John F. Wilmer

Introduction

It’s always a challenge to find veterans from the information in the squadron’s Operational Record Books (O.R.B.’s) as their full names are never included, only their rank, first and sometimes middle initials and their last name. While researching Alex Coumbis’ career with 172 Squadron, I first found his Wireless Operator/Air Gunner (WOP/AG) Wilmer in the records as Sgt J.F. Wilmer, who joined Alex’s crew for an operational patrol the evening of June 14th/15th, 1943:

An initial internet search on the info resulted in only a handful of dead-ends.

Fortunately, I was not focused solely on the attack on U-126, but had been looking at the squadron’s records for the entire war and knew that starting in August, 1943 they began adding additional details, such as the service numbers of Commonwealth personnel (Canadian, Australian, etc…). By this time Alex had reached the end of his tour with 172 Squadron and his Second Pilot/Leigh Light Operator Churton Rowland took command of this crew. Sure enough, for Rowland’s daytime patrol on the 17th of August, the O.R.B. added the info “(CAN, R106600)” to Wilmer:

So now I definitely knew I was dealing with a Canadian and had his service number to work with. I checked back with the Commonwealth Graves Commission (CWGC) database to determine if he was later lost, and having not found him assumed he survived the war. Unfortunately, that alone initially did not prove to be a breakthrough, so I decided to try and generate a tree on Ancestry.com with the limited info I had. To start I assumed the “J” stood for John and guessed what year he was born, based on the average age of squadron members (generally, early 20’s). This resulted in a few other genealogical-tree hits and I started messaging various families to see if we had a match.

Up to this point I had assumed one of the men in the group photos provided by Steve Hever was Wilmer. In July of 2024 I reached out to one of the families hoping they could verify the photo I had was of John, but they didn’t respond. The following month I exchanged photos with another tree owner but it was obvious to us both that this was a different person. 

This Wilmer family shared a cover sheet of a report someone in the family had put together on ‘their’ John Wilmer, who they noted was a navigator. I knew this was not the case for the person I was looking for and feared once again I had another dead-end.

In a last-ditch attempt I shared John’s service number, thinking if they had put a report together, they may have that info. 

It took a while, as their report did not include his service number, but 3 months later they had an opportunity to check the attic and found John’s duffle bag from the war, and on it was stenciled his service number R106600!

Fortunately, Frank still had his father’s flying log, and he was eventually able to scan and send me that in February of 2025.  I organized the images and sent back a PDF copy Frank could more easily share with the rest of the family. This started me down the track of developing the biography below.

Sadly, Frank believes his father’s photo album from the war has been lost.

I thought I was just about done and ready to add his bio to the website, but in May of 2026, much to my surprise, I received Jack’s military records, which filled in many holes in his story as you’ll read below.

The Early Years

He graduated from Magee Secondary School in 1932 at the age of 18. The School’s Motto was: “Esse Quam Videri - To Be -- Rather Than To Seem To Be”, which as you’ll learn, Jack exemplified.

Jack excelled in sports during his school years as well. His records show he was an avid Soccer, Hockey and Tennis player, but also enjoyed Rugby, Bowling, Skiing, Swimming and Hunting. He not only played sports in school, but after graduation as well, such as:

• Hockey with the White Spot Hockey Club commercial league as Defense (Captain) for 5 years during which they won the League Championship. “The White Spots were the first junior hockey team in Vancouver and were owned and coached by Nat Bailey, the founder of the iconic Western Canadian chain, White Spot Restaurants.” The Junior league team no longer exist, but the restaurant chain does.

• Soccer with the Marpole Boys Club, junior league as Center/Fullback (Captain) for 3 years and the Richmond & Marpole Senior City League as Fullback for 4 years during which they won the League Championship. This is now the Marpole Soccer Club which teaches both boys and girls.

• Rugby as a High School Senior as a Scrum for 2 years and with the Senior City League for one additional year.

In his military application, Jack noted he was not a fan of mathematics but did love to read any chance he got. His favorite author/book was Charles Dickens’ ‘A Tales of Two Cities’, his favorite movie was ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ (assumed to be the 1935 version), his favorite actor was Cary Grant and his favorite music was classical including Beethoven and Bach!

Of course, this was a terrible time to graduate from school and join the workforce in the midst of the Great Depression and Canada was hit especially hard. According to Richard N. Kottman, ‘Herbert Hoover and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff: Canada, A Case Study,’ Journal of American History, Vol. 62, No. 3 (Dec., 1975);

 “Canada was hurt badly because of its reliance on base commodities, whose prices fell by over 50%, and because of the importance of international trade. In the 1920s about 25% of the Canadian Gross National Product was derived from exports. The first reaction of the U.S. was to raise tariffs via the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, passed into law June 17, 1930. This hurt the Canadian economy more than most other countries in the world, and Canada retaliated by raising its own rates on American exports and by switching business to the Empire.” 

Sound familiar?

Records show that by 1933, 30% of the population was unemployed and one-fifth of the population required government assistance.

The prospect of higher education was nil at this time for working class families like Jack’s, and he was lucky to find the work he did (see below). The family, lived together at 7867 Selkirk Street and would have needed to pool their resources just to survive.

After graduating, his work history was listed as:

1932-1934 Messenger with Cunningham Drug Co. – Laid off owing to age

1935-1937 Messenger & Dispatcher with Service Mess Co. Ltd. – Left to take next position

1937-1938 Lumber Grader with Northern Mills (Parkhurst) – Plant burnt down

1939 (May-Nov) Bull Saw Operator with Green Lake Lumber Co. – Plant closed down

1940 (June-Dec) Trimmer & Grader with Canadian White Pine Co. – Seasonal lay-off

His older sister Dorothy got married in March of 1938 to a lumberman named Edwin Denis De Beck (1911-2007), who eventually operated his own sawmill.

Prior to the war, Jack had planned to stay in the lumber business and advance to an Inspector one day and was attending school sponsored by the lumber company.

When asked on an entry form what led him to voluntarily join the Air Force he stated:

“To fight for what I believe is right” and “For adventure”.

He signed up for Flying duties, not ground, and specifically to be an Air Gunner/Wireless Operator and apparently had no aspirations to be a Pilot or Observer/Navigator.

It’s unclear why his family thought he was a Navigator especially due to his dislike for math. Navigator’s tended to be commissioned officers, more bookish and excelled in math. His first Navigator with 172 Squadron, Donald Ashworth, was an accountant prior to the war, and I hope to publish his biography next. There is an indication his sister Jan ordered his military records years ago, and perhaps misunderstood his time at Radion Direction Finding school as navigation.

When asked to pick from a list of words that would best describe himself, he chose: active, adventurous, calm under pressure, cautious, cheerful, dependable, facility in reasoning and problem solving, good team worker, takes things seriously, quiet, and finally quick and skillful in movement.

Keep in mind he wasn’t an 18-year-old kid, but 26 at this point and seemed to have a good sense of himself. The man at the recruiting center noted:

“This young lad is quiet and reserved in presence of strangers but has proven qualities of leadership. Has organized several football clubs and played a lot of games. Is a good shot. Courteous pleasant manner. Would respond well to discipline. Used to outdoor life; active type. Suitable for a W.A.G. (Wireless Air Gunner).”

RCAF Training in Canada

Jack enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in Vancouver on May 22nd, 1941 as an Aircraftman 2nd Class (A2c). Like most new recruits, he had never flown before.

We have a few personal details from his attestation. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighed 148 pounds, had a 37-inch chest, medium complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair. He was noted as having 20/20 vision, was a smoker (who wasn’t back then) and had broken his right hand in 1941 which healed properly.

His first stop immediately after enlisting was No. 2A Manning Depot (Temporary) in Penhold, Alberta, about 451 miles northeast of home as the crow flies. Here he would have done his 'Basic Training'.

The depot had only recently opened on April 22nd with six officers and 82 staff. At the beginning of May the depot consisted of 10 officers, 191 Non-commissioned Officers and Airmen and 30 civilians. By the time Jack arrived at the end of May this had grown to 14 officers, 1208 Airmen and 129 civilians.

As noted, this was Jack’s Basic training where he would have been introduced to the military life, rules and regulations, marching and some basic firearms training. He would not have flown in any aircraft but likely saw an occasional Avro Anson land or take off from Penhold. The depot disbanded in August, months after he left and all personnel were merged into No 3 “M” Depot, Edmonton, Alberta. At that time, No. 36 Service Flying Training School took over the base at Penhold. Today the site is the Red Deer Regional Airport.

Next was No. 7 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) at RCAF Station Fort Macleod in Alberta, 175 miles south of Penhold, where he arrived just a month later on June 22nd, 1941. This base had been established in December of 1940, and so was much further along than Penhold. The base trained pilots and aircrew using the Avro Anson, which was likely his first flying experience. Unfortunately, his flying log does not start until he arrived in the U.K. Records for the base showed they held a stampede (rodeo) for the trainees while he was stationed there.

This was following by No. 3 Wireless School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 725 miles east of Fort Macleod , arriving August 2nd, 1941. While his flying Log didn’t include his flights, fortunately his records from the Library and Archives Canada did include a brief glimpse into his time at Winnipeg:

According to RCAFInfo.com:

“No. 3 Wireless School was opened [February 17th, 1941] to train personnel in the operation of onboard and ground radio systems.

Wireless Operator Air Gunners were included in the Air Observer trade but bypassed the Air Observer Schools to go to wireless schools like No. 3. Upon completion of their wireless training – they were posted to Bombing and Gunnery Schools for their air gunner training.

There was no aerodrome located at this facility and likely all flying training would have been hosted at Stevenson field only a few miles away.

The property and main building in now the Canadian Menonite University.”

Jack was promoted to Leading Aircraftman (LAC) on September 4th, 1941.

On the afternoon of October 3rd, he had a brief 45 minute 'Air Experience' flight in a homegrown Canadian Noorduyn Norseman (2473), a single-engine bush plane that was pressed into military service. 

Between November 24th and 28th he had six other training flights, two in Norseman’s and four in a Canadian variant of the de Havilland Tiger Moth bi-plane trainer. It was equipped with an American sourced Menasco engine and called the De Havilland D.H.82C2 Menasco Moth. 

Next was the No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School at RCAF Station Paulson, Manitoba, Canada near Dauphin Lake, 150 miles northwest of Winnipeg, where he arrived on December 20th, 1941. According to RCAFInfo.com:

“On June 23, 1941, No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School was opened at Paulson. This school was responsible for training Air Observers (navigators/ bomb aimers and wireless operators) in the art of air-to-air firing. The navigator/ bomb aimer would also train in bomb aiming and release procedures. Although considered obsolete by the outset of the war, the Fairey Battle was used for all aspects of training for the first year of operations.”

U.K. Training

Jack’s records indicate he arrived in the U.K. on February 8th, 1942, the timing of which would indicate he was transported as part of Convoy HX.172 (funny coincidence he would end up in 172 Squadron). According to the Arnold Hague Convoy Database (convoyweb.org.uk) this convoy departed from Halifax on January 26th, 1942 and arrived in Liverpool, England on February 7th, 1942. The convoy consisted of 57 merchant ships and 18 escort vessels.

He would have likely been on either the City of Marseilles (128 passengers), Port Dunedin (10 passengers), Rangitiki (278 passengers) or Teucer (77 passengers). Luckily, the convoy does not appear to have been attacked by any U-Boat wolfpacks, but it would have been an uncomfortable trip with the weather and cold conditions this time of year, especially for someone like Jack, that according to his records, had never been to sea before.

There is a report (see here) from U.S. Navy Squadron VP-82 operating from Bristol Field, Argentia, Newfoundland that on January 28th they attacked a surfaced U-Boat astern of Convoy HX.172 two days out of port. Interestingly, this squadron flew Lockheed PBO-1 Hudson’s, former RAF Hudson IIIAs provided under lend-lease, but taken back for use by the U.S. Navy, so they had American crews but retained their British .303 machinegun and depth charge armament. The specific aircraft involved, 82-P-9, piloted by AMM1c Donald Francis Mason, claimed a kill, but the U-Boat, which turned out to be the Type VIIB U-85 (Oberleutnant zur See Eberhard Greger) was only slightly damaged and continued southwest to their intended patrol area off the U.S. East Coast. It’s unclear if U-85 ever actually spotted or intended to attack Convoy HX.172. U-85 was lost with all hands a few months later on its next patrol, sunk by the USS Roper (DD-147, Lieutenant Commander Hamilton Wilcox Howe) on April 14th, 1942 18 miles east of Nags Head, NC.

Jack likely would have seen the Lockheed Hudson’s and Consolidated Catalina’s flying overhead to protect the convoy, and may have wondered what aircraft he would end up serving in.

Also, a day later on the 29th of January, one of the Convoy’s escorts, the USS Swanson (DD-443, Lieutenant Commander Marvin Peirce Kingsley) raced off to rescue survivors from the Norwegian Motor Merchant Ringstad (Master Jacob K. Knudstad), a straggler from the westbound Convoy ON.55, which had been sunk in the vicinity by the Type VIIC U-333 (Kapitänleutnant Peter-Erich Cremer) on January 24th. All 43 crew of the Ringstad survived the initial attack and were able to abandon ship, but due to the icy conditions, only 13 survived long enough to be picked up by the Swanson. See here for more information.

In another coincidence, the USS Swanson (now commanded by Lieutenant Commander L.M. Markham) would later take part in the destruction of U-173 on November 16th, 1942 off Casablanca, Morocco. U-173 was under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Adolf Schweichel, former First Watch Officer (IWO) under Ernst Bauer of the U-126, and acting Torpedo Officer during the attack on the SS Arkansan.

Upon his arrival in the U.K., like most, Jack was sent to the No. 3 Personnel Receiving Center in Bournemouth along the south coast on February 20th, 1942 to await his first posting.

This was to be No. 1 Signals School at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, England, 170 miles northeast,  on March 24th, 1942. Cranwell was also home to the Royal Air Force College.

As noted previously, his son Frank shared his Flying Log which starts with his Graduation from this school on May 12th of 1942. It noted he could receive 22 words per minute in plain language and 20 in code. He could send 19 words per minute in plain language and 16 in code.

On May 13th, he arrived at No. 3 Radio School, which was re-named No. 3 RDFS (Radio Direction Finding School), at RAF Prestwick in South Ayrshire, Scotland, 27 miles southwest of Glasgow.  This was a school to train Wireless Operators/Air Gunners in their third discipline; the use of cutting edge ASV, or Anti Surface Vessel Radar technology, which at this time was the Mk. II version

Prestwick would have been a hive of activity as it was the primary arrival point of flights ferrying aircraft and crews from Canada to the U.K. Several of the men Jack would later serve with came through Prestwick.

On July 19th, 1942 Jack was promoted to Flight Sergeant.

Jack referred to his duty as “S.I.” in his log. I know other units referred to it as “S.E.” for “Special Equipment” due to the secret nature of using Radar, but it may have stood for “Special Instruction” in this training phase.

They utilized the twin-engine Blackburn Botha. After four months he advanced to a Radar Instructor in October.

Note: After the war, RAF Prestwick became Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which Alex’s widow Margaret worked at. Not to be confused with Glasgow International Airport in Paisley, which my wife and I flew out of on our trip in 2023.

In early December, 1942 No. 3 RDFS started transferring to RAF Hooton Park on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England, about 7 miles south of Liverpool. Coincidently, his mother’s home town of Runcorn is about 9 miles up the River Mersey from the base. 

Unfortunately, on Christmas day 1942 Jack badly cut his right ring finger on a piece of corrugated metal which required stitches. This would have made it difficult to operate the telegraph key and he was given ten days of sick leave.

The Unit was redesignated No. 11 RDFS at the beginning of January 1943, and Jack was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2c) on the 19th.

This was possibly during the transition to the next generation ASV Mk. IV. According to the ‘Liverpool Echo’ newspaper, operations at No. 11 RDFS were:

“Under Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader A. Crawford. Routine operation would see up to 20 Botha’s taking off daily. They would fly out over Liverpool Bay and the Irish Sea, to search for shipping.

Returning at lunchtime, they would be off again on a second afternoon sortie.

There was quite a high accident rate with the Botha’s as the single engine performance of this aircraft was abysmal.

Log entries show sorties could not always be completed, usually owing to one of the engines becoming unserviceable.”

Jack’s log book shows multiple signatures from Squadron Leader A. Crawford. Most of his flights were marked as “D.C.O.” (Duty Carried Out), however. Those not carried out were blamed on a variety of issues, not just engine failures, such as weather, wireless unserviceable, radar unserviceable, or the entire aircraft unserviceable. Only two flights were specifically noted as being aborted due to engine failure.

At some point while he was stationed at Hooton Park he met and began dating a young lady named Doris May Evans from Chester, whose home was about seven miles south of the base. Doris had actually been born in Ystradowen, Vale of Glamorgan, in southern Wales, but her parents later moved to Chester for work. His son Frank believes his mother worked for Western Command and thinks they may have met at a dance. Records show she was a shop assistant just prior to the war.

His courtship with Doris apparently went well and they soon decided to get married, however regulations required that Jack get permission from his commanding officer first, which he received April 21st, 1943.

Jack last flew with No. 11 RDFS on May 7th. The Unit was just beginning to transition from the Botha’s to the Avro Anson, which he had two flights in.

172 Squadron

Jack transferred to No. 172 Squadron at RAF Chivenor in North Devon, England on May 9th, 1943. As noted on Alex’s page (link), this was a special squadron that flew Vickers Wellington “Wimpy” twin-engine bombers modified by Coastal Command to hunt U-Boats at night using radar and a powerful searchlight.

Luckily for Jack, the squadron had just upgraded to the much improved G.R. Wellington Mk. XII in March.

Still a single man, he would have been housed in the enlisted men’s barracks at Chivenor.

As my biography of his first Pilot/Commander Alex Coumbis provided a window not only into his life, but that of 172 Squadron’s operations their first year, so too does Jack’s provide an opportunity to reveal what the squadron experienced from that point, right up until they left RAF Chivenor. From their tactics, successes, frustrations, dangers and of course the steady drumbeat of losses of his friends and squadron mates.

Also, keep an eye of the duration of these flights. Back in 2023 on our 5 ½ hour flight from Boston to London, my wife and I couldn’t wait to get off the aircraft. That was in the relative comfort of a modern Boeing 767 “Dreamliner”, pressurized, climate controlled, quiet, zipping along at 550mph at 37,000 feet, not a drafty Wellington with massive radial engines droning just feet away from where they worked, plodding along at 150mph at 300 to 1500 feet above the waves. Granted, we weren’t in our 20’s, either.

June 1943

His first flight with No. 172 Squadron was on June 2nd, a three-hour daytime “Special Equipment” (aka Radar) practice with Sergeant C.J. Beastall. He next had three short practice flights with Flight Sergeant R. Reynolds, one with Pilot Officer J.N. Rounce, one with Flying Officer Feltes, three with Pilot Officer Keady and two with Flying Officer W. Johnson. Note that the latter was Wilfred “Johnnie” Johnson, who was the grandfather of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

After those practice flights, Jack jumped right into it and joined Alex Coumbis’ crew on an Operational patrol over the Bay of Biscay. They took off in trusty Wellington MP624 ‘R’ for Robert at 2233 hours (10:33PM) on June 14th and returning 8-1/2 hours later at 0704 hours on the 15th. The patrol was uneventful and the weather was noted as “bumpy” (i.e.; a British understatement for turbulence, often severe) and rain showers. It was the longest flight Jack had ever taken. He must have passed with flying colors and was accepted in as part of their crew, who had considerable say who joined them. The crew consisted of:

1st Pilot/Commander: Flight Sergeant Alexander “Alex” Coumbis

2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator: Flying Officer Churton S. Rowland

Navigator: Flying Officer Donald J. Ashworth

WOP/AG: Sergeant Hubert “Jock” Hever

WOP/AG: Sergeant George W. Yung (Young)

WOP/AG: Sergeant John F. “Jack” Wilmer

Jack and Alex did not serve together very long (less than a month), but I can’t help but wonder if the topic of his father’s service in South Africa during the Boer War ever came up with Alex as he was born in South Africa, and his father George is believed to have moved there shortly after the Boer war.

July 1943

During those 3 weeks as part of Alex’s crew, they flew together 13 times; 8 non-operational flights and 5 operational sorties, the last of which was on the evening of July 2nd/3rd when they sank the U-126 in Wellington MP624 ‘R’. He noted in his flying log: “Sighted U/Boat. Attacked U/Boat. Results Unknown.”

If you joined the site here, see this page for my detailed account of their attack on the U-126.

1st Pilot/Commander: Pilot Officer Churton S. Rowland

2nd Pilot/L.L. Operator: Flying Officer L.H. McCutcheon

Navigator: Flying Officer Donald J. Ashworth

WOP/AG: Sergeant Hubert “Jock” Hever

WOP/AG: Sergeant George W. Yung (Young)

WOP/AG: Sergeant John F. “Jack” Wilmer

They took off at 1655 hours (4:55PM) and returned 1 hour early at 2351 hours (11:51PM). Interestingly, according to his log they returned early due to weather, but the squadron records note it was due to a radar equipment failure and the weather was fair with occasional showers. 

In addition to U-126, the squadron also sank two other U-boats in July, The second was U-459 on July 24th, which badly damaged the U-Boat which was finished off by others, but also sadly led to the loss of the aircraft and 5 of the 6 crew.

The third attack occurred on July 29th. No. 172 Squadron’s Commander, Wing Commander Rowland Gascoigne Musson, in a masterclass of utilizing cloud cover to retain the element of surprise during a daylight patrol, sank the Type VIIC U-614 (Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Sträter) with the loss of all hands.

This would be the last successful attack the squadron would have until January 1944.

August 1943

Jack had 14 flights in August; 11 non-operational flights and 3 Operational sorties:

Pilot Officer Albert Mason replaced L.H. McCutcheon as 2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator, but the rest of the crew remained the same:

1st Pilot/Commander: Pilot Officer Churton S. Rowland

2nd Pilot/L.L. Operator: Pilot Officer Albert "Bert" Mason

Navigator: Flying Officer Donald J. Ashworth

WOP/AG: Sergeant Hubert “Jock” Hever

WOP/AG: Sergeant George W. Yung (Young)

WOP/AG: Sergeant John F. “Jack” Wilmer

Note: I have used the take-off and landing times from the O.R.B. Record of Events and the duration of the flights from Jack’s flying logs and they don’t always match right down to the minute.

8/17/43 Wellington Mk. XII S/172 (MP575)

Up: 07:52 Down: 15:34 Duration: 7 Hours, 45 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Weather: Cloud over whole patrol area base 400 – 1200 feet. Visibility: Good.

They were the first of six Wellingtons on a rare daylight operation that took off between 0752 and 1054 hours, all mostly uneventful, although the last Wimpy had to return to base after 2 ½ hours due to engine trouble.

8/20/43 – 8/21/43 Wellington Mk. XII P/172 (HF113)

Up: 21:07 Down: 05:00 Duration: 7 Hours, 55 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Weather: Occasional showers.

8/25/43 – 8/26/43 Wellington Mk. XII E/172 (MP613)

Up: 20:49 Down: 03:44 Duration: 7 Hours even

Chivenor. At position 4723N, 0759W, S/E contact illuminated tunneyman with red and yellow sails and rods out; on course southerly at position 4522N, 0849W, captain decided to return – visibility nil, electrical storm and continuous rain. Patrol curtailed 3 hours. Average Height 1500 feet. Weather: Exceptionally bad with thunder and lightning.

They were the second of five Wellingtons that took off, all of which were forced to return early due to the severe weather. A Sgt. A. Hunt temporarily replaced Mason for this patrol.

The red and yellow sails of the Tunneyman suggest a Spanish vessel, but the location was 270 miles north of El Ferrol and only 175 miles west southwest of Brest, which was an odd place to be fishing in a storm.

No U-Boats were located or attacked by the squadron this month, and sadly three more 172 Squadron Wellingtons were lost:

1. 8/7/43: Pilot Officer Peter William Phillips in MP590 Z/172 was forced to ditch in heavy seas due to an engine failure. Phillips was killed on impact and two crew drowned before they could reach the dinghy. The other 3 men were lucky to be picked up after 3 hours by the Banff class Sloop HMS Landguard (Y-56, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Stanley Lane Fox-Pitt).

2. 8/13/43: Sergeant Edgar Robert “Bobby” Howard Widdows in MP630 H/172 crashed while returning to base and making a circuit in poor visibility. According to RAF Chivenor and North Devon Aviation History in World War 2: at 0430 hours “Widdows clipped the roof of a barn at Luscott Barton near Braunton, and then crashed into rising farmland, on its final circuit while coming into land, after a 10-hour anti U-boat mission. All 6 men aboard died” This occurred just 2 miles northeast of RAF Chivenor.

3. 8/24/43: No. 172 Squadron’s much-loved Commander, Wing Commander Rowland Gascoigne Musson in MP624 R/172 crashed into high ground shortly after take-off about 2 miles inland beyond Clovelly. Musson was killed when he was ejected from the aircraft on impact and the rest died in the explosion after the Wimpy came to a rest in the next field over after blasting through two hedgerows and across a road. The cause remains a mystery but is largely believed to have been a navigational or instrument failure. They made their turn south too early, and instead of being over the sea flew over high ground on Hartland Point, flying into telephone wires which wrapped around the propellers and seized the engines. Another ten feet in elevation and they may have made it.

Note this is the same Wimpy Alex and Jack flew during the attack on U-126 weeks earlier.

Musson’s loss was a devasting blow to the moral of the squadron. Musson was hands-on and often went on patrols, either with his own crew or by joining other crews to offer help and guidance, which endeared him to the squadron. I was fortunate to meet his son, Andrew, during our visit in September 2023.

Today there is a memorial plaque near the crash site. Unfortunately, we missed this part of the tour during our 2023 trip, but you can see Musson’s son and the Hever family in the image below.

September 1943

Jack had 10 flights in September; 6 non-operational flights and 4 Operational sorties:

9/1/43 – 9/2/43 Wellington Mk. XII U/172 (MP636)

Up: 21:57 Down: 06:08 Duration: 8 Hours, 15 minutes

Chivenor. Two S/E contacts in S.B.R. area – not investigated. Average Height 1000 feet. Weather: Fair. Patches of cloud to North of patrol area.

9/7/43 – 9/8/43 Wellington Mk. XII N/172 (MP680)

Up: 18:40 Down: 03:54 Duration: 9 Hours, 15 minutes

Chivenor. At position 4355N, 1035W sighted visually large white patch on sea, otherwise uneventful. Average Height 400 feet. Weather: Fair. 

This location is about 120 miles west, northwest of El Ferrol, Spain.

9/14/43 – 9/15/43 Wellington Mk. XII C/172 (MP686)

Up: 18:30 Down: 02:55 Duration: 8 Hours, 25 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average Height 1500 feet. Weather: Fair but cloudy. 

9/22/43 – 9/23/43 Wellington Mk. XIV Q/172 (MP791)

Up: 21:34 Down: 05:20 Duration: 7 Hours, 50 minutes

Chivenor. At 2338 hours one Radar contact which disappeared. Average Height 1500 feet. Weather: Cloudy and bumpy. 

Note that this last flight was in one of the new Mk. XIV Wellingtons introduced to the squadron this month. The most significant difference was the change from the Bristol Hercules Mk. VI engines (rated at 1,615 HP) to the Hercules Mk. XVII (rated at 1,725 HP), which besides the overall 220 horsepower bump (more power, more better) was specifically tuned for low-level performance where 172 Squadron operated.

The Mk. XIV was nearly indistinguishable from the Mk. XII visually, however, except for the addition of a twin .303 Browning MG mount in the nose to replace the single. This mount doubled the forward firepower straight on, while sacrificing some field of fire to the left and right.

Only one U-Boat was located and attacked by the squadron this month, and sadly 3 Wellingtons were lost:

1. The attack, which proved unsuccessful, occurred on September 8th and would also lead to the first loss of the month. Per U-Boat.net: “23.03 hrs, Bay of Biscay, outbound: after locating U-402 on radar British Wellington bomber MP791 (RAF Sqdn 172/Q, pilot Flying Officer T. Armstrong) dropped six depth charges in a Leigh Light attack and then circled the boat after making a strafing run. At 23.13 hours they observed another Wellington (Sqdn 172/D, pilot Flying Officer Cyril Jesse Payne) making a Leigh Light attack and being shot down. Wellington Q-Queen was damaged when the port tyre burst on landing at Chivenor: unknown to the crew the undercarriage had been hit twice by flak. U-402 had hit both attackers and escaped undamaged. 6 KIA.”

2. The second loss occurred on September 19th. Flying Officer Horace George Paskey and crew took off on a training flight and were never heard from again.

3. The third loss occurred on September 29th. F/S John Hamilton Barr and crew took off at 19:46 hours for an anti-submarine patrol and also were never heard from again.

Nearly half (47%) of the Wellingtons and crews the squadron lost were from flights that just simply never returned. A handful may have been from enemy action, but most of those incidents are fairly well identified at this stage. Judging from the difficulties reported by returning crews, I believe the majority of these losses were due to an engine failure or some other mechanical issue that forced the aircraft to ditch in the sea at night, which was fraught with danger, but their only viable option.

October 1943

October was quieter and Jack had only 5 flights; 4 non-operational flights and 1 Operational sortie:

10/2/43 – 10/3/43 Wellington Mk. XIV D/172 (HF197)

Up: 16:41 Down: 01:38 Duration: 9 Hours even

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average Height 1300 feet. Weather: Fair but cloudy. (Percussion L3 patrol)

The month is notable because they switched up tactics and instead of fanning out into the Bay of Biscay, they started what were known as ‘Percussion’ patrols. This was a more systematic attempt, in concert with other Coastal Command squadrons to patrol a rectangular area off the northwest tip of Spain with set times, routes and distances. The concept was that by having aircraft take off in half-hour intervals from various bases they could attain round-the-clock coverage over a concentrated area that should have forced the U-boats to surface to recharge before they reach the other side. In theory this increased the probability of locating them, and decreased their ability to crash-dive on detection. It was an interesting concept, but did not seem to improve the attack success rate.

No U-Boats were located and attacked by the squadron this month, but on the bright side, no Wellingtons were lost either.

At the end of the month a small detachment of two aircraft was sent to Gibraltar (Flying Officer Rounce and F/L C.J. Fitzgerald) to expand the Leigh Light concept to the straights were U-Boats were trying to sneak through to bolster their operations in the Mediterranean. Very few U-Boats ever made it out again.

November 1943

The squadron expanded the deployment to Gibraltar as well as started operating from Lagens in the Azores, although Jack’s crew stayed put at Chivenor. The British had requested access to the islands from the Neutral Portuguese, who agreed due to a number of factors, not least of which was the threat of invasion.

This month saw a great amount of turnover in the crew with Young and Hever reaching the end of their tours and various replacements coming and going.

It must have been difficult. These crews were definitely a team, and while they all had similar training it takes a while for everyone to mesh and gain efficiency.

Jack had 13 flights in November; 7 non-operational flights and 6 Operational sorties:

11/6/43 – 11/7/43 Wellington Mk. XIV A/172 (MP724)

Up: 21:45 Down: 06:34 Duration: 8 Hours, 50 minutes

Chivenor. At 0125 hours 4344N, 0550W sighted and lit up small coastal vessels. (Percussion Q5 patrol)

11/11/43 Wellington Mk. XIV C/172 (HF149)

Up: 00:11 Down: 07:06 Duration: 7 Hours even

Chivenor. At 0110 hours 4930N, 0635W threw out two Mk. I Flame Floats which flashed but failed to burn. Otherwise, uneventful. Average Height: 1000 feet. (Percussion L5 patrol)

Note that on this patrol, a Pilot Officer D. Wallace (Canadian, J17342) replaced Young as one of the WOP/AG’s, 

Jack’s fellow Canadian crewmate, WOP/AG W/O George Young, had left for instructor duties at No. 31 O.T.U. in Debert, Nova Scotia, where he had previously been trained.

This was also the last patrol for WOP/AG Sgt. Hubert Hever, who reached his required number of hours with 172 Squadron and left for what is believed to be an Operational Training Unit in the U.K.

Jack had served with George and Hubert for five months, ever since he had joined 172 Squadron. This now made Jack the most senior Wireless Operator/Air Gunner on the crew.

11/15/43 – 11/16/43 Wellington Mk. XIV J/172 (HF147)

Up: 23:24 Down: 07:19 Duration: 7 Hours, 55 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average Height: 1000 feet. (Percussion M2 patrol)

Note that on this patrol, a Sgt. F. Meigh replaced Wallace and Sgt. R. Smith replaced Hever as two of the WOP/AG’s, Apparently, it wasn’t a good fit, and these two men would later join Flight Lieutenant Walker’s crew. 

11/18/43 – 11/19/43 Wellington Mk. XIV P/172 (HF167)

Up: 22:15 Down: 06:55 Duration: 8 Hours, 40 minutes

Chivenor. At 0149 had radar contact and sighted 1000 ton Motor Vessel brightly lit believed neutral; and at 0211 another sighting of 500 ton Motor Vessel with Espana [Spain] on hull. Both above ships close to Spanish coast. Otherwise uneventful. Average Height: 1000 feet. (Percussion Q9 Patrol)

Note for this patrol Meigh was replaced by Pilot Officer A. Peterman (Canadian, J18457) and Smith was replaced by Sgt. B. Oliver as WOP/AG’s.

It was an interesting dynamic during the war, but it all depending on their training. You could have a non-commissioned officer like a sergeant in command and flying the aircraft and you could have a commissioned Pilot Officer filling in as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner.

11/24/43 Wellington Mk. XIV J/172 (HF147)

Up: 21:38 Down: 22:30 Duration: 50 minutes even

Chivenor. 2202 hours experienced cutting of starboard (right) engine. Magneto drop – 2206 sent message to command – returning to base – engine trouble – 2208 Depth Charges jettisoned safe 4 ½ miles west of Lundy Island. Landed safely at base. (Percussion S4 Patrol intended).

Always a nerve-wracking experience to lose an engine shortly after take over in a heavily loaded bomber and land at night. Johnson crashed attempting a similar scenario in August of 1944.

This flight also saw another extensive change to the crew configuration. Pilot Officer A. Peterman moved up into the 2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator position to temporarily replace Albert Mason. Pilot Officer J.A. Sheffield replaced Donald Ashworth in the Navigator position, Sgt. G.B. Schwinge replaced Peterman as one of the WOP/AG’s, and Sgt. T. Owen replaced Oliver as the other WOP/AG.

11/29/43 – 11/30/43 Wellington Mk. XIV C/172 (HF149)

Up: 21:30 Down: 06:44 Duration: 9 Hours, 15 minutes

Chivenor. 0002 hours Radar contact 45 degrees red – 5 miles. Lights observed on surface – illuminated fishing vessel. 0042 hours second contact at 090 degrees distant – 15 miles to port. Identified as land return so did not investigate. Average Height: 1000 feet. (Standard A/S Patrol).

No changes to the crew on this patrol.

There was one Wellington lost this month during an attempted U-Boat attack:

Per uboat.net: “On November 27th, 2122hrs, about 380 miles west of Lisbon: While escorting combined convoys SL-140/MKS-31 from its base on the Azores, the Wellington Mk. XIV HF153 "O" made a Leigh Light attack and was hit by flak after making an initial strafing run. Its subsequent crash was witnessed by U-262 and U-238 which picked up two survivors (air gunners F/S Nicolas J. Martin and Sgt Thomas B. Semple). The other four aircrew were lost. Sgt Semple was the wireless operator and later convinced the Germans during his interrogation that Allied aircraft were able to passively locate U-boats by homing in on their radar detection devices. This deception later led to the order to U-boats to turn off their Naxos detectors. 4 KIA. 2 POW.”

December 1943

Jack had 13 flights in December as well; 11 non-operational flights and 2 Operational sorties:

12/10/43 – 12/11/43 Wellington Mk. XIV P/172 (HF167)

Up: 21:30 Down: 07:35 Duration: 10 Hours, 5 minutes

Chivenor. 2335 hours Radar contact at 6 miles. Homed and illuminated two trawlers course 290 degrees at 6 knots. 2345 hours contact at 8 miles. Leigh Light showed one fishing vessel – navigation lights on. Throughout sortie contact made on various fishing vessels and trawlers. Average Height: 500 feet. (Inner A/S Patrol No. 3)

In his flying log Jack notes this patrol as happening off the coast of France.

The crew configuration changed once again, but stabilized somewhat:

1st Pilot/Commander: Flying Officer Churton S. Rowland

2nd Pilot/L.L. Operator: Flying Officer Albert "Bert" Mason

Navigator: Flight Sergeant J.R. Pledger

WOP/AG: Warrant Officer John "Jack" F. Wilmer

WOP/AG: Sergeant G.B. Schwinge

WOP/AG: Sergeant E. Oliver

12/23/43 – 12/24/43 Wellington Mk. XIV A/172 (MP724)

Up: 21:53 Down: 09:15 Duration: 11 Hours, 20 minutes

Chivenor. At 2206 hours position 5055N, 0445W had Radar contact 5 miles dead ahead. Course altered to 307 degrees True and on passing convoy experienced heavy Anti-Aircraft fire although navigation lights on. No damage to aircraft which took evasive action. Average Height: 1000 feet. (Percussion T3 patrol)

Obviously, this was only 13 minutes after take-off and the location was only eight miles off the Cornish coast shortly after they had made their turn southwest, so this is assumed to have been an Allied convoy heading to or from the Bristol Channel. Another 'friendly fire' close-call.

There was one unsuccessful U-Boat attack this month:

The attack was carried out on December 6th by W.N. Armstrong in MP 769 (one of the Azores contingent) while escorting a convoy. 

There were two more losses for the month:

1. 12/5/43 - Wellington Mk. XIV HF141 Piloted by W/O Albert Colwyne Kidson took off from Chivenor at 1556 hours, and was not heard from again.

2. 12/11/43 Wellington Mk. XIV MP766 Piloted by F/S Gordon Milton Boon took off from Chivenor at 2135 hours and except for a message received by teleprinter at 00:53 "No enemy sighted in area." was never heard from again.

January 1944

Jack only had 5 flights in January; 4 non-operational flights and 1 Operational sortie:

1/7/44 – 1/8/44 Wellington Mk. XIV M/172 (HF282)

Up: 17:39 Down: 02:50 Duration: 9 Hours, 10 minutes

Chivenor. Radar failed at 1939 hours, but patrol continued. Sortie was uneventful. (Percussion N1 patrol)

The squadron continued to be split between RAF Chivenor where Jack and crew stayed and Gibraltar and Lagens, Azores. Of the 64 sorties the squadron flew this month, 31 were from Lagens, 30 were from Chivenor and 3 were from Gibraltar.

There were four U-Boat attacks this month (one successful) and 2 more Wellingtons were lost.

1. Flying Officer C.F. Light and crew in Wellington HF.168 took off at 1600 hours from Lagens. On patrol 1940 – Commenced C.L.A. (Creeping Line Ahead) search - 15 miles between tracks – 50-mile legs covering area. In position 4530N, 1920W attacked fully surfaced U-Boat which remained on surface after 6 Torpex D.C.’s straddled hull. Time of attack 2155. Circled position until 2215. U-Boat left on course 100° True. 2225 S/C Base. They landed safely back at Lagens at 0209 hours. No U-boat was known to be sunk in this location on this date and this attack remains unsolved.

2. F/S J.F. Mundy and crew in Wellington HF.167 took off from Chivenor just after midnight at 0002 hours. At 0605 had Radar contact 20 degrees red at 5 miles. Homed, sent Message to Command “Have A.S.V. contact” and at 0607 in position 4645N, 0753W sighted and illuminated surfaced U-Boat on course 270° True at 15 knots. The attack was made from 120° red to U-Boat’s track. The Depth Charges straddled stern, three explosions seen by Rear Gunner, one to port, one very close to stern and one to starboard. Captain thought other D.C.’s exploded to port. U-Boat remained stationary for nearly an hour, the aircraft circling, maintaining radar contact and circling flame floats and sending off attack and amplifying reports. U-Boat then disappeared with great suddenness; radar contact vanishing as opposed to fading. Group was informed, 2nd marine marker dropped and message received from Group to commence homing at 0712 hours. At 0812 homing cancelled and aircraft told to return to Base immediately. Average Height: 1000 feet. They landed safely back at Chivenor at 1100 hours. No U-boat was known to be sunk in this location on this date and this attack remains unsolved.

3. The sinking of the type VIIC U-231 (Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Wenzel) 22.55 hrs, approx. 750 miles NE of the Azores: the boat was attacked by British Wellington bomber HF168 (RAF Sqdn 172/L, pilot Pilot Officer W.N. Armstrong, RCAF), operating from the Azores, after it was directed to the area by a sighting report from aircraft from USS Block Island. The Wellington dropped three depth charges, but was itself hit by flak which wounded the tail gunner. U-231 then dived, but was found impossible to keep submerged, so the boat surfaced and the crew abandoned ship. The commander attempted suicide by shooting himself in the mouth, but the bullet lodged in the back of his neck without causing serious injury. Seven men were lost, and the commander and 42 survivors were picked up and taken prisoner the next day by USS Parrott and USS Bulmer, and later transferred to USS Block Island.

4. F/L R. Walker and crew in Wellington HF.285 took off from Chivenor at 2230 hours on January 28th, 1944. Per the Record of Events: At 0120 [29th] in position 4654N, 0550W Message from Command “Hunt U-Boat 47N, 0538W". Set course for position and commenced square search. At 0143 in position 4705N, 0526W had Radar contact 90 degrees green at 12 miles. Homed and sighted 500 - 600 ton Motor Vessel with Navigation lights on, on course 300 at 6 knots. Search continued after reporting Motor Vessel to Group. At 0255 had Radar contact 5 degrees red at 10 miles. Homed and at 0300 illuminated a fully surfaced U-Boat on course 100, speed 12 knots in position 4703N, 0520W. At ½ mile from target Leigh Light failed completely and homing was made on Anti-Aircraft fire which came from U-Boat without damaging aircraft. The front gun jammed after a few rounds, and the rear guns were unusable, having developed a runaway failure when tested on crossing the coast. The Depth Charges were dropped (6 x 250 lbs.) at 150 feet height, at angle of 15 degrees red to U-Boat track. Rear Gunner saw explosions across U-Boat stern. The U-Boat remained on the surface on same course for two hours with aircraft circling. Usual attack reports sent to Group but at end of two hours Prudent Limit of Endurance was reached and aircraft set course for Base. Average height 400 feet. They landed safely back at Chivenor at 0716 hours, after a patrol of 8 hours and 46 minutes. No U-boat was known to be sunk in this location on this date and this attack remains unsolved. Note: Jack’s former crewmates Smith and Meigh were part of this crew.

The two losses for the month were:

1. Wellington Mk. XIV MP813 K/172 Piloted by F/S Leighton Dawkin Richards took off from Chivenor at 2011 hours. No signals were received from this aircraft during sortie. At 0738 hours Group sent “Land at St. Eval on completion of sortie”, but no reply was given and aircraft failed to return to base. They had actually made a U-Boat attack in the Bay of Biscay west of Bordeaux, France in position 45.25N, 05.15W (They were formerly credited with the sinking of U-364 with depth charges.)

The target was in fact the outbound Type VIIC U-608 (Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Reisener), which escaped unscathed. The boat scored hits on the aircraft with AA fire when it switched on the Leigh Light and then escaped by diving. The Wellington did not drop any depth charges, and apparently crashed shortly afterwards, as witnessed by the crew of a Polish Wellington (RAF Sqdn 304/2B, F/S S. Czekaski), who apparently misinterpreted the crash as exploding depth charges. The six aircrew were all lost.

2. Wellington Mk. XIV HF.279 Q/172 Piloted by F/L Charles Kirwan Fitzgerald took off from Lagens at 0055 hours and was never heard from again.

Of course, this month was also when Jack’s original commander, Alexander Coumbis, was killed on January 18th when his Hampden I (P1216) crashed in Scotland.

February 1944

There was a marked increase in operations for this month. Jack had 16 flights in February; 10 non-operational flights and 6 Operational sorties, the first of which was nearly fatal.

This was also another period of frequent crew substitutions and changes.

The major event of Jack’s tour with Rowland was the unsuccessful attack on U-763 on February 5th during which they were nearly shot down.

During the past few months there had been several developments in the U-boat war. These were mainly countermeasures the Germans developed to address their shortcomings in anti-aircraft armament and radar detection.

For anti-aircraft weaponry they went from a single 20mm on the conning tower to several iterations, mainly consisting of two twin 20mm on the upper deck of the conning tower (port and starboard) and either a quadruple 20mm known as a flakvierling or a single or double 37mm on a lower deck. This required a new much larger conning tower, which necessitated the removable of anti-ship decks guns fore and aft of the conning tower. Airpower was the threat and it was far too dangerous for U-Boats to stay surfaced and engage vessels with their deck guns.

For radar detection, they replaced the older Metox detectors with a unit called Naxos which could detect the new British ASV Mk. IV radar 172 Squadron was then using.

They also developed radar decoys, one of which was called Aphrodite, which was quite effective early on. To counter the Naxos, 172 squadron (and others) started to use the radar only periodically for short intervals, so as to not spook the U-Boats into crash-diving too quickly.

Finally, during this period the Germans started upgrading the existing U-Boat fleet with schnorkels, allowing them to stay submerged longer at periscope depth, making them harder to find.

This U-Boat was equipped with upgraded anti-aircraft armament, Naxos radar detection and Aphrodite radar decoys. Over the course of two days, U-763 shot down a B-24 Liberator, a Halifax, and damaged another B-24. 

To start, I’ll present the Operational Record Book ‘Record of Events’ account of the event:

2/4/44 – 2/5/44 Wellington Mk. XIV M/172 (HF282)

Up: 23:20 Down: 06:20 Duration: 7 Hours even

Chivenor. At 0206 hours position 4539N, 0640W had radar contact 90° green 6 miles. Homed to investigate and on turning sighted to port two red lights with flak coming from water between them. Homed on to flak, and on approaching sighted four lights (1 flickering and 3 steady). On investigation, the wake of a surface vessel was sighted ½ mile to port. Being too close to attack, the aircraft circled and then obtained radar contact on to which Aircraft was homed. The Leigh Light was switched on at ½ mile and a fully surfaced U-Boat was sighted and attacked, the 6 Depth Charges straddling U-Boat’s track 135° green. The nearest Depth Charge fell 25 feet away from stern of U-Boat. The usual messages were sent to Group, and as both wings and fuselage near emergency exit had been holed by canon shells, the aircraft set course for base. Average height 1,000 feet. (Percussion M2 patrol)

Jack’s flying log states: “A/S Patrol – Bay of Biscay – Sighted & Attacked U/B – Heavy Flak – A/C Damaged by Canonshells – Returned to Base.”

Sadly, the after effects of this near-death experience would haunt Jack for the remainder of the war. During the war they referred to it as 'flying stress', but today we would call it post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

His son Frank remembers his mother telling him a story of his dad “sitting on front stairs staring into space after his plane had been shot up. I got the sense from my mom he felt he miscalculated a bombing due to wind.”

I explained to Frank that it was in no way his father’s fault and wind would not have been a factor at such low level. As noted above, the recent German advancements in radar decoys and anti-aircraft had swung the advantage back to them, at least for the time-being, as evidenced by U-763 success against aircraft as noted above. 

Just four days after this they were out on patrol again.

2/8/44 – 2/9/44 Wellington Mk. XIV A/172 (MP724)

Up: 21:56 Down: 08:08 Duration: 10 Hours, 15 minutes

Chivenor. At 0158 hours position 4505N, 0517W sighted parachute flare astern, circled, and four minutes later sighted a Liberator. The captain had given order “Action Stations” but Rear Gunner did not receive word “Liberator” and opened fire. No results were observed. Average height 1,000 feet. (Percussion M2 patrol)

This position was about 105 miles north of Gijon, on the north coast of Spain and 230 miles west of Bordeaux, occupied France.

From the information I’ve found to date on this possible friendly fire incident it does not appear to have been fatal, but I am continuing the investigation to see if I can identify the “Liberator” in question and what squadron it belonged to. So far, I have reviewed the Operation Record Books of two known Coastal Command Squadrons equipped with Liberators that were part of 19 Group: No. 53 Squadron and No. 224 Squadron, both based at RAF St. Eval, Cornwall, about 55 miles southwest of RAF Chivenor. None of their flights that evening report taking fire from another aircraft, and in fact each squadron appears to have been operating west of Ireland and not along the Spanish Coast at this time. Another possibility was that it was one of the US Navy Squadrons operating Liberators at this time, or of course that Rowland mis-identified the aircraft and it was a Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Condor or some other Allied or Axis type. Aircraft mis-identifications were commonplace by air and naval crews, especially at night.

2/11/44 – 2/12/44 Wellington Mk. XIV A/172 (MP724)

Up: 20:26 Down: 06:49 Duration: 10 Hours, 20 minutes

Chivenor. At 0021 hours in position 4348N, 0727W had radar contact. Homed and sighted 2 Coasters of 400 tons and using Leigh Light sighted 1 motor vessel 1,500 tons. Reported to control. Viking exercise carried out successfully. (Percussion R3 & Viking patrol)

This position was very close to the north coast of Spain, only about 6 miles north of the port of Moras.

2/18/44 – 2/19/44 Wellington Mk. XIV P/172 (HF363 – Wilmer identified it as HF167)

Up: 18:52 Down: 05:24 Duration: 10 Hours, 30 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average Height: 1000 feet. (Percussion T3)

Flight Sergeant N. Godwin replaced Mason temporarily as 2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator on this patrol.

2/22/44 – 2/23/44 Wellington Mk. XIV R/172 (HF285)

Up: 20:38 Down: 07:00 Duration: 10 Hours, 20 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average Height: 1000 feet. (standard A/S patrol)

Flying Officer Wallace replace Godwin as 2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator and Flight Sergeant Knight replaced Schwinge as one of the WOP/AG’s on this patrol.

2/26/44 – 2/27/44 Wellington Mk. XIV R/172 (HF285)

Up: 17:52 Down: 03:58 Duration: 10 Hours, 20 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average Height: 1000 feet. (standard A/S patrol).

Flying Officer K.J. Mills replaced Knight as one of the WOP/AG’s on this patrol.

The only attack for the month was their attack on U-763.

There was one loss for the month, on February 19th a new crew commanded by Pilot Officer Lloyd Remington Joseph Meech went out on a navigation training exercise in Wellington HF168 and never returned.

March 1944

Jack had 14 flights in March; 12 non-operational flights and 2 Operational sorties:

3/10/44 – 3/11/44 Wellington Mk. XIV C/172 (HF149)

Up: 19:18 Down: 06:02 Duration: 10 Hours, 45 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average Height: 1000 feet. (Percussion R1 patrol)

Mason and Schwinge were back with the crew.

3/21/44 – 3/22/44 Wellington Mk. XIV Q/172 (HF581)

Up: 19:21 Down: 06:34 Duration: 11 Hours, 15 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average Height: 800 feet. (U/Boat Hunt)

When you see “U/Boat Hunt” in the description it means that another aircraft sighted a U-Boat and called other aircraft to the last known location. None of the other 172 Squadron aircraft called anything in that night, so it must have been another squadron.

There was one successful U-Boat attack (group effort) and one loss this month.

According to the Record of Events, the loss occurred on March 10th. Flying Officer Victor Neil Taylor took off from Lagens in the Azores at 21:46 on A/S Patrol from Lagens. At 02:58 messaged received "Am returning to base; mechanical trouble 46 degrees N, 22 degrees W - 600 - 00.55" No further messages received until 03:12 when in answer to MFB 1. "Do you need help?" A/C replied in P/L “Looks like ditching”. A/C requested QDM and two QDM's passed Lagens 227 degrees Sant Ana 215 degrees. No acknowledgement was received from the A/C and nothing else was heard from it. Monthly Summary mentions Flying Officer A.W.B. Peterman J/18457 has since been picked up and is suffering from a broken leg. 5 KIA.

The U-Boat attack occurred on March 13th. According to Uboat.net: “German U-boat U-575 was sunk in the north Atlantic north of the Azores, in position 46°18'N, 27°34'W, by depth charges from the Canadian frigate HMCS Prince Rupert, the US destroyer USS Hobson the US destroyer escort USS Haverfield and by depth charges from a British Wellington and Fortress aircraft (Sqdn. 172/B and 206/R and 220/J) and Avenger aircraft of the US escort carrier USS Bogue.”

As noted, this involved another Lagens based aircraft, Wellington HF183 ‘B’ for Beer commanded by Flying Officer F.P. Finnessey. They had taken off at 1216 hours and were the first to attack the Type VIIC U-575 (Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Boehmer) using their Leigh Light at 0151 hours. Their depth charges, while appearing to straddled the U-Boat, failed to break the pressure hull and sink her but at least one of her fuel tanks was damaged by the explosions and/or machine gun fire. This caused a significant fuel leak which left an oil trail which assisted the follow-on attacks by Fortress aircraft that morning and Canadian and American naval forces that afternoon which finished her off. 

In addition to U-Boats, 172 aircraft sometimes engaged German surface vessel. One such event occurred the evening of March 15th/16th when Pilot Officer J.F. “Johnny” Mundy attacked a group of E-Boats (German Schnell boots or fast torpedo boats) off the south coast of England.

These were formidable targets due to their speed and maneuverability, plus ample anti-aircraft weaponry (37mm, 20mm and 7.62mm), especially combined in a group of six boats.

April 1944

Jack had 13 flights in April; 9 non-operational flights and 4 Operational sorties:

4/20/44 – 4/21/44 Wellington Mk. XIV M/172 (HF282)

Up: 21:45 Down: 05:27 Duration: 7 Hours, 45 minutes

Chivenor. At 2359 hours had Message from Base to hunt U-Boat, at 4542N, 0655W and homed onto shadowing aircraft. At 0042 hours sighted 2 markers but Wireless was unusable, so did search No. 1 at 0114 hours. Rear Gunner saw swirl to port [ES: suggesting a diving U-Boat] but nothing else was seen by Leigh Light. At 0217 wireless still unusable set course for Base. (Standard A/S patrol)

This position was pretty much in the middle of the Bay of Biscay, about 170 miles northeast of El Ferrol, Spain and 220 miles southwest of Lorient, occupied France.

4/24/44 – 4/25/44 Wellington Mk. XIV F/172 (HF190)

Up: 22:12 Down: 08:40 Duration: 10 Hours, 30 minutes

Chivenor. At 2332 hours in position 4833N, 0636W had nine radar contacts, and homed onto fishing vessels. At 0107 in position 4619N, 0519W had a Radar contact at 7 miles. Group informed and aircraft homed, but contact disappeared at 2 miles, and nothing seen. Circled area for one hour and at 0332 in position 4623N, 0417W had another radar contact which disappeared on homing. At 0515 hours 4752N, 0733W, had yet another contact which vanished as aircraft turned to home. Average height 700 feet. (Standard A/S patrol).

Jack’s flying log noted “3 disappearing contacts”. These were most likely U-boats that had detected the British search radar and crash-dived to safety, which only took about 30 seconds for a well drilled crew.

4/27/44 – 4/28/44 Wellington Mk. XIV P/172 (HF363)

Up: 23:11 Down: 09:10 Duration: 10 Hours even

Chivenor. At 0239 hours position 4505N, 1230W had radar contacts at 12 miles. Aircraft homed and sighted 5 vessels in “v” formation and 2 more to starboard. These were illuminated with Leigh Light and appeared to be a pack of U-Boats, long and narrow with superstructure resembling a conning-tower. On passing over they were seen to be L.C.T. [ES” Landing Craft - Tank]. Depth Charges were aimed at the starboard vessel of the 2 to starboard. A straddle was obtained, the plumes covering vessel. At 0334 hours Message from Base “Continue patrol – probably our own ships”. At 0357 hours Message from Base “L.C.I. [ES: Landing Craft – Infantry] in patrol area - do not attack.” Remainder of sortie uneventful. Average height 800 feet. (Standard A/S patrol).

This is one of those entries in the Record of Events that boggles the mind a bit. This was an apparent friendly fire incident, but it is described so nonchalantly, and no mention is made of any potential casualties. The three other 172 Wellingtons on patrol that night also picked the convoy up on Radar and investigated.

1. At 0133 Wellington HF285 flown by Pilot Officer D. Bielby picked up the convoy up at 8 miles and investigated. They saw flares and dropped their own, but did not engage.

2. At 0135 hours Wellington HF282 flown by Flying Officer T. Armstrong picked up the convoy at 10 miles and homed. At 0227 they took flak as he flew over and returned fire, climbed to 4000 feet and dropped flares. Shortly after they received a message from base that friendly forces were in the area and not to attack.

3. At 0315 hours Wellington HF381 flown by Flying Officer E. Backhouse had a radar contact at 17 miles and closed within 3 miles, but by that point they had received the ‘do not attack’ messages.

This location was quite far out in the western approaches about 240 miles northwest of El Ferrol, Spain. Current assumption is that these were a group of American vessels in their own convoy being sent to the U.K. in preparation for the D-Day landings. I reviewed the Admiralty War Diaries for this period and there is no mention of this incident, so hopefully that indicates the crew of the vessel was just shaken up and there were no casualties.

The design of L.C.I. or Landing Craft – Infantry, as the base noted, certainly could have been mistaken for U-Boats in the dark as the images below show:

Ironically, this was the same timeframe as one of the worst friendly fire incidents of the war when hundreds of American troops were killed during Exercise Tiger. This was a live-fire exercise simulating the upcoming D-Day landings which was being conducted at Slapton Sands in England’s south coast of Devon. The first part was a friendly fire incident the morning of April 27th caused by a timing mix-up when troops hit the beach during an artillery barrage rather than after it. This was compounded the following day when 9 German E-boats stumbled upon the mock invasion fleet and attacked, sinking 2 LST’s and damaging 2 others, causing hundreds more casualties. This became known as the Battle of Lyme Bay. See here for more information.

4/30/44 – 5/1/44 Wellington Mk. XIV Q/172 (HF382)

Up: 19:44 Down: 04:28 Duration: 8 Hours, 45 minutes

Chivenor. At 2203 hours had Radar contact at 2 miles – homed onto a school of porpoises. At 2335 homed onto a radar contact which vanished at 3 ½ miles. At 0120 hours had a contact which vanished at 3 ½ miles. At 0146 had two more contacts which proved to be aircraft. Average height 700 feet. (Standard A/S patrol).

There were no U-Boat attacks this month and no Operational or training losses.

May 1944

Jack had 10 flights in May; 9 non-operational flights and 1 Operational sortie:

His crew had an uneventful patrol on the evening of May 6th/7th with a Flight Sergeant J. Green replacing Jack.

5/9/44 – 5/10/44 Wellington Mk. XIV P/172 (HF363)

Up: 18:25 Down: 05:05 Duration: 10 Hours, 40 minutes

Chivenor. At 2335 hours in position 4555N, 0558W, had Radar contact but lost it, and search of area revealed nothing at all. At 0020 hours had radar contact close to position of first, but it was lost, again, and search was fruitless. Average height 800 feet. (Standard A/S patrol).

There were no U-Boat attacks this month but there was one Operational loss: On May 24th, 21-year-old Flight Sergeant John Wilfred Barber and crew took off from Chivenor in Wellington HF282 at 2226 hours and were never heard from again. This appears to have been their second operational sortie.

In other news, Squadron Leader Kenneth Petrie assumed command of 172 Squadron with effect on May 23rd, replacing Wing Commander E.G. Palmer, who had commanded the squadron since August 25th, 1943 after Musson’s loss.

June 1944

Of course, this was the month the D-Day landing occurred in Normandy, leading to the eventual liberation of Europe. 

172 Squadron’s role in the invasion was to shift operations from the southwest deep in the Bay of Biscay where they normally operated, to instead focus to the east and in particular the southern end of the English Channel. This was an effort to try and prevent U-Boat’s from the bases on the Brittany coast (Brest, Lorient, Saint Nazaire, La Rochelle and Bordeaux) attacking the invasion and supply forces.

On June 6th itself, this was reportedly ruined by a very unfortunate accident. In fellow squadron mate Don Cooper’s unpublished memoir ‘The Crew’ he details what occurred, but unfortunately, I don’t have permission to use this material.

What I can do is summarize what he described.  Essentially, in the lead up to the big day, a number of Wellingtons were lined up armed and fueled when a fire broke out in one of the aircraft, which quickly spread to two other aircraft. Through quick action, the remaining aircraft in the line were able to be saved.

As noted on my U-126 page, the Wellington’s had a unique geodetic structure covered in fabric impregnated with dope (glue) like model aircraft. It made them strong and light, and with self-sealing fuel tanks, able to take a lot of anti-aircraft damage and keep flying. It’s Achilles heel, however, was fire. 

It must have been quite demoralizing for personnel to see first-hand how quickly fire could tear through their aircraft and cause their ammunition and depth charges to explode.

Jack’s records indicate he had seen some of his squadron’s Wellington’s burn, which, perhaps combined with the phycological effect of his close call during the U-763 attack, caused him to have recurring nightmares of having his aircraft catch on fire while on patrol.

Only three 172 Aircraft (assumed to be from B flight) were actually airborne on D-Day:

1. Wellington Mk. XIV (HF190) flown by Wing Commander J. Young took off the evening of June 5th at 19:58 hours, spotted a U-Boat at 00:46 hours and attacked but in the excitement failed to remove the safety cap from the release button which prevented the Depth Charges from releasing on overflight. By the time they swung around for another try the U-Boat had crash-dived to safety.  The location of the attempted attack was deep in the Bay of Biscay, 430 miles southwest of where the invasion was taking place. They safely returned to Chivenor at 6:05 hours.

Even though the invasion started the night before with airborne landings, the first shots of the invasion force’s navy artillery are fired at 05:10 hours and the first troops emerge from their landing craft onto the hell of Omaha beach at 06:29. 

2. Wellington Mk. XIV (NB800) flown by F/L R. Walker took off the evening of June 6th at 21:42 hours and returned at 07:39 hours the morning of June 7th after an uneventful patrol.

3. Wellington Mk. XIV (HF446) flown by Australian Capt. B. Millar took off the evening of June 6th at 21:43 hours and returned at 08:34 hours the morning of June 7th after an uneventful patrol.

Jack had 12 flights in June; 8 non-operational flights and 4 Operational sorties.

6/7/44 – 6/8/44 Wellington Mk. XIV ?/172 (HF147)

Up: 22:54 Down: 08:16 Duration: 9 Hours, 25 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average height 800 feet. (Identified as a “V” patrol).

In his Flying Log, Jack describes this flight as an “A/U Patrol – Channel Crossover Lands’ End to French Coast”. He also identifies the Wellington as HF422 “J”, though he shows they conducted a 45-minute air test of this aircraft at 11:55am then had ditto marks for the operational patrol, so it’s possible they did switch aircraft and he did not record it.  The Record of Events indicate Flying Officer A. Fitt replaced Mason as 2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator going forward.

Jack’s 2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator Flying Officer Albert Mason left the squadron this month to go to No. 5 Coastal Operational Training Unit to familiarize with the Vickers Warwick, a cousin of the Wellington. Sadly, Albert would be killed in October while flying with No. 280 Squadron, a search and rescue unit, which I will write about later.

It’s also interesting that it was from “Lands’ End to French Coast”. I believe what this indicates is that instead of flying a direct route over southern England at night where they faced the possibility of being mis-identified as a German Bomber and fired upon, they continued to start their sorties as they normally did; heading west from Chivenor and making their turn southwest after they passed between Hartland Point and Lundy Island, flying 15-20 miles off the Cornish Coast, but instead of continuing southwest from Land’s End on to Bishop Rock Lighthouse they made a hard left to fly east towards the channel and France.

6/11/44 – 6/12/44 Wellington Mk. XIV ?/172 (HF413)

Up: 21:28 Down: 07:38 Duration: 10 Hours, 10 minutes

Chivenor. At 2226 hours saw explosion on water dead ahead. Believed Mine. Searched area, nothing found. Average height 800 feet. (A/S patrol).

In his Flying Log, Jack describes this flight as an “A/U Patrol – Channel Crossover English Coast – Sark – Gurnesy [sic] – Flak off Gurnesy”. Sark and Guernsey are part of the Channel Islands off the French coast between Brest and Cherbourg. The islands are British ‘Crown Dependencies’ the Germans captured and turned into part of their Atlantic Wall and heavily defended by artillery and anti-Aircraft emplacements. He also identifies the Wellington as HF130 “W”.

6/22/44 – 6/23/44 Wellington Mk. XIV D/172 (HF190)

Up: 21:25 Down: 07:30 Duration: 10 Hours, 5 minutes

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average height 800 feet. (A/U patrol).

In his Flying Log, Jack describes this flight as an “A/U Patrol – Channel Crossover “Y” – English Coast – Alderly [sic] –Gurnsey [sic] D.C.O.” or Duty Carried Out. Alderney is another one of the Channel Islands off the French coast closer to Cherbourg. He also identifies the Wellington as NB805 “F”. In another discrepancy, his log shows Flying Officer Fitt was the 2nd pilot/LL Operator, but the squadron’s record of events indicate Mason was back for this flight.

Mason’s records indicate he was at No. 5 Coastal O.T.U. on June 6th, 1944, so Jack’s records are more accurate.

6/26/44 – 6/27/44 Wellington Mk. XIV ?/172 (HF381)

Up: 21:33 Down: 07:35 Duration: 10 Hours even

Chivenor. Uneventful. Average height 800 feet. (A/U patrol).

In his Flying Log, Jack describes this flight as an “A/U Patrol – Channel Crossover – English Coast – Alderly [sic] –Gurnsey [sic] D.C.O.”. Jack’ s log identifies a different Wellington, NB809 “Q” and once again shows Flying Officer Fitt was the 2nd pilot/LL Operator, but the squadron’s record of events indicate Mason was back.

(See interactive Map below)

There was one confirmed U-Boat attack by the squadron this month:

At 2149 hours on June 13th Wellington Mk. XIV MP789 “Y” piloted by Pilot Officer Leslie George Harris took off from Chivenor on an A/U patrol. Per the Record of Events: “At 2338 hours 4750N, 0537W [ES: 65 miles southwest of Brest] had radar contact at 8 miles. Homed, experienced heavy flak at 1 mile, switched on Leigh Light and illuminated a fully surfaced U-Boat at 1/2 mile. Front gunner opened fire [ES: most likely Navigator F/S W. Davies] and then 6 Depth Charges were dropped straddling the stern of the U-Boat. Continuous flak was experienced during run in and Rear gunner replied. Twice it was believed U-Boat had submerged but it suddenly opened fire again so "Y" took evasive action. At 2359 hours a faint yellow glare was seen in position of flame floats which was followed by a very heavy explosion and a long streak of fire on the surface. A large column of thick black smoke rose to 1000 feet. Wireless and radar were unusable so left position at 0005 hours. Average height: 1200 feet.”

Harris received a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for sinking the U-Boat, but had actually only damaged it, albeit seriously.

Sadly, the explosion and fire they witnessed was not from the U-Boat, but from the U-270 shooting down Liberator GR V BZ818/C of 53 Squadron piloted by Squadron Leader John William Carmichael with the loss of all 10 crew. Carmichael was awarded the DFC posthumously for his actions earlier in the month.

According to Uboat.net:

“13 Jun 1944

Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down: British Fortress (53 Sqn RAF/C) Bay of Biscay, due south of Brest. U-270 [Kapitänleutnant Paul-Friedrich Otto] was not damaged in this attack, but was already returning to base after being seriously damaged by a British Wellington aircraft (172 Sqn RAF/Y). The damage was so severe that the boat was paid off on 25 June 1944. Decommissioned on 25 June 1944 at Lorient and laid up in U-boat pen, later repaired and returned to service in August 1944. Sunk at 0010hrs on 13 August 1944 in the Bay of Biscay west of La Rochelle, in position 46.19N, 02.56W, by depth charges from an Australian Sunderland aircraft (461 Sqn RAAF/A). 10 dead and 71 survivors.”

The Squadron suffered two Operational losses for the month of June:

1. On June 14th, Wing Commander Kenneth Petrie and crew took off from Chivenor in Wellington HF446 “S” at 2210 hours. Per the Record of Events: “At 2:54 hours "S" sent "Have radar contact in position 47.25 N, 03.40 W." No further signals were received and aircraft failed to return to base.” 6 KIA.

This crew’s loss remains a mystery, especially considering Petrie’s experience. The coordinates correspond to German Naval Grid BF6178 and are very close to the French coast, only about 25 miles southwest of the U-Boat base at Lorient. No U-boats were reported missing on this date, at this location. No U-boat sailed from Lorient on the 14th, but U-546 sailed on the 15th. U-260 entered Lorient on the 16th and U-270 & U-981 returned on the 17th, but none report shooting down an aircraft (at least as recording in U-Boat Command’s War Diary).

Petrie had just assumed command of No. 172 Squadron on May 23rd, after previously serving as a squadron Leader.

2. On June 26th, Squadron Leader Ronald Harrison Thompson and crew took off from Chivenor in Wellington HF190 “D” at 2122 hours. Per the Record of Events: “No signals were received from this aircraft and it failed to return to base.” 6 KIA.

It’s one thing when inexperienced pilots and crews don’t return, but quite another when some of the most experienced ones don’t, especially without explanation. It means it could happen to anyone.

July 1944

Jack had 7 flights in July; 4 non-operational flights and 3 Operational sorties:

7/7/44 – 7/8/44 Wellington Mk. XIV Q/172 (NB809)

Up: 21:09 Down: 07:00 Duration: 9 Hours, 50 minutes

Chivenor. At approximately 2227 hours the A.S.V. [Radar] became unserviceable and Group was informed by Wireless transmission that the patrol was being continued. At 2312 an oil patch measuring approximately 1 ½ miles by 100 yards was sighted. Otherwise uneventful. Average height 1000 feet. (A/U patrol).

In his Flying Log, Jack describes this flight as an “A/U Patrol – Channel Crossover “V” – Lands End – Brest. SE unusable – Visual search carried out.”. This is the first match on the Wellington they flew since May. The Record of Events now shows Flying Officer J.G.A.N. Fitt 2nd Pilot/LL Operator, which matches Jack’s log. It also shows an Flying Officer H.H. Taylor as temporarily replacing Pledger as Navigator.

Brest was the northernmost of the U-Boat bases and heavily defended. The allies would lay siege on the port the following month and take it 39 days later with high loss of life, but the German defenders rendered the port unusable.

7/10/44 – 7/11/44 Wellington Mk. XIV X/172 (HF246)

Up: 22:04 Down: 08:53 Duration: 10 Hours, 50 minutes

Chivenor. At 0540 a Radar contact was obtained at 11 miles. After homing to within 3 miles, the contact disappeared. The area was search for seven minutes but nothing further was seen. Otherwise uneventful. Average height 800 feet. (A/U patrol).

In his Flying Log, Jack describes this flight as an “A/U Patrol – Channel Crossover “X” – Eddystone – Gurnsey – Disappearing contact 3 miles”. Eddystone refers to a lighthouse 13 miles southwest of Plymouth.

Interestingly, there is a 10 hour, 15 minute patrol noted in the Record of Events for the evening of July 28th/29th, but Jack does not list this in his flying log. He may have been replaced at the last minute and the Record of Events did not catch it. The patrol was uneventful.

7/31/44 – 8/1/44 Wellington Mk. XIV Y/172 (MP789)

Up: 04:16 Down: 12:15 Duration: 8 Hours even

Chivenor. At 0540 a Radar contact was obtained at 11 miles. After homing to within 3 miles, the contact disappeared. A.S.V. went unusable. Patrol Continued. Uneventful. Average height 1500 feet. (A/U patrol).

In his Flying Log, Jack describes this flight as an “A/U Patrol 178 – Bay of Biscay – S/E u/s visual search carried out”.

The squadron had no successes in July, and suffered two more losses:

1. On July 15th Flying Officer John Francis Waters and crew crashed during a night training flight in the Bristol Channel, in the vicinity of Lundy Island. 6 KIA.

2. On July 30th Flight Lieutenant Lionel Harry Such and crew took off from Chivenor in HF449 “J” at 22:03. At 00:42 message sent "465" without giving position. No further signals received. Per Uboat.net: “01.25 hrs, Bay of Biscay: on attacking U-618, the Wellington bomber (RAF Sqdn 172/J, pilot F/L L.H. Such), was hit by flak and crashed into the sea. 6 KIA.”

August 1944

Jack had 5 flights in August; 3 non-operational flights and 2 Operational sorties.

Interestingly, there is disagreement on his first operational patrol of the month.

Jacks flying log reflects the following night sortie:

8/6/44 – 8/7/44 Wellington Mk. XIV U/172 (HF422)

Up: 20:45 Down: N/A Duration: 10 Hours, 25 minutes

Which he identifies as an “A/U-Boat Stopper Patrol – Brest – D.C.O.”

The squadron’s Record of Events, however, reflects the following daytime sortie:

8/7/44 Wellington Mk. XIV U/172 (HF422)

Up: 08:58 Down: 19:28 Duration: 10 Hours, 30 minutes

Chivenor. Obtained A.S.V. contact on surface vessels but owing to thick fog could not see. Otherwise uneventful. (A/U patrol).

Furthermore, the record shows a Flight Sergeant D. Rowell taking Jack’s place. I tend to trust Jack’s log more as that had to be reviewed and signed-off by his commanding officer.

His last Operational patrol matches:

8/28/44 Wellington Mk. XIV Z/172 (NB800)

Up: 09:25 Down: 19:25 Duration: 10 Hours even

Chivenor. Uneventful. (A/U patrol).

He described it as “A/U Boat Patrol – Bay of Biscay S/E not used – Visual Search Only.”

Jack’s last flight with 172 Squadron noted in his flying log was a 35-minute daytime Air Test with Flying Officer Rowland on August 31st, 194

According to his flying log, in the year Jack was part of Rowland’s crew they flew 136 times; 96 non-operational or transit flights and 40 operational sorties.

After the successful D-Day landings in Normandy in June of 1944 the allies either captured or encircled the German U-Boat bases in occupied France by the end of September, putting them out of commission. As a result, the squadron moved to RAF Limavady in Northern Ireland on September 1st, to help counter the remaining U-Boat threat from occupied Norway.

September – October 1944

The Squadron’s Operational Record Book ‘Summary of Events’ notes that Jack’s pilot, Churton Rowland, left RAF Chivenor to go to Headquarters Training Command on September 1st. Jack does not appear to have joined another crew (not listed in the Record of Events). My working theory is that Jack was part of the contingent that stayed behind to assist with the transfer, and shutdown of 172 Squadron’s operations at RAF Chivenor.

The Summary of Events indicate it was a fairly rapid transfer, however. It notes under several entries under ‘Organization’:

“September 1st, 1944 Signal received from H.Q.C.C. [Headquarters Coastal Command] instructing that all serviceable aircraft of the Squadron were to be forthwith to Limavady on detachment, together with the necessary aircrews and ground servicing personnel. Nine aircraft and crews set out at 10.00 hours, followed by three further aircraft on 2.9.44. Two ground staff personnel travelled in each aircraft. 

September 2nd, 1944 Remainder of ground servicing personnel proceeded by rail from Chivenor to Limavady under the direction of F/L Evans and F/S Lee.

September 11th, 1944 Remainder of aircrew and ground personnel (including Squadron Headquarters) arrived at Limavady from Chivenor by rail. Signal received from HQCC converting original operational detachment at Limavady into posting.”

The first Operational sortie conducted by 172 Squadron from RAF Limavady was on September 2nd when Flight Lieutenant J.W. Paterson and crew headed out on a 4-hour, 35-minute daytime patrol in Wellington Mk. XIV O/172 (NB801).

The first operational Leigh Light patrol was the evening of September 3rd/4th when Pilot Officer H. Burton and crew in W/172 (HF130) were the first of 4 Wellingtons to take off between 2133 and 0138 hours.

It is interesting to note that Jack’s former 2nd Pilot Leigh Light Operator, Flight Lieutenant John Guy Arthur Noel Fitt had transferred to Pilot Officer H. Burton’s crew after Rowland left and was part of this sortie. On October 24th, 1944 Flight Lieutenant Fitt was posted to No. 6 O.T.U. for a Captain’s Course along with two other men.

Jack’s fellow WOP/AG’s, Sergeants G. Swinge and E. Oliver transferred to Flying Officer E. Backhouse’s crew and their first sortie from Limavady was on September 7th. Oliver last flew with them on October 30th, and appears to have left 172 Squadron in November. Swinge last flew with them on October 30th, but appears to have eventually left in February.

As far as Jack’s Navigator Pilot Officer J.R. Pledger, he doesn’t appear to have joined another crew, however the Squadron’s Summary of Events notes that he was posted to No. 6 O.T.U. for instructor duties on completion of tour on October 30th, 1944.

In other news, it is believed that Jack’s son Frank was born during this time.

No. 6 O.T.U.

The next and actually last time Jack is mentioned is in the 172 Squadron Summary of Events for November, which notes that he was posted to No. 6 O.T.U. (same as his Navigator, Pledger) at RAF Silloth in Cumbria, northwest England with effect November 3rd, 1944. The squadron trained Wellington and Anson crews.

From this point on Jack’s story was a mystery as his flying log abruptly stopped at the end of August. It wasn’t until I received his records from the Library and Archives Canada that I finally discovered the whole story.

Unfortunately, his records show he never showed up at No. 6 O.T.U. and went Absent Without Leave (AWOL) until November 10th. He was reportedly ‘severely’ reprimanded but reported sick and it took a while before the doctors figured out what was going on with him. On December 18th, 1944 he was admitted to Station Hospital Weeton for suspected ‘Affective Disorder’. 

I believe there were two main factors in play here:

1. His flying stress starting with the U-763 attack, had never really been addressed, he simply just did his best to power through and do his duty.

2. Doris had moved back to her parent’s home month’s earlier due to complications from her pregnancy which required full-time bed-rest until their son was born.

I theorize that his added stress over his separation from his wife and newborn son at this critical time, combined with his unresolved flying stress was enough to push him over the edge.

Luckily, it appears the authorities seems to have recognized this as well and were not too harsh on him (his rank was not reduced, so he likely just received a stern verbal dressing down) and finally started the process of getting him the help he needed and deserved.

There is unfortunately so much negative stigma associated with ‘flying stress but I was happy to learn that Jack was able to overcome it.

Recovery and Homeward Bound

Jack was next transferred to No. 1 ACD (Airmen's Convalescent Depot) in Blackpool on January 22nd, 1945, where he was able to recover.

Prior to the war officially ending he was assigned to a Repatriation Depot on February 23rd, 1945. On May 1st he arrived at the Repatriation Depot in Lachine, Quebec. His records do not indicate how he got back to Canada, but it is assumed it was on a ship. This could have been any one of the ON convoys departing Liverpool bound for New York in March or April (ON288 through ON298), or one of the ONS Convoy’s (ONS 46 through ONS47) arriving in Halifax. Sometimes men were returned on one of the fast liners like the Queen Elizabeth, which sailed independently of the convoys, using their superior speed to protect themselves.

This was followed in short succession by the Western Air Command Headquarters in Vancouver, BC on May 15th, the No. 8 Release Center in Vancouver on June 26th. As before, this was likely via train.

Jack was discharged from the RCAF on June 28th, 1945 ‘On completion of a term of voluntary service during an emergency and transferred to Class ‘E’ of the General Section of the Reserve.

It’s unclear when Doris and their infant son Frank travelled to Canada.

His post-service interview summary noted he was “Keen, quiet and intelligent. Thinks things out carefully. Excellent motivation. Airforce tests indicate outstanding ability to learn with outstanding trade ability.”

One other interesting note in his records is that under a topic of “Enemy Aircraft, Shipping, etc. destroyed” it was noted as 1 U-Boat Destroyed and 1 probable.

We now know the U-boat he helped destroy was the U-126, although there is conflicting info they knew that at the time. The probable is assumed to be U-763, although we know they survived unscathed.

Post War

After the war Jack and Doris settled in Vancouver and raised their family, son Frank, soon to be followed by daughter Ann and daughter Dorothy Janice “Jan” (1949-2016). 

Jack initially started a course with the Sprott Shaw School (now college) in Vancouver in order to obtain his Commercial Radio Operators license to build upon his military training and expertise. This was with the hope of getting a job with TCA (Trans-Canada Air Lines – which later became Air Canada) or CPAL (Canadian Pacific Air Lines). It doesn’t appear that this worked out, however.

There would have been thousands of WOP/AG’s returning to Canada after the war and the Airlines could have absorbed only so many. His family stated he worked for British Columbia Hydro. Canadian Voter Lists from 1953, ‘62 and ‘68 list him as a Bus Driver.

Like so many returning from the war, he had enough excitement and stress during his 4 years of war-time service to last a lifetime, and just wanted some peace and quiet to get on with his life with Doris.

According to his son Frank: “I never remember anything I would consider PTSD. The one thing I did wonder about was he never joined a Legion or one of those groups. I also don't remember him talking about it much. He was a devoted Anglican and lived a good life. Brought us all up in the church and even helped build a church. I think he only stayed in contact with one person he flew with.”

John “Jack” Francis Wilmer sadly passed away too young on November 30th, 1976 in Vancouver at the age of 62 from pneumonia related to his bone marrow cancer.

His daughter Ann believes that his cancer was the result of his work with radar during the war. I had not heard anything about that connection prior to this research, but a brief search revealed a number of studies looking into it, that show a higher incidence of cancer for aircrew and those that work with radar, even today.

Honors and Awards included:

• Air Gunners Badge – January 19th, 1942

• Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp – January 15th, 1944

• Ribbon of 1939-43 Star

• Operational Wings

As with Alex Coumbis and the rest of the crew, Jack was never officially credited with the sinking of U-126.

Sources

Ancestry.com – for biographical information on Jack, his family and squadron mates.

Follis, Heather - for sharing information about her husband's grandfather and connecting me to his son Frank.

Google Sites (google.com/sites) for free Website tools and hosting.

Google Maps (google.com/maps) for free custom map creation tools.Helgason, Gudmundur for various U-Boat information via uboat.net.

Library and Archives Canada - for John's Service Records.

Moore, Graham – for his friendship and trust in me to help tell 172 Squadron’s story to their surviving descendants through his remarkable RAF Chivenor and North Devon Aviation History in World War 2 private Facebook group.

Robertson, Ann - for sharing information about her father.

United Kingdom National Archives at Kew – 172 Squadron Operational Record Books (Summary of Events and Record of Events)

Wikipedia free on-line encyclopedia for numerous summaries on individuals, places, aircraft and vessels that played a part in this story.

Wilmer, Frank - for sharing information about his father including his Flying Logs