Final Operations

Heroes Remember

Final Operations

Transcript

Some of them were easier in the physical sense, but in the mental sense, they were even more difficult because as you approached the end, the possible end of your tour, you know, you became increasingly apprehensive about whether you would be able to complete that tour or not. Most of the trips at that stage were what we would call, or what the RAF termed designated as a ‘piece of cake,' because the, the lines, the Allied lines had advanced far enough that a considerable part of our flight was over friendly, friendly territory. But for long trips like Berlin or, I remember my longest bombing mission was Stetten. It was nine hours, fifteen minutes in the air and that's a long time to be cooped up in a little turret, you know. So, these were, they were bearable but only just. But some of the closer trips, closer to the enemy lines, or just inside the enemy lines, where we were acting in sort of cooperation with the ground forces, they were a bit easier because we're just beyond our own friends and getting back again in a relatively short time to friendly territory. Interviewer: Did you find that the Luftwaffe, or the interceptors were fewer toward the end of your tour of operations? In my experience, that was the case, yes. I think in a lot of cases we had probably very effectively reduced their fuel supply and, of course, their, their maintenance also had to be getting down to a minimum. So they were keeping fewer air craft in the air. They just couldn't, couldn't keep them air born. Sometimes the waiting and the anticipation was worse than the reality. The closer we got to number 30, and for me 30 wasn't the last one, I had managed to get three, three extras. The, I think the feeling was even more intense and more calling upon what had gone on in the past and the, the training, of course, that we had received, to make sure that we got through those last ones. As a crew, we were definitely a team, there's no question about that. I think that I knew more about my fellow crew members than I knew about members of my own family because the, the comradery, the fellowship was so intense that we were, well, we were more than brothers. More than brothers. We were closer than brothers, I guess.

Description

Mr. Cole describes some of the final operations in which there were fewer interceptors, probably due to lack of fuel and maintenance.

Raymond Boyd Cole

Raymond Boyd Cole was born in Elliston on July 14, 1924. His father worked in the United States and then at a papermill in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, when Raymond Cole was one month old. Mr. Cole grew up in Newfoundland.

In 1941, Mr. Cole finished grade 11 and was 17 years old in July of that year. He wanted to be a fighter pilot so in 1942 he signed up for the air force by altering his birth certificate. He received his wings on November 12, 1943. He found out later that he was not to become a pilot, but he did become an air gunner.

Mr. Cole spent three weeks at #1 Air Gunners Ground Training School (AGGTS). He then spent six weeks at #9 Bombing and Gunnery School (BGS). Following #9 BGS he went overseas. Further training includes #30 Operation Training Unit (OTU) and then 1667 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) where he made the conversion from twin engine aircraft to heavier, four engine aircraft with seven crew members.

Mr. Cole flew as an air gunner in over twenty operations with as much as one thousand aircraft in some. He was involved in the Normandy Campaign and many of the missions were heavy concentration bombings of the Ruhr Valley, which was a heavy industrial area.

Mr. Cole completed his flying tour (thirty operations) and went on to do three more operations afterwards. One to help his crew finish up their tour and then volunteered for another two. He worked as an orderly and as a truck driver for a while before returning to Grand Falls, after three and a half years overseas. Afterwards, he became a minister.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 03:42
Person Interviewed:: Raymond Boyd Cole
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Europe
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: 166th Airborne
Rank:: Corporal
Occupation:: Air Gunner

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Final Operations

Heroes Remember