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After the crash we carried on training and Jack Russell soon went solo with the Manchester, and after 18 hours we commenced our conversion onto Lancasters. After 26 hours on Lancasters, during which time Jack went solo and we did bombing practice, our firing practice and a cross country flight. Our course was now completed. During our time at Wigsley I had to attend the Link- Trainer for elementary flying instruction which was somewhat similar in a small way to a simulator. After several sessions and a certain amount of shouting from the instructor, I could do climbs, Level flying, rate one turns and descents and correct a spin, but of course it was only elementary.
After the completion of our training at Wigsley we had a free afternoon, and Wally Bark and myself hitched a lift into Lincoln. It was early March and a beautiful sunny day which I have never forgotten. Two oldish friendly men with an old lorry picked us up and took us right into the City. We were both feeling hungry and we went into a very nice little caf茅. The waitress was a middle aged motherly woman, and we had bacon and eggs with French fries, nice bread and butter and tea. It was delightful. We then sauntered around the City and Wally spotted two pipes in a tobacconist shop window. I think they were 4/6d each, so we each bought one and I then started smoking. We must have travelled back to camp by train to Saxilby and then walked.
On the 5th March 1943 we were posted as a crew to No 57 Squadron, Scampton. We were taken by road. RAF Scampton was a very old station that had opened in 1916, and like most peace time stations had a grass airfield. When the war started there were only a few airfields with paved runways. At Scampton, we had a pleasant reception and we were introduced by the C Flight Commander, S/Ldr Curry, DFC. We were also shown around by S/Ldr Avis DFC. We were then shown to our living accommodation which was a house in what used to be the peace time married quarters. Almost all NCO aircrew were in houses which were within the camp, but away from the main buildings. We had a house to ourselves. It was two bedroom with bathroom, living room and kitchen. Jack Russell, Dick Wright and John Dow were in one bedroom, Nick Golden and Ron Marston in the other ans Wally Bark and myself in the living room. We all had camp beds and again had sheets. Like many other service personnel we had no hot water. For hot water or a bath we would go to the Sergeants Mess, taking our washing kit with us. I would sometimes wash and shave in cold water at the kitchen sink, but most days went to the Sergeants Mess.
After settling in we were issued with parachute packs and harness and Mae Wests. Every so often the parachutes were repacked by WAAFS. Scampton was the best station I was ever on. The Station Commander Group Captain Whitworth DSO. DFC seemed to be a happy personality. The Commanding Officer of 57 Squadron was Wing Commander Hopcroft DFC. The dining room in the Sergeants Mess was set out like a restaurant with white cloths on the tables and waitress service provided by WAAFS in white or flowered coats. The anti-room or lounge had a bar and leather armchairs and there were portraits of Flt/Lt Learoyd VC and Sgt Hannah VC on the wall.
Before commencing operations as a crew Jack Russell, our pilot, went on two bombing operations with an experienced crew which was fairly normal practice. Our first two operations as a crew were mine laying which were laid between 600 and 1000 feet. The first was on the Kattegat off Anholt Island, the duration 7.45 hrs. The second was to have been off Danzig in the Baltic Sea but due to cloud we turned back and again dep[osited our mines in the Kattegat, the flight duration 10 hours. Our next operation was St Nazaire and due to fog at base on return we were diverted to Colerne. Our next operation was again St Nazaire and our bombs would have done no damage to the U-boat pens but only to buildings outside. Our next operation on 29th March 1943, a real target, was Berlin. Night fighters were sighted but made no attack, duration 7.25 hours. On the 3rd April we went to Essen in the Ruhr. There was plenty of flak and searchlights but all went well. On our next operation, which was Kiel, we had the port engine catch fire over the North Sea which we managed to extinquish the jettisoned our bombs and returned to base. The day after that we went on 7 days leave. By now we had a new Flight Commander S/Ldr Henry (Dinghy) Young DFC & Bar. S/Ldr Young was an American who, having been educated in England, had an English accent. By the time we returned from leave he had gone to the new squadron being formed at Scampton which later became 617 Squadron. A few days after returning from leave we were detailed for a flight in a new Lancaster ED861 that wa going to be flown by S/Ldr Clyde Smith, an old much decorated pilot.We were not told anything whatsoever except that it was a test flight, we simply went along to make up weight. Jack Russell sat on the test bed. The aircraft must have been on maximum all up weight which at that time was 63,000 lbs. A civilian with papers on a clip board sat next to the pilot and told him what exercises to go through and what engine conditions to use. It is best described as a production check. The flight lasted 3hrs 10mins during which time we climbed to 25,000 feet and did a dive at 380 mph. As there were no squadron markings on the aircraft, before landing the old squadron leader shot up two airfields.
Our next operation on the 18/19th April was an attack on the Italian naval base at Spezia. We flew over the Alps and as it was moonlight they looked beautiful and we flew past Mont Blanc. There was little opposition at the target and we bombed from 8,000 feet and obtained a really good bombing photograph of the docks and ships, and for that each member of the crew received a sketch of a Lancaster taking off with the name of the target and names and ranks of the crew members on it signed by Air Vice Marshal Ralph Cochrane, the Air Officer Commanding 5 Group. The duration of the Spezia operation was 9hrs 55mins. Our next operation to Stettin was in bright moonlight and we flew at low level across the North Sea and Denmark. Before approaching the target we climbed to 12,000 feet but going into the target we were coned by searchlights. Jack dived the aircraft at about 380mph and we were down to 5000 feet before getting out. However we bombed and then got the hell out of it. After leaving Stettin we again flew at low level for most of the way back. There were 31 aircraft missing from this operation and 52 damaged by flak: duration 8 hours.
During March and early April the special squadron that was to become 617 was being formed and training taking place. Sergeant John Pulford, who had been in the same class as myself at Cosford in 39/40 was now Wing Commander Guy Gibson鈥檚 flight engineer, and Sergeant Frank Appleby, who had been in my entry, was Flt/Lt Munro鈥檚 engineer. John Pulford came from Hull although Guy Gibson in his book 鈥淓nemy Coast Ahead鈥� called him a Londoner. John nPulford and Frank Appleby were both awarded the DFM. John Pulford was later killed in an air crash in Sussex on the 13th February 1944. I wonder how many at Hull know about him. On the evening of 16th May 1943, which was the date of the Dams operation, everyone was confined to camp. We had no idea what the operation was to be, but a few of us went to see the take off. Another airman, a ground staff Sergeant Fitter I had known quite well at Brize Norton, was also with 617. His name was Nick Furse.
After the breaching of the Dams, Scampton was visited by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur (Butch) Harris and Lord Trenchard. We all went to the Briefing Room to hear them. Then on the 27th May H.M King George VI and H.M. Queen Elizabeth came to Scampton. Although 617 Squadron was the main attraction, our Squadron 57 were in attendance and our Pilot Sergeant Jack Russell, being American, was introduced to the King. Jack told the King that he was transferring to the United States Air Force and the King smiled and said that we were both on the same side.
After the operation to Stettin all our operations, with the exception of the Skoda works at Pilsen, were towns and cities in what became known as the Battle of the Ruhr. All towns and cities around the Ruhr were heavily defended with flak and searchlight. After the Stettin raid on 20th April we were allocated a new aircraft as our own ED655, and because Jack Russell was American, the groung crew painted 鈥榅鈥� on the nose. After seventeen operations and at the end of May we went on 7 days leave. On our return Jack Russell, the pilot, and Dick Wright, the navigator, were now 2nd Lieutenants in the US Army Air Corps, but continued to fly with the RAF. As they were now officers they left our house and moved in with the RAF officers in the Officers Mess.
One day we flew to Bassingbourne, a B17 Flying Fortress bomber station in Cambridgeshire. Jack knew a pilot there whom he had met on leave in London. We taxied in, and before stopping the engines of our Lancaster we opened the bomb doors to show the Americans the size of the bomb bay. I think they were quite impressed. When we left Jack did some low level tight turns around the airfield and then shot up the Watch Tower. I never cared for that kind of flying. Too many had overdone it and paid the price. If I was going to go I preferred it to be in action.
We continued with our tour of operations which was to be 30. At Scampton you could get breakfast until about 0900hrs. We would then go back to the house. If we were operating that night we would know in the morning and it would then be a night flying test on our aircraft. A night flying test could be about 30mins or longer if it included practice bombing. Each crew member would carry out his checks. After landing we would have a chat and a joke with the ground crew and report any snags (faults) which was almost seldom. The ground crew would sometimes know and tell you the petrol load which would give some indication of the target鈥檚 distance. A full petrol load could mean Italy. After our night flying test we would get a lift to the hangar and the locker room to get rid of our parachutes, and after a freshen up at the house, go to the mess to have a look at Jane, Popeye and Buck Ryan in the Daily Mirror and then have dinner. We would then amble back to the house, sometimes to have a kip, play darts or cards and write letters. If a sunny day we would sometimes sit or lay outside on the grass. During the day the Battle Order, a list of crews operating that night, would go on the Mess notice board. Times of briefing were given out over the tannoy. Navigators had a separate briefing before the main briefing. Main briefing was usually in the late afternoon. RAF Police would be at the Briefing Room door keeping a close check on all that entered. At the briefing you all sat together as a crew. There were tables so that navigators could spread their maps. When everyone was seated, the station commander would step up on a stage where there was a map of Europe covered by a curtain. He would then draw the curtain which revealed the target and the route was indicated by a ribbon. The Squadron Commander would then brief the crews giving details of the operation. The Intelligence Officer would then speak giving details of the target and it鈥檚 defences. The bomb load and petrol was then given. The navigation leader, the signals leader and the gunnery leader would then have their say followed by the Met Officer. The Flying Control Officer would sometimes give details of take off times and landing procedures. Finally the Station Commander or the Squadron Commander would ask if there were any questions. Crews would then go to the Mess for their operational meal which was often egg, bacon and chips. Flight Engineers were issued with a log sheet so that all engine conditions from take off to landing were recorded and a record of the fuel consumption was made. Escape kits were issued which contained silk maps of Europe with a small compass and other useful items. We were also issued with the currency of the territory over which we would fly.
By that time I had flying boots, the bottoms of which resembled ordinary leather boots and the leg section suede. Inside one of the legs was a small knife which enabled you to cut the legs off so that you then had normal looking boots. Flight Engineers carried a tool kit. When I went to 57 Squadron tool kits were not available and I did six operations without one. When I went on leave my Father and myself made up a kit in a canvas bag which I took back to Scampton. However it was never needed.
About an hour before take off time we would get dressed, draw flying rations which could be chewing gum, a bar of chocolate or barley sugars and a tin of orange juice. We would then assemble in front of the hangars to be taken to our aircraft in a service bus with a WAAF driver. On arriving at the aircraft each crew member would carry out his checks and the pilot would sign the form 700. We would talk to the ground crew and sit or lay on the grass. The Wireless Operator, John Dow, would have two homing pigeons which were in yellow coloured metal boxes. They were carried in case you had to ditch in the sea. If you were lucky they were released with your last known position attached. How the pigeons survived without oxygen I do not know. The Squadron CO, Wing Commander Hopcroft, would come around in his car and ask the pilot of every crew if everything was alright and his final words were 鈥淗ave a good trip鈥�. We would generally start engines about 15 or 20 minutes before take off time and warm up, run up and test before taxying out. One of the mechanics who I only remember as Wally, thought the world of Jack Russell and was always there to see us off, even if he had a day off. There were no paved runways at Scampton, but at the end of the take off position of the grass runway was a black and white chequered caravan which housed the Controller who would give the signal when to take off. There was nearly always a crowd assembled, mostly WAAFs, to give us a wave as we commenced to roll. The Lancaster loaded and on grass seemed to wallow along and at about 105/110 Indicated Airspeed the wallowing would cease and we were airborne.

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