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Geoffrey Rice |
Name : Geoffrey Rice Born : 4th January 1917 Died : November 1981 Awards : Distinguished Flying Cross |
Pilot Offcier geoffrey Rice was born on 4th January 1917. Geoff Rice joined the RAF in 1941 and was posted to No.57 Sqn on 20th February 1943. Joining No.617 Sqn on 26th March 1943, he was promoted to Flying Officer on 20th August 1943 and awarded the DFC on 16th November 1943. He was later promoted to Flight Lieutenant. He was shot down on 20th December 1943, but was hidden by the French Resistance for six months before being captured. He was taken prisoner of war until the end of the war, not returning to the UK until 10th May 1945. Geoff Rice passed away in November 1981 in Somerset. He was Pilot on Lancaster ED936 AJ-H of No.617 Sqn on the Dambusters raid of 16th May 1943. The aircraft clipped the surface of the North Sea while flying low en route to the target, ripping the Upkeep mine from the aircraft and scooping up some seawater. Amazing, the aircraft did not crash, and despite the rear gunner almost being washed away by the rush of seawater as the aircraft climbed, managed to return to base. |
Known Service Details : | |||||||
Squadron | Rank | Start of Service | End of Service | Known Dates | Aircraft | Airframes | Notes |
20th February 1943 | 26th March 1943 | ||||||
Pilot Officer | 26th March 1943 | unknown |
Artwork signed by this Pilot or Aircrew |
Dambusters by Robert Taylor. (B) |
Known Individual Aircraft : | ||||||||
Type | Serial | Codes | First Flew | Squadron History | Aircrew History | History Notes | Engine | Factory |
AJ-H | - |
Aircraft for : Geoffrey Rice | ||
A list of all aircraft associated with Geoffrey Rice. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
Aircraft | Info | |
Lancaster
Manufacturer : Avro Production Began : 1942 Retired : 1963 Number Built : 7377 | Lancaster The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' Operation Gomorrah in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. |
Squadrons for : Geoffrey Rice | ||
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Geoffrey Rice. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
Squadron | Info | |
No.57 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 8th June 1916 Corpus non animum muto - I change my body not my spirit | No.57 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
No.617 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 23rd March 1943 Apres mois, le deluge - After me, the flood | No.617 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. |
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