Whitleys - Op. Loyton 1944

[The wooksta V2.0]

Does anyone have info on the squadron or squadrons used for dropping the SAS units as part of Operation Loyton in late '44?  Read a book on it some time back and I've been wanting to do one of the drop aircraft ever since.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Loyton

 

Any help gratefully received

 

Thanks!

[Wez]

Interesting story Wooksta, never heard of this incident before.

 

Are you sure they used Whitley's in for operational purposes this late in the war, I would have expected them to be using Halifax's for this sort of thing by then?

[Guest]

The only info I have is Mark Felton's "The Nazi Hunters" about the operation itself and he mentions that Whitleys were used for the drop, certainly of the troops to start with.

 

It's a cracking read.

[Wez]

2 minutes ago, The Wooksta! said:

It's a cracking read

I'll keep an eye out for it

[Aeronut]

The Jeeps would have been dropped from Halifax which could carry two or one Jeep and a Six pounder anti tank gun, along with the Jeep crew. 

The Airfix Jeep gives you the crash pans but not the suspension system or the parachute tray.

If you need want PM me as I have the original rigging instructions for the Jeep air drop system showing what Airfix missed.

[tonyot]

Hiya Lee,

            I know the book you have read mate and they were wrong to say Whitley`s,...there were other mistakes too,.....the main aircraft used were Halifax`s..... as these were the only ones which could drop the Jeeps and they came from 38 Group. Some Stirling`s from 38 Group could also have been used for personnel drops and supply drops. The main Op. Loyton personnel took off from RAF Fairford, which was a 38 Group airfield.

 

These pics might help pal;

 

jeepriggedrolledtohalifax by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeep-and-6pdr-heavy-drop-trial (1) by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeepand57mmATgunriggedunderhalifax by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeepraisedtohalifaxbeam by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeeponcrashpans by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeepandtrailerreadytoliftupintohalifax by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeepriggedtohalifaxbeamcrashpansoff by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeepriggedtohalifaxbeam by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeepSAScrashpans by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeepSASrigged2 by Tony OToole, on Flickr

jeepsparachutedeploymentsequence by Tony OToole, on Flickr

halifaxdroppingjeepart by Tony OToole, on Flickr

halifaxjeepSASrigged1 (1) by Tony OToole, on Flickr

 

The very same mounting bars were used when dropping loads from underneath the later Hastings and for the Suez drop in 1956 sets of these were obtained from the Airborne Forces Museum,.... while the current light vehicle used by 16 Parachute Bde,....the Champ,... could not be dropped by parachute,.... so Jeeps were obtained by scouring old depots!!!

 

This pair of pics shows an operational 38 Group Halifax loaded up just after D-Day, coded 8T-R and most likely for an SAS op to France;

halifaxjeepSASrigged2 by Tony OToole, on Flickr

halifaxjeepSASrigged3 (2) by Tony OToole, on Flickr

 

 

This Halibag was more than likely downed during an SAS support sortie,.... the open turret hole in the roof was usually covered using plywood.;

Halifax V LL332Y of 298 Squadron which crashed at Mont De Lavaut on 11-09-44 whilst on a para-dropping mission . 4 on board were killed by Tony OToole, on Flickr

 

And this is what the 38 Group Halifax A.Mk.V`s looked like around D-Day, with 4 bladed props.

halifax v by Tony OToole, on Flickr

 

Here is a good personal account of the op;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/95/a7875895.shtml

 

This section of the book,.....presumably a corrected 2nd edition (and not the edition read by myself which was riddled with errors and was bought for cheap from remaindered stock at The Works!) mentions three Halifax aircraft being allocated to the op;

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AryxCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT169&lpg=PT169&dq=operation+loyton+halifax&source=bl&ots=9Oute6673J&sig=rh4K3vZh54o74Fqw7uI27AVwJJU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjT0PLgw6vYAhULDcAKHSuHBpQQ6AEISjAE#v=onepage&q=operation loyton halifax&f=false

 

All the best mate

                        Tony

Edited December 28, 2017 by tonyot