| :::: Flight - Mission Details ::::.... |
Base: Ballykelly
Time Up: 1005hrs - Time Down: 1927hrs - Duration: 10hrs 22mins
Op: Navigational Excercise - Sth of Ireland. (Training)
At 1053, long before patrol area was reached, a radar contact red 20 at 5 miles was immediately after converted into a sighting of smoke and vapour travelling at the head of a wake at 4/6 knots. Visibility was bad and showers frequent. The first run in found the wake too olo (?) for attack and a schnorkel was seen, more like a hump than a pipe, in the middle of the smoke. The pilot took the broad sweep and twice the radar operator picked up the contact and on this run the attack was made with 6 D/C's. The U/BT was on course 105 and the attack at an angle of 90'. So far as could be seen the D/C's fell just ahead of the wake. In the rough sea, markers failed to function and to lay a pattern of Sono Buoys after the first purple it was necessary to return to land to check position. They indicated that the U/BT was travelling on 00.020, giving first regular and irregular 120 1pm. Relief A/C arrived at 1810, all Sono Buoy sounds having ceased weather and visibility were very bad and area was left at 1845.
Crew on this day were: Pilot: F/L J.W. Thomas - 2nd Pilot: F/O A.J. Peckham - Nav: F/O D.S. Fawbert - P/O R.C. Eliason - Sgt. J.M. Paris - Sgt. M. Thompson - Sgt. G. Hart - F/O J.N. Davey - Sgt. E. Allison. One of the crew is possibly the Squadron Navigation Leader - but it unknown at this stage which officer... Possibly F/O J.N. Davey.
Note: This crew had not yet flown an operational sortie at the time of this attack. They flew their first Op. on the 16th of Feb, an A/U Sweep - S-1.
| :::: More U-boat Details ::::.... |
Unknown
| :::: Source - Endurance - Alwyn Jay ::::.... |
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