RAF Bridlington

Last updated

RAF Bridlington
Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire in England
The Southcliffe Hotel, Bridlington.jpg
The Southcliffe Hotel, Bridlington. This was the HQ before the Second World War.
East Riding of Yorkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
RAF Bridlington
Location within the East Riding of Yorkshire
Coordinates 54°04′47″N0°11′47″W / 54.0796°N 0.1965°W / 54.0796; -0.1965 Coordinates: 54°04′47″N0°11′47″W / 54.0796°N 0.1965°W / 54.0796; -0.1965
Grid reference TA183664
Site information
Owner Air Ministry
Ministry of Defence
OperatorEnsign of the Royal Air Force.svg  Royal Air Force
Controlled by Royal Air Force Marine Branch (ASR and MCU)
No. 54 Group RAF
Site history
In use1929–1978 (1978)

Royal Air Force Bridlington, or more simply RAF Bridlington, [1] was a Royal Air Force station located in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, between 1929 and 1978. Several units operated at Bridlington, Air Gunnery Schools, Initial Training Wings, and an Air Sea Rescue launch unit, but the longest occupier, was No. 1104 Marine Craft Unit (MCU). The station consisted of various buildings across the town that were requisitioned for RAF use before and during the Second World War. Outside of this time, the RAF presence was mostly in the harbour area and as it was such a small unit, No. 1104 MCU was looked after (parented in Air Force parlance) by other RAF Stations nearby.

Contents

It is known that under his official Air Force title of Aircraftsman Second Class T. E. Shaw, the archaeologist, (former) army officer, diplomat, and writer, T. E. Lawrence worked at RAF Bridlington during the 1930s.

History

Pre-war

During the First World War, a Royal Naval Air Service seaplane was stationed temporarily in Bridlington Harbour. However, during the same conflict, a re-fuelling station was set up adjacent to the south landing of the Flamborough lifeboat station; this was sometimes referred to as RAF Bridlington (also RNAS Bridlington) and so some confusion arose between the two. [2] Seaplanes were regularly seen over Bridlington and Bridlington Bay on the lookout for enemy shipping. At some point during the First World War, Bridlington was suggested as a seaplane base, but this never came to pass. [3]

An RAF site was opened on the harbourside at Bridlington in 1929; its remit was to supply dummy craft to be moored in the sea off the Yorkshire Coast for bombing and target practice. These were usually situated at the bombing range at RAF Catfoss (later moved to the range at RAF Cowden), [4] which was located off the coastline near to RAF Catfoss and RAF Lissett (it was originally titled Skipsea bombing range). [5] Initially the site was staffed by personnel from RAF Felixstowe. It later came under the command of RAF Catfoss and then when Catfoss closed, RAF Leconfield. [6] Outside of the Second World War, the Commanding Officer (CO) of the unit was either a pilot officer or flight lieutenant rank; [7] [8] Regular stations or units in the RAF have higher ranks than this for their CO. [9]

The Marine Craft Unit at Bridlington also had an add-on function of patrolling the area to keep merchant fishing vessels clear of the bombing range. [10] It also developed special craft for use elsewhere in the Marine Branch of the Royal Air Force. The RAF unit had some sheds on the promenade in Bridlington known as Gummers Wharf. [11] This is where the last report written by Shaw/Lawrence was dated in February 1935.

Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club, Bridlington. This was the Ozone Hotel and was where Lawrence was billeted in the 1930s Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club, Bridlington.jpg
Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club, Bridlington. This was the Ozone Hotel and was where Lawrence was billeted in the 1930s

Shaw (Lawrence) had arrived in the early 1930s as part of his RAF service and his drive to develop better boats for the Marine Branch. [14] Shaw had witnessed a seaplane crashing into the sea off RAF Mount Batten and was greatly affected by the rescue of the airmen; most tellingly, how the boats were not able to reach the downed aircrew in time. [15] Aircraftman Second Class Shaw had been sent to first RAF Mount Batten, (then to Bridlington) ostensibly to keep him "out of the limelight" after a period when he was serving in India and stories started to surface in the press that he was there because of the civil war in Afghanistan. Shaw was not an engineer, but his methodical problem solving and intellectual capacity allowed him to become quite proficient in the boat design programme within the Marine Branch at Bridlington. [16] In his first visit, Shaw was billeted in the Bay View Hotel, and during the second period at Bridlington, he was billeted in the Ozone Hotel. The landlady of the Bay View Hotel later recalled that he slept with a curved dagger next to his bed. [17]

During the second part of the 1930s, the base was the home of a merchant ship named Kernoozer, which was a 500-tonne (550-ton) vessel employed to maintain targets at the Skipsea/Cowden bombing range. [4] Ten 200-class boats were worked on during the 1930s, with steel armour-plating being applied to them after they had been delivered to Bridlington on the railway. Five were stored in the RAF sheds next to Gummers Wharf and the other five were located in various sheds about the harbour. [18] Kernoozer was laid up at the start of the Second World War, but the wartime work pressures meant that she was needed again at Bridlington. However, whilst sailing north from Grimsby she encountered a gale and was beached by the sea at Skipsea where she broke up. [19]

Second World War

During the Second World War, because of the upsurge in aircraft flying across the North Sea on bombing raids over Europe, the MCU at Bridlington took on the additional role of Air Sea Rescue (ASR), something for which the unit was not originally intended for, but was one of the main functionalities of the Marine Branch. [20] Known as station 21, [21] the ASR operated between 1940 and 1946 [22] with the marine craft on site searching for aircrew who had ditched in the North Sea. During one month in 1941, the launch HSL 102 (High Speed Launch) rescued 38 men who had been lost at sea. [23] Often there would be times when the ASR boat could not go out to search for downed aircrew, and the RNLI lifeboat based at Bridlington, would perform the searches instead. [24] Boats selected for the ASR role were fitted with machine guns in case of aerial attack whilst in the North Sea. [25]

The base was also used for initial recruit training between 1941 and 1944 as No. 14 and No. 20 Initial Training Wing (ITW), which were part of No. 54 Group RAF. [26] The station headquarters was a requisitioned hotel (the Brentwood Hotel, replacing an earlier HQ at Southcliffe Hotel) with recruits and serving airman billeted locally in houses and hotel rooms. [27] Besides recruit training, RAF Bridlington was a loose collection of basic RAF schools. Other training at Bridlington included sea-ditching drills (by jumping off the pier in the harbour), morse code training and an Elementary Air Gunnery School. [28] Air Gunnery courses at Bridlington typically lasted for six weeks. [29] Logistics schools were also opened in the town, especially after RAF Cranwell became overcrowded. [30] As with the other training schools, it was divided up between several buildings and the headquarters was in the Alexandra Hotel in the town. [31]

Nearby Sewerby Hall was also requisitioned as an RAF hospital which was used by sick personnel from RAF Bridlington, RAF Carnaby, RAF Catfoss and RAF Lissett. [32] In 1943, Nos 18 and 19 ITW were merged to form No. 70 ITW at Bridlington. [33] During the Second World War, the loose collection of schools and units were known collectively as RAF Bridlington. [34] However, RAF Carnaby, an emergency airfield to the south-west of Bridlington was also known locally as RAF Bridlington, which caused some confusion. [35] [36]

Post-war

After the Second World War, RAF Bridlington was scaled back and only the Marine Craft Unit continued to exist. The MCU was one of 15 located throughout the United Kingdom, with another five located around the world near to flying RAF stations. [37] Command and control was reverted to RAF Catfoss and RAF Bridlington ceased as a functioning unit; all elements at Bridlington were parented by other stations. Whilst the ASR function officially ceased in 1946, the craft at Bridlington often assisted the RNLI with searches for those missing at sea post-war, with at least one rescue documented although in that particular case, the casualty had died, despite the efforts of the RAF Crew in trying to revive her. [38] [39] The Search and Rescue function of the MCU was still listed on the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's list of active search and rescue units in 1957 and in 1966. [40] [41]

Lawrence Complex on the seafront at Bridlington Lawrence Complex at Bridlington.jpg
Lawrence Complex on the seafront at Bridlington

In 1969, a tragedy befell 1386 Pinnace, one of the MCU's boats which was based at 1104 MCU Bridlington. She had been on an exercise with helicopters off the coast of Dundee and was making her way down the coast back to base. She stopped off at Amble and whilst attempting to enter the harbour in rough seas, she was capsized. Three of the crew were drowned, the rest were rescued by the RNLI, Royal Navy divers and local fishermen. [42]

By 1972, Bridlington was one of only five MCU bases left in the employ of the Royal Air Force; the other four were Alness, Falmouth, Holyhead and Mount Batten. [43] The sheds at Bridlington harbour were last used by the RAF in 1978. [44] The site they were located on was razed in 1993 and a new building, called the Lawrence Complex was built on the same site. [45] The RAF finally vacated Bridlington in December 1980, [46] while the RAF Marine Branch itself was disbanded six years later in 1986. [47]

One of the fast seaplane tender launches that was located in Bridlington between 1932 and 1942 (No. ST 206), is now on display in the RAF Museum at Hendon in Greater London. [48]

Units

UnitDatesNotesRef
No. 1 Elementary Air Gunners School (EAGS)April 1943 – April 1944Moved to RAF Bridgnorth in 1944 [49]
No. 20 Initial Training Wing (ITW)?–November 1943Responsible for wireless operator and air gunnery training. Moved to RAF Usworth [50]
No. 21 Air Sea Rescue (ASR) unit1942–1946Officially operating between 1942 and 1946, but the MCU was using 40-foot (12 m) boats from Bridlington in an ASR role as early as February 1941 [51]
No. 70 Initial Training Wing (ITW)1943–1944Responsible for Wireless Operator (Air) training [52]
No. 1104 Marine Craft Unit (MCU)1929–1980Longest serving RAF unit at Bridlington [46] [53]
RAF CTC (Civilian Technical Corps)1941–1943 [54]
RAF ETS (Equipment Training School)1941–1944 [30]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air-sea rescue</span> Coordinated search and rescue of survivors at sea

Air-sea rescue, and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their seagoing vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships. Specialized equipment and techniques have been developed. Both military and civilian units can perform air-sea rescue. Its principles are laid out in the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual.

The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Service seaplane base, to design, test and evaluate seaplanes, flying boats and other aircraft with a naval connection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Calshot</span>

Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hampshire, England, at grid reference SU487024. It was the main seaplane/flying boat development and training unit in the UK, with the landing area sheltered by the mainland, to the west, north and east, and the Isle of Wight, a few miles away to the south on the other side of the Solent, where seaplanes and flying boats were mass-produced by Saunders-Roe. It closed in 1961. Much of the former base has been preserved, with most of the site now being occupied by the RNLI.

Royal Air Force Thornaby or more simply RAF Thornaby was a former Royal Air Force Station located near the town of Thornaby-on-Tees, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Fighter Command, Bomber Command and Coastal Command all operated from the base over its history, but its stint under Coastal Command is what the base was notable for, particularly in the air-sea rescue environment and the development of the Thornaby Bag. This was an emergency bag dropped to downed aircrew at sea and contained food, cigarettes and drink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Search and Rescue Force</span> British helicopter organisation, 1941-2016

The Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force was the Royal Air Force organisation which provided around-the-clock aeronautical search and rescue cover in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands, from 1986 until 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Mount Batten</span>

RAF Mount Batten was a Royal Air Force station and flying boat base at Mount Batten, a peninsula in Plymouth Sound, Devon, England. Originally a seaplane station opened in 1917 as a Royal Navy Air Service Station Cattewater it became RAF Cattewater in 1918 and in 1928 was renamed RAF Mount Batten. The base is named after Captain Batten, a Civil War commander who defended this area at the time, with the Mountbatten family motto In Honour Bound taken as the station's motto.

A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crew and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine. Lifeboats may be rigid, inflatable or rigid-inflatable combination-hulled vessels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 279 Squadron RAF</span> Military unit

No 279 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force air-sea rescue squadron of World War II. The squadron was formed on 16 November 1941 and disbanded on 10 March 1946.

Water safety refers to the procedures, precautions and policies associated with safety in, on, and around bodies of water, where there is a risk of injury or drowning. It has applications in several occupations, sports and recreational activities.

Royal Air Force Alness or more simply RAF Alness is a former Royal Air Force station located 1.1 miles (1.8 km) southwest of Alness, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland and 14.1 miles (22.7 km) north of Inverness, Inverness-shire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Felixstowe</span> Former Royal Air Force station

Royal Air Force Felixstowe, or more simply RAF Felixstowe, is a former Royal Air Force station located 2.7 miles (4.3 km) northeast of Harwich, Essex, England and 10.7 miles (17.2 km) southeast of Ipswich, Suffolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calshot Lifeboat Station</span> RNLI Lifeboat Station in Hampshire, England

Calshot Lifeboat Station is located on Calshot Spit near the village of Calshot, Hampshire, and is on the southern bank of the open end of Southampton Water, on the south coast of England. The station is owned and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and currently operates two inshore lifeboats. They are an Atlantic 85 called Max Walls (B-860) and a D-class (IB1) called RNLB Willett (D-748).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Air Force Marine Branch</span> Air-sea rescue service

The Marine Branch (1918-1986) was a branch of the Royal Air Force (RAF) which operated watercraft in support of RAF operations. Just days after the creation of the RAF itself, the Marine Craft Section (MCS) was created with the transfer of Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) vessels and personnel to the new service. Originally tasked with the support of RNAS, and later RAF, seaplanes, Marine Craft Section was to achieve its greatest size during the Second World War, and achieved fame for its role in air-sea rescue operations. After the war MCS was granted full branch status on 11 December 1947, however post war the role of the new branch became greatly reduced with the end of the British Empire, the withdrawal of flying boats from service, and the increasing use of helicopters in air-sea rescue. The branch was disestablished on 8 January 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Pembroke Dock</span> Former RAF Base in Wales

Royal Air Force Pembroke Dock or more simply RAF Pembroke Dock was a Royal Air Force Seaplane and Flying Boat station located at Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Royal Navy contingent left in 1926 with the Royal Air Force occupying the site from 1 January 1930. During the initial stages of the Second World War, it became the home of two Dutch flying boats and their squadron personnel as well as hosting RAF, Fleet Air Arm, Canadian, Royal Australian Air Force and United States naval crews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flamborough Lifeboat Station</span> Lifeboat station in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Flamborough Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station located at Flamborough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. There used to be two lifeboat stations at Flamborough; one on the north side of Flamborough Head, and on one the south side. Since 1993, the village has just one lifeboat station on the southern side of Flamborough Head. The station operates an ILB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridlington Lifeboat Station</span> Lifeboat station in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Bridlington Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station based in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Having been instituted in 1805, it is the oldest working RNLI lifeboat location in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Withernsea Lifeboat Station</span> RNLI Lifeboat Station in East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Withernsea Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station located in the town of Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is one of four RNLI stations in the East Riding of Yorkshire, with another five in North Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humber Lifeboat Station</span> Lifeboat station in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England

The Humber Lifeboat Station is located on Spurn Point in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The station is one of nine Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat stations situated along the Yorkshire Coast and the most southerly of them all. It is the only lifeboat station in the United Kingdom that is staffed full-time by a professional RNLI crew; this is due to the waters around this part of the coast being so dangerous and the station's remoteness from the mainland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarborough Lifeboat Station</span> Lifeboat station in North Yorkshire, England

Scarborough Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) operated lifeboat station in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. A lifeboat was established at Scarborough in 1801, which makes it the third oldest lifeboat station in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filey Lifeboat Station</span> Lifeboat station in North Yorkshire, England

Filey Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station located in the town of Filey, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of nine operational RNLI lifeboat stations situated on the Yorkshire Coast.

References

  1. ↑ Jacobs, Peter (2017). The RAF in 100 objects. Stroud: History Press. p. 68. ISBN   978-0-7509-6536-1.
  2. ↑ "Bridlington (Seaplane) – Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  3. ↑ "Wings over East Yorkshire". bridaugustinians.org.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  4. 1 2 "RAF plea". Bridlington Free Press. 21 June 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  5. ↑ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore (1982). Action stations 4: Military Airfields of Yorkshire (2 ed.). Cambridge: Patrick Stephens. p. 40. ISBN   0-85059-532-0.
  6. ↑ Foster, Mary (2016). RAF Leconfield : a pictorial history 1937–2015. Mary Foster. p. 84. ISBN   978-1-78222-474-7.
  7. ↑ "Papers of Air Cdre F J Manning, CB, CBE (1912-1988)" (PDF). kingscollections.org. p. 1. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "MANNING, Air Cdre Frederick John (1912–1988) – Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "Royal Air Force's size and structure". BBC Academy. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "The Wreck of HMS Falmouth". historicengland.org. p. 2. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  11. 1 2 Peach, Howard (2001). Curious tales of old East Yorkshire. Wilmslow: Sigma Leisure. p. 24. ISBN   1-85058-749-3.
  12. ↑ "Bridlington Guide East Yorkshire town walk UK". www.ba-education.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  13. ↑ Ellis 2016, p. 36.
  14. ↑ "Last ditch bid to save Lawrence of Arabia's dagger and robes". The Yorkshire Post. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  15. ↑ Ellis 2016, pp. 26–27.
  16. ↑ Fosh, J. Stephen (2007). "Sailors in Light Blue". Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society. London: RAFHS (40): 27–29. ISSN   1361-4231.
  17. ↑ Chrystal, Paul (2017). The Place Names of Yorkshire; Cities, Towns, Villages, Rivers and Dales, some Pubs too, in Praise of Yorkshire Ales (1 ed.). Catrine: Stenlake. p. 20. ISBN   9781840337532.
  18. ↑ Ellis 2016, p. 27.
  19. ↑ Leech, John (11 April 2007). "Details of Kernoozer". Bridlington Free Press. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  20. ↑ Severne, John (2007). "16: Mount Batten". Silvered Wings: The Memoirs of Air Vice-Marshal Sir John Severne KCVO OBE AFC DL. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. pp. 168–174. ISBN   978-1-84415-531-6.
  21. ↑ "21 Air-Sea Rescue Marine Craft Unit (ASRMCU) Bridlington (UK)". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  22. ↑ "Stations-B". www.rafweb.org. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  23. ↑ "History of rescue boat". Bridlington Free Press. 7 March 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  24. ↑ Walkington, Fred (2005). The Bridlington lifeboat : [the first 200 years, 1805–2005]. Chichester: Phillimore. p. 78. ISBN   1-86077-335-4.
  25. ↑ "Name ST 1500 | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  26. ↑ "20 Initial Training Wing, Bridlington and Usworth; part of 54 group (ITW UK). With..." discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  27. ↑ "RAF Bridlington [concept] · IBCC Digital Archive". ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  28. ↑ "BBC – WW2 People's War – Recollections of My Military Service – Part 1". www.bbc.co.uk. 29 November 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  29. ↑ Jefford, Jeff (2013). "The Air Gunner". Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society. London: RAFHS (55): 111. ISSN   1361-4231.
  30. 1 2 Stone 2016, p. 153.
  31. ↑ Stone 2016, pp. 153–154.
  32. ↑ "Sewerby Hall's history as RAF sickness bay". bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  33. ↑ Jefford, Jeff (2011). "The Wireless Operator in WW II[ sic ]". Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society. London: RAFHS (50): 111. ISSN   1361-4231.
  34. ↑ "Notebook Regarding Training with ETS Course 314 at RAF Bridlington, July 1941 – November 1941". iwm.org.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  35. ↑ "Forgotten airfields". www.forgottenairfields.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  36. ↑ "Carnaby (Bridlington) – Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  37. ↑ Sutherland & Canwell 2010, p. 226.
  38. ↑ "The Bridlington Lifeboat Tragedy 1952 – The Flamborough Lifeboats Website". sprobson.f2s.com. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  39. ↑ "Flamborough Tragedy 19th August 1952". www.tarncourt.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  40. ↑ "Map showing air stations engaged in search and rescue work". The Lifeboat. Poole: RNLI. 34 (381): 479. September 1957. ISSN   0024-3086.
  41. ↑ "Ministry of Defence Search and Rescue Stations". The Lifeboat. Poole: RNLI. 39 (418): 224. December 1966. ISSN   0024-3086.
  42. ↑ Sutherland & Canwell 2010, pp. 155–156.
  43. ↑ Sutherland & Canwell 2010, p. 155.
  44. ↑ Sumner, Ian; Sumner, Margaret (1995). Bridlington. Stroud: Alan Sutton. p. 88. ISBN   0-7509-0762-2.
  45. ↑ "Bridlington Guide East Yorkshire town walk UK". www.ba-education.com. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  46. 1 2 "Marine Craft Unit bids farewell". The Bridlington Free Press. 11 December 1980. p. 2. ISSN   0963-455X.
  47. ↑ Sutherland & Canwell 2010, p. 162.
  48. ↑ "Detail page | Research | Collections | RAF Museum". www.rafmuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  49. ↑ Jefford, Jeff (2013). "The Air Gunner". Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society. London: RAFHS (55): 119. ISSN   1361-4231.
  50. ↑ "Usworth Aerodrome (Sunderland) – History". www.neam.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  51. ↑ Sutherland & Canwell 2010, p. 41.
  52. ↑ Jefford, C. G. (2014). Observers and navigators : and other non-pilot aircrew in the RFC, RNAS and RAF (2 ed.). London: Grub Street. p. 231. ISBN   978-1-909808-02-7.
  53. ↑ "No 1104 Marine Craft Unit, RAF Bridlington". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  54. ↑ Stone 2016, p. 126.
  55. ↑ Johnson, George Leonard; Johnson, Morgan (2015). "4. Night Fighter and a Fiasco in Florida". The last British Dambuster : one man's extraordinary life and the raids that changed history (1 ed.). London: Random House. p. 92. ISBN   9780091957759.
  56. ↑ Chrystal, Paul (2012). Lifeboat stations of North East England through time : from Sunderland to the Humber. Stroud: Amberley. p. 74. ISBN   978-1-4456-1376-5.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.