No. 4 (Continental) FPP
Maintenance Command
History | Operations and losses | Sources | Links | Books | Questions and/or remarks
No.4 Ferry Pilots Pool was redesignated No.4 (Continental) Ferry Pilots Pool on 28/04/1940. In late September 1940 it reverted back to No.4 Ferry Pilots Pool.
Source: Sturtivant and Hamlin, 'RAF Flying Training and Support Units since 1912', Air-Britain
See also:
A Brief History of the Air Transport Auxiliary
Control Towers, Prestwick
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Operations and losses 10/05/1940 - 30/06/1940
Not all operations listed; those with fatal losses are. (incomplete)
12/05/1940: Transfer flights, F. 2 Planes lost, 2 KIA
18/06/1940: Transfer flight to the Middle East. 7 Planes lost, 14 KIA, 1 DOW
19/06/1940: Transfer flight to the Middle East (2). 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA, 1 MIA, 1 DOW? -later MIA
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12/05/1940: Transfer flights, France
Type: Hurricane Mk I
Serial number: P2807, -?
Operation: Transfer flight
Lost: 12/05/1940
Flying Officer (Pilot) John R. Brown, RAF 39370 (Australia), age 21, 12/05/1940, Villeneuve-St Georges Old Communal Cemetery,
Crashed attempting forced-landing 10 miles north of Coulommiers during ferry flight, cause unknown.
'Twelve Days in May': 'Before the day was out there occurred a fatal accident when F/O John Brown, a pilot from 4 (Continental) Ferry Flight) delivering a new Hurricane (P2807), crashed on landing in a field 10 miles north of Aigle. He had apparently flown twice round the field and had then fired a flare before attempting to land.'
ABS has the entry "Crashed in forced landing on ferry flight 10 miles north of Juvincourt 12/05/40"
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Type: Fairey Battle
Serial number: L5289, -?
Operation: Transfer flight
Lost: 12/05/1940
Flying Officer Russell H. Dingle, RAF 39307 (Canada), age 25, 12/05/1940, Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles, F
Dived into the ground en route to No. 1 ATS at Perpignan.
Sources: CWGC; Brian Cull, Twelve Days in May, Grub Street, 2001;
Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008
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18/06/1940: Transfer flight to the Middle East
A number of Hurricanes and twelve Blenheims left Tangmere for the Middle East. One Hurricane and six Blenheims were lost on the first leg to Marignane (France).
Type: Hurricane Mk I
Serial number: ?, -?
Operation: Transfer flight to the Middle East
Lost: 18/06/1940
P/O A.G. Maycock - unhurt.
Took off from Tangmere. Lost formation flying in cloud and reportedly attacked by enemy aircraft. Hit a hedge and overturned forced-landing near Loudon, 10.00 hrs.
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Type: Bristol Blenheim IV
Serial number: L9317, -?
Operation: Transfer flight to the Middle East
Lost: 18/06/1940
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Colin W. Handley, RAF 42343, age 20, 18/06/1940, Charroux Communal Cemetery, F
Sergeant (Air Gnr.) Patrick D.H. McGovern, RAFVR 903042, age unknown, 18/06/1940, Charroux Communal Cemetery, F
Leading Aircraftman James G.B. Thomas, RAFVR 936495, age 26, 18/06/1940, Charroux Communal Cemetery, F
Took off from Tangmere between 06.30 and 06.45 hours. Lost in severe storm conditions north-west of Limoges. The formation became split up over France in thick cloud 110km south of the Loire River.
L9317 crashed near Charroux.
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Type: Bristol Blenheim IV
Serial number: L9318, -?
Operation: Transfer flight to the Middle East
Lost: 18/06/1940
Sergeant (Pilot) Martin Field, RAF 528040, age 24, 18/06/1940, Crozon Communal Cemetery, F
Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.) David Murrie, RAFVR 751305, age 19, 18/06/1940, Crozon Communal Cemetery, F (Blenheim or Battle?)
Aircraftman 1st Class Edward Pickford, RAFVR 966179, age unknown, 18/06/1940, Crozon Communal Cemetery, F
Took off from Tangmere between 06.30 and 06.45 hours. Lost in severe storm conditions north-west of Limoges. The formation became split up over France in thick cloud 110km south of the Loire River.
L9318 crashed at Crozon-sur-Vauvre.
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Type: Bristol Blenheim IV
Serial number: L9315, -?
Operation: Transfer flight to the Middle East
Lost: 18/06/1940
Pilot Officer (Pilot) James McCash, RAFVR 78977, age 22, 18/06/1940, Hiesse Communal Cemetery, F
Sergeant Ronald Micklethwaite, RAF , age 19, 18/06/1940, Hiesse Communal Cemetery, F
Aircraftman 1st Class George Harris, RAF 626479, age unknown, 18/06/1940, Hiesse Communal Cemetery, F
Took off from Tangmere between 06.30 and 06.45 hours. Lost in severe storm conditions north-west of Limoges. The formation became split up over France in thick cloud 110km south of the Loire River.
L9315 crashed at Hiesse.
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Type: Bristol Blenheim IV
Serial number: L9314, -?
Operation: Transfer flight to the Middle East
Lost: 18/06/1940
Pilot Officer Douglas S. Johnston, RAF 41426 (NZ), age [24], 18/06/1940, Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles, F
Sergeant Kenneth G. Walker, RAF 625837, age 18, 18/06/1940, Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles, F (DOW)
Leading Aircraftman William H. Higgins, RAF 635167, age 29, 18/06/1940, Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles, F
Took off from Tangmere between 06.30 and 06.45 hours. Lost in severe storm conditions north-west of Limoges. The formation became split up over France in thick cloud 110km south of the Loire River.
L9314 crashed at Prunières at 10.30 hrs, two of the crew being killed instantly. The observer died in transit to hospital. Crew initially buried there; reinterred in Mazargues
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Type: Bristol Blenheim IV
Serial number: L9351?, -?
Operation: Transfer flight to the Middle East
Lost: 18/06/1940
Flight Lieutenant James Wilkinson-Bell, RAF 70737, age 25, 18/06/1940, Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles, F
Sergeant James A. Malcolm, RAF 581107, age 24, 18/06/1940, Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles, F
Corporal (Air Gnr.) Edward R. Blake, RAF 550631, age 21, 18/06/1940, Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles, F
Took off from Tangmere between 06.30 and 06.45 hours. Lost in severe storm conditions north-west of Limoges. The formation became split up over France in thick cloud 110km south of the Loire River.
L9351? crashed near Mazarques. Graham Warner points out that this number is incorrect as L9351 was not issued.
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Type: Bristol Blenheim IV
Serial number: L9263, -?
Operation: Transfer flight to the Middle East
Lost: 18/06/1940
S/L G. Pryde - safe
Sgt H. Hibbett (also spelled as 'Hibbert') - safe
Sgt A. Scott - safe
Took off from Tangmere between 06.30 and 06.45 hours. Engine cut-off at Marignane, at the end of first leg of ferry stage. Struck boundary, abandoned there.
Another of the twelve Blenheims that left Tangmere, L9334, flown by P/O S. Millen, reached Marignane late on the 18th. S/L Pryde (ex 21 Squadron), Sgt Hibbett and Sgt Scott are assigned to this plane.
P/O Samuel J. Millen (RAF 41047), a New Zealander, was one of the founding pilots of the PRU. He flew a French LeO 451 to Algeria on 21/06/1940, returned by air to France, flew again a LeO 451 to Algeria on 22/06/1940, thence returned by train and ship to the UK. He was to die on 16/12/1940.
Some sources state that the a/c was
L9934 instead of L9263.
Sources: CWGC; Henk Welting;
Graham Warner, 'Bristol Blenheim: A Complete History'. 2nd Edition, 2005; Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008; Gunby - Temple, 'RAF Bomber Command Losses In the Middle East and Mediterranean', Errol Martyn, 'For your Tomorrow', Vol III. See also: RAF Commands Forum
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19/06/1940: Transfer flight to the Middle East (2)
Type: Bristol Blenheim IV
Serial number: L9334, -?
Operation: Transfer flight to the Middle East (Marignane - Malta)
Lost: 19/06/1940
Squadron Leader George A.M. Pryde, RAF 32232, DFC, age 30,
19/06/1940, missing.
Sergeant Leslie A. Hibbett, RAF 581116, age 19, 21/06/1940, missing (DOW)
Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.) Alexander Scott, RAFVR 759142, 500 Sqdn., age 19, 19/06/1940, Medjez-el-Bab War Cemetery, Tunisia
Took off 1730 hrs Marignane on the third leg of the flight to Malta. Overshot the island and on approaching the Tunisian coast crashed into the sea. The pilot and WOp/Ag were killed instantly and Sgt Hibbett died two days later. Sgt Scott is buried in Medjez-el-Bab War Cemetery. The others are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
One source stated that Sgt Hibbett (also spelled: Hibbert) was buried in Ferryville (now:
Menzel-Bourghiba). In the Battle of Tunisia heavy ground fighting took place in that area - it is possible that his grave was then destroyed.
Sources: CWGC; Henk Welting; Graham Warner, 'Bristol Blenheim: A Complete History'. 2nd Edition, 2005; Gunby - Temple, 'RAF Bomber Command Losses In the Middle East and Mediterranean'. See also: RAF Commands Forum
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SOME UNIT LOSSES AFTER 1 JULY 1940
25/07/1940: During the afternoon Ju 88's set out to attack the Gloucester aircraft factory at Hucclecote (or Hocclecote?). From Kemble, Pilot Officer Charles Bird and Manlove of No.4 Ferry Pilots Pool set off in Hurricanes belonging to No.5 MU.
One of the Ju 88's, flown by Unteroffizier Heine, was intercepted by Bird and Manlovewho were joined by F/L Prosser-Hanks, a Battle of France veteran now instructing with No. 5 OTU. They caught up with Heine over gloucester where a running fight took place resulting in the Ju 88 and a Hurriane falling near the village of oakridge Lynch. All four of the Ju 88 crew bailed out, but P/O Bird was found dead in his Hurricane. It's not clear whether he had collided with the Ju 88 or had been shot down by its return fire.
Source: Larry Donnelly, The Other Few: Bomber and Coastal Command Operations in the Battle of Britain, Red Kite/Air Research, 2004
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August 13th 1940 when at 17.18 hrs Spitfire R6880 of No.4 Ferry Pilots Pool hit cable of balloon 12/6 operated by No.912 squadron at Brockworth causing the balloon to break away. The aircraft subsequently crashed in flames 300 yards south east of Dean Farm, and although the pilot baled out, it was only at an altitude of some 150 feet. He died later in the evening.
Source: John Penny, A short history of No.11 Balloon Centre at Pucklechurch, 1939 to 1945;
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12/09/1940: Blackburn Skua L2929 crashed near High Bentham while being ferried by No.4 Ferry Pilots' Pool from Hullavington to Donbristle.
Source:
Peak District Air Crashes, Skua L2929
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Christopher Pointon, on Clyde Aviation: 'I was doing some research on the death of Flight Engineer Harold Waldron of the Air Transport Auxiliary and found on official documents that he was presumed missing when Catalina FP321 swung on landing after a training flight and sank at Largs on the 22nd April 1943. His 2 fellow crew members also of the Air Transport Auxiliary based at No 4 Ferry Pilots Pool Prestwick were pilots Captain Ernest Cook and Flight Captain Jose Carreras from Spain who both survived the accident. The body of Flight Engineer Harold Waldron has never been found and he is listed on the Runnymede Memorial.
The aircraft was at the time assigned to the A.T.A and not an RAF Squadron probably for training purposes. The role of the A.T.A was to ferry aircraft of many types to where they were needed.'
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Sources
Air Force POWs 1939-1945
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database
Australian War Memorial
British Air Transport Auxiliary
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
German claims and Allied losses, May 1940 -
Laurent Rizzotti
The London Gazette
Prisoners of War captured in Europe 1940
RAF against odds (Time, USA, 27/05/1940)
RAF - Campaign Diary - The Battle of France (May-June 1940)
RAF Museum: British Military Aviation in 1940
RAF Order of Battle, France, 10th May 1940
Royal Air Force History Section
The Royal Air Force, 1939-1945
The Second World War - a day by day account
The War in France and Flanders, 1939-1940, by Major L.F. Ellis, 1954
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Books
Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008
Brian Cull, Twelve Days in May, Grub Street, 2001
David Gunby and Pel Temple, 'RAF Losses in the Middle East and Mediterranean Vol 1. 1939 to 1942'
Errol Martyn, 'For Your Tomorrow - A record of New Zealanders who have died while serving with the RNZAF and Allied Air Services Since 1915' (Vol One: Fates 1915-1942) and Vol Three.
Christopher Shores and Brian Cull with Nicola Malizia, 'Malta: The Hurricane Years Pages'
Graham Warner, Bristol Blenheim: A Complete History. 2nd Edition. Manchester, U.K.: Crecy Publishing, 2005
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Links
Discussion Groups
Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum
RAF Commands Forum
Other
Abbreviations used in the Royal Air Force
Code Names & RAF Vocabulary
Air Aces
Airwar over Denmark
Allied World War II Casualties in the Netherlands
Armée de l'Air - Order of Battle,
10th May 1940
Australian Wargraves
Axis History Factbook
Battle-of-Britain.com
De Belgen in Engeland 1940-1945 (in Dutch)
Belgian Aviation History Association Archaeological Team
Biplane Fighter Aces from the Second World War
The Bristol & District Blitz War Memorial - A register of those who lost their lives due to enemy action in Bristol and surrounding districts, 1940-1944
British Aircraft Directory
British Aviation Archaeological Council - Books and research links
Canada's Air Force History
HMS Cavalier
Ciel de Gloire (in French)
RAF Squadrons
CWGC Cemeteries Germany
CWGC Cemeteries Netherlands
Czechoslovak airmen in
the RAF 1940-1945
Danish WW2 Pilots
Dutch Pilots in RAF Squadrons
Eagles Squadrons (American pilots in the RAF)
Foreign Aircraft Landings in Ireland 1939-1946
'High flight', poem by John Gillespie Magee
Holocaust Memorial Day and Channel Islands Occupation Memorial
I Remember (in Russian and English)
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, poem by W.B. Yeats
Jagdgeschwader 27 (in German)
Luchtoorlog ('Arial War', in Dutch, with many photos)
Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth
The Luftwaffe, 1933-1945
Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum
The National Ex-Prisoners of War Association
Naval History.net
Nordic Aviation during WW2
Order of Liberation (in French/English/Spanish)
Pilotfriend.com: aircraft of WW2
Polish Air Force 1940-1947 Operations Record Books
RAF Battle of Britain
RAF Upwood
RAF WWII 38 Group Squadrons Reunited
De Slag om de Grebbeberg (Dutch)
Test Flying Memorial
Warbird Alley
War over Holland
World War II Aircraft wrecksites in Norway
www.bomber-command.de
Aircraft crashes on the North Yorkshire Moors, England
Bills-Bunker.de
The Lancastershire Aircraft Investigation Team
Luftfahrt-Archäologie in Schleswig Holstein (in German)
North East Diary 1939-1945
Wartime Leicester and
Leicestershire
The Aerodrome -
Aces and Aircraft of World War 1
WW1 Cemeteries
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This page is dedicated to the men of No. 4 FPP.
With special thanks to Amrit, Errol Martyn, Paul McMillan and Henk Welting
© Bart FM Droog / Rottend Staal Online 2008. Permission granted for use of the data gathered here for non commercial purposes, if this source is mentioned with a link to http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/index.html
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