The Military Workshop
1st Lieutenant
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2005
- Messages
- 4,778
Hi guys,
Just read the new Collector in detail and spotted on the back page an image of a Lancaster with three unpainted prototypes of the following 617 Squadron figures (I have added info from Wikipedia) :
Guy Gibson VC CO of 617
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, RAF (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944), was the first CO of the RAF's 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid (Operation Chastise), in 1943, resulting in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr area. He was killed later in the war.
Mickey Martin an Aussie
Air Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan "Micky" Martin, KCB, DSO & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC (27 February 1918 – 3 November 1988) was an Australian pilot in the Royal Air Force who took part in Operation Chastise, the RAF's famous "Dambusters" mission in 1943. He was described by journalist Sir Max Hastings as "one of the three great bomber pilots of the war".[
and Kiwi Les Munro
Squadron Leader Les Munro CNZM, DSO, QSO, DFC, JP (born 1919) is the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters Raid of May 1943.[1] A New Zealander, Munro was posted from 97 squadron to 617 squadron which was specially created to attack the dams of the Ruhr in an effort to wreck the industrial capacity of Germany during the war. Of the nineteen Lancasters that flew on that full-moon night, only eleven returned. Munro, as pilot of W-Willie, was scheduled to bomb the Sorpe dam. His bomber was damaged by flak over Holland,[2] which knocked out the radio, and after a vote among the crew it turned back to land in Lincolnshire. During the war he won the DSO and DFC and later attained the rank of Squadron Leader.[3] He participated in the operations to deceive the Germans about the destination of the D-Day landings by dropping aluminium strips of window every four and half seconds throughout long patrols over the English Channel.[4]
Munro lives in Tauranga, New Zealand. Following his career in the military, Munro retired to a life in local politics and farming.
Munro attended the 60th Anniversary commemoration of the Dambusters raid, along with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in May 2003 at RAF Lossiemouth.[5]
He was also present, along with Richard Todd, the actor who played Wing Commander Guy Gibson in the 1955 The Dam Busters film, for the 65th anniversary commemoration held at Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire) on 16 May 2008.
He has a street named in his honour in his native New Zealand.[6]
The centre page also shows a prototype RAF Austin Utility van !!
Regards
Brett
Just read the new Collector in detail and spotted on the back page an image of a Lancaster with three unpainted prototypes of the following 617 Squadron figures (I have added info from Wikipedia) :
Guy Gibson VC CO of 617
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, RAF (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944), was the first CO of the RAF's 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid (Operation Chastise), in 1943, resulting in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr area. He was killed later in the war.
Mickey Martin an Aussie
Air Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan "Micky" Martin, KCB, DSO & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC (27 February 1918 – 3 November 1988) was an Australian pilot in the Royal Air Force who took part in Operation Chastise, the RAF's famous "Dambusters" mission in 1943. He was described by journalist Sir Max Hastings as "one of the three great bomber pilots of the war".[
and Kiwi Les Munro
Squadron Leader Les Munro CNZM, DSO, QSO, DFC, JP (born 1919) is the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters Raid of May 1943.[1] A New Zealander, Munro was posted from 97 squadron to 617 squadron which was specially created to attack the dams of the Ruhr in an effort to wreck the industrial capacity of Germany during the war. Of the nineteen Lancasters that flew on that full-moon night, only eleven returned. Munro, as pilot of W-Willie, was scheduled to bomb the Sorpe dam. His bomber was damaged by flak over Holland,[2] which knocked out the radio, and after a vote among the crew it turned back to land in Lincolnshire. During the war he won the DSO and DFC and later attained the rank of Squadron Leader.[3] He participated in the operations to deceive the Germans about the destination of the D-Day landings by dropping aluminium strips of window every four and half seconds throughout long patrols over the English Channel.[4]
Munro lives in Tauranga, New Zealand. Following his career in the military, Munro retired to a life in local politics and farming.
Munro attended the 60th Anniversary commemoration of the Dambusters raid, along with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in May 2003 at RAF Lossiemouth.[5]
He was also present, along with Richard Todd, the actor who played Wing Commander Guy Gibson in the 1955 The Dam Busters film, for the 65th anniversary commemoration held at Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire) on 16 May 2008.
He has a street named in his honour in his native New Zealand.[6]
The centre page also shows a prototype RAF Austin Utility van !!
Regards
Brett
