Tempest message for Graham Boak
 

Between their arrival on the continent shortly before the opening of the Battle of the Bulge and the end of the war, the Tempests of 84 group - whose mission was "air superiority" over the Luftwaffe - suffered 115% losses in pilots killed, wounded and taken prisoner. The air war over northwestern Europe at the end of the war was as bloody as anything that happened over the Somme a generation before.

P.S. Boak means barf in Utah slang.

Re: Tempest message for Graham Boak
 

The high loss rate in the Tempest units is well illustrated in Clostermann's classic writings: the usual cause given is the intense German low-level flak. More accurate information will no doubt appear in the forthcoming 3rd volume of Christopher Shores/Chris Thomas's 2nd TAF.

I'm not sure that about comparing just over a complete turnover in four months operations is equivalent to the Somme. Isn't it about one loss per day across the entire wing?

I wouldn't know about Utah: I gather the same is true in Glasgow. The closest I have ever encountered is "bowk" which I'm sure is linquistically equivalent. Another linguistic equivalent is Bogue, as the US town/city and the escort carrier. The surname is Scottish, said to be from Orkney/Shetland (and hence presumably Norse) but is nowadays more common in the English borders, specifically Cumbria (again, possibly hinting at Norse?). Otherwise the name is fairly widespread geographically but uncommon.

You may also be interested to know that the Grahams were another troublesome Borders family, so much so they were banished to Ireland. However they had to return, being too unruly for the Irish to cope with.

Re: Tempest message for Graham Boak
 

Graham:

Bogue Sound and Bogue Banks are here in North Carolina as a part of our coast (Morehead City). The escort carrier was named for the sound. Many escort carriers were named for places, i.e., Gambier Bay, etc.

If the Irish and the English don't want you, you are welcomere here! :)

Re: Tempest message for Graham Boak
 

"(You may also be interested to know that the Grahams were another troublesome Borders family, so much so they were banished to Ireland.)"
Well then, that explains it. Graham Boak, Literal translation; troublesome barf.

Bloach was another similiar utahism term.