On the night of 29th / 30th April 1941 this 10 Squadron aircraft was one of a number undertaking operational flights to bomb Mannheim. The aircraft received minor flak damage during this night but the crew were able to make a safe return to base and land at Leeming at 05.21hrs. The damage was soon repaired as it was used operationally again on 3rd May 1941.
Pilot - Sgt Reginald Eric Griffin RAFVR (748335).
Second Pilot - Sgt Noel Thomas Harvey Scott RAFVR (748284).
Observer - Sgt Hubert Richard Heighton RAFVR (745475).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Christie
Air Gunner - Sgt Jones.
Reginald Griffin was awarded the DFM for service with 10 Squadron, Gazetted on 23rd September 1941 and searching the internet for his name yields his DFM details on the Australian National Archives which would suggest this was his nationality. He received his commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 25th August 1942 (130690) and rose to F/O on 25th February 1943 and F/Lt on 25th August 1944.
Noel Scott was granted a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 2nd July 1942 (130065). He was Mentioned in Despatches on 1st January 1943 and rose to F/O on 2nd January 1943.
He was awarded the Air Force Cross, Gazetted on 2nd June 1943, but the details for this are not yet known though it may have been for service as an instructor as this appears to have happened to other long serving instructors. After completing a tour with 10 Squadron he was posted to instruct at 22 OTU where he flew in the thousand bomber raids in Spring 1942 and I assume his AFC must have been for his role at 22 OTU. He was promoted to F/Lt on 2nd July 1944.
Sgt Heighton was killed flying with 10 Squadron on 8th July 1941 when Whitley Z6816 failed to return from Ops to Osnabruck. He was twenty three years old and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Whitley P5109 was built to contract 75147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 16th August 1940. It was taken on charge by 10 Squadron in October 1940 almost certainly as a replacement for N1483 "ZA-I" which ditched in the North Sea on return from Berlin on 1st October 1940. As a result of minor flak damage on 15th March 1941 Cat.A/FB damage would have been the assessment, it was then damaged again by flak on 29th / 30th April 1941 and again Cat.A/FB damage was probably the assessment although neither incidents were recorded on the aircraft's published Air Britain history. It would have been repaired on site at Leeming both times. On 4th May 1941 on return from Ops it overshot on landing at Leeming, one of the undercarriage legs collapsed and it sustained damage. Again any damage assessment does not feature in the published Air Britain history, it sounds like more serious damage than Cat.A/FA but as it does not appear to have gone back to a factory for repair in works it sounds like it was repaired on site at Leeming. On 12th September 1941 it failed to return from Ops to Warnemunde and Cat.Em/FB damage was recorded on the paperwork. It was ditched eighty miles off the English coast when low on fuel.
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