206691 A/Sqn.Ldr. Francis Finney DSO.Royal Air Force 114 Sqd. from:Dresden, Stoke-on-Trent My father was Frank Finney. At the beginning of WW2 he was sent to be a flying instructor in Rhodesia and South Africa, then in 1943 he travelled north through Africa, by land and sea, to Egypt where he converted onto Baltimores. Then he joined 55 and later 114 Sqns, converted to Boston III, then IV and finally in early 1945 to Boston V, as they progressed through Italy when the Germans retreated. The task was to hinder the Germans as much as possible. There was much 'flak'. In Feb 1945 my father led a raid on railway marshalling yards and his a/c was set alight by flak. His comms with the crew in the belly of the a/c ceased to operate and although he gave the command to bale out, he was unaware if this had happened so felt unable to bale out himself and elected to stay with the a/c as long as possible. The heat was intense and the a/c was at imminent risk of explosion owing to the proximity of flames and fuel. Nevertheless he got back to the nearest airfield across the line and managed to pump down the under carriage manually although he had no idea whether it had lowered or not or if the tyres were OK. But he landed successfully. The charred remains of the mid-upper gunner were in the fuselage but the other 2 crew had gone. It was discovered later that one had been hidden and repatriated by Partisans whilst the other had died owing to a burning 'chute. Flt Lt Finney was awarded the DSO and given acting rank of Sqn Ldr. The Wing was at Aviano, NE Italy, when the war ended. Sqn Ldr Finney, having been overseas since 1940, was repatriated in May 45, flying a Boston to Marseilles to catch a troopship. Little did he realise that day, it was to be his final flight in the RAF. His pre-war civilian employers, discovering he was home on leave, asked the Air Ministry to release him, this was agreed and he found himself back as Clerk of the County Court in Stoke. Frank Finney died aged 87 in 2005.
|