Crew at 21 O.T.U. Front: (l-r) Dick Burns, John Wightman,; Back: (l-r) Bert Sharpe, Ray Sedger, Hal Smith (photo: Nancy Sedger)

It is important to understand the way in which the RAF crewed up a bomber crew, because it reflects very much on the philosophy of night bomber operations. In the USAAF the airmen were "crewed up" for training in the States by a bureaucratic selection of names from lists. Once on the squadron, they could often fly a mission with a crew made up of available "bods" that day - sometimes no one would know anyone else on board the aircraft. This reflected very much the philosophy of daylight pattern bombing which relied heavily on well trained expert "lead crews" in the formations of Squadrons and Groups.

Night operations, especially the night precision bombing mastered by 205 Group RAF, required a very different type of crew. Each aircraft was navigated individually to the target by its own navigator - it was his job to ensure that the aircraft arrived over the target at the briefed height and exactly on the "blitz time" agreed to at briefing. This was an attempt to saturate the defenses and to allow the bomber stream to pass through the defended target area in as short a time as possible - the theory being that there was safety in numbers. It also had the effect of delivering the maximum tonnage of bombs on target in the shortest time and kept the defenders' heads down (in theory). It seldom worked that well. Therefore a night bomber crew was a self -contained unit, dependent on each man knowing that the others would do their jobs well and having confidence in their skills and judgment. It was not a game of "follow the leader" at night.

When the Wellington was first introduced into the Middle East Theatre with 37 and 148 Squadron which formed the nucleus of 205 group in 1940, followed later by 108 Squadron, 221 Squadron, 104 Squadron, 40 Squadron and 70 Squadron, the main aircraft types were the Wellington 1a and 1c powered by Bristol Pegasus engines and the Mk. II powered by liquid cooled Merlins. These aircraft were crewed as they were in regular Bomber Command squadrons in the UK with a captain (first pilot) a second pilot, an Observer/Navigator, a Wireless Operator, and a front gunner and rear gunner.

Later, in 1943, the Wellington, as crewed up for the Middle East, was operated by five crewmen, who had been melded together into an efficient team at O.T.U. (Operational Training Unit) before being sent to an operational squadron. This consisted of a Captain/pilot, Bombaimer, W/ Operator, Navigator and Rear Gunner. Even at that stage, the pilot would do one or two "dickey flights" with experienced crews before taking his own crew off on his own. A tour in the Middle East was 40 Operations for the pilot or 250 hours of operational time, whichever came first. A second tour was less and a third even shorter.

If a pilot went sick the crew just did not fly. If one other crew member went sick or was KIA the crew would carry on with "spare bods" who needed to make up time on their tours or who just enjoyed flying (very few of the latter, but they did exist). Neither the "spare" or the crew particularly liked this way of doing ops. Anything unknown could turn the hands of fate against survival. Aircrew, above all, liked routine and the known.

Crews flew together and some crews were able to fly a good deal of their tour in the same aircraft. Most did not however, and took whatever kite was serviceable that night. Their loyalty was to the crew not to a particular aircraft, although crews did have favourites. A "duff kite" or a "ropey bus" became known on the squadron and crews did not like to fly in them. Usually the specially modified aircraft (often old Mk III's) that carried the gear for the 4000 lb. bomb (at one time 150's was the aptly named D-Dog and C-Charlie) was not well liked because the bomb doors were taken off and the bomb was carried partly inside and partly outside the aircraft. Once the bomb was dropped it became very drafty inside the aircraft.

It is important to understand the process by which crews were formed in the RAF. It sometimes looked like anarchy, but it worked and almost all vets say it was the best system that could have been devised for their particular kind of flying. Various aircrew trades would be posted to an OTU from their individual training. Most crews on 150 Squadron came through 21 O.T.U. at Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos., U.K. although some came from elsewhere especially later when many crews came from 76 and 77 OTU in Palestine.

Flt. Lt. Ron Bint, who has just completed a tour of ops passes on some veteran advice to other members of the squadron. L-R Fl.Lt. Ron Bint (RAAF), F/S. L.J.Felstead (RAAF), F/O M.E. Thompson (RAAF), Sgt. W.H. Baker (RAAF) and SGT. C. Clare (RAAF) (photo: Ray Sedger)

On entering the R.A.F. crews would come from A.C.R.C. (Aircrew Reception Centres) - the most famous being at St. John's Wood in London. This was known as "arsy tarsy" and there the transformation from a "civvy" to an "LAC 2 - the lowest form of crawling life in the RAF- would start. At ACRC, men would be "kitted out" and given some preliminary drill and introduction to service life. They would then be posted to an I.T.W. (Initial Training Wing) where they were to learn the basics of flying theory, service protocols, parade ground bashing and other "bull". They would also be sorted out as to aircrew trades training - pilot training, observers' school, wireless and gunnery school etc. On an active operational squadron not much of the ITW "bull" was seen - saluting the King's Commission (except on pay parade ), button shining, parade drill etc. The Desert Air Force and 205 Group were known in other Commands as a "scruffy lot". No wonder - see page on living conditions!!

After I.T.W. U/T pilots (Under Training), would be posted to an E.F.T.S. (Elementary Flying Training School). Often these schools would be in Canada, South Africa or Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) under the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. After about 15 hours of attempting to make you a pilot, you either went "solo" or were "scrubbed" and sent off to learn another trade. Many "scrubbed" pilots, serving as navigators or bombaimers. would later find their 15 hours of U/T pilot time useful as they brought a bomber home safely after the pilot had been wounded or killed in action. After E.F.T.S. pilots went on to A.F.T.S. (P) (Advanced Flying Training School) where they would be further trained for single engined or multi engined flying. Those sent to single engined training would fly the North American "Harvard" (The Yellow Peril) and those for multi-engined training usually flew Avro Ansons or Airspeed Oxfords with the occasional Cessna Crane or Fleet Fort thrown in.After successful completion of A.F.T.S. , there would be a "wings parade" where the pilots would receive their two winged "flying brevet" to sew onto their uniforms and also be given their starting rank. About 10% of each class was offered a commission. The rest started out as Sergeants. Once graduated from this stage they would be posted to an O.T.U. to be "crewed up"

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Sgt. R. "Appy" Appleton works at the navigation table in an Avro Anson Mk. 1 at A.O.S. in Southern Rhodesia

(photo: J.A. Long collection)

The experience of the other aircrew trades followed a similar path - passing from I.T.W. to an Elementary Training School in their specialty - navigation, wireless, gunnery, bomb aiming or until 1942, into the old Observer's category which included all of the above. They too went on to Advanced Training in whatever trade they had been selected. Those who earned their "Flying O", Air Gunners, Navigator or Wireless Operator wing wore it with pride and then on to O.T.U. to form the team that would take a bomber into harm's way.

Once at O.T.U. the completely undirected process of "crewing up" would start. A hangar or large hall would be filled with a given number of each crew trade - enough to produce a given number of crews. This number was based on the ability to handle the training of that number of crews at the time. These crews would constitute a "course" at O.T.U. The doors were closed and the airmen began milling about making their names and trades be known. It was here that many crew picked up their nicknames that survived throughout their tour - names like "Blue", "Legs", "Shorty", "Chalky", the inevitable "Nobby" if you were a Clark or Clarke, and on and on. Each man sized up the others, considering whether he could fly with that person. Usually a pilot or "skipper" would start the process by picking up, say, a bombaimer or gunner. He would ask them if they would like to fly with him and then they would go looking for the rest of the crew. Often two men would have crewed up and be picked up as a team by a "skipper". Therefore, crews tended to be very diverse in background and nationality. It was not unusual on 150 Squadron for a crew to consist of a Welsh pilot, an Australian Wireless Operator, a South African gunner, a Navigator from London and a Canadian Bombaimer. Crews crossed all social barriers - some crews had university educated men along side others who had been office clerks, barbers and policemen in "civvy street". What really mattered now was how well you could fit into the team.

Thus formed, this was the crew that they would train with at OTU and the one with which they would go into battle. At O.T.U. they would learn to operate the Wellington as a crew and get to know the strengths and weaknesses of each other. At the end of the O.T.U. course some crews did a short "hop" to France for a bombing or "nickel" raid, before being posted to an operational squadron. If a crew was to fly an aircraft out to "the Med" from the UK they would be posted to a Ferry Training Unit (F.T.U.) to prepare for the long air trip around Spain and Gibraltar. This flight usually left the U.K. from Portreath in Cornwall. If they were not to fly out - it was off to Liverpool for another troopship cruise courtesy of His Majesty across the stormy Bay of Biscay!

After arriving on squadron, the training was still not over. The pilot had to do one or two "dickey trips" with an experienced crew to see how the "old lags" did it and hopefully pick up enough tips to survive his first few ops. After that he was put on ops with his own crew. A tour of duty with 150 Squadron was 40 operations for the pilot or 250 hours of operational time. A second tour was shorter and a third shorter still. After completing a tour a pilot was put on screened duty for 3 - 6 months, often instructing at an O.T.U. which was often more dangerous than ops. A rest it was not! 

A strange process, but in the minds of the vets one that was the best scheme at the time.

The Real Thing !! .. Wimpys line up for takeoff on an op from Kairouan (Photo: Ray Sedger)

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