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Whitley K9026 |
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Type : Whitley First Flew : 31st May 1939 Built at : Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton Known Codes : PB-O |
| Pilots and Aircrew who flew : Whitley K9026 | ||
| A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | ||
| Name | Info | |
| Chalmers, George Alexander Click the name above to see a profile of Chalmers, George Alexander
| Chalmers, George Alexander George Alexander Chalmers was born on February 12 1921 at Peterhead in Scotland. He was educated at Aberdeen Academy before working briefly at a local Crosse & Blackwell factory and joining the RAF as a boy entrant. After boy's service and qualifying as a wireless operator and air-gunner, Chalmer joined the RAF in 1938. Geogre Chalmers was posted to No 10, a two-engine Whitley bomber squadron at Dishforth, Yorkshire, from where he took part in leaflet-dropping operations over Germany after the outbreak of war. On 1st March 1940 He was the air gunner in Whitley K9026 which took off at 17.30hrs, the crew were briefed to carry out a leaflet dropping operation over Berlin. On their return they ran low on fuel and one of the aircraft's engines cut out on approach to land at Dishforth. The aircraft undershot and hit the ground some 400 yards east of the base at 03.10hrs on 2nd March 1940. Damage was sustained to the aircraft's inner fuel tanks, leading edge of the port wing and the starboard undercarriage and undersurfaces were damaged but it was repaired. The records suggest that for this operational flight this aircraft had been borrowed from 78 Squadron by 10 Squadron and flown by a 10 Squadron crew. In August 1940 Chalmers transferred to No 7, the RAF's first four-engine Stirling bomber squadron which was operating from Leeming. There followed a spell with No 35, a four-engine Halifax bomber squadron, with which Chalmers was fortunate to survive an attack on the battle cruiser Scharnhorst at La Rochelle - his captain managed to make base despite being severely wounded and piloting a badly-damaged aircraft. When he joined 617 Squadron he was a Flight Sergeant and served as wireless operator on Lancaster AJ-O during the Dambusters raid which was piloted by Bill Townsend. Awarded the DFM for his part in the attack on the Ennepe Dam he was commissioned a few months later and awarded the DFC after 65 operations. In 1946 Chalmers was granted an extended service commission, and served in No 617 and No 12 Squadrons until 1950, when he was posted to No 38, a Lancaster squadron in the Middle East. He was released as a flight lieutenant in 1954, and served in the Reserve until 1961. Meanwhile, he had joined the civil service at Harrogate, where he worked for the Ministry of Defence dealing with the RAF's technical requirements. In this period his advice was much valued in the sphere of flight refuelling. On his retirement from the MoD in 1984, the company Flight Refuelling hosted a farewell party for him at which he was hailed as an "expert in specialised spares procurement", especially in relation to a refuelling system of outstanding value used by the RAF in the Falklands conflict. Sadly, George Chalmers passed away in August 2002 aged 81. | |
| Squadrons for : Whitley K9026 | ||
| A list of all squadrons known to have flown Whitley K9026. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
No.10 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 1st January 1915 Rem acu tangere - To hit the mark | No.10 Sqn RAF No.10 Sqn was formed on 1st January 1915 (from elements of No. 1 Reserve Squadron) moving to to St Omer, France in July 1915. The squadron flew BE2C's in August 1915 in the role of spotters for the Indian Corps during the Battle of Loos. During the Battle of Arras in April 1917 the squadron carried out some bombing sorties. After the First World war had ended No.10 squadron served in Germany before returning back the the UK and was disbanded in the winter of 1919. No.10 squadron was reformed in January 1928 as a heavy bomber squadron nad based at Upper Heyford. The squadron was equipped with Hyderabads, and over the following 10 eyars the squadron flew an assortment of bombers, including Hinaidis, Virginias and Heyfords. In January 1937, the Squadron was re equipped with Whitley bombers and moved to Dishforth. For the first few months of the Second World War, No. 10 Squadron carried out leaflet-dropping missions over Germany and in late 1941 was re equipped with the Halifax bomber. In May 1945, the squadron moved form Bomber Command to Transport Command and was re equipped with Dakotas. After the war the squadron was disbanded in 1947 only to be bought back into service for the Belrin Airlift in 1948 again flying the Dakota. Once the emergency was over the squadron again was disbanded. The squadron was again reformed during the 1950's and equipped with Canberras and was involved in operation during the Suez Crisis and during 1958 to 1964 the squadron was again re equipped with Victors based at Cottesmore. In July 1966 No.10 squadron were to be come the first squadron to be equipped with VC10s and since then were involved in air to air refuelling and tanker transport. The squadron was disbanded in October 2005 at Brize Norton, but reformed once again on 1st July 2011 flying Airbus Voyager aircraft.
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| Aircraft type : Whitley | ||
| A profile page including a list of all art prints for the Whitley is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
| Aircraft | Info | |
Whitley 
Manufacturer : Armstrong Whitworth Production Began : 1937 Retired : 1942 Number Built : 1814 | Whitley The Whitley first entered service with No. 10 Squadron in March 1937, replacing Handley Page Heyford biplanes. By the outbreak of the Second World War, seven squadrons were operational, the majority flying Whitley IIIs or IVs, as the Whitley V had only just been introduced. ] With the Handley Page Hampden and the Vickers Wellington, Whitleys bore the brunt of the early fighting and saw action on the first night of the war, when they dropped propaganda leaflets over Germany.[8] Among the many aircrew who flew the Whitley in operations over Germany, was Leonard Cheshire who spent most of his first three years at war flying them. Unlike the Hampden and Wellington—which met specification B.9/32 for a day bomber—the Whitley was always intended for night operations and escaped the early heavy losses received in daylight raids on German shipping, early in the war. With Hampdens, the Whitley made the first bombing raid on German soil on the night of 19/20 March 1940, attacking the Hornum seaplane base on the Island of Sylt. Whitleys also carried out Operation Haddock the first RAF raid on Italy, on the night of 11/12 June 1940. As the oldest of the three bombers, the Whitley was obsolete by the start of the war, yet over 1,000 more were produced before a suitable replacement was found. A particular problem with the twin-engine aircraft, was that it could not maintain altitude on one engine. Whitleys flew 8,996 operations with RAF Bomber Command, dropped 9,845 tons (8,931 tonnes) of bombs and 269 aircraft were lost in action. From April 1942, the Whitley was retired as first-line bomber. It continued to serve as glider tug, paratroop trainer, transport, or radio countermeasures aircraft. It also played an important role in Coastal Command . No. 100 Group RAF used Whitleys to carry airborne radar and electronic counter-measures. In February 1942, Whitleys carried the paratroops who participated in the Bruneval raid (Operation Biting) in which German radar technology was captured from a German base on the coast of France. The British Overseas Airways Corporation operated 15 Whitley Mk Vs converted into freighters in 1942. Running night supply flights from Gibraltar to Malta, they took seven hours to reach the island, often landing during air attacks. They used large quantities of fuel for a small payload and were replaced in August 1942 by the Lockheed Hudson, with the 14 survivors being returned to the Royal Air Force. Long-range Coastal Command Mk VII variants, were among the last in front-line service, with the first kill attributed to them being the sinking of the German submarine U-751, on 17 July 1942, in combination with a Lancaster heavy bomber. | |
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Everything we obtain for this site is shown on the site, we do not have any more photos, crew lists or further information on any of the ships. COPYRIGHT NOTICE. ALL IMAGES DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW, AND ARE OWNED BY CRANSTON FINE ARTS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. NO REPRODUCTION OR COPYING ALLOWED ON OTHER WEBSITES, BOOKS OR ARTICLES WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT. |
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Died : 0 / 8 / 2002