Sergeant George James Dean
Air Gunner
* December 30, 1921 10, Wapping, London, England
† 21 December 1942 Elst UT.
Son of Francis and Louise Lilian Dean of Stepney, London, England.
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service nr. 1318175
George James Dean was born 30 December 1921 in Wapping, London. The family suffered severely during the Second World War.
George was the tailgunner of the Lancaster.The rear gunner had an important role in the defense of the bomber. Enemy fighters often approached the bombers from behind and their job was not only to shoot at the enemy aircraft but, more importantly, to report them to the pilot. The pilot could then perform evasive maneuvers at the right time to escape the enemy fighter.
The rear gunner had the most dangerous job in the bomber. Lonely in the narrow and often icy cold tail turret and only contact with the rest of the crew via the intercom. In the event of an emergency, it was difficult to leave the aircraft in time.
Unfortunately, little is known about his training as a tailgunner. The oldest record we could find was his posting from 9 Squadron to 207 Squadron on August 18, 1942.
We couldn't find his name in the Operations Record Books of 9 Squadron.
August 18, 1942, he was posted to No. 207 Squadron.
His first operational flight with 207 Squadron was on September 10, 1942. His last, fatal, operational flight on December 21, 1942. In total he was on 12 operations with 207 Squadron, see the list at the left.
Below are extracts from the Operations Record Books with the operational flights of George James Dean.
George James Dean is buried at the Rusthof Cemetery, Leusden, and is commemorated at the memorial in Elst UT.
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