As many of you know new pilots in Bomber Command, before leading their crew on their first op, would fly with an experienced crew as 2nd Dicky. After putting it down to rip through some other titles, I'm back into David Scholes' Air War Diary and have just read his entry regarding his first trip after weather scrubbed the planned 2nd Dicky with his CO. Scholes and his crew had just been posted to 61 Sqn at Skellingthorpe. I found this passage a very honest and open view of Scholes' 2nd Dicky trip especially as it was written as a diary entry soon after the event without several years/decades of hindsight. I also find his commitment to his crew and their approach to each trip of interest as my interviews with Australian MU gunner of 514 Sqn, David Bennet, indicated something similar. David's crew constantly practised things like their dinghy drill and he puts their survival down to their preparedness as much as luck. He also added that as a gunner it was thought that simply maintaining your scan of the sky, and thereby moving the turret, was perhaps enough to convince a night fighter that there were easier, less alert targets around. How true this is I have no idea (given the fighter's approach, longer range armament etc) but coming from a gunner, it is an interesting insight. Btw, if you can get a copy of Scholes' book, do so. It's not a huge book but the diary entries make interesting and candid reading (without interference from an additional author/editor).
