J86372 Earle Deachman Woods

Both Earle and Raymond served as Air Gunners in the RCAF. Raymond enlisted in Ottawa on 01 May 41 at the age 18, and Earle followed a month later enlisting on 04 Jun 41 in Ottawa just before his 20th birthday.

Earle remustered to Air Gunner on 15Aug 42 and Raymond followed on 22 Aug 43. They were both at 19 Operational Training Unit (OTU) in Kinloss Scotland from 19 Nov 43 to 15 Jan 44.

Raymond was killed in a Whitley Crash on 07 Feb 44, and Earle was shot down on 07 Jun 44.

No 4A Manning Depot (MD) St Hubert

On 04 Jun 1941 Earle enrolled in the RCAF in Ottawa as an Aircraftman 2 ^nd  Class (AC2). He was designated in the trade as a Standard General Duties (Guard) and assigned to Manning Depot 4A in St Hubert, QC.

2 Air Navigation School, Pennfield NB

On 21 Jul 1941 Earle was posted to RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge as a General Duty Guard. He was promoted to AC1 on 04 Sep 1941.

RCAF Station Trenton

On 21 Oct 1941 Earle was posted to RCAF Trenton, first to the Composite Training School (KTS), then to No 6 Repair Depot.

On 08 Dec 1941 he was promoted to Leading Aircraftman (LAC). and on 06 Apr 1942 he passed the Security Guard Group C qualification.

Conversion to Air Gunner

Earle attended Air Gunner Course 38B from 16 Aug 1942 to 06 Nov 1942 at No 9 Bombing and Gunnery School in Mont Joli QC.  He had about 20 hours and 50 minutes of airborne training at the school, firing 200 Rounds Air to Ground, and 3500 rounds Air To Air.

Earle finished 12 ^th  of 16 students in the Air Gunner Course. He was rated as not at all suitable for training as a Gunnery Instructor, and the comment said “Average, if applied himself would have done better.”

Air Gunnery School

The Flights were conducted using a single engine Fairley Battle Aircraft, with 2 Browning Machine Guns mounted in a Bristol Type B1 Mk IV Turret. The crew consisted of a pilot, bombardier and gunner.

Earle was on class 38B, with 16 graduates. In Nov 1942, the School flew 2237 hours with a fleet of 99 Fairey Battles and 23 Nomads. The Base strength was 1757 with 506 trainees. As an indication of the rapid expansion of the BCATP program in general, and No 9 B&G in particular, Earle’s younger Brother Raymond Graduated in class 61 on 01 Oct 1943, with 122 graduates. The school flew 6095 hours with 83 Fairey Battles and 21 Nomads. The Base strength was 2632, including 720 trainees.

34 OTU RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge

In November 1942 Earle returned to Pennfield Ridge as an Air Gunner to train on the Ventura Bomber.

At 34 Operational Training Unit (OTU) in Pennfield, NB, Earle trained on the Ventura Bomber logging 24 Hours of flight time in his Air Gunnery Training. He was on Course Number 5, from 23 Nov 42 to 22 Jan 43. 31 Course serials were run at 34 OTU from 08 Jun 1942 through 22 Apr 1944.

Pennfield Ridge was constructed as part of the BCATP. By end Aug 1940, construction was underway, and by 07 Nov 1940, runways were being paved and foundations for the hangers were being laid. The first aircraft landed in Jan 1941, and No 2 Air Navigation School formally opened on 21 Jul 1941. Upwards of 1,000 men worked on the airfield at the height of the construction to meet the needs of the war effort.

Ventura Bomber

The Ventura Bomber was operated by a crew of 4 (Pilot, Navigator,Air Gunner,Wireless Operator/AirGunner) and carried a payload of 2500 lbs.

The Venturas were operated as Coastal patrol aircraft by the RCAF, and light bombers by the RAF. They were unsuitable for the daytime bombing role and were replaced by Mosquito Bombers in 1943.

Overseas Posting

On 07 Feb 1943, Sgt Woods was posted to Y Depot, Halifax to be transferred overseas. Once Earle arrived in the UK, he was assigned to RAF Trainees Pool, 3 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC), Bournemouth near the Isle of Wight. Bournemouth was a resort town, and the crews were billeted in the resort hotels of varying quality, but all with no service. The beach was surrounded with barbed wire and heavily mined.

The function of 3 P.R.C. was to orientate airmen as they arrived, have the airmen medically checked out (again) along with a battery of night vision tests, organize refresher courses, take in lectures given by experienced aircrew, and to act as an agent for the air ministry in arranging postings. The main role was really to keep aircrew on hold until space was made available in one of the advanced OTUs (Operational Training Units).

487 Squadron RNZAF

Earle was promoted to Technical Flight Sergeant on 06 May 1943, the attach posted to 487 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) at RAF Feltwell (52.4818401N, 0.5325773E), flying on Ventura Bombers. Earle’s name is not reported in any of the 487 Squadron Operational missions, it is possible he was sent there for familiarization training.

Photo shows 487 Squadron in front of a Ventura bomber around the time Earle was there.

19 OTU RAF Station Kinloss, Scotland

On 18 Sep 1943, Earle was posted to No 19 OTU at RAF Station Kinloss in Northern Scotland to train on the Whitworth Whitley Bomber. The unit converted crews of qualified pilots, navigators, flight engineers, bomb aimers, wireless operators and air gunners to the Whitley Aircraft, the majority destined for No 4 Group Bomber Command.

The aircrew typically spent about 2 months at 19 OTU, and flew between 80 and 100 hours, roughly split between day and night. Early on in the training, they were assigned to specific crews. This assignment was done among the crews themselves, typically the pilots would sit down with a cup of tea and a cigarette, and chat with the other crew members, and mutually decide on the crew composition.

19 OTU Training

19 OTU operated off of grass runways, providing significant challenges to the ground crews. The Whitley bomber was a front-line aircraft at the start of the war, but heavy losses delegated it to a training role.

The Whitley bomber was used for aircrew training. Over the life of 19 OTU, 246 Whitleys were operated. 111 of them crashed during Operational Training. Over 280 Crew members were lost during training, including Earle's Brother, Sgt Raymond Woods.  Losses in aircrew training were significant and some courses lost 25 percent of their intake before graduation; 5,327 men were killed in RAF training from 1939 to 1945.

Whitley Tail Gun

This Nash & Thompson FN.4A gun turret would have been at the rear end of an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley A.W.38 Heavy Bomber. The rear gunner was completely isolated throughout the flight, communicating only via the intercom and had to stay alert for long periods in sub-zero temperatures.

They wore Electrically heated suits, heated mittens and gloves and sheepskin lined boots.

Gunners View of the World

The Gunners could call for a Corkscrew (violent evasive action) at a moment’s notice. The trick was to take evasive action inside the attacking curve of the Fighter, forcing him to steepen his turn in order to be able to shoot into a space where the Bomber was expected to be by the time the Bullets & Shells arrived. 

The Corkscrew Manoeuvre was so described because when viewing from directly astern, the pattern created by the Bomber was Corkscrew-shaped. Dive Port, Climb Port, Roll, Dive Starboard, Climb Starboard, Roll ...

1658 Heavy Conversion Unit, RAF Ricall (Halifax Bombers)

On 06 Nov 1943, Earle was promoted to Technical Warrant Officer II (T/WO II). On 12 Jan 1944 he was posted to 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) to train on Halifax Bombers at RAF Riccall, North Yorkshire. The four-to-six-week Heavy Conversion course consisted of ground instruction, along with approximately 40 hours of flying, in a Handley Page Halifax.

Crew Training

The crew that trained on Whitleys (Pilot, Navigator, Bomb Aimer, Wireless Operator and Air Gunner) stayed together, and a Flight Engineer and Mid/Upper Gunner added to the crew. Experienced instructors, normally crew who had completed their operational tours, would fly “dual” with the crew and then the crew would repeat the exercise “solo”.

The crews learned to work together, and gain confidence in their team. Since virtually all of the Operational Bombing Missions were conducted at night, the night flights were critically important, but also critically dangerous.

Bomber Command

During WWII, more than a million men and women served, or supported, Bomber Command. Air Marshall Arthur “Bomber” Harris to command in Feb 1942, and developed a relentless plan of attack aimed at knocking Germany out of the War. A total of 365,514 operational sorties were flown by Bomber Command. Of the 125,000 Aircrew who served, 72% were killed, seriously injured or taken Prisoner of War. More than 44% were killed whilst serving, giving the highest rate of attrition of any Allied unit. Each man was a volunteer, and their average age of death was only 23.The efforts of the RAF Bomber Command significantly changed the outcome of WWII.

Bomber Stream

From 1943 onwards, the Bomber Command tactics involved sending upwards of 800 bombers against a single target in a bomber stream. The RAF attacked at night and organized a bomber stream to concentrate the attack over a short a period as possible. The Bomber Stream was often 10 miles long and would result in a total time on target of less than 45 minutes. The Pathfinder group led the attack, dropping markers to indicate the target. The remaining stream used the fires on the ground to guide their weapons delivery. The tactic allowed the aircraft to minimize exposure to enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire  and maximize the impact of the weapons delivery. The aircraft flew individually and resulted in a number of collisions and cases of lower, slower flying aircraft to have bombs dropped on them.

78 Squadron Crew

Pilot F/S M. McLear (Can)

Nav Lt C Evans (USN)

Bomb Aimer Sgt S Kelley (RAF)

Wireless Op F/S R Conner (RAF)

Flight Eng (all RAF) Sgt W White (09-10 Apr), Sgt D Barhour (30 Apr),Sgt K Moss (26 Apr 44), Sgt D Davies (27 Apr), Sgt R Wann (1 May -7 Jun)

Rear Gunner PO D Woods (Can)

Mid Upper Gunner F/S J Angus (Can)

Except for the Flight Engineer, the crew remained intact for all missions.

Halifax Bomber Boulton Paul Type E Turret

The Boulton Paul Type E Turret was one of the most successful turrets produced and provided the Rear Defence for the Halifax. 

The 4 Browning Mk.II 0.303in Guns were mounted on their sides in pairs on either side of the Gunner, with the Cocking handles uppermost and within reach for stoppage clearance. Each Gun was provided with 2,500 rounds of ammunition, and the ammo boxes were fixed on the Port side of the Fuselage, well forward and remote from the Turret. 

Tailgunner as a Target

The successes of Bomber Command were purchased at terrible cost. Of every 100 airmen who joined Bomber Command, 45 were killed, 6 were seriously wounded, 8 became Prisoners of War, and only 41 escaped unscathed (at least physically). Of the 120,000 who served, 55,573 were killed including over 10,000 Canadians. The average age at death was 23. Of those who were flying at the beginning of the war, only ten percent survived.

Through the entire operation, the rear gunner knew that the Luftwaffe fighter pilots preferred to attack from the rear and under the belly of the bomber, so he was often first in line for elimination. During World War II 20,000 air gunners were killed while serving with Bomber Command. A rear gunner had a life expectancy of 5 missions.

Bailout

If an aircraft flying over land was critically damaged, aircrew would have to bail out. Parachutes were bulky and not completely reliable, escape hatches were small and had to be located in the dark, and the aircraft might be on fire and out of control. Men were sometimes injured or killed by striking parts of the aircraft after jumping. Only 25% of airmen safely exited Halifaxes and Stirlings, a mere 15% from Lancasters.

Earle Woods Missions

From 09 Apr 44 to 07 Jun 44, Earle and his crew flew 12 Missions. All missions were flown from RAF Station Breighton on the Halifax B III Bomber.

The interactive web page is given below. Click on the link to see the interactive map, then hover over or click each marker for mission details.

 Interactive Map of Missions 

Crash of Halifax MZ.577

On the night of 07 Jun 1944, 16 aircraft from 78 Squadron, as part of a 337 strong bomber force, took off from RAF Breighton to attack the rail yards near Juvisy-sur-Orge, south of Paris.  Earle's aircraft MZ.577 was hit by anti-aircraft fire enroute to the target, and the plane crashed 4 Km south of Lieusaint, France.

Three members bailed out. The Navigator was killed, and the Flight Engineer and Mid/Upper Gunner became POWs. The remaining 4 crew including Earle were still onboard when the aircraft crashed and burned.

The picture is not of their aircraft, but of Halifax that crashed in Feb 1944.

78 Squadron Losses

Throughout the war, 78 Squadron lost 910 airmen killed in action, 272 became prisoners of war. 182 aircraft were also lost. 78 squadron suffered the most losses, and highest percentage of losses, of any Halifax squadron. They also flew the highest number of sorties of any squadron in 4 Group.

Grave Marker Pilot Officer Earle Woods

The marker for Earle Woods at the Villeneuve St Georges Old Communal Cemetery Grave 101 is shown. It is a joint grave with Pilot Officer Kelley. There was initially a problem identifying the second body, until Lt Evans was found several weeks later. The crew members were likely sitting in crash positions over the main wing spar, and it was not possible to separately identify the bodies.

Grave Marker in Hopetown, Lanark, ON

Grave Marker commerating Earle and Raymond Woods in Hopetown Cemetery, Hopetown, Lanark ON

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Certificate

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Certificate commemorates Pilot Officer Earle Woods' resting place.

Pilot Officer Earle Woods Book of Remembrance

Earle Woods is memorialized on page 482 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. His page is displayed annually on 14 October. His brother Raymond Woods is memorialized on the same page.

Bomber Command Museum of Canada, Nanton Alberta

The memorial Wall at the Bomber Command Museum lists the 10,673 Canadians who gave their lives while in service of Bomber Command.

Bomber Command Museum Listing

Earle's listing is shown. His brother Raymond is listed on the next pane.

The Memorial was dedicated in 2005 and is made of five panels (8′ wide and 4′ high) of 3″ thick, polished, black granite. Four of these each have about 1,600 names engraved per side. The central panel (6′ high and 3′ wide) includes the name and purpose of the Memorial (on both sides) as well as the Bomber Command Crest and a photo of a Canadian Bomber Crew.

International Bomber Command Centre, Lincoln UK

The IBBC was open in 2018 acknowledging the efforts of Bomber Command During WWII. The project also covers the stories of those who suffered as a result of the bombing campaigns and those whose survival was guaranteed by the humanitarian operations of Bomber Command. During WWII over a million men and women served or supported Bomber Command.

The IBBC Losses Database records the details of 57,861 Bomber Command deaths during WWII.

IBBC Spire

The memorial Spire was installed in 2015, and is 102 ft high, the wingspan of a Lancaster Bomber. The spire is two massive steel plates that symbolize aircraft wings.

The Wall of Names surround the Spire and remember 57,861 men and women who lost their lives will serving in or supporting Bomber Command. the PO Earle Woods is commemorated in Phase 2, Panel  Number 269. Sgt Raymond Woods is commemorated in Phase 1, Panel Number 119.

Medals

Earle was awarded the following Medals for his service:

·         1939-1945 Star

·         Air Crew Europe Star with Clasp indicating service in France and Germany

·         France and Germany Star

·         General Service Medal

·         Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp and Maple Leaf Emblem indicating Overseas Service