Jack Guterman

Sergeant Jack Guterman, DFM was an English airman of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died during the Second World War.
He was born on 1 August 1920, in Thanet, the son of accountant Jack and Jane Guterman (née Costello). After leaving Royal Guilford Grammar School, Guterman entered his father's accounting firm. He enlisted after the outbreak of war, and in February 1942 was assigned to 207 Squadron as a wireless operator and air-gunner. He completed his operational tour with 207 in March 1943, but rejected a desk job in favour of volunteering for 617 Squadron.Jack Guterman, dambustersblog.com. Retrieved 10 July 2015.RGS Foundation Bulletin, guildfordian.com. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
The squadron, under command of Guy Gibson, was preparing for a bold raid (codenamed Operation 'Chastise') on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams. On 17 May 1943, his Avro Lancaster (serial ED910) formed part of the raid's third wave. It was caught in searchlights as it proceeded to the Lister Dam, and came down in flames after being repeatedly hit by flak. The rear-gunner, Sergeant Fred Tees, was the only survivor of the seven-man crew.Dildy, Doug (2012), Dambusters - Operation Chastise 1943, p. 59. Guterman had completed 54 operations at the time of his death: thirty-eight as an upper-mid gunner and sixteen as a wireless operator.Cooper, Alan (2013), The Dam Buster Raid: A Reappraisal, 70 years on, p. 126. He had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for his efforts with 207, but it was not announced in the London Gazette until after his death.
He is buried in Reichswald War Cemetery.
==Notes==
==References==
*Ancestry.co.uk.
*Guterman, Jack, cwgc.org. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
Category:1920 births
Category:1943 deaths
Category:British military personnel
Category:British people of Jewish descent
Category:Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Category:Buried in Germany
Category:Sergeants