Hooper, Henry (Oral history)

British pilot flying Lancaster with 115 Sqdn, RAF based in GB and operating over Germany, 1945; served with 178/70 Sdn, RAF in Egypt, 1945-1947; served with 38 Sqdn, RAF in Palestine, 1947

REEL 1 Recollections of background in Heston, Egham and Harlington, 1924-1939: family background and social circumstances; education; work at Greyhound Stadium, Harlington, 1938-1939; attitude to gambling; sporting activities; interest in aircraft at Heston airfield; awareness of approach of approach of war; loss of job on closure of Greyhound Stadium, 1/9/1939; false air raid alarm on outbreak of war, 3/9/1939; interest in joining RAF; work as office boy at Wing Shop, Fairey Aviation Company, Hayes, 9/1939-7/1940. REEL 2 Continues: work as office boy at Wing Shop, Fairey Aviation Company, Hayes, 9/1939-7/1940, including assembly of aircraft, interest in experimental shop projects, home made air raid shelter; Morrison table shelter; German air raids and story of bomb landing close to home; work as office boy for Syracuse Aircraft Company, Brentford, 7/1940-7/1942, including firm role manufacturing Hurricane parts, duties administering bonus scheme, pay and fire watching duties; failure through defective eyesight in underage attempt to join RAF, 4/1941; attempts to improve eyesight. Recollections of attending Air Crew Selection Board, Oxford University, 11/1941: tests and success in passing eyesight test; acceptance for training as pilot; call up, 7/1942. Period at Air Crew Reception Centre, RAF, Lords Cricket Ground, St Johns Wood, London, family reactions to call up; reception; accommodation; vaccinations; eye test and necessity for special lens in goggles; kitting out; visits home. REEL 3 Continues: work in London Zoo farm; drill. Period at Ludlow, 8/1942: tent accommodation; food rations; making roads; relationship with recruits. Recollections of period as cadet at 12 Initial Training Wing, RAF, St Andrews, 9/1942-12/1942: train journey; hotel billets; ground instruction including drill, theory of flight, aero engines, meteorology and Morse code; acclimatisation to military lifestyle and question of taking up smoking cigarettes; relationship with instructors and recruits; presence of British-Latin American volunteers; guard duties; sporting activities; preparing for kit inspections. REEL 4 Continues: daily routine; competition for best room; extra private study periods. Recollections of period at 11th Elementary Flying Training School, RAF, Scone, 12/1942-1/1943: nature of grading course to identify incompetent pilots; opinion of flying instructor, Sergeant Morgan; familiarisation flights in Tiger Moth DH82A; flying kit and special goggles; circuits and landings including instruments, method of turning, stall demonstration, taxing, taking off and landing; aerobatics demonstrations; first solo flight, 10/1/1943; personal morale; guard duty; visits to Perth. Period at RAF Holding Centre, Heaton Park, Manchester, 1/1943-2/1943. Period on engine handling course at St Athan, 2/1943-3/1943. REEL 5 Period on engine handling course at St Athan, 2/1943-3/1943. Voyage aboard Queen Elizabeth to Halifax, Canada, 3/1943. Period at 31st Personnel Dispersal Centre, RAF, Monckton, 3/1943. Recollections of training on Fleet Finch Mark II with 17th Elementary Flying Training School, RAF, Stanley, Nova Scotia, 4/1943-5/1943: isolated nature of airfield; relationship with instructors; nature of Fleet Finch and flying training; conditions of service. Recollections of period flying Harvard II at 8th Service Training School, RAF, Lakeburn, relationship with instructor; nature of Harvard; ground training syllabus; cross country flights; night flying; assessment; relationship with Canadian civilians and ground staff; absence of recreational facilities; formation flying; low flying; ward of wings at passing out parade; promotion to sergeant. Period at 31st PDC, RAF, Monckton, 9/1943-10/1943: commission to pilot officer and kitting out; train journey to New York. Voyage aboard Queen Elizabeth to GB, 10/1943: overcrowded state of ship. REEL 6 Continues: conditions; reception on arrival at Glasgow. Period based at 7th Personnel Reception Centre, RAF, Harrogate, 11/1943-6/1944: leave; delays caused by lack of need for single-seater pilots; attending officers' course at Sidmouth, 11/1943-12/1943; flight in Master; detachment for revision course flying Tiger Moth at 6th Elementary Flying Training School, RAF, Sywell, 3/1944, including night flights and use of goose neck flares; desire for active service. Recollections of period at 15th Advanced Flying Training School, RAF, Babdown Farm, Tetbury, 6/19448/1944: role of unit; conversion to flying multi-engined aircraft; opinion of Oxford; cross country flights; night flights using oundit beams; story of escorting pilot's coffin to London for burial; shortage of beer during visits to Tetbury. Period at 16th Operational Training Unit, RAF, Upper Heyford, 9/1944-11/1944: process of forming crew during ground instruction. REEL 7 Continues: background to formation of crew with Mid Upper Gunner Sergeant Geoff Osborne, Rear Gunner Sergeant Jimmy Glover, Wireless Operator Sergeant Charlie Flint, Bomb Aimer Flight Lieutenant Stan Williams and navigator; nature of Wellington III and X; night cross-country exercises and bombing practice; Gee navigation system; problems with unreliable navigator; participation in Bullseye diversionary operation over North Sea, 10/11/1944. Period at 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit, Woolfox Lodge, 1/1945-2/1945: opinion of Lancaster; addition to crew of Flight Engineer Sergeant Doug Cuthill; development of relationship with crew; continued problems with navigator and his replacement by Sergeant Laurie Hough; diversion on returning from exercise by warning of German night fighter over airfield. REEL 8 Recollections of operations flying Lancaster with B Flight, 115 Sqdn, 3 Group, RAF, Witchford, 3/1945-9/1945: nature of airfield ; hut accommodation; reception; war record of unit; reporting to squadron and flight offices; organisation of unit; role of squadron office; nature of officers' mess; nature of recreational visits to pubs in Ely; minimal relationship with officers; reception from Squadron Leader Morrison; nature of crew room; familiarisation flight; airfield code lights; question of allocation of Lancaster; role of unit on daylight raids using GeeH beam system. REEL 9 Continues: prior training and exercises with fighters on corkscrew evasive manoeuvre; prior exercises in bombing and evading anti-aircraft fire; nature of typical daylight raid over Ruhr, Germany, 3/1945, including briefing, drawing parachute, flying kit, escape kit, food taken, question of amphetamine pills, pilot's reference map, visual check to aircraft, relationship with ground crews, question of superstition and personal morale, value of training, method of entering aircraft, checking instruments and controls, procedure on starting engines, taxiing to take off point and use of glim lights at night. REEL 10 Continues: nature of typical daylight raid over Ruhr, Germany, 3/1945, including take off procedure, adopting formation, flying controls and instruments, fuel tank arrangements, role of flight engineer, navigator and wireless operator, question of minimal use of intercom, use of GeeH beam system, synthetic fuel unit targets, fighter escorts, approach to target, role of GeeH leader aircraft, necessity of maintaining constant course and height during approach run, use of 'window' to confuse German AA fire, nature of German AA fire, role of bomb aimer, bomb bay release system and return flight. REEL 12 Continues: nature of typical daylight raid over Ruhr, Germany, 3/1945, including physical environment in aircraft, ELSAN latrine, story of urinating in Wellington, use of pilot's reference map to monitor progress, circling airfield, landing procedure, taxing to dispersal point, opening bomb bay door for ground crew, debriefing with intelligence officer, photographic record of bomb release point and question of crew breakfast; cases of bombs hanging up in bomb bay during raids; air tests; heavy German AA fire during raid over Kiel, 9/4/1945; night raid over Potsdam, 14/4/1945, including nature of target, flying as independent aircraft within bomber stream, problems in attaining and maintain high altitude and question of risk of mid-air collision. REEL 12 Continues: night raid over Potsdam, 14/4/1945, including German AA fire, flares used by German nightfighters, importance of maintaining lookout, course variations to avoid predicted German AA fire, dropping 8,000lb bomb and effects of bombing; daylight raid Operation Obliteration on Heligoland, 17/4/1945; low level missions dropping food supplies for Dutch civilians under Operation Manna over La Hague, Netherlands, 4/1945, including prior negotiated agreement of Germans, demonstration of technique in front of Lord Trenchard and reception from Dutch; reactions to VE Day, 8/5/1945; question of attitude to bombing German civilians; flights to repatriate British POWs from Belgium, 5/1945; training courses; reactions to assignment to Tiger Force for service in Far East; flights to show ground personnel effects of bombing campaign on Germany; story of flying senior RAF officers to Berlin, including reactions to state of German civilians and relationship with Soviet soldiers; Operation Post Mortum practice raid; flights to collect army personnel from Bari, Italy; reactions to VJ Day, 8/1945. REEL 13 Continues: continuation of training; move to Graveley. Period with 16th Ferry Unit, RAF, Dunkswell, 9/1945-12/1945: changes to crew; flight in Lancaster to Egypt. Period with 178/70 Sqdn, RAF at Fayid, Canal Zone, Egypt, 12/1945-3/1947: conversion of unit from Liberator to Lancaster; conversion of Lancaster for passenger and freight transport; night flights with passengers, freight and mail to various locations in North Africa, Middle East and Southern Europe; Italian and German POWs working in RAF camp; officers' mess; flight to Middle East and GB; political situation in Palestine; story accidental shooting incident on flying interned members of Stern gang back to Lydda, Palestine, 16/12/1946; collection of 70 Sqdn silver; officers' mess guest nights; climate; sports and recreations. REEL 14 Continues: question of local leave; enjoyment of flying; process of ferrying aircraft and time-expired crews back to GB; fatal crash. Period flying Lancaster with 38 Sqdn, RAF at Ein Shemer, Palestine, 3/1947-10/1947: role searching for and shadowing ships carrying illegal Jewish immigrants including internment of Jewish immigrants in Cyprus, organisation of patrols and method of identifying suspects ships; attitude to Jewish and Arab civilians; airfield defences and necessity of escort outside of camp; flights to Egypt; detachments to Malta; exercises with Royal Navy; prior application for permanent commission and circumstances of rejection due to disciplinary offence; qualification for 'B' licence as qualification for civilian pilot; voyage back to GB, 10/1947. Demobilisation, 11/1947. Post-war service: accidental death of sister on return home; attending navigation course despite cancellation of grant; expiry of 'B' licence; rejection of agricultural course. REEL 15 Continues: background to decision not to accept work as navigator with Flight Airways due to pressure of Berlin airlift flights; management career; occasional pleasure flights; membership of Bomber Command Assoc and 115 Sqdn, RAF Assoc; continued interest in aviation; contacts with crew.