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| PERSONALIA |
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| Name: |
Wijnberg, Abraham Victor |
| Date of birth: | 1921 (Groningen, The Netherlands)
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| Date of death: |
October 1991
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| Nationality: |
Dutch |
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BIOGRAPHY:
Victor Wijnberg grew up in Amsterdam and was posted to the Aviation Branch at the end of the 30’
s. Following the capitulation of the Dutch, he was taken prisoner by the Germans but he managed to escape and reached England in a fishing vessel.
After having been trained as a secret agent, he was posted to parachute training.
He preferred however to join he RAF. After a medical examination he reported to an Air Crew Receiving Center and began his flight training.
On completion of his training, Wijnberg was posted to 640 Squadron RAF on April 22nd, 1944 and participated in bombing missions flying the Handley Page Halifax. In the night of April 24th-25th he flew his first mission as second pilot to Karlsruhe. In the night of June 5th-6th, 1944 he bombed shore batteries near Maisy in Normandy in support of the Allied invasion.
After 40 missions his tour was completed and subsequently he became a flight instructor with the RAF. He continued his air force career in the Dutch Communication Flight in RAF Transport Command.
Wijnberg was Jewish and for that reason probably offered his services to the Jewish Agency – the forerunner of the state of Israel – after World War Two and flew transport missions to Palestine.
After being stranded in Egypt on a ferry flight, he spent six months in a Caïro prison.
Later in life he became a succesful businessman.
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DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS (DFC)
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Rank:
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Acting Flight Lieutenant (Acting Flight Lieutenant)
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Unit:
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640 Squadron RAF
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Awarded on:
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September 14th, 1944
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Action:
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Awarded for having flown his aircraft and crew safely back to base after the plane had been hit twice by Flak on a mission on August 2nd, 1944, causing the loss of many instruments and causing his plane to enter in a dive.
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VLIEGERKRUIS (VK)
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Rank:
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Acting Flight Lieutenant
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Unit:
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No. 640 Squadron, Royal Air Force
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Awarded on:
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October 5th, 1944
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Details:
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287th Award.
Royal Decree No. 30 dated October 5th, 1944.
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