Geoffrey Warnes
Geoffrey Warnes | |
|---|---|
Second World War
| |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross |
Early life
Warnes was born on 22 October 1914, the son of Clifford and Dorothy Warnes.
War service
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Warnes volunteered as a pilot, but was rejected because he wore glasses and his eyesight was too bad to be corrected by lenses in flying goggles.
Westland Whirlwinds
No. 263 Squadron flew
As well as its fighter capability, the Whirlwind could operate as a
On 9 December 1942, Warnes became Commanding Officer (CO) of No. 263 Squadron and was promoted squadron leader, his predecessor having been shot down off Jersey two days before and later presumed killed.[2][12] 1943 brought considerably more action than the previous year, chiefly the bombing of shipping and railway lines in northern France, along with more routine work. Geoffrey Warnes was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 17 February 1943 and the Distinguished Service Order on 13 June that year. Two days after which he completed his tour of duty and was posted as second-in-command of operations at No 10 Group headquarters.[13] The following is a text extract from the squadron records:
During that time the work of the Squadron … was largely the personal creation of S/Ldr G B Warnes. Briefly he was a strict disciplinarian who combined a fierce and forthright manner with personal kindness; a Commander who never left the least doubt about what he wanted and who consistently obtained these qualities because he himself consistently displayed them: he himself did even more than he required of others. As a tactician S/Ldr Warnes may have some place in the history of the War, as the creator of medium-level dive bombing by fighter-bombers (…). His notes on shipping attacks … have been adopted as a Fighter Command Tactical Memorandum.[13]
Hawker Typhoons
No. 263 Squadron flew its last operation with Whirlwinds from RAF Warmwell on 29 November 1943. On 2 December, the first six Hawker Typhoons, its new aircraft, arrived at the airfield. On 3 December, Westlands, who built the Whirlwind, gave a party for the squadron in nearby Yeovil and the next day 12 aircraft flew in formation over the town.[14]
On 5 December 1943, Warnes returned to active duty with his squadron. The men had moved by road to Ibsley, their new planes being flown over by another squadron. His first task as CO was develop the squadron's tactics with their new aircraft. There were no more operational flights until February.[14][15] From now on, they would be flying this single-engined strike fighter, which could carry ground-attack rockets or a small bomb load. Typhoons had been flown by squadrons as early as September 1941, but its engine was still giving concern at the end of 1943 – it had problems which would not be cured until the end of the war was near.[16] After flying a reliable twin-engined aircraft, pilots felt much less secure, aside from the usual operational dangers, they would be flying to northern France over 60–120 miles of open sea with only one, occasionally unreliable, engine.
On 1 February 1944, the squadron came back into operational readiness at RAF Beaulieu. Operations were mainly conducted over the Cherbourg peninsular and included attacks on V-weapon launch sights. On 12 February, Warnes shot down a Dornier 217 over Brittany and the next day he chased and destroyed a Messerschmitt 109F near Chartres.[14] 14 February saw many of the pilots undertaking dinghy drill in Bournemouth swimming baths, followed by "an evening of various pleasures".[14]
22 February "proved disastrous to the squadron".[14] After refuelling at Harrowbeer, nine aircraft carried out shipping reconnaissance west of the Channel Islands. No enemy action took place, but Warnes was forced to ditch his aircraft (Typhoon Ib, MN249) and he was seen swimming towards what looked like an uninflated dinghy. Twenty-one-year-old Flying Officer Bob Tuff of the Royal Australian Air Force said that he was going to bail out to help him, Flight Lieutenant Gerald Racine told him not to, but his order was ignored or not heard. Three men lost their lives on that day, as a third pilot, Flying Officer Robert Hunter, was not heard of again.[14][17]
References
- ^ Yorkshire Evening Post, Announcements, (undated)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Operations Record Book, 263 Squadron, National Archives UK (ref AIR27/1548)
- ^ Johnson, J.E. (1956). Wing Leader , p. 197. London: Chatto and Windus.
- ^ Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- ^ Cockburn Admission Registers and Yorkshire Archive Service, quoted on
- ^ Flight (28 January 1943).
- ^ a b c d e The People, "Ace Pilot beat the Doctors", (undated)
- ^ The Yorkshire Post, "A special case", (undated)
- ^ London Gazette, 22 April 1940
- ^ London Gazette, 27 June 1941
- ^ a b Livingston, Air Marshal Sir Philip. Fringe of the Clouds (1962). London, Johnson.
- ^ Sunday Express, 17 January 1943
- ^ a b Operations Record Book, 263 Squadron, 15 June 1943
- ^ a b c d e f Operations Record Book, 263 Squadron (1943/44), National Archives UK (ref AIR27/1548)
- ^ Rawlings, John D R; Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft; (Macdonald, London, 1969), pp. 374–378.)
- ^ Reed, A and Beamont, R; Typhoon and Tempest at War; (Allan, London; 1974.)
- ^ Sunday Express, 7 October 1956
