7 thoughts on “RAF Tholthorpe Nos 77, 420, 425, 431, and 434 Squadrons”
Very very interesting. With respect to the 420 Squadron, at the 15:17 point near the end, it says 6 prisoners of war, of which, I assume my Dad and Paul Bourcier were two of them. – Bill –
Thank you Pierre for the video. It brought back memories of the stories my father would regal me with at bedtime. I recall listening in fascination as he described such events as their mid-air collision with another bomber over LeMans and the ensuing treck home – or the time they exhausted their petrol supply due to badly forecasted winds over Nuremberg on the now infamous night of March 30/31, 1944. This led to a premature and somewhat bumpy landing on a small building near Cranwell, Lincolnshire. My father completed 38 missions as a Tail Gunner with the Ward crew of 420 Squadron. Their first 4 missions were Frankfurt March 23, Berlin March 24, Essen March 26 and Nuremberg March 30/31. One might say, baptism by fire!
If you have photos you can scan and share I can post them. We have to preserve the past for these unsung heroes. The Nuremberg raid was one of the costliest operations.
Fifteen on ops to attack Cambrai Junction. Fourteen successfully bombed the target with one early return. Routine training flights continued. Bomb loads were 16×500. Takeoff ~21:57. “F” piloted by WO2 Ward returned early with over revving engines and landed with a full bomb load.
RCAF 420 Snowy Owl 
Very very interesting. With respect to the 420 Squadron, at the 15:17 point near the end, it says 6 prisoners of war, of which, I assume my Dad and Paul Bourcier were two of them. – Bill –
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You have piqued my curiosity Bill.
Thank you Pierre for the video. It brought back memories of the stories my father would regal me with at bedtime. I recall listening in fascination as he described such events as their mid-air collision with another bomber over LeMans and the ensuing treck home – or the time they exhausted their petrol supply due to badly forecasted winds over Nuremberg on the now infamous night of March 30/31, 1944. This led to a premature and somewhat bumpy landing on a small building near Cranwell, Lincolnshire. My father completed 38 missions as a Tail Gunner with the Ward crew of 420 Squadron. Their first 4 missions were Frankfurt March 23, Berlin March 24, Essen March 26 and Nuremberg March 30/31. One might say, baptism by fire!
If you have photos you can scan and share I can post them. We have to preserve the past for these unsung heroes. The Nuremberg raid was one of the costliest operations.
Found this information on a website
June 12:
Fifteen on ops to attack Cambrai Junction. Fourteen successfully bombed the target with one early return. Routine training flights continued. Bomb loads were 16×500. Takeoff ~21:57. “F” piloted by WO2 Ward returned early with over revving engines and landed with a full bomb load.
Pierre,
I have many photos of the crew and airplane, including target pictures. I will scan some for the site.
Cheers
Barkley
I will contact you Barkley. Only I can post images on my blog.