Base: Thorney Island
Take off time: NA
Op: Practice night flight.

S/Ldr P.D Dear O/C 'B' Flight was killed by an explosion of bombs in TR-G which crashed taking off on a practice night flight. The station commander G/C Scroggs also lost his life in the same accident.

Update May 2015: According to Sgt Hubert "Slasher" Birks, a W/op on the Squadron in late 1941, both Dear, Scroggs and a fireman were killed (after aiding the crew of TR-G to escape the wreckage) when fire caused the bomb load to explode. The crew escaped reasonably unscathed. (Into The Hands of Nippon, 2014, Birks).

During WWII, the RAF used three-letter codes to identify their aircraft from a distance. Two large letters were painted before the roundel, which signified the squadron to which the aircraft belonged, and another letter was painted after the roundel which indicated the individual aircraft. Aditionally, there was the individual serial number for each aircraft, which was painted in a much smaller size, usually somewhere at the rear of the aircraft: (more)

Codes used by RAF 59 Squadron:

PJ Sep 1938 - Sep 1939
TR Sep 1939 - Oct 1942
1 Aug 1943 - Jul 1944
WE Jul 1944 - Oct 1945
BY Oct 1945 - Jun 1946, Dec 1947 - Oct 1950