Call Signs and Radio Silence

Heroes Remember

Call Signs and Radio Silence

Transcript

So then we went overseas and I went to two or three stations there flying Oxford aircraft; I checked on them at night, we did these flights and that's whenever the Halifax's and the Lancaster's were doing their night bombing and the Americans did it during the daytime. So at night we'd be up next to Oxford and you weren't quite, there was so many airports; it seemed to me there were airports everywhere which would light up and then all the lights would all go out, you know. I'd say, “Oh my God!” They had what they called this “darky, darky” sort of thing, I believe that's what the call sign was and when you called, “darky, darky” immediately you got these search lights that just light you up that you can't see and then they'd go off and then one light would go in a direction and you'd go in that direction and then it got me on the right path and there I was. It was radio silence as well, of course, so when you say “darky, darky” you had to do a lot of forms when you got down.

Description

Mr. Dungey speaks about the call signs and search lights that indicated proper flight direction

George Dungey

George Dungey, the youngest of three children, was born in 1924 near Barrie, Ontario. His father, a First World War Veteran, was a laborer, machinist and semi-pro ballplayer. Before they enlisted, Mr. Dungey and his older brother operated a bakery. Following his brother, he enlisted in the Air Force when he was seventeen and a half, at Owen Sound. Mr. Dungey hoped to be bomber crew; following his Canadian training on Tiger Moths at Virden, Manitoba and Ansons at Souris, Manitoba, he received his pilot's wings. In England, he trained in Oxfords and Dakotas. It was as a Dakota pilot that Mr. Dungey was deployed to the Far East, where he joined the newly formed 435 Squadron at Impal, India. His squadron performed a number of valuable roles. It delivered supplies to British land forces in Burma, paradropped assault troops where needed, towed gliders to combat areas, and ferried the sick and wounded to safety. Mr. Dungey remained in the RCAF after the war, most notably serving in 412 Squadron, flying Canadian dignitaries to several different international destinations. After retiring from the RCAF, Mr. Dungey joined Transport Canada as a civil aviation inspector.

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