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Raymond Wilkinson - Aircrew Details - Aviation Directory

Raymond Wilkinson


Name : Raymond Wilkinson
Died : unknown

Awards :
Distinguished Flying Medal

He was Rear Gunner on Lancaster ED886 AJ-O on the Dambusters Raid. The aircraft flew below tree top level en route to their target - the Ennepe dam - where they successfully hit the target, but the dam held firm. The aircraft was the last of the Dambusters to return to base.

Known Service Details :

Squadron

Rank

Start of Service

End of Service

Known Dates

Aircraft

Airframes

Notes

No.617 Sqn RAF

Sergeant

unknown

unknown

16th May 1943

Lancaster

ED886




Squadrons :
No.617 Sqn RAF
Historical Notes :
23-04-1943 - Joined No.617 Sqn with code AJ-O.
16-05-1943 - Took part in the Dambusters Raid, dropping a mine on the Ennepe dam, but it failed to destroy it. The aircraft returned to base safely. Crew : Flight Sergeant William Clifford Townsend (Pilot), Sergeant Dennis John Dean Powell (Flight Engineer), Pilot Officer Cecil Lancelot Howard (Navigator), Flight Sergeant George Alexander Chalmers (Wireless Operator), Sergeant Charles Ernest Franklin (Bomb Aimer), Sergeant Douglas Edward Webb (Front Gunner), Sergeant Raymond Wilkinson (Rear Gunner).
10-12-1943 - Failed to return from a special operations mission, crashed near Terramesnil.

Known Individual Aircraft :

Type

Serial

Codes

First Flew

Squadron History

Aircrew History

History Notes

Engine

Factory

Lancaster

ED886

AJ-O

-

details

details

details




Aircraft for : Raymond Wilkinson
A list of all aircraft associated with Raymond Wilkinson. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
AircraftInfo

Lancaster



Click the name above to see prints featuring Lancaster aircraft.

Manufacturer : Avro
Production Began : 1942
Retired : 1963
Number Built : 7377

Lancaster

The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' Operation Gomorrah in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992.



Squadrons for : Raymond Wilkinson
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Raymond Wilkinson. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
SquadronInfo

No.617 Sqn RAF

Country : UK
Founded : 23rd March 1943

Apres mois, le deluge - After me, the flood

Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.617 Sqn RAF

No.617 Sqn RAF

Full profile not yet available.




First created : 11:20, May 17, 2013
Created by : kc

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