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John Searby
| Air Commodore John Searby DSO DFC (deceased) John Searby joined the RAF in 1929 as a Halton apprentice but was a Sergeant Pilot flying bombers when war broke out. Joining 106 Squadron he flew Lancasters with Guy Gibson and eventually took over as Squadron Commander when Gibson left for 617 Squadron. A specialist in navigation, he was then chosen by Arthur Harris to take command of No.83 Pathfinder Squadron at Wyton. Searby quickly developed a superb reputation as a Pathfinder and was involved in countless precision raids including his role as Master Bomber on the Peenemunde raid, coordinating the attack by over 600 heavy bombers. He died on 14th January 1986. Citation for the award of the Distinguished Service Order Acting Group Captain John Henry SEARBY, D.F.C., Royal Air Force, No.83 Squadron. One night in August, 1943, this officer participated in a bombing attack on an important target at Peenemunde. Enemy fighters were extremely active over the target area, but in spite of this Group Captain Searby executed his difficult task with consummate skill. He displayed faultless leadership, great courage and resolution throughout. (London Gazette – 7 September 1943) |
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SOE Drop by Ivan Berryman. Halifax B.II Series 1 (Special) JP254 of 148 Special Duties Squadron, RAF is depicted over the drop zone near to the Alt Aussee salt mine in the Austrian Alps as two of the four SOE agents exit the bomber via the crew access door. Their mission was to secure and protect 6,755 items of the world's greatest works of art that had been looted and stored by the Germans as they swept across Europe. With the allied forces closing in, the Germans had planned to blow up the entire store to prevent the artworks from falling into the hands of the liberators. Once on the ground, the four agents linked up with local resistance fighters and the mine and its valuable contents were eventually secured, the explosives made safe and the entire cache taken into the safe keeping of the 80th US Infantry Division as the German occupation of Europe crumbled. |
Operation Ebensburg by Ivan Berryman. Sunday 8th April 1945. Halifax B.II Series 1 (Special) JP254 of 148 Special Duties Squadron, RAF piloted by Pilot officer Bill Leckie is depicted approaching the drop zone near to the Alt Aussee salt mine in the Austrian Alps to drop four SOE agents and their equipment whose mission it was to secure and protect 6,755 items of the world's greatest works of art that had been looted and stored by the Germans as they swept across Europe. With the allied forces closing in, the Germans had planned to blow up the entire store to prevent the artworks from falling into the hands of the liberators. Once on the ground, the four agents linked up with local resistance fighters and the mine and its valuable contents were eventually secured, the explosives made safe and the entire cache taken into the safe keeping of the 80th US Infantry Division as the German occupation of Europe crumbled. |
Pathfinder Halifax by Nicolas Trudgian. Remembered fondly by many RAF, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand bomber crews, the Halifax served many diverse roles in WWII, including service with Special Duties, dropping agents and supplies behind enemy lines. Halifax MkIIs of 35 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, head out over the Lincolnshire coastline at dusk bound for Germany, August 1942. No.35 Squadron was one of the five squadrons selected to form the original Pathfinder Force. |
White-out at Breighton - Tribute to No.78 Squadron by Ivan Berryman. With the departure of No 1 Group in May 1943, No 4 Group's 78 Sqn Halifaxes arrived at Breighton in Yorkshire from where they would continue to operate until the end of the war. Halifax III LW291 (EY-M) is depicted snowbound in the Winter of 1944, not long before it was lost over Grossmutz whilst taking part on a raid on Berlin on 20th January 1944. Crew of EY-M : Pilot : Flight Sergeant F Moffat RCAF (killed), Navigator : Flying Officer W McGreggor RCAF (killed), Bomb Aimer : Flying Officer R Selman RCAF (killed), Wireless Operator : Flight Sergeant H H Bennett (taken prisoner), Flight Engineer : Sergeant N Legg (killed), Rear Gunner : Sergeant W Ruelhoff (killed, Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant J Stewart (killed). |
Clipped Signature - John Searby. Was flying bombers at the beginning of WW2, and joined Guy Gibson's 106 Sqn on Lancasters, taking command when Gibson left to form 617 Sqn. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his work as a Pathfinder Master Bomber. He died in 1986. |
Leading the Way by Gerald Coulson. On August 15th 1942, under the leadership of Don Bennet, a new group was formed from Bomber Command to develop specialised target finding and target marking. Made up purely from experienced volunteers, this elite and highly trained group of men were known as the Pathfinders. Up until this point the means available to Bomber Command of accurately finding their targets were totally lacking and the task of the Pathfinders was to develop techniques to precisely define these targets ahead of the main force. Initially made up of four Squadrons Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) they were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. Originally part of No.3 Group Bomber Command the Pathfinder Force was directly answerable to C-in-C Air Marshal Arthur Harris until January 1943 when it became a separate group, No.8 (PFF) . Personally selected for the task by Arthur Harris, the Australian born Don Bennet, just 32 years of age proved to be and inspired choice to form the Pathfinders. A navigation expert without peers he was widely experienced in flying all types of aircraft including fighters, flying boats and bombers and already an experienced operational bomber captain. Along with many of his colleagues, such as Hamish Mahaddie and John Searby he was responsible for instilling in his men the Pathfinder Spirit - an intangible quality of dedication which bonded them together. Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside. The first Pathfinder unit to fly the Halifax was 35 Squadron based at Graveley. With some of the greatest Bomber Aircrew amongst their number the unit quickly gained a reputation for excellence that was second to none. This superb painting from one of the worlds most highly regarded Aviation Artists, Gerald Coulson, depicts a Halifax B.MkII series 1A of 35 (PFF) Squadron on an operation over occupied Europe. Flying at around 20,000 feet and completely alone and unprotected, the crew navigate their bomber well ahead of the main force, leading the way to their target. |
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