Carpe Diem - 576 Squadron RAF - The Crews

CREW MEMBER PROFILE
Surname:	GRAY		First Name/s:	John Phillip

Service No/s:	1314934	Service:	RAFVR	Branch:	Wireless Operator

Awards:

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Date	Event	Aircraft Flown
SERVICE RECORDS
25 Nov 1943 25 Nov 1943	Joined 576 Sqn at Elsham Wolds, Linconshire	Auto loaded with upgrade to v1.0.04

Date	Aircraft	Code	Flight Details	T/O	Land	Flt Time	Crew
576 Squadron FLYING RECORDS
02 Dec 1943 02 Dec 1943	ED767	UL-T²	BERLIN	1705	0005	7h00	P1 Flt Sgt H.M.C. Thomas P2 FE Sgt D. Arlott AB Sgt P.W. Green TBC NAV Plt Off M.A. Elliott WOp Sgt J.P. Gray MUG Sgt H.L. Morrison RCAF RG Sgt L.J. Mulholland
NOTES:	Target: Built-up area. Load: 1x 4000lb 'Cookie', 56x 30lb and 1122x 4lb incendiaries. 576 Sqn’s first operation. Heavy flak encountered.
04 Dec 1943 04 Dec 1943		*	LEIPZIG	DNTO	nk	N/A	P1 Flt Sgt H.M.C. Thomas P2 FE Sgt D. Arlott AB Sgt P.W. Green TBC NAV Plt Off M.A. Elliott WOp Sgt J.P. Gray MUG Sgt H.L. Morrison RCAF RG Sgt L.J. Mulholland
NOTES:	Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4000lb 'Cookie', 56x 30lb and 1122x 4lb incendiaries. Did not take off - Reason and aircraft not known. Possibly P2 according to Arlott logbook
11 Dec 1943	ED713	UL-W²	Training	nk	nk	1h00	P1 Flt Sgt H.M.C. Thomas P2 FE Sgt D. Arlott AB Sgt P.W. Green TBC NAV Plt Off M.A. Elliott WOp Sgt J.P. Gray MUG Sgt H.L. Morrison RCAF RG Sgt L.J. Mulholland
NOTES:	Practice bombing.
12 Dec 1943	JA957	UL-X²	Training	nk	nk	0h35	P1 Flt Sgt H.M.C. Thomas P2 FE Sgt D. Arlott AB Sgt P.W. Green TBC NAV Plt Off M.A. Elliott WOp Sgt J.P. Gray MUG Sgt H.L. Morrison RCAF RG Sgt L.J. Mulholland
NOTES:	Fighter Affiliation
16 Dec 1943	ED913	UL-U²	Air Test	nk	nk	0h30	P1 Flt Sgt H.M.C. Thomas P2 FE Sgt D. Arlott AB Sgt P.W. Green TBC NAV Plt Off M.A. Elliott WOp Sgt J.P. Gray MUG Sgt H.L. Morrison RCAF RG Sgt L.J. Mulholland
NOTES:	Air test.
16 Dec 1943	ED913	UL-U²	BERLIN	DNTO	nk	N/A	P1 Flt Sgt H.M.C. Thomas P2 FE Sgt D. Arlott AB Sgt P.W. Green TBC NAV Plt Off M.A. Elliott WOp Sgt J.P. Gray MUG Sgt H.L. Morrison RCAF RG Sgt L.J. Mulholland
NOTES:	Target: Buit-up area Load: 1x 4000lb 'cookie', 56x 30lb and 1122x4lb incendiaries Did not take off due to engine problems. Aircraft was probably ED913, but not confirmed.
24 Dec 1943 24 Dec 1943	ED713	UL-W²	BERLIN	0030	FTR	nk	P1 Plt Off R.L. Hughes P2 FE Sgt J.E.F. Paton AB Sgt D.A.H. Morris NAV Sgt J. Woodruff WOp Sgt J.P. Gray MUG Sgt F.E.A. Rivett RG Sgt F.H. Lanxon
NOTES:	Target: Built-up area Load: 1x 4,000lb 'Cookie', 56x 30lb and 1,122x 4lb incendiaries Lancaster ED713 was shot down at 0250 at 5,500m by Oblt. Paul Zorner in his Bf-110 of 8./NJG3, the first of three Lancasters claimed by Zorner that night. The aircraft crashed at 0303 in deep snow in a thickly wooded area near Hanover, east of Giessen. Lanxon landed close to the crashed Lancaster and the two other crewmen who had safely baled out. He helped release Morris (AB) from a tree with the other survivor, Woodruff (Nav). He had lost his flying boots which had been ripped off when his parachute opened and they were all exhausted from the cold (and loss of blood for Morris) so they were forced finally to give themselves up to a local woodcutter after being at large for about 24 hrs. By now Morris was unable to walk so he was taken with the others to the local police station in a goat cart. They were held overnight before the Luftwaffe collected them the next day. They were interrogated at the Dulag Luft in Frankfurt and then transferred to Stalag Luft 4B at Muhlberg and eventually in Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan and Belaria; PoW No.269785

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