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Lynes, Gavin John

Date of death:
May 9th, 1941
Buried on:
Commonwealth War Cemetery Reichswald Forest
Nationality:
British (1801-present, Kingdom)

Biography

Service number 42066.
Gavin John Lynes lies buried at the Commonwealth War Cemetery Reichswald Forest, Collective grave 14. G. 9-13.

Promotions:
?: acting Pilot Officer;
18th November 1939: Pilot Officer on probation;
17th March 1940: Pilot Officer;
18th November 1940: Flying Officer;

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Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Pilot Officer
Unit:
No. 304 (Silesian) Squadron, Royal Air Force
Awarded on:
October 1st, 1940
Citation:
"One night in August, 1940, this officer took part in a raid on the transformer station at Kelsterbach. Whilst passing over the Dutch coast, the inter-communication gear of his aircraft became unserviceable. He decided to continue, however, and passed over his
target at 7,000 feet, the actual area being obscured by cloud. As he was unable to pin-point the objective, he decided to descend below the clouds. He made several attempts to approach the objective, but had to carry out such violent evasive action on account of the intense anti aircraft fire that he was unable to make a satisfactory run.
Eventually, however, he managed to pass directly over the objective at 2,000 feet and he then released his bombs himself. He dived down to 100 feet at high speed to avoid being hit and whilst escaping from the target, the flash of the bombs could be seen as they burst on the buildings and the reflection of the flames was visible on the clouds as the
aircraft left the area. By his persistent determination and his outstanding skill as a pilot, Pilot Officer Lynes was able to destroy the primary objective in the face of heavy opposition. Since the 20th April, 1940, he
has taken part in thirty-two major bombing operations over Norway, Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy."
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)

Sources

  • - The London Gazette, Issue 34776, dated Friday 19th January 1940
    - The London Gazette, Issue 34826, dated Tuesday 9th April 1940
    - The London Gazette, Issue 34958, dated Tuesday 1st October 1940
    - The London Gazette, Issue 35019, dated Friday 20th December 1940

Photo