I mentioned in a recent post that it might be a tad boring to post page after page of the Sequence of Instruction my father had to become proficient in as a pilot. Up until November 1942, Dad seems to have been at various flying/training schools and it wasn’t until November 1942 that he was stationed in the Middle East.
His logbook beginning November 3, 1942 sees him at the R.A.F. station “Cathago, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (71 O.T.U)” – but I think he meant Carthago. O.T.U. stands for Operational Training Unit.
From November 3, 1942 through to end of December that year, Dad appears to have been going up and down in Harvard planes, as well as Hurricane, Hurricane IIB, Hurricane II (not sure if this is the same as a IIB) and Tomahawk planes. On January 14, 1943, he appears to have joined No 1. A.D.U. where he flew a D.C.3 and Hurricane IIC. A.D.U. stands for Aircraft Delivery Unit but I don’t know why he was there I’m afraid. Although I’m presuming from the routes he flew (e.g. Cairo – El Geneina) he might have been delivering new aircraft.
I’m finding all this a bit difficult to make sense of but presume Dad was continuing to learn how to fly various planes in the Middle East. So for the next few posts, I’m going to post photos of the pages of Dad’s logbook so those who are interested can see the types of planes and the flying drills.
I’m starting off with the page for November 3-13th, 1942 when Dad arrived at the R.A.F. station at Carthago with 71 O.T.U. Just click on the images below to enlarge.
