17-23 December 1943

Overview

Wickenby squadrons took part in two missions this week, a diversionary attack on Mannheim (the main attack was to Frankfurt) and another attack on Berlin. There were no casualties.

Flight Lieutenant B.E. McLaughlin, mentioned in the Station Diary below, a pilot with 12 Sqn, completed his tour of 30 missions with the attack on Berlin. Known as “Big Jim”, he was well known, when flying over enemy territory, to state “stand well back, chaps: I’m about to open the window and demonstrate the power of slipstream pull”, and commenced urinating out of the window. Jack Currie, the well known author, carried out his first “second dicky” mission with McLaughlin and recounts this act in his book “Lancaster Target”. Unfortunately, Big Jim was killed in July 1944 whilst training new pilots at a Heavy Conversion Unit.