330th Squadron Song

DESCRIPTION: "Seven seedy bomber types came along to Saxonby, Posted to squadron three-thirty." They mournfully sing, "This is the squadron for me.... Who'll go on ops with three-thirty and me." They raid the ball bearing factory near Lake Annecy
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1976 (Page-ForGawdsakeDontTakeMe)
KEYWORDS: technology soldier derivative | air force
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 1944 - RAF raids on the J. Schmidt Roost ball bearing plant near Annecy, France
August 1944 - RAF raid on Königsberg
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Page-ForGawdsakeDontTakeMe, p. 72, "330th Squadron Song' (1 text, tune referenced)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Waltzing Matilda" (tune) and referenced there
NOTES [123 words]: The mention of a ball bearing factory naturally makes one think of the great bombing attacks on Schweinfurt, Germany on on August 17 and October 14, 1943, the latter of which in particular cost many bombers and signally failed to disrupt German industry. But that was an American raid, not a British attack, and Schweinfurt isn't on Lake Annecy. Hence I assign this song instead to the May 1944 raids on Annecy.
Although mentioned earlier in Page's version of this song, the greatest raid on Königsberg actually took place later, in August 1944.
Given that the song as it stands cannot be earlier than 1944, I strongly suspect it is derived not directly from "Waltzing Matilda" but from "Ops in a Wimpey" or one of the other "Ops" songs. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.2
File: PFGS072

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