Carpe Diem - 576 Squadron RAF

PERSONAL INFORMATION

PHOTOS & DOCUMENTS

CREW MEMBER PROFILE

SERVICE RECORDS

576 Squadron FLYING RECORDS

PERSONAL INFORMATION

PHOTOS & DOCUMENTS

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Date	Event	Aircraft Flown
SERVICE RECORDS
23 Feb 1942 23 Feb 1942	Enlisted at Oxford as Aircraftsman Second Class Basic Training
26 Oct 1942 26 Oct 1942	tbc – Embarked UK for South Africa Disembarked SA
15 Feb 1943 15 Feb 1943	No. 41 Air School, 10 AB Course, Collondale, East London	Anson Oxford
08 May 1943 08 May 1943	Graduated as Air Bomber, awarded Observers (O) Flying Badge and promoted to Sergeant tbc
15 Aug 1943 15 Aug 1943	Disembarked UK
20 Aug 1943 20 Aug 1943	No. 1 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit ((O)AFU), Wigtown, Dumfries & Galloway. Date TBC	Anson
18 Sep 1943 18 Sep 1943	No.83 Operational Training Unit (OTU), ‘A’ Flight, Peplow, Salop; joins D R Harkin crew. Date TBC	Wellington
01 Mar 1944 01 Mar 1944	No. 1667 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU), Sandtoft, Yorks. Date TBC	Halifax
27 Mar 1944 27 Mar 1944	Accident in Halifax DG305, GG-D at Sandtoft; swung on night t/o and u/c collapsed. No injuries.	Halifax
31 Mar 1944 31 Mar 1944	Accident in Halifax DG307 at Sandtoft; swung on night landing on 6th touch and go; undercarriage collapsed. No injuries.	Halifax
01 May 1944 01 May 1944	No. 1 Lancaster Finsishing School (LFS). Date TBC	Lancaster
14 May 1944 14 May 1944	Set Rank from Flight Record
17 May 1944 17 May 1944	Set Rank from Flight Record
12 Jun 1944 12 Jun 1944	No. 300 (Polish) Squadron, Faldingworth, Lincolnshire. Ops (10): D R Harkin crew 27 Jun 44 – Siracourt D 27 Jun 44 – Chateau d’Hortier N 30 Jun 44 – Vierzon 02 Jul 44 – Domleger 04 Jul 44 – Orleans 06 Jul 44 – Foret du Croc 07 Jul 44 – Caen 18 Jul 44 – Emieville 23 Jul 44 – Kiel 25 Jul 44 – Stuttgart; abandoned ND984, BH-P	Lancaster
25 Jul 1944 25 Jul 1944	Stuttgart; abandoned ND984, BH-P Shot down by Uffz Heinrich Bultmann of 11./NJG5 in a Bf110 using Shrage Musik at 4000m 80km W of Stuttgart at 0225CET. The a/c crashed at 2136 at Ochsenbach, 25 km NE of Pforzheim. Collis landed near the village of Guglingen. Crew were eventually all taken PoW 26 Jul 44 - Captured and imprisoned in Knittlingen, 15 km N of Pforzheim 27 Jul 44 – Taken to Stuttgart for interrogation 02 Aug 44 - Dulag Luft (Stuttgart?) 03 Aug 44 – Transferred to Stalag Luft 7 (Kgf.Lag.d.Lw.7), Bankau, Silesia (now Poland) POW No.447 Date? - Liberated by Russians after the Long March	Lancaster
15 May 1945 15 May 1945	Repatriated from Germany. Date TBC
01 Jan 1946 01 Jan 1946	Serving in Germany. Dates TBC
01 Jul 1948 01 Jul 1948	No. 101 Personnel Dispersal Centre (PDC), Kirkham, Lancs. Date TBC
12 Jul 1948 12 Jul 1948	Last day of RAF service
25 Oct 1948 25 Oct 1948	Classs 'A' release from RAF service

Date	Aircraft	Code	Flight Details	T/O	Land	Flt Time	Crew
576 Squadron FLYING RECORDS
14 May 1944	LM439	UL-I²	Training	2015	nk	5h05	P1 Flt Lt D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Night cross country; bombing
15 May 1944	LM439	UL-I²	Training	2110	nk	5h40	P1 Sgt D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Night cross country; Bombing
17 May 1944	ND994	UL-F²	Training	1435	nk	1h35	P1 Sgt D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Air to sea firing, fighter affiliation
22 May 1944	JA715	UL-D2 (listed as UL-T2 in logbook)	DORTMUND	2225	0340	5h15	P1 D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Built-up area RUHR Load: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 108x 30lb and 1170x 4lb incendiaries
24 May 1944	JA868	UL-J²	ACHEN	0000	0450	4h50	P1 Sgt D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	The marshalling yards at Aachen West and Rothe-Erde Load: 11x 1000lb, 4x 500lb bombs
26 May 1944	ME792	UL-Q²	Training	1220	nk	1h55	P1 Gp Capt W.C. Sheen P2 Sgt D.R. Harkin FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Cross country. Landed at Little Horwood
27 May 1944	JA868	UL-J²	AACHEN	0000	0450	4h30	P1 Plt Off D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG WO R.S. Pyatt RCAF RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	The marshalling yards at Aachen East and Rothe-Erde Load: 11x 1000lb, 4x500lb bombs.
31 May 1944	LM439	UL-I²	Training	1425	nk	2h10	P1 Plt Off D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Fighter affiliation; Bombing North Sea
02 Jun 1944	ND994	UL-F²	CALAIS	2300	0225	3h25	P1 Plt Off D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Coastal Railway Battery The attacks against gun batteries in the Pas de Calais was part of a plan to deceive the Germans that the forthcoming invasion was to be in this area, and not Normandy. Load: 11x 1000lb, 4x 500lb bombs Most aircraft could not bomb due to cloud cover and brought their bombs back
03 Jun 1944	ND994	UL-F²	WIMEREUX (BOULOGNE)	2310	0315	4h05	P1 Plt Off D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Coastal railway gun battery The attack was part of the plan to deceive the Germans that the forthcoming invasion was to be in this area, and not Normandy. Load: 1x 4000lb ‘Cookie’, 16 or 15x 500lb bombs One other (probably C2 Hordal or R2 Wood) aircraft DNTO due engine trouble
04 Jun 1944	ND994	UL-F²	Training	1520	nk	0h50	P1 Plt Off D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Air to sea firing
05 Jun 1944	ND994	UL-F²	ST MARTIN DE VARREVILLE & CRISBECQ	2140	0155	4h15	P1 Plt Off D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Coastal Batteries (2 targets) Load: Squadron aircraft were split between the two targets – not known fully which was which. Confirmation of target taken from logbook entries. Bombardment of the coastal batteries on the eve of the D-Day invasion of France. Target St Martin de Varreville
06 Jun 1944	ND994	UL-F²	VIRE	2155	0340	5h45	P1 Plt Off D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	2 Aiming Points: Viaduc de Martilly road/rail bridge (western AP) & marshalling yards Load: 18x 500lb bombs
10 Jun 1944	ND994	UL-F²	FLERS	0030	0535	5h05	P1 Plt Off D.R. Harkin P2 FE Sgt G.A.p.A.E. Palmer AB Sgt M.A. Collis NAV Flt Sgt C.G. Harrison WOp Sgt D. Berrie MUG Sgt J.A. Philpot RG Sgt W.B. Couchman
NOTES:	Luftwaffe FW-190 fighter airfield Load: 18x 500lb bombs

PERSONAL INFORMATION
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Personal Records Restricted - not available to the public

PHOTOS & DOCUMENTS
Personal Documents Restricted - not available to the public

Personal Documents Restricted - not available to the public

CREW MEMBER PROFILE

COLLIS

First Name/s:

Martin Arthur

Service No/s:

1324325

Air Bomber