RAF pilot's logbooks.

One thing I want to mention is that from what I’ve been told by several pilots, the entries in red ink are night flights, not missions as mentioned above. However if the pilot were on RAF bombers or night fighters this equates to much the same thing which may be where the confusion arose.

When I mentioned that operational flight were usually marked in red, this was based on what I have seen in log books (day fighters, mostly), not what I have been told. If you check a standard log book page (right hand side) at the beginning of this thread, you will see that there are separate columns for day and for night flying, so there is no need to use different colours to mark these (which does not imply, of course, that nobody did that). Marking operational missions in a different colour was important, because it was these that decided whan a pilot would become tour expired.

I don’t know all of them but filled in the ones I could.
Hope it helps

Yes, it does!

EN613 April 1943 (Not with 41 Squadron from what I have. Issued to 91 on 4/22/43)

I will have to check where I got it from.

Thanks a lot.

Just for your interest this is a scan of the inside cover page of an RNZAF Air Gunner’s log book – which was issued to Flight Engineers too as they had to train first as an Air Gunner. The book itself is smaller in width than a pilot’s log book, perhaps just 3/4 of the width.

This chap, the late Jim Ross, was first a Flight Mechanic, then he decided to become aircrew and became a Flight Engineer on Hudsons and Catalinas in the Pacific.

An RIAF Log book

Perhaps to provide some variety here, I am posting three scans from the logbook of an Indian Pilot who flew in SEAC

The Logbook had a khaki type cover – with just his name and rank F/O written in the top right corner.

Page 1 has his name and rank as P/O

And one of the ops pages shows him undertaking conversion at 151 OTU risalpur. Thankfully Indian pilots had the practice of recording serial numbers directly instead of sqn codes (Even though there were sqn codes in the initial days). This makes the job of tracking down the numbers esier.

All the other pages, endoresements, assesments are similar to that of the RAF ones posted above by dave and others.

Daz,

You may find this link of interest which has scans of an RNZAF pilot’s log book. The RNZAF book was much the same as the RAF one it seems.

http://www.burrowes.org/FamilyTree/E.F.G.Burrowes_LogBook/

One thing I want to mention is that from what I’ve been told by several pilots, the entries in red ink are night flights, not missions as mentioned above. However if the pilot were on RAF bombers or night fighters this equates to much the same thing which may be where the confusion arose.

Also I understand that when pilots or crews were awarded medals they got an endorsement thing to slip inside their log book at the appropriate page.

The log books are an absolute treasure of recorded history and it is superb when you look through a well detailed one. A lot of the information that I’ve been gathering for my Cambridge project has come from old logbooks.

It is also interesting to note that people other than pilots also had their own logbooks, airgunners, navigators, flight engineers, etc… anyone who flew I guess

Following up on what Voytech mentioned about the back of the logbook. Here are the last two pages from the one I have.

Dan

BTW Dan,

With your expertise in Mk XIIs, is there any chance you could match codes to the following Mark Twelves of no. 41 Sqn:

I don’t know all of them but filled in the ones I could.
Hope it helps

Dan

EN235 May 1943 (Don’t have this one. Dickie Hogarth killed in it July 18, 43)
EN236 April 1943 (NO luck here either. “Haybag” Haywood lost in it August 17, 43)
EN237 May 1943 ( EB-V That’s S/L Tom Neil’s kite)
EN603 April-June 1943 (Not sure. Written off in a ground collision with MB844)
EN604 May 1943 (EB-U Flown by F/O Joe Birbeck)
EN609 April 1943 ( EB-Y)
EN612 April 1943 (Don’t have this one. F/S “WingCo” East killed in it over the Channel May 5, 43)
EN613 April 1943 (Not with 41 Squadron from what I have. Issued to 91 on 4/22/43)
MB800 May-September 1943 (EB-B. F/O Jerzy Solak claimed a 190 in it on 6/4/43. F/S Stan May was lost in it on 9/19/43. He became a POW)
MB802 September 1943 (EB-K F/L Hugh Parry shot down to become a POW on 9/24/43)
MB829 May 1943 (EB-W)
MB845 September 1943 (EB-G F/O Don Smith claimed a 190 in it on 9/22/43)
MB857 September 1943 (EB-X)

41 Squadron Mk XIIs

Voy Tech,

MB845 EB-G May/June 44

If of help.

Mark

BTW Dan,

With your expertise in Mk XIIs, is there any chance you could match codes to the following Mark Twelves of no. 41 Sqn:

EN235 May 1943
EN236 April 1943
EN237 May 1943
EN603 April-June 1943
EN604 May 1943
EN609 April 1943
EN612 April 1943
EN613 April 1943
MB800 May-September 1943
MB802 September 1943
MB829 May 1943
MB845 September 1943
MB857 September 1943

Daz,

You asked about the inside cover. Many log books that I have seen had one or more sheets of paper attached there, these being sort of a printed “Instruction Manual” on how the log book should be used, what should be entered in it, etc.

Other points of note are:

“Record of Service” – the last pages of the log book were supposed to include the full detailed listing of all the postings of the pilot. In some log books this is really detailed, in some there is nothing in these pages.

There are also pages at the end of the log book supposed to include the record of Link Trainer practices.

Sorties were usually entered in different colours, combat missions being usually marked in red.

“Log book endorsement” by superior officer had special meanings, depending on the colour:
Endorsement in red ink was a way of punishing a pilot for an offence done while flying. Many RAF accident reports end with the words: Action to be taken: Pilot’s Log Book to be endorsed in red ink ‘Gross Carelessness’ or the like.
Endorsement in green ink could be a reward for showing special skills, such as successful landing in a damaged machine etc.

It was not unusual for pilots to attach photos in their log books, such as camera gun stills where they were credited with victories, photos of friends (especially those missing), official recognition photos when they converted onto a new type of aircraft, etc.

Cheers Dan. Valuable info for my novel! (You and Snapper shall, of course, be acknowledged!)

Some other notes that are taped or glued in the logbook. Seems like they’d be fairly typical.

Dan

Cheers Snapper.

Would the two (RCAF/RAF) be similar?

(Trust me, gents, this is all valuable info, even if I am asking stupid questions! ;))

They are the same from what I’ve seen. This is an RCAF, but I’ve got photocopies of many RAF pilots books and it’s the same. I’m including the inside cover from this logbook. This is the only original logbook I have. A rather prized possesion as you can imagine 🙂

Note in the upper corner that it is RCAF Form R.95(RAF 414)

Dan

Cheers Snapper.

Would the two (RCAF/RAF) be similar?

(Trust me, gents, this is all valuable info, even if I am asking stupid questions! ;))

Have a scanned copy of a logbook for Johnny Wiseman. Trained in Canada, RAF
pilot. Got an RCAF logbook though:

Front cover: Royal Canadian Air Force
Pilots Flying Log Book
Name: 1333551 J.G. Wiseman

Cheers Dan.

What would be on the inside cover? Something like “Pilot Officer P. Prune” with his service number perhaps?

Left and right sides of the Spit driver’s logbook I have

Hope it helps

Dan