A story, to which I had an input, has been listed about the above Lancaster and the pilot Jimmy Lyon and My Uncle Bob (navigator). Can anyone tell me what happened to EE136 to cause it to be so damaged and sent off to a Fire training station?
My Uncle Bobbie said he had heard that an Australian crew had put her down on a Decoy airfield and broke her up a bit. If this story is true, how did the crew fare? I have wondered about this for a long time and have worried about it too.
At this point, unable to find details relating to the incident, however .........
These details come from the book 'Avro Lancaster - The Definitive Record ( 2nd Edition ) by Larry Holmes.
Page 195, EE136 9 Squadron ( WS-R) May 43 - Oct 44, Named The Spirt of Russia. 189 Squadron Oct 44, 1659 Heavy Conversion Unit, Became 4918M at No1RS. ........... 109 Operations
Pictured on pg. 154 of Garbett & Goulding's "Lancaster At War II" in December of 1944, BIII EE136 was photograhed when with No. 189 Squadron RAF Fulbeck and coded CA-R.
She had completed 93 Ops (beginning May of 1943) with No. 9 Squadron. EE136 tallied 109 ops to her credit then was retired to 1659 HCU. Finally grounded she became a ground instruction airframe at No. 1 Radio School and was eventually dumped for firefighting practise at the RAF's Fire School Sutton-On-Hull. The picture of her noseart was apparently taken in Jan. of 1954 at the Fire School.
Sorry this doesn't add much else to what you already know
I would query the idea of the "decoy" airfield, certainly in the middle to later stages of the war. Yes there were decoy airfields, the two main types being "K" and "Q" types. The former were simulated "day" airfields, ie they had to be sufficiently well constructed so that attacking German bombers would be fooled by their appearance and as such involved some cutting down of trees, clearing of hedges, simulation of roads, buildings etc, but they were phased out by the end of 1942. The "Q" type were "night" airfields to fool intruders trying to attack Bomber Command bases at night but they simply involved series of lights on poles to simulate a flightpath: as such they were very successful but there was no clearance of obstacles, trees etc because it wasn't necessary in the night-time deception. I think it's probably true to say that most decoy airfields were close to actual airfields, or their satellites - a safer place to try a landing!!! I think it's a line-shoot! Regards Max
Phil, Decoy airfields had a minimal crew manning them, usually only 2 or 3 blokes sitting in a shelter all day/night long....you can imagine how happy they would be feeling! "Q" airfields were gradually shut down as the war progressed such that by June 1944 they were only "operational" in the south-east of England and post D-Day they too were closed. I don't know when your incident occurred but the timing may be critical in deciding whether the story is true or apocryphal. Records of such an accident would be with the squadron ORBs I'm sure. Regards Max
Hi all, after a long interval. I've been posting some info regarding IOM airfields on airfieldinformationexchange.org which has taken up my time. I will now try and attach a photo of my Uncle Bob's IX squadron crew. Names - back row L to R Ken Pack, Jimmy Lyon (pilot), Hank Jeffrey, Alec Fielding. front row Alf Denyer, Bob (Corky), Clegg (first name not known-rear gunner) Dog ???
Try this one. EE136 in her first guise as Spirit of Russia, WS-R in IX Squadron and, at their insistence, NOT 9 Squadron! IX liked to lord it over 617, (known as 6/7 squadron)
Just want to say thanks for posting this picture of the Spirit of Russia crew.
'Jimmy' Lyon is my Grandfather and, given the circumstances of his death before my father was born, we unfortunately have very few mementos.
As far as I know, we don't have this photo and it certainly is a very welcome addition to the collection that I have been trying to gather over the years in order to better my knowledge of him.
I like to think that this photo really represents both the character of the individual crew members and the camaraderie between them that would have developed within such a short period of time and under the pressure of not knowing what the next day could bring. What a wonderful way to remember these brave men.
Please let me know if you have any other photos or information about the Spirit of Russia and its crew.
Hi Jimmy Lyons Grandson! I tried to contact your dad (I was given an address in Spain?)when I wrote the tribute to Jimmy on this site,under the Airmens story section-"But for a few minutes more". During the course of my research on this really sad story,I came across Phil (Manxix) who was kind enough to send some 9 Squadron photo's,which also enabled his Uncle Bob to go up on the 9 Squadron Gallery. Bruce Blanche (Jimmy's nephew)was the one who actually gave me all the info and extra photo's for the story,so feel free to e mail me.
I was very interested to read about your grandfather Jimmy Lyon.
I have been researching Hank Jeffery, his bomb aimer in Spirit of Russia.
I got to know Hank's mother very well when I worked at the school he had attended before the war.
She told me that he always spoke very highly of 'Tiger' Lyon as she called him.
I don't know if you knew that Hank was shot down over the Channel at dawn on D Day with one of the most highly decorated crews of the war. They had been taking out the gun emplacement covering Utah and Omaha beaches but were shot down by an FW 190 at 0502 - all of the crew being lost. This was his 4th operation of his second tour.
I would be very interested to learn what more you know about your grandfather's war service.
These candid photos of Hank Jeffery and the Spirit of Russia crew are great!
Thanks so much for posting them, as I think that they really show the true character of the individual members and the close relationships they had with each other, despite all of the worries that they must have been going through.
It is really special to know the crew had that support (and time for a bit of a laugh) during this period.
have just read this post via an internet search so decided to join the forum. My Grandfather Plt Officer Tom Gill was also a pilot at Bardney from it's opening to 6/9/43 when he and his crew failed to return, sadly all were lost. They flew twenty ops all together, their regular aircraft was ED666, WS-G he also piloted another 6 Lanc's including W4964 which he flew on five occasions. Like yourself Spirit he was killed just prior to my Mother being born but we are fortunate to have some pictures of him and his crew taken during their time at Bardney.
Many apologies for not responding to you earlier. I'm very sorry to hear about your grandfather passing in such similar circumstances to my own. Although we, and our parents, would not have been there to remember it, it is certainly an event that remains in the thoughts of family members through the generations. I am glad, however, that you have the photos to keep those thoughts alive for many years to come. I hope that you may be able to find more to add to the collection, as I have, through the kindness of others. If possible, I, and I'm sure others, would be very interested to see those photos of your grandfather. Best wishes and thank you so much for your message. Spirit136.
i was very interested to read your post re Hank Jeffery.
I got to know your mum when I arranged for Harrys name to be added to the war memorial at Southall County School - for some reason it had been left off.
Your mum was really chuffed when I brought her over to see his name on the board, even if it was about 40 years too late!
my name is Gary McCulloch and we have a picture of Jimmy Lyon in the Sale RSL. Its his home town in Australia. Could you please call me on 0448068221. Cheers gary
hello I wish to contact you about Jim Lyon. I live in Sale Australia and I researched his history but have lost contact with his family. My number is 0448068221
Linda R Ibrom
