BOMB AIMER / Observer
Name: John William HARRIS (known as Jack at 462 Sqdn)
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 1337631
(allocated from November 1940 from Uxbridge and Weston-super-Mare)
Date of Birth: 2 April 1923
Place of Birth: Kent, UK
Date of Enlistment: From November 1940
Place of Enlistment: Uxbridge or Weston-super-Mare
Next of Kin: Not known
Date of Discharge: Not known (after May 1946)
Rank: Sgt, later F/Sgt (Warrant Officer post-war)
Posting at Discharge: Not known (possibly West Kirby)
Prisoner of War: No
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WIRELESS OPERATOR
Name: Llewellyn George EDWARDS (known as Lew)
Service: Royal Australian Air Force
Service Number: 419117
Date of Birth: 23 March 1924
Place of Birth: Ballarat, Victoria
Date of Enlistment: 14 July 1942
Locality on Enlistment: Thornbury
Place of Enlistment: Melbourne, Victoria
Next of Kin: EDWARDS, Arthur
Date of Discharge: 11 March 1946
Rank: Warrant Officer (F/Sgt during conflict 1945)
Posting at Discharge: 9 Aircrew Holding Unit
Prisoner of War: No
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MID-UPPER GUNNER
Name: James Sunderland WHITWORTH (known as Jim)
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 1582513
(allocated from June 1941 from Birmingham)
Date of Birth: Not known
Place of Birth: Not known
Date of Enlistment: From June 1941 (?)
Place of Enlistment: Birmingham (?)
Next of Kin: Not known
Date of Discharge: Not known
Rank: Sergeant, later F/Sgt
Posting at Discharge: Not known (ex 462 Squadron)
Prisoner of War: No
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REAR GUNNER
Name: James WHYTE (known as Jock)
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 3020584
(allocated from May 1943 to ATC Cadets, Edinburgh)
Date of Birth: 17 May 1924
Place of Birth: Airdrie, Scotland
Date of Enlistment: 20 September 1943
Place of Enlistment: Edinburgh, as ATC Cadet
Next of Kin: Elizabeth Williamson (mother)
Date of Discharge: 08 May 1947
Rank: Flight Sergeant (at 462 Sqdn)
Posting at Discharge: 101 Personnel Dispersal Centre, RAF Kirkham
Prisoner of War: No
(Date and place of birth, place of enlistment, and date and posting at Discharge
advised by the family of James Whyte.)

Photo courtesy of the Whyte Family.

James WHYTE, 3020584, RAFVR, Rear Gunner Crew 42, 462 Squadron. His Air Gunner is clearly visible, but not visible are any Sergeant stripes or Flight Sergeant stripes/badge. This indicates that his rank was Warrant Officer. As he is also wearing his Medal Ribbon bar, this dates the photo as being after the War, possibly just prior to, or at release from the RAFVR in 1947. His last pay was at the rank of Warrant Officer.

Photo courtesy of the Whyte Family.

Possibly Pilot Whatling's Crew 42 of 462 Squadron, Foulsham, on a tea break with an unknown WAAF. Photo is from Rear Gunner F/Sgt James Whyte's collection, but he is not included, so may have been taking the photo. Pilot Whatling is also not present. The location is not known. The writing on the curtained section on the left is not legible at magnification. The room does not look like Nissen Hut living quarters, so where are they, and for what purpose?

Left to right, possible identification by comparison with crew photo:
1. Unknown WAAF; 2. MU/AG Whitworth; 3. W/Op Edwards (darker RAAF uniform); 4. B/Aimer Harris (RAF badge; top of F/Sgt crown just visible); 5. Nav Young (darker RAAF uniform); 6. Unknown RAF Flight Sergeant (therefore not Sergeant Coleman, the crew's F/Eng).

If anyone can confirm or correct identification, and/or location, please make contact.
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FLIGHT ENGINEER
Name: Dennis Claude COLEMAN
(known as Ron, after Ronald Colman, an English actor of that era)
Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service Number: 3005236
(allocated from May 1943 to ATC Cadets Cardington)
Date of Birth: 24 May 1926
Place of Birth: Chelsea, London
Date of Enlistment: May 1943
Place of Enlistment: RAF Recruiting Centre, Lords Cricket Ground, London
Next of Kin: Not known
Date of Discharge: January 1948
Posting at Discharge: RAF Aldergrove, Northern Ireland, UK
Rank: Sergeant (1944-1945, during conflict)
Rank: F/Sgt when posted from 462 Squadron in September 1945
Prisoner of War: No
(Date and place of birth, place of enlistment, and date and posting at Discharge
advised by the family of Dennis Coleman.)
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RFC and RAF Service Numbers from website ....
http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/rfc_raf.pdf
(Copy and paste, not a clickable link)

Series 1330001 to 1340000 were allocated from November 1940 from Uxbridge and Weston-super-Mare (i.e. J.W. Harris)
Series 1375001 to 1400000 were allocated from August 1940 from Euston (i.e. P. F. Whatling)
Series 1575001 to 1585000 were allocated from June 1941 from Birmingham (i.e. J. S. Whitworth)
Series 3000000 to 3010000 were allocated from May 1943 to ATC Cadets Cardington (i.e. D. C. Coleman)
Series 3020001 to 3025000 were allocated from May 1943 to ATC Cadets Edinburgh (i.e. J. Whyte)

Additional Crew information.

For a list of Crew Operations, please view the page for Bomb Aimer John William Harris, created for 6 March 2012. Information there was sourced from John's log book and the 462 Squadron Operation Record Book. Also on John's page is a section listing WW2 connections between the Whatling crew and the Crew of NA240. The Whatling crew also participated in the night Op of the 10 April 1945 when NA240 failed to return.

On the 462 Squadron photo page ... Warwick Young may also be seen in the back row of the Navigators photo (Feb/March 1945). John Harris is in the back row of the Bomb Aimer's photo (March 1945). Dennis Coleman was on leave so missed being included in the Flight Engineer's photo. Other members of this crew may also have been on leave, or may be in other group photos on that page but have not yet been identified. Whatling is not present in either of the Pilot photos.

At creation of this web page, initially only the Log Book for John Harris was available, no other log books had been located, and Service Files were not available, so crew information had been taken from 462 Squadron ORBs, or as supplied by family of crew members. After contact in March 2019 by James C Whyte, son of Rear Gunner Jock Whyte, information and scans of Jock's Log Book were received. Some of his details are recorded later in this section, including log book and other documentation.

From service information for B/A John Harris, he was posted to No. 10 Operational Training Unit (10 OTU), RAF Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK, from 17 April 1944 to 28 July 1944. As 'crewing up' usually occurred at an OTU, it is probable that Whatling's crew of 6 formed there. From service information for Jock Whyte, he also commenced flying training with Pilot Whatling from 02 June 1944, at 10 OTU.

B/A John Harris was posted to 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit (1658 HCU) Riccall, Yorkshire, UK. from 10 Sept 1944 to 26 Oct 1944, and it could be assumed that the crew was posted together, and here F/Eng Dennis Coleman would have joined as the 7th permanent member of the crew, training in Halifax aircraft.

According to the ORB, this crew was Posted To 462 Squadron Driffield in November 1944, and John Harris's information records his date of posting as 3 Nov 1944, to 'A' Flight. Pilot Whatling's first Op as a 2nd Pilot was on 6 November 1944 with the BYROM Crew. Whatling's first Op with his usual crew was on 16 November 1944. The crew relocated with 462 Squadron from Driffield to Foulsham at the end of December 1944. Their last Op at Foulsham was on 2 May 1945.

Pilot Whatling, Bomb Aimer Harris, MU/AG Whitworth and R/AG Whyte were all Posted From 462 Squadron Foulsham in May 1945, however their new postings were not recorded. Harris's information records his next posting as 199 Squadron, 'B' Flight, North Creake, Norfolk. Information from Jock Whyte's son was that Jock was posted to 171 Squadron, 'A' Flight, North Creake, Norfolk.
F/Eng Coleman and the two RAAF crew members, Nav Young and WOP Edwards, all remained at Foulsham until September 1945. Coleman was then posted to RAF Bruntingthorpe, and Young and Edwards were posted to 9 Air Crew Holding Unit (9 ACHU), RAF Gamston, in preparation for repatriation to Australia. The extra few months together at Foulsham probably strengthened their bonds of friendship.

On Posting To 462 Squadron, Driffield, ORB November 1944, Form 540, page 30 ....
Whatling was Warrant Officer;
Young and Edwards were both RAAF Flight Sergeants;
Harris, Whyte, Whitworth, and Coleman were all Sergeants.

On Posting From 462 Squadron, Foulsham, ORB May 1945, Form 540, page 83 (Officers) and page 84 (NCOs) ....
Whatling had already received his Commission and promotion to the rank of Pilot Officer (page 83);
Harris and Whitworth and Whyte had all been promoted to Flight Sergeants (page 84).

On Posting From 462 Squadron, Foulsham, ORB September 1945, Form 540, pages 117 and 118 (NCOs) ....
Coleman had also been promoted to Flight Sergeant;
Young and Edwards had both been promoted to RAAF Warrant Officers.

Dennis Claude Coleman 3005236 RAFVR Flight Engineer

He was sometimes recorded in the Squadron ORBs as R C Coleman, most likely because he was nick-named 'Ron', after the 1930s/1940s English actor Ronald Colman. Dennis was also incorrectly recorded as G C Coleman, and also with incorrect Service Numbers 2005236 and 3005326.
There were two other crew men with the name Coleman posted to 462 Squadron – Pilot Gerald Coleman, September to October 1944 (KIA MZ400 Z5-J on 9 October 1944), and Mid-Upper Gunner Mervyn John Coleman of the Finley crew (August to December 1944).
Family info records advise that Dennis flew 29 ops with 462 Squadron before the end of the war, so was declared one Op short of "a tour". The ORB lists 28 of those Ops, however with the many errors in the ORB, the extra Op may yet be located. Alternately, one Op may have been a non-starter, at or before take-off, so not recorded in the ORB.

The following information has been provided by David Coleman, so is mostly as written by him. At our first contact on 17th December 2015, his father Dennis was alive, aged 89, but was very poorly. Sadly, but as expected by his family, Dennis passed away peacefully in his sleep on 19th December 2015. Three members of the crew had met up in Cambridge in 1998 (details in previous section with photos). Peter Whatling and Warwick "Bluey" Young are also now both deceased, as is John Harris, and Jock Whyte.

In the words of David Coleman (son of F/Eng Dennis Claude Coleman) .........

"About a week before his death, Dennis provided me with some wonderful stories relating to crew 42 and how he affectionately referred to them as his “band of brothers”. He also gave me the whereabouts of all the documentation he collected in the last 20 years relating to his experiences with 462 Squadron during 1944 and 1945. In this collection there was an original copy of the crew photograph which you have on the website provided by the family of John Harris. Dennis had hand written all the crew names on the reverse side of his copy. He also had a copy of 462’s group photo of flight engineers taken at Foulsham. Dennis was absent from this photo because he was on leave! I have attached a photo of Halifax NA148, Z5-Z that Dennis also had in his collection. It was taken at RAF Foulsham sometime in early 1945 which I hope you can add to your website."
(See photo of NA148 on the Halifax page).

"I knew that in the last 20 years Dennis had travelled to Kew in London so as to access the official RAF records kept there. I have scanned copies of the documentation he collected and this too provides a fascinating insight into the flight operations of his crew. I have attached copies of this documentation to this email. I hope you will be able to use this documentation to help build up even more information about 462 Squadron’s history as well as the personnel who served in it. One attachment is the official diary taken from the squadron’s flight operations log (form 540) relating to the missions flown by Crew 42. It also summarises their formation as a crew as well as what immediately happened to Dennis when the squadron was disbanded after the war in 1945. The second attachment is someone’s recollection of the missions flown by crew 42 – I wish I had asked Dennis as to who the author was, but I can only surmise it was another crew member who had typed up the missions flown and had been in communication with Dennis long after the war had finished. I particularly like the references made to their emergency landing at RAF Manston on 12/12/44 because of fuel shortage and the subsequent enforced leave whilst their aircraft was fixed – “trying to find the fleshpots of nearby Margate”! There is also another reference made to having to land at nearby RAF Woodbridge because of thick fog at Foulsham after their op on 2/12/44. There is another hand written entry made by Dennis that refers to his last op in which he and Peter Whatling flew some top brass officials over to Flensburg in July 1945 returning with a captured Luftwaffe colonel and "pieces of booty". I wonder what the booty consisted of?"
(Documentation received and held pending identification of authors, but this has not yet been successful.)

"Dennis rarely spoke to us, his family, about the missions themselves, preferring to recount some of the good times and capers he and his mates got up to whilst on leave. Without doubt, he along with all his crew mates and squadron colleagues would have experienced real danger every time they flew their Halifax bombers on operational sorties into hostile territory, but like so many of his generation he was very reserved about discussing this with anyone other than his comrades. He did however give me an insight into the mission on 24/02/45 in which 4 of the 10 aircraft were lost. I have attached a typed communication Dennis had with a colleague about this mission. I recount that Dennis had told me that the op was a mess up from the very beginning and that the flight had ended up “in the wrong place at the wrong time” because of poor planning by high command. German night fighters subsequently set upon the flight without any protection from the Mosquitoes who had been originally tasked to provide cover. Dennis’s aircraft, MZ429 sustained some damage but remained perfectly airworthy returning to base at Foulsham. I cannot imagine how the whole Squadron must have felt with such a severe loss of life resulting from this one operation."
(Documentation received and held pending identification of second author, but this has not yet been successful. The four crews lost on 24 February 1945 were Ely and Crew 39, Rate and Crew 13, Ridgewell and Crew 37, Tootal and Crew 57.)

"I have not yet found my Dad's flying log book, if indeed he kept the original, but will continue to hunt for it. All the information I have given you about his service postings are based on my personal conversations with him before he died. After 462 Squadron was disbanded, my Dad was posted to RAF Bruntingthorpe in September 1945. Shortly after that he was posted to 107 MU based at RAF Kasfareet, Egypt where he spent two years. In late 1947, he was posted back to the UK where he served his final months at RAF Aldergrove before leaving the service in January 1948. He had responded to the big recruitment drive by the UK Government at the time for suitable ex-forces personnel to be trained as teachers. My Dad subsequently trained and then worked as a primary school teacher in Cambridge, before emigrating to Canada where he became head teacher of the the town's school in Oxbow, Saskatchewan. in 1963 he returned to the UK and spent  the rest of his teaching career working in primary schools in Warwickshire. He retired from the profession in 1986."
(MU – Maintenance Unit, Suez Canal Zone.)

"I have also attached a couple of photos of my Dad when he met up with Peter Whatling and Warwick Denis Young in 1998." (Photos and description included in the previous section).

James WHYTE, 3020584 RAFVR Rear Gunner – Information and scans of documents kindly supplied by his son, James C WHYTE; also some details from the 462 Squadron Operational Record Book (ORB.). (To differentiate between the father and son, the RAFVR Rear Gunner James WHYTE will be referred to as Jock WHYTE.)

His basic Service Details are shown in a previous section, along with a portrait photo.

At 462 Squadron, James Whyte was known as Jock, possibly because there was also another James/Jim in the crew (MU/AG Whitworth), or possibly just because he was Scottish. He was born in Airdrie (east of Glasgow) Scotland, and at Release from the RAF, his final Rail Pass was to the Railway Station at Airdrie. (See later Documentation)

His service number 3020584 is of the sequence that was issued to ATC Cadets (Air Training Corps) in Edinburgh. He had spoken of his time in the ATC, but his family have no formal record of this.

03 March 1941 – Commenced Apprenticeship as Turner, at Murray & Patterson Ltd. (age 16 years 9½ months)

15 September 1943 – Left his "protected" job (Reserved Occupation) to join the RAFVR. He returned to complete his Apprenticeship with the same Engineering Works after the war. (See later Documentation)

20 September 1943 – Commence full-time service in the RAFVR (See later Documentation, recorded in Rail Pass)

12 February 1944 – First entry in flying log book – scans of the Log Book pages follow this Service Summary.

February and March 1944 – Trained at 11 Air Gunnery School (11 AGS), Andreas, Isle of Man (I.o.M.)

June 1944 – Posted TO 10 Operational Training Unit (10 OTU), first flight with W/O Whatling on 02 June 1944. (This matches information for the Crew's Bomb Aimer John Harris, with his posting to 10 OTU, RAF Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK, from 17 April 1944 to 28 July 1944). WHYTE's Log book for July 1944 lists training at Stanton Harcourt, a satellite airfield of Abingdon.
September 1944 to October 1944 – Posted TO 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit (1658 HCU), Riccall, Yorkshire (as for B/A Harris).

November 1944 to 29 December 1944 – 462 Squadron, 4 Group, 'A' Flight, Driffield, Yorkshire

29 December 1944 – Relocation from Driffield to Foulsham, in Halifax III aircraft, Z5-E, departed Driffield 1430 hours; flight time 1 hour 10 minutes (Halifax LV955, re-tagged from Z5-W, after loss of LL599 E on 23 October 1944 Nelder Crew 28)

January 1945 to May 1945 – 462 Squadron, 100 Group – 'A' Flight, Foulsham, Norfolk

14 April 1945 – Whyte now at the rank of Flight Sergeant (as recorded in ORB, Whatling crew, Op to Hamburg, on that date)

25 May 1945 – Whatling flew a "Cook's Tour" to the Ruhr (which included B/Aimer Harris). It is likely this was the last flight together as a Crew. (This was one of four Squadron aircraft on that Cook's Tour – all with their crew of 7, plus 7 ground crew as passengers; two aircraft also carried passengers from neighbouring Fighter Squadrons – no Pilots, or aircrew, or passengers were named in the ORB.)

May 1945 – Posted FROM 462 Squadron (as were Pilot Whatling, B/Aimer Harris, MU/AG Whitworth)

Undated, but probably late May or early June 1945 – Posted TO 171 Squadron, North Creake, Norfolk, "A"Flight, flying in Halifaxes. 171 Squadron was also a Special Duties Squadron of 100 Group, having been formed from 199 Squadron (Special Duties, 100 Group), North Creake.
14 June 1945 – Fighter Affiliation and Bombing (possibly bomb disposal in the North Sea?)
03 July 1945 – last flight with 171 Squadron to Flensburg. 171 Squadron was disbanded on 27 July 1945, so Jock Whyte would have been posted FROM the squadron on or prior to 27 July. ..... Please refer to the last page of Jock Whyte's log book for June and July 1945. This must have been a bit strange for Whyte to have a new pilot, after having flown with Peter Whatling since 02 June 1944.

Undated – Re-mustered as Radar Operator (see later Documentation), posted TO Radar Station, possibly near Durness on the north coast of Scotland (North-west Sutherland) – Jock had talked to his family about a radar station in the north of Scotland on high cliffs overlooking the sea. This posting was non-flying.

13/03/1947 – Departure from 101 Dispersal Centre, RAF Kirkham; granted 56 days leave commencing following day; Rail pass to Airdrie Railway Station. (See later Documentation) He is erroneously recorded as Sergeant, but was at the rank of Flight Sergeant by 14 April 1945. His final pay was at the rank of Warrant Officer.

08 May 1947 – Effective day of Release from RAF (i.e. last day of Service) at end of 56 days leave. (See later Documentation)

11 April 1948 – Completed his Apprenticeship as Turner at Murray & Patterson Ltd., Coatbridge. (See later Documentation)

James "Jock" WHYTE – Log Book
(Pages by courtesy of the Whyte Family, via James C Whyte, and John Dann)

The meanings of some of the abbreviation/acronyms are yet to be determined. If you can assist please make contact.
In general, descriptions and Target names have been recorded as originally written by WHYTE.
Log book pages for Ops at 462 Squadron may be compared with the list for this Crew's Bomb Aimer John HARRIS. However from early Jan 1945, Op numbers do not align, because WHYTE flew on an Op (Special Duties – WINDOW) with another Pilot. Similarly in Feb 1945, HARRIS also flew with another Pilot (also Special Duties – WINDOW), so if comparing Ops, use the Op dates, not the Op number.
Ops from Foulsham in 1945 included an 8th crew member for dispensing WINDOW (not named in Whyte's log book, but listed on B/A HARRIS's page).

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book February 1944;
Under Training as Air Gunner; various Pilots; Anson aircraft;
DNCO – Duty not carried out (did not complete operation);
DCO – duty carried out, with record of rounds fired, number of hits, and amount of film used. A to G – Air to ground.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book March 1944;
Details similar to February 1944 (shown at left);
Under training, various Pilots, Anson aircraft.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book March 1944, 11 AGS;
Completion of Training as Air Gunner; February/March 1944;
Hours flown 22h 10m, in Anson aircraft;
Signed off 30 March 1944, by S/Ldr of Training Wing (unidentified),
11 AGS, Andreas, Isle of Man.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book March 1944, Certificate of Qualification, Air Gunner;
Qualified as Air Gunner 30 March 1944, at 11 AGS, Andreas, Isle of Man, signed by same S/Ldr who signed log book for March 1944 (shown at left).

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book May 1944;
Training unit and location not recorded; various pilots, including 3 flights with F/Lt Dempsey;
Various aircraft only recorded by number;
Exercises 1 to 8 completed. Note: possibly at 10 OTU, Abingdon ?

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book late May 1944;
24 May last training flight at this unit; training signed off by F/Lt Dempsey, O/C "C" Flight, possibly one of Pilots listed (shown at left);
Hours flown 12h 25m; day flights; 500 rounds fired; 15 films exposed.
Note: possibly at 10 OTU, Abingdon ?

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book late May 1944, 10 OTU;
Training in Whitley aircraft, different pilots, circuits and landings; day flights;
Signed off by F/Lt John H Y OWEN, of "A" Flight, 10 OTU (possibly at Stanton Harcourt, satellite airfield for Abingdon)

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book early June 1944, 10 OTU;
First flight with Pilot F/Sgt Whatling of 02 June, so crew had probably formed on/by this date; Whatling recorded at W/O on/after 12 June;
Whitley aircraft; Circuits and landings; cross country flight landing at Ramsbury; bombing; cross country with self-towed drogue; all training by day flights.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book late June 1944, 10 OTU;
Mostly flying with Pilot W/O Whatling; Whitley aircraft; cross country with self-towed drogue by day; circuits and landings by night flights.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book summary June 1944, 10 OTU; Signed off by F/Lt John H Y OWEN, O/C of "A" Flight, 10 OTU (possibly at Stanton Harcourt, satellite airfield for Abingdon).

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book early July 1944, 10 OTU, Stanton Harcourt.
Day and night flights with W/O Whatling and other Pilots (who may have been experienced pilots training new Pilots);
Fighter affiliation training against Hurricane Fighter aircraft, day flights; bombing and fighter affiliation by night flights.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book late July 1944, 10 OTU, Stanton Harcourt.
Day and night flights mostly with W/O Whatling;
bombing and fighter affiliation at night; bullseye on 19 July and 20 July; solo cross country at night; day and night solo bombing.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book Summary July 1944, 10 OTU, Stanton Harcourt;
27 July 1944 final training, bombing and fighter affiliation; Summary signed off by F/Lt John H Y OWEN, O/C of "A" Flight, at 10 OTU, Stanton Harcourt; and S/Ldr J Shelly/Shelby(?) Chief Instructor, 10 OTU; Gunnery Summary signed by F/O ......, (unidentified) Gunnery Leader of "A" Flight – 4 x Self Tow Drogue day; 1 x x Self Tow Drogue night; 4 x Fighter Affiliation day; 1 x Fighter Affiliation night.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book September 1944, 1658 HCU, Riccall, Yorkshire;
Conversion to Halifax II Bombers; day flights; various exercises and Pilots (possibly Instructor Pilots co-piloting with Pilot W/O Whatling under conversion training?); circuits and landings; air tests; fuel checks.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book Summary September 1944, 1658 HCU, Riccall, Yorkshire;
Conversion to Halifax II Bombers; day flights; various exercises and Pilots; solo, fighter affiliation, air tests, local homing;
"B" Flight; 17 hours 40m for Sept 1944.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book October 1944, 1658 HCU, Riccall, Yorkshire;
Conversion to Halifax II Bombers; Whatling as Pilot from 02 Oct; day and night flights; fighter affiliation; bombing; air/sea firing; cross country landing at Carnaby with later return to base Riccall; circuits and landings; air tests; local homing.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book Summary October 1944, 1658 HCU, Riccall, Yorkshire;
Conversion to Halifax II Bombers; Whatling as Pilot; night flights; solo; bombing and fighter affiliation; cross country landing at Carnaby with later return to base Riccall;
Signed off for Oct 1944 by S/Ldr H W Wickham, O/C "B" Flight, 1658 HCU, Riccall, Yorkshire.
Hours at 1658 HCU – 34 h 35 m day, and 14 h night.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book Nov 1944, 462 Squadron, Driffield;
03 to 13 Nov – Non-Operational flying, familiarisation, dual circuits and landings with Pilot F/Lt Finley; circuits and landing (Whatling solo Pilot); cross country; air tests; local flying.
Op 1 – 16 Nov 1944 – day, Julich (sic) railway junction, light flak;
Op 2 – 18 Nov 1944 – day, Munster railway junction, light flak;
Op 3 – 29 Nov 1944 – night, Essen, Krupp's works, heavy predicted flak;
Op 4 – 30 Nov 1944 – night, Duisberg (sic) railway yards, moderate flak.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book Summary Nov 1944, 462 Squadron, Driffield;
Signed off by S/Ldr J T BROPHY, O/C "A" Flight.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book Dec 1944, 462 Squadron, Driffield;
Op 5 – 02 Dec 1944 – night, Hagen railway junction, light flak; landed away at Woodbridge, return to Driffield on 03 Dec;
Op 6 – 12 Dec 1944 – night, Essen, light flak;
Op 7 – 17 Dec 1944 – night, Duisberg (sic), moderate flak, landed away at Manston; returned to Driffield on 24 Dec;
Non-Operational flights – air test; cross country flights; returns to Base from landing away;
29 Dec 1944 – relocated with 462 Squadron from Driffield to Foulsham in Halifax Z5-E (as per scheduled Movement Order of 19 Dec 1944);
Dec 1944 signed off by S/Ldr SCHARER, O/C "A" Flight.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book Jan 1945, 462 Squadron, Foulsham;
Op 8 – 02 Jan 1945 – night, Bomber Support, Spoof attack Hannah (sic);
Op 9 – 05 Jan 1945 – night, Bomber Support, Spoof attack Bremen area;
Op 10 – 06 Jan 1945 – night, Bomber Support, Spoof attack Ruhr area; crewed with Pilot Simms, crew position 8, duty WINDOW dispenser; Halifax MZ479, Z5-B;
Op 11 – 22 Jan 1945 – night, Bomber Support, Spoof Duisberg (sic), early return with engine trouble;
Non-Operational flights – Fighter affiliation and local flying;
Jan 1945 signed off by S/Ldr SCHARER, O/C "A" Flight.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book Feb 1945, 462 Squadron, Foulsham;
Op 12 – 02 Feb 1945 – night, Bomber Support, Spoof Mannheim, light flak;
Op 13 – 03 Feb 1945 – night, Bomber Support, Spoof Wiesbaden, nil flak;
Op 14 – 09 Feb 1945 – night, Bomber Support, Ruhr area, nil flak;
Op 15 – 24 Feb 1945 – night, Spoof Neuss, medium flak;
Op 16 – 28 Feb 1945 – night, Spoof Roma Island, nil flak;
Non-Operational flights – air to sea firing;
Feb 1945 signed off by S/Ldr SCHARER, O/C "A" Flight.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book March 1945, 462 Squadron, Foulsham;
Op 17 – 02 March 1945 – night, Spoof attack, Emden, spasmodic flak;
Op 18 – 05 March 1945 – night, Spoof attack, Mannheim, nil flak;
Op 19 – 09 March 1945 – night, Spoof attack, Munster area;
Op 20 – 15 March 1945 – night, Spoof attack, Munster & Hagen, spasmodic flak;
Op 21 – 22 March 1945 – night, Spoof attack, Bocham (sic);
Non-Operational flights – Air Tests, air to sea, Fuel consumption test;
March 1945 signed off by S/Ldr SCHARER, O/C "A" Flight.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book April 1945, 462 Squadron, Foulsham;
Op 22 – 10 April 1945 – night, Spoof, Dessau, negligible flak (ORB has Target listed as Plauen; BALL Crew 59 lost this night on RCM flight to target Leipzig);
Op 23 – 13 April 1945 – night, Spoof, Boizenburg rail junction, slight flak;
Op 24 – 15/16 April 1945 – night, Spoof, Augsburg area, bombed Lechfeld (sic) aerodrome;
Op 25 – 16/17 April 1945 – night, Spoof, Augsburg area, bombed Cablingen (sic) aerodrome; (LODDER Crew 44 lost o this night);
Op 26 – 18/19 April 1945 – night, Spoof, Munich, spasmodic flak;
Op 27 – 23/24 April 1945 – night, Spoof, Lubeck. nil flak;
April 1945 signed off by F/Lt J W O'SULLIVAN, for O/C "A" Flight.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book May 1945, 462 Squadron, Foulsham;
Op 28 – 02/03 May 1945 – night, Spoof Flensburg, Moderate Flak;
Non-Operational flights – local flying, Air Test;
25 April 1945 – Ruhr Tour [From ORB – four aircraft in training flights to the Ruhr; two aircraft carrying seven ground staff personnel to view bomb damage; and two aircraft carrying passengers from "neighbouring Fighter Squadrons"; names and aircraft details not included];
May 1945 signed off by F/O V T BAILEY, for O/C "A" Flight.

Document courtesy of the Whyte Family.

Jock Whyte, 3020584 RAFVR, log book for June and July 1945, "A" Flight, 171 Squadron, North Creake;
14 June 1945 – Halifax "T", Pilot W/O Nelson, Fighter Affiliation, and Bombing; 1 hour 35 m night flying;
03 July 1945 – Halifax "G", Pilot F/O Philipson, Exercise "Flensburg"; 5 hours 20 m day flying (to Germany and return).