Whitley N1371 hit by flak returned to Driffield airfield.
On the night of 19th / 20th June 1940 this 77 Squadron aircraft was undertaking an operational flight to attack marshalling yards at Wanne-Eickel when it was hit by flak and sustained some damage. The pilot was able to make a safe return to land at Driffield at 03.40hrs and the damage was soon repaired on site.
Pilot - F/Lt David Douglas Pryde RAF (39564), of Kilreny Manse, Anstruther, Fife.
P/O MacGregor
Sgt Shaw
Sgt Silverwood
Sgt Morris
S/Ldr David Pryde DFC was killed on 9th June 1942 flying with 77 Squadron in Whitley BD195 when their aircraft was shot down off Brest.
His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Unthinkably sad for his parents they had already lost two other sons in the course of the War and both in RAF service;
S/Ldr George Pryde and F/O William Pryde. S/Ldr George Pryde DFC (32232) was reported missing off Africa
flying Blenheim L9334 on 19th June 1940
(the day before this flak incident recorded above), he was thirty years old. F/O William Pryde (37690)
was killed on 24th September 1939 flying in Harvard N7067 which crashed near Sleaford. Lincolnshire.
He was twenty two years old and buried in Anstruther. The War memorial in the town is pictured below
with the names of all three brothers present.
David Pryde was granted a Short Service commission in the RAF as Acting P/O on probation on 8th March 1937, he was
graded as P/O on 21st December 1937, and rose to F/O on 8th September 1939. He was awarded the DFC on 11th June 1940, the Citation for the award reads..
"On 20th May 1940, this officer was detailed for a collaboration operation involving an attack on the communication centre
at Hannapes. Despite difficult conditions, he succeeded in identifying the target from a very low altitude. Although his
aircraft [Whitley N1384] was hit heavily, Flying Officer Pryde climbed to 3,000 feet and executed a successful bombing attack. His
aircraft subsequently caught fire, but he continued flying and when height could no longer be maintained, the entire
crew landed by parachute. Flying Officer Pryde has completed sixteen operational flights during six months of war
flying and has displayed considerable courage and determination." Also on this aircraft was P/O A W Dunn involved
in a number of incidents around the summer months of 1940. He was promoted to F/Lt on 19th November 1940 and to S/Ldr on 16th December 1941.
Whitley N1371 was built to contract 75147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was
awaiting collection on 24th September 1939. After a short period of storage at an MU it was
delivered to 102 Squadron at Driffield in November 1939 when the unit began converting to Mk.V's from Mk.III Whitleys. It later
transferred to 77 Squadron also based at Driffield in January 1940. Following minor flak damage on 15th June 1940, Cat M/FA
damage was recorded and it was repaired on site very quickly and returned to the unit. It sustained Cat.M/FB again five days later on 20th June 1940
when it was again hit by flak on Ops to Wanne-Eickel (detailed above). Again it was repaired on site and returned to the unit. On
24th June 1940 Cat.R(b)/FB damage was recorded after it was sustained serious
flak damage on Ops at Kassel, seriously damaged and with only one good engine the pilot
made an emergency forced landing at Bircham Newton sustaining further damage but the crew survived. It was
taken apart and repaired in works and after completion of the repairs and after a period
of storage it was issued to 19 OTU at Kinloss in 1941. On 31st December 1942 Cat.E(m)/FA had to be recorded on the airframe after it was lost at sea.
Shortly after tale off from Kinloss to was seen to fly into the sea in a steep dive and crash in Findhorn Bay with a number of its then crew being lost.