WW2 Distinguished Flying Cross, GVIR, reverse officially dated '1944', 1939-1945 Star & Air Crew Europe Star with France and Germany clasp & War Medal all unnamed as issued. Comes with his original two logbooks with photos inside, cloth brevet and riband bar. Provenance: Bosley's, Marlow 2010 & Dominic Winters 2021 Lot 239 sold for £6,067.
Flight Lieutenant Arthur Willam Fearn joined the RAF in Oct 1941 and trained in Tiger Moths with 2 EFTS, he then trained in America in Vultee BT 13 before returning to England with No 6 AFU and then posted to 27 OTU, on 15th May 1943 he flew in a Wellington to Paris on a leaflet raid. On 1st Jul 1943 he was posted to Scampton with No.57 Squadron (Lancasters), his first operation with the squadron was on 3rd Jul 1943 to Cologne with further operations in the prevailing months. On 4th Oct 1943 during an operation to Frankfurt his aircraft encountered a Ju88 over the channel and his aircraft was holed by flak. In Nov 1943, he flew four operations in 8 days taking part in the Battle of Berlin with a total of 8 operations over Berlin between Nov 1943 and Jan 1944. In total, he flew 21 operations with 57 Squadron before being posted to 617 (Dambuster) Squadron in Feb 1944.
His first trip on a Special Operation to the Aero Works in Lyons was on 23rd Mar 1944 with two further operations to Lyons a few days later. On 5th Apr another special operation on an aircraft factory in Toulouse, with other operations over Villacoubley (near Paris), Brunswick and Munich (a photograph of these two-night attacks are pasted in the logbook). In May the squadron were preparing for the D-Day landings and on 5/6th June special operation with cooperation with Sea-Borne Forces which was to fly a decoy mission, the squadron flew a low-level box pattern, depositing window, this affecting the German radar, the operators believing the invasion fleet was heading for Le Harve and not Normandy. On 8th Jun the Saunur Railway Tunnel was bombed as the allied commander believed the Germans would use the tunnel to move a Panzer unit to the Normandy battlefield. The tunnel was successfully bombed and the attack is regarded as a notable contribution to the success of the Normandy invasion. The operation marked the end of Fearns tour and is signed by Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire VC. It was Cheshire's common practice to ask crews if they wanted to go on with operations or be posted, Fearn decided to continue his operations on 14th Jun 1944 over Le Harve destroying U Boats and E Boat Pens with the new Tallboy bombs, a similar operation the following day over Boulogne, on 20th Jul a special operation in the Pas de Calais area Fearn records 'target obscured by the cloud, ordered to bring 'bombs' back, landed with some 60,000 lbs. Saw first Buzz-bomb crossing area, over coast, then destroyed by Ack Ack fire', on 25th Jul his aircraft was hit by flak over target, the bomb release cable was severed and they were unable to aim bombs and therefore released them manually. Fearn flew 45 operations with 24 of them with 617 Squadron, his last operation with the squadron was on 18th Aug 1944, he was then posted as a flying instructor and then to the Coastal Command Development unit before returning to an operational squadron (15 Squadron) in Jun 1945 the unit was primarily ex 617 personnel and a record of this is in the logbook, the final entry is on 29th Jan 1946 and Fearn flew a total of 1124 hours 51 minutes.
DFC LG 21st Apr 1944 - The recommendation for the DFC (19th Jan 1944) states, 'P/O Fearn was posted to No.57 Squadron from 1662 CON. Unit on the 28th Jun 1943. He has taken a part in attacks against many strongly defended targets in Germany, including 8 of the recent attacks on Berlin. P/O Fearn has shown courage and resolution throughout his tour. His example has been responsible for the excellent offensive spirit in his crew. P/O Fearn is strongly recommended for the award of DFC.'
