At Vriezenveen (province of Overijssel) are six men buried. All died on 26 March 1942. Five of them are airmen, the sixth is from the Royal Artillery. The six men are: Sergeant Walter I. Christsen RAAF Sergeant Eric W.C. Creed RAAF Sergeant William W.R. Norton RAAF Sergeant Albert F.M. Emms RAF (214 Sqd) Sergeant John R. Payne RAF (214 Sqd) Captain Alfred P. Mair RA (attd RAF) I have checked LostBombers, but I could not find a 214 Squadron crash for 26 March 1942. So what happened to this aircraft? And why was there a RA Captain attached to the crew?
This was their mission Pieter. No. 214 (FMS) Squadron RAF - Squadron Personnel - M Scroll down the left side until you find A P Mair, the click crew and losses where his details are will tell you the loss details. Mystery about the RA Capt. Thought maybe a AOP guy, but would not make any sense on that type of aircraft. Cheers - Rob
Pieter Follow the link below and select 'Search now - as guest', search using 'Norton 400885' and then select the digitised items in the results. RecordSearch - National Archives of Australia According to the file (page 29) the RA officer was attached to the crew to observe the enemy Anti-aircraft fire.
Thanks for the info guys! Were there very often RA officers attached to aircrews for observations? Were these observations made for the intelligence officers at the briefings?
A bit more info here, under the heading 'I found Harry.' RAF Bassingbourn : RAF Operations 1938-1942 On board was my uncle, Captain Harold Butterworth, a 20 year old from Inverness Scotland. A Royal Artillery regiment officer he was now attached to the R.A.F. as a rear air turret gunner and observer. Intelligence had predicted clear weather over the whole bombing run and as with the 3 previous night sorties that week the planes of his 214 Squadron should return in the early hours of the next morning. He was rear turret gunner and as a Royal Artillery officer he was also in a good position to asses what ground-fire was in action.
It would be interesting to know on which scale RA officers were attached to RAF crews and where their observations were used for exactly.
I have to admit it's the first I've heard of it too. I've just found another piece which claims there were 16 volunteers for the role in 1942. I am yet to find exactly how the collected the intelligence. It soon emerged that he possessed an expertise in Anti-Aircraft fire. In 1942, he was one of 16 officers who volunteered to fly as air-gunners in Bomber crews over Germany, to study German Anti-Aircraft defences first-hand. Ralph Alexander Maltby | ParaData
Not a great deal more to add however I have a few of these who are buried in Germany. I could not find out whether they participated or only observed. Source: AWM237 (65) Micro Film No 463 OAFH Commonwealth War Graves records W R Chorley : RAF Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War :Page 53, Volume 1942.. Aircraft Type: Wellington Serial number: Z 1143 Radio call sign: BU - Unit: ATTD 214 SQN RAF Summary: Wellington Z1143 took off from RAF Stradishall on the night of 26/27th March 1942, detailed to bomb Essen, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. Crew: RAAF 400581 PO Creed, E W C Captain (Pilot) RAAF 400885 Sgt W W R Norton, (Pilot) RAAF 404277 Sgt W I Christsen, (Observer) RAF Sgt A F M Emms, (Wireless Air Gunner) RAF Sgt J R Payne, (Wireless Air Gunner) ARMY Capt Mair A P (Royal Artillery attached to 214 Sqn) The aircraft was shot down by a night fighter and crashed at 2225 hours at Vriezenveen (Overjissel) on the east side of the Overjissel Canal and some 9kms NNW of Almelo, Holland.. All on board were killed and they are buried in the Vriezenveen General Cemetery, Netherlands. Vriezaenveen is a small town 9kms north of Almelo and 1.5kms east of the Overjissel Canal.
CWGC :: Casualty Details Name: TINGLE, HOWARD GRANTLEY Initials: H G Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Captain Regiment/Service: Royal Artillery Age: 39 Date of Death: 02/04/1942 Service No: 88507 Awards: M C Additional information: Son of Eustace Martin Tingle and Ada Sarah Tingle; husband of Margot Tingle. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: 2. B. 18. Cemetery: DURNBACH WAR CEMETERY 214 Sqn Wellington IC BU- Op: Hanau P/O J H A Baker + Sgt D A S Hamilton RNZAF + F/S A R Vint + F/S T Flanagan + F/S R A J Trevillian + Capt H G Tingle MC, RA + T/o Stradishall. Crashed at Bad Siedlung, near Russelsheim, where the crew were first buried. Since the war, their remains have been exhumed and taken to Durnbach War Cemetery. BCL 1942 Vol 3 W R Chorley
Whilst looking for the MC citation for Captain Tingle I came across the following on the LG site. Viewing Page 3021 of Issue 35624 It lists another nine RA officers that received awards for 'gallant and distinguished services on air operations while attached to the Royal Air Force'.
Thanks Tom. I will try to edit the title of this thread, as it doesn't cover the real subject anymore.
Lancaster ED662 (9 Squadron) 6 - 7 april 1943 Operation: Training P/O J.F.Leleu KIA Sgt A.E.Ingram KIA Sgt A.J.McCoy KIA Sgt F.Worrall KIA Sgt G.B.Walker KIA Sgt A.H.Page KIA Sgt H.Wells KIA Lt G.P.Johnson RA KIA ED662 crashed 0330hrs 7Apr43, during the course of a Bullseye exercise, hitting the ground at Kennyhill, 1 mile N of Mildenhall Airfield, Suffolk. The accident was attributed to a total engine failure. Lt.Johnson RA had been attached from 105 Heavy ant- aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. Source: Lost Bombers The Scottish War Memorials Project :: View topic - Searching for the man whose forename I was given.: This thread contains some info and a picture of Sergeant Gordon B. Walker.
Name: JOHNSON, GEORGE PHILIP Initials: G P Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Lieutenant Regiment/Service: Royal Artillery Unit Text: 105 H.A.A. Regt. Secondary Regiment: Royal Air Force Secondary Unit Text: attd. 9 Sqdn. Age: 29 Date of Death: 07/04/1943 Service No: 228198 Additional information: Son of Samuel Johnson, M.C. and Mary Elizabeth Johnson, of Finchley, husband of Nancy Johnson, of Finchley. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. S5. Grave 65. Cemetery: EAST FINCHLEY CEMETERY AND ST. MARYLEBONE CREMATORIUM Pilot Officer Leleu and Sergeant McCoy are buried at Beck Row (St. John) Churchyard. Sergeant Ingram is buried at Bilton (St. Peter) Churchyard. Sergeant Worrall is buried at Barnsley Cemetery. Sergeant Wells is buried at Cardiff (Cathays) Cemetery. Sergeant Walker is buried at Mearns Cemetery. Sergeant Page is buried at Stockton-on-Tees (Oxbridge Lane) Cemetery.
I have to admit it's the first I've heard of it too. I've just found another piece which claims there were 16 volunteers for the role in 1942. I am yet to find exactly how the collected the intelligence. Ralph Alexander Maltby | ParaData Lieutenant Maltby's headstone at the Arnhem-Oosterbeek War Cemetery. Source: Sanguinicus set at Flickr.
Photo of Captain Tingle plus a brief biography (near the bottom of the page). http://www.214squadron.org.uk/Personnel_T_M.htm#1208 Headstone photo post # 1393 on this thread. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/searching-someone-military-genealogy/21194-royal-artillery-roll-honour-1939-47-a-140.html