Carpe Diem - 576 Squadron RAF

CREW MEMBER PROFILE

SERVICE RECORDS

576 Squadron FLYING RECORDS

PERSONAL INFORMATION

PHOTOS & DOCUMENTS

No. 2 Initial Training Wing, Cambridge - on leave

No. 2 Initial Training Wing, Downing College, Cambridge - L-R Thos, Dave, FRANK, Lou, Ken - Oct 1941

Cochran Field Souvenir Book 7

Diploma - qualified pilot

No. 81 Operational Training Unit - Frank Ball [2nd right] and his crew

Sgt Frank Ball RAFVR

Return

Date	Event	Aircraft Flown
SERVICE RECORDS
07 Dec 1943 07 Dec 1943	Joined 'B' Flight, 576 Squadron at Elsham Wolds, Linconshire.	Lancaster
02 May 1941 02 May 1941	Enlisted at No. 2 Recruiting Centre (RC), Cardington, Bedfordshire, as Aircraftman Second Class (AC2), mustering as Air Crew Hand (Pilot), aged 18 years.
03 May 1941 03 May 1941	Transferred to the Reserve, pending call-up.
18 Sep 1941 18 Sep 1941	Called up to No. 1 Air Crew Reception Centre (ACRC), Lord’s Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood, London.
20 Sep 1941 20 Sep 1941	No. 2 Initial Training Wing (ITW), Downing College, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.
31 Oct 1941 31 Oct 1941	Promoted to Leading Aircraftman (LAC) and remustered as under training Pilot.
13 Dec 1941 13 Dec 1941	No. 50 (Training) Group Pool, Watchfield, Berkshire and sent to 22 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS), Cambridge (run by Marshalls) (Tiger Moth); presumably for pilot aptitude testing.	Tiger Moth
03 Feb 1942 03 Feb 1942	Embarked UK for Canada (port & vessel n/k).
11 Feb 1942 11 Feb 1942	Disembarked Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
12 Feb 1942 12 Feb 1942	No. 31 (RAF) Personnel Depot (PD), Moncton, New Brunswick, and placed in the Arnold Scheme for pilot training. Train from Moncton to Albany, Georgia.
28 Mar 1942 28 Mar 1942	RAF Reception Centre, Turner Field, Albany, Georgia.
20 Apr 1942 20 Apr 1942	Primary Flying Training, Class 42K, Graham Aviation, Souther Field, Americus.	PT-17 Stearman
04 Jul 1942 04 Jul 1942	Basic Flying Training, Cochran Field, Macon, Georgia.	BT-13 Valiant
02 Sep 1942 02 Sep 1942	Advanced Flying School, Napier Field, Dothan, Alabama.
10 Nov 1942 10 Nov 1942	Awarded RAF and USAAF Pilot’s flying badges, promoted to Sergeant, and remustered as Pilot.
11 Nov 1942 11 Nov 1942	31 (RAF) Personnel Depot (PD), Moncton, New Brunswick.
22 Nov 1942 22 Nov 1942	Home Embarkation (HE); embarked Halifax, Nova Scotia (vessel n/k)
01 Dec 1942 01 Dec 1942	Disembarked UK (port n/k).
02 Dec 1942 02 Dec 1942	No. 7 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC), Harrogate, Yorkshire.
10 Jun 1943 10 Jun 1943	No. 6 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit ((P) AFU), Little Rissington, Gloucestershire.	Anson
22 Jun 1943 22 Jun 1943	No. 81 Operational Training Unit (OTU), Whitchurch Heath, (Tilstock), Shropshire; assembles his crew.	Whitley
09 Sep 1943 09 Sep 1943	No. 11 Base, Lindholme, Yorkshire; administrative Base for 1 Group heavy bomber conversions.
10 Sep 1943 10 Sep 1943	No. 1667 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU), Faldingworth, Lincolnshire.	Halifax/Lancaster tbc
10 Nov 1943 10 Nov 1943	Promoted to Flight Sergeant.
30 Nov 1943 30 Nov 1943	No. 1 Lancaster Finishing School (LFS), Hemswell, Lincolnshire (Lancaster) only if Lancaster not flown at HCU	Lancaster (TBC)
20 Dec 1943 20 Dec 1943	Frankfurt; lost in W4123 UL-R2, aged 22 years. Shot down by Oblt. Werner Baake of 3./NJG 1 based at Venlo. The aircraft crashed in Red Wood, about 1km S of Le Planck, Voere, Belgium. The dead were initially buried by the Germans in Brusthem (Sint Truiden/St Trond) Cemetery and later interred on 25 Mar 47 in a collective grave at Heverlee War Cemetery, Louvain, Belgium; plot 5.B.5-7. ‘GOOD NIGHT, GOD BLESS’	Lancaster

Date	Aircraft	Code	Flight Details	T/O	Land	Flt Time	Crew
576 Squadron FLYING RECORDS
16 Dec 1943 16 Dec 1943	LM381	UL-E²	BERLIN	1630	2345	7h15	P1 Sgt A.J. Bodger P2 Flt Sgt F. Ball FE Sgt R.P. Lloyd AB Sgt S.G. Barnes NAV Sgt W. Scott WOp Sgt K. Watkins MUG Sgt P.W. Robert RG Sgt J.A. Russell
NOTES:	Target: Built-up area
20 Dec 1943 20 Dec 1943	W4123	UL-R²	FRANKFURT	1700	FTR	nk	P1 Flt Sgt F. Ball P2 FE Sgt W. Dickie AB Sgt L. Balich NAV Sgt L.P.E. Allais WOp Sgt F.H. Gage MUG Sgt A.J. Pollitt RG Sgt J.E. Redmond RCAF
NOTES:	Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb 'Cookie', 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries Shot down over Sint-Pieters-Voeren, NE of Liege, by a Bf-110 flown by Oblt. Werner Baake of 3./NJG 1 from Venlo airfield. The aircraft crashed in the Red Wood, 1km S of De Planck at 1930 Buried in Haverlee War Cemetery, Coll. Grave 5.B.5-7 ‘GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS’

PERSONAL INFORMATION
Details
From Sarah Kirk (Niece) Frank Ball's parents were Phyllis Eliza (née Weston) and Frank Ball. He was born 13 November 1921 at 56 Down Street, Leicester where he lived and was brought up. His siblings were George b.1924, Frances b.1928, Stuart b.1935. He left school aged 14 and was indentured as a pattern maker, a skill he used to build scale models of aircraft. His father was killed when he was 6 in 1928 in a cricket accident, just before his sister Frances was born (26-09-1928) He was very close to my father George (b 12-05-1924) who was less than 3 years younger than him. Robin’s father Stuart was born a number of years later (b18-05-1935). He volunteered for aircrew training aged 18, trained in Cambridge, Canada and Florida, and winning his pilot wings on his 21st birthday. He did conversion courses to twin-engined Ansons near Oxford, and then Lancasters. He was posted to No. 576 Squadron at Elsham Wolds, from where he flew his 1st raid as second pilot. His second excursion was to Frankfurt on 20th December 1943 when he was shot down over Belgium with the loss of all crew. He had just been promoted to Flight Sergeant. According to a letter received by my father in 1998, he was shot down by Oberleutnant Werner Baake of No3 Fighter Wing based at Venlo in Holland. German radar picked up the bomber stream while still over the North Sea and could advise height and course. The German fighters had upward firing cannon so RAF planes became easy pickings as the German fighters were flying directly beneath the bombers. The crash site was at the hamlet of de Plank at Voere and the crew were initially buried at St Trond before being moved to the War Graves cemetery at Heverlee. St Trond was the base for No 1 Jg Night Fighter Wing (?) and was responsible for the destruction of 250 RAF bombers by their top three pilots! (this final piece of information is taken from ‘Luck and a Lancaster’ by Harry Yates DFC). Ball family

PHOTOS & DOCUMENTS
Details
No. 2 Initial Training Wing, Cambridge - on leave Ball family
No. 2 Initial Training Wing, Downing College, Cambridge - L-R Thos, Dave, FRANK, Lou, Ken - Oct 1941 Ball family
Cochran Field Souvenir Book 7 Ball family
Diploma - qualified pilot Ball family
No. 81 Operational Training Unit - Frank Ball [2nd right] and his crew Ball family
Sgt Frank Ball RAFVR Ball family

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