Lot Essay
INDENTWarrant Officer L. R. Read qualified as Sergeant Air Gunner, September 1940 and was posted to 142 Squadron (Wellingtons) later that year; commenced operations (Rear Gunner) March, 1941 which included trips to Cologne, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Liege -- Ostend, Bremen, Brest, Hamburg, Daylight Operations -- Brest -- forced landing at St. Eval - 140 rounds fired -- 2 E. A. seen to crash, Berlin -- Port engine U/S 90 mls E. of Amsterdam on return -- all loose weight jettisoned into sea" (Log Book)
While attending a Parnall Gun Turret course at 25 Operational Training Unit, R.A.F. Finningly, Read was drawn into the 'maximum effort' for the first '1000 Bomber Raid' of the war, 30/31 May 1942 when 1046 aircraft were despatched to bomb Cologne (898 actually bombed the main target). Read, with two other experienced crew members and three pupils parachuted to safety when their Wellington bomber was shot down near Eindhoven, Holland; after being interrogated by the Gemans for a week in Amsterdam he was transferred to Stalag Luft 3 at Sagan and Belaria. He was promoted to Warrant Officer during his three years of captivity and was eventually released by the advancing Russian forces.
While attending a Parnall Gun Turret course at 25 Operational Training Unit, R.A.F. Finningly, Read was drawn into the 'maximum effort' for the first '1000 Bomber Raid' of the war, 30/31 May 1942 when 1046 aircraft were despatched to bomb Cologne (898 actually bombed the main target). Read, with two other experienced crew members and three pupils parachuted to safety when their Wellington bomber was shot down near Eindhoven, Holland; after being interrogated by the Gemans for a week in Amsterdam he was transferred to Stalag Luft 3 at Sagan and Belaria. He was promoted to Warrant Officer during his three years of captivity and was eventually released by the advancing Russian forces.