Found these details from Chorleys Bomber Command Losses, volume 8, Heavy Conversion Units - 

John

"Bullseye" was the term used to denote a night training exercise which encompassed navigating a long cross country route often of about 800-900 miles and of around 5 hours duration, encounters with the searchlight defenses and usually with night fighter defense forces who would press home simulated attacks.  The Bullseye routes sometimes ventured out over the North Sea or the Channel and often right up to the Coast of France or Holland particularily after D-Day.  Other times they were routed solely around England.  They usually ended up with the dropping of bombs over a selected Bombing range before returning to Base.  I guess one could think of them as sort of "graduation" exercises bringing the culmination of a long process of crew training together in a sort iof simulated Op prior to going on the real thing though I believe even Operational Squadrons flew Bullseyes occasionally as training exercises.

My Dad's crew flew a Bullseye when they converted onto the Lanc III at No. 1668 HCU.  They flew out over the Wash and did an overflight of Rotterdam and a short leg along the Dutch coast before they returned to drop red T.I. markers and bombs at the Bombing range at Ragdale prior to returning to the Base at Bottesford,  I believe they were the No. 1 aircraft for a number of others who flew the same route on the same exercise that night. Their T/O was at 2145 and comprised some 13 legs of various durations between turning points in a Lancaster coded J9-G.  The Pilot recorded 3:30 minutes instrument/cloud flying time during a Bullseye of 5:10 duration.

Per chance do you know your Uncle's trade as aircrew, i.e., Air Gunner, W/Op, etc.?  Upon enlistment he would have had probably at least a year's training and depending on the trade may have been a part of the Empire Air Training Cheme or the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan wherein he may have even trained here in Canada as well as in England.  In the normal flow of things, he likely joined his crew at an Operational Training Unit (OTU) where the various air trades learned to work togther generally in twin-engined aircraft (Wellingtons or Whitleys being the primary & dominant type).  Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) was the next phase where the crew changed over to & trained on the heavy four-engined Bombers.  There a crew generally picked up a Flight Engineer & a second Air Gunner.  It appears this is where tragically the crew perished.  That so many were killed in the training even before being assigned to an Operational Squadron speaks volumes as to the risks inherent in the process.

Of course there are any number of variations in the steps one could undergo in joining aircrew so without his records or an account of where he may have been it's diffcicult to outline it more precisely for you.

One of the most enjoyable and fascinating reads of the period is a book by a Canadian Pilot entitled "A Thousand Shall Fall" (Murray Peden)  ISBN 0-920002-05-6.  While written from a distinctly Canadian point of view its perspective gives a very human touch to the experiences of the time as well as the process from enlistment through training and onto operations.  My entire Dad's aircrew shared this book and each and everyone said that in so many ways they could practically insert themselves into the highlight roles.  At times it's hard not to laugh and at others it's hard not to have one's eyes mist up when you recognize the terrible loss of so many people, primarily young men, during the trying years of WWII.

I hope you get a chance to read it and find it sheds a tremendous light on the sacrifice your Uncle and others paid and that it brings them to life in recognition of their spirit and character.

See http://www.bcar.org.uk/new1944-incident-logs

Killed in a Halifax BB316 Airborne 2155 from Blyton on a Bullseye sortie. Returned to base with the starboard outer feathered around midnight. Whilst approaching the circuit the aircraft turned steeply and crashed near Kirton Lindsey village at 0005, bursting into flames on impact. No definitive cause was found, though the investigators suggested that the starboard inner engine may have stopped due to running out of fuel. Sgt J.N. Robertson killed, Sgt H.J. Street killed, F/O S.J. Chaplin killed, F/O S.J. Spencer killed, Sgt W.M. Harvey killed, Sgt S. Bird killed, Sgt L.G. Garrod injured.

Hello

I am trying to track down more information on a Bomber and its crew that crashed at/or near RAF Blyton on 24 June 1944.

The aircraft was a Handley Page Halifax MkII JD-267.

The crew were a mix of Brits & Aussies:

P/O W.H O'Callaghan RAAF. Injured,

Sgt A. Slack RAF. KIA,

Sgt J.C. Waddell. RAF. KIA,

F/Sgt Thomas Noel Ian Jones. RAAF. KIA,

F/Sgt Anthony Sully Kidman. RAAF. KIA &

W/O Henry Richardson Molony. RAAF. KIA.

Now i believe that the crash may have been an exercise so my questions is are they KIA or Died Accidently??

Also i can very little about the crash so any help there would be great. Warrant Officer Molony is my main connection with this crew as he was a Member of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) before the war and i am the current Chairman of the MCC Military Veterans Group.

Any information, pictures would be of a great help.

Cheers and thanks

Gavin Lee. gavin.lee18@hotmail.com 

Melbourne Australia.