On 13th/14th April 1943 the R.A.F. bombed Spezia. Part of the attacking force was 97 Squadron and a member of 97 Squadon flying in Lancaster ED 425 E was my father.
For this particular trip one of the regular crew members was replaced by a Sub/Lt. Lett. This confirmed by my fathers log book and the Squadron ORB’s. Lett’s duty listed in the ORB as A/B.
What puzzels me is why a Sub/Lt., which (correct me if I am wrong) is a Naval rank was doing on this raid. Perhaps as the target was Naval Docks he was there to observe? His name appears in no other place in the ORB’s of 97 Squadron that I have.
Anyone any suggestions?
Excuse the duplicate posting. I posted this on R.A.F. Commands Forum but don’t think it worked.
By: David Layne - 3rd March 2007 at 17:59
Have found out the following, can anyone add more?
Lt WH Lett killed when his Firefly PP394 collided with MB753 and fell into Holywell Bay, Newquay 11/06/47
By: avro683 - 18th February 2007 at 23:53
It was not uncommon to have Naval officers flying as Air Bombers. They were on detachment from HMS Daedalus. In my records I have two others. One was a Lt, and another was a Sub-Lt, both with 106 Sqn. Whether they were on permanent attachment, or there to gain experience, before returning to the Navy, is not clear.
Regards, Doug.
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February 18, 2007 at 8:56 pm