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Auction: 23111 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 850

Four: Warrant Officer (Air Gunner) J. Miller, Royal Air Force

1939-45 Star; Burma Star, Clasp, Pacific; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, with a flying log book, minor contact marks, overall very fine (4)

James Miller was born on 20 December 1922 and enlisted with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in October 1941. Qualifying as Air Crew he was posted to No. 11 Air Gunnery School, Andreas, Isle of Man where he served as Sergeant/Air Gunner. Moving on to No. 15 Operational Training Unit, R.A.F. Harwell, Berkshire Miller completed his training with 45 hours of flying under his belt.

Posted to India he was stationed first with 1584 Heavy Conversion Unit in order to train with Liberators. Here Miller saw his first operational flying, taking part in a night raid over Bangkok on 19 January 1944. A second sortie with this unit on 8 March 1944 over North Burma finished his operational flying with this unit and Miller was posted to No. 356 Squadron at Salbani, India, starting to fly with them in August 1944.

Flying a range of sorties between Burma and Thailand over the next three months his first strike on 17 August was against the Ywataung Railway Yard. Miller's Flying Log Book notes steadily increasing resistance over the course of the year with large numbers of Oscars and Zeros intercepting the bombing formations over their targets as well as mounting flak. Finally on a raid over the Rangoon Railway Yards on 4 November, Miller's 17th sortie, his Liberator was hit by enemy fire. Fortunately the crew were unharmed and revenge was swiftly taken with Miller's Log Book stating 'three enemy aircraft shot down'.

The pace of raids did not let up into the New Year with the squadron starting to take part switch their focus from railways to ammunition dumps and troop concentrations. After the heavy fighting of January through April, May was to prove a quiet month with just one sortie flown, a 'Special Mission' over Rangoon. Miller's Liberator took off at 15:30 on 1 May in the company of one other aircraft of the Squadron. Both Aircraft are listed in the Operations Record Book as carrying 12 Parafax and 12 Pintails suggesting that they were involved in dropping supplies in the airborne landings conducted as part of Operation Dracula. Notably the date of the drop tallies with the Battle of Elephant Point, an assault by a Gurkha Parachute Battalion.

After one more operation flight in June 1945 Miller finished his career as Gunnery Leader flying with 184 Wing, India from August 1945; sold together with original documentation comprising, an inoculation certificate, I.D. card, medal claimant form (torn but legible) and a number of bombing photographs detailing the targets hit, named to W/O Wright a pilot the recipient flew with regularly as well as copied entries from the Operations Record Book bound into a typed summery of the recipient's career.

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Sold for
£950

Starting price
£140