland labourer's cottage being restored with cups of tea. I should have liked something somewhat stronger! Soon I was pleased to learn that all had landed safely. I still have the flying jacket with the small tear in it that saved my life.
The last exercise at the OTU was to fly over enemy territory. I set out with three other aircraft to drop leaflets over Nancy one night. There was a massive cold front over the English Channel with dangerous cumulonimbus clouds. Two older more experienced pilots turned back. I pressed on but as there are dramatic wind changes on the other side of a cold front, it is unlikely that our leaflets went anywhere near Nancy. After a rather eventful return I landed at base. The fourth aircraft was missing. I will just elaborate on the words "eventful return". The whole of our journey there and back over France was over cloud. When I judged on our return
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journey that we had reached the English Channel or the low lying land over northern France I ventured to break cloud. I was then able to see what I thought to be the Cherbourg Peninsular. It was in fact the English coast, probably near the Isle of Wight. Feeling now completely lost I called May Day (the SOS signal). Immediately what appeared to be every searchlight in England lit up and waved me towards North Luffenham. I was so impressed that I forgot to cancel "May Day". I duly landed to be met by a very irate Wing Commander (Chief Flying Instructor).
We next moved on to Swinderby, Lincolnshire to convert on to Lancasters. There I collected two more crew, Sgts Bob Yates (mid upper gunner) and Don Adshead (flight engineer). The only incident there was a fire in an engine on a night cross country flight. The curious thing was that there were no visible signs although the engine was burnt out. Another lucky escape.
On finishing the conversion course we were posted to 50 Squadron at Skellingthorpe, very close to Lincoln.
I have heard since the war from Tom Cheshire (wireless operator) and quite recently from Bob Yates (mid upper gunner). Both son with wife and grandson of Bob Yates have been to Westwell to see me. Letters are in my Log Book.
Our tour of operations was mainly spent in what was afterwards known as the Battle of the Ruhr.
The Ruhr area, although separate towns, constituted the German industrial area and was therefore very heavily defended. Its one consolation to us was that it was reasonably near (large bomb load, small fuel load). I hated the place. Late in our tour I was badly shot up over Essen, the main town. This is recorded in the citation for my DFC and written up in the Daily Telegraph. I'm told that it is also on the internet. Earlier in the tour I had about six feet of wing cut off over the Dutch coast and had to make my only early return. In order to achieve the maximum concentration of aircraft over the target, the practice was to congregate together over the Dutch coast and then move on to enemy territory. As it was very dangerous from the collision point of view to have so many aircraft circling around, the instruction was if one was early to do a "dog leg" so as to arrive at the rendezvous at exactly the right time but not before. One aircraft, I think flown by a Wing Commander no less, did not follow the instruction to "dog leg" but was circling with disastrous results for my wing and our morale. I could just about hold the aircraft in the air back to base.
We also carried out raids on the U boat pens at St Nazaire (rather useless as the concrete was too strong for the bombs then carried), Berlin, Pilzen, Hamburg etc. An interesting trip was with a special force chosen to bomb Friedrichshafen where special radar spare parts were stored. As it was then mid-summer, there was not enough darkness to return to the UK. We therefore went on over the Med to North Africa. The personal map which I marked up and tucked into my flying boot is in my log book.
The last trip of my tour was to Milan. Italian targets were regarded as fairly soft. My usual aircraft was pronounced unserviceable rather late in the day. Group Captain Elworthy. (later Marshal of the RAF Lord Elworthy) the then Base Commander was very anxious that I should finish on this trip. He therefore arranged for an aircraft at another Station to be available and took me personally in his staff car to that Station .. My crew were taken there by bus. There was at that time an accusation going around that crews were bombing short. I maintained that the aircraft cameras which were meant to record where the bombs landed were wrongly set. I therefore arranged with Ted Kemp that when the target came into his bomb sight he would give me a sign. I would count to ten and then call Bomb. We brought back an aiming point photograph. Many years later Bun and I were lunching with some Italian friends in Milan.
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After lunch we were taken for a walk and visited a rather ruined church which had been bombed in August 1943. An important feature which was being repaired consisted of a mural of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. As we were going home, I said to Bun "Guess who destroyed the Last Supper?" Shortly after August 1943, the Italians withdrew from the war. I think that the destruction of a religious artefact was too much for them! I recently told the story to an artist friend who remarked dryly that the bomb damage was not half as serious as the damage inflicted by the subsequent garish and overdone restoration.
I was then posted for instructor's duties to an OTU at Westcott, Bucks. I felt it was rather like leaving the Brigade of Guards for the Ordnance Corps but there was no choice. Most of the instructors were New Zealanders - a very jolly bunch of chaps. My immediate senior and Flight Commander was one Squadron Leader Fraser Barron DSO DFC DCM., a New Zealander.
He ranked at the age of 21 as a Pathfinder ace and was killed next year as a Group Captain, the immediate successor to Kenneth Rampling mentioned earlier in this narrative.
I also mentioned earlier the underpowered Wellington Ic. Westcott and its satellite station Oakley had Ics. I was sitting one night in the instructor's seat next to an Australian pupil pilot who was doing a cross country exercise. On returning he made rather a mess of the landing approach and I said "Go round again." Immediately ahead of the main runway at Oakley was Brill Hill. Good pilots could clear it easily but my pupil was not in that category. After looking up at the trees as we went over Brill Hill I let him have another attempt at landing. He did the same thing again, after which I said "Up to 3000 ft and we will change seats". The aircraft used for cross country flying at Oakley had no duel controls.
The autumn and winter continued. During March 1944 I had a message that my dear mother needed a surgical operation for kidney disease. I got compassionate leave and spent a week visiting her and we had nice talks. Alas, the other kidney, which had been expected to pick up and do the work of two, did not do so. She died within a few days. It was a severe blow to the family and her many friends as she was much respected and loved.
In the late spring of that year I had the great good fortune to meet Betty Edmunds, one of the staff in the watch tower at Oakley. I was OC night flying at the time. We soon discovered that we both came from Carshalton and had many mutual friends. Our friendship developed. We used to play tennis together. She always won. Partly because she was a much better player than I but also because whenever she bent over to pick up a ball I was completely unnerved and my mind was not on tennis. On her days off, if I was on leave, we met for a day in London. We also visited Cambridge on one or two occasions to see my brother Gerald who was spending two terms at Jesus College prior to National Service. In early September we got engaged. I said at the time " I suppose we ought to wait until the end of the war to get married.". She said" Oh do you? I was thinking about this coming 2nd December". And thus it was. We had a very quiet wedding as most young people were away on active service and anyway catering was very difficult to arrange. But it was a very happy day and we set off by train for honeymoon in Torquay.
We already knew that we both wanted children. Betty wanted four. I thought this might be rather too many to educate properly. Thinking about things over the years and knowing my darling Betty's quiet way of getting what she wanted, I think she had made up her mind to start our family on her honeymoon. I had no hesitation in helping.
After returning to duty, we used to cycle into Thame to spend the night at a hotel. This is rather an exaggeration; they were mainly rooms over bars in pubs. The beds were generally
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rather primitive and rattled terribly. I often wondered why the bar conversation would suddenly cease. We spent Christmas with Betty's parents at The Bull in Aylesbury.
At New Year there was an officers' dance at Oakley. As Betty was only a Sergeant she had to get her CO's permission to attend. This was refused. My fellow officers were most indignant that the Oxford ''tarts" were likely to be there but an officer's wife was refused. I didn't particularly mind as the signs were that Betty was pregnant and would therefore automatically leave the WAAF.
I have raced ahead and not mentioned that throughout our engagement we frequently spent nights with our friends Steve and Sylvia Hogben in their caravan. Betty slept on one of the narrow beds and I slept beside her on the floor. She had a firm intention, which I respected, of going to her wedding a virgin. I mention this as most young people these days would consider such conduct rather strange.
About two days into New Year I was telephoned by Group that I was promoted to Squadron Leader and was to command an instructor's flight at Turweston (Northants) satellite of Silverstone (now a racing track). I had 2 months earlier been categorised A2 by a visiting examiner from Central Flying School. An A2 instructor's category was rare and the highest one could obtain in wartime. At about the same time Betty was posted to Upper Heyford. Still in the same Group but quite far apart. Anyway news reached me that Betty was in hospital at Stoke Mandeville. She was suffering from the family weakness of cystitis which combined with the pregnancy and being generally run down made her quite unfit for RAF duty. After about a fortnight she returned to Upper Heyford to be discharged from service. I had previously phoned up the senior medical officer at Upper Heyford, explained the situation and told him rather emphatically that I didn't want her having to wander round the Station getting clearance chits which was the usual procedure. She told me afterwards that she got out remarkably quickly. She went to stay with her parents. Meanwhile I was searching for somewhere near Turweston for us to live together. A hard task. Any sort of accommodation was very difficult to find. Fortunately a Flight Lieutenant was posted and offered me his billet which consisted of 2 rooms with facilities in a council house in Brackley.
The tenants of the council house, Mr and Mrs Blackwell, made us very welcome and were pleased to accept some rent. I had at that time Sue, a miniature bull terrier bitch, a 21st birthday present from cousins Harold and Vi Fuller-Clark. When I was posted overseas as I later record, I was in some quandary as to what to do with Sue. Betty and I decided that we would give her to the Blackwells. They were delighted to have her and gave her a very happy life. Nearly every Christmas thereafter we were sent a photograph of Mrs. Blackwell with Sue. There was a strong resemblance but Mrs Blackwell was always the one wearing the hat.
After only four happy months at Turweston I was telephoned by Group to say that that I was posted as a staff officer to the advance party of Tiger Force then being formed to set up a Bomber Command on Okinawa. I was to proceed as quickly as possible to the assembly point which was a dreary RAF equipment storage station in Staffordshire. Having said a profoundly sad farewell to my beloved pregnant wife I proceeded there on VE day. The saddest day of my life as there was a strong risk that we would not see each other again. Events changed that somewhat as it became apparent that British Forces were not wanted in the Pacific by the Americans although Winston C was determined that we should go. I had a series of embarkation leaves and I finally sailed during early July.
During our stay at Turweston I was sent for a month to the Advanced Administration Course at Hereford. Betty came to visit me over a long week-end. We attended the Easter Sunday service
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at Hereford Cathedral. I was informed during the service that "the Widger'' (later named Jennifer) had quickened. I don't whether anything is to be read into that.
The ship that was to take me to Okinawa was the "Empress of Australia", a 25000 ton ship with four funnels. It had been the Kaiser's yacht (quite a yacht) until it was taken over by the British in 1919. Apparently our route was to be across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal across the Pacific and then on to Okinawa. We set forth from Liverpool.
The weather got warmer and warmer. As we neared the West indies we were amused by dolphins playing alongside in the bow wave. A wait for a day or so in the mouth of the canal and we then had the wonderful experience of passing through it. Fabulous locks and tropical birds of many colours flying alongside. For about two weeks we crossed the Pacific to Hawaii where we docked and were allowed shore visits over two or three days. Wonderful swimming and we were well entertained by the local residents. I was flirted with and mildly seduced by a beautiful young woman in the presence of her husband and boyfriend. I should put it the other way round as the boyfriend was clearly the favoured one. How one envied him.
While we were in Hawaii the atom bomb was dropped. I remember the mixed feelings with which I discussed the situation with my fellow officers. We were horrified that science had reached this far but grateful that our lives and probably about two million others had been saved.
What was to be done with us? There was a shipful [sic] of about 3000 craftsmen, builders, medical units, air sea rescue units etc. Surely we must be useful somewhere. After a certain amount of cruising around with a shore stop at the Admiralty Islands we went through a formidable storm to Hong Kong.
At Hawaii something must have got into the ship's drinking water. The whole ship's company was smitten with sickness and nausea. I went round to see the senior medical officer and said "Can't you do something?" He replied "Hollis, old boy, you'd better have some of my pink stuff-this is what I am giving out today but it won't do you any good."
We docked in Hong Kong a day or so after the British Pacific Fleet. They were very pleased to see us. They had declared martial law and were trying to stop the Chinese from looting the place. Headquarters had been set up in the Peninsular Hotel on the mainland side of Hong Kong. The original colony is on Victoria Island reached by Ferry. I had an office on the ground floor of the Peninsular Hotel. It was a cross between an information centre and a command post. I had a constant queue of ex civilian internees wanting a passage back to UK, Australia etc. , Japanese officers fully armed who with their discipline were being sent for guard duties etc etc. I scarcely slept for several days and was somewhat hungry as we had given up our rations to the ex occupants of the internment camps. The Japanese were later used for hard work in repairing the colony. They lived in POW camps and were not overfed.
After about a fortnight things became rather more normal. Marine Commandos arrived from Burma as did elderly colonial administrators from UK, the latter dressed in Colonel's uniform straight from Moss Bros. And I moved over to a newly formed RAF Headquarters on Victoria Island which at that time had a small provincial town atmosphere. There was Government House, the Cathedral, the cricket pitch and, of course, the statue of Queen Victoria and, about two miles away, the race course. At about this time I had word from the UK that I had a baby daughter and that Betty and she were both well. I think that a signal had been most kindly arranged by my father-in-law, Chase Edmunds, who had important contacts in maritime circles.
The air journey Hong Kong/UK was six days. One went by Dakota. The route leaving Hong Kong was Kung Ming then "over the hump" to Karachi -Aden-Cyprus-Rome-UK.
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Although distressed to be deprived of my loved ones, one could not have been in a better place than Hong Kong at that time. The weather was perfect between the great heat of summer and the murkier weather of winter. In winter it does not get very cold.
Although we wore normal blue as opposed to tropical kit, I swam in the sea on New Year's day. I was alone. There were few non Chinese apart from the forces. We had all the transport. A jeep was always available to me. We virtually owned Hong Kong. As Org1 (as I was in RAF language) I was involved in accommodation for growing numbers of RAF personnel. This involved a small amount of requisitioning but I did this distasteful task with great sympathy towards the Chinese population , a number of whom became good friends. I was invited to dine on several occasions with one H.S. Mok who was a fellow Old Alleynian . I was also involved in conducting Courts of Enquiry on various matters. A difficult job as the Chinese coolie always gave as evidence any story that came into his head. I also sat on a number of Courts Martial, being sometimes president, During my stay in Hong Kong both brother Gerald and cousin Dan Hollis arrived at different times on HM ships. We were able to see quite a lot of each other.
I had earlier put my name down for a permanent commission in the RAF. After my marriage Bun and I decided that this was not a good idea and the intention was that I would revert to the original plan of being a Chartered Accountant. Bun sent me out some books and I started to study - not very hard as the social life was too good.
In July 1946 my turn came to be demobilised. I set course for home first by taking a passage in one of HM ships to Singapore. After a pleasant three weeks there I got a place on the Empress of Australia (by a strange coincidence) and set course for the UK. I arrived in Liverpool one wet afternoon. The ship's tannoy went requiring the presence of Squadron Leader Hollis in cabin X. I proceeded thence and was greeted by an Air Marshal who was there for the purpose of offering me a permanent commission. I have always been pleased that I didn't accept. There were severe service cuts a few years later and I have had an interesting life.
I arrived home to Carshalton Beeches where Betty and Jennifer were. My first memories of Jennifer were of a nappied bottom hastily disappearing under the bed - no doubt to avoid the strange man who had suddenly appeared ..
After a short holiday period I had to get down to work. The final exam to become a Chartered Accountant was a formidable hurdle. We had no home but were offered a flat in Dover. Betty and Jennifer lived there and I went there at week-ends. I spent the week getting more practical experience with Legg London (as my original firm had become) or staying with my father to study. I had the right atmosphere for this as my father liked silence. All very well but for poor Betty it was a lonely life. After some months we received an offer to share a house with some cousins of Betty in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex. At least we could be together although we disliked the area.
In summer 1948 three events almost coincided: we moved into a flat in the Paragon Blackheath where we spent fifteen happy years, I passed the final exam and became a Chartered Accountant and Sylvia was conceived. Our joy at the last happening was tempered by the fact that Betty had five months of very intense pregnancy sickness. At about the end of this time she contracted measles. As a result Sylvia was born very prematurely and her life was only saved by being put into neat oxygen. It was discovered a short while later that neat oxygen destroyed the retinas of premature babies. Thereafter the oxygen was mixed with air but too late to avoid Sylvia's blindness.
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After some months I joined the firm of Hugh Limebeer as an assistant with partnership prospects. It was an interesting firm. After some weeks I was engaged on an audit in Paris and in the summer of 1950 I was asked to spend some months with a client in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The British had been a powerful force in the Middle East until about that time; shortly after my visit it was to change. I flew first to Paris, thence to Cairo where I was well entertained by representatives of the client. Lunch at Shepherds, a visit to the Pyramids, then tea and dinner before I boarded an Aden Airways Dakota to Jeddah.
Jeddah was then a very primitive town. I felt myself back in the Old Testament. Through the initiative of the client I was visiting, ducts had been built to take water from mountains about 100 miles away into Jeddah. Prior to that the water supply had been by donkey cart. Non Saudis were allowed to have alcohol provided that this was kept strictly private. I arrived on a Thursday; there was a party that evening which was normal. It was a place for parties but one met always the same people. The next day, Friday, was the Sabbath and therefore a holiday.
The custom was for small parties to meet at lunchtime on the Sabbath and drink beer. I was taken to a party and amongst the guests was St John Philby, the famous Arabist and Muslim. This didn't stop him drinking a large quantity of beer before going off to say his prayers. During my three months there I attended a few Arab parties; one in the desert given by a prince who I think was Foreign Minister. They were deadly dull affairs. Refreshments normally tea and sweet cakes, no alcohol, no women.
When my time came to go back to UK I decided to travel by sea and land. I first flew across the Red Sea to Port Sudan and waited there for the British India ship which was expected to arrive that week. It did arrive on the Saturday and after I had returned on board hospitality to my friends there, we sailed. This B.I. line started in Mombasa and called at all the African ports up to the Suez Canal. Thence Marseille and the U.K. I intended to disembark at Marseille, take the Blue Train to Paris thence to U.K. This I did. The Med can be very unpleasant in February.
During my absence in Jeddah Betty had some gynaecological pains. She consulted the local expert Keith Vartan. He advised that all would be well if she had another child. So on my return we bore this in mind. After a few months she was again pregnant but had a miscarriage. We put things on the back burner for a few months. After starting again Richard was conceived. Betty had some hormone injection to prevent any miscarrying. Shortly after that she was smitten with polio in July 1952.
During the period after my return from Jeddah in February 1951 and July 1952 Betty and I were very occupied with the girls' education. Jennifer was doing very well amongst the juniors at Blackheath High School - that was normal - she was always a self starter. Our problem was helping Sylvia with her blindness. A very harrowing experience. How does one teach one who has never seen about colours? How does one answer the question "Shall I be able to see when I am ten?"
I had a very full Autumn 1952. Apart from daily visits to Betty in the Brook Hospital, Jennifer also had a spell in hospital. Sylvia was living with her Edmunds grandparents. A cheering note was when in November I was offered a partnership with Limebeer and Co. starting next 1st April.
Becoming a partner did not immediately change the work I was doing. One is for at least a year or so doing work and services for clients provided by others. I inherited from others work in Belgium and Germany. In doing some work for an Italian client I met William Middleton who was a Solicitor. He had an Italian mother and English father. He had been brought up in
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Rome and had law degrees from both Rome and London Universities. His English and Italian were impeccable. Many leading Italian companies were putting a toe into U.K waters at that time. The first thing they did was to go and see Middleton and he invariably involved me. He must have been very impressed by our first working together. Also during the 1950s Limebeer and Co. took over a small practice through the death of a sole practitioner. He had rather specialised in musical clients but when we took over, some famous names had either died or disappeared. However one of those left was Yehudi Menuhin. We soon became good friends. I was able to help him become resident here without his being made bankrupt by our tax laws.
He expanded his activities and always involved me. I soon got to know his leading Swiss lawyers and they produced some work for me. I was well away. I also got involved with some stage clients - Dinah Sheridan and her daughter Jenny Hanley. All these people were not only clients but became good friends.
Soon after Yehudi had taken up residence in Highgate he set about his long held ambition of founding a school. For the first year or so it had few pupils, shared premises and no money. A management committee, of which I was one, was formed. Things changed shortly with the appointment of an excellent secretary, one Monica Langford. I well remember visiting with her and a fellow committee member (an old friend), F.R. (Bobby) Furber the premises which are now the Y.M. School. They were discovered by Monica They were then much simpler and on sale for around £25,000. We decided to persuade our fellow committee members that the premises must be bought and the money raised. What a task. I was looked to as the person to go about this together with a newly appointed Governor, Major General Sir John Kennedy. We gradually enlisted help from corporations and individuals, Lord Rayne being prominent. Sir John unfortunately died after a short while. Bobby Furber and I were joined by Lord Redesdale (Clem) and Sir Maurice Fiennes (Maurice). We got things well underway and had a lot of fun in doing so. I well remember some rather noisy and lengthy lunches at the City of London Club of which I was a member. I have been Vice President of the school since 1989 and from 1977-90 I was a governor of Live Music Now.
One of the Governors of the Y.M School was Ruth, Lady Fennoy (a Lady in Waiting to the Queen Mother and grandmother of Princess Diana.) She was a fine musician and very close to the Royal Family. Following her death the Prince of Wales organised a concert at Buckingham Palace in her memory. Betty and I were invited and when we were seated the whole royal family from the Queen downwards entered to sit in the front row.
During the late 1950s Bun and I had the idea of leaving the Paragon flat as our main home but buying a country house with some land for mainly summer use. A silly idea but whilst we were looking around we suddenly came upon Court Lodge. I immediately said "That is where we are going to live. Sell the Paragon flat and go for it." So in 1963 I bought Court Lodge. It was terribly run down and needed a lot spent on it. We bought from a most charming person, Mrs Harvey Moore. She was a niece of Lord Baden Powell and therefore keener on camping than creature comforts.
We moved in January 1964. It was rather cold and cheerless. There were open :fireplaces in every room but keeping them stoked was a full time task. We virtually camped from one room to the next while a team of artisans did their work. Anyway, we were able to put things back as they should have been and being a house of at least three periods of history we set out gradually to acquire furniture etc. to suit the rooms. I am forever grateful to my son-in-law Maurice Fitz Gerald for guiding me in the realms of books and paintings in which he has considerable knowledge. We attended many sales at Sotheby's and Christies where we had a lot of fun.
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Betty and I became very active once we were settled into Court Lodge. I particularly so during the late 70s and early 80s. I was Chairman of Westwell Parish Council from 1976-9 and in 1980 became Chairman of Ashford Constituency Conservative Association and in 1991 Vice President. Ashford Constituency extends from Chilham near Canterbury in the north and southwards almost to the sea on the Sussex border. During May 1982 I was installed as Master of the Worshipful Company of Woolmen for the coming year. I later wrote a full account of my year which was typed and bound. Copies are amongst my mementos. I was delighted when Richard later became Master in 2008.
During the 1970s/80s Betty and I enjoyed a considerable amount of social entertaining at Court Lodge. One highlight of our year was the occasion that came to be known as Jesus Night. This took place when our friends Peter and Belinda Gadsden (Sir Peter ex Jesus Cambridge and about that time Lord Mayor of London) stayed with us for the weekend so that Peter could shoot with me. We had a number of friends in the vicinity who were also Jesuans. We were joined by my brother Gerald (two classical firsts at Jesus) and his wife Audrey. I, although without the benefit of a Cambridge education, represented my grandfather Hollis who was at Jesus where he obtained two mathematical firsts in about 1880. Later as the older Jesuans tended to pass into higher service it opened into a Cambridge occasion and we were joined by a number of younger Cambridge friends including my nephew Adam, Gerald's son, and his wife Sarah, and of course Jennifer and Maurice.
Betty and I were very lucky with our continental travels during the 1970s and 1980s as apart from my fairly frequent visits to Italy, Maurice was in the Diplomatic Service and he and Jenny were during the 1970s resident first in Paris then in Strasbourg and finally in The Hague. We had most enjoyable stays with them. At least once a year when I went to Florence I took Betty with me and we used to manage about ten days holiday either in Florence or Venice where we were lent an apartment on the Canale Grande by friends Manfredo and Veronica Moretti degli Adimare. We also used to go annually in July to Geneva where I had some work to do over a few days. We stayed at the Hotel du Lac in the charming little village of Coppet.
One year in December I had various continental visits to make so we booked a rail journey starting in Amsterdam and ending in Rome, leaving the train at Mannheim, Milan and Florence en route. The whole of the journey was in snow. Rome was free of snow but very cold.
Whilst writing about travel I must not fail to mention a very good friend at Westwell, Simon Jervis Read C.B.E., M.C., scion of a distinguished family, Wykehamist, Chindit, Lt. Col., Diplomat and very knowledgeable naturalist and ornithologist. He quickly invited me to join in shooting activities, not only on shooting days but also for rearing and keeping. He was about to become UK representative of the EEC Field Sports Association when he suffered severe heart problems and was unable to travel. I was invited to stand in for him where travel was involved. This entailed travel to various places in Europe - Brussels, the Ardennes, Nuremburg, Paris, Zurich. Later Betty and I were invited as private guests on visits to Copenhagen and Senegal. The last was especially interesting. Senegal has great virtues in climate and people. The only disturbing thing was the poverty. On one occasion I was particularly moved to be asked by a young girl for "un stylo pour aller a l'ecole." Alas I didn't have any; I would like to have given her a boxful.
I have now lived in Court Lodge for more than four decades. During this time the house from many sources has acquired great character and beauty. When my darling Bun was in hospital for the penultimate time, just after our 65th wedding anniversary, she complained "I shall never see my lovely house again". I was warmed by the thought that she viewed it thus and she did see it again but, alas, not for long.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Memoir by Arthur Hollis
Description
An account of the resource
Second page has colour photograph of Arthur Hollis, wearing blazer with medals, standing in a field at an event. Narrative covers early life in Hornchurch and Carshalton including schooling and hospital admissions. Writes of Dulwich College studies and sport. Mentions visit to Paris. Career as chartered accountant. Joined local defence volunteers in 1940. On 18th birthday decided to apply for pilot training. Covers training in Manchester and the United States. Life in the States and training on PT-17, Vultee BT 13-A and Harvard. Describes subsequent training in Canada, journey back to United Kingdom and training on Oxfords and Wellington. Goes on with conversion to Lancaster, posting to 50 Squadron and describes life and operations. Instructor tour follows and goes on to describe meeting future wife and subsequent career in RAF including posting to Tiger Force and trip to Hong Kong and subsequent activities. Finishes with post war career and activities.
Creator
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A N Hollis
Format
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Fifteen page printed document with one colour photograph
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Memoir
Photograph
Identifier
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BHollisANHollisANv1
Coverage
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Civilian
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Canadian Air Force
United States Army Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--London
France
France--Paris
England--Lancashire
England--Manchester
Canada
Nova Scotia--Halifax
United States
Florida
New Brunswick
New Brunswick--Moncton
England--Gloucestershire
England--Rutland
England--Lincolnshire
England--Buckinghamshire
France
France--Saint-Nazaire
Germany
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Hamburg
Czech Republic
Czech Republic--Plzeň
Italy
Italy--Milan
Germany--Friedrichshafen
England--Oxfordshire
England--Northamptonshire
China
China--Hong Kong
Nova Scotia
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
5 BFTS
50 Squadron
aircrew
bale out
British Flying Training School Program
civil defence
Distinguished Flying Cross
Harvard
Home Guard
Lancaster
love and romance
military living conditions
military service conditions
Oxford
pilot
RAF Little Rissington
RAF North Luffenham
RAF Skellingthorpe
RAF Turweston
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Westcott
Stearman
Tiger force
training
Wellington
-
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2057/33885/EPriceAPPrice[Mo]421029-0002.jpg
cbbef49abacaa901f13980d50ff773b9
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2057/33885/EPriceAPPrice[Mo]421029-0004.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
Price, Arthur Phillip
Price, PA
Description
An account of the resource
90 items including two photograph albums in sub-collections. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant Arthur Phillip Price (572090 Royal Air Force) and contains photographs, documents and correspondence. He served as ground personnel with 619 Squadron and was killed 9 June 1943 while on an air test.<br /><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2062">Price, Arthur Phillip. Album 1</a><br /><a href="https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/show/2064">Price, Arthur Phillip. Album 2</a><br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by John Barnes and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />Additional information on Arthur Price is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/119025/">IBCC Losses Database.</a>
Date
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2019-05-17
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. 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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Price, AP
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Canadian YMCA crest]
Penhold.
29.10.42.
My Dearest Mum,
Many thanks for your letter, my word it was a “newsey” [sic] one this time. I bet you were surprised when Lansbury popped up, eh?
I was Boxing last Tuesday night for the Station team, I was competing for the Middle Weight Cup although I am only a Welter weight, I was giving 12 lbs away, anyhow I got to the Final and then was defeated on Points. I believe that I only lost by half a point, anyhow it was a very close match.
I have been playing quite a bit of Rugby lately too,
[page break]
2.
although now that it has snowed it looks as though Rugger has had its spell until next year. I did’nt [sic] tell you that it snowed here last Friday night we had a hell of a blizzard at about 11.30 P.M. Friday night, and then it snowed all day Saturday and it has been doing it on and off since then. The Temperatures have been pretty low too, the lowest being 0 degrees F and the highest for a week being 22 degrees F. We shall soon be SKating, [sic] in fact I believe several of the chaps have been already.
Well how are things at home? It will not be long now before I shall be seeing you, shortly after Xmas I hope, they can Keep Canada
[page break]
3.
as far as I’m concerned and give it back to the Indians that is if they would take it back, I’m thoroughly cheesed with the place 15 months in the wilds of Canada without a move is a bit stiff. Still I hope the next move I get will be to Halifax for the Boat.
Well Mum I really have no news as far as this place is concerned, the only thing that alters round here is the weather.
I suppose Jean and John are quite big now and I guess Pete will be quite a man too. I probably wo’nt [sic] know him next time I see him.
I am going on a week end to Calgary this weekend so I am looking forward to a spot of
[page break]
[underlined] 4. [/underlined]
relaxation.
I have’nt [sic] been out of Camp much for quite a while, that is probably why I am so cheesed I have been training.
Work is going pretty good these days we are plodding along steadily and getting the work out so I have no grumbles in that direction.
Well anyhow Mum dear I’ll wrap up now and say Cheerio
Give my love to Dad and Pete and to Joan’s offsprings if they are still with you,
and all my fondest love for you.
Your ever loving Son
Phil.
xxxxxx
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
Letter from Arthur Phillip Price to his mother
Description
An account of the resource
Writes about his boxing match and playing rugby. Mentions weather, low temperatures and recent snow blizzard. Expresses that he is not impressed with Canada and has little news to report. Catches up with home news and reports that he is getting on with his course. Signs off as Phillip.
Creator
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A P Price
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-10-29
Temporal Coverage
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1942-10-29
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Canada
Alberta--Red Deer Region
Alberta
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Text. Correspondence
Format
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Four page handwritten letter
Conforms To
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Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Identifier
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EPriceAPPrice[Mo]421029
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. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
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Tricia Marshall
military living conditions
military service conditions
sport
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32365/BWittyARWittyARv1.2.pdf
a568d561e92d25b45be271b0cecccb86
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Witty, A R
Witty, Ron
Witty, Ronald
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
2017-03-23
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
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
10
[page break]
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
11
[page break]
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
12
[page break]
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!
[page break]
[blank page]
[page break]
[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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[black and white photograph of seven airmen in front of an aircraft, four standing in the back row and three kneeling in the front row.]
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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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[blank page]
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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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[photograph]
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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)
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[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
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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.
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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
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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
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A R Witty
Format
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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
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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.
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
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32366/EWittyARWitty[Fam]421215.jpg
cd1836cfe44ef0b6c489ab190f1d0622
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
MRS. F. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL, YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
751417
Sender’s Address 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK.
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA.
Date: 15/12/42
[circled NO. 2]
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
I have got pretty well settled down here now, which is just as well, as I shall probably be here for 3 to 4 months. I am in E Flight, 4 Squadron, although this has no need to appear in the address. There are 28 of us in this flight and, happily, many of them are from the old B Flight of Torquay. I have a new pal now, a pleasant chap by the name of Godfrey. You may remember Gates who I used to go about with in Torquay? Well, he has been luckier than some of us as he is already started on the course while an unfortunate minority of us will have to wait at least 4 weeks yet to do so. There was room only for a limited number of us to start straight away and the ones chosen were those who were originally called-up first. I just missed by a week.
However, I’m still having a fine time here, and I only wish you could all be [deleted] [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] here to enjoy it too. Prices generally are about as high as in England, maybe slightly higher, but fruit is cheap and there’s no rationing as you know it.
Cheerio and best of luck,
Ron.
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Writes that he is settled at Woodbrook in South Africa and tells a little about his life and training.
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
1942-12-15
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]421215
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-12-15
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32367/EWittyARWitty[Fam]421208.jpg
8bd35db4667a095d2f13c3e63daafedf
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
MR. & MRS. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL, ENGLAND.
686412
Sender’s Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.
48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, S. AFRICA.
Date: 8th Dec. 1942.
Dear Mum, Dad, Norman & Hazel,
Well here I am on terra firma once more and very thankful to be so. We arrived here on Sunday, 6th after a 42 hrs. train journey from Durban. The “cruise” was uneventful, though there were a few scares. All being well, I shall be starting on the next part of my training on Monday. This will last 9 weeks, without any flying. I hope you received the telegram I sent yesterday.
We are in for a jolly good time. I wish you could see the stuff in the shops now that Christmas is near. I hope you’re all well and that I shall soon be receiving Airgraphs from you.
Your affectionate Ron.
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Writes that he had arrived at Durban and went by train to East London. Mentions the uneventful sea journey and says he would start training soon.
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
1942-12-08
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]421208
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--Durban
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-12-08
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32368/EWittyARWitty[Fam]421220.jpg
fa070e97b190bb4a9c68a9ebeffdf081
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL, YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
779819
Sender’s Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON,
SOUTH AFRICA.
Date: 20/12/42
NO. 3
Dear Mum, Dad, Norman and Hazel,
It’s getting very near Christmas now and we’re all wondering what it’s going to be like. The food part of the question should be answered quite satisfactorily as all the essential ingredients are obtainable. We shall also make sure of getting in a good supply of fruit, nuts and chocolate. I don’t suppose the shops and cafés will be open on Christmas Day, but if they are, I shall certainly try to get some strawberries with ice-cream. Would you like some?
Congratulations, Norman, on winning your “Sparks,” though by the time you receive this you will no longer “feel” their presence on your sleeve but will be quite accustomed to it. I got this news from one of dad’s letters. It arrived 2 days ago addressed to my A.P.O. No. and posted 29/10/42. Dad makes fun of my Blackpool “laundering practice.” That was nothing. Here, I do all my own washing in preference to sending my things to the laundry. It’s surprising how quickly clothes get dirty when you have to wash them yourself. I seem to be always washing. Well I’ll have to close this strange mixture of food and washing. Hope you’re all well. I am. Cheerio, Ron.
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Looking forward to Christmas and speculates on food. Catches up with family and other news and mail. Concludes with family banter.
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
1942-12-20
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]421220
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East london
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-12-20
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32369/EWittyARWitty[Fam]421227.jpg
18c821cca7b95831421024e5835936e5
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL,
YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
806674
Sender’s Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.
48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, S. AFRICA.
Date: 27/12/42
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel, & Norman,
I have still received no word from you up to the present, but none of the other chaps have either so I’m not worrying, but all the same I shall be very pleased when I do hear from you. I expect the delay is due to the heavy Christmas mails.
We had a very pleasant Christmas here with an excellent dinner which included turkey, pork, pudding, cake, fruit, sweets, nuts, [underlined] ices, [/underlined] beer, etc. Of course it couldn’t compare with a Christmas at home, but it was beyond my expectations. I went to a camp film show in the morning but after the big Christmas dinner I spent a restful afternoon and I wasn’t able to eat much at tea-time as I was still feeling pretty full from the dinner. I played table-tennis in the evening. Yesterday morning, (Boxing Day), I went for a ramble along the beach and across country with “Jeff” Godfrey my latest pal. That’s one thing I’ve never done before in December. I did a little washing in the early afternoon. We went into town for tea and finished off the evening by seeing “The Man who came to Dinner,” a very amusing film.
I hope you are all well and that you had a good Christmas too. I hope Norman was able to be at home. By the way, since I sent [deleted] [indecipherable letter] [/deleted] my last airgraph I have received two letters from you, Ma, dated 24th and 27th October addressed to my A.P.O. number. Thanks for tip to stretch socks before drying. Cheerio. God bless you all. Ron. XXXXXX
P.S. Send PETER’S ADDRESS.
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Writes that he had not yet had any mail from them. Describes his Christmas and boxing day activities. At the end mentions he had just received mail.
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
1942-12-27
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1942-12-25
1942-12-27
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]421227
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. Correspondence
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
entertainment
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32370/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430103.jpg
081f7e7c6d55dfb718e8bce0bdc170b5
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL, YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
834410
Sender’s Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA.
Date: 3/1/43
Dear Mum, Dad, Norman and Hazel,
It’s Sunday morning, so once more I’m writing my weekly dispatch. I’m sorry to say I haven’t received any news from you yet: I suppose it is too much to expect, considering the Christmas rush. I hope you did get my telegram before Christmas, that’s the chief thing.
Most of us stayed up on [deleted] C [/deleted] New Year’s Eve to see the year 1943 begin. I regret to say, however, that quite a good number of the chaps were ‘out’ to the world well before midnight and travelled back to the camp in a very unairmanlike manner – quite horizontal in fact. There’s no whiskey up here but the various types of brandy seem to be quite wicked.
I spent the first 3 hours of the New Year at a pre-view cinema show, where I saw the film “The Fleet’s In.” We expected to have to walk back to camp, but our luck was in and we got a lift on a Ford truck. We were squeezed in like sardines and almost had to stand on one another’s shoulders but it was much better than walking 2 1/2 miles at 3 o’clock in the morning.
I hope you’re receiving my airgraphs regularly. I forget how many I’ve sent. So far I’ve written at intervals or [sic] 5, 6 or 7 days. I hope you’ve all started New Year well and in good health. God bless you all.
Ron
P.S. PLEASE SEND ME GRANDMA’S & AUNT ETTIE’S ADDRESSES
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Writes that he still had not received any mail from them. Describes new year celebrations and seeing a film and getting a lift back to camp.
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
1943-01-01
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430103
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-01-01
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
entertainment
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32371/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430110-02.jpg
3391e4dcd951a9c5215cb1e2769bd18c
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL, YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
863473
Sender’s Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA.
Date: 10/1/43
AIRGRAPH NO. 2.
(Continued from AIRGRAPH NO. 1)
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
As far as I can remember it’s 13 weeks now since I was home on leave, though it doesn’t seem that long. I wonder what kind of weather you’re having at the present moment. The weather here is at its warmest, and the more recent arrivals from Britain (myself included) can quite easily be distinguished by a peeling of the skin on the nose to a greater or lesser extent. The skin there is delicate and flakes on long exposure. Some chaps who did too much sun-bathing soon after our arrival had most of the skin of their backs peeling. Imagine that while the snow and slush lies around you.
I’d forgotten about that bomb. I suspect that the soldiers on the job realize that they’re on a good thing. They would probably have more strenuous work to do if they finished that job whereas at present there’s no N.C.O. to rush them. They probably re-bury the bomb as soon as they find it.
I spend most of my time off in town – often at a cinema or club. I’m also greatly improving my table-tennis I think. I’m also going to play billiards and football at the first opportunity. On the whole we’re having a very good time and are by no means overworked. I hope you’re all keeping as well as I am. God bless you all.
Ron
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Reports on mail received and catches up with family news. Hopes he will start his course soon.
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
1943-01-10
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430110-01
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-01-10
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
entertainment
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32373/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430117.jpg
d60a3af677d0dfdf4dbb35429d54fd3a
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL, YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
905216
Sender’s Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.
48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA.
Date: 17/1/43
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
I’ve received two more letters during the past week. One was dated 29th Oct. and addressed to Blackpool and the other (from Norman) dated 3rd Nov. addressed to A.P.O. No. So far, the latest communication from you is the E.F.M. sent on 12th Dec. and I’m eagerly awaiting the first telegram or airgraph in acknowledgement of my telegram containing my address, which I sent on 7th Dec.
Our flight is still waiting to start on the course, but if the current rumours are justified we should be starting in a week’s time. What an historic event! We’ve been waiting six months for it. Norman will be well-advised to take a few of his books with him if he goes on an aircrew course. He’ll have plenty of time. I’m still washing all my clothes and becoming quite efficient, though one person’s washing is quite enough.
Norman told me in his last letter about the kitten. That’s a nice thing to do as soon as my back is turned. There’ll be a bit of fur flying when I get home. I think I’ll give it a good bath with the stirrup-pump first.
During the past 2 or 3 weeks there have been one or two raids over N.E. England and the German communiqué mentioned Hull once, so I am anxious for news of you. I hope you are both alright at No. 63 and that Dad and Norman are well too. I am in good health, but inactivity is making me lazy. Cheerio till next week, and God bless you.
Ron. XXXXXX
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Reports arrival of mail. Mentions that his flight are still waiting to start their course but rumours suggest they will start in a week. Catches up with family news and gossip.
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
1943-01-17
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430117
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-01-17
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32374/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430122.jpg
74cab25437eac0da600553503f0b87e5
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL,
YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
949824
Sender’s Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA
Date: 22/1/43
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
It seems almost certain that we shall be starting on our course on Monday, 25th. I am now in No. 1 Sqdn. I was in No. 4 Sqdn. before. We already know the date of leaving 48 Air School. Providing we pass the exams at the end of the course we should be leaving on 29th March. We shall have only 9 weeks to complete the course, not 12 weeks as we had expected, so we shall have to do quite a lot of swotting in our spare time if we wish to get through. (Cont. 24/1/43) The weather during the week was very bad. We had heavy rain for 3 days and the ground became very muddy. Small streams of water flowed between the huts down the slope and, as they joined formed into two or three small “rivers” complete with “waterfalls.” There has been a shower today (Sunday) but the ground is already quite firm. I played my first game of snooker in South Africa yesterday and though we started off in a rather rusty fashion we each played a few good strokes and I expect we shall play quite often. My table-tennis is definitely much better than it ever has been but the snag here is in the acute shortage of [indecipherable word] balls, so it looks as if the table-tennis will soon come to an end.
I’ve still not received any letter or airgraph, etc. from you dated later than the E.F.M. telegram of the 12th December and am eagerly awaiting news. Cheerio. Ron
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Writes that they will be starting their course on Monday 25th. Writes of dates of future moves to new training schools. Mentions poor weather and playing snooker and table tennis.
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
1943-01-22
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430122
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-01-22
1943-01-25
1943-03-29
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32375/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430131.jpg
b69eecce72e1d06bf3933c7fb22eba9f
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL,
YORKS.,
[underlined] ENGLAND. [/underlined]
Sender’s Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
R.A.F., 48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, S. AFRICA.
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
I received my first Airgraph from you yesterday. It was dated 8/1/43 so it had certainly moved quickly. In it Mother mentioned that Norman was at home on New Year’s day and left on the Sunday but didn’t tell me where he is stationed. I hope he is much nearer home that he was at his first two stations. I’m glad to hear that you received my cable and first Airgraph and I only hope you received the cable before Christmas. You will have noticed the large round handwriting on the first of my Airgraph. The explanation is that I thought it wouldn’t be very easy to read if I wrote any smaller. It took me twice as long to write that size. If you find any difficulty in reading this size just let me know.
Things are much improved here as far as I’m concerned. Our flight has at last started on the course and we have just completed the first week. It will be a 9 weeks’ course and then we shall be posted to another station, providing we pass the examinations. We have a lot of work to get through and shall certainly have our noses to the grindstone all the way, but there is a general feeling of relief that we’re doing something worthwhile once more.
We are having very good weather at present and not too hot. Two or three weeks ago I was feeling rather sore about it; I had blisters on my shoulders and then all the skin on my shoulders and surrounding area [inserted] started to [/inserted] peel off. I have had my new skin nearly 2 weeks now. I hope you haven’t been getting too sunburned recently. Cheerio once more. Try to get more lines on your airgraphs. Hope you’re all A.1. God bless you all.
Ron XXXXXX
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Reports recent mail and catches up with family news. Writes that his flight have at last started training. His course would take 9 weeks and then he would move to another station. Writes about weather and sunburn.
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
1943-01-31
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430131
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-01-31
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32376/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430207.jpg
f8d318a094d5a41952a44a9957157f10
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL,
YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
59794
Sender’s Name and Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
R.A.F., 48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA.
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
I’ve received two airgraphs so far and I expect there’ll be one or two more for me tomorrow. Things have changed a lot in the two weeks we’ve been on the course. We’ve got stacks of notes already. Norman will be amused to hear that we are still pottering around 10 words per min on the buzzer, but it’s not really surprising when you consider it’s 4 or 5 months since we had any signals practice. Fortunately we have only to pass at 10 w. p. min. on the present course. We only have a small fraction of the spare time we used to have as we have 2 nights a week compulsory study. In spite of this, however, we are more contented.
We go to the cinema only once a week now and I’m also keeping up my snooker and table tennis. Pop’ll get a walloping at snooker if I can get regular “training” out here so he’d better heed this warning and get some practice in. We had lovely weather during the last two weeks and it looks as if it is going to continue. By the time you receive this you’ll be near the end of winter and thinking of digging the garden over shortly. (?? Some hope!) At different times since I left home I heard of Hull having air raids, so it was a great relief when I received the first airgraph from home. I hope you haven’t been bothered by the pests since then. Now I’ll close once more and say cheerio and God bless you all.
Ron. XXXXXX
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Reports arrival of mail and writes about his training and Morse keying speed of 10 words per minutes. Mentions he has little spare time but goes to cinema once a week and plays snooker and table tennis. Continues with banter and gossip,
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
1943-02-07
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430207
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-02-07
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
entertainment
Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32377/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430214.jpg
b7024457485a429a1a5f3a442606cad0
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
53 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL,
YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
109861
Sender’s Name and Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
R.A.F., 48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA.
Date: 14/2/43
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
During the week I have received only one airgraph (from Norman) and no letters etc. Norman’s airgraph took just 3 weeks to arrive. I’m very sorry to hear about Cyril and I expect his mother will be heart-broken over this. She was so very proud of Cyril. It doesn’t seem so very long since Cyril and Stan came round to see us during my last leave. He seemed so happy in the R.A.F. I wonder how Stan’s going on?
In a letter addressed to my A.P.O. number, Dad [deleted] he [/deleted] told me about grandfather being very ill. I hope he recovered. I expect that he did as there was no mention of him in the airgraph I’ve received recently.
I [sic] getting on very well with the course so far. We have now completed the first 3 weeks so in about 6 weeks’ time we shall be posted from here. Keep writing to this address though as all the letters are sent on from here to wherever we’re posted ([underlined] if [/underlined] we get through our exams.)
Hazel is learning to play the piano, [underlined] is [/underlined] she??? Thank heavens I can’t hear! If she keeps at it her playing should be just about bearable to the ears by the time I arrive home. I hope you’ve all come through the winter in good health (I expect you’ll receive this about 7th or 8th March.) You’d love to be out here: it is lovely weather now and has been for the last 2 weeks apart from one or two days when we had a very strong wind. Yours affectionately,
Ron.
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Reports arrival of mail and catches up with news of friends including one killed. Writes about grandfather being ill. Mentions he is getting on well on the course so far, three weeks gone and six to go. Catches up with other family news.
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
1943-02-14
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430214
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-02-14
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32392/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430222.jpg
cd179a178f73c15f0c860b2a1952ee4f
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL,
YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
158613
Sender’s Name and Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY. A.R.;
R.A.F., 48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, S. AFRICA.
Date: 22/2/43
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
I’m sorry I’m a day late in writing this week, but I have an excuse. A pal (from Torquay days) and I spent yesterday (Sunday) at the home of a Dr. Smyth. It was about the most enjoyable time I’ve had in the R.A.F. and I’m looking forward to next Sunday when we shall be going there again. I shall have to tell you more about the Smyth’s in a letter.
I received an airgraph from Pop today (dated 28/1/43) containing the birthday greeting. He meant to be in time, apparently. I hope you’ve been receiving my airgraphs every week as so far I’ve written very regularly. Regarding yours however, today’s airgraph was only the fourth received so far, so it looks as though some have gone astray. Norman’s last airgraph contained the very sad news about Cyril. I was very sorry to hear about him. It seems such a short time since I last saw him.
I am getting on reasonably well with the course, very well in fact, apart from a lazy disinclination to “swot”. My health is O.K. and I hope all you have to grumble about is the weather. God bless you all.
Ron XXXXXX
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Writes of exam and a very enjoyable visit to the home of a local doctor for the day. Catches up on mail sent received. Was sad to have received bad news of a friend. Says he is getting on well with the course.
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
1943-02-22
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430222
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-02-22
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32393/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430301.jpg
cbf8157284ab084f11f0f83820c3d7d8
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL,
YORKS.,
ENGLAND
202126
Sender’s Name and Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
R.A.F., 48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA.
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
I’m a day late in writing you again, I’m afraid you see, we spent yesterday at the Smyth’s. I believe I mentioned those good people last week. We (Fred Rolph and I) had another very pleasant day. It’s almost like being at home again. We do just as we please, and it came as a great relief to spend a whole day out of camp away from the monotonous environment.
I received the E.F.M. telegram 2 or 3 days ago (I believe I took either 8 or 9 days to arrive). I have been almost flooded out with letters recently. I got the letter from Hazel containing Sudd’s letter, a letter from Pop (dated 5th Jan), an airgraph from Sudd, and one from Andy. If I’m a little late in answering please forgive me, but just at present we’re getting into the thick of the work and I do some swotting nearly every night because there’s such a lot to learn. The examinations begin in two weeks’ time, so by the time you receive this my “fate” will have been decided. If I pass O.K. I shall leave here soon afterwards, but carry on sending the letters, etc. here till you get a new address. All my love Ron XXXX
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Writes of another pleasant day at the home of a local doctor. Says he has had a lot of mail recently but might be delayed in answering because he is working hard on the course with exams beginning is a weeks time.
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
1943-03-01
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430301
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-03-01
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32394/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430308.jpg
e2b0ba1e738287d0762528cc388d166e
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL, YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
299316
Sender’s name and Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.
R.A.F., 48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA.
Date: 8/3/43
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
Please forgive the scarcity of airgraphs as I’m now at one of the trying times of my R.A.F. career. The exams are due in a week’s time and so I’ve tons of swotting to do. I shall be busy every night now until the exams are over. If I get through I’ll send you dozens to make up.
I’ve received 2 letters today dated, believe it or not, 11th and 13th Nov., and addressed to my A.P.O. number. One is from Dad and one from Mother. My last 2 airgraphs also from Mother & Pop, are dated 12th & 9th Feb. It’s a few days since I received an airgraph but they’ll probably turn up in the next few days.
I’m glad to hear Aunt Aggie is alright and not taking things too badly.
I spent another very pleasant week-end with the Smythes, bathing in the morning, a nice lazy afternoon with old gramophone records, a drive in the car, and a game of bridge with the Doctor and his daughter (a 2nd Lieut in W.A.A.F’s). It is worth the loss of “swotting” hours to have such a delightful day. I only wish you were here to meet them too.
Cheerio now. Your affectionate Ron.
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Apologises for not writing but is was busy revising for upcoming exams. Mentions mail received and that he spent another pleasant weekend with local acquaintance.
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
1943-03-08
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Correspondence
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-03-08
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430308
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1817/32395/EWittyARWitty[Fam]430315-01.jpg
1e05576d5bd1c4ea4bd21ac1976c6f23
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
MR. & MRS. H.A. WITTY,
63 FARNDALE AVENUE,
SOUTHCOATES LANE,
HULL,
YORKS.,
ENGLAND.
381897
Sender’s Name and Address: 1520694 L.A.C. WITTY A.R.,
R.A.F., 48 AIR SCHOOL,
WOODBROOK,
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA
Date:15/3/43
[underlined] PART I [/underlined]
Dear Mum, Dad, Hazel and Norman,
Here is the weekly bulletin. Please excuse the sparsity of letters from me just recently and just hang on for a week or so. In two days’ time we shall be starting on our exams and by the weekend we should know our fate one way or the other. [underlined] If [/underlined] we get through O.K. we [underlined] may [/underlined] get a week’s leave here before being posted. If we’re unlucky we shall go on to the next course, which is due to finish 3 weeks later. As a matter of fact I have received very little correspondence from you all during the past week, although I did get an Air Mail letter from Norman today (dated 26th Jan). I think it would be better for you just to send Airgraphs – they’re much faster and take only 3 weeks to come. There is definitely no Air Mail Service for ordinary letters.
I’m pleased to [deleted] here [/deleted] hear you had a mild winter and amused to learn of the latest developments on the site of the unexplained bombs. It certainly looks as though the blighters want to keep their easy job and don’t particularly want to find the egg. Cheerio now. I’ll continue on a second form.
Your affectionate, Ron XXXXXX
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
Letter from Ron Witty to his mother, father and siblings
Description
An account of the resource
Part 1. Writes that his lack of letters is due to studying hard for exams and says what will happen when they are completed. Says he has not had much mail from home either and suggest they use airgrams which are faster. Catches up with gossip.
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
1943-03-15
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One page handwritten letter
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
EWittyARWitty[Fam]430315-01
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
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Yorkshire
England--Hull
South Africa
South Africa--East London
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-03-15
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
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.
training