In Sean Feast´s book "master bombers" under one pic is a text saying Godfrey O´Donovan was the "master" of master bombers. Unfortunately not much else info on him. Can anybody help on why he was so special and better than many others? Thanx!
I think the first name is Gerard not Godfrey.... Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan - Aircrew Details - Aviation Directory Squadron Leader Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan. Name : Gerard Wilfrid O'Donovan Born : 24th March 1921 Died : 20th November 2012 Awards : Distinguished Flying Cross Gerard Wilfrid O’Donovan was born at Ferndale, Glamorgan, on March 24 1921 and educated at Port Talbot Grammar School, where he was head boy. He joined the RAF in June 1940 and later trained as a pilot in the United States. In late 1943, at the height of the Battle of Berlin, he joined No.12 Squadron before transferring to the Pathfinder Force. On the formation of No.582 Squadron he was appointed flight commander. This heralded an almost unprecedented period of service with the Pathfinders for O’Donovan, during which he served continuously on bombing operations for more than a year. After numerous attacks against Berlin and industrial targets in Germany, Bomber Command switched its attention to France in preparation for the D-Day landings. O’Donovan marked many of these targets, often under fire, and his Lancaster was damaged on a number of occasions. By August 1944 he was frequently acting as the master bomber controlling and directing the main bomber force. The raid on Walcheren was his 45th with the Pathfinders, and he was due for a rest. His crew dispersed, but O’Donovan volunteered to continue and, with a new crew, marked targets deep into Germany. On February 13/14 1945 he attacked Dresden. It was his 60th operation with No 582 and his 90th bombing sortie. With the war drawing to a close, he was grounded and awarded a DFC. O’Donovan remained in the RAF as a bomber pilot and flew the B29 Washington with No 138 Squadron before serving in Singapore on the staff of the Far East Air Force. After a period at the Air Ministry he retired at his own request in 1961.
O'Donovan was - inevitably - nicknamed 'GOD' in Path Finder Force. There were many unsung heroes in PFF ( John Searby was another ) but this isn't surprising. AOC Don Bennett famously said that there would be no living VCs in PFF. Three VCs were awarded ( Palmer, Swales and Bazalgette ) and indeed - all were posthumous awards. Palmer and Swales' VC actions were at the controls of 582 Squadron Lancasters, flying out of Little Stataughton airfield, a remote and lonely place. I've attached a pic I took in 2012 of the control tower and fireshed, with a snowstorm looming in the background. There's much more info about GOD in Sean Feast's other book, 'The Pathfinder Companion' ( Grub Street, 2012 ) which is indispensible. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Feast at the Mosquito Museum that year and he is a very nice man who is quite passioante about the PFF story, which is in danger of being almost forgotten as most PFF aircrew are sadly no longer with us.
Bennett is an interesting personality - a perfectionist who wouldn't ask anyone to do what he hadn't done himself ( and would often demonstrate this ). A difficult man to work with who inspired great devotion among the crews of PFF. There was great rivalry between 8 Group PFF and 5 Group ( which included the legenday 617 Squadron 'Dam Busters' ). Bennett's attitude to 'glory boys' and to 'PR' in general can be seen in this passage from his memoir, 'Pathfinder' ( Muller, 1958 ) : - ' ....it shows the spirit and intensity of ( 8 Group ) operations, particularly in comparison with others of Bomber Command, who always had to go in for intense training for a considerable period before they undertook any special duty, and - without being unduly rude - had to ensure that the Public Relations Department was well-informed....' OUCH !
One of the interesting characters in 139 (Jamaica) Squadron PFF was Ulrich Cross who had a very distinguished post war career IWM Sound archive Cross, Ulric (Oral history) Ulric Cross - Wikipedia His British daughter hasn't done too badly. Sue Woodford-Hollick, Lady Hollick - Wikipedia
