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Harold Kirby

Name : Harold Kirby

Called up in 1942 he attended a flight mechanics course at RAF Halton and then qualified as a flight engineer in 1943, joining 467 Squadron at Waddington on Lancasters. In August 1944 his aircraft was forced to crash land after an operation when a 1000lb bomb from another Lancaster ripped through their port wing and destroyed their undercarriage over France. In September 1944 he joined 97 Squadron at Coningsby on Lancasters as part of the Pathfinders and remained with this unit until the end of the war. He left the RAF in 1946.

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
No.467 Sqn RAAF		1943	September 1944		Lancaster
No.97 Sqn RAF		September 1944	1945		Lancaster

Artwork signed by this Pilot or Aircrew

Leading the Way by Gerald Coulson. (B)

Moonlit Lancaster by Gerald Coulson. (C)

The Bomber Boys by James Dietz. (C)

Aircraft for : Harold Kirby
A list of all aircraft associated with Harold Kirby. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
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 : Harold Kirby
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Harold Kirby. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
No.467 Sqn RAAF Country : Australia Founded : 7th November 1942 Fate : Disbanded 30th September 1945 Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.467 Sqn RAAF	No.467 Sqn RAAF Full profile not yet available.
No.97 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 1st December 1917 Fate : Disbanded 2nd January 1967 Straits Settlement Achieve your aim Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.97 Sqn RAF	No.97 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available.

Last edited : 10:40, November 27, 2012
Last editor : kc

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