Help with name

Sort of correct as 5 OTU became 55 OTU 1.11.40 but many ORB’s continued to refer toit as 5 OTU for much longer.

If necessary it would have become a fully fledged squadro as 555 Squadron

PS.

I have just checked my copy of Menof the Battle of Britain and Boot is listed as moving to 5 OTU in October 1940. Can we assume this should be 55 OTU or could he have moved from 5 OTU to 55 OTU?

Johnnie

Thnaks for all of the help on this.

It certainly seems like it was Boot.

He had also flown with F/Lt Boot on the 11th and 14th of July, so it all seem to fit.

Thanks again,

Johnnie

Now pretty sure it is P V Boot as now found more on P W O Mould as follows:-

Squadron Leader Peter William Olber MOULD DFC and Bar, 33414, flew a Hurricane off HMS Ark Royal 3rd April 1941 to increase the number of planes on Malta. On 12th May 1941 185 Squadron was established at Hal Far and he was made the Commanding Officer. He was piloting a Hurricane on 1st October 1941, when he was shot down by Italian fighters, and was killed. He was 24 years old and the C.O. of 185 Squadron. Remembered on the Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial at Floriana

Strange that there is no mention in the ORB of his leaving although it does mention the arrival of Flt Lt W.D. David from 152 Squadron on 24.03.41. So perhaps he was the replacement for Mould. Most other posting are mentioned.

Just shows house complex it is to track these pilots as I have used te following

55 OTU ORB
Aces High
Men of the Battle of Britain
The London Gazette

Try also over on RAF Commands Johnnie – they are very helpful over there.

I believe Flight Lieutenant was the rank commensurate with the position of Flight Commander.

The London Gazette gives under Flying officers to be Flight lieutenants (War Substantive) P V Boot DFC (76455) dated 1st December 1941 with seniority from 16th Jan. This is in the Gazette issue dated 19th December 1941, issue no. 35387

I thought P V Boot sounded familiar, but more on that in a minute. Firstly, here’s what Kenneth Wynn has to say about him in the excellent Men of the Battle of Britain…..

Peter Victor Boot.

Boot was born in Walsall on September 12th 1916 and he was educated at Bishop’s Heath School, Sutton Coldfield. He joined the RAFVR in July 1937 as an airman u/t Pilot (740531) and was called up at the outbreak of war.

After completing his training, Boot went to 235 Squadron on November 6th 1939. He arrived at 12 Group Pool, Aston Down on February 1st 1940, converted to Hurricanes and then joined 1 Squadron in France on the 23rd March.

He claimed a Bf109 destroyed on May 12, a Bf110 on the 14th and a Do17 on the 16th. On June 5th Boot forced a He111 to land in a field near Rouen. Having expended all his ammunition in combat, he made diving passes on the straggling bomber until it went down. Boot also shot down a Do17 on the same day. He flew back to England with the Squadron on June 17th.

On August 31st Boot damaged a Bf110 and on September 1st he destroyed a Bf109. Awarded the DFC (1.10.40) he was posted to 5 OTU on October 18th as an instructor.

It is believed that he later went to Canada as an instructor and may have returned to operations towards the end of the war and been wounded. He was released from the RAF in 1946 as a Flight Lieutenant.

Boot joined the family quarry and mining business. When some of it was nationalised by the Labour Government, he went into property development and management. He died in September 1984.

PO 1/12/39 FO 6/11/40 FL 6/11/41

So it certainly appears he had an interesting wartime career. Almost certainly Acting Flight lieutenant when he appears in that log book.

I can get hold of an entry in the Walsall Observer of 21/9/40 which is in connection with the award of the DFC if anyone is interested.

I’m from Walsall and so is my Dad and as a 13 year old he remembers a fighter pilot with a DFC coming to visit someone in the next street to ours.He always said it was Mr. Boot.

Hope all this is of interest.

Regards,

kev35

Then again with a bit more digging there was another instructor pilot P.V. Boot DFC who was involved in a landing accident in Master T8625 on 28.5.41.

However he is listed as a Pilot Officer. In wartime did the ranks progress from P/O to Flying Officer to Flt Lt or did they skip Flying Officer ? Is it likely that he would have been promoted to Flt Lt by August ? Aces High states he was promoted to Flt Lt in August 1941. His DFC was for shooting down six aircraft in the Battle of France.

The dates for the Flight Commanders are also from March 1941

Many thanks for the information.

My chap was at 55 OTU from the 9th July to the 18th August 1941.

I’ll send a PM.

Johnnie

Found it

O/C A Flt – Flt Lt P W O Mould DFC
O/C B Flt – Flt Lt David DFC
O/C C Flt – Flt Lt WM Sizer
O/C D Flt – P/O E.S Aldous

Peter William Olber Mould received his DFC for shooting down the first German aicraft over France in WW 2, a Do.17 on 30th October with No.1 Sqn.

Might I ask if you have copies of the logbok for the full time at 55 OTU and the pilots name. It would be good to tie it up with my 55 OTU records

The bottom one is definately .W. Gough (96007) Acting Wing Commander who was posted to HQ 12 Group on 24.11.41. Still looking for the Flt Lt

Pretty certain the signature says “P Doot”, maybe wrong about the first initial being a “P” but the Surname I’m sure is “Doot”

looks like KEVIN to me

I have copies of the ORB for 55 OTU, but not sure if they cover August 1941. I will pull them out and have a look

Sorry

Not checking properly

Maybe their a British list ssomewhere

Garry

Isn’t that a list of holders of the American DFC?

Regards,

kev35

I can’t make it out, but if you do have an idea you could check against this list of DFCs

http://www.dfcsociety.org/honorroll.asp?nav_letter=F&offset=0

Garry