Rayviation

My research on 429 Squadron in which my uncle served from late 1943 to late 1944 may add something to the answers above. 429 Squadron started to receive their Halifax MkIIs in August 1943 and most of these, including JD363, had been passed to them from 408 Squadron. At that time all the Halifaxes had the Tempsford nose and the triangle fins. Tony OT is correct in that it was late in the year when the 13MU working party arrived to fit the rectangular fins. My uncle recalled this work being carried out on the Halifax Mk Vs which started to arrive late October 1943. Graham Boak is also correct in that the Series IA was used to designate those Halifaxes with the full transparent nose and again, most of the Squadron's aircraft had this fitted before the end of the year. This was a time of change for the Squadron as they moving to be a Halifax MkV Squadron, so most of the MKIIs went, leaving only a few with them into 1944. All the MkVs had transparent noses, Morris Block radiators and rectangular fins by the new year. I would agree with Graham that by October 22, JD363 would have had the transparent nose and the Morris Block radiators. However, it may have still had the triangular fins. The Squadron Commander at the time, Wg Cdr Pattison, had the mid upper turrets removed from the MkIIs and the MkVs to improve performance. Instead, he introduced a Squadron modification, fitting a single machine gun to fire through a hole in the rear fuselage floor, with the gunner lying on a mattress. Later, this was replaced with the Preston Green gun fitting. The Squadron did not get H2S until the arrival of the MkIIIs in 1944. I hope this helps. Ray

During the period August 43 - October 43, 429 Squadron were equipped with Halifax IIs passed on to them from 408 Squadron. Most of these had the Tempsford Z Nose. On 5th October 1943 Halifax JD327 AL-F was destroyed in a crash and the Squadron received Halifax JD325 as a replacement and it was coded AL-F. This was a former 419 Squadron Halifax and by that time most of their Halifaxes had the full perspex nose. At the time, 429 Squadron Commander was Wg. Cdr. J.D. Pattison DFC and to improve the performance of his aircraft, he had ordered that the mid-upper turrets be removed. Certainly, when my Uncle arrived at 429 Squadron in December 1943, this had been enforced. JD325 would have had the 4 gun mid-upper turret described at the time of delivery, but whether it still had it on 26th November 1943 is another matter. As it had been with the Squadron nearly two months, I think it would have been removed, but I'm not certain. Happy to have been able to confirm some points, but also sorry to have added a doubt. Ray

Hi Jamie, According to the records your Uncle joined 429 Squadron on 12/07/44. At that time Halifax III LW127 was coded AL-F. Regretably, this aircraft was lost on 18/07/44 when it was struck by bombs from higher flying aircraft over Mondeville. Over the next few weeks, the Squadron received some attrition replacements and one of these, Halifax III MZ318 became the new AL-F. This aircraft was fairly recent build, although it had spent a short time with 427 Squadron. If you are doing a model, this aircraft would have had the extended wings with the rounded wing tips. Hope this helps. Ray

Hi Paul, Thanks for the response. Please have a look at http://www.429sqn.ca/429pers.htm. This lists 429 Squadron personnel. I am sure they will be happy to include any update to their records from information you have. I don't want to make my email address public, but you can upload the photos to this Britmodeller site. That way all of the participants interested in 429 Halifaxes can have help from your photos. Have a good Christmas too and all the best for the new year. Ray

Hello, My Uncle served with 429 Squadron as a Halifax Flight Engineer Dec 43 - Sept 44. I have modelled two of his aircraft (Mk.V and Mk.III) and the articles have been published in Model Aircraft monthly. I have been researching 429 and have details of 5 Halifaxes coded F . Which one your Uncle was in depends on the period he was with 429. If you have the dates, I can let you have the details I have. Incidentally, your photo intrigues me as I have MZ282 as AL-A. Any chance of seeing a copy ? Ray