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11-12-2007, 02:34 AM
| #1 (permalink) |
| Άρης  Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Terra something or other
Posts: 5,241
You're Top Poster: #1   | The Flying Brooms A two-man Mosquito crew with the same surname who made a fantastic team: Sir Ivor Broom Squadron Leader Tommy Broom I G Broom Amazon.co.uk: Clean Sweep: The Life of Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom (Bomber Crews): Books: Tony Spooner Amazon.co.uk: Squadron Leader Tommy Broom DFC: The Legendary Pathfinder Mosquito Navigator: Books: Tom Parry Evans In May 1944 Ivor Broom joined No. 571, a Mosquito XV1 squadron of the Light Night Striking Force, (LNSF). His navigator was Flt Lt. Tommy Broom. They were thereafter called “the flying brooms” and had the emblem of crossed broomsticks painted on the nose of the aircraft! They flew the Mosquito modified to carry the 4000lb bomb known as a “cookie”. The “flying brooms” made numerous raids over Berlin with their lethal 4000 pounders. Tommy Broom was an exceptional navigator who had survived a crash landing in Holland, then evaded capture and escaped via the famous cross Pyrenees route into neutral Spain and finally home. Pinpoint mine laying in the Dortmund Ems canal was just one of many typical sorties. Searchlights could cone the Brooms for as long as 15 minutes at a time while they weaved and dived and twisted. Ivor Broom once asked his disoriented navigator for a course to base. Tommy Broom replied, “fly north, with a dash of west while I sort myself out!” During this period the Flying Brooms lobbed a cookie up the mouth of a railway tunnel in Germany with two fighters on their tail. Ivor Broom received a second bar to his DFC for this exploit. In autumn 1944 Ivor Broom became acting Squadron Leader in command of a flight in No. 128, another LNSF Mosquito squadron. Just a few months later he was appointed acting Wing Commander to lead No.163 squadron. Tommy Broom, now DFC and Bar, joined him as squadron navigation officer. After many further offensives over Germany and occupied Europe by the reunited Flying Brooms the war finally ended. Ivor Broom had undertaken 58 operational missions in Mosquitoes. They included 22 raids over Berlin and his navigator, Tommy Broom accompanied him on most of those. Ivor Broom was awarded the DSO and Tommy a third DFC.
__________________ _________________  Beaufighter TF Mark Xs (NV427 'EO-L' nearest) of No. 404 Squadron RCAF based at Dallachy, Morayshire, breaking formation during a flight along the Scottish coast. February 1945. |
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11-12-2007, 02:38 AM
| #2 (permalink) |
| Άρης Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Terra something or other
Posts: 5,241
You're Top Poster: #1 |
__________________ _________________ Beaufighter TF Mark Xs (NV427 'EO-L' nearest) of No. 404 Squadron RCAF based at Dallachy, Morayshire, breaking formation during a flight along the Scottish coast. February 1945. |
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11-12-2007, 02:41 AM
| #3 (permalink) |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Outer reaches, Melbourne, Victoria
Posts: 3,667
You're Top Poster: #2  | Excellent post, Kyt. This thread came about from the Alfred Hall obituary post which led to night fighter talk (and me having a conversation with myself in the thread) and books by Tony Spooner who, as can be seen above, wrote the book about Ivor Broom...which I've just bought because I read about his low-level work out of Malta (and I'm a sucker for books with twin-engined things at low level on the cover!). So much for my book buying ban...blast you Toor!
__________________ http://www.454-459squadrons.org.au/. http://www.awm.gov.au/index.asp  Aircraft from No. 60 Squadron levelling out for the "run in" to make a mast-head attack on a Japanese coaster off Akyab. Courtesy AWM. |
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11-12-2007, 02:45 AM
| #4 (permalink) | |
| Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Outer reaches, Melbourne, Victoria
Posts: 3,667
You're Top Poster: #2 | Quote:
__________________ http://www.454-459squadrons.org.au/. http://www.awm.gov.au/index.asp Aircraft from No. 60 Squadron levelling out for the "run in" to make a mast-head attack on a Japanese coaster off Akyab. Courtesy AWM. | |
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