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About
263394F/Lt. James "Pip" Wisbey DFC.
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve No.640 Squadron
from:Chingford, London
(d.28th Jun 1944 )
James Wisbey
Flight Lieutenant James Wisbey DFC of No.640 Squadron, Bomber Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, was killed in action on the 28th of June 1944 at the age of 23, 6 weeks after he was married.James was the son of James and Catherine Edith Wisbey of Chingford and the husband of Brenda Walker Wisbey, also of Chingford. As a Pilot Officer, he was awarded the DFC on the 23rd May 1944. The citation reads: “This officer has completed very many sorties, including 4 attacks on Berlin and 3 on Frankfurt. He has set a fine example of devotion to duty and has invariably pressed home his attacks with great determination. One night in March, 1944, he piloted an aircraft detailed to attack Stuttgart. Soon after leaving base, it was discovered that the overload tank was not functioning. Nevertheless, Pilot Officer Wisbey flew on to his far distant target and made his attack. He afterwards flew safely back to this country and landed at an airfield with only sufficient petrol left for a few minutes flying. His determination was typical of that he has always shown to complete his allotted task successfully.”
On the 28th of June 1944, he was piloting a Halifax Mk.III bomber (MZ733 C8-H) which took off from RAF Leconfield, Yorkshire, at 05.27 hrs to attack the V-1 flying bomb site at Wizernes. At 08.33 hrs, as it returned from the mission, the aircraft crashed at RAF Hawkinge, Kent and burst into flames, killing all aboard. The crew are buried in their home towns across the UK. James Wisbey is buried in the Chingford Mount Cemetery, Essex.
The full crew of Halifax III MZ733 were:
- Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) James Wisbey DFC
- Pilot Officer (Nav.) George Archibald Kerruish
- Sergeant (Flt. Engr.) John Milton Kenrick
- Flight Sergeant (Air Bomber) Gordon Hunter Mckenzie Carey
- Flight Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.) Edward Norman Todd
- Sergeant (Air Gnr.) Stanley Clifford Butcher
- Sergeant (Air Gnr.) Edward James Percy Spink
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