BugsBunny

As promised - the relevant page from Dad's log showing completely different details to the ones on the Fair Flying Log! But I hope they are of some interest. The previous page simply has 'HMS Arbiter' with no record of how he got from it to Formidable - from the absence of a recorded flight it seems like he was transferred by sea rather than by air! Am having a dig through the photo box I rescued from mum and dads house and if there is anything interesting in there I'll add it to the thread. Thank you for being interested in this. Charlie

Ian this is absolutely phenomenal. Glad I was sitting down when I opened your message. I've never had anything else to go on other than his log so to see his name 'come alive' in the 'Fair Flying Log' (whose existence I knew nothing about) was quite a thing; thank you so very, very much. Am figuring out how to get some photos on here, will have time tomorrow to crack it so hold fire till then - but the old man's lack of administrative accuracy was something that stayed with him for the rest of is life - he blamed the wartime education, but watching him try (and generally fail) to cash up the sub post office on a Friday evening was one of the joys (?) of my childhood! Back soon, Charlie

Good evening to all on this thread - which as you will understand I am stunned and delighted to find. My late father, S/Lt (A) BCE 'Bunny' Payne joined 1842 immediately prior to the operations of Aug 8th and 9th as a replacement pilot from HMS Arbiter, possibly to replace Keith Quilter who I had the honour of meeting two years ago. He flew 142 on the 9th August raid, listed in his log as 'Ramrod - 7 Airfields (Museda)' which I presume was in fact Masuda. It was his second and last combat operation (the previous day he had flown a CAP in serial 136). After VJ Day he flew 132 off Formidable to Nabscott and then ended up in Maryborough flying various Corsairs most of whose serials tie in with those quoted in this thread as having been on board Formidable with either 1841 or 1842 squadron - 111, 118, 122, 125, 138 and 146 - I have no KD numbers but I hope these may help to eliminate some aircraft which probably weren't lost on the 9th. Re aircraft art, Dad (really name Bernard, but always Bunny) claimed to have had Bugs Bunny painted on 'his' plane (hence my adopted moniker here) but given his short time on squadron this would have been somewhere during his training in the UK, or else at Puttalam on his way 'out East'. He ended up back in the UK at the Stretton Ferry Pool, last flying on Sept 19th 1946 before being demobbed. After a career in the aircraft paint industry with Docker Brothers he spent his last 25 years as a sub postmaster in a small Wiltshire village. His three years of flying between 1944 and 1946 were undoubtedly the highpoint of his life, and he was fiercely proud of the FAA; he died 12 years ago and was cremated with his 'wavy' FAA tie. Hope this hasn't been too tedious - and thank you for giving me the chance to recall the above. I have his log here containing the above details plus all his training records and if anyone is interested in seeing it I'm very happy to send on photos. Charlie