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Whitley K9023

Type : Whitley First Flew : 26th May 1939 Last Flew : 13th August 1942 Known Codes : PB-E

Known information
26th May 1939	Whitley K9023 was built to contract 522438/36 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 25th May 1939. It was delivered to 10 Squadron at Dishforth on 26th May 1939 and coded "PB-E" but 10 Squadron changed their prefix with the outbreak of war and it became "ZA-E". A mention of it being slightly damaged at Dishforth on 15th October 1939 has been found but there is no record of this is recorded on the aircraft's history. Cat.M/FB damage was recorded after the flak damage in April 1940 as detailed above and it was repaired on site and returned to the unit but may not have flown operationally again because it was replaced as "ZA-E" by Whitley P4957 which was delivered to 10 Squadron in late April 1940. It was then transferred to 10 OTU at Abingdon on 29th May 1940 and then to 19 OTU at Kinloss on 11th August 1940. Here it sustained a Cat.R/FA accident on 25th October 1940 when it suffered an engine failure on a night take off at Kinloss, the pilot completed a circuit but overshot landing at Kinloss. It was then dismantled and transported to Airwork General Trading Ltd at Gatwick on 9th November 1940 and converted to a ground instructional airframe in May 1941 but no details of where it was used has been found. Officially it became 3302M in August 1942 but nothing further is known of it's history after this date.
12th April 1940	On the night of 12th / 13th April 1940 the crew of this aircraft were tasked with a reconnaissance flight to observe shipping in the coastal regions of Kattegat and Skaggerak, Norway. This aircraft took off from Dishforth at 18.45hrs and bombed a supply ship but on their return the aircraft flew over a 'flak' ship which fired at the Whitley and scored hits. The pilot was able to return safely to Dishforth and land at 03.30hrs without further incident.

Pilots and Aircrew who flew : Whitley K9023
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
Donnelly, Larry Click the name above to see a profile of Donnelly, Larry    Died : 0 / 1 / 2005	Donnelly, Larry Larry Donnelly joined the RAF in 1937 and trained as a wireless operator/air gunner although he wished to be a pilot. During the early months of the War he completed 41 operational flights on Whitleys with 10 Squadron and was later posted to instruct at Kinloss. He was awarded the DFM for service with 10 Squadron and later 76 Squadron, Gazetted on 14th April 1942 His service number is given as 618255 in the 10 Squadron ORB but the London Gazette entry for his DFM quotes 618288. He flew a second Tour on Halifaxes and a third in Coastal Command on Sunderlands with 461 Squadron in 1942. His wish to become a pilot was finally completed in 1945 when he was awared his Wings and he survived the War. It is remarkable that he was flying in the RAF in the early weeks of the War and only received his commission on 29th March 1945, to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency)(57075). He remained in the RAF post-war before relinquishing his commission of F/Lt on 18th December 1966. He later wrote the books "The Whitley Boys", "The Other Few" and "A Quest For Wings". He died in January 2005.
Henry, Michael Thomas Gibson Henry Click the name above to see a profile of Henry, Michael Thomas Gibson Henry    Died : 13 / 1 / 1941	Henry, Michael Thomas Gibson Henry F/O Henry was actually a pilot and was to be involved in a number of minor incidents and battle damage incidents. He was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire in 1912 and attended Sedbergh School, Yorkshire from 1926 to 1930. He was granted a permanent commission into the RAF as Acting P/O on Probation on 20th July 1937 and gained his RAF Wings in October 1937. He was made F/O on 10th December 1939 and then a F/Lt on 10th December 1940. His DFC was Gazetted on 30th July 1940 but no Citation for this award has been found as yet but was almost certainly for service in completing a Tour with 10 Squadron. F/Lt Henry was sadly killed in the crash of 35 Squadron Halifax L9487 on 13th January 1941 near Baldersby St.James, Yorkshire. He is buried in Roecliffe Churchyard near Boroughbridge

Squadrons for : Whitley K9023
A list of all squadrons known to have flown Whitley K9023. 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 Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.10 Sqn RAF	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. Battle Honours of No 10 Squadron Western Front 1915-1918 Loos, Somme 1916 Arras, Somme 1918 Channel and North Sea 1940-1945 Norway 1940 Ruhr 1940-1945 Fortress Europe 1940-1944 German Ports 1940-1945 Biscay Ports 1940-1945 Berlin 1940-1945 Invasion Ports 1940 France and Germany 1944-1945 Norway 1944 Rhine Gulf 1991 Iraq 2003.

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 Click the name above to see prints featuring Whitley aircraft. 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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