1943 - 1944

Edward, now part of Stan Emms' crew was posted to 158 Squadron at Lissett, Yorkshire on June 13, 1943. This Squadron was equipped with Halifax II's and engaged in strategic bombing duties. They flew their first mission on June 21, 1943 to Krefeld. Whilst with this Squadron, on July 29, 1943 he was commissioned as a Pilot Officer, General Duties (Navigator) Branch RAFVR with the Service number 155926.

By Sept 7, 1943 they had completed 16 Operations and it was at this time that they were posted to No 35 Squadron of the Pathfinder Force. The PFF had asked for a volunteer crew from No 158 Squadron and though they had not volunteered they were sent. They spent the rest of September training with the PFF Navigation Training Unit and when it was known to the PFF that they had not volunteered for Pathfinder duties, they were posted back to No 158 Squadron in early October, 1943 to continue their tour. [Source: Stan Emms in a letter to the author].

These transfers show up in the RAF Records as follows-

No 158 Squadron microfilm shows "...13 June 1943 arrived with crew ex-1652 Conversion Unit. Sept 1943 Posted to No 35 Squadron." No 35 Squadron's records show "Amerasekera posted in W.E.F. 29 July 1943 from No 158 Squadron. Posted back to 158 Squadron 4 Oct 1943."

P/O Amerasekera flew a total of 20 missions with Sgt. Stanley W. Emms and crew from 21 June 1943 to 18 Nov 1943 before he was screened to do a tour of instruction. These missions were flown just before the end of the Battle of the Ruhr, through the Battle of Hamburg and at the beginning of the Battle of Berlin, and included targets such as Krefeld, Wuppertal, Gelsenkirchen, Koln, Aachen, Hamburg, Peenemunde, Berlin, Essen, Mannheim and Monchen-Gladbach. Twelve of these missions were flown on the aircraft HR755/NP-X (Xpress Delivery).

The crew were decorated at the end of their tour, mainly for dedication and bravery shown on Nov 11, 1943 on their mission to Cannes. This incident is mentioned below in Amerasekera's DFC Citation. Emms, Cree and Strong received the DFM, Almond was awarded the Bar to his DFM (he had won his DFM previously with No 102 Squadron), which was one of 60 issued for WW2 & Amerasekera, McGuire and Ackling were awarded the DFC. McGuire rose to the rank of Wing Commander, receiving the OBE in addition to his DFC. McGuire, Emms and Almond were still alive in the 1990s. Amerasekera, Ackling and Cree had passed away early in their lives, Amerasekera at age 57 in 1974, Ackling at age 51 and Cree at age 47, both in 1968. Strong was the only wartime casualty in this crew. He was killed on operations with 640 Squadron on 14/2/1945 aged 28.

Amerasekera was promoted to Flying Officer on Jan 29, 1944 and was awarded the DFC (L/G Feb 15, 1944). The Citation is as follows-

"This officer has displayed a high degree of courage and determination in navigating his aircraft to the target and back, often under great difficulties. In November 1943 whilst on a flight to a distant target, the oxygen supply failed early in the sortie. P/O. Amerasekera, though suffering from lack of oxygen and extreme cold continued his duties and the mission was successfully completed. This officer has proved himself to be a navigator of outstanding ability."

This was followed by the following postings:

31/05/1944 Posted to 43 Base (Driffield). (As per 41 Base ORB) AIR 29/852/3

14/06/1944 Posted to 44 Base (Holme on Spalding Moor) Ferry Duties. AIR 29/852/4

19/07/1944 1689 BDTF Bomber Defence Training Flight Holme on Spalding Moor (Last flight 01/08/1944) AIR 29/882/6

Edward flew 4 times with 1689 BDTF until 01/08/1944. All the flights were in Oxfords.