My Mum recently passed away and I found some photos of her then boyfriend F/Sgt. G. Williamson and the aircraft from 1942 to 13th Feb.1944 just before he was shot down over Etamps/Mondesir Airfield in France. My Mother was in the control tower as the Communications Sgt. for 263 squadron during this time.
One photo of the Whirlibombers shows the Invasion stripes for D-Day. Strange since by this time the unit was flying Hawker Typhoons.
F/Sgt. Williamson is marked with an X in one photo.

I thought someone who was going to model a Whirlibomber might be interested in the pics.
Sean

I don't think that the aircraft in the photos is wearing D-Day stripes. Earlier in the war some aircraft were marked with white stripes and noses - I think it was for the Dieppe Raid in 1942.

Well that makes sence then. My Mother was in the tower from late 1941 to late 1944. So Dieppe would fit in perfectly.

Thanks
Sean

1. Identification markings were ordered at the time of Operation Rutter, the original planned raid on Dieppe in July 1942. Rutter was cancelled (not postponed, there was no intention to carry out the operation at a later date.) due to bad weather and concern that the forces concentrationing in the Channel had been spotted. These markings ordered for all single-engined fighters in 11 Group. As Whirlwinds were twin-engined they would not have carried any markings. These markings have long been confused with the reinstated raid on Dieppe, Operation Jubilee in August 1942. No orders have been found for special markings to be applied for Operation Jubilee nor are any seen in photographs of aircraft taking part or shot down during Operation Jubilee.

2. The Whirlwind squadrons did not take part in Operation Jubilee, they were busy doing other things.

3. The markings in the photographs were applied for Operation Starkey, 9th September 1943, a spoof invasion involving large numbers of Allied aircraft operating at low levels. Operation Starkey involved large numbers of Allied ships which had a reputation for shooting first and asking questions later. Hence the need for special markings.

4. Whirlwinds were withdrawn from service before D-Day. 137 Squadron transferred theirs to 263 Squadron in May 1943 and 263 Squadron stopped using them in December 1943.

Thanks for posting these photos, very interesting!

The white noses in the second and last photos were also part of the Starkey markings for twin engine aircraft.

It is rare to see photos in these markings, as they were only present for a matter of days, and officially photography was not permitted.