INLAND EMPIRE AVIATION ROUNDTABLE

March Field Air Museum – October 18th, 2017 – 7 pm

The Allied Strategic Bombing Campaign over Europe in WWII

Part 2: British Night Bombing Operations

Presented by Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Wright, RAF (Retired)

On October 18, Museum Docent Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Wright, RAF (retired) will present Part 2: British Night Bombing Operations. Ken, now 93, actually took part in the World War II British campaign, flying in DeHavilland “Mosquito” and Handley Page “Halifax” bombers.

Ken’s missions were part of the British and American Combined Bomber Offensive in Europe. After sustaining unacceptable losses from German fighters and anti-aircraft flak during daylight operations early in the war, the British switched to nighttime bombing. In 1942, newly arrived U.S. Army Air Forces began their own daylight offensive bombing campaign, but they soon faced the same challenges that the British had before them. The late 1943 deployment of long-range fighter escorts by the U.S. Army Air Forces allowed round-the-clock sustained bombing of Germany, hastening the war’s end.

Ken Wright enlisted in the British Royal Air Force on his 18th birthday (December 8, 1941), the day after Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. He was trained as a Navigator and a Bombardier in Canada, then served in RAF heavy bombers during WWII. After the war he took part in the Berlin Airlift, then switched to Night Fighter duty. He participated in a nuclear bomb test while flying on exchange duty with the U.S. Marine Corps at El Toro, as well as in various missile-related assignments in the U.S. and the U.K., before retiring after 20 years of military service. Returning to the U.S. as a civilian, Ken pursued a career in sports racing and automotive sales. He currently serves as a volunteer docent with the March Field Air Museum.

The Inland Empire Aviation Roundtable is sponsored by the March Field Air Museum, and is dedicated to the local aviation and aerospace community. Monthly meetings are open to the public, with subjects of interest to the air-minded public presented including aviation and aerospace history, both civil and military, as well as new developments in these fields. Programs typically last from 60 to 90 minutes. Parking and admission are free for this event.

The March Field Air Museum is located in Riverside, California, at 22550 Van Buren Blvd. (at the intersection of Van Buren Blvd. and the 215 Freeway) adjacent to March Air Reserve Base

(951) 902-5949  www.MarchField.org