| :::: Flight - Mission Details ::::.... |
Base: St Eval
Time Up: 1100 - Time Down: 2055 - Duration: 9hrs 55mins
Op: A/S Escort "LOOSE"
F/L Allen Memoirs:
After several uneventful trips, on November 1, 1942, while on patrol in the Southwest Atlantic we sighted a convincing looking wake from a U-boat periscope. We depth charged this with great accuracy. It was the practice that a camera started to operate as soon as we opened the bomb doors so that our attacks would be automatically photographed for assessment by the experts when we got back. A few days later, W/C Bartlett had me in to his office to tell me the experts said that what we depth charged was not a periscope wake - but they couldn't say what it was. We had excellent pictures which showed a perfect straddle of the six depth charges on the wake, and by all analysis experts, a straddle on a visible U-boat wake was a certain 'kill'.
None of the crew would believe this was not a U-boat, but we couldn't change the official assessment. There was much muttering about having to 'bring back the U-boat Captain's hat' in order to get credit for a kill. This was also a constant complaint by the Navy anti-sub people.
ORB: Crew: F/O E.E Allen (pilot) - Sgt W.J Thomas - P/O G.W LaFore - P/O A.W Henry - Sgt L.G Woods - P/O G.W Flieger - Sgt H.G Barton.
Airborne ST.EVAL No S.E 12 x 250 D.C's carried. Convoy not met. At 1645 S/C for base and at 1650, sighted feather of a U-Boat periscope. Attacked with 6 D.C's, Torpex, Mark XI, from 150ft - 200ft. spacing set at 25ft, about 2 1/2 after feather first sighted. Second attack made from 100ft, 5 x 250 D.C's set at 25ft, spaced at 30ft. Oil patches observed approx 100m in diameter. No further results seen. Aircraft carried out baiting tactics with no result.
| :::: More U-boat Details ::::.... |
Unknown
| :::: Source - Memoires of F/L E.E. Allen DFC ::::.... |
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