Vengeance with 84 squadron
Hi Danny
As you can see I have listed his postings etc for you all to see. Yes I got some wrong but these are now off his log books so are as accurate as I can make them now, sorry for the mistakes.
Dad didn't have Arthur Gill as his CO then but they spoke on may occasions in the 1990's. W/C Constable Maxwell DSO DFC was Dad's main CO (& he did not like him much though); he liked John Quinton (DFC & GC) his Navigator a lot as he was a great bloke.
He was in Yelahanka from Oct 44 to March 45. Who were you with then? After Arthur Gill it was Plumb, Aitkens & Jay as the unit CO's.
My dad flew Vengeance No AN764 3 times and Vengeance AN780 3 times in Dec 44. He said it was like flying a bus, he also said you felt you could go for a walk in the cockpit. (He only was Flying the Oxford and Harvard in Nov 44). he flew with f/Lt Milnes on 11 Dec 44 in Harvard FT193.
His first Mossie flight was 26 Feb 45 in HR638 and his second later that day wrote this A/C off. Log book says "Back Broken-Port wing off AND LOTS MORE" it is classed as Carelessness due to incorrect tank drill so no fuel no fly really. sound like a theory on another great fliers loss anyone?
He later saved HR583 ( Mar45) after the Port constant Speed Unit failed (no oil) landed on one engine. No brownie points as he and G McMahon refused order to bail out!!!!! Drat no caterpillar for him.
He and W/o George Mc Mahon (Nav) did a Beat Up of Batavia on 29 Sept 1945 enjoyed that bit.
Dad was Acting CO in Nov & Dec 45 when Constable Maxwell was in Java but there is no record of any more flying for him after the Saigon trip.
He was shot at by the Pre VC in Vietnam at the Airfield on Oct 15th he was waiting with his pistol with five shots for them and the last for you know who. He didn't like the idea of being a prisoner of the VC after seeing Changi etc, he said. He never fired the S & W at all though; as the RAF regiment sorted the raiders out. so that is why I am here I suppose.
Hope this help you out on my dad and what he did!!!
Cheers
Al
Last edited by Wee Ronny; 3rd Jul 2014 at 16:25.
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