Steven K. Dixon 2022
Squadron: 104 Aircraft Name: G - George
Crew:
Position |
Name |
Rank |
Pilot |
Ian Willoughby |
F/O |
Wireless |
Christopher Billing |
F/SGT |
Tail Gunner |
M. Reynolds |
F/SGT |
Navigator |
Garry Francis |
F/SGT |
Mid-Upper |
Shaun McKenzie |
F/SGT |
Bomb Aimer |
John Mainprize |
F/SGT |
Engineer |
Andrew Tucker |
F/SGT |
1943 Missions:
Mission Number |
Target |
Result |
1 |
Hamburg |
On Target 60% |
2 |
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3 |
Hamburg |
On Target 40% |
4 |
Remscheid |
On Target 50% |
5 |
Ludwingshafen |
On Target 40% |
6 |
Berlin |
On Target 50% |
7 |
Bremen |
DNB |
8 |
Genoa, It. |
On Target 40% |
9 |
Peenemunde |
DNB |
10 |
Leverkusen |
On Target 93% |
11 |
Hagen |
Off Target 10% |
1942 Credited Kills:
Mission No. |
ME 110 F-4 |
ME 110 G-4 |
JU 88 C-6 |
JU 88 G-7 |
DO 217 J-1 |
DO 217 N-2 |
HE 219 A-0 |
FW 190 A-5UZ |
ME 109 G-6U4N |
ME 262 B-1AU1 |
TA 154 A-0 |
DO 217 J-1 (Italy) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
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3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
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7 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
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10 |
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11 |
1 |
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12 |
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13 |
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14 |
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15 |
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16 |
1 |
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17 |
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18 |
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19 |
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20 |
1 |
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1942 Mission AAR
Mission 1 - Essen -- None Sent
Mission 3 - Kiel -- AAR
Mission 10 - Stuttgart - We were all good until running in to the target; coned by searchlights, flak was ineffectual but then we got battered by a N/F: Nose guns U/S, Bomb aimer wounded, oxygen out for M/UG, Port wing hammered: wing root and flaps out; threw her into a corkscrew but he must have followed us and that was when Andy bought it - never even saw the bastard! Andy in the nose was on top form - despite being wounded he planted 30% on the target and we turned for home, diving to a lower altitude for the Mid; that's when we got hit by the second night fighter - didn't see him either: the BA took another light wound, the FE's oxygen was U/S, hits in the starboard wing taking out the dinghy. More corkscrewing but that must have been when we lost the tailwheel and we took more hits in the bomb bay and nose as we also lost the autopilot. Things were pretty quiet until we neared the coast over Belgium when Shaun (M/UG) spotted a ME110 G-4 coming in at 12 o'clock - he let fly and took out his left wing and it spiraled away into the ground. After that it was relatively plain sailing and we landed cleanly at 04.35.
Mission 11 - All good until Zone 7 when tail turret went u/s. Good bomb run with 30% on target; attacked by ME 110 F-4 over Lubeck but shot down by tail (despite having to hand crank); attacked by ME110F-4 on way home but N/F missed and lost contact. Landed smoothly.
Mission 14 - Gremlin-central: 4 malfunctions; plastered by Jerry once we crossed the coast; couldn't see the target (and no bloody way where we going round again!) and totally missed. Back over the North Sea we were ignored (apart from a ME110F that nobody saw and missed us) but worried over a bad fuel leak: all engines spluttering and coughing as we came home over Lincolnshire, our starboard engines cut out on landing which, combined with our starboard undercarriage which had been shot away over Bremen, threw us off the runway and put our starboard wing tip into the grass. Chiefy says it'll be right-as-rain before our next OP.
Mission 15 - Picked up an intercom malfunction as we climbed to High in Zone 2. Flt. Engineer attempted to fix but u/s. Turned back and landed safely (with bombs onboard - got chewed out for that by S/Leader post debriefing. As a result of a CID investigation Corporal Newman (Fitter) was arrested for sabotage and court-martialled. (Last mission G-George had 5 malfunctions: Tail Turret power out and Gee enroute, Oxygen, Fuel and Heating systems returning over the North Sea resulting in G-George sustaining damage for skidding off the runway as Engine 3 and 4 cut on landing)
Mission 16 - Picked up by flak ship crossing Dutch coast, shook the old kite about but nothing serious. Clear until Dusseldorf: good run in the target and planted the bombs and incendiaries well; picked up a N/F on Monica, F/Sgt McKenzie tracked him in at 3 o'clock high and gave him a good burst hitting him across his port wing, Jerry fired back but missed and dived trailing trailing bits of Messerschmidt... Smooth flight back to Norfolk and P/O Willoughby touched down like a feather. Piece of cake - not like the last few shows...
Mission 18 - Some flak over Belgium and the target but nothing serious (attacked by ME110 F-4 over Saarbrucken but only superficial damage and NF failed to reacquire after VC - crew didn't spot so put it down to flak...); Bomb Release malfunctioned over Belgium so bombs off-target as released late. Not bad for our 13th mission!
Mission 19 - Getting there was a piece of cake; took some flak over the Netherlands but nothing major; supercharger regulator on #2 went dicky over Belgium but Andy sorted it out; got hit by a night fighter (didn't spot - VC JU88C6) turning back from Mannheim which walked hits through the whole plane (good job we'd dropped the bombs!) and took out our tail gunner's oxygen; #2 engine packed up just past Mannheim but thankfully Jerry left us alone on the way back; both Gee and Monica packed up over the Channel but Ian put us down as smooth as silk. Now for breakfast, 14th mission done, almost halfway through our Tour!
Mission 20 - Mostly uninterrupted, 110 came in 6 Hi; M U/G missed; Tail plastered it - parachutes observed; bomb run good and on target; flight home uneventful.
Mission 1 - Essen -- None Sent
Mission 3 - Kiel -- AAR
Mission 10 - Stuttgart - We were all good until running in to the target; coned by searchlights, flak was ineffectual but then we got battered by a N/F: Nose guns U/S, Bomb aimer wounded, oxygen out for M/UG, Port wing hammered: wing root and flaps out; threw her into a corkscrew but he must have followed us and that was when Andy bought it - never even saw the bastard! Andy in the nose was on top form - despite being wounded he planted 30% on the target and we turned for home, diving to a lower altitude for the Mid; that's when we got hit by the second night fighter - didn't see him either: the BA took another light wound, the FE's oxygen was U/S, hits in the starboard wing taking out the dinghy. More corkscrewing but that must have been when we lost the tailwheel and we took more hits in the bomb bay and nose as we also lost the autopilot. Things were pretty quiet until we neared the coast over Belgium when Shaun (M/UG) spotted a ME110 G-4 coming in at 12 o'clock - he let fly and took out his left wing and it spiraled away into the ground. After that it was relatively plain sailing and we landed cleanly at 04.35.
Mission 11 - All good until Zone 7 when tail turret went u/s. Good bomb run with 30% on target; attacked by ME 110 F-4 over Lubeck but shot down by tail (despite having to hand crank); attacked by ME110F-4 on way home but N/F missed and lost contact. Landed smoothly.
Mission 14 - Gremlin-central: 4 malfunctions; plastered by Jerry once we crossed the coast; couldn't see the target (and no bloody way where we going round again!) and totally missed. Back over the North Sea we were ignored (apart from a ME110F that nobody saw and missed us) but worried over a bad fuel leak: all engines spluttering and coughing as we came home over Lincolnshire, our starboard engines cut out on landing which, combined with our starboard undercarriage which had been shot away over Bremen, threw us off the runway and put our starboard wing tip into the grass. Chiefy says it'll be right-as-rain before our next OP.
Mission 15 - Picked up an intercom malfunction as we climbed to High in Zone 2. Flt. Engineer attempted to fix but u/s. Turned back and landed safely (with bombs onboard - got chewed out for that by S/Leader post debriefing. As a result of a CID investigation Corporal Newman (Fitter) was arrested for sabotage and court-martialled. (Last mission G-George had 5 malfunctions: Tail Turret power out and Gee enroute, Oxygen, Fuel and Heating systems returning over the North Sea resulting in G-George sustaining damage for skidding off the runway as Engine 3 and 4 cut on landing)
Mission 16 - Picked up by flak ship crossing Dutch coast, shook the old kite about but nothing serious. Clear until Dusseldorf: good run in the target and planted the bombs and incendiaries well; picked up a N/F on Monica, F/Sgt McKenzie tracked him in at 3 o'clock high and gave him a good burst hitting him across his port wing, Jerry fired back but missed and dived trailing trailing bits of Messerschmidt... Smooth flight back to Norfolk and P/O Willoughby touched down like a feather. Piece of cake - not like the last few shows...
Mission 18 - Some flak over Belgium and the target but nothing serious (attacked by ME110 F-4 over Saarbrucken but only superficial damage and NF failed to reacquire after VC - crew didn't spot so put it down to flak...); Bomb Release malfunctioned over Belgium so bombs off-target as released late. Not bad for our 13th mission!
Mission 19 - Getting there was a piece of cake; took some flak over the Netherlands but nothing major; supercharger regulator on #2 went dicky over Belgium but Andy sorted it out; got hit by a night fighter (didn't spot - VC JU88C6) turning back from Mannheim which walked hits through the whole plane (good job we'd dropped the bombs!) and took out our tail gunner's oxygen; #2 engine packed up just past Mannheim but thankfully Jerry left us alone on the way back; both Gee and Monica packed up over the Channel but Ian put us down as smooth as silk. Now for breakfast, 14th mission done, almost halfway through our Tour!
Mission 20 - Mostly uninterrupted, 110 came in 6 Hi; M U/G missed; Tail plastered it - parachutes observed; bomb run good and on target; flight home uneventful.
1943 Credited Kills:
Mission No. |
ME 110 F-4 |
ME 110 G-4 |
JU 88 C-6 |
JU 88 G-7 |
DO 217 J-1 |
DO 217 N-2 |
HE 219 A-0 |
FW 190 A-5UZ |
ME 109 G-6U4N |
ME 262 B-1AU1 |
TA 154 A-0 |
DO 217 J-1 (Italy) |
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10 |
1 |
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11 |
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1 |
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1943 Mission AAR
Mission 1 - #3 engine ran rough at take-off and Monica went u/s over the North Sea but other than that it was a piece-of-cake: no searchlights, all flak missed, no sign of night-fighters. Even though the target was obscured we had a perfect bomb run - bloody good show all round!
Mission 3 - Total milk run - lovely grub: a near miss with some clot in a Halifax over the North Sea. Nav. laid us right on the button although John said there was all manner of crud over the target, he feels it was a good drop (40% on target); picked up a searchlight and some flak on the way out but just a couple of holes in the wing; Jerry's night fighters must have taken the night off! A wizard prang!
Mission 4 - All good apart from the electrical systems going u/s over the North Sea (no Mandrel, Monica or Gee). The Nav put us right on the button though and our Bomb Aimer did the business. We had a little unpleasantness with a ME110 on the bomb run - sneaky sod tried to come up beneath us but missed and our corkscrew put him right in front of the tail guns! Looking forward to breakfast and a bit of shut-eye.
Mission 5 - Very dicey show. Uneventful flight to target, spotted 1 ME 110 crossing into Germany but he didn't spot us. Got to the target and got coned by searchlights - flak blew the buggery out of us: hits in the port rudder, starboard wing (thank God the tank sealed)
Mission 6 - Absolute piece-of-cake; everything was on the top line. Tail turret went out as we crossed into Netherlands but Mark got that fixed sharpish. Berlin was completely covered in smoke by the time we got there but we bombed on the Greens and (photo shows) got 50% on target. A JU88 had a go in Zone 8 from 6lo as we came back but Mark stitched his left wing and he dived away clearly out of control (no bail out). Bloody good show.
Mission 7 - A bit of flak, nothing major. Spotted a ME 110 G-4 over Bremen but he failed to spot us. Bloody gremlins got us on the bomb run - couldn't release the bombs. Managed to jettison over the North Sea on the way home. Bad show.
Mission 8 - Some light flak over France, superficial damage; Nigh fighter spotted @ 6Hi in zone 14 - hit by MUG and TG: 2xFCA; night fighter came in at 6 level collected 3rd FCA from TG (F/Sergeant Mark Reynolds - now on 4 kills); Flak over Genoa takes out Tail guns; bomb run good (40% on tgt); Do 217 on turn out from Genoa but fails to detect and unspotted by crew; heat out in zone 4 homebound; landed fine.
Mission 9 - Near crash on take-off (#1 engine running roughly); H2S malfunctions over Lincolnshire; crew heat out malfunction crossing into the North Sea (zone 2) - decision taken to press on even if it means we'll be flying at Low; Zone 8 (North of Lubeck) S-M attack from an elite Do 217N-2 damages the control cables and punches superficial holes in the rear fuselage in first attack (crew believe it's flak so no corkscrew); 2nd S-M attack destroys the control cables, takes out the starboard aileron, puts some superficial holes in the starboard wing and hits #3 engine (luckily able to feather); 3rd round the crew spot him and corkscrew puts him at 6hi - MUG gets a FCA but rear turret misses: 2 superficial hits in the front section and (luckily) cannon shells miss both the w/op and nav but take out Mandrel; N/F breaks off attack - crew decide to abort, jettison bombs and have a slow, uneventful, flight back across the North Sea.
Mission 10 - Dicky Number 3 engine on take-off running rough and very hot but settled down once over North Sea; picked up by Me110 Zone 5 but F. Sgt Reynolds blew him out of the sky; despite target being completely obscured combination of Master Bomber, Pathfinder flares and experienced Navigator and Bomb-aimer meant that 93% of our load was on target! We won't be coming back here for awhile.
Mission 11 - Caught a packet of flak over Hagen which took out our flaps, landing gear and bomb-bay doors. Bomb run was off target as a result. Got attacked by 2 He219s consecutively going in and coming out of Hagen - both our MUG and Tail got hits on the first in his 2 attacks and must have spoiled is aim as he missed twice; the second stooged on in at 6 o'clock level straight into our Tail Gunner's (already an Ace) sights and he plastered him across his left wing, no chance of a bail out as he started rolling over and over,,, Landing - the weather was atrocious so no hope of lining up on the runway clearly, no gear, no flaps: we were bloody lucky to walk away from that one (Pilot Officer Willoughby being promoted to Flying Officer as a result of his skill and tenacity). Pity about G-George, she was a bloody good kite.
Mission 1 - #3 engine ran rough at take-off and Monica went u/s over the North Sea but other than that it was a piece-of-cake: no searchlights, all flak missed, no sign of night-fighters. Even though the target was obscured we had a perfect bomb run - bloody good show all round!
Mission 3 - Total milk run - lovely grub: a near miss with some clot in a Halifax over the North Sea. Nav. laid us right on the button although John said there was all manner of crud over the target, he feels it was a good drop (40% on target); picked up a searchlight and some flak on the way out but just a couple of holes in the wing; Jerry's night fighters must have taken the night off! A wizard prang!
Mission 4 - All good apart from the electrical systems going u/s over the North Sea (no Mandrel, Monica or Gee). The Nav put us right on the button though and our Bomb Aimer did the business. We had a little unpleasantness with a ME110 on the bomb run - sneaky sod tried to come up beneath us but missed and our corkscrew put him right in front of the tail guns! Looking forward to breakfast and a bit of shut-eye.
Mission 5 - Very dicey show. Uneventful flight to target, spotted 1 ME 110 crossing into Germany but he didn't spot us. Got to the target and got coned by searchlights - flak blew the buggery out of us: hits in the port rudder, starboard wing (thank God the tank sealed)
Mission 6 - Absolute piece-of-cake; everything was on the top line. Tail turret went out as we crossed into Netherlands but Mark got that fixed sharpish. Berlin was completely covered in smoke by the time we got there but we bombed on the Greens and (photo shows) got 50% on target. A JU88 had a go in Zone 8 from 6lo as we came back but Mark stitched his left wing and he dived away clearly out of control (no bail out). Bloody good show.
Mission 7 - A bit of flak, nothing major. Spotted a ME 110 G-4 over Bremen but he failed to spot us. Bloody gremlins got us on the bomb run - couldn't release the bombs. Managed to jettison over the North Sea on the way home. Bad show.
Mission 8 - Some light flak over France, superficial damage; Nigh fighter spotted @ 6Hi in zone 14 - hit by MUG and TG: 2xFCA; night fighter came in at 6 level collected 3rd FCA from TG (F/Sergeant Mark Reynolds - now on 4 kills); Flak over Genoa takes out Tail guns; bomb run good (40% on tgt); Do 217 on turn out from Genoa but fails to detect and unspotted by crew; heat out in zone 4 homebound; landed fine.
Mission 9 - Near crash on take-off (#1 engine running roughly); H2S malfunctions over Lincolnshire; crew heat out malfunction crossing into the North Sea (zone 2) - decision taken to press on even if it means we'll be flying at Low; Zone 8 (North of Lubeck) S-M attack from an elite Do 217N-2 damages the control cables and punches superficial holes in the rear fuselage in first attack (crew believe it's flak so no corkscrew); 2nd S-M attack destroys the control cables, takes out the starboard aileron, puts some superficial holes in the starboard wing and hits #3 engine (luckily able to feather); 3rd round the crew spot him and corkscrew puts him at 6hi - MUG gets a FCA but rear turret misses: 2 superficial hits in the front section and (luckily) cannon shells miss both the w/op and nav but take out Mandrel; N/F breaks off attack - crew decide to abort, jettison bombs and have a slow, uneventful, flight back across the North Sea.
Mission 10 - Dicky Number 3 engine on take-off running rough and very hot but settled down once over North Sea; picked up by Me110 Zone 5 but F. Sgt Reynolds blew him out of the sky; despite target being completely obscured combination of Master Bomber, Pathfinder flares and experienced Navigator and Bomb-aimer meant that 93% of our load was on target! We won't be coming back here for awhile.
Mission 11 - Caught a packet of flak over Hagen which took out our flaps, landing gear and bomb-bay doors. Bomb run was off target as a result. Got attacked by 2 He219s consecutively going in and coming out of Hagen - both our MUG and Tail got hits on the first in his 2 attacks and must have spoiled is aim as he missed twice; the second stooged on in at 6 o'clock level straight into our Tail Gunner's (already an Ace) sights and he plastered him across his left wing, no chance of a bail out as he started rolling over and over,,, Landing - the weather was atrocious so no hope of lining up on the runway clearly, no gear, no flaps: we were bloody lucky to walk away from that one (Pilot Officer Willoughby being promoted to Flying Officer as a result of his skill and tenacity). Pity about G-George, she was a bloody good kite.
Mission Number |
Target |
Result |
1 |
Essen |
On Target 20% |
2 |
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3 |
Kiel |
On Target 10% |
4 |
Mannheim |
Off target 0% |
5 |
Warnemunde |
Off Target 0% |
6 |
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7 |
Rostock |
On target 40% |
8 |
Paris |
On Target 33% |
9 |
Cologne |
On target 48% |
10 |
Stuttgart |
On Target 30% |
11 |
Lubeck |
On Target 30% |
12 |
Osnabruck |
On Target 30% |
13 |
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14 |
Bremen |
Off Target 0% |
15 |
Emden |
DNB |
16 |
Dusseldorf |
On Target 60% |
17 |
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18 |
Saarbrucken |
Off Target 0% |
19 |
Mannheim |
On Target 50% |
20 |
Vegesack |
On Target 40% |
1942 Missions: