Sgt G O John RAFVR and crew – 103 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1941/42.
Ditched on Return – 25/26th March 1941 – Vickers Wellington IC – R1393 – Op Essen.
Sgt John was posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds in the summer of 1941. He flew his first operation as co-pilot with Sgt Gosman and crew on the 11th September 1941 to Le Havre and 5 more with P/O Weilliams and crew. He was then made captain of his own crew and flew the following operation :-
26-Nov-41 – Ostend – Wellington – R1588 – Sgt GO John
06-Jan-42 – Brest – Wellington – DV452 – Sgt GO John - Landed at Warmwell
10-Jan-42 – Wilhelmshaven – Wellington – DV452 – Sgt GO John - Landed at Bircham Newton
21-Jan-42 – Bremen – Wellington – R1347 – Sgt GO John
25-Jan-42 – Brest – Wellington – R1347 – Sgt GO John
28-Jan-42 – Munster – Wellington – R1347 – Sgt GO John
14-Feb-42 – Mannheim – Wellington – R1347 – Sgt GO John - Regulator U/S. Bombed Dunkirk
21-Feb-42 - Mannheim and others – Wellington – W5690 – Sgt GO John - Navigational error. Bombed targets of opportunity
09-Mar-42 – Essen – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt GO John - Jettisoned bombs over target after bombing run as distributor U/S
12-Mar-42 – Emden – Wellington – Z1171 – Sgt GO John
25-Mar-42 – Essen – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt GO John - Ditched on return. Hit by flak. Hydraulics U/S. Petrol tanks holed. Ditched in sea on return 5 miles off Orfordness. Rescued. See below.
14-Apr-42 – Dortmund – Wellington – R1234 – Sgt GO John - Landed at Exeter
18-Apr-42 – Hamburg – Wellington – R1234 – Sgt GO John - P engine U/S. Jettisoned bombs. Engine picked up on return.
23-Apr-42 – Rostock – Wellington – R1234 – Sgt GO John – ER - Rear turret U/S
24-Apr-42 – Rostock – Wellington – R1234 – Sgt GO John
26-Apr-42 – Rostock – Wellington – R1234 – Sgt GO John
28-Apr-42 – Kiel – Wellington – R1234 – Sgt GO John
29-Apr-42 - Paris/ Gennevilliers – Wellington – R1234 – Sgt GO John
04-May-42 – Stuttgart – Wellington – R1234 – Sgt GO John - Took off late due to replacement of crew member because of sickness. Unable to reach primary by ETA. Bombed flak concentrations at Karlsruhe.
05-May-42 – Stuttgart – Wellington – DV596 – Sgt GO John
08-May-42 – Warnemunde – Wellington – R1234 – Sgt GO John - Bombed target and attacked several search lights with machine guns at low level
19-May-42 – Mannheim – Wellington – Z1171 – Sgt GO John
..........
25th March 1942 - R1393 ditched 5 miles off Orfordness which is on the Suffolk coast about 10 miles north of Felixstowe. The crew were rescued with no reported injuries
The crew:-
Sgt G O John,
Sgt W G Harrison
Sgt A A Conisbee - Killed 31 May 1942 Flowers
Sgt P G Williams
Sgt B C Slowly - Killed 31 May 1942 Flowers
F/S L Murray
..........
103 Squadron detailed 15 aircraft were detailed for this attack on the German city of Essen. One did not take off due to engine trouble and three more returned early due because of engine, instrument or electrical issues. Weather conditions at base were cloudy being 6/10ths to 9/10ths with tops at 5000 ft. Over the route tops were around 3000 ft breaking to cloudless over the target. On return the visibility improved. Returning crews reported ground haze which made target identification difficult but bombed on fires. Sgt Pugh was involved in a combat with a twin engined night fighter which was seen going down. All aircraft returned safely with the exception of Sgt John who ditched and was rescued.
For this attack on the Essen Bomber Command detailed a total of 254 aircraft with 11 lost. Post raid analysis showed that most of the bombing had been directed at a decoy fire site at Rheinberg 18 miles west of Essen.
….......
Wellington R1393
This machine was a veteran of 32 operations and was flown by a number of well known 103 Sqn pilots of the time. Kitney, Leslie, Fulbrook and Pugh stand out
See below :-
24-Apr-41 – Kiel – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt CH Muggeridge
30-Apr-41 – Kiel – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt CH Muggeridge
03-May-41 – Cologne – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt CH Muggeridge
05-May-41 – Mannheim – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt CH Muggeridge
08-May-41 – Bremen – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt CH Muggeridge
02-Jun-41 – Duisburg – Wellington – R1393 – P/O CH Muggeridge
16-Jun-41 – Duisburg – Wellington – R1393 – P/O CH Muggeridge
17-Jun-41 – Duisburg – Wellington – R1393 – P/O CH Muggeridge
20-Jun-41 – Kiel – Wellington – R1393 – P/O CH Muggeridge - ER
10-Jul-41 – Boulogne – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt RK Kitney
02-Aug-41 – Hamburg – Wellington – R1393 – P/O Allen – DNTO - Engine U/S
07-Aug-41 – Essen – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt JC Addy
14-Aug-41 – Hanover – Wellington – R1393 – P/O Allen
18-Aug-41 – Duisburg – Wellington – R1393 – P/O Allen
19-Aug-41 - Le Havre – Wellington – R1393 – F/L RS Crawford
22-Aug-41 – Mannheim – Wellington – R1393 – F/O RJA Leslie RNZAF
27-Aug-41 – Mannheim – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt HEJ Giles
16-Dec-41 – Wilhelmshaven – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt HEJ Giles - Hit by light flak.
28-Dec-41 – Wilhelmshaven – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt HEJ Giles
06-Jan-42 – Brest – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt HEJ Giles
09-Jan-42 – Brest – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt HEJ Giles
10-Jan-42 – Wilhelmshaven – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt HEJ Giles - Bombed airfield. Landed at Horsham St Faith.
21-Jan-42 – Bremen – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt HEJ Giles - DNTO
25-Jan-42 – Brest – Wellington – R1393 – P/O DM Jones - S engine partially failed causing considerable difficulty in control.
28-Jan-42 – Munster – Wellington – R1393 – P/O DM Jones - Bombed Emmerich area
06-Feb-42 – Brest – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt REV Pugh - Unable to locate primary. W/T U/S. Landed Exeter
14-Feb-42 – Mannheim – Wellington – R1393 – W/O RJ Fulbrook - Carried 36 flares. Unable to locate target due to cloud conditions. Returned with load.
09-Mar-42 – Essen – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt GO John - Jettisoned bombs over target after bombing run as distributor U/S
25-Mar-42 – Essen – Wellington – R1393 – Sgt GO John - Ditched on return. Hit by flak. Hydraulics U/S. Petrol tanks holed. Ditched in sea on return 5 miles off Orfordness. Rescued.
Item compiled by David Fell
....................
|
