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Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan

Squadron Leader Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan. Name : Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan Born : 24th March 1921 Died : 20th November 2012 Awards : Distinguished Flying Cross

Gerard Wilfrid O’Donovan was born at Ferndale, Glamorgan, on March 24 1921 and educated at Port Talbot Grammar School, where he was head boy. He joined the RAF in June 1940 and later trained as a pilot in the United States. In late 1943, at the height of the Battle of Berlin, he joined No.12 Squadron before transferring to the Pathfinder Force. On the formation of No.582 Squadron he was appointed flight commander. This heralded an almost unprecedented period of service with the Pathfinders for O’Donovan, during which he served continuously on bombing operations for more than a year. After numerous attacks against Berlin and industrial targets in Germany, Bomber Command switched its attention to France in preparation for the D-Day landings. O’Donovan marked many of these targets, often under fire, and his Lancaster was damaged on a number of occasions. By August 1944 he was frequently acting as the master bomber controlling and directing the main bomber force. The raid on Walcheren was his 45th with the Pathfinders, and he was due for a rest. His crew dispersed, but O’Donovan volunteered to continue and, with a new crew, marked targets deep into Germany. On February 13/14 1945 he attacked Dresden. It was his 60th operation with No 582 and his 90th bombing sortie. With the war drawing to a close, he was grounded and awarded a DFC. O’Donovan remained in the RAF as a bomber pilot and flew the B29 Washington with No 138 Squadron before serving in Singapore on the staff of the Far East Air Force. After a period at the Air Ministry he retired at his own request in 1961.

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
No.12 Sqn RAF		1943	unknown
No.582 Sqn RAF		unknown	14th February 1945	06th June 1944	Lancaster
No.138 Sqn RAF		unknown	unknown		Washington

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Squadron Leader Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan.

Aircraft for : Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan
A list of all aircraft associated with Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan. 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.
Washington Click the name above to see prints featuring Washington aircraft.	Washington Full profile not yet available.

Squadrons for : Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
No.12 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 14th February 1915 Leads the field Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.12 Sqn RAF	No.12 Sqn RAF No. 12 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed on 14th February 1915 from a flight of No. 1 Squadron RFC based at Netheravon Airfield in Wiltshire. The squadron moved to France in September 1915 and operated a variety of aircraft on operations over the Western Front during the First World War. In March 1918, the squadron was re-equipped with the Bristol F.2b Fighter just before becoming part of the newly formed Royal Air Force. The squadron, by then based at Bickendorf in Germany, was disbanded in 1922. The squadron re-formed at RAF Northolt on 1 April 1923, operating the de Havilland DH.9A. In 1924, it moved to RAF Andover in Hampshire and converted to the Fairey . The squadron was the only RAF user of the Fairey Fox and its performance was superior to other types, resulting in the motto of 'Leads the Field'. In 1931, the squadron re-equipped with the Sydney Camm designed Hawker Hart. In October 1935 the squadron moved to the Middle East, but returned to Andover in August 1936. The Harts were replaced by the Hawker Hind in 1936 and in 1938 the squadron was equipped with Fairey Battles. On the first day of the Second World War the squadron moved to France to begin operations. On 12 May 1940, over the Albert Canal, Belgium, one bridge in particular was being used by the invading German Army, with protection from fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft and machine-guns. The RAF was ordered to demolish this vital bridge, and five Fairey Battles from the squadron were dispatched. They met an intensive anti-aircraft fire, but the mission was accomplished, much of the success being due to the coolness and resource of the pilot Flying Officer Garland of the leading aircraft and the navigation of Sergeant Gray. Notwithstanding the success of the mission, the leading aircraft and three others did not return. Flying Officer Garland and Sergeant Gray were both posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. No. 12 Squadron returned to England in June. It was stationed initially at RAF Finningley in South Yorkshire, before moving to RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire during July 1940, when it was refurnished with Battles. Amongst other missions, the squadron carried out anti-invasion strikes against shipping in Boulogne Harbour in northern France, most notably on 17 and 19 August. The squadron was one of the last No.1 Group units to conduct operations with Fairey Battles. These took place on 15/16 October 1940, when No. 301 (Polish) Squadron bombed Boulogne and Nos. 12 and 142 Squadrons bombed Calais. By November 1940, the squadron had been re-equipped with the Vickers Wellington medium bomber, remaining for the time being at RAF Binbrook. The squadron moved again in 1942, to RAF Wickenby also in Lincolnshire, and soon after converted to operate the Avro Lancaster a heavy bomber. In 1946 the squadron re-equipped with the Avro Lincoln, another heavy bomber. In 1952, the squadron joined the jet-age and re-equipped with the English Electric Canberra jet bomber. After 44 years continuous service the squadron was again disbanded in July 1961. In 1962, the squadron was re-formed to operate eight Avro Vulcan V bombers equipped with Yellow Sun one megaton free-fall strategic nuclear bombs for medium to high altitude release. The squadron initially operated Vulacns from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and then later from RAF Cottesmore in Rutland. The advent of effective Soviet surface-to-air-missiles made high-flying bombers vulnerable, and in late 1966 the squadron took delivery of eight WE.177B strategic nuclear laydown bombs for low-level penetration missions. It was assigned to Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) as part of the UK strategic nuclear forces deployed with that 450 kt weapon, that was intended as a temporary stop-gap until the UK Polaris force began to take over the strategic nuclear delivery role The squadron stood down from this role at the end of 1967
No.138 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 20th September 1918 Fate : Disbanded 1st April 1962. For Freedom Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.138 Sqn RAF	No.138 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available.
No.582 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 1st April 1944 Fate : Disbanded 10th September 1945 Praecolamus designantes - We fly before marking Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.582 Sqn RAF	No.582 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available.

Last edited : 16:04, January 7, 2013
Last editor : kc
First created : 16:02, January 7, 2013
Created by : kc

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