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No.514 Sqn RAF

Name : No.514 Sqn RAF Founded : 1st September 1943 Disbanded : 22nd August 1945 Country : UK Fate : Disbanded 22nd August 1945 More Details : Nil obstare potest - Nothing can withstand Known Code Letters : , A2, JI,

No. 514 Squadron was formed at Foulsham, Norfolk, on 1st September 1943, as a heavy-bomber squadron in No. 3 Group. Beginning operations (in November 1943) with Lancaster IIs, it gradually changed over to Lancaster Is and IIIs during the summer of 1944, and, in all, over a span of 18 months, flew 3,675 operational sorties. Its personnel won 1 DSO, 84 DFCs, 1 bar to the DFC, and 26 DFMs. Immediately before the German capitulation the squadron dropped food supplies to the starving Dutch people and, subsequently, its aircraft were busily employed on ferrying liberated POWs to England from France and Belgium.

Known Service Details :
Pilot or Aircrew	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
George K Boyd	Flt Lt	unknown	30th January 1944		Lancaster	DS706	DS706, JI-G was lost without trace, probably one of three Lancasters shot down over the North Sea. One was shot down at 1910hrs approaching the Danish coast by Lt. Bruno Heilig, and two on the homeward leg by Lt. Guido Krupinski and Ofw. Heinz Vinke, both of 11./NJG1. The location of recovered aircrew casualties from all other aircraft indicates that DS706 is definitely one of those lost over the sea. There were no survivors amongst F/L Boyd’s crew.
George Joseph Chequer	fl / lt	September 1943	30th January 1944	30th January 1944	Lancaster	DS735	F/L George Chequer who had been with the unit since its formation and who had got 514 Sqn airborne when he piloted DS735, JI-A on a test flight as described previously. He was flying the same aircraft when he and his crew were shot down at approximately 2030hrs approaching Berlin. The aircraft crashed in flames and the crew baled out. F/S Alex Robertson, the Rear Gunner, walked SW for five nights before being captured near Magdeburg. He stated that the aircraft had been hit by flak. However, the ‘second dickie’ pilot, A/F/S Gulliford, later stated that the aircraft was hit by upwardly-fired cannon shells which immediately ignited the petrol tank. He presumed, albeit after the event, that this was ‘shrage musik’, especially as he heard a shout from the rear gunner to corkscrew immediately beforehand. It has been suggested by unverified sources that DS735 was shot down by Obstlt. Gunther Radusch of Stab NJG5, who destroyed three Lancasters in the area between 2024hrs and 2030hrs. F/L George Chequer, 22 years old and Sgt John O’Brien, MU gunner, 23 years old, baled out too low for their parachutes to deploy whilst Sgt Robert Montgomery, the WOP/AG also lost his life after landing in a lake and apparently drowning. They are now buried in Berlin War Cemetery. F/S Ken Mortimer, Navigator, was subsequently killed on 19/4/45 when Typhoons shot up a POW column near Boizenburg. F/S Robertson survived the war and was discharged from the RAAF as a Warrant Officer. Killed in Action

Pilots and Aircrew for : No.514 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
Name	Info
Boyd, George K Click the name above to see a profile of Boyd, George K    Died : 30 / 1 / 1944	Boyd, George K 25 years old, had been awarded the DFC in 1942, whilst at 1651 CU which had been stationed at Waterbeach since January of that year. Whilst he was on only his third operation with 514 Sqn, his age, rank and the earlier award of the DFC suggests that he was on at least his second tour of operations. Had he survived it is likely that he would have become a flight commander when a vacancy arose. His aircraft, DS706, JI-G was lost without trace, probably one of three Lancasters shot down over the North Sea. One was shot down at 1910hrs approaching the Danish coast by Lt. Bruno Heilig, and two on the homeward leg by Lt. Guido Krupinski and Ofw. Heinz Vinke, both of 11./NJG1. The location of recovered aircrew casualties from all other aircraft indicates that DS706 is definitely one of those lost over the sea. There were no survivors amongst F/L Boyd’s crew.
Chequer, George Joseph Click the name above to see a profile of Chequer, George Joseph    Died : 30 / 1 / 1944	Chequer, George Joseph George Joseph Chequer joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in August 1940, serving as groundcrew in Calgary before remustering to aircrew in April 1942. He graduated as a pilot from the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) in December 1942, and was posted to 514 Squadron when it was formed in September 1943. The squadron was based in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire and flew its first operational mission on 3 November June 1943 F/L George Chequer who had been with the unit since its formation and who had got 514 Sqn airborne when he piloted DS735, JI-A on a test flight as described previously. He was flying the same aircraft when he and his crew were shot down at approximately 2030hrs approaching Berlin. The aircraft crashed in flames and the crew baled out. F/S Alex Robertson, the Rear Gunner, walked SW for five nights before being captured near Magdeburg. He stated that the aircraft had been hit by flak. However, the ‘second dickie’ pilot, A/F/S Gulliford, later stated that the aircraft was hit by upwardly-fired cannon shells which immediately ignited the petrol tank. He presumed, albeit after the event, that this was ‘shrage musik’, especially as he heard a shout from the rear gunner to corkscrew immediately beforehand. It has been suggested by unverified sources that DS735 was shot down by Obstlt. Gunther Radusch of Stab NJG5, who destroyed three Lancasters in the area between 2024hrs and 2030hrs. F/L George Chequer, 22 years old and Sgt John O’Brien, MU gunner, 23 years old, baled out too low for their parachutes to deploy whilst Sgt Robert Montgomery, the WOP/AG also lost his life after landing in a lake and apparently drowning. They are now buried in Berlin War Cemetery. F/S Ken Mortimer, Navigator, was subsequently killed on 19/4/45 when Typhoons shot up a POW column near Boizenburg. F/S Robertson survived the war and was discharged from the RAAF as a Warrant Officer.
Harvell, Thomas Click the name above to see a profile of Harvell, Thomas    Died : 3 / 6 / 2012	Harvell, Thomas Flight Engineer and Co Pilot Lancaster Bombers, N.514 Sq. RAF Bomber Command based in Cambridgeshire England. He completed 11 missions over Germany, before being shot down at Domremy (S.W. Nancy) in France. He then joined the FFI (French resistance) at Neuf Chateau. The mayor of the town later awarded Thomas Harvell the Medal of Honour in recognition of his wartime services an 50 years of continued friendship with his former resistance colleagues. He moved to another area, Doubs, near the Swiss border and helped the resistance liberate the town of Pierrefontaine. he was again awarded and became a "Citizen of Honour". The Resistance Veterans Association proposed him for the "Legion of Honour" but as Thomas Harvell was still RAF/British he never received this award. The RAF did, however, award him several combat medals. Sadly, Thomas Harvell passed away in Southampton on 3rd June 2012.
Say, Don Click the name above to see a profile of Say, Don	Say, Don Joined the RAFVR in March 1939 and was sent for Aircrew training to Calgary and Hamilton in Canada in 1941. He qualified as Observer (armaments) aimer and served first on Vickers Wellingtons with 466 Sqdn (Aus) completing 20 operations before moving on to 196 Sqn for a further ten operations over France and Germany on Stirlings. After six months as Instructor, his second tour of 23 operations in Lancasters was with 514 Sqn. The picture evoked memories of a daylight operation on oil refineries at Bordeaux on 4th August 1944. Crossing the Cornish coast on return at very low level, everyone reported nude sunbathers running for cover, as 300 Lancasters roared overhead. His total war service was six and a half years between 1939 and 1945, completing two operational tours. He was awarded the DFC in 1944.

Aircraft for : No.514 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircraft associated with No.514 Sqn RAF. 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.