The story
Aircrew in full flying kit walking beneath the nose of Short Stirling Mark I, N3676 'S', of 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire while the ground crew run up the engines.
During 1942 it flew 49 operational sorties for RAF Bomber Command with a loss of five aircraft. Formed by merging No. 26 Conversion Flight RAF and No. 106 Conversion Flight RAF.
Absorbed 15 Squadron Conversion Flight and 24 Squadron Conversion Flight.
The pilot (2nd from left) has been identified as an American, Sergeant Leonard A Johnson.
Also believed to be shown are Sergeant Rennie, engineer (far right), Sergeant Jock McGown, rear gunner (2nd from right).
Sergeant Agg (3rd from right)
Sergeant Lofthouse (4th from right) and Sergeant J King, navigator (left).
Date chosen somewhere 1942. Date is one of the mission of 1651 HCU (link)
Source: IWM
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You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.