The Dangerous Sky Canadian Airmen in World War II PDF

O HAMBURG
O BREMEN
O BERLIN
O HANOVER
NETHERLANDS
ARNHEM O
GERMANY
O ANTWERP
AIR DEFENCE OF GREAT BRITAIN
(formerly called Fighter Command)
Squadrons Location
A No. 406
ELGIUM A No. 402
Winkleigh
Horne
SECOND TACTICAL AIR F0RC:F BOMBER COMMAND

Squadrons Location Squadron.s Location
• No. 414 Odiham No. 408 Linlon on Ouso
• No. 430 No. 426
FRANKFlJKiO
• No. 401 Tangmere No. 420 ThoHhorpi'
• No. 403 No. 42,';
• No 411
No. 41.'"> Easlmoor
• No 412
No. 432
• No 416
• No. 421 No. 427 I.eoniins
No. 429
• No. 438 Hum
• No 439 No. 424 Skiplon on Svvnlt-
• No 440 No. 423
• No 441 Ford No. 41!) Middleton SI. Crorxi^
• No 442 No. 42R
• No 443
No. 431 CrofI
• No 409 Hunsdon No. 434
• No 410
No 40.". ClransdtMi l.oii-i'
3^
THE
DANGEROUS
SKY ^
THE
DANG
SKYWARD
IN WORLD
CANADIAN AIRMEN
TOM COUGHLIN
WITH A FOREWORD BY
G/C Douglas Bader
CBE, DSO, DFC.
THE RYERSON PRESS

TORONTO
r
© TOM COUGHLIN, 1968
Printed and bound in Canada by The Ryerson Press, Toronto
7700 0241 2
i.t^n^TOM PUBLIC LIBRARY*-

To all those who served Canada
in the air
in the Second World War
this book is respectfully dedicated.
A CKNO WLEDGEMENTS
I wish to express my appreciation to the many people who helped me

with this book during the more than three years of research and
writing. First of all are those who looked up their wartime log books
and other records to help recall events which, they assured me, they
had long forgotten. Their personal recollections added to the book
the drama and excitement of combat flying which cannot be found
in official files and documents. Valuable assistance also came from
the editors of Sentinel and La Sentinelle, the two official magazines
of the Canadian Armed Forces. Major K. G. Roberts, an ex-bomb
aimer and Major G. J. Morchain, a former wireless operator/air
gunner offered valuable suggestions for my book as a result of their
own wartime experiences. To Mrs. Adele Chatelain, who must have
felt this book would never be finished, a sincere thanks for neatly
typing the manuscript.

A history book would not, of course, be possible without a rich
source of accurate information. My source was the Directorate of
History Canadian Forces Headquarters where I received the most
at
generous assistance from the staff in general and from Captain Hugh
Halliday in particular. No matter how busy he was, Captain Halliday
would always interrupt his own work to pave the way for me. His
research, suggestions and sound advice made my task considerably
less difficult. It was also through the good offices of Captain Halliday
that I was able to obtain, from the Department of National Defence
and the National Archives, the photographs which illustrate this
book. I will always be grateful to him for his whole-hearted assist-
ance. I would also like to thank my wife, Judy, who patiently and
uncomplainingly kept the house quiet and free of such distractions
as radio and television for many long months while I worked on my
manuscript.
Tom Coughlin
FOREWORD
Having been associated with the Canadians in 1940 when I was for-
tunate enough to command 242 Canadian Fighter Squadron of the
RAF, I have been particularly interested to read The Dangerous Sky
which is, of course, about Canadians and the Royal Canadian Air
Force.
This is a fascinatingdocumentary written in a style which makes

it easily readable. Having been in Fighter Command myself I was
absorbed by the narrative concerning other Commands. It is perhaps
invidious to discriminate but the pages concerning Coastal Command
are especially interesting. Crews of these aircraft flew long and
dangerous missions over the sea protecting convoys and searching
out U boats. It got less pubHcity throughout the war than any of the
others. This book shows how much it deserved.
The Dangerous Sky is a fine addition to any war-time library. It

shows the tremendous contribution made in the air by Canada in
World War II. The young Canadian fliers whose exploits are so
graphically described in the pages of this book fill me with the same
pride that I felt as a boy reading of Bishop, Barker, Colhshaw and
other Canadian aces of World War I. The World War II Canadians
did indeed uphold the traditions forged by their predecessors.
G/C Douglas Bader, CBE, DSO, DFC
vii
CONTENTS
FOREWORD vii
FIGHTER PILOTS 1
BOMBER OPERATIONS 49
COASTAL COMMAND 87
SECOND TACTICAL AIR FORCE 133
TRANSPORT COMMAND 171
THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN 191
APPENDICES 208
BIBLIOGRAPHY 212
INDEX 213
The Spitfire which, along with the Hurricane, won the Battle of Britain.
CHAPTER ONE
FIGHTER PILOTS
Of all men who took

the fighting part in World War II, undoubtedly
the ones who were most in the public's attention were the fighter
pilots. The aura of glamour which surrounded these daring men is
easy to understand. Like knights of old, fighter pilots carried out

their exploits as individuals. High above North African deserts they
battled the German and Italian Air Forces; although badly out-
numbered they defended Malta in the Mediterranean; over England
they won the Battle of Britain as Churchill's immortal "Few." They
sought out combat by day, stalked and killed in the darkness of
night.
One of the greatest of this great breed of men and the one who
became the RCAF's leading fighter ace, was F/L George Frederick
[Buzz] Beurling, DSO, DFC, DFM and bar. He was born in December
1921 in Verdun, Quebec. As a boy, he haunted the airport at Cartier-
ville and before long he was swinging props, washing aircraft and
taking every flight he could wangle.
At fourteen he was already learning to fly; at sixteen, he soloed.
His father triedto interest him in commercial art and an uncle tried
to get him to study medicine, but there was no other interest in

Beurling's life than flying. He got into the air force, and into the war,
through persistence. At the outbreak of hostilities, Beurling tried to
join the RCAF but was turned down because of insufficient school-
ing. He tried the RAF and again was refused. He then tried to join
the Chinese Air Force and was heading for San Francisco and a boat
to China when he was deported for entering the USA illegally. He
was accepted by the Finnish Air Force?, but his father stepped in to
FIGHTER PILOTS 1
prevent that. Finally, after two crossings of the Atlantic as a deck-
hand on a freighter, Beurling was accepted by the RAF on 7 Septem-
ber 1940.
Exactly a year later he was awarded his pilot wings. At the com-
pletion of his operational training Sergeant Beurling was offered a
commission, but he declined on the grounds that he felt like a pilot
but not like an From the operational

officer. training unit Beurlin[;
was posted, in December 1941, to No. 403 Squadron of
(Fighter)
Fighter Command based at North Weald. He took part in sweeps
over the Channel and northern France but made no kills. In April
1942 he transferred to No. 41 (Spitfire] Squadron in Westhampnett
in Sussex.
Beurling was assigned number four "tail-end Charlie" position in
a section of four aircraft. After several days of uneventful fighter
sweeps Beurling made his first Focke-Wulf 190, on 1 May
kill, a
1942. Two days later he repeated the feat. However, this was to be
his last victory in that theatre of war for some time. In June 1942
F/L George BeurJing, Canada's leading fighter ace during the Second World War,
carefully paints German Crosses on his Spitfire to indicate bis 31 "kills."
2 THE DANGEROUS SKY

he was sent to the beleaguered island of Malta where the fighter
pilots were putting up a valiant defence against tremendous odds.
Malta, the small island in the Mediterranean between Sicily and
North Africa, was a keystone in British naval and air operations.
From Malta RAF bombers flew to attack enemy airfields in North
Africa and also preyed on enemy shipping in the area. Units of the
Royal Navy attacked convoys bringing supplies to the German Afrika
Korps and protected convoys supplying the British Eighth Army. If
British aircraft and ships could cut the enemy's supply lines between
Europe and Africa, the enemy's hopes in the Middle East were
doomed. Conversely, if the Germans and Italians could control the
Mediterranean, the Allied Forces in the Middle East would be in an
untenable position. At first the battle went well for the British
forces. Between 1 June and 31 October 1941 British sea and air-
power sank 220,000 tons of enemy shipping on the African convoy

routes, of which 115,000 tons were credited to aircraft from the
Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm which operated almost exclu-
sively from Malta.
The complete destruction of Malta was so vital to German and
Italian interests that, on 29 October 1941, Hitler reduced his Air
Force strength along the Russian front and placed it in Sicily for
operations against Malta. In December 1941 the battle began in
earnest with the German and Italian Air Forces basing 250 bombers
and almost 200 fighters in Sicily for operations against Malta. To
oppose this formidable force the RAF, initially, had only 60 bombers
and 70 fighter aircraft. In the last week of December 1941 more than
200 enemy aircraft attacked Malta. In January 1942 the tempo of
battle was further increased. In a few days the Luftwaffe and the
Regia Aeronautica flew more than 500 sorties against the RAF air-
fields on Malta. The siege lasted for more than two years. By
February 1942 Malta's air raid sirens were seldom silent as waves
of German and Italian aircraft hammered the island.Malta was
struggling for survival. The citizens of Malta stood up to their
ordeal with such courage that, on 16 April 1942, the island of Malta
was awarded the George Cross.
Sergeant Beurling joined No. 249 (Spitfire] Squadron. On his
fourth day on Malta he scored a damaged in an action in which he
and three other Spitfire pilots turned back 15 Me 109s. Then for ten
days No. 249 Squadron was grounded while their badly battered
FIGHTER PILOTS 3
Spitfireswere overhauled. After almost a month on Malta Beurling
had only one damaged to show to his credit. Then came July 6.
Early that morning Beurling and seven companions of No. 249 inter-
cepted 33 enemy aircraft. Within a few minutes Beurling damaged
one Cant bomber and destroyed two escorting fighters. Later the
same day he met two Messerschmitt 109s. He shot one down. On
10 July 1942 he destroyed two enemy aircraft, on July 11, two more.
For these exploits he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal.
In the words of the citation, he "displayed great skill and courage in
the face of the enemy."
Beurling had his first bad day on July He was flying alone at
14.
30,000 feet, almost as high as the Spitfire would go, when he spotted
below him a group of Me 109s and Macchi 202s in a tight V. He
dove to the attack. As he flew through the formation the Macchis
broke starboard and the Schmitts broke to port, then they did a
reverse turn to enclose Beurling in a deadly scissors movement. They
had him. There was a choice: turn right and let the Italians do the
shooting or turn left and expose himself to the Germans. The Macchis
had less firepower: he turned right. Beurling's Spitfire was riddled
and he was nicked in the right heel by a bullet. Trying to avoid
further trouble, Beurling rolled, looped and did wing-overs as he
never had before. He was successful and neither he nor his aircraft Spitfire
received further damage. When he landed at Takali a doctor fished
bits of bullet out of his heel and told Beurling to take time off to
rest. Next morning Beurling was back in the thick of the dogfights.
He continued to win. In one day, 27 July 1942, he shot down four
enemy aircraft. His unsurpassed combat record earned him a bar to
his Distinguished Flying Medal and a few days later, in spite of his
protests that he was not the officer type, Sergeant Beurling became
Pilot Officer Beurling. For the next six or seven weeks there was a
lull in the battle but it was during this time, on 8 August 1942, that
Beurling was shot down for the first time. Fortunately he was able
to make a successful landing in a farmer's field. By the end of
September 1942 he had become the top-scoring ace on Malta with
18 enemy aircraft destroyed. By the middle of October he was
wearing the purple and white ribbon of the Distinguished Flying
Cross on his tunic.
Due to bad weather and sickness, after being shot down Beurling
was in action only three more days before his tour of duty in Malta
4 THE DANGEROUS SKY

Roy Brown, the Canadian pilot who shot down Baron Von Richthofen in the
World War, taJks with F/L George BeurJing, Canada's leading fighter ace
First
of the Second World War.
ended. On 12 October Beurling and seven other members of No. 249

met two Junkers 88s and 40 Me 109s. The battlewent badly for the
defenders. Within seconds, two of the Spitfires were shot down,
bombs were dropped and the enemy were away. The next day it
was a very different story. The squadrons in Malta destroyed 18
enemy aircraft, probably destroyed six more and damaged 20 others.
Beurling accounted for three of the destroyed.
The following day, October 14, was Beurling's last day in combat
in Malta. He was in the first section of four to take off. Fifty-eight
enemy aircraft came sweeping across the coast; without waiting for
the rest of the squadron, Beurling and his three companions attacked.
They met the enemy head-on. Beurling picked out a }u 67 and sent
him tumbling into the sea. Racing in after a cluster of Me 109s, he
passed the falling German bomber on the way down. The tail gunner
of the doomed bomber fired a last burst at Beurling as he went past.
His shooting was right on. The Spitfire was peppered by more than
thirty bullets and Beurling himself was hit twice. He pressed on,
devastating an Me 109. His own aircraft was hit again and again as
several German fighters fired at him. Then Beurling heard one of
FIGHTER PILOTS 5
his companions calling for help over the radio. Diving vertically
from 24,000 feet he accelerated until his Spitfire threatened to come
apart from the strain. He brought an Me 109 into his gunsight and
blew the German's left wing off. But, in his anxiety to aid his friend,
Beurling had forgotten his own welfare. Cannon shells crashed into
his aircraft as an enemy found the range. A chunk of cannon shell
smashed into his right heel. Another nicked him in the elbow and
ribs while jagged pieces of shrapnel bit into his left leg. The instru-
ment panel dissolved in a shower of hot lead and the throttle jammed
wide open. The aircraft started down in an uncontrolled spin. It
corkscrewed down through more than 16,000 feet while Beurling
struggled against the centrifugal force to get out. At the last moment
he fell into space and pulled his ripcord. He was fished out of the
Mediterranean by rescue launch and taken to a hospital. Beurling's
adventure in Malta was over.
His record on the island was never surpassed. Beurling destroyed
27 German and Italian aircraft, probably destroyed three more and
damaged another eight. What is more, his victories were all achieved
in 14 flying days. He was still in hospital when he learned that he
had been awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He also heard
the unpleasant news that he was being taken off operational flying
and returned to Canada.
Following a Victory Bond Tour across Canada, Beurling trans-
ferred from the RAF RCAF
September 1943 and with the
to the in
rank of flight lieutenant, he joined No. 403 Squadron. He resumed
the operational flying he had done previous to his tour in Malta,
making fighter sweeps across France. Now, enemy aircraft were
scarce. On 24 September 1943 Beurling shot down a Focke-Wulf
190, then scored his final victory on 30 December 1943 when he
destroyed another FW 190 over Germany. His final score was 31
confirmed victories. Shortly after this he was taken off operations
for the last time and became a gunnery instructor.
After the war Beurling flew commercially for a while and also
sold life insurance. But he could not settle down. Craving excite-
ment and hoping to engage in aerial combat once more, he joined
the Israeli Air Force in May 1948. His wish was not fulfilled. On
20 May 1948 he crashed near Rome as he was ferrying an aircraft
to George Beurling, Canada's greatest
Israel. fighter ace of the
Second World War, was killed on his way back to war.
6 THE DANGEROUS SKY

Another Canadian fighter pilot who made a name for himself in
the battle-scarred skies over Malta is Group Captain R. W. McNair,
DSO, DFC and two bars, who was born and raised in Springfield,
N.S. Like Beurling, G/C McNair began his activities in the European
theatre of operations. McNair graduated as a Spitfire pilot on 23
June 1941 and reported for duty with No. 411 (RCAF] Sqn. He took
up his duties with enthusiasm. The summer and fall of 1941 was an
active time for RCAF fighter squadrons and pilot officer McNair was
involved in many sweeps and bomber protection patrols. On
fighter
27 September 1941 11 RAF
Blenheims struck simultaneously at the
railway yards at Amiens and the power station at Mazingarbe. Two
RCAF squadrons formed part of the escorting wing of fighters. The
Germans sent up strong fighter opposition as soon as the attacking
aircraft crossed the French coast. Large numbers of Messerschmitts
climbed to altitude, then dove to attack. During the melee McNair
fired at a Messerschmitt and scored hits.
Some time later McNair was returning to base from an uneventful

fighter sweep when he found seven Me 109s circling at low altitude
around a pilot floating in the sea. In spite of the odds, McNair
attacked. In short order he shot down one Me 109, then calmly
radioed the position of the downed airman so that an air-sea rescue
launch could pick him up. The Germans attacked McNair from all
sides. Smoke filled the cockpit but McNair continued to fight. He

pulled up under one attacker and fired his remaining guns. The
canopy flew off the Messerschmitt and chunks of metal streamed
back. The Spitfire was now in flames. Although at dangerously low
altitude, he had to go over the side. His parachute snapped open
seconds before he He was_ picked up by the air-sea
hit the water.
rescue launch which he had called to rescue the downed pilot.
The spring and summer of 1942 was a particularly critical time for
Malta. General Rommel was preparing his counterattack in North
Africa and was determined that no air opposition from Malta should
interfere with his supply lines. On 2 March 1942 Pilot Officer
McNair was posted to the George Cross Island and No. 249 Squad-
ron. Sixteen days later McNair flew his first combat operation from
Malta and tangled with two Me 109s, damaging one. Two days later,
he scored a "destroyed." On 26 March 1942 one of the rare and valu-
able convoys got through to Malta. All fighters went into action in
an effort to protect the precious cargo. At one point, a section of
FIGHTER PILOTS 7
four Spitfires was sent up to take on a strong force of German and
Italian bombers and fighters. In the heat of the battle P/O McNair
shot down one Junkers 88 and damaged two others. A message was
later sent by the Vice- Admiral, Malta, congratulating the fighter
pilots for their performance during the heavy attacks on the convoy.
The blitzkrieg continued and P/O McNair's victories over enemy
aircraft increased. On one of his busier days, McNair led six Spit-
fires "up the hill" to 17,000 feet where they encountered a substantial
number of Stuka dive bombers heading for Halfar. As McNair led

his small group into battle, the escorting Me 109s plunged into the
Spitfire formation and them up. McNair's wingman was hard
split
pressed by an Me 109 so McNair curved around and fired at the

German. He watched his tracers stitching a lethal pattern up the
side of the Messerschmitt. The enemy aircraft did a small turn and
plunged into the sea. McNair turned his attention to three Junkers
87s, then emptied the last of his ammunition into a Junkers 88. On
another occasion McNair led eight Spitfires in line-abreast formation
against escorting German fighters and a cluster of Ju 87s which were
bombing the town of Luqa. McNair badly damaged two Me 109s, a
Ju 87 and, finally, a Ju 88.
P/O R. W. McNair, a pilot with No. 411 Squadron, November 1941. He shot
down 15 enemy aircraft plus 2 probables and 14 damaged.
8 THE DANGEROUS SKY

The Focke-Wulf 190, a marked improvement over the Me 109, is being examined
here by RCAF personnel.
Service in Malta during those tense days of 1942 meant extremes.

For weeks there would be continued scrambles with the inevitable
dogfights. Then there would be days of absolute calm while the
defenders waited for the Germans and Italians to return. There was
nothing the Spitfire pilots could do during the lulls. Nothing except
wait, watch, then,when the fury of the storm returned, get up there
and give a good account of themselves. After one prolonged lull the
Germans returned in force, possibly to try to destroy a newly arrived
group of Spitfires before these aircraft could be readied for combat.
Whatever their intentions, they were frustrated. Their efforts on
10 May 1942 cost them 16 aircraft destroyed, 20 probably destroyed
and 21 damaged. McNair was prominent in the battle.
His gallantry did not go unnoticed. On 22 May he was awarded
the DFC, accompanied by the following citation: "This officer is a
skilful and courageous pilot. He invariably presses home his attacks
with the greatest determination irrespective of the odds. He has
destroyed at least five and damaged seven enemy aircraft; four of
these he damaged in one combat." Promotion followed rapidly, first
to flying officer on 25 May, then to acting flight lieutenant on 1 June.
Flight Lieutenant McNair did not let up, downing an Me 109 on
10 June and then, five days later, taking part in an attack on Italian
naval vessels.
On 19 June 1942 F/L McNair was posted back to England where
FIGHTER PILOTS 9
he rejoined his original squadron, No. 411. However, he was given
staff duties and was unable to increase his score for a year. In June
1943 he was given command of No. 421 Squadron. He celebrated his
return to combat by quickly shooting down four aircraft. These
victories earned McNair a bar to his DFC. He went on, shooting
down a Focke-Wulf 190 over the beach at Dieppe and a number of
other German aircraft during the hectic days that followed. On
7 October 1943 he was awarded a second bar to his DFC. At that
time his total score was 15 enemy aircraft destroyed.
All of these victories had not been achieved without some very
close calls. On 28 July 1943 McNair was helping escort some Amer-
ican Flying Fortresses when his engine failed at an altitude of 20,000
feet. He was well inland over northern France and the path home
lay over Boulogne, a hornet's nest of German flak and fighters.
Nevertheless, he glided his Spitfire until about 20 miles off the

French coast. There the aircraft caught fire and fell out of control.
He bailed out and landed in the English Channel. Another of the
Spitfire pilots, P/0 T. Parks, radioed a distress call and gave a map
reference to McNair's position. Then Parks circled over McNair
until shortage of fuel forced him to return to base. When McNair's
squadron finished their operation, they immediately refuelled, then
took off to participate in the air-sea rescue of their leader. McNair's
squadron mates flew around him in a protective circle to discourage
any German interference until a Walrus flying boat fished him out
of the sea. McNair returned to operations and shot down another
enemy aircraft. He continued to fly operational sorties but, by early
April 1944, the burns he had received in the ditching affected his
vision; he was medically grounded. Nevertheless, his final exploits
as a fighter pilot earned him the Distinguished Service Order.
Years later, G/C McNair again displayed his total disregard for
his own safety when On 30 December 1953
others were endangered.
McNair was a crew member of an RCAF North Star which crash-
landed at Vancouver airport. He personally conducted the evacua-
tion of all passengers from the wreckage and although soaked in
gasoline he returned to the aircraft to search for passengers who
might have been left behind. He did not leave the wreckage until
all personnel were accounted for, although he knew that fire might
break out at any moment. For this deed Group Captain McNair was it was a close call for this
awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. Spitfire pilot.
10 THE DANGEROUS SKY

A Spitfire at a forward base is puvkcd on n stud iiuit runway.
A contemporary of Beurling and McNair in the epic seige of Malta

was S/L H. W. McLeod, DSO, DFC and bar. Wally McLeod was
born 17 December 1915 in Regina. In September 1940 he joined the
RCAF in his home town and graduated as a pilot in April 1941 after
training at No. 6 EFTS at Prince Albert, Sask., and No. 1 SFTS at
Camp Borden, Ontario. The following month he was posted over-
seas. On arriving in England, McLeod flew briefly with No. 411
(RAF] Squadron, during which time he damaged three enemy air-
craft. It was in Malta where he made his mark as a first-rate fighter
pilot.
FIGHTER PILOTS 11
Flying Officer McLeod arrived in Malta early in May 1942 at the
height of a blitz. He was soon a part of the first line of defence as
a member of No. 603 (RAF) Squadron. Day after day McLeod fought
against tremendous odds as he helped turn back seemingly endless
formations of Messerschmitts and Fiats. During his comparatively
short stay in Malta, from May he shot down a baker's
until October,
dozen and damaged several others. He also established a record
which was seldom equalled when, in the space of five days, from
11 October to 16 October, he shot down six enemy aircraft and
damaged five more. Shortly before he left Malta, he took part in an
action which won him a bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross
awarded him three weeks earlier.
That day, October 11, began as many days in Malta did. Engines
coughed into life and sirens wailed as fighter pilots scrambled. There
was a barrage of noise as the Spitfires climbed away to do battle. At
altitude McLeod led his section in a curve of pursuit as he closed in
on a formation of six Junkers 88s. He selected an opponent and the
duel was on. McLeod won. He went after the formation again. This
time the German air gunner knew his job. As McLeod came barrel-
ling in he was greeted by a stream of 13 mm shells from the |u 88's
upper firing position. McLeod's Spitfire shook violently as pieces of
cannon shell hammered home. He swept past the Ju 88 and tempo-
rarily disengaged himself from the fight. All was not well with his
aircraft but McLeod felt that he had to press on regardless. He went
back into battle and shot down another |u 88. By this time McLeod
would have been justified in heading for home. Instead, he re-formed
his section, then led an attack on a group of nine enemy bombers.
This dogfight over, McLeod's fighter was barely flyable but, knowing
how badly needed Spitfires were to the defence of Malta, McLeod
decided to try for his airfield. He landed safely, demonstrating, as
the citation worded it, "great devotion to duty as well as gallantry."
From the fury of Malta McLeod was transferred to Canada as an
instructor at No. 1 Operational Training Unit at Bagotville, Que. He
spent almost a year in this role, then he was given command of No.
127 (RCAF) Squadron which he took overseas in January 1944. In
England this squadron was equipped with Spitfires Mk. IX and re-
numbered 443 as part of No. 127 RCAF Wing under the command
of the RAF's illustrious Johnny Johnson.
During the early months of 1944 Canadian fighter pilots fiew over

the French countryside to shoot up whatever they could find. Since
the Luftwaffe seldom appeared, they had to content themselves
mainly with ground targets. Drop tanks were added to the Spitfires
to increase their operational range, allowing the fighter pilots to go
further afield in their search for the Hun.
Early in July McLeod's position as one of the RCAF's top fighter
aces was recognized when he was awarded the DSO. In the words
of the citation: "This officer continues to display the highest standard
of courage and resolution in air operations. He is an exceptional
leader and a relentless fighter whose achievements are worthy of the
highest praise." By mid-September, McLeod, with 21 victories to his
credit, was at the top of the list of RCAF
September 27 1944
aces.
was just another day for many people. But, to No. 443 Squadron, it
was a day of tragedy. Shortly after lunch, McLeod led his squadron
on a sweep of the Nijmegen-Arnhem area of Holland. Another Spit-
fire squadron joined the hunt. Twelve Spitfires were cruising at
12,000 feet when they spotted a number of Me 109s flying below
them. One section of Spitfires peeled off to starboard the other
section peeled off to port as they thundered down to do battle. The
aircraftbecame widely separated as they fought their individual
duels. When the battle ended and the pilots reorganized their for-
mation, one pilot failed to answer Squadron Leader
his radio call.
Wally McLeod did not return from the action. His body was found
later in the wreckage of his Spitfire close to the scene of his last
fight.
Spitfires fly over the

radar shack which gave
homings in bad weather.
FIGHTER PILOTS 13
Group Captain E. A. McNab, OBE, DEC, came from the small town
of Rosthern, Saskatchewan. Unlike the majority of Canadian fighter
pilots who joined the RCAF after the outbreak of hostilities, McNab
was a flier in the pre-war Force. He joined the RCAE in 1928 and,
However, not all
as a pilot, flew mainly on reconnaissance duties.
his duties were mundane. In May 1930 the RCAF formed its first
acrobatic team, the "Siskins," which toured Canada and made
appearances in the U.S.A. Pilot Officer McNab was one of the
Siskin members and frequently did solo aerobatics at various shows.
Early in 1939 McNab was promoted to squadron leader and be-
came involved in the introduction of Hurricane fighters to the RCAF.
On the eve of war S/L McNab, as commanding officer of No. 1
Squadron, led seven Hurricanes from Montreal to Halifax, their

allotted battle station. On 20 June 1940 McNab and No. 1 (Fighter]
Squadron, "The Fighting First," arrived in England, less than three
weeks before the start of the Battle of Britain. The German offensive
began on August 8 while No. 1 Squadron pilots were still under-
going operational training. In order to prepare himself to lead his
squadron in battle, McNab temporarily joined No. Ill (RAF] Squad-
ron to gain operational experience. On McNab's first operational
flight on 15 August 1940 he scored the RCAF's first victory in the
Battle of Britain.
Two days later McNab led No. 1 Squadron on its first operational
sortie.However, nine days elapsed before McNab and his squadron
came to grips with the enemy. On August 26 a large formation of
German bombers and fighters were sighted approaching London. A
squadron of RAF Spitfires was sent to deal with the fighters, leaving
McNab and his Hurricanes to cope with the bombers. No. 1 Squad-
ron, the RCAF's first unit to engage in battle, acquitted itself well.
Under McNab's leadership, the squadron destroyed three aircraft
and damaged four. Unfortunately, they also suffered their first
casualty when F/0 R. L. Edwards was killed in the engagement. A
few days later McNab was flying alone when he spotted five yellow-
nosed Me 109s at 18,000 feet. Ignoring the odds against him, McNab
attacked. He had the satisfaction of carving pieces out of an enemy
aircraft before it found refuge in a layer of cloud. The Me 109 was
damaged to such an extent, as shown by McNab's camera guns, that
he was credited with a probable.
The tempo of battle was accelerating. Two days later McNab led

his squadron (one of 26V2 squadrons scrambled) against an enemy
force of approximately 300 aircraft. The sky was turned into a
raging inferno as the Hurricanes and Messerschmitts locked in com-
bat. McNab scored numerous hits on an Me 109 and saw it flee
across the channel trailing smoke. He was credited with a damaged.
On 11 September 1940 McNab led four sections of fighters into a
20-plane formation of Heinkel Ills. He fought until his ammunition
was exhausted and his aircraft short of fuel, then he had to break
off the engagement and be content with two damaged enemy aircraft
as his contribution.
September 15 marked a turning point in the Battle of Britain. On
that day the Germans lost 185 aircraft. It was the beginning of the
end for daylight attacks on London. No. 1 Squadron had two engage-
ments with the enemy. For the squadron and for McNab personally,
the second was more successful. About mid-afternoon McNab led
11 Hurricanes against 20 German bombers and a strong escort of
fighters. The Hurricanes cut the Heinkel formation to pieces and
McNab emptied his guns into a Heinkel 111. It crashed in the mud-
flats on the Thames Estuary.
1 Squadron was constantly on the alert
For the next ten days No.
and was scrambled many times but made few interceptions. The
Squadron Leader E. A. McNab led No. 1 Squadron, the first RCAF unit to
engage in battle.
FIGHTER PILOTS 15
Luftwalfe also changed tactics, grouping their aircraft closer to-
gether. The defenders met this by flying in formation rather than

individually. The Hurricanes also attacked in wing strength rather
than by squadron. McNab was frequently called upon to lead a
wing formation. On September 27, the RCAF's most successful day
in the Battle of Britain, McNab own squadron and No. 303
led his
(Polish) Squadron into battle. McNab commanded a rear attack
on a strong formation of Junkers 88s, Messerschmitt 109s and Mes-
serschmitt 110s. After harrying the bomber formation, the Canadian
and Polish pilots climbed to Me 110s which had formed
engage the
a defensive circle 2,000 feet above. His combined Polish-Canadian
formation destroyed six German aircraft, probably destroyed one
and damaged one. McNab accounted for one of the victims and
shared in shooting down another. His total score then stood at four
destroyed, one probably destroyed and three damaged.
On 5 October 1941 the RCAF's No. 1Squadron fought its last
combat during the Battle of Britain. His Majesty King George VI
visited the Canadians' airfield and presented the Distinguished Fly-
ing Cross to three members of No. 1 Squadron. S/L McNab was the
first recipient and the first member of the RCAF to win a war decora-
tion. After a distinguished wartime career, McNab retired from the
RCAF.
RCAF fighter pilots "scramble" to their Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain.

When war was declared in 1939, the number of Canadians serving
overseas as commissioned officers in the RAF was higher than the
total number of officers in the RCAF, including members of the
Auxiliary Squadrons. One such Canadian was John Kent of Winni-
peg. In 1935, recruiting of aircrew personnel for the RCAF was very
restricted and limited Kent had never been
to university graduates.
to university fly. He also had
but he did have a burning ambition to
a Commercial Pilot License and some 300 hours flying time. These
qualifications made him acceptable to the RAF. In 1935 Kent made
his way to England and received a short service commission. By
1937 he was serving in the nerve-wracking role of test pilot. One
of the assignments given to him as a test pilot was to deliberately
S/L John Kent Jed \o. 303
ram balloon cables The results of these tests
to test their strength.
(Polish] Squadron, the
highest-scoring squadron in
determined how would be against German
effective balloon barrages
the Battie of Britain. raiders. For the daring he exhibited in this series of tests, Kent was
awarded the Air Force Cross. In the first spring of the war he was
sent flying high over Germany in a Spitfire to photograph military
objectives. After the fall of France he helped to prepare the RAF
for the coming Battle of Britain. He went to No. 303 (Polish] Squad-
ron as an instructor. It was no easy task. The Poles were already
fliers and, although they knew nothing about English aircraft or the
English language, they were impatient to get back into action against
the enemy. They did not take kindly to training. However, by being
patient and understanding and by clearly demonstrating his superior
ability as a flier, Kent won their loyalty and respect. He was known
affectionately as "Kentski" to all the Poles.
On 9 September 1940 Kent was leading the Polish Squadron,

equipped with Hurricane aircraft, when they intercepted a German
force over Sussex. It was time for the teacher to show the students
what he could do. Kent raced in towards a formation of Messer-
schmitts and opened fire. His adversary streamed smoke, then fire
and went over on its back. It slanted towards the earth miles below
and plunged to its destruction. In the six weeks Kent
that followed,
shot down four more enemy aircraft and the squadron, under his
leadership and inspiration, destroyed 130.
The squadron collectively, and Kent personally, had only one
reallybad day. On September 6 Kent and eight of his squadron
mates tangled with a vastly greater number of Germans. Out-gunned,
out-numbered and out-manoeuvred. Kent and the Poles were in
FIGHTER PILOTS 17
The Messerschmitt 109 was the leading fighting aircraft in the Luftwaffe.
trouble. Within minutes, Hurricanes could be seen tumbling towards

earth and the sky was dotted with parachutes. Only four of the
nine squadron pilots who had flown into battle, flew home. The
other five, including Kent, had been shot down. The one bright spot
in the picture was that seven German aircraft had been shot down
and none of the wounded Polish pilots, or Kent, was killed.

On 1 October 1940 Kent fought a spectacular battle. Single-
handed, he took on 40 German aircraft. His squadron, No. 303, and
No. 1 (RGAF] Squadron were on patrol when they met an air
armada sweeping across England. The RGAF squadron climbed to
intercept the Germans at 30,000 feet, Kent's squadron went after
the enemy at medium altitude and Kent went to investigate a group
of specks far below. The specks turned out to be a 40-plane forma-
tion of Me 109s. He took on the outrageous odds, scoring one
destroyed and two probables. Then suddenly the German fighters

had left the madman alone in the sky. As a result of the daring
battle, Kent was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and from
the Polish Government in Exile he received the Virtuti Militari. A
few days he was promoted to squadron leader and given com-
later
mand of No. 92 (RAF] Squadron equipped with Spitfires. S/L Kent
celebrated his promotion by having his best day of the war. He shot
down three aircraft in five minutes, the first two confirmed, the third
a probable. Later Kent was again promoted and on 6 June 1941 he
returned to the Poles as Wing Commander of three Polish Squadrons
including his original command. No. 303. Within a year of his first
combat he had shot down 13 enemy aircraft, making him one of the
top-scoring fighter pilots of the RAF. To his Distinguished Flying
Cross was added a bar accompanied by the following citation: "Wing
Commander Kent has led a wing in an efficient and fearless manner
on many operational sorties in the last two months. He has a total
of 13 destroyed and three probables. He has set a grand example."
Kent was later promoted to group captain and remained with the
RAF until 1952 when he left the service to become a civilian test
pilot.
An unidentified Canadian fighter pilot stands beside his Spitfire, damaged by

cannon fire during a dogfight.
FIGHTER PILOTS 19
Group Captain Turner was one of many Canadians who,
P. S.
unable to find a place in the small peacetime Air Force of their own
country, were accepted for service by the RAF before the outbreak
of war. By his exploits G/C Turner, DSO, DFC and bar, added lustre
to the name of Canada.
When war was declared in 1939 Pilot Officer Turner was nearing
the end of his training as a fighter pilot. He had journeyed to
England from his home in Toronto at the beginning of 1939 and by
September he was at a "finishing school" to bring him up to opera-
tional standard. In November 1939 Turner reported to No. 242
Squadron commanded by another Canadian, S/L F. M. Gobeil. No.
242 was designated a Canadian Squadron as a graceful tribute by
the RAF to Canada although the Squadron was an RAF unit and its
personnel, though Canadians, were members of the RAF.
Having converted to Hurricane fighter aircraft Turner was eager
for action but the year 1939 ended with weeks of extremely bad
weather. In the spring of 1940 Turner and his squadron mates were
considered operationally ready and started out on convoy patrols.
In April No. 242 Squadron was preparing to move to France but
the move was when the Germans invaded Denmark and
cancelled
Norway. On 13 May 1940 Turner and three other pilots from No.
242 Squadron were posted to France as reinforcements for No. 615
fighter squadron which was already on the continent. For one week
Turner and his companions battled with the Luftwaffe but it was a
lost cause, France was being overwhelmed. Pilot Officer Turner
and the other pilots were recalled. The Battle of France was end-
ing, the Battle of Britain was about to begin. On 27 May 1940 Turner
began patrolling over the coast of France from his base in the south
of England. His first patrol was uneventful but he saw enough action
in the next five days to satisfy any fighter pilot.
His first was achieved on May 28 over Ostend. Turner

victory
was one of a section of five which became separated from the rest
of the patrol. The five Canadians were preparing to attack 12 Me
109s which they had spotted when an additional 50 to 60 enemy
aircraft came down through the clouds. Turner was attacked by a
cannon-firing Messerschmitt but within moments he was on the
enemy's tail and sent him down in flames. Turner and two of his
squadron mates then fought their way out of the mass of milling
German aircraft and made it back to base. The next day Turner was
back in battle and scored one probable and a damaged. On 31 May
1940 Turner shot down an Me 109 and the next day he added still
another victim.
On 8 June 1940- Turner and his squadron returned to France to
help protect the retreating AUied Forces. During ten hectic days
Turner shot down several German aircraft: then he and the other
surviving pilots flew back to England. It would be more than four
years before they returned.
Back England No. 242 Squadron had a change of command.
in
Douglas Bader. the RAF's legendary legless ace became the new
Commanding Officer of the Canadian-manned RAF unit. After a
brief period of non-operational flying No. 242 and Turner went back
into action. September 1940 Turner was one of a section of
On 7
Hurricanes sent to intercept a mass attack of German aircraft. In
the dogfight Turner damaged one Me 109. September 15 1940 was
the climax of the Battle of Britain. It w as the day of the Luftwaffe's
greatest defeat; 185 German aircraft were shot down. Pilot Officer
Turner began that day by shooting down a "Flying Pencil," a
Dornier 17 bomber, shortly after breakfast. After lunch he flew back
into battle once more.
This an excerpt from his combat report on that day: "Sighted
is
enemy aircraft and approached to attack when we were attacked

by a large formation of enemy fighters. I turned and attacked an
Me 109, delivered a short burst, observing hits. The Messerschmitt
slowly turned over and went into an uncontrolled spin. Was unable
to be definite as I was attacked by a section of Me 109s but believe
enemy pilot was dead. On a later patrol that same day a shell gun
cartridge exploding in the side of my aircraft under the tail threw
me into a spin. On recovery I was below the clouds. I spotted a
Do 215 and attacked it using full deflection. His starboard engine
Woves of German bombers,

such as these Dormer
215s, provided ample targets
for (he Canadian fighter pilots.
FIGHTER PILOTS 21
started to smoke, the Dornier then slid into a gentle dive. It hit the
—
ground and exploded." For this feat two kills confirmed and one
—
probable in one day's fighting he was awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross. The citation accompanying the award made note thai
he had ten confirmed kills to his credit in addition to several prob-
ables and a number of damaged.
During the fall of 1940 there were fewer engagements with the
enemy as the Germans had abandoned
large-scale daylight raids on
England and were concentrating on night raids. At the beginning
of 1941 No. 242 Squadron added anti-shipping strikes to their list
of operations; on January 12 Turner and Bader teamed up for the
squadron's first such strike, strafing two small naval vessels in the
Channel with their collective firepower of 16 machine guns.
Following a few weeks of uneventful patrols. Turner added an-
other "confirmed," aDo 17. On 13 April 1940 Turner was promoted
to squadron leader and given command of No. 145 Squadron. He
made a quick transition from Hurricanes to Spitfires by way of a
local flight and the following day he led his squadron on a bomber-
escort mission. These escort missions became more frequent during
the summer and grew in
of 1941 numbers of aircraft involved. On
June 25 Turner was flying escort for Blenheims when eight Me 109s
attacked. Turner went after one of the aircraft and sent it plunging
down with smoke and glycol pouring from the disabled engine. On
July 14 his own aircraft was badly shot up but he managed to get
back to base. On an escort sortie a week later he and another Spit-
fire pilot were bounced by eight Me 109s. The Germans had the
odds for them and the height advantage, but Turner and his partner
each shot down one of the enemy and scattered the rest. On 5
August 1941 he was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross.

On 22 October 1941 Turner was posted to No. 82 Group for a
ground tour then, early in February 1942 he was posted to No. 249
Squadron in Malta. S/L Turner arrived in command of a most wel-
come flight of first to arrive on the
18 cannon-firing Spitfires, the
island. The Hurricanes had done good job but they were not fast
a
enough to handle the German fighters and their machine guns were
too light to penetrate the armour of the Ju 88s. The following day
Turner flew his first operation and on his third day on the island he
was shot down and injured. He participated in a number of dogfights
in the following weeks but did not make any more claims until 18
March 1942 when he scored a damaged. This was also his last day
with the squadron. He was promoted to acting wing commander
and attached to Mediterranean Headquarters in Egypt until the
spring of 1943.
His Mediterranean mission consisted of serving as tactical
observer and adviser to the Royal Navy on board HMS Coventry
and later HMS Orion during the running of convoys to Malta.
Then he was attached to the shore-based No. 889 Fleet Air Arm
Squadron in the Red Sea and the western desert. After that he
returned to Malta where he voluntarily reverted to the rank of
squadron leader. In June 1943 he took command of No. 417, the
Pilots of No. 1 fRCAF) Squadron relax between sorties during the Battle of
Britain.
FIGHTER PILOTS 23
RCAF unit in the Middle East. But times had changed. The
first
Malta Spitfires were no longer on the defensive. Through the

summer of 1943 Turner led his squadron on escort duties as Allied
bombers hammered the airports in Sicily. The first invasion of
European soil by the Allied nations was being prepared. Through-
out the fall months Turner led his squadron on patrols and escorts
over the Italian battlefields, particularly over the area where the First
Canadian Division was among the attacking forces. In November
1943 Turner was once more promoted to wing commander and
transferred to No. 242 (RAF) Wing, which he led until November
1944. In that month W/C Turner returned to England and in January
1945. ^\îth the rank of group captain, took command of a Canadian
fighter ^ving, No. 127 and led its extensive operations through
Belgium, Holland and Germany until it disbanded in December 1945.
As an indication of G/C Turner's great zeal and devotion to duty it
is of interest to note that not once during the war did he take a rest,
though he had the unhappy experiences of being shot down twice,

shipwTecked once and blo\\Ti up once by a land mine. During his
fighting days he shot down 14 enemy aircraft, probably shot do^™
three others and damaged eight. In addition, he destroyed more
than one hundred vehicles, one tank and one motor torpedo boat.
G C Turner. DSO, DFC and bar, was, briefly, a superb fighter pilot.
G C P. S. Turner shot down

14 enemy aircraft.
24 THE D.A-XGEROUS SKY

Wing Commander L. V. Chadburn. DSO and bar, DFC, who com-
manded one of the most successful wings in the RAF's Fighter
Command, almost became an air gunner instead of a pilot. Chad-
burn, of Aurora, Ontario, tried to enlist in the RCAF in 1938 but
was refused. In 1940, when recruiting units were finally interested
in him, he was offered air gunner training. He jumped at the chance
but. before he received much training in that trade, he was remus-
tered to pilot. He graduated in October 1940 with the rank of
pilot officer and was posted overseas. On 15 April 1941, Chadburn
took part, with 11 other Hurricane pilots, in the first offensive opera-
tion carried out by an RCAF unit over enemy-held territory, an
offensive patrol by No. 402 Squadron over the Boulogne sector of
the French coast.
Early in his career, he was credited with nine destroyed (including
four shared), seven probables two shared] and eight
(including
damaged (including two shared].
The number of "shares" in his
score indicated the spirit of cooperation which he instilled in his
flying companions and which he carried with him into battle. When
Chadburn was only twenty-one he was given command of a fighter
squadron, the youngest squadron leader in the RCAF and the first
graduate of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to receive
such a position. Chadburn earned his first decoration, the Dis-
tinguished Flying Cross, for an action in which he was supporting
Canadian naval and army forces as they battled their way onto the
beach at Dieppe. On that occasion, 19 August 1942, Chadburn was
leading his Spitfire squadron over the beach-bound convoy when a

large formation of FW 190s dove on them from the rear.
Chadburn was not caught napping. He and his squadron raced

around in a tight turn which brought them onto the Germans' tail.
Now the hunters were the hunted. Three of the FW 190s were
demolished in the crossfire; the remainder streaked for home. Seven
Ju 88s approached the convoy. Chadburn led the head-on attack.
Six of the Junkers were hit and all seven of them dropped their
bombs harmlessly into the Channel. The Spitfires re-formed again
as a large group of FW 190s appeared several thousand feet above
and some Me 110s flew by at the same altitude. Chadburn sent one
section after the ME 110s which had appeared high above while he
and the rest of his squadron protected the convoy from the large
FIGHTER PILOTS 25
W/C L. V. Cbadburn stands beside the Lynx, emblem of the (Jily of Osbawa
Squadron which he led at one time. Cbadburn commanded the Canadian
Spit/ire Wing, the Digby Wing, which in November 3943 had the highest score
in RAF Fighter Command.
group of FW 190s. The tactic worked. Eleven enemy aircraft were

hit; none of Chadburn's were damaged.
Over the following year Chadburn moulded his squadron into an
outstanding fighter unit. In June 1943 he was promoted to wing
commander. His wing, which performed escort duty on behalf of
US Army Air Corps medium bombers, became a legend among
American aircrew. In their first few sweeps the US Marauders had
taken a mauling from the enemy. Then Chadburn and his men took
on the job of escorting them during their attacks on coastal installa-
tions and enemy airfields. In 60 sorties escorting American bombers,
only one bomber was lost to enemy fighters. During that time, Chad-
burn's pilots accounted for 44 aircraft without a single loss to
themselves. Chadburn had personally accounted for 12 enemy air-
craft shot down by January 1943.
On one occasion, Chadburn also attacked and sank a heavily-
armed and elusive German E boat, the first to be sunk by the guns of
a Spitfire. On 12 August 1943, while Chadburn celebrated his twenty-
fourth birthday, news of his winning the Distinguished Service Order
came through.

By September 1943 the major work for fighter squadrons was
bomber escort. On these operations some of the fighter squadrons
would provide close support to the bombers while others flew ahead,
to the flanks and fo the rear to destroy enemy aircraft which might
come up to engage the main formation. The Luftwaffe seldom dis-
appointed the Spitfire pilots by not showing up. On September 4,
W/C Chadburn's wing plus two other Canadian wings escorted a

force of American Marauders in attacks on the railroad yards at
Lille, Roubaix and St. Pol. The Spitfires made the rendezvous with
the Marauders; the operation was underway. Out of the haze came
15 Me 109s climbing for altitude. Chadburn led his Spitfires in.
As the Spitfires and Messerschmitts mixed it up shadowy shapes
would suddenly emerge from the gloom, go sizzling across each
other's path, then disappear. In such conditions, there was great
danger of collision. W/C Chadburn went after an Me 109 only to
find that three of his pilots were also racing in for the kill. The
four Spitfires converged, their bullets arching across the sky as
though they were going down a funnel. The Me 109 exploded with
a roar. The Spitfires hastily broke off in different directions, nar-
rowly missing a four-plane As the battle raged on there
collision.
were flashes and brief glows of light through the haze as an aircraft
was hit and plunged earthward. The dogfight over, Chadburn's
fighters were widely dispersed throughout the haze. He was able
to locate six; he reorganized his formation and headed for home.
Flying over the French coast the Spitfires were bounced by ten
FW 109s. One Spitfire pilot had to bail out. Chadburn, in turn, sent
a German aircraft down in flames.
At the end of September 1943 Chadburn's two squadrons had

destroyed 21 enemy aircraft. Chadburn himself carried off individual
honours with ten successful combats in which he had destroyed
W/C R. P. Da\ jcison was the
two enemy fighters, probably destroyed one and damaged two, as
oniy member of the RCAF to well as sharing two destroyed, a probable and two damaged. On
shoot down /Jiers of all the
the afternoon of November 3, as part of one of the finest shows in
xis powers. Note the emblems
pointed on the side of his the history of the RCAF, Chadburn and his pilots downed nine
Typhoon aircraft. (It is true German W/C Chadburn
aircraft. added two confirmed to his already
that S'L K. A. Boomer was the
only member of the RCAF to
impressive score. Under Chadburn's leadership his pilots con-
score a victory over the tinued their run of victories. When November ended, they were the
Japanese Air Force. Davidson
,ot his victory while a member
top-scoring wing in RAF Fighter Command. For his brilliant leader-
of the RAF.) ship, tactical skill and courage he became the first member of the
FIGHTER PILOTS 27
RCAF to be awarded a bar to the Distinguished Service Order.
Chadburn was not impressed by this honour and casually explained:
"It's a funny thing that when the boys put on a good show, the
Wing commander gets the DSO. They put on another and he gets
the bar." Early in the year Chadburn was made Wing Commander
of Fighter Operations at Group Headquarters of the RCAF Overseas.
He was supposed to channel his energies into writing notes, orders,
memorandum and other paper products so dearly beloved by staff
officers. But at every opportunity Chadburn abandoned his desk for
the cockpit of a Spitfire and flew into battle where he felt he

belonged. On D Day Chadburn was in his element leading a wing of
Spitfires patrolling the Cherbourg area. It was a long and exciting
day but disappointing in one feature-the Luftwaffe was conspicuous
by its absence. For some reason, the German Air Force did little
to interfere with the greatest military operation in history.
On W/G Lloyd Chadburn, DSO and bar, DFC, was
13 June 1944
killed, not by enemy action but by a mid-air collision with another
Spitfire. Thus was lost a superb fighter pilot and an exceptionally
able leader. His loss was a grievous blow to the RCAF.
A formation of Spitfires heads out to bnftle.

Although most of the fighter pilots who established a name for
themselves were either veterans of the Battle of Britain or of Malta,
there were a few exceptions. One such individual who arrived late
on the scene but who quickly showed that he rated with the
veterans, was F/L R. J. Audet from Lethbridge, Alberta. The year
1944 was almost over before Audet met the Luftwaffe in battle,
but his brilliant record of ten enemy aircraft destroyed and one
—
damaged in combat all within a period of 27 days is without —
parallel in the annals of the RCAF.
Audet joined the RCAF as an aircrew trainee on 26August 1941
and graduated as a pilot on 23 October 1942 with the rank of pilot
FIGHTER PILOTS 29
officer. Posted overseas the following month, Audet received train-
ing on Spitfires, then on 20 July 1943 he reported to No. 421 (RCAF)
Squadron to begin operational flying. After some time with several
other units, he joined No. 411 (RCAF) Squadron, then based at Evere,
Belgium, in September 1944. For a would-be fighter pilot, Audet
had had a frustrating seventeen months. No matter where he
flew or what unit he served with he could not come to grips with
the enemy. Through a combination of bad weather and lack of
something to shoot at Audet was not able to demonstrate what he
could do. Then, two days before New Year's, 1945, a dramatic
change came about. Although he had yet to fire at the enemy,
Audet's potential was clearly seen: he was made a section leader
in the squadron. Leading Yellow Section of No. 441 Squadron, Audet
finally met the enemy. Flying near Rheine, Germany, on 29 Decem-
ber 1944 he spotted a Messerschmitt 262, the first jet aircraft ever
to see combat. While appraising this menace he sighted a group of
12 Me 109s and FW 190s. He moved in to the attack.
When Audet's first combat was over, a few minutes later, he had
downed five enemy aircraft. engagement he had earned him-
In one
self the status of "ace" and established a record unequalled by any
other RCAF or RAF pilot. In the immediate Distinguished Flying
Cross \vhich followed this exploit, the citation read: '"This officer
has prov'ed himself to be a highly skilled and courageous fighter.
In a most spirited action, F/O Audet achieved outstanding success
by destroying five enemy aircraft. This feat is a splendid tribute to
his brilliant shooting, great gallantry and tenacity." More victories
follo\\'ed. Audet celebrated New Year's Day by shooting down
two FW 190s; on January 4 he destroyed yet another Focke-Wulf
in a combat near Hengels, Germany, and shared a second FW 190.
On January 14 another FW 190 fell before his guns in the Rheine-
Munster area. Nine days later, near Munster again, he came upon
a Messerschmitt 262. Audet was flying a propellor-driven aeroplane
while the German had a jet aircraft. It should have been no contest.
But it was the Messerchmitt, not the Spitfire, that ended up crumpled
and burning on the ground. The same day Audet destroyed an
Me 262 at an airport; the next day he damaged another in the air.
On 8 February 1945 his string of luck was broken. Audet and
another Spitfire pilot raided Twente airport to shoot up German
aircraft. A well-camouflaged anti-aircraft gun opened fire and Audet's

was hit. He headed his damaged Spitfire back to base, but
fighter
as hewas preparing to enter the circuit, the Spitfire called it quits.
Audet bailed out and arrived at the interrogation room before his
companion had finished giving his report. Shortly after this mishap
Audet was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross. The
citation read: "This officer is an outstanding fighter. Since his first
engagement he has completed numerous sorties during which he
has destroyed a further six enemy aircraft, bringing his total vic-
tories to eleven. Flight Lieutenant Audet has also most effectively

attacked numerous locomotives and mechanical vehicles. His skill
and daring have won the greatest praise."

By March 1945 the main concern for fighter pilots was attacking
road and rail transport since enemy aircraft were scarce. Strafing
trains was, however, especially dangerous since flak cars attached
to the train were heavily armed. On 3 March 1945, F/L Audet was
flying an armed reconnaissance in the Munster area. He spotted a
train. Never one to hesitate at going into action, he started down.
A roar from the train's guns met Audet's oncoming Spitfire. F/L
Audet's body was found in the wreckage of his aircraft near his
intended target.
The Germans vveie the first to get a jet aircraft, the Me 262, into combat.
S'L R. Bannock [left], pilot, and F O R. Bruce, navigator, became the RCAF's
most successful night fighter team with six enemy aircraft end 18 /lying bombs
to their credit.
When the might of the Luftwaffe failed to subdue Great Britain

by means of massive dayHght raids, the enemy was forced to change
his tactics. Night assaults became standard operating procedure and
this produced a new breed of fighter pilot —
night fighters. From
late 1940 until the dying days of the war Allied pilots flew through
the stillness of the night as they played a deadly game of blind man's
buff, seeking out and destroying the enemy in complete darkness.
One Canadian who became particularly adept at nocturnal warfare
was Wing Commander R. Bannock, DSO, DFC and bar, a flier from
Edmonton who became the top-scoring night fighter ace of the
RCAF.
Bannock got off to an early start as a military flier by joining the
RCAF But for four frustrating years while the battle raged
in 1939.
overseas, Bannock was kept in Canada as an instructor at RCAF
Station Trenton, then at No. 3 Flying Instructors' School at Arnprior,
Ont. Finally, in February 1944, he got his wish and was posted
overseas. He attended No. 60 Operational Training Unit at High
Ercall, Shropshire, thenon June 7 Squadron Leader Bannock reported
to No. 418 (RCAF) Squadron based at Holmsley. His navigator, F/0

R. R. Bruce, was as green to combat as Bannock himself. But these
two novices, flying a Mosquito aircraft, were soon to prove their
mastery of the art.
On June 14 they flew their first operational flight — an intruder

mission over occupied Europe — and scored their first kill. They
checked several airfields for aeroplanes on the ground but found
nothing. Then, approaching the aerodrome at Avorde, France, they
spotted an Me 110. It was all over quickly; before the Garman pilot
knew what was happening, his aircraft was shot down. Bannock
then proceeded to bomb the aerodrome. Four days later, Bannock
and his navigator went after a different type of target, the deadly
doodlebug. The V 1, the first of Hitler's vengeance weapons, were
designed to accomplish what the Luftwaffe had failed to do, namely,
pound the British people into submission. The V Is or doodlebugs
as they were nicknamed, were elusive targets. They were launched
at night and thus were hard to detect. They were fast-moving and
if the attacking pilot was too close when he fired, his aircraft could
be damaged or destroyed by the ensuing explosion. But the Bannock-
Bruce team went after the flying bombs with great zeal and gusto.
On their first try they exploded a V 1 over the English Channel.
On the night of July 3 they did the hat trick, catching three doodle-
bugs as they soared up at 20-minute intervals from a site southwest
of Abbeville. Three days later they topped this commendable per-
formance, bagging four V Is within an hour, three over the sea and
the other just north of Hastings.The next night two more bundles-
for-Britain exploded with a roar as Bannock fired on them. Bad
weather intervened, grounding the night marauders for ten days. On
that night. Bannock and Bruce made a deep penetration into the
Reich. At Altenburg, south of Leipzig, they came upon a search-
light cooperation exercise. They went in pursuit of one of the
German aircraft engaged in the exercise but the German, though
damaged, managed to escape after a 75 mile chase. They returned
to the enemy aerodrome where the exercise was still in progress.
This time they shot down an aircraft in flames. The next night.
Bannock, the sharpshooter, downed two doodlebugs; four nights
later he bagged two more, one each on July 26 and July 27, and two
on August 4. One day they had just started their patrol when they
saw five buzz-bombs streak into the sky from the Dieppe area.
One which they hit in mid-Channel slowed up, wavered, righted
FIGHTER PILOTS 33
itself and then, turning around on its course, flew back to France
where it crashed near Boulogne.
On August 29 Bannock and his partner made a daylight raid into
Denmark. In the face of heavy defensive fire from flak posts dotted
around the airfield at Vaerlose, northwest of Copenhagen, Bannock
streaked across the field and pulverized a }u 88 parked on the peri-
meter track and an Me 110 standing in a blast bay. These victories
by Bannock and Bruce boosted their squadron's total to 140 enemy
aircraft destroyed in the air and on the ground. On 2 September
1944 S/L Bannock was awarded a well-merited Distinguished Flying
Cross.
Civilians on the ground watch contrails high in the sky during a dogfight.

An adventure at the end of September nearly ended the team's
brilliant career. Near Parow airfield they saw six enemy aircraft of
a training type that had just taken off. From dead astern Bannock
attacked a Messerchmitt 109; it disintegrated in mid-air. Minutes
later they attacked another but this time victory came hard. The
enemy aircraft turned sharply and opened fire. Pieces flew off the
Mosquito and one motor burst into flames. Bannock had to swerve
,
German jet aircraft,
|^jg aircraft violently to avoid being rammed by the Messerschmitt,
capture
then he pulled around sharply and fired a short burst which finished
the duel. However, Bannock still had a burning aircraft to contend
with. "It seemed for a minute," said Bannock, "that we had had
it but I feathered my prop and with the fire-fighting equipment put
out the blaze." They still had to fly over 600 miles of hostile territory
where they would be easy prey for any enemy aircraft that hap-
pened along or any anti-aircraft gun that they chanced to fly over.
Bannock went down to tree-top level to make the aircraft as incon-
spicuous as possible although this made navigation much more
difficult. They made it back to base. For this exploit Bannock
received a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross; Bruce, his navi-
gator, the DFC.
On October was promoted to wing commander and
10 Bannock
became leader of No. 418, the RCAF's original intruder squadron.
His command was short-lived, however; the squadron was declared
non-operational on November 20 in preparation for a different role
with the Tactical Air Force. Bannock then took command of No.
406 Squadron which was being reorganized for intruder duties.
Under him. No. 406 became the most effective intruder squadron in
RAF Fighter Command. The only regrettable part of the change in
command was that Bannock no longer had as his partner F/0 Bruce,
who had guided him in the destruction of 18 V Is and six enemy
aircraft. Together they had become the RCAF's top doodlebug
exterminators.
The first intruder victory for No. 406 Squadron was scored on
Christmas Eve 1944. Appropriately, was W/C Bannock and his
it
new navigator, F/L Kirpatrick, who made the kill. On 5 January

1945 Bannock and Kirpatrick were flying in the Schleswig area when
they saw the runway lights go an at Husum. A Heinkel 111 was
coming down. Bannock closed in and fired a short burst. The bomber
spun into a wooded dispersal area to the southeast of the aerodrome.
FIGHTER PILOTS 35
The airport lights were immediately turned off. Their presence was
known; there would be no more opportunieies to shoot down land-
ing aircraft. Later that same night, however, they returned to Husum
and scored hits on an enemy aircraft which had just landed. On
April 4 Bannock and F/L Boak, his navigator for that sortie, had
an interesting night. They were on their way to Fassberg when they
noticed that the airport at Delmenhorst was lit up. They went to
investigate. As they approached, they saw an aircraft showing
navigation lights and preparing to land. They attacked and during
the second burst identified the enemy as an FW 190. Strikes were
obtained but all lights were extinguished and only a "damaged"
could be claimed. Then minutes later they obtained another contact
but after following the enemy two or three times across the aero-
drome, they lost him. Shortly afterwards they noticed another
aircraft flying across the aerodrome at 300 to 400 feet with naviga-
tion lights on. Bannock suspected a trap. He pulled the Mossie
around hard and barely escaped another aircraft coming in for the
kill. Over an hour later they saw another aircraft making a straight-
in approach over the tree-tops. A short burst and the enemy crashed
and blew up on the edge of the flare path. It continued to burn for
half an hour, its ammunition exploding in the flames.
The dwindling area of unoccupied territory and the arrival of the

full moon period reduced operational opportunities considerably
after April 14; it was not until April 23 that the squadron scored
another victory. Bannock himself shot down the Ju 88. It was his
last victory. On 17 May 1945 he completed his operational tour
and turned over command of No. 418 Squadron to his successor.
Recognition of his efforts was made on 17 August by the award
of the Distinguished Service Order. The citation summed up his
remarkable operational record: "As a squadron commander, W/C
Bannock has proved to be an outstanding success. Since the award
of the DFC he has destroyed a further seven enemy aircraft, bring-
ing his total victories to at least 11 enemy aircraft destroyed and

others damaged. He has also destroyed 19 flying bombs by night.
In addition, he has caused considerable disruption of the enemy's
lines of communications. Under this officer's inspiring leadership
his squadron has obtained a fine record of successes and reached
a high standard of operational efficiency." At the end of the war
Bannock left the RCAF.
Group Captain P. Y. Davoud, OBE, DSO, DFC, was another Cana-
dian who became an acknowledged expert in the strange war waged
in the black of night. Davoud was a pre-war flier. From his home-
town of Montreal he journeyed to England where he joined the RAF
in 1933 and served for two years in Bomber and Fighter Command
before returning to Canada. In 1935 he turned bush pilot, flying
Junkers aircraft into the Canadian northland. Since he was a mem-
ber of the RCAF Reserve, his services were called for in June 1940
when the Force was in need of instructors. After a period of
instructing at RCAF Station Trenton, Ontario, during which time
he rose to the rank of squadron leader and became Chief Instructor,
he proceeded overseas. On 27 May 1941 he ferried one of the first
Hudson bombers across the Atlantic.

In England Davoud was chosen to form an RCAF Squadron of
night fighters. The new squadron. No. 410, was the third and last
Canadian night fighter unit to be organized overseas. It went opera-
tional on Dominion Day 1941. Davoud was with this squadron only
two months, however, before he was promoted to wing commander
and given command of No. 409, the second-senior RCAF night
fighter squadron. When Davoud joined this unit it was equipped
G'C P. Y. Davoud, who flew first with Fighter Command and later with the
Second TAF, led No. 143 (RCAF] Wing composed of Typhoons.
FIGHTER PILOTS 37
with Beaufighters, the one aircraft at that time with sufficiently high
performance to take full advantage of airborne radar. The honour
of making 409's first kill fell to the new commanding officer when,
on 1 November 1941, he shot down a Dornier 217.
From the end of November 1941 until the spring of 1942, a com-
bination of foul wêather and lack of enemy activity prevented
Davoud and his squadron from coming to grips with the enemy. But
by June the squadron was back in action and, on July 29, Davoud
claimed a probable against an unidentified aircraft and a damaged
against a Dornier 217.
Throughout the summer and fall of 1942 the squadron flew

numerous sorties. Under Davoud's leadership, No. 409 ably de-
fended its sector, though by this time the German aircrews had also
become skilled in night fighting and led the Canadians on many an
exciting moonlight chase. In February 1943 Davoud's outstanding
record as a fighter pilot and squadron commander earned him the
Distinguished Flying Cross. A few days later he departed to head
No. 418 (Intruder) Squadron. While some night-flying fighter squad-
rons were engaged on defensive patrols over Britain, others spent
their time on offensive missions, intruding far and wide into enemy-
occupied territory. These squadrons had four main tasks: maintain
patrols over Luftwaffe airfields to prevent night fighters from attack-
ing our bomber formations; destroy returning Nazi bombers; strafe
railroads and roads to disrupt the enemy lines of communications;
and make daylight raids deep into occupied Europe to harass
German flying training fields. In these varied activities No. 418
Squadron and its new Commanding Officer were conspicuous by
their success. Davoud and his intruders carried out a program of
hit-and-run bombing raids on selected German night fighter bases,
leaving a path of destroyed aircraft and airports rendered tempor-
arily unserviceable. On 17 March 1944 W'C Davoud was awarded
the Distinguished Service Order for his work with No. 418 Squadron.
Besides mentioning his many operational sorties involving attacks
on airfields and other heavily defended areas, the citation referred
tohim as a forceful and courageous leader whose personal example
and exceptional ability were reflected in the efficiency and fine
fighting qualities of his squadron. Shortly before, in January 1944,
Davoud had been promoted to group captain and transferred to No.
22 Wing.

From July 1944 until January 1945 Davoud had the satisfaction
of leading No. 143 (RCAF] Wing, which, by its accurate pounding
of targets, did much to help the ground forces as they advanced
across France and the Lowlands into Germany. He did more than
command. When occasion arose Davoud would lead a raid, as once
early in July in France. Davoud's airfield was being bothered con-
siderably. Every time the Typhoons took off or landed, the nearby
German batteries would open up. Davoud decided to settle the
issue. Just before a flight arrived, he and another pilot took off. As
expected, the enemy let loose a barrage. They had not bargained
for what followed, however. Instead of the two Typhoons flying
off on a mission, they turned and swept low toward the batteries
that were doing the shelling. They were quickly silenced by
machine gun and cannon fire from Davoud and his wingman.
In the first month of the final year of the war, Davoud was men-
tioned-in-despatches for his brilliant leadership and devotion to
duty. was made an
In June he Officer of the Order of the British
Empire. He returned to Canada after a brilliant wartime career and
left the RCAF.
Two Canadian pilots flying Meteors [the only AJIied ;ef aircraft to get into
the Second World War) with No. 616 (RAF) Squadron each shot down a
[lying bomb.
Wing Commander R. C. Fumerton, DFC and bar, AFC, joined the
RCAF early in the war and served on both the Middle East and
European fronts. He was oneof the few Canadians to serve as a
night fighter pilot in the African campaign and, during the course
of his wartime career, he became one of the RCAF's top-scoring
night fighter aces.
Fumerton, born in Fort Coulonge, Quebec, joined the RCAF in
November 1939 and received his wings on 13 July 1940.
pilot's
Within two months of graduation, he was in England on duty with
No. 112 (RCAF] Squadron, flying Lysanders, but shortly afterward
he converted to fighter pilot. On 6 October 1940 he reported to No.
32 (RAF) Squadron where he flew his first operational flight. After
several uneventful months, Fumerton was transferred to No. 1
(RCAF] Squadron. The Battle of Britain was almost over and
although he transferred to various units during the following months
he could not seem to get in on the fighting. The first Canadian night
fighter squadron (No. 406] was formed in May 1941 and, a month
later, Fumerton was sent to join it. Finally, almost a year from the
day that he became operational, he got his and the RCAF's first
W/C R. C. Fumerton scored the RCAF's first night victory over enemy aircraft.
His final score was 14 destroyed and 1 damaged.

night victory. He and his observer, Sgt. L. P. Bing, introduced them-
selves to the Luftwaffe on 1 September 1941. They were flying near
Tyneside when they intercepted a it down in
Junkers 88 and shot
flames. Six days later Fumerton hit a night raider with two bursts
of cannon fire but the aircraft escaped in the clouds.
Inmid-October 1941 Fumerton and his observer were posted to
No. 89 (RAF) Squadron and in December he became part of the
night defensive force in the Middle East, flying a Beaufighter out of
Abu Suweir, Egypt. The year 1941 ended and the first months of
1942 went by uneventfully. Then, on March 3, four Beaufighters
were scrambled in the early hours of morning. High over the Suez
Canal Zone under a full moon, Fumerton intercepted a He 111. He
closed in on the enemy and fired. The German air gunners were
alert and returned fire. Fumerton's Beaufighter was hit and Fumer-
ton himself wounded. Nevertheless, he pressed home the attack.
The bomber went down in flames. He returned to base and crash-
landed his damaged aircraft. As a result of this engagement Fumer-
ton was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
He returned to flying the day he was released from hospital. After
a number of unsuccessful scrambles in the following weeks, Fumer-
ton scored a double victory on the night of April 7 when he shot
down two Heinkel Ills in less than three hours.
On 22 June 1942 a detachment of six crews from No. 89 Squadron
moved to Malta to assist in the defence of that battered island.
Fumerton went into action immediately. On his second night in
Malta, he destroyed a Stuka dive bomber, and five days later he
knocked down two By July 2 he had shot down four more
Ju 88s.
Ju 88s. In ten nights Fumerton and his observer had destroyed six
aircraft. For this achievement Fumerton received a bar to his DFC
and his observer won the Distinguished Flying Cross. In July 1942
Fumerton was posted back to Port Said, Egypt. He promptly shot
down another Ju 88.
The next two months were not as eventful, but they were not
lacking in variety. On August 10 his Beaufighter had a mechanical
failure. Fumerton crash-landed in the Mediterranean and, along
with his observer, took a salt bath for two and one half hours before
being rescued. A few nights later he shot down a Cant aircraft, his
first victory over the Regia Aeronautica. Late in the month Fumer-
ton's squadron began intruding sorties. On August 28 Fumerton
FIGHTER PILOTS 41
destroyed a Ju 88 on the ground at Castelvetrano aerodrome, Sicily.
On another intruder raid he attacked the same airport with bombs,
cannon and machinegun fire. Shortly afterward he was returned to
Abu Suweir where he flew cooperation exercises with radar units.
Late in September Fumerton was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and,
after a number of routine flights, flew back to Canada in December
1942 for seven months' leave.
In August 1943 Fumerton, by then a squadron leader, was pro-
moted to wing commander with his old squadron. No. 406. From
]9 March to 21 July 1944 the squadron destroyed sixteen, probably
destroyed three more and damaged one. The CO did his share. On
May 14 Fumerton, flying a Mosquito, went after a Ju 88 near Port-
land. The Junkers took evasive action and dropped chaff to interfere
with Fumerton's radar. It was no use. Fumerton closed in and fired
a long burst that knocked pieces off the Junkers, blew up the port
engine and sent it flaming into the sea. It was Fumerton's fourteenth
and final victory. June 6 1944 brought D Day and additional work
for the RCAF's night fighter squadrons. Fumerton and his squad-
ron were released from their defensive duties over Britain to fly
protective patrols over the convoys and beachheads. They also made
daylight intrusions into occupied Europe to shoot up rolling stock.
During these sorties Fumerton destroyed one enemy train and three
trucks.
Fumerton, having finished a lengthy tour of operations, was
moved to an administrative position, but he did not become less
active. For his contributions in a non-combat role W/C Fumerton
was awarded the Air Force Cross.
Wrecked aircraft at captured Wunsdorf airfield: at the far left, a ]u 88 bomber;

on the right, under the wing of the ItaJicin Air Force transport, an Me 109.
Lieutenant "Hammy" Gray of the Royal Canadian Navy was the
last Commonwealth flier and the only member of the RCN to be
awarded the VC during World War II.
Gray was born in Nelson, B.C., and, after attending elementary
school there, moved to Vancouver where he entered the University
of British Columbia. But, for "Hammy" the call to duty was stronger
than the desire to finish his education; in 1940 he joined the RCN
Volunteer Reserve. Since the Canadian Navy did not have pilot
training facilities at that time, he was sent to England, first to HMS
Raleigh then later to HMS St. Vincent where he won his pilot wings.
On graduation he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and in December
Lieutenant R. H. Gray, 1940 he was sent back to Canada for flying duties. In the summer
the only Canadian of 1941 Gray became one of approximately 200 Canadians serving
fighter pilot and the
with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. He joined his first operational
only member of the
Royal Canadian Navy to squadron, No. 757, at HMS Kestre] in England. From there hewas
win the Victoria Cross transferred to the Middle East where he served from Kenya and
in the Second
World War. from the decks of HMS iJIustrious. In December 1942 he returned
to Canada on leave.
On returning overseas Gray went aboard the aircraft carrier HMS

Formidable and, a few days later, flew into action. In a misty Nor-
wegian fjord he participated in a daring attack on the German
battleship Tirpitz. He also led his section in an attack on three
destroyers in Alten Fjord. For his services during these operations,
he was awarded a mentioned-in-despatches.
In April 1945 the HMS Formidable joined the Pacific Fleet. By
July aircraft operating from the Formidable were striking at Japan.
Lieutenant Gray led his flight with cool precision and courage. On
July 18 he strafed airfields in the Tokyo area. On July 24 he led an
air strike to the Inland Sea, damaging one merchant ship and
strafing two seaplane bases and an airfield. On August 2 Gray
returned to the Inland Sea where he attacked a destroyer, obtaining
a direct hit.The ship was later reported sunk. His fighting resulted
in the recommendation and subsequent award of the Distinguished
Service Cross, actually gazetted on August 18.
The war was almost over. The atomic bombs had been dropped
and Japan was at the point of collapse. On 9 August 1945 HMS
Formidable was churning through the waves as its aircraft were
preparing to take off. Gray opened the throttle of his Corsair fighter
Corsoir
and roared off the flight deck. He climbed away as he headed for
FIGHTER PILOTS 43
Honshu, the mainland island of Japan. As Lt. Gray and his flight
approached the naval base at Onagawa Bay, they could see five
Japanese warships lying at anchor. The combined anti-aircraft
barrage from the ships and shore batteries increased steadily in
intensity and accuracy. Selecting a destroyer. Gray dived into the
barrage. His aircraft was hit again and again. It burst into flames
but Gray held steadily to his course. He bore down to within 50
yards of the ship before releasing the bombs. They struck amidships
and the destroyer sank almost immediately. Gray's bullet-riddled
Corsair had disappeared in the waters of the bay.
A Canadian flier looks at a house in Brussels domoged when the wrecked

Focke-Wulf 190 in front of him struck it as it crashed.

V. C. "Woody" Woodward made his mark with the Desert Air
Force that protected Suez
theCanal against the overwhelming
numbers of the Regia Aeronautica and later he joined the heroic but
hopeless battle against the Luftwaffe over Greece.
Woodward was born in Victoria, B.C. On graduating from high
school there he tried to join the RCAF but was turned down for
insufficient education. He decided to go to England. He was
accepted as a pilot trainee with the RAF and on finishing his flying
training was posted to No. 33 Squadron flying old Coster Gladiator
biplanes out of Amriya, Egypt. The first Libya campaign began with
an Allied offensive. On 14 June 1940, while on a strafing mission to
Sisi Azeiz, Woodward made his first kill, an Italian bomber, and
damaged an Italian Fiat CR 32 fighter. Two weeks later, over Bardia,
he shot down a pair of CR 32s and on 24 July, another two enemy
fighters. The next day F/L Woodward and a fellow squadron member
were patrolling when they were attacked out of the sun. They were
able to evade the Italians however, climb away, turn and make an
attack of their own. Three of the CR 42s were shot down in quick
succession, but then F/L Slater's Gladiator was hit and went down
burning. Woodward had to contend with the seven remaining enemy
fighters on his own. For several minutes he dove and climbed,
cranked around, dove again, guns blazing. Then it was over. The
Fiats vanished and "the imperturbable Woody" flew back to base.
There, he noticed with astonishment that his aircraft had sustained
minimal damage: only three bullet holes.
No. 33 Squadron was converted to Hurricanes in the early months
of 1941 and moved its base of operations to Larissa. Under Squad-
ron Leader "Pat" Pattle, the brilliant S'outh African ace. No. 33
proved itself very capable indeed in the uneven battle against the
Axis powers in Greece. Woodward quickly added to his total of
kills. On 5 April he shot down an Italian Air Force G 50 fighter and
destroyed another on the ground. The next day he intercepted four

Cant 1007 bombers on their way home from a raid and pursued them
along the Gulf of Corinth, attacking repeatedly until he ran out of
ammunition. Two went down in flames and a third disappeared,
pouring smoke, into the clouds.
On 13 April F/L Woodward, out alone on a recce flight, was
pounced on by three Me 109s. He managed to evade their initial
attack, then engaged them in an aerial duel. One went down and a
FIGHTER PILOTS 45
second sustained numerous hits. The next day Woodward and a
fellow pilot, F/L "Dixie" Dean were on patrol when they overtook a
formation of }u 87s escorted by Me 109s. For some reason the
Messerschmitts abandoned the Stukas. Woodward and Dean laced
into the dive bombers. In a short while the Canadian had destroyed
two and damaged two; F/L Dean shot down one and damaged one.
Greek and British troops watching the dogfight confirmed
Front-line
the victories.
On 20 April 1941 all the Hurricanes left in Greece —a total of
fifteen —were assembled to make
sweep against the enemy.
a final
They met a wave of Ju 88 dive bombers escorted by over one
hundred Me 109s and Me 110s on their way to attack Athens. Led
by S/L Pattle, twelve of the Hurricanes climbed to engage the Mes-
serschmitts while three broke up the Stuka formation. In the great
battle that followed, Woodward shot down one Me 110 in flames,
damaged three and probably destroyed a Ju 88. After the encounter
Woodward's Hurricane was one of only four that could still fly. S/L
Pattle, who had shot down three German fighters in a few minutes,
had himself been killed. For the following several weeks Woodward
flew patrol over ships evacuating troops from Crete, but he too was
shot down and by the middle of May all the Hurricanes in Greece
had been either destroyed or rendered unflyable by the Luftwaffe.
Woodward and six other pilots were transferred back to North
Africa, to No. 30Squadron flying out of Amriya. Woodward learned
that he had been awarded the DFC. The citation stated that he had
eleven confirmed victories; actually he had scored nineteen. On 13
June the seven pilots picked up new Hurricanes and joined No. 274,
stationed at Gerawla. Four days later, while out on a strafing mis-
sion, Woodward led six Hurricanes against a formation of Ju 88s
escorted by Messerschmitts and Fiats. He shot down one G 50 and
damaged second heavily. F/L Woodward made his last kill, a Ju 88,
a
on 12 July 1941, not far from Amriya, bringing his final score to
twenty-one confirmed, five probable and eleven damaged, as well as
two destroyed on the ground. He remained the top Canadian ace
until the end of the following summer when Buzz Beurling assumed
that honour.
Woodward completed his first tour of operations in September
1941 and was posted to Rhodesia to serve as a flying instructor.
He remained there over a year, then was given command of No. 213,

a Hurricane squadron of the Desert Air Force with the job of
protecting the convoys that passed along the coast of North Africa.
The Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica rarely interfered however
and S/L Woodward had no further opportunities for aerial duelling.
In August 1943 he received a bar to his DFC and was posted to
Royal Air Force Middle East Headquarters. He was transferred
again in April 1945, this time to the command of a communications
squadron. He returned to England the following year. Wing Com-
mander Woodward serves with the RAF today.
W/C Vincent C. Woodward, "the iniperturbobJe Woody," flew with the RAF in
Greece and North Africa. With 21 confirmed kills each, Woodward and S/L
H. W. MacLeod were the second highest scoring Canadian Aces of WW U.
FIGHTER PILOTS 47
The Joneiy vigil of a ground crew member as he waits hopefully for his
squadron's aircraft to return.
CHAPTER TWO
BOMBER OPERATIONS
"We in Bomber Command have always regarded our Canadian

Group and Canadian crews outside the Group as among the very
best."
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, KGB, QBE, AFC.
During the Second World War the RCAF became the fourth
largest air force fighting for the Allied cause. And the largest over-
seas formation of the RCAF was No. 6 Bomber Group. Number Six
Group came into being in 1942 when there were sufficient RCAF
bomber squadrons to warrant the establishment of a separate Cana-
dian group. For many thousands of Canadians, places such as
Linton-on-Ouse, Skipton-on-Swale, Middleton St. George and Dish-
forth became homes away from home for the duration of their
operational duties.So highly regarded did the RCAF's bombing
operations become that the RAF reserved the designation No. 6
Group for Canada, should another Allied Force ever be established.
Air Commodore J. E. Fauquier, DSO and two bars, DFC, was one
Canadian who became a bombing leader of outstanding distinction.
Among his many accomplishments were: the first RCAF officer to
lead a bomber squadron on operations overseas; the leader of No.
405 Squadron's first 1000-bomber attack; the only member of the
RCAF to win the DSO three times.
Born in Ottawa, Fauquier learned to fly at the Montreal Light
Aeroplane Club. By the time war broke out he had logged some
300,000 air miles as a bush pilot. He immediately enlisted in the
RCAF but because of his flying experience, his services as a flier
were required in Canada. He became an instructor at RCAF Station
Trenton and it was not until June 1941 that he was posted overseas;
he was 32. On arrival in England, Fauquier took advanced training
then, on 21 September 1941, he joined No. 405 Squadron, the first
Canadian bomber squadron to be formed overseas and the first to
carry the RCAF attack into Germany.
Fauquier flew his first operational flight on 20 October 1941. The
target was Emden. In the following months he captained his
Halifax bomber to a great number of targets. On 17 January 1942
the port of Bremen merited S/L Fauquier's attention. He devastated
his target area with a 4,000-pound block-buster, the first bomb of its
kind to be dropped by an RCAF crew. In February 1942 Fauquier

became Commanding Officer of No. 405 Squadron. He finished the
first of three operational tours in August and was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross for his "exceptional leadership." After
a ground tour at No. 6 Group Headquarters he returned, on 20 April
Air Commodore ]. E. Fauquier was the first RCAF officer to lead a bomber
squadron on operations ovejseas.

1943, to No. 405 Squadron which had been transferred into the
Pathfinder Force, Bomber Command's most skilled and honoured
group. The job of the pathfinders was to go in first on a raid and
lightup the target area with flares so that oncoming bombers would
have an aiming point. They, of course, received special attention
from the anti-aircraft guns since destruction of the pathfinders could
mean that the raid would be off-target and therefore ineffective. In
addition, pathfinders were few in number on any raid so they invari-
ably received concentrated fire from the anti-aircraft guns. During
his second tour from 20 April 1943 to 22 January 1944, Fauquier led
his squadron against many heavily defended targets including Le
Creusot, Modane, Manheim and Berlin. But it was his part in the
bombing of Peenemiinde which earned him the title of "the man
who saved the city of London."
Early in 1943 the Germans were preparing to launch a new and
devastating weapon against London, the V 1. British Intelligence
learned that Hitler's planwas to dump them on London in tremen-
dous quantities day and night at intervals only a few minutes apart.
The weapons were being assembled at Peenemiinde. The task of
wiping out these instruments of terror was entrusted to W/C
Fauquier. After months of planning, this extremely important attack
was set for 17 August 1943. On the night of the raid Fauquier not
only led the attack but he spent 35 precarious minutes over the
target dodging flak and fighters as he made 17 passes through the
bomb zone directing incoming waves of bombers to the target.
Peenemiinde was left a mass of blazing ruins and Germany's pro-
duction of V Is had been set back nearly a year. And, when they
were finally sent against London, they had neither the range nor the
explosive qualities of the weapons destroyed at Peenemiinde. Lon-
doners did not know it, but a quiet Canadian had saved them from
a rain of high explosives. For this plus a subsequent raid on Berlin,
where Fauquier spent the best part of an hour cruising around the
target indicators giving orders to the bomber force, he was awarded
the Distinguished Service Order.
At the end of January 1944 he completed his second tour of

operations and received a bar to his DSO for "outstanding ability
and unswerving devotion to duty." In March Fauquier transferred
to No. 6 Group Headquarters and in June he was promoted to the
rank of air commodore. But he was unhappy out of the air, so in
October he voluntarily reverted to the rank of group captain to
return to operations, this time in command of No. 617, the famous
"Dam Buster" Squadron, the pride of the RAF. He began his third
operational tour in December. As was usual
for Fauquier, he took
part in almost every raid in which squadron was committed. The
his
final year of the war began. In February 1945 Fauquier led his
squadron against one of the most difficult of targets, submarine pens.
From three miles high, the pens looked like slivers but Fauquier
and his fellow pilots destroyed them in what Bomber Command de-
scribed as "one of the finest instances of precision bombing ever
seen."
On another occasion he knocked down, from 14,000 feet, a rail-
way bridge at Bremen only 25 feet wide. Under his command No.
617 Squadron also sank the 17,490-ton pocket battleship, Lutzow.
Fauquier also dropped the first 22,000-pound bomb which, until
the invention of the atomic bomb, was the most powerful in the
world. In the closing weeks of the war Fauquier completed his third
operational tour and was awarded a second bar to the Distinguished
Service Order, the Commonwealth's second highest decoration for
gallantry in action.
Number 617 Squadron, which A/C Fauquier commanded at one
time, has been described "The most effective unit of
as, its size the
British Forces ever had." And the most effective raid this Force
Then came the "tall-hoy," a 22,000-pound bomb shown here dropping from a
No. C17 Squadron Lancaster. Instead of destroying by conventionaJ bJast these
huge bombs caused destruction by setting up a miniature earthquake.

ever carried out was the attack on the strategic dams in the Ruhr
Valley. Of the 133 aircrew in the 19 bombers that took part in the
attacks on theMohne, Eder and Sorpe Dams on the night of 16 May
1943, twenty-nine were members of the RCAF. Thirteen of these
Canadians were killed in the action, one was made a prisoner of
war and seven were decorated for their part in the attack. The
leader of the "Dam Busters" was W/C Guy Gibson, VC, DSO and
bar, DFC and bar, who flew the first aircraft against the Mohne
Dam. His aircraft contained two Canadians, F/0 G. A. Deering and
P/0 H. T. Taerum.
For Flying Officer Deering, an air gunner, this raid was certainly
the most exciting Deering was born
sortie of his operational career.
in Ireland of Scottish parents. He was educated in England then
emigrated to Canada. In civilian life he was a shoemaker but on 2
July 1940 he enlisted with the RCAF as an aircrew member. He
graduated as a sergeant wireless operator/air gunner on 15 February
1941. After serving on operations with No. 193 (RAF] Squadron,
during which time he rose to the commissioned rank of flying officer,
he took advanced training, then reported for duty with No. 617
Squadron. On the night of the raid Deering was in a gun turret as
the first wave of Lancasters rumbled towards the target.
His aircraft was just west of the Rhine when without warning a
dozen flak guns opened up. A few minutes later Gibson's aircraft
was coned by three searchlights and the air was laced by tracers.
Deering managed to shoot out one of the lights and a few minutes
later the Lancaster pulled out of range. When the aircraft reached
the target Deering fired at the gun towers on the dam as his Lan-
caster went in on its bombing run. After the successful run Gibson
flew across the dam to draw enemy fire as the other aircraft went
in and Deering kept the German flak gunners engaged. For his
action Deering was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. In the
words of the accompanying citation: "The raid was one of great
difficulty and hazard demanding a high degree of skill, courage and
close cooperation between the crews of the aircraft. The outstand-
ing success of the raid reflects the greatest credit on the efforts of
F/O Deering as a member of the crew." An unhappy footnote was
added to the story of F/O Deering, DFC, exactly four months later
when he was killed during a bombing raid on the Dortmund-Emms
Canal.
The second Canadian in Gibson's crew was Pilot Officer H. T.
Taerum who had the vital task of guiding the lead aircraft to the
target. Taerum was born in Milo, Alberta, in 1920, and was educated
in various schools in that province. On 19 July 1940 he enlisted in
the RCAF and trained as an air observer. He graduated as a sergeant
and was presented with the highly coveted "O" wing on 9 June
1941. Approximately two months later, he sailed for overseas. Fol-
lowing operational training in England Taerum was commissioned
as a pilot officer, then after serving as a navigational instructor he
joined No. 617 Squadron.
On the night of the raid Taerum, with his usual precision, worked
out headings, groundspeeds and estimated times of arrival. He
maintained the greatest accuracy in his calculations in spite of the
fact that his Lancaster was flying low-level at night, which rendered
navigation extremely difficult. As navigator in the lead aircraft, to
a large degree the success or failure of the raid depended on him.
Taerum lived up to the confidence that his crew members had in
him, guiding the aircraft steadily onward evenwhen it was picked P/O H. T. Taerum,
navigator in the lead
up by searchlights and on by enemy guns. His work that night
fired
aircraft during the
rightly earned him the DEC. Sadly, like his fellow crew member raid on the Mohne Dam.
and countryman, E/0 Deering, Pilot Officer Taerum, DEC, was lost
during the raid on the strategic Dortmund-Emms Canal on 15 Sep-
tember 1943.
Mohne Dam was breached the remaining four aircraft

After the
wave were diverted to the Eder. A Canadian, E/0 D. R.
in the first
Walker, was navigator on the first of these. Walker was a highly
experienced combat flier with one tour of operations completed
before he joined No. 617 Squadron. By the time he finished his
wartime career he had logged more than 350 operational hours on
63 sorties, completing three operational tours and winning the Dis-
tinguished Flying Cross and bar. He also rose progressively in rank
from sergeant to squadron leader. Before the dam-busting operation
came along Walker had already taken part in numerous sorties
including a daring daylight raid on Le Creusot, France, where con-
siderable damage was done to the local industrial complex. For his
fine work and the excellent example he had set for other navigators,
F/0 Walker was awarded the DEC. The attack on the Eder Dam
earned Walker the DEC for the second time. His target was in a

surrounded by 1,000-foot peaks. An error in navi-
fog-filled valley
gation under such conditions would have been disastrous. Walker
made no mistakes; after guiding his aircraft to a nearby lake he
gave headings to follow through the hills and on to the target. The
attackwas a success.
Walker continued to serve as squadron navigation officer with
No. 617 and, as a navigator in Mosquito aircraft, he went after special
targets, including the first attack against flying bomb sites. After 39
months of overseas service he returned to Canada in August 1944.
After several aircraft had breached the Eder Dam, there remained
F, 0 D. R. Walker.
the Sorpe Dam to be destroyed. The first aircraft to attack had three
Canadians in the crew: pilot, navigator and rear gunner. This Lan-
caster was flown by F/L J. McCarthy, with FS D. A. MacLean as
navigator and F/0 D. Rodger as rear gunner. MacLean, a native of
Toronto, was heading for a teaching career when war broke out.
In June 1941 he enlisted in the RCAF. In April 1942 he reported to
Y Depot in Halifax while waiting posting overseas. The following
month he was transferred to Ferry Command but after arriving
overseas on a ferry flight he became part of Bomber Command
where he served for 36 months on 52 sorties, completing two opera-
tional tours. After a tour with No. 97 [RAF] Squadron MacLean
reported to No. 617 Squadron in March 1942.
Flight planning before a raid called for intense concentration.

The dam-busting adventure got off to a bad start. The aircraft
which MacLean was to navigate was 20 minutes late taking off. To
help make up for lost time MacLean disregarded his carefully pre-
pared plans and hastily plotted a more direct route to the target. It
was a difficult task rendered more difficult by the aircraft being
flown "on the deck" at night through valleys shrouded in fog. In
spite of the difficulties MacLean brought the Lancaster to its des-
tination.The citation accompanying the award of the Distinguished
Flying Medal stated: "The outstanding success of the raid reflects
the greatest credit on the efforts of Flight Sergeant MacLean as a
member of an aircraft crew."
The second aircraft to go against the Sorpe Dam also had three
Canadian crew members. The aircraft's captain was FS K. W.
Brown; the bomb aimer, Sgt. S. Oancia; and the tail gunner, Sgt. G.
MacDonald. Brown and Oancia were both from Saskatchewan and
both had joined the RCAF in 1941. On graduation in their respective
aircrew trades, they each attained the rank of sergeant. Their paths
met in England when they reported to No. 19 Operational Training
Unit in Kinloss, Scotland, in August 1942. From then on they were
together through conversion unit and on to No. 44 (RAF] Squadron
where they served until March 1943 when they both reported to
No. 617 Squadron for further duties.
On arrival at the target area. Brown and his crew found that
ground fog impeded their view of the dam. Brown guided the Lan-
caster through the swirling mist as Oancia peered anxiously through
the bombsight trying to pick up the target. The dam could not be
The bomber stream heads for the target-for-the-night, 31 ]uly 1944.

seen until the last moment so Brown was forced to pull the aircraft
up in a steep climb. Eight times this precarious manoeuvre was
carried out but Oancia was not able to line up the target in his
bombsight. Brown then climbed to altitude while he and Oancia
held a fast conference. More light was necessary. Oancia dropped
a ring of incendiaries in the woods to the side of the dam. The
incendiaries and the trees blazing, Brown flew around the fiery cir-
cuit and lined up on the target for the ninth time. With the dam
outlined against theOancia dropped his load accurately.
glow,
Their bomb dam and exploded with tremendous
hit the face of the
force, the shock wave expanding through the valley like a great
S.Oancia, a sergeant vibrating ring of air. They did not know it at the time, but for their
at the time of the
cool thinking and perseverance under fire. Brown had just won the
'Dam Busting" action,
Jater received Conspicuous Gallantry Medal and Oancia, the Distinguished Flying
commissioned rank. Medal. Brown and his crew then flew back to the Mohne Dam and
harried the defenders, still firing as water poured through the gap.
They then turned westward and flew down the Rhine, dropping
their remaining incendiaries on barges, buildings and a tinder dry
forest, which burst into flames. Suddenly flak dotted the air all
about them. The Lancaster shuddered with the concussion of burst-
ing shells, then staggered; a shell had hit the right side of the aircraft
and carried most of the radio equipment with it as it tore through
the left side. Brown and company, fortunately, made it back with-
out further incident and landed at Scampton, their home field. It
had been a trying but successful night. To use Brown's words, they
had managed to "add a little extra moisture to the Ruhr."
K. W. Brown, The seventh Canadian to be awarded a medal for his participation

a flight sergeant
at the time,
was S/L J. C. McCarthy, DSO, DFC. Although
in the devastating raid
piloted his Loncaster the attack on the Sorpe Dam was undoubtedly the highlight of
against the Sorpe Dam. McCarthy's wartime career, he had a long and exciting operational
record both before and after the dam-busting mission.
McCarthy was born and raised in the U.S. but, without waiting
for his country to get into the war, came to Canada and joined the
RCAF. After taking pilot training he was posted overseas on 22
January 1942 and went to an advanced flying unit. While still a
pupil at an operational training school, McCarthy piloted a Hamp-
den bomber in a raid on Diisseldorf. He was converted to the more
up-to-date Lancaster aircraft and, in September 1942, he was once
Hampden
more ready for action. His first unit was No. 97 (RAF) Squadron
and during his six months service with that organization, he
attacked practically every major target in Germany and several in
Italy.
During the final quarter of 1942, Bomber Command launched a

campaign against ports and industrial plants in Italy; for McCarthy
it meant raid after raid against such targets as Genoa and Turin.
These missions, however, were plagued with trouble. One night he

had an hydraulic failure, another night one port engine overheated
and on October 13 he was attacked by a Ju 88 night fighter which set
his port engines on fire. McCarthy calmly dropped his bombs, put
out the fire, feathered the prop and headed for home. He landed
safely at the first available RAF base. During the months of Novem-
ber and December F/0 McCarthy and his squadron were involved in
"gardening," gardening being the code name for mine laying in
enemy waters. Many times he also attacked Germany's most heavily
defended target area, the Ruhr Valley, which aircrews called, most
inappropriately, "Happy Valley."
Late in March 1943 McCarthy received a phone call from W/C
Guy Gibson asking him if he would like to join an X Squad for one
particularly hazardous trip. McCarthy and his crew agreed to the
proposal. The X Squad became the legendary No. 617 Special Duties
Squadron. Forty-eight trips later, in July 1944, the Commander-in-
Chief Bomber Command ordered four crews out of the operational
lineup of that squadron as having done enough for the war effort.
Among these were F/O McCarthy and his crew. With the exception
of the first six missions, McCarthy's crew had stuck together for an
almost unheard-of 70 trips. This crew included a number of Cana-
dians: the previously mentioned D. A. MacLean and D. Rodger; F/O
W. Radcliffe, the flight engineer; F/O D. Daniels, bomb aimer; and
two members of the RAF, FS Baton, wireless operator, and FS
Batson, mid-upper gunner. F/L Daniels had joined McCarthy's crew
for the last 30 trips replacing FS Johnson, RAF.
Now, the night of 16 May McCarthy skimmed across the

1943,
North Sea towards the continent. His dangerously low altitude
made navigation difficult but detection by the enemy unlikely. There
was only one bomb on board. It would have to be dead on. On
reaching the Sorpe Dam McCarthy decided on a dummy run. He
found that there was a hill at each end of his run; he would have

W/C /. C. McCarthy had a long and hazardous operational career as
bomber pilot.
to dive steeply, locate his aiming point quickly, then pull up in a

hurry. He carried out three dummies, plunging through the mist.
On bomb went home.
the final run he nearly hit the water but the
With the load gone, leaving the aircraft empty, a compass error
showed up.
It was quite an error. Within a few minutes the Lancaster was
roaring across the town of Hamm where the local anti-aircraft unit
gave them a hostile reception. McCarthy realized that the compass
was out by 30 degrees. He did a fast 180f-degree turn and headed
back towards the dam. Since they could not depend on the accuracy
of the compass they had to map read across Germany, Netherlands
and the Zuider Zee to the Frisian Islands and home. For his part in
that most sensational of all raids in the European campaign His
Majesty the King decorated McCarthy with the Distinguished Serv-
ice Order.
In the following months McCarthy participated in a number of
long-range raids beginning in England, hitting a target in Italy, then
landing in North Africa. Two or throe days later the procedure
would be reversed. On one such raid McCarthy's target, the trans-
former station at San Paolo D'Enza, was covered with haze. He
was forced to go down to 500 feet, so low that when the bomb hit,
dead on, his aircraft was damaged by shrapnel thrown up by the
explosion. On the last day of 1943, McCarthy went after a target in
northern France but found to his dismay that his 12,000-pound bomb
would not release. He returned to his squadron's satellite field and
requested landing clearance. The tower instructed them to wait
five minutes until the field could be evacuated. Then they were to
land without further instruction as the tower would be empty.
McCarthy landed safely with the six tons of explosive still clinging
to his aircraft. Throughout the spring of 1944 McCarthy went on
operation after operation, both bombing and bomb leading, that is,
lighting up the target with incendiaries.
Late in March several of the fabulous Mosquito aircraft were
delivered to the squadron to be used especially for marking targets.
W/C Cheshire flew the marker aircraft with his back-up coming
from one of the three flight commanders who acted as master
bomber for the operation, and also as marker back-up for the main
force in case the original markers were bombed out. McCarthy, by
now a flight commander with the rank of squadron leader, flew
several trips in a Mossie but he preferred Lancaster flying. With
the big bomber, he and his battle-tested crew could stay together.
He had already been awarded the DSO as well as the DFC for
"his example of courage and efficiency" and before long his exploits
as back-up marker won him a bar to his DFC. In the words of the
citation: "Since being awarded the DSO this officer has completed
numerous sorties as captain of aircraft in which he has taken part
in difficult and hazardous operations at low level. S/L McCarthy has
displayed exemplary skill and courage which, combined with his
unfailing devotion to duty, have contributed much to the success
achieved."
Watched by the ground crew, a four-engine Halifax of No. 6 Group takes off.
In April McCarthy participated in every raid to which his squad-
ron was committed. Early in May he put a bar on his operational
wings, signifying the completion of two tours. He completed his
work as a bomber pilot and spent the rest of the war in the haz-
ardous role of test pilot. After the war he returned to Canada and
in July 1968 he retired from the Canadian Armed Forces.
For many Canadian bomber crews in the Second World War, a

tour of operations was a series of dangerous sorties over enemy-
held territory in which anything could happen but seldom did. On
trip after trip German searchlights would stab the darkness and flak
bursts would mushroom while enemy fighters laced the night with
brilliant tracer shells. In spite of all the hazards, crews and aircraft
would return to base untouched. Then, a routine trip would sud-
denly turn into a terrible and unforgettable drama filled with death,
disaster and gallantry. It was on one such occasion that Flying
Officer A. W. J. Larden, a bomb aimer, won the Conspicuous Gal-
lantry Medal.
After aircrew training in Canada Sergeant Larden went on
embarkation leave home
North Bay, Ontario, before sailing
to his in
overseas. Arriving in England in June 1942 he went through opera-
tional and conversion training and in the spring of 1943 reported to
No. 218 (RAF] Squadron. His first trip was an uneventful sea-mining
expedition among the North Frisian Islands. Then he took part in
a number of bombing raids on industrial cities in the Ruhr Valley.
As a mild sample of what was to come, a fighter made an unsuccess-
ful attackon Larden's aircraft one June night.
was equipped with the venerable Short Stirling
Larden's squadron
which, although having many virtues, also had serious flaws for an
operational aircraft. Perhaps the most serious was the Stirling's
refusal to climb much above
15,000 feet with a full bomb load. As
a result, the danger of being struck by "falling objects" from above
in the target areawas nearly as great as the threat from the enemy
below. Larden and his fellow crew members went through several
such experiences. During a raid on Hamburg on 29 July 1943 while
the Stirlings were labouring along at a modest altitude, the high-
flying Lancasters and Halifaxes were dropping their bombs. The
plexiglass in Larden's aircraft was shattered by a drop bar from
some aircraft above. The next night a much more serious incident
occurred over Remscheid when more than 20 three-pound incendi-
way through the wings of Larden's Stirling and a
aries spiked their
50-pound incendiary burned its way through the centre of the fuse-
lage, narrowly missing the main spar. With the summer months
bringing favourable weather to England and the Continent, Larden,
now a flight sergeant, and his crew neared the completion of their
tour. It ended prematurely and drastically on the night of 12 Aug-
ust 1943.
Thirteen crews of No. 218 Squadron were briefed for a raid on
Turin, one of the last Italian cities to be bombed before Italy sur-
rendered. On this sortie was displayed the skill and courage that
won for Flight SergeantLarden the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal,
for Flight Lieutenant A. L. Aaron, the pilot, the posthumous award of
the Victoria Cross, and for both the flight engineer and the wireless
operator, the Distinguished Flying Medal. The raid started off in
routine manner and nothing went amiss until the final run on the
target. Then everything happened at once. The bomber received
devastating bursts of fire from an enemy fighter. Three engines
were hit, the windscreen shattered, the front and rear gun turrets
were put out of action and the elevator control damaged. The navi-
gator, F/0 W. Brennan, the other Canadian member of the crew,
was instantly killed and others were wounded. The pilot, badly
injured, slumped over the controls, causing the aircraft to go into a
dive. As the Stirling plunged towards the ice-capped Alps, the flight
engineer managed to regain control and at 3,000 feet he had the
bomber levelled out. The pilot regained consciousness and by means
of signs indicated that he could not regain sufficient height to cross
the mountains. Larden set course for Africa. The pilot was assisted
to the rear of the aircraft and given morphine to ease his pain but
he insisted on helping in every way possible, even writing directions
with his left hand.
With Larden, the bomb aimer, at the controls, the aircraft was
flown across the Mediterranean to North Africa. Larden had no way
to navigate so he could not be sure where he was and fuel was run-
ning low. As the situation became critical he spotted the flare path
of the airport at Bone, Algeria. F/L Aaron summoned his last re-
serves of strength to direct Larden in the hazardous task of landing
the damaged aircraft in the darkness with undercarriage retracted.
Larden had never landed an aircraft before. He made four practice

approaches, then started down. It was a perfect landing. Nine hours
later F/L Aaron died of exhaustion caused by his exertions in his
wounded condition to save his aircraft and crew.
Larden and the
surviving members crew returned to England but were posted
of the
to non-operational units. There was a proud moment to follow the
unhappy event. Larden was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry
Medal. Later he was commissioned and on 5 September 1944, repat-
riated to Canada. For F/0 Larden the war was over.
Another Canadian flier who won the highly coveted CGM for a
memorable act of courage and determination was Pilot Officer R. J.
Meek of Vancouver. Meek joined the RCAF in 1941 and following
navigation training was sent overseas. He arrived in England shortly
before Christmas 1942, then attended an operational training unit
before converting to Lancaster aircraft.
He joined No. 626 (RAF) Squadron on 21 November 1943. The
foggy English weather forced a month of delay. It was not until 16
December 1943, almost a year after he had arrived in England, that

FS Meek flew his first operational sortie. The aircraft crew included
Lancaster bombers of No. 419 [RCAF] Squadron wait for nightfall and the
next raid.
two other Canadians besides Meek; the remainder were members of
the RAF. The trip —target Berlin—was uneventful. A week later
Meek and his colleagues bombed Berlin again. The year 1943 ended.
Then came the night of 30 January 1944.
Meek's squadron formed part of a raid detailed to bomb Berlin.
The Luftwaffe was out in force. As Meek's Lancaster approached
the target markers, a German fighter aircraft closed in firing. The
Lancaster reeled. The wireless operator was killed; both gunners,
severely wounded, lost consciousness. The aircraft's electrical
system was destroyed, plunging the instrument panel into darkness
and cutting off communication between crew members. The
hydraulic system was wrecked and the mid-upper gunner's turret P/O R. /. Meek won the
had its side and rear panels blown out. In spite of the chaos inside Conspicuous Gallantry
Medal.
the bomber the run was successfully carried out. Then the German
fighter wheeled around and attacked again. The aircraft was hit but
the crew were not injured further. The fighter came in on another
run. Warrant Officer Meek was hit and severely wounded, the
pilot's leg was grazed with a bullet and the Lancaster took further
punishment.
The German fighter attacked again. The navigation instruments
were shattered and the navigator, W/0 Meek, was wounded again.
Within eight minutes the German flier had made four attacks, killing
one crew member, wounding the others and turning the Lancaster
into a flying wreck. The crew no longer knew their exact position
and the condition of their navigator was critical. Meek, though
—
desperately wounded one bullet in his chest and another in his
—
shoulder refused to leave his post. Deprived of practically all
navigation equipment he worked out a heading and stayed at his
map board plotting the route until they were within sight of the
home airport where they crash-landed. Subsequently the pilot and
the mid-upper gunner were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
and Warrant Officer Meek, the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. Fol-
lowing a period of convalescence Meek returned to the squadron
and, with the surviving members of his old crew, went back on
operations. In April 1944 he received a well-earned commissioned
rank. For the next three months he helped bomb many targets,
including D Day invasion objectives and flying-bomb launching
sites. In these operations, fortunately, W/0 Meek did not have
another night as perilous as January 30.

Although frequently it was the pilot of a bomber who received
the medals, a successful raid required the perfect coordination of
every member of the aircrew: pilot, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless
operator and gunners. The life bomber was especially depen-
of a
dent on the vigilance, judgement and marksmanship of the rear
gunner. Among the Canadians who occupied this post in a bomber
aircraft was Pilot Officer P. Engbrecht, an air gunner who achieved
the almost unheard-of feat of shooting down five German aircraft.
—
The mark of an "ace" the destruction of five or more enemy air-
—
craft was an honour confined almost exclusively to fighter pilots,
so Engbrecht's achievement gave him a unique place.
Sergeant Peter Engbrecht was born in Poltawks, Russia, in 1923
but came to Canada with his parents when he was three years old.
After graduating from high school in Manitoba he worked as a
blacksmith until 1941 when he joined the RCAF, for general duties.
In October 1942 he was posted overseas as a maintenance assistant.
Sergeant Engbrecht shot down five aircraft and attained the status of ace
while serving as an air gunner. As far as is known, this feat was never
dupiicated by any other air gunner in the Allied Air Forces.
But he wanted to fly, so in the summer of 1943 he remustered to
aircrew. In October of that year he won wing then
his air gunner's
went to an OTU
where he was assigned to a crew. On 12 May 1944
Sgt. Engbrecht and his fellow crew members reported for operations
to No. 424 Squadron of the RCAF's No. 6 Bomber Group at Skipton-
on-Swale.
A Lancaster took on a mighty load of bombs.

On 26 May 1944 Engbrecht flew his first sortie as mid-upper
gunner in a Halifax bomber. The trip was uneventful, in vivid con-
trast to the next night when the Halifaxes struck Bourg Leopold.
As the bombers lumbered towards the target German night fighters
came out in droves. During the run in and on the flight home, four-
teen fighter attacks were made on the formation. Engbrecht showed
what he had learned at gunnery school. He shot down an FW 190
and later an Me 109 as they came in on their runs against the
bomber.
During the period shortly before and just after D Day, bomber
crews worked to do what they could by means of strategic bombing
The faii-gunner was in a
to help the troops struggling for beachheads in Normandy. The
world of his own
far removed from Luftwaffe appeared in force. On D Day plus four Engbrecht and his
the rest of the crew. crew were returning from a raid on Versailles when a flare dropped
on their starboard beam. An Me 110 came out from behind the flare,
silhouetting itself against it. Engbrecht rotated his turret and fired
back. The Messerschmitt came straight in until, at about 200 yards,
it plunged down and exploded on impact far below. Less than a
minute later Engbrecht destroyed another ME 109 in the same way.
Engbrecht had established his reputation as an expert marksman.
On 13 August 1944 a formation of Halifaxes was returning from
Brunswick, Germany, which they had just struck, when night fight-
ers attacked. Engbrecht watched helplessly as an Me 110 shot down
a nearby Halifax. The German pilot then turned his attention to
Engbrecht's aircraft. As theenemy closed in from the port quarter,
Engbrecht and the tail gunner, FS Gillanders, both opened up. The
incoming fighter was met by converging streams of fire from the
mid-upper and tail turrets. After a few s'econds the Messerschmitt
burst into flames and exploded. Since Engbrecht had combined with
the tail gunner for the victory he was credited with a shared kill.
On a subsequent sortie an aircraft which Engbrecht could not iden-

tify attacked the Halifax. He shot it down for his fifth victory, an
unprecedented total for a bomber gunner. Before his tour of opera-
tions was completed he scored two more probables. Engbrecht's
accomplishments did not go unnoticed. He was awarded the Con-
spicuous Gallantry Medal for "his exceptional coolness and confi-
dence under fire [which] was a source of inspiration to other crew
members." At the end of the war, Peter Engbrecht, now commis-
sioned as a pilot officer, returned to Canada and left the Service.
Sergeant W. H. Cardy was an NCO who held a rather unusual
aircrew position for a Canadian: that of a flight engineer. When the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was put into operation, no
provision was made for training flight engineers. Consequently
when the RCAF went
on bombing operations, the position of flight
engineer was almost invariably filled by an Englishman seconded
from the RAF.
Sergeant Cardy was born in Cooksville, Ontario, and educated at
various schools in southern Ontario. Shortly after the outbreak of
hostilities he joined the Militia as a private in the Lorne Scots Regi-
ment. In August 1940 he enlisted in the RCAF as an aero engine
fitter.After appropriate training he served at his trade at various Sgt. W. H. Cardy.
stations across Canada until early in 1943 when he was posted over-
seas. He was now closer to military action than he had been in
Canada. As he watched the bullet-riddled bombers return to the
he wondered what it must be like to engage the enemy in
airfield,
combat. He decided to find out for himself. He remustered to flight

engineer in August 1943 and, after qualifying with the RAF, he was
sent to No. 427 (RCAF) Squadron.
Cardy joined the Lion Squadron during one of its busy times. His
first two trips were uneventful; then on 3 October 1943 he flew his
last mission. The target was Kassel and should not have been diffi-
cult. Recently German searchlights had become less effective and
fighter aircraft fewer in number. But as Cardy's Halifax flew over

the Zuider Zee en route to the target, an enemy aircraft attacked
out of the night. From below and port side the night fighter sprayed
the whole length of the Halifax with cannon and machinegun fire.
The rear gunner and wireless operator were killed instantly. The
aircraft was badly holed, the rear turret was smashed to pieces, the
controls shot away and fire broke out in the bomb bay. Sergeant
Cardy was wounded in the right arm and his left eye was struck a
glancing blow by a piece of armour-piercing bullet. The captain,
F/L G. }. Laird, who was to win the DFC for his night's work, man-
aged to escape the fighter and head for home.
Cardy refused to leave his post
In spite of intense suffering Sgt.
and executed his normal duties
he fainted through loss of
until
blood. When he regained consciousness, Cardy continued to moni-
tor the fuel gauges and switched tanks as required. When at last the
aircraft reached base, the undercarriage would not lower. The

control tower advised F/L Laird and his crew to bail out but they
requested permission to circle the field and attempt to force the
landing gear into position. Although Sgt. Cardy's condition was
critical, he managed to supervise the emergency lowering of the
undercarriage by severing the hydraulic line with a hacksaw and an
axe. The bomber then landed safely.
In the words of the citation covering the award of the Conspicu-
ous Gallantry Medal: "Sergeant Cardy's exemplary conduct and
great fortitudewere beyond praise." The severity of his wounds
prevented Cardy from regaining his aircrew status. On 2 Feb-
Sgt.
ruary 1944 he was repatriated to Canada and two months later he
was discharged from the RCAF.
Air Commodore R. J.
Lane, DSO, DFC and bar, attacked virtually
every vital centre in Germany and many other key targets in his
operational career. During his service, spanning three tours and 50
bombing from pilot officer to group
attacks, he rose steadily in rank
captain. At one period during the war he commanded No. 405
Squadron, the RCAF's pathfinder unit.
Trained in Canada as a pilot under the British Commonwealth
Air Training Plan, Lane arrived in England in July 1941 and under-
went operational training. He began his tour of duty with No. 35
[RAF) Squadron and flew his first sortie November 1941 as
on 7
co-pilot in a Halifax aircraft. The target, Berlin, was bombed suc-
cessfully. For the rest of 1941 Lane continued as second pilot. He
participated in two missions of particular significance: the daylight
raids,on 18 and 30 December, which pounded the German cruisers
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the harbour -of Brest, France.
On 3 March 1942 Lane's apprenticeship was over and he flew into
combat as a bomber captain. The raid, against the Renault Works
in Paris, was successful. It was followed by a series of attacks on
the heavily defended area of Germany ironically called "Happy

Valley" by Commonwealth aircrews. Then came a sortie against the
German cruiser Tirpitz anchored in a fjord in Norway. After the
long trip from Kinross, Scotland, to Norway, Lane spiralled slowly
down through the clouds and broke out of the overcast right over
the city of Trondheim. Every gun in the place opened up. Lane dove
"City of Leaside"
to water level, then flew up the fjord to make his attack. As he
Lancaster Squadron:
gassing up is a big job. raced towards the Tirpitz at mast height his aircraft was torn by
20 mm cannon one of which cracked the main spar in the
shells,
starboard wing, just missing the fuel tank. A few inches either way
and Lane's aircraft would have blown up.
In the months that followed. Lane made a grand tour of the Con-
tinent, dropping high explosives and incendiary bombs on armament
works, marshalling yards, drydocks and submarine pens. In March
he was promoted to flying officer, in June he rose to the rank of flight
lieutenant and became a deputy flight commander. Lane partici-
pated in several of the RAF's famed 1,000-plane raids. As a result
of his stalwart activities Lane was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross for "gallantry and devotion to duty in the execution of air
operations."
August 1942 the Pathfinder Force was organized. Lane volun-
In
teered. On 15 October 1942 Lane, with No. 35 [RAF] Squadron,
made his first flight, a large-scale and highly successful raid on Kiel.
At the beginning of 1943 he was promoted to squadron leader and
given command of a flight. He and his navigator received the Target
Finding Badge, an unofficial award for excellence among pathfinders.
On the night of 14 February 1943 Lane was nearing Cologne when
German guns opened up on him. Holes appeared in the aircraft and
one engine failed but he pressed on and dropped his air-marker
flares. On the way out of the target zone, at 17,000 feet, an Me 110
attacked from the stern. On its second run the fighter sent a stream
of cannon fire into the aircraft's starboard wing, then turned for a
Air Commodore R. /. Lane, who at one lime commanded the RCAF's only
pathfinder squadron, is shown here in the fluhr Express, the first Canndinn-bui/t
Lancaster bomber.

third attack. Lane stood the Halifax on its nose and went down in
a power dive, pulling out close to the sea. When he reached his
airfield the Halifax was declared a write-off.
On Lane ran into trouble again. He was dropping
his next raid
markers on Nuremburg for the main bomber force when his aircraft
was coned by searchlights and anti-aircraft began to find the range.
Lane practically flew down the searchlight beam to make his escape.
Later it was discovered that the aircraft skin had rippled under the
strain of the pullout.
After more than a year and a half on operations, RCAF Head-
quarters Overseas decided that Lane's extensive experience in the
pathfinder role could be utilized in teaching others. In May 1943 he
went to the Pathfinder Training Unit at Gransden Lodge as an
instructor. Belatedly, on 9 July 1943, his operational services as a
flight commander and and tenacity as a captain of an
his courage
aircraft were acknowledged by the award of the Distinguished Serv-
ice Order. On 9 September 1943 he was sent back to Canada when
the first Canadian-built Lancaster, The Ruhr Express, came off the
production line. He flew this aircraft to Britain. On 20 October 1943
Lane went back into action as a flight commander with No. 405
(RCAF) Squadron and, on 22 January 1944, he became its command-
ing officer. When a tough target was scheduled, Lane flew as master
bomber. He gave himself the unenviable task of staying over the
target and broadcasting instructions, first to the pathfinders and
then to the successive waves of aircraft as they swept in over the
target. Seven eventful months later, in August 1944, W/C Lane was
taken off operations for the last time. He handed over command of
No. 405 Squadron to assume duties with No. 6 [RCAF] Group with
the rank of group captain.
During his career Lane completed three tours of operations con-
sisting of more than 50 bombing attacks, won the DSO, DFC and
bar and was mentioned-in-despatches. By 1944 he had also risen
from the rank of pilot officer to group captain. The words of the
citation accompanying the award of a bar to his DFC stated: "He
completed many attacks on heavily defended targets in Germany
and has consistently displayed a fine fighting spirit throughout his
operational career. He proved himself an officer of outstanding
ability whose courage, cheerfulness and keen sense of duty were an
inspiration to his crews."
Squadron Leader H. V. Peterson, DFC and two bars, was one of
many young Canadians who, as the wartime recruiting posters used
to say, was a "world traveller at 21." His operational career took
him across Europe and the Middle East. He completed two tours
with Bomber Command and became the first RCAF warrant officer
to win an immediate Distinguished Flying Cross and bar.
The story began in Calgary in April 1940 when he joined the

RCAF. After graduation as a sergeant pilot on 11 March 1941 he
sailed overseas. A few days after arrival in England, Sgt. Peterson
celebrated his twenty-first birthday. After operational training he V
was sent to No. 10 (RAF) Squadron equipped with Whitleys. On his
fourth trip, while flying as co-pilot, he came under enemy fire for S/L H. V. Peterson, while
the first The Whitley received a total of 74 hits from flak and
time. serving with an RAF squad
became the first warrant
machinegun fire. On 7 September 1941 Peterson was upgraded to off
in the RCAF win the
to
aircraft captain and that fall he and his crew converted to Halifax immediate DFC.
aircraft, which meant that they could carry twice the bomb load.
Peterson's crew of seven included four Canadians: himself, Sgt. G.

Leclaire, the radio operator; Sgt. H. Savor, the bomb aimer; and Sgt.
J. Hayes, the rear gunner. Although the Halifax's extra speed, man-
oeuvreability and altitude gave the bomber crews more protection,
flying over occupied Europe at that stage of the war was a highly
hazardous occupation. The master searchlights of the enemy were
controlled by radar. They would pick up an aircraft and then guide
20 or 30 more searchlights to it, trapping the aircraft and making it
highly vulnerable to ack-ack fire. All too often the aircraft would
receive a direct hit, then the searchlights would move to another
target in the bomber stream. Once through this belt, the bomber
pilot would have to pick his way across the heavily defended areas
Whitley
of the Ruhr to his selected target. There he would encounter more
heavy concentrations of searchlights and flak. An absence of flak
simply meant that there were night fighters in the sky, waiting to
strike at an illuminated target. Fighters, lights and flak combined
into an effective defensive system which gave bomber crews little
more than a mathematical chance of surviving their tour of opera-
tions.
While with No. 10 Squadron Peterson frequently attacked naval

targets. He took part in the attack in February 1942 on the battle-
ships Scharnborst and Gneisenau. A short time later he struck
against Kiel, submarine pens at St. Nazaire, and the German battle-

ship Tirpifz, anchored in Aasen Fjord near Trondheim, Norway.
The Tirpitz was bigger than
the Bismarck and posed a serious threat
both to the Murmansk convoys supplying Russia and also to ships
of the Royal Navy. Sinking it would be a formidable task. She was
nestled in the rugged fjord between rocky cliffs ranging in height
from 500 to 2,000 feet. In addition to this natural protection there
were several German battleships and support naval units in the next
basin which would concentrate their firepower on any Allied aircraft
bold enough to venture in. Nearby were German fighter squadrons
plus batteries of light and heavy anti-aircraft. Breaking through this
ring of steel would be a supreme test of daring and skill and Peter-
son and his squadron mates knew that for many of them it would
be a one-way trip.
On 27 April 1942 Warrant Officer Peterson pulled his heavily
laden Halifax off the airfield and joined the stream led by his squad-
ronCommanding Officer, W/C D. C. T. Bennett, later Air Officer
Commanding Pathfinder Group. Four squadrons in all went after
this target which Winston Churchill described as "of extreme
importance." The weather was clear with a full moon. They picked
Canadian flyers of No. 2 Group (RAF] helped drop 45 tons of high explosive
and 18 tons of incendiaries on the Philip's Radio Factory in Eindhoven,
Holland, on 6 December 1942.
up the coast line of Norway and the mountains along the entrance
to Aasen Fjord. At 8,000 feet as he was crossing the entrance to the
long fjord, Peterson passed through the first flak. He reached the
rendezvous point over a lake and orbited until it was time to go in.
The run started from several miles out at an altitude of 6,000 feet.
As they approached through dense flak they could see other attack-
ing aircraft going down in flames. Peterson continued descending.
A dirty brown smoke was flowing into the fjord from smudge pots
lit to obscure the Tirpitz. Peterson held the aircraft on a predeter-
mined heading and entered the tunnel of smoke in the bottom of the
fjord. They were so low that flak was coming at them horizontally
and downwards from the tops of the hills. Peterson dropped the
mines and pulled up abruptly, pouring on power to clear the moun-
tains. Weaving and turning to evade the flak he managed to get out
of the target area. Others were not so lucky. But the reprieve was
only temporary. The Tirpitz was still afloat. The next day was like
a bad dream repeated, only this time the crew knew what awaited
them, which made matters worse. Again Peterson ran the gauntlet
and once more aircraft could be seen plunging in flames, exploding
in mid-air and crash-landing in the fjord. When the medium-level
attack ceased, Peterson started the low-level raid. A searchlight
illuminated the bomber but Sgt. Hayes, the rear gunner, shot it out.
Flak peppered the aircraft but Peterson got his mines away and
roared up the fjord wall. The port inner engine dead, he climbed on
three,hoping to trade speed for altitude and clear the surrounding
mountains. He made it. The crew checked the aircraft. There was
a gaping hole in the elevator where the metal ribs and fabric had
been shot out. The dinghy had been blasted out of its stowage in
the wing. The aircraft floor was riddled and because of other
damage they could not change fuel tanks to feed the outer port
engine. Peterson feathered this engine and flew on two for several
hours, then restarted the third for the approach and landing at an
emergency on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Of the 22 air-
strip
craft that made the low-level attack, 11 had been lost. For his part
in the raid which Churchill called "a feat unsurpassed in the annals
of British arms," Peterson was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross.
Then the 1,000-plane raids began. Bomber Command wanted to
prove the effectiveness of a massive bomber force in the offensive

against Germany. Peterson took part in the bomber stream which
night after night struck the Ruhr Valley. On 5 June 1942 they
bombed Essen. Over the target the port engine was hit by flak and
the prop would not feather. An Me 110 attacked. More flak hit the
starboard inner engine and the glycol started to boil over. With one
engine feathered and another windmilling, the aircraft was barely
able to maintain altitude. Peterson's vision was impaired by a
wound and windblast, but he headed for England while the wireless
operator rapped out an SOS. He made a difficult but successful
landing on a short grass field designed for fighters, not bombers.
For the courage and determination he had displayed throughout that
sortie, W/0 I Peterson was awarded an immediate bar to his DFC.
In June 1942 W/O Peterson and another captain flew their aircraft
far south, to Kasfareet in the Suez Canal Zone. Peterson and his
crew operated against Tobruk, Rommel's main supply base for North
Africa. There were few searchlights and little flak quite a change —
from the Ruhr. The pattern ran thus: take off from Aquir in Pales-
tine for Advance Base Kasfareet or Fayid in the Canal Zone for
bombing-up and briefing, proceed to bomb the docks or fuel dumps
at Tobruk, return to advance base for debriefing and breakfast, fly
The dust flies as a Canadian crew takes off in a Wellington from a desert strip.
back across the Gaza Strip to Aquir. The last trip on Peterson's first
tour of operations was a daylight attack on Heraklion airfield on

Crete. Peterson's aircraft bombing circuit was damaged
was hit, the
and the bombs would not release. They had to be released manually
on a secondary target. Peterson then had to carry out wild evasive
action during five separate quarter attacks by an Me 109. Peterson
returned to England in April 1943. His first tour had included 25
raids in Europe and ten in the Middle East.
Following a period of leave at home Peterson arrived back over-

seas and joined No. 429 Squadron as a flight commander. The air
war had entered a new phase. RAF bombers took part in daylight
raids as well as nighttime sorties and they made constantly deeper
penetration of enemy bomb line moved
territory as the eastward.
The Germans also had something new jet fighters — — to harass
Allied bombers.
On March 1945 Peterson was part of a bomber force detailed
31
for a daylight attack on Hamburg. The formation leader made a
navigation and timing error which put his gaggle on target half an
hour late. A flock of Me 262 jet fighters attacked. Peterson's group
of approximately 100 aircraft, spread out on the bombing run,
attempted to close up to combine their firepower for defence. Un-
fortunately, several got into each other's slipstreams, lost control and
collided. Peterson pulled up over two colliding aircraft and wit-
nessed two other similar accidents. The Me 262s, flown by the best
Luftwaffe pilots organized by Germany's leading fighter ace,
Galland, flew through the formation, picking off several bombers.
As the end of the war approached Peterson rushed through ten
trips in six weeks. He finished his second tour of 20 trips, making
a total of 55 sorties consisting of 384 operational hours. In the
words of the citation accompanying the second bar to his Dis-
tinguished Flying Cross: "S/L Peterson is a flight commander of out-
standing ability whose qualities are reflected in the high standard of
operational efficiency of his flight." Peterson stayed overseas and
flew Liberator transport aircraft with No. 246 Squadron to India
after VE Day. He returned to Canada in February 1946 after spend-
ing nearly five years overseas.
Most of the drama and danger which befell RCAF personnel in

wartime occurred during operational sorties over enemy-occupied

territory. But there were occasions when a disaster occurred at an
airfield in England, bringing non-combatant personnel into danger
and calling forth the highest degree of heroism.
Air Commodore A. D. Ross, CBE, was one of the Air Force pilots
who flew during those colourful and hectic years between world
wars when RCAF "bush pilots" helped to unroll the map of Canada.
By the time the Second World War began, he had attained the rank
of squadron leader. He commanded various training schools across
the country, then in late 1942 he went overseas. It was while he was
commanding an RCAF bomber base that he won his George Cross.
On the night of 27 June 1944 A C Ross was in the control tower
AirCommodore A. D. Ross watching his aircraft return from a mission. When all but four had
won the George Cross for landed he started for the interrogation room to get first-hand reports
rescuing trapped crew
members /rom
of the raid. As he was about to enter the debriefing room there was
a burning
aircraft. a great yellow flashon the airfield. Running to the scene Ross found
that an Alouette Squadron aircraft, returning from the operation on
three engines, had crashed into another aircraft parked alongside
the runway and loaded with bombs. By the time he arrived both
aircraft were burning fiercely with gas tanks and bombs in imminent
danger of exploding.
A/C Ross immediately took charge, assisted by Flight Sergeant
J. R. St. Germain, the bomb aimer of another aircraft, Corporal M.
Marquet and Leading Aircraftsmen M. M. McKenzie and R. R.
Wolfe. A/C Ross and Marquet had just extricated the pilot when
ten 500-pound bombs exploded. The rescuers were hurled to the
ground. Undeterred by the flames which were now rapidly approach-
ing the tail, the Air Commodore, assisted by St. Germain, McKenzie
and Wolfe turned his attention to the imprisoned rear gunner of the
Alouette aircraft, Sergeant C. G. Rochon. They hacked away at the
Corporal M. jMarquet
won the George MedaJ perspex until a hole was made sufficiently large to allow them to
for his port in the rescue. pass an axe to Rochon. But a hole large enough to allow Rochon to
escape could not be made from the inside. Finally St. Germain and
Marquet had to break the steel supports of the turret to extricate
the gunner. Just then another bomb explosion threw the rescuers to
the ground again. St. Germain, rising quickly, covered one of the
victims with his own body to protect him. The Air Commodore was
struck by flying debris and lost his right hand. Turning the further
rescues over to his assistants, Ross walked to the ambulance and
was taken to the station hospital where an emergency operation was
The target was Nuremberg on 11 April 1945. The aititude was 17,000 feet and
the bombs were from RCAF aircraft of No. 6 Group.
performed. In the meantime Marquet, seeing that the burning petrol

endangered two aircraft, supervised their removal while McKenzie
and Wolfe continued their efforts to extinguish the fire. The entire
crew of the Alouette aircraft was saved. Of the rescuers, McKenzie
and Wolfe were injured as well as Ross. For their deeds in this
incident St. Germain and Marquet received the George Medal.
McKenzie and Wolfe were awarded the British Empire Medal.
When an Allied aircraft was shot down over occupied territory

the survivingcrew members generally became POWs in a German
prison compound. For them the war was over. But there were
exceptions. Some aircrew managed to evade capture for a period
of time then, after being taken prisoner, they either escaped or made
many attempts to do so. In any case, whether evaders, escapees, or
would-be escapees, these personnel contributed to the Allied cause
by consuming the energies of guards and police and diverting troops
from their normal operational roles. Two such individuals who
were decorated for their repeated efforts to escape were P/0 J. L.
Warren, BEM, and W/C C. D. Noble, MBE, DEC.

Pilot Officer Warren was born in Pointe au Bic, Quebec, and was
educated there and in Montreal and Quebec City. In June 1942 he
joined theRCAF and trained as an air gunner. A year later he sailed
for overseas and, after additional training, reported to No. 434
(RCAF] Squadron as a rear gunner. On November
the night of 19
1943 Sgt. Warren was taking part in a raid on Leverkusen when his
Halifax was shot down over Cologne.
He got clear of the burning wreckage and hid in a haystack for
the night. In themorning he left his hiding place and walked across
fieldsmost of the day, sleeping in the woods at night. He was so
weak as a result of wounds and bruises sustained when the aircraft
crashed that he eventually went to a farm and gave himself up. He
was imprisoned in Dulag Luft at Wetzlar and sent on to Stalag LVB
at Muhlberg. On 17 March 1944 Sgt. Warren made his first attempt
to escape by joining a party of French prisoners going out for
supplies. When the party reached the stores he slipped away and
went to a cemetery where he was to have met a Canadian airman
who had previously escaped. On arrival Sgt. Warren learned that
the other airman had been recaptured and the guards had been re-
inforced. As he had neither food nor maps Sgt. Warren decided to
return to the camp and await a more favourable opportunity. He
regained thecamp undetected.
On 1 May 1944 he made a further attempt, using the same method.
He met an RAF officer and they successfully evaded the search
parties and guards for five days. Four other escapees joined them
and all managed to get on a freight train to Holland. On arrival there
the party split up. Sgt. Warren and one companion travelled north
until they made contact with the Dutch underground at Borne. They
stayed for five weeks, then moved to Nijverdal. Early in August,
Sgt. Warren went on to Zwollo and hid in a boat until the end of
the month, when he was given shelter in a castle near Hattem. The
German search parties were very active, but he successfully evaded
them and eventually reached Corssel where he remained for eight
weeks. Of that period six weeks were spent hiding in a cave under
a pigsty, in the company of two Poles and a Dutchman. The Germans
made a surprise search and they were arrested. Although Sgt.
Warren produced his RAF identity discs he was treated as a
"terrorist" and badly manhandled during interrogation, after which
he was put in a small cell with 13 others. For three weeks they re-
mained in the cell, no one being allowed out for any purpose. Later
he was taken to an empty house for interrogation; further brutal
treatment was carried out. Eventually Sgt. Warren was moved to
Oxelhoft, where conditions were even worse.
On February 1945 he and ninety-three others were put into two
1
boxcars and sent to Germany. During the journey some of the party
pried open a window and made an attempt to escape but the guards
saw them and opened fire. Nevertheless Sgt. Warren succeeded in
getting away and evaded capture by walking all night through waist-
high water. The next evening he made contact with an underground
organization and was taken to Lobith. The following night they
attempted to cross the Rhine but luck was not with them. The party
was then taken to a farm by a Dutch nurse and given shelter. On
22 February 1945 the Germans ordered all farms to be evacuated.
Sgt. Warren and some others posed as members of the farmer's
family and moved with them. Later he posed as a Dutch police-
man in order to prevent being taken again. He continued to evade
capture and was finally liberated by British forces in April 1945.
Sergeant Warren received the British Empire Medal and was sub-
sequently commissioned with the rank of pilot officer.
On the night of 16 June 1942 W/C Noble, who had already been
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his operational activities,
was navigating a Stirling bomber on his fifty-seventh sortie. He was
expecting no serious trouble. However, ten minutes after they had
bombed the marshalling yards at Osnabriick an Me 110 set the Stirl-
ing on fire, forcing Noble and the surviving crew members to bail out
behind enemy lines.
After landing in the middle of a cemetery Noble met up with his
front gunner FS Bailey (RAF), and the two of them set off running
cross-country. Before daybreak they hid in some thick underbrush
while German soldiers and their dogs searched for them. At night-
fallNoble and Bailey consulted their map and established their posi- y^/Q Noble was awarded
tion as somewhere inside Germany about 70 miles east of the Dutch the mbe for his numerous
attempts.
border. They would travel by night and hide by day, avoiding the "'^"'''^
main roads, until they had crossed into Holland. On the fifth night
they made it across the Dutch frontier. They tried to get help from
local farmers but being unable to speak the language they could not
make themselves understood. It was also apparent that the Dutch
A ]u 87 (Stuka dive bomberj at captured aerodrome, Wunsdorf, Germany.
were reluctant to help them because of fear of the Gestapo. They

met two English-speaking Dutch policemen but, unfortunately, the
constables said they would have to turn the fliers over to the
Gestapo. Noble and Bailey attacked them and tried to make off
with their bicycles. Bailey was caught so Noble was on his own as
an evader. Two days later he was also captured by Dutch police
and turned over to the Germans. He was taken to a hospital where
his wounds caused by the crash were treated, then he was taken to
the infamous Stalag Luft 3 near Sagan, Germany. Although this was
a maximum-security compound Noble immediately began making
plans for escape.
His first two attempts were abortive. A spur-of-the-moment jump
from the roof of a hut into a load of cedar trees being hauled outside
the camp came to naught; he was observed by a guard and taken
from the truck before it left the compound. The penalty for being
caught was a three-week stretch in solitary confinement. Noble's
second try was well planned and would have succeeded but for
excess caution on his part. Every day a little old man with a horse-
drawn wagon, accompanied by an armed guard, entered the camp
to empty garbage from the incinerators. Noble watched this pro-
cedure for a few days and noticed that the guard did not stay too
close to the wagon. Noble decided that he would get into the wagon
undetected before the old man started to shovel the garbage. Then
when the wagon had left the camp he would simply jump out and
disappear. Although the old man would see him go there would be
nothing he could do about it since the armed guard did not accom-
pany the wagon to the garbage dump.
Noble took his plan to the Escape Committee. Although they were
not too impressed with it they decided to give it limited support.
On the appointed day a broke out among some of the
"fight"
prisoners. The guard and the old man were diverted and Noble
made it into the empty wagon undetected. However, he buried him-
self too deeply in the mixture of wet ashes and other debris and
could not get out when more weeks of solitary
the time came. Three
confinement followed. The next escape attempt in which Noble was
involved was planned by the Escape Committee and was a qualified
success. Whenever POWs got lice in their clothing, the Germans
would march all prisoners in groups of 24 to a delousing station
about a mile from the compound. The scheme was hatched of
slipping a phony group into the stream with two prisoners masquer-
ading as German guards.
The German uniforms, the gate passes and even the wooden rifles,
were prepared in camp. The would-be escapees then rounded up
some lice and convinced the Germans that a delousing operation
was in order. The Germans agreed. On the second day of this
operation two guards were persuaded to have a cup of coffee with
German-speaking POWs and, while they were so engaged, two
prisoners dressed in German uniforms took over their duties. The
group of 24 POWs, laden with blankets under which was hidden
their escape clothing, plus the two phony German guards, approached
the main gate; passes were shown and the gate swung open. They
The Lancaster had a nose turret with two 303 machine guns mounted jusf
above the bomb ninier's position.

proceeded down the road and when out of sight, melted into a
woods bordering the road. A quick change of clothing and each
prisoner set out on his own. Carrying prison-made documents
identifying him as a Norwegian labourer, Noble bought a ticket for
Danzig and boarded a train. In a Polish town the train stopped and
hordes of SS commenced a detailed check of everyone. Noble de-
cided to make a strategic withdrawal. As he was leaving the station
a suspicious policeman stopped him and put him with about 30
others who had been taken from the train. It took the police two
hours to establish that Noble was not the person that he claimed to
be. The result was three weeks solitary confinement back at Stalag
Luft 3. Undeterred, Noble next engaged in digging a tunnel to free-
dom, in the summer of 1943.
Along with some 800 other prisoners Noble took his turn either
digging underground, dispersing sand, on security duties or in the
maps, credentials and clothing department. When the time came to
make the break it was estimated that 200 people could be handled in
one night so names were drawn from a hat. Noble was number 78
on the list. When the tunnel was opened to the outside world they
found that instead of being well into the woods as planned, the exit
was on the edge of the woods only 25 feet from the guard tower.
This handicap plus the fact that there was an air raid on the night
of the escape, which plunged the tunnel into darkness, slowed the
exodus considerably. As Noble was about to crawl out of the tunnel
he heard shouting. The Germans had seen one of the prisoners run-
ning through the woods. The jig was up. This time the results were
disastrous. On direct orders from Hitler 50 of the prisoners who had
escaped were shot in cold blood by the Gestapo. The Germans also
issued a directive that in future all escaping POWs would be shot
if captured. This ended all escape attempts. After a long forced
march deeper into Germany, Noble and his fellow POWs were
liberated on 4 May 1945 by the British Army. In the award of the
MBE, which Noble received after he was repatriated to England, the
citation stated: "F/L Noble's enthusiasm and keenness never failed
despite the many disappointments and punishments which he had
to undergo. Throughout his imprisonment his services were of the
highest value to his fellow prisoners."
When the war ended and the prisoners of war were liberated,
some brave deeds previously unknown were revealed. Among them
was the story of incredible courage which brought a posthumous
Victoria Cross to Pilot Officer A. C. Mynarski, a mid-upper gunner
with No. 419 Squadron.
Mynarski was born in Winnipeg on 14 October 1916 and gradu-
ated from high school in that city in 1935. In November 1940 he
joined the Royal Winnipeg Rifles of the non-permanent active militia
while pursuing his civilian trade of leather worker. On 29 Septem-
ber 1941, at the age of 25, he joined the RCAF and began training as
a wireless/air gunner. On completion of wireless, bombing and gun-
nery training, eight days before Christmas 1942, Mynarski graduated
with the rank of sergeant. Early in the New Year he sailed for Pilot Officer Andrew
England. Charles Mynarski, the RCAF's
second and final Victoria
Further training awaited Mynarski overseas. It was not until 31 Cross winner. He was in the
October 1943 that he flew with an operational unit, No. 9 (RAF) crew of a Lancaster bomber
on the night of 12 June, 1944.
Squadron. In April he was transferred to No. 419 (RCAF] Squadron.
After one operation on a Halifax bomber Mynarski and his crew
members converted to Lancasters and made more operational
11
trips. Many of the sorties were difficult but, the crew later
as
recalled,Mynarski in addition to being a proficient air gunner had a
sense of humour. Under trying conditions he would often tell a
joke which would relieve the tension.
On the evening of l2 June 1944 Mynarski and his crew were
briefed in the standard fashion concerning a low-level night bomb-
ing attack on the railway yards at Cambrai, France. The briefing
included a warning about German night fighters over the target. It
was a quiet clear night and as the crew sat on the grass by the
was no undue apprehension.
aircraft waiting for takeoff time, there
Indeed, Mynarski was and for good reason. Just the
in high spirits
day before he had been commissioned as a pilot officer.
At 2130 hours Mynarski's aircraft lumbered into the air and set
course for Cambrai. They were due to arrive over the target shortly
after midnight. The pilot had been instructed to make a continual
change of altitude as much as 2,000 feet at a time as protection
against radar-predicted flak. On way Mynarski and his crew
the
had their first encounter with German interceptor rockets. These
rockets came up to the aircraft's altitude, chased it for a while, then
exploded. They presented a heart-stopping sight, but fortunately
proved ineffective.

The captain eased the aircraft down to 2,000 feet and started the
bombing run. The tail gunner called him over the intercom warning
him of the presence of a German night fighter and gave instructions
for evasive action. A Ju 88 came out of the darkness from below.
The bomber started to weave, then it was hit. The two port engines
failed, the turret hydraulic system was badly damaged and the Lan-
caster was on fire from the mid-upper turret right back to the tail.
The flames became fierce; the captain was forced to order the crew
to abandon the aircraft.
Pilot Officer Mynarski left his turret and made his way towards
the escape hatch. He then saw that the rear gunner was trapped in
his turret which was immovable because of the loss of hydraulic
pressure. Without hesitation Mynarski made his way through the
flames in an endeavour to reach the rear turret and release the
gunner. While he was doing so his parachute and clothing were set
on fire. All his efforts to move the turret and free the gunner were
in vain. Eventually the rear gunner clearly indicated to him that
there was nothing more he could do and that he should try to save
his own life. Pilot Officer Mynarski reluctantly went back through
the flames to the escape hatch. There as a last gesture to the trapped
gunner, he turned toward him, stood to attention in his flaming
clothing and saluted, before he jumped from the aircraft. Mynarski's
descent, his parachute and clothing flaming, was seen by the people
on the ground. The local French people went to his assistance but
the Pilot Officer died from his burns and injuries.
The rear gunner had a miraculous escape. When the aircraft
crashed he was thrown free and lived to tell the gripping account of
Mynarski's heroism and sacrifice.
Back they come a foTmation of No. 6 Group Halifaxes —/rom a daylight attack
on a German target.
Many RCAF aircrew flew the SunderJand /lying boat.
CHAPTER THREE
COASTAL COMMAND
Without doubt the longest campaign of the Second World War was
the Battle of the Atlantic. From the time the first was fired in
shot
anger, in 1939, until the closing days of the war, more than five
years later, submarines, surface vessels and aircraft sought to cut
the America-to-Britain lifeline. They came perilously close to suc-
cess. The German U boats were particularly deadly and convoy
escort by surface vessels was not able to cut down the unacceptable
shipping losses. The answer was the use of long-range aircraft
which, either alone or in conjunction with naval units, could detect
and destroy submarines or else keep them away from their intended
victims.
The RCAF's contribution to this maritime battlefield consisted of
seven squadrons attached to the RAF Coastal Command and, by
the end of 1942, nine squadrons on Canada's east coast and nine
more on the west coast. For aircrew personnel flying on convoy
duties, it was a long and wearying war. For seemingly endless hours
they patrolled the high seas without a single glimpse of the enemy.
But, occasionally, a submarine or surface vessel would be spotted
and a routine patrol would suddenly explode into violence as a
life or death struggle ensued.
The first member of the RCAF to sink a submarine, while flying

with a squadron based in Canada, was Flight Lieutenant N. E. Small
of Vancouver. Unlike the majority of pilots who joined the RCAF
in the Second World War, Small was already an experienced flier.
In the pre-war days he was one of the military pilots who, alongside
civilian bush pilots, helped to push back Canada's frontier and
COASTAL COMMAND 87
develop the country's vast natural resources. Small joined the
RCAF originally in 1928, serving first as a fitter, later as a motor
mechanic, and, beginning in 1931, as a pilot. One day, while at the
controls of an open-cockpit Vedette flying boat, he was struck in the
face by a wild duck. He lost consciousness and was severely injured
in the ensuing crash. It was several months before he could fly
again.
He left the RCAF
in 1937 to fly for Canadian Airways, Imperial
Airways and, Trans-Canada Airways. In November 1939 he
later,
rejoined the RCAF. In a month's time Small was sent to No. 10
(Bomber Reconnaissance] Squadron at Halifax, where, because of
his airline experience, he was given special tasks. He served as an
advanced instructor, a recce pilot along the Labrador Coast and as
a ferry pilot. In the latter role he made five trips from Bermuda to
England.
Small finally became operational 1941 when he was posted
in July
to No. 116 Squadron of Eastern Air Command. Like other Catalina
pilots on the squadron he made many fruitless searches for sub-
marines alleged to be somewhere in the area. After many such
frustrating experiences Small decided that he knew a better way to
do things. He and his crew would remain on standby, ignoring
unconfirmed reports of a submarine, then, when radio operators had
obtained a definite "fix" on a U boat's position, he and the crew
would scramble like fighter pilots. The efficiency of this system was
soon evident. Within a few months Small led Eastern Air Command
in the number of attacks credited to one captain.
On two of these occasions Small attacked submarines which were
moving on the surface with their guns manned and ready. Such a
procedure was most hazardous since a submarine had far greater
firepower than a Catalina and would likely be the winner of any
air-sea duel. In spite of the odds Small pushed his luck twice and
both times forced the subs to crash-dive to safety. For such deter-
mination and courage in an operational role plus his outstanding
flying in his previous non-operational activities. Small was awarded
the Air Force Cross. He was promoted to squadron leader and
given command of No. 113 Squadron. In addition to anti-submarine
sorties he often flew in the most adverse weather conditions to aid
in the rescue of survivors of sunken or damaged ships.
On 31 July 1942 S/L Small made Eastern Air Command's first kill.

He was flying a Hudson aircraft southeast of Cape Sable when
he sighted and destroyed U 754. Other pilots would fly in his prop-
wash and get other subs but to Small went the credit of a Canadian
"first." His squadrbn moved to Newfoundland, closer to the sub-
marines' favourite hunting ground. On 1 January 1943 S/L Small was

awarded the DFC.
Six days later he was dead. The exact cause of the crash is
unknown. The only details on record are that he and his crew, as
they had done so often in the past, were flying an anti-submarine
sweep. They were returning from the operation and went down
five miles east of Gander airport. There were no survivors.
In the unspectacular role of maritime operations, achievements

were measured not by the submarines destroyed but by the number
cf convoys safely brought to port. But, although everyone realized
the importance of this monotonous work, it was still hard to avoid
being bored when flying patrols over apparently barren seas. The
satisfaction of sighting, attacking and destroying a submarine came
rarely. Two Canadian fliers, D. F. McRae and F/O K. O. Moore had
the great satisfaction of sinking two subs each.
Donald McRae, born in Stavely, Alberta, but living in Vancouver,
joined the RCAF on 1 May 1941 and began pilot training. After
graduating and receiving a commission as a Pilot Officer, he was
sent to the General Reconnaissance School at Charlottetown, P.E.I.,
and then to the Hudson Operational Training Unit at Debert, N. S.,
before being seconded to the RAF Ferry Command operating out of
Dorval. After additional training at an Advanced Flying Unit at
South Cerney, Gloucestershire, and at an Operational Training Unit
at Cranwell, Lincolnshire, he reported to No. 179 Squadron at
Chivenor for Coastal Command squadron he
operations. With that
operated out of England, Gibraltar, North Africa and the Azores
in pursuit of the elusive submarine.
The submarine, however, was not too elusive for McRae. On 24
August 1943 he attacked and sank a U boat; according to German
records, U 134. It was an auspicious beginning. On September 3
he got another chance at an undersea craft. He was operating out
of Gibraltar and flying over the Bay of Biscay when he sighted a
fully surfaced U boat. For some reason it did not open fire on the
aircraft. McRae raced in to the attack, flying from port to starboard
COASTAL COMMAND 89
at an angle of 30 degrees to the submarine's track. As he started
his run in, it crash-dived. At an altitude of 100 feet McRae released
six 250-pound depth charges which straddled the wake. Results
were not conclusive. McRae circled the area for some time but the
U boat was not seen again.
Three days later he had better luck. Again he was over the Bay of
Biscay looking for trouble. A radar contact was made with a sub-
marine close by. McRae continued on course until he had room to
turn onto a reciprocal heading. Then things happened fast. McRae's
navigator opened fire with the machine guns in the nose of the air-
craftand saw his tracer bullets ricocheting off the submarine.

Seconds later six depth charges straddled the U boat and exploded
between the conning tower and the stern. U 760 was in trouble. As
it turned out, the sub managed to stay afloat but was damaged suffi-
ciently to force it to proceed to Vega Harbour in Spain, where the

crew were interned and the submarine remained for the duration
of the war.
The same night McRae's career almost came to an end. The
A submarine on the surface was heavily armed and posed a serious threat to
any attacking aircraft.
unhappy event was prevented only by McRae's fine flying ability.
He was returning from the attack and had been diverted to Port
Lyautey in North Africa. When he arrived he found the base
covered by fog. He was directed to proceed to Raz-el-Ma, near Fez,
but this airfield apparently had not been advised of his diversion
and was blacked out. In the course of this search McRae was climb-
ing to a higher altitude when both engines failed. All attempts to
restore the engines were of no avail; a forced landing was imminent.
McRae was fortunate in that a farmer a few miles south of Meknes
in French Morocco was burning stubble on a wheat field. He was
able to use this field for the landing. He turned onto final approach
and lowered the undercarriage. Everything appeared to be going
well, but in the illumination from the aircraft's landing lights McRae
saw that the end of the field dropped off in a gulley and that he
would not be able to bring the aircraft to a halt in time. He quickly
retracted the undercarriage. The aircraft churned along into the
gulley on its belly and jarred to a stop. Net result: damage to the
aircraft but no injury to the crew.
The combination of McRae and his wireless operator/air gunner
F/0 Senior had been mainly responsible for their contacting of
and attacking three submarines. It was fitting that they were given
a joint citation with the award of immediate DFCs on 27 October
1943. The navigator, P/0 Stead, and the two other wireless operator/
air gunners, F/0 Hegan and FS MacKenzie, were mentioned-in-
despatches. At the middle of November 1943 McRae had sunk one

sub, damaged and interned one and made other attacks with no
results reported.
On 18 November McRae was flying from the Azores at night
under a sky partially covered by stratus and stratocumulus cloud.
Much to the pleasure of subhunters, but much to the dismay of sub
crews, bright moonlight shone down on a quiet sea. A radar con-
tact was made: distance three miles. All eyes on the aircraft peered
out anxiously; then there it was, a submarine in silhouette. When
they established that the glistening black shape was a German U
boat, they closed to battle. McRae's Wellington was equipped with
a Leigh light, the latest device designed to make life trying for sub-
marine crews. This searchlight of 20 million candlepower could
pierce the blackest of nights, and shed the protective veil of darkness
which the submariners had previously enjoyed. But it also had its
COASTAL COMMAND 91
disadvantages. McRae could have flipped a switch and virtually
turned night into day, but he might also have illuminated stragglers
in theconvoy he was trying to protect. He decided against the light
and instructed his front gunner not to fire, in the hope that he could
catch the sub by surprise.
Orange flashes in the night told him the submarine anti-aircraft
gunners had not been caught napping. McRae hurtled forward at
an altitude of only 50 feet. He released four depth charges, three of
which fell to portside and one to starboard, about 15 feet aft of the
bow. The explosion threw up towering plumes of water. For a
few moments, only the bow could be seen. Then the craft was
rocked by two bright flashes which appeared to come from amid-
ships. U 211 and its crew went down to a watery grave. McRae had
sunk his second sub.
After 460 operational hours McRae completed his tour. He
returned to Canada on 19 January 1944 and served with the peace-
time RCAF until his retirement in January 1961.
Like McRae, Flying Officer K. O. Moore sank two subs. But

Moore, unlike anyone else who ever flew on behalf of Coastal
Command, got his two within half an hour of each other, a feat
previously unheard-of in anti-submarine warfare. And, as a matter
of historical record, it was never done again.
Moore, from Rockhaven, Saskatchewan, joined the RCAF in
August 1941 and took pilot training. In Canada, under the British
Commonwealth Air Training Plan, aircrew training was long and
thorough even in the dark days of 1941, so it was September 1943
before he could pin up the coveted pilot badge. For the next six
months he received advanced training at No. Ill Operational Train-
ing Unit in the Bahamas. He then flew to England via Ferry Com-
mand, took more operational training, and on 27 July 1943 reported
to a front-line unit, No. 224 Squadron, for active duty.
Nothing in Moore's first few months on the squadron indicated
that the squadron had acquired a giant of a man when it came to
sub-killing. On 31 March 1944 Moore made his first attack. As
captain of a Liberator aircraft he was flying over the Bay of Biscay
on an anti-submarine patrol when he sighted a fully surfaced U
boat. He dove down to 50 feet, levelled off and tracked to the
target. The Liberator coughed out six 250-pound depth charges

which all fell to the starboard side of and parallel to the submarine.
As Moore pulled up into a cUmbing turn prior to getting set for
another attack, the submarine could be seen lashing around in
tight circles like a puppy after its tail. But whatever steering prob-
lems the blast from the depth charges had caused, they were quickly
remedied. The sub dove to safety. While the tussle was taking
place, two nearby German destroyers opened fire with their battery
of anti-aircraft weapons. Moore banked away from his disappoint-
ing debut and flew homewards.
A
little more than tvvo months later, he got his double-header.
It was two days after D Day and the Germans were desperately
trying to stop the greatest military invasion in history. The U boats
were out in force and so were the U boat hunters, like big birds
after big fish. Coastal Command intended to insert a "plug"' in the
English Channel. Moore, as it turned out. was a substantial part of
that plug.
Moore had a crew of them Canadians, including
nine, five of
P O who are men-
A. P. Gibb and Warrant Officer M. X. Werbiski.
tioned later in this book. The Liberator was lumbering along on a
clear moonhght night: cloud cover was two-tenths cumulus, there
was a light wind. Suddenly the radio operator spoke the word that
always sprang a crew into action: "contact dead ahead, range 12
miles." At a position entered in the squadron diary as 48 degrees
27 minutes north latitude, 05 degrees 47 minutes west longitude.
U 626 was riding the surface. Moore eased the Liberator down
until it was racing along a scant 100 feet above the waves. It was
a warm summer night with a sky full of stars and a full moon %\as
painting a path of gold across the quiet -water. And there, in the
moonpath. was the quarry.
A slight change in heading was made, first to port then to star-
board, while the crew prepared for immediate attack. The U boat
was and at right angles to the aircraft's
travelling at about 12 knots
path. Moore's nose gunner opened fire. His bullets burned in among
the group of sailors on the conning tower and gun platform. Two
were struck and fell. The Liberator roared across forward of the
conning tower and just ahead of its falling depth charges. The
submariners fired back but it was too late. Moore's rear gunner
saw the depth charges land, three to either side of the U boat.
Five seconds later they exploded. Plumes of water rose in the air.
COASTAL COMMAND 93
The submarine lifted out of the sea, broke up, and sank, its final
resting place marked by churning water. Moore dropped a flame
float. The light threw flickering shadows on an oil slick and some
debris. Otherwise the sea was empty. He resumed patrol.

The crew was still exhilarated with the excitement of the event
when the highly improbable occurred. The Liberator was near
Ushant, France, only a few miles and a few minutes away from its
recent victory when radar informed them that something made of
metal was six miles away. Moore moonlighted along on the same
heading until the range had closed to three miles. Then he swung
onto a heading of 122 degrees and started down. At two and one-
half miles out the navigator sighted a surfaced sub. Unfortunately,
the Liberator was at an unsuitable angle for attack. Hoping that
the U boat would stay put for a few minutes, Moore wheeled the
huge aircraft around in a tight turn and rolled out in attack position.
He approached the submarine from its starboard beam at an altitude
of 50 feet and at 190 knots groundspeed. It opened fire with its
ack-ack but Moore's nose gunner silenced the opposition. The depth
The Leigh light turned night into day during sub-hunting operations.
charges dropped around the U boat. The sea erupted, closing
around the conning tower and hiding it from sight. Moore circled
to port and came charging back for another attack. As they pre-
pared for the second engagement Moore's crew saw the U boat list-
ing heavily to starboard. Before they could apply the coup de grace
the bow rose slowly and majestically out of the water until the
submarine was standing almost on its stern. Then it disappeared
beneath the turmoil of the sea. Now Moore approached with the
Leigh light on and saw three dinghies containing survivors sur-
rounded by oil and an assortment of wreckage. From the sighting
of the first sub until the sinking of the second, only 22 minutes had
elapsed, an incredible feat which won F/0 Moore both the British
DSO and the American Silver Star.
The following day British patrol boats picked up survivors from
the two U boats and brought them ashore. A few days later Moore
flew to Plymouth and talked with the commanders whose sub-
marines he had sent to the bottom. One told Moore that his crew
never knew what hit them. They had been keeping watch sure
enough but the attack, coming from such a low altitude, upwind
and towards a setting moon, had caught them cold.
Moore finished his operational tour without further incident.
After the war he left the RCAF, which should have spelt the end
of an exciting flying career. But a year later he rejoined the Service
and in July 1948 he was awarded a King's Commendation for
Valuable Service in the Air in recognition of the part he played in
the rescue of the late Canon Turner from an arctic misadventure
at Moffet Inlet. Lieutenant-Colonel Moore serves in the Canadian
Armed Forces today and is stationed at CFB Esquimalt.
Statements made by captured enemy submarine personnel clearly

showed that submariners feared anti-submarine aircraft. Generally
speaking, they regarded air attacks as more dangerous than surface
attacks. Even when a U boat survived an attack, damage was
usually done to the vessel as well as to the morale of the crew. For
instance, one German crew described an "unsuccessful" attack on
their U boat in January 1943.
They had been caught napping by an aircraft and as they hurriedly
crash-dived, depth charges fell uncomfortably close. Water entered
through the suffing-box and the exhaust cut out, lighting failed
COASTAL COMMAND 95
temporarily, the hydroplanes were rendered useless and the steering
mechanism was seriously affected. Number four fuel tank was
fractured, causing a leak which might have proved serious as the
U boat was a long way from her base. An inrush of water aft
caused her to be dangerously down by the stern so that batteries
spilled and a certain amount of chlorine gas was generated. A large
variety of dials and gauges were smashed. Before this attack the
U boat had about 72 tons of fuel, more than sufficient to get her
safely back to Lorient. Owing to the burst tank, the fuel situation
now became critical. The submarine, which had escaped the attack-
ing aircraft, limped back to port manned by a jittery crew.
If submariners didn't like people who dropped depth charges near
them then they couldn't have had much time for F/L H. F. Kerrigan,
of Westmount, Quebec. Kerrigan began his operational career by
completing a tour with the air-sea rescue service. Then he moved
into the forefront of anti-submarine activities, flying as the captain
of a Liberator with No. 120 (RAF) Squadron. In October 1943, dur-
ing his second tour of operations, Kerrigan made three attacks
against submarines in the space of two weeks. On the first occasion
he pressed home two attacks against an enemy submarine in the
face of heavy opposition but, in spite of Kerrigan's skill and daring,
the U boat escaped. The next time, the outcome was different.
Kerrigan was giving close escort to a convoy when he sighted a
U boat on the surface. Immediately he altered course to attack.
The submarine manoeuvred so that its stern was
oncom- facing the
ing aircraft, thus presenting as small a target as possible. At the
same time the U boat's guns were rattling away at the huge bomber
aircraft. The Liberator's front gunner returned the compliment by
blazing away at the sub's conning tower and gun platform. Kerrigan
felt the aircraft lurch to one side and believed the bomber had
been hit by flak. In fact, the starboard beam window had, for no
apparent reason, blown out and smashed against the leading edge
of the tailplane. He aborted the attack and cranked around for
another try. On the second attempt four depth charges tumbled
out of the bomb bay and splashed near the nose of the submarine.
As Kerrigan pulled into a climb he noticed another aircraft coming
in to give him a hand. The second aircraft also released four depth

The ship near the centre of the photo (see the white arrowj was a heavily-
armed merchant vessel Jtnoivn as a Sperrbrecher. It was providing escort to
the freighters in the background when it was attacked by Beaufighters and set
on fire earJy in October 1943.
charges. The submarine was absorbing more punishment than it

was designed to take. It stopped manoeuvering and began to settle
at the stern. Then a third Liberator appeared. More depth charges
were dropped for good measure. Then U 470 tilted until it was 90
degrees to the water and slowly sank. Kerrigan directed one of the
ships of the convoy to pick up survivors and started the long haul
back to base at Reykjavik, Iceland.
The anti-submarine work continued month after month: long
hours of boredom interspersed with minutes of extreme danger and
violence. Kerrigan took part in four more attacks on U boats, with
varying degrees of success.One attack took place on the night of
6 March 1944. Kerrigan was flying a night patrol when they picked
up an "unknown" on radar at 15 miles. The Liberator accelerated
to full throttle and the veteran crew tensed themselves for battle.
Before they saw the U boat, the U boat saw them. Streams of bril-
liant tracer sizzled past. Kerrigan spotted the submarine on the
COASTAL COMMAND 97
surface and swung in for the kill. The flak was intense. The
Liberator was one engine burst into flames. But Kerrigan com-
hit;
pleted the run and the explosion of his depth charges completely
enveloped the submarine. Kerrigan pulled up and looked back. The
unhappy vessel was wallowing in the churned-up seas, then the nose
of U 737 rose out of the water. But the Liberator was extensively
damaged as well; so far, the contest was a draw. While F/L Kerri-
gan was assessing the situation he spotted another German sub-
marine.
A lesser man might have felt that he had done all he could do.
Not Kerrigan. He immediately launched an attack on the second
sub. With one engine burning the Liberator went thundering in.
It was greeted by strong fire. F/0 P. R. Packham, the navigator, was
struck in the head, body and leg; another crewman was also
wounded. It took luck as well as skill and courage to sink a sub-
marine, and Kerrigan was running out of his. Because of damage
to the aircraft the depth charges would not release. The gallant
attack on the second submarine was in vain. F/0 Packham, although
severely wounded, stayed at his post and navigated the aircraft
home. Kerrigan was able to complete the long over-water flight in
an aircraft almost impossible to control. For this action, F/L Kerri-
gan was awarded the DSO. He had previously been honoured with
the DFC.
When Kerrigan finished his operational career, or became tour-
expired, to use the official terminology, he stayed in England and
served with the RCAF Overseas Headquarters until he was repatri-
ated to Canada in May 1945. A short time later he changed from
Air Force blue to navy blue and gold as he started a new career
as an airline pilot for TCA.
Since the pilot was in command of an aircraft and had the final
decisions to make, he was the member of the crew who received
many of the awards. Navigators, however, also played a vital role
in all operational flights and many of them acted with such out-
standing bravery under fire was assured. One
that their recognition
such navigator in a Coastal Command Squadron was Flying Officer
R. B. Gray, who won a posthumous George Cross, the Common-
wealth's second highest award for gallantry.
Gray, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, joined the Army regiment

which bore the name of his hometown and served as a soldier from
July 1940 to October 1941, when he transferred to the RCAF. He
graduated as an air observer in September 1942 and, after embarka-
tion leave, he was off to the war.
Following additional training he reported to No. 172 [RAF]
Squadron on 2 June 1943. With the squadron he flew for 13 months
and was approaching the end of his tour. His tour was to end
prematurely with his death and that of two of his companions on
one fatal flight.
August 1944 the war was not going well for the Germans.
In late
They were hard pressed on land, sea and in the air. To the Ger-
mans who sailed under the seas, the situation was particularly
bleak. U boats returned to ports for only the minimum amount of
time. Essential repair work would be war-weary
hastily done; the
n/iouo I piotecte
crews had little time for rest. war
Because of shortages of critical
by barrage balloons
„ k- f materials, new submarmes were not beme ° built and time was not
s German snjp is set on pre
by CoastaJ Command aircraft available to modify the older U boats with the latest submarine gear
in an engagement such as snorkels, a device which allowed submarines to stay sub-
off the Dutch Coast. merged for extended periods of time. This ability gave the U boats
a tactical advantage: being underwater they were harder to detect
and, if harder to destroy. It is ironic that because
detected, a
submarine was old and lacked modern equipment, it was able to
bring about the destruction of F/0 Gray's sub-hunting aircraft.
German U boat No. 534 had recently slipped out of its submarine
pen and gone back on patrol. The commander, Captain Nollau,
had hoped that during his latest stay in port, his vessel would be
re-fitted with a snorkel. But, with the situation in Germany deterior-
ating so badly, his hopes had not been realized. On his next patrol
he would have to surface the usual number of times and take his
chances against anti-submarine aircraft. But if Captain Nollau had
to surface more often than he cared for, at least he was prepared.
A gun platform, nicknamed "the bandstand" by Coastal Command
aircrew, carried an impressive array of firepower. On the platform
were mounted four 20 millimetre cannons and two 37 mm guns.
Many subs had two bandstands, one forward and one aft of the
conning tower. This armament posed a serious threat. If during
an attack, the aircraft did not get the sub very quickly, chances were
that the sub would very quickly get the aircraft.
On 27 August 1944 Gray was at his navigator's table keeping a
COASTAL COMMAND 99
For F/O R. B. Gray it was a story of courage and tragedy when he won a
posthumous George Cross for gallantry at sea.
running plot of his aircraft's position as it flew along its patrol lines.
Royal Air Force Wellington B for Baker and German U boat No. 534
were about to meet. A blip appeared on the Wellington's radar:
range 11 miles. The aircraft turned onto a new heading and began
to home on the target. In the darkness of the wireless operator's
compartment, the blip, with a faint glow, slid slowly across the
radar screen as the aircraft moved across the intervening miles.
Only a few terse sentences between pilot and wireless operator
were necessary to guide the bomber. The rest of the crew listened,
their tension increasing with the decreasing distance. One mile
out the pilot flipped a switch and 20-million candlepower Leigh light
came to life. There was the submarine, illuminated against the sea.
The Germans were prepared. Since they were not able to shelter
in the depths of the sea they took every precaution when they
reluctantly rode the surface. When the light flashed on, their guns
opened fire. Their aim was accurate. The Wêllington shuddered
under the impact of 20 mm cannon shells and the port engine burst
into flames. Then the starboard engine was hit and began burn-
ing. Trailing a fiery wake the Wellington soared through the night.
Gray bent over his bomb sight and checked his settings carefully.

At the proper moment he released a cluster of depth charges. His
job was done.
The Wellington lurched along for another one-half mile, then
plunged into the sea. Two of the crew were killed on impact. Gray
managed to get out of the wrecked aircraft and inflated his dinghy.
Then, in spite of the fact that he was severely wounded himself,
put two other injured crew members into his small craft. He and
the fourth surviving crew member got into the water and held
on it. Gray's companions, realizing that he was
to the sides to steady
in great pain and nearing exhaustion, begged him to get in. He stead-
fastly refused, knowing that if he did, the lives of his companions
would be endangered; the one-man dinghy was already overloaded.
Gray's condition grew worse as the hours passed. In the night,
he lost consciousness and died. When morning came, Gray's com-
panions realized that he was dead and they were forced to let
his body sink. Hours later the three survivors were rescued. Fly-
ing Officer Gray's magnificent courage and unselfish heroism had
enabled the lives of his companions to be saved.
I
While other Coastal Command pilots were hounding submarines,
S/L H. G. Keillor was playing havoc with enemy shipping. Keillor,
whose home town was Winnipeg, began his military career in the
Army as a member of the Militia but, in 1941, he changed from
khaki to Air Force blue. Upon completing his pilot training he was
commissioned and became a member of No. 415 Squadron.
By October 1943 this squadron was specializing in night opera-
tions against the enemy's light naval forces in the English Channel
and the southern part of the North Sea. Enemy ships, with com-
mendable daring, attempted to steal through the Straits of Dover
I under the cover of darkness. It was No. 415 Squadron's job to
S/L H. G. Keillor convince them of their folly. Keillor, flying a WelUngton aircraft,
became the terror participated in strikes against vessels ranging from merchant ships
of enemy shipping.
g^^^jj heavily armed E boats and R boats. On the more suc-
were explosions or fires on board the vessels
cessful attacks, there
they had bombed. But more often than not the darkness of night
and the need for evasive action made it impossible to observe the
outcome.
After scoring a few near-misses Keillor hit the buUseye. He
dropped a bomb smack onto a merchantman sailing off the Dutch
COASTAL COMMAND 101

coast. A few nights later Keillor spotted five E boats and dove to
the attack. Four were unusually close together so Keillor dropped
nine bombs in a cluster. As he was pulling up from the attack his
tail-gunner saw one E boat capsize immediately. When the water,
thrown into turmoil by the combined force of the nine explosions,
grew calm again, only one of the five E boats could be seen. The
night's work had netted Keillor one confirmed and three probables.
More attacks followed. For this work Keillor and his navigator, F/0
C. A. Wondolowski, were both awarded the DEC. In the words of
the citation: "These officers have completed many attacks on enemy
shipping and have set a fine example of devotion to duty."
Keillor and his navigator were transferred to No. 524 (RAF)
Squadron. As spring of 1944 advanced and D Day approached,
enemy shipping increased. Accordingly, the tempo of Coastal Com-
mand activities picked up. Twice within a week Keillor was on
anti-shipping patrols when he spotted forces of E boats. The fact
that there were eight boats in each flotilla, capable of putting up
stiff resistance, proved no deterrent to Keillor. On both occasions
he attacked and scored hits, the first time sinking two boats and
blasting one apart on the second.
Keillor again took on eight E boats a few weeks later. He spotted
a long wake: vessels sailing line astern. Keillor decided to attack
the first in the line. If all went well, it would sink and force the
ones behind it to break up their neat formation. Unfortunately, all
did not go well. On the first run Keillor released six 250-pound
bombs in pairs. The first pair made a direct hit, filling the air with
smoke, fire and debris. Then Keillor pulled up and started around
for a second run. The E boats zeroed in on the intruder. Keillor
pressed on. Roaring through the screen of flak, he flew over the
boats and into position. The bombs failed to release. Keillor pulled
up and decided to push his luck a bit farther. The odds against
making three trips without being hit were very high. Again the
bombs failed to release. Emerging from the attack untouched but
feeling like a fugitive from the law of averages, Keillor prepared for
another try. The fourth run was the same. For an incredible fifth
time Keillor laid his life and the lives of his crew members on the
line. Finally the bombs let go. There were a number of explosions
among the vessels which had scattered to avoid this madman who
seemed to have no fear.

Such exploits could not go unnoticed. On 16 Vlarch 1945 Keillor
was honoured with the DSO, his navigator being awarded a bar to
his DFC.
When war ended Keillor stayed in the RCAF. Late in 1948
the
he went England and took a special course at the Empire Flying
to
School. With more than 3,000 flying hours and nearly 60 different
types of aircraft in his log book, he was one of the RCAF's most
experienced On 17 May 1949 S/L Keillor and S/L |. E.
pilots.
McLurg were an Auster training aircraft out of Trenton. The

flying
Auster is one of the smallest and simplest aircraft ever built but,
on that particular day, it proved deadly. The engine cut out, the air-
craft rolled over and went straight into the ground, killing the two
pilots.
Many Coastal Command aircrew earned their fame in a single

attack on enemy shipping or by their success against a submarine.
Flight Sergeants M. N. Werbiski and A. P. Gibb were involved in
two history-making events while serving with Coastal Command,
the first of which was of an extraordinary nature. In a huge four-
engine aircraft, Werbiski and Gibb fought off enemy aircraft in air-
to-air combat over the Bay of Biscay to protect an Allied convoy.
This incident earned both flight sergeants the Distinguished Flying
Although /Tying in a slow Medal.
four-engine aircraft FS W. N. Werbiski and Gibb both joined the RCAF in 1941 but Werbiski
Werbiski (left) and P/O
A. P. Gihb shot it out with trained as a wireless/air gunner while Gibb became a navigator/
four German aircraft, driving bomb aimer. They met in December 1942 in a pleasant part of the
them off and saving
world, the Bahamas, where they were sent for operational training.
a convoy.
They became members of the same crew and remained so for the
next two and one-half eventful years. Following operational training
Werbiski and Gibb flew England via Ferry Command. After
to
additional training both joined No. 224 (Coastal Command] Squad-
ron in July 1943. Less than four months later the first of the two
outstanding events in their careers occurred.
Werbiski and Gibb were flying in a Liberator bomber escorting a
convoy of 108 ships when a force of enemy aircraft approached.
Among these were four He 177 bombers. These huge aircraft had
four engines but only two propellers since, by an unusual arrange-
ment, each propellor was geared to two engines. More important
than the unorthodox engine arrangement was the He 177 bomb load.
COASTAL COMMAND 103

The aircraft were carrying radio-controlled glider bombs. These
glider bombs were like miniature unmanned They had
aeroplanes.
a ten-foot wingspan, a 600-pound warhead and a radio which re-
ceived guidance instructions from the launch aircraft. Of their
effectiveness there could be no doubt. A Royal Canadian Navy
vessel, HMCS Athabascan, had been hit by one such weapon and,
after the surrender of Italy, a glider bomb had sent the Italian battle-
ship, Roma, to the bottom. The convoy was indeed in peril. To add
to the problem the Liberator was nearing the end of its patrol and
its fuel supply was limited. Any combat flying at full throttle would
seriously deplete the remaining fuel and jeopardize their chances of

getting back to base. Moreover, machine guns on a bomber were
defensive, not offensive weapons. Their purpose was to fend off
attacks, not facilitate them.
Number Wing, Fortieth Group of the German Luftwaffe, based
2
at Bordeaux, France, was about
to add to its laurels. The formation
of He 177s was about three miles north of the convoy and preparing
for their bombing runs. Something had to be done. The Scottish
pilot of the Liberator, F/0 Sutherland, started a curve of pursuit
towards the He 177s.
Meanwhile the ships had spotted the enemy aircraft. The senior
naval officer of the convoy radioed F/0 Sutherland and begged him
not to fly over the ships for fear that his aircraft would be accident-
ally hit by But F/0 Sutherland threaded his way through, flew
flak.
to the rear and above one of the He 177s, then Werbiski opened
fire. He hit the aircraft and set its starboard engine on fire. The
German pilot dropped his bombs harmlessly into the sea and dove
away. He was not seen again.
F/0 Sutherland manoeuvred into position to engage the second
enemy aircraft. The Liberator's four machine gunners opened fire.
They water-hosed the He 177 from nose to tail. Oily black smoke
pouring from one engine, the second Heinkel also gave up on its
assignment. The third appeared on the port beam of the convoy

two miles out. The Liberator closed to 600 yards and the nose
gunner fired two bursts of 50 rounds each. This German crew was
more determined, they launched their glider bomb. The Liberator
crew watched helplessly as it scooted across the sky seeking its
target. The bomb hit but, fortunately, the ship stayed afloat and
managed to make port. That He 177 was not able to repeat its

success. Werbiski and Gibb peppered the aircraft with machinegun
fire until it broke off the contest. A fourth He 177 made its approach
on the convoy. Gibb and Werbiski, by this time getting quite pro-
ficient at handhng He 177s, opened fire together. They silenced the
opposing gunners and watched the aircraft head for the sea, follow-
ing it down. Just as it appeared that it would crash, it levelled off
and escaped into low cloud. The convoy, except for the one dam-
aged merchant ship, continued onward unharmed.
The Liberator crew, which had followed proper procedure by
maintaining radio silence throughout the engagement, was flying
home when, amazingly, congratulations from their base came
through. As it turned out, the Germans had radioed their unit on
what was happening, had intercepted and de-
British Intelligence
coded the message, then radioed the Canadian aerodrome to for-
ward their congratulations.
The action against the He 177s in defence of the convoy earned
the DFC for the captain and the DFM
two Canadians who,
for the
as the citation worded it, "provided excellent cooperation, good
shooting and tenacity, thus setting a fine example." The successful
fight with the German aircraft was followed up a few months later
A Catalina, used extensively by Coastal Command in anti-submarine operations.

by another verj^ unusual event: K. O. Moore, who had been the
co-pilot in the first action, was now when
^tain of the aircraft
Gibb and Werbiski shared in the ?dented achievement of
sinking two submarines in 22 minutes.
Werbiski put in 62 operations' logged 50. When the
war ended thev left the RCAF. =^ _ knowledge that they : -
had made the shipping lanes considerably safer for Allied convoys.
In 1937 Ralph Manning of Vancouver graduated from the Univer-

sity of British Columbia with a B A. degree in histor\'. Twent\--tvvo
eventful years later he bee e RCAF Historian. During that
interv ening period he had rr. ith the stirring events about
,
^vhich he was later to write.

Wing Commander Rcdph Manr.ins was one of the RCAF's most
successful fliers in one of Coas niand's most demanding and
dangerous roles, that of tor7 fr pilot. The advantage of a
'
torpedo bomber over a cor bomber aircraft was that a

well-placed torpedo would s -hip below the waterline. Bombs,
on the other hand, woidd not cause as much damage, particularly
to a warship, because of its armoured deck. Unfortunately, for a
F O R. V. Manning
torpedo bomber to be effective it had to go in on its target at low sank General Rommel's
altitude, moderate speed ar. zht and level while the torpedo hopes of o counter-
attack when he
and its guide wdres ran out. Such a manoeuvre, in the face of torpedoed the Jast
heaw defensive fire, was little short of suicidal. tonJcer which could hmê
deli\'ered oiJ to
Manning ser\'ed in many theatres
In this precarious occupation
German tonJcs.
of war from the rugged Norwegian fjords to the burning sands of
Africa to the barren cc ia and the Ume-green island of
'
Ceylon. His glob^-^r?"^ _ .es begem when he was posted

:
overseas In the s . 1941 and joined No. 42 (Torpedo Bomber)

jf
Squadron of the RAF. During operational training before going
to the squadron. Ma-^ -r - an imusual experience. A German
pilot, who was also _ _ ^tional training, but on the other side
.
of the Channel, was on a night training flight over England. He

became confused and apparently mistook the Bristol Channel for
the EngUsh Channel and thought he was nearing home. Then he
saw airport Hghts so he landed. The airport happened to be RAF
Station Chivenor. The Germans realized their mistake at the last
moment and tried to take off again but were captured. A short time
later Manning was fljdng through fog over the North Sea and be-

came unsure of his position. He saw an
airfield and landed. As he
was taxiing up tower the first two aircraft he saw
to the control
were a Junkers 88ând a Messerschmitt 110. "The bottom had time
to fall out of my stomach," said Manning, "before I saw the British
roundels painted on the captured German aircraft."
After conversion to Beaufort aircraft and training for torpedo
bomber pilot he began flying anti-shipping strikes offthe Nor-
wegian, Dutch and Danish coasts. When Manning and another
Canadian, Flight Sergeant Graham Morrison, arrived at No. 42
Squadron someone told them that only fifty per cent of new crews
completed their first operation. Manning flew his first operation
successfully; his friendfell victim to an enemy flak ship.
The Prinz Eugen, a formidable battleship, was in Trondheim,

Norway, being readied for a run back to Kiel, Germany, after re-
pairs had been made to her stern. This trip could not be allowed
to take place as the ship would pose a grave threat to Allied con-
voys to Russia. When aerial recce showed that the Eugen had left
harbour, an attack against her was launched. On 17 May 1942
Warrant Officer Manning was pilot of a Beaufort aircraft that
Torpedoes are loaded onto Beaufort aircraft before an anti-shipping strike.
took part in the attack. The crews had been told to expect "fierce
opposition."
The attack was made by 12 Beauforts flying in two waves. Six
Blenheim aircraft were to make dummy torpedo attacks in the hope
of distracting some of the Prinz Eugen's gunners while 12 Hudson
bombers were to fly overhead, as if on a bombing run, to add to
the confusion. Four Beaufighters would use cannon fire on the
escorting destroyers.
The opposition was even stiffer than predicted. As soon as the
aerial armada was sighted, the Prinz Eugen began evasive action
while her four escorting destroyers laid down a smoke screen to
obscure the target. As Manning started his run-in right on the deck,
he encountered a strange obstacle. Water spouts rose higher than
he was flying. The Prinz Eugen was using her big guns to churn
up a wall of water for defence. The cruisers' guns were firing point
blank at the raiders while shore batteries added to the din. Over-
head, German fighters had peeled off and were diving to the attack.
Additional fighters could be seen taking off from an airport on
shore. Flak bursts polka-dotted the sky. Manning glanced out of his
cockpit. He could scarcely believe his eyes. The three Beauforts
that had been flying beside him were gone, shot down by enemy
fire.He pressed on grimly and at 800 yards dropped his torpedo.
At the moment of drop Manning's aircraft was hit and half-rolled
to one side. Manning saw that his aircraft was heading between
the Prinz Eugen and one of the escorting destroyers, but there was
nothing he could do about it. him
Bullets passed over and under
but, miraculously, his aircraft took no further few
hits. A
seconds
later he was in the clear. Then three Me 109s attacked from behind.
Evasive action was out of the question: Manning barely had control
of the aircraft. Fortunately, a Beaufighter arrived on the scene and
drove off one of the Messerschmitts. The pair of German fighters
scored more hits on Manning's aircraft but the Beaufort flew on.
Arriving back at his base in Scotland, Manning had to crash-land
but there was no further damage to the aircraft. The raid was over.
Unfortunately, it had not been a success. The Prinz Eugen had
escaped. But from lessons learned on that raid, new tactics were
developed which paid off later in other anti-shipping strikes.
On 18 August 1942 Manning was transferred to Egypt and
attached to No. 47 Squadron where his specialized talents were in

demand. North Africa the tide had turned. The British Eighth
In
Army was no longer retreating. General Montgomery had formed
a front at El Alamein and taken the offensive. Rommel had his
crack Deutsche Afrika Korps but he was critically short of fuel.
Tankers to Rommel became a priority task for the German High
f-
Command and thus an important target for the torpedo bombers.
On 26 October a vital convoy comprised of two freighters, four
destroyer escorts and an all-important tanker, the Proserpina, had
safely crossed the Mediterranean and was within sight of its
destination, the harbour of Tobruk. A composite task force was
assembled. Bisleys were to bomb the merchantmen, more for the
sake of diversion than for the targets themselves, while the Beau-
forts were to go after the real prize, the tanker. Beaufighters would
provide close support. The force arrived without incident at the
reported position of the convoy and sure enough there were some
ships, but something was wrong. The attackers started their tor-
pedo and bombing runs. F/0 Manning and two other pilots held
back. None of the ships looked like a tanker.
The ensuing message of
congratuJations from
Manning and two Bisley crews decided to trust their own judg-
the Air Officer Command- ment and continued to fly along the coast. A few minutes later they
ing, Middle East.
found the missing tanker accompanied by a single destroyer. The
Germans had set up the rest of the ships as bait to protect the
Proserpina. The trap would have worked except for Manning and
the two Bisley pilots. The tanker proved to be surprisingly agile as
it turned head on to foil Manning's torpedo attack. Manning thun-
dered past and cranked into a hard turn to try for a better angle.
While this deadly game of ring-around-the-rosie went on, the re-
mainder of the formation, having finished their attack on the mer-
chant ships and realizing their error, flew to the tanker to watch
Manning. He gave them something to watch. Manning started in,
weaving gently through the flak, then settled down for his final run.
The two Bisleys which had accompanied Manning tried to bomb
the tanker but one hit the ship's mast and crashed into the sea.
Manning raced in lower than the height of the ship and dropped
his torpedo. A streak of bubbles through the water traced the
torpedo's path asit swam towards the target. It struck the tanker
at ashallow angle and did not go off, then it sUthered leisurely and
harmlessly along the hull. The attack appeared to have failed.
Then the torpedo exploded. The intercom crackled into hfe as
COASTAL COMMAND 109

The Focke-Wulf Kondor could harass Allied convoys hundreds of miles from
land.
Manning's own crew and fliers in the other aircraft wildly cheered
his success. A few minutes later German Me 109s and Italian Macchi
202s attacked. They were driven off.
A strange footnote to this incident is were
that four of the aircrew
awarded the DFC for Manning, who single-
their part in the raid.
handed had sunk the tanker, was unaccountably omitted from the
honour roll.
On 11 November 1942 Manning went to India where he rejoined
his old squadron, No. 42. The normal tour of duty in India was one
year. Before Manning left the sub-continent more than two years
went by. His squadron carried out Army Co-operation duties with
the Twenty-first Indian Division and the following spring they
moved to the Burma front where they carried out low-level bombing
operations in support of General Wingate's expedition against the
Japanese.
Later Manning was transferred to No. 217 Squadron in Ceylon
where, besides flying convoy escorts, he was given the task of con-
verting RAF and RN pilots to Beaufort aircraft. He also flew a
number of air-sea rescue sorties while serving in Ceylon. One day
he became the object of an air-sea rescue himself. He was on anti-
submarine patrol when his engines started giving trouble. Manning
skilfully landed his aircraft on the rolling swell and the crew
climbed out on the wing. Unfortunately, the dinghy would not in-

flate and two of the crew were non-swimmers. To add to their
troubles, they had landed in shark-infested waters. Nevertheless,
Manning encouraged his crew and assured them they would be
picked up. The convoy which Manning had been guarding even-
tually caught up with the downed airmen and they were taken on
board.
On 2 January 1944 Manning was awarded the DFC, long overdue,
and in April he returned to Canada after almost three years of war.
He retired from the RCAF September 1965 and today he
in is the
assistant curator at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
The Beaufighter, which is mentioned so often in connection with

anti-shipping strikes, was by itself a triple threat. It was officially
a fighter and. with its high speed and four 20 mm cannons it was
an aircraftto be reckoned with. The Beaufighter could also be
armed with rockets and used with devastating effect against ship-
ping. Finally, the versatile fighter could also carry a torpedo and
go ship busting on its own. Among the pilots who flew this aircraft
in an outstanding way was F O S. S. Shulemson, the most highly
decorated Jewish flier in the RCAF.
Shulemson, from Montreal, was a soldier long before he was a
flier, serving first with the Medium Battery, RCA, and later with
the Second Montreal Regiment, RCA, before deciding that the air
was his element. He transferred to the RCAF on 8 August 1941 and
began pilot training. One day while practising forced landings at
No. 14 Service Flying Training School, his engine failed to respond
during an overshoot. He landed his Harvard wheels-up in a field
near Brownsville, Ontario. He graduated as a pilot in July 1942 and
two months later he went overseas.
With advanced flying training and operational training taking
several months to complete, Shulemson did not get onto operations
until March 1943. At that time he joined No. 404 (Buffalo] Squadron
which had recently converted to the mighty Beaufighter. When
Shulemson joined the squadron it was operating out of southern
England but a month later the Buffaloes returned to Scotland and
to their hunting grounds off the Norwegian coast.
The role of the Buffalo squadron was to attack convoys, engaging
and neutralizing flak ships and fighters while torpedo bombers
closed in on the merchant ships. Shulemson and his colleagues be-
COASTAL COMMAND 111

came so adept at harassing merchant vessels in the fjords that the
Germans became reluctant to send their shipping along the Nor-
wegian coast in daylight.
Finally the Germans worked out a system. They realized that,
after receiving news of ship movements, it would still take an hour
or two for the Beaufighters to get airborne, organize a formation
and fly to the target area. Knowing this, they were able to operate
throughout the night and for two or three hours after dawn. But
the Beaufighter pilots soon cracked the German system. Instead of
taking off at dawn, a special group was sent off in the darkness to
fly to a predetermined spot just off the enemy coast. There they
would lay a circle of flares. While this was being done, the rest
of the Beaufighters would take off singly and fly alone towards the
rendezvous, arriving a short time after the flares were dropped on
the water. Then, with each aircraft at a different height, to avoid
mid-air collisions, they would orbit the flares until the first rays of
daylight streaked the sky. They would then slide into formation
and set course for the area of enemy shipping. GermcUi ships would
be steaming along, far from their ports and the protection of shore
batteries, confident in the knowledge that they had at least a couple
of hours of peace. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the flight of
rocket-firing Beaufighters would come slamming in.
There was, however, great danger involved in such operations.

Good weather was infrequent; operations were carried out in
treacherous conditions over the icy North Sea. Frequently it was
impossible to keep formation in the solid overcast, and there was
always the grim possibility of a mid-air collision. And the targets
were well-defended. How many times can a pilot fly through a cur-
tain of explosives and lead without being hit? On 20 October 1943
Shulemson was weaving through a shower of flak when his luck ran
out. He broke away from the attack and headed back to shore with
a damaged aircraft. The nearest base was the Royal Naval Air
Station at Easthaven, Scotland. With ambulance and crash wagon
standing by, he started his approach. His aircraft crashed on landing.
Shulemson was thrown violently against the instrument panel and
canopy, but lady luck had not deserted him entirely: he was only
cut up and bruised.
Before long he was flying armed reconnaissance sorties, "rover
missions." The rover missions grew in size until Buffalo Squadron

formed part of a Wing with Beaufighters from No. 144 and Mos-
quitoes from No. 235.
Shulemson quickly became a flight leader. On 26 January 1944
he was leading five Beaufighters of his own squadron and five tor-
pedo-carrying Beaufighters of No. 144 (RAF] Squadron when he
located, near Stadlandet, Norway, a convoy of three merchant ships
of 2,000 to 3,000 tons with three escorting flak ships and a mine-
sweeper. Shulemson led the attack in the face of concentrated
anti-aircraft fire. He and his navigator, F/0 P. R. Bennett, picked a
merchant ship as their victim and went in. Shulemson fired two
rockets. Both slammed home. Within minutes the ship was burning
and enveloped in smoke. The minesweeper took four hits and was
smouldering. Two other ships were hit. Then German fighters arrived.
Three of them attacked one of the Beaufighters and sent it crash-
ing into the sea. They chased another Beaufighter but Shulemson
joined the fight. He took on the three of them, allowing the damaged
Beaufighter to escape. For the next 18 minutes Shulemson's skilful
and daring tactics prevented the Germans from downing him. Indeed,
the German pilots were lucky to escape in the end. Shulemson
flew back to base and landed safely in spite of a burst tire. For this,
and a number of other successful shipping attacks, Shulemson was
awarded the immediate Distinguished Service Order.
Shulemson also operated off the Danish coast and over the Bay
Flying Officer S. S. Shuiemson, of Montreal, shot down this Blobm and Voss
138 in July 1943 while on an anti-shipping operation.
No story about Coastal Command operations would be complete
without the name of Squadron Leader L. J.
Birchall of St. Catharines,
Ont., "The Saviour of Ceylon." He received the title in 1942.
on patrol, sighted a Japanese invasion fleet and radioed
Birchall, out
warning back to Ceylon. When the Japanese attacked, the island
was prepared. The Japanese were repulsed with heavy losses and
Ceylon was saved. Birchall was shot down and captured immediately
after sending his message. He spent three and one-half years as a
prisoner of war.
Birchall's war effort had begun some years before. Number 5
Squadron, of which he was a member, began flying defensive patrols
out of Dartmouth, N.S., several months before Canada declared war. S L L. Birchall.
}.
At that time the squadron was flying Stranraer flying boats, one of "The Saviour of Ceylon,"
was not made what Winston Churchi
the few biplanes to see action in the Second World War. It
said was, "One of the most
until 1940 that the squadron converted to the more modern Catalina important individual
aircraft. contributions to victory."
In May 1940 the Intelligence word was that Italy would soon
declare war on Canada. Sincea number of Italian merchant ships
were still Canadian waters, certain precautions were taken. On
in
1 June 1940 Birchall took off from Gaspe with orders to intercept
and shadow the Capo Lena, which was churning down the St. Law-
rence near Anticosti Island. Interception was made and the vessel
kept under surveillance until nightfall when Birchall and his crew
returned to Gaspe. The next day the ship had reached the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, much closer to the sanctuary of the high seas, when
Birchall made contact once more. No word was received about a

declaration of war so at nightfall Birchall flew back to his base.
Responsibility for the Copo Lena was turned over to the Royal
Canadian Navy.
German submarine U 625 is sunk by a Sunderland flying boat of No. 422

Squadron on 10 March 1944.
In the early hours of 10 June 1940 Birchall and his crew were
alerted for takeoff. They were airborne when they received the
expected message: _Italyhad declared war on Canada. This turn of
events increased the fliers' interest in Italian shipping generally and
specifically in another Italian freighter, the Capo Nola. The Capo
Nolo had left Quebec City and was making a run for the Atlantic.
Birchall and his crew were assigned to stop it. Near Big Bic Island
the freighter was spotted. The captain of the Capo NoJa also spotted
the Stranraer bearing down on his ship so, without further ado, he
ran it aground and set fire to it. Birchall landed nearby as a small
RCN vessel arrived on the scene. The Canadian sailors put a landing
party on the Italian vessel to put out the fire. Birchall took off and
radioed back to base what had occurred. The Air Force to Navy
co-operation had netted the first Italian prisoners-of-war for Canada.
In December 1941 Birchall went overseas and joined No. 413
Squadron, operating out of Scotland and the Shetland Islands. For
months, endurance escort patrols, ranging from 12 to 24 hours, were
flown in unbelievably bad weather. At the end of these exhausting
patrols, Birchall was faced with the difficult task of landing his
Catalina on stormy seas. On one occasion, he and his crew had to
stay at sea all night; the violence of the storm prevented them from
getting to shore. The routine patrols were interrupted for special
occasions such as flying in support of Commando raids on Norway
and assisting in the all-out search for the German heavy cruisers
Scharnhorst and the Gneisneau when they made their daring run
through the English Channel to Norway.
Early in 1942 Japanese power was at its peak: Hong Kong was
taken, Malaya was conquered, Singapore 'fell and Burma had been
invaded. British, Indian and Chinese troops urgently needed air
support. Number 413 Squadron was ordered to Ceylon as reinforce-
ment.
Flying from England to Ceylon, skirting many hundreds of miles
of enemy-held territory, was an achievement in Squadron
itself.
Leader Birchall and another crew took off together. They flew from
England to Gibraltar, across the Mediterranean to Cairo then over
the Persian Gulf to Karachi, in present-day Pakistan. There the
second aircraft could not continue because of mechanical trouble.
Birchall carried on with his crew, flying all night, and arrived at
Kaggola Lake at noon the following day. Kaggola Lake was not, by
COASTAL COMMAND 117

F/L L. ]. iiiicinili i\(j.s )i)ni;4 (111 nhl and til>si)lclf SlKiiinirr /l_\'iii,n Imnl when he
captured an Italian jreighter in Canadian waters.
any standard, a good place from which to operate flying boats. The
lake was small, dotted with treacherous reefs and ringed by tower-
ing palm trees. But it was all that was available in the vicinity of
Galle, Ceylon.
After one day of rest in the new operational base, Birchall and
his crew were asked to fly a dawn patrol. It would be a long patrol.
Having been in Ceylon only a day and having had no chance to
practise night landings, Birchall would not be able to land during
the hours of darkness. He would take off at daylight, patrol all day,
then stay airborne all night until daylight lessened the hazards of
landing on the small lake.
Birchall took off and headed out over the Indian Ocean. The patrol
had to sweep an area around Ceylon that was sufficiently large to
prevent any surface craft from running in during the night and
releasing aircraft for a strike at dawn. The hours passed slowly as
Birchall flew an aerial X over the sea about 300 miles south of
Ceylon. As Birchall started his final turn before heading back to
base, the moon came out. The navigator suggested one more patrol
while he took advantage of the moon for a celestial fix. Birchall
started the patrol as requested and kept flying south. He spotted
some specks on the distant horizon and decided to investigate. The
closer he got the more ships he saw. He put his binoculars to his
eyes. There was no doubt. He had discovered a Japanese invasion
fleet.

On 2 May 1945 (Juinion U boat 2359 was sunk by a rocket-firing Beaufighter.
No time was wasted getting out a first-sighting report. Birchall's

radio operator tapped out the exact position, course and speed, the
type and number of ships. Japanese fighters. Zeros, had been
launched from an aircraft carrier. Bullets crashed into the Catalina.
Their first attack was deadly. Explosive shells demolished the radio
compartment and badly injured the radio operator. There would be
no more messages sent, but no more were necessary, the report had
been received in Ceylon. All three gunners in the Catalina were badly
wounded. Fire broke out; the wing tanks were draining burning
gasoline into the aircraft. Then the bomber started to break up.
Birchall managed somehow to get the aircraft down on the ocean
safely but the hull was so riddled with holes it quickly sank, taking
one of the gunners with it.
Birchall and his crew pulled the other two badly wounded gun-
ners out of the burning aircraft, put them into life jackets and slid
them into the water. But the ordeal was not over yet. The Japanese
fighters slanted towards the water and started strafing runs. Birchall
and crew members swam under water to escape the gun-
five other
fire but the two injured gunners were helpless. Then sharks, attracted
by the widening pool of blood, began to move in. At that moment

one of the Japanese destroyers hove to, lowered a boat and picked
up the six survivors. On board the destroyer Birchall and his crew
were questioned about whether or not they had sent any warning to
COASTAL COMMAND 119

A Halifax from Coastal Command sinks a German U boat.
Ceylon. They denied having done any such thing. At that moment,
the destroyer intercepted a message from Colombo asking Birchall
to confirm his report of the invasion fleet. The Japanese were furious
and took out their anger on the helpless prisoners, three of whom
were already wounded. The six fliers were then confined in a small
paint locker.

The Japanese decided to carry on with their attack. On Easter
Sunday, 5 April 1942, 50 bombers plus a fighter escort attacked
Colombo. Birchall's message had given Ceylon time to prepare. The

British merchant ships had left the harbour and sailed to safety.
The Japanese found the sky thick with British fighters and bursting
shells. They lost 18 aircraft to the Hurricanes of the RAF and the
Fulmars of the RN Fleet Air Arm. An additional five Japanese were
shot down by anti-aircraft fire. The next day the Japanese made
two small raids on India and again they suffered defeat at the hands
of the RAF and RN.
Admiral Nagumo, the Japanese Commander, headed home, suffer-
ing more of a loss than he then realized. Birchall's timely action had
started a chain of events which were to cost the Japanese dearly.
Not only was Ceylon not damaged as badly as they had hoped, but
the Japanese had lost so many aircraft in the attack that only two of
the five aircraft carriers were able to take part in the Battle of the
Coral Sea, the following month. In addition, the three aircraft car-
riers which returned to Japan were given rookie pilots to replace
the veteran pilots lost at Ceylon. These newcomers did poorly when
they flew in the Battle of Midway Island exactly a month after
Birchall's radio warning. For his action in saving Ceylon from inva-
sion, Birchall was subsequently awarded the DFC.
A Sunder/and /lying hoai.

This combat photo shows a Beauf}ghter pulling up from a strafing run during
a shipping strike in the Bay of Biscay.
But all that was in the future. At the time of their capture they
were in peril from friend and foe alike. Birchall and the five surviv-
ing crew members stayed cooped up in the paint locker during the
attack on Ceylon. After the battle they were transferred to the
aircraft carrier Akagi, the flagship of the invasion fleet, for the trip
to Japan.
On wounded crew members were taken to a
arrival, the three
hospital. and the two others went directly to a special
Birchall
interrogation camp in Ojuna. For six months they survived a starva-
tion diet and constant beatings. Then the Japanese transferred them
to a POW work camp
in Yokohama. Birchall was the Senior Allied
which meant that he had certain responsibilities
Officer in the camp,
towards the other prisoners. The Japanese became infuriated at
Birchall for concerning himself with the welfare of his fellow pris-
oners. He was finally condemned to death. Fortunately the threat
was not carried out. The Yokohama camp contained some 350
prisoners: British from Hong Kong, Americans from the Philippines
and a mixture of nationalities from Wake Island, Singapore and
Allied ships. Birchall and his observer, F/0 G. O. Onyette, were the
only two Canadians in the camp. Again, it was a case of starvation
no medicine, 12 hours of daily labour
diet, in factories and beatings
from the guards.

Each day the camp commander, Lieutenant Hayashi, would
demand a certain number of prisoners to be sent on work detail.
Since the desired number included all the sick and injured, Birchall
would intervene 'to say that the sick prisoners were not going to
work. Birchall would be beaten for his defiance. The next day the
procedure would be repeated. Birchall had some success; he always
managed to have a few of the prisoners deleted from the work
detail.
One day a Japanese medical NCO, Sergeant Ushioda, began beat-

ing a sick prisoner who was too weak to work. Birchall grabbed the
Japanese guard and started slugging. The other guards were too
dumbfounded move. The sergeant received a broken jaw from
to
one of Birchall's well-aimed punches. "Once I started I knew I
might just as well finish the job," Birchall said later. He was put
into solitary confinement and given a month of hard labour but he
remained undaunted. When the Japanese issued to the prisoners
books to be used as diaries, Birchall collected all the books, hid
them, then convinced the prison authorities that the books had been
used as toilet paper. In actual fact, Birchall used the books to record
camp atrocities in detail. Five years later these records, which
were used as evidence at the war crimes trials
Birchall secretly kept,
held in Tokyo and were responsible for the conviction of several
prison officials including Sgt. Ushioda.
Birchall the "trouble-maker" was later sent to the Asano Dock
Camp where were working in shipyards..
prisoners, sick or healthy,
Birchall promptly organized a sit-down strike, and sick prisoners
were excused from further labour. But the next day Birchall was
A German vesseJ burns amidships from the affect of cannon fire from a Coastal
Command aircraft.
sent to a special disciplinary camp in Tokyo. If life had been difficult
before it was close to unbearable at the new camp. Birchall had to
work all day at various jobs, then work all night in the camp kitchen
making food for the working parties next day. At this special camp
he met other Canadian prisoners who, like him, were considered
incorrigible.
But the hour of liberation was approaching. With immense satis-
faction Birchall and the other prisoners watched American bombers
roar overhead and turn Tokyo and Yokohama into wastes of flaming
ruins. The prisoner-of-war camp was located next to Haneida air-
port, the location of a fighter squadron, an anti-aircraft battery and
a searchlight unit. Consequently, the immediate area was a prime
military target and was progressively reduced to rubble. The POW
camp escaped destruction.
Birchall and the other Allied prisoners were moved inland to a
POW camp at an open-face mine and set to work. They learned,
from an Hawaiian-born Japanese, that the war was over. Birchall and
the other prisoners realized that, in their weakened condition, they
would not be able to survive for long. They took matters in their
own hands, took over the POW camp and prepared for the worst.
Nothing happened, so Birchall, ever the organizer, marched his
A surrendered German submarine.

colleagues to the railway station and took the night train to Tokyo.
Displaying more confidence than they felt, they marched through the
streets of Tokyo to another railway station. The Japanese multi-
tudes stared at the'm unable to comprehend this incredible audacity.
Birchall and his troops then took the electric train to Yokohama.
Once there they went out on the street and unfurled a home-made
flagwhich they waved proudly. In due course an American military
vehicle arrived on the scene. The ordeal was over.
When details of Birchall's exploits as a prisoner of war were made
known he was awarded the Order of the British Empire. The accom-
panying citation said in part: "On many occasions, wath complete
disregard for his own safety. S/L Birchall prevented, as far as
possible, Japanese officials from sadistically beating his men and
denying prisoners the medical treatment ^vhich they so urgently
needed. Birchall forcibly intervened on behalf of his men in the full
knowledge that he would receive brutal treatment. The consistent
gallantry and devotion to his fellow prisoners of war that this officer
displayed throughout his lengthy period of imprisonment are in
keeping with the finest traditions of the Royal Canadian Air Force."
Just after the end of the Second World War, former Prime Minister
Lester Pearson and the late Sir Winston Churchill were dinner guests
of Lord Halifax at the British Embassy Washington.
in Someone
asked Sir Winston what he felt to be the most dangerous and most
distressing moment in the war. Most of the gathering thought he
would refer to the events of June and July 1940 and the imminence
S -
L 625 wait to he rescued from the sea.
of invasion; or to the time when Rommel was heading towards
Alexandria and Cairo at full speed; or when Singapore fell. How-
ever, Churchill's reply to the query was not concerned with any of
these incidents. He said he thought the most dangerous moment in
the war and the one which caused him the greatest alarm was when
he got the news that the Japanese fleet was heading for Ceylon and
the naval base there. The capture of Ceylon, the consequent control
of the Indian Ocean and the possibility of a German conquest of
Egypt would have "closed the ring" and the future would have been
black, he said.
However, he went on to say that they were saved from this
disaster by an airman, on reconnaissance, who spotted the Japanese
fleet and, though shot down, was able to get a message through to
Ceylon which allowed the defence forces there to get ready for the
approaching assault; otherwise they would have been taken com-
pletely by surprise. Sir Winston then said that this unknown air-
man, who lay deep in the waters of the Indian Ocean, made one of
the most important single contributions to victory.
Mr. Pearson broke in to tell him that the "unknown airman" was
not lying deep in the Indian Ocean but was an RCAF officer in
Canada's military mission, down the street from the British Embassy.
Mr. Churchill was surprised and delighted to know that the end of
the story was a happier one than he had envisaged.
Flying Officer A. A. Bruneau of Montreal had a relatively short

operational career. But, during his time in action he achieved the
distinction of being the last member of the RCAF to sink a German
submarine during the Second World War.
Bruneau joined the RCAF on 5 May 1942. After completing his
pilot training he went overseas late in 1943. He took advanced flying
training and maritime operational training, then reported to No. 547
(RAF] Squadron as a second pilot on Liberators. He did consider-
able operational flying as a co-pilot and on 2 March 1945 he was up-
graded to captain and given command of his own aircraft. An
extremely frustrating period followed for Bruneau. For over two
n n. . F/O A. A. Bruneau, (lie iosl
months he flew not, one operational flight.
, , ,
Canadian to smk a submarine

As the victorious Allied Armies moved eastward and northward, in the Second World War.
driving the Wehrmacht into retreat, the submarine pens were being
overrun and captured. Without waiting for instructions from
Smoke puffs indicate that the Beaufigbter pilot has fired his rockets.
Doenitz, Admiral of the Fleet, many submarine commanders took it
upon themselves to head for Norway. This meant that the narrow
waterway, the Kattegat, between Denmark and Norway was rela-
tively full of fish — tin fish. Coastal Command went out in force. On
5 May 1945, for example. Coastal Command aircraft carried out nine
attacks and sank five subs including the one destroyed by Bruneau.
For Bruneau and his crew, 5 May 1945 would be a long day. Based
at RAF Station Leuchars, Scotland, they had ahead of them the long
flight across the North Sea, the patrol, fhe return trip and, most
important ofall, the unknown factor to contend with. The unknown
concerned the actions which the Germans in Denmark might take.

The Germans in Denmark had just surrendered, but would they or
would they not still fire at Allied aircraft? German anti-aircraft
gunners had established a reputation for fighting on to the bitter
end. As long as they had a shell to shoot and something to shoot at,
they would not stop. The day before they had shot down an aircraft
from Bruneau's station.
Bruneau cut the risk by flying at minimum under the
altitude,
protective radar screen. As he skimmed along,Bruneau and his
crew were treated to a rare sight, Europeans rejoicing. The Danes
COASTAL COMMAND 127

An exploding depth charge throws up a geyser of water as an unidentified
German submarine comes under attack.
were celebrating their first day of freedom from the Germans. Danish
flags were everywhere and people waved enthusiastically at the
Liberator bomber which was to them, literally, a liberator of their
country. The flight across Denmark was a glimpse of the peace to
come. But, at that moment, there was still a war to win. Bruneau
and his crew started their patrol along the Kattegat.
After some time Bruneau's radio officer picked up a radar contact
at 14 miles. Bruneau continued on the same heading while the crew
awaited confirmation of the contact. The contact remained firm.
They had something. The something turned out to be two sub-
marines travelling on the surface in line astern. Bruneau chose the
second U boat as his target. Just as he rolled into his attack a multi-
star red cartridge arched across the sky. Lookouts on the lead sub-
marine had spotted the Liberator and had fired the flare to alert the
second sub to the danger. Neither of the subs attempted to crash-
dive. The second U boat opened fire. Bruneau's front gunner re-
sponded, while his bomb aimerconcentrated on the aiming point,
the waterline at the bow. Bruneau checked forward on the control
column. The aircraft slanted down and thundered in on the target.
Six 250-bomb depth charges fanned out and straddled the submarine
just ahead of the conning tower, four DCs on the port side, two on
starboard.

No submarine could survive the ensuing explosion. As the
Liberator pulled up into a climbing turn both the mid-upper and
rear gunners saw the bow of U 2521 rise above the water to an angle
of 40 degrees then sink rapidly stern first. Bruneau circled the area
for fifteen minutes during which time satisfactory evidence of a kill

came to the surface: bodies, general wreckage and a widening circle
of oil.
Bruneau then turned his attention to the other sub but, before he
could get lined up for a run in on target, another Liberator from a
different squadron attacked and sank the second U boat. Bruneau s
fuel supply was running low. He wheeled and started the long trip
home.
This action, his first as captain of an aircraft, won ^he
DFC. The war Europe came to an end. Bruneau volunt
in r
Tiger Force, the Canadian contribution to the war effort in the South
Pacific. He returned to Canada and was on embarkation leave b' '
'
starting on his new adventure, when VJ Day arrived. F, O Bru:

was released from the RCAF on 10 September 1945.
It w-as members of No. 126 Squadron that had carried out the first
attack and made the first kill of an enemy submarine in Can?
waters. To the same squadron's honour roll was added the nar:
Flight Lieutenant David Hornell, the first member of the RCAF to
win the Victoria Cross.
F L Hornell was born in Toronto in 1910 and received h:=
When he joined the RCAF in January 194
tion in that city. s
almost ten years older than the average student pilot. ^

lacked in youth he more than made up 'in maturity and f
responsibility. After graduating as a pilot on 16 Septemc ^ rl.

Pilot Officer Hornell was posted to No. 31 General Reconnaissance
School at Charlottetown, P.E.L Two days before Christmas he
crossed Canada for flying duties at Coal Harbour, B.C.: '
*
'or
Hornell the testing ground was to be the Atlantic not th-
Ocean.
On 22 September 1943 he again travelled across the country and
Fhgh: l.-,:e.-,Qnt joined No. 162 Squadron of Eastern Air Command. His next Christ-
David Hornell was the mas was spent
first rr^mbeT of the
in Canada. On 31 December 1943 squadron went
his
- to win a to Iceland for temporary duty, then and the following
to Ireland,
:oria Cross. June to Scotland '"c ---e anti-submarine patrols. It was due to an
COASTAL COMMAND 129

action on 25 June 1944 that F/L Hornell was awarded the VC and
met his death. The official RCAF account of the event is as follows:
"Flight Lieutenant Hornell was captain of a Canso aircraft en-

gaged on an anti-submarine patrol in northern waters. The patrol
had lasted for some hours when a fully surfaced U boat was sighted,
travelling at high speed on the port beam. F/L Hornell at once turned
to the attack.
"The U boat altered course so Hornell realized that the aircraft

had been spotted and there could be no element of surprise. The
U boat opened up with anti-aircraft fire which became increasingly
fierce and accurate. At a range of 1,200 yards, the front guns of the
aircraft replied, then its starboard gun jammed, leaving only one
gun effective. Hits were obtained on and around the conning tower
of the U boat but the aircraft was itself hit, with two large holes
appearing in the starboard wing. Ignoring the enemy's fire, F/L
Hornell carefully manoeuvred for the attack. Oil was pouring from
his starboard engine which was, by this time, on fire, as was the
starboard wing, endangering the fuel tanks. Meanwhile, the air-
craft was hit again and again by the U boat's guns. Holed in many
places, it was vibrating violently and very difficult to control. Never-
theless the captain decided to continue his attack, knowing that with
every moment the chances of escape for him and his crew would
grow more slender. He brought his aircraft down very low and
released his depth charges in a perfect straddle. The bow of the
U boat lifted out of the water and began to sink as the crew jumped
into the sea.
"F/L Hornell contrived, by superhuman efforts at the controls, to
gain a little height. The fire in wing had grown more

the starboard
intense and the vibration had increased. Then the burning engine
fell off. The plight of the aircraft and crew was now desperate.
With the utmost coolness, the captain took his aircraft into the wind
and despite the manifold dangers, brought it safely down on the
heavy swell. Badly damaged and blazing furiously, the aircraft
rapidly settled.
"After ordeal by fire came ordeal by water. There was only one
serviceable dinghy and this could not hold all the crew. They took
turns in the icy water holding onto the sides of the dinghy. Once,
the dinghy capsized in the rough seas and was righted only with
great difficulty. Two of the crew died from exposure. An airborne

lifeboat was dropped to Hornell and his surviving crewmembers but
it some 500 yards dow^nwind. The men struggled vainly to reach
fell
it and F/L Hornell, who throughout had encouraged them by his

cheerfulness and inspiring leadership, proposed to swim to it
although he was nearly exhausted. He was, with great difficulty,

restrained. The survivors were finally rescued after they had been
in the water for 21 hours. By this time F/L Hornell was blinded and
completely exhausted. He died shortly after being picked up.
David Hornell had completed 60 operational
"Flight Lieutenant
missions involving 600 hours flying. He well knew the danger and
difficulties involved in attacking a submarine. By pressing home a
skilful and successful attack against fierce opposition with his air-
craft in a precarious condition and by fortifying and encouraging
his comrades in the subsequent ordeal, this officer displayed valour
and devotion to duty of the highest order."
A German submarine surrenders.
One Typhoon prepores to start up on a tactical operation, while another roars
overhead.
CHAPTER FOUR
SECOND TACTICAL AIRFORCE
Ask any infantryman who served in the Second World War his
opinion of the Air Force, and chances are he will mention tactical
aircraft. This was the facet of airpower with which a soldier was
most familiar. Bombers were distant engines throbbing through the
night, Coastal Command aircraft shadows during the
had been like
Atlantic crossing and the Normandy were merely
invasion, fighters
vapour trails to the men on the ground. But tactical aircraft were
different. They existed to support the troops and support them they
did. Rocket-firing or bomb-laden fighter bombers were ready at all
times to give immediate and substantial help.
Of the which formed No. 83 Group in th^ Second
eight wings
TAF end of the war, one fighter-recce and three fighter wings
at the
were RCAF. Number 126 Canadian Wing held the record for total
number of sorties flown and number of Huns destroyed. Number
401 Squadron of this Wing led the whole Group in number of sorties
flown, number of enemy aircraft destroyed and total number of
enemy aircraft casualties. Number 143, the RCAF Typhoon Wing,
dropped the greatest number of 500-pound bombs and made more
rail cuts than any other unit in the Group.
Flying with No. 438 Squadron of No. 143 Wing was W/C F. G.
Grant, DSO, DFC, Croix de Guerre with Silver Star and the Nether-
lands Flying Cross, the RCAF's most decorated Typhoon pilot. Grant
W/CF. G. Grant, DSO,
DFC, Croix de Guerre
joined the RCAF on 11 October 1940 and, after completing his flying
with Silver Star training,went overseas on 30 May 1941. He served with No. 504
and the Netherlands Squadron until March 1942 when he was transferred to Canada. The
Flying Cross, was the
most highly decorated Japanese had landed a task force on the Aleutian Islands off the
RCAF tactical pilot. Alaskan mainland and Canada itself seemed to be in grave danger.

To counter this threat several experienced officers were returned
from overseas to act as flight commanders in Canadian-based fighter
squadrons. Then, in answer to an American appeal for air assist-
ance, Canada sent No. 8 [Bomber] Squadron, No. Ill (Fighter]
Squadron and later No. 118 (Fighter] Squadron to Annette Island in
the Aleutians. It was a campaign of trying to find the enemy in
the perpetual fog. Grant personally never came to grips with the
enemy in the Aleutians. On 25 September 1942 S/L K. A. Boomer
shot down a Japanese Zero, scoring the RCAF's only victory over
the Japanese Air Force. On another occasion Canadian and Ameri-
can fliers attacked aircraft, ships, radar installations and the general
camp area in Kiska. In September 1943 the enemy forces, com- S/L K. A. Boomer
manded by Admiral Yamomoto, withdrew from the Aleutians. It scored the RCAF's oniy
victory over the
meant a return to the war in Europe for the Canadians. Japanese Air Force when
S/L Grant flew his Kittyhawk-equipped squadron 4,000 miles from he shot down a Japanese
Zero fighter.
Annette Island in the Aleutians to Dartmouth, N.S. The squadron
was the first complete unit to fly from coast to coast. Grant returned
to England on 1 November 1943 and reported to No. 438 Squadron
to resume operations in the European area. After some advanced
training on rocket-firing Hurricanes he converted to the latest tactical
aircraft, the Typhoon fighter-bomber. He was ready for action.
On 20 March 1944 Grant led a section of the squadron on its first
operation "do." Flying at high speed and low level they swept over The Japanese Zero was a
the French coast near Cherbourg, strafing enemy troops and a staff superb fighter aircraft.
car. Four days later No. 438 Squadron released, on the German-
Snow-capped mountains form a picturesque background to Canadian fighter

pilots patrolling Alaskan skies.
occupied town of St. Saveur, the first 1000-pound bombs dropped
from a Typhoon.
On D Day, while Canadian Spitfire wings covered the flanks of
the invasion force, the RCAF's Typhoon wing gave direct support
to the landing forcesby bombing enemy strong points and strafing
convoys of motor transport. Grant led a section of No. 438 (Wildcat]
Squadron Typhoons on a particularly demanding assignment. They
were to dive bomb two concrete blockhouses overlooking the beach
on which the British Fiftieth Division was to land its tanks. The
operation required very exact timing as the bombs were to come
down just as the landing craft lowered their ramps. Because of low
clouds the pilots had to go down to 1,500 feet, an almost prohibi-
tively low altitude for dive bombing. In addition, their vision was
badly obscured by the smoke of battle. Grant led the way, diving
through billowing clouds of smoke and debris. Both blockhouses
received direct hits.
The day was not over yet. Grant led his Wildcat Squadron down
to the deck for strafing runs. They were so low that every soldier
with a rifle could take a crack at them and many did. One of Grant's
pilots had a piece of flak bounce off his prop and bash in the lead-
ing edge of his wing; another aircraft had a shell pass right through
one wing, puncturing the gas tank; a third pilot had some object hit
and scrape it from front to back while another aircraft
his aircraft
had a large chunk torn out of
tail. Grant's Wildcats set four
its
German Army vehicles on and damaged ten more. With the

fire
Allied Forces holding a precarious perimeter on the Normandy

beaches, Grant led his pilots repeatedly against targets of oppor-
tunity to seal off the battlefield and prevent German reinforcements
from arriving.
There were also special assignments like the one on D Day plus
10. On that occasion Grant led a section of Typhies against a rail-
way tunnel south of Lisieux. He and his merry men tossed four
bombs directly into the tunnel mouth and blasted 50 yards of track
in front of the caved-in opening.Eight Messerschmitts jumped them
and one of the Typhoon pilots, F/O R. C. Getty, was shot down. Not
wishing to push their luck, the Me 109s scurried into clouds before
Grant could go after them. A happy footnote to this incident is that
Getty managed to evade the numerous German soldiers looking for
him, and two months later, when Canadian troops reached the area,
he was safe.
To a great extent the work of the Typhoon fighter bombers was
dependent upon the weather. Cloud or haze made it difficult if not
impossible to pinpoint the small targets upon which the bombs were
to be dropped. During the Canadian Army's initial push through
Normandy Grant demonstrated his ability to knock off the most diffi-
cult of targets when he struck at a bridge spanning the river Dives.
From the bombing altitude the bridge looked hardly wider than a
thread. When Grant and his section pulled out of their dives, it
was gone.
On removed from
July 25 Grant flew his last mission before being
combat for health reasons. He orbited the target, a gun battery, at
8,00Q feet. Then, ready to attack, he gave the standard bombing
leader's call, "going down." He peeled off into a 60-degree angle
dive. His section of Typhies followed. They plunged for more than
a mile, accelerating all the way down. At 2,000 feet Grant released
his bombs, pulled back on the stick and sank deeper in his seat as
the tremendous pressure of pull-out worked on him. Down below
the bombs made contact. A few seconds delay to give the aircraft
a chance to escape, then they exploded, roaring. The gun battery
was silenced forever. At the end of the month Grant was removed
from combat, not by enemy action but for reasons of health; he had
appendicitis. While he was lying in hospital recuperating he was
presented with the purple and white ribbon of the DFC.
Having completed a tour of operations Grant could have made an
honorable withdrawal from the battlefield and gone into staff work
or instructing. He did no such thing. He requested a second tour.
Because of his experience and proven ability the offer was quickly
taken up by RCAF Headquarters Overseas. He was promoted to
wing commander and sent back to No. 143 Wing as Wing Com-
mander (Flying). Wing Commander (Flying] had to ensure that the
Wing, as a whole, maintained its standards and that the squadrons
within the Wing kept up their fighting efficiency. These responsi-
bilities Grant carried out by personally selecting many of the targets
for the Wing, then flying with the different squadrons to observe
their performance. Grant, the "quality control expert," alternated
between No. 438 (Wildcat), No. 439 (Westmount) and No. 440
(Beaver) Squadrons, sometimes leading the three squadrons on a
Wing "do," sometimes an individual squadron and, occasionally, a
section of a squadron.
On 22 October 1944 Grant started his second tour by leading No.
439 Squadron in an attack on a group of buildings near Hertogen-
bosch, Holland. The haze was so thick that visibility was reduced
to a dangerous extent as Grant led his squadron out for takeoff.
Minutes later he was spiralling upwards with 15 Typhoons behind
him, each carrying a 1000-pound bomb. The haze reached high into
the sky, making forming up difficult, but after several circuits Grant

was satisfied with the formation and headed to the target. Reaching
the target area the formation spread out and prepared to dive. They
went down at a 60-degree angle, diving in a north to south direction.
Blue Section was plunging in, roughly in line astern, when one air-
craft exploded. Smoke and debris scattered in the path of the fol-
lowing They sliced through the debris, then had to contend
aircraft.
with clouds which partially obscured their vision. But the target
was hit.
So it went. Whenever and wherever No. 143 Wing went into
battle Grant either planned the strike, led the sortie or did both.
When specially critical periods occurred he took complete control.
He led his formations in all the major activities associated with the
Battle of the Bulge, Germany's last major offensive of the Second
World War.
Christmas 1944 was approaching but there was no let-up in
tactical operations. On Christmas Eve Grant led a flight of Typhies
from No. 440 Squadron on an armed recce of the Julich-Neuss-
Ahrweiler area. He spotted a truck convoy and gave the order to
attack. Nine trucks were destroyed and eleven others damaged but
one of the attacking pilots flew into flak and crashed. Then two
Focke-Wulfe 190s attacked. Grant turned on them, damaged one,
and they fled. There was no peace on Christmas Day, 1944. The
officers did observe the military tradition of serving the men Christ-
mas dinner but it was rushed so they could follow Grant on patrol.
On 5 January 1945 Grant started off the final year of the war by
leading a sortie against fuel trucks and a factory. A period of bad
weather followed. On 24 March 1945
Armies crossed thethe Allied
Rhine. On the first sortie in support of troops that day Grant and
his pilots achieved a success, the significance of which they were
only to learn later. He led Nos. 439 and 440 Squadrons against build-
ings at Ostrich, Germany. The buildings collapsed, burying the
brilliantGeneral der Fallschirmtruppen, Commander of the First
German Army. When he was dug out of the debris, his injuries were
such that his usefulness to the German Army and his threat to the
Canadian Army, was ended.
In May Grant was awarded the DSO. In the words of the citation:
"This officer has continued to display brilliant leadership and out-
standing courage on all types of operations despite the fierce opposi-
tion encountered. During the Rhine crossing W/C Grant organized

and led No. 143 Wing which was employed against the enemy's
anti-aircraft defences in support of the airborne landings. By his
skilland daring njany enemy gun positions were silenced. In the
subsequent drive across Germany he led many sorties in direct
support of the Army thus contributing materially to the rapid
advance of the land forces."
Grant kept his fliers operationally ready at all times, even when
the threat seemed to recede. On 4 May 1945 when the German
Armies in Germany surrendered there was a pause in
northern
operational activities.Then in July Grant had his squadrons back in
the air "to keep their hands in." But it was all over. Germany col-
lapsed. As a senior military officer worded it: "The Second Tactical
Air Force has established a reputation that will be remembered not
only by the Allies but also by the Hun." The same could be said
for one of the outstanding fliers of Second TAF, W/C F. G. Grant,
who did so much to earn that organization the reputation which it
deserved.
Another Typhie pilot who was particularly adept at the fighter-

bomber role was S/L }. R. Beirnes, of Edmonton, who succeeded
S/L /. R. Beirnes became an F. G. Grant as Commanding Officer of No. 438 Squadron.
outstanding "train buster" Beirnes joined the RCAF in April 1940. After graduation he
while flying Typhoons
served for several months as a staff pilot at an air navigation school
with No. 438 Squadron of the
2nd Tactical Air Force. where he flew student navigators around Nova Scotia on training
exercises. In June 1942 Beirnes was one of the RCAF pilots sent to
Alaska to participate in that little-known campaign where the
Japanese, on the islands of Kiska and Attn, actually secured a beach-
head in North America. For Beirnes however the Aleutian campaign
provided little excitement except for an incident on 14 February
1943 when he and his wing man collided on landing at Annette
Island, one of the forward fields of the joint Canadian-American
defense.
On 26 October 1943 Beirnes left the Arctic tundra for the battle-
fields of Europe. Since he had already been on operations, however
Typhoon of the Second TAF prepares for take-off from rain-sodden field in
Holland, near the front lines.
briefly,Beirnes reported immediately to an operational squadron,
No. 438, on his arrival in England. He was one of the pilots selected
to fly the high-performance Typhoon aircraft. The Typhoon was
quite an aeroplane. Although it was classified as a fighter bomber
its bomb load compared favourably with that carried by medium
bombers in the early days of the war and, in fact, the Typhoon's
weight of bombs equalled that carried by the Hampden bomber air-
craft which the RCAF its first raid. The Typhoon was also
used on
a fighter par excellence. was fast, manoeuvrable and, with four
It
20 mm cannons, equal to any enemy fighter.

An operational sortie in a Typhoon was an exercise in precision.
First would come the briefing during which the pilots would be told
location and description of target, engine start-time, whether take-
off would be singly or in pairs, radio channels to be used, method of
form-up and type of formation to be flown, route to the target, angle
of dive and direction of pull-out, method of reforming and emer-
gency course home. The final words to the pilots always wêre: "Be
sure that you have emptied your pockets of all documents and see
that you have your escape aids with you. The chances are that you
will never need them but if you do, you will need them badly."
The pilots would then go out to their aircraft and start up. Bomb
switches would be selected to "on" and flaps lowered 20 degrees.
They would then switch to the proper radio channel and, one by
one, check in wdth the leader to indicate they were ready to go. Taxi-
ing in a Typhoon was difficult; the huge engine obscured the pilot's
view. So an airman would climb up on the wing and ride as far as
the runway, all the while indicating directions to the pilot by means
of hand signals. If for any reason the pilot had to wait at the end of
the runway before taking off and engine temperature climbed above
120 degrees, he had to turn his Typhoon into the wind to prevent
the powerful engine from overheating.
Then they would taxi onto the end of the runway in pairs, line up
with the centre stripe, hold on their brakes and start to open the
throttles. At from the section leader he and his wingman
a signal
would release their brakes and push their throttles wide open. The
2200 hp Napier-Sabre engine would roar into life. The pilot would
be pushed into his seat by centrifugal force as the Typhoon quickly
accelerated to takeoff speed. At about 120 mph the aircraft would
lift off the ground and the undercarriage would be retracted. The

Armourers load a Typhoon with 20 mm cannon shells at a Normandy airfield
after D Day. Note the four rocket-projectiles under the wing.
wing man had to keep close to his section leader or else he might
slide into the leader's slipstream, with disastrous results. The
turbulent air left behind by a Typhoon's propellor could easily cause
the following pilot to lose control and crash.
Once they were established in their climb the number two man
would drop into line astern and slightly below his leader. Each
succeeding pair of Typhoons would cut the turn off the end of the
runway a little shorter until the squadron was line astern and
circling for altitude. At the command, "vector leader turning onto
course," the squadron would move into battle formation. On the
way to the target the wing men were responsible for maintaining
their position in the formation and scanning the sky for signs of
enemy aircraft. The section leaders and squadron commander did
the navigation. All pilots kept glancing at their instrument panels

to check engine temperature, pressures, RPMs. Everyone was busy
but nothing could prevent the increasing tension as the pilots neared
the target. As they approached, the squadron commander would hand
signal. The Typhoons would spread out to about 100 yards apart.
Then radio silence would be broken by the terse statement, "going
down."
Since the aircraft were only 100 yards apart and were travelling
more than 100 yards per second, each pilot had to begin his dive a
split-second after the man ahead of him made his move. Down they
went, each pilot locked in a private world of fear and excitement.
The target would grow larger and larger in the bombsight as the
aircraft plunged at more than 300 mph. The roar of the engine filled
the pilot's ears and the aircraft vibrated increasingly with the
momentum of the dive. Anti-aircraft shells would come hurtling up,
answered by 20 mm cannon fire from the pilots. Then a touch of the
finger and the bomb would be gone. A solid pull back on the control
column and the pilot would be forced deep into his seat by the
pressure as his Typhoon curved out of the dive. When his vision
cleared the pilot would look around quickly for the other aircraft
which, hopefully, would be out of his way. Then climb to altitude,
re-form with the squadron, or what was left of it, then back to base
and land. It was an exciting and very dangerous business. But the
job had to be done so the pilots returned for sortie after sortie until,
if they were lucky, they completed their tour of operations.
Beirnes was lucky. Although his aircraft was hit by enemy fighters
twice and by anti-aircraft fire ten times, he completed two opera-
tional tours. Then he started a third, but that is getting ahead of the
story.
The Mosquito was a tactical as well as a fighter aircraft.
On 12 May 1944 Beirnes took part in a dive bombing attack on
the Chateau de Bosmalet near Dieppe. He climbed to 7,500 feet to
start his dive. Looking down was almost like looking into a bottle
of milk; 'thick mist rose up to 6,000 feet. Diving into the "clag"
involved more than a little risk but the Army badly needed the
Chateau's guns silenced. Beirnes tilted over and plunged into the
gloom. He scored a direct hit in the centre of the target area. A few
days later a radar station at Abbeville-Vaudricourt was the target.
Beirnes placed his bombs so accurately, in spite of intense flak, that
he toppled the slim radar antenna, putting the station off the air.
In June 1944 he caved in a railway tunnel with bombs.

Two days later Beirnes and his squadron moved from Hurn,
England, to Lantheuil, France. They made by bomb-
a noisy arrival
ing two bridges on their way to their first landing on the continent.
That attack, however, was one of the few times that Beirnes was not
successful. For some reason the Germans decided to defend that
particular bridge at all costs. The flak was, as the pilots used to say,
"so thick you could walk on it." One of Beirnes' pilots, F/0 L. E.
Park, took a direct hit at 8,000 feet from heavy flak. His aircraft
tumbled then exploded. Beirnes and the four remaining pilots were
driven off.
On August 1944 Beirnes, who had arrived at the Squadron as

3
and had risen to the rank of squadron leader, was

a flight sergeant
made Commanding Officer of No. 438. Four days later the newly-
appointed CO took on an extremely difficult assignment. A number
of German tanks were concentrated in a woods in an area known
through bitter experience to be ringed with flak. S/L Beirnes de-
cided to release his bombs higher than normal and also to use his
weapons on the defenders. Beirnes climbed to 14,000 feet
and started
to dive. Going through 10,000 feet he pressed his firing button. The
Typhoon formation screamed down, all guns firing. The ack-ack
in the immediate area was silenced. At 6,000 feet the bombs were
released. In spite of the relatively high altitude of release, every
bomb landed in the target area, starting a number of fires. One sent
orange flames soaring up to 1,000 feet. The grateful Canadian Army
signalled its thanks.
On 13 October 1944 Beirnes completed his first tour of operations
and took some well-earned leave. He returned to Canada in January
1945 then on March 20 he left home for what was to be the last

time.He returned to No. 438 Squadron for his second term as
Commanding Officer. Six days later he carried out a spectacular
raid which earned him a bar to his DFC. Beirnes and his Wildcat
Squadron dive bombed enemy shipping anchored off Wilhelmshaven,
a light cruiser riding at anchor being the primary target. Although
the flak was intense, one direct hit was obtained on the cruiser's
superstructure, two more landed amidships and three bombs hit
the stern. The ship listed to port and was emitting smoke as the
aircraft left the scene.
That same month Beirnes started a new procedure for his squad-
ron. The aircraft which went on reconnaissance flights also carried
bombs in case some target or opportunity unexpectedly materialized.
He soon got a chance to try out his new idea. While on an armed
recce Beirnes received a from a Canadian Army unit that
call
German troops in the village of Harpsted were impeding progress.

Beirnes broke off the recce mission for the dive-bombing chore. He
led his Typhoons and dropped the bombs so accurately that the
buildings were destroyed without the ensuing rubble blocking the
road. It was busy time. As often as twice a day Beirnes led his
a
pilots on dive bombing, strafing and armed recce missions. He
finished his second operational tour, twice as many as most pilots
completed, then at his own request he began a third.
A forewarning occurred. Beirnes was leading a section of Typhoons
on an attack on a rail junction when he experienced engine trouble.
He broke off the attack and flew back to base with a sputtering
engine. The next day he went back to the rail junction to finish the
job and did so by cutting the rails in eight places. On 21 April 1945
Beirnes flew as part of the Typhoon Wing which wiped out the
town of Achim. Three days later he helped to flatten a German
Headquarters at Oldendorf and a few days later he strafed 10
German aircraft parked on the ground because of fuel shortage. The
German highways began to be crowded with bumper to bumper
traffic made up of German soldiers in trucks. "The density of the
traffic," Beirnes remarked, "is about the same as it was in the
summer of 1944 in the Falaise Gap." There was, however, one

significant difference: the German Army was now in retreat.
On 2 May 1945 Beirnes was leading a rail-cutting operation and
had broken the rails in six places when he and his flight were
jumped by 12 Messerschmitt 109s. Although Beirnes and his fliers

Ground crew working on fighters of a Thunderbolt wing on the Burma front.
were outnumbered, the Luftwaffe showed no stomach for fighting.

After a brief show of force they broke and scattered. On 3 May
1945 it was shipping that merited Beirnes' attention. He led an
attack on several ships in the Kiel Canal and scored a total of seven
hits including a hit on the stern of an 8,000-ton passenger ship. The
following day at 1830 hours the Germans surrendered all their
forces in northwestern Germany, Holland and Denmark. The sur-
render of this portion of the German forces brought a lull in the
battle. At the end of May 1945 Beirnes flew to Flensburg, Germany,

to inspect the new where his squadron was to operate, then he
site
took off to return to Celle, Germany. Engine trouble forced him to

return to Flensburg. It almost seemed that his faithful aircraft, having
carried him into battle and back countless times, had had enough.
On 1 June 1945 Beirnes arranged to take some of the new squad-
ron pilots on a training flight. He took off on a bright clear day
and, with his pilots flying a loose formation, he winged his way into
Denmark. His engine began to miss, then sputtered to a stop. For
a flier with Beirnes' experience this posed no great problem. He
picked out a field and started to glide in for a forced landing. For
a reason that will never be determined, one wingtip suddenly dug
^j-into the ground. The Typhoon cartwheeled and disintegrated. S/L
Beirnes, whose combat experience and flying ability could not be
matched by anyone else in the squadron, was instantly killed. A
few days later he was buried with full military honours in Aabenraa,
Denmark.

S/L R. E. Coffey, who established his reputation as a flier in the
battle-scarred skies of Europe, began his aviation career in the
tranquil setting of Indiana,USA. In June 1941, finding that routine
flying with the National Guard and the US Army Aix Corps offered
limited excitement, Coffey journeyed to Canada and joined the
RCAF. After winning his pilot's wings in February 1942 Coffey
served as a flying instructor until July 1943 when he was sent to
Annette Island with No. 118 Squadron to take part in the short-lived
Aleutian campaign. Four months later he sailed for Europe. He
reported to No. 438 Squadron and after conversion to the Typhoon
he began operational flying on 12 April 1944.
Coffey's first operational sortie was against a weapon system that
was soon to cause a lot of grief to the British Isles, the flying bomb.
These unmanned guided missiles, officially called V 1 but better
known as buzz bombs or doodlebugs, had not as yet become a
menace thanks largely to men like Coffey who carried out successful
dive bombing raids on their launching sites. Coffey had joined
the squadron at a busy time: D Day was approaching. In the month
of June he pitted himself against any type of target that could be
bombed, strafed or rocket-fired into oblivion. On 29 June 1944 he
S/L R.
scored a direct hit with a 500-pound bomb on a German ammunition 2nd Tat
dump. German munitions which had been carefully stockpiled for expert
weeks, disappeared in seconds.
Ground strafing was by its very nature a dangerous operation.
Squadron diaries record very numerous incidents of pilots flying
into trees, flak towers and other visible objects. How many flew into
such almost invisible objects as high tension wires and telephone
lines, will never be known. The Typhoon itself could be an unwary
pilot's destruction since it was an unforgiving aircraft. One day in

August, for example, Coffey and another squadron pilot were crank-
ing around a turn at the end of a strafing run. The other pilot pulled
his turn a little too tight, the Typhoon stalled and went straight in.
On August 31 Coffey and his squadron moved from Lantheuil to
St. Andre, France, to stay close to the moving bomb line —
the bomb
line being the line drawn on the map behind which they could not
bomb because of the nearness of Allied troops.
On September 10 Coffey flew his first raid over German soil. In
the morning he destroyed two barges and a staff car. On his second
sortie of the day, he took part in a raid on shipping in the harbour

at Hoedekenskerke. The ship he attacked happened to be carrying
ammunition. The ensuing \'iolent explosion damaged nearby ships.
Two ships in the inner harbour were attacked along with three ships
in the outer harbour. In all, six took direct hits. Six days after
demolishing the ammunition ship Coffey had a hand in blowing up
an ammunition train. The engine, with about 20 box cars, was
standing in a railway siding w^hen Coffey engaged in a shooting
match with the gimners protecting the train. Coffey won. Then he
lashed the train with cannon fire until it blew up. Tongues of flame
and puffs of smoke curled to 1,500 feet.
Coffey became a specialist at disrupting railroad timetables. On
2 October 1944 he helped to damage two trains in the early morning
and then attacked a double track, sending rails and ties from both
Unes flying in every direction. Two days later he scored a grand
slam. He hit a train with such devastating effect that it was blown
right off the rails. At the end of October 1944 Coffey completed a
tour of operations and left the field of battle.
Early in January 1945, a few^ days before he reported back to No.
438 Squadron to begin his second tour, Coffey learned that he had
been awarded the DFC for ''numerous attacks on enemy installations
in France in the face of heaw and accurate anti-aircraft fire." The
citation went on to say: "In July 1944, this officer pressed home a
successful attack on a bridge at Thur\^ Harcourt, which wâs com-
and during the Battle of Falaise Gap he destroyed
pletely destroyed,
many locomotives, bridges and an ammunition ship. He has led
many successful sorties against railway targets in the battle area and
has done effective work disrupting enemy commimications and
supply lines."
Coffey stayed with No. 438 Squadron until 15 March 1945 when
he was promoted to squadron leader and sent to No. 440 (Beaver]
Squadron as Commanding Officer. He arrived at Beaver Squadron
during the busiest time of the war for the Typhoon Wing. The
Allies were about to cross the Rhine. On 24 March 1945, they did.
In preparation, Coffey led his pilots on strafing and dive bombing
attacks against trains, ammunition dumps, factories and in fact any-
thing that might have a direct bearing on the success of the Rhine
crossing. The Germans knew what was coming and fought back
with even greater determination than usual.

On every sortie Coffey and his pilots encountered "bags of flak"
and the squadron casualty lists grew. Coffey seemed to lead a
charmed life. Each day he would have his three Bs, briefing, break-
fast and battle but no matter what happened during tlie day, Coffey
was ready to go again next morning. On the day of the actual
crossing of the Rhine, Coffey and his pilots flew as often as they
could get turned around at the completion of a sortie. Typhies were
all over the sky, going to, taking part in or returning from a raid.
Under Coffey's leadership the Beavers unrolled a carpet of de-
struction, blowing up villages, tank concentrations, road junctions,
railroads, bridges, marshalling yards, factories. On 3 September
1945 in the London Gazette a citation read: "This officer is now on
his second tour of operational duty. In March 1945 he took part in

an attack on the railway siding at Winterswijk and despite intense
anti-aircraft fire his squadron destroyed 25 trucks and damaged 10.
On another occasion this officer completely silenced heavy guns on
a well-defended enemy position. Squadron Leader Coffey has led
attacks against a wide variety of targets." The citation was notifica-
tion that Coffey had won a bar to his DFC. The gallant flier would
never know about it. On 1 August 1945 S/L Coffey, who had defied
death countless times during 165 operational sorties, died of injuries
received in an automobile accident. He was buried in the municipal
cemetery at Graasteen, Denmark.
The fliers of tactical aircraft had a language all their own which,
to outsiders, probably sounded like some colourful but meaningless
patois. It was colourful all right but also meaningful, at least to
those who flew fighters and fighter-bombers on tactical operations.
A "rodeo" was a fighter sweep with the prime object of enticing
enemy fighters "ramrod" was a fighter escort of
into battle;
bombers; "circus" was similar to ramrod except that the bombers
were being used as bait; "roadsteads" were attacks on enemy ship-
ping; "rhubarb" was a free-lance sortie in search of ground targets;
"ranger" was the same sort of operation but carried out at night;
and "popular" was a photo reconnaissance sortie.
One aircraft which took part at one time or another in all of
these various sorties, was the Mustang. The Mustang, built in
America according to British specifications, combined an American
fuselage and a British Rolls Royce engine. The result was one of
the finest propeller-driven aircraft of the Second World War.

A blister hangar, where minor repairs are being made on a "City of Toronto"
Squadron Mustang fighter.
One of the Canadian pilots who established a name for himself

as a Mustang pilot of the first order was F L D. M. Grant, of Tren-
ton, a member of No. 400 Squadron, the first RCAF squadron to go
overseas on active service.
"Bitsy" Grant, as he was known to all his squadron mates, joined
the RCAF on 12 September 1940 and began pilot training. In
June
of the following year he graduated and in August he went overseas.
Advanced and operational training were the next order of
training
business, then Grant reported to No. 400 Squadron. At that time
the squadron was flying in the Army Co-operation role, out
of
Odiham, England, with "loose-limbed" Lysanders so called be- —
cause of their peculiarly awkward, gull-Hke appearance. In 1942 the
Canadian Army had not as yet come to grips with the enemy, so
Army Co-operation consisted of flying endless recce missions and
practise manoeuvres.The only recorded excitement for Grant during
his Lysander days was the fact that he broke a tail-wheel one day
while landing. The squadron converted to Tomahawk aircraft but
Grant was still away out in left field when it came to excitement
except for one day when he taxied into a fuel truck and on another
occasion when he landed crosswind and badly damaged one of the
squadron's aircraft.

Then Mustangs and the squadron's and
the squadron converted to
Grant's luck took a noticeable change for the better.
Grant and F/0 H. P. Peters were the first squadron pilots to try
their hands at low level night flying. Low flying in daylight was
hazardous enough. Low flying in the darkness near trees and wires
was tempting fate. Nevertheless Grant and his companion flew
deep into enemy-occupied territory looking for targets. They were
hard to find. In wartime there were strict regulations about showing
a light at night; as the two Mustang pilots prowled the skies over
Europe it was like looking down into a black pit. But nothing could
be done about railway boilers. Sparks flew out and when the fire-
men shovelled coal, the open boiler glowed like an ember in an out- F/L D. M. Grant destroyed
door fire. That was when Grant would dive with guns firing. One both enemy aircraft and ei
trains while flying Mustanj
night Grant saw a glow eight times; he blew up four locomotives
with No. 400 Squadron,
and damaged four others. He found his first locomotive near St. the first RCAF Squadron t
Juste, the second and third near Soissons and the fourth near go overseas on active serv.
Rheims. "I swooped down on the moving locomotives, gave them
short bursts of cannon and machine gun fire and saw them steaming
like geysers. It was as simple as that," Grant stated later. It was,
of course, not simple at all. and dangerous. Though
It was difficult
Grant made ranger operations look routine, many pilots never re-
turned from these sorties.
In the merry month of May night operations took precedence
again. Peters and Grant, who had made the first night sortie in
April, led off the May tournament. Their foray into the Soissons-
Rheims-Noyon area on the night of 14 May cost the Huns dearly.
Grant put six locomotives back into the roundhouse for repairs. Ten
days later each member of the highly successful team of train busters
was decorated with The citation mentioned that in
the DFC.
addition to destroying an enemy bomber Grant had damaged 18
locomotives and by his "fine fighting spirit and great determination
had set a magnificent example to his squadron." In June, Grant
added to his reputation by damaging six locomotives during the
month, four on the night of June 16.
On 12 July 1943 Grant and F/0 A. T. Carlson had been beating
up, to use fliers' jargon, the area between Cobourg and Chartres.
Grant attacked two trains near Villy and Le Mele, then he found a
different target for his guns. A Dornier aircraft was flying alone
at about 1,500 feet. Grant curved in behind it and fired a ten-second

burst. The Dornier's port engine blew up; crew members bailed
five
out as the stricken aircraft headed for the ground. Then it was
Grant's turn. Just vvest of Le Havre, he was attacked by the best
aircraft in the Luftwaffe, Focke-Wulf 190s. Grant survived the ordeal
and joined his partner. On the way back to base they successfully
attacked another train.
A month later Grant tangled with another enemy aircraft while
looking for ground targets. Along with F/0 A. S. Collins he flew
across the English Channel then continued inland to the Seine
Valley. A Junkers 88 pilot, showing more courage than common
sense, attacked the two Mustangs from behind. Grant pulled his
aircraft into a maximum rate turn. When he was dead astern, he
opened fire. His bullets hit home; the Junkers' port engine began to
smoke and large chunks flew off the aircraft. Then Grant's guns
jammed. The last he saw of the Junkers it had dropped to tree top
level. Rain blotted
from sight so he could only claim a "probable."
it
The date 28 September 1943 should have been just another event-
ful day in the eventful career of F'L Grant. He and F/0 W. H.
Jessiman took off on a rhubarb. They were flying at low level near
Ault, France, when they came in range of accurate flak. Grant
pulled up into the clouds but it was too late. Moments later Grant's
Mustang reappeared, turning to port side as it plunged. It dove into
a clump of trees and exploded.
This hadly battered Ju 88 was a victim of Canadian guns in North Africa.

Although they flew fighter aircraft, tactical pilots could never
match fighter pilots for numbers of enemy aircraft shot down. Shoot-
ing down enemy aircraft was not their prime purpose. Their targets
were tactical. Wherever they flew along German-occupied roads
and railways, they left a trail of destruction and disruption. One of
the most successful pilots of the Second Tactical Air Force was
W/C R. C. "Bunt" Waddell, DSO, DFC, Netherlands Flying Cross.
Waddell, who grew up in Peterborough, Ont., began both his
military and his flying careers early. In 1934 he entered Royal Mili-
tary College at Kingston where Len Birchall, the man destined to
become "The Saviour of Ceylon," was among his fellow students.
While at RMC Waddell showed his interest in aviation; he flew on
weekends and obtained a private pilot license. In 1937 he graduated
from RMC and served with the Fourth Battery, Royal Canadian
Artillery, until June 1938. In that year he entered the University of
Toronto in the engineering faculty and joined the City of Toronto
(Auxiliary] Squadron. His affiliation with this squadron. No. 110,
lasted for many years until, by the summer of 1943, he was the only
original aircrew member still serving with the squadron.
On 3 September 1939, seven days before Canada declared war,
Waddell was called into active service. Since he had won his RCAF
pilot wings four months earlier, he was immediately put on flying
duties ferrying aircraft across the country. Early in 1940 the City
of Toronto Squadron was re-formed as an Army Co-operation unit
and, on February 13, it became the first RCAF squadron to go over-
Lysander
seas. The squadron went to RAF Station Old Sarum in England
and began operating with Lysander aircraft which they later traded
for Tomahawks. The squadron was renumbered in keeping with the
Canadian Squadron confer before taking

fighter pilots of No. Ill off in their
Kittyhawks during the Aleutian campaign.
RCAF's block of numbers for overseas squadrons. Number 110
Squadron became No. 400 Squadron and Waddell became second in
command. Two months later Waddell had his first "incident" while
flying. He was on a training flight when he had an engine failure.
Aircraft were precious in embattled Britain in those days so he
dismissed any thoughts of a parachute jump and made a successful
forced landing. By later standards 1941 was a quiet year. Early in
1942 things began to pick up.
On 10 February 1942 Waddell flew his first operational sortie.
It was uneventful. Fifteen days later No. 400 Squadron celebrated
its second year in England and much to their pleasure, the pilots
were given Mustang aircraft to fly. The months went by with

Waddell participating in a number of sorties over the English Chan-
nel and enemy-occupied Europe. On 9 August 1942 Waddell became
commanding officer of the squadron. As 1942 was coming to an end
he finally came to grips with the foe. On December 1 Waddell was
leading a finger-four formation on an armed shipping-recce mission
off the Cherbourg Peninsula when he was attacked by five Me 109s.
Waddell's aircraft was hit in the taOplane but, in spite of a brief,

furious dogfight, no further damage was done to his aircraft or to
those of his companions.
Waddell was obtaining good results on his operational sorties and
he flew the Mustang as though it was part of him. Then, ironically,
it was simply a small trainer which the squadron used for liaison
duties that nearly caused his death. On 9 March 1943 Waddell was
returning to his base after being away on an administrative matter
when the engine on his Miles Master cut out as he was approaching
his field. Waddell tried to make the runway by coming in crosswind
but he slammed into a Mustang waiting to take off and severely
damaged his aircraft. Waddell walked away from the two-aeroplane
coUision without a scratch.
On 14 April 1943 he was lucky again but not so his flying partner.
Waddell and F/O M. B. Pepper took off on a ranger operation look-
ing for enemy aircraft. They were night flying over France near St.
Valery when searchlights picked them up. Intense flak came up,
hittingF/O Pepper's Mustang, causing the cooling fluid to escape
from his engine. The pilot's last words were, "I'm bailing out."
As ground activities increased, the need for air photos increased
proportionally since photos gave Army planners a preview of the

enemy's intentions. An unfortunate aspect of photo recce flying
which the pilots had to accept was that to obtain photos the missions
had to be flown in good weather with the aircraft flying straight
and level thus making them highly vulnerable to ground fire. An
additional requirement for photo missions was that the cameras had
to have a direct view of the ground; clouds could not be used for
concealment. As well as photos the Wing obtained visual reports of
enemy activity and directed our artillery fire against enemy targets.
The photo pilots, of course, were also expected to do their share of
strafing and fighter sorties.
As D Day neared, Waddell's recce Wing greatly increased its
number of sorties. Waddell's log book showed that he was in the
vanguard of activities. On 8 March 1944, for example, he led photo
missions for No. 430 Squadron to obtain oblique overlaps of the
French coast from Pointe d'Ailly to Cap The following
Dentifier.
month he led formations of recce aircraft from Beachy Head in
England to a town in France of special significance to Canadians
Dieppe. Early in May, with No. 400 Squadron, he flew a photo
Spitfire that pinpointed the location German flying-bomb sites
of
near Le Havre and later in the same month he returned to No. 414
Squadron for photo recces on gun positions along the Germans' so-
called Western Wall. But he did more than take reams of photos.
He led his marauding Mustangs across occupied Europe on strafing
runs, leaving behind him a trail of army vehicles, trains and aircraft,
destroyed or ready for the repair shop.
In mid-June 1943 Waddell won the DEC with the citation which
read in part: "This officer has always performed his duties with
great determination. He flew during Dieppe combined operations
and since he has taken part in many operational sorties including
a number of anti-shipping patrols. On one occasion he penetrated
far over France where he damaged several locomotives and returned
with an excellent and valuable report."
On 25 June 1943 Waddell completed his first operational tour of
duty and the following day he began a tour at No. 39 (Reconnais-
sance) Wing Headquarters. As Wing Commander (Operations)
Waddell's main job was to ensure that the three squadrons making
up his Wing, Nos. 400, 414 and 430, did their job of providing in-
formation and photographs to the Army. Photographs for the Army
were either verticals or obliques and, depending on the requirement,

were obtained at either extremely high or extremely low altitudes.
A prime example of the latter came to light when photos, developed
when the pilot landed, looked directly into second storey windows.
To provide the Army with the best possible service, Waddell fre-
quently visited armour and infantry units to better understand the
requirements of the men on the ground. Then, as a result of these
visits, he would modify the Wing's operating procedures to improve
photo coverage or tactical reporting. As the Army ground across
France and the Lowlands, Waddell's maps and reports helped pave
the way.
At the beginning of October 1944 No. 39 (Recce] Wing moved to
Eindhoven, Holland, and continued the task of supplying the British
Second Army with daily reports on the enemy. By the end of the
month, as the Allies moved eastward, German place names instead
of French and Dutch ones began to appear on the battle maps.
German resistance stiffened as the soil of their homeland was
threatened. Also at the end of October a frightening, but fortunately
temporary, situation existed. On 29 October 1944 Waddell was
leading a photo recce mission over the Dortmund Canal when he
and his pilots saw an ominous sight. They spotted a smoke trail at
an estimated 11,000 feet rising at an angle of 70 degrees, and then a
huge smoke ring at 7,000 feet. It was a V 2 rocket. These highly
efficient forerunners of the space age could not be stopped once they
were launched. Until the Allied Armies could overrun the launching
sites the only way to get at the V 2s was to bomb or fire artillery
at their launching pads. Discovering these launching sites became
part of Waddell's growing list of priority tasks.
Demands on No. 139 Wing's special talents reached a peak in the
frantic week before the zero hour of crossing the Rhine. For that
operation No. 39 Wing became the "eyes" of the First Canadian,
Second British and Ninth American Armies, providing more than
one million photos of all kinds in one week. Day after day unarmed
photo aircraft whistled at high level across Germany. Their demand-
ing task was to locate enemy gun positions. Other squadron pilots,
flying low level, would go on hedge-hopping and steeple-dodging
flights in pursuit of special information.
On 24 March 1945 the Allies crossed the Rhine. That day, endless
formations of troop carriers, gliders and fighter aircraft droned east-
ward. In support of the crossing, code-named Operation Varsity,

Waddell's recce Wing flew more than one hundred sorties for the
Army below. Six days later No. 39 Wing took possession of an
airfield on German soil. It was the first Allied flying unit to do so.
Waddell, as usual, was in the forefront of the action, leading strafing
raids on German troops.
In April 1945 Waddell repeatedly flew operations in the face of
heavy flak as he photographed the steadily diminishing number of
military targets. He was able to report that the Germans were even
beginning to demolish their own airports to prevent Allied aircraft
from landing.
One of the Wing's squadrons, No. 400, moved to Lunenburg, the
farthest point of advance into Germany of any Canadian flying unit
before war's end. The war was also coming to an end for Waddell.
A fitting tribute to him was rendered on 10 July 1945 with the award
of the DSO. The citation read: "The success achieved by No. 39
Wing while engaged on photo duties has been largely due to the
careful planning and leadership of W/C Waddell. During the past
12 months the Wing has operated extensively over heavily defended
first line positions and deep into enemy territory. Prior to the Rhine
crossing this officer flew on a number of very low level sorties

photographing roads and communications between the Rhine and
the Elbe. On every occasion despite intense anti-aircraft fire he
obtained photos of excellent quality which were of the greatest
value to the 2nd Army in planning their successful attacks."
The art of tactical airpower, Con-

used with such effectiveness in
tinental Europe, was developed from bitter lessons learned under
the blazing desert sun. In the original concept of Air Force to Army
co-operation the Air Force played an essentially passive role. The
RCAF's first Army Co-operation squadron, which went to England
'
in February of 1940 and flew Lysander aircraft, was mainly con-

j
cerned with artillery spotting, communications, liaison duties and a

light transport role. By 1944, when tactical airpower gave close sup- .
port to the Army following the Normandy landings, it was in a

dynamic manner with bombs, bullets and rocket-projectiles. This
more vital use of the Air Force was the result of experience acquired '
in theMiddle East campaign. One of the Canadians who served his /• Garland. DFC,
tactical operations
^ in the Middle East before entering
apprenticeship o the European
1-
—
where they began in the
campaign as a tactical pilot was F/L J. W. Garland. deserts of the Middle East.

Flight Lieutenant Garland was an eighteen-year-old recruit from
Richmond, Ont., when he joined the RCAF in December 1940. On
24 October 1941 he received his pilot wings at No. 9 Service Flying
Training School, Summerside, P.E.I., and less than one month later
he sailed for overseas. Following advanced flying training, conver-
sion to the Hurricane aircraft and operational training, he sailed for
the Middle East in March 1942. It was a long trip. The Mediter-
ranean Sea might not have been "an Italian lake" as the Italian
dictator Mussolini once boasted, but it was for all practical purposes
unusable for Allied shipping. The only safe route to the Middle East
was to sail down the west coast of Africa, around the Horn and
make the final leg of the journey by air. It took more than two
months. In June 1942 Garland Egypt and in August
finally arrived in
joined No. 80 Squadron to begin operations. Operations were a
mixture of fighter sweeps and tactical sorties, and there was an
abundance of both. General Montgomery's "Desert Rats" had made
their stand at El Alamein and were plunging into the German lines.
The Germans were putting up stiff resistance. The Air Force now
knew that if they were going to be of real assistance to the men on
the ground they would have to do more than fly recce missions and
radio back reports. They had to actively participate in the land
battles. The answer was to equip the Hurricanes with cannon and
have them strafe ground targets. Some of the Hurricanes carried
four 20 mm cannons, effective against troops, trucks and, if need be,
against enemy aircraft. Other Hurricanes carried two 40 mm can-
nons which made them the war's first "tank busters."
Garland was assigned to the 20 mm-equipped Hurricanes and he
was soon in the heat of battle. On one' of his first operations in
Egypt he was part of a 24-plane sortie which tangled with 30 Ju 87s
[Stukas) and 20 Me 109s and broke up their attack on the advancing
British army, downing seven Stukas. Garland made strikes on one
aircraft but made no victory claim. All summer and fall of 1942
Garland and his squadron colleagues patrolled the desert with blaz-
ing cannons, shooting up trucks and breaking up troop concentra-
tions as the Germans backed up mile after bloodstained mile across
Egypt and Libya. He also flew fighter cover for his tank-busting
companions and helped prevent Ju 88s, flying from Crete, from inter-
vening in their activities.
In April 1943 Garland's squadron was given a more effective

Junkers 87, the Stuka dive bomber, wns one of the many types of German
aircraft shot down by Canadians in the desert campaign.
weapon for the job, Spitfire IXs, faster and with a higher service
ceiling. They were also given a new task. As well as low flying
across the sand dunes they flew high altitude interceptions against
Ju 86s which were making photo recce flights of the British lines.
From strafing runs at altitude 100 feet they soared to 40,000 feet on
fighter missions in a futile attempt to shoot down the high-flying
intruders. "It was," stated Garland, "an odd experience. Prolonged
periods at such lofty heights without pressurized cabins had a
strange effect on some people.
your earphones you could hear
In
some of the pilots happily singing away as though they hadn't a care
in the world."
In 1943 ended the German threat to the Middle East. The battle
was won and tens of thousands of German soldiers were in POW
compounds waiting the outcome of the war. In January 1944 Garland
and No. 80 Squadron, as part of the South African Wing of the
Desert Air Force, moved to Italy to give tactical support to the Allied
Armies in that theatre.
The role was similar but the topography was greatly different and,
from the standpoint of low-flying tactical pilots, far more dangerous.
Instead of havingflat or gently undulating sand dunes beneath them,
Garland and his colleagues found themselves roaring down valleys

between towering mountains. Garland also participated in shipping
strikes, flying across the Adriatic Sea to the coast of Yugoslavia to
strafe enemy vessels. On one occasion he strafed a ship carrying
gasoline as part of its cargo. The vessel was engulfed in flames. In

March 1944 Garland completed his first tour of operations and flew
to England for further duties. Number 80 Squadron with which he
had served in the Middle East and Italy, was also returned to Eng-
land. In August 1944 Garland was posted back to his old squadron,
then flying out of RAF Station Detling. England, as part of No. 83
Group. Second Tactical Air Force.
When he rejoined No. 80 Squadron Garland flew one trip on a
Spitfire then converted to the Tempest w^hich was, according to
Garland, "the best low-level fighter aircraft in the Second World
War." Up until that time the most formidable tactical aircraft was
the Typhoon but the Tempest actually had to be throttled back when
it flew in formation with Typhoons. On 13 September 1944 Garland
flew a tactical mission against a V2 site located near the Hague. It
was like old times: locate the target, dive, press the firing button.
But now, in the Tempest. Garland was going in on the target at more
than 400 mph which gave scant seconds to hit the target before
pulling up from the dive.
On 29 September 1944 Garland and No. 80 Squadron moved to
the continent and began to operate out of Antwerp. Tactical sorties
were by now a way of Garland who had been engaged in this
life to
precarious occupation for more than two years flying Hurricanes,

Spitfires and now Tempests against targets in Eg\'pt, Libya, Italy,
Yugoslavia, France and now Holland. The game had not changed
get in fast, hit 'em hard and get out in a hurry but some of the —
ground rules had. The Germans had their superb 88 mm guns tied
into radar, w'hich provided deadly accuracy. So effective was this
anti-aircraft weapon that Lancasters flying at 25,000 feet were being
regularly blasted out of the air. Tactical pilots, howêver, could not
fly at 25,000 feet. If they were to give maximum effectiveness, they
had to fly no higher than 8,000 feet, which made them extremely
vulnerable to radar-predicted flak.
Another difference between tactical operations in Europe and in

the Middle East was the targets. Railway trains, practically non-
existent in Egypt, became of prime importance. But trains were not
docile targets. Many carried flak cars equipped with several turrets
with four 20 mm
guns. Operating from a relatively stable platform
and having more firepower at their disposal than any attacking
defenders had the odds in their favour. Some squad-
pilot, a train's
rons firmly advised their pilots not to engage in shoot-outs with flak

cars. Garland did not see it "The Germans used to use a
that way.
lot of tracers [he and get them to
wrote] to try to terrify the pilots
break off their attacks. But, if the pilots did, they only exposed more
of their aircraft and made themselves a bigger target. If I found
myself the target for flak gunners I reacted by firing right back at
them." In the months that followed, Garland had ample opportunity
to do just that. His procedure was to climb to about 8,000 feet to
get above the range of 20 and 40 mm guns and keep weaving to
throw off radar-tracking ack ack. When a train or truck was spotted
Garland would get broadside to the target and dive out of the sun.
Even with the throttle back the closing speed was such that there
was only time for a two-second burst. If you missed, you missed;
there was no time for correction before the target blurred by under-
neath.
On 3 December 1944 Garland was pulling up from strafing a train
near Munster, Germany, when something caught his eye. It was an
Me 262, a German jet, low level, heading for a nearby airfield.
flying
Garland turned to attack. Having just pulled out of a dive, Garland
was moving at a high speed. He closed on the Me 262 rapidly. The
German spotted him and tried to escape. Unlike present-day jet
aircraft, the Me 262 had no afterburner so acceleration was poor.
The German apparently panicked. He made a couple of violent turns
and then jettisoned his canopy as if to bail out. Garland fired a
burst that was on target. The Messerschmitt spun into the ground
and exploded. Christmas Day 1944 Garland was on another armed
recce when he again tangled with an Me 262, but this time the
results were inconclusive. Two days later Garland and five other
The Headquarters of No. 412 Squadron, No. 126 Wing of the Second TAF. near
Wunsdor/, Germany.
-
Tempest pilots ran into four very determined Focke-Wulf -
'
who were not ready to admit that the war was over. Garland ;
was at 8,000 feet^when they spotted the FW 190s ahead and above
them. The Germans dove to the attack. The ten aircraft roared
towards each other with guns firing, then the neat formations broke
up into a dogfight. Garland foimd himself meeting one of the FW
190s head on. He fingered his firing button and the guns chattered.
As the Focke-Fulf swept past, Garland cranked around in a tight
turn ready for anything but there was nothing more to be done.
Garland watched the aircraft slam into the ground. The fight was
over. All four FW 190s had been shot dowTi.
The first day of the last year of the war was one that Allied
servicemen will all remember well. Field Marshall von Rundstedt
laimched a major offensive which won back much territory for the
Germans and almost drove a wedge between the Allied Armies. For
Garland it was a day of success against both German trains and
German planes. His day began imder pressure. The Luftwaffe
appeared in unaccustomed strength, taking on all comers in the air
and harassing AUied forces on the ground. Garland and his squad-
ron took off and flew straight north to Munster to do some harassing
of their own. They found one train and dove to the attack. A few
wild and furious minutes later they pulled up with smoking guns.
For that train, it was the end of the line. A short time later they
pressed home another determined attack against another German
train.Again they met with success. At least some of the reinforce-
ments for von Rundstedt would be late arriving.
On the way back
to base and very much aware of the possibility
of meeting German aircraft. Garland was keeping a particularly
sharp lookout. He saw two unidentified aircraft silhouetted against
the snow as they flew along at fairly low altitude. He left his forma-
tion and went down to investigate. On the way down he lost sight
of the aircraft but continued to dive towards the spot where he
figured they should be. Then he saw them: two long-nosed Focke-
Wulf 190s in formation. Garland closed rapidly and opened fire on
thenumber two man in the formation. His 20 mm cannon shells
struck the FW 190's long-range fuel tanks:
the unlucky aircraft
went and exploded on impact. The other pilot began
straight dou-n
evasive action. He went down to the deck hoping to get protection
from the terrain. Unluckily for him there were no hills to hide

A formation of Tempests of the Second Tactical Air Force return (o base offer
attacking German trains and transport east of the Rhine in JVIarch 1945.
behind so he went flat out at tree-top height with Garland in pursuit.

Garland fired a couple of short bursts. The second hit home. The
German fighter slammed into the ground and disintegrated. From
the time he had spotted the formation until the second aircraft had
been shot down scarcely three minutes had elapsed. For Garland it
had been agood day.
A pilot five aircraft to be known as an "ace."
had to shoot down
Garland got his though a few seconds robbed him of the unoffi-
fifth
cial but highly esteemed title. Garland was outward bound for a
strafing run near Aachmer, Germany, when he spotted a Junkers 188
heading for a nearby airfield. Normally the pilots did not strafe
—
German airfields the risk was out of all proportion to the gains
—
which might be realized but the Ju 188 was too big a temptation to
resist. The needles on the altimeter unwound rapidly as Garland
plunged down from 7,500 feet. The Ju 188 carried on with its land-
ing, apparently unaware of the approaching danger. Garland flipped
the gun switch from safe to fire as the Tempest curved in towards
the landing aircraft, now down full flaps as he glided across
putting
the end of the runway. A gentle bump as his wheels touched the
ground and he was no longer eligible as a fifth victim. But a target
is a target. As the Tempest rapidly ate up the intervening space,
Garland prepared to attack the aircraft broadside. Suddenly a con-
centration of anti-aircraft guns opened up. The wingman, flying

along behind, watched in wonder as Garland flew through the
curtain of flak. The Junkers pilot, who had almost brought his air-
craft to a stop, swTing his machine around to face Garland, possibly
with the intention of getting his nose guns into position. It availed
him nothing. Garland touched his firing button and sa^v his shells
strike the Junkers' fuselage, wing roots and engines. As Garland
roared past, his wingman gave a burst of his own. The Ju 188
exploded. When Garland landed back at base they discovered that
an armour-piercing 20 mm shell had hit his main wîngspar. The
useless wing had to be removed. Garland was fortunate to have
sur\'ived his daring attack.
Garland seemed have more than his share of good luck. It

to
couldn't last and But before his luck wenl bad Garland had
it didn't.
a brief respite from the war. He went to England on leave. 'When he
returned, he walked into the barracks and there, hanging over his
bed, was a huge wooden Maltese cross. It was his squadron's way of
informing him that he had been aweurded the DFC. When the official
notification of the citation arrived it read: "This officer has com-
pleted a very large number of sorties involving attacks on enemy
targets in various battle areas. During these operations he has effec-
tively attacked shipping, many vehicles and a number of locomo-
tives and trains. His successes also include the destruction of four
enemy aircraft.F O Garland has proved himself to be a highly
"
skilled, courageous and resolute fighter.

On 29 January 1945 Garland w-as promoted to flight lieutenant and
was posted to No. 3 Squadron as a flight commander. He had only
made five trips with his new squadron when his career as a tactical
pilot came to an abrupt end. On February 8 Garland and his flight
were orbiting an area just south of Rheine after successfully shoot-
ing up a train. They were looking for another target w^hen suddenly
they became the target themselves. There was a burst of flak
beneath Garland's aircraft and shrapnel came slicing through. The
oil pressure dropped to zero and the engine packed up. Garland
methodically jettisoned the canopy, unfastened the harness and
dove over the side. His parachute opened while he was in the
clouds and he heard the roar when his aircraft hit the ground.
, ,
Moments later he came out of the cloud and saw the burning wreck-
section, at on odvanced r i r
airfield of the Second of his aircraft. He i
also saw people running towards his likely
TAF in Holland. spot of impact. After he hit, Garland scrambled to his feet and

The Mitchell medium bomber drops bombs during a strike on tactical targets
in iiortbern France on 19 April 1944.
looked around for a place to run. But there was nowhere to go,
people were converging on him from every direction. One of the
first to reach him was a farmer. The farmer grabbed Garland's
revolver and fired a test shot. Garland feared that the next shot was
for him but some official, wearing a swastika emblem, arrived and
took charge.
Garland was marched nearby town jail where he became
off to the
the occupant of the one and only cell. Three days later a Luftwaffe
truck arrived and picked him up. Along with about ten other RCAF
and RAF fliers he was taken to the nearest German airport where
they were kept for the night. The next day the Canadian and British
fliers were taken by train to an interrogation camp near Frankfurt
for a week of questioning. That was a fruitless week for the Ger-
mans. The Canadians and British suffered a remarkable loss of
memory and could tell their captors nothing. Later, when the pilots,
who now numbered about 100, were being transported to a prisoner-
of-war camp, a Mustang appeared and began a strafing run. The
prisoners were in the first car behind the engine, only a few feet
from the boilers. Fortunately the Mustang pilot was right on target.
The engine was badly damaged but the rest of the train was un-
touched.
In the first week of April 1945 Garland and thousands of other
Allied prisoners were on the move eastward. On Hitler's orders
prisoners were being moved deeper into Germany to strengthen
Germany's bargaining position at any future peace talks. After

marching all day the prisoners were locked up for the night in
various buildings in a town near Nurnberg. The second day Garland
and an RAF officer decided to make a run for it when darkness fell.
To prevent prisoners escaping, German guards accompanied by
police dogs patrolled both sides of the moving column, but with lots
of courage and a bit of luck, it might be done. They gave it a try.
They hit out running for the bush, made it and kept going. All they
had for food was a Red Cross parcel. After two weeks on the loose
they were desperate for food. They decided finally to take a chance
on a man they saw working in some fields. When he saw the Cana-
dian and British officer in uniform he was overjoyed: he was a
Polish prisoner on forced labour. He brought them food and later,
when the coast was clear, guided them to the American lines.
Garland returned to England where he was given a bar to his opera-
tional wing, indicating that he had completed his second tour. He
returned to Canada in July 1945 and serves today in the Canadian
Armed Forces with the rank of colonel.
In addition to the single-engine aircraft such as Typhoons,

Tempests and Mustangs, which did low-level operations, there were
a number of squadrons of medium bombers attached to the Second
Tactical Air Force. These squadrons, equipped with Mosquitoes,
Bostons and Mitchells, filled the gap between fighter bombers and
heavy bombers. Medium bombers provided the added punch when
a task required more than a Typhoon's rockets, a Tempest's cannon
fire or a Mustang's bombs. A Mitchell, for example, had a normal
bomb load of 3,200 pounds but, for a short range operation where
less fuel was required, it could carry 4,000 pounds.
The RCAF operated neither Bostons nor Mitchells but many RCAF
pilots flew these aircraft as members of RAF squadrons. One such
pilot was F/0 J. W. Pudney of No. 98 Squadron, No. 139 Wing of
Second Tactical Air Force. Pudney, who completed an operational
tour on Mitchells, flying 50 combat sorties and logging 190 hours,
was one of only four RCAF pilots to be decorated for flying the
medium bomber.
He began his Air Force career in his home town of Vancouver in
July 1942 when he enlisted while still a teenager. After completing
his pilot training in October 1943 he went to one of the few flying
schools in Canada not operated by the British Commonwealth Air
On final run with undercaninge and flaps down, a Mitchell bomber of the
Second Tactical Air Force comes in to lond.
Training Plan, the RAF operational training unit at Debert, N.S.

There Pudney trained on Hudson bombers until the spring of 1944,
when he went overseas.
In England he converted to the B 25 Mitchell, then reported to
No. 98 Squadron located at Dunsfold, England, where rows of
Mitchell aircraft painted in their "sand and spinach" camouflage
waited for action. In September 1944 Pudney flew his first opera-
tional sortie, a bombing raid on Givet, France. Even in England the
squadron roughed it, living in tents to prepare themselves for service
at advanced airstrips on the continent where such amenities as
barracks would not be available. On 18 October 1944 Pudney and F/O /. W. Pudney, /lying a
Mitchell medium bomber,
his squadron moved to Melsbrooke, Belgium, today the site of
helped to destroy a vital
Brussels International Airport. bridge at Venlo, Holland.

Pudney and his four crew members, the only all-Canadian air-
crew on the squadron, flew a variety of bombing and leaflet-dropping
operations at targets all over occupied Europe, but the most memor-
able target they Hit was Venlo Bridge. This bridge was one of the
last escape routes through which Germans, fleeing from Holland,
could cross over into Germany. Headquarters wanted the route
closed. But, apart from the fact that a bridge was a small target,
enemy resistance was strong. It took five tries to destroy it.
The on 19 October 1944, was Pudney's twenty-seventh
first sortie,
operational He took off with the rest of the squadron and

flight.
flew in box formation so that the combined guns from all the
Mitchell aircraft would provide an adequate defence against attack-
ing German aircraft. But the danger that day came from flak, not
enemy fighters. Pudney and his colleagues droned towards the
target and up came the flak, heavy and accurate. One Mitchell fell
victim to the German guns and crashed. The bombs rained down
but missed: one aircraft destroyed, the target undamaged.
On November 3 they tried again. Heavy clouds obscured the
target and in spite of the best efforts of two squadrons of Mitchells,
the bridge remained intact. The following day they returned. Burst-
ing flak and heavy clouds interfered with the raiders and Pudney
was one of the few pilots who managed to drop his bombs. Again
the raid was a failure. On November 18 Pudney flew for the fourth
time to attack the bridge. The leader of the formation carried out
inspired evasive manoeuvres; none of the Mitchells was hit by flak.
Unfortunately, the bridge was not hit either.
Headquarters was determined. The Venlo Bridge had to go. A
large scale raid was prepared. Two squadrons of Mitchells, Nos.
98 and 180 and a squadron of Bostons, No. 220, were assigned to the
task force. It was, in fact, a cosmopolitan enterprise. The Dutch
commanding officer, operating out of Belgium, briefed Canadian and
British aircrews on how to bomb the German bridge. Following
briefing at 5 a.m., the airfield reverberated to the roar of three
squadrons of aircraft starting their engines. They took off and
climbed to 5000 feet; in airmen's language, "angels 5." Sorting them-
selves into loose formation they clamped on their oxygen masks and
continued to climb to 11,000 feet, then set course for the by-now
familiar target. While still some miles away the aircraft opened
their bomb doors and started a gentle descent to 8,000 feet. Heavy
Ground crews make an engine change in a Beaufigbter at an airfield in North
Africa.
flak zeroed in. Pudney's aircraft took a direct hit; shards of metal
sliced through the aircraft. One engine failed and Pudney stopped
a piece of shrapnel. The aircraft veered to port and dropped 1,000
feet. Pudney was on his own as the rest of the formation flew on.
He continued his run as though nothing had happened and, at the
proper moment, dropped his bombs. The bridge was solidly hit.
Mission accomplished, now to get home.
On returning to base Pudney found that the field was socked in
with fog and there was nowhere else to go. On the ground, per-
sonnel set fire to quantities of oil to burn off the fog and give the
pilots a chance to land. Pudney made his approach, letting down
through the billowing fog, but missed the runway. He did a one-
engine overshoot, climbing away The second time
for another try.
around, he made
"The Mitchell," Pudney stated later, "was a
it.
good crate. It looked after my crew and me nobly. When an air-

craft has sustained considerable damage including one engine
knocked out and can still climb at 500 feet per minute, that is a real

good aeroplane." Considerable damage turned out to be by actual
count more than 220 flak holes. As the result of this action Pudney
was awarded the DFC. The citation said in part: "This officer
through his action' during the Venlo Bridge sortie set a magnificent
example of courage, ability and outstanding determination."
In February 1945 Pudney flew his fiftieth and final operational
sortie. He returned to Canada on 10 April 1945 and left the RCAF.
Three years later he rejoined the Air Force and is in the service
today with the rank of Colonel.
Tempest in gun-harmonization position, near Fassburg, Germany, June 1945.

The RCAF's three transport squadrons overscos were equipped with Dakota aircraft.
CHAPTER FIVE
TRANSPORT COMMAND
Transport Command aircrew were not, strictly speaking, combat

fliers.They dropped no bombs, launched no rockets, nor did they
fire any guns. They were, however, in the thick of action in every
theatre of the war. Wherever troops or supplies had to be delivered,

paratroopers dropped or gliders towed, there they were, flying un-
armed aircraft into the range of enemy guns and enemy fighters.
Transport aircraft flew in support of all the major operations
during the Second World War, such as the Normandy Landings, the
Battle of Arnhem and the crossing of the Rhine. They also did such
equally important, but less well-known jobs as carrying the mail,
evacuating wounded and repatriating Allied prisoners of war. On
D Day, 6 June 1944, the Allies assaulted the Atlantic Wall which the
Germans had been building and reinforcing for four years. In the
air were thousands of aircraft, 1,100 of which were transports, many
piloted by Canadian fliers in the RAF. On 17 September 1944 an
even larger airborne operation was organized to drop on Arnhem,
Holland, thus outflanking the Siegfried Line and putting another
Army beyond the Rhine, on the northern threshold of the Ruhr.
Canadian pilots, navigators and radio operators formed part of the
aircrews which flew more than 1,000 troop carriers and nearly 500
gliders into the Eindhoven-Nijmegen-Arnhem area. The third and
final military operation which earned for Transport Command air-
crews some of the attention which was normally reserved for such
"glamour" organizations as Fighter and Bomber Commands, was the
crossing of the Rhine. On that operation, which took place on 24
March 1945, swarms of transport aircraft, mainly venerable Dakotas,
flew straight and level through a sky bursting with flak.

One of the Canadians to distinguish himself as a transport
first
pilot took part in several unusual operations in the sometimes fascin-

ating, always puzzling, world of the Middle East. Wing Commander
C. S. Bartlett, from Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, joined the RAF
on 12 July 1937 and was commissioned as a pilot officer. On com-
pletion of his training he was sent to the Middle East where local
wars and constant shifts in the power structure kept the area in
turmoil.
Early in September 1939 Pilot Officer Bartlett reported to No. 216
(Transport] Squadron stationed at Heliopolis, Egypt. In the pre-war
years Britain's defence budget had been relatively small, with the
result that military organizations often had to make do with obsolete W/C C. S. Bartlett
and obsolescent equipment. An example was No. 216 Squadron's flew transport duties
aircraft, Vickers Valentias. These aircraft —large twin-engined bi-

in the Middle East.
planes with copious quantities of bracing wires laced between their

two sets of 87-foot wings — looked like museum pieces from the
First World War. The undercarriage was fixed and, although the 22
passengers rode in a fabric-covered fuselage, the two pilots sat in
an open cockpit. With this lumbering aircraft, Bartlett flew troops

and supplies to the shifting trouble spots in Egypt, Libya, Lebanon
and the Sudan.
In the squadron was re-equipped with the more modern
November
BristolBombays, a high-wing monoplane of all metal construction.
The squadron still retained the Valentias; for some special tasks,
they were eminently suited. Bartlett continued in the transport role,
but with a new urgency; the Second World War was threatening to
engulf the Middle East. His passenger list began to include senior
military personnel. In November 1939 he flew General Wavell, the
Commander in Chief, Middle East, to Iraq on an important military Bombay
matter.
On 14 June 1940 No. 216 Squadron added bombing operations to
transport duties. Bartlett took part in the squadron's first raid, on
the German-occupied city of Tobruk, and also in the squadron's first
night operation, again to Tobruk, on 12 July 1940. On 16 September

Bartlett flew a raidwhich was not only unsuccessful, but also of such
duration that it taxed the crew's endurance to the limit: from Fuka,
Egypt, to raid Benina, Libya. Unable to locate the target, they re-
turned to Heliopolis, Egypt, logging 11 hours flying time. But it
was in the transport role that Bartlett did his major work. On 28

April 1941 he flew to a fonvard base to evacuate aircrews
had escaped from Greece and Crete. Many more transpor
were entered in ^îs log book as he helped move reinforceme:
British garrisons.
On 24 May 1941 Bartlett took part in an assignment \vhich reads

likesomething out of a spy thriller. For his part in the highly un-
usual episode he received the DFC. At the time, Bartlett s flight was
entered into the records as ''secret mission" because the ope:
would \'iolate th- alitA- of Si-Tia: no details could be disc.c^r:.
"
S\Tia was theore a neutral coimtry but. in fact, the British on

one side and the Germans and Vichy French on the other, weie try-
ing to exert their influence on the people of the coimtry. The
Germans were having the most success.
A revolt against the British forces in neighbouring Iia 3y
Rashid Ali, was getting out of hand. The Germans were .g.
on the only available railway, troops and supphes through :5

the aid of the Iraquis. There was a certain bridge which,
stroyed, would create a serious setback to the Germans plans. In
view of the strategic importance of the bridge, the British decided
"
to ignore Syrian neutraUt\- and accept the outraged indignat: ~

the Syrians when the deed was done. Just how the bridge cc
destroyed was another matter. Later Ln the Wcir, with the best of
aircraft eind the most sophisticated bombing equipment and proven
techniques, bridges remained a challenging target. In the spring of
1941. operating with old aircraft and primitive bombsights. the task
of destroying a bridge by aerial bombardment was a feat ^vh:
squadron simply could not achieve. There had to be another . ,
It was decided to fly a demohtion team' to the site. land, blo^v \:r
the bridge and make a fast getaway. The task ^vas given
Canadian pilot on the squadron, F L Bartlett.
On 24 May
1941 thirteen sappers of the Royal Engineers seated
themselves in the cabin of a huge, ancient Valentia aircraft. Bartlett
had elected to use a Valentia rather than one of the newer aircraft
because of the Valentia's slo\\"ness and docile handling characteris-
tics, which would make it easier to land in an imprepared field. From
HeUopolis, Bartlett flew to Habbaniya in Iraq, then on to Syria. A
few miles west of Campaniya Bartlett flew over the Mosul-to- Aleppo
railway, then continued parallel to the tracks until he came to the
strategic bridge. If he had been unable to land in the area or had
TRANSPORT COXfMAND 173

damaged the huge aircraft in the attempt, the whole operation would
have been a failure. Bartlett landed as though landing a Valentia in
a rough field was the most natural thing in the world. The sappers
climbed out as the propellors were ticking to a stop and hauled their
explosives to the bridge. They would get only one chance. They
packed enough charges around the bridge to guarantee demolition.
Forty-five minutes later Bartlett opened the throttles and the engines
spoke up. As the aircraft rumbled along the ground picking up fly-
ing speed an armoured car arrived and began firing with its machine
guns. Too late, the aircraft was gone and so was the bridge. No
more reinforcements would get through to the rebellious Iraquis.
Bartlett won the DFC for this raid. "Much of the success of this
daring and difficult operation" — read the citation — "is attributable to
F/L Bartlett's skill."
From the Middle East Bartlett England and became a

went to
bomber pilot. He transferred to the and RCAF
became commanding
officer of No. 434 Squadron, with the rank of wing commander. He
was on his second tour of operations when, on the night of 12 June
1944, he was killed in action during a bombing raid on Arras, France.
On 25 July 1944 the London Gazette recorded the posthumous award
of a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross.
Flight Lieutenant W.
Longhurst and Squadron Leader F. M.
S.
Gobeil were two other Canadian pilots who had a unique experience
while flying transport aircraft. They took part in the first and only
trans-Atlantic crossing by a glider. Gobeil, whose home town was
Ottawa, had joined the RCAF in 1927 and, in 1931, he was a member
of the RCAF's internationally-famed aerobatic team, the Siskins.
At the outbreak of the Second World War he had commanded the
first Canadian fighter squadron overseas. Later, he flew in France
before Dunkerque. F/L Longhurst, from Montreal, had joined the

RAF in 1939.
In the spring of 1943 they were both serving with RAF Transport
Command when the idea was put forth to attempt a trans-Atlantic F/L W. S. Longhurst
crossing by glider. If the idea proved successful a glider service was flew with the
to be set up England then
to fly freight to return ferry crews to trans-Atlantic giider fug.
Canada after they had completed an ocean delivery. An Hadrian

glider was to be pulled by a Dakota aircraft for the historic flight.
After a few trial flights, the Dakota with a crew of four and the

glider with two pilots and a load of medical supplies and radio parts,
took off from Montreal on 23 June 1943 bound for Goose Bay,
Labrador.
Longhurst was flying the tow aircraft and Gobeil was co-pilot of
the glider. The only radio communication between them was by
means of a "walkie-talkie." The flight was uneventful as far as
Quebec City, then the weather started to go bad. Soon the Dakota
and the glider, which was flying 350 feet behind, were under
thunderheads in severe turbulent conditions. The glider was sup-
posed to be flown directly behind and 20 feet above the tow aircraft
but the combined strength of both pilots in the glider could not
S/L F M Gobeil control it. The glider whipped around from side to side and dove
was co-pilot in the glider and climbed at will. Both the Dakota and the glider picked up ice
lowed across the Atlantic. their windshields, forcing the pilots to fly by instruments. For
more than three hours both aircraft and glider took a severe pound-
ing before they broke into the clear and sighted their destination.
The first leg of the 3,500-mile flight was over.
Four days later the Dakota and Hadrian headed out over the
storm-tossed Atlantic while a Catalina flying boat flew alongside
them occurred en route. The route was to take
in case a ditching
them Greenland on the first long, over-ocean leg. The flight was
to
uneventful and at 7,000 feet the glider cut loose and glided across
icebergs on the way to a perfect landing at the airport by Tunugd-
liarfik Fjord.
On 30 June 1943 the "train" took off again, after its tow rope had
been re-spliced. Climbing out from the airbase presented a problem.
Normal aircraft could climb away steeply to clear the towering rock
wall; for the Dakota and the glider, this -procedure was impossible.
They decided to fly down open sea. In spite of the
the fjord to the
procedure — hazardous meant taking off downwind they
because it —
were able to gain altitude slowly and set course for Iceland. How-
ever, they were not able to climb high enough to clear the 12,000-
foot Greenland ice cap and had to make an 800-mile detour.
The Dakota and Hadrian glider high above the Quebec countryside.
The only trans-Atlantic glider flight ever made was flown in june 1943.
Again they such severe turbulence that there was a strong

hit
possibility the tow rope, or its attachments, would break. When
they entered clouds the tug plane gradually disappeared from the
glider pilots' view, leaving them suspended with no visible flying
aids available. They were able to position themselves solely on the
"angle and the dangle" of the tow rope. Finally they got out of the
clouds and flew at 11,500 feet between layers. As they approached
Reykjavik, Iceland, they were met by three American fighters which
came out to give them protection against the long-range German air-
craft operating in the Iceland area from bases in Norway.
After landing, the tow rope had to be repaired once more. On
July 1, Canada Day, the Dakota and Hadrian glider arrived in Scot-
land, completing the flight. The trip had been a success but the diffi-
culties encountered clearly showed that the idea of a trans-Atlantic
glider train was impractical. The flight, however, had been a gallant
one. S/L Gobeil, F^L Longhurst and the glider captain were each
awarded the DFC.
Another, more successful, trans-Atlantic transport operation be-

gan during 1943. No. 168 (Heavy Transport] Squadron was formed
at RCAF Station Rockcliffe, near Ottawa, for the express purpose of
Six American bombers, B 17 Fly-
flying mail to the troops overseas.
ing Fortresses, were obtained and modified for the mail-carrying
operation by removing all armament and armour-plating, sealing
off the bomb bays and reducing the size of the crew's quarters to
the absolute minimum. The first flight took off from Rockcliffe on
15 December 1943, in time to deliver mail and Christmas parcels to
Canadian servicemen overseas. During the squadron's 30 months
of existence it made 636 trans-Atlantic flights, logging more than

three million miles of over-water flying and carrying approximately
125 million letters.
As morale home had no equal as far as the

boosters, letters from
men overseas were concerned. Number 168 Squadron increased its
aircraft to expand its service. In August 1944 a number of B 24
Liberators were taken on strength and the squadron opened detach-
ments in England, Gibraltar and North Africa, using Dakotas to
Jberator aircraft of Xo. 168 shuttle the mailbetween the squadron's overseas terminal and the
Heavy Trcnsportj Squadron
akes off from RCAF Station
moving "Flying," it has been said, ''consists of long
battle zones.
Rockcliffe, with mail hours of boredom interspersed by moments of sheer panic." Number
)r Canadian troops overseas. 168 Squadron aircrew may not have panicked but they did have
excitement during their routine and monotonous mail-carrying
chores.
On 23 January 1944 a squadron Fortress was cruising at 5,000 feet

over the Bay of Biscay en route from Prestw'ick, Scotland, to
Gibraltar when suddenly there was a tremendous bang. The mail
plane had collided almost head-on ^vith an RAF Coastal Command
Wellington. The metal ring of the nose gun-port was torn loose and
went flying backwards, imbedding itself in the partition behind.
The Fortress went out of control and dove through the darkness to-
wards the sea while the pilot. F O H. B. Hillcoat. fought to recover
it. At 1,200 feet and dangerously close to stalling speed the Fortress
flattened out of its dive. One engine was gone and the props of the
next engine were bent forward so that they exerted no thrust. The
other t^vo propellors were also twisted and large chunks had been
gouged out of the outer port engine. F O Hillcoat and his co-pilot,
P O Rosenbaum had their ^vork cut out for them as the aircraft
headed back for England, all the while xdbrating so violently that
there was real danger it would actually come apart. Radio communi-
cations were made difficult by the fact that the aerials and loop
antennas had been torn off in the collision. The radio operator, F O
F O H. B. Hillcoat. C. A. Dickson, was however, able to contact various shore installa-
who made a successful tions and obtain "fixes" for the navigator, F O F. B. Labrish, who
emergency landing
had to leave his badly damaged navigator's compartment and work
after his B17 mail plane
lided with a British bomber. on the floor of the radio compartment. They made a successful emer-
gency landing at Predanak, Wales. For their actions in the incident,
Hillcoat, Rosenbaum, Dickson and Labrish were each awarded the
AFC. The other crewmember, Corporal A. DeMarco, received the
AFM.
TRANSPORT COMMANfD 177

Ten months later the same with a different crew was again
aircraft
involved in a dangerous and dramatic event. On 19 November 1944
the Fortress left Newfoundland, after a re-fuelling stop, bound for
Lagoa in the Azores. As the captain climbed away after takeoff the
wheels
co-pilot raised the undercarriage, or at least attempted to; the
would not come up. He then selected undercarriage down but warn-
ing lights came on to indicate that the gear would not go down and
lock. The captain, F/L C. H. Ready decided that an emergency land-
ing would be better at home base. He headed the aircraft back to-
wards Rockcliffe.
He could have eased the situation by jettisoning the cargo, thereby
lightening the load and allowing the aircraft to land at a slower, thus
safer, speed. The load was Christmas mail. Knowing how much it
meant to the troops, F/L Ready decided to land with absolute mini-
mum fuel instead. For almost six hours he circled the field to burn
off fuel while an apprehensive crowd grew in size. Finally he started
his approach with the wheels hanging part way down. He touched
down gingerly, the huge aircraft clearing the ground a scant six
inches, then rolled to a stop. The B 17 was only slightly damaged,
the crew was uninjured and the precious Christmas mail got through
to the troops on another aircraft. For his handling of the in-flight
emergency, F/L Ready received the King's Commendation.
The last flight by No. 168 Squadron, the only squadron of its kind
in the RCAF, was flown on 3 March 1946. A few weeks later the
squadron was disbanded.
At RCAF base Rockcliffe, near Ottawa, mail for the troops is loaded into a
converted B 17 Flying Fortress.
The summer of 1944 was a climax for transport crews in two
widely separated combat zones, Europe and southeast Asia. In
Europe the Allies had begun the long-awaited liberation with the
landings on D Day. Transport fliers were hard at work with an
aerial supply problem of staggering magnitude and complexity. Al-
though individual Canadians flew transport aircraft on D Day, they
did so either as members of the RAF or as members of the RCAF
seconded to RAF squadrons; the RCAF had no transport squadrons
overseas at that time. This was remedied in September 1944 when
No. 437 Squadron was formed.
On 4September 1944 Wing Commander J. A. Sproule, of Ottawa,
arrived at Blakehill Farm near Swindon, England, where No. 437
Squadron was to be established as part of No. 46 Group, RAF Trans-
port Command. For more than a week he was a squadron leader
without a squadron; the unit existed only on paper until September
15 when Dakota aircraft, the aircrews to fly them and some of the
groundcrew to service them, arrived en masse. Two days later No.
437 (Husky) Squadron was in the heat of battle. Operation Market,
the great airborne thrust at Holland, was underway.
The objective of the operation was to seize the key bridges over
the Maas, the Waal and the Lower Rhine at Grave, Nijmegen and
Arnhem and thereby open a corridor to allow the British Second
Army to sweep northward around the flank of the opposing German
Armies. No. 437 Squadron was to help by dropping airborne troops
by parachute or glider around the three objectives and then, along
with other squadrons, keep them supplied with ammunition, food
and equipment until the main land forces could link up with them.
On 17 September 1944 W/C Sproule lead 14 Dakotas, 12 of which
towed Horsa gliders loaded with troops and vehicles of the First
British Airborne Division. At first the operation met with some
success. But the Germans reacted vigorously and soon the British
"Red Devils" of Arnhem were being hard pressed. On September 21
Sproule's aircraft again hauled gliders and supplies to Arnhem. In
the words of the men on the ground, "they flew straight into flaming
hell." Of the ten Dakotas which set out, four returned. The Germans
had overrun the dropping zones and when the Dakotas flew low to
drop their paniers of supplies the anti-aircraft fire was fierce. Four
aircraft were quickly shot down, a fifth crew had time to bail-out
before their aircraft crashed and the sixth aircraft made a successful

Horsa gliders shown practising Jandings at an airfield in England were towed
behind RCAF Dakotas into the Battle of Arnhem on 17 September 1944.
crash landing. Within minutes, 12 of Sproule's aircrew had been

killed and several more wounded. It had been a severe baptism of
fire.
Two days later another crew was trying to drop

lost while
supplies. One of these fliers was F/L A. Canadian in the
C. Blythe, a
RAF, who had a long record of service with Transport Command.
Because he was a Canadian with supply dropping experience in both
southeast Asia and Normandy, he had been seconded to No. 437
Squadron. His service with the squadron lasted seven days. Some
indication of how the battle was going could be seen by the cargo;
blood plasma and field dressings. Several days later, when the
remnants of the gallant Red Devils escaped from the closing ring
around Arnhem, No. 437 Squadron was there to airlift them back to
Britain.
One of No. 437 Squadron's pilots who participated in the
Arnhem landings and subsequently the airborne assault across the
Rhine, was F/L J. M. Byrnes of Tillsonburg, Ont. He began his career
with the RCAFJune 1942. After getting his wings, on 9 July 1943,
in
he served with RAF units until September when he again served
with fellow Canadians. On one occasion after the fury and fire of
Arnhem, F/L Byrnes carried a very special cargo. He flew from
Nijmegen, Holland, to England with a load marked "special fluid"
and guarded by RCAF police. The fluid was river water, which, it
was believed, could give the Allies some clue as to the progress the
Germans were making in atomic research. If they were using the
Rhine River or any of its tributaries to cool the atomic reactor, it
was reasoned that an analysis of water samples might show radio-
activity. Three bottles had been given Byrnes to fly to Britain.

Someone with a sense of humour also sent a bottle of French wane
with a tag reading: Test this for activitj^ too." The reply from the
'
scientific community read, "Water negative. Wine shows activity,

send more."
During his career as a transport pilot, Byrnes flew 400 sorties,
logging 800 operational hours. He received the DFC. The citation
read: '
This officer's gallant work in all airborne operations in which
the squadron has been committed has wôn much praise. He has
invariably displayed a high degree of courage showing the greatest
resolution to make every sortie a success.
"
In the six-month interval between the Arnhem operation and the

airborne crossing of the Rhine, No. 437 Squadron wâs engaged in
the routine task of ferrying much-needed eqixipment, ammunition
and fuel, plus such morale boosters as mail and newspapers. Usually
they wêre required to land with maximum loads on minimum-size
fields.
On
24 March 1945 the highroad to Germany opened with the great
airborne operation across the Rhine. W/C Sproule took
followed off,
atone-minute intervals by 23 of his crew-s. Behind the Dakotas were
Horsa gliders bearing 230 officers and men of the First Ulster Rifles,
together with 13 jeeps and trailers, six jeeps and six six-pounder
guns, and a number of motorcycles and machine grms. The weather
over the route was excellent but as the Daks reached Wesel they
found clouds of dust and smoke blowing over the landing zones.
The gliders were successfully released but four of the squadron air-
craft were hit by flak. With the troops safely on the ground, the
squadron dropped thousands of pounds of cargo to sustain them. In
September 1945 W/C Sproule finished his tour of operations. He
was awarded the DFC and, most appropriately, the Bronze Lion of
the Netherlands.
Unlike the squadrons with an offensive role. No. 437 did not
cease operations with the collapse of the Third Reich and the end
of the war. They went on airlifting thousands of service personnel,
Allied ex-prisoners of w ar, displaced persons, and German prisoners
of war. One special assignment was a trip to Norway to pick up the
German Peace Delegation.
In southeast Asia another Allied campaign was under way to
drive the Japanese out of India and Burma. Two RC.'\F Squadrons,
No. 435 (Chinthe) and No. 436 (Elephant) were organized for service

in India in September 1944 as part of the Combat Cargo Task Force
(CCTF). These two Dakota-equipped squadrons spent the next year
flying over some of the worst terrain and through what is unques-
tionably the worst weather in the world. Having no protective
armament other than mere sidearms, the aircrews were vulnerable
to enemy ground fire and aerial attack. Moreover, they faced the
constant threat of forced landing or bailing out into impenetrable
jungle inhabited by wild animals, unpredictable natives and a merci-
less enemy. Worst of all were the May-to-September monsoons, the
violent tropical thunderstorms produced by cumulo-nimbus clouds
which soared from just above the hill tops to 20,000 or 25,000 feet.
After extensive training in dropping of paratroopers and

the
supplies, the squadrons began operations. No. 435 Squadron com-
pleted its service with a record of tonnage delivered that surpassed
any other Canadian, British or American unit in the Combat Cargo
Task Force in southeast Asia. The Army's route from Mandalay to
Rangoon was marked by a trail of abandoned dropping zones dotted
with parachutes from Nos. 435 and 436 aircraft. During the cam-
paign, the RCAF transports landed at airfields which were under
enemy fire and at ones whose ownership at any future moment could
not be vouched for. They braved Japanese fighters and ground fire
to deliver their loads. They suffered casualties.
One such violent encounter took place between a Japanese fighter

and an unarmed transport, a Dakota, piloted by S/L H. L. Coons.
Coons, of Morrisburg, Ont., became a pilot the hard way. He joined
the RCAF on 4 June 1940 and was taking pilot training when on
August 29 he was involved in an accident at No. 7 Elementary Flying
Training School. He was removed from pilot training and became a
navigator. After graduation he went overseas and joined No. 95
Squadron of Coastal Command and served a tour of operations in
English and North African waters. It was an exciting tour. Three
times he took part in air-to-air engagements with enemy aircraft
and on the last occasion a four-engine German aircraft, a Focke-
Wulf Kurrier, was believed destroyed. On another occasion, the
part of the Sunderland where the depth charges were carried caught
on fire. Coons was instrumental in putting out the flames. Twice
Coons' aircraft was forced down on the sea but Coons had deter-
mined the position so accurately that the rescue ships had no diffi-
culty finding the airmen. For these activities, F/0 Coons won the

DFC. Still, his ambition was to be a pilot. He returned to Canada
and began pilot training once more, October 1943, this time at
in
No. 11 EFTS at Cap de la Madeleine, Quebec. In April 1944 he
completed the pilot course which he had begun in 1940. Returning
overseas. Coons began his second tour, this time in Burma at the
helm of a Dakota of No. 435 Squadron.
On 12 January 1945 No. 435 Squadron went out in force to make
a drop near a town named Shwebo. Seven aircraft, led by S/L Coons,
joined the circuit, wheeling over the drop zone (DZ], letting go a
part of their cargo on each trip. Coons' wireless operator. Warrant
Officer R. O. Buckmaster, was in the astrodome keeping a lookout
for enemy aircraft. Suddenly Buckmaster noticed a speck high in
the sky but rapidly closing in: a Japanese Zero. There was not much
that could be done in the way of evasive action except to get down
to deck and turn at the critical moments. When the slow and com-
pletely defenceless Dakota was low, only its upper surface was
"Kickers" of No. 436 {Elephant] Squadron prepare to heave out suppJies over
a jungle battlefied in Burma.
exposed. The attacking fighter would have to pull out of its dives
early. Also, by cranking around into a hard turn just at the moment
that the fighter came Dakota would be a target
into firing range, the
for only a few seconds. At 400 yards Coons turned his aircraft on
a wingtip and the fighter went skidding by. The Japanese pilot did
a neat stall turn and started a new attack. Coons managed to evade
him but this time the two aircraft were so close that Buckmaster said
he could practically read the label on the cigarette the Japanese
pilot was smoking. The Zero made four passes at the Dakota with
its guns rattling. Bullets struck through wings and fuselage. One
hit Corporal A. M. White, a groundcrew member aboard to help
kick the cargo out the open door. While taking this evasive action,
Coons noticed another aircraft of his formation being attacked by a
second fighter. Despite his own dangerous situation he flew in the
direction of the second attack, drawing the enemy's fire to his own
aircraft. This aircraft began a At this point. Coons was
fifth attack.
hugging the ground; when he began his maximum-rate turn his star-
board wing hit a treetop. There was a rending sound, the Dakota
shuddered and righted itself. Coons streaked for home. He arrived
minus four feet of wingtip and with a fuselage full of bullet holes.
For his coolness and courage under fire, S/L Coons was subsequently
awarded a bar to his DFC.
Meanwhile a dozen Zeroes were pressing the other Daks hard.
The next to be attacked was that of F/O J. K. Ramsay. He did not
have a chance. The Zero made one pass. In seconds his aircraft
Panniers containing supplies drop hy parachute from an RCAF transport.

was plttnging to earth enveloped in flames. It is to F''0 Ramsay's
honour and credit that during those few seconds he thought only of
his crew and rang the bail-out bell. His action probably saved the
life of his co-pilot. F O A. L. Thomson, the only survivor of the
crash.
The third aircraft to be attacked was piloted by F L R. F. Simpson,
the squadron's only English skipper. F/0 T. Jordan-Knox, a Cana-
dian, was co-pilot. They had just completed their first run when
they saw a Japanese attacking from the port quarter. The bulk of
their load was ammunition. There was an explosion and things
began to happen thick and fast. Leading Aircraftsman R. G. Evans,
a "kicker," was Warrant Officer D. G. Cotter received
hit in the arm.
a cannonshell in his stomach and F/0 A. E. "Fearless" Foster, who
had come for the ride, had two bullets rip through his shirt, cutting
deep grooves in the flesh in his back. The ammunition had caught
fire. The aircraft's cabin and the port engine were in flames. Foster
started sho\dng off the burning ammtmition. The navigator, F O L. B.

Dumont, beat away at the fire in the fuselage with his bare hands.
F L Simpson picked out a jungle clearing and brought his blazing
plane down. When the Dakota skidded to a halt, the crew evacuated
immediately, taking the gravely injured Dave Cotter with them. The
fire roared through the aircraft, sending ammimition exploding in all
directions. For his skill and courage in crash-landing under extra-

ordinarily difficult conditions, F L Simpson was awarded the DFC.
Down below, the British troops watched the battle with helpless
anger. "It was watch," said the major in charge of ground
terrible to
defences at the DZ. "Your boys had been supplying us for several
weeks and we'd sort of come to feel that they were cur special
friends. I know it's war and I know our aircraft would have done
the same thing but it was maddening to see those Jap fighters go for
the helpless Daks. There wasn't much we could do on the ground
because we had no anti-aircraft guns with us. Our men popped away
furiously with their rifles whenever a Jap seemed within range, but
they had no effect." After it was all over, a Sikh came up to the
major and said, "Sahib, if Canadian sahibs must lose their lives to
bring us food, then perhaps we can go on half rations." At the time
he made the suggestion, the troops were already on half rations.
In view of the increased Japanese fighter activity it was decided,
towards the middle of January, to start making deliveries at night.

After dark the airport flare-path became a scene of bustling activity.
The crews were briefed, the engines were started, then the Dakotas
queued up for takeoff. They took off at intervals of three minutes,
turning off their navigation lights as soon as they left the circuit.
The landing field at their destination was a rough strip a few miles
east of Shwebo. The runway was a bit too short for comfort and, as
often as not, they had to land downwind. But by touching down
accurately within a few yards of the top end and by applying the
brakes generously as soon as the tail wheel was on the ground, the
transport pilots delivered the goods without a major accident.
At the nearest point, the Japanese were near enough to see the
lights of aircraft coming in. Occasionally they would lob a mortar
shell at the airstrip. One night just after the fliers had settled down
on the strip, the Japanese staged a surprise attack, capturing Army
HQs seven miles from the field. Fortunately Gurkhas were able to
save the airport. On 14 January 1945 the Fourteenth Army estab-
lished a bridgehead across the Irrawaddy, 40 miles north of Manda-
lay. It covered two square miles and was surrounded by fiercely
attacking Japanese. No. 435 Squadron had the distinction of flying
The RCAF transport squadrons evacuate wounded from the battlefield.

the first transport aircraft to cross the Irrawaddy in support of the
bridgehead. The pilot was Warrcint Officer F. M. Smith. Xo sooner
had Smith and crew entered their dropping circuit than they
his
heard crackling noises and saw tracers coming up at them. The
Dakota made an easy target. It was big and slow and since it was
at an altitude of only 500 feet, the standard height for dropping, it
was highly \-ulnerable to ground fire. Smith made three circuits,

picking up a few bullets on each trip. On the third run his kicker,
Sgt. N. Jarjour, was wounded and arm. While another
in the foot
crew member applied first aid, Smith made two more runs. There
was still one-quarter of the original load left, priceless cargo for the
men in the hard-pressed bridgehead, but Jarjour was in a bad way.
Smith flew Jarjour to the field hospitcil at Shwebo then hurried back
to the bridgehead. The DZ was now unuseable because of the near-
ness of the enemy. Warrant Officer Smith flew low and dropped a
note to men near the beach informing them that he intended to
make his final drops on the beach. Then he turned into his circuit
and delivered the remaining quarter of his load on the narrow strip
of sand.
The ffiers of the other transport squadron, Xo. 436, did not have
an easy time of it either. Early in Februar\- 1945 five members of
the squadron learned some of the hazards of jungle flying. Return-
ing from Sinthe to Kangla after completing a four-day sortie, a
Dakota piloted by SLR. Denison became lost. After trying to get a
homing which was unsuccessful because of atmospheric conditions,
jamming and Japanese deception, the decision was made to abandon
the aircraft. One of the five ffiers. Sergeant T. F. Laffey, the Austra-
had jumped once before. He gave the others
lian wireless operator,
on how to land, then out they went. When the rest of the
a briefing
crew were gone, S L Denison struggled into his parachute and
. Denison started for the door. The aircraft started a steep spiral dive which
sr Burma. almost prevented him from getting out. When Denison s parachute
opened he looked down and saw that he would be landing in the
Chindwin River. After he struggled to shore he saw a signal flare
go up from the opposite side of the river. The wireless operator
was firing the pre-arranged signal to help the crew get together once
they were on the ground. But Denison had no way of crossing the
river: he spent the night sleeping on the beach.
Leading Aircraftsman L. V. Vannes had seen the starburst and
TR.\NSPORT COMM.WT) 187

started toward the rendezvous point but darkness fell. Sgt. Laffey
guided him the rest of the way by glow of a cigarette. They
the
set out to look for the rest of the crew and found F/0 E. G. Lee,
the co-pilot, who was suffering from concussion and shock. Presently
the three of them were joined by F/L W. D. Lindsay, the navigator.
Later on Laffey and Vannes went to investigate a fire by the river
and came upon friendly natives who told them about "that English-
man at Homalin." Next morning the four fliers set out along the
river bank in search of S/L Denison. Seeing no sign of him, they
followed a jungle trail where, after a conference with
to a village
the natives, they were ferried across the river and taken to Homalin,
where S/L Denison had been brought by natives. Next morning the
squadron's commanding officer picked them up from a small airstrip
near the village and flew them back to base. They had been the
first of No. 436 Squadron to take a look at Burma on the ground.
On 15March 1945 the battle for Mandalay began. The two

RCAF squadrons again figured prominently. Frequently their drop-
ping zones were tiny jungle clearings. They would fly across in a
mere one and one-half seconds, which called for fast work on the
part of the kickers. On at least one occasion the drop zone was in
such a narrow valley that the pilots had difficulty getting turned
around. There was, however, one blessing about the DZ at Manda-
lay: it was easy to find. The flames from the burning city were
visible for enormous distances. As spring turned into summer the
transport pilots were aided more frequently by fighting aircraft such
as British Hurricanes and American Thunderbolts which went ahead
to beat up Japanese positions with cannon and machinegun fire.
Two weeks before the end of the war in the Pacific, two Dakota
crews captained by F/L H. W. Pearson of Saskatoon and W/O D. A.
Parker of Toronto, along with eight groundcrew, were sent on
detached duty to undertake special paradrops. Units of the Four-
teenth British Army were surrounded by a determined enemy force
in the Shan Hills. Their very lives depended on the two Canadian
pilots. The work presented the greatest difficulties. Based at an
airstrip with the worst weather conditions in the whole area, with-
out adequate radio aids and lying close to mountains, Pearson and
Parker were required to find difficult DZs in the valleys and on the
slopes of the monsoon-obscured hills. They often spent hours

searching before finding the dropping zones through occasional
breaks in the heavy clouds. On
locating the British troops the pilots
then faced the continuous threat of casualty from enemy ground
fire. They carried their project to successful conclusion after flying
daily without relief for 22 days of hazardous operations.
The appreciation of the British troops was amply displayed by
the message they sent: "Please convey our thanks and admiration to
the Air Force for their splendid drops. We were dead scared they
would hit some cloud-covered hill. Good show, Canucks." This was
by no means the first but it was the final commendation for Cana-
dian transport pilots.
The August 1945 meant the end of hostilities with
fact that 14
Japan actually meant nothing to the squadrons in an operational
sense. The Army still had to be supplied by air. Stocks of food and
materiel had to be built up before the transport aircraft could be
released for other duties.
Number 435 and 436 Squadrons were active in their air supply
function until 31 August 1945, thereby earning the honour of being
the RCAF's last squadrons to carry out operations in the Second
World War. With their task completed, the two Canadian squad-
rons flew the 8,000-mile trip from Burma to England.
According to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Com-
mander, Allied Powers in Europe, four pieces of equipment among
the most vital to Allied success were: the bulldozer, jeep, two and
one-half ton truck and the Dakota aircraft. The RCAF's three over-
seas transport squadrons No. 435 (Chinthej, No. 436 (Elephant] and
No. 437 (Husky) were all equipped with Dakotas which, as General
Eisenhower noted, had not been designed' for combat. Nevertheless,

the three squadrons used this aircraft designed for peace, for pur-
poses vital to war. In
effect, they converted plowshares into swords,
but by so doing they helped to bring about the end of hostilities
when once again swords could be beaten into plowshares.
Dakota transports loaded with paratroopers and Horsa gliders carrying troops
f.nrJ supplies prepare to take off for Arnhem.
The Harvard was used at the Service FJying Training Schools for advanced
pilot training.
CHAPTER SIX
THE BCATP
"Their shoulders held the sky suspended.

They stood and earth's foundations stay."
These words are inscribed on the memorial gates at Canadian

Forces Base Trenton, Ontario, which were given to Canada by her
wartime partners in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
[BCATP]. The gates stand as a memorial to a great and fruitful
friendship.
Even before hostilities beganwas recognized that one of
it
Canada's major roles in the war would be as a training ground

where flying instruction could be carried out away from the actual
battle zone. On 17 December 1939 an agreement was reached be-
tween the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia
and New Zealand to put the BCATP into operation. The Plan did
the job beyond all expectations. In the years that followed, the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan transformed Canada into
what U.S. President Roosevelt called "the aerodrome of democracy."
During the 59 months (May 1940 to March 1945) that the Plan
was in operation, approximately 360 schools and ancillary units had
been established at 231 sites across Canada. When the Plan was
terminated, it had turned out a total of 131,553 graduates, an average
of 2,230 a month, in eight different aircrew categories, for the Air
Forces of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
On the day the agreement was signed Canada's wartime Prime
Minister Mackenzie King the people of Canada in a radio
told
address that the undertaking was "one of great magnitude, which
has as its objective to achieve by co-operative effort. Air Forces
whose co-ordinated strength will be overwhelming." The British
THE BCATP 191

Parades were a constant part of students' Jives, as here at i\o. l SFTS, Camp
Borden, Ontario in 1940.
Commonwealth Air Training Plan was the largest single enterprise

which the Canadian Government had ever undertaken. It is a proud
page in Canada's military history. This is its story.
The responsibility for establishing, administering and operating

the BCATP was put on the shoulders of the RCAF. For a mere
4,000 officers and men, it was a formidable task. In addition to all
its operational roles, the RCAF had to create an organization which
in staff alone, not counting trainees, would be ten times the Force's
pre-war strength. Success was only possible through unprecedented
service-civilian co-operation.
Fortunately, the federal Department of Transport had built 24
airports across the country for Trans-Canada Airways just before
the outbreak of war. They were complete with hangars, meteorolog-
ical and communications facilities and radio aids to air navigation.
These ready-made sites allowed a number of BCATP schools to
open before the target date, but 24 airports were like the proverbial
drop in the bucket. The RCAF had less than a dozen airports of
its own. At one of these, RCAF Station Camp Borden, No. 1 Service
Flying Training School (SFTS], for the training of instructors,

opened on 1 November 1939.
The Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of Transport took
on the job of building the many other schools needed. The selection
of a site for an airfield was not an easy task. It had to be reasonably
flat and free from large obstructions. It had to have an ample water
supply, good natural drainage, strong cover of grass, in an area of

reasonably good weather with ready access by road and rail, fairly
close to a populated area \vhere supplies and electrical power could
be obtained and^ so on. Two other considerations entered into the
choice of sites. The government felt that all parts of the country
should benefit from the large expenditures involved; and that the
airports should be located where they would be able to contribute
to Canada's growing air transportation needs when peace came.
The DOT did the survey and selection of sites, then the CNR
Lands Department arranged outright purchase or leased the land on
behalf of the government. The Department of Transport would then
arrange for contractors to do the actual construction of the many
buildings, facilities and runways needed by a modern airport. The
Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS] required grass fields
only since they were operating light aircraft, but the SETS, the Air
Observer, Air Navigation and Bombing and Gunnery Schools re-
A student bomb aimer ^ „
runways to support the weight ofr their heavier
4. . • 1 .
Qîêd concrete 1 i
.
.
iines hisbombsight
onto an artificial types of aircraft. Most of the schools had three double runways in
but highly realistic target. the shape of a triangle, each runway being 100 feet wide and 2,500
feet long. When the last load of concrete was poured into place,
the DOT had made enough cement to build a 20-foot wide highway
from Ottawa to Vancouver. When the Plan was initiated, no stand-
ard design existed for hangars, accommodation buildings, mess
halls or other structures. Plans for these and many other buildings
were developed chiefly at Air Force Headquarters in Ottawa where
30,000 sketch plans and drawings were prepared and approximately
one and one-half milHon blueprints issued. The first construction
contract was awarded in February 1940. By the late summer of that
year over 500 contracts had been sighed, involving expenditures
totalling about sixty million dollars. Approximately 7,000 hangars,
accommodation buildings and drill halls were designed and con-
structed with the requisite facilities for heat, water, sewage and fuel
storage. On many isolated sites it was necessary to design an elec-
tric power system, using diesel, steam or gasoline generator plants.
When the RCAF was placed on Active Service in 1939, the exist-
ing training facilities were capable of producing only 400 ground-
crew per year. Fully trained tradesmen in the RCAF numbered less
than 1,500. With the advent of the BCATP there was a need for a
school which could produce large numbers of skilled tradesmen in
a minimum time. On 1 November 1939 the Department of National
THE BCATP 193

When these two Ansons coUided in mid-air near No. 7 SFTS, McLeod, Alberta,
the crew in the top aircraft hailed out, then the pilot in the bottom aircraft
made a safe piggybacJt landing.
Defence obtained from the Provincial Government a large group

of modern buildings at St. Thomas, Ontario, which had originally
been designed as a mental hospital. At this site was formed a
Technical Training School which ultimately became the most impor-
tant source of trained groundcrew in the RCAF.
The class to arrive at the school, four in number, commenced
first
training on 4 December 1939. At the same time a nucleus of skilled

tradesmen from various RCAF units were arriving to begin assem-
bling equipment, organizing lectures and gathering technical data.
Within a year of its opening, the School had trained over 10,000
men. In the end, the school at St. Thomas provided 50,000 fully
trained groundcrew who served with BCATP units across Canada
and in many other theatres as members of RAF and RCAF Squad-
rons and Repair Units.
Great though it was, the Technical Training School at St. Thomas
could not undertake the entire task of ground training in the RCAF.
There was a considerable number of schools throughout Canada.
The GTS (Composite Training School) at Trenton, Ontario, provided
training for clerks, motor transport mechnics, service police, security
guards and instructors in drill and physical training. The Armament
School at Mountain View, Ontario, the Wireless and Aeronautical
Schools at Montreal and the Signals Training School at Clinton,
Ontario, contributed thousands of trained officers and men to the
flow of graduates from the BCATP.
It was not only man-power but also woman-power that helped to

make the BCATP and indeed the RCAF the success it was. In 1941
it was decided that airwomen should replace airmen in noncombat-
ant duties, allowing more men to go overseas with RCAF units. The
Canadian Womens' Auxiliary Air Force, later designated the
Womens' Division of the RCAF, came into existence on 2 luly 1941.
It was the first Canadian Womens' Service to be formed and it was
the last to be disbanded. When the WDs, as they were affection-

ately known, began recruiting, eight different trades were open to
them. By the end of the war, 17,038 women, in more than 20 trades,
had served in Air Force uniform both at home and overseas.
The Womens' Division contributed immeasurably to the success
of the BCATP and to the final victory itself. Through cheerfulness,
enthusiasm, and fortitude, they superbly fulfilled their motto: "We
serve that men may fly."
The Plan was far from ready, but, on 29 April 1940, the first in-
take of pilot trainees, 169 in all, reported to No. 1 Initial Training

School, Toronto. In that same month a severe crisis developed
which threatened to end the BCATP.
The Nazis attacked Denmark and Norway then, flushed with
victory, they invaded Belgium and Holland. A few weeks later
France had fallen. Britain stood alone. There was a strong tempta-
Air Marshall Billy Bishop, tion to scrap the Plan and rush every available pilot and aircraft to
of First World War fame,
pins pilot wings on a
England to meet the threatened invasion. Despite the grave situa-
ewly graduated fighter pilot tion, it was decided to carry on with the BCATP. History has proven
ring the Second World War. the wisdom of this decision. But, in those dark days, the Plan suf-
fered a major setback. One of Britain's contributions to the BCATP
was to have been the supply of aircraft and aircraft engines. With
invasion threatening, Britain was now in no position to let military
equipment leave the country. In any event, with German sub-
marines operating in the North Atlantic, great risk and difficulty
would be involved in moving equipment from the encircled island
to Canada.
The long term answer was for the federal government to get into
the aircraft manufacturing business. The Department of Munitions
and Supply undertook this task with such zeal that Canadians not
only met all their own requirements for aircraft and engines but
also exported aircraftand equipment to the United Kingdom. To
overcome the immediate problem in 1940, and keep the Plan work-
ing, Canada purchased aircraft and engines from the USA.
THE BCATP 195

Student air gunners pose before a Bolingbroke training aircraft.
Staffing the BCATP schools was also a combined military-civilian

undertaking. To the Canadian Fying Clubs, the "Sunday fliers," was
entrusted the organizing and operating of the Elementary Flying
Training Schools. The clubs were well suited to the task. Many
of their members were veterans of the First World War, and all
of these private pilots had done keep Canadians "air-

their best to
minded." With a pool of skilled manpower immediately available,
several elementary flying schools were opened months ahead of
schedule. Ultimately, 22 Elementary Flying Schools were opened
across the country from No. 8 EFTS at Sea Island, B.C., to No. 21
EFTS Chatham, N.B. The response to the EFTS by the Canadian
in
public was warm. Wherever an EFTS was built, the nearby com-
munity did everything in its power to support it. In some cases, the
entire cost of the school was borne by the local flying club out of
its private funds or by donations from the community. Vancouver
citizens paid for 14 training aircraft out of their own pockets, and
womens' organizations often ran canteens for the young airmen,
sports organizations donated athletic equipment, service clubs such
as Gyro, Kinsmen and Kiwanis provided such things as pianos for
recreation rooms and many people would invite the trainees into
their own homes for meals as a patriotic gesture and as a personal
involvement in the war effort.

The ten Air Observer Schools were also operated from the start
by civilian companies who were involved in such work. Many
civilian pilots worked side by side with their military counterparts
at the Bombing and Gunnery Schools and in Communication Flights.
In the latter two activities, more than 700 American civilian pilots
were employed before their own country entered the conflict. In
order to accommodate the many bush pilots and commercial fliers
who offered their services, the age limit was raised to 46 years.
Finding recruits was no problem. Tens of thousands of young
Canadians from every walk of life swarmed to the Air Force recruit-
ing offices across the country. A substantial number of them were
bitterly disappointed to discover that the RCAF was not ready to
accept their services. Those who could not wait to get into action
wrote the Air Force off and enlisted in the Army or Navy. Before
the BCATP could get into full operation and take in a larger number
of recruits, the vast apparatus of the Plan had to be built and
thousands of instructors trained.
By the fall of 1940, the Plan began to pay ofl'. On 28 October the
graduate from the BCATP received their wings at No.
first pilots to
1 SFTS, Camp Borden. On the same day, at No. 1 Air Navigation

School at Rivers, Manitoba, 38 Observers were awarded the highly
coveted "O" wing. On 26 November the first two graduating parades
for wireless operator/air gunners were held with 26 WAGs graduat-
ing from No. 1 Bombing and Gunnery School at Jarvis, Ontario, and
24 WAGs getting their wings from No. 2 BGS, at Mossbank,
Saskatchewan. Recruiting standards, from the point of view of
physical fitness, were high for aircrew gandidates. Many hopeful
pilots never got past the initial medical given at a recruiting office.
For those who did, the next step was the Manning Depot where
civilians were turned into servicemen. The transition was not always
easy to take. The day began early in the morning for would-be
fliers, followed by hours of marching and parade square drill which
appeared to have little to do with flying but which did introduce

the recruits to the discipline they would so urgently need when they
finally went into combat. After weeks of barracks living, parades,
inspections and constant military discipline, the airmen began to
feel more at home in their surroundings. Then they would be posted
to the various schools according to their various aircrew trades.
The potential pilots and observers went to Initial Training Schools,
THE BCATP 197

of which there were seven across the country, while the wireless/air
gunners headed for one of the four Wireless Schools. At ITS the
students spent ten weeks of intensive study in mathematics, aircraft
recognition, armament, Air Force law, radio and a variety of other
subjects. They were also introduced to the famous link trainer. The
link trainerwas a small aircraft-like machine mounted in the centre
of a circular room, the walls of which were painted with scenery
to give the student in the link an illusion of flight. The link would
respond to its control column in the same manner as would a real
aircraft and gave the instructors some indication as to whether or
not a student was pilot material.
At the Initial Training Schools the students received a small, but
proud, symbol. A white wedge of cloth was inserted in the front
of their caps to indicate that the bearer was undergoing aircrew
training. At the completion of ITS the students were selected on the
basis of academic standing, physical fitness, psychological factors
and personal preference as to future employment in the service.
The pilots-to-be went to one of the 22 Elementary Flying Training
Schools while those selected for observer training went to any one
of the nine Air Observer Schools. At EFTS the student pilot finally
got into the air. With his instructor he would spend about ten flying
hours, over a period of some weeks, practising landings and takeoffs
in a Tiger Moth until the big day arrived when he went solo. It was
not all flying though; almost half the time was taken up by class-
room work. By the end of the seven-week course, the student pilot
had a good basic knowledge of aviation and about 50 flying hours
in his log book.
The successful graduates of EFTS went on to SETS, Service Fly-
ing Training School. The SETSs were divided into single-engine and
multi-engine schools, with those slated as fighter pilots being sent
to an SETS equipped with Harvards and the potential bomber pilots
being sent to the schools flying either Avro Ansons or Cessna
Cranes. The ten-week SETS course was also a combination of
groundschool and flying exercises but with more advanced flying
exercises such as night flying and instrument flying being added to
the curriculum. Then, the day to remember. Wings Parade. Approxi-
mately one-third of the students would be commissioned as pilot
officers on graduation. The remainder were graduated as sergeant
pilots.

"The bomber pilot,'" it was said, "is only as good as his naviga-
tor." The students selected to be trained as observers [navigators
and bomb aimers combined) were very good indeed. In the early
days of the war the observer was undoubtedly the busiest man on
a bomber crew*: he had to navigate the aircraft to its target, drop
the bombs on arrival and be prepared to send or receive Morse
code or take aerial photos.
For 14 hectic weeks he pored over maps and charts as he wôrked
in groundschool and flew training trips, until he had mastered the
fine art of navigating an aircraft with pinpoint accuracy in any kind
of weather. From Air Observer School the trainees went to Bomb-
ing and Gunnery School. Successful graduates of this school were
awarded the Observer wing, then proceeded immediately to Air
Navigation School at either Rivers, Manitoba, or Pennfield Ridge,
N.B., for further training in the science of navigation: for instance,
astronomical navigation, using the stars and moon for guidance,
which would sometimes be the only points of reference over the
night skies of occupied Europe. Then the observers were off to the
war to put into practice the lessons they had learned in peaceful
Canadian skies.
The wireless operator/air gunner trainees went directly from
Manning Depot to specialist trade training, bypassing Initial Train-
ing School. Specialist training meant Wireless School at Montreal,
Guelph, Winnipeg or Calgary. For seventeen weeks the future WAG
Aircrew students take PT at No. 1 Initial Training School, Toronto.

worked mainly with morse key, semaphore and lamp. Considerable
academic work was also undertaken, based on a summary of the
subjects taught at ITS. After classrooms came the flight line. For
wireless operator/air gunners, flying training consisted of a set
number of hours aloft, first in Norsemen aircraft, where four stu-
dents at a time practised their chosen trade, then alone with a pilot
in a Tiger Moth.
For the wireless operator/air gunner there were two big days. The
firstcame when he graduated from wireless school and received his
"sparks," a badge which indicated that hewas a qualified wireless
operator. The second recognition came when he graduated from
Bombing and Gunnery School and pinned up his air gunner's badge.
Before that day arrived, however, the qualified wireless operator
would go toone of the nine BGSs for four weeks of armament train-
ing. This consisted of machinegun firing, both from the ground and
in the air.
For the air firing exercises the student gunners fired live ammuni-
tion at targets on the ground or in the water, then they turned to
These consisted of 20-foot long drogues pulled
targets in the air.
by another Since several air gunners took turns firing
aircraft.
during each exercise, they used bullets painted with different
colours. On the ground after each exercise, scoring consisted of
counting how many coloured holes there were, then crediting the
scores to the gunners who fired the corresponding coloured bullets.
On graduation from BGS the wireless operator/air gunner was ready
for the adventure overseas.
The Cornell was also a standard elementarv pilot trainer used extensively in
the bca r. :

Student navigators are briefed before a flight in Anson aircraft at No. 1 Air
Observer School, Malton, Ontario.
Training in the BCATP was not only a challenging and exacting

task. It was Although the training fields were far
also hazardous.
removed from the war zone there were inherent dangers. In the
case of pilot training, there was always the possibility that a student
would make one mistake too many, not because he was careless
but simply because flying was an intricate occupation which took
time to master. The problem was compHcated by language. Some
students were refugees from enemy-occupied Europe who had fled
their homelands to England, joined the RAF and had been sent to
Canada for aircrew training. Being unable to express themselves
clearlyand quickly, especially in an emergency, these students,
through no fault of own, made their English-speaking instruc-
their
tors' job many times more difficult. Flying at Air Observer and
Bombing and Gunnery Schools also encompassed all the hazards
faced by flying men everywhere. When the BCATP totalled its
casualties at the termination of the Plan, it was revealed that 856
young fliers had been killed, hundreds more had been injured. Two
of the flying accidents resulted in the awarding of the George Cross,
the highest decoration that can be won when not in the face of the
enemy. Throughout the Second World War only four GCs were
awarded to Commonwealth fliers outside the RAF. All four went to
Canadian fliers.
THE BCATP 201

The was received by Leading Aircraftsman K. M. Gravell,
first
who RCAF on 15 March 1941 as a nineteen year old high-

joined the
school student in his home town, Vancouver. LAC Gravell's heart
was set on becoming a wireless operator/air gunner so, after com-
pleting manning depot training, he was sent to No. 2 Wireless
School at Calgary.
He finished his groundschool subjects then began his flying train-

ing. On November 1941 he took off on a routine training flight
10
in a Tiger Moth with his pilot, F/0 J. Robinson. When the exercise
was completed the aircraft headed back to base. For some reason,
that will never be determined, the Tiger Moth plunged into Simons'
Valley and burst into flames. LAC Gravell was severely injured. He Leading Aircraftsman
lost one eye and suffered burns but he managed to get clear of the K. M. Graven,
a student in the BCATP,
aircraft.
was the first member
When he realized that his pilot was still in the burning wreckage of the RCAF
to win the George Cross.
he started back, ignoring the fact that his clothing was ablaze. A
school teacher, Mrs. F. Walsh, who was subsequently awarded the
George Medal for her action, ran up to LAC Gravell and dragged
him away. She rolled him on the ground to extinguish the flames
which had, by this time, completely enveloped his clothing.
LAC Gravell subsequently died from his burns. Had he not con-
sidered his pilot before his own safety and had he immediately
extinguished the flames on his own clothing, he would probably not
have lost his life.
The second George Cross to be awarded to a member of the

RCAF also went to an aircrew trainee.
Leading Aircraftsman K. G. Spooner, of Smith's Falls, Ont., joined
the RCAF on 31 July 1942 and was selected for observer training. He
went first to Manning Depot at Lachine, Quebec, then, on 8 Novem-
Tiger Moth training aircraft stand ready at one of the Elementary FJying
Training Schools which were scattered across Canada.
The "YeJJow Peril": student pilots' affectionate name for the yeJJow-painted
North American Harvard.
ber 1942, to No. 5 ITS, Belleville, Ontario. He next reported to No.

4 Air Observer School London, Ontario, for flying operations.
at
On 14 May 1943 Spooner was one of four student navigators flying
Leading Aircraftsman in an Anson aircraft when the pilot fainted at the controls. While
K. G. Spooner
won a George Cross the other crew members were vainly trying to remove the pilot
w'hiJe /lying at from his seat he temporarily regained consciousness and froze on
So. 4 Air Observer School,
London, Ontario.
the controls, causing the aircraft to lose altitude rapidly. As soon
as the pilot became indisposed LAC Spooner, although he had no
pilot training, assumed charge, taking over the controls and
endeavouring to keep the aircraft at a safe height. He ordered the
remainder of the crew to bail out. They did as instructed. Shortly
after, the aircraft crashed into Lake Erie, carrying the unconscious
pilotand LAC Spooner to their deaths. In the wôrds of the citation

accompanying the posthumous award of the George Cross: "This
airman, with complete disregard for his personal safety and in con-
formity with the highest tradition of the Service, sacrificed his life
in order to save the lives of his comrades."

Another rare distinction won by a member of the BCATP, went
THE BCATP 203
to a staff pilot. Squadron Leader J.
Hone, from Winnipeg, became
the only member of the RCAF to win the AFC and Bar. The Air
Force Cross was awarded for "exceptional valour, courage or devo-
tion to duty while flying, though not in active operations against
the enemy." Of the 424 Canadian fliers awarded AFCs during the
Second World War, only S/L Hone was judged worthy to receive
the award twice.
Hone was one of the many bush pilots who offered their services
to the RCAF soon after the outbreak of the war. He had a lot to
offer. By the time the Second World War broke out, Hone had
already been flying for ten years and was operating his own air
transport company, Arrow Airways Ltd. During his bush pilot days S/L J. Hone,
he had flown far into the Canadian northland and above the Arctic who spent much of his
career in the BCATP,
Circle on mining exploration flights. He joined the RCAF on 3
was the only member
October 1939. Following what must have been the shortest pilot of the RCAF to win
the Air Force Cross twice.
course on record, he was given his RCAF wings two months later.
He began his Air Force career at the obvious place for a man of
his experience, No. 1 SFTS Camp Borden. At Camp Borden, F/0
Hone was put to work instructing the instructors. A few months
later. Hone gave indisputable evidence of the type of resourceful-
ness and skillwhich had carried him through the years when he
flew in the bush far removed from airports with their many elabo-
rate facilities.
On 10 March 1940 a Fairey Battle aircraft from Camp Borden
experienced mechanical trouble while flying over Georgian Bay
and crashed on the rough ice. F/0 Hone went to the scene to see if
the aircraft could be salvaged. Conditions could not have been

worse. The aircraft was badly damaged and the hot March sun was
rapidly melting the ice. But Hone was determined to retrieve the
aircraft. He set to work on temporary repairs. After six days of
work he managed to get the aircraft into flying condition, or at least
into a state of repair where he was willing to attempt takeoff. By
this time the ice had deteriorated badly. Hone, however, managed Fairey Battle
to stagger into the air. For this feat he was awarded the AFC, the
citation for which read: "This officer displayed the greatest in-
genuity and tenacity in the rescue of a Fairey Battle aircraft from
the ice in the neighbourhood of Parry Sound, Ontario. The resource-
fulness and flying capabilities which he displayed on this occasion
were of the hishest order."

In the months and years that followed, F/L Hone had a varied
career. From the BCATP moved to the Canadian Home Establish-
he
ment. On 6 June 1941 he was posted to No. 5 (Bomber Reconnais-
sance] Squadron at Dartmouth, N.S., to operate flying boats, then
back to the BCATP as commanding officer of No. 2 Air Navigation
School at Penfield Ridge, N.B. On 10 December 1943 he went to
No. 168 (Transport] Squadron at RCAF Station Rockcliffe. With this
squadron and later with No. 7 Photo Wing he flew surveys along the
Northwest Staging Route. He also became involved in three sepa-
rate search and rescue operations in the spring and summer of 1944
which earned for him the bar to his AFC.
The first exploit occurred in March of that year when S/L Hone
undertook a search for a Cessna Crane which went missing while
on a training flight from a BCATP airfield. He organized and flew a
search party in such an efficient manner that he received a letter
of commendation from the Chief of the Air Staff for his efforts.
Early in July Hone carried out a search for a U.S. Army aircraft
over rugged terrain in the Northwest Territories. He spotted the
downed plane near the mouth of the Thlewiaza River in the District
of Keewatin. For this operation both the Canadian and American
governments sent him commendations.
On August 29 a request was received from the Department of
Mines and Resources, asking if it would be possible for an RCAF
aircraft to proceed to Nottingham Island to pick up an Eskimo child
who had been burned and was in need of hospitalization. S/L Hone
took off at dawn in a Canso aircraft and began the long flight. In
the north country, weather stations were- few and far between; there
was never any assurance that a flight could be completed. Such
was the case. When S/L Hone arrived at his destination, it was
fogged in. He flew to Southampton Island to wait for the weather
to clear. Although the weather was still marginal he made another
try and was successful. He loaded the injured Eskimo child into
his aircraft and, because of the seriousness of the situation, decided
The Fleet Finch gave thousands of pilots their first fiying experience. Here
students with parachutes make their way to their aircraft at No. 4 EFTS,
W/rif.''.'.r Mil/s, On(.
to take off immediately although the weather was anything but
favourable. He came through, making it to The Pas where the
injured child was given hospital treatment. In the words of the
citation which accompanied the unprecedented award of the second
AFC: "This officer's outstanding devotion to duty, leadership and
organizing ability in accomplishing arduous and hazardous opera-
tions is a credit to the Service and an inspiration to all with whom
he comes in contact."
By May 1942 the BCATP was nearing the end of its original term,
Their training
but conditions had changed. Japan had joined the war and it was in Canada completed,
obvious that the Plan would have to be continued beyond its original RCAF aircrew
and ground crew
date and that many more aircrew would be required. A new agree- hoard troop transports
ment was signed, extending the Plan to 31 March 1945. The number bound for overseas.
of training schools was also increased from 58 to 67, including 21

double sized schools plus 10 schools for special training. The RCAF
also assumed the control of 27 RAF units which had been trans-
ferred to or established in Canada and which were now added to
the number of BCATP schools. In addition, post-graduate training
came under the jurisdiction of the Plan and, in due course, opera-
tional training of six different kinds was provided for: single-engine
fighter; twin-engine fighter-bomber: medium bomber; heavy bomber;
flying boat and medium-range transport.
At the Operational Training Schools the different aircrew trades
such as pilot, navigator, wireless operator/air gunner and bomb
aimer would take advanced training for four weeks in their own
specialties, then would match up as complete crews for an additional
four weeks of operational training. Between 1 July 1942 and 31
March 1945, BCATP-administered Operational Training Units and
General Reconnaissance Schools graduated 22,431 aircrew.
One of matched crews, flying out of No. 31 OTU at Debert,
the
N.S., was the first and only group of student aircrew to come to
grips with the enemy. As part of the training of crews at OTU it
was the practice to give several actual anti-submarine patrols. On
4 July 1943 a Hudson with an English pilot, an Australian navigator
and Canadian wireless operator/air gunner and bomb aimer, attacked
a German submarine. The crew had been airborne for almost two
hours practising their anti-submarine role, when the captain sighted

the wake of a partially visible conning tower at a relative bearing
of 30 degrees and two miles distant.

The U boat spotted the Hudson and began to dive just as the
Hudson began to dive on it. The pilot, Sergeant I. D. Wallace, raced
across the waves and released four depth charges, aiming them to
overshoot the swirl. Two explosions were observed 100 and 200
feet ahead of the U boat swirl, in the same direction as the moving
submarine. After releasing the depth charges, the pilot climbed to
4,000 feet and circled the area for 17 minutes, during which time
the crew observed an oily scum on the surface. Water disturbances
were still visible, as were air bubbles. The submarine was believed
to have been seriously damaged and later, while he was serving
with No. 608 Coastal Command Squadron in Italy, Sgt. Wallace was
awarded the DFM for an action which took place while he was still
a student in Canada.
Originally the Plan provided for the training of three aircrew
categories: pilot, observer and wireless operator/air gunner. In the
light of operational experience and with the introduction of four-
engine aircraft, the training became more diversified. The category
of air observer was abolished and replaced by four specialized
trades: navigator; navigator "B" (a navigator with additional bomb-
ing training); navigator "W" (a navigator with additional wireless
training]; and bomber. With the introduction of heavy bombers
air
into the air war, there came an increased need for air gunners so
the trade of air gunner was introduced. The "straight" AGs, as they
became known, took a twelve-week course on air firing, then went
directly overseas. The heavy bomber was also responsible for
another aircrew trade being instituted, that of flight engineer. The
flight engineers who graduated from the BCATP were all members
of the RCAF.
In summary, the BCATP graduated: 49,808 pilots; 9,795 navigators
"B"; 4,298 navigators "W"; 15,870 navigators; 15,673 air bombers;
18,496 wireless operator/air gunners; 14,996 air gunners and 1,913
flight engineers. An additional 704 telegraphist/air gunners were
trained for the Royal Navy.
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, that vast university
of the air, was the proving ground for the combat fliers of the
future. The Plan's graduates served in every theatre of the war, on
every type of operation, flying every type of aircraft. By their deeds
they gave credence to the saying: "The air battles of Europe were
won on the flying fields of the BCATP."
THE BCATP 207

APPENDIX I
ALLIED AIRCRAFT — FIGHTERS

Aircraft name Maximum speed Service ceiling Number of guns
& mark in mph in feet & calibre
Hurricane IIA 342 37,000 8 303
Hurricane IIB OD,OUU
Hurricane IIC 339 35,600 4 20 mm
Spitfire I 355 35,000 8 303
Spitfire V 375 38,000 2 20 mm
Spitfire IX 408 43,000 4 303 & 2 20 mm
Spitfire XXII 454 43,000 4 20 mm
Beaufighter I 324 27,000 6 303
Beaufighter VI 333 26,500 6 303 & 4 20 mm
Beaufighter X 310 26,500 4 20 mm & 8 rockets
Mosquito II 370 35,000 4 303 & 4 20 mm
Mosquito VI 378 32,000 4 303 & 4 20 mm
Mosquito XXX 407 37,000 4 20 mm
Mustang I 390 32,000 4 303 & 4 .5
Mustang III 450 41,500 4 .5
Typhoon I 405 33,000 4 20 mm & 8 rockets

Tempest V 435 36,000 4 20 mm
Corsair 428 41,600 6 .5
ALLIED AIRCRAFT — BOMBERS

Aircraftname Maximum speed Service Range & bomb load
& mark in mph ceiling in miles & pounds
Blenheim IV 266 22,000 1,460 1,000
Halifax I 273 18,200 1,840 6,750

Halifax V 260 21,000 1,900 4,500
Halifax VII 280 20,000 2,215 5,250
Stirling I 260 17,200 2,050 3,500

Stirling III 270 17,000 590 14,000
Wellington II 247 20,000 1,400 4,500
Wellington IV 229 20,000 980 4,000
Wellington X 255 18,250 1,325 4,500
Lancaster I 270 22,200 650 13,000

Lancaster X 287 20,000 1,660 14,000

ALLIED AIRCRAFT — COASTAL
Aircraft name Cruising speed in Associated bomb or
& mark knots & endurance depth charge load
Stranraer 92 for 7 hours 1,000 lbs.
Liberator I 150 for 16 hours 2,000 lbs.
Liberator III 145 for 11 hours 3,000 lbs.
Hudson I 125 for 6 hours 750 lbs.
Hudson VI 140 for 7 hours 1,000 lbs.
Beaufort I 150 for 6 hours 1,500 lbs. or 1 torpedo
Catalina I 100 for 17 hours 2,000 lbs.
Catalina IV 106 for 15 hours 1,500 lbs.
Sunderland I 115 for 12 hours 2,000 lbs.
Sunderland III 110 for 13 hours 2,000 lbs.
ALLIED AIRCRAFT — TRANSPORT

Aircraft name Maximum speed Weight of useful load
in mph
Dakota 230 28 passengers or

4,500 to 5,000 lbs.
Liberator 320 20 passengers or
10,000 lbs.
Fortress 295 crew & 7,000 lbs.
ALLIED AIRCRAFT — TRAINERS

Maximum speed
Aircraft name in mph Crew and students Type of Trainer
Tiger Moth 109 2 Pilot Primary &
Wireless Operate
Fleet Finch 112 2 Pilot Primary
Fairchild Cornell 122 2 Pilot Primary
North American Harvard 206 2 Pilot Advanced
North American Yale 170 2 Pilot Advanced
Cessna Crane 195 2 Pilot Advanced
Airspeed Oxford 169 2 Pilot Advanced
Lockheed Hudson 275 2 Pilot Operational
Avro Anson 190 5 Navigator &
Bomb Aimer
Noorduyn Norseman 170 5 Wireless Operator
Westland Lysander 206 2 Air Gunner
Fairey Battle 210 2 Air Gunner &
Bomb Aimer
Bristol Bolingbroke 266 4 Air Gunner
APPENDIX I 209
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2 Ti ^sz.
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35® 4 s;
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1 2;:
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2SJ
1 2C
3®'
AFT — HlvG
inn TTiuiplrn Serrsice csiSmmg
2-55
JuHnnkiHis StD 255
253 SIMM
EtennmiiEr 215 273
Dtoinnmeir SITE mS)
Mg-mmM 111 2-5(0)
ans
THE CAXADLW ACES

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- - - ----- ^'
PacDMC Fleet Air A.™
-5 sinairedl MOs hmt i: f i r. : : . rzemy
r airoraifit desttiroyed om tliie gT'i - - i
Z50.. OFCBFM 31 F O W. E. MciKnnii^DtL DFC & B ..
GC R. W- MaJCsamr- IDSO. OFC& 23 IS

S TL H. W. MdLffidixii IBSO, IQFC &M 21
—
W C E. F
.
S L V. C WmwiwaiiaL BFC & B 21 '

' - ' -
~ - " - r -
21® IHE eAXGEROOS SSCY

W/C J.
F. Edwards, DFC & B, DFM 15 S/L R. W. Ellis, DFM 7
S'L D. C. Laubman, DFC & B 15 S/L H. C. Godefroy, DSO, DFC & B 7
F/L D. L Hall, DFC & B 7
S L W. T. Klersy, DSO, DFC-& B I4V2 F/O G. N. Keith, DFC 7
F L J.
F. McElroy, DFC & B 14V2 S/L D. A. MacFayden, DSO, DFC & B . . 7
F/L L R. MacLennan, DFM 7
W C R. C. Fumerton, DFC & B, AFC F/O G. Patterson 7
G/C P. S. Turner, DSO, DFC & B G/C G. L. Raphael, DSO. DFC & B 7
F/L J. L. Robillard, DFM 7
G C J. A. Kent, DFC & B, AFC G/C J. D. Somerville, DSO, DFC 7
11
S/L R. I. Smith, DFC & B F/L N. K. Stansfield, DFC 7
S L R. A. Kipp, DSO, DFC I2V2

F/L R. A. Buckham, DFC 6V2
F/L W. J.
& B
Banks, DFC 12 W/C L. V. Chadburn, DSO & B, DFC . . . 6V2
W/C G. C. Keefer, DSO & B, DFC & B . . 12 S L H. J. Dowding, DFC & B 6'/2
F/L H. T. Mitchell, DFC 6V2
W/C R. A. Barton, QBE, DSO, DFC & B . 11' - F L J. P. Sabourin, DFC 6'/2
S/L G. U. Hill, DFC&2B IIV2
W/C McKay, DFC & B IIV2
J.
WC H. P. Blatchford, DFC 6
S/L D. C. Gordon, DFC & B 11 W/C M. Cameron, DFC
L. 6
S/L L F. Kennedy, DFC & B 11 F/L W. L. Chisholm, DFC & B 6
W/C J. E. Walker, DFC & 2B 11 S/L W. A. Conrad, DFC 6
S/L L. S. Ford, DFC & B 6
F/L D. W. Schmidt, DFC & B 10'/2 F/L R. D, Grassick. DFC 6
F'O C. M. Jasper 6
F/L R. J. Audet, DFC & B 10 F/L D. H. Kimball, DFC 6
S/L J. D. Mitchner, DFC & B 10 F/O E. P. Laricheliere, DFC 6
J.
F/L J. H. Turnbull, DFC & B 10 W/C D. Lindsay 6
J.
F/L H. C. Upton, DFC 10 F/O A. K. Ogilvie, DFC, AFC 6
F/O G. Pepper, DFC & B 6
F/L F. A. Aikman, DFC & B 9 F/L R. T. Phipps, DFC 6
W/C R. Bannock, DSO, DFC & B 9 F/L D. M. Pieri, DFC 6
F/L H. P. Cochrane, DFC 9 F/L H. N. Tamblyn, DFC 6
F/O R. C. Gosling, DFC & B 9 F'L J. A. Walker, DFC 6
G/C G. W. Northcott, DSO, DFC & B . . .
9 F/O J. H. Whalen, DFC 6
F/O J. W. Williams, DFC 9 P/O F. A. J. Wilson, DFC 6
W/C N. E. Woods, DFC & B 6
S/L A. R. MacKenzie, DFC 8'/2 S/L H.'P. Zary, DFC 6
S/L H. C. Trainor, DSO, DFC & B 8'/2
W/C H. D. Cleveland, DFC 8 F L J. J. Boyle, DFC 5V2

W/C R.
J. C.
Grant, DFC & B, DFM 8 F'L- G. D. Cameron, DFC 5V2
S'L A. U. Houle, DSO, DFC & B 8 F/L J. G. Doyle 5V2
F/O J. R. C. Jamison, DFC & B 8 F/L R. M. Davenport, DFC 5V2
S/L G. W. Johnson, DFC 8 P/O H. D. Edwards 5'/2
P'O J. B. Latta, DFC 8 F/O H. E. Fenwick, DFC 5V2
F/L H. D. McDonald, DFC & B 8 S/L L. M. Gaunce, DFC 5V2
F/L R. D. Schulz 8 F/L J. W. E. Harten 5V2
S/L L. C. Schwab, DFC 8 G/C E. A. McNab 5V2
F/L R. R. Smith, DFC 8 F/L D. R. Morrison, DFC, DFM 5V2
F/O D. E. Ness, DFC 5V2
W/C M. H. Brown, DFC & B 71/2 W/C B. D. Russell, DSO, DFC & B 5'/2
S/L G. P. Christie, DFC & B 7 F/O A. B. Angus, DFC 5

F/L A. C. Cochrane, DFC 7 S/L P. L Archer, DFC 5
APPENDIX II 211
P/O M. W. H. Askey 5 F/L M. E. DFC
Jowsey, 5
F/0 J. H. Ballantyne, DFM 5 F/O W. G. Kirkwood, DFC 5
S/L H. H. Boulton, DFC 5 W/C C. Mcl. Magwood, DFC 5
F/L R. R. Bouskill, DFC 5 F/L F. T. Murray, DFC - 5
F/O W. R. Breithaupt, DFC 5 F/O W. Neil, DFC
J. 5
F/O R. I. E. Britten, DFC 5 P/O W. H. Nelson 5
W/C P. Burton-Gyles,
R. DSO, DFC & B 5 F/L D. E. Noonan, DFC 5
F/L J. T. Caine, DFC & 2B 5 P'O M. Reeves 5
F/O P. M. Charron 5 F/O D. G. Reid, DFM 5
S/L R.W. R. Day, DFC 5 S/L A. H. Sager, DFC 5
P/O W. W. Downer, DFC 5 Lt. D. J. Sheppard, DSC 5
F/L E. L. Gimbel, DFC 5 S/L J.
E. Sheppard, DFC 5
F/O M. G. Graham, DFC 5 F/L J. D. Smith 5
S/L R. K. Hayward, DSO, DFC 5 W/C David J.
Williams, DSO, DFC 5
F/O G. E. Horricks, DFM 5 S/L Gordon Wonnacott, DFC & B 5
F/L B. J.
Ingalls, DFC 5
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The RCAF —
Overseas, The First Four Years Toronto, Oxford University Press
The RCAF —
Overseas, The Fifth Year Toronto, Oxford University Press
The RCAF —
Overseas, The Sixth Year Toronto, Oxford University Press
—
Royal Air Force 1939-45, Volume I Denis Richards
—
Hoyai Air Force 1939-45, Volume U Denis Richards & Hilary St. G. Saunders
RoyaJ Air Force 1939-45, Volume 711— Hilary St. G. Saunders
—
The Struggle for Europe Chester Wilmot
—
Canada's War in the Air Leslie Roberts
—
Malta Spitfire George Beurling
—
Dam Busters Paul Brickhill
fanes' All the World's Aircraft —
(different authors)
—
Aces High Christopher Shores & Clive Williams
—
Crusade in Europe Dwight D. Eisenhower
—
Torpedo Bomber Ralph Barker
—
Famous Fighters William Green
The Allied Aces of World War I/— W. N. Hess
RoundeJ, VoJs. 1-17— RCAF Periodicals
Sentinel, VoJs. 1-3 —
Canadian Forces Periodicals

INDEX
Aaron, F/L A. L. 62-63 Fauquier, A/C }. E. 49-52

Ali,Rashid 173 Foster,F/O A. E. 185
Audet, F/L R. J. 29-31 Fumerton, W/C R. C. 40-42
Bader, G/C Douglas 21, 22 Galland, Adolph 76

Bailey, FS 80-81 Garland, F/L J. W. 156-165
Bannock, W/C R. 32-36 Getty, F/O R. C. 135
Bartlett, W/C C. S. 172-174 Gibb, P/O A. P. 93, 103
Baton, FS 58 Gibson, W/C Guy 53-58
Batson, FS 58 Gillanders, FS 67
Bennett, W/C D. C. T. 73 Glasgow, Sgt. A. D. 114
Bennett, F/O P. R. 113 Gobeil, S/L F. M. 20, 174-176
Beirnes, S/L J. R. 139-145 Grant, F/L D. M. 149-151
Beurling, F/L G. F. 1-6,11,46 Grant, W/C F. G. 133-139
Bing, Sgt. L. P. 41 Graven, LA K. M. 202
Birchall, S/L L. J. 116-126, 152 Gray, F/L "Hammy" 43-44
Blythe, F/L A. C. 180 Gray, F/O R. B. 98-101
Boak, F/L 36
Boomer, S/L K. A. 134 Harris, Air Chief Marshall,
Brown, FS K. W. 56-57
Sir Arthur 49
Brennan, F/O W. 62 Hayashi, Lieutenant 123
Bruce, F/O R. R. 33-35
Hayes, Sgt. J. 72
Bruneau, F/O A. A. 126-129
Hegan, F/O 91
Buckmaster, W/O R. O. 183-184
Hillcoat, F/O H. B. 177
Byrnes, F/L J. M. 180-181
Hitler, Commander in Chief
Adolf 3, 164
83,
Cardy, Sgt. W. H. 68-69 Hone, S/L J. 204
Carlson, F/O A. T. 150 Hornell, F/L D. 129
Chadburn, W/C L. V. 25-28
Cheshire, W/C 60
Jarjour, Sgt. N. 187
Churchill, (Sir) Winston 73-74, 125
Coffey, S/L R. E. 146-148
Jessiman, F/O W. H. 151
Jordan-Knox, F/O T. 185
Collins, F/O A. S. 151
Coons, S/L H. L. 182-184
Cotter, W/O D. G. 185 Keillor, S/L H. G. 101-103
Kent, G/C J. 17-19
Kerrigan, F/L H. F. 96-98
Daniels, F/O D. 58
King, Prime Minister Mackenzie 191
Davoud, G/C P. 37-39
Y.
Dean, F/L "Dixie" Kirkpatrick, F/L 35
46
Deering, F/O G. A. 53
de la Haye, P/O 114 Laird, F/L G. J.
68-69
DeMarco, Cpl. A. 177 Lane, A/C R. J.
69-71
Dickson, F/O C. A. 177 Larden, F/O A. W. J. 61-63
Doenitz, Admiral 127 Leclaire, Sgt. G. 72
Dumont, F/O L. B. 185 Longhurst, F/L W. S. 174-176
Labrish, F/O F. B. 177
Engbrecht, P/O P. 65-67
Edwards, F/O R. L. 14 MacDonald, Sgt. G. 56
Eisenhower, General D. D. 189 MacKen/.ie, FS 91
Evans, LA R. G. 185 MacLean, FS D. A. 55-56, 58
INDEX 213
McNab, G/C E. A. 14-16 Roosevelt, President Theodore 191
McNair, G/C R. W. 7-10, 11 Rosenbaum, P/O 177
Manning, W/G R. 106-111 Ross, A/C A. D. 77-78
Marquet, Cpl. M. 77-78
McCarthy, S/L J. C. 55, 57-60
McKenzie, LA M. M. 77-78 Savor, Sgt. H. 72
McLurg, S/L J. E. 103 Senior,F/O 91
McNab, G/C E. A. 14-16 Shulemson, F/O S. S. 111-115
McRae, F/O D. F. 89-92 Simpson, F/L R. F. 185
Meek, P/O R. J. 63-64 Slater, F/L 45
Montgomery, Field Marshal B. L. Small, F/L N. E. 87-89
109, 157 Smith, W/O F. M. 187
Moore, F O K. O. 89, 92-95, 106 Spooner, LA K. G. 202
Mussolini, Duce Benito 157 Sproule, W/C J. A. 179-181
Mynarski, P/O A. C. 84-85 Stead, P/O 91
St. Germain, FS J. R. 77-78
Sutherland, F/O 104
Nagumo, Admiral 121
Noble, W/C C. D. 78, 80-83
Nollau, Captain 99 Taerum, P/O H. T. 53-54
Thomson, F/O A. L. 185
Oancia, Sgt. S. 56-57 Turner, Canon 95
Turner, G/C P. S. 20
Onyette, F/O G. O. 122
Packham, F/O P. R. 98 Ushioda, Sgt. 123

Park, F/O L. E. 143
Parker, W/O 188
D. A.
Vannes, LA L. V. 187-188
Pattle, S/L "Pat" 45
von Rundstedt, Field Marshal 161
Pearson, F/L H. W. 188
Pearson, Prime Minister L. B.
125-126 Waddell, W/C R. C. 152-156
Pepper, F/O M. B. 153 Walker, F/O D. R. 54
Peters, F/O H. P. 150 Wallace, Sgt. L D. 207
Peterson, S/L H. V. 72-76 Walsh, Mrs. F. 202
Pudney, F/O J. W. 165-169 Warren, P O J. L. 78-80
Wavell, General 172
F/O W.
Radcliffe, 58
Werbiski, W O N. M. 93, 103
White, Cpl. A. M. 184
Ramsay, F/O J. K. 184-185
Wolfe, LA R. R. 77-78
Ready, F/L C. H. 178
Wondolowski F/O C. A. 102
Robinson, F/O J. 202
Woodward, W/C V. C. 45-47
Rodger, F/O D. 55, 58
Rommel, General Erwin 7, 75, 109,
115, 125 Yamamoto, Admiral 134
Every effort has been made for accuracy of informntion. The publisher would
appreciate information which would correct any errors or omissions.
214 INDEX
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBR4RY
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O HAMBURG

SECOND TACTICAL AIR F0RC:F BOMBER COMMAND

THE RYERSON PRESS

Printed and bound in Canada by The Ryerson Press, Toronto

i.t^n^TOM PUBLIC LIBRARY*-

I wish to express my appreciation to the many people who helped me

typing the manuscript.

This is a fascinatingdocumentary written in a style which makes

The Dangerous Sky is a fine addition to any war-time library. It

G/C Douglas Bader, CBE, DSO, DFC

SECOND TACTICAL AIR FORCE 133

TRANSPORT COMMAND 171

THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN 191

Of all men who took

easy to understand. Like knights of old, fighter pilots carried out

to get him to study medicine, but there was no other interest in

but not like an From the operational

2 THE DANGEROUS SKY

power sank 220,000 tons of enemy shipping on the African convoy

4 THE DANGEROUS SKY

ended. On 12 October Beurling and seven other members of No. 249

6 THE DANGEROUS SKY

Some time later McNair was returning to base from an uneventful

sides. Smoke filled the cockpit but McNair continued to fight. He

number of Stuka dive bombers heading for Halfar. As McNair led

pressed by an Me 109 so McNair curved around and fired at the

8 THE DANGEROUS SKY

Service in Malta during those tense days of 1942 meant extremes.

Nevertheless, he glided his Spitfire until about 20 miles off the

10 THE DANGEROUS SKY

A contemporary of Beurling and McNair in the epic seige of Malta

12 THE DANGEROUS SKY

Spitfires fly over the

Squadron, led seven Hurricanes from Montreal to Halifax, their

14 THE DANGEROUS SKY

gether. The defenders met this by flying in formation rather than

16 THE DANGEROUS SKY

On 9 September 1940 Kent was leading the Polish Squadron,

trouble. Within minutes, Hurricanes could be seen tumbling towards

and none of the wounded Polish pilots, or Kent, was killed.

18 THE DANGEROUS SKY

An unidentified Canadian fighter pilot stands beside his Spitfire, damaged by

His first was achieved on May 28 over Ostend. Turner

enemy aircraft and approached to attack when we were attacked

Woves of German bombers,

22 THE DANGEROUS SKY

Malta Spitfires were no longer on the defensive. Through the

though he had the unhappy experiences of being shot down twice,

G C P. S. Turner shot down

24 THE D.A-XGEROUS SKY

leading his Spitfire squadron over the beach-bound convoy when a

Chadburn was not caught napping. He and his squadron raced

group of FW 190s. The tactic worked. Eleven enemy aircraft were

26 THE DANGEROUS SKY

W/C Chadburn's wing plus two other Canadian wings escorted a

At the end of September 1943 Chadburn's two squadrons had

the cockpit of a Spitfire and flew into battle where he felt he

A formation of Spitfires heads out to bnftle.

28 THE DANGEROUS SKY

30 THE DANGEROUS SKY

tories to eleven. Flight Lieutenant Audet has also most effectively

and daring have won the greatest praise."

When the might of the Luftwaffe failed to subdue Great Britain