Gorick, Norman (Flying Officer)

Killed in Flying Accident 1943-January-31

Flying Officer Norman Gorick RAFVR

Birth Date: 1922

Born:

Parents: Son of William Gorick and Edith Rachel (nee Shaw) Gorick, of Eccles, Salford, Greater Manchester, England

Spouse:

Home: Eccles, Manchester, England

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RAFVR

Unit

428 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Usque Ad Finem To the Very End

Base

RAF Dalton

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Pilot

Service Numbers

124505

Home
Google MapEccles, Manchester, England

Mission

Wellington B. Mk. X HE173

Operational 1943-January-30 to 1943-January-31

428 (B) Sqn (RCAF) RAF Dishforth

428 Ghost Squadron (Usque Ad Finem) RAF Dalton. Flying out of RAF Station Dishforth, Yorkshire rather than the Squadron home field of RAF Dalton, Wellington X aircraft HE 173 NA-S was on a night flying exercise when it crashed one mile north-west of the aerodrome at RAF Dishforth. The aircraft had already been flown on a cross-country flight earlier that night and the crew had reported no issues with the aircraft, although an engine starter motor issue had prevented this aircraft from participation in operations the night of January 28/29. The crew then made three successful take-off and landing circuits from RAF Dishforth and at 02:12 they began a fourth. The aircraft climbed normally to between 300 and 500 feet, but then gradually descended until it crashed just north-east of the airfield. The crash-site was near Lingham Lane Farm and three of the four aboard were killed. It was thought that the pilot was so pre-occupied in making sure that the flaps and undercarriage were raised after take-off that he failed to keep the aircraft's nose up. The rear gunner was the only survivor. A Wellington bomber would normally have a crew of five but the Squadron Operations Record Book confirms the number of four aircrew aboard for this flight.

This accident was the first fatal accident 428 Squadron had sustained since it formed in November 1942

Flying Officer George Wood (RCAF), Flying Officer Norman Gorick (RAFVR), Flight Sergeant William Mossop (RAFVR) were all killed in this training flying accident

The rear gunner, Sergeant John Welsh (RAFVR) was the only survivor from this crash

(detail provided by John Jones, London, UK)

Unvetted Source Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database

Unvetted Source ircraft accidents in Yorkshire

Unvetted Source 428 Squadron Wellington X HE173 NA-S Flying Officer Gorick

Unit Desciption

428 (B) Sqn Usque Ad Finem ("Ghost")

History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Wellington III, X, Halifax V, II, Lancaster X)

No 428 Squadron was the ninth long-range heavy bomber squadron and the 26th RCAF squadron formed overseas during the Second World War. It was formed at RAF Dalton in Yorkshire, England on November 7, 1942. The squadron was initially assigned to No. 4 Group RAF Bomber Command. With the creation of No. 6 Group RCAF, the squadron was reallocated on January 1, 1943 operating with it until April 25, 1945.

The squadron was originally equipped with Vickers Wellington Mk III and X, and its first operational mission was on January 26–27, 1943, when five Wellingtons bombed the U-Boat base at Lorient in Brittany, on the Bay of Biscay. In the early part of June 1943, the squadron moved to RAF Middleton St. George, Durham where it remained for the remainder of the war. Around this time the squadron was converted to Handley Page Halifaxes (Mk Vs, and later supplemented by Mk II Series IIA). In January 1944, Halifax bombers from No. 428 Squadron participated in the first high-level mining raid "Gardening", when mines were dropped by parachute from 15,000 feet (4,570 m) over Brest on 4/5 Jan and Saint-Nazaire on 6/7 Jan 1944. The squadron flew its last sortie with the Halifax on June 12, 1944 then converted to the Canadian-built Avro Lancaster Mk X, the first sortie taking place on June 14, 1944.

For the final phase of the air campaign against Germany, the squadron took part in day and night raids, with its last operational sortie taking place on April 25, 1945, when 15 Lancasters bombed anti-aircraft gun batteries defending the mouth of the Weser, on the Frisian Island of Wangerooge. The squadron remained in service in the United Kingdom until the end of May 1945, then flew to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia . The squadron was intended to be part of the "Tiger Force" to carry on the war against Japan, but the Japanese surrender led to the disbandment of the force. The squadron was therefore disbanded at Yarmouth in September 1945.

In the course of WWII operations, the squadron flew 283 missions involving 3467 individual sorties. 84 aircraft were lost and a total of 9378 tons of bombs were dropped. the aircrew earned 2 DSO's, 71 DFC's, 2 CGM's and 6 DFM's. Battle Honours were: English Channel and North Sea 1943-44, Baltic 1944, Fortress Europe 1943-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1943-44, Ruhr 1943-45, Berlin 1943-44, German Ports 1943-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1943-44. Wikipedia, Kostenuk and Griffin

Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)

Maps for Movements of 428 Squadron 1942-45

MAP 1: 428 Squadron Bases 1942-45 (marked in green). Right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab

428 Squadron History Summary 1942-45

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Canuck)

The squadron was re-activated as the fifth Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck equipped squadron, on June 21, 1954, at RCAF Station Uplands as 428 All-Weather (Fighter) Squadron. It was re-activated, as one of nine Canadian based RCAF squadrons, to be operating under the new RCAF Air Defence Command, protecting North American airspace from Soviet intruders and long range bombers. The squadron was finally disbanded on 1 June 1961.