Personnel Index - Detail

Name
BALME
First Names
David Mowbray
Rank
Wing Commander
Service
RAF
Crew Position
Pilot
Posting In
16/6/45
Posting Out
 1/10/45

 

Awarded the DSO, DFC and CMG.

The 24th CO and a Professor of Classics.



Image courtesy of the 207Sqn Association

Wing Commander Balme completed a tour of operations with 207Sqn and a further 12 ops of a second tour before the end of WW2.

Post war he took part in the PoW repatriation flights from Lille. In June he took his crew on an aerial inspection of bomb damage to German cities including Dortmund, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Essen, Duisberg, Düsseldorf and München.

As 207Sqn were not selected to be part of the force to operate against Japan, David went to command 49Sqn at Syerston, who were to be part of Tiger Force and his crew asked for no more than to move with him.
With the dropping of the atomic bombs in August, Tiger Force never became operational.

The 207Sqn crew who transferred as a whole to 49Sqn are listed below.

D Balme....Pilot
D Brett....F/E
D Richardson....Nav
K Dagnall....B/A
J Evans....W/Op
A Haywood....MUG
L Mitchell....RG

Information supplied by Squadron Leader Don Richardson DFC RAF(Retd) who was David Balme's Navigator on 207 and 49 Squadrons.