Whitley P4961 damaged in air, returned to Leeming airfield.
On the night of 11th / 12th September 1940 the crew of this 10 Squadron aircraft were tasked with an operational flight to bomb shipyards and engineering buildings at the dockyards in Bremen. The aircraft left Leeming at 19.28hrs and bombed the target between 22.10hrs and 22.34hrs, the crew reported that the weather was clear over the target although hazy. Because of heavy flak and after the aircraft was picked up in search lights the pilot took evasive action. A short time
later this was successful but it was found that the rear gunner had left his position and had abandoned the aircraft with out receiving the order to abandon the aircraft. The rest of the crew made for home and landed at Leeming at 02.20hrs. Very slight damage may have been sustained to the rear of the aircraft probably caused by the rear gunner as he exited the aircraft. Why Sgt McIntosh left the aircraft was never fully understood but it was though that the extreme evasive action carried out to avoid flak and searchlights made him believe the aircraft was out of control so he baled out. He survived and became a prisoner of war.
Pilot - F/Lt Dennis Brendon Geoffrey Tomlinson RAF (37989).
Second Pilot - P/O Kenneth Douglas Brant RAF (81655).
Observer - Sgt Wilfred Campbell Walters RAF (581003).
Wireless Operator - Sgt James Graney RAF (550962).
Air Gunner - Sgt Angus Jack McIntosh RAF (966647). Became a POW.
Dennis Tomlinson received a commission on 4th August 1936 to the rank of Acting P/O on probation and was graded as P/O on 8th June 1937. The date he was
promoted to F/O is not known. He had been promoted to F/Lt on 3rd September 1940 and later to Acting S/Ldr on 1st September 1941. On the night of 3rd / 4th
September 1940 F/Lt Tomlinson was piloting Whitley P4967 when it crashed landed at Nether Silton in Yorkshire on return from Ops. This incident is detailed
on a seperate webpage. F/Lt Tomlinson was also to be involved in another incident only weeks later above Thirsk when Whitley T4143 was partly abandoned on
return from Ops, this saw two of his then crew being killed. He was awarded the DFC for service with 10 Squadron on 17th January 1941 and completed his Tour
with 10 Squadron and was posted for an instructional role with 10 OTU based at Abingdon. When he was killed on 2nd June 1942 10 OTU were one of a number
training units instructed to put up a number of bombers for Ops to Essen on this night. This was the night of the second Thousand Bomber raid. He was pilot
of Whitley Z6581 which was shot down by a night fighter to the east of Arnhem and is buried in Gendringen Roman Catholic Cemetery, Holland. He was married
to Hannah Tomlinson (who was either local to Abingdon or had gone with him to the airfield). Dennis Tomlinson was twenty six years old.
Kenneth Brant received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 29th June 1940 and was awarded the DFC for service with 10 Squadron, Gazetted on
7th March 1941 though no citation has been found. He was sadly killed on 26th June 1941 while flying with 21 OTU at Kinloss in Whitley N1379 while almost
certainly instructing. The aircraft crashed near Kinloss soon after taking off for a training flight. He is buried in Worthing Cemetery, Sussex.
Wilfred Walters was later posted to 35 Squadron. On 24th July 1941 he was flying in Halifax L9512 which was shot down on an attack of the German battleship
The Scharnhorst. The whole crew became PoWs. On 30th December 1947 he was belatedly Mentioned in Despatches for his actions in damaging the battleship. The
crew were re-united forty years later and flew into Linton on Ouse in a Piper Lance in 1981. Sammy Walters died in October 1982.
James Graney received a commission in March 1941 to the rank of P/O on probation (45950). He was later posted to 10 OTU and was sadly killed on 7th July
1941 in Whitley Z6476 when it crashed near Stratford upon Avon, he was twenty one years old and is buried in Sacriston RC Cemetery, Co.Durham.
Whitley P4961 was built to contract 75147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was awaiting collection in mid-April 1940. It was allotted to 10 Squadron at Dishforth on 19th April 1940 amd was taken on charge by them at Dishforth on 8th May 1940 during their conversion from Mk.IV Whitley's to MkV's. Following flak damage on 18th May 1940 Cat.M/FB damage was the assessment and it was repaired on site.. The aircraft then moved with the unit to Leeming 8th July 1940. It was damaged by flak on 12th August, Cat.M/FB damage being the damage assessment. Again it was repaired on site and returned to the unit. On 8th / 9th September 1940 the aircraft was being flown on Ops to Bremen when the rear gunner baled out over Germany slightly damaging it. It was swiftly repaired on site It was damaged again a few days later by flak on 17th / 18th September 1940. On 21st October 1940 it suffered minor battle damage and was repaired (possibly at Cold Kirby if the damage prevented the aircraft being ferried back to Leeming). On 21st December 1940 the aircraft was returning from ops to Berlin when it was abandoned near Harleston, Suffolk and its then crew escaped injury. The aircraft was written of as a result of this incident. The aircraft was struck off charge on 2nd January 1941 when the paperwork caught up.