Tag Archives: Hockey

W/Cdr Ron Hockey

Sunday, 23 March 1941

RAF Stradishall

F/O Ron Hockey flies with P/O Willson and crew to Abingdon, then on to Ringway, in Whitley T4165. Stradishall learns that he has been given the incorrect colours of the day. The Ops Officers’ log records:

1605: Endeavoured to contact F/O Hockey in 1419 Flight Whitley, flying to Abingdon and thence to Ringway to inform him in possession of wrong colours & letters of day. Unable to do so having left Abingdon. Requested Sigs to contact Whitley but Sigs not in wireless touch.

This could easily have led to a tragic accident if he had been intercepted by a trigger-happy fighter-pilot. (See Oettle’s own experience the previous 5 August.)

Friday, 14 March 1941

Stradishall – Operation BENJAMIN

The Duty Officer reports back with an answer to Knowles’s request:

Spoke to Group re Fighter escort for Whitley. They consider there is sufficient hours of daylight i.e. 11 hours between out & return journey east of 3°E for Whitley to take off & pass that point 40 minutes after sunset & still return before sunrise. Doubtful too if escort will be provided for just one a/c. There is an escort patrol by 11 Group to 20 miles off coast in any case. Group are not doing anything further in the matter.

Eleven hours of daylight? Between sunset and sunrise, almost, but not between twilight and first light. (Group’s idea of darkness, at 40 minutes after sunset and before sunrise, was still light enough for a patrol to spot a lone Whitley.) At best the pilot would have about nine hours of darkness in which to fly more than 1100 miles, drop the agent somewhere near the target, and return to less hostile skies.

Stradishall – Tangmere

F/Lt Gordon Scotter and F/O Ron Hockey fly to Tangmere in Lysander T1508.

Friday, 21 February 1941

Sumburgh, Shetland Islands

The Flight now has only one operational Whitley, the long-range Z6473, but there is no operational crew to fly it. F/O Hockey is still not fit to fly. Fortunately it is the start of the ‘dark’ period. S/Ldr Knowles orders F/Lt Oettle to return to the mainland and base by boat train.

Monday, 10 February 1941

Stradishall

At 1110 Keast informs the Ops Office that Operation SAVANNA is cancelled for today.

At 1315 3 Group agrees that Wing Commander Mulholland should go tonight with 419 Flight. The Flight Commander is to go over to 3 Group at Exning (just outside Newmarket) to explain why he is unable to make up his crews.

The Flight is always operating on a shoestring, with barely two crews for two aircraft. One of the pilots on the Flight’s strength, F/O Ron Hockey, is recovering from ‘exhaustion’ and is still non-operational. Jack Oettle is with the other Whitley and its crew at Dishforth, waiting to operate. Keast has to scrounge a Second Pilot in order to carry out an operation tonight.

Wing Commander Mulholland, DFC, has recently completed a tour with 115 Squadron at Marham, another 3 Group Wellington squadron. A 32-year-old Australian who flew with Imperial Airways before the war, Mulholland was recently awarded the DFC for a raid in January, in which he made repeated runs over the Kiel Canal in the face of heavy flak before dropping his bombs. He has been given command of 3 Group’s Training Flight.

At 1357 F/Lt Keast informs the Ops Office that a Whitley is going up to drop containers in 10 mins time.

At 1510 Dishforth calls to ask if a/c can operate tomorrow. Presumably this means Jack Oettle. Dishforth is given the OK for the 11th only: Keast is informed.