1170341 SGT. R. S. ROLFE. R.A.F. (V.R.) PLEASE NOTE:THE NAMING ON THIS MEDAL IS 100% CORRECT AND THE INITIALS "R.S." ARE IN FACT THE CORRECT WAY AROUND ! ie: THE LONDON GAZETTE ENTRY WHICH SHOWS THE INITIALS AS "S.R." IS INCORRECT. ALL OTHER GAZETTE ENTRIES FOR SGT & LATER F/o & Flt/Lt ROLFE ARE CLEARLY SHOWN AS "R.S." ROLFE INCLUDING HIS LATER R.A.F. COMMISSIONING ENTRIES IN THE GAZETTE. ((( WE ARE ALSO PRIVILEGED TO CURRENTLY BE IN CONTACT WITH A MEMBER OF SGT ROLFE'S FAMILY WHO HAVE CONFIRMED HIS INITIALS AS "R.S." ( REGINALD STANLEY ) AND HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER EXCELLENT PHOTO OF THE THEN "FLYING OFFICER" REGINALD STANLEY ROLFE, ALONG WITH A COPY OF HIS ORIGINAL D.F.M. PROMULGATION / CITATION LETTER, WHICH AGAIN CONFIRMS HIS NAME & INITIALS AS R.S. ROLFE. ))) (Sgt ROLFE took part in a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal action) 
Reg' Rolfe won this 'Immediate' DFM for his part in bringing back to base a seriously damaged Lancaster after the aircraft had been badly shot up by a JU88 night fighter on the return leg from the Peenemunde raid. The rear and mid-upper gunners did however manage to hit the enemy attacker and their tracer and bullets were seen streaming into it's fuselage and port wing as which time it peeled off and was seen to flip over on it's back and go into a vertical dive. There are some excellent press photos of Rolfe & crew inspecting damage to their aircraft upon it's return from the Peenemunde raid, where the trailing rear starboard elevator surfaces had been shot away and part of the plexi-glass cockpit windows smashed. There were also massive holes in both wings. With the much damaged control surfaces the aircraft had become very difficult to handle and Rees did a totally miraculous job keeping it flying. Also, with a main wing tank holed the Lancaster had, in just 15 minutes, lost over 500 gallons of precious fuel. With a perilous low level transit over the North Sea, the crew could see other returning bombers high above them during their return. Flt/Sgt Rees who was clearly an astonishing pilot got the bomber and his crew home once more, this time with less than 30 gallons of remaining fuel ! 
[THE PEENEMUNDE RAID]This was an immensely important raid on the V2 ROCKET site in Northern France which took place on 17/18th August 1943. The enemy defences at this target were thus going to be brutal & were critically important to the Germans. The results of those flak & night fighter defences on this single night were 46 R.A.F. bomber aircraft lost with some 322 young aircrew lads killed & missing (277 KILLED & 45 PRISONERS OF WAR)Sadly, there were also several hundred civilian casualties at a nearby concentration camp which was hit by the bombing. Many of the aircraft which did manage to survive this raid limped home to England in shockingly damaged condition with several being so badly shot up that they were struck off charge and cannibalised for spares."LEST WE FORGET THE PRICE OF FREEDOM"
The award also clearly reflects his continuing and invaluable engineering prowess and his part in his crews' previous survival of a slightly earlier raid on Milan where his pilot won the CONSPICUOUS GALLANTRY MEDAL (Flying) for nursing their crippled Lancaster bomber both to & from far the far away Italian target.
[BIOGRAPHY]
Flight Sergeant Reginald Stanley "Reg" Rolfe was born in Aston near Birmingham, Warwickshire on the 18th May 1914. His home during the wartime period was at Hednesford, near Cannock in the West Midlands where he had employment as a cellulose sprayer, presumably in the Midlands motor trade. He enlisted into the RAF in 1940 . He died aged 68 on 18th November 1982 in Darlington. His operational flying took in the period 13th May 1943 to 8th October 1943. It was on the night of 8th October that the squadron's Commanding Officer, W/Cdr R.A. NORMAM D.S.O. D.F.C, was shot down and made P.O.W.
The group comes with a large number of research papers, and hand written rolls for each of Rolph's 31 missions, crew details, ORBAT lists etc. The 460 squadron records show he completed 31 missions and flew as flight engineer with Flight Lt. Daniel Rees, C.G.M. of South Fremantle, Australia, who won his Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for sheer determination to complete his bombing mission to Milan in August 1943, even though two of his four engines were out of action, meaning he had to weave in and out of the mountains of the Alps, low level and at night both to and from the target. The two engines has started to give trouble soon after the Lancaster had crossed the French coast, and many pilots would have turned back, but Rees, with unanimous support of his crew decided to carry on toward the far away Italian target. It was largely due to the brilliant manipulation, handling and technical control of the engines by Sgt ROLFE that the mission was successfully completed at all.
A recent photo of his pilot Flt/Sgt - Flight Lt. Daniel Rees, C.G.M. of South Fremantle, Australia wearing his medals and a full account of this mission is included with the documents, entitled 'ACROSS THE ALPS ON TWO ENGINES'
[SQUADRON HISTORY]
No. 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, was formed at Molesworth in the United Kingdom on 15 November 1941. It was an “Article XV Squadron”, formed in accordance with agreements that implemented the Empire Air Training Scheme. The squadron became part of the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command and joined the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. Originally equipped with Vickers Wellington bombers, it mounted its first raid, against the German city of Emden, on 12 March 1942.
In the ensuing three years the squadron was heavily committed to operations over Germany, Italy and German-occupied Europe. It operated, in succession, from airfields at Molesworth (15 November 1941 - 3 January 1942), Breighton (4 January 1942 - 14 May 1943), and Binbrook (14 May 1943 - 27 July 1945). Although it had originally been planned to re-equip the squadron with Handley Page Halifaxes in September 1942, it began operating Avro Lancasters in the following month and joined Bomber Command’s 1 Group. The bulk of the squadron’s operations formed part of the strategic bombing offensive against Germany, although prior to, and during, the D-Day landings in June 1944, it was employed in support of Allied ground operations. The squadron flew its last raid, against Berchtesgarden, on ANZAC Day 1945.
The squadron is regarded as having been the most efficient of the Australian bomber squadrons. It maintained consistently higher serviceability rates among its aircraft, set numerous operational records within Bomber Command, flew the most bombing raids of any Australian squadron, and was credited with the greatest tonnage of bombs dropped - 24,856 tons. The Australian War Memorial’s Lancaster “G for George” was a 460 Squadron aircraft. The squadron, however, suffered heavily. It lost 181 aircraft on operations and suffered 1,018 fatal casualties (589 Australian) - the highest number of any of the Australian squadrons.
Following the end of hostilities in Europe in April 1945, the squadron participated in Operation Manna, which involved the air-dropping of food to Dutch civilians during the first week of May 1945. It was subsequently employed to transport liberated Commonwealth prisoners of war to Britain. With this role complete, 460 Squadron was selected to form part of “Tiger Force”, Bomber Command’s intended contribution to the strategic bombing of Japan, which necessitated a transfer to No. 5 Group and a move to East Kirby. The war in the Pacific ended, however, before “Tiger Force” was deployed. The squadron relinquished its aircraft in early October 1945, and disbanded on the 25th of that month.
All medals are in GVF/ EF condition.