Base; Ballykelly
Take off time: Unknown.
Op: Anti-submarine patrol.
Liberator V ‘H’ (FL 977) had been on CLA patrol, leaving the patrol area at 01.57 on June 24th. The aircraft (The crew, Captained by Pilot Officer I B Jenkins, W/O Logan was 2nd Pilot: Warrant Officer G F Logan; Navigator: W/O R R J Revell; Sgts W H Wilson, H G Lewis; W/Os G W Geering, W G Wallace and Flt Sgt H G Coombes. Crew received a weather report advising to divert from Ballykelly because of bad visibility. QDMs (meaning: What is the magnetic course to steer, with zero wind, to reach you) were regularly exchanged between the station and the aircraft with the last recorded message, according to 59 Squadron’s Operation Record Book, at 04.16. No further contact was made.
"Taffy Jenkins had set his heart on his home base and Monty and I
heard the drone of his Pratt and Whitney engines circling overhead. We
went outside but the mist was too bad to see anything. We heard the Liberator
go round a second and then a third time, but on the fateful third circuit
there was the horrendous and terrifying sound of the Liberator crashing
into the Binevagh mountains across Lough Foyle from the airfield. It was
04.20. Three hours later FL977 was located on the hillside. There were
no survivors, we never saw our friends again"(Titch
Regan)
All lost: view crew page
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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