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Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, V.C., D.S.O. and Bar, D.F.C. and Bar, Royal Air Force, at RAF Scampton, 27 May 1943. (Imperial War Museum TR 1002)Victoria Cross
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, D.S.O. and Bar, D.F.C. and Bar, was awarded the Victoria Cross by His Majesty King George VI in a ceremony at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, England. Wing Commander Gibson received the medal for his leadership of No. 617 Squadron, The Dambusters, during Operation Chastise, an attack on Germany’s Ruhr Valley hydroelectric dams, 16–17 May 1943.
The Victoria Cross ranks with the George Cross as the United Kingdom’s highest award for gallantry.
The first British medal to be created for bravery, the Victoria Cross was instituted in 1856, with the first recipients being personnel honored for their gallantry during the Crimean War.
The bronze cross pattée, which bears the inscription “FOR VALOUR,” is cast from the metal of Russian guns captured at Sevastopol during the Crimean campaign. The Victoria Cross is awarded “for most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.”
His Majesty The King has a word with Flight Lieutenant John Leslie Munro, Royal New Zealand Air Force, at RAF Scampton, 27 May 1943. Wing Commander Gibson is on the right, facing Munro. (Imperial War Museum TR 999)
Air Ministry, 28th May, 1943.
ROYAL AIR FORCE.
The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the VICTORIA CROSS on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery: —
Acting Wing Commander Guy Penrose GIBSON, D.S.O., D.F.C. (39438), Reserve of Air Force Officers, No. 617 Squadron: —
This officer served as a night bomber pilot at the beginning of the war and quickly established a reputation as an outstanding operational pilot. In addition to taking the fullest possible share in all normal operations, he made single-handed attacks during his “rest” nights on such highly defended objectives as the German battleship Tirpitz, then completing in Wilhelmshaven.
When his tour of operational duty was concluded, he asked for a further operational posting and went to a night-fighter unit instead of being posted for instructional duties. In the course of his second operational tour, he destroyed at least three enemy bombers and contributed much to the raising and development of new night-fighter formations.
After a short period in a training unit, he again volunteered for operational duties and returned to night bombers. Both as an operational pilot and as leader of his squadron, he achieved outstandingly successful results and his personal courage knew no bounds. Berlin, Cologne, Danzig, Gdynia, Genoa, Le Creusot, Milan, Nuremberg and Stuttgart were among the targets he attacked by day and by night.
On the conclusion of his third operational tour, Wing Commander Gibson pressed strongly to be allowed to remain on operations and he was selected to command a squadron then forming for special tasks. Under his inspiring leadership, this squadron has now executed one of the most devastating attacks of the war—the breaching of the Moehne and Eder dams.
The task was fraught with danger and difficulty. Wing Commander Gibson personally made the initial attack on the Moehne dam. Descending to within a few feet of the water and taking the full brunt of the antiaircraft defences, he delivered his attack with great accuracy. Afterwards he circled very low for 30 minutes, drawing the enemy fire on himself in order to leave as free a run as possible to the following aircraft which were attacking the dam in turn.
Wing Commander Gibson then led the remainder of his force to the Eder dam where, with complete disregard for his own safety, he repeated his tactics and once more drew on himself the enemy fire so that the attack could be successfully developed.
Wing Commander Gibson has completed over 170 sorties, involving more than 600 hours operational flying. Throughout his operational career, prolonged exceptionally at his own request, he has shown leadership, determination and valour of the highest order.
—The London Gazette, Tuesday, 25 May 1943, No. 3630 at Page 2361
Second-Lieutenant William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse, Royal Flying Corps (Beaminster Museum)
War Office,
22nd May, 1915.
His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve the grant of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Officers, Non-commissioned officer, and Men, for their conspicuous acts of bravery and devotion to duty whilst serving with the Expeditionary Force :—
2nd Lieutenant William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse, Special Reserve, Royal Flying Corps.
For most conspicuous bravery on 26th April, 1915, in flying to Courtrai and dropping bombs on the railway line near that station. On starting the return journey he was mortally wounded, but succeeded in flying for 35 miles to his destination, at a very low altitude, and reported the successful accomplishment of his object. He has since died of his wounds.
—The London Gazette, Special Supplement 29170, Saturday, 22 May, 1915 at Pages 4989–4990
Chlorine gas dispersing downwind at the Second Battle of Ypres, 22 April 1915.
Beginning 22 April 1915 at the Second Battle of Ypres, the military forces of the German Empire began to use lethal chlorine gas as a weapon on the battlefield. A second mass gas attack took place on 24 April.
The Royal Flying Corps was ordered to interdict the German supply lines by bombing railways. On 26 April 1915, Second-Lieutenant William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhead, Royal Flying Corps, of No. 2 Squadron at Merville, France, was assigned to attack the railway at Kortrijk, West Floandern (Courtrai, West Flanders) with his Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2.b reconnaissance airplane, number 687.
Departing alone from Merville at 3:05 p.m., Lieutenant Rhodes-Moorhouse flew to his target, approximately 35 miles (56 kilometers) away. He approached the railway station from an altitude of approximately 300 feet (91 meters) to accurately drop his single 100 pound (45.4 kilogram) bomb. He was hit in a leg by a rifle bullet, and shrapnel from his bomb damaged his airplane.
As Rhodes-Moorhouse flew away from the railroad station, he descended to 200 feet (61 meters) and was wounded twice more.
Gare de Kortrijk (the Courtrai Railroad Station)
The wounds to his hand and leg were serious, but the one to his abdomen was mortal. However, he continued the difficult return flight in his damaged airplane, and arrived back at Merville at 4:12 p.m. Rhodes-Moorhouse’ airplane had 95 holes from bullets and shrapnel. The wounded pilot insisted on making a report to his commanding officer and friend, Captain Maurice Bernal Blake, before being taken to an aid station.
It was soon apparent that Rhodes-Moorhouse would not survive. Captain Blake informed him that he had recommended that he be awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
Second-Lieutenant William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse, No. 2 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, died of wounds at 2:25 p.m., 27 April 1915.
He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the United Kingdom’s highest award for valor, on 22 May 1915. Lieutenant Rhodes-Moorhouse was the first airman of the British Empire to be so decorated.
His medal is part of the Lord Ashcroft Victoria Cross Collection, displayed in the Aschcroft Gallery of the Imperial War Museum. He also was awarded the 1914–1915 Star, The British War Medal 1914–1918, and the Allied Victory Medal.
Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, K.P., G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O., K.C.M.G., A.D.C., P.C., commanding general of the British Expeditionary Force, later said that Lieutenant Rhodes-Moorhouse had been responsible for “the most important bomb dropped during the war so far.”
Rhodes-Morehouse’ remains were buried at the family home at Parnham Park,¹ Beaminster, Dorset. After his son, Flight Lieutenant William Henry Rhodes-Morehouse, D.F.C., No. 601 Squadron, was killed when his Hawker Hurricane was shot down during the Battle of Britain, his ashes were placed alongside his father.
William Bernard Rhodes-Moorhouse
William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse was born into a wealthy family at 15 Princes Gate, London, England, 26 September 1887. He was one of four children of Edward Moorhouse, “a gentleman of independent means,” and Mary Ann Rhodes, the wealthiest woman in New Zealand. Moorhouse was educated Harrow School in northwest London, and Trinity College, Cambridge.
Radley monoplane on Portholme meadow. Constructed in 1911 in the Old Iron Foundry, St.John’s Street, H’don. Copyright – Huntingdon Record Office
Moorhouse developed an early interest in aviation and was soon an expert airman of international renown. Working with James Radley at Huntingdon, he developed the Radley-Moorhouse Monoplane. In 1910, Radley and Moorhouse traveled to the United States to demonstrate their airplane. Moorhouse is reportedly the first person to have flown through San Francisco’s Golden Gate. He was granted pilot’s certificate No. 147 by the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom, 17 October 1911.
In 1912, Moorhouse legally changed his surname to Rhodes-Moorhouse (and thereby replaced his second middle name, or maternal surname, Rhodes), because of the terms of his grandfather’s will. A Royal Licence authorizing the change was granted 11 January 1913, and published in The London Gazette ten days later.²
Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes-Moorhouse, 25 June 1912. (The Bowes Museum’s Blog)
Rhodes-Moorhouse married Miss Linda Beatrice Morrit at St. Paul’s, Knightsbridge, 25 June 1912, . They had one son, William Henry Rhodes-Moorhouse, born in 1914.
Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes-Moorhouse, along with John Henry Ledeboer, crossed the English Channel on 4 August 1912 in a three-place Société des Ateliers d’Aviation Louis Breguet 3-place biplane, flying from Douai, in northern France, where the airplane was built, to Ashwood, Staffordshire, England. The airplane was destroyed in a crash landing, but no one was hurt.
A Breguet 3-place biplane, 1912. (FLIGHT)
With England drawn into World War I, Rhodes-Moorhouse joined the Royal Flying Corps, 24 August 1914, and was assigned to the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough. He was transferred to No. 2 Squadron, joining the unit at Merrville on 21 March 1915. He died just over one month later.
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2
The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E. (which stands for Blériot Experimental, meaning that it was a tractor-type airplane, which had been developed by Louis Blériot) was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. It was a two-place, single-engine, two-bay biplane which was used as a trainer, reconnaissance aircraft, artillery spotter or bomber. An observer occupied the forward cockpit and the pilot was aft.
The B.E.2.b was essentially the same as the B.E.2.a, except the cockpit sides were higher. The elevator control cables were external from the pilot’s cockpit, aft. Probably the most significant change was the use of ailerons for the B.E.2.b, where the previous versions had used wing-warping like the original 1903 Wright Flyer.
The fuselage was constructed of a wooden framework, cross-braced with wires. The wings had wood spars and ribs. The airframe was covered in doped fabric.
The wings of the 2.a and 2.b were straight with no dihedral. Both upper and lower wings had the same span and there was no stagger. The lower wing spars were connected through the fuselage with steel tubing. The landing gear had both wheels and tires, but also wood-covered steel tube skids extending forward to protect the propeller from contacting the ground.
This Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2.a, No. 347, of No. 2 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, at Lythe, near Whitby, North Yorkshire, June 1914. Its pilot, Lieutenant Hubert Dunsterville Harvey-Kelly, Royal Irish Regiment, is at the lower right of the photograph. (Imperial War Museum Image number Q 54985)
The B.E.2.a–2.b was 29 feet, 6½ inches (9.004 meters) long with a wingspan of 38 feet, 7½ inches (11.773 meters). It had an empty weight of 1,274 pounds (578 kilograms) and gross weight of 1,650 pounds (748 kilograms).
The B.E.2, B.E.2.a and B.E.2.b were powered by an air-cooled, normally-aspirated 6.949 liter (424.036 cubic inch) Renault Type WB side-valve 90° V-8 engine with two valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 4.12:1. The WB was rated at 70 horsepower at 1,750 r.p.m. The engine drove a four-bladed, fixed-pitch wooden propeller at one-half crankshaft speed. The Renault WB was 3 feet, 9.5 inches (1.556 meters) long, 2 feet, 8.8 inches (0.833 meters) high and 2 feet, 5.8 inches (0.757 meters) wide. It weighed 396 pounds (180 kilograms).
Armstrong Whitworth B.E.2.c, s/n 1799. Compare the staggered wings to those of the the B.E.2.a. in the photograph above.
The airplane had a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour (113 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level and 65 miles per hour (105 kilometers per hour) at 6,500 feet (1,981 meters). It could climb to 3,000 feet (914 meters) in 9 minutes and 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) in 35 minutes. The service ceiling was 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). Maximum endurance was 3 hours.
The B.E.2.b was unarmed. The crew could only defend themselves with their personal weapons. The type was easy prey for German fighters. It could carry a small bomb.
Although designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnbourough, only 6 B.E.2s were built there. The remainder were built by Armstong Whitworth, British and Colonial Airplane Co., Coventry Ordnance Works, Handley Page, Hewlett and Blondeau, and Vickers. Eighty-five of the B.E.2.b variant were produced, with most being used as trainers. Nineteen were sent to the Expeditionary Force in France, and one to the Middle East Brigade. By late 1915, the type had been almost completely replaced by the improved B.E.2.c.
A reproduction of the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2.b flown by Lieutenant Rhodes-Moorhouse is in the collection of the Royal Air Force Museum. In a 2015 interview with Richard Moss for “Culture 24,” Ian Thirsk, Head of Collections, said, “It’s another gem of the collection, and was built from scratch by a designer called John McKenzie to the original drawings at the former RAF Museum facility at Cardington between 1983 and 1988.”
Reproduction of 2nd Lieutenant W.B. Rhodes-Moorhouse’ Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2.b, No. 687, at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon. (British Aviation Preservation Council)
¹ Interestingly, Parnham House is believed to have been the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Baskerville Hall” in his famous novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902).
Parnham House, East Front. William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse’ home in Dorset, England. (Country Life Magazine, 29 August 1908)
² The London Gazette, Number 28683, Tuesday, 21 January 1913, at Page 494, Column 1
Squadron Leader John Dering Nettleton, V.C., Royal Air Force. (Imperial War Museum CH 5669)
Operation Margin: Just over a month after the first combat missions flown by the new Avro Lancaster B Mk.I very long range heavy bomber, Acting Squadron Squadron Leader John Dering Nettleton, RAF, commanding No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, lead one of two formations of six Lancasters from RAF Waddington and RAF Woohall Spa, in Lincolnshire, England, on a very low altitude daylight penetration of enemy territory to attack the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG (MAN) diesel engine factory at Augsburg, Bavaria, in the south of Germany. The factory was a source of diesel engines for Nazi Germany’s U-boat fleet. It was a target of high military importance, and the daylight attack was very dangerous.
Each Lancaster carried four 1,000 pound (454 kilogram) bombs. The two formations (the other was from No. 97 Squadron) crossed the English Channel at an altitude of just 50 feet (15 meters) in an effort to evade detection by enemy radar.
During the flight across France and into Germany, Nettleton’s flight was under almost constant attack by enemy fighters. Only two 44 Squadron Lancasters made it to the target and dropped their bombs, but one of those was almost immediately shot own. Only Nettleton’s bomber, Lancaster B. Mk.I R5508, KM B, survived to return to England.
The other flight, led by Squadron Leader John Sherwood, flew a different route and all six arrived at Augsburg. After bombing the factory, Sherwood’s Lancaster was hit by antiaircraft fire, caught fire, crashed and exploded. Only Sherwood survived. Another was hit but was able to drop its bombs on the target before crashing. Another Lanc was badly damaged, but dropped its bombs and made it away.
Of the twelve Lancasters that had set out, just five returned. All were damaged, one of them beyond repair.
Of the 85 airmen on the mission, 49 were listed as missing in action.
Seventeen 1,000 pound bombs had made direct hits on the factory, but only twelve detonated. Though the target suffered significant damage, production of U-boat engines continued.
Post-strike photograph of the MAN factory at Augsburg, Germany, 18 April 1942. (Royal Air Force)
Squadron Leader Nettleton was awarded the Victoria Cross. Flight Lieutenant David Jackson Penman, DFC, of No. 97 Squadron was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Flt Lt Brian R. W. Hallows, Acting Flt Lt Charles S. C. McClure, Acting Flying Officer Ernest W. Rodley, Pilot Officer Patrick A. Deverill DFM, Plt Off Patrick A Dorehill, Plt Off Gilbert C. Hooey, Plt Off Edward L. Ifould, and Plt Off Desmond O. Sands were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Flight Sergeant Frank H. Harrison, Flt Sgt Brian G. Lough, Flt Sgt Leonard H. Mutter, Sergeant Charles F. Churchill, Sgt Thomas H. Goacher, Sgt Donald N. Huntley, Sgt Ronald P. Irons, Sgt Kenneth O. Mackay, Sgt Douglas L. Overton, and Sgt John T. Radcliffe were awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal.
“Lancaster B Mark I, L7578 KM-B, of No.97 Squadron RAF, piloted by Squadron Leader J D Nettleton of No. 44 Squadron RAF, flying at low-level over the Lincolnshire countryside during a Squadron practice for the low-level attack on the M.A.N. diesel engineering works at Augsburg, which took place on 17 April 1942. 97 Squadron lent L7578 temporarily to 44 Squadron, who repainted the aircraft with Nettleton’s unit code-letters. Nettleton actually flew R5508 on the operation, for the leadership of which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. L7578 did not participate in the raid and was returned to 97 Squadron at Woodhall Spa.” (Imperial War Museum HU 91969)“The Acting Commanding Officer of No. 44 Squadron RAF, Squadron Leader J D Nettleton (sitting, second from left) and his crew, photographed on their return to Waddington, Lincolnshire, after leading the low-level daylight attack on the M.A.N. diesel engineering works at Augsburg on 17 April 1942. For his courage and leadership during the raid Nettleton was gazetted for the award of the Victoria Cross on 28 April. He later commanded No. 44 Squadron, but was killed on 13 July 1943 while returning from a raid on Turin.” Imperial War Museum HU 92988)
John Dering Nettleton was born 28 June 1917 at Nongoma, Zululand, Union of South Africa. He was the son of John Hennah Nettleton and Ethel Maud Barker Nettleton, and the grandson of Admiral Alfred Thomas Dering Nettleton, Royal Navy. Nettleton was educated at the Western Province Preparatory School, an Anglican Church school in Claremont, a suburb of Cape Town.
S.A.T.S General Botha at Simon’s Town Harbor, Western Cape, South Africa. (Leaves From My Logbook)
In 1930, at the age of 13, Nettleton went aboard the South African training ship, S.A.T.S. General Botha (formerly, H.M.S. Thames) as a cadet. After graduating three years later, he served as third officer of the 6,919 ton merchant ship, S.S. Mattawin.
Elder Dempster Lines’ S.S. Mattawin at Cape Town. (Andrey Nelogov)
He was appointed a midshipman, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (South African Division), 3 September 1935. He rose to the rank of lieutenant, RNVR.
Following his time at sea, Nettleton returned to Cape Town where he became an apprentice civil engineer.
Nettleton sailed with his mother, Mrs. Nettleton, from Durban, South Africa, aboard the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company liner, S.S. Winchester Castle, arriving at Southampton, England, 11 April 1938.
The S.S. Winchester Castle at Cape Town, South Africa, circa 1938.
While in England, Nettleton joined the Royal Air Force, and began flight training at the No. 8 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training Squadron at Reading. He was given a Short Service Commission as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force, 14 December 1938 ¹ and reported to No. 12 FTS at RAF Grantham in Lincolnshire, but within two weeks was reassigned to No. 11 FTS at RAF Shawbury, in Shropshire. He graduated 22 July 1939.
Nettleton was appointed an Acting Pilot Officer (41452) on probation, with effect 3 September 1939—the same day that the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany, following that country’s invasion of Poland.² He was assigned to No. 207 Squadron, an operational training unit for the Fairey Battle, a single-engine light bomber powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, based at RAF Cottesmore in the East Midlands of England.
Fairey Battle (Aircraft of the Fighting Powers Vol.I)
Pilot Officer Nettleton was soon reassigned to No. 98 Squadron at RAF Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, which was also equipped with the Battle. In November 1939, he returned to Cottesmore for transition training to the Handley Page HP.52 Hamden twin-engine medium bomber, with No. 185 Squadron.
Handley Page HP.52 Hamden (Tangmere Military Aviation Museum)
Pilot Officer Nettleton was promoted to the rank of Flying Officer, 3 September 1940.³
This Day in Aviation was unable to confirm the date of Nettleton’s promotion to Flight Lieutenant, but Wikipedia states that it occurred in February 1941.
On 26 June 1941, Flight Lieutenant Nettleton joined No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. This squadron was the first to completely convert to the Avro Lancaster, with the first “Lanc” arriving on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1941.
Flight Lieutenant Nettleton was promoted to Acting Squadron Leader, 17 July 1941.
Flight Officer Nettleton was promoted to Flight Lieutenant (War Substantive), 3 September 1941.⁴
Squadron Leader Nettleton, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, was Mentioned in Despatches, 24 September 1941.⁵
On 11 June 1942, Squadron Leader (acting) J.D. Nettleton, VC, was Mentioned in Despatches.⁶
Squadron Leader John Dering Nettleton married Section Officer Betty Isobel Havelock, Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, of Paignton, Devon, at Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, 1 July 1942. They would have one son, John Dering Nettleton, born 19 February 1944.
Squadron Leader Nettleton was next posted to No. 44 Conversion Flight. In November 1942, he was assigned to No. 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit, also at RAF Waddington.
Squadron Leader Nettleton was promoted to Wing Commander (acting), 4 January 1943, and returned to combat operations with No. 44 Squadron.
Squadron Leader Nettleton was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander (War Substantive), Reserve of Air Force Officers, 2 June 1943.⁷
At 10:23 p.m., 12 July 1943, Wing Commander Nettleton took off from RAF Dunholm Lodge, Lincolnshire, in Lancaster KM Z (ED331), as on 295 Lancasters sent to attack Turin, Italy. ED331 never returned. The bodies of Nettleton and his crew, Flt Lt Dennis Cramp, Flt Lt Ian Milne Wood, Fg Off Fred irving Calcutt, Fg Off Kenneth Stanly Juniper, Fg Off Arthur Ronald Ludlow, Plt Off John Edward Money, and Flt Sgt Dennis Ernest Arthur Seager, were never recovered.
Wing Commander Nettleton was just 26 years old. His name is listed on Panel 118 of the Runnymede Memorial at Englefield Green, Surrey.
Avro Lancaster B Mk.I R5727 over Montreal, Canada, 1942. (Royal Air Force)
The Avro Lancaster made its first flight 9 January 1941, and flew its first combat mission (with No. 44 Squadron) on 3 March 1942. The Lancaster B Mk.I was operated by a crew of seven: pilot, flight engineer, navigator/bombardier, radio operator and three gunners. It was a large, all-metal, mid-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear. It was 68 feet, 11 inches (21.001 meters) long with a wingspan of 102 feet, 0 inches (31.090) meters and an overall height of 19 feet, 6 inches (5.944 meters). The Mk.I had an empty weight of 36,900 pounds (16,738 kilograms) and its maximum takeoff weight was 68,000 pounds (30,909 kilograms)
Early production Lancasters were equipped with four liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,648.96-cubic-inch-displacement (27.01 liter), Roll-Royce Merlin XX single overhead camshaft (SOHC) 60° V-12 engines, which were rated at 1,480 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. to 6,000 feet (1,829 meters). The Merlins drove three-bladed, 13 feet, 0 inch (3.962 meters), de Havilland Hydromatic quick-feathering, constant-speed airscrews (propellers), through a 0.420:1 gear reduction.
The Mark I had a maximum economic cruise speed of 267 miles per hour (430 kilometers per hour) at 20,800 feet (6,340 meters), and a maximum speed of 286 miles per hour (460 kilometers per hour) at 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) at a gross weight of 45,300 pounds (20,548 kilograms). Its service ceiling was 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) at 64,500 pounds (29,257 kilograms). It had a range of 2,530 miles (4,072 kilometers) with a 7,000 pound (3,175 kilogram) bomb load.
The Lancaster was designed to carry a 14,000 pound (6,350 kilogram) bomb load, but modified bombers carried the 22,000 pound (9,979 kilogram) Grand Slam bomb.
For defense, the standard Lancaster had eight Browning .303-caliber Mark II machine guns in three power-operated turrets, with a total of 14,000 rounds of ammunition.
According to the Royal Air Force, “Almost half all Lancasters delivered during the war (3,345 of 7,373) were lost on operations with the loss of over 21,000 crew members.”
Only two airworthy Avro Lancasters are in existence.
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s Victory Aircraft-built Lancaster B Mk.X, FM213, civil registration C-GVRA, shown with markings KB726, VR A. (Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum)
¹ National Library of Scotland, UK, British Air Force Lists 1919–1945
² The London Gazette, Issue 34705,10 October 1939, Page 6796
³ The London Gazette, Supplement 34989, 12 November 1940, Page 6494
⁴ The London Gazette, Number 35309, 14 October 1941, Page 5968
⁵ The London Gazette, Number 35284, 24 September 1941, Page 5572
⁶ The London Gazette, Number 35586, 11 June 1942, Page 2519
⁷ The London Gazette, Supplement 36113, 30 July 1943, Page 3443
30 March 1918: Near Borgo del Molino, Italy, Lieutenant Alan Jerrard, No. 66 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps,¹ was flying a Sopwith Camel, serial number B5648, while on an intruder mission with two other pilots, Captain Peter Carpenter, M.C., and Lieutenant Harold Ross Eycott-Martin. Jerrard engaged a group of Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen (Austrian Air Force) Albatros D.III fighters:
Air Ministry,
1st May, 1918
His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to award the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned officers of the Royal Air Force, for services displaying outstanding bravery:—
Lt. Alan Jerrard, Royal Air Force (formerly of the South Staffordshire Regiment)
When on an offensive patrol with two other officers he attacked five enemy aeroplanes and shot down one in flames, following it down within one hundred feet of the ground.
He then attacked an enemy aerodrome from a height of only fifty feet from the ground, and, engaging single-handed some nineteen machines, which were either landing or attempting to take off, succeeded in destroying one of them, which crashed on the aerodrome. A large number of machines attacked him, and whilst thus fully occupied he observed that one of the pilots of his patrol was in difficulties. He went immediately to his assistance, regardless of his own personal safety, and destroyed a third enemy machine.
Fresh enemy aeroplanes continued to rise from the aerodrome, which he attacked one after another, and only retreated, still engaged with five enemy machines, when ordered to do so by his patrol leader. Although apparently wounded, this very gallant officer turned repeatedly, and attacked single-handed the pursuing machines, until he was eventually overwhelmed by numbers and driven to the ground.
Lt. Jerrard had greatly distinguished himself on four previous occasion, within a period of twenty-three days, in destroying enemy machines, displaying bravery and ability of the very highest order.
—Third Supplement to The London Gazette of Tuesday, Number 30663, at Page 5287
The Victoria Cross is the United Kingdom’s highest award for gallantry. It is awarded “for most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.”
Both Captain Carpenter and Lieutenant Eycott-Ross were awarded the Military Cross for their actions on this date. Lieutenant Jerrard was presented the Victoria Cross by George V at Buckingham Palace, 5 April 1919.
Wreckage of Lieutenant Alan Gjerrard’s Sopwith Camel, B5648, after being shot down in Italy, 30 March 1918. (Photo from “Sopwith Camel” by Jon Gutman, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012, at Page 48)
Jerrard’s Sopwith Camel had been shot down by Hauptmann Benno Fiala Ritter von Fernbrugg, an Austrian Air Force ace. This was von Fernbrugg’s fourteenth aerial victory.
Alan Jerrard was born 3 December 1897 at Ladywell, Lewisham, southeast London, England. He was the son of Herbert Jerrard, at that time the master of mathematics at St. Dunstan’s College, Catford, London, and Jane Remington Hobbs Jerrard. He attended Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, where his father was now headmaster. He went on to Oundle School in Northamptonshire, then attended the University of Birmingham.
In 1915, Jerrard joined the British Army. He was appointed a cadet with the Birmingham University Contingent, Senior Division, officers Training Corps. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the South Staffordshire Regiment, 2 January 1916.
On 16 August 1916, Second Lieutenant Jerrard transferred to the Royal Flying Corps to be trained as a fighter pilot. He completed flight training 14 June 1917. He received advanced training at London Colney. Jerrard was promoted to lieutenant and was assigned to No. 19 Squadron, 24 July 1917.
Lieutenant Jerrard was flying a SPAD S.VII on his second combat patrol, 2 August 1917, near St. Marie Cappel. He attacked an enemy convoy, but then his engine failed. He crashed and was seriously injured. Rescued by Allied soldiers, he was initially hospitalized in France before being returned to England to recover.
Lt. Jerrard with a SPAD S.VII, 18 December 1917. (Daily Mail)
Lieutenant Jerrard was able to return to duty after six months. He joined No. 66 Squadron in Italy, 22 February 1918.
After being shot down on 30 March, Lieutenant Jerrard was held by Austria as a Prisoner of War at Salzburg. He was later able to escape and return to Allied lines.
Lieutenant Alan Jerrard, Royal Air Force, as a Prisoner of War, 1918. (Daily Mail)
Lieutenant Jerrard was officially credited with destroying three Albatros D.IIIs on 30 March 1918. In the previous weeks, he had also shot down two Aviatik Berg D.Is, an observation balloon, and another Albatross D.III.
In addition to the Victoria Cross, Lieutenant Jerrard was awarded the Medaglia di bronzo al Valore Militare (Bronze Medal for Military Valor) by the Kingdom of Italy. Imperial Russia awarded him the Imperatorskiy orden Sv. Anny (The Imperial Order of St. Anne, Third Degree, with Swords).
Lieutenant Jerrard remained in the Royal Air Force following the Armistice. He was granted a Permanent Commission as a Flying Officer, effective 1 August 1919. He served with a detachment at Murmansk, Russia, in 1919.
On 1 January 1926, Flying Officer Jerrard was promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
In June 1926, Flight Lieutenant Jerrard married Mrs. Eliza M.K. Low (née Eliza Maria Kathleen Woods), in St. Giles, Westminster, London.
Flight Lieutenant Jerrard retired from the Royal Air Force after eighteen years of military service. He was placed on the retired list on account of ill health, 24 August 1933.
Flight Lieutenant Alan Jerrard, V.C., died at Lyme Regis, Devon, 14 May 1968. His ashes were interred at the Uxbridge and Hillingdon Cemetery, Middlesex, along with those of his wife Eliza Maria Kathleen, who had died in 1961.
Lieutenant Alan Jerard, V.C., Royal Air Force, with his mother, 5 April 1919. (Daily Mail)Medals of Flight Lieutenant Alan Jerrard, V.C., Royal Air Force, in The Lord Ashcroft Gallery of the Imperial War Museum. (Left to right) Victoria Cross; British War Medal 1914–1920; Victory Medal 1914–1919; King George Coronation Medal 1937; Queen Elizabeth Coronation Medal 1953; Knight, Order of St. Anne with Swords (Imperial Russia); and Medal of Military Valour (Kingdom of Italy).
¹ The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service were combined to create the Royal Air Force, 1 April 1918.
Lieutenant Alan Arnett McLeod, VC, No. 2 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps Canada (RFCC) (Royal Canadian Air Force)
Air Ministry,
1st May, 1918
His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to award the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Officers of the Royal Air Force, for services displaying outstanding bravery:—
___________
2nd Lt Alan Arnett McLeod, Royal Air Force
Whilst flying with his observer (Lt. A. W. Hammond, M.C.), attacking hostile formations by bombs and machine-gun fire, he was assailed at a height of 5,000 feet by eight enemy triplanes, which dived at him from all directions, firing from the r front guns. By skilful [sic] maneuvering he enabled his observer to fire bursts at each machine in turn, shooting three of them down out of control. By this time Lt McLeod had received five wounds, and whilst continuing the engagement a bullet penetrated his petrol tank and set the machine on fire.
He then climbed out on to the left bottom plane, controlling his machine from the side of the fuselage, and by side-slipping steeply kept the flames to one side, thus enabling the observer to continue firing until the ground was reached.
The observer had been wounded six times when the machine crashed in “No Man’s Land,” and 2nd Lt McLeod, notwithstanding his own wounds, dragged him away from the burning wreckage at great personal risk from heavy machine-gun fire from the enemy’s lines. This very gallant pilot was again wounded by a bomb whilst engaged in this act of rescue, but he persevered until he had placed Lt. Hammond in comparative safety, before falling himself from exhaustion and loss of blood.
—The London Gazette, Number 30663, Wednesday, 1 May 1918, at Pages 5287 and 5288
“Second Lieutenant Alan McLeod and Lieutenant Arthur Hammond, Mcleod’s observer, relax outside quarters at their airfield in France just before the action that earned McLeod a Victoria Cross and Hammond a Bar to his Military Cross.” (Royal Canadian Air Force)
Alan Arnett McCleod was born 20 April 1899 in the village of Stonewall, Selkirk, Manitoba, Dominion of Canada. He was the first of two children of Alexander Neil McLeod, M.D., a physician, and Margaret Lillian Arnett McLeod.
Private Alan Arnett McLeod, Royal Flying Corps Canada, 1917. (Royal Canadian Air Force)
After previously being turned away due to his age, Alan McLeod joined the Royal Flying Corps Canada (R.F.C.C.) 20 April 1917—his 18th birthday. He was sent to the University of Toronto for military training, then to Long Branch and Camp Borden for flight training. He was commissioned a Temporary 2nd Lieutenant (on probation), 19 August 1917.
On 20 August 1917, 2nd Lieutenant McLeod boarded the Canadian Pacific passenger liner S.S. Metagama and sailed to Bantry Bay, Ireland. For the next four months McLeod continued to train as a pilot in the Royal Air Force. He then joined No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front.
Following the action of 27 March 1918, Lieutenant McLeod spent a long period of time recovering from his wounds. It was decided to send him home to Canada. On 20 September 1918, he sailed from Southhampton aboard the Cunard liner R.M S. Aquitania. The ship arrived at the Port of New York, 27 September. Lieutenant McLeod then traveled to his home in Stonewall.
2nd Lieutenant Alan A. McLeod, V.C., sailed home from Europe aboard R.M.S. Aquitania, 20–27 September 1918.
On 29 October 1918, Lieutenant McLeod was admitted to Winnipeg General Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, diagnosed with the Spanish Flu, then a worldwide epidemic.
2nd Lieutenant Alan Arnett McCleod, V.C., Royal Air Force, died 6 November 1918. He was just 18 years old.
Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 (Library and Archives of Canada)
The Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 was a been designed by Dutch engineer Frederick Koolhoven. It was a single-engine, two-place, two-bay biplane. The F.K.8 was 30 feet, 8 inches (9.347 meters long). Both upper and lower wings had a span of 43 feet, 0 inches (13.106 meters), and chord of 6 feet, 6 inches (1.981 meters). The upper wing area was 270 square feet (25.1 square meters), and the lower, 254 square feet (23.6 square meters). The vertical gap between the wings was 5 feet, 11 inches (1.803 meters) and the lower wing was staggered 1 foot, 7½ inches (0.495 meters) behind the upper. Both the upper and lower wings had an angle of incidence of 2¼°, no sweep, and 4° dihedral.
The F.K.8 had an empty weight of 1,720 pounds (780 kilograms), and gross weight of 3,000 pounds (1,361 pounds).
The F.K.8 was powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated 13.937 liter (850.481-cubic-inch-displacement) Beardmore Aero Engine, Ltd., 160-h.p. inline six-cylinder engine with a compression ratio of 4.85:1. The engine was direct drive, and although it was identified as “160 h.p.”, it actually produced 154 horsepower at 1,400 r.p.m. The engine was 57 inches (1.148 meters) long, 19.9 inches (0.505 meters) wide and 31.9 inches (0.810 meters) high. It weighed 545 pounds (247 kilograms).
The airplane had a maximum speed of 102 miles per hour (164 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and 98 miles per hour (158 kilometers per hour) at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). It could climb to 10,000 feet in 20 minutes. Its ceiling was 20,000 feet (6,096 meters). It carried fuel for 3.75 hours of flight.
The F.K.8 was armed with two machine guns, and carried a wireless apparatus.
Air Ministry, 28th May, 1943.
