Danny
(Ref your post 82) Re my father signing your log book: he also had jaundice and had a couple of weeks recuperating at Ooty, maybe around April '43 (?)... you weren't there too were you?
Re maximum possible length of operational flights. Arthur records only one mission at 3 hr 25. Four others were 3 hrs or 3.05. They were with a standard bomb-load of 1500lb. As I said previously, they had to be very careful to conserve fuel... throttle right back and gentle climbing. That long one was in a Vengeance III, the others in V.II or V.III. So possibly that was a factor in pushing the distance.
Re the number of aircraft deployed on ops. A quick flick through the log book indicates that during the period 84 Sqn were in the company of other Vengeance sqns (to about late May '44, when the monsoon arrived) a handful of ops were with 6 aircraft, half of the rest were either with 12 (probably 84 Sqn aircraft) and half were with larger formations of up to 36 aircraft. After the monsoon arrived, 84 were operating alone and most of the ops were with 12 aircraft. On some ops, Arthur neglected to note down the number of aircraft.
Ha! Funny that you got a bollocking for firing your forward guns... creating work for the ground crew! The telling-off must have specifically referred to 'wasting ammunition'... otherwise it stretches the imagination a bit far!! Think you might be guilty of making out the reprimand was less justified than it really was?! Though it's slightly in the same vein as Arthur being told-off for shooting down a Jap aircraft... after having exceeded geographical limits. (I thought people were
supposed to launch lead at the enemy!)
That's coincidental! You suggest that your 5 war years were the equivalent of gaining a degree. I was thinking precisely the same thing a couple of days ago. The analogy has it's limits of course. Honours degrees don't involve putting your life on the line... and they mostly involve resolving imaginary problems... exercises, projects and so on. You people were dealing with deadly reality in difficult circumstances. That's partly why you are so venerated... you were challenged on behalf of the nation... and you met that challenge with distinction.
(Ref your post 83)
Re Gabrielson being thrown out of his aircraft... 'Scorpion's Sting' elaborates. 'B' Flight flew unwittingly into a cumulo nimbus cloud with it's dangerous up-currents. They were thrown all over the place, Gabrielson ending up suspended on his leash, upside down and half way out of the cockpit. He couldn't get back in and so released the quick-release catch. Happily he had had the foresight to clip his chest parachute to his harness in view of the conditions they were flying in. He landed by parachute in a bamboo thicket. Naga tribesmen (headhunters) found him and took him back to their village. Here he was greeted by a well-armed Ursula Bower, the Naga's 'White Princess'. She was reporting back by radio on Jap movements. He was escorted back to civilisation and thence turned up at Kumbhirigram after 6 days travel, reporting for duty to Arthur, the CO!
Re the death of Keech and Watkins when they blew-up in their dive... I think the dog was Watkins' and he was in the rear, not flying. At a guess, it was a 'lucky mascot' (... that ran out of juice!)... all due respect to the three of them. Also, I don't see my father banning them from carrying the dog, so long as they were happy with their ability to do the job. He was a reasonable (non-domineering) sort of chap and was respected for it, as I understand.
Ref your post 86. Interesting that you went out to India straight from OTU. Arthur was given quite a few of the same when he was reforming 84 Sqn, and took them up in a Harvard to check them over, prior to converting them to the Vengeance. He had been through instructor training at the Central Flying School at the beginning of the war, so he knew what he was about.
MPN11
Ref your post 33. Yes the pilot's crew was a navigator, cum wireless operator, cum air gunner. So he was pulling his weight. Whether he was commissioned or not was neither here nor there. Some heavy bombers had a crew of Sgts and WOs, with a solitary commissioned officer who was merely a gunner, rather than a key player. I think getting a commission had more to do with whether your face fitted, where you went to school, what job you had in civvy street, what your interests were and what school qualifications you had. Also whether your CO thought you suitable for putting forward to the commissioning board: bright enough and sufficiently dependable. (Correct me if I'm wrong, Danny.)
Arthur related that at his commissioning board at the Air ministry, he was interviewed by a panel of 3 officers. He was asked if he went fishing. He replied 'Yes Sir!' To this came the reproach 'So why didn't you join the Navy rather than the Air force?' Arthur laughed and made a quip about trailing a fishing line off the back of a battle ship. He got through. Of course, it's a different procedure today... officer candidates are rigorously tested.
Did you get to see the album of photos?... click on 'NigG'