Air Gunner

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Air gunner 44
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Air Gunner

Post by Air gunner 44 »

Hi I am looking for any details for a relative of mine who was a air gunner /F/SGT he was in 3LFS(A) his name was Harry Joseph Arthur Foster he was also at 31 base in 1944 does any one know any think about him . Please
My email is shaun_moncreaff@hotmail.com
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K4KittyCrew
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Re: Air Gunner

Post by K4KittyCrew »

Hi Shaun and welcome to the forum.
Are there any further details you can pass on to us?
Nationality? Served which country?
You say he went to Lancaster Finishing School but do you know if he was posted to a operational squadron?
Cheers,
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
Air gunner 44
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Re: Air Gunner

Post by Air gunner 44 »

Hi John,
Glad to of joined the forum,

Yes Harry was British Nationality he was born in Portsmouth on 15/10/23
He served England as far as I know
His official number was 1606032
He was enlisted on the 22/04/42
And he served 6 years 52 days
I only have very limited information
all I know he was at 31 base in 1944 but I don't know if he was posted to a operational squadron

Hope you can help with this little information.

Regards Shaun
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PeteT
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Re: Air Gunner

Post by PeteT »

Shaun

Is the information that you are providing coming from his service record, his flying log book, his release book or from another source?

His service number is in the range that was allocated to Oxford, so that will be where he enlisted.

As you are probably aware, he underwent his heavy conversion training at 31 Base and LFS, so he would have completed his basic training, technical training (as an air gunner) and possibly[*] his operational training prior to this.

Assuming he successfully completed the HCU course, he should have been posted to an operational squadron (possibly along with the other members of the seven man crew that he trained with).

Not much I am afraid, but hopefully you will be able to provide some more snippets for us to work on

Regards

Pete

[*] Some air gunners were posted to an operational training unit (OTU) after completion of their technical training, others went directly to an HCU
Researching:
CA Butler, flight engineer Lancaster ME334 (KIA over Bonn with 35 PFF on 4th Febuary 1945) http://rafww2butler.wordpress.com/
Ground Crew and Aircrew Training WWII
"The History of No 35 Squadron" http://35squadron.wordpress.com/
Air gunner 44
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Re: Air Gunner

Post by Air gunner 44 »

Hi Pete ,

Thanks for what information you can give me.
Yes i only have two forms with his basic information one is form 543 and the other does not say any number but its the form which has his training units on it like 14 ITW, 15ITW, EAGS, 11AGS,14OTU,85OTU,31base,3ACS (A) ,31BASE,3 LFS(A), 31BASE,
.95sqau I cant read the next one it looks like Burn maybe not sure then the last one says R.O.GLDS DON'T KNOW IF THAT MAKE ANY SENSE.
Unfortunately I don't have his logbook.

Thank Shaun
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PeteT
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Re: Air Gunner

Post by PeteT »

Shaun

That sounds like his service record. I don't think he would have been posted to 95 Squadron after 31 Base etc as they were not part of Bomber Command, so I think there must be a transcription error somewhere.

I am not sure if you can add images to this forum, but if you can, I would suggest that you attach a copy of what you have so that we can work through it with you. If not, I am happy to work through it offline (either send me a private message and I will let you have my e-mail address or use the Contact Page on my 35 Squadron website shown in my signature).

Regards

Pete
Researching:
CA Butler, flight engineer Lancaster ME334 (KIA over Bonn with 35 PFF on 4th Febuary 1945) http://rafww2butler.wordpress.com/
Ground Crew and Aircrew Training WWII
"The History of No 35 Squadron" http://35squadron.wordpress.com/
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