Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 25112 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 734

A fine Second World War pilot's immediate D.F.M. awarded to Flight Lieutenant B. R. Moss, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who was decorated for a tour of operations in Halifaxes of No. 102 (Ceylon) Squadron

Participation in the famous Peenemunde and Hamburg 'firestorm' raids aside, he had at least two close encounters with enemy night fighters and returned to base in flak damaged aircraft on several occasions

Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (1063992 F./Sgt. B. R. Moss, R.A.F.), good very fine

D.F.M. London Gazette 2 November 1943, the original recommendation states:

'Flight Sergeant Moss has completed 33 operational sorties. On numerous occasions his aircraft has been damaged quite severely by enemy action, but he has never failed to bring his aircraft back safely.
His determination to press home the attack is outstanding and on 27 July 1943, whilst attacking Essen, his oxygen supply failed at a great height. He carried on with his sortie, however, with the result that he lost consciousness twice during his bombing run.
All Flight Sergeant Moss's sorties, many of them against strongly defended targets, have been marked by the same coolness and determination and his excellent captaincy has proved him to be a very valuable member of the Bomber Force.
In view of the above, I strongly recommend Flight Sergeant Moss for the immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.'

Bryan Rigg Moss commenced his operational career as a pilot in Coastal Command in January 1943, when he flew half a dozen anti-U-boat patrols, in one of which he engaged two blockade runners. But his subsequent award of the D.F.M. stemmed from his gallant services as a pilot in No. 102 (Ceylon) Squadron, a Halifax unit based at R.A.F. Pocklington, Yorkshire, in which capacity he flew his first sortie against a target in St. Nazaire.

Further sorties ensued in April and May 1943, Bochum, Essen and Stuttgart being among the chosen targets. Nor were they incident free, the trip to Stettin on 30 April resulting in two combats with night fighters, as well as flak damage.

June witnessed Moss and his crew undertake seven further sorties, their targets comprising a return trip to Bochum, in addition to strikes against Cologne, Dusseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Krefeld ('aircraft was coned when bombing'), Mulheim and Wuppertal. In the sortie to Dusseldorf on the night of the 11th-12th, Moss's Halifax JD 165 H was damaged by flak and his bomb aimer - Sergeant K. J. Symes - was slightly wounded. And his Halifax was again holed by flak in the trip to Gelsenkirchen on the night of 25th-26th.

Having then re-visited Cologne on the night of 3rd-4th July, the bad penny turned up again over Gelsenkirchen on the 9th, when his Halifax fought a combat with an Me. 210 and received flak damage to its port outer engine, the leading edge of its mainplane and its tail plane. The Me. 210 was claimed as shot down.

Moss and his crew next flew three sorties to Hamburg at the time of the famous 'firestorm' raids at the end of the month and in early August, although the next occasion of high drama occurred over Essen on the night of the 27th, when, as cited above, Moss suffered from lack of oxygen but insisted on continuing to the target. He twice lost consciousness and had to be brought around by the Flight Engineer.

Hamburg aside, August witnessed Moss and his crew attack targets in Leverkusen, Munchen-Gladbach, Nuremburg (twice) and Milan, in addition to participating in the famous Peenemunde raid on the night of the 17th-18th. On that occasion, Moss's Halifax appears to have bombed at 5,000 feet, lower than any other aircraft in his squadron.

Now nearing completion of his operational tour, he flew sorties to Bochum, Hannover (twice) and Mannheim in September, following which he was recommended for the D.F.M.

Subsequently commissioned, Moss ended the war with an appointment in No. 35 Squadron and was finally demobbed in the rank of Flight Lieutenant. He died at Preston, Lancashire on 7 June 1964.

Sold with an original postagram from 'Bomber' Harris, congratulating the recipient on his award of the D.F.M., dated 19 October 1943, together with a wartime newspaper cutting with report and photograph of his Buckingham Palace investiture.

Subject to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium. For more information please view Terms and Conditions for Buyers.

Sold for
£1,600

Starting price
£700