Poole, Matt Far East RAF Liberators

Attacking the Japanese. Roy Andrews and 215 Squadron

Between 11 October 1944 and 8 April 1945, radio operator/air gunner Roy Andrews flew thirty-five missions in Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the RAF's 215 Squadron, operating from Digri Airfield and later from Dhubalia in Bengal, India. Some of Roy's flying times exceeded thirteen hours per mission. One of his operations was a training exercise near the Indian-Burmese border, another was an air-sea rescue mission near the Japanese-occupied Burmese mainland, and thirty-three were either bomb and machine gun attacks or pure bombing raids on targets in Burma and Thailand. These included three missions (one in 1944 and two in 1945) along the infamous Thailand-Burma Death Railway, notorious for the suffering of Allied prisoners of war and Asian labourers who had been forced to build nearly 258 miles of railway through often inhospitable terrain. Roy's service with the 215th Squadron coincided with the unit's use of the American-built four-engine B-24 Liberator. Before his arrival, the 215th Squadron flew two-engine Wellington bombers against the Japanese in Burma, and after the Liberator phase, it flew two-engine Dakotas on transport duties. Roy began his flying career with the Liberator as his crew's second radio operator, which meant that he was primarily responsible for operating one of the single 0.50-calibre beam guns. On 13 January 1945, he became his crew's first radio operator the chief radio operator and flew his last twenty-five missions in this role. As an officer, he was entrusted with additional duties for the 215th Squadron, such as censoring outgoing mail, preparing and distributing jungle equipment before flights, and collecting and inventorying unused equipment after flights. Roy's fascinating insights into his childhood in Hong Kong and England, his evacuation from Hong Kong before the war and his move to Melbourne, Australia, his military training and his varied wartime experiences in India, some of which are in his own words, are presented in the book. Each of his thirty-five missions and his two longest non-operational Liberator flights are described in detail. Historian and author Matt Poole added a wealth of information about the 215th Squadron, including an analysis of the Digri and Dhubalia airfields and all missions flown by the 215th Squadron with Liberator aircraft not flown by Roy. These included three more combat missions against targets on the Thailand-Burma Railway and two other railway targets near this legendary section of terror. Illustrated with a collection of high-resolution photos, including aerial photographs of Roy's missions and many previously unpublished images, this book provides insight into the rarely discussed episode of RAF missions in the Far East during the Second World War. In the most comprehensive summary of the activities of the 215th Squadron's B-24 Liberators ever attempted, all three of the longest non-combat flights (each with a flight time of more than eleven hours) and 77 missions aboard this legendary bomber are examined.