Squadron Leader Harry Scott RIP

Kyt · Oct 21, 2007

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2007/10/22/db2201.xml

Squadron Leader Harry Scott, who has died aged 89, started his RAF career as a teenage aircraft apprentice and, after training as an air observer, became one of a small group of specialist navigators who pioneered the use of the blind-bombing aid "Oboe" with the Pathfinder Force.

Scott had already survived two tours on bomber operations when, in October 1942, he joined the newly-formed No 109 Squadron equipped with the fast and high-flying Mosquito. Oboe was a ground-controlled, blind-bombing system developed by the Telecommunications Research Establishment and based on the German Knickebein beam bombing system. It required precise navigation and timing for the Mosquito to fly down a narrow radio beam directed towards the target by the ground-based emitter; the aircraft would then drop flares and markers over the target to be used as an aiming point for the main bomber force.

Oboe was so secret that the bomber crews were told only that the markers they were to aim for had been placed by "a new and very accurate method". Scott was one of the five crews that marked Essen on the night of March 5-6 1943, an attack that signalled the start of what was to become known as the Battle of the Ruhr.
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Five nights later he returned to Essen in a raid that pinpointed the Krupp factory. Photographic reconnaissance the following day showed that the raid had been very accurate, and a few days later Scott was awarded a DFC — the citation for which referred to his long and successful career in the early days of the war.

As Oboe was developed it became possible to bomb targets deeper into Germany, and Scott marked many targets. As one of the most experienced navigators on the squadron he was regularly entrusted with carrying out the first operation employing new techniques, and in November 1943 he was awarded a Bar to his DFC.

In the lead up to D-Day it was essential to limit the casualties amongst the French population, so accurate target-marking was crucial. Scott and his fellow aircrews on No 109 were in great demand. He marked railway yards, gun batteries and radar sites, and after the invasion he marked the V-1 flying bomb sites. Late in 1944, by which time Scott had flown more than 80 Oboe operations, he helped develop and test more advanced blind-bombing equipment.

Scott achieved many "firsts" with No 109. On one daylight raid in an Oboe-equipped Lancaster he led a tight formation of other Lancasters whose instructions were to release their bombs when he dropped his. They were flying above solid cloud, and he later commented: "I remember thinking, someone is in for a surprise down below when that lot arrive."

After completing more than 100 bombing operations he was awarded a DSO for his "outstanding coolness and courage in the face of the heaviest opposition".

Harry Alexander Scott was born on New Year's Eve 1917 in Aberdeen. After attending Portsoy School, Banffshire, he joined the RAF in January 1934 as an aircraft apprentice at Halton, where he trained as an engine fitter. On graduation in 1936 he joined No 83 Squadron and soon volunteered to be an air gunner in the squadron's Hind bi-plane bombers.

In April 1939 Scott was accepted for training as an air observer, and on completion of his training at West Freugh, near Stranraer, he joined No 150 Squadron, equipped with the already outdated Fairey Battle light bomber. On the declaration of war the squadron flew to France as part of the Advanced Air Striking Force.

During the opening weeks Scott flew reconnaissance missions and night leaflet raids. When the German advance began on May 10 1940, No 150 attacked enemy columns advancing through Belgium and France. The losses amongst the Battle squadrons were very heavy; on one occasion No 150 lost all five aircraft in a single raid. The Battles were subsequently switched to night attacks.

By mid-June Scott and his crew were the last remaining of those who had flown out to France. With the remnants of the squadron he flew back to England on June 15. He was lucky to have survived — though what bothered him most was the thought of having to confess to his mother that he had lost a pullover she had knitted for him.

In April 1941 Scott joined No 61 Squadron, flying the Hampden for a second tour of operations. Returning from a raid on Cologne on July 31, his Hampden crashed on landing and he was the only survivor. By the time he had recovered from his injuries, the squadron had converted to the Manchester, a bomber that was beset with problems and whose greatest claim to fame was to spawn the Lancaster.

He completed many sorties over Germany, including the first "Thousand Bomber Raid" on Cologne, on May 30 1942. Shortly afterwards he was rested.

After more than two years of continuous operations with No 109 Scott became an instructor on Pathfinder techniques until November 1945, when he was posted to RAF Defford, the airfield used by the Telecommunications Research Establishment, where his unique experience with Oboe was in demand.

He flew trials over the Atlantic evaluating new navigation aids, and in the summer of 1946 flew to the Far East to assess the impact of large electrical storms on the performance of navigation and radio aids. He was awarded a Commendation for his work.

At one point during the war a huge explosion had impaired Scott's hearing, and in January 1948 he was invalided from the RAF. For the next 25 years he worked as a mechanical engineer on farm equipment and later at a motor garage.

Scott was an excellent marksman with the.22 rifle. He competed at Bisley, where he won numerous prizes, and shot in the Small Bore Rifle League in north-east Scotland until his eyesight began to fail. He was also keen on bowls, and for 25 years was a member of his local club, which supported many charities in Aberdeenshire and Banff.

Harry Scott, who died on September 25, married, in 1945, Janet Wright, who died in 2004; he is survived by two sons and two daughters.
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spidge · Oct 21, 2007

Rest in Peace.

Antipodean Andy · Oct 21, 2007

A fine man. RIP

Kyt · Oct 21, 2007

Kitty, you have a copy of Beam Bombers, The Secret War of 109 Squadron don't you? Does it happen to have a picture of Scott because I can't find one on the net?

Antipodean Andy · Apr 16, 2008

Since Kitty was a great help looks like you'll have to help yourself by referring to your own copy!

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