No. 214 (FMS) Squadron RAF - Crews and Losses

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Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker End of 214 (1)

Article written by Sarah Dane, reporter from the Kings Lynn News and Advertiser and daughter of Flight Lieutenant Michael Dane

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker End of 214 (1) consisted of :

Flt/Lt A Binnington, Navigator / Plotter
Flt/Lt Michael 'Mike' Dane, Air Electronics Officer
Flt/Lt R K Druitt, Co-pilot, Royal Air Force
Fg/Off B Ireland, Navigator / Radar
Wg/Cdr John Lomas, Pilot, Royal Air Force

Source : Flt/Lt David Card and Sandra Dane (author of End of 214 Newspaper article and daughter of Mike Dane)

Date record last updated : 14 September 2018

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker End of 214 (2)

Article written by Sarah Dane, reporter from the Kings Lynn News and Advertiser and daughter of Flight Lieutenant Michael Dane

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker End of 214 (2) consisted of :

Flt/Lt David Barraclough, Co-pilot, Royal Air Force
Flt/Lt David Royston Card, F4233460, Navigator / Plotter, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British
Flt/Lt D Head, Air Electronics Officer, Royal Air Force
Sqn/Ldr Godfrey W 'Moff' Moffatt, Pilot
Flt/Lt A Thompson, Royal Air Force

Source : Flt/Lt David Card and Sandra Dane (author of End of 214 Newspaper article and daughter of Mike Dane)

Date record last updated : 10 September 2018

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA927

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA927 (May-1969)

Victor_XA927_May_1969_Transatlantic_race

Shows the line up of Victors at Goose Bay ready to refuel during the Transatlantic Race.

Transatlantic Race Mission.

See the Personnel entry for Flt/Lt (Ret) Stewart Waring for information about the Transatlantic Race in May 1969.

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA927 (May-1969) consisted of :

Flt/Lt Stewart L Waring, Co-pilot
Sqn/Ldr Graham Williams, Pilot
Flt/Lt Anthony 'Tony' Wright, Captain

Source : Flt/Lt (Ret) Stewart L Waring

Date record last updated : 13 August 2023

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA927 (21-Dec-1976)

This flight was recorded as a snake climb and receiver training.

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA927 (21-Dec-1976) consisted of :

Flt/Lt David Royston Card, F4233460, Navigator / Radar, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British
Sqn/Ldr Godfrey W 'Moff' Moffatt, Pilot

Source : Flt/Lt David Card

Date record last updated : 14 September 2018

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA930

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA932

Operated by 214 Sqdn at Marham until it was disbanded in 1977.

The difference between the 2 pointer and the 3 pointers was that the 3 pointers had a large hose drum unit at the rear of what used to be the bomb bay along with large fuel tanks and the 2 pointer had only the 2 wing pods.

Each aircraft was looked after by a Crew Chief and this was Tom Raine's aircraft.

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA932 consisted of :

Chf/Tech Thomas 'Tom' Raine, F4145410, Crew Chief, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British

Source : Tom Raine

Date record last updated : 23 January 2010

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA932 (Spring-1970)

Victor_XA932_with_Waring_Stewart_L

Fg/Off Stewart Waring in front of XA932. Photo taken in Spring 1970

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA932 (Spring-1970) consisted of :

Fg/Off Stewart L Waring, Co-pilot

Source : Fg/Off Stewart Waring

Date record last updated : 9 August 2019

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA932 (20-Jul-1976)

Victor_XA932_Sir_Alan_Cobham_First_Day_Cover

Victor_XA932_Sir_Alan_Cobham_First_Day_Cover_back

Michael Waterson writes :
I was recently cataloguing my collection of stamp First Day Covers and came across the attached.
My late father (Cyril Waterson) worked for Flight Refuelling Ltd (the FR of the logo on the reverse of the envelope and now called Cobham plc) from soon after the end of WW2 until his retirement in the early 1980s. There is still a small number of people remaining from those early pioneering days of FR.

Flew to RAF Luqa and return to RAF Marham on 20th to 22nd July 1976 on an air to air refueling operation to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Sir Alan Cobham KBE AFC FRAeS fliying to Australia and back.

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA932 (20-Jul-1976) consisted of :

Flt/Lt A W Binnington, Navigator / Plotter
Flt/Lt Michael B 'Mike' Dane, Air Electronics Officer
Flt/Lt R K Druitt, Co-pilot, Royal Air Force
Chf/Tech C Ferris, Crew Chief
Fg/Off B J Ireland, Navigator / Radar
Wg/Cdr John D Lomas, Pilot, Royal Air Force

Source : Michael Waterson (whose father worked for Flight Refuelling Ltd)

Date record last updated : 8 March 2019

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA936

RAF Tengah May 1970
L to R: Flt/Lt Terry Bliss (Capt), Flt/Lt Tom Robson (Co-plt), Flt/Lt Tommy Thomas (AEO), Flt/Lt Bert Jukes (Nav Plot), Flt/Lt Paul Byram (Nav Rad) Chf/Tech Morrow (Crew Chief)

Operated by 214 Sqdn at Marham until it was disbanded in 1977.

The difference between the 2 pointer and the 3 pointers was that the 3 pointers had a large hose drum unit at the rear of what used to be the bomb bay along with large fuel tanks and the 2 pointer had only the 2 wing pods.

Each aircraft was looked after by a Crew Chief.

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA936 consisted of :

Flt/Lt Terry Bliss, Captain
Flt/Lt Paul Byram, Navigator / Radio Operator
Flt/Lt 'Bert' Jukes, Navigator / Plotter
Chf/Tech Morrow, Crew Chief
Flt/Lt Thomas 'Tom' Robson, 0508195R, Co-pilot, Royal Air Force, Nationality : United Kingdom
Flt/Lt Elwin Lancy 'Tommy' Thomas, 3518774, Air Electronics Officer

Source : Tom Robson and Tom Raine

Date record last updated : 23 January 2010

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA937

Photo taken May 1971
Left to Right: Flt/Lt Tom Robson (Co-plt), Flt/Lt John Keeble (Nav Plot), Flt/Lt Ken Finlay (AEO), Flt/Lt Geoffrey "Moff" Moffatt (Capt), Flt/Lt Bill Bowen (Nav Rad) Chf/Tech Thomas Raine (Crew Chief)

Operated by 214 Sqdn at Marham until it was disbanded in 1977.

The difference between the 2 pointer and the 3 pointers was that the 3 pointers had a large hose drum unit at the rear of what used to be the bomb bay along with large fuel tanks and the 2 pointer had only the 2 wing pods.

Each aircraft was looked after by a Crew Chief.

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA937 consisted of :

Flt/Lt Bill Bowen, Navigator / Radio Operator
Flt/Lt Ken Finlay, Air Electronics Officer
Flt/Lt John Keeble, Navigator / Plotter
Flt/Lt Godfrey W 'Moff' Moffatt, Captain
Chf/Tech Thomas 'Tom' Raine, F4145410, Crew Chief, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British
Flt/Lt Thomas 'Tom' Robson, 0508195R, Co-pilot, Royal Air Force, Nationality : United Kingdom

Source : Tom Robson and Tom Raine

Date record last updated : 23 January 2010

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA937 (10-Oct-1966)

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA937 (10-Oct-1966) consisted of :

Geoff Barrell, Captain / Pilot
Tommy Thompson

Source : Nightjar Newsletter May 2013

Date record last updated : 25 January 2015

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA937 (07-Jan-1977)

A Phantex and Buccex flight

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA937 (07-Jan-1977) consisted of :

Flt/Lt David Royston Card, F4233460, Navigator / Radar, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British

Source : Flt/Lt David Card

Date record last updated : 14 September 2018

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA937 (11-Jan-1977)

This flight was recorded as a Phantex. However they had an alternator failure and had to orbit while jettisoning fuel to reach the correct landing weight.

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA937 (11-Jan-1977) consisted of :

Flt/Lt David Barraclough, Pilot, Royal Air Force
Flt/Lt David Royston Card, F4233460, Navigator / Radar, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British
Sqn/Ldr Michael 'Mike' Dane, Air Electronics Officer
Humphrys, Navigator / Radar
Flt/Lt 'Bert' Jukes, Co-pilot, Royal Air Force

Source : Flt/Lt David Card

Date record last updated : 14 September 2018

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA938

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA939

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA941

Victor_XA941_Tom_Raine_and_Dec_McGlinn_in_front_of_aircraft

This photograph shows Crew Chief, Chf/Tech Tom Raine welcoming former C.O. of 214 Sqdn (1943-1944) Wg/Cdr Des Mcglinn (rtd) to the flight line at Marham in front of XA 941 on the 28th July 1975.

Operated by 214 Sqdn at Marham until it was disbanded in 1977.

The difference between the 2 pointer and the 3 pointers was that the 3 pointers had a large hose drum unit at the rear of what used to be the bomb bay along with large fuel tanks and the 2 pointer had only the 2 wing pods.

Each aircraft was looked after by a Crew Chief.

Source : Tom Raine

Date record last updated : 23 January 2010

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA941 (27-Jun-1967)

Victor_XA941_27_Sep_1967

Victor XA941 with 2 x 29 Squadron Lightnings over Orkney, 27 September 1967

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XA941 (27-Jun-1967) consisted of :

Flt/Lt Edwin Frederick 'Eddy' Smeeth, Captain, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British
Fg/Off Stewart L Waring, Co-pilot

Source : Fg/Off Stewart Waring

Date record last updated : 9 August 2019

Victor K Mark I XH588

Smeeth Crew on "Operation Hydraulic" in June 1967. The aircraft is a Victor Mk BK1A, XH588. Eddie Smeeth (Captain) is signing the aircraft Form 700. The aircrew, who are wearing hats are, left to right: Eddie Smeeth, Dennis Maunders (Navigator Plotter), Bill Bowen (Navigator Radar) and Rick West (Air Electronics Officer) on the ladder. The Co-pilot, John Brown, was taking the photograph! The other chap in the flying suit (bare-headed) was the Crew Chief but we do not have his name. Extreme left, in KD, is one of the ground crew and, again, we do not have his name. The photo was taken after landing at Akrotiri or Masirah - probably Akrotiri. Note the tell-tale demijohn of Kokinelli next to the nav bag in the foreground!

Perhaps somebody else knows the missing names?

Crew of Victor K Mark I XH588 consisted of :

Flt/Lt Bill Bowen, Navigator / Radio Operator
Wg/Cdr John Richard Brown FRAeS, 4232145J, Pilot, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British
Flt/Lt Dennis Maunders, Plotter
Flt/Lt Eddie Smeeth, Captain
Rick West, Air Electronics Officer

Source : John Brown

Date record last updated : 17 April 2010

Victor K Mark I XH646

This aircraft was part of the tanker training flight attached to 214 and was a 'pool' machine. Whilst flying in extremely poor weather conditions which rendered the radar cover inadequate, the Victor was in collision with a Canberra. The crews of both aircraft were killed.

Article from the North Norfolk News - 20 August 2008

The cousin of a brave RAF man who lost his life in a horrific mid-air collision over Holt has said she fears his memory could be lost.
Forty years ago seven servicemen were killed as a thunderstorm raged and two RAF aeroplanes crashed 12,000ft above the north Norfolk town.
The servicemen's families marked the deaths of their loved ones with memorial services at the time.
But with the 40-year milestone of the tragic accident passing two days ago with no formal recognition, worries that the men would be forgotten were voiced by Pam Matthews, who said she had hoped the RAF would mark the occasion.
In the absence of a formal ceremony Mrs Matthews made a pilgrimage from her home in Milton Keynes, with mother, Molly Richardson, in memory of their family member, Roger Stanley Morton, who was killed in the air disaster.
On the significant anniversary they went to see the site of the crash and visited St Faith's crematorium near Norwich where a small memorial stands.
Mrs Matthews, who was 17 when her cousin was killed, decided to start researching the crash earlier this year. She said: "I thought that somebody ought to mark it so he was not forgotten."
Flying officer Morton was one of four men in a fated Victor tanker which set off from RAF Marham on a practice flight on August 19, 1968.
The plane hit a thunderstorm at the same time as a Canberra bomber from RAF Bruggen, in Germany.
What was subsequently put down to a "freak accident" caused by the weather and a radar system unable to cope meant the two planes hit each other in the sky.
The last words radioed from the crew of the Victor XH646 were "I am at 13,500 feet and climbing".
The EDP reported the proximity of the crash to the town, as wing sections, ejector seats and other debris from the plane landed in people's gardens and houses and witnesses saw a fireball in the sky.
One dead airman came from South Africa with others from Essex, Hertfordshire and Cornwall.
Mrs Matthews said that the day had been worthwhile and it meant a lot just to be there.

Article from the North Norfolk News - 1998

1960 Holt Air Crash, August 19. Two RAF planes collided over Holt. Seven airmen were killed.Holt has never forgotten it.
A raging electric storm, a terrifying explosion and burning wreckage raining down on rooftops and gardens. For 14,500 feet above north Norfolk two RAF jets a Victor aircraft and a Canberra had collided and exploded sending debris crashing to earth for miles around.
Thirty years after the August 19, 1968 disaster in which Holt was miraculously spared from destruction a memorial service to remember seven airmen who died was held.
"I am at 13,500 feet and climbing," were the last words from the crew of Victor XH646 before radio contact was lost as the Marham-based plane climbed away from its station on a training exercise. It collided with a Canberra from RAF Bruggen in Germany. Both crews died.
Neither plane was carrying missiles, nuclear or conventional.
PC Ian Jarvis, now retired, of Thompson Avenue, had only moved to Holt that weekend and had not taken up duty. "I made the first 999 call," he said. "It was quite incredible. When I got down Kelling Road the burning front cockpit of a Victor was there."Today there are no physical scars from the terrible night 30 years ago. But in the pine woods of Holt Country Park a deformed pine tree bears testimony to where a body crashed to earth on a young tree thirty years ago.

Date of loss : 19 August 1968

Crew of Victor K Mark I XH646 consisted of :

Sqn/Ldr Michael Thomas Doyle, 504369, Navigator, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British, KIA 19 August 1968, Aged 39
Flt/Lt William Anthony Gallienne AFM, 3132036, Captain, Royal Air Force, Nationality : United Kingdom, KIA 19 August 1968, Aged 36
Fg/Off Roger Stanley Morton, 4232298, Co-pilot, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British, KIA 19 August 1968, Aged 26
Flt/Lt Kenneth John Peacock, 5061994, Navigator, Royal Air Force, Nationality : British, KIA 19 August 1968, Aged 31

Source : Jock Whitehouse and Armed Forces Memorial and North Norfolk Newspaper

Date record last updated : 9 March 2009

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker XH667

Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker ??Barrell (Jul-1969)

This was the last flight with his last crew for Geoff Barrell while still with 214 Squadron

Crew of Victor Mark I - 3 point tanker ??Barrell (Jul-1969) consisted of :

Geoff Barrell, Captain / Pilot
Tom Coldicott
John Gallagher
Colin Haigh, Navigator / Radar
Flt/Lt 'Bert' Jukes, Navigator / Plotter

Source : Nightjar Newsletter May 2013

Date record last updated : 25 January 2015

Victor K Mark I ??Rudin

Left to right : John Rudin Captain, Pat O'Shea. Nav Plot, Pete Austin AEO, Dan Gurney Co Pilot, Bob? Crew Chief, Tug Wilson. Nav Rad.
Does anyone know the surname of Bob? ?

Crew of Victor K Mark I ??Rudin consisted of :

Pete Austin, Air Electronics Officer
J 'Dan' Gurney, Co-pilot
Pat O'Shea, Navigator / Plotter
John Rudin, Captain
David 'Tug' Wilson, Navigator / Radar

Source : David 'Tug' Wilson

Date record last updated : 1 December 2017

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