“The Hampden stalled and, before Bradley could complete
the recovery, it crashed on the northern edge of the small
village of Haltham”Formal gathering of 408 Squadron RCAF
aircrew, July 1941.May 2015 FLYPAST 21At Swinderby, Dierkes formed
his crew and they started
their training on Avro’s twin-
engined bomber. Within two
weeks, Lancasters replaced
the Manchesters and the crew
completed their conversion
before the end of October. Coles
was returning to Syerston, this
time with 61 Squadron.
For the first few weeks the
Dierkes crew concentrated on
cross-country navigation andbombing exercises. During this
period Coles flew an ‘op’ when he
joined Flt Sgt McFarlane’s crew to
bomb Turin on November 18.
By the beginning of 1943, the
Pathfinder Force was becoming
established with the bombing and
navigation aids Oboe and H2S,
the target-indicator bomb and
the first radio-countermeasures
devices coming into service.
The Lancaster and the Halifax
had re-equipped most of the
squadrons and Bomber Command
AOC Air Marshal Sir Arthur
‘Bomber’ Harris was able to
start mounting much larger, and
concentrated, raids.Baptism of fi re
Coles was commissioned on
January 3, 1943. Two weeks
later, the Dierkes crew flew its
first operation together when
they attacked Berlin
on the night ofjoin 61 Conversion Flight where
he crewed up with Bill Dierkes to
convert to Avro Manchesters.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in
1911, Dierkes had crossed the
border into Canada in October
1940 and enlisted in the RCAF at
Windsor, Ontario. At 29, he was
supposedly over the age limit
to train as a pilot but managed
to circumvent the rules and
received his commission before
heading for the UK.May 2015 FLYPAST 21they attacked Berlin
on the night ofAbove
The traditional pose immediately after the
issue of fl ying kit at 7 B&GS, Stormy Down.
Coles is seated, centre.Right
Wreckage of Hampden P1212. Lionel Coles
was the only survivor of the crash.Below
Hampden P1212. PETE WEST20-26_Medals_fpSBB.indd 21 09/03/2015 10:06