Record of Operations Flown from John Mortimer Viney's Log Book From

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Record of Operations Flown from John Mortimer Viney's Log Book From Record of Operations Flown from John Mortimer Viney’s Log Book From May 1941 to September 1942 flying training. 1942 1. 13 September: “Bremen” – a major industrial city in north-west Germany 2. 16 September: “Essen” – a major city in the heart of the Ruhr industrial area October 14: posted to 158 Squadron RAF Rufforth 3. 22 October: “Genoa landed Castle Camp” - an Italian port, operation timed to coincide with opening of offensive at El Alamein 4. 7 November: “Genoa SOS sent short of petrol landed Manston” 5. 9 November: “Hamburg” - large north German port and industrial area 6. 15 November: “Genoa, SOS sent short of petrol landed Thorney Island” 7. 22 November: “Stuttgart port outer cut 200 miles SE France. Ops abandoned & returned to base” – Stuttgart a major railway centre in south-west Germany 8. 26 November: “mine laying” - off Bay of Biscay and the Frisian Islands, without loss 9. 2 December: “Frankfurt” – an important German trade and industrial area 10. 6 December: “Mannheim” 11. 11 December : “Turin port inner cut over alps (bombs jettisoned over Swiss, much umbrage taken by them) landed Abingdon” Turin, an industrial city in Italy. More than half the force turn back before the Alps because of severe icing. This presumably happened to JMV 12. 20 December: “Duisberg” – German city, a centre of chemical, steel and iron industries 1943 13. 14 January: “Lorient bad weather, good photo, returned via Bay of Biscay” Lorient was the German U-boat base on west coast of France 14. 15 January: “Lorient ideal trip” 15. 29 January: “Lorient” 16. 3 February: “Hamburg” 17. 13 February: “Lorient” – 466 planes dropped over 1,000 tons of bombs trying to destroy the German U-boat pens. However, it was thought that whilst the town was flattened the pens survived. 18. 14 February: “Cologne” 19. 25 February: “Nurmberg (sic) highly successful effort” – German city, birthplace of Third Reich 20. 8 March: “Nurmberg a/c damaged landed Harwell” 21. 12 March: “Essen port inner hit by flak returned 3 engines. Photo of aiming point” – Essen was home to the Kripps plant, which was badly damaged 22. 10 April: “Frankfurt” 23. 14 April: “Stuttgart flak damage no hydraulics exceptionally good effort” 24. 16 April: “Pilsen” – Skoda armament works in Czechoslovakia 25. 20 April: “Stettin” – a port on the Baltic 26. 26 April: “Duisberg diverted Marston Moor” 27. 28 April: “Kattegat” – sea between Denmark and Sweden 28. 4 May: “Dortmund” – an important centre of the coal and steel industries 1944 29. 11 May: “France – Colline-Beaumont” – a gun position at Le Touquet 30. 19 May: “Boulogne” – French port 31. 24 May: “Aachen 25% Squadron missing” – important railway junction 32. 2 June: “Trappes M.Y. 20% Squadron lost 5 – 23” – a railway marshaling yard to the west of Paris 33. 6 June: 00.45 am “Maisy coastal 6 gun Batt. D-Day Allied Forces Land on Normandy” 34. 6 June : 23.35 pm “Chateaudun M.Y.” – Luftwaffe airfield 70 miles south- west of Paris 35. 8 June “Gare de Versailles” – railway junction 36. 22 June: “Siracourt (Rocket planes)” – bunkers housing V-1 launch pads 37. 30 June: “Villers-Bocage” – in support of ground forces in Normandy campaign 38. 6 July: “Marquise Nimoyeques” (sic) V-3 flying bomb launch site at Mimoyecques, finally destroyed on 6 July with use of “Tallboy” bombs 39. 29 July: “Foret de Nieppe” – V-1 flying bomb site 40. 5 August: “Foret de Nieppe” 41. 12 August: “Brunswick attacked by fighter lost port outer engine” – German industrial city August 27 1944 posted to RAF Leconfield Officer Commanding 640 Squadron 42. 27 August: “Homberg” – 1st large-scale daylight raid on Germany, the target the synthetic-oil refinery at Meerbeck 43. 10 September: “Le Havre” – in support of ground troops in Normandy campaign 44. 12 September: “Munster” – a military centre 45. 17 September: “Boulogne” – attack on French port in support of ground troops 46. 14 October: “Duisberg” – German industrial centre, massive Allied attack 47. 17 November: “Munster formation leader” 48. 12 December: “Essen” 1945 49. 16 January: “Magdeburg” Completion of second tour of operations consisting of 21 sorties completed 22 January: Posted to RAF Carnaby as Station Commander 4 May: “crew depart for Canada after 3 years as the same crew” The record has been annotated with brief notes by Sarah Wearne, Abingdon School Archivist .
Recommended publications
  • CHRIST CHURCH LIBRARY NEWSLETTER Volume 7, Issue 3 Trinity 2011
    CHRIST CHURCH LIBRARY NEWSLETTER Volume 7, Issue 3 Trinity 2011 ISSN 1756-6797 (Print), ISSN 1756-6800 (Online) The Aeschylus of Richard Porson CATALOGUING ‘Z’ - EARLY PRINTED PAMPHLETS Among the treasures of the library of Christ Church is It is often asserted that an individual is that which an edition of the seven preserved plays of they eat. Whether or not this is true in a literal sense, Aeschylus, the earliest of the great Athenian writers the diet to which one adheres has certain, of tragedy. This folio volume, published in Glasgow, predictable effects on one’s physiology. As a result, 1795, by the Foulis (‘fowls’) Press, a distinguished the food we consume can affect our day to day life in publisher of classical and other works, contains the respect to our energy levels, our size, our Greek text of the plays, presented in the most demeanour, and our overall health. And, also as a uncompromising manner. I propose first to describe result, this affects how we address the world, it this extraordinary volume and then to look at its affects our outlook on life and how we interact with place in the history of classical scholarship. The book others. This is all circling back around so that I can contains a title page in classical Greek, an ancient ask the question: are we also that which we read? To life of Aeschylus in Greek, and ‘hypotheses’ or an extent, a person in their early years likely does summaries of the plays, some in Greek and some in not have the monetary or intellectual freedom to Latin.
    [Show full text]
  • 3.1 the Dambusters Revisited
    The Dambusters Revisited J.L. HINKS, Halcrow Group Ltd. C. HEITEFUSS, Ruhr River Association M. CHRIMES, Institution of Civil Engineers SYNOPSIS. The British raid on the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams on the night of 16/17 May, 1943 caused the breaching of the 40m high Möhne and 48m high Eder dams and serious damage to the 69m high Sorpe dam. This paper considers the planning for the raid, model testing, the raid itself, the effects of the breaches and the subsequent rehabilitation of the dams. Whilst the subject is of considerable historical interest it also has significant contemporary relevance. Events following the breaching of the dams have been used for the calibration of dambreak studies and emphasise the vulnerability of road and railway bridges which is not always acknowledged in contemporary studies. INTRODUCTION In researching this paper the authors have been very struck by the human interest in the story of English, German and Ukrainian people, whether civilian or in uniform, who participated in some aspect of the raid or who lost their lives or homes. As befits a paper for the British Dam Society, this paper, however, concentrates on the technical questions that arise, leaving the human story to others. This paper was prompted by the BDS sponsored visit, in April 2009, to the Derwent Reservoir by 43 members of the Association of Friends of the Hubert-Engels Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Applied Hydromechanics at Dresden University of Technology. There is a small museum at the dam run by Vic Hallam, an employee of Severn Trent Water.
    [Show full text]
  • A Tribute to Bomber Command Cranwellians
    RAF COLLEGE CRANWELL “The Cranwellian Many” A Tribute to Bomber Command Cranwellians Version 1.0 dated 9 November 2020 IBM Steward 6GE In its electronic form, this document contains underlined, hypertext links to additional material, including alternative source data and archived video/audio clips. [To open these links in a separate browser tab and thus not lose your place in this e-document, press control+click (Windows) or command+click (Apple Mac) on the underlined word or image] Bomber Command - the Cranwellian Contribution RAF Bomber Command was formed in 1936 when the RAF was restructured into four Commands, the other three being Fighter, Coastal and Training Commands. At that time, it was a commonly held view that the “bomber will always get through” and without the assistance of radar, yet to be developed, fighters would have insufficient time to assemble a counter attack against bomber raids. In certain quarters, it was postulated that strategic bombing could determine the outcome of a war. The reality was to prove different as reflected by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris - interviewed here by Air Vice-Marshal Professor Tony Mason - at a tremendous cost to Bomber Command aircrew. Bomber Command suffered nearly 57,000 losses during World War II. Of those, our research suggests that 490 Cranwellians (75 flight cadets and 415 SFTS aircrew) were killed in action on Bomber Command ops; their squadron badges are depicted on the last page of this tribute. The totals are based on a thorough analysis of a Roll of Honour issued in the RAF College Journal of 2006, archived flight cadet and SFTS trainee records, the definitive International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) database and inputs from IBCC historian Dr Robert Owen in “Our Story, Your History”, and the data contained in WR Chorley’s “Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, Volume 9”.
    [Show full text]
  • No. 138 Squadron Arrived Flying Whitleys, Halifaxes and Lysanders Joined the Following Month by No
    Life Of Colin Frederick Chambers. Son of Frederick John And Mary Maud Chambers, Of 66 Pretoria Road Edmonton London N18. Born 11 April 1917. Occupation Process Engraver Printing Block Maker. ( A protected occupation) Married 9th July 1938 To Frances Eileen Macbeath. And RAFVR SERVICE CAREER OF Sergeant 656382 Colin Frederick Chambers Navigator / Bomb Aimer Died Monday 15th March 1943 Buried FJELIE CEMETERY Sweden Also Remembered With Crew of Halifax DT620-NF-T On A Memorial Stone At Bygaden 37, Hojerup. 4660 Store Heddinge Denmark Father Of Michael John Chambers Grandfather Of Nathan Tristan Chambers Abigail Esther Chambers Matheu Gidion Chambers MJC 2012/13 Part 1 1 Dad as a young boy with Mother and Grandmother Dad at school age outside 66 Pretoria Road Edmonton London N18 His Father and Mothers House MJC 2012/13 Part 1 2 Dad with his dad as a working man. Mum and Dad’s Wedding 9th July 1938 MJC 2012/13 Part 1 3 The full Wedding Group Dad (top right) with Mum (sitting centre) at 49 Pembroke Road Palmers Green London N13 where they lived. MJC 2012/13 Part 1 4 After Volunteering Basic Training Some Bits From Dads Training And Operational Scrapbook TRAINING MJC 2012/13 Part 1 5 Dad second from left, no names for rest of people in photograph OPERATIONS MJC 2012/13 Part 1 6 The Plane is a Bristol Blenheim On leave from operations MJC 2012/13 Part 1 7 The plane is a Wellington Colin, Ken, Johnny, Wally. Before being posted to Tempsford Navigators had to served on at least 30 operations.
    [Show full text]
  • Number 617 Squadron After the Dams Raid by Robert Owen
    Number 617 Squadron after the Dams Raid by Robert Owen In May 1943 Number 617 Squadron of Bomber Command, the Royal Air Force, succeeded in breaching two of Germany’s great dams. A few months after this success the Squadron moved from its airfield at Scampton in Lincolnshire to a new base: Coningsby, in the same county. The Squadron had a new commander, Sqn Ldr George Holden, and was re-equipped with Lancasters that had been adapted to carry the latest and heaviest weapon in Bomber Command’s arsenal, a 12,000 lb blast bomb that looked rather like three large dustbins bolted together. On the night of 15/16 September 1943, 8 aircraft carrying this weapon were despatched to make a low level attack against an embanked section of the Dortmund – Ems Canal. The canal was an important link in Germany’s internal transport network. A combination of bad weather and heavy defences took their toll. Five of the eight aircraft, including that of the Squadron Commander, failed to return.The canal was undamaged. Sir Arthur Harris, Commander in Chief of Bomber Command, was faced with the choice of what to do with the depleted Squadron. He decided to re-build it for special duties. Harris knew that Barnes Wallis, inventor of the bouncing mine that had broken the dams back in May, was developing a new bomb. Wallis’s latest weapon was designed to penetrate deep into the ground before exploding, and so to cause an earthquake effect that would destroy the most substantial of structures. Although this was not yet ready, it would need to be dropped from high level with great accuracy.
    [Show full text]
  • Le V-2 Arme Stratégique
    Le V-2 arme stratégique par Gérard Hartmann d’un obus propulsé capable de bombarder La société Verein für l’ennemi à plus de 200 kilomètres (tir balistique hors atmosphère). Mais les travaux Raumschiffahrt de recherche aux résultats douteux et lointains n’intéressaient pas les militaires qui voulaient Dès qu’on sort de notre atmosphère, des solutions immédiates pour se sortir de la l’espace est totalement noir (sans lumière), guerre. Cinq années plus tard, en 1922, Oberth propose de nouveau au ministère de la guerre irrespirable (sans air), désorienté (pesanteur allemand l’étude d’un missile de plus faible), irradié (traversé de particules bombardement à longue portée. Certains cosmiques), glacé (-70°C) et dangereux militaires, en particulier dans l’artillerie, (bombardé de météorites). Mais pourtant, comprennent le principe de la fusée qui l’homme rêve d’y voyager. Adeptes des voyages spatiaux, probablement à la suite de semble établi depuis 1920 par plusieurs la lecture du livre de Jules Verne « De le terre à théoriciens, René Lorin et Robert Esnault- Pelterie (voir plus loin) en France, Robert la Lune », plusieurs jeunes Allemands se Hutchings Goddard (1882-1945) aux Etats-Unis, réunissent dans un club à la tête duquel se Constantin Tsiolkovski (1857-1935) en Russie. trouve un professeur de gymnastique de 33 Mais il n’existe encore aucune réalisation ans, Hermann Oberth (1894-1989). Fondé le 5 pratique d’un obus autopropulsé, d’un moteur juillet 1927 à Standort von Breslau près de Berlin, ce club est une « société pour les fusée à réaction et encore moins d’un missile.
    [Show full text]
  • Up from Kitty Hawk Chronology
    airforcemag.com Up From Kitty Hawk Chronology AIR FORCE Magazine's Aerospace Chronology Up From Kitty Hawk PART ONE PART TWO 1903-1979 1980-present 1 airforcemag.com Up From Kitty Hawk Chronology Up From Kitty Hawk 1903-1919 Wright brothers at Kill Devil Hill, N.C., 1903. Articles noted throughout the chronology provide additional historical information. They are hyperlinked to Air Force Magazine's online archive. 1903 March 23, 1903. First Wright brothers’ airplane patent, based on their 1902 glider, is filed in America. Aug. 8, 1903. The Langley gasoline engine model airplane is successfully launched from a catapult on a houseboat. Dec. 8, 1903. Second and last trial of the Langley airplane, piloted by Charles M. Manly, is wrecked in launching from a houseboat on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Dec. 17, 1903. At Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk, N.C., Orville Wright flies for about 12 seconds over a distance of 120 feet, achieving the world’s first manned, powered, sustained, and controlled flight in a heavier-than-air machine. The Wright brothers made four flights that day. On the last, Wilbur Wright flew for 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet. (Three days earlier, Wilbur Wright had attempted the first powered flight, managing to cover 105 feet in 3.5 seconds, but he could not sustain or control the flight and crashed.) Dawn at Kill Devil Jewel of the Air 1905 Jan. 18, 1905. The Wright brothers open negotiations with the US government to build an airplane for the Army, but nothing comes of this first meeting.
    [Show full text]
  • The RAF Discovered That a 15 Year-Old 'Gate Guard' Grand Slam Bomb – Was Actually LIVE!!!!
    Vintage News Strangeness, 6 November 2015 The RAF discovered that a 15 year-old ‘Gate Guard’ Grand Slam bomb – was actually LIVE!!!! Apparently when Lincolnshire County Council were widening the road past RAF Scampton’s main gate in about 1958, the ‘gate guards’ there had to be moved to make way for the new carriageway. Scampton was the WWII home of 617 Sqn, and said “gate guards” were a Lancaster…and a Grand Slam bomb. When they went to lift the Grand Slam, thought for years to just be an empty casing, with an RAF 8 Ton Coles Crane, it wouldn’t budge. “Oh, it must be filled with concrete” they said. Then somebody had a horrible thought …. No!….. Couldn’t be? … Not after all these years out here open to the public to climb over and be photographed sitting astride! …. Could it? …. Then everyone raced off to get the Station ARMO. He carefully scraped off many layers of paint and gingerly unscrewed the base plate. Yes, you guessed it, live 1944 explosive filling! The beast was very gently lifted onto an RAF ‘Queen Mary’ low loader, using a much larger civvy crane (I often wonder what, if anything, they told the crane driver), then driven slowly under massive police escort to the coastal experimental range at Shoeburyness. There it was rigged for demolition, and when it ‘high ordered’, it proved in no uncertain terms to anyone within a ten mile radius that the filling was still very much alive! Exhaustive investigations then took place, but nobody could find the long-gone 1944, 1945 or 1946 records which might have shown how a live 22,000 lb bomb became a gate guard for nearly the next decade and a half.
    [Show full text]
  • The Long Search for a Surgical Strike Precision Munitions and the Revolution in Military Affairs
    After you have read the research report, please give us your frank opinion on the contents. All comments––large or small, complimentary or caustic––will be gratefully appreciated. Mail them to CADRE/AR, Building 1400, 401 Chennault Circle, Maxwell AFB AL 36112–6428. The Long Search for Mets a Surgical Strike Precision Munitions and the Revolution in Military Affairs Cut along dotted line Thank you for your assistance ............................................................................................... ......... COLLEGE OF AEROSPACE DOCTRINE, RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AIR UNIVERSITY The Long Search for a Surgical Strike Precision Munitions and the Revolution in Military Affairs DAVID R. METS, PhD School of Advanced Airpower Studies CADRE Paper No. 12 Air University Press Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama 36112-6615 October 2001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mets, David R. The long search for a surgical strike : precision munitions and the revolution in military affairs / David R. Mets. p. cm. -- (CADRE paper ; no. 12) — ISSN 1537-3371 At head of title: College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research and Education, Air University. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-58566-096-5 1. Air power--History. 2. Air power--United States. 3. Precision guided munitions-- History. 4. Precision guided munitions--United States. I. Title. II. CADRE paper ; 12. UG630 .M37823 2001 359'00973--dc21 2001045987 Disclaimer Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author and do not
    [Show full text]
  • Gallantry in the Air
    Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum Gallantry in the Air 0 This is the property of Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre, a North Kesteven District Council service. The contents are not to be reproduced or further disseminated in any format without written permission from NKDC. Introduction This file contains material and images which are intended to complement the displays and presentations in Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum’s exhibition areas. This file is intended to let you discover more about the heroism of aircrew whose acts of bravery during World War 2 resulted in them receiving gallantry awards. Where possible all dates regarding medal awards and promotions have been verified with entries published in the London Gazette. This file is the property of Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum, a North Kesteven District Council service. The contents are not to be reproduced or further disseminated in any format, without written permission from North Kesteven District Council. 1 This is the property of Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre, a North Kesteven District Council service. The contents are not to be reproduced or further disseminated in any format without written permission from NKDC. Contents Page Wg Cdr Roderick Learoyd 3 FO Leslie Manser 5 WO Norman Jackson 7 Sqn Ldr Arthur Scarf 9 Sqn Ldr James Lacey 11 Wg Cdr Hugh Malcolm 13 Wg Cdr Guy Gibson 15 Gp Capt Douglas Bader 17 Wg Cdr Leonard Cheshire 19 Gp Capt Francis Beamish 21 FS John Hannah 24 Flt Lt Pat Pattle 26 FS George Thompson 28 Flt Lt William Reid 30 FO Kenneth Campbell 32 Gp Capt James Tait 34 Gp Capt John Braham 36 Sqn Ldr John Nettleton 38 Wg Cdr Adrian Warburton 40 Wg Cdr Brendan Finucane 42 Flt Lt Eric Lock 44 AVM James Johnson 46 Sqn Ldr Johnny Johnson 48 FS Leslie Chapman 50 2 This is the property of Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre, a North Kesteven District Council service.
    [Show full text]
  • {Download PDF} Return of the Dambusters : What 617 Squadron
    RETURN OF THE DAMBUSTERS : WHAT 617 SQUADRON DID NEXT PDF, EPUB, EBOOK John Nichol | 384 pages | 30 Jun 2016 | HarperCollins Publishers | 9780008100858 | English | London, United Kingdom Return of the Dambusters : What 617 Squadron Did Next PDF Book Hardback Published 03 Sep I did not know much about these raids at the time, but from then on I spent more and more time in my local library researching the history of Bomber Command and the Dambuster raids. Now, its strategically important railway viaduct was the objective. Love Island's Alexandra Cane reflects on her 'obsession' with fitness while in lockdown and claims o Eighty men survived the raid. Small thing I know, but he was very proud to have had the honour of mending Guy Gibsons watch……. Some raw figures extracted from this list: men took part in Operation Chastise the Dams Raid ; 19 crews each of 7 men. This is an incredible story about a group of incredibly brave men who put themselves in mortal danger every time they took part in a raid. My wifes patents were at Scampto with squadren her dad was a medic and her mum was a waaf cook we cannot find any record or pictures of them their names were miss F Spir and A. Name required. In 'After The Flood', John Nichol retraces the path of Squadron's most dangerous sorties as their reputation called them into action again and again. Dresden Sinclair McKay auth Community Reviews. Aug 16, Lee rated it liked it. The crews trained relentlessly with low-level flying in order to achieve the maximum level of surprise.
    [Show full text]
  • Conventional Weapons
    ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 2 The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the contributors concerned and are not necessarily those held by the Royal Air Force Historical Society. First published in the UK in 2009 by the Royal Air Force Historical Society All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. ISSN 1361 4231 Printed by Windrush Group Windrush House Avenue Two Station Lane Witney OX28 4XW 3 ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY President Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham GCB CBE DFC AFC Vice-President Air Marshal Sir Frederick Sowrey KCB CBE AFC Committee Chairman Air Vice-Marshal N B Baldwin CB CBE FRAeS Vice-Chairman Group Captain J D Heron OBE Secretary Group Captain K J Dearman FRAeS Membership Secretary Dr Jack Dunham PhD CPsychol AMRAeS Treasurer J Boyes TD CA Members Air Commodore G R Pitchfork MBE BA FRAes *J S Cox Esq BA MA *Dr M A Fopp MA FMA FIMgt *Group Captain A J Byford MA MA RAF *Wing Commander P K Kendall BSc ARCS MA RAF Wing Commander C Cummings Editor & Publications Wing Commander C G Jefford MBE BA Manager *Ex Officio 4 CONTENTS RFC BOMBS & BOMBING 1912-1918 by AVM Peter Dye 8 THE DEVELOPMENT OF RAF BOMBS, 1919-1939 by 15 Stuart Hadaway RAF BOMBS AND BOMBING 1939-1945 by Nina Burls 25 THE DEVELOPMENT OF RAF GUNS AND 37 AMMUNITION FROM WORLD WAR 1 TO THE
    [Show full text]