Whitley P5046 damaged by flak, returned to Linton on Ouse airfield.

On the night of 10th / 11th September 1940 the crew of this 77 Squadron aircraft were tasked with an operational flight to bomb Bremen, they left base at 23.00hrs and bombed Bremen but was hit by a barrage of heavy flak which damaged the front turret and narrowly missed the air gunner. They were able to make a safe return to base and landed at 07.30hrs.

Pilot - P/O Andrew Woodrow Dunn DFC RAF (41685).

Second Pilot - Sgt Derek Albert Gibbons RAFVR (645221), of Slough, Buckinghamshire.

Observer - Sgt Bernard Leonard Savill DFM RAF (581475), of Snaresbrook, Essex.

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Dudley Brooking Allen RAF (649697), of Farnham, Surrey.

Air Gunner - Sgt Vincent Gerald Sullivan RAFVR (969335), of Cardiff, Wales.

Andrew Dunn received his commission in 1939. He was involved in a number of close shaves in his time with Bomber Command. On 20th/21st of March 1940 he was flying as second pilot to F/O Pryde when Whitley N1384 was forced to land in the Somme area of France while on Ops to Cambrai. Thankfully the crew landed in Allied-held ground and the crew were able to make good their return to Driffield within afew days and rejoin their unit. On 5th/6th June 1940 he was the pilot of Whitley N1476 when a flare ignited in the aircraft as it took off, his crew baled out and he force landed the aircraft at Finningley airfield. On 9th/10th June 1940 he was Ops to France to bomb bridges over the Somme when the starboard engine failed. They crash landed Whitley N1372 at Abingdon on return. On 19th/20th June 1940 P/O Dunn and Sgt Savill were flying Whitley N1476 on ops to Wanna-Eickel when their aircraft was attacked by enemy aircraft. The Whitley's gunners returned fire and destroyed one but they sustained damage and the port engine caught fire. Making for England they were forced to ditch the aircraft in the sea off Hastings. All were picked up but the wireless operator and air gunner were slightly injured. Dunn was awarded the DFC as a result of this incident, their rear gunner P/O W J Watt was also awarded the DFC. Sgt Savill and another non-commissioned airman were awarded DFM's; their joint citation reads..

"These officers and airmen were the crew of an aircraft, piloted by Pilot Officer Dunn, and detailed to carry out a bombing attack on the Ruhr one night in June 1940. After being subjected to heavy anti-aircraft fire for some fifteen minutes, during which their aircraft was repeatedly hit, they were attacked by a Messerschmitt 109. The first attack disabled the inter-communication gear and also wounded the air observer, Sergeant Savill, and the wireless operator, Sergeant Dawson. The rear gunner, Pilot Officer Watt, was unable to warn the captain of the enemy fighter's second attack but, by quick reaction and skill in aiming, he delivered a good burst of fire at short range which destroyed the enemy. During this second attack, however, one engine was disabled. Despite these difficulties the target was successfully bombed before a course was set for home. For three and a half hours the aircraft, flying on one engine, steadily lost height until the North Sea was crossed at only 400 feet. During this time, the navigation was ably carried out by Sergeart Savill, despite the pain from his wound, while Sergeant Dawson, operating his wireless apparatus, secured a number of essential homing bearings, thus materially assisting in assuring the safety of the crew. Pilot Officer Montagu, who was the second pilot, made necessary preparations for abandoning the aircraft and his personal example of coolness and efficiency was of the greatest assistance to his captain. Pilot Officer Dunn displayed resolution, courage and determination in piloting his badly damaged aircraft, but was forced to land in the sea close to the south coast. This crew showed the greatest determination, courage and gallantry throughout the operation."

On 10th/11th September 1940 both Dunn and Savill were involved in the flak incident as recorded at the top of this page. As was often the case with these early wartime Bomber Command airmen, many were not to see the War end. A terribly sad incident met with the deaths of the first four named in the crew list at the top of this page, they were again flying in Whitley P5046 on Ops to Berlin on the night of 23rd/24th September 1940. Soon after leaving the target they signalled that they were in difficulty. Their last known position was some eighty miles off the east coast of England and it was believed that the aircraft had ditched into the North Sea. A search was carried out the following day and a dinghy was located by a flying boat but it was a further two days until the dinghy was found again and by this time only two airmen remained on board. P/O Andrew Dunn DFC, Sgt Gibbons and Sgt Savill DFM died on or just before 26th September 1940, they were buried at sea by other members of the crew and their bodies was never found, they are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. Sgt Allen also died before help arrived and his body was taken ashore and the barely alive Sgt G H Riley was rescued and taken to hospital. Sgt Gibbons and Sgt Savill were twenty years old, Sgt Allen was just nineteen.

Sgt Allen died on 26th September 1940 and is buried in Farnham Cemetery, Surrey.

Sgt Sullivan was flying in Whitley T4160 on Ops to Turin on 24th November 1940 and failed to return, it was believed to have been ditched in the Straits of Dover but no trace of the aircraft was found. The pilot P/O D R Bagnall was the only survivor (he survived the crash of Whitley P4942 near Appleton le Street in September 1940). Sgt Sullivan was an old man in terms of Bomber Command at the grand age of twenty nine years old. He too was never found and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Whitley P5046 was built to contract 75147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 14th June 1940. It was taken on charge initially by 102 Squadron at Driffield but transferred to 77 Squadron at Driffield in late June 1940 as a replacement for N1372, which crashed at Adingdon on 10th June 1940. The aircraft moved with the unit to Linton on Ouse on 28th August 1940. On 11th September 1940 Cat.M/FB was recorded following the flak incident detailed above. It was repaired on site and returned to the unit on briefly as on 24th September 1940 it was lost, Cat.W(m) recorded, when it failed to return from Ops to Berlin.

Back to 1940 monthly table.