Wellington AD624

[Tony1baloney]

Hello all, I am new to tis site and I am trying to find out about 108 Squadron based in North Africa in 1940-42.

I have this information:

Sergeant G Watkins, Sergeant J A Varnham, Sergeant F A May, Sergeant N D McAlary (RAAF), Sergeant I Gilmour, Sergeant G Benge: prisoners of war; Wellington AD624, 108 Squadron, aircraft force landed south of Tobruk, Libya during an operational flight, 14 June 1942.

I am trying to find out what the markings would have been on the fuselage either side of the the RAF roundel as I am building a model and display for my partner, her father was G Benge, rear gunner.

Can anyone suggest how I can find this information?

Regards

Tony Bailey

 

[AL90]

Hello all, I am new to tis site and I am trying to find out about 108 Squadron based in North Africa in 1940-42.

I have this information:

Sergeant G Watkins, Sergeant J A Varnham, Sergeant F A May, Sergeant N D McAlary (RAAF), Sergeant I Gilmour, Sergeant G Benge: prisoners of war; Wellington AD624, 108 Squadron, aircraft force landed south of Tobruk, Libya during an operational flight, 14 June 1942.

I am trying to find out what the markings would have been on the fuselage either side of the the RAF roundel as I am building a model and display for my partner, her father was G Benge, rear gunner.

Can anyone suggest how I can find this information?

Regards

Tony Bailey

Hi Tony,
I checked the 108 squadron operational record and the aircraft individual code was "T". In 1942, I believe the Squadron code was "JN" so the full code would be JN T. Sergeant N D McAlary's service file and casualty file is available at naa.gov.au, search on service number 404588, will give some more details on the crash and capture. The crash location was 40miles S.E of Bir Hachiem according to squadron records.
Alan.

 

[Tony1baloney]

Hi Tony,
I checked the 108 squadron operational record and the aircraft individual code was "T". In 1942, I believe the Squadron code was "JN" so the full code would be JN T. Sergeant N D McAlary's service file and casualty file is available at naa.gov.au, search on service number 404588, will give some more details on the crash and capture. The crash location was 40miles S.E of Bir Hachiem according to squadron records.
Alan.

Hello Alan, thank you so much. How do you find this info? I tried all sorts of ways to do this. What is the best way to get hold of George Benge's service record? Tony

 

[AL90]

Hello Alan, thank you so much. How do you find this info? I tried all sorts of ways to do this. What is the best way to get hold of George Benge's service record? Tony

Hi Tony,
I used the RAF Commands Forum search to find the aircraft and crew details, since Sergeant N D McAlary was Australian, I searched the national archives Australia with his service number- Australians are all in the 400000 range. The serial number of on the casualty file is wrong (DD624) and originates from a typo on the loss telex. If searching for a Canadian in the Canadian archives the serial number starts with either "J" or "R" and all casualties are digitalised to varying degrees( a complete file runs to around 400 pages but, annoyingly, they digitalise irrelevant data not related to the airman's ultimate fate. The squadron records are available at the UK National Archives, I don't have to pay for copies but not sure if the charge applies outside of the UK. The AIR81 casualty file has been released under AIR81/15113 which can be requested from the UK National archives. Not so sure about obtaining service records, if the person is deceased it should be simpler, the link below should help.
Alan.

Request records of deceased service personnel

Information on requesting records of deceased service personnel.

www.gov.uk