Harry Dann with his son.
Burnley, 1995
click on image for larger view |
My father, Harry Dann was born on 26th October 1922 in Burnley and attended the local grammar school.
He was a local champion swimmer and diver who gave exhibitions of diving around Lancashire.
Post war, he delivered milk, sold insurance and then in the 1970s began
mathematics teaching until he retired in 1985.
David Dann would be
grateful to learn of any photograph showing his father in his RAF days. |
| Once selected for
aircrew after initial
training, Harry Dann went through specialised courses before finally
qualifying as an air navigator in February 1944, and eventually being
posted to 70 Squadron.
He attended courses in South Africa at RAF Air Schools 47 (Queenstown)
and 48 (Woodbridge, East London), finally Operational Training Unit (OTU)
RAF Qastina in Palestine.
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| In August
1944, the Normandy campaign was well under way with an
Allied defeat of the German forces at the Falaise
pocket. On the eastern front, the advance of the
Soviet forces continued with Roumania, an ally of Nazi Germany,
on the verge of capitulation. 70 Squadron,
stationed at Tortorella in Italy, was now in range of other
targets.
Harry's posting to 70 Squadron began in earnest after a 30
minute "G Training and Air Test" session, when he took
part in an 8 hour 45 minute flight in a raid against
Valence, near Lyon in France, where there was an airfield used
by Ju88s. His next raid was a 6 hour sortie against
the important tank factory at Sankt Valentin,
Austria.
The Hermann Göring Factory at Sankt Valentin produced large numbers of
Panzer MkIV tanks as well as other more powerful and specialised
models such as the King Tiger. Forced labour was used including, from
August, prisoners from the Mauthausen Concentration Camp.
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| In
February, 1945, Harry switched from the Wellington to the
Liberator bomber. Harry's first big raid in a
Liberator was against the marshalling yards and wagon works at
Graz, together with 70 other aircraft from the
Group. The 19/2/45 daylight raid on the naval
armaments base at Pola (recorded as 21/2/45 in 70 Squadron
Record of Events) was described by the squadron commander,
W/C G.A. Mills as "the outstanding sortie of the
month" with "three enormous explosions, the like of
which had never been seen before by any of the crews.
Flames shot up to 3000 feet . . .
".
Harry's crew reported "bombs dropped in one stick aimed
at the artillery depot" and " . . . terrific
explosions seen".
Liberator
"P" KK360: S/L E.Winterbottom, captain, Sgt W.J. Dakin,
engineer, Sgt H.Dann, navigator, F/O H.A. Young, air
bomber, F/S J.T. Walker, wireless operator,
Sgt
D.L Malling, Sgt P. Holdworth, Sgt J.A. McGinness air gunners
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| The last
page in Harry's flying log records navigation duty in
Hudson and Anson aircraft of the MACAF (Mediterranean Allied
Coastal Air Force) communications flight. |
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