REGRETTABLY WE MUST STRESS THAT..........
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2024
10 SQN WW2 HALIFAXES NAMED FAROUK
There appear to have been 3 x Halifaxes named Farouk which flew on 10 Sqn from RAF Melbourne in WW2.
The first was a Mk2 with Reg No: DT 792 which crash-landed at Melbourne on 3 August 1943 when flown by Fg Off J.G. Jenkins and crew who all survived. It is believed that the aircraft was written off.
The second possible Farouk was also a Mk2, Reg No: HR924 which when again being flown by Jenkins and crew, was attacked by a German fighter and unable to release their bombs, the crew returned to UK but were advised to bale out before abandoning the aircraft over the Noth Sea off Patrington. Again the crew all survived. It would seem highly lightly that this crew may have also named HR924 Farouk although this fact cannot as yet be proven.
The third Halifax with that name was a Mk 3, Reg No: LW 167. A photo of its nose-art above seems to show a catoon figure with a bomb dangling on the end of a fishing line. It has been suggested that the cartoon character bears a similarity to a variation of the Disney cartoon Snow-White’s ‘Dopey’ dwarf character.
This third aircraft was often flown by the 10 Sqn CO, Wg Cdr Dudley Radford during his time on the Squadron between April and October 1944 but other crews also flew it. After Radford had left the Squadron this aircraft was later shot down on a raid to Magdeburg three months later on 16 Jan 1945, when flown by Fg Off W.E.L. Whitbread and his crew. There were no survivors but the crew are all remembered at the Runnymede Memorial.
Whilst it is known that a detachment from 10 Sqn in July 1942 went to Aqir,Palestine and later Fayid, Egypt, where King Farouk was the ruler, it is unlkely that any of these crews would have later returned to Melbourne since the detachment was to form a separate squadron. - King Farouk was not particularly popular with the British during WW2. However, some of 10/227 ground crews may have returned to 10 Sqn. This detachment was designated 10/227 Sqn and on 7 September 1942 joined with 76/462 Sqn at Fayid, Egypt and was then redesignated 462 (RAAF) Sqn (although there were in fact no Australians on it).
The 10 Sqn Association is attempting to trace the reason why the name Farouk adorned its aircraft as late as 1944/45 since any links with those who had named it back in 1942 would be long lapsed.
If anyone with any knowledge or collection of ‘nose-art’ can throw any light on this query they are invited to get in touch with the 10 Sqn Association via
OFFICIAL RECORDS
Readers are advised that pdf files of RAF squadron Operations Records Books may be purchased online from the National Archives at Kew. For 10 Sqn, your search should start by looking in the AIR 27 Category. (eg Catalogue Reference: AIR 27/141/13 & 14 for the month of March 1940)
Downloads cost £3.30 each. Before purchasing a particular month it is advisable to click on the " View Details " block to see how many pages your download contains. Some number over 100 whereas others, for the same fee, only include a few (less than 10) pages. Simply click on the red words NATIONAL ARCHIVES below and it will take you directly to the 10 Sqn Catalogue Search page. Do not forget that there were also Royal Australian (Sunderlands), Indian (Spitfires) and South African, Air Forces that had their own 10 Sqns. Do not get confused and purchase records for the wrong squadron!
On detachment overseas in the Middle East 10 Sqn RAF served under the number 10/227 Sqn...............
Unfortunately not all NA downloads are in their correct chronological place, possibly due to errors made when they were scanned from the original documents. If you cannot find the period that you require for your research it may still be available in some other date period...Most frustrating, we know, from personal experience!
We are slowly building up a collection of these Forms 540/541* (see below) for our website members. It is our hope and intention to obtain the full set at some future date. If you already have some, in pdf format, please consider donating a copy to our website. We would be most grateful. Use our contactus facility for this, please.
* Note: The records themselves are in two separate styles:
1. The Form 540, which we in the Association simply call the "Diary", is a summary of the monthly events and lists the day-to-day occurrences on the Squadron. Sometimes these contain humorous remarks, details of the weather and other significant events, together with Postings In/Out, Medal Awards and are therefore, as our name suggests, a Diary of the Events. They usually contain between 2 and 5 pages.
2. The Form 541, which we have termed as "Ops", is more structured in its writing. It is essentially a listing of the "work done" and contains crew lists, aircraft registrations and targets, together with events that occurred to specific crews/aircraft on their missions. Sadly this is also where the phrase, "Missing - Nothing was heard from this aircraft after take-off", frequently occurred in the WW2 F541s. These can contain up to 50 or even more pages.
3. There are also Combat Reports available for download from the National Archives @ £3.30 each. They are under the reference AIR 50/180. Bear in mind that the dates are often a day after those listed in the F541 and they may also be filed under the Air Gunner's name.
If you are the relative of a past Squadron member, researching your family history, don't forget that it costs only £8 per year to join the 10 Sqn Association.
