Cruickshank VC back in a Catalina

[mmitch]

John Cruickshank VC was back in a Catalina at Leuchars, age 94.
What a man!
Flt Lt (Ret?d) Cruickshank (http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/flt-lt-retd-cruickshank-09092013)
mmitch.

[500N]

Wow

What an impressive story.

[Trim Stab]

Yes, amazing story.

I spared a thought though, for the crewmembers who were killed, who received no recognition.

[Rocket2]

Thanks for posting the link mmitch

I was instrumental in getting Bill Perrin to paint a picture of John's aircraft (link below) while based at Kinloss but sort of got overlooked as the painting was subsequently commisioned by 120 Sqn (if I recall correctly) & I was pond life - still my great pleasure to meet & entertain Bill P for a day (sadly didn't meet John) & fly him around Morayshire in a Kinloss flying club aircraft for a couple of hours. Happy days:ok:

D'Arcy Collection: "Catalina!" by Bill Perring. Published by D'arcy Collection. (http://www.darcycollection.co.uk/darcycollection/catalina.htm)

[BEagle]

I didn't realise that this heroic chap was still alive - he looks well in the photo.

I remember reading the account of his tenacious attack on the U-boat when I was a youngster - a true inspiration.

Great that he could be back in the Cat!

[Tankertrashnav]

I spared a thought though, for the crewmembers who were killed, who received no recognition.


At the time the rules were that the only awards which could be given posthumously were the Victoria Cross and a mention in despatches. None of the "intervening" awards (DSO, DFC, DFM etc) could be given posthumously, so the best these men could have received was a posthumous MID, although it could certainly be argued that they deserved that at least.

[Party Animal]

Yes, he does look well. A fantastic and true story with a well deserved VC. I wonder if the Army have removed all the references to him at Kinloss. Anyone know if the Cruickshank Theatre has been renamed?

[ShotOne]

I suspect the point trim is trying to make, tanker trash isn't about posthumous award protocol (only the nav was killed) rather that everyone on board shared exactly the same risk as Flt Lt Cruickshank. In fact I think the second pilot got a DFM? Great story and huge respect to him. Had no idea he was still alive!

[olddog]

I had the privilege of meeting Cruickshank VC and John Appleton when they visited RAF Turnhouse in 1995. I managed to take John for a trip in a Bulldog during which we flew over East Fortune where John "convalesced" as a stores man while recovering from the wounds he received during the action. I remember John was quite a large man and we had difficulty getting his life jacket to fasten. He proudly showed me the scar on his head where shrapnel had cut through his helmet but not penetrated his skull! John told me they ran out of first aid dressings, so they cut open a life jacket and used the Kapok from it to plug Cruikshank's and other crew members wounds. Two real heroes, but quiet and unassuming gentlemen when you met them. It was good to see the pictures in which Cruikshank looks so well and is clearly able to enjoy flying. I hope I look that good if I reach my 90s!

[tomdocherty72]

Cannot speak for the army but the ARCC at Kinloss had a print of the painting mentioned in an earlier post hanging on the wall when I retired in 2011. As the ARCC is still there I suspect the painting is too.

[ORAC]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/john-cruickshank-second-world-wars-last-surviving-victoria-cross-hero-reaches-100-qm5zndg7d

John Cruickshank: Second World War’s last surviving Victoria Cross hero reaches 100

The last surviving recipient of a Victoria Cross from the Second World War does not want a fuss made for his 100th birthday today.

A private man from Aberdeen, John Cruickshank has never liked attention. When he landed in the Shetlands in 1944, bleeding heavily from 72 wounds sustained in sinking a U-boat, his first reaction was to ask after his crew.

Mr Cruickshank is only two years younger than the Royal Air Force, which he joined in 1941 after two years in the Royal Artillery. He was sent to 210 Squadron to pilot Catalina flying boats in 1943 and on July 17, 1944, led a ten-man crew on the sortie for which he would be awarded the highest honour, one of 182 recipients of the VC during the war.

Sent to protect the British fleet in the Norwegian Sea, the Catalina tried to bomb a U-boat but the depth charges failed to release. On its second run, the plane was heavily strafed, losing its navigator. Flight Lieutenant Cruickshank was peppered so heavily that he was later said to resemble a human colander with two wounds to his lungs, ten in his legs and 60 others. Despite this, he sank the U-boat at the second attempt before setting the Catalina for its base at Sullom Voe. Refusing morphine, arguing that it would cloud his judgment, he drifted in and out of consciousness for five hours as his co-pilot, Flight Sergeant Jack Garnett, flew. He then retook control to land the plane on the sea.

Flight Lieutenant Cruickshank had lost so much blood he needed a transfusion in the aircraft and never flew in command again. His VC citation says that “by pressing home the second attack in his gravely wounded condition and continuing his exertions on the return journey with his strength failing, he seriously prejudiced his chance of survival”. It praises his “determination, fortitude and devotion to duty”.

In 2018 Mr Cruickshank attended an RAF centenary event at the Royal Northern and University Club in Aberdeen. Jimmy Hutchison, the club chairman, said: “He is such a modest man, who does not like a fuss to be made.” Five years earlier he had been taken up in a Catalina at the Leuchars Airshow in Fife. Asked to reflect on his bravery, he said: “It was just normal. We were trained to do the job and that was it.”

[radar101]

“It was just normal. We were trained to do the job and that was it.”

Sums it all up doesn't it.

[esscee]

No argument regarding the word "Hero" for this man at all. What an example for others. Well done Sir!

[unclenelli]

That's 2 Centenarian Heroes who put the GREAT into BRITAIN (The ONLY country in the world to use that terminology!!!)

Happy Birthday Sir!

[Asturias56]

I hate to be pedantic but the GREAT just means "big" :E

[ORAC]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain_(place_name)

After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a historical term only. Geoffrey of Monmouth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_of_Monmouth) in his pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Regum_Britanniae) (c. 1136) refers to the island of Great Britain as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany.........

The term Great Britain later served to distinguish the large island of Britain from the French region of Brittany (in French Grande-Bretagne and Bretagne respectively). .......

[unclenelli]

I hate to be pedantic but the GREAT just means "big" :E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain_(place_name)

After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a historical term only. Geoffrey of Monmouth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_of_Monmouth) in his pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Regum_Britanniae) (c. 1136) refers to the island of Great Britain as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany.........


Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Britain (place name in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=Britain+%28place+name&title=Special%3ASearch&fulltext=1) to check for alternative titles or spellings.

The term Great Britain later served to distinguish the large island of Britain from the French region of Brittany (in French Grande-Bretagne and Bretagne respectively). .......


I wasn't even born in 1136 - I was referring to the modern age (20th Century...)
If it refers to Big, why not Great Russia, Great Canada, Great Australia.....???????
We are STILL the only UN Sovereign State to declare itself GREAT!!!

And these guys did it!.......
In Spades!!!!!!

[Fournierf5]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/john-cruickshank-second-world-wars-last-surviving-victoria-cross-hero-reaches-100-qm5zndg7d

John Cruickshank: Second World War’s last surviving Victoria Cross hero reaches 100

The last surviving recipient of a Victoria Cross from the Second World War does not want a fuss made for his 100th birthday today.

A private man from Aberdeen, John Cruickshank has never liked attention. When he landed in the Shetlands in 1944, bleeding heavily from 72 wounds sustained in sinking a U-boat, his first reaction was to ask after his crew.

Mr Cruickshank is only two years younger than the Royal Air Force, which he joined in 1941 after two years in the Royal Artillery. He was sent to 210 Squadron to pilot Catalina flying boats in 1943 and on July 17, 1944, led a ten-man crew on the sortie for which he would be awarded the highest honour, one of 182 recipients of the VC during the war.

Sent to protect the British fleet in the Norwegian Sea, the Catalina tried to bomb a U-boat but the depth charges failed to release. On its second run, the plane was heavily strafed, losing its navigator. Flight Lieutenant Cruickshank was peppered so heavily that he was later said to resemble a human colander with two wounds to his lungs, ten in his legs and 60 others. Despite this, he sank the U-boat at the second attempt before setting the Catalina for its base at Sullom Voe. Refusing morphine, arguing that it would cloud his judgment, he drifted in and out of consciousness for five hours as his co-pilot, Flight Sergeant Jack Garnett, flew. He then retook control to land the plane on the sea.

Flight Lieutenant Cruickshank had lost so much blood he needed a transfusion in the aircraft and never flew in command again. His VC citation says that “by pressing home the second attack in his gravely wounded condition and continuing his exertions on the return journey with his strength failing, he seriously prejudiced his chance of survival”. It praises his “determination, fortitude and devotion to duty”.

In 2018 Mr Cruickshank attended an RAF centenary event at the Royal Northern and University Club in Aberdeen. Jimmy Hutchison, the club chairman, said: “He is such a modest man, who does not like a fuss to be made.” Five years earlier he had been taken up in a Catalina at the Leuchars Airshow in Fife. Asked to reflect on his bravery, he said: “It was just normal. We were trained to do the job and that was it.”



This fine gentleman apparently declined a birthday cake from the Royal Air Force to mark his 100th birthday because he did not want to make a fuss . . . .Neither, it seems does the RAF. . . . I can find no existing mention of John Cruickshank VC on the RAF website [which anyway, now disdainfully announces it 'no longer covers detailed RAF history on this site'] or on the RAF Museum website to which you are subsequently directed. "The RAF Museums (https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/) are one of many great sources of historical information." . . . they say. Really! Not on this evidence!

[alwayslookingup]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain_(place_name)

After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a historical term only. Geoffrey of Monmouth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_of_Monmouth) in his pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Regum_Britanniae) (c. 1136) refers to the island of Great Britain as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany.........

The term Great Britain later served to distinguish the large island of Britain from the French region of Brittany (in French Grande-Bretagne and Bretagne respectively). .......

Are you sure?

Article I, Union with England Act 1707

"That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England shall upon the first day of May next ensuing the date hereof and forever after be United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain (my emphasis) And that the Ensigns Armorial of the said United Kingdom be such as Her Majesty shall appoint and the Crosses of St Andrew and St George be conjoined in such manner as Her Majesty shall think fit and used in all Flags Banners Standards and Ensigns both at Sea and Land"

Auth; Union with England Act 1707 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aosp/1707/7)

[Bill Macgillivray]

Never mind the politics !! I raise a glass to this hero on his 100th birthday. Happy returns, Sir, and thank you!

Bill

[BEagle]

I first read about John Cruickshank VC in Larry Forrester's book 'Skymen: Heroes of fifty years of flying' which I was given as a Christmas present in 1962! I lost the book years ago, but have just found one on Amazon and it'll be here next week!!

A glass of malt to be raised this evening, I think?

[Not Long Here]

When I was on the Nimrod OCU we took him for a trip up to Scapa Flow from Kinloss. (Don't have my Log Book handy so can't confirm the date) Effectively retraced his steps but just a wee bit quicker. This was followed by him attending a Dining-In. A remarkable man, modest, unassuming.

[Union Jack]

Never mind the politics !! I raise a glass to this hero on his 100th birthday. Happy returns, Sir, and thank you!

Bill
Hear! Hear! Given some excellent coverage on BBC Scotland News this evening.

Jack

[John Eacott]

The VC Citation - Air Office, 1st September, 1944.The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the VICTORIA CROSS on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery: —

Flying Officer John Alexander CRUICKSHANK (126700), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. No. 210 Squadron.

This officer was the captain and pilot of a Catalina flying boat which was recently engaged on an anti-submarine patrol over northern waters. When a U-boat was sighted on the surface, Flying Officer Cruickshank at once turned to the attack. In the face of fierce anti-aircraft fire he manoeuvred into position and ran in to release his depth charges. Unfortunately they failed to drop.

Flying Officer Cruickshank knew that the failure of this attack had deprived him of the advantage of surprise and that his aircraft offered a good target to the enemy's determined and now heartened gunners.

Without hesitation, he climbed and turned to come in again. The Catalina was met by intense and accurate fire and was repeatedly hit. The navigator/bomb aimer, was killed. The second pilot and two other members of the crew were injured. Flying Officer Cruickshank was struck in seventy-two places, receiving two serious wounds in the lungs and ten penetrating wounds in the lower limbs. His aircraft was badly damaged and filled with the fumes of exploding shells. But he did not falter. He pressed home his attack, and released the depth charges himself, straddling the submarine perfectly. The U-boat was sunk.

He then collapsed and the second pilot took over the controls. He recovered shortly afterwards and, though bleeding profusely, insisted on resuming command and retaining it until he was satisfied that the damaged aircraft was under control, that a course had been set for base and that all the necessary signals had been sent. Only then would he consent to receive medical aid and have his wounds attended to. He refused morphia in case it might prevent him from carrying on.

During the next five and a half hours of the return flight he several times lapsed into unconsciousness owing to loss of blood. When he came to his first thought on each occasion was for the safety of his aircraft and crew. The damaged aircraft eventually reached base but it was clear that an immediate landing would be a hazardous task for the wounded and less experienced second pilot. Although able to breathe only with the greatest difficulty, Flying Officer Cruickshank insisted on being carried forward and propped up in the second pilot's seat. For a full hour, in spite of his agony and ever-increasing weakness, he gave orders as necessary, refusing to allow the aircraft to be brought down until the conditions of light and sea made this possible without undue risk.

With his assistance the aircraft was safely landed on the water. He then directed the taxying and beaching of the aircraft so that it could easily be salvaged. When the medical officer went on board, Flying Officer Cruickshank collapsed and he had to be given a blood transfusion before he could be removed to hospital.

By pressing home the second attack in his gravely wounded condition and continuing his exertions on the return journey with his strength failing all the time, he seriously prejudiced his chance of survival even if the aircraft safely reached its base. Throughout, he set an example of determination, fortitude and devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the Service.

[John Eacott]

There is a documentary on You Tube “For Valour” featuring the operation off Norway when Flt Lt John Cruickshank was in Command of a Catalina flying boat based at Sullom Voe in Shetland attacked a U Boat off Norway.

https://youtu.be/mraRXjjIAUc

[Lingo Dan]

A retired RAF friend rang the MOD Press Office the day before the 100th birthday of John Cruickshank VC, and encountered a wave of indifference to his enquiry about how this event would be marked. Perhaps the RAF were indeed following Cruickshank's wish to "not make a fuss" - they certainly seem to have succeeded.

BTW, how many ex-RAF holders of the Victoria Cross are still alive?

[ORAC]

None apart from Cruickshank.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_living_Victoria_Cross_recipients

[Surplus]

I met this distinguished gentleman a long time ago at a barrel, he introduced himself as John. We chatted for a while over a few beers and he was very keen to hear about our current exploits, whilst mentioning none of his own. He said that nothing had really changed since his time. He seemed a private, humble individual, who enjoyed having a beer with us. I was mortified to find out later I had been in the company of this Hero, but perhaps that's why he stayed and chatted.

[Asturias56]

as ORAC says there are only 9 living VC holders - 4 of them are Aussies, 1 is a New Zealander & 1 Gurkha. 3 of the Aussies and the New Zealander hold their own countries VC

Wikipedia lists :-

John Alexander Cruickshank (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cruickshank) (b. 20 May 1920) 1944 No. 210 Squadron RAF (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._210_Squadron_RAF) Atlantic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic)
Rambahadur Limbu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambahadur_Limbu) (b. 8 July 1939) 1966 2nd Bn, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Princess_Mary%27s_Own_Gurkha_Rifles) Sarawak (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarawak), Malaysia
Keith Payne (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Payne) (b. 30 August 1933) 1969 Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Army_Training_Team_Vietnam) Ben Het (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Het_Camp), Vietnam
Johnson Beharry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Beharry) (b. 26 July 1979) 2005 1st Bn, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PWRR) Al-Amarah (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Amarah), Iraq
Willie Apiata (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Apiata) (b. 28 June 1972) (Victoria Cross for New Zealand) 2007 New Zealand Special Air Service (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Special_Air_Service) Afghanistan
Mark Donaldson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Donaldson) (b. 2 April 1979) (Victoria Cross for Australia) 2009 Australian Special Air Service Regiment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Special_Air_Service_Regiment) Oruzgan Province (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oruzgan_Province), Afghanistan
Ben Roberts-Smith (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Roberts-Smith) (b. 1 November 1978) (Victoria Cross for Australia) 2011 Australian Special Air Service Regiment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Special_Air_Service_Regiment) Kandahar Province (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandahar_Province), Afghanistan
Daniel Keighran (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Keighran) (b. 18 June 1983) (Victoria Cross for Australia) 2012 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Battalion,_Royal_Australian_Regiment) Oruzgan Province (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oruzgan_Province), Afghanistan
Joshua Leakey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Leakey) (b. 1988) 2015 Parachute Regiment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_Regiment_(United_Kingdom)) Helmand Province (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmand_Province), Afghanistan

[L-H]

Flt Lt John Cruickshank and many others of his generation were very much part of my growing up. I had numerous books that I avidly read from cover to cover telling the exploits of these men, some were VCs, many were not but regardless of that to my adolescent mind they were all my heroes. John Cruickshank always stuck in my mind because of his determination to get his aircraft and crew home, the other who had a similar impact was FS Aaron who although severely wounded after a friendly fire incident over the Italian Alps got his damaged Stirling back to England so that his crew could all bale out safely.

There are two dit’s that I recall about John Cruickshank, one involved some sniping comment from a mean spirited civil servant who questioned whether the action merited an award of the VC as the captain of the Catalina had a vested interest in getting the thing home............priceless!

The other, which really does seem to sum up his humility was that his wife didn’t even know he had been awarded the VC until long after they were married. How’s that for underplaying your achievements.

[Brain Potter]

A P-8 to be named ‘John Cruickshank VC’ would be something worthwhile for the 120 Sqn association to campaign for?

[Momoe]

It would be the least they could do, disappointed that RAF couldn't manage something. BBMF managed a flypast for a pongo on his 100th, (with the utmost respect for Captain Sir Tom).

[Green Flash]

A P-8 to be named ‘John Cruickshank VC’ would be something worthwhile for the 120 Sqn association to campaign for?

An utter no-brainer there, Brain. Excellent idea :D

[Innominate]

L-H - Arthur Aaron's aircraft didn't return to the UK - they continued on to North Africa, and he is buried at Bone. The citation is at https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36235/supplement/4859

Some years ago, Jeremy Clarkson did a programme on the VC - the only time I've heard him sound humble. The Secretary of State's comment on the recommendation for Cruickshank's VC about "an element of self preservation" was mentioned (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl6j7I8FWT4 at around 49.30)

[Asturias56]

A P-8 to be named ‘John Cruickshank VC’ would be something worthwhile for the 120 Sqn association to campaign for?

Brilliant idea!!!

[L-H]

Thanks innominate, poor memory skills on my part. Although I am pretty sure Aaron’s Stirling was shot at by the rear gunner of another Stirling when crossing the Alps and not by an enemy night fighter as stated in the citation. I’ve long since lost my books so it may be I’m getting him confused with another action.

[Innominate]

I am pretty sure Aaron’s Stirling was shot at by the rear gunner of another Stirling That's right. I'm not sure how/when they worked it out, but the citation was probably written in good faith, rather than covering up a friendly fire incident. If the VC has to be won for valour in combat with the enemy, there might be an argument that he should have received the George Cross instead, but I have no wish to detract from the man's bravery and determination to get his crew down safely - and the incident did take place on an operational flight. This incident probably spurred on the development of an infra-red recognition device ("Type Z", mounted in the two circles in the Lancaster bomb aimer's glazing) to prevent such accidents.

[filbey1944]

2 years ago this month I was staying at the Union Jack club in London and saw a large number of males and females in the foyer wearing the VC and the George Cross. had a chat with Keith Payne VC who told me that Prince Charles holds a reception for all living recipients of the the VC and GC every 2 years, which they were all heading off to. A very humbling experience.

[Warmtoast]

When I was stationed at 5 FTS (RAF Thornhill, S. Rhodesia 1951 - 1953), airmen's billets were all named after RAF VC's. Coincidentally whilst at Thornhill I lived in two of these blocks i.e. Cruickshank and Reid.
Here's a photo of the one I lived in way back then which I think was Reid billet, but the rest were all the same. By the entrance a sheet was placed stating the feat that earned the recipient the VC.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/600x475/reid_billet1_5ccb856ea5b6cff8afae5cd05cdee6a9cee3c0cc.jpg

[Box Brownie]

I wonder if I may be allowed a slight thread drift please. The other Catalina VC was Canadian David Hornell. Back in the early eighties I was invited to spend an afternoon at the home of the captain of the air sea rescue launch ( 2507) which picked up David Hornell and his crew.
Bill Garett had joined the launch as an LAC and was a F/O at the time of his rescue. I recall him saying that two launches set off when they got the call but the other one turned back with engine trouble. His own boat suffered starboard engine failure soon after leaving the Isle of Ursk, the most northerly of the Shetland Isles. Despite the rising gale they continued on their way and with help of an aircraft, succeeded in locating the crew. Sadly David Hornell died shortly after being taken on board 2507 They had been in the water for 21 hours
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1440x1277/hornell_vc_abaffd009316ce35ab2e3ce578aceee87e7fe16a.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1440x727/hornell_vc_cropped_3811dc618630311d5b1108bee4d44e9328442b29. jpg

I recall mentioning to Bill that I understood he had made the odd trips to Norway during the war. He gave a quiet smile and said " Yes - to pick up Christmas trees" As I was leaving he said he would like me to have the attached photo of his launch, taken during the rescue.
I have also cropped it to show the sea state at the time.

[Union Jack]

I wonder if I may be allowed a slight thread drift please. The other Catalina VC was Canadian David Hornell.


I would say thread drift is perfectly permissible in the circumstances - but for "Ursk" read "Unst" I suggest. Brave lads in those seas in that type of hull and a well-earned MBE for Bill Garrett.

Jack

[Green Flash]

She flies! I can confirm that the Loch Ness Cat has just flown over Inverness enroute Dalcross. I understand it will be further checked over there before heading home.

[NutLoose]

There is a documentary on the recovery of the Loch Ness Catalina now on Iplayer, see

https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/documentary-captures-dramatic-rescue-rare-world-war-ii-seaplane-loch-ness-3110949?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB



..

[Dan Gerous]

I have tried to find this on the bbc iplayer, but can't find it. Anyone got a direct link?

[treadigraph]

Here you go Dan:

Teicheadh bho Loch Nis/Escape from Loch Ness (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000rrbp/teicheadh-bho-loch-nisescape-from-loch-ness)

[Dan Gerous]

Thanks Treadi, for some reason whatever I typed in, the BBC site was not recognizing it.