RAF CAREER
This page, together with its linked pages, provides a summary of Benny Goodman’s career with the RAF from early training to post-war service. Additional details and links are also provided in respect of units with which he served, aircraft he flew and historical events in which he was involved.
Summary of Service Career
| Sep 1938 | Joined No 5 (Founder) Squadron, Air Defence Cadet Corps (Northampton) |
| Jan 1939 | Joined RAF Volunteer Reserve for training as pilot (No 6 E&RFTS Sywell) |
| 1 Sep 1939 | Mobilised for war service. |
| Sep - Oct 1939 | Initial training (mostly square-bashing!) |
| Oct 1939 - Mar 1940 | Elementary flying training at No 4 EFTS, Brough, Yorkshire. |
| Apr - Jun 1940 | Advanced flying training at No 9 FTS, Hullavington, Wiltshire. |
| Jun - Jul 1940 | Operational training at No 15 (Wellington) OTU, Harwell, Berkshire. |
| Aug - Oct 1940 | Pilot with No 37 Squadron, Feltwell, Norfolk. |
| Nov 1940 - Mar 1941 | Pilot woth No 99 Squadron, Newmarket, Suffolk. Lived in the racecourse grandstand! |
| 1 Jan 1941 | Flew Wellington Bomber from Stradishall to Benghazi, Libya in flight time of 11 hrs 30 mins. |
| Apr - Sep 1941 | Pilot with No 37 Squadron at Shallufa in Egypt. Took part in Wavell's retreat in the desert and the battles of Greece and Crete. |
| Dec 1941 - Jul 1943 | Pilot instructor at No 15 OTU, Harwell, Berkshire. Took a student crew on the 1000 bomber raids on Cologne and Essen. (No 15 OTU despatched 32 Wellingtons to Cologne, losing 2; and 30 to Essen, all of which returned safely.) |
| Aug 1943 | Pilot training at No 1655 (Mosquito) OTU at Marham, Norfolk - part of No 8 (Pathfinder) Group. |
| Sep - Nov 1943 | Pilot with No 139 Squadron, Wyton, Huntingdon. 'C' Flight, 139 Squadron transferred to Oakington, Cambs in Nov 43 and formed a new squadron: 627. |
| Nov 1943 - Jul 1944 | Pilot with No 627 Squadron, initially at Oakington. The squadron transferred to Woodhall Spa, Lincs in Apr 1944 in order to carry out low-levelmarking of targets at night, using a visual method perfected by Wing Commander (subsequently Group Captain) G L Cheshire VC DSO DFC. The squadron took part in many famous operations, including the isolation of the Normandy beach-head prior to D-Day. This involved the destruction of 37 rail centres, knocking down all the bridges over the River Seine and finally the destruction of all the German fixed heavy guns covering the intended landing areas. Only one of these guns was left capable of firing when the invasion took place. No 617 (Dambuster) Squadron remained co-located with No 627 Squadron at Woodhall Spa until the end of the war. The legendary Guy Gibson VC lost his lif in Sep 1944 while returning from operations against Rheydt in a 627 Sqn Mosquito. |
| Jul - Dec 1944 | Pilot Instructor at No 1655 Mosquito Training Unit. This unit moved to Upper Heyford in Dec 44 and changed its name to 16 OTU. |
| Jan 1945 - Apr 1947 | Flight Commander, then Chief Instructor, at 16 OTU. The unit moved from Upper Heyford to Cottesmore, Rutland in Dec 46. |
| Apr 1947 - Apr 1948 | Testing Officer at the Empire Flying School, Hullavington, Wilts. |
| May 1948 - Apr 1950 | Staff Officer at the Accident Investigation Branch, HQ Flying Training Command, Shinfield Park, Reading. |
| May 1950 - Apr 1953 | Flying Instructor, then Chief Ground Instructor, at the Central Flying School, Little Rissington, Gloucs. |
| Apr 1953 - Dec 1975 | Administrative and intelligence roles at various levels - Station, Command and Ministry of Defence. Attended courses at the RAF Staff College and the Joint Services Staff College. His final appointment was a Group Captain Organisation at HQ Support Command, Andover. |
| 10 Jan 1976 | Retired on his 55th birthday. |
Wartime Targets Attacked
French/Belgian/Dutch
| Antwerp | Brest |
| Bordeaux | Mailly le Camp (near Epernay) |
| Clermont Ferrand | Rotterdam |
| Dunkirk | Saumur |
| Eindhoven | St Martin de Varreville (Cherbourg Peninsula) |
| Flushing | Tours (twice) |
| Le Havre |
German
| Berlin (7 times) | Frankfurt (twice) | Mülheim |
| Black Forest | Gelsenkirchen | Munich (twice) |
| Bottrop | Hamburg | Osnabrück |
| Bremen | Hamm | Schweinfurt (twice) |
| Brunswick | Hanover (twice) | Stokum |
| Cologne (5 times) | Kassel | Stuttgart |
| Duisberg (3 times) | Kiel (twice) | Soest |
| Düsseldorf (3 times) | Koblenz | Wilhelmshaven |
| Emden | Leipzig | |
| Essen (3 times) | Mönchengladbach (twice) |
Middle East
| Benghazi (5 times) |
| El Adem |
| Maleme Airfield, Crete (3 times) |
Decorations
(Left to Right)
Distinguished Flying Cross – awarded 21 Apr 1944. Bar awarded 13 Oct 1944.
Air Force Cross – awarded 14 Jun 1945. 
1939 – 45 Star.
Air Crew Europe Star.
Africa Star.
Defence Medal.
1939 – 45 War Medal.
Air Efficiency Award.
Citations:
“Since the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Flight Lieutenant Goodman has continued to operate in a highly skilled and courageous manner. During many of his sorties he has met with heavy opposition but despite this he has completed his task”. (Air Ministry Bulletin 15918, 7 Dec 1944)
“As an A.2 Instructor, this officer has maintained a high standard of efficiency. He is employed as a Flight Commander in one of the Dual Conversion and, by his fine example and devotion to duty, he has contributed much to the successful training of the pupils. The number of flying hours he has completed during the last six months is unusually high and is indicative of the zeal and interest with which Squadron Leader Goodman undertakes his duties.” (Citation to award of the Air Force Cross, London Gazette, 14 Jun 1945, Public Record Office Air 2/8771. At this stage he had flown over 1078 instructional hours.)
Extracts from Log Books
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