´óÏó´«Ã½

This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer, Sarah Blackaby, from CSV Action Desk on behalf of Peter Cowin and has been added with his permission. Mr Cowin fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

My name is Jack Finch, but I know much about the war history of my old friend Peter Cowin. We were both RAF pilots, but did not meet until 1952. I am now 81, and Peter is 86. This is the account I wish to place on record of Peter Cowin’s war service.

In 1940 Peter Cowin was ordered to rejoin 57 Squadron at the old Gatwick Racecourse. From there the squadron moved to Wyton, near Huntingdon, then to Lossiemouth, near Elgin, on 24th June 1940. There they were equipped with new Blenheims. Peter’s time there was taking part in patrolling the Norwegian coast, to attack concentrations of invasion barges in fjords or ports, and the airfield at Stavanger, housing Luftwaffe flighters.

Yet another move for 57 Squadron took Peter to Feltwell, Norfolk. The Squadron said farewell to the Blenheims, and were supplied with the heavier Wellington bombers (known affectionately as ‘The Wimpey’) on 28th November 1940. The targets for the night raids were Kiel, Hamburg, Hals, Essen and the Ruhr (widely known to crews as ‘The Happy Valley’). One of the targets was Berlin, where the defences of searchlight concentrations, and both light and heavy flak, were more formidable than previously encountered. Peter recalls vividly the chilling experience of their aircraft being caught in a cone of searchlights. Masses of searchlights then concentrate on the victim, and link with the gun batteries for massive firepower. He wonders now how any crew escaped from their ordeal, and likens it to a moth caught in a candle flame. The skipper then took the only possible evasive action by diving steeply, almost to ground level, and having to risk entanglement with the mass of barrage balloons.

No doubt like many colleagues in these days of losses of aircrew, which reached massive proportions, Peter experienced the necessity of closing ones mind about best friends on the squadron, as the query of ‘where’s Fred?’ came up, to be answered ‘oh, he bought it last night.’

On 6th May 1941 the targets were the two highly valued German pocket battleships, Scharnhorst and Gneisnau, in Brest. The critical importance of the targets was emphasised by a 2,000 pounds armour piercing bomb being included in the bomb load. Dive bombing was decided on to increase the accuracy. A very rapid dive was made by the Wellington skipper. The aircraft started shaking before the bombs were released, and after the release found it quite a job to pull out of the steep dive. Some of the aircraft fabric was torn off, and Peter’s hearing was badly damaged — a handicap he still endures over 60 years later.

A month after that operation Peter was selected for a Gunnery Leader’s course in June 1941 at Warmwell, in Dorset. He came top of the course, and was immediately commissioned. He rose steadily through promotions to Flight Lieutenant, on taking charge of the Armament School at the Advanced Flying Unit at Bobbington, in West Midlands, training Canadian observers. This was a most eventful station for Peter, as it was on his spell at Bobbington that he met his future wife, Vee.

At the end of 1942 Peter was selected for a further promotion, as Squadron Leader, and Armament Officer, at a Gunnery School. But at the same time he was informed his long-standing request to train as a pilot had come through. He chose to relinquish his Squadron Leader rank, reverting to Flight Lieutenant, in order to proceed with his pilot training, which took place in Canada.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.