Whitley P4963 hit by flak, returned to Dishforth airfield.

On the night of 17th/18th May 1940 the crew of this aircraft were tasked with bombing an oil storage plant near Bremen but the aircraft sustained flak damage while doing so. The aircraft found itself Oldenburg airfield on the return so shot up the hangers and searchlights with the machine guns from both front and rear turrets. The pilot was able to make a safe return and land at Dishforth without further damage at 03.41hrs. The aircraft cannot have been seriously damaged as it was back in the air on 21st May 1940 when it was again damaged by flak.

Pilot - Acting F/Lt Allan Smith Phillips DFC RAF (39153), of Shenfield, Essex.

Navigator - P/O Wood, (possibly P/O L D Wood).

Air Observer - Sgt D Donald.

Wireless Operator - AC Nicholson (possibly R E Nicholson).

Rear Gunner - AC Matthews.

Whitley P4963 was built to contract 75147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 27th April 1940, it was delivered to 10 Squadron at Dishforth later in the month during the unit's conversion from Mk.IV Whitley's. Cat.M/FB damage was recorded following the flak damage as states above and the aircraft was repaired on site and returned to the unit. On the night of 21st / 22nd May 1940 it was again damaged by flak and repaired on site. On 4th June 1940 it sustained Cat.W/FB damage after a crash landing while returning from ops to Hamburg near Battisford, Suffolk. F/Lt Phillips was the pilot on this occasion and he was injured, as was Sgt Donald while the promoted Sgt Nicholson escaped injury. One of the crew later died of his injuries but was not with him on 17th/18th May 1940.
F/Lt Allan Smith Phillips DFC recovered from the injuries sustained in June 1940 and returned to operational flying with 10 Squadron but was killed during the night of 22nd/23rd October 1940 when Whitley T4152 was lost on ops to Stuttgart. He and his then crew are buried in Durnbach War Cemetery.

The award of the DFC was only Gazetted on 17th May 1940 - the same day as the flak incident as detailed at the top of this page. The citation for the award was a joint one, it reads.."These officers and N.C.O.s have made a large number of reconnaissance and bombing raids over enemy country and over enemy air and naval bases. One officer, compelled to land owing to shortage of petrol after a flight over Warsaw, found he was in Germany. Despite the smallness of the field and petrol shortage he managed to take off again and save both aircraft and crew. Another officer pressed home a low bombing attack on the German cruiser Admiral Soheer in Schillig Roads last September. One of the N.C.O.s obtained a direct hit on a submarine in Heligoland Bight, two others did valuable work in attacks on enemy submarines."