"Kenneth Tempest, who has died aged 93, flew with the RAF’s Pathfinder Force as a navigator and later became a pilot with BOAC; during his flying career he completed 788 crossings of the Atlantic. Tempest joined the RAF’s Light Night Striking Force (LNSF) – part of the Pathfinders – in the summer of 1944 as part of No 139 Squadron, operating the Mosquito. His first operation was to bomb Berlin on October 30, the first of numerous sorties to the “Big City”. In addition to dropping markers as aiming points for the main bomber force, the Mosquitos of the LNSF carried out “nuisance” raids, dropping a single bomb on a number of industrial cities during one sortie. The aim was to deny sleep to the German work force and keep the emergency services busy every night. These raids had the additional benefit of acting as a diversion for the main force and confusing the enemy’s air defence organisation. On March 3 1945 Tempest and his pilot were returning from Berlin when there was a loud explosion in the rear of the aircraft. Unaware of the cause, they crossed the Dutch coast with no navigation or radio aids before discovering that the hydraulic system had also failed, disabling the brakes. They headed for the emergency airstrip at Woodbridge, one of three 9,000ft strips built near the coast to receive damaged aircraft returning from Europe. Before landing, one of the two engines failed but the crew managed to crash-land and survive unhurt, although the Mosquito was wrecked. Three nights later Tempest returned to Berlin, which, by this stage of the war, was almost a nightly event for the Mosquitos of the LNSF. On the night of May 2/3, Tempest headed for Kiel on his 43rd operation. It was also Bomber Command’s final operation of the war. Shortly after, Tempest was awarded the DFC. Kenneth Tempest was born in Cawnpore, India, on April 9 1922 and educated at Keighley Grammar School. After a brief period with Lloyds Bank he joined the RAF and trained as a navigator in Florida under a US/UK bilateral training programme." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11678759/Kenneth-Tempest-airman-obituary.html
Sad to hear, but he'd had a long 'innings'. I'd met him on a number of occasions as he was a great supporter of signing events at the Mosquito Museum. RIP Ken........
