m. 1923 in Hammond, IL, Lillian [Gluth] "The European War was brought closer to home to one Hammond family today as the husband of Mrs. Lillian Raymond, 6604 Jefferson Avenue, neared the English war zone in a high speed gun boat [sic]. Mrs Raymond's huisband is Pilot Bruce E Raymond, for 16 years a Shore Line bus operator and licensed pilot. He joined the British Overseas Air corps [sic] and left a week ago from Halifax, Nova Scotia" - The Hammond Times, 11 Feb 1941 [The newspapers seem to have had a problem with BOAC's name:
If he was really working for the 'British Overseas Air corpse', it's a wonder he could contact anybody there...] Postings: 1FPP 2 accidents, 1 his fault: - 1 Nov 1941, forced landing having taken off with insufficient fuel in Spitfire P8758 - 27 Feb 1942, the tail wheel strut of his Anson AX232 collapsed whilst taxying His 12-month contract was extended, but at that point he requested a period of leave and told the ATA that he was "very doubtful" about returning. From late 1942, attached to RAF Ferry Command (known as RAF No 45 (Atlantic Ferry) Group from March 1943). He is recorded as sailing from the UK to the New York in the SS Queen Elizabeth 'in transit to Canada' in November 1943, as one of 19 Ferry Pilots including fellow ex-ATA pilots Gilbert Tobin, Edmund Jarrett, Clark Trumbull and Lee Roy Rawlings. In 1948, he won the Tinnerman Trophy Air Race in his P-51 'The Gallopin Ghost', was second in the Thompson Trophy (which earned him $8,000 - at 46, he was the oldest pilot in the race) and fourth in the Sohio Race ($700). He then became a pilot for the Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation, undertaking a mapping project in South Carolina.
d. 19 May 1984 - Hammond Lake, Indiana "Bruce flew as a civilian pilot with the Royal Air Force Transport Command in Canada. He began flying planes in 1928, working as an instructor, commercial pilot and barnstormer before World War II. During the war, he delivered 39 bombers across the Atlantic Ocean with the RAF Transport Command." - Lansing Times, 22 May 1984 * ATA File not available |
- Details
1948
1948
Draft Card, 4 Jun 1942- Hits: 14