The Dam Busters and Special Missions

 

 

 

The 97 Squadron Dambusters
Before I list those Aircrews drafted from 97 Squadron to 617 Squadron led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, I am inserting the signature of the creator of the Bouncing Bomb, Barnes Wallis. I would like to thank John Cripps Webmaster of 198 Squadron for sending it to me.

http://web.archive.org/web/20080411234621im_/http:/www.97squadronassociation.co.uk/photographs/scan.jpg.

 

When 617 Squadron was formed, Aircrews from across BomberCommand were selected to take part. Not all those selected actually took part in the Dams Raid. Below is a list of Aircrews who were seconded to 617 from 97 Squadron. We have tried to follow up what happened to them afterwards. Some survived the War, others did not.
97 Squadron “Dam Busters”
OFFICERS
J10160 F/O D.Rodger GDG To 617 Sqn 25.3.43
60335 F/L D.J.Maltby GD Ditto 25.3.43
49575 P/O J.Fort GDN Ditto 25.3.43
F/O F.G.Rumbles GDN Ditto 25.3.43
NZ413492 F/L J.L.Munro GD Ditto 25.3.43
134024 P/O G.E.Osborne GDN To 617 Sqn Scampton 4.4.43
J9346 F/L J.C.McCarthy GD To 617 Sqn Scampton 25.3.43
AIRMEN
1513557 Sgt W.Hatton F/E To 617 Sqn 25.3.43
1144181 Sgt V.Nicholson Nav Ditto 25.3.43
1311959 Sgt J.Stone W/AG Ditto 25.3.43
1248156 Sgt H.Simmonds AG Ditto 25.3.43
1539692 Sgt L.Williams AG Ditto 25.3.43
652494 Sgt F.E.Appleby F/E Ditto 25.3.43
1479639 Sgt M.Howarth AG Ditto 25.3.43
1199696 Sgt G.F.Johnson AB Ditto 25.3.43
1345069 Sgt A.Batson AG Ditto 25.3.43
1157896 Sgt J.L.Clay Nav Ditto 25.3.43
639976 Sgt W.Radcliffe F/E Ditto 25.3.43
1107754 Sgt L.Eaton W/AG Ditto 25.3.43
R97620 Sgt P.E.Pigeon W/AG Ditto 25.3.43
R117723 F/Sgt D.A.McLean Nav Ditto 25.3.43
R92211 F/Sgt H.Weeks AG To 617 Sqn 25.3.43
652403 Sgt J.Pulford FE To 617 Sqn 4.4.43ED825T

Pilot: F/L Joseph Charles McCarthy – Born 1919 USA. Awarded DFC 14.5.43. DSO 18.5.43. Bar to DFC 28.4.44. Died 1998.
Flight Engineer: Sgt William Radcliffe – Born Canada. Awarded DFC 28.5.44. Killed in car accident 1952 after his car went into a river.
Navigator: F/Sgt Donald Arthur McLean – Born Canada. Awarded DFM 28.5.43. Retired as Wing Commander.
Bomb Aimer: Sgt George Leonard Johnson – Born 1921 Horncastle, Lincs. Awarded DFM 28.5.44. Retired as Squadron Leader. Still alive.
Wireless Op: F/Sgt Leonard Eaton – Awarded DFM 30.6.44. Died 1974.
Front Gunner: Sgt Ronald Batson – Awarded DFM 23.5.44.
Rear Gunner: F/O David Rodger – Born 1918 Canada. Awarded DFC 15.9.44. Died 1.9.2004 in Ontario.
This crew’s operations with 97 Squadron
1. 2/3 Oct 42 Krefeld (F/L McCarthy only)
2. 5/6 Oct 42 Aachen
3. 22/23 Oct 42 Genoa
4. 6/7 Nov 42 Genoa
5. 8/9 Nov 42 Gardening
13/14 Nov 42 Genoa (ret early)
17/18 Nov 42 Gardening (ret early)
6. 22/23 Nov 42 Stuttgart
28/29 Nov 42 Turin (ret early)
7. 4/5 Dec 42 Gardening
8. 6/7 Dec 42 Mannheim
9. 8/9 Dec 42 Turin
9/10 Dec 42 Turin (ret early)
10. 21/22 Dec 42 Munich
11. 8/9 Jan 43 Duisburg
12. 16/17 Jan 43 Berlin
13. 17/18 Jan 43 Berlin
30/31 Jan 43 Hamburg (ret early)
14. 2/3 Feb 43 Cologne
15. 4/5 Feb 43 Turin
16. 11/12 Feb 43 Wilhelmshaven
17. 21/22 Feb 43 Bremen
18. 25/26 Feb 43 Nuremburg
19. 26/27 Feb 43 Cologne
20. 28 Feb/1 Mar 43 St Nazaire
21. 1/2 Mar 43 Berlin
22. 3/4 Mar 43 Hamburg,
23. 8/9 Mar 43 Nuremburg
24. 9/10 Mar 43 Munich
25. 11/12 Mar 43 Stuttgart
26. 12/13 Mar 43 Essen
27. 22/23 Mar 43 St Nazaire,

ED921W
Pilot: F/L John Leslie Munro – Born 1919 New Zealand. Awarded DFC 11.6.43. DSO 28.4.44. Retired as Wing Commander. Still living in Te Kuiti in New Zealand where he was Mayor for several years.
Flight Engineer: Sgt Frank Ernest Appleby - Awarded DFM 30.6.44.
Navigator: F/O Francis Grant Rumbles – Awarded DFC 15.6.43. Bar to DFC 15.6.44. Died 1982.
Bomb Aimer: Sgt James Henry Clay – awarded DFC 30.6.44.
Wireless Op: W/O Percy Edgar Pigeon – Born 1917 Canada. Awarded DFC 30.6.44. Died 1967.
Front Gunner: Sgt William Howarth – Awarded DFM 30.6.44. Died 1990.
Rear Gunner: F/Sgt Henry Alexander Weeks – Awarded DFC 30.6.44.
This Crew’s operations with 97 Squadron
1. 8/9 Jan 43 Gardening,
2. 11/12 Jan 43 Essen
3. 13/14 Jan 43 Essen
4. 16/17 Jan 43 Berlin
5. 17/18 Jan 43 Berlin
6. 27/28 Jan 43 Dusseldorf
30/31 Jan 43 Hamburg (ret early)
7. 2/3 Feb 43 Cologne
8. 4/5 Feb 43 Turin
9. 14/15 Feb 43 Milan
10. 16/17 Feb 43 Lorient
11. 19/20 Feb 43 Wilhelmshaven
12. 25/26 Feb 43 Nuremburg
13. 26/27 Feb 43 Cologne
14. 28 Feb/1 Mar 43 St Nazaire
15. 1/2 Mar 43 Berlin
16. 3/4 Mar 43 Hamburg
17. 11/12 Mar 43 Stuttgart
18. 12/13 Mar 43 Essen
19. 22/23 Mar 43 St Nazaire,
ED906J
Pilot: F/L David John Maltby – Born 1920. Awarded DFC 11.8.42. DSO 18.5.43. Killed in action 15.9.43 aged 23. Buried Wickhambreux Church Yard, Kent.
Flight Engineer: Sgt William Hatton – Born 1921 Wakefiled, Yorks. Killed in action 15.9.43, aged 23. Runnymede Memorial.
Navigator: Sgt Vivian Nicholson – Born 1923. Awarded DFM 28.5.43. Killed in action 15.9.43. Runnymede Memorial.
Bomb Aimer: P/O John Fort – Awarded DFC 28.5.43. Killed in action 15.9.43. Runnymede Memorial.
Wireless Op: Sgt Anthony Joseph Stone – Born 1921 Winchester. Killed in action 15.9.43. Runnymede Memorial.
Front Gunner: F/Sgt Victor Hill – Killed in action 15.9.43. (not previously 97 Squadron).
Rear Gunner: Sgt Harold Thomas Simmonds – Born 1921 Burgess Hill, Sussex. Killed in action 15.9.43, aged 22. Runnymede Memorial.
(This entire crew were killed when their aircraft crashed into the North Sea on the night of 14/15 Sept 1943 during an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal)
This crew’s operations with 97 Squadron
(F/L Maltby only)
1. 2/3 Aug 41 Kiel
2. 5/6 Aug 41 Karlsruhe
3. 7/8 Aug 41 Essen
4. 12/13 Aug 41 Magdeburg
5. 16/17 Aug 41 Dusseldorf
6. 18/19 Aug 41 Cologne
7. 23/24 Oct 41 Kiel
8. 26/27 Oct 41 Hamburg
9. 31 Oct/1 Nov 41 Hamburg
10. 7/8 Nov 41 Cologne
11. 15 Jan 42 Hamburg
12. 8/9 Apr 42 Mine Laying
13. 27/28 Apr 42 Trondheim
14. 28/29 Apr 42 Trondheim,
4/5 May 42 Stuttgart (returned early)
15. 7/8 May 42 Mine Laying
16. 8/9 May 42 Warnemunde
17. 16/17 May 42 Mine Laying
18. 19/20 May 42 Mannheim
19. 22/23 May 42 Mine Laying
20. 26/27 May 42 Mine Laying
21. 8/9 Jun 42 Essen.
Others
Flight Engineer (in ED912G): Sgt John Pulford. Born Hull. Awarded DFM 28.5.44. Killed in an accident 13.2.44, aged 24. Buried Hull Northern Cemetery.
Sgt Pulford’s Operations with 97 Squadron
1. 20/21 Dec 42 Duisburg
2. 8/9 Jan 43 Gardening
3. 16/17 Jan 43 Berlin
4. 17/18 Jan 43 Berlin
5. 27/28 Jan 43 Dusseldorf
6. 8/9 Feb 43 Gardening
13/14 Feb 43 Lorient (ret early)
7. 14/15 Feb 43 Milan
8. 19/20 Feb 43 Wilhelmshaven
3/4 Mar 43 Hamburg (ret early)
9. 5/6 Mar 43 Essen
10. 8/9 Mar 43 Nuremburg
11/12 Mar 43 Stuttgart (ret early)
Rear Gunner (in ED912G): F/L Richard Dacre Trevor-Roper – Born 1915 West Bridgeford, Notts. Awarded DFM 23.10.42. DFC 28.5.43. Joined 97 Squadron 5.3.44. Killed in action 31.3.44, aged 28. Buried Durnbach War Cemetery.
F/L Trevor-Roper’s Operations with 97 Squadron
1. 15/16 Mar 44 Stuttgart
2. 22/23 Mar 44 Frankfurt
3. 30/31 Mar 44 Nuremburg
(ED912G was captained by W/C Guy Gibson VC DSO & Bar DFC & Bar)

P/O G.E.Osborne and Sgt L.Williams did not take part in The Dams Raid.