Sandisondaughter (your #7709),
He shared his first room with the Headboy of Eton and the Headboy of Harrow, but he himself was the son of a postmaster from the Shetland Isles and his operational crew consisted of Australians and a Canadian
"
Cook's son – Duke's son – son of a belted Earl,
Son of a Lambeth publican – it's all the same to-day!
Each of 'em doing his country's work" [Kipling]
We were all thrown into into the melting pot together and found we were "brothers under the skin" [sorry, Kipling !] In India, the two IAF Vengeance Squadrons were a mix of Indians, British and all the Dominions. The RAF ones the same less Indian. We were an ad-hoc lot.
(your #7729)
After gaining his wings on 3rd Jan 1942 Dad stayed on to train as a flying instructor - completed in Feb 1942. His instructor came from Chicago. Dad then went on to instruct at Darr Aerotech in Albany. His logbook lists all his trainees. I wonder how many survived the war.
In my logbook is a puzzle. On 27th January, 1942, I had as instructor at Craig Field,Selma, a P/O I.D.Macmillan. He could not have been an Arnold student (too early). So where had he come from (Canada ?). And how did he come to be instructing at an Arnold School ? (I thought the idea was that the creamed-off Arnold people were supposed to instruct only at the BFTS [eg Darr Aerotech] - the Air Corps would bristle at the idea of a RAF officer instructing at one of their Schools).
Didn't they have enough "creamies" of their own ? IIRC, the Arnold Schools graduated 4493 pilots and kept 526 (11.7%) out there for (we now know) 12 months before returning to UK. Of course, the Arnold Scheme ended in May (?) '43, as they wanted all their training capacity for themselves, but the six BFTS kep
t going to the end. The 500 odd creamed off Arnold graduates must have supplied almost all their instructors.
(your #7734)
...at Turner Field, Albany from early November 1941 to end of December 1941 flying North Americans.
The AT-6A, aka Harvard
He qualified as a pilot on 3rd January 1942 and then went on to Instructors School <at Gunter Field, Montgomery, Alabama flying Vultees from 21.1.42 to 6.2.42.
I was there as a stude from 4.11.41. to 4.1.42. I don't know what your Dad thought of the Vultee BT-13 "Valiant" (and you had to be valiant to fly it !), but in my book it was the worst handling thing I ever flew, the thing should never have been put into production. The Empire FTS and the BFTS did without a Basic stage (and the BT-13 !) altogether, and felt no pain.
Then there was a period of consolidation at Cochran Field again from Feb to April 1942. He then instructed at Turner Field from June 1942 to December 1942.
Same problem: wasn't Turner Field Army Air Corps ? (not one of the six BFTS).
He was posted to No 1660 Conversion Unit, Swinderby in May, flying Manchester and then on 1st June 1943 his first flight in a Lancaster I.
I bet he was glad to see the back of the Manchester ! Is there another man alive who flew them ? What were they really like ? (the Lancaster must have made him feel as if all his Birthdays had come at once !)
This is all questions, I admit, but that is what this Thread is all about. Please continue your Dad's wonderful story, we know the outline, now we want the juicy stuff in between. The Devil (and the interest) is in the detail.
Regards, Danny.