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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1217.PDF
jm.Y 24TU, 1947 FLIGHT Flight Aircrew of 617 Squadron are distinguished by blue overalls, ground cjrew by white. They are marching into position at the end of two ranks formed by siWen Lincolns. — Sixteen Aircraft of 617 Squadron Prepare for Transatlantic Trip TAKING off at ten-minute intervals, at appreciablyless than their maximum overload weight of 82,000lb, sixteen Avro Lincoln Mark II heavy bombers of No. 617 Squadron were due to-leave their base at Binbrook, Lines, at 0800 hr yesterday and head for Gander in New- foundland. This first 2,000-mile leg will be longer than any of the subsequent series of training and goodwill flights to be made in Canada and the U.S.A. It is fitting that 617 Squadron should have been selected to undertake the mission, for its history, though short, is unique in the Service. The squadron's first great exploit, the breaching of the Mohne and Eder dams, is com- memorated in its badge, now beautifully reproduced on the nose of each Lincoln. A dam is seen burst asunder bv 1 - " flight " photograph Air V/ce-Morshol C. E. N. Guest, C.B., C.B.E. (fight) discusses the Atlantic crossing with W/C. G. D..Milne, D.F.C., Officer Com- manding 617 Squadron. V three shafts of lightning, and below is the motto Apres moi le deluge. But the dam raids were only the beginning of a gallant story. There followed such exploits as the sinking of the Tirpitz, in conjunction with No. 9 Squadron, and the audacious radar spoof of D-Day. Together with No. 9 Squadron "617" was training at the end of the war as a component of the Tiger Force to operate in the Pacific. Its role was to be that of a Tallboy squadron, i.e., it was to operate with 12,000 1b bombs, which.ccJuld not be handled by the Ameri- can B-29S. No. 617 Squadron is a unit of No. 1 Group, but with its sixteen fully manned and serviced Lincolns, is certainly not typical, in strength at least, of present-day Bomber Command units. This distinction it shares with the 340th Squadron, U.S.A.A.F., which flew here during June in nine Superfortresses drawn from more than one squadron of the 97th Bombardment Group. In Command Leading the British mission is G/C. YV. J. P. Thomson, D.F.C., the Squadron Commander is W/C. G. D. Milne, D.F.C., and the two Flight Commanders are S/L. C. K Saxelby, D.F.C., and S/L. A. G. Lang, D.F.C. S/L. R! B. Stocks is the Engineer Officer. The Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group, A.V-M. C. E. N. Guest, C.B., C.B.E., will not accompany the squadron but it is probable that late in August Air Marshal Sir Hugo Saunders, K.B.E., C.B., M.C., D.F.C.. MM., Air Officer Commanding in-Chief, Bomber Command, will be flown over to Canada and the U.S.A. by S/L D. B. Bretherton, D.F.C. (This officer is known for his ability (among other things! to demonstrate the Lincoln on any number of Merlins from one to four.) Well over two hundred personnel will be ing in the sixteen Lincolns. Others have already gone ahead, some of them in a York, which will act as a tender to the squadron. The Lincolns of 617 Squadron are modified to the latest standards and are fitted with Merlin 68A engines. Our American friends can hardly fail to be impressed by the immense capacity of the Lincoln, and although some of
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