37615. Sqd/Ldr G.G. STOREY. RAF.
KILLED-in-ACTION 17th JUNE 1943.
(A Famous Luftwaffe Night Fighter “Ace” Kill)
A pre-war civilian & RAF Pilot with previous Army Service.
[BIOGRAPHY] George Gerard Storey (1911-1943)
George Gerard Storey was born 29th January 1911 at Everingham, York. Prior to WW2 he had been a Science (honours) graduate from Leeds University. He was a member of the University OTC and gained a reserve commission as 2/Lt in the West Yorkshire regiment. (L.G. 11th June 1930).
He resigned his commission on 22nd August 1934.
[FLYING CAREER]
Obviously keen on flying, George is then seen joining Scarborough Aero Club where he gained his RAc Flying licence No. 13112 on 23rd August 1935 on a D.H. TIGER MOTH. From this early beginning he keenly pursued his flying career with a move to the Civil Flying School at Hatfield, Herts on 6th January 1936.
[ROYAL AIR FORCE] 2nd MARCH 1936 - 17th JUNE 1943
George joined the RAF on 2nd March 1936 with a move to No.3 FTS on 14th March. After nine months in training he received his RAF wings and was posted to 97(B)Sqd. The squadron had just reformed on 16 September 1935 at RAF Catfoss, and was equipped with the Handley Page Heyford Bomber.
After seven months he was posted to 211 (B) Sqd. The squadron was re-formed at RAF Mildenhall on 24 June 1937, with 10 officers and about 50 airmen, and was initially equipped with 12 Hawker Audax light bombers organised into two flights of six. By the end of the year, there were 15 officer pilots and three sergeant pilots.
In August 1937 the squadron was re-equipped with the Hawker Hind, and moved to RAF Grantham the following month. In May 1938 the squadron was one of several deployed to RAF Middle East. Based at RAF Helwan in Egypt with 18 Hind aircraft, the squadron was organised into three flights of six, with 14 officers and about 180 other ranks. This included 18 pilots, split equally between officers and NCOs.
From 211 Sqd George moved to No.4 FTS and ended up with this unit in IRAQ until 21st September 1940 when he’s again seen operational with 5 Sqd, still in IRAQ he was with 5 for just five weeks with another move to 244 Sqd which operated the Vickers Vincent and Bristol Blenheim.
Via various other conversion units and training establishments 1940-1943 he finally arrived at 49 Squadron on 23rd April 1943.
He then completed six sorties to various targets.
His seventh sortie to Koln on 16th June 1943 was sadly his last.
He was 32 years of age which was 10 years older than the average age of the WW2 bomber command crews.
[THE FINAL SORTIE] 49 Sqd RAF FISKERTON 22:11 on 16/6/43.
Koln raid. (Lancaster III, ED785. EA-)
George Storey’s Lancaster Bomber was airborne at 22:11 from Fiskerton and successfully bombed Koln at about 01:15am. On the way home while over Holland his aircraft was attacked by a Bf110 night-fighter and was shot down in the Scheldt Estuary about 2 km SW of Vlissingen (Flushing).
[THE CREW].
S/L G.G. STOREY
Sgt J. BURNSIDE
Sgt G.S. UNDERLIN
P/O R.C. BLYTHE
Sgt W.H. WARING
Sgt M.G. WEBB (RCAF) ....(POW)
Sgt M.E. BUNN (RCAF)
Sgt H. BUTTREY
*All but Sgt Webb perished in the crash, six are buried in the town’s northern cemetery, while Sgt Waring has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede memorial to the missing.
*Sqd/Ldr Storey’s aircraft was one of three confirmed kills of Lancaster bombers that night which were all shot down within 45 minutes by Uffz Rudolf Frank, the famous Night Fighter Ace of 2./NJG3, (det. 2./NJG1) who claimed this kill at 7,500 m at 01.46 hrs on 17th July 1943.
Uffz Rudolf Frank (19 August 1920 – 27 April 1944)
“LUFTWAFFE NIGHT FIGHTER ACE”
Frank was a German Luftwaffe Military Aviator during World War II, a night fighter ace credited with 45 enemy aircraft shot down in 183 combat missions. All of his victories were claimed over the Western Front in nocturnal Defence of the Reich and of the missions against the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command.
Born in Karlsruhe -Grünwinkel, Frank volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of the Third Reich in 1939 after finishing school. Following flight training, he was posted to (NJG 3—3rd Night Fighter Wing) in 1941. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 April 1944 following his 42nd aerial victory.
Ten days later, on the night of 26/27 April 1944, he and his crew of radio operator Oberfeldwebel Schierholz and air mechanic Feldwebel Heinz Schneider took off in Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4 "D5+CL" (Werknummer 720074) from Vechta. The mission was to intercept incoming bombers heading for the Ruhr Area.
* This was the same night that Sgt Norman Jackson won his VICTORIA CROSS for climbing out onto the wing of his burning 106 Squadron Lancaster I in an attempt to put out a fuel tank fire.
The Frank crew spotted and attacked a homeward bound Avro Lancaster bomber over the vicinity of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The bomber, severely hit by cannon fire at 01:58, exploded and became Frank's 45th and last aerial victory. Debris from the Lancaster tore off the Messerschmitt's right wing and Frank lost control of the aircraft. He gave the order to bail out. Schierholz and Schneider parachuted to safety but Frank failed to get out in time and was killed when his Bf 110 crashed at Heeze, 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) southeast of Eindhoven. He was just 24.
An outstanding and unusual Bomber Command Casualty with a named pre-war general service medal. Comes complete with officially named medal issue condolence slip and various items of research paperwork including full RAF service record document and CWG copies etc,
All medals EF - MINT.
SOLD