War Whistles History - ACME 23/230 Air Ministry Thunderer used by RAF, Commonwealth & Allied Aircrews
ACME 23/230 Thunderer Whistle
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The ACME Thunderer 23/230 Whistle was used by RAF, Commonwealth and other allied Aircrew's during WW2. You will find some of the history and details of its use detailed below. Feel free to contact us if you have a story to add or want to point out any errors. The small version (aircrew version), of the ACME Thunderer was first thought to have been produced around 1939 to 1940 - there are no records, that we are aware of, that can give us a specific date of manufacture or issue. The large Thunderer whistle version was also used prior to and during WW2.
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Colour Pictures of RAF Aircrews wearing Emergency Aircrew Whistles
RAF Bomber Pilot with Whistle
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RAF Bomber Aircrew with Whistles
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RAF Bomber Aircrew with ACME Whistles
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William Lyons wireless operator and air gunner - 215 Sqn & No 30 Operational Training Unit (OTU)
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William Lyons, was a wireless operator and air gunner who served in a heavy bomber (Lancaster) squadron in the China Burma India theater
with the RAF. William's log book, shows him having a total of 593 daytime flight hours and another 257 night time flight hours. He flew in numerous types of aircraft including, Wellington III, Wellington X, Douglas Dakota C-47, Lockheed Lodestar, Avro Anson and the Avro Lancaster. William flew 63 combat sorties during his service time in World War Two. William survived the war. He and his wife immigrated to the United States after the war and lived in Escondido, California. More... [courtesy of C.E. Daniel Collection- http://www.danielsww2.com] |
William Lyons and colleagues wearing ACME Thunderer type Whistles. Notice the Two Americans.
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" Get the Hurricanes flying, train the Russians in their use, hand them over and
return to Britain"
RAF Pilots in Russia wearing rescue Whistles
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OPERATION HURRICANE:
The story behind this Order of Lenin is an astonishing one. When German forces invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 the Russian Army needed weapons and supplies to stem the Nazi advance. Stalin urged Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime leader, to send him Spitfires, the RAF’s latest and fastest fighter planes. At last Churchill dispatched Hurricanes – 40 of them to begin with, hundreds later. More... [courtesy of Filmaking in Russia] |
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The Dambusters:
Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16th/17th May 1943 by Royal Air Force (RAF), No. 617 Squadron, subsequently publicised as the "Dam Busters". They used a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee Dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more were damaged. Factories and mines were also either damaged or destroyed. An estimated 1,600 people drowned. The damage was mitigated by rapid repairs by the Germans, with production returning to normal in September. Notice in the aircrew picture the ACME aircrew whistles worn on the RAF flight jackets. |
ACME Whistle 23/230 Worn by Dam Busters Crew
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Whistle being worn on Lancaster Bomber 101 Squadron Aircrew jackets
Sgt John Phillips, Flight Sgt Douglas Tresidder, Flight Sgt Robert Naffin and Sgt David Morgan Ellis.
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Sgt John Currey was a gunner on a fateful bombing raid over Berlin in 1943.
WWII hero's sisters finally learn truth about his fate after Lancaster bomber is found in remote German forest 70 years after it vanished. Plane was shot down by air ace Major Werner Husemann. Read More... [courtesy of the Daily Mail] 
Whistle found on crash site - likely to be large ACME Thunderer
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Bryan Forbes - Actor. Wearing an ACME thunderer during the film 'Appointment in London'. Read More... [courtesy of Daily Mail]
Appointment in London (known as Raiders in the Sky in the U.S.) is a 1953 British war film set during the Second World War and starring Dirk Bogarde. The film was directed by Philip Leacock and based on a story by John Wooldridge, who as an RAF bomber pilot flew 108 operational sorties over Europe. Wooldridge, who after the war established himself as a successful film composer before being killed in a car accident in 1958, also wrote the film score and participated in writing the screenplay. The film set in an RAF Bomber Command squadron during 1943 and tells of a wing commander's attempt to finish his third and final tour of 30 operations. A sub-plot involves his relationship with a widowed wren in whom an American observer attached to his base is also interested. Read More... [courtesy of Wikipedia] |
Bryan Forbes, playing Pilot Officer Greeno in 1953 film. Wearing ACME whistle.
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D-Day Lancaster bomber crew identified 68 years on by poignant inscription on dead airman's ring
Canadian bomb aimer Flt Lt Herbert Rieger from Lancaster ND 739 wearing a whistle from his tunic.
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The mangled ring, found in a marsh by a French metal detector enthusiast, bears the initials ‘AC’ and the engraved inscription ‘Love Vera’.
British aviation archaeologist Tony Graves believes the AC refers to a flight lieutenant called Albert Chambers who was on board Lancaster ND 739 which went missing following a dawn mission on June 6, 1944. The name Vera refers to his wife, Vera Grubb, whom he had married just eight months earlier. Born in Derby, Flight Lieutenant Chambers had an extraordinary career. He had flown 58 operational sorties and had won a Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar before his death at 23. Chambers was 97 Squadron’s signals leader and was wireless operator and air gunner on the D-Day flight. Read More... [courtesy Daily Mail] 
Whistle recovered from Lancaster ND 739 crash site
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The story of 626 Squadron, crew of LM112 UM-A2 on 7th of July 1944
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626 squadron and RAF Wickenby.
The Lancaster reached the target without incident, and at 21.09hrs the bombs were released from 6,000’ on an excellent concentration of Red T.I.'s. This was the first operational mission that the crew had carried out together, though they had each had one previous trip... Flak appeared to be very heavy, especially to the South West of Caen. Immediately the bombs were released the captain turned off to avoid these heavy flak defences. Suddenly a sharp crack was felt underneath the aircraft which tore a hole in the wireless operator’s seat.... Please read the full story of crew of LM112 UM-A2 and their mission and fate on 7th of July 1944. More... [courtesy of 626-squadron.co.uk] |
Australian Pilot Officer John Charles Oram and the crew of LM112 UM-A2 - 7th of July 1944
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The Story of Sgt Ernest Berry and the crew of DV190
Sergeant Victor Trayler with Escape Whistle
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DV190 626 Sqdn - Berlin 1/2 Jan 1944
Sergeant John "Paddy" Waters, the son of Matthew Waters, and Margaret Waters was serving as the Rear Gunner on board Lancaster Mk. III DV-190 coded UM-B2 during their third mission with 626 Squadron on an operation to Duisberg on January 1/2, 1944. The aircraft took off from Wickenby shortly after 0016 but crashed at Gardelegen killing all but one of the crew. Sergeant Victor Trayler joined the RAF at age 18, he was the son of William and Gwendoline Trayler and husband of Olive of Newport, Monmouthshire. Olive and Victor's son, Michael Victor was to be born on 13th February 1944, just over a month after Victor and his crew were shot down. Victor, the mid-upper gunner, was good friends with rear gunner John "Paddy" Waters as well as with the other members of the crew, Sgt "Chic" Henderson was a brilliant cartoonist and used to pass the time by drawing cartoons of the crew's time together. Read More... [courtesy of 626-squadron.co.uk] |
F/Sgt Keith Margetts's crew in LM393
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The Loss of F/Sgt Keith Margetts's crew in LM393 on the Berlin raid of March 24th/25th 1944.
This night became known in Bomber Command as 'the night of the strong winds'. A powerful wind from the north carried the bombers south at every stage of the flight. Not only was this wind not forecast accurately but it was so strong that the various methods available to warn crews of wind changes during the flight failed to detect the full strength of it. The bomber stream became very scattered, particularly on the homeward flight and radar-predicted flak batteries at many places were able to score successes. Part of the bomber force even strayed over the Ruhr defences on the return flight. It is believed that approximately 50 of the 72 aircraft lost were destroyed by flak; most of the remainder were victims of night fighters. Needless to say, the strong winds severely affected the marking with, unusually, markers being carried beyond the target and well out to the south-west of the city. This was the last major RAF raid on Berlin during the war, although the city would be bombed many times by small forces of Mosquitos. More... [courtesy of 626-squadron.co.uk] |
F/Sgt Keith Margetts with Ditching Whistle
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WW2 Spitfire pilot wearing WW1 Army Flying Corp wings and wearing ACME Whistle
453 squadron RAAF (418230 F/Sgt. B.S. Inglis
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Spitfire pilot from 453 squadron RAAF, 418230 F/Sgt. B.S. Inglis of Geelong - Australia. If you look at his wings you might notice that they are not RAAF or RAF wings but WW1 AFC wings. Notice the ACME thunderer whistle attached to his collar, you can almost read the writing on it!
No. 453 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, was formed at Bankstown in New South Wales on 23 May 1941. Formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme, the squadron was destined for service overseas with Britain’s Royal Air Force. The squadron had departed Australia without aircraft and arrived in Singapore, in two contingents, on 15 and 21 August 1941, where it was equipped with obsolete Brewster Buffalo fighters. More... [courtesy of www.awm.gov.au] |
Caribbean Aircrew with Emergency whistles
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Caribbean Aircrew aims to provide a permanent archive of the volunteers from the West Indies who flew for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. The general public in the United Kingdom and elsewhere is scarcely aware of the involvement of Caribbean crew in the air war of 1940-1945. The picture to the right shows Sgt. F. Dowdy from Trinidad and his crew and notice that several are wearing ACME military whistles. More... [courtesy of caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com]
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Sgt. Pilot F.A.A. Dowdy – Trinidad
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Sgt. J.C. Dickinson RCAF wearing ACME Ditching Whistle
Sgt. J.C. Dickinson RCAF & Sgt. L.F. Gilkes from Trinidad
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Flight Sergeant L.F. Gilkes from Trinidad, RAFVR, Gunner 9 Sqn, 5 Group – Lancaster s. Gilkes was a volunteer from Trinidad and trained at Piarco during Nov 42. He flew in a Lancaster ED 493, Piloted by Sgt D McKenzie which was lost on a bombing mission over Hamburg on 2'd Aug 1943. They flew through the great storm and probably bombed south of the target. Flying well south of the return route, the aircraft was shot down at approx 0130hrs by an ME 110 nighfighter of IV-NJG, flown by Ofar K Scherfling. The crew were on their 7th mission of their 1st tour. The aircraft crashed into the sea just off the coast of Texel, Holland. All crew perished. The bodies were never recovered.
Gilkes name is commemorated on the Runnymede memorial, Panel 150. He was the Son of Joseph and Octavia Gilkes, of Siparia, Trinidad, West Indies. More... [courtesy of caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com] |
Charles Vernon Pereira and and his navigator “Taffy” G.H. Gilbert both wearing ACME Aircrew Whistles
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Flight Lieutenant Charles Vernon Pereira was a Pilot in 139 Sqn & 105 Sqn Flying Mosquito's.
He was on the Jena Raid and his faithful “N for Nuts” aircraft lost an engine just before the target. He also witnessed the two aircraft to his side collide and roll down the hillside in a ball of flames. The BBC made a recording of that raid and broadcast it on “Target for tonight”. He returned safely (460 miles) on one engine at low level in spite of a narrow escape flying slap over a German airfield with FW 190s in the circuit; for some reason they did not intercept him. Jena was his last Op’ with 139 and he was posted to 105 Squadron with the Assessment of Ability as a pilot as “Exceptional”. The RAF did not give that assessment easily. More... [courtesy of caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com] |
C. Vernon Pereira and his navigator “Taffy” G.H. Gilbert
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History > ACME 23/230 Air Ministry Thunderer as used by RAF, Commonwealth & Allied Aircrew