Cranefield was a Dakota pilot on No 233 Squadron who flew into Normandy to support the D-Day beachhead. During Operation Market Garden, the airborne assault on the bridges in the Netherlands, he towed a glider to Arnhem on the first wave. On a later wave he was seriously wounded but continued to the DZ to drop his supplies. He was awarded an immediate DFC.
Photographed at Arnhem September 2014
To read full obituary click HERE
In this special issue by Key Publishing, which pays tribute to the men and machines of Bomber Command, I have contributed two long illustrated articles.
BOMBER AIRCREW. A series of short biographies of men who represent all the crew positions in a heavy bomber;
Pilot – Peter Cribb DSO & Bar, DFC
Navigator – Pat O’Hara DFC & Bar, DFM
Flight Engineer – Fred Fray DFM
Bomb Aimer – Edward Hearn DFC & Bar
Wireless Operator – Lionel Coles DFM
Air Gunner – Wallace McIntosh DFC & Bar, DFM
FOR VALOUR. Brief illustrated biographies of the nineteen men of Bomber Command awarded Britain’s supreme award for valour – the Victoria Cross.
Colin Colquhoun flew Spitfires on ground attack missions during the Italian campaign and during the invasion of the South of France. Post war he flew fighters and became an expert aerobatic pilot flying the Vampire jet fighter. He flew a Vampire when six of them made the first ever crossing of the Atlantic by jet aircraft .
To read more details click HERE
After training as a pilot during his National Service, Alex Roberts joined Short Brothers as a test pilot. He was the project pilot for the Short SC 1, the first British fixed-wing VTOL aircraft and also for the Canberra U 10 and Canberra PR 9. He carried out very high altitude tests and later test flew the Skyvan and Belfast aircraft before filling numerous senior management posts with the company.
For more details read HERE
After escaping during the retreat from Dunkirk as a private soldier, Lambert joined the RAF and flew fighter reconnaissance aircraft. Initially the Tomahawk and then the Mustang he later commanded a Typhoon squadron in Normandy in support of the Allied advance into the Low Countries. Post-war he specialised in fighter operations and commanded a Vampire jet fighter squadron in Germany during the Berlin Air Lift. He served on the NATO staffs before retiring.
For more details read HERE
Eileen was a WAAF who served in Fighter Command and was commissioned. She became a Filter Officer at Bentley Priory in the air defence operations centre. In late 1944 she and some of her colleagues went to Belgium to analyse the launching of the V-2 rocket in order to determine their launch sites.
For more details read HEAR
Sir Charles Souter rose through the RAF Medical Branch to become the RAF’s most senior doctor filling the post of Director General Medical Services (RAF) for three years. He was the Principal Medical Officer in Aden at the time of the British withdrawal and also served in Hong Kong and Cyprus.
To read more click HERE
Wing Commander Terry Kane was one of the few fighter pilots shot down during the Battle of Britain and captured. He spent over four years in captivity and after a year was joined by his brother who had been shot down in his Whitley bomber.
For more click HERE
Howard Murley flew 39 operations on Lancaster bombers during the war earning a DFC. He later flew during the Berlin Air Lift before becoming a test pilot at Farnborough. He flew the experimental Avro 707 and a on a second tour at Farnborough he flew many types including a replica World War One fighter, the SE 5A.
To read full obit click HERE
This article looks at the significant contribution made by the carrier-borne Fairey Fireflies of the Fleet Air Arm during the Korean Conflict. Within seven days of the invasion of the south by North Korean troops, the Fireflies flew their first war sortie, a rocket attack against hangars and installations on Haeju airfield.
GRAHAM PITCHFORK 