Base: Manston
Take off time 1440
Op: Dundee
59 Sqn ORB: 25 Mar’1941
TR-J, Crew F/Lt Palmer, Sgt West, Sgt Buckley, Duty DUNDEE, Time Up 1440, Time Down 1830. Shipping reported off Dunkerque. Attacked off Calais by 2 ME109s, when just below cloud. A/G fired but was killed instantly by cannon shells entering the turret. A/C returned to Manston and landed there. (AIR 27/555)
Sgt (Wop/Ag) Derek N. BUCKLEY - 633416 - 59 Sqn (Bircham Newton, Norfolk), buried Minster (Thanet) Cem., Kent, was killed in the air 25-3-1941 when a cannon shell entered his turret while flying a 'Dundee' Patrol in aircraft coded TR-V. The rest of the crew survived.
One casualty:
Sgt (Wop/Ag) Derek N. BUCKLEY - 633416 RAF
Crew:
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F/L GT Palmer went missing a little over a month later: view details
During WWII, the RAF used three-letter codes to identify their aircraft from a distance. Two large letters were painted before the roundel, which signified the squadron to which the aircraft belonged, and another letter was painted after the roundel which indicated the individual aircraft. Aditionally, there was the individual serial number for each aircraft, which was painted in a much smaller size, usually somewhere at the rear of the aircraft: (more)
Codes used by RAF 59 Squadron:
PJ Sep 1938 - Sep 1939
TR Sep 1939 - Oct 1942
1 Aug 1943 - Jul 1944
WE Jul 1944 - Oct 1945
BY Oct 1945 - Jun 1946, Dec 1947 - Oct 1950