remembrance

RAF East Kirkby – Part 2 – a Relentless Slog.

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In Part 1 we saw how East Kirkby came about, how its one main unit was used to create further units and how the war had taken its toll on those stationed here. In this part, we end 1943, but the high hopes of better things are far, far away.

The opening of September 1943, was however, the tip of the iceberg, for on the night of 23rd – 24th, three more aircraft were lost whilst on operations to Mannheim; all but five of the twenty-one men involved being killed, with those surviving five being incarcerated by the German forces. The operation had seen almost 630 aircraft take part in a raid that resulted in huge devastation with over 25,000 people being bombed out of their homes.

With the loss of two further aircraft in the closing days of September, the total dead or captured stood at seven Lancasters (forty-nine crewmen) with only four airmen returning to their Lincolnshire home. It had been a devastating start for the squadron at their new home in Lincolnshire.

October 1943 was much the same, major battles over the German Reich took further tolls with another four Lancasters falling from the skies. Most of these crews were also killed with just a handful surviving to be taken prisoner. The numbers of experienced crews on roll were quickly dwindling and replacements were now urgently needed.

NX611 'Just Jane'

The Lancaster ‘DX-F’ at East Kirkby, paying tribute to all those who flew from the airfield and in Bomber Command.

Then in mid November, 57 Sqn would be split for a second time to form yet another new squadron. This time, ‘B’ Flight were taken out and re-designated 630 Sqn. Initially being given the designation of an auxiliary squadron, it was however, a status that was never achieved. The entire flight consisting of nine crews and 106 ground staff, were led by the American, Sqn. Ldr. Malcom Crocker DFC, who simply moved across the airfield locating to new quarters and new dispersals, thus creating two operational squadrons at the site. Being battle hardened already, it took less than three days to complete the move before operations for them began once again.

November also saw Bomber Command enter its fourth month of the ‘Battle of Berlin‘, a period that saw intense bombing of the German capital with repeated raids on the city by heavy bombers of the RAF. It was also a time when the ill-fated Stirlings were finally pulled out of front line bombing campaigns, their losses becoming insurmountable. The decision to do so however, would put further pressure on the Lancaster and Halifax crews who were then left to complete the job with fewer aircraft and increasingly tired crews.

This period would become one of the RAF’s most testing times, and for the next four and a half months, Bomber Command, led by Sir Arthur Harris,  would continue to pound Berlin and other major cities deep inside Germany. The winter would be harsh, flights would be long, and it would be a gruelling time for the crews of Bomber Command.

The void left by the Stirlings was filled by the Halifaxes, and their loses now also soared. The battle for Berlin was a battle that would quickly diminish the capability of the RAF if loses were to continue at their current pace.

As the war entered 1944, the crews of Bomber Command became weakened and tired. Extensive battles had taken their toll and a rest was much needed. With poor weather dominating January that rest came, as crews were grounded unable to fly in the appalling winter weather.

The new year would see 617 Squadron dominate the way for 5 Group, their fame and successes taking a large chunk of the new reels. However, at East Kirkby, 630 Squadron would take on a new commander with the arrival of Wing Commander Deas in early February, taking over from Wing Commander J. Rollinson. Deas would continue to lead the squadron for the next five months, as it battled its way through the harsh winter period into spring and onto summer.

The pressure was however on Harris. He was now ordered to turn his men away from Berlin and help the Americans with the invasion plans supporting them in Operation Argument, otherwise known as ‘Big Week’. The operation was designed to weaken the German aircraft industry to prevent reinforcements of aircraft in the build up and launch of Operation Overlord.

In one last vain attempt to hit the capital, Harris planned four nights of raids in February, but poor weather curtailed these allowing only one raid to take place that on the night of the 15th – 16th February.

In the raid, which proved to be Bomber Command’s penultimate flight over the city, both 57 and 630 Squadrons would be involved. A mix of almost 900 Halifaxes and Lancasters saw losses amounting to over forty aircraft, one of these coming from 57 Sqn and another from 630 Sqn with the loss of all crewmen.

In order to lower losses, the formations would be concentrated, dropping 2,600 tonnes of bombs in just twenty minutes, a rain-storm of explosives that would see forty-five aircraft bomb every minute.*2

With that the Battle of Berlin came to an end, fizzling out as operations turned to The Rhine and its heavily defended industrial infrastructure.

The first area targeted was Leipzig, on the night of February 19th-20th. Here another 800 plus aircraft flew to Germany and back. They met determined German fighters as soon as they crossed the coast after which ensued a relentless air battle all the way to the target. Once there, it was completely covered in cloud and sky marking by the Pathfinders was the only possible method of identifying the target. In the operation, 630 Sqn put up nineteen aircraft and 57 Sqn, twenty; all but three returned home that night.

The Leipzig attack would prove to be a disaster for Bomber Command, strong winds meaning some bombers had arrived before the Pathfinders, and then had to circle the target for some considerable time before the markers arrived. This resulted in many of them being shot down by flak with some colliding in the dark, night sky. A loss of seventy-five aircraft that night led to the withdrawal of the second of the heavies – the Merlin powered Halifaxes – from front line operations; like the Stirlings before them, their loses had become unsustainable. This move put yet another heavy burden on the Lancasters crews, as it became the main heavy bomber now able to carry the war into Germany,

The night also proved to be an important one for one East Kirkby Pilot, W.O. J. White, whose determination to get the ‘job done’ and come home, led to him receiving the award of a DFM. In the attack, his rear gunner was mortally wounded, and the aircraft badly shot up with both hydraulics and an outer engine rendered unserviceable. Undeterred, W.O. White carried on to the target, dropping the bombs and then returning to England. On arrival, he managed to negotiate  landing the crippled aircraft at an unfamiliar airfield away from home. His courage and determination being more than worthy of the award he received for his actions.

With no break nor time to rest, another operation was ordered the following night, and although the 20th-21st attack on Stuttgart was a clear scoreboard for 57 Sqn, 630 lost another two; one of these ‘ND563’ swinging violently to port after travelling three-quarters of the way along the main runway. After crashing through a boundary fence and crossing a road on its belly, the bomb load exploded before anyone could escape. It was a tragic loss of life for those based at East Kirkby.

BBC war correspondent Richard North interviews the crew of Lancaster “S -Sugar” of No. 630 Squadron RAF on their return to East Kirkby, after bombing the marshalling yards at Juvisy-sur-Orge, France. IWM (CH 12778)

February closed with operations to Schweinfurt and Augsburg, an enquiry into the crash of ND5663 and the funerals of those who had lost their lives that day. With one squadron each losing a further crew, losses were continuing to mount for the two squadrons.

The early spring months would finally draw to a close over two disastrous nights. The first, on 24th – 25th March, saw Harris send his men back to Berlin one more time. In a last effort to bomb the capital, the RAF sent another 800 plus aircraft to the German capital, it would prove to be one of the worst for 630 Sqn, when three aircraft, including that of W.O. J. White who had just been awarded the DFM, were lost.

It was a dramatic figure that would be repeated on the last night of the month, when almost another 800 aircraft made up of Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitoes were sent to Nuremberg. Weather reports from a Meteorological Mosquito were ignored and whist the operation should have been cancelled, it went ahead. In a moon-filled sky, the  result was carnage.

By the time all aircraft had returned, losses stood at 95 crews, almost 12% of the entire force sent out, and the biggest loss for the Command of the war so far. The weather experienced had caused the biggest problems, not only for the main bomber-stream, but also for the Pathfinders,  with strong winds blowing many aircraft widely off track causing them to bomb Schweinfurt, some 50 miles away,  by mistake. Of those that did bomb the correct target, many reported that they were unable to see it due to heavy cloud, which combined with the strong winds, forced both them and the Pathfinders to mark and bomb the wrong area. As a result, little damage was done to the city, and dropping bombs too early, caused ‘creep back’ to extend for some 10 miles ahead of the target. All-in-all more crews were lost that night then there were casualties on the ground, losses that were totally unsustainable for the command.

The German defences on both nights had been extensive and determined. Tame Boar and Wild Boar tactics along with Schrage Musik, the upward firing cannons, had devastated formations who were scattered far and wide. Harris had gambled with his crews and lost.

The disastrous nights of Berlin and Nuremberg led to a short pause in operations in much the same way as the dreaded raid on Schweinfurt did for the Americans. A new focus would take no chances, and precise bombing became the order of the day.

After devastating operations over the German cities, thoughts turn to the invasion and supporting the ground forces. A choice that did not agree with Harris, but one the crews would take in their stride…

The full page can be read in Trail 1 – Lower Lincolnshire.

RAF East Kirkby – Part 1 – A new Station emerges.

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In the heart of Lincolnshire lies a former wartime bomber base that holds a particular and unique item dedicated to those who served in Bomber Command. The airfield where it is housed, was only used for a relatively short period of time, and by two main operational squadrons, yet it was one which saw the greatest number lost in the whole command.

In the next part of the trail, we travel away from Woodhall Spa to a former airfield synonymous with the Lancaster – RAF East Kirkby.

RAF East Kirkby

RAF East Kirkby is one of many Bomber Command airfields located in the Eastern county of Lincolnshire, a region that known as ‘Bomber County’. During its life it was home to two main front line squadrons along with a handful of other support units.

The airfield sits some 4 miles south-west of Spilsby and 12 miles north of Boston, in an area strongly associated with the Romans. Indeed, Lincoln – or Lindum Colonia as the Romans called it – became one of the largest and most influential Roman towns in England. Later, this area was where many invading Vikings settled, providing the local towns with examples of their own Nordic names, many of which can still be seen today. As time passed, both the Normans and the armies of Cromwell played their own part in the development of Lincolnshire, meaning the region has been left littered with several hundred monuments and numerous sites of archaeological and historical interest to offer the visitor.

Being in the lower regions of Lincolnshire, parts of it are only 40 feet above sea level meaning it is an area with a rich agricultural history as well; some areas being used to grow crops and of course tulips, bringing a wealth of colour and a wide range of crop to the area. It is all this that gives Lincolnshire both its beauty and its wide ranging historical interest.

Initially, East Kirkby airfield was built as a decoy site for nearby Coningsby and Manby, the site, complete with decoy wooden Whitley bombers, was decommissioned on June 27th 1941 and the area designated for a class A airfield –  RAF East Kirkby. Following requisition of the farmland in 1942, construction began by the building company John Laing & Sons Ltd., which included, amongst others, the first flushing toilets in the area. The airfield was finally completed in 1943, opening on August 20th that same year under the control of Bomber Command.

Located to the south-east of the village that gave it its name, the apex of the ‘A’, formed by the three standard runways, pointed westward with the main runway approximately north-south and the two subsidiaries west to north-east and west to south-east, each being the standard 2,000 and 1,400 yards in length and 50 yards wide.

As a bomber airfield the much needed runways would be of a concrete construction, and the airfield would boast six T2 hangars and a single B1 for maintenance and storage; a technical area stood to the north-west, with accommodation and the bomb store, spread around the area away from the main airfield site. Dispersals for aircraft storage and preparation consisted of twenty-seven spectacle hardstands along with five loop hardstands, all located around the extensive perimeter track.

As a decoy site, it had been bombed on several occasions, and having accommodation and high explosives near to the airfield was not a good combination. These accommodation blocks were of  a ‘temporary’ construction, very different to the luxury of Scampton, from where the first residents would come.  At its height RAF East Kirkby could cater for 1,965 RAF personnel with a further 482 WAAFs all of mixed rank.

Initial ownership went to 5 Group Bomber Command, whose headquarters were at the time at Morton Hall near Swinderby, in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, and would operate as 55 Base, the parent station of sub-stations Spilsby and Strubby.

A somewhat posed photo of Flt. Sgt. J Morgan, the rear gunner of a 630 Sqn. Lancaster at East Kirkby. @IWM (CH 12776)

The first resident unit was that of 57 Squadron who took it on immediately upon its opening, bringing both the Lancaster MK.I and MK.III with them.

After forming in 1916, they were, like many other squadrons at that time, disbanded after the war’s end in 1919, but then, as similar events unfolded on the continent once more, they were reformed (in 1931) to run continuously to the end of the Second World War. With further breaks post-war, they would continue to operate up to the current day, flying a wide range of aircraft from Victor tankers in the Falklands to their current model the Prefect T1 trainer at RAF Cranwell.

57’s history goes far deeper than that though, for it was whilst at Scampton, their previous home before East Kirkby, that ‘C’ Flight was separated from the main squadron to form the basis of 617 Squadron, better known as ‘The Dambusters‘; the Flight Commander, Sqn. Ldr. ‘Dinghy’ Young only being appointed to 57 Sqn a matter of weeks before the transfer took place.

However, it was at East Kirkby that 57 Squadron were now based. On August 27th 1943, just after the split, the advanced party arrived at East Kirkby to start what would be three days of moving and settling in. The first section of the main party arrived on the 28th with the remainder joining them on the 29th. During this time all flying operations were understandably cancelled and the time was allocated to the huge task of moving men and equipment over to their new base.

Operations commenced quickly on the 30th, when fourteen aircraft were detailed for operations to Munchen-Gladbach. All aircraft except one, completed the operation in which ground defences were ‘light’ and bombing was recorded as being ‘good’ with a large explosion seen in the target area. The only casualty of the flight being Lancaster MK.III ‘ED655’ which returned early with an engine failure. Thankfully though, there were no injuries nor any further problems incurred.

On the following night another fourteen aircraft were detailed to attack Berlin, the ‘big city’, an operation which brought August to an end and a total of twelve operations (179 sorties) amounting to over 940 hours flying time for the month.

It wouldn’t be long though before the first causalities would arise at the new station. On the night of September 3rd 1943, Lancaster ‘JA914’  DX-O was part of another fourteen flight raid on Berlin. On board that night was Australian Pilot Flt. Sgt. W. Grindley and his crew, which included one other Australian and a New Zealander.

After departing East Kirkby at 19:30 hrs, the aircraft made its way toward the capital. As it neared the target, search lights managed to cone the bomber, allowing a German night fighter (FW190) flown by pilot Unteroffizier Fritz Brinkmann of the Stab/JG 300, to attack the aircraft, bringing it down at Zehrensdorf with the loss of all seven crewmen on board.

Three of the crew were recovered and remained buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery whilst the remaining four were not. They have been commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.  The remains of the bomber were themselves discovered in a lake, and recovered on September 29th 1997; a large section of wing which is now displayed in the Deutsches Technik Museum, in Berlin.*1

On the 22nd September, a further crew were lost when an intruder, since known to be Major Wolf Dietrich Meister of the Stab V./KG 2, flying an Me 410 A-1 from Schiphol airfield, followed the bomber home and intercepted it near to the airfield. As it fell from the sky both the Flight Engineer and the Bomb Aimer managed to escape the burning wreck, both parachuting to safety, but the other five failed to get out and were killed in the resultant crash and fire.

In Part 2, we continue with the ups and downs of life in Bomber Command, seeing how the airfield continues to develop and how the war affects those based at the Lincolnshire airfield.

The full page can be read in Trail 1 – Lower Lincolnshire.

Lt. Jack Watson 303rd BG. – From Villain to Hero.

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The end of training flights in the Second World War in the quiet and blue skies of the United States, were occasionally ‘celebrated’ with flyovers and ‘buzzing’ of the home town of family or girl friend

The end of training flights in the Second World War in the quiet and blue skies of the United States, were occasionally ‘celebrated’ with flyovers and ‘buzzing’ of the home town of family or girl friends. Whilst this unofficial activity was frowned upon, in general, a blind eye was turned by Commanding Officers of the various Groups. However, one such activity was not taken quite so lightly, and almost led to the end of a promising career before it had even started.

At RAF Molesworth (Station 107) not far from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the 303rd Bomb Group (BG) had been serving the Allied offensive since mid September 1942. They had taken heavy casualties after participating in many prestige missions including the disastrous August and October raids on the ball-bearing plant at Schweinfurt. The invincibility of the heavily armed B-17 was very quickly shown to be a myth.

After a period of calm, primarily due to persistent bad weather rather than any  significant strategic military decision, the USAAF was allowed unofficial time to recuperate, rebuild and rearm. During this period, new recruits and aircraft poured into the United Kingdom via either the Northern or the Southern transit routes over the Atlantic Ocean.

On one of these aircraft was Lt. Jack Watson, a ‘green’ pilot’ who had recently completed his training, and was now on his way to fight in a war a long way from his Indianapolis home.

jack watson page A fresh faced 2nd Lt. Jack Watosn who bravely brought home his burning and crippled B-17 bomber after ordering his crew to bail out. (IWM UPL 32160)

On eventual arrival at Molesworth, Lt. Watson was soon to experience for himself the horrors and reality of war. On January 11th 1944, he was part of a 291 bomber force attacking both the FW190 production factory as Oschersleben and the Junkers factory at Halberstadt, Germany. On what became one of the blackest days for the Group, eleven out of the forty aircraft dispatched were lost, an attrition rate of just over 25%, which was also the highest loss of the entire force.

On the inward flight, the weather, which had dogged much of the winter, closed in over the continent.  A recall message was sent out, the 2nd and 3rd Divisions turning for home, but it was ignored by Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, 1st Bombardment Division Commander in the lead plane – ‘The Eight Ball‘. Original orders were to bomb by visual methods but if cloud cover prevailed then pathfinder Liberators  were to mark the target.

As the weather had deteriorated, cloud being present as high as 24,000 feet, fighter cover was all but withdrawn. The bombers were now virtually on their own and much smaller in number.

Alerted early on, the Luftwaffe had managed to form an enormous welcoming party for the now weakened force. It would be the strongest collection of Luftwaffe aircraft since the October raids, and it was waiting, eager for blood.

The first contact between the two forces was made over the shallow waters of the  Zuiderzee on the inward flight. A collection of rocket-firing fighters launched a gruesome attack on the lead section of the 303rd, an attack that lasted for several hours and took out numerous aircraft.

From the Initial point (IP) to the target, flak was light but accurate, more aircraft took hits and further damage was sustained by the formation. Those bombers that did get through managed to bomb the target, the accuracy of which was considered ‘excellent’.

On the return flight  B-17F #42-29524 ‘Meat Hound‘, piloted by Lt. Jack Watson was attacked again by waves of enemy fighters who zoned in on the bomber and its supporting formation. With many aircraft now crippled, the B-17s were easy targets for the fierce and determined Luftwaffe defenders.

Lt. Watson’s aircraft, (a B-17F-55-BO, which had previously been assigned to the 306th BG transferring to the 303rd in July 1943), was hit hard over Durgerdam. The damage looked terminal, two engines were on fire, there was substantial damage around the wing root and the left elevator had been shot completely off. With such damage, not only was the aircraft difficult to control but it was losing vital airspeed and altitude as well.

Lt. Watson, gave the bail out order, holding the aircraft steady until all the crew had departed. Lt. Watson, who had by then put the aircraft on automatic pilot, was himself preparing to jump, but the thought of the cold waters below forced his retreat to the cockpit and the challenge of getting home alone.

Of those who did jump, four fell into the Ijsselmeer and sadly drowned, and another four were caught by occupying forces and sent to POW camps. The ninth, Lt. Col. Clayton David, the Co-Pilot, managed to evade capture eventually making his way back to England. Clayton’s journey took him through Holland and Belgium and on into France, where he headed south, eventually crossing the Pyrenees into Spain. From there, he reached Gibraltar eventually returning to England in May 1944, four months after he was reported as ‘Missing in Action.’ For his efforts he received the Purple Heart*1.

Lt. Watson, now alone in the crippled B-17 fought on, keeping the aircraft flying toward England. Once over home territory he brought the aircraft down through the thick cloud that had dogged so many of Britain’s airfields that winter, landing at RAF Metfield, an American Fighter airfield home at that time to the 353rd Fighter Group.

So severe was the fire on the aircraft that it took fire crews a considerable time to extinguish it. These crews were not only amazed to see just one crewman exit the aircraft, but also to find an unexploded shell sitting directly behind the pilots seat.

WM UPL 32171 B-17 ‘Meat Hound‘ on the ground at Metfield, Suffolk after landing with two burning engines. The aircraft was subsequently written off and salvaged for usable parts.  (IWM UPL 32171).

On his arrival back at Molesworth, Lt Watson received a telegram sent by New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, forgiving Watson for his villainous activity previously in late 1943.

It was at this time that Watson along with three other pilots; 2nd Lts. Robert Sheets, Elmer Young, and Joseph Wheeler, buzzed the World Series game between St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees at the Yankee Stadium, New York. Mayor LaGuardia was so incensed by the action at the time, that he insisted Watson and the others be disciplined, court martial proceedings being instigated as soon as the four landed in Maine*2.

However, it was not to be, the top brass needing every aircraft and crewman they could muster, sent the four on their way with a $75 fine and a stiff telling off!

Although tinged by the sad loss of his crew, the villain of the World Series’ Buzzing, had gone on to prove himself more than a worthy pilot, making history in more ways than one.

Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY, October 5, 1943 – B-17 Flying Fortress bombers makes a surprise visit during the first game of the 1943 World Series

A Boeing B-17 ‘buzzes’ the Yankee stadium October 5th 1943. (Author unknown).*3

The crew of ‘Meat Hound‘ were:

Pilot – 2nd Lt. Jack Watson (Returned to Duty)
Co-Pilot – Lt Col. Clayton David (Evaded)
Navigator – 2nd Lt. John Leverton (POW)
Radio Operator –  Stf. Sgt. Harry Romaniec (KIA)
Bombardier – 2nd Lt. Vance Colvin (KIA)
Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Stf. Sgt. Sam Rowland (POW)
Right Waist Gunner – Sgt. William Fussner (KIA)
Left Waist Gunner – Gene Stewart (POW)
Tail Gunner – Sgt. Roman Kosinski (POW)
Ball Turret Gunner – Sgt. Fred Booth (KIA)

The B-17F, #42-29524, was delivered to Denver 31st December 1942; then assigned to the 423rd BS (306th BG) as ‘RD-D’ at Thurleigh 2nd March 1943. It was later transferred to the  358th BS (303rd BG) as ‘VK-K’ based at Molesworth on 30th July 1943.

For their efforts in this mission, the 303rd Bomb Group were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation, the only time the entire unit achieved such an accolade.

This and other similar stories appears in Heroic tales of World War 2.

Sources and Further Reading.

Missing Air Crew Report 4269

*1 Herald-Whig Obituaries Website accessed 27/5/19

*2 303rd BG website ‘Outfield Fly’ by Hap Rocketto accessed 27/5/19

*3 Photo appeared in ‘Old-Time Baseball Photos and Essays’, blogsite. accessed 27/5/19

Major George Preddy – 352nd FG – A tragic loss.

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In Trail 8, we heard about a number of heroic tales and tragic losses. One of those, was that of one of the highest scoring P-51 pilots, Major George Preddy of the 487th Fighter Squadron (FS), 352nd Fighter Group (FG), based at RAF Bodney (Station 141)

George E. Preddy Jnr (0-430846), from Greensboro, North Carolina, was born on 5th February 1919, and graduated from Greensboro High School at the age of sixteen. Preddy became interested in flying whilst in college and made his first solo flight in 1938 at 19 years of age.

Preddy page

Major George E “Rasty” Preddy Jr in the cockpit of his P-51 Mustang (HO-P), #44-13321 nicknamed “Cripes A’ Mighty 3rd.” (@IWM FRE 006368)

His road to war would take time and effort. His introduction to flying was as a barnstormer which led him to attempting entry into the US Navy no less than three times, each time being rejected on account of his small stature and curved spine. With each rejection came more determination, his love of flying taking him back to Barnstorming, whilst he undertook bodybuilding and stretching exercises to straighten his back. Eventually, in the summer of 1940, he applied to the USAAF and to his delight he passed all the relevant examinations. However, as the US was not yet at war, Preddy’s entrance would take yet more time and so to gain experience and better prepare himself, he joined the Army National Guard, being posted to the 252nd Coast Artillery, which went on to protect the important oil refineries on the islands of Aruba and Curaçao, in the southern Caribbean Sea.

The following year in In April 1941,  Preddy received his orders to report for flying training, from which he graduated on December 12th that same year. December 1941 saw the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, an attack that led to the US joining the Second World War, and an attack that led to Preddy, commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, being posted to Australia to the 9th Pursuit Squadron (PS), 49th Pursuit Group (PG) in the defence of northern Australia.

Whilst here, Preddy would fly Curtiss P-40s, he named his first plane, ‘Tarheel‘,
as a tribute to his home state. During his time here, he damaged both a Japanese fighter and a bomber in combat operations. Sadly though, in the summer of 1942, he was involved with a collision with another P-40, an accident that would kill Preddy’s friend and colleague, and leave Preddy seriously ill in hospital for another six months or so.

In the October of 1942, Preddy returned to the US, it was here that he would cross paths once again with Lt. Jack Donalson, a pilot who was also a veteran of the early Pacific theatre, and who was with him on that tragic day in July 1942. The two met at Trumbull Field, Connecticut, on January 15th 1943, where the newly formed 352nd FG were training and forming up. The 352nd would be made up of three squadrons (328th, 486th and 487th), Preddy would initially be assigned to the 487th FS.

The 352nd would continue training, their new P-47 Thunderbolts arriving three days later. With the P-47 being new, there were many accidents and losses, primarily due to a carburettor hose clamp becoming loose. Luckily Preddy avoided all such incidents and by May 1943, he and the 352nd were ready for action.

On the 7th July the 352nd arrived at RAF Bodney (newly named Station 141) a small grassed airfield not far from RAF Watton in Norfolk. With small incursions into enemy territory the first few months were generally event free. Preddy would get his first kill later that year on December 1st 1943, while flying P-47D-5-RE Thunderbolt (HO-P) #42-8500 “Cripes A’Mighty“, a name he gave to all his aircraft, so-called because it was his favourite expression. Whilst escorting bombers back from a mission over occupied Europe, Preddy noticed a formation of German fighters who were focusing their attention on stragglers, easy pickings for the experienced and deadly Bf-109s. Preddy and his squadron dived down, bouncing the Germans, causing his first victim to explode in a flurry of cannon fire.

Preddy’s first year would end with two confirmed kills, a tally that would only grow as time went on. In his second kill, he would sadly lose his wing man, Lt. Richard Grow, but for his action he would receive the Silver Star, one of many achievements Preddy would gain.

On January 29th 1944, Preddy would come close to death for a second time, when after dispatching an FW-190, he was hit by Flak and had to ditch in the sea. After spending a short time in the water he was picked up by an RAF Air Sea Rescue Walrus and returned to Bodney.

Over March and April, the new P-51 Mustangs began to arrive at Bodney, an aircraft that would lead to Preddy achieving ‘Ace’ status. On May 13th, the 487th dived down on around thirty Bf-109s, Preddy accounted for two taking his tally over the magical ‘Five’ Kills and ‘Ace’ status.

During the summer of 1944 Preddy would achieve many more ‘kills’, by now he was well on his way to becoming the leading ace in the European skies. In March he was made Operations Manager of the 487th, and promoted to Captain.

By mid July Preddy has reached 14.5 kills, all a mix of single and twin-engined aircraft, and by the end of the month, this has risen to 21.83 kills, taking him to the top spot and leading ‘Ace’ of the 352nd.

Following an escort mission on the 5th, a further mission, in which Preddy was ordered to lead on the 6th, was scrubbed due to bad weather. With the day free to themselves, the officers mess became the focus of attention and the drinks ran freely

By the time Preddy had got to bed, he was well and truly drunk, and as with many operations of the war, the weather cleared and the operation was on once more, Preddy was woken after only an hours sleep and struggled to get to the briefing. Still reeling under the influence, he took off and lead the group into battle. Worse for wear, he emptied his stomach in the cockpit and headed toward the enemy.

As the bomber and their escorts approached Hamburg, Preddy led the attack on the Luftwaffe fighters.  In the airspace between 30,000 ft and 5,000 ft, Preddy managed to shoot down six Bf-109s, with numerous hits around canopies, wing roots and fuselages. On return he was greeted like a hero, the ground crews and squadron pilots crowding his aircraft. Preddy gave a simple reply to the eager crowd, vowing “Never again” would he fly with a hangover.  Following this mission Preddy was awarded the DSC and sent home to the US for a well-earned rest on a 30 day leave.

Preddy page

Major George Preddy, during his return to the United States between August & October 1944. Taken at a Press Conference in the Pentagon Building.’ (@IWM FRE 00346)

On his return in October, Preddy was again promoted, this time to Major, whereupon he commenced his second operational tour. His involvement with the 487th would not last long though, as with his promotion came new responsibilities and the command of the 328th FS, taking over from Lt. Col. John Edwards.

The hard winter of 1944-45 tore into the souls of the ground and air forces across Europe. Severe frosts, snow and cold made Bodney a difficult place to be. But the war continued and in the forests of the Ardennes, German forces were gathering. With few flights being carried out due to thick fog and freezing conditions, the German armoured brigades under the control of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, made a daring breakthrough (Operation Bodenplatte) in what became know as the ‘Battle of the Bulge’. Ground forces made continued calls for air support, but with increasingly bad weather, few flights were able to make it.

The order then came through and on the 22nd December 1944, the 352nd were to move to Belgium and Asch (Y-29) a small grassed airfield near to Genk in the province of Limburg. The 352nd crammed all the cold weather clothing they could into their aircraft and set off. By the end of the day the Group had settled in the cold of Belgium, it was a far cry from the relative warmth of Bodney.

Preddy’s time in Belgium would be short-lived however. As the weather cleared more missions were undertaken. On Christmas Day, the 328th would have one of its finest battles, shooting down eleven enemy aircraft, but it was a victory that would be eclipsed by the loss of perhaps its greatest leader and airman.

On that day there were two missions ordered, Preddy would lead the second of the two, an escort mission into Germany and Koblenz. On the return trip, Preddy was vectored to Liege, and warned of ‘heavy flak’.  Arriving south of the city, Preddy, along with his wingman Lt. Gordon Cartee, and another pilot Lt. James Bouchier of the 479 th FG, spotted an FW-190 and gave chase at tree-top level.

On entering the area, ground forces opened fire, the Anti-Aircraft battery were American, and all three allied aircraft were hit. Lt. Bouchier managed to climb high enough to bail out, landing safely in the British sector, Lt. Cartee, also having been hit, also managed to escape and get home, but not until after he saw Preddy’s P-51, turn and dive into the ground. Major George Preddy died in the crash.

Preddy’s death was devastating for both the group at both Asch and those back home at Bodney. Festivities were subdued to say the least. Preddy’s dashing good looks and character were well-known, his relationship with his own ground crews were one of the best, he always took time out for them and praised their efforts in keeping him flying. At 25 years of age, Major George Preddy was not a born killer, just a young man who loved to fly, and to fly well.

George Preddy had flown 143 combat missions, he had has been credited with shooting down 26.83 enemy aircraft, the highest in the 352nd FG, and destroying 5 enemy aircraft on the ground. His combined total of 31.83 aircraft was just 6 short of the Group’s highest, a total that most certainly isn’t conclusive.

His commanding officer Lt. Col. John C. Meyer, who held the Group’s record and  was the fourth ranking American Air Ace, described Preddy as “the complete fighter pilot”.  A man so brave and dedicated that he would be awarded, amongst others: the Distinguished Service Cross; Silver Star (1 Oak Leaf Cluster); Distinguished Flying Cross (6 Oak Leaf Clusters); Air Medal (6 Oak Leaf Clusters); Croix de Guerre, and the Purple Heart.

In 1968 the city of Greensboro dedicated Preddy Boulevard in honour for both George and his brother. The Preddy Memorial Foundation also created a petition to have Fayetteville’s Pope Air Force Base renamed Pope-Preddy Air Force Base.
George Preddy’s career may have been short, but his influence went far and wide especially amongst those who knew of him.

Major George Preddy is buried in the Lorraine American Cemetery, just outside Saint-Avold,  Moselle, France, alongside his brother, another fighter pilot, in Plot A, Row 21, Grave 43.

Sources and further reading.

RAF Bodney appears in Trail 8.

North Carolina Museum of History website Accessed 23/8/18

Freeman, R.A., “The Mighty Eighth“, Arms and Armour, 1986

The Preddy Memorial Foundation website Accesses 20/8/18

2nd Lt. Robert E. Femoyer MOH, 711th BS Rattlesden

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Robert Femoyer.jpg Robert Femoyer 711th BS, 447BG

Flying from RAF Rattlesden, Suffolk, England, navigator 2nd Lt. Robert E. Femoyer earned the Medal of Honour for action whilst on a mission to Merseburg. During this operation, he showed the highest level of dedication to his crew, performing a selfless act of bravery whilst being severely and fatally wounded.

Born October 31st 1921, Huntington, West  Virginia, USA, he was the eldest child of Edward and Mary Femoyer. and attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia.

On 11th November 1942 Robert Femoyer enlisted and joined the Reserve Corps. He didn’t take up active duty until the following February when he began his basic training at Miami Beach, Florida. He joined the Army Air Corps in that same month and became a cadet at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his commission at the AAF Navigation School at Selman Field, Louisiana in 1943 and graduated, without gaining his wings, in 1944.

With his second lieutenant bars firmly under his belt, Femoyer received his first posting; and in September 1944 he left with the 711th Bomb Squadron as part of the 447th Bomb Group, Eighth Airforce. As a navigator he would determine routes and ensure the safe flight of his aircraft and other crew members to the bomb target and home.

On his fifth and final mission , and only a few days after his 23rd birthday, on November 2, 1944, the 711th attacked an oil refinery at Merseburg, near Leipzig, Germany. The B-17 he was in, was battered, hit several times by flak, and had two of the four engines damaged. The aircraft was difficult to fly and the navigational instruments were left almost useless. Femoyer himself had received shrapnel wounds to his side and back, was bleeding heavily and in a great deal of pain.

The B-17 quickly lost both height and speed and was forced to leave the formation, making it more vulnerable to attack from fighters, but Femoyer was not going let his compatriots down.

Deciding to turn for home the pilot asked for a route.  In response, Femoyer, determined to keep a clear head, refused all medical assistance before planning their escape route home. He insisted he was propped up so he could read his maps, the injury to his body making sitting extremely difficult. Guiding the pilot safely around heavy flak zones, they eventually reached the safety of the English coast, where then, and only then, did Femoyer allow morphine and other medical aid to be administered. The pilot managed to guide the stricken aircraft home where upon landing at RAF Rattlesden, Femoyer was removed from his post, weak and having lost of lot of blood, and taken to hospital where he sadly died about an hour later.

For his valour and courage he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honour, and his citation read:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Merseburg, Germany, on Nov. 2, 1944. While on a mission, the bomber, of which 2d Lt. Femoyer was the navigator, was struck by three enemy antiaircraft shells. The plane suffered serious damage and 2d Lt. Femoyer was severely wounded in the side and back by shell fragments which penetrated his body. In spite of extreme pain and great loss of blood he refused an offered injection of morphine. He was determined to keep his mental faculties clear in order that he might direct his plane out of danger and so save his comrades. Not being able to arise from the floor, he asked to be propped up in order to enable him to see his charts and instruments. He successfully directed the navigation of his lone bomber for 2 1/2 hours so well it avoided enemy flak and returned to the field without further damage. Only when the plane had arrived in the safe area over the English Channel did he feel that he had accomplished his objective; then, and only then, he permitted an injection of a sedative. He died shortly after being removed from the plane. The heroism and self-sacrifice of 2d Lt. Femoyer are in keeping with the highest traditions of the 447th Bomb Group and the U.S. Army Air Corps.”

The body of 2nd Lt. Robert Edward Femoyer was returned to the United States to his adopted Florida home, and was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, Section 8, Lot 2.  Florida historical resources list him as one of their own war heroes. His college, Virginia Tech, named a building the ‘Femoyer Hall’ in his honour in 1949 and in 2001, a stretch of West Virginia Route 152 from the Fifth Street crossing with Interstate 64 to the Huntington city limits, was officially designated Robert Femoyer Boulevard. Numerous air force bases have also named streets in his honour.

Robert Femoyer was the only American navigator to have received the Medal of Honour during service in World War Two and remains a Florida hero to this day.

For other heroic tales click here.

RAF Rattlesdon Today RAF Rattlesden is a light airfield utilising the former runway of the base.

Notes and Further Reading .

Source compiled from U.S. Air Force Office of History.

Few, if any, photos survive of Femoyer, but others of his squadron are at: http://www.447bg.com/Contacts.htm

B-17 Pilot 1st Lt.D. J. Gott and 2nd. Lt W. E. Metzger

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War makes men do terrible things to their fellow mankind. But through all the horror and sometimes insurmountable odds, courage and bravery shine through. Two gallant young men both in the same B-17 were awarded the Medal of Honour for acts of extreme bravery in the face of certain death.

Born on 3 June  1923, Arnett. Oklahoma, Donald Joseph Gott, began his air force career at the local base in 1943. By the end of the first year he had achieved the rank of First Lieutenant in the US Army Air Corps. Posted with the 729th. Bomber Squadron, 452nd Bombardment Group to Deopham Green, Norfolk, England, he was to fly a B-17 (42-97904) ‘Lady Jeannette’ along with his crew and co-pilot  William E. Metzger.

Metzger was born February  9, 1922 – Lima, Ohio and by the time he was 22 he was a 2nd Lieutenant. He was to meet Gott at Deopham Green, Norfolk and together they would fly a number of missions over occupied Europe bombing strategic targets.

On the 9th November 1944, they took off with their crew on a mission that would take them into the German heartland to bomb the marshalling yards at Saarbrucken.

On this run, the aircraft, was badly hit by flak, three of the engines caught fire and were inoperable, the fires were so fierce that they were reaching the tail of the stricken aircraft.

Further fires within the fuselage started when flares were ignited, and this rapidly caught a hold. Hydraulic lines were severed and the liquid from within was jettisoned onto the burning fuselage.  With communication lines cut and unable to contact the crew, both Gott and Metzger had some difficult decisions to make. They had not yet reached the target, the aircraft still held its bomb load and they were deep into occupied territory.

The crew too had suffered badly at the hands of the anti-aircraft fire. The engineer was wounded in the leg and the radio operators  arm was severed below the elbow causing great pain and loss of blood. He would die very quickly if medical help was not found. Despite the quick thinking and application of  tourniquet by fellow crew members, he soon passed out and fell unconscious.

Gott and Metzger decided that jettisoning the injured radio operator  would not result in his receiving medical help and so they would drop the bombs and head for the nearest friendly territory where they could crash-land. Doing this, would risk not only the life of the operator, but that of the crew and themselves should the stricken aircraft explode.

Over the target, they released their bombs and flew alone toward allied territory. Flying low over the village of Hattonville, the aircraft was seen to swerve avoiding a church and homes. At this point, Metzger personally crawled through the aircraft and instructed the crew to bail out. Three chutes were seen by local people, two fell to earth and the third became entangled on the stabiliser and was trapped. A further three were seen moments later, all these escaped. Metzger decided to remain with Gott and try to land the aircraft with the radio operator on board. With only one working engine, Gott and Metzger brought the aircraft down through a series of tight turns and at only 100 feet from safety the aircraft banked and exploded. Crashing to earth it again suffered a second explosion and disintegrated killing all three crew members on board and the crew member still attached to the tail.

1st Lieutenant Gott and his co-pilot 2nd Lieutenant Metzger had shown great courage and determination to complete their mission, and to save their crew from certain death. They had shown the greatest of  valour in what was to be the final act of their short lives.

Both men were killed on that day, November 4th 1944 aged 21 and 22 respectively. They were both posthumously awarded the Medal of Honour on the 16th May 1945.

Gott’s remains were returned to the United States and he was buried at the Harmon Cemetery, in Harmon, Ellis County, Oklahoma, USA. Metzger, was returned to his home town and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Lima, Ohio.

Along with Gott and Metzger, crew members who did not survive were:  T/Sgt Robert A, Dunlap and S/Sgt T.G. Herman B, Krimminger. The survivors were picked up by a a local field hospital and treated for their injuries: 2nd lt John A, Harland ; 2nd lt Joseph F, Harms ; S/Sgt B.T. James O, Fross ; S/Sgt R.W. William R, Robbins and T/Sg T.T. Russell W Gustafson.

A memorial now stands close to the site of the crash site.

metzger

2nd Lieutenant William Metzger (@IWM UPL 16264)

gott

1st Lieutenant Donald Gott (@IWM UPL 16265)

 

 

de Havilland Mosquitoes in BOAC Service.

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Very few countries around the world managed to avoid the influence of the Second World War as it ravaged and rampaged its way across the globe. One such nation that did manage to keep its borders secure though was Sweden, a place that became known as a safe haven for downed airmen or those trying to escape the clutches of the Nazi tyranny that would engulf vast swathes of the European continent. Surrounded by conflict and declared neutral, Sweden was to all intents and purposes cut off from the rest of the world.

However, Sweden was a country reliant on imports and exports, a reliance that led to extensive negotiations between herself and both the axis and allied powers who effectively blockaded her supply routes. Through these negotiations she achieved an  agreement to the rights of passage for ‘safe-conduct traffic’, an agreement that allowed the passage through hostile waters of shipping, allowing the exports of paper and wood from Sweden, in exchange for imports of food and oil.

Sweden’s role in the Second World war was largely political. If she was to survive she was going to have to forge safe links beyond her closest Scandinavian neighbours. Fearing she would be sucked into war and absorbed into a Europe ruled by Germany, she turned to Britain with a view to forging a safe airway between Stockholm and Scotland.

Discussions around the opening of the Swedish air routes began prior to war breaking out, negotiations between the Chairman of Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Sweden’s airline company AB Aerotransport (ABA) and Germany’s Hermann Goring, eventually led to an agreed flight once per week from Stockholm – Oslo-Stavanger-Perth. However, ongoing Swedish concerns led to long delays in activation of the service, even though a successful test flight involving a Junkers 52 had taking place on November 27th 1939.

The Swedish ABA were to run the operation, initially using three DC-3s (named Gripen ‘Griffin’, Gladen ‘kite’ and Falken ‘falcon’) painted bright orange and clearly marked Sweden/Schweden in large black lettering to prevent attacks from either side on a neutral aircraft. Throughout the war though this link was tenuous at best, heightened German aggression and fearsome weather often being the determining factors for the safe passage of the aircraft between the two countries. German restrictions on both freight and passengers angered the Swedes, who defiantly disobeyed their rulings. This decision led to a number of Swedish operated aircraft being attacked and shot down.

By 1945 the Swedes decided it was now too dangerous to fly, particularly with trigger happy defences and over keen allied pilots. The airspace around Sweden’s near neighbour Norway, had become a cauldron of  fire, and so the service was eventually closed down.

However, this official Swedish run route was not the only airway that operated between the two countries. The Norwegians also ran a service albeit reduced, as did the Americans later on in the war with five stripped out B-24 Liberators. Another service however, a ‘British’ service, also operated, but this was much more of a clandestine role than that of their Swedish counterparts.

At the time Sweden was a producer of iron but more importantly ball-bearings, a  commodity essential for any moving parts in machinery; whether it be a simple tool or a more complex engine, without them machinery simply wouldn’t work.

Ball-bearings in Sweden were all manufactured by one company, Svenska Kullagerfabriken AB (SKF), who before the war, exported around 9% of her total output to Germany with another 9% going to the United Kingdom. During the war however, this balance dramatically fell heavily on the side of Germany with as much as 65% of her total output ending up in German hands by 1943.*1 This imbalance was primarily due to the exports that were received in the occupied territories, falling into German hands, and being diverted into Germany’s own industrial operations.

Britain however, also needed these ball-bearings, and was perhaps more keen on maintaining this link than many would have initially thought. Having her supply line to Swedish goods cut was going to hit Britain hard. Britain needed all the ball-bearings she could find, and so Sweden was vital to this supply. So desperate were the British  authorities to obtain these components that they mounted two naval operations,  ‘Rubble‘ and ‘Performance‘, both of which turned out to be disastrous in terms of both the loss of life and the loss of shipping.

There were many other reasons why Britain wanted to maintain this link though, one was the expansion of its resistance operations across Scandinavia, Sweden providing a safe passage for agents entering and leaving the region safely, a move that was just as important as it was for returning escaped or interned airmen of the RAF and later USAAF.

Furthermore, Britain needed to ensure that Sweden was receiving as much British propaganda as it was German. If this line were to be severed, there would be a chance that the imbalance in material may have detrimental effects on Sweden’s future as the war developed.

In late 1939 flights began in secrecy, operated by British Airways Ltd, who used three Junkers 52 transport aircraft and one Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra (the forerunner of the Hudson) named ‘Bashful Gertie‘ (G-AGBG). Like the Swedish operation, these flights took place between Perth and Stockholm via Norway and were flown by civilian crews in civilian marked aircraft. However, this route was subsequently closed when one of the aircraft was attacked by a Luftwaffe fighter, and another was captured in Oslo when the Germans invaded Norway.

Then in 1939/40 the two British aviation companies, British Airways Ltd and Imperial Airways, merged to form the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), a civilian operation that would go on to serve as Britain’s leading national airline for many years after the war’s end. The amalgamation of these companies was an important step forward leading to the reinstatement of the Swedish route, this time using the military base at RAF Leuchars in Fife.

Also piloted by Swedish or Norwegian aircrew, the idea behind the route was to pass POW mail and propaganda (magazines, newspapers etc) into Sweden where it could be forwarded to prison camps in occupied Europe. However, constantly aware of the need for ball-bearings and the fact that Sweden was a major supplier of them, plans were put in place for returning aircraft to be refuelled and filled with ball-bearings before returning to Leuchars. This run hence became known as the ‘ball-bearing run‘.

In these early years of the war, BOAC operated other similar aircraft types, these included C-47 Dakotas, converted Whitley IV bombers and Curtis Wright C46 aircraft, but their lack of speed and manoeuvrability left them vulnerable to Luftwaffe attacks. It soon became clear that a new and much faster type was needed and so BOAC began to put pressure on de Havilland for their new Mosquito.

Picture

A Whitley bomber in BOAC markings *7

A trial flight was undertaken using an unmarked Mosquito of 105 Sqn (DK292) on August 6th 1942 (there is some confusion over this exact date), flown by  Fl. Lt. Parry and P. Off. Robinson, the results of which showed the aircraft to be highly suitable for the purpose of the flights. The journey from Leuchars to Stockholm covered some 800 miles was, on average, completed in around 3 hours.

On 15th December 1942 the first civilian operated model of the aircraft arrived at Leuchars. A Mosquito PR.IV ‘DZ411’,  it was assigned the civilian registration G-AGFV, and began flights to Stockholm on 4th February 1943. After this, it was joined by six other Mosquito MK.VI aircraft between April and May (all being given the sequential registrations G-AGGC to AGGH) with a further three in April 1944.

The incredible carrying capacity of the Mosquito, which would be proven later in the war, would allow for up to 650Kg (10 -12 crates) of ball-bearings to be carried in the aircraft’s bomb bay.

The opening of such a link was kept very secret, the British not wanting the Germans to know about the new revolutionary Mosquito, nor their important cargo. However, keeping such an operation from German intelligence was difficult, if not impossible, and soon they discovered that the flights were again taking place between the two countries. Now embroiled in a political stand off, the Germans put pressure on neutral Sweden to put a stop to these flights, insisting that they were giving the British an advantage, and that as a neutral country, they should not be allowing British aircraft to land on Swedish soil. The Swedes maintained that the service was purely civilian and controlled solely by the Swedish authorities, to which the Germans threatened to inform Hitler thus rendering the aircraft legitimate military targets. Fearing that the British would in turn close the passage for the safe-conduct traffic, the Swedes ignored the German threats and so the service continued.

However, so as to not infringe or violate Sweden’s wartime neutrality, it was vital that the Mosquitoes remained unarmed for these operations. But that made any aircraft on this run a potential ‘sitting duck’, even though, like their Lockheed predecessors, they carried BOAC insignia and were flown by civilian aircrew.

So all of these aircraft had to be changed from military status to civilian, this required the removal of all traces of armament. Modified at Hatfield – the home of the Mosquito – the resultant weight loss altered the aircraft’s centre of gravity and so additional ballast had to be added to prevent changes in the aircraft’s flying characteristics.

The first example DZ411, was a Mosquito B.IV Series II, powered by two Merlin 21/23 engines built under the contract 555/C.23(a) and converted to a PR.IV at Hatfield prior to its delivery to BOAC at RAF Leuchars. It would go on to serve until early 1945 with BOAC before presumably returning to RAF ownership.

The first of the next batch, all FB.VIs, was ‘HJ680’ another example built at Hatfield under the same contract 555/C.23(a) but with Merlin 23/25 engines. This aircraft was initially passed to BOAC at Bramcote on April 16th 1943, receiving the registration G-AGGC before flying on to Leuchars immediately after. On the 18th, on the return leg of its maiden flight for BOAC, it was chased by enemy fighters, but its speed and agility allowed the Mosquito to escape unharmed. It was eventually removed from service on November 30th 1944, but remained at Leuchars in case a ‘spare’ aircraft was urgently needed. This particular model was the longest serving Mosquito in BOAC’s service, being taken off the civil register on January 4th 1946, whereupon it was passed to 22 Maintenance Unit. On June 15th 1950, the example was eventually sold as scrap to the John Dale Scrap merchants.

The next aircraft ‘HJ681’ arrived at the same time, and remained in service until January 1944, under the civil registration G-AGGD. This particular aircraft crash landed in Sweden and was reduced to spare parts.

‘HJ718’ arrived on April 24th and was given the registration G-AGGE, it served until June 1945, whilst ‘HJ720’ (G-AGGF) crashed into high ground at Invernairk, Glen Esk on 17th August 1943, killing both crewmen Captain L.A. Wilkins and Radio Operator N.H. Beaumont. A further FB.VI, ‘HJ721’ (G-AGGG) also crashed, this time on the return leg only a mile or so from Leuchars on October 25th 1943, when the port engine failed. Both crewmen, Captain Hamre and Radio Operator Haug, lost their lives along with their passenger Mr Carl Rogers.

The last FB.VI ‘HJ723’ also built under the same contract as the other models, arrived on the 2nd May 1943, and would operate until the end of June 1945 as G-AGGH . It was subsequently handed over to the RAF and eventually presumably disposed of.

By the end of May 1943, a total of nine Mosquitoes would have been modified and delivered to BOAC at Leuchars*5.

DH98 Mosquito G-AGFV (DZ411) MkIV BOAC on 8th January 1943 (© 2021 BAE Systems)

In June 1943, with the need for ball-bearings increasing, two Mosquitoes departed Leuchars with two very important dignitaries onboard. Firstly the British president of the Swedish SKF airline and secondly a ball-bearings expert from the British authorities, who were going to negotiate the delivery of further supplies to Britain.

In order to accommodate these additional passengers the bomb bay of the aircraft had to be converted, thus allowing them to lay on their backs on padded felt*6. An additional reading lamp was fitted, along with an oxygen supply, intercom and even coffee. The passenger would have a piece of string the other end of which was tied to the pilots leg, and should the conditions  in the bomb bay become too uncomfortable, they would pull the string.

These operations were very soon regularly carrying human cargo. On the outward leg mail, newspapers and other written material held within its bomb bay, would be deposited in Sweden, the aircraft would be refuelled and stocked up with either human cargo (allied aircrew, special agents or scientists), ball-bearings or a mix of the two. The faster and far more agile Mosquito would, in most cases, be able to out run any opposing Luftwaffe fighter that should, and indeed did, try to intercept the aircraft whilst on one of these flights.

One such notable passenger who was carried back from Sweden was the nuclear physicist Niels Bohr whose work on atomic structures and quantum theory had won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.*4 His journey almost cost him his life though after he failed to operate his oxygen mask correctly. Only when the failed to respond to the pilot’s attempts to contact him, was action taken and the aircraft reduced altitude allowing Bohr to breathe normally and regain consciousness. Bohr went on to work on the Manhattan project, an American project that led to the development of the atomic bomb that would end the war, and plunge the world into the nuclear age.

A large number of other significant people were also carried by these Mosquitoes, Sgt. Jack Byrne who went on to be a  founder member of the SAS, after being shot in the face, bayoneted in the groin and detained in several prisoner of war camps, was one such person repatriated to Leuchars. Three of those who escaped in the famous ‘Wooden Horse‘ escape were also returned via Mosquitoes from Sweden; as where Norwegians Peter Bergsland and Jens Muller two of the three to escape in ‘The Great Escape’.

In ‘Operation Gunnerside’, the SOE operation to blow up the German heavy Water plant in Norway (featured in the film ‘The Heroes of Telemark‘), six of the team were repatriated using this route. A key player in this operation was Leif Tronstad, a Norwegian Physicist who was also flown to Scotland to provide vital information about the German efforts to produce heavy water at the plant.

A considerable number of British personalities were also flown into Sweden using this method; T.S. Elliot, Sir Kenneth Clarke and even the Bishop of Chichester were flown into Sweden this way.

Sgt. Jack Byrne, was shot, bayoneted and imprisoned. He fought at Dunkirk, on D-Day, in North Africa and at the Battle of the Bulge and then went on to be a founder member of the SAS.*2

By the end of 1943, 157 such flights had been made, 129 of which were by these Mosquitoes. A total of some 110 tonnes of freight (a mix of human and mainly ball bearings) had been carried.

Even though these flights were highly successful, a few aircraft were lost. In Mid August 1944, G-AGKP ‘LR296’ a former 27 MU aircraft was lost when it crashed into the sea nine miles from Leuchars. All three on board, Captain G. Rae, Radio Operator D.T. Roberts and Captain B.W.B. Orton (himself a BOAC Mosquito pilot), were killed as it approached Leuchars on its return flight from Stockholm.  The crash was believed to have been caused by the aircraft’s structural failure, the aircraft having been repaired previously after an accident in January. The total number of aircraft being used by BOAC reached fourteen, with five of these crashing including one G-AGKR ‘HJ792’ being lost at sea in August 1944 with no trace of either the aircraft or crew ever being found.

On 17th May 1945 the service officially ceased. Between 1941 and the war’s end, 1,200 of these trips had been made, many by the Mosquitoes. The service between Sweden and Scotland had been a vital link between the two countries not only for the supply of ball-bearings but a life line for escapees and special agents. For these Mosquitoes it was a remarkable achievement for an aircraft that would prove itself to be one of the war’s most incredible designs.

de Havilland Mosquitoes used by BOAC*3:

DK292 – The first Mosquito to fly the Leuchars – Stockholm route
DZ411 – G-AGFV flew to 1945
HJ667 – G-AGKO flew to 1945
HJ680 – G-AGGC flew to 1946
HJ681 – G-AGGD crash landed Sweden 1941
HJ718 – G-AGGE flew to 1945
HJ720 – G-AGGF crashed Invernairk 1943
HJ721 – G-AGGG crashed near to Leuchars 1943
HJ723 – G-AGGH flew to 1945
LR296 – G-AGKP crashed near Leuchars 1944
HJ792 – G-AGKR lost at sea 1944
HJ898 – Crew trainer retained RAF serial flew to 1945
HJ985 – Crew trainer retained RAF serial returned to RAF 1944
LR524 – Crew trainer retained RAF serial returned to RAF 1944

RAF Leuchars appears in Trail 53.

Sources and further reading.

*1 Martin Fritz (1975) Swedish ball-bearings and The German war economy,
Scandinavian Economic History Review, 23:1, 15-35, DOI: 10.1080/03585522.1975.10407803

*2 Photo from “Think Scotland website”  accessed 12/3/21

*3*6 The Mosquito Page Website accessed 12/3/21

*4 For additional information and pilot stories about the ‘ball-bearing’ run see the Royal Institute of Navigation Blog.

*5 Thirsk, I. “de Havilland Mosquito – An illustrated History Vol.2“, Crecy 2006

*7 Photo from Aircraft Enthusiast Group Website.

BAE Systems Website

RAF Little Walden (Station 165)

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Sometimes, we come across quite unexpectedly, something of great interest. Whilst on my travels recently, passing through the southern regions of Cambridge into Essex, I came upon the former station RAF Little Walden. Being an unplanned visit, I was rather short in prior knowledge and preparation, no maps, aerial photographs, or other documents that I normally seek out before venturing off into the wilderness. So I was quite unprepared when I stumbled across the Watch Office from former station RAF Little Walden, otherwise known as Station 165 of the USAAF.

RAF Little Walden (Hadstock) – (Station 165)

Little Walden lies slightly closer to the village of Hadstock than it does Little Walden, and was originally called Hadstock. When construction began in 1942, it was allocated to the Eighth Air Force as a Class A bomber airfield. However, due to the bad winter of 1942/43 work ceased temporarily, being held up until well into the summer of 1943. At this point, Hadstock became known as Little Walden, a name change that coincided with the formation of the Ninth Air Force in Europe, an organisation whose primary role was the support of ground troops in the European theatre. With its headquarters at Sunninghill Park1 in Ascot, it would operate both transport and bomber units, taking many of these units (and their airfields) from the already established Eighth Air Force. Little Walden was one such airfield passing from the Eighth to the Ninth to fulfil this new role.

Although a Class A airfield, Little Walden’s main runway was slightly shorter than those of its counterparts, 1,900 yards as opposed to 2,000 yards, but the two auxiliary runways were both the standard 1,400 yards in length. A concrete and wood chip construction gave these runways good strength, it also had hardened perimeter tracks and fifty hardstands of the spectacle type. Grouped mainly in blocks of five, they were located around the perimeter track with a further block of eighteen to the north-west of the site. In the development process a public road the B1052, was closed as it passed directly though the centre of the proposed site.

Little Walden Watch Office

Little Walden’s Watch Office is now a private residential property.

A large bomb store lay to the west of the airfield, surprisingly close to the majority of the hardstands, any major accidental discharge being likely to cause substantial damage to parked aircraft. There were four areas within the bomb store, each holding 200 tons of bombs and tail units, further stores held pyrotechnics, incendiaries, ‘small’ bombs, grenades and small arms ammunition. Most of these were secured by earth banks with fusing points (both ultra-heavy and heavy-light) being held in temporary brick buildings.

To the eastern side of the airfield lay the technical area, with one of the type T2 hangars (the second being located to the north), a fire tender shelter, and a watch office designed to drawing 12779/41 – the standard airfield design of 1942/43. Behind this, lay the main technical area, with its usual range of dingy stores, MT (Motor Transport) sheds, parachute stores and a wide range of ancillary buildings.

Accommodation for staff was, as usual by now, dispersed over eleven sites, a sick quarters, communal site and WAAF site accounting for three of them. A further sewage works made the twelfth site. All-in-all accommodation was provided for just short of 3,000 men and women of mixed rank.

On March 6th, 1944 the airfield officially opened, the day before its first residents arrived. The 409th BG were a new Group, only constituted on June 1st, the previous year (1943). They trained using Douglas A-20 Havocs (known in British service as the Boston) a twin engines light bomber capable of carrying up to 4,000lb of bombs.

The 409th BG formed at Will Rogers Field (Oklahoma) and transitioned through Woodward and DeRidder bases before arriving in the UK. Between March and September they operated out of Little Walden, bombing V-weapons sites and airfields in France in a strategic role. Initially they performed in the low-level role, but soon moved to higher altitudes, performing their first mission on April 13th 1944.

In the short period of residency at Little Walden, the 409th would lose a number of aircraft, one of the first being that of #43-9899 of the 642nd BS, which was written off in a landing accident on April 22nd 1944. Three days later a second aircraft, #43-9691, would also crash-land at Little Walden being damaged in the process.

May would also prove to be a difficult month for the 409th, with one aircraft ‘lost’ on the 9th, a further crash landing on the 11th, another lost on the 22nd and two further aircraft lost (classified as MIA) on the 27th. It was on this mission that a further Havoc would collide with a low flying Mustang resulting in several tragic deaths.

Havoc #43-10130 of the 643rd BS, piloted by Captain Roger D. Dunbar took off from Little Walden heading south-east, when it collided with P-51B #42-106907 of the 503rd FS, 339th FG, piloted by 2nd Lt. Robert L. Dickens. The Mustang, on a training flight, disintegrated killing the pilot, whilst the Havoc crashed into the farmland below. In the ensuing fire, a local farmer’s widow and trained nurse, Betty Everitt ran to the scene and managed to pull one of the airmen out of the aircraft. When returning to retrieve another crewman, one of the bombs on board the aircraft exploded killing her, her small dog, a helping Staff Sgt. and those left inside the aircraft. As a thank you to Betty, the US airmen, from the base, raised almost £3,000 to provide an education for her four-year old orphaned son, Tony2. This was not a one-off either, a fund set up by Stars and Stripes and the British Red Cross, aimed to raise funds for children who had suffered the loss of one or both parents. The amounts raised went a long way to getting these children an education that they would not otherwise have had.

Early June would see another such tragedy, when three more Havocs would collide. Havocs A-20G #43-9703 and #43-9946, both of the 641st BS, would crash whilst the third aircraft managed to land at the airfield. #43-9703 was piloted by Joseph R. Armistead, whilst #43-9946 was piloted by Thomas A. Beckett. A young girl, Marjorie Pask, ran to help, pulling two airmen out of the wreckage then waiting with them until help arrived. Five airmen including the pilots and an air gunner, Staff Sergeant Albert H Holiday, were all killed. It was not until later that Marjorie realised that there were many bombs scattered around the site and how much danger she had been in 3.

Staff Sgt. Albert H Holiday, killed June 11th 1944 in a collision between two Havocs of the 409th BG. (IWM-UPL 21530)

With two further loses and a forced landing in June, it was be a difficult month for the 409th. The late summer months of July and August would be lighter but by no means a clean sheet. In September 1944, on the 18th, the 409th were moved out of Little Walden and posted to a forward Landing Ground A-48 at Bretigny, where they would continue to suffer from landing accidents, Flak and fighters.

Next at Little Walden came the Mustangs of the 361st FG, in a move that saw possession of Little Walden pass back into the hands of the Eighth Air Force. Station 165 was now back with its original owners.

The 361st FG were the last of the P-47 Groups to arrive in the UK. Initially based at Bottisham, they converted to the P-51 in the weeks leading up to D-day. Using the Thunderbolts they earned a reputation as a strong and determined ground attack unit, hitting rail yards and transportation links across France.

A short break whilst transferring from Bottisham to Little Walden gave a somewhat minor break for the 361st. But, following changes to the Eighth’s overall structure, it was soon back to normal and more attacks over occupied France. In October, Lt. Urban Drew shot down two Me 262s who were in the process of taking off from their airfield at Achmer. What was more remarkable about the attack was that Lt. Drew had only arrived in the U.K. a few days earlier, had been grounded for a Victory Roll and then went on to become an Ace shooting down six enemy aircraft and the first pair of 262s! He was awarded the Air Force Cross, being denied the Distinguished Flying Cross until after the war when records from both the Luftwaffe and US Air Force were able to confirm his dramatic claims.

The Christmas and winter of 1944-45 was notoriously bad, very cold temperatures, fog, frost and ice played havoc with operations. The Battle of the Bulge was raging and the allies were finding it all but impossible to provide assistance from the air. Many Bomb Groups suffered terrible tragedies as collisions and accident numbers increased in the poorer weather. The Ninth, who themselves had primary roles in ground support were finding it particularly difficult. To help, a selection of men and machines from the 361st (and 352nd from Bodney) were transported to France and the airfields at St. Dizier (Y-64) and Asch (Y-29) where they were seconded into the Ninth Air Force.  The main force back at Little Walden continued to support bomber missions whenever they could, a difficult job in often appalling conditions.

Duxford American Airshow May 2016

‘Ferocious Frankie’ #44-13704 (374th FS, 361st FG). The original crashed during a wheels up belly landing at RAF Little Walden, on November 9th, 1944. (This aircraft was flying at the Duxford American Airshow May 2016).

Aug 2015 317a

‘Ferocious Frankie’ (named after the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace E. Hopkins) seen at the Eastbourne Air Display August 2015.

By the end of January the seconding to the Ninth came to an end and the entire Group moved across to Belgium and Chievres, a former Belgian airfield captured and used by Luftwaffe bombers during the earlier years of the war. The 361st would remain there until April 1945 whereupon they returned back to Little Walden. During their absence Little Walden was made good use of. Being a ‘bomber airfield’ by design, its runways and hardstands were put to good use by Debach’s 493rd BG and their B-17 ‘Flying Fortresses’ whilst their own airfield was repaired and strengthened.

Spending only a month at Little Walden, the Air Echelons of the 493rd BG would depart in the April as the 361st FG returned. On the 20th, the 361st would fly their last operational mission, a flight that would close the record books culminating in a total of 441 missions. As the war ended and personnel were sent home, crews and aircraft of the 361st were dispersed to depots around the U.K., those that were left were sent home via the Queen Mary from Southampton arriving in New York in early November 1945. Within hours the group was disbanded and the men scattered to the four winds.

Between early September and early October 1945, the 56th FG ‘The Wolfpack’ were brought to Little Walden. The aircraft were also dispatched to depots around the country whilst personnel were brought to Little Walden for onward transportation to the United States. By mid October they too had gone.

Little Walden then began the wind down, transferring back to RAF ownership in early 1946. For the next twelve years or so, it was used to store surplus military equipment before they were sold off. After that, the site was returned to agriculture, the majority of the buildings pulled down and the runways dug up for road building hardcore.

The control tower stood for many years derelict and forlorn, until being purchased by an architect in 1982, eventually being turned into a private residence, the state it exists in today. The closed road has since been restored, utilising part of the NE-SW runway. Other parts that remain being a public footpath, but all a fraction of their former selves and no more than a tractor’s width wide.

What’s left of the technical area is a small industrial unit, remaining buildings being used for storage or small industrial companies. An access road from the B1052 passes the site an on to private residencies.

Little else survives of Little Walden. Memorial plaques are believed to be mounted on the side of the watch office, although I could not see these when I visited, and the village memorial mentions those who were stationed at the airfield.

The serenity of Little Walden does nothing to reflect the goings on here over 70 years ago. The aircraft are gone, the bird song replacing the sound of engines, and the busy runways now a small road. For those who were lost here, the watch office stands as  a memorial to their memory and the dedication shown by the many young men and women of the USAAF.

Sources and further reading.

1 Sunninghill Park was originally part of Windsor Forest and dates back to the 1600s and King Charles 1. Its ownership changed hands several times, and in the early 1800s during the Georgian period,  a large house was built upon it. The Ninth Air Force made it their headquarters between  November 1943 and September 1944, after which, in 1945, it was sold to the Crown Estate as a future home for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. However, before their marriage, the house burned down and the site remained unoccupied until the 1980s when a new property was designed and constructed for the Duke and Duchess of York. However, it was never occupied, the house fell into a very poor state of disrepair and was bought for £15m by an overseas investor. The site continued to decay and by 2014 was ordered for demolition.

2The Troy Record Newspaper Archives, Page 20, June 5th 1944 accessed 10/3/19.

3The full story can be read in ‘Balsham, A Village Story 1617-2017‘.

Little Walden is a new addition to Trail 46

RAF Sawbridgeworth – Part 4 – The end of an Era.

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Continuing on from Part 3

2 (AC) Sqn by now, also had a move away on the cards, and following a meeting on the 28th January the advanced party departed first, followed on the 31st by the ground party. The Mustangs moving to RAF Bottisham, from where they would now operate before being divided and part moving to Fowlmere.  After a short stay at the two sites they returned to the Hertfordshire airfield once more. Their departure had lasted a mere four months.

RAF Sawbridgeworth Emergency generator

The Standby Generator House now a stores for machinery.

Whilst they were away, the airfield was used on a temporary basis by 652 Sqn flying Austers, On arrival, they immediately took over Blount’s Farm and used it for their own personal use. In the short time they were here, they participated in Exercise “Spartan” again in conjunction with the Army, departing the airfield in late  March.

After being spilt between Bottisham and Fowlmere, 2 (AC) Squadron was now reunited and returned to training flights, air to air firing, ground support flights and increased operational activities. A large part of the squadron’s role now included photographic reconnaissance of enemy territory, many of these operations taking place over the Hook of Holland, den Helder, Kijduin, and Ameland. Some of these required the squadron to detach to other stations but the majority of operations flew from Sawbridgeworth, the Mustangs fairing much better than the heavy Typhoons of 182 Squadron earlier on.

In Mid may, disaster struck again for the unit when three aircraft crashed into a hillside after setting off on a photo reconnaissance flight to photograph locomotive movements in northern France in Operation “Asphalt“. On the way out, a bank of sea fog was encountered and the order to climb was given. Unfortunately, flying abreast,  three of the ten Mustangs failed to clear the hill they encountered, and Pt. Off. J. McLeod, Fl. Off. D. Hirst and Fl. Off. N. Miller were all killed. The remaining aircraft then flew to Thruxton where they were detached to,  and a search commenced for the missing airmen. Their bodies were later recovered and funerals held in their respective homes at the end of the month.

Photo reconnaissance flights and attacks on shipping, increased becoming the main role for the squadron.  Sadly during one of these operations, Operation “Lagoon“, Fl. Off. Butt was killed when his Mustang crashed into the ground before he was able to land. The resultant explosion and fire killing him.

July 1943 saw yet another move for the squadron, this time to Gravesend, where they were immediately billeted under canvas and then inspected for fitness to serve overseas. No such move came through though, and after moving around various other local airfields, in November, 2 Sqn returned to the Hertfordshire airfield that had become their semi-permanent home; this time though, they were not unaccompanied, they brought with them the Mustangs of 4 Squadron.

During their absence, Sawbridgeworth had not been deserted, in fact it had been very busy and home to several other squadron detachments. On the 12th November 1943, 63, 168 and 170 Squadrons had all moved in with Mustangs, then on the 30th, both 63 and 168 departed moving back to their parent unit, their short detachment coming to an end; whilst 170 remained here until mid January when they were disbanded.

The return of 2 Sqn and the new Mustang unit that November, saw a continuation of reconnaissance operations  over the continent. 4 Sqn had been dogged by mechanical issues resulting in many unserviceable aircraft and even for the move, only five aircraft were able to make the initial flight. It was these ongoing issues that led to them to begin changing their old models for newer examples, a change that would unfortunately take time to complete.

For much of December the weather played the dominant part, the winter of 1943 – 44 being extremely wet and foggy. For much of the month the airfield was yet again, unserviceable and only top priority operational flying could take place and even that was sporadic.

At nearby Hunsdon, both a Mosquito and a Spitfire along with suitable trainers were made available, and it soon became known that 4 squadron was going to re-equip with both and move to Aston Down.  At last, the older, problematic Mustangs were being replaced by a much needed and higher performing aircraft.

Conversion of the crews would take place at Hunsdon who would transfer across regularly to take flight instructions whenever the weather allowed.  It didn’t come a moment too soon either as serviceability for the Mustangs of both squadrons, remained critically low; at the end of the month, 4 Sqn only had two airworthy aircraft.

In early January 1944, 4 Sqn finally got their departure orders and made the move to Aston Down. The conversion had been successful, and further training flights were carried out once at Aston Down, gradually more and more of the new models arrived bringing the squadron back up to full strength once more. That was not the end of 4 Squadron though, as on March 3rd 1944, they returned to Sawbridgeworth with their new Spitfires and their Mosquitoes, their period of reconnaissance training on the two types now almost complete.

On the 3rd March, two parties left Aston Down, the road party in the morning and then, in the afternoon, the air party, forming the largest ‘Balbo‘ the unit had known for some time. in all, twenty-two aircraft made up of Spitfires, Mosquitoes and Mustangs flew in formation all the way to Sawbridgeworth, their arrival in the late afternoon must have been a magnificent sight for those waiting on the ground.

The squadron was then divided into two flights, ‘A’ Flight flying the Spitfires and ‘B’ Flight the Mosquitoes. During March the ‘A’ Flight Spitfire XIs were used to fly photo reconnaissance sorties over ‘Noball‘ targets – rocket installations in France, the first operational sortie since December 12th. However, and a blow to the squadron, there was 10/10ths cloud over the target area and no photos were taken as a result.

With ‘A’ Flight busy on operational sorties, ‘B’ Flight continued with their Training flights in their Mosquitoes. However, as with the Typhoons earlier, things were not as straight forward and easy and they may have been. It was found that stones and clinker had found its way onto the tracks and these had been thrown up damaging the tail plane of the aircraft rendering all the aircraft used unserviceable.

Poor weather continued to hamper operations as it had done for months, the Mosquitoes now taking part in photographic flights having their flights cancelled and the squadron being stood down on several occasion.

In early April, they were ordered out of Sawbridgeworth and on the 4th, both air and ground parties left for Gatwick, their penultimate stop before moving to the continent where they would stay for many years after the war’s end.

Meanwhile, 2 Sqn had continued operations over enemy territory, carrying out both air-ground attacks and reconnaissance flights over the continent. Yet more detachments away at various airfields including Benson and North Weald, led to them being divided once more. However,  being posted to North Weald caused problems for the resident 268 Sqn who were now forced to leave there and come to Sawbridgeworth, North Weald being too small to accommodate both units. When 2 Sqn returned to Sawbridgeworth on March 26th to continue their operational activities, 268 departed, being transferred to RAF Gailes where the entire squadron undertook a Naval Bombardment course.

During their time here, 268 had been operational flying regular sorties over France. With the impending invasion, they photographed beach defences along the French coast, Radar station at Ostend and carried out “Noball” operations searching for and photographing V1 launch sites.

2 Sqn’s last departure from Sawbridgeworth than came, and on 24th March 1944, they along with 4 squadron shortly after, departed the airfield for Gatwick, never to return to Sawbridgeworth again.

2 Sqn would go on to serve well into the future, taking their Tornadoes to Marham in 1991 after serving in Germany post war. With a long and distinguished history that extends as far back as 1912, they would operative some of the worlds most modern aircraft including: Meteors, Hunters and Jaguars all in front line operations.

With 2 Squadron now departed and not going to return, there was room for other squadrons to utilise the airfield. April saw the arrival of both 80 Squadron on the 24th April followed by 126 Sqn on the 30th; both units flying Spitfires VB and IX respectively.

80 Sqn had been overseas for the last few years and as soon as they arrived at Sawbridgeworth, they were granted leave of up to seven days. Many were disgruntled at such a short period of time and some were given extensions. On return, the squadron then moved immediately to Hornchurch to form a new Wing along with 229 and 274 Squadrons.

Only one other squadron used the airfield after that, 126 Sqn, who, like 80 Squadron, had been abroad and were essentially regrouped here. No flying took place and once settled they were assigned to RAF Culmhead.

After D-Day no other units used the airfield and Sawbridgeworth had had its day. Now redundant it was handed over to the Maintenance Command and placed into care. All flying ceased, military units were pulled out and the airfield gradually wound down.

Its demise was swift, the mesh runways were quickly removed using POWs,  the tower was demolished a year after the cessation of conflict in 1945, and many other buildings were removed or demolished; the land rapidly turned back to agriculture.

Wandering the site today, there is luckily still quite a bit of evidence about. The perimeter track is complete, not in its full width throughout, but a large proportion of it. A number of pill boxes remain scattered around the perimeter of the site and the Battle Headquarters (design 11008/41) can be found with determined searching amongst the brambles and hedgerows.

To the west of the site is a small industrial complex utilising what was a ten-bed sick quarters, dental annex, a twelve bed Barrack hut that doubled as a hospital ward, mortuary and an ambulance shed. An ablutions block is was also located here and the site is more or less complete. Not far from here, is a modern farm, which houses a number of smaller original buildings including a Parachute store (built to drawing 11137/41), fabric store, sub station, main stores and other technical buildings. These are all located on private land and in use by the farmer. There is also a signals block, located nearby to these sites and easily visible from the road.

Across to the east of the airfield, is whats left of the communal site. Here stood 33 buildings in total, incorporating a wide range of supporting units for recreation and general living. The only remaining buildings being the standby generator house and the grocery store. Both are used by local businesses.

A memorial to those who served at Sawbridgeworth stands outside what was the guard house. A recent addition, it is a nice reminder of the dedication of the crews who were stationed here during two world wars.

Sawbridgeworth took years to develop and continually struggled with nature and her elements. Those stationed here struggled with mud and poor weather, undertaking co-operation flights, photographic reconnaissance operations and attacks on enemy targets on the continent. But it never really reached its true, and full potential, languishing in the background with no real direction or planning to see it thrive. Possible loved by many, but loathed by some, it remains today as a reminder of what those dark days of the 1940s were all about.

It is a small well hidden airfield and takes some finding. Hidden by woodland and crops, it was created through luck rather than good planning. The crews and aircraft of Sawbridgeworth played a big part in the Second World War, and all in its short but yet significant life.

Whilst in the area, a third,  very important and still active airfield, can be found not far away at North Weald.

Sources and Further Reading (Sawbridgeworth)

*1 Herts Memories website accessed 30/6/24

*2 National Archives AIR 27/406/1, 39 Squadron Operational Record Book 1916 May 01 – 1930 June 30

*3 ‘A Fleeting Peace’ website. visited 1/9/2024.

*4 (a form of gas that is thought to be harmless and used in trials. Mustard Gas would be stored and used in the event of an invasion). National Archives Air/27/19.

*5 National archives AIR 27/1135/1 – 182 Squadron Operational Record Book

National Archives: AIR 27/19/9;  AIR 27/19/13, AIR 27/19/15; AIR 27/19/19;  AIR 27/19/21, AIR-27-2876; AIR 27/19/25; AIR 27/19/30; AIR 27/19/33; AIR 27/19/32; AIR 27/19/36; AIR 27/19/30; AIR 27/1564/5; AIR 27/671/7;

For personal stories and further information see the Wartime Airfields website.

The Hertfordshire Airfields and Memorial Group have further information about the site and the memorial on their website.

The full story can be read in Trail 25.

RAF Sawbridgeworth – Part 3 – P-51s Arrive.

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Continuing on from Part 2

With all Tomahawks now airworthy, if not troublesome, exercises away at other airfields were the main order of the day. Courses held here were well attended meaning the airfield would see a range of personnel, including naval staff, residing at the site for short durations, over the coming months.

RAF Sawbridgeworth Perimeter Track

Perimeter track

Personnel spirits were raised once more when Flt. Lt. Houseman and Sqn. Ldr. Eyres visited RAF Duxford in February to see the new American built P-51 ‘Mustang’, it was thought this was to be the new replacement for the Tomahawks which had been nothing but problematic throughout their time at Sawbridgeworth.

Convinced of the Mustang’s superiority, arrangements were quickly made for other personnel to also visit the airfield and see for themselves what the new aircraft was capable of. Then, in April 1942, after some initial training at Bottisham, the first three Mustangs arrived at Sawbridgeworth flown in from Speke, Liverpool. With a further six arriving the next day, the total number of Mustangs at the airfield quickly began to increase.

RAF Mustangs of 2 (Army Cooperation) Sqn.

As with the introduction of the Tomahawk, the introduction of a new aircraft takes time and is rarely trouble free. On April 9th, no less than three Mustangs were either written off or substantially damaged in accidents. The first, ‘AG401’, was on a message dropping flight when it inadvertently hit hidden HT cables severing its pitot head and aerial. With no air speed indicator, the aircraft made a fast landing causing the wheel to slip off the tracking and hit a hole in the ground. The wheel lodged itself in the hole causing the aircraft to flip onto its nose. In the second accident,  as ‘AG403’ piloted by Pt.Off. G. Gosnell, ran down the runway, it struck a second Mustang, ‘AG488’ piloted by Pt. Off. P. Willmett, who was taxiing prior to taking-off. After the impact, ‘AG403’ rose into the air, flipped onto its back and crashed into the ground fatally wounding Pilot Officer Gosnell. Pt. Off. Willmett in the second Mustang was however, uninjured in the collision.

Only ten days later Pt. Off. Willmett was involved in another accident when the Mustang he was flying, this time ‘AG492’, suffered a stalled engine. Unable to restart it, Willmett made a forced landing in a field near to High Wycombe. Neither he nor the aircraft suffered any injury or damage.

In June, further consideration was given to extending the runway once again and more surveys were made of the ground by Captain Storey of C.R.E. Bottisham. But any positive news from this was marred by the two deaths of personnel from Sawbridgeworth. Firstly , P. O. G. Young was killed in an air firing exercise at Stert Point ranges on Fenning Island. The aircraft failed to pull up after the attack and subsequently hit the sea wall completely destroying the aircraft. The cause of the accident remains unknown. The second person to die was LAC Dodds, who accidentally drowned whilst swimming in a river local to the airfield, both tragic accidents that marred an otherwise positive day.

Exercises in July took detachments to both  Snailwell and Wendling. Residing at Shipdham, they carried out forty-six sorties altogether all with excellent results – the Mustang and its crews were performing well. With the official release of the P-51 at the end of the month, the squadron was visited by press officials who were invited to take photos and also meet the crews who would be flying them.

On August 8th, 1942,  one of many support training units that were to operate from the airfield, was created here at Sawbridgeworth. The 1495 (Target Towing) Flight, who like 2 (AC) Sqn early on, was equipped with the Lysander and Martinet. It was a short lived unit though, created to support air-to-air gunnery practice using targets towed behind the aircraft; being absorbed into another unit at Hutton Cranswick merely a year later.

The naval link continued in September when a detachment of No. 809 Sqn Fleet Air Arm, arrived bringing with them Fairey Fulmars. The three aircraft staying here, were practising low level attacks through smoke screens in conjunction with 54 Division Battle School. A further twelve officers and six more aircraft then arrived at the end of the month bringing the total number of naval personnel to nine. These were very quickly supplemented over the next few days, and soon the airfield was awash with staff.

This cooperation between units brought many varied aircraft and personnel to Sawbridgeworth. A detachment of 239 Sqn arrived here for a short stay between 22nd October and 18th November, flying their own Mustang Is in conjunction with those of 2 (AC) Sqn, this move would have considerably increased the number of aircraft using the site and the station would have become increasingly active.

RAF Sawbridgeworth Sick quarters

Former Sick quarters

October 29th would sadly be another black day for the airfield though, with the loss of three more Mustangs during night manoeuvres. Flying in bad weather and unsure of their location, the flight of three descended to lower altitudes to gain visual references. In doing so, the first aircraft, ‘AG605’ flown by Pt. Off. D.  Williams, collided with trees and crashed. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was sadly killed. In the second incident, one of the wingmen (AG633), was forced to make a wheels up landing in a field next to the airfield after attempting an overshoot. The pilot, Pt. Off. P. Whittenham luckily escaped without injury. The last of the three, the leader of the flight (AG465), ran out of fuel and baled out leaving the aircraft to crash into hotel grounds at Ludgershall, Buckinghamshire. He landed without further incident.

Further cooperation flights, involved the arrival at the end of November, of sixteen Spitfires from the Norwegian squadron then based at North Weald. The pilots were here to train in Army cooperation, again operating alongside the Mustangs of the now expert 2 (AC) Sqn.

With the principle aircraft now being the Mustang for 2 (AC) Sqn, a few Tomahawks still remained on their books, and it was  one of these that would crash on landing causing minor injuries to the pilot Pt. Off. P. Gordon-Crosby in ‘AK144’. The type had by now though, seen its day and was largely phased out of squadron use by this time.

As 1942 drew to a close, Sawbridgeworth had grown and developed. It had links with squadrons across the country and across different forces, it had also seen a variety of nationalities reside at its grounds. Whilst it was at least now making its mark, conditions at the site were far from perfect, a problem that was to be highlighted when news came in to 182 Squadron based at Martlesham Heath that they were to relocate to Sawbridgeworth. In preparation, the station commander, Sqn. Ldr. T. Pugh and adjutant Flt. Lt. R. Melhuish, set off by road to inspect the airfield, paying particular attention to its  accommodation facilities, hardstands and runways.

It was clear from the outset that the airfield was “going to give everyone a formidable array of difficulties to face, the accommodation is uncompleted, the dispersals are uncompleted and deep in thick, clayey mud, and the larger hangar is only half erected and has no roof, and everywhere is mud, thick and sticky.” *5

These findings were then confirmed by  Flt. Lt. Manak, who returned to Martlesham after landing a Hurricane at Sawbridgeworth. The entry recorded in the ORB *5 reflected Manak’s feelings in just a few words: “He returns with a very dismal face.”

As a result, Sqn. Ldr. Pugh contacted Headquarters 11 Group to express his deepest concerns at the state of the airfield, but promised to try and see if the squadron could operate from it,despite the difficulties they would face. It was a brave attempt that would not last long. That night, in honour or the squadron, a party and competition were held between 132 and 182 Sqns at Martlesham which, as often happens, became a little ‘boisterous’ resulting in the C.O. and Squadron Engineer Officer both being sent to hospital for injuries sustained in the activities.

Then, on the 6th December, the ground party began their move, followed the next day by the air party lead by Flt. Lt. Manak, in which seventeen Typhoons and one Hurricane took off in groups of four, set for Sawbridgeworth. The problems they were going to face became immediately obvious as they were faced with sticky mud as soon as they landed. Undaunted by the challenges ahead, by the evening they are all bedded down ready for the challenges of their new home.

Conditions at the dispersals made flying virtually impossible for the heavier Typhoons, and considerable work was needed to bring them up to any sort of standard, deep “cleyey‘” mud prevailed making movement difficult, even the runways were a challenge despite the fact there was matting lain down.

By the 13th December, a week into their stay things had improved slightly, and flying began with thirteen officers putting in twelve hours thirty-five minutes of patrols.

RAF Sawbridgeworth Signals Block

Former Signals block

But by the 15th, the rain had returned, and the airfield became difficult to fly from once more. Further rain followed and by the 17th it was completely out of commission, a state it remained in for many days thereafter. With flying scaled right back, it was decided to make good use of the time by providing ground lectures covering a wide-range of topics. By the end of the month, little had changed and six aircraft were ordered to disperse as soon as possible to nearby RAF Hunsdon so that some flying could, at least, take place.

It was not until the 29th December that the airfield was in any state to permit flying to take place.  The six aircraft destined for Hunsdon then managed to take off, lead by Sqn. Ldr. Manak. To support them, a ground party also left taking with them supplies and spares to Hunsdon from where they would now operate until further notice.

To combat the continuing mud problem, the north-south runway was eventually relaid, the east-west runway was considered ‘usable’, as long as there was no further rain, and it was therefore left in situ. The slightest amount of rain however, would simply turn the ground into thick mud and slush.

Christmas then passed, and 1943 would see little change in the weather. After a few dry days, adverse weather returned once more, and once again the early days of January saw little flying take place. However, a short break did allow history to be made when, on the 3rd January 1943, the first operational sortie of 182 Squadron was made. Two Typhoons, flown by Flt. Lt. Manak and Sergeant Shields, flew to Martlesham Heath, where they were ‘ bombed up’ with 250lb bombs and then attacked inland port installations at Bruges. Whilst the overall outcome of the operation was not known, it was nevertheless the squadron’s first operation since its inception and there were no losses.

Between then and the 17th, bad weather persisted, it became so bad, that at one point the mud seeped through the mesh and a substantial amount of flying by the squadron, had to be cancelled as a result. However, on the 17th, ten aircraft were able to get airborne and after joining with four of those detached at Hunsdon, they made their way, with two lighter Mustangs from 2 (AC) Sqn, to RAF Snailwell where they would take part in ground support operation with Army Command. Snailwell’s resident 181 Sqn welcomed their sister squadron with open arms, and threw a huge party in their honour. The following day, they all took part in the training exercise “Shatter“, before all aircraft, from both squadrons, returned to Sawbridgeworth and the mud they had left behind. 182 Sqn then made the decision to attempt to operate the all its aircraft from the airfield, but, with mud accumulating along the track, by 23rd the new station commander W. Cdr. Bristow, had had enough and declared the runways unserviceable and the airfield all but closed.

By the 27th, concerns for Sawbridgeworth had reached the higher ranks of the military and the Air Officer Commanding  Army Co-operation Command, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Barratt KCB, CMG, MC, who arrived at the airfield to discuss the future of 182 Squadron with W. Cdr. Pugh. The outcome was that the squadron would have to move elsewhere as training had been held up for far too long, and this must now stop; a move away was on the cards and not a moment too soon either.

By the 30th January, all was set and the squadron managed to get airborne returning to their former station at Martlesham Heath. The following day all ground personnel also left and the squadron settled in at their former airfield, leaving a disastrous stay at Sawbridgeworth well and truly behind.

Part 4 continues with the end of the war and the end of Sawbridgeworth. The full story can be read in Trail 25.