normandy airwar 1944

D-DAY GERMAN RESPONSE

48 FLYPAST June 2014

COUNTERING OVERLORD OVERLORDAS THE REALITY OF THE D-DAY INVASION DAWNED ON THE LUFTWAFFE HIGH COMMAND, RESISTANCE

WAS HASTILY DEPLOYED. CHRIS GOSS ASSESSES ITS EFFECTIVENESS

48-53_Germans_fpSBB.indd 48 14/04/2014 18:15

Not long after midnight on the night of June 5-6, 1944 the air war over the soon-to-be

beachheads started. Just like the rest of Germany’s armed forces, the Luftwaffe was not immediately aware of what was about to happen. Over the next 24 hours, the high command was forced to come to terms with what faced it – Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Europe.

In the six hours before the landings, almost 1,000 Bomber Command aircraft targeted gun emplacements along the Normandy coastline. Six bombers were claimed as shot down by German night-fighters, and four of these were submitted by 3 Staffel/Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 (3/SKG 10), a fighter-bomber unit flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190s that had, until then, been carrying out raids on England by night. Oberleutnant (Oblt - flying officer) Helmut Eberspächer and Feldwebel (Fw - sergeant) Helmut Eisele of 3/SKG 10 intercepted RAF bombers attacking positions to the west of the beachhead and claimed four Lancasters shot down at just after 05:00 hours.

Eberspächer survived the next 11 months, being awarded the

Ritterkreuz. Eisele was killed in action – his Fw 190 crashing at Bonn Hangelar airfield on November 4, 1944, a victim of flak.

Landing light betrayalThe first recorded Luftwaffe loss on June 6 occurred at 01:48. Oberfeldwebel (Obfw - flight sergeant) Hermann Bolten and his radio operator Fw Wilhelm Lohf of 4/Kampfgeschwader 51 (4/KG 51) lifted off from St Andre in northern France at 01:30 in a Messerschmitt Me 410. Bolten, aged 25, was an experienced pilot who had been responsible for test flying the Me 210 and, from January 1943 its improved successor, the Me 410.

By June 6, Bolten had flown 81 operations in Me 210s and ’410s. He was shot down once, on February 22, 1944, by a Mosquito of 96 Squadron crewed by Flt Sgt Tom Bryan and Sgt Basil Friis.

The purpose of Bolten’s 82nd and ill-fated ‘op’ was either a night-fighter sortie in response to Bomber Command’s attacks on gun batteries or a long-range intruder sortie over England. As he returned to Saint-André-de-l’Eure in Normandy, he was unaware that

another aircraft was in the circuit. New Zealand-born Fg Off Roy

Lelong and Flt Sgt John McLaren in a 605 Squadron Mosquito had taken off from Manston in Kent. They had visited Évreux and Saint-André airfields only to find them unlit and inactive. At 01:30 the landing lights at Saint-André came on briefly, after which they dropped four bombs on the airfield.

The lights then came on again and in his combat report Lelong said he “obtained a visual on an aircraft at 1,000ft silhouetted against cloud [which] helped him to recognise it as an Me 410. The aircraft was carrying no lights.” [Fg Off Lelong is referring to himself in the third person tense, which was the practice in combat reports at that time – ED.]

The report continues: “Fg Off Lelong then flew in a steady climb to just underneath the enemy and confirmed it as an Me 410, he throttled back and pulled up to dead astern and at a range of 150 yards, opened fire. Strikes were seen around the cockpit area and the aircraft burst into flames.

“It then lost height slowly in a spiral dive and finally crashed about seven miles south east of Evreux... Fg Off Lelong then lost height and took photographs of the aircraft burning on the ground. Five minutes later [it] exploded and pieces continued to burn...”

The report for 4/KG 51 states that on returning to Saint-André from an operational flight, Hermann’s Me 410 was attacked by a night-

OVERLORD OVERLORD OVERLORD

LUFTFLOTTE 3 - JUNE 6‚, 1944

IX Fliegerkorps I/SKG 10 and 67 operational Ju 88/1882 Jagdkorps 185 day- and night-fi ghtersX Fliegerkorps 20 He 177s and Ju 88 fi ghters in south-west France 2 Fliegerdivision 44 torpedo bombers in southern France

Anti-clockwise from aboveMaj Sölter’s Junkers Ju 88 of I/KG 77.

Oblt Kurt Becker of 2/KG 77 who fl ew a very long mission from the south of France on June 6.

A Dornier Do 217M of 9/KG 2, in the summer of 1944.

I/KG 77 briefi ng for a mission, La Jasse, southern France, in 1944. Left to right: Oblt Sommer (Ops Offi cer); Maj Willi Sölter (Gr Kdr); Fw Schmidt; Lt Kurt Becker and Uffz Franke.




fighter and spun into the ground from 100m (328ft). Hermann was seriously injured and never flew again during the war; Wilhelm Lohf was killed.

Frantic redeploymentAs dawn broke, Overlord was well and truly under way. According to Oblt Paul-Adalbert Bärwolf flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 of 3/Nahaufklärungsgruppe 13, he was the first member of the Luftwaffe to witness the invasion fleet from the air.

[Oblt Bärwolf ’s claim is unsubstantiated.]

The problem facing the

a veteran’s tale

Bomb aimer Stefan Jilke served with the Luftwaffe’s 7/KG 6, and fl ew on a sortie to try to prevent the invasion. He said of the mission: “On June 6, 1944 we were based at Lüneburg Heath airfi eld [in Germany]. Around noon, we got the news that enemy warships had landed troops, and in the following briefi ng take-off was ordered for 21:00 hours and the attack on the warships for 23:00. Our aircraft [a Junkers Ju 188] had been loaded with two wing-mounted 1,000kg bombs, which could penetrate an armoured deck, and twelve 50kg fragmentation bombs in the weapon’s bay. We fl ew round some prohibited areas and arrived in the target area at 23:00. The anti-aircraft fi re of the warships was so intense that I had the impression of fl ying into a Champagne fl ute. The tracer bullets – to my knowledge every fourth bullet was a tracer – were coming towards us like the bubbles in sparkling Champagne.It was my task to aim the bombs using the Zeiss ‘Lotfe’ bomb sight mounted in front of me. Suddenly a projectile hit the front of the cockpit. I immediately dropped the bombs, but could not observe the effect because I had been injured. A splinter of the size of my index fi nger had plunged into my skull, just to the left of my left eye. The scar is still visible today. Because of numerous smaller splinters there was also no more skin on the whole left side of my face. Oblt Müller [the pilot] who was sitting to my left, a little higher, was hit in his right heel by an approximately equal-sized fragment. I asked him if I should take over the machine but he replied that he could go on fl ying. Since all instruments had been broken by the splinters, I had to navigate without them along the well-known River Seine via Paris to Melun. But our airfi eld had been bombed on the same evening, and so, after we had landed, we taxied into a crater. We were trapped in the cockpit. After we had been freed, Oblt Müller and I were driven to the nearest hospital, where the doctors removed the shrapnel. I was then transferred to the eye clinic in Paris-Clichy. There they found out next day that the splinter had been only a centimetre away from my eyeball.”

Luftwaffe was that Luftflotte 3 – which controlled airfields in northern France, Belgium, Holland and western Germany – had just 815 aircraft at its disposal on June 5. Of that total, 481 were operational, but the following day, that figure had been reduced yet further to just 319.

Understandably, there was immediately some frantic redeployment. One such unit was the Junkers Ju 88C-6 and ’R-2-equipped Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1). For the previous two years, ZG 1 had been

carrying out reconnaissance and fighter duties over the Bay of Biscay. As well as their normal tasks, ZG 1 crews began practising low-level flying in preparation for attacks on Allied shipping and ground targets.

It was no surprise to ZG 1’s commanders that the unit was thrown into action on the afternoon of the 6th. Unteroffizier (Uffz - corporal) Aegidius Berzborn recalls: “The days before the invasion began, there had been regular air attacks on our bases so that we were often forced to move to other airfields.

“Then came the ‘Longest Day’. I do not recall how many missions we fl ew to the “Then came the ‘Longest Day’. I do not recall how many missions we fl ew to the “Then came the ‘Longest Day’. I do not

Orne estuary. Our losses during these recall how many missions we fl ew to the Orne estuary. Our losses during these

recall how many missions we fl ew to the

attacks were enormous. I had seen how Orne estuary. Our losses during these

attacks were enormous. I had seen how Orne estuary. Our losses during these

my comrades were butchered – these combats were so cruel and the enemy’s air

my comrades were butchered – these combats were so cruel and the enemy’s air

my comrades were butchered – these

superiority was overwhelming”combats were so cruel and the enemy’s air

superiority was overwhelming”combats were so cruel and the enemy’s air

Above rightA Junkers Ju 88 of ZG 1

camoufl aged to protect it from attack, June 1944.

RightGroundcrew push a 5/JG 2

Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 into position at its French

airfi eld.


Braggard shared one destroyed, Fg Off J Moureau and Fg Off M J Sans shared the destruction of a second and Fg Off Moureau a third. Meanwhile Fg Off J Houton of 485 Squadron RNZAF shot down one more and four pilots from the unit shared the ‘kill’ of another.

Records for 2/ZG 1 reported the loss of three Ju 88s with seven crew killed and two baling out unwounded, while a fourth Ju 88 was shot down with all crew baling out behind German lines, albeit wounded. In the days that followed, ZG 1 was slaughtered over Normandy to such an extent that it was unable to continue operations after June 10 and was disbanded at the end of July.

Uneven balance sheetA myth perpetuated by the 1962 film The Longest Day was that the only Luftwaffe fighters to make an appearance over the beaches was Oberst (group captain) Josef ‘Pips’ Priller and his wingman Uffz Heinz Wodarczyk from Jagdgeschwader

26 (JG 26). Priller did get airborne early in the morning but according to recent research, it was JG 2 that made the biggest impression.

First claim for JG 2 was by Major (squadron leader) Kurt Bühligen, the Geschwader Kommodore – a P-47 Thunderbolt south of the beachhead just before midday. Another 18 claims were submitted for a total of nine Typhoons, three P-47s and six P-51 Mustangs, the last being lodged by Oblt Bruno Siekmann of 9/JG 2 at 21:05.

Only two other German pilots filed claims – Oblt Franz Kunz of 2/JG 26 and Hauptmann (Hptm - flight lieutenant) Heinz Mihlan of 8/Schlachtgeschwader 4 (8/SG 4), each claimed a P-51.

Losses-wise, JG 2 had two Fw 190s destroyed with the pilots killed and JG 26 four with one killed and two wounded. If the balance sheet seems to favour the German fighters, in the days that followed, most of those who scored on D-Day found themselves on the receiving end – see the panel. Such losses of experienced flyers

Then came the ‘Longest Day’. I do not recall how many missions we flew to the Orne estuary. Our losses during these attacks were enormous. I had seen how my comrades were butchered – these combats were so cruel and the enemy’s air superiority was overwhelming.”

Reconnaissance missions were flown from Lorient, taking off at 08:35, landing back 11:02, having been chased by four Mosquitos. Allied records note the appearance of Ju 88s in the middle of the afternoon as shown by 222 Squadron’s diary: “Third show was laid on in the afternoon – another patrol over the assault area. Soon after arrival on the patrol line, some enemy reaction was reported. Blue Section, led by Plt Off R H Reid, saw four Ju 88s and gave chase. Plt Off Reid fired at one but the ‘Hun’ entered cloud and no claim was made.”

At 15:45 near Caen, 349 Squadron claimed three damaged, whilst Flt Sgt J C I Van Melkot and Sgt J

Above leftMaj Kurt Bühligen of JG 2 (centre) telling his colleagues about his 100th victory on June 7, 1944. He was the fi rst German fi ghter pilot to claim an Allied fi ghter on D-Day.

AboveFocke-Wulf Fw 190A-8 ‘White 5’ of 1/JG 26 at Boissy le Bois, France, at around the time of D-Day. Lt Georg Kiefner (left) was shot down by fl ak east of Paris while fl ying this aircraft on August 12, 1944.

LeftAnother Fw 190 of 8/JG 26 photographed at Melsbroek in Belgium after the airfi eld was captured by the Allies.




simply could not be sustained.

Stuka slaughterThe Luftwaffe continued to try to rush reinforcements to the front during the afternoon of the 6th. Jabos of III/SG 4 flew from Clastres to Laval, a number carrying groundcrew within the fuselage of their Fw 190s. Five were shot down in the La Bazoge area – four pilots from 7 and 8/SG 4 were killed, as well as four groundcrew.

Hptm Heinz Mihlan of 8/SG 4 managed to shoot down an attacking P-51 only to be shot down himself, baling out unwounded at Saint-Jean-

d’Assé. Sadly, his passenger, Fw Hans Eidam, was unable to get out and was killed.

The Ju 87 Stukas of I and II/SG 103 (based at Biblis and Metz-Frescaty and essentially a training unit) were rushed west late in the evening, apparently to be based at Le Mans in preparation

for attacks on the beachhead the following day.

Near Chartres, the

aged dive-bombers were bounced by the USAAF 339th and 355th Fighter Groups. Nine Stukas were either destroyed or badly damaged.

Cover of darknessDarkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance to attack the invasion fleet, and also the troops on land but it was not that easy, despite a number of regular bomber units being

committed. The Ju 188s and Dornier 217s of KG 2 targeted landing craft in the Seine and Orne estuaries, losing a Ju 188 of 3/KG 2. KG 6 did similar – for the loss of a Ju 188 of 1/KG 6 and one from 7/KG 6.

Five Ju 88s of KG 54 were lost, including those flown by Hptm Herbert Birkner, Staffel Kapitän of 3/KG 54 and Hptm Franz Dollensky of 8/KG 54. The Heinkel He 177s of

ON THE RECEIVING END - FATES OF JG 2 D-DAY CLAIMANTS

Date Name Unit CircumstancesJun 7 Manfred Fieseler 10/JG 2 killedJun 7 Wolfgang Fischer 3/JG 2 capturedJun 8 Herbert Huppertz III/JG 2 shot down and killedJun 8 Fritz Schüler 12/JG 2 woundedJun 12 Bruno Siekmann JG 2 reported missingJun 12 Romuald Nistler 2/JG 2 killedJun 20 Ludwig Hartmann Stab I/JG 2 killedJun 23 Fähnrich Fritz Beer Stab I/JG 2 killedJun 28 Franz Kunz JG 2 shot down and woundedJul 10 Karl Bielohlawec 12/JG 2 killedJul 25 Hans-Joachim Voormann 12/JG 2 killedSep 28 Erich Hohagen I/JG 2 injured Oct 24 Alfred Müller 10/JG 2 killed

“Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance to attack the invasion fl eet, and also the to attack the invasion fl eet, and also the to attack the invasion fl eet, and also the to attack the invasion fl eet, and also the “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance to attack the invasion fl eet, and also the “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance to attack the invasion fl eet, and also the “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance to attack the invasion fl eet, and also the “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance to attack the invasion fl eet, and also the “Darkness gave the Luftwaffe the chance

troops on land but it was not that easy, troops on land but it was not that easy, troops on land but it was not that easy, troops on land but it was not that easy, troops on land but it was not that easy, troops on land but it was not that easy, troops on land but it was not that easy, troops on land but it was not that easy, despite a number of regular bomber units despite a number of regular bomber units despite a number of regular bomber units despite a number of regular bomber units troops on land but it was not that easy,

despite a number of regular bomber units troops on land but it was not that easy, troops on land but it was not that easy,



despite a number of regular bomber units troops on land but it was not that easy,

being committed” being committed” being committed” despite a number of regular bomber units

being committed” despite a number of regular bomber units despite a number of regular bomber units

being committed” despite a number of regular bomber units despite a number of regular bomber units

being committed” despite a number of regular bomber units

AboveA Ju 88R-2 of I/ZG 1 in its

previous environment – the Bay of Biscay.

RightPathfi nders of 6/KG 76 were rushed from the Mediterranean to the

beachhead.

Bottom rightRecce Fw 190s of NAG 14

in southern France.


over but those that followed would be much harder for both sides. As the Allies consolidated their ground positions, it enabled forward landing grounds to be constructed, which meant that Allied day- and night-fighters could stay longer in the air and range further into German territory.

It was the beginning of the end for the Luftwaffe - Allied air superiority was quickly to become Allied air supremacy. was quickly to become Allied air supremacy.

at Cognac, then landed at Saumur, then back to Cognac before finally returning to La Jasse at 07:40. They had attacked shipping, but without any perceptible result.

Such trips were fraught with difficulty and danger from all sides. Obfw Anton Günther and his crew of 3/KG 77 were victims of ‘friendly fire’. They were shot down and killed by the 17th SS Panzer Grenadiers near Angers at 21:30. Anti-aircraft fire claimed Fw Helmut Kramer and crew of 8/KG 26 over the sea.

Allied anti-aircraft guns and especially night-fighters had done well, the RAF claiming 13 aircraft destroyed and four damaged, either intruding or on beachhead patrols. At least seven of those destroyed by night-fighters were Ju 52 transports supporting the move of air and ground personnel closer to the Normandy front.

The first day of Overlord was

I and II/KG 40 suffered particularly badly, losing five predominantly to the Mosquitos of 456 Squadron RAAF; 29 personnel lost their lives and one was captured.

The pathfinders of KG 66 and KG 76 were also in action, the latter believed to have been rushed up from the Mediterranean. Just one, from 2/KG 66, was lost. Finally, Do 217s of KG 100 were in action, but suffered no losses.

Precarious situationThe precarious situation the Luftwaffe found itself in meant committing more assets from further afield. The Ju 88s of III/KG 26 and KG 77 had been busy carrying out torpedo missions from southern France and were rushed northwards.

The logbook of Oblt Kurt Becker of 2/KG 77 shows what was involved. They took off from their airfield at La Jasse at 19:09, landed for refuelling

over but those that followed would be much harder for both sides. As the Allies consolidated their ground positions, it enabled forward landing

AboveUffz Rolf Dickel of 1/ZG 1 was one of the Ju 88 pilots lucky enough to survive the slaughter of his unit at Normandy.

LeftAn III/ZG 1 Junkers Ju 88R-2 that was shot down and crash-landed behind German lines in June 1944.


(For a valid comparison, in 2012, the entire U.S. Air Force had 3,345 manned, fi xed-wing aircraft including all transports but excluding trainers, AWACs, and tankers; the RAF had 260.) In June 1944, the European War had dramatically reversed from four years previously. When Adolf Hitler’s Wehrmacht conquered Western Europe in 10 weeks, Nazi Germany seemed unstoppable. But since the Battle of Britain in 1940 and the growing Allied bomber offensive, with German defeats in the Mediterranean and Russia, the grand alliance stood poised to pounce from Britain, across the English Channel, and liberate Occupied Europe.

BY BARRETT TILLMAN

Planning the

Aerial AssaultTHE DAY FORTRESS EUROPE FELL

Today the numbers involved in Operation Overlord are unthinkable: 6,000 bombers, more than 5,000 fi ghters, some 1,600 transport aircraft, and 2,500 gliders. All crammed into scores

of airfi elds throughout Britain, but mainly in southern England. All were serviced, armed, and assigned aircrews, eager to take off on the day called “D.”

Planning the

Aerial

Aerial Assault_v2.indd 12 5/1/14 11:33 AM

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“We are about to invade the Continent and have staked our success on our air superiority.”

General George C. Marshall, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, 1944

A hastily applied set of invasion stripes contrast this RAF Gosfield-based A-20G from the 644th BS of the 410th BG as it overflies a small portion of the in-vasion fleet heading for the Normandy coast on D-Day. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)


14 fl ightjournal.com

D-DAY: PLANNING THE AERIAL ASSAULT

That spring, the American public avidly followed the European Theater “ace race” as Thunderbolt and Mustang pilots vied for the highest score. The 4th Fighter Group competed with the 56th to produce the top gun, and by June 5, the highest scores were Capt. Robert S. Johnson, rotated Stateside with 27, Maj. Francis S. Gabreski with 22, and Capt. Don Gentile, also rotated, with 21.83. But the Fourth’s public affairs offi cer had the wider view. Captain Grover Hall said, “After D-Day, a pilot with 90 planes won’t be worth fi ve column inches of print.” The Luftwaffe, though highly experienced, had felt the effect of prolonged air combat. After the fi ghter arm’s glory days in the fall of 1943, when as many as 60 American bombers were hacked down

at a time, the Jagdwaffe’s ranks had been steadily depleted. While the Reich continued producing thousands of Bf 109s, Fw 190s and other fi ghters, pilot training and quality steadily declined. By the summer of 1944, Lt. Gen. Adolf Galland’s day fi ghters sometimes incurred a ghastly attrition of 25 percent aircrews and 40 percent aircraft per month. The Luftwaffe fought a four-front war: in the West, the East, the Mediterranean, and at home. When the crunch came in Normandy, perhaps 900 German aircraft were available in the West to oppose a crushing coalition numbering some 13,000 aircraft — a disparity of nearly 15 to 1.

Leading to D-DayUnder the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight Eisenhower, heading Allied expeditionary airpower was Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory while Air Marshal Arthur Coningham led the RAF’s tactical air arm. The senior American airmen were General Carl Spaatz, commanding U.S. air forces in Europe, with Lt. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle of the Eighth and Maj. Gen. Elwood “Pete” Quesada with the Ninth. All were experienced professionals; Spaatz and Quesada had set an endurance record together in 1929. The buildup of forces necessary to invade

Northwest Europe took a full year. The fi rst priority was defeating the U-boats that preyed on vital Atlantic convoys from the New World to Britain. That campaign was largely won in May 1943, permitting delivery of men and materiel in ever-growing numbers. Between June 1943 and June 1944, American strength in the UK grew enormously: from two army divisions to 17; from 24 aircraft groups to 101. The latter were divided between the strategic Eighth Air Force and the tactical Ninth, which would support the ground campaign and deliver

airborne units behind enemy lines on the night before D-Day.

Northwest Europe took a full year. The fi rst priority was defeating the U-boats that preyed on vital Atlantic convoys from the New World to Britain. That campaign was largely won in May 1943, permitting delivery of men and materiel in ever-growing numbers. Between June 1943 and June 1944, American strength in the UK grew

airborne units behind enemy lines on the night before D-Day.

FACTS FROM THE FRONT The World in June 1944

JUNE 4 JUNE 9 JUNE 13 JUNE 15 JUNE 19-20 JUNE 22 JUNE 23

U.S. Fifth Army occupies Rome

Soviet offensive in Finland

First Buzz Bombs on London

Marines land on Saipan in the Marianas

Battle of the Philippine Sea

British repulse Japanese at Imphal, India

Soviet Bagration offensive on Central Front

Above: Within 24 hours post-invasion, 9th TAC engineers were preparing the fi rst airfi eld in Normandy to aid medical evacuations.

Right: On the continent,- an op-erations offi cer from the 368th FG coordinates a ground support mission with Army offi cers. (Photos courtesy of Stan Piet)


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Can't Get Started, a 9th AF B-26B from the 323rd BG drops it’s 2,000-pound ordinance load on a roadway interdiction mission near Torigini, France, post-invasion. First Lt. Dale E. Sanders and his crew were later shot down by a Me 262 in late April 1945 and interred as POWs for a scant two weeks before V-E Day. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)


16 flightjournal.com

d-day: planning the aerial assault

The Anglo-Americans conducted an extensivedeceptioneffort,boththroughactualoperationsandfalseintelligence,indicatingthatthelandingswouldoccur in thePasdeCalais,only26milesfrom the English coast. Consequently, the pre-invasion interdiction campaign focused onrailroadsandbridgesbothintheCalaisareaandinNormandy. Onalargerscale,AlliedaircommandersarguedwhethertheywouldbenefitmorefrombombingAxis petroleum production or transport routes.Both had merit, but Eisenhower favored the“transportplan”overthe“oilplan.”Hereckoned— correctly — that interrupting enemy rail androadnetworkswouldhinder theGermans fasterthan the lengthy period necessary in reducingfuel. InApril,Alliedheavybombersturnedmostoftheirattentionfromstrategictargetstothetactical

realm,supportingtheupcominggroundoffensive.For instance, most of the rail bridges over theSeineRiverweredestroyedbymediumbombers,especiallyNinthAirForceB-26s,preventingrapidGermanreinforcementofthelandingzones. InMay1944,theEighthandNinthAirForceslost nearly 550 aircraft while the RAF wroteoff nearly 1,000. But the momentum clearlybelonged to theAllies, asLuftwaffefighter chiefAdolfGallandrecalled,“TheBritishandAmericantactical air forces, successfully extending theirattemptstointerruptthebringingupofGermanreserves deep into France, made any move bydaylight almost impossible. In June alone theydestroyed551locomotives.”Hecitedareportbythe commander of panzer division: “The Allieshave total air supremacy.Theybomband shootat anything which moves, even single vehiclesand persons. Our territory is under constant

Facts From the Front Airpower in Europe 1944

February march april may early june

“Big Week” by 8th and 15th Air Forces

Discussion of Transport vs. Oil Plan

French & German rail networks vs. CBO

Axis petroleum targeted

Luftwaffe fighters heavily attrited

Widespread interdiction bombing in NW Europe

In June of 1944, the bubble-canopy "D" model Mustangs had just begun to arrive so the B/C models, many equipped with Malcolm hoods, soldiered on and were an important ingredi-ent in the invasion. (Photo by John Dibbs/planepicture.com)


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“It would have been darn near ImpossIble to get lost on our way to France. all we had to do was Follow the

endless strIng oF shIps In the channel ..."

The P-47 Jug was the heavy hit-ter of the ground support team with their eight .50 Brownings and heavy rocket and bomb loads being ideal for the mission. (Photo by Scott Slocum)

observation. The feeling of being powerless against the enemy’s aircraft has a paralyzing effect.” Meanwhile, the Royal Air Force reshuffled its tactical deck. While Bomber Command continued attacking German urban-industrial areas, Fighter Command was divided into Air Defense Great Britain, protecting English airspace, and Second Tactical Air Force with fighter-bombers and twin-engine types such as Mosquitos, Bostons (A-20s) and Mitchells (B-25s). Time, weather, and tides drove the Allied schedule. The landings had to occur in early June or wait until month’s end — a seeming eternity. Therefore, preparations went ahead.

The day of daysSome groups painted black and white “invasion stripes” on June 4 because originally D-Day was to be June 5. Yet everyone knew what was coming. At Debden north of London, Col. Don Blakeslee said he was prepared to lose the entire Fourth Group in defending the beach head. At 0230 on the 6th, at Chilbolton in Hampshire, Col. Gilbert Myers told his 368th Fighter Group Thunderbolt pilots and ground crews, “Men, the time we have been preparing for is here.” Actually, D-Day began the night of the 5th as

nocturnal trains of transport planes towing gliders streamed south from the English coast, bound for the Norman darkness. But even before dawn, American and British fighters and bombers were airborne. A P-47 squadron commander recalled, “There were all kinds of aircraft; you almost had to put your hand out to turn. The barrage of gunfire from the Channel was terrific. We could see hundreds of flashes as the Navy laid down their barrage.”Amid some 13,000 sorties in a fairly small area, collisions were inevitable. The 394th Bomb Group lost four Marauders in two midairs

with only one survivor. Aircrews gawked at the spectacle in the Channel. Lieutenant Clyde East, a 22-year-old recon pilot, recalled, “It would have been darn near impossible to get lost on our way to France. All we had to do was follow the endless string of ships in the Channel in support of the invasion. We entered France just south of the invasion beach, Utah, made it past all the parachutes and gliders on the ground and headed toward the Laval area, 125 miles inland.” East and his wingman ambushed a




flight of Fw 190s and left three burning. East’s mission represented the Allies’ most under-rated asset: aerial reconnaissance. Low-level photography of Normandy had been underway for years but the combined staff ignored crucial imagery. Despite thousands of photos, Normandy’s bocage, thick hedgerows, went unappreciated until GIs and Tommies confronted well-entrenched Germans just inland. The 387th Bomb Group was prominent among the Marauder Men on D-Day, leading the wing attacking the area around Utah Beach. The 557th Squadron history recorded, “At 0130 hours the crews were awakened and told to go to briefing at 0230. At briefing they learned it was the day we

had waited for, and amongst great cheering the briefing started. “The weather was very bad, rain and low clouds predominated. As Major (Joe) Whitfield with the formation behind him approached Cherbourg Peninsula, he found the clouds down to 3,000 feet, and took his formation down to that altitude, 7,000 feet lower than they had ever bombed before and exposing them to all the small arms and light flak guns in the area. He crossed Barbleur just after 0600 and proceeded along the coast to the target, which was light flak guns and defended positions at Les Dunes de Verreville. “All went well until they reached San Vast, then the flak came up, scads of it. Ships were falling all

Omaha Beach showing transport ships bringing fresh supplies and transport after the Normandy landings. Note the balloons over the area to help deter any Luft-waffe low-level strafing attacks. (Photo courtesy of EN Archives Collection)

No oNe who was oN that trip will ever forget the spectacle of iNvasioN ships below, aircraft blowiNg up oN all sides, huNdreds of gliders aNd parachutes of all colors oN the grouNd. it was a fittiNg opeNiNg for the comiNg show.


AUGUST 2014 19

about but the formation kept on. From this time until the formation reached the western coast of the peninsula, they were subjected to fl ak, both heavy and light. The target was bombed successfully, and miraculously, every ship because of the brilliant leadership, came back to base safely, but not free of battle damage. No one who was on that trip will ever forget the spectacle of invasion ships below, aircraft blowing up on all sides, hundreds of gliders and parachutes of all colors on the ground. It was a fi tting opening for the coming show.” The invasion fl eet included battleships, cruisers, and destroyers providing naval gunfi re support for the ground troops. Among the airborne observers were U.S. naval aviators fl ying Spitfi res as part of the fl eet Gunfi re Spotting Pool with nine British squadrons. In the half hour before the landings, 1,365 heavy bombers attacked coastal defenses with nearly 2,800 tons of ordnance. But weather forced bombers to drop by radar with poor results. The north-south heading caused concern of “dropping short” prompting Ike’s 30-second delay, equaling a 1 1/2-mile miss inland. As Doolittle recalled, “Since the bombardiers had a defi nite bomb line and didn’t want to undershoot for fear of hitting our men, I suspect they added a fudge factor to their aiming points. When bombing by radar, some lead crews absorbed pathfi nders from other units. Stephen Darlow’s D-Day Bombers contained such a description of Lt. John Howland, a “Gee” electronic-beam navigator in the 91st Bomb Group. The B-17s tracked over Gold Beach, Howland with his “eyes glued to the blips of the Gee box keeping us on course. H2X (“Mickey” radar) operator John

FACTS FROM THE FRONT D-Day Air Forces

TYPES USAAF RAF ALLIES LUFTWAFFE RATIO

All Bombers 3,700 c. 2,300 6,000 400 15-1 Fighter/Recon 2,900 2,400 5,300 425 12-1 Transport * 1,200 475 1,675 65 25-1 Totals 7,800 5,175 13,000 890 15-1

D-Day sorties 8,700 3,500 12,200+ 130-300 40-1

* Plus 1,400 US and 1,100 RAF gliders

AAF a/c: USAF History Offi ceRAF/RN a/c: Fleet Air Arm MuseumGAF a/c: F.H. Hinsley, British Intelligence in the Second World War.

Douglas DC-3 Dakotas dropping paratroopers over Arnhem on September 17, 1944. (Photo courtesy of EN Archives)

Joisey Bounce, a B-24D-25, was from the premier Liberator group in the ETO the 93rd BG. Soon re-named Utah Man, it was later lost in a mid-air over Bremen, Germany. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)



D-DAY: PLANNING THE AERIAL ASSAULT

Spierling gave range and ground speed data to the bombardier who cranked the information into his Norden bombsight. Charlie Eager, our bombardier from the 381st BG, looked for a break in the clouds so he could take over visually. But it never came. Nevertheless, our training paid off. We had confi dence the Gee Box course line was reasonably accurate, and our practice bombing had proved the ‘Mickey’ operation and bombardier could hit the beachline with good accuracy.” The heavies were followed by 205 medium, light, and fi ghter-bombers. Later in the day, the heavies returned but encountered worse weather. In round numbers, 1,700 of 2,700 Eighth Air Force bomber sorties were rated effective (64%) dropping 3,600 tons of ordnance. But 36% aborted due to weather. Mighty Eighth fi ghters fl ew 1,880 sorties: sweeps and escorts, day and night. The Ninth Air Force logged 3,050 sorties and delivered two airborne divisions. Fighter-bomber effectiveness on the beaches was almost none. Inland it was signifi cant, especially against transport. VIII Fighter command launched 73 patrol and 34 fi ghter-bomber missions with very little

contact. Allied fi ghter pilots only claimed 30 aerial victories while losing at least eight aircraft in combat. Hardest hit was the Fourth Fighter Group, which wrote off 10 Mustangs to all causes. Overall D-Day losses were surprisingly slight from 13,000 sorties: 70 American aircraft and 33 British to all causes. Contrary to legend, JG-26’s Kommodore, Lt. Col. Josef “Pips” Priller, did not make the only aerial attack. He and his wingman made a pass at Sword Beach but other Luftwaffe planes followed. Throughout the day about 30 Junkers 88s attacked the British beaches in daylight with little effect, and about 70 Fw 190s and Bf 109s strafed the landing areas. Some 40 Luftwaffe planes were known lost to all causes. On the night of the 6th-7th, the Germans fl ew about 175 sorties against Allied shipping. Through D+2 only fi ve U.S. Navy vessels were sunk, none by air attack. The Luftwaffe seldom launched more than 250 daily fi ghter sorties in the Normandy campaign. It was a losing effort. As Adolf Galland recalled, “Wherever our fi ghters appeared, the Americans hurled themselves at them. They went over to

low-level attacks on our airfi elds. Nowhere were we safe; we had to skulk on our own bases. During takeoff, assembling, climbing, and

IN NORMANDY THE GERMANS HAD UNDISPUTED FLAK SUPREMACY ... THE ODDS IN FAVOR OF THE ENEMY STOOD AT FOUR TO ONE AGAINST THE NUMBER OF ALLIED AIRCRAFT

D-Day Losses USAAF: 70 25 P-51s 17 C-47s 10 P-47s 6 B-24s 5 A-20s 3 P-38s 2 B-26s 1 F-5 1 Spitfire

RAF: 33 14 Spitfires 11 Typhoons 3 Bostons 3 Mustangs 1 Mosquito 1 Halifax

Compiled from John Foreman’s Over the Beaches.

Dubbed the "Eyes of the Eighth," F-5s and Spit XI’s of the 7th Photo Group were operating around the clock in the summer of 1944 providing much needed aerial intelligence of tactical and strategic targets throughout the continental battlefi eld. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)


AUGUST 2014 21

approaching the bombers, once in contact, on our way back, during landing, and ever after that the American fighters attacked with overwhelming superiority.” But despite control of the air, Allied losses mounted. It was no surprise, as the AAF and RAF flew against the most practiced antiaircraft gunners on earth. A Typhoon pilot, Charles Demoulin, wrote, “In Normandy the Germans had undisputed flak supremacy. It was estimated to be about 20,000 batteries, from 105mm, 88, 40, 37 down to 20mm. Hence, the odds in favor of the enemy stood at four to one against the number of Allied aircraft.” Consequently, throughout June, the Anglo-Americans lost more than 1,600 planes, almost equally divided between the AAF and RAF. Combined transport aircraft and miscellaneous losses were 47. The Mighty Eighth lost more than 200 B-17s and B-24s during June, with the two U.S. air forces writing off 205 Thunderbolts. Some 160 Mustangs went down, and nearly 100 Lightnings. Considering the defenses and the operating conditions of A-20s and B-26s, medium bomber losses were light with 34 combined. (The Douglas A-26 Invader went operational in September.) The month’s RAF losses included 383 bombers, 178 Spitfires, 93 Typhoons, 45 Mosquitos, and 53 Mustangs or assorted types.

By 1944, the Luftwaffe had been driven from North Africa and the Mediterranean but still fought in Russia, Italy, and Western Europe. Spread thin and sustaining horrific losses (as much as 25 percent of fighter pilots per month), Goering’s forces had been worn down by the relentless Anglo-American Combined Bombing Offensive. The British bombed by night, the Americans by day — the latter escorted by long-range fighters. Though Germany worked successive miracles of production, the experience level of Luftwaffe pilots had entered an unrecoverable spiral. In preparation for Operation Overlord, Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL) announced that 10 combat wings would be committed to the invasion front. However, because of growing Allied air superiority over France and Western Europe, and the increasing need to defend the Reich itself, few aircraft were immediately available. Luftflotte Three, responsible for the Channel front, probably had fewer than 200 fighters and perhaps 125 bombers on June 6, and few of those were within range of Normandy. Various German sources are extremely contradictory, ranging from about 300 to more than 800 planes. Colonel Josef Priller’s postwar history cites 183 fighters in France, and that number seems more reliable than most, as Priller was a 90-victory wing commander who reputedly led the only attack on the beaches in daylight. The invasion caught the Luftwaffe in a state of flux, and in JG-26 only Priller and his wingman, Sergeant Heinz Wodarczyk, were available at Guyancourt to fly against the Allied armada. The two Focke-Wulf 190s made a low-level strafing pass against Sword and Juno Beaches, surviving a storm of antiaircraft fire, and escaped. Despite numerous accounts, Priller’s apparently was not the only air attack on the beach head. Other small formations struck portions of the beaches or the invasion fleet, but without much effect. Most Luftwaffe sorties were flown against the invasion forces after dark, and few of the promised reserves materialized from the Reich. Luftwaffe bombers made almost nightly attacks on the Allied fleet and port facilities from June 6 onward but they accomplished little in exchange for their heavy losses. The U.S. Army Air Forces chief, General Henry Arnold, wrote that the Luftwaffe had an opportunity to attack 4,000 ships — a target unprecedented in history. Accounts vary, but reputedly only 115 to 150 sorties were flown against the Allied navies that night. German aircraft losses on D-Day have been cited as 39 shot down and eight lost operationally.

The Luftwaffe on D-Day

Major Josef "Pips" Priller is shown here wearing the Ritterkreuz with Oak Leaves and was one of the Luft-waffe's leading personalities flying both the Bf 109 and Fw 190 with JG 26 on the Western front. He was one of the leading Aces flying 307 missions against the West-ern Allies achieving at least 101 aerial victories, including 11 four-engined bombers. He ended the war with the rank of Oberst and received the Swords to his RK on July 2, 1944. He survived the war but died on June 20, 1961 aged 46. (Photo courtesy of the EN Archives Collection)




FortheFrench,liberationcameatasteepprice.Atleast25,000civilianswerekilledfromthepre-invasionbombingthroughtheendofNormandyfightinginAugust.ArmycartoonistBillMauldincaptured the essence of the situation with twoGIs surveying a ruined town, saying, “We sureliberatedthehelloutofthisplace!” Meanwhile, advanced airfields sprang upacross Normandy. Largely unheralded, butfervently appreciated by ground forces, wereaviation engineer battalions that began arrivingonD+11.InitiallyoperatingunderIXTacticalAirCommandwithportionsofthreeNinthAirForcegroups, the expeditionary air arm went to work

supportinginfantryandarmoredunits against stiff Germanopposition. By the end of June,theengineershadabout15fieldsoperatingwithThunderboltsandTyphoons for close air support,Mustangs and Spitfires for airdefense, and C-47s providingresupplyandcasualtyevacuationtoEngland.

“A fighter bomber racecourse”Allied air superiority grewinto outright air supremacy,extending well beyond thefrontlines.Wide-rangingfighterbombers made road, rail, andbargetrafficdifficultthroughoutnorthern France, and oftenimpossible. Throughout Normandy,German forces spent daylighthours looking over theirshoulders for aircraft, whichinevitably bore stars orcockades. Black crosses wererare, prompting “Jabo jitters”aftersuccessiveattacksbyAlliedfighter-bombers. At the Soldat level, Germanssaid,“Americanplanesaresilver.Englishplanes are camouflaged.Ourplanesareinvisible!” The Hawker Typhoon grewto near-legendary status inNormandy with “cab rank”tactics. Formations of “Tiffys”orbited on call to ground-basedforwardaircontrollers.Certainlythe rugged Hawker airframepackedapunchwithfour20mm

cannonandeight60-poundrocketprojectiles. ANewZealandTyphoonpilot,DesmondScott,wrote, “Whereas the Spitfire always behavedlike a well-mannered thoroughbred on firstacquaintance, the Typhoon always remindedme of a low-bred carthorse whose pedigree hadreceivedasharpinfusionofhot-headedsprinter’sblood.” Despiteitsruggedairframeandpowerfulenginethe Typhoon sustained heavy casualties overNormandy.Some37%weredestroyedordamagedbeyondrepair,secondamongRAFaircraftonlytotheMustangwithnearly44%. Incomparison,aP-47’stypicalloadoutwasthe

The hawker Typhoon grew To near-legendary sTaTus in normandy ... The rugged hawker airframe packed a punch wiTh four 20mm cannon and eighT 60-pound rockeT projecTiles

Members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) are here helping to re-arm a Hawker Typhoon for another ground attack mission, belonging to the Royal Canadian Air Force 439 Squadron. The Typhoons did their part in behind the lines ground support and supply line interruption. (Photo courtesy of EN Archives Collection)


AUGUST 2014 23

eight .50 calibers, two 500-pound bombs, and/or six HVARs. But whatever the “Jabo” aircraft, its mission was the same: infl ict maximum damage on German transport. Lieutenant General Bodo Zimmermann of Army Group D said, “No road movement by day was possible under the air umbrella.” A more colorful description came from Lt. Gen. Fritz Bayerlein of the elite Panzer Lehr division who famously described the route to Normandy as “a fi ghter-bomber race course.” His division lost few panzers but many of his transport and support vehicles were destroyed by air attack. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel would have agreed. On June 10 he informed Fuhrer headquarters, “Air superiority has a very grave effect on our movements. There’s simply no answer to it.” Five weeks later, Spitfi res strafed his staff car, sending the Desert Fox to the hospital. After the Normandy campaign, Allied analysts examined causes of German armor losses in Normandy: 65 percent by Allied tanks or anti-tank weapons 10 percent by aircraft 25 percent abandoned, broken down or out of fuel. Of 223 Mk V Panthers destroyed in 1944, 14 were killed by aircraft (11 by RPs). In the Falaise pocket during August, Typhoons claimed 222 armored vehicles but only 13 of the total 388 found destroyed were attributed to RPs, or 3 percent. Nonetheless, Allied airmen owned Norman airspace. Not only did they hinder or destroy enemy communications, but they largely prevented Luftwaffe attacks on Anglo-American ground forces. When Dwight Eisenhower went ashore in France he surveyed the massive logistics operation on the beaches. Ships, vehicles, and men were wide open to bombing, prompting his newly commissioned son John to offer, “You’d never get away with this without air supremacy.” The general replied, “Without air supremacy I wouldn’t be here.” �

Visit Barrett Tillman at btillman.com.

ETO TOP 12 ACES JUNE 5, 1944

NAME GROUP SCORE TOTAL/STATUS

Maj. Robert S. Johnson 56th 27 Rotated out Maj. Francis S. Gabreski 56th 22 28, POW 7-44 Capt. Donald S. Gentile 4th 21.83 Rotated out Capt. Walker M. Mahurin 56th 19.75 SD, rotated Maj. Walter C. Beckham 353rd 18 POW Maj. Duane W. Beeson 4th 17.33 POW Capt. Gerald W. Johnson 56th 17 POW 2nd Lt. Ralph K. Hofer 4th 15 KIA 7-44 Capt. Joe H. Powers 56th 14.5 Rotated out 1st Lt. John T. Godfrey 4th 14.33 16.3, P 8-44 Maj. Glenn Duncan 353rd 14 19, SD 7-44 Maj. James A. Goodson 4th 14 POW

SD: Shot down, evaded (2) KIA: Killed in action (1) POW: Prisoner of war (5) 8 of 12 were casualties: 66.6%

Top aces from the 4th FG, Capt. Don Gentile (R) and his regular wing at the time, First Lt. John Godfrey (L) pose with Gentile’s mount Shangri-la during the spring of 1944 at their home base at Debden. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)

FIELD MARSHAL ERWIN ROMMEL ... INFORMED FUHRER HEADQUARTERS, “AIR SUPERIORITY HAS A VERY GRAVE EFFECT ON OUR MOVEMENTS. THERE’S SIMPLY NO ANSWER TO IT.”



AviAtion insideraviation insider

Major Dick Turner 11 kill ace and CO of the 356th Fighter

Squadron stands by his P-51D s/n 44-13561 AJ+T Short-

Fuse Sallee at airstrip A-66 near Orconte, France upon

completion of his combat tour on October 2, 1944. The extra

victory flags reflect ground and V-1 claims plus Dick’s 11 aerial

kills. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)

Since the 25th of May, the group had been informed that it was on a six-hour alert status, and had been assigned two officers from General Patton’s Third Army to stay with us

and set up liaison procedures. Our flying hadn’t changed much except that more dive-bombing, fighter sweeps, and strafing missions were being thrown in with our normal escort duties.

“It didn’t take much brain power to know that the invasion of the Continent was imminent. The clincher came when we discovered a small detail of cameramen among us who had been as-signed to cover our first-day activities on D-Day.

“On the 3rd and 4th of June, a couple of short missions were run over France. Rumor and speculation ran high on the 5th and 6th as we

awaited the event with bated breath, and when it was revealed that the first day’s operations had already been completed without our participa-tion we felt very much let down.

D-Day fighting spirit“Our fighting spirit came to peak pitch when af-ter supper we were summoned to an immediate briefing. We found that we were to escort a C-47 and glider mission that night. We were to man our planes immediately, and to remain in them ready to take off upon signal from the tower. We were in our Mustangs at 9:00 that evening and at 10:00 we finally got the green take-off flare.

“Forming up in the settling dusk proved to be no problem, and when we rendezvoused with the southbound C-47s and gliders a half hour lat-

A Pilot’s View of D-DayIn his memoir, Lt. Col. Richard E. Turner recalled D-Day for the Ninth Air Force’s 354th Fighter Group at Maidstone, Kent. He described the “Pioneer Mustangs’” rare D-Day missions: night escort of troop carrier aircraft and gliders. By BArreTT TillMAn

Aviinside_DDay.indd 24 5/1/14 11:53 AM

AUGUST 2014 25

Lt. Col. Dick Turner, standing by a P-51D, continued flying Mustangs after the end of WW II until he transitioned to the F-86 Sabre Jet which he flew during the Korean War. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)

er over southern England, we could still see them fairly will in the twilight. My flight had a box of 16 C-47s and glid-ers to escort, and by the time we passed over the coastline and the Isle of Wight, it was black as the ace of spades. A cloud cover obscured even the faint starlight. The only way I could keep track of my charges was to concentrate on the blue flame of their exhausts. I couldn’t help wondering how I was supposed to tell the difference between our planes and theirs if the Germans attempted an interception. I left the problem to be solved when it arrived, and strained to stay with my C-47s and gliders without running them down in the process.

“When we got to mid-channel we were supposed to turn east and pro-ceed off Cherbourg where the C-47s and gliders were to penetrate the en-emy coast. Normally, escorting fighters move in advance of convoyed planes but tonight we were strictly followers, glued close to our charges. I divided my time between keeping one eye fixed on the ghostly C-47s, avoiding the deadly tow lines between them and the glid-ers, and watching for other wandering fighters that cut in front of us. Alto-gether a cliff-hanging mess!

“After 2 1/2 hours of heart-seizing flying, we crossed in over the coast-line and the C-47s cut loose their glid-ers and dropped their paratroopers. I knew the mission had been completed only because without warning, the air burst into a maelstrom of crisscrossing tracer fire from the void below. I made a sweeping level turn to the right with my flight away from the drop zone, and beat it for the south coast of England.

“Yet now we were presented with an even-stickier problem. I knew our group alone had 48 churning Mus-tangs in the black void ahead, and all of them were converging for the pundit light at Christchurch for landing and refueling before returning to home base. The pundit light was a powerful hooded searchlight throwing its beam straight up, a marker for friendly aircraft. The beam is invisible until you are directly over it, and there would be terrifically heavy conges-tion tonight. God knows how many planes from other groups were being diverted to the same light, and it was with mounting apprehension that I approached the Bournemouth area to search the blackness for the pundit.

“There had already been six hair-raising near-collisions with other homebound flights. As we flew on, I debated chucking the whole mess to fly directly to our base, but I resolved to follow

the flight plan even if it killed us all — as it could!“It was a case of which was greater, your pa-

tience or your fear, and my patience was wear-ing exceedingly thin. After discovering the light by chance, I flew a wide, careful orbit, avoiding other fighters that loomed near us. Finding the Christchurch runway, I decided that the safest way to land my flight was to use a 1,000-foot overhead, 360-degree landing pattern in forma-tion. It was not the usual system but it would keep the flight together, which was essential for our safety.

“With the flight in close formation, it would be easier for individual fighters to see us, and make them give way by force of numbers. The

A cloud cover obscured even the faint starlight. The only way I could keep track of my charges was to concentrate on the blue flame of their exhausts. how I was supposed to tell the difference between our planes and theirs if the Germans attempted an interception?



AviAtion insiderAviAtion insider

system worked perfectly. I set up in close forma-tion 1,000 feet over the runway with wheels and flaps down and flew a wide descending circle with slow power reductions, finally skimming the approach end of the runway in perfect for-mation. We had it made! The pilots in my squad-ron were of the best. They could and did perform any maneuver I asked of them.”

Another missionThe night’s missions had diminished the number of available fighters, and after his P-51s were ser-viced, Ninth Air Force asked Turner to provide an im-promptu patrol over the landing beaches. He readily accepted and takes up the tale:

“Shortly before dawn I assembled my pilots and briefed them. The plan was to fly straight to the beachhead and provide cover from the mouth of the Seine to the Cherbourg Peninsula for one hour.

“The cloud cover had dropped and we were forced to fly at about 4,000 feet. Crossing the Channel, I saw the debris of C-47s floating for-lornly on the oily water, a grim reminder of last night’s mission. Arriving over the Bay of the Seine we could see ships, boats and LSTs spread out for miles, extending out of sight into the Channel. At that low altitude, they could clob-ber us if they fired upon us. None of the warships fired, but we drew a few shots from trigger-hap-

py gunners on smaller craft.“As we flew back and forth patrolling the

beach, I could see a steady movement of person-nel through the beaches to the inland woods. All looked orderly and peaceful form 4,000 feet but now and then a half-sunken ship, a burning ve-hicle or some unidentifiable wreckage would be visible. I noticed the wreck of a C-47 and P-47.

“After our first sweep of the area, we started looking for the German fighters we expected to find trying to hit the invasion forces, but except for ourselves, the sky was empty. The only Ger-man aircraft I saw tried to sneak in at water level from the northeast only to be caught in murder-ous crossfire from two cruisers, and it fell into the Channel in a long splash of flame.

“I led the flight toward the crash in hopes of finding other venturesome Nazis. We saw no more fighters, however, until a squadron of P-47s arrived to relieve us. I gathered my Mustangs and flew up the coast to Calais where we jumped across the Strait of Dover to our base at Maid-stone. We arrived in time for lunch, and to find that our squadron was scheduled for another C-47 and glider escort that afternoon.

“We flew down to the southern tip of England and picked up another long string of ‘Gooney Birds’ dragging gliders, and took them across to Utah Beach where they penetrated five or 10 miles and cut their gliders loose. I watched the gliders in fascination as they made their tight little spirals; they didn’t waste much time and many of the landings I saw looked pretty rough. Knowing that glider pilots had to join the ground troops to fight their way out, it seemed to be a pretty rugged job, and as we took the C-47s back to the Channel, I thanked the Lord again for making me a simple fighter pilot.”

The only German aircraft I saw tried to sneak in at water level from the northeast only to be caught in murderous crossfire from two cruisers, and it fell into the Channel in a long splash of flame.

The Mustangs flown by the “wheels” of the 356th FS at airstrip A-31 at Gael, France, during August 1944. On the left is squadron ops officer Capt. Verlin Chamber’s P-51D s/n 44-13525 AJ+P and on the right is Major Dick Turner’s Short-Fuse Sallee. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)


At the time of her design, no one would have thought the C-47/DC-3 would still be flying some 75 years later, much less have a major role in changing the course of history. (Photo by Moose Peterson)

3_Nocturnal Gamble.indd 40 5/1/14 12:17 PM

On the airfield at Barkston-Heath (USAAF Station AAF-483) near the city of Grantham in Lincolnshire, 72 Douglas C-47 Skytrain transports from the 61st Troop Carrier Group sat waiting. Soon they would carry 1,230 paratroopers from the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment to Normandy as a part of Mission Boston, the code name of the operation to move the 82nd Airborne Division to France on D-Day. Just seven miles away on the airfield at Fulbeck (USAAF Station AAF-488), 45 C-47s of the 442nd Troop Carrier Group were preparing to load the regimental headquarters and the 1st Battalion, 507th – an additional 770 paratroopers. By mid-1944, the flight crews of those two troop carrier groups had gone through just as much intense training as the paratroopers they would carry into battle.

NocturNalGamble

Gooney birds and Gutsy kids in parachutes by Martin K.a. Morgan

C-47 Skytrain #42-93096 shortly before departing for normandy. This aircraft flew as Serial 5, Stick 17 on its first combat mission during the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944 as a part of Operation Neptune/Overlord – the allied invasion of normandy. as chalk 17, this aircraft carried Pathfinder team #2 of the 508th Parachute infantry regiment/82nd airborne Division to Drop Zone n near amfreville west of the village of Ste.-Mère-Église. note how everything on the fuselage that might catch the jumper or parachute D-ring static lines was faired with tape. (Photo courtesy of author)



NocturNal Gamble

First came training, then the trip, then more trainingFor the pilots, copilots, radio operators, naviga-tors, and crew chiefs, their military service had begun as much as two years earlier with primary, and then advanced, training. They were by then intimately familiar with the venerable Doug-las C-47 Skytrain, which the U.S. military relied on throughout the Second World War as one of its primary military movers. After earning their wings, the fresh aviators of the 61st and 442nd Troop Carrier Groups spent three or four ad-ditional months of training and familiarization with the C-47 learning the idiosyncrasies of its flight characteristics. That phase was inevitably followed by assignment to a troop carrier squad-ron and then deployment overseas.

Sidney M. Ulan of Chester, Pennsylvania, re-ceived his wings at Moody Field in March 1943 and, like so many other new Skytrain pilots, he was immediately assigned to the Troop Car-rier Command. He recalled that, at the time, the Army needed pilots “to drop airborne troops in the invasion of Europe, so my entire graduating class was sent to the Troop Carrier Command.”

Ulan started flying the C-47 at Bergstrom Field near Austin, Texas, and was then transferred to Sedalia, Missouri, where the 441st Troop Carrier Group was formed. On March 1, 1944, Ulan’s squadron — the 99th TCS — departed Home-stead Army Airfield in Florida: destination Eng-land. The first leg of the trip took them from Florida to Borinquen Army Air Field, Puerto Rico — a distance of 980 miles. From there, they flew 1,200 miles to Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, and

then 1,325 more miles to Forteleza, Brazil. After a short 270-mile hop to Natal on Brazil’s Atlantic coast, the squadron then flew 1,437 miles across the open ocean to the RAF airfield on Ascension Island. After resting and re-fueling there, the 99th covered another 970 miles of trans-Atlan-tic flight to Greenville, Liberia, then 883 miles to Dakar, West Africa, then 1,435 miles to Casa-blanca, and finally 1,151 miles to RAF St. Maw-gan near Newquay in Cornwall. By the time the squadron’s C-47s touched down on the tarmac at Langar Field in Nottinghamshire (USAAF Station AAF-490), they had completed a 10,000-mile re-positioning. It should be remembered that many of these pilots were just out of flight school.

The 61st and 442nd Troop Carrier Groups arrived in England at about the same time in March as Sidney Ulan’s squadron did after its epic trans-Atlantic repositioning. Once they settled in at Barkston-Heath and Fulbeck respec-tively, it was time to get to work. Much had to be accomplished to ready both groups for their participation in the assault on fortress Europe, so training schedules did not relax in England. Thus, when the men of the 507th Parachute In-fantry walked to the flightlines at Fulbeck and Barkston-Heath on the evening of June 5, their lives were placed in the capable hands of two groups of thoroughly trained military aviators.

The 117 C-47s that waited for the men of the 507th thus represented much more than merely the product of American industrial capability. Having those aircraft sitting on those fields that evening with full gas tanks and 117 well-trained flight crews standing by represented an incalcu-

These 436th Troop Carrier Group survivors of D-Day supported the invasion of Southern France in August 1944 before returning to England.(Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)


AUGUST 2014 43

lable amount of human effort and energy. It had taken years for their families to raise and educate the young American boys who were there to pro-vide the airlift for those 2,004 paratroopers that night. The U.S. government had picked up where their families, high schools, and colleges left off, spending even more time and money turning them into skilled flight crews. While the crews had undergone countless hours of training, and many of them had already flown combat mis-sions in the Mediterranean the previous summer, nothing could have prepared them for what they were about to experience in the airspace over Normandy’s Cotentin Peninsula.

Drop Zone “T”: The impossible targetAll 117 of the C-47s that carried 507th paratroop-ers that night had a common destination: Drop Zone “T” near the village of Amfreville — three miles west of Ste.-Mère-Église. But in the end, Drop Zone “T” would have only symbolic sig-nificance. While it is generally well understood that the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division drops experienced scattering during the Normandy operation, it is not well known that the 507th was scattered over a wider geographical area than any of the other regiments that night. While a few 507th troopers landed in the correct place, others landed in 101st drop zones. Elements of the regiment’s 2nd Battalion landed far north of where they were supposed to, with one unfortu-nate stick of 18 troopers being dropped among the hedgerows between Valognes and Cherbourg. Some troopers came down well to the east of the drop zone, between Ste.-Marie-du-Mont and La Madeleine. A few men even ended up on Utah Beach itself. Finally, nine sticks from the 3rd Bat-talion, 507th came down 16 miles south of the

DZ near the village of Graignes. In all, it is es-timated that the regiment was spread out over sixty square miles.

So why did such well-trained and, in some cas-es, combat-experienced troop carrier squadrons produce such an imperfect drop on D-Day? Why did the 61st and 442nd Troop Carrier Groups distribute the 507th Regiment across 60 square miles of Norman countryside instead of putting them all down within Drop Zone “T”? Some of the aircrews of the 61st Troop Carrier Group’s 14th Troop Carrier Squadron had flown four pre-vious combat missions, so being under enemy fire was nothing new to them.

Why did nine C-47s from the 61st Troop Car-rier Group’s 53rd Troop Carrier Squadron drop al-most 170 paratroopers of the Headquarters Com-pany of the 3rd Battalion, 507th in the marshes south of the city of Carentan? Although a num-ber of factors can be blamed for the broad disper-sion of the 507th across Normandy, two factors above all produced this outcome: the regiment’s late arrival, and poor visibility.

The weather became the enemyAs they approached Normandy, the 61st and 442nd Troop Carrier Group’s C-47s encountered a disorienting cloud bank. The low, dense clouds broke up the formations and set them off course moments before they flew into the fire of the en-emy’s air defenses.

Paul Smith, who commanded F Company, 507th at the time, could not see any other aircraft in formation with his C-47 (#42-24204 of the 14th Troop Carrier Squadron, 61st Troop Carrier Group). Hoping to get a better view, he moved forward and looked out of the astrodome, but he could see nothing. “I could hardly even see the

Currently known as D-Day Doll (N45366) and sporting invasion stripes, Douglas C-53D AAF-43-68830 is an actual veteran of the Normandy Invasion. It flew three missions over Normandy on June 6 and 7, 1944, as well as airdrops later on over Holland. It also flew supplies into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge and took part in the final airdrop across the Rhine River in 1945. Now operated by the CAF Inland Empire Wing in California, she continues to drop jumpers at special events. (Photo by Frank B. Mormillo)

While many creWs had already floWn combat missions in the mediterranean the previous summer, nothing could have prepared them for What they Were

about to experience in the airspace over normandy’s cotentin peninsula.



NOCTURNAL GAMBLE

Above: � e cockpit of a C-47. South Plains Army Airfi eld, Lubbock, Texas (January 10, 1945).Inset: Captain Sidney M. Ulan of Wallingford, Pennsylvania. On D-Day, he was a C-47 pilot with the 99th Troop Carrier Squadron, 441st Troop Carrier Group, 50th Troop Carrier Wing. (Photos courtesy of author)

wingtips,” he remembered. As the C-47s began to drift farther apart, much of the 507th was already set up to be misdropped. It did not help that only two of the regiment’s three pathfi nder teams

landed on the drop zone, or that they came under enemy fi re almost immediately upon landing. Had they been able to accomplish their mission, the C-47s carrying the rest of the regiment would have been guided in to-ward Drop Zone “T.” Instead, those C-47s approached unguided through obscuring cloud cover.

Then came the enemy ground fi re. Be-cause the 507th was based in an area of England two and half hours farther north

than any of the other parachute regiments, it consequently had to contend with a longer cross-channel journey that made it the last to arrive over Normandy. The fi rst paratroopers to jump that night — a planeload of pathfi nders from the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Air-borne Division — jumped at approximately 12:15 a.m. The 507th, on the other hand, arrived over the area starting at approximately 2:30 a.m. Thus, as the C-47s of the 61st and the 442nd came thundering in toward Drop Zone “T” to drop the 507th, German anti-aircraft gunners were ready.

Seated by the door of his 442nd TCG aircraft, Lt. Robert H. Parks of C Company, 507th, “no-ticed an impressive fi reworks display” outside. He observed fl ashes of red, yellow, blue, and white as

they streaked past his troop carrier formation. “I admired the show until I realized what they were: anti-aircraft shells,” he remembered.

First Lieutenant Sidney Ulan from the 99th Troop Carrier Squadron, 441st Troop Carrier Group remembered that, “Suddenly, all hell seemed to break loose.” From the cockpit of C-47 #42-101013, he had a front row seat for the spectacle:

“The sky was fi lled with red and green trac-ers, and searchlights beamed up at the planes just ahead of me. I could also feel the vibration of the fl ak coming up and shaking the plane. I realized that the fl ak suits we were told to wear might come in handy. I remember chewing gum, and the saliva in my mouth completely dried up

from the fright. It seemed al-most impossible to fl y through that wall of fi re without get-ting shot down, but I had no choice. There was no turning back.”

After dropping his stick of paratroopers from the 1st Bat-talion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Air-borne Division, Lieutenant Ulan put his C-47 in a nose-down attitude and leveled-off just above the deck to avoid ground fi re. Flying just above the tree tops at full-throttle, Ulan’s Skytrain eventually passed over the beach and then came out skimming the water of the English Channel. The aircraft of Ulan’s forma-tion then climbed and formed up for the trip back to Eng-land. When he landed safely at Merryfi eld, Ulan inspected the outside of his C-47 and found several small holes in the skin from fl ak over the Co-tentin peninsula. He breathed a sigh of relief because he had survived the ordeal.

And then there was the weight and navigationJust before arriving over the drop zones, the C-47 pilots were supposed to throttle back to 90mph and hold an altitude of approximately 800 feet while the paratroopers exited. But under the cir-cumstances of the night drop, that 90mph air-speed was not always possible, and many planes were signifi cantly faster than usual when the paratroopers jumped. There was one major factor — weight. Generally in both the 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division, the C-47s that fl ew that night were heavier than they should have been. 101st Airborne Division author and historian Mark Bando described the situation:

landed on the drop zone, or that they came under enemy fi re almost immediately upon landing. Had they been able to accomplish their mission, the C-47s carrying the rest of the regiment would have been guided in to-ward Drop Zone “T.” Instead, those C-47s approached unguided through obscuring cloud cover.

cause the 507th was based in an area of


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“The recommended safe maximum weight for a C-47 with cargo aboard is 27,900 pounds. Troop carrier planes rou-tinely flew ETO missions at 30,000 pounds. On the D-Day night drop, the C-47s were hauling equipment and overloaded para-troopers, which brought their weight up to as much as 34,000 pounds.”

The increased weight had a strong ad-verse effect on the C-47’s flight character-istics. Under normal loading, the plane was capable of maintaining stable, controlled flight at the relatively slow forward air-speed of 90mph, but the overloading on D-Day increased the stall speeds to the point that 90mph was dangerously slow. To compensate for the higher stall speeds, pi-lots were forced to drop their paratroopers at a forward airspeed approximately 20 to 30mph faster than normal. Thus, the Sky-trains were dropping their paratroopers at speeds of 110mph, 120mph, or even faster.

The aircrews also struggled with a num-ber of other significant complicating fac-tors. First of all, only about two out of every five C-47s carried a navigator. This two-to-five ratio had never presented much of a problem previously, but in the less than ideal, disorienting conditions of the Opera-tion Neptune night drop, that ratio became a major problem.

Secondly, strict adherence to radio si-lence eliminated the possibility of the pi-lots adapting and adjusting their plans to mitigate the problems encountered during the approach to the drop zones. Thirdly, 20- to 30-knot winds were blowing over the drop zones that night. Those winds gener-ated sudden patches of turbulence that buffeted the C-47s and knocked many off course. Finally, the airspeed and altitude of the troop carrier C-47s was such that the pilots had only a very narrow window of opportunity to line up on their drop zones before they turned on the green lights.

When the formations ran into that un-expected cloud bank over the 24-mile-wide Cotentin peninsula, they were at an altitude of 1,500 feet, moving at 140mph. Once they got out of the clouds, the pilots had less than four minutes to orient them-selves and make the necessary course corrections that would take them over the target drop zone. Again, due to overloading, the pilots could not slow their airspeed to buy themselves more time to solve their navigation problems.

So many complicationsAnother ever-present concern that was almost certainly in the mind of every pilot that night was that, if they hesitated too long to turn on the green light, they stood the chance of drop-

ping paratroopers in the English Channel on the eastern side of the peninsula. That was what hap-pened to Sergeant Leonard S. Goodgal of I Com-pany, 506th Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. After jumping during the pre-dawn hours of D-Day, he landed in shallow water. He then waded ashore, climbed up on the beach, and realized that he was at the foot of a tall cliff. When the sun rose a few hours later, Good-gal found that his plane had overshot the drop zone by 12 miles and dropped him at the base of Pointe du Hoc.

The view aft in a fully restored, combat-ready C-47: the trip from England to their drop zone in France was brief so comfort wasn't a consideration. Skytrains were long on function and utility but short on luxury. (Photo by Moose Peterson)

Cpl. Joe Oleskiewicz, a pathfinder with the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment , stands in the door of his C-47 Skytrain S/N 42-100920 6Z+L "Chalk 21" of the 96th TCS 440th TCG at Exeter, England on the evening of June 5, 1944. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)



NocturNal Gamble

For C-47s that overshot the drop zone on the Cotentin Peninsula, making a second approach was not an option because it would mean flying back through the enemy’s anti-aircraft defenses. But there was yet another danger: a total of 801 Troop Carrier C-47s flew in Operation Neptune air drop that night (Mission Albany, the aerial repositioning of the 101st Airborne, consisted of 432 C-47s and Mission Boston, the aerial re-positioning of the 82nd Airborne, consisted of 369 C-47s). Those 801 aircraft were all operating within the same airspace at night under combat conditions lit only by dim blue lights designed to be visible only from behind. The traffic pattern for the Neptune parachute drop ran from west to east over the peninsula. If a pilot missed the drop zone on the first go-around and decided to make another approach, he would be flying against the flow of traffic in airspace with hundreds of air-planes. The pilots obviously did not want to drop paratroopers in the English Channel. They obvi-ously did not want to drop paratroopers far away from their assigned drop zones with little or no hope of assembling. They obviously did not want to turn around and fly head-on into approaching C-47s to make another drop zone approach. Do-ing so would jeopardize their lives, the lives of the 18 paratroopers they were carrying, and the lives of the men on the other C-47s. Clearly, the troop carrier pilots had a difficult job to do under near-impossible circumstances that night.

A good effort in a bad situationAs a result of the myriad of influences and circum-

stances affecting the 61st and 442nd Troop Carrier Groups, the men of the 507th Parachute Infantry were scattered on the D-Day night drop. The reali-ty ultimately led to accusations that the pilots had behaved irresponsibly and/or cowardly. But the actions of those airmen seem far less irresponsible when the full circumstances are considered and all of the facts are appreciated. On D-Day, there were near-perfect drops, mixed drops, and totally disastrous drops. The exercises that the groups had flown in preparation for the operation had not even approached what would be a gauntlet of fire over the Cotentin Peninsula that night. Those circumstances made it impossible for the pilots to get their jobs done with the same level of preci-sion that had been achieved in training.

Although they have been somewhat criticized in the past, the Troop Carrier aircrews who flew Operation Neptune did the best they could have possibly done given the circumstances, and the reality is that, despite the scattering, the mission was a success. While the cases of disastrous mis-drops on D-Day are undeniable, there were also countless cases of pilots who went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that the paratroopers they were carrying were delivered to their drop zone. Despite the fact that they flew the mission in unarmed and unarmored aircraft, they faced enemy fire and completed the mission as half of the team that made vertical envelop-ment operations possible and contributed to the ultimate success of the Normandy Invasion.

C-47B S/N Number 43-48608 arrived three weeks too late for the invasion but this combat veteran, in its original livery of the 9th AF, 302nd air transport wing, 27th air transport group participated in operation MarketGarden and others through the end of the war. In 2010, she was voted the most original C-47 out of 26 other Skytrains in attendance at EAA-Oshkosh(AirVenture). Features like theoriginal celestial navigation set, navigators drift meeter, originalradios as well as gun ports in the windows, make this "Gooney" a true time capsule. (Photo by Scott Slocum)


TARGETSTARGETSSilentSilentTARGETSSilentTARGETS

The glider gang behind the linesBY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

Twelve glider infantrymen of the 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment prepare to climb aboard a Waco CG-4 named Sad Sack for a training mission at Camp MacKall, North Carolina during October 1943. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)

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During the National WW II Glider Pilots Association’s 41st reunion in Oklahoma City in October 2011, glider pilots George L. Williams of Idaho and Norman C. Wilmeth of Oklahoma shared memories of their D-Day glider missions with the author.

Mission Elmira Normandy D-DayFlight Offi cer George L. Williams fl ew seven glider missions during World War II. Fresh out of high school when he enlisted, he was excited to be a part of the war. He had the opportunity to fl y both the large British Airspeed Horsa glider and the rela-tively smaller American Waco CG-4A Hadrian glider. The wood-en Horsa’s fuselage was 67 feet long, its wingspan was 88 feet, and it had a loaded weight up to 15,500 pounds. The Ameri-can Waco’s tube-and-fabric fuselage measured 48 feet, 8 inches long, its wingspan was 83 feet, 8 inches, and it had a loaded takeoff weight of 7,500 pounds (or up to 9,000 pounds at emer-gency load weight).

Horsa vs. CG-4AWhen asked to compare the two gliders he fl ew, Williams re-called, “During Normandy, I fl ew the Horsa glider. It was like a Mack truck — you couldn’t maneuver it very well. A Horsa really shouldn’t be cross-controlled (for example, performing a slipping maneuver to lose altitude), especially with a load in it — it might not recover to controlled fl ight again. But the CG-4A – that was a Mercedes by comparison!”

Several glider missions were fl own on D-Day in Operation Overlord. Mission Elmira was fl own during the early evening of June 6. Williams related his experience of fl ying a Horsa glider during that mission:



SILENT TARGETS

Teenager on D-Day“Briefi ng and training were extensive and very good for D-Day,” refl ects Williams, adding, “They made a great big mosaic map of the whole area and told me the name of every farm close to where I was landing. I had a 38-year-old copilot and I was barely 19 then. I fl ew a British Horsa glider with a jeep, a trailer full of ordnance and mortar ammunition. I had 19 fully equipped airborne troopers. I was overloaded by approxi-mately 3,000 pounds when we took off from Greenham Common — that was the base in Eng-land about 60 miles west of London. The run-way length was way more than we should have needed, and there was a construction area down at the end. It was a pretty smooth road leading out from the runway. Anyway, I got to the end of the runway and still wasn’t off the ground! The C-47 was off the ground, and that tow pilot knew

what my problem was, so he held the C-47 down and was going just as fast as he could. He wasn’t 10 feet over that runway, and he told me just before I lifted off the ground, ‘If you don’t get that thing off the ground by the time we get to that building, you’re going to be off the [tow] rope.’ That is bad news when

he disconnects his end of the rope — it has a big hook up there and the nylon rope approximately 10% before it snaps — so if he disconnects his end, that thing is stretching and boom! It’ll tear the whole nose apart practically!

Overloaded“I got off the ground at the last second and was just mushing for half an hour. I wasn’t really climbing very much. We circled for a long time because there were thousands of gliders coming in. I fi nally got up to about 600 feet and asked the commanding offi cer of the ground unit on board to come forward behind the pilots’ compart-ment. I asked him, ‘Did you supervise loading this glider?’ He said, “No, I didn’t, and I’m mad — I saw what you did to struggle off the ground.” Well, I knew it was overloaded because we had fi gured out a way of testing before we took off. We jumped up in the air and grabbed the glid-er’s tailskid, and if the tail came down like this (gesturing to a height above the ground), it was okay. If it came down like this (gesturing with a quick downward motion), it was tail-heavy — and that’s what this Horsa did. So I knew that, and I had rolled the trim tab forward and did ev-erything I could to try and keep the nose down because I couldn’t buck all that weight.

C-47 was off the ground, and that tow pilot knew what my problem was, so he held the C-47 down and was going just as fast as he could. He wasn’t 10 feet over that runway, and he told me just before I lifted off the ground, ‘If you don’t get that thing off the ground by the time we get to that building, you’re going to be off the [tow] rope.’ That is bad news when

Bottom: C-47s of the 72nd and 74th TCS, 434th TCG are waiting to queue up with their Horsa gliders at Aldermaston in preparation for the KEOKUK afternoon resupply mission on June 6. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)

Inset: Flight Offi cer George L. Williams. (Photo courtesy of author)


AUGUST 2014 59

“The air was very smooth and there was noturbulence,sowhenthe[towplanemadeaquickmaneuver], the jeep suddenly got loose androlledforward!TheHorsa’snosecamedownallof a sudden, and I thought, ‘Oh, God!’ I couldfeel the difference in my stomach! That is theonlytimeIevergotscared.

Landing hazards“We got the glider level again and I asked thetowpilot,‘Whatthehelldidyoudobackthere?You’rejerkingmeallover!’ThenItoldthecrewthat because of the load I had, I was going tocomeinreallyfast.IcouldseeNormandy,butitwasalittlewaysaway.Isaid,‘Whenwecomein,we’regoingtobehot.Normally,toomuchspeedcoming in means you’re asking to be killed be-causeyoucan’tgetthedamnthingstopped.But,I said to myself, ‘I don’t have spoilers, I’ve got“barndoor”flaps.’Theywerebigthings,likethis(gesturingwitharmsspreadwide).Sofirst,IrolledthetrimforwardandbothofusgrabbedholdofthatcontrolwheelbecauseIdidn’twantthenosetocomeup—thegliderwouldhavestalled.ThenIdropped thoseflaps justbefore Iwasgoing toland.Iwasgoingabout115mph—waytoofast—whenIpulledthoseflaphandleson.”

TheGermanshaderectedhundredsofwoodenpoles,nicknamed“Rommel’sasparagus,”whichweresunkpartwayintothegroundandstrategi-callyplacedthroughoutthefieldsinNormandyashazardstogliderlandings.Williamssawthosein his target landing area, so he chose anotherfieldabouttwomilessouthofSainte-Mère-Église.Newspaperaccountsreported:“Onreachingthe

One of the primary design functions of the Waco CG-4A glider was to bring light transport and field artillery to the battlefront. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)

French coast, Williams’ plane drew fire from20mm antiaircraft guns and rifles. Farther in-land,Germansoldiersusedmachinegunstotrytobringtheplanedown.”

Williamsrecalled,“Thetowpilothadacertainwayhewassupposedtoflytoavoidgroundfire—iftheintelligencewascorrect.Afterthegliderreleased, he’d bank a wing over an area wheretheydroppedthenylontowropesontheground.Normallywe released about300 feet above theground.Well,afterIreleased,Ilost290feetim-mediately!Ididthatonpurpose.IcouldseeweweregoingtolandinwaterbecausetheGermans

Hastily applied invasion stripes greet this somber group of airborne infantry as they ready to board a Horsa glider for their June 6 daylight delivery to Normandy. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)



silent targets

had opened some irrigation ditches and flooded that field until the water was several feet deep. I went down and hit that water hard and fast, and that quickly stopped my forward speed — and that’s what can kill you. The Horsa didn’t have the protective nose device like the CG-4A, which was equipped with a bolt-on Griswold nose con-sisting of four pikes that came down a big steel plate that could knock down small trees or poles.

Behind enemy lines“As soon as we landed, I told everybody to get out of the glider, but not to unload anything un-til we knew where the enemy was. If we’d landed one field over, we’d have known immediately! The 88th Squadron really got it. I had quite a few

bullet holes in the tail of the glider, but I didn’t know that until I got out. At that time of the year, they were in double daylight saving time. It was pretty light out, but it did get dark after midnight for a while. After we got down on the ground and it was finally dark, we used hand-operated ‘cricket’ clickers for communicating.”

Along with other pilots in his squadron, Wil-liams was interviewed afterward, by war cor-respondent Ted Malone, on radio (which was recorded by Westinghouse Corporation, and un-known to Williams at the time, a copy was later given to his father back in the States). The inter-view reported that the glider pilots had landed in German territory and “spent three-and-one-half days filtering through the German lines back to friendly soil. While making their way back to their own lines, the men surprised 43 Germans and took them prisoner. They were forced to hide in trees, holes, or barns of peasants while at-tempting escape. After meeting American troops, the men piled in jeeps and started back to the beaches to join their forces.”

Getting back to baseWilliams recalled that the glider pilots had been ordered to “proceed [by walking] to Utah Beach for evacuation, first by an Army DUKW from Utah Beach to the LCI (Landing Craft Infantry), and next by LST (Landing Ship Tank) — but it was having engine trouble, so we transferred to a PT boat for the trip back via the Channel to England. There, C-47s took us back to Greenham Common. Our main job after landing was guard-ing prisoners and crossroads.”

A hometown Idaho newspaper ran a story about Williams’ participation in D-Day, stating that he was awarded an Air Medal for “outstand-

A C-47 Skytrain flown by First Lt. Gerald Berry of the 91st Troop Carrier Squadron about to snag the pick-up line and make

the first recovery of a glider from liberated France on June 23, 1944, near St. Mere

Eglise. (Photo by Jack Cook)

A nice view of a CG-4 glider in flight from the cockpit shows a slight climb with an airspeed of 110mph. Both the 350' nylon towline and the left wing of the C-47 Skytrain tow plane are visible through the glider's canopy. (Photos by Jack Cook)


AUGUST 2014 61

ing gallantry” in his glider mission. A portion of the Air Medal citation reads as follows: “Magnifi -cent spirit and enthusiasm was displayed by F. O. Williams, and combined with skill, courage, and devotion to his duty, he remained at the controls of his glider, without regard to personal safety, against most severe enemy opposition and land-ed his glider astride Hitler’s Westwall.”

Mission Hackensack (Normandy D-Day + 1)Second Lieutenant Norman Wilmeth fl ew six glider missions during World War II. At age 26, he was older than many of his peers in the ser-vice. Briefl y refl ecting on his missions, Wilmeth commented, “Most people only have one experi-ence in their life like that and I have had several. I fl ew four glider combat missions and two more, which were special missions into Germany.”

During Operation Overlord, Mission Hacken-sack was one of two glider missions that were made on the morning of June 7, 1944. Wilmeth recalled his mission:

Heavily loaded Horsa“I fl ew the Horsa glider and had 30-some troops aboard; our D-Day mission had been postponed by one day because of weather. That gave the troops time to think about wanting to have an-other bandolier — another round of mortar am-munition. Because of this, my load was more than normal, since the fellows had been in com-bat before and thought that they needed extra supplies. We were heavy, and when we took off, the towplane was airborne with the wheels up in the well, but we were still on the runway, trying to get off. We traveled the full length of the run-way, and then the grass, before we fi nally wres-

tled it off the ground. Once we were airborne, and passed 90mph indicated, it fl ew fi ne.

Antiaircraft fi re“Our fl ight was uneventful un-til we passed by the east coast of Cherbourg, when I noticed splashes in the water off our right front. I fi rst thought the splashes were from dropped belly tanks from fi ghters in the area. Then one of the splashes was a surface burst, and I real-ized that we were at the ex-treme range of shore ground fi re. The splashes were from projectiles, not belly tanks. And soon we would receive the green light to cut loose and land. We were briefed to do a 270-degree turn to the left, instead of a standard glider release turn to the right. That was odd, and I never have fi gured out why we did that, when we could have done a 90-degree turn to the right. But anyway, we did a 270-degree turn to the left, and what I observed was that when I’d roll-back my airspeed — if my memory’s right — to about 75 or 80mph indicated, the needle on the rate-of-descent instrument was pegged straight down. So, I increased the airspeed to 90mph indicated, and that reduced my rate of descent.

“The Horsa had a cockpit with a door behind the pilot and copilot, and the sergeant was stand-ing there in the doorway, and I told him, ‘Sit down, shut the door, and prepare for a crash landing’ — because I fi gured we were going to land in the trees. And he did. I rolled-out on a heading and prepared for a crash landing in the trees. All of a sudden a little area opened up, and I

tled it off the ground. Once we were airborne, and passed 90mph

“Our fl ight was uneventful un-til we passed by the east coast of Cherbourg, when I noticed splashes in the water off our right front. I fi rst thought the

fi re. The splashes were from projectiles, not belly Top: Before Allied soldiers reached the beaches, U.S. and British paratroopers were landed behind German lines in Normandy. Shown here on the right is a British Horsa glider and on the left and the background are two Waco CG-4A gliders. (Photo courtesy of EN Archives)

Inset: Second Lt. Norman C. Wilmeth. (Photo courtesy of author)



silent targets

called for full flaps, and on the Horsa, the bottom of the wing flaps would be as large as a confer-ence table on both sides, so it would really come down at a very steep angle. Well, my copilot was also a power pilot, and he was a little slow about putting the flaps down. So, I reached over and slapped the control down myself and got the flaps lowered.

Crash landing“The flaps and brakes were operated by com-pressed air, and before we took off, they came around and aired up every Horsa’s air tank. We touched down fast at 90mph indicated, and I struck one of those glider poles (“Rommel’s as-paragus”). I saw it just fly up out of the ground, like a toothpick flipping up into the air, so it wasn’t planted very deep. I had time to hit right-rudder, left-rudder, and correct my direction of flight. When I came to a hedgerow, I had enough forward speed to pull back on the yoke and raise the nose up, where I could hit the belly on the hedgerow. So, the Horsa took the shock of the crash on its belly, and we opened the door and everybody jumped out. The only injury on that flight was one of the troopers, who sprained his ankle on the jump out of the door. We were high enough off the ground that it was quite a fall.

“We had the windshield shot out; some other gliders had come to this same field and they had received small arms fire. One of them had gone kind of slant-ways through the trees, and the Horsa was all wood — so there was a lot of splin-tering on it from going through the trees. My troops thought I was a pretty golden boy, since they were all safe and sound.

Firefight“As soon as we got organized, I started walk-ing down a road and got into a firefight. I got hit from the back with the first round — if I’d been playing football, it would have been a 15-yard penalty for clipping. The sergeant assigned a trooper to look after me, after we got through that firefight, but I said, ‘Sergeant, you go ahead and take this trooper and put him somewhere else. I’m a trained infantry officer and I’ve got enough sense to get down out of the line of fire — I don’t have to be knocked down.’ So that took care of that. We went on and I joined some other glider pilots and we meandered along toward the coast.

The long way home“A half-track came by and we hopped on board, going on down to the coastline. We got on board a ship and the next morning we were in Ports-mouth, England. The glider pilots were the first ones off of the ship, even though they had pris-oners and those who had been wounded aboard. They had trucks there for us, and we loaded up and drove about an hour to this camp area they had set up with a mess hall. We went over to the mess hall, and what did they feed us? Steak! Oh, was it good! Then we loaded back up and drove a few miles to another camp area where we were going to stay all night. And what did they feed us? More steak! So we had two steak dinners in less than six hours — that was their reward for us coming back from behind enemy lines. We stayed there until a troop carrier plane came by that airfield and picked us up. Then they dropped us off at our different air bases.”

A restored WACO CG-4A on display at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo courtesy of Silent Wings Museum)


D-Day Landings in Normandy

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2 D-DAY RAF

The GreatCrusadeThis is an original example of the D-Day message from General Eisenhower,supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe,which was issued on June5 and 6, 1944, to every single soldier, sailor and airmen of the AlliedExpeditionary Force who would be participating in the D-Day landings and thesupporting operations.The letter was presented on SHAEF headed paper andbore the plain signature of Dwight D Eisenhower with no rank indicated.Courtesy Tony Cooper (D-Day Spitfire pilot with 64 Sqn) from whose logbookthis was copied.

4 Concorde

06. Welcome08. IntroductIon –the greatest mIlItary

operatIon In hIstory10. d-day aIr poWer

(andthe raF contrIbutIon).15. the raF aIr order oF battle on d-day19. d-day InvasIon strIpes20. FIghters and FIghter-bombers

IntroductIon22. supermarIne spItFIre IntroductIon24. d-day survIvor 1 –

tony cooper:d-day spItFIre pIlot28. d-day survIvor 2 –

spItFIre mK356 and gordon ocKenden34. shot doWn by FlaK –

‘Johnny’ Johnston38. Who got rommel?

40. rodeo 194 – sammy sampson42. haWKertyphoon IntroductIon46. d-daytyphoon pIlot (197 sqn) –

Kentrott50. FlyIngthe beast –three pIlots’

accounts53. mustang III IntroductIon54. mustangtWo up – polIsh pIlot

horbaczeWsKI oF 315 sqn56. Jammers and spooFers – IntroductIon

IncludIng aIrcraFttypes58. operatIonstaxable and glImmer –

spooF ‘WIndoW’raIds onthe eve oFd-day by lancasters and stIrlIngs

61. operatIontItanIc – specIal dutystIrlIngs and halIFaxes droppIng sasand ‘ruperts’ onthe eve oF d-day

‘Over the beaches of Normandy on D-Day’. In the early evening of D-Day, June 6, 1944,Operation Mallard took place to tow gliderscarrying the remainder of the British 6th Airborne Division into Normandy.The glider-tugs and gliders were escorted on this daylightoperation by fighter aircraft.The nearest Spitfire Mk.IXb,code letters ‘AGM’, is the personal aircraft of Group Captain AG ‘Sailor’Malan, the commanding officer of No 145 (Free French) Wing,who flew his Spitfire as a section leader with 340 (‘Ile de France’)Squadron on D-Day,escorting the glider-towing ‘heavies’.The Spitfire Mk.Vs, in the centre of the picture,are from 345 (Free French)Squadron. Short Stirling of 196 and 299 Squadrons can be seen below the fighter escort, plodding towards enemy territory towingtheir Horsa gliders.The North American Mustang IIIs (top right) are from 315 (Polish) Squadron which was also on Mallard escort.The Hawker Typhoons (lower right) are ‘Bomphoons’of 197 Squadron on armed reconnaissance.Artwork: Gary Eason

Contents

64. TransporTs,gliderTugs and para-droppers – inTroducTion66. armsTrongWhiTWorTh albemarle and FlT sgT bernie Johnson 296 sqn70. TheTablesTurned – 620 sqn sTirling shoT doWn by Flak on d-day72. shorT sTirling73. douglas c-47 dakoTa76. raF dakoTa d-day experiences79. The Flying nighTingales – individual sTories86. heavy bombers – inTroducTion includingaircraFTTypes90. losT and Found – 97 sqn (coningsby) lancasTer loss on d-day93. sledgehammerTo crack hard nuTs – 617 sqnTallboy

raids June 8-9 and June 14, 194498. vicToria cross – mynarski vc102. medium bombers and inTruders – inTroducTion including aircraFTTypes

(miTchell, bosTon and mosquiTo)106. smokers – d-day bosTons smoke laying,aircreWaccounTs110 on aWing and a prayer – mosquiTo inTruder sTory112. Tac recce andThe air spoTTing pool – inTroducTion and musTang i/ia and

spiTFire pr mk.xi115. 268 sqn musTangs – direcTingThe big guns118. nighT FighTers – inTroducTion and mosquiTo nF xiii120. nighThaWks – 409 sqn rcaF mosquiTo nighT FighTers122. coasTal command – proTecTingThe Flanks

(inTroducTion including aircraFTTypes)128. sighTed: TWo subs – sank same

Author:Clive Rowley MBE RAF (Retd)

Sub Editor:Dan Sharp

Designer:Leanne Lawrence

Reprographics:Jonathan Schofield

Group production editor:Tim Hartley

Production manager:Craig Lamb

Marketing manager:Charlotte Park

Publisher:Dan Savage

Commercial director:Nigel Hole

Published by:Mortons Media Group Ltd,Media Centre,Morton Way,Horncastle,Lincolnshire LN9 6JRTel: 01507 529529

Printed by:William Gibbons and Sons,Wolverhampton

Credits:Special thanks to the following fortheir help and generosity inproviding assistance, artwork orimages for this publication:RAF Battle of Britain Memorial FlightJon BleasdaleTim CallawayTony CooperJohn DibbsGary EasonMartin JohnstonLen KrenzlerWiek LuijkenRobert TaylorAdamToobySpencer Trickett

ISBN:978-1-909128-38-5

All material copyright Mortons MediaLimited, 2014.All rights reserved.

© Mortons Media Group Ltd.All rightsreserved.No part of this publication may beproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopying, recording, or any informationstorage retrieval system without priorpermission in writing from the publisher.

Front coverpainting:‘CanadianWing’byRobertTaylor,courtesyThe MilitaryGallery,Wendover.

specifically on the RAF involvement in thebuild-up to D-Day, the invasion and thesubsequent Battle of Normandy. Althoughthe D-Day story has been well covered inthe past, most accounts centre, notsurprisingly, on the ground elements

6 D-DAY RAF

story of one of which is included in thesepages. In 2004, for the 60th anniversarycommemorations of D-Day, I was privilegedto fly that Spitfire as part of the BBMFformation which conducted a number offlypasts over commemorative ceremonies inNormandy, including the main one on June6, with no fewer than 17 heads of state andassorted members of European royalty,including our own Queen, watching on theground. This was an occasion I will neverforget and heightened my interest in the D-Day events of 1944.

Since joining the BBMF in 1996 I havealso had the privilege of meeting manywartime veterans, some of whom wereinvolved in the operations surrounding D-Day, of hearing their stories first hand andin some cases getting to know them well.

Their understated accounts and innatemodesty serve only to highlight the sheercourage and outright heroism of those whotook part, without which the war would nothave been won. To my knowledge there hasnever been a publication which focusses

Ihave been fascinated by the D-Daystory since my father took me to seethe film The Longest Day at thecinema when I was 11 years old. Atthat age I was at once enthralled and

shocked by the events portrayed on the bigscreen and totally in awe of the courage andheroism of those who carried the fight tothe enemy.

Having subsequently served for 36 yearsas a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force, myinterest, perhaps not surprisingly, becameorientated towards the RAF’s involvement inthe war and in the D-Day invasion. I havenever lost sight, though, of the fact thatwhere D-Day was concerned, the airelement was only a part of an all-armscampaign of almost unbelievable scale thatwas undoubtedly one of the greatestmilitary feats of all time.

My 11 years flying with the RAF Battle ofBritain Memorial Flight (BBMF), includingmy time as the officer commanding theflight, gave me the privileged opportunity tofly two actual D-Day veteran Spitfires, the

specifically on the RAF involvement in the

WelcomeFrom the author:Squadron Leader Clive Rowley MBE RAF (Retd)

RAF BBMF D-Day 60th commemorative flypast in 2004 over the Normandy beaches – the author was flying one of the Spitfires.Crown copyright

(which, of course, were fundamental to thewhole thing). The few air power relatedD-Day narratives, which have beenpublished, have covered the subject as anAllied campaign, which is exactly what itwas. However, the natural bias towards thesurface elements and also towards theAmerican forces participating in the Alliedeffort can lead to the vital and notinsignificant part played by the RAF beingsomewhat overlooked.

I can’t help wondering, whether the realD-Day story has been done a disservice bysome books and films which have focussedtoo much on the American part and ratherdownplayed the British, Commonwealthand other occupied nations’ involvement inthe great event. Would I be wrong tosuggest that some might be surprised tolearn of the scale and importance of theinvolvement of the other Allies and of theRAF in the success of the D-Day operations?

With all this in mind, I have set out toprovide, in the space available, an overviewof the RAF’s operations in the build-up toD-Day (roughly from the beginning of April1944), the invasion operations from June 6,and the subsequent Battle of Normandy upto the end of August, accepting that the RAFpart is a relatively ‘small cog in a muchlarger machine’. The scale of even just theRAF operations in this period was immenseand there simply is not the space to cover itall. I have not been able, for example, tocover the RAF Air Sea Rescue organisation’s

small battles, in many cases without officialrecognition or without becoming householdnames. By telling some of their stories Ihope to paint a picture of what it was like tobe involved in this stage of the war with theRAF, and to commemorate the courage ofthose who did so.

For them, it seems, this was an event notto be missed, despite the obvious risks tolife and limb. It is difficult for us, today, toput ourselves in their shoes, with four longyears of war and Nazi domination of Europebehind them, with their sense of duty, theirpatriotism, their acceptance of risks andlosses that would seem intolerable todayand, frankly, with little alternative.

Now was the chance to strike back, toliberate Europe from the tyranny of theNazis. To quote Tony Cooper, a 98-year-oldD-Day Spitfire pilot whose story features inthis publication and who I am proud to callmy friend: “We had become used to hearingand accepting bad news, setbacks andsometimes personal losses, but now, at last,we were fighting back and this time weknew that we were going to win!”

I hope that readers may find thispublication a thought-provoking and fittingcommemoration of the 70th anniversary ofD-Day and the RAF’s part in it. Mostimportantly, I hope that it may serve as atribute to the men and women of the RAFwho flew and fought in these operations andof their courage, tenacity and sheerheroism. n

D-DAY RAF 7

part (it rescued 163 aircrew and 60 otherpersonnel on D-Day alone and during June1944 a total of 355 people were saved by theRAF ASR aircraft and boats). Neither couldI include the part played by RAF personnelon the surface during the invasion, such asthe RAF beach and balloon squadrons, thefighter control radar operators on landingcraft off the beaches, the RAF ServicingCommandos and the RAF Regimentgunners. The first of these RAF men landedon the Normandy invasion beaches on theafternoon of D-Day, some of them onOmaha beach with the Americans.

The content of this publication is not setout chronologically. Rather, it is divided bythe different roles of the RAF aircraft andcrews, such as fighters and fighter-bombers, heavy bombers, mediumbombers, and so on. Each section has ashort ‘documentary’ introduction, with theessential details, to set a framework for whatfollows and to introduce the aircraft typesinvolved. There are then separate accountsof individual actions or operations by pilotsand crews flying in that role, some of themin the individuals’ own words.

There is a tendency for the D-Day storyto be narrated with a strategic orientation,focusing on the parts played by the greatmilitary men who planned and commandedthe operations. But the success of theendeavour, and the ultimate liberation ofEurope, is just as much the story of themany individuals who fought their own

A RAF BBMF formation consisting of the C-47 Dakota, Lancaster and two D-Day Spitfires overflies Arromanches for the D-Day 60th anniversarycommemorations on June 6, 2004 – the author was flying one of the Spitfires.Crown copyright

8 D-Day RaF

On Tuesday, June 6, 1944, a dateknown to most as D-Day, amighty armada crossed the seafrom England to France andcracked the Nazi’s four year

long grip on Western Europe. On this day inhistory the greatest amphibious operationdisplayed its awesome power in a feat ofarms that led to the liberation of NorthernFrance by August 1944 and to the defeat ofNazi Germany the following spring. TheNormandy landings were the beginning ofthe end of the war in Europe.In military terminology ‘D-Day’ is the

code word used for the day that an attack oroperation is initiated, with H-Hour being thestart time. It had been used in connectionwith other operations before the Normandyinvasion and has been used since; thelandings at San Carlos during the Falklands

War in 1982 being an example. For mostpeople though, the codeword D-Day issynonymous with the Allied invasion ofNormandy on June 6, 1944.Operation Overlord, as it was named, was

the largest air, land, and sea operation everundertaken. Overlord was the name assignedto the establishment of a large-scale force onthe Continent, an operation that began onJune 6, 1944, and continued until the Alliedforces crossed the River Seine on August 19.The assault phase of the operation – theseaborne invasion, the landings and thegaining of a secure foothold – which began onD-Day and ended on June 30, was codenamedOperation Neptune. Numerous otheroperations were part of the overall plan, suchas Operations Tonga, Detroit and Chicago forthe landing of the British 6th Airborne and theAmerican 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.

Years of meticulous planning andpreparation, the painstaking build-up offorces and their intensive training came tofruition on June 6, 1944. The assault hadbeen planned to take place on June 5, butdue to poor weather General DwightEisenhower, the Supreme AlliedCommander, decided at the last moment todelay the invasion by 24 hours.In the months leading up to D-Day the

Allied forces conducted an extensivedeception operation aimed at misleading theGermans with respect to the exact date andplace of the invasion. This was so successfulthat the invasion actually took the Germanmilitary high command completely bysurprise, even though they knew it wascoming, that it was only a question of time andwas bound to happen soon. Low tides and badweather – combined with the Allied deceptionplans – had convinced the Germans that anattack was unlikely at this time and they hadnot been able to second-guess the plannedlocation for the landings either.As British bombers began to pummel

Normandy’s coastal defences on the night ofJune 5-6, and the invasion armada wasmaking its way slowly across the EnglishChannel, Generalfeldmarschall ErwinRommel, the German general responsible forthe defence of the French coast against thelong anticipated Allied invasion, was taking abreak in Germany, celebrating his wife’sbirthday. He was convinced that there was nobetter time to be absent from his duties.It is hard to conceive the epic scope of

this decisive battle that foreshadowed theend of Hitler’s plan for Nazi domination.Quite apart from the military combatelements of the operation, Overlord requireda logistics plan that could ensure that a vastamount of men and equipment could belanded by the end of D-Day.On the eve of the landings more than 1000

Allied bombers pounded the German coastalartillery positions and a sophisticated RAFoperation jammed and deceived the enemyradars. As the naval armada neared the coast,the beach defences in Normandy werepulverised by naval gunfire from 200warships. Before the bombers made theirpresence felt, some 23,000 Allied airbornetroops were dropped into the area behind thebeach head by almost 2000 transport aircraftand the gliders they towed, with the task ofdisrupting the organisation of German landforces and seizing a variety of tactical targetssuch as bridges and crossroads, thereby

D-DayThe greatest military operation of all time

Map from the logbook of D-Day RAF Spitfire pilot Tony Cooper, showing the invasion beacheswith their code names in his own writing.Courtesy Tony Cooper

D-DAY RAF 9

“For four long years, much of Europe hadbeen under a terrible shadow. Free nationshad fallen... Europe was enslaved, and the

world prayed for its rescue. Here inNormandy the rescue began. Here the Alliesstood and fought against tyranny in a giantundertaking unparalleled in human history.”

(President Ronald Reagan during a speech on the40th anniversary of D-Day in 1984).

protecting the flanks of the invasion. DuringD-Day itself, between the first landings at6.30am British Double Summer Time (GMT+2) and midnight, another 132,000 American,British and Canadian troops were landed bysea on five beaches, code named (from westto east) Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword,along a 50 mile stretch of the heavilyfortified Normandy coast.

The Americans landed 59,000 men on thebeaches at Utah and Omaha, while 73,000British and Canadian troops landed onSword, Juno and Gold beaches. These menwere transported and supported by morethan 5000 ships, crewed by almost 196,000sailors from the Allied and Merchant Navies.

When D-Day was over, thousands of menhad died. British Prime Minister WinstonChurchill had said to his wife, Clementine:“Do you realise that by the time you wake upin the morning 20,000 men may have beenkilled?” He was not far wrong if the casualtieson both sides are taken into account.

Although sources vary somewhat, theAllies lost around 10,500 men killed,wounded, missing in action or takenprisoner on June 6, 1944, and the Germanshad a similar number of casualties. Yetsomehow, partly due to the extensiveplanning and preparation and mostly tothe sheer courage, fighting spirit andsacrifice of the Allied forces, ‘FortressEurope’ had been breached. The Allieshad gained a foothold in France, theGermans were forced back from thebeaches and the advance across Europe todefeat Hitler had begun.

By June 11, D-Day +5, 326,547 troops,54,186 vehicles and 104,428 tons of supplieshad been landed on the beaches to supportthe advance inland with yet more continuingto arrive.

The sheer valour of those men wholanded in enemy territory and into theunknown on D-Day, June 6, 1944, shouldnever be belittled. Many of them feared theworst, but willingly did their duty anywayand, in many cases, especially among thosein the first waves, they did not survive theslaughter on the invasion beaches.

Many more of those who somehow madeit ashore unscathed were to pay the ultimateprice in the battles that followed.

D-Day: the Allied armada photographed from an RAF aircraft on June 6, 1944.

Allied troops wading ashore in Normandy on D-Day.

experts were drafted on to Merchant Navyvessels to help in avoiding incidents offriendly fire.

As well as being inter-allies and inter-services, the RAF operations were alsointer-command. It was, quite simply, nolonger possible for RAF commands tooperate as independently or with suchdefined roles as they had done earlier in thewar. By 1944 it was clear that bombingcould be carried out not only by dedicatedbombers but by fighter aircraft too.

Fighters could carry bombs and coulduse cannons and rockets against groundtargets, and they could carry outreconnaissance as well as being employedin air combat.

The most startling evidence of the newcrossover of roles between and withincommands was the scarcely credibledisappearance of the name FighterCommand in November 1943. It hadbecome apparent that Fighter Commandwould have to provide both air cover andtactical support for Overlord, while stillremaining responsible for defending thehomeland.

It was therefore decided to split FighterCommand into the old (pre-1936) AirDefence of Great Britain (ADGB) and thenew Second Tactical Air Force (2 TAF).This was a relatively short-lived experimentand the name Fighter Command returnedto life in October 1944 as the war entered itsfinal phase.

10 D-Day raf

Most D-Day accounts rightlyand understandably focuson the landings and theaction on the ground.However, it is widely

accepted that the invasion and thesubsequent Battle of Normandy would nothave been successful without the airsupremacy fought for and achieved by theAllied air armada that ruled the skies overnorthern France. In fact, the part played byair power in the success of the operationwas crucial, as the senior Alliedcommanders, including General BernardMontgomery, recognised.

This publication aims to separate and tofocus on the specific involvement of theRoyal Air Force in this greatest-evermilitary operation, while accepting andacknowledging the fact that it was, indeed,only a part of a combined effort.

Essential to maintaining this perspectiveis an understanding of the background, thecontext and framework within which theseRAF operations occurred. It is alsoimportant to state at the outset that this ‘airpower won the day’ focus is not intended inany way to detract from the courage,resilience and capabilities of the Alliedsoldiers and sailors on the surface, withoutwhich victory could not have been achieved.

Combined operationsBy 1944, in the European theatre of war, alloperations were ‘combined’. Firstly, therewas the combination of the Allies. Theextent of integration and co-operation

between the British and Americans at allsignificant command levels was remarkable,beginning at the top, the SupremeHeadquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces(SHAEF). Air operations at lower levels alsodisplayed this combined quality and theTactical Air Forces in particular mingledtheir efforts, adopted each other’s methodsand jargon and shared each other’s targets.

The RAF of 1944 included the air forcesof several other commonwealth and enemy-occupied nations, subsumed within it. OnD-Day the Allied nations represented in theair included: Australia, which provided11,000 participating aircrew; Belgium, withtwo Spitfire squadrons; Canada, whichcommitted 39 strategic and tacticalsquadrons; Czechoslovakia with threesquadrons of Spitfires plus a CoastalCommand Liberator squadron.

French aircrew operated four Spitfiresquadrons and two squadrons of Bostonmedium bombers; the Netherlands had asquadron of Spitfires and one of Mitchells;New Zealand, which had 11,000 menserving with the RAF and provided fourtactical squadrons plus two CoastalCommand squadrons; Norway with twoSpitfire squadrons and Poland with ninetactical squadrons of fighters andMosquitos. Individual airmen from severalother countries also flew with the RAF on D-Day (the full RAF order of battle on D-Daycan be found on pages 15-18).

Combined between Allies, the Overloadenterprise was also, of course, combinedbetween the services; it was in fact themost spectacular of all examples of theinter-service co-operation which some hadbeen preaching ardently for years. AirChief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, theCommander-in-Chief Air and DeputySupreme Allied Commander SHAEF, wasone of the great exponents of combinedoperations, saying: “I do not myself believethat any modern war can be won either atsea or on the land alone or in the airalone... in other words, war has changed tothree dimensional.”

There are very many examples of thisinter-service ‘jointery’ in the operationsbefore, during and after D-Day. Forexample, RAF pilots spotted for navalartillery; Army pilots flew TaylorcraftAuster Air Observation Posts (AOP) innominally RAF squadrons to provideartillery spotting for the land forces; glidersflown by Army glider pilots were towed andreleased by RAF transports, which also, ofcourse, dropped Army paratroopers; andRoyal Observer Corps aircraft recognition

D-Day air powerAnd the RAF’s contribution

General Bernard Montgomery, Land ForcesCommander, Operation Overlord.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder.Commander-in-Chief Air and DeputySupreme Commander SHAEF.

the AlliedtActicAlAir forcesAs Operation Overlord embarked upon itspreparatory phase, tactical air powerincreasingly came into play. Two greattactical air forces were formed to supportthe ground forces in the invasion, theUSAAF’s Ninth Air Force and the RAF’sSecond Tactical Air Force. Both were underthe overall command of RAF Air ChiefMarshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory.

The RAF’s Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) had grown out of initiatives in mid-1943 to structure a composite group tosupport the invasion of Europe. In January

1944, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coninghamtook command of 2 TAF, and two monthslater he assumed the additional duties ofcommander of the Advanced AlliedExpeditionary Air Force (AAEAF).

By D-Day 2 TAF consisted of four RAFGroups: 2 Group, 83 Group, 84 Group and85 Group. Of these, 2, 83 and 84 Groupswere readily available for the air-land battlein Normandy, while 85 Group was under thetemporary operational control of 11 Group.ADGB. 2 Group consisted of four wings ofBoston, Mitchell and Mosquito light andmedium bombers. 83 Group consisted of areconnaissance wing and some light aircraft

used for artillery spotting, one Mustangwing, four Spitfire wings and four Typhoonwings. 84 Group consisted of one Mustangwing, five Spitfire wings and three Typhoonwings as well as recce and spotting aircraft.

As the campaign progressed, 2 TAF’ssubordinate units directly supported unitsof the 21st Army Group. The British SecondArmy relied upon 83 Group while 84 Groupsupported the First Canadian Army. In total,including the USAAF elements, the tacticalair forces had 2434 fighters and fighter-bombers, together with around 700 lightand medium bombers, available for theNormandy campaign.

Allied Air effort inthebuild-upto d-dAyThese forces were used to strike against theGermans from the air during thepreparatory campaign from the end of 1943up to D-Day. The immense scope and theresounding effects of this air battle are lesswell known than some other Second WorldWar campaigns; but its success, atsignificant human cost, and its importanceto the outcome of the invasion, cannot beoverstated.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory stated: “If it had not been for the airattacks by bombers, fighter-bombers andfighters, delivered before D-Day andimmediately afterwards, it is my view thatthe Army would have had double, if notthree times the amount of resistance whichthey have in fact encountered. As it is, theGermans in front of them are short of petroland ammunition and are in a generally poorstate. This is due to air attack.”

D-DAY RAF 11

Spitfire Mk.IX of 443 Squadron (RCAF) 2 TAF.

Officers of the RAF, the Royal Navy and the British Army discuss plans on the bridge of a Landing Craft Tank (LCT) en route to Normandy,demonstrating the combined nature of Operation Overlord.

12 D-DAY RAF

This series of attacks began duringDecember 1943 with the steady destructionof German ‘V’-weapon storage andlaunching sites to prevent the weaponsbeing used against the Allied forcesmassing in the south of England. Therefollowed an expansion in specific types ofoperations over France, including a verylarge number of sorties to drop supplies tothe Resistance. The aim of this concertedeffort was to build up the fightingeffectiveness of the Resistance forces in alloccupied territories and to thereby causethe maximum disruption to the Germancommand and communications structure.

The Allied air campaign for the invasionof Europe consisted of three phases. First,Allied fighters would attempt to destroy theLuftwaffe. The second phase called forisolating the battlefield by interdicting roadand rail networks. Once the invasion began,Allied air forces would concentrate onbattlefield interdiction and close air support.

Air supremAcyThe outstanding feature of D-Day and thewhole of the remainder of the war in theWest, the value of which cannot beoverstated, was the Allied air supremacywhich existed, at least by day.

Allied air superiority happened suddenlyand rather unexpectedly in the early monthsof 1944 and the German Luftwaffe waseffectively destroyed between January andJune 1944. According to German sources,2262 German fighter pilots died during thattime including some of the mostexperienced and best commanders.

During the so-called ‘Big Week’ inFebruary 1944, the American air forcestargeted the German aircraft industry forspecial treatment and, while productioncontinued, the Luftwaffe fighter force tookstaggering losses. In March 1944, fully 56%

of the available German fighters were lost,43% were lost in April (as the bomber effortswitched to Germany’s petroleumproduction) and 50% in May, a month inwhich no less than 25% of Germany’s totalfighter pilot force (which averaged 2283 atany one time during this period) perished.This Allied air campaign was staggeringlysuccessful and devastating to the Germans.

By June 1944, the months ofconcentrated air warfare had given theAllies not only air superiority but airsupremacy as well. This meant that Alliedfighters, fighter-bombers and medium andheavy bombers could operate in daylightvirtually without interference from theLuftwaffe and had only to contend with anti-aircraft flak, which could still, however, beintense and extremely dangerous. Thefighters and fighter-bombers were able toroam over the occupied territories bombing,strafing and rocketing anything that moved

and that could be deemed hostile. It is arelatively well-known fact that only a singleflight of two Luftwaffe fighters made anappearance over the invasion beaches on D-Day itself – proof indeed of the success ofthe air superiority campaign undertakenprior to the landings.

Air interdictionAt D-Day minus 60 days, the Allied airforces began their interdiction attacksagainst rail targets and marshalling yards;these attacks increased in ferocity andtempo up to the eve of the invasion itselfand were accompanied by strategic bomberraids against the same targets.

Raids against bridges, railwaymarshalling yards and major crossroadswere carried out by medium bomber forces;and, later, the strategic heavy bombers ofboth the USAAF and RAF were tasked tocontinue these attacks to isolate theNormandy area. As part of thetransportation plan fighter-bombersattacked pinpoint targets, such aslocomotives, rolling stock and bridges, aswell as military vehicles on the roads.

The bridge campaign, which aimed atisolating the battlefield by destroyingbridges on the River Seine below Paris andbridges on the Loire below Orleans, beganon D-Day minus 46. Here, fighter-bombersproved more efficient than medium orheavy bombers. Their agility enabled themto make pinpoint dive-bombing attacks in away that the larger bombers, committed tohorizontal bombing runs, could not. Thefighter-bombers also had the speed,firepower, and manoeuvrability to evade andeven to dominate the Luftwaffe, althoughenemy anti-aircraft fire and, occasionally,enemy fighters did cause losses against theattacking Allied fighter-bombers.

By D-Day minus 21, the Allied air forcesmedium bombers and fighter-bombers wereattacking German airfields within a radiusof 130 miles of the battle area and theseoperations continued up to the assault onthe beachhead.

USAAF A-20 Havocs (known as Bostons in RAF service) bombing a target in Normandy.

Aerial reconnaissance photograph of destroyed road bridges across the Seine at Elbeuftaken on June 8, 1944

D-DAY RAF 13

Next on the list of priorities was theinterdiction of rail and road traffic and thesecommunications targets were followed byattacks against radar and coastal defencesites. Individual buildings housing militaryand Gestapo headquarters were attacked andradar stations were destroyed or put out ofuse. All six of the long range radar stationssouth of Boulogne were destroyed before D-Day and 15 others rendered unserviceable.The requirement to keep the planned

invasion sites secret and to encourage theGermans to devote their attention to theregion of the Pas-de-Calais complicated theair campaign. To maintain the element ofsurprise a greater number of targets wereattacked north and east of the Seine, and forevery mission flown over Normandy twowere flown over the Pas-de-Calais. Rocket-armed Royal Air Force Hawker Typhoonfighter-bombers of the Second Tactical AirForce (2 TAF) attacked two radarinstallations outside the planned assaultarea for every one they attacked within it.Finally, in the build-up to the invasion

itself, two more elements of air power cameinto play. Fighter sweeps and standing airpatrols were flown to prevent any Germanair activity over the channel ports andinvasion area, creating an impenetrable airsuperiority ‘bubble’.

the humAn cost ofthepre-invAsion Air cAmpAignFrom the beginning of April 1944, in thelead-up to D-Day, 195,200 sorties were flownby Allied aircraft, of which the RAF flew71,800, excluding the work of CoastalCommand. During this period the RAFdropped 94,200 tons of bombs to theUSAAF’s 101,200 tons. The Allies lost a total

undertook bomber escort and offensivefighter sweeps, 33 struck at targets inlandfrom the landing area and 36 provideddirect air support to invading forces.Although the commanders at SHAEF

knew they had air supremacy (otherwisethe invasion would not have gone ahead)they expected a major German airreaction similar to that encountered overDieppe during Operation Jubilee in 1942.The directive issued to Allied fighterforces by SHAEF stated that: “Theintention of the British and Americanfighter forces is to attain and maintain anair situation which will assure freedom ofaction for our forces without effectiveinterference by the German air force,and to render maximum air protection tothe land and naval forces in the commonobject of assaulting, securing anddeveloping the bridgehead.”The scale of Allied air operations on

D-Day was so vast that sources varyconsiderably over the exact details,numbers and statistics. The Allied air forceshad at their disposal over 11,500 aircraft ofall types, of which some 5500 belonged tothe RAF and its associated air forces.Despite poor flying weather on June 6,

1944, with a cloud base of around 2000ftover the invasion beaches in the morning,the Allies flew an astonishing 14,674 sortiesduring the 24 hours of D-Day itself; theRAF’s contribution to this staggering totalwas 5656 sorties. In comparison, thedepleted German Luftwaffe flew a paltry319 sorties that day. An operation of thisscale was bound to suffer losses and 113Allied aircraft failed to return from theirmissions, mostly the victims of flak, not allof it fired by the Germans.

RAF airfield engineers constructing an advanced landing ground airfield in Normandy, laying metal wire mesh matting.

of 1953 aircraft in just over nine weeks, ofwhich 1251 were USAAF and 702 were RAF.In human terms the total loss was some

12,000 officers and men and this was beforethe great Allied armada ever sighted theshores of Normandy. This was an immenseeffort and a great human cost, which has tobe weighed into the total cost of the D-Dayinvasion. Without the efforts and sacrificesof these airmen, Operation Overlord maynot have succeeded and certainly therewould have been many more casualties onthe ground both during the landings andthe subsequent Battle of Normandy.

Allied Air operAtionson d-dAyThe air plan for D-Day was the mostcomplex ever devised, involving thousandsof Allied aircraft, all with specific tasks,each unit needing to be de-conflicted withthe others.On the night of June 5-6, 1944, the eve

of D-Day, a huge airborne armada of some1900 transport aircraft and convertedheavy bombers towed and released glidersand dropped paratroopers behind and onthe flanks of the invasion beaches. Bymidnight on June 5, some 1333 heavybombers had dropped 5316 tons of bombson radar stations and the 10 mostimportant German gun batteries in theassault area. Meanwhile sophisticatedjamming and spoof operations by RAFheavy bombers continued to sow confusionas to where the invasion fleet was heading.During the D-Day assault itself a total of

171 squadrons of USAAF and RAF fightersundertook a variety of tasks in support ofthe invasion. Fifteen squadrons providedshipping cover, 54 provided beach cover, 33

14 D-DAY RAF

the end of June 1944 the Allied air forcescarried out 99,000 sorties over France. Thetotal number of Allied aircraft lost duringthis month, including the heavy bombers ofthe USAAF 8th Air Force and RAF BomberCommand (which alone lost 300 bombers inJune 1944, many of them over France) wasaround 1200. During the same period theLuftwaffe flew 13,315 sorties and lost 646fighters, fighter-bombers and mediumbombers in France. The Allies lost about10% of their strength in aircraft in themonth, while the Luftwaffe lost 50%.

As the Battle of Normandy raged, theconcepts, practice and effectiveness ofAllied close air support evolved into atriumphant fusion of air power with groundassaults by infantry, tanks and artillery.

A battalion commander in a tankregiment reported: “Our air cover has beenexcellent and has helped us out of manytight spots. … they knocked out eightGerman Mark V Panther and Mark VI Tigertanks that were giving us a great deal oftrouble … they are on call by any unit downto a platoon, requested through companyand battalion, and given the location of thetarget. Then the ASPO (Air Support PartyOfficer) contacts the air cover and gets astrike within a matter of minutes. I haveseen the air strike within three minutesafter the call was made. We like to know theair is there. We want it all the time.”

Sherman tanks moving up to Tilly-sue-Seulles on June 17 pass a crashed Spitfire of 412 Squadron ‘bellied in’ by the road. Pilot Officer D RJamieson’s MJ316 ‘VZ-S’ suffered a glycol leak and engine overheating on June 10 and he put the aircraft down in Allied-held territory. Manylosses, such as this one, had nothing to do with enemy action.

By the end of the Normandy campaign,all the elements, procedures andrelationships for the remainder of the warin Western Europe were in place, withforward air controllers (occasionallyairborne controllers), radar direction ofstrikes, ‘on-call’ or ‘cab rank’ fighter-bombers and true close air support, toname just a few facets.

Normandy was neither the victory of asingle branch of arms, nor the victory of asingle nation. Instead, it was and still is theclassic example of complex combined arms,multi-service and coalition warfare. It was atrue air-land battle.

The raf coNTriBuTioNDuring the whole period of the Battle ofNormandy, between June 6 and August 31,1944, the RAF flew 224,889 sorties in Europeand lost 2036 aircraft (983 of which were fromBomber Command and 224 from CoastalCommand). In the same period 2 TAF lost1035 aircrew killed or missing in action.Clearly, this was an extremely dangeroustime to be flying with the RAF. In the pagesthat follow, the lead-up to D-Day, the invasionand the subsequent Battle of Normandy areexplored in detail from the RAF perspective.Individual accounts and stories of particularparts of the action aim to give the reader afeel for what it was actually like to be involvedin this great campaign with the RAF in 1944.

The BaTTle of NormaNdyD-Day was only the beginning of the end.The fiercely fought Battle of Normandyfollowed immediately on from the landings,lasting officially until September 1, 1944.Enemy air activity continued to be limited inthe days immediately after D-Day, but itgradually increased and more reports of aircombat came in from the battle areas.

After June 10, Allied fighter squadronswere able to land at Advanced LandingGrounds (ALGs) in Normandy to re-armand refuel. Six days later squadronsbegan operating permanently from thesehastily constructed forward airfields,which endowed the fighter aircraft withmuch quicker reaction times and longertime on task.

However, the forward strips were oftenperilously close to enemy positions andcame under frequent shelling. In one case,RAF Hawker Typhoons operating from aforward strip attacked German tanks andfortifications a mere 1000 yards away fromthe runway. In addition, the peculiar thickdust of Normandy played havoc with theengines of the Spitfires and Typhoons untilspecial air filters were fitted to the aircraft.Meanwhile, the engineers had to waterdown the runway surfaces.

Ground attack and close air support nowbecame the norm for the fighter squadronsin Normandy, although they retained theirair-to-air capabilities. Between D-Day and

D-DAY RAF 15

RAF 2NDTACTICAL AIR FORCE

2 Group137 Wing:88, 342(Fr) Sqns, Hartford Bridge, Hants, Boston IIIA226 Sqn, Hartford Bridge, Hants, Mitchell II

138 Wing:107, 305(Pol), 613 Sqns Lasham, Hants, Mosquito VI

139 Wing:98, 180, 320(Dutch), Sqns Dunsfold, Surrey, Mitchell II

140 Wing:21, 464(RAAF), 487(RNZAF) Sqns, Gravesend, Kent, Mosquito VI

83 Group

39 (RCAF) Reconnaissance Wing:400(RCAF) Sqn, Odiham, Hants, Spitfire XI168, 414(RCAF), 430(RCAF) Sqns, Odiham, Hants, Mustang I

121 Wing:174, 175, 245 Sqns, Holmsley South, Hants, Typhoon IB

122 Wing:19, 65, 122 Sqns, Funtington, Sussex, Mustang III

124 Wing:181, 182, 247 Sqns, Hurn, Hants, Typhoon IB

125 Wing:132, 453(RAAF), 602 Sqns, Ford, Sussex, Spitfire IX126 Wing:401(RCAF), 411(RCAF), 412(RCAF) Sqns, Tangmere, Sussex, Spitfire IX

127 Wing:403(RCAF), 416(RCAF), 421(RCAF) Sqns, Tangmere, Sussex, Spitfire IX

129 Wing:184 Sqn, West Hampnett, Sussex, Typhoon IB

143 Wing:438(RCAF), 439(RCAF), 440(RCAF) Sqns, Hurn, Hants, Typhoon IB

144 Wing:441(RCAF), 442(RCAF), 443(RCAF) Sqns, Ford, Sussex, Spitfire IX

Air Observation Posts:652 Sqn, Cobham, Surrey Auster IV653 Sqn, Penshurst, Kent Auster IV658 Sqn, Collyweston, Northants Auster IV659 Sqn, East Grinstead, Sussex Auster IV662 Sqn, Westley, Suffolk Auster IV

84 Group

35 Reconnaissance Wing:2, 268 Sqns, Gatwick, Sussex, Mustang IA4 Sqn, Gatwick, Surrey, Spitfire XI

123 Wing:198, 609 Sqns, Thorney Island, Sussex, Typhoon IB

131 Wing:302(Pol), 308(Pol), 317(Pol) Sqns, Chailey, Sussex, Spitfire IX

132 Wing:66, 331(Nor), 332(Nor) Sqns, Bognor, Sussex, Spitfire IX

133 Wing:129, 306(Pol), 315(Pol) Sqns, Coolham, Sussex, Mustang III

134 Wing:310(Cz), 312(Cz), 313(Cz) Sqns, Appledram, Sussex, Spitfire IX

135 Wing:222, 349(Belg), 485(RNZAF) Sqns, Selsey, Sussex, Spitfire IX

136 Wing:164, 183 Sqns, Thorney Island, Sussex, Typhoon IB

145 Wing:329(Fr), 340(Fr), 341(Fr) Sqns, Merston, Sussex, Spitfire IX146 Wing:193, 197, 257, 266 Sqns, Needs Oar Point, Hants, Typhoon IB

Air Observation Posts:660 Sqn, Westhanger, Kent, (Advanced Landing Ground) Auster IV

D-Day RAF units and aircraft (the air order of battle)

16 D-DAY RAF

661 Sqn, Fairchilds, Kent, (Advanced Landing Ground) Auster IVNo 85(Base) Group

141 Wing:91 Sqn, West Malling, Kent, Spitfire XIV124 Sqn, Bradwell Bay, Essex, Spitfire VII322(Dutch) Sqn, Hartford Bridge, Hants, Spitfire XIV

142 Wing:264 Sqn, Hartford Bridge, Hants, Mosquito XIII604 Sqn, Hurn, Hants, Mosquito XIII

147 Wing:29 Sqn, West Malling, Kent, Mosquito XIII

148 Wing:409(RCAF) Sqn, West Malling, Kent, Mosquito XIII

149 Wing:410(RCAF) Sqn, Hunsden, Herts, Mosquito XIII488(RNZAF) Sqn, Zeal, Wilts, Mosquito XIII

150 Wing:56 Sqn, Newchurch, Kent, Spitfire IX3, 486(RNZAF) Sqn, Newchurch, Kent, Tempest V

34 Reconnaissance Wing:16 Sqn Northolt, Middlesex, Spitfire XI140 Sqn Northolt, Middlesex, Mosquito IX/XVI69 Sqn Northolt, Middlesex,Wellington XIII

Air Spotting Pool:26, 63 Sqn, Lee on Solent, Hants, Spitfire V808(FAA), 897(FAA) Sqns, Lee on Solent, Hants, Seafire III885(FAA), 886(FAA) Sqns, Lee on Solent, Hants, Seafire III1320 Special Duty Flight, Lee on Solent, Hants, Typhoon

AiRBoRne AnDtRAnspoRt FoRces

38 Group

295, 570 Sqns, Garwell, Berks, Albemarle/Horsa296, 297 Sqns, Brize Norton, Oxford, Albemarle/Horsa190, 620 Sqns, Fairford, Glos, Stirling IV/Horsa196, 299 Sqns, Keevil, Wilts, Stirling IV/Horsa298, 644 Sqns, Tarrant Rushton, Dorset, Halifax V/Horsa/Hamilcar

46 Group

48, 271 Sqns, Down Ampney, Glos, Dakota/Horsa233 Sqn, Blakehill Farm, Wilts, Dakota/Horsa512, 575 Sqns, Broadwell, Glos, Dakota/Horsa

RAF AiR DeFence oF GReAt BRitAin

10 Group1, 165 Sqns, Predannack, Cornwall, Spitfire IX

151 Sqn, Predannack, Cornwall, Mosquito XIII41 Sqn ‘B’ Flight, 276 Sqn(A/SR), Bolt Head, Devon Spitfire,Warwick, Walrus126 Sqn, Culmhead, Somerset, Spitfire IX131, 616 Sqns, Culmhead, Somerset, Spitfire VII263 Sqn, Harrowbeer, Devon, Typhoon IB610 Sqn, Harrowbeer, Devon, Spitfire XIV68 Sqn, Fairwood Common, Glos Beaufighter VIF406(RCAF) Sqn, Winkleigh, Devon, Beaufighter VIF, Mosquito XII1449 Flight, St Mary’s, Scillies, Hurricane IIB

11 Group

33, 74, 127 Sqns, Lympne, Kent, Spitfire IX64, 234, 611 Sqns, Deanland, Sussex, Spitfire VB80, 229, 274 Sqns, Detling, Ken,t Spitfire IX130, 303(Pol), 402(RCAF) Sqns, Horne, Surrey, Spitfire VB345(Fr) Sqn, Shoreham, Sussex, Spitfire VB‘A’ Flight 277 Sqn, Shoreham, Sussex Spitfire, Sea Otter, Walrus350(Belg) Sqn, Friston, Sussex, Spitfire VB501 Sqn, Friston, Sussex, Spitfire IX137 Sqn, Manston, Kent, Typhoon IB605 Sqn, Manston, Kent, Mosquito VI96 Sqn, West Malling, Kent, Mosquito XIII125(Newfoundland) Sqn, Hurn, Hants, Mosquito XVII219 Sqn, Bradwell Bay, Essex, Mosquito XVIII‘A’ Flight 278 Sqn, Bradwell Bay, Essex, Warwick456(RAAF) Sqn, Ford, Sussex, Mosquito XVII418(RCAF) Sqn, Holmsley South, Hants, Mosquito VI275 Sqn, Warmwell, Dorset, Spitfire, Walrus‘B’ Flight 277 Sqn, Hawkinge, Kent, Walrus, Spitfire‘B’ Flight 278 Sqn, Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, Walrus, Spitfire

D-DAY RAF 17

12 Group

‘A’ Flight 504 Sqn, Digby, Lincs, Spitfire VB

316(Pol) Sqn, Coltishall, Norfolk, Mustang III‘B’ Flight 504 Sqn, Coltishall, Norfolk, Spitfire VB25 Sqn, Coltishall, Norfolk Mosquito XVII307(Pol) Sqn, Church Fenton, Yorks, Mosquito XIIFighter Interception Unit, Wittering, Northants Beaufighter,Tempest, Mosquito, Mustang

No 13 Group

‘A’ Flight 118 Sqn, Sumburgh, Shetlands, Spitfire VB‘B’ Flight 118 Sqn, Skeabrae, Orkneys, Spitfire VB309(Pol) Sqn, Drem, East Lothian, Hurricane IIC

RAF BomBeR CommAnd

1 Group

12, 626 Sqns, Wickenby, Lincs, Lancaster I/III100 Sqn, Grimsby, Lincs, Lancaster I/III101 Sqn, Ludford Magna, Lincs, Lancaster I/III103, 576 Sqns, Elsham Wolds, Lincs, Lancaster I/III166 Sqn Kirmington, Lincs, Lancaster I/III300(Pol) Sqn, Faldingworth, Lincs, Lancaster I/III460(RAAF) Sqn, Binbrook, Lincs, Lancaster I/III550 Sqn, N Killingholme, Lincs, Lancaster I/III625 Sqn, Kelstern, Lincs, Lancaster I/III

3 Group

15, 622 Sqns, Mildenhall, Suffolk, Lancaster I/III75(RNZAF) Sqn, Mepal, Cambs, Lancaster I/III115 Sqn, Witchford, Cambs, Lancaster I/III514 Sqn, Waterbeach, Cambs, Lancaster II90 Sqn, Tuddenham, Suffolk, Stirling III, Lancaster I/III149 Sqn, Methwold, Norfolk, Stirling III218 Sqn, Woolfox Lodge, Rutland, Stirling III138(Special Duty) Sqn, Tempsford, Beds, Halifax, Stirling161(Special Duty) Sqn, Tempsford, Beds, Hudson, Lysander, Halifax

4 Group

10 Sqn, Melbourne, Yorks, Halifax III51 Sqn, Snaith, Yorks, Halifax III76 Sqn, Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, Yorks, Halifax III78 Sqn, Breighton, Yorks, Halifax III102 Sqn, Pocklington, Yorks, Halifax III158 Sqn, Lissett, Yorks, Halifax III

346(Fr) Sqn, Elvington, Yorks, Halifax V/III466(RAAF) Sqn, Driffield, Yorks, Halifax III578 Sqn, Burn, Yorks, Halifax III640 Sqn, Leconfield, Yorks, Halifax III

5 Group

9 Sqn, Bardney, Lincs, Lancaster I/III44(Rhodesian), 691 Sqns, Dunholme Lodge, Lincs, Lancaster I/III49 Sqn, Fiskerton, Lincs, Lancaster I/III50, 61 Sqns, Skellingthorpe, Lincs, Lancaster I/III57, 630 Sqns, East Kirkby, Lincs, Lancaster I/III106 Sqn, Metheringham, Lincs, Lancaster I/III207 Sqn, Spilsby, Lincs, Lancaster I/III463(RAAF), 467(RAAF) Sqns, Waddington, Lincs, Lancaster I/III97, 83 Sqns, Coningsby, Lincs, Lancaster I/III617 Sqn, Woodhall Spa, Lincs, Lancaster I/III, Mosquito IV627 Sqn, Woodhall Spa, Lincs, Mosquito IV

6 Group

408(RCAF) Sqn, Linton-on-Ouse, Yorks, Lancaster II419(RCAF) Sqn, Middleton St George, Durham, Lancaster X428(RCAF) Sqn, Middleton St George, Durham, Halifax II,Lancaster X420(RCAF), 425(RCAF) Sqns, Tholthorpe, Yorks, Halifax III424(RCAF), 433(RCAF) Sqns, Skipton-on-Swale, Yorks, Halifax III426(RCAF) Sqn, Linton-on-Ouse, Yorks, Halifax III427(RCAF), 429(RCAF) Sqns, Leeming, Yorks, Halifax III431(RCAF), 434(RCAF) Sqns, East Moor, Yorks, Halifax III/VII

8 Pathfinder Group

7 Sqn, Oakington, Cambs, Lancaster I/III35 Sqn, Graveley, Hunts, Lancaster I/III156 Sqn, Upwood, Hunts, Lancaster I/III405(RCAF) Sqn, Gransden Lodge, Hunts, Lancaster I/III582 Sqn, Little Staughton, Hunts, Lancaster I/III635 Sqn, Downham Market, Norfolk, Lancaster I/III105 Sqn, Bourn, Cambs Mosquito, IX109 Sqn, Little Staughton, Hunts, Mosquito IX/XVI139 Sqn, Upwood, Hunts, Mosquito571 Sqn, Oakington, Cambs, Mosquito XVI692 Sqn, Graveley, Hunts, Mosquito IV/XVI

100(BS) Group

85(BS) Sqn, Swannington, Norfolk, Mosquito XIX141(BS), 239(BS) Sqns, West Raynham, Norfolk, Mosquito VI157(BS) Sqn, Swannington, Norfolk, Mosquito XVII169(BS) Sqn, Gt Massingham, Norfolk, Mosquito II23(BS), 515(BS) Sqns, Little Snoring, Norfolk, Mosquito VI214(BS) Sqn, Oulton, Norfolk, Fortress II, III192(BS) Sqn, Foulsham, Norfolk, Wellington X, Halifax III,Mosquito VI199 Sqn, North Creake, Norfolk, Stirling III

18 d-day raf

C-47 Dakota ZA947 of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) painted with invasion stripes. Crown copyright

RAF CoAstAl CommAnd

15 Group

59, 120 Sqns, Ballykelly, Londonderry, Liberator V422(RCAF), 423(RCAF) Sqns, Castle Archdale, Fermanagh,Sunderland III811(RCAF) Sqn, Limavady, Swordfish, Wildcat

16 Group

143 Sqn, Manston, Kent, Beaufighter X848(FAA) Sqn, Manston, Kent, Avenger819(FAA) Sqn, Manston, Kent, Swordfish236, 254 Sqns, North Coates, Lincs, Beaufighter X455(RAAF), 489(RNZAF) Sqns, Langham, Norfolk, Beaufighter XPart 415(RCAF) Sqn, Bircham Newton, Norfolk, Wellington XIII854(FAA), 855(FAA) Sqns, Hawkinge, Kent, Avenger

18 Group

86 Sqn, Tain, Ross and Cromarty, Liberator210 Sqn, Sullom Voe, Shetlands, Catalina IV330(Nor) Sqn, Sullom Voe, Shetlands, Sunderland IIIPart 333(Nor) Sqn, Sumburgh, Shetlands, MosquitoPart 333(Nor) Sqn, Leuchars, Fifeshire, Mosquito VIPart 333(Nor) Sqn, Woodhaven, Fifeshire, Catalina IB1693 Flight, Skitten, Caithness, Anson

19 Group

144, 404(RCAF) Sqns, Davidstowe Moor, Cornwall, Beaufighter X

235 Sqn, Portreath, Cornwall, Beaufighter X248 Sqn, Portreath, Cornwall, Mosquito VI58, 502 Sqns, St David’s, Pembs, Halifax II53, 224, 547 Sqns, St Eval, Cornwall, Liberator V206 Sqn, St Eval, Cornwall, Liberator VI311(Cz) Sqn, Predannack, Cornwall, Liberator V179 Sqn, Predannack, Cornwall, Wellington XIV10(RAAF) Sqn, Mount Batten, Devon, Sunderland III201, 228, 461(RAAF) Sqns, Pembroke Dock, Pembs, Sunderland III172, 304(Pol), 407(RCAF), 612 Sqns, Chivenor, Devon, Wellington XIV524 Sqn, Davidstowe Moor, Cornwall, Wellington XIII816(FAA) Sqn, Perranporth, Cornwall, Swordfish II849(FAA), 850(FAA) Sqns, Perranporth, Cornwall, Avenger I838(FAA) Sqn, Harrowbeer, Devon, Swordfish

106 (Photo Reconnaissance) Group

541, 542 Benson, Oxfordshire, Spitfire XI540, 544 Benson, Oxfordshire, Mosquito IX / XIV

D-DAY RAF 19

D-Day invasion stripesnacelles on the wings, and 18in (46cm)forward of the leading edge of the tailplanearound the fuselage.

Whether the width of these stripes wasintended to be the same width as the headson standard-issue Air Ministry barrackroom brooms is another thing entirely, butit makes a good story.

For some unknown reason some fighteraircraft units of 10 Group, ADGB, such as131 Squadron (Spitfire Mk.VII) and 126Squadron (Spitfire Mk.IX) painted narrowerstripes on their aircraft. At 9in wide, theywere exactly half the width specified in theofficial directive.

Most of the Allied aircraft involved in theD-Day operations were marked up withthese ‘invasion stripes’, although some low-flying tactical reconnaissance aircraft, suchas those used for artillery spotting,received a dispensation allowing them topaint the stripes only on the under surfacesof their aircraft.

The heavy four-engine bombers of boththe USAAF 8th Air Force and RAF BomberCommand were exempted from wearing thestripes altogether as they would mostly beoperating at night and, in any case, theGermans had very few aircraft with whichthey could be confused.

To avoid aircraft being compromisedwhile on the ground at forward airfields inFrance, orders were received a month afterD-Day to remove the stripes from the uppersurfaces of aircraft. They were completelyremoved by the end of 1944.

However, for security reasons, orders tounits to paint the identification stripes onAllied aircraft were not issued until June 3to the troop carrier squadrons, and June 4to other units.

In most cases the stripes were painted bythe ground crews with only a few hours’notice, few of the stripes were ‘masked’ and,as a result, depending on the abilities ofthose applying them, the stripes were oftenfar from neat.

In the Official Record Book of 64Squadron, which was equipped withSpitfire Mk.VBs at Deanland, in Sussex,the entry for June 4, 1944, recorded: “Inthe evening the business of distemperingdistinctive markings on the aircraft began.This job was spoiled by heavy rain whichremoved the distemper with an enthusiasmequal to that of the ground crew who wereputting it on. Work was discontinued untilearly next morning when the weathercleared.”

The identification stripes were fivealternating black and white bands (threewhite and two black) painted on the wingsand rear fuselage. On single-engine aircrafteach stripe was to be 18in (46cm) wide,placed 6in (15cm) inboard of the roundelson the wings and 18in (46cm) forward ofthe leading edge of the tailplane on thefuselage.

National markings and serial numberwere not to be obliterated. On twin-engineaircraft the stripes were 24in (61cm) wide,placed 24in (61cm) outboard of the engine

A Spitfire Mk.IX of 411 Squadron (RCAF)being painted with invasion stripes atTangmere, Sussex,by LACs KenApplesby (working on the fuselage)and Stan Rivers (on the wing).

The need for special recognitionor identification markings onAllied aircraft involved inOperation Overlord wasconceived in a study conducted

by SHAEF some weeks before D-Day.The invasion of Sicily in 1943 had taught

the Allies a salutary lesson when 23 of 144troop-carrying C-47 Dakotas were shotdown by gunners of the Allied invasion fleetas they passed over it on their way to thedrop zone. Another 37 C-47s were badlydamaged and 1400 of the 5300 paratrooperson board the transport aircraft were killedor missing – one of the worst so-called‘friendly fire’ incidents in modern warfare.

It was obvious that the sheer number ofcombatant units involved in Overlord,coupled with the Allied and inter-servicenature of the operation, could lead tomisidentifications occurring. Similar orworse losses to ‘friendly fire’ might occur ifno action was taken to minimize them.

The scheme for marking aircraft withidentification stripes was approved by AirChief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory,commander of the Allied Expeditionary AirForce, on May 17, 1944. One British paintcompany, Walpamur of Blackburn,Lancashire, received an order to deliver90,000 gallons of white water paint in avery short timescale for the painting of thestripes.

A small scale test exercise was flownover the invasion fleet on June 1 tofamiliarise ships’ crews with the markings.

opportunity and bombing or strafing anymilitary vehicles or personnel caught in theopen in daylight, they became the bane ofthe lives of German ground troops. TheGerman soldiers became extremely fearfulof these Allied fighter-bombers, which theynicknamed ‘jabos’, from the German ‘jägerbomber’ or ‘hunter-bomber’. One veteranWehrmacht soldier, Helmut Hesse, said laterthat “the jabos were a burden on our soul”.

Without doubt, the ‘jabos’ had a decisiveeffect on the Battle of Normandy. Theirpresence and effectiveness prevented theGermans from moving reinforcementsforward during daylight hours and muchincreased the time it took to do so.

ForwarD air control anDBattleFielD raDarThe part played in the effectiveness andsuccess of the fighter and fighter-bomberoperations over the continent after D-Day byforward-based ground radar units andcontrol centres cannot go unmentioned.

The Allied air forces had radar availableto them from the very first day ofNormandy operations, and it was soonincorporated into tactical air control as wellas for early warning and air defencepurposes. Radar had, of course, been usedby the RAF from the Battle of Britainonwards and it had first been used by theAllies for tactical air control during theItalian campaign.

Now, in Normandy and during thesubsequent breakout, the radar andtactical control systems reached newlevels of refinement. Each tactical aircommand had a radar control group builtaround a tactical control centre (alsocalled a fighter control centre), with amicrowave early warning (MEW) radar

20 D-DAY RAF

Meanwhile, the 2 TAF fighter squadronsflew more than 1300 ‘Low Cover’ patrol sortiesover the beachheads, as well as 90 escort andconvoy protection sorties, all encounteringnegligible resistance. In addition, the fighter-bomber squadrons of 2 TAF flew 400 close airsupport and armed reconnaissance sorties insupport of the landings.

Battle oF normanDyFollowing the invasion and during the Battleof Normandy, Allied fighter sweepscontinued to maintain the hard-won and vitalair supremacy by engaging any Luftwaffeaircraft they came across in the skies overFrance, permitting increasing use of fighteraircraft as supplementary ground attackassets and as fighter-bombers.

Roaming freely over the areas to the rearof the battlefronts, seeking targets of

RAF single-seat fighter andfighter-bomber aircraft playedan enormous part in the build-up to D-Day, during theinvasion itself and in the

subsequent Battle of Normandy.

Priorto D-DayPrior to the invasion, operating in the pureair-to-air fighter role on ‘Ranger’ and ‘Rodeo’fighter sweeps, they helped to clear theLuftwaffe from the skies over the continent.The RAF fighters also escorted heavy andmedium bombers on daylight bombingraids as they targeted bridges, marshallingyards, coastal artillery and militaryfacilities. Meanwhile, the fighter-bombersstrafed, bombed and rocketed tacticaltargets with great accuracy.

D-Day – aDGB anD 2taFDuring the D-Day assault itself, fighter andfighter-bomber squadrons providedshipping cover, beach cover, and bomberescort, they flew offensive fighter sweeps,provided direct air support to invadingforces and struck at targets inland from thelanding area.

The fighter squadrons of Air Defence ofGreat Britain (ADGB) were tasked withsuppressing enemy air and sea activity inthe areas from Brittany to Pas-de-Calais.Operating in conjunction with 2nd TacticalAir Force (2 TAF) fighter Squadrons,ADGB Spitfire squadrons flew 363 ‘LowCover’ sorties over the landing area andthey also assisted in escorting the gliderand tug combinations during OperationMallard on the evening of D-Day.

In total, ADGB aircraft flew 169defensive patrol sorties, 134 offensive patrolsorties, 203 convoy patrol sorties, 152 navalspotting patrol sorties and 57 anti-shippingrecce and strike sorties during D-Day.

Fighters and fighter-bombers

Pilot Officer Sid Bergman with his 441 Squadron Spitfire Mk.IX, Normandy,August 2, 1944.

Mobile fighter controllers Major D Gray (British Army) and Sqn Ldr R A Sutherland (RAF).

RAF FighteR And FighteR-bombeR AiRcRAFttypesFor the operations in support of the D-Daylandings and the subsequent Battle ofNormandy the RAF had three principaltypes of fighter/fighter-bomber available toits commanders. The Supermarine Spitfireand the Hawker Typhoon together made upthe vast majority of the RAF’s fighter assets,while the North American Mustang III wasoperated in smaller numbers. These typesare covered in more detail in the followingpages, with individual stories to give a‘flavour’ of what it was like to fly them at thisstage of the war.

One other fighter type, the HawkerTempest Mk.V (the aircraft intended toreplace the Typhoon), was operated by justtwo squadrons on D-Day. 3 and 486(RNZAF) Squadrons, based at Newchurchin Kent, were equipped with the Tempest,as part of 150 Wing. A third Tempestsquadron, 56 Squadron, joined 150 Wing inJune 1944, after D-Day. Most of theoperations carried out by 150 Wingcomprised high altitude fighter sweeps,offensive operations known as ‘Rangers’(long-range sorties inside enemy territory,specifically to attack ground vehicles) andanti-shipping reconnaissance.

On June 13, 1944, the first German V-1flying bombs were launched againstLondon. The Tempest’s excellentperformance at low-altitude made it oneof the preferred tools for dealing withthese small fast-flying unmannedmissiles. 150 Wing was transferred backto the ADGB where the Tempestsquadrons racked up a considerablepercentage of the total RAF kills over theflying bombs (638 of a total of 1846destroyed by aircraft).

located within 10 to 30 miles of the front,three forward director posts, three or fourclose control radar units and, finally, fourdirection finding stations.

Originally developed for air defencepurposes, this radar network now took onadded importance for the control of tacticalair strikes. When an air-ground coordinationparty sent in a request for immediate airsupport the request went directly to acombined operations centre where it wasevaluated. If it was considered legitimateand was approved by both army and aircommanders the request was relayed to theTactical Control Centre (TCC).

Typically, the TCC would relay therequest to airborne fighter-bombers, and ageographically appropriate forwarddirector post would furnish precise radarguidance and navigation information to thefighter-bomber formation from the MEWand close control radars, vectoring them tothe target area.

D-DAY RAF 21

Once in the target area, the flight leaderwould communicate with the air-groundcoordination party which had sent in theoriginal request, via a forward air controller,for final details. If possible the air-groundcoordination party would arrange forartillery to mark the target with colouredsmoke and also, if possible, to undertakesuppressive artillery fire against knownenemy anti-aircraft defences.

Operation Overlord saw manyimportant developments in tactical airoperations, but one of the most significantwas the use of forward air controllers onthe ground to direct waiting fighter-bomber aircraft, such as rocket-equippedTyphoons or bomb-carrying Spitfires, toattack enemy targets; a system which hadoriginated in the Italian theatre ofoperations. Today, forward air control is anintegral part of close air supportoperations for many of the world’s airforces, including the RAF.

Hawker Typhoon 1B MN293 ‘TP-D’ of 198Squadron takes off from Thorney Island,armed with 3-inch rockets, flown by FltSgt J S Fraser-Petherbridge.

Hawker Tempest of 486 (RNZAF) Squadron.

Stills from a Typhoon gun camera film of astrafe attack on a locomotive.

22 D-DAY RAF

Supermarine Spitfire

On D-Day, the RAF’s order of battleincluded 61 squadrons of theRAF’s ubiquitous SecondWorldWar fighter, the SupermarineSpitfire.

The original versions of this famous aircrafthad entered service in August 1938. Continuousupdates and improvements, allowed the laterversions of Spitfire to keep up with the rapidevolution of aircraft design and capabilitiesduring the war.As a result, the Spitfire was still in front-line

service in considerable numbers at the time ofD-Day and indeed to the end of the war inEurope and beyond. The last operational sortieof an RAF Spitfire took place on April 1, 1954, inSingapore.On June 6, 1944, 57 squadrons of

Spitfires were available to ADGB and 2 TAFfor offensive operations in support of theD-Day landings, including two squadronswhich were used for naval artillery spottingduties. Another four squadrons of SpitfireMk.XIs were employed in the ‘recce’ roleand, in addition, a further four air searescue squadrons had a few Spitfires ontheir strength.

SpitfireS over normandyNine Spitfire squadrons gave initial aircover to the first troops ashore on D-Day,while others patrolled the convoys with thevital task of preventing enemy airreconnaissance. One Spitfire pilot had agrandstand view of the invasion – he wasshot down into the channel on June 5, quitelikely by ‘friendly fire’, and was not pickedup from his dinghy until June 7.The Spitfire Mk.IXs of 144 Canadian Wing

led by Wing Commander J E ‘Johnnie’Johnson (who eventually became the RAF’sofficial highest-scoring fighter pilot of thewar) gained the distinction of being the firstRAF aircraft to operate from French mainlandsoil since the fall of France in 1940 when theylanded at Advanced Landing Ground (ALG)B3, at St Croix-Sur-Mer, on D-Day +4, June10, 1944. This, the first temporary airstrip inNormandy to come into operation, had beenconstructed in just three days.The Spitfires were refuelled and re-armed

by RAF Servicing Commandos and wereready for take-off in 20 minutes. 144 Wingdeployed en masse from the UK to B2 ALG,at Bazenville, France, on June 16, the first of

many RAF units to do so. Subsequently, thebulk of the 2 TAF Spitfire squadrons wereprogressively moved across the Channel tooperate from newly constructed forwardairfields, close behind the front lines, toprovide rapid tactical support and to extendtheir range and time on task.

SpitfireverSionSThe vast majority of the Spitfire squadronsat the time of D-Day were equipped with theMk.IX version, although 11 squadronsunder the command of ADGB were stilloperating the older Mk.V. Three squadronswere equipped with Mk.VII Spitfires,intended for high-altitude operations, but, inpractice, often used at lower levels.Two units, 91 Squadron and 322 (Dutch)

Squadron, were equipped with the newGriffon-engine Spitfire Mk.XIVs. They wereinvolved in pre-invasion fighter sweeps andarmed-reconnaissance missions up toD-Day itself, but were then withdrawn backto England where their high speedcapabilities could be used on ‘anti-diver’patrols against the V-1 ‘doodlebugs’ whenattacks on them began in June 1944.

losses. There may not have been too muchdanger from German fighter aircraft, butthere certainly was from flak. As oneSpitfire pilot put it: “By this stage of thewar the German anti-aircraft gunners werenot short of practice!” A loss of enginecoolant would quickly cause the engine toseize or catch fire and the low altitudeinherent in ground attack missions meantthat there were few options and onlylimited gliding range.

Of 152 Spitfires destroyed or damagedfrom all causes during the month of June1944 all except 21, which fell to Germanfighters, were lost to light flak (up to30mm calibre). However, considering thatattacks against ground targets were farfrom everyone’s thoughts when theSpitfire was originally conceived, it is atestament to the brilliance of the originaldesign and to the subsequentmodifications that the aircraft was able tofulfil this role so successfully.

D-DAY RAF 23

Fighters and Fighter-bombersThe Spitfires could operate as classic fighteraircraft or in the ground-attack, strafing roleand they were also used as fighter-bombers,carrying a 250lb (113kg) bomb under eachwing or a 500lb (226kg) bomb under thecentre fuselage. To extend the ratherlimited range of the Spitfire this centre‘station’ was sometimes taken up with a 90gallon drop tank, which provided a usefulsortie duration of around three hours.

The gun armament of the Spitfires inuse in 1944 – usually two 20mm cannonsand either four .303 machine guns, or two.50 heavy machine guns – provided theaircraft with a valuable air-to-ground strafecapability. With the increasing use of theSpitfire in the ground attack role, thevulnerability of its Merlin engine’s waterand glycol cooling system to hits fromsmall arms fire and light flak proved to be aconcern for its pilots and the main cause of

Spitfires operating from Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) B3 St Croix-sur-Mer,Normandy, June 1944.

Wing Commander Geoffrey Page,OC 125Wing, taxies his Spitfire Mk.IX,coded‘AGP’, loaded witha 500lb bomb under the fuselage and two 500lb bombs under the wings,at Longues,Normandy.Later the same day,Page was to shoot down his 14th enemy aircraft,a Messerschmitt Bf 109,returning to Longues wounded in the leg and his aircraft damaged by anti-aircraft fire.

TOP: Spitfire Mk.IXs of 66 Squadron on theway to Normandy for a beachhead coverpatrol, carrying 90 gallon drop tanks, onJune 13, 1944.

24 D-DAY RAF

Tony Cooper had wanted to be apilot ever since the time when hehad a ‘joyride’ in an aircraft ofAlan Cobham’s Flying Circus,sitting on his sister’s lap at the

age of five.His dreams were almost shattered when

he was later refused entry to the RAF twicebecause the medical showed up a badlydamaged eardrum. Then in late 1937, aged21, Cooper was accepted for pilot trainingwith the RAF Volunteer Reserve at Luton. Itseemed that the RAFVR was less particularand, as he says: “There was a war coming.”

inStrUctorAfter completing his flying training on MilesMagisters and Hawker Harts, he was sentto the Central Flying School (CFS) atUpavon in July 1940 on a flying instructor’scourse. There he flew the Avro Tutorbiplane and the North American Harvard –

D-Day survivor 1Flight Lieutenant Tony Cooper

(64 Squadron Spitfire pilot)

Eventually, his wish was granted and hereturned to England with his wife, who wasmoving from a land of plenty to a strangewar-torn country with all its restrictions,shortages and dangers, where she knew noone.

Cooper’s parents took her in while heattended a Spitfire conversion course at 61Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Rednal(and its ‘satellite’ airfield of MontfordBridge) in Shropshire, initially flying theHarvard, with which he was by now veryfamiliar, and then Mk.I and Mk.II Spitfires.He completed the OTU course at the end ofJune 1943 and, although he had less than 60hours on the Spitfire, he was assessed as anabove average Spitfire pilot.

64 SqUadron SpitfireSIn July 1943, Tony Cooper joined 64Squadron, which was undergoing a periodof rest and training, and was temporarily

the first aircraft he had experienced with aretractable undercarriage – and within themonth he had qualified as a flyinginstructor.

Cooper spent some time instructing at 7Service Flying Training School (SFTS),Peterborough, on the Fairey Battle, andwas then posted, in November 1940, as aninstructor on 31 FTS at Kingston, Ontario,Canada. There he flew the Fairey Battle,the North American BT-9 Yale trainingaircraft and, from July 1941, the Harvard.By June 1942 he had over 1300 hours totalflying and was assessed as an aboveaverage flying instructor.

Back to the Uk andtothe SpitfireWhile at Kingston, Cooper met and marrieda Canadian girl, but this did not stop himfrom continually pestering the authorities tobe allowed to return to the UK on ‘ops’.

based at Ayr in Scotland with its Mk.VbSpitfires. He was to serve with the squadronfor the next 16 months. Although he had yetto acquire any operational experience, hewas now a very experienced pilot with some2000 hours of flying under his belt as heentered the fray.His truly operational flying began when

64 Squadron moved from Ayr to Friston inAugust 1943 and, a few days later, on toGravesend in Kent. Many of the operationsconducted by the squadron were overoccupied Europe. The pilots flew on fightersweeps and escort missions to daylightbombing raids carried out by mediumbombers, such as Martin Marauders orLockheed Venturas.They also escorted Coastal Command

Bristol Beaufighters on anti-shipping strikesoff the coast of Holland. On these sortiesenemy anti-aircraft fire, flak, was, ifanything, more dangerous than encounterswith Luftwaffe fighters and, in hiscomments in his logbook, Cooperfrequently wrote “heavy flak”. The escortingSpitfires were often hit by enemy groundfire and on many occasions Cooperwitnessed one or more of the bombers theywere escorting being shot down.Sometimes Cooper led a section of Spitfiresdown low over the Continent to strafetargets such as barges. On April 18, 1944,while 64 Squadron was flying from

D-DAY RAF 25

Flt Lt Tony Cooper chats to his ground crew as he straps into his Spitfire.Tony Cooper

Coltishall, Norfolk, Cooper’s logbookrecords a “dinghy search” and his notesgive the story: “Junior baled out 70 miles offthe coast whilst on a ‘Jim Crow’ mission –Patrols lost sight of him after three hours –we found him again after an hour anddirected launch to pick him up – safe andsound!” ‘Junior’ was John Harder, anAmerican pilot serving in the RAF with 64Squadron. He was one of Cooper’s bestfriends and he was obviously relieved thathe had been picked up.

DeanlanD (‘TenTlanD’)At the end of April 1944, in preparation forthe impending invasion of France, 64Squadron moved to the advanced landingground at Deanland, near Lewes in Sussex,where conditions were primitive. Unlikepermanent stations there was noaccommodation for personnel, everyonewas expected to live under canvas and onlyfour blister hangars were provided foraircraft maintenance work.For many of the personnel, Deanland (or

‘Tentland’ as it was sometimes known) tooksome getting used to. Tony Cooper recalls:“Deanland was a bit of a comedown; luckilyit was summer time when we suddenlyfound ourselves on this hump in the middleof the Downs. We were in tents and I foundmyself using the same equipment my fatherhad used in the First World War: a truckle

bed made of wood and canvas and the samematerials for a bath and washstand. At nightit was very cold, but when D-Day camealong we didn’t get much sleep as we weredoing up to four shows a day and were keptvery busy.”An entry in Cooper’s logbook against

May 5, 1944 – a day when he flew a dawnpatrol for one hour and 55 minutes –proudly notes the birth of his son, PeterJohn. On May 22, he records that he tookover a new personal aircraft, Spitfire Mk.VbBM327, coded ‘SH-F’, which he namedPeterJohn 1 after his newly-born son, whohe was not able to see until his christeningsome weeks later.

64 Squadron ground crew assist thepilot to strap into Spitfire Mk.Vb ‘SH-B’for a sortie from Deanland in June1944.Tony Cooper

One for the album! Tony Cooper’sphotograph taken from his Spitfire over theChannel on D-Day.Tony Cooper

one pilot ran out of fuel as he was taxiingback to dispersal. Cooper recorded twohours and 35 minutes of night flying in hislogbook for the sortie.

June 1944The intense flying rate continued; on June10, Cooper flew three times, then once on11th, twice on 12th and three times on 13th.As was typical of many other units duringJune 1944, 64 Squadron had its busiestmonth of the war; its total flying hoursamounted to a staggering 1150 hours – thebulk of which were flown in the two-weekperiod after D-Day.Everyone was stretched to the limit,

especially the ground crews who had towork long hours to keep the squadron’sSpitfires in the air. Meanwhile, the pilotshad to endure the strain of continuousoperations. Cooper’s experience was typicaland his personal flying total for the monthwas 75 hours, of which 71 were operationaland 25 hours were flown in the dark.

Spitfire Mk.iXSOn June 23, Tony Cooper was appointed asflight commander of ‘A’ Flight, just as 64Squadron was moved to Harrowbeer, inDevon to be part of a Spitfire wing with 129Squadron. A few days later the squadronwas re-equipped with Mk.IXb Spitfires, andCooper flew one of the new, more powerfulSpitfires for the first time on July 3, 1944.Once again the squadron was involved in

fighter sweeps out over France and itcontinued to take losses. Sometimes pilotswere able to bring a flak-damaged aircraftsafely home to base, sometimes they force-landed, sometimes they had to bale out andall too frequently a pilot was killed. On July7, Flying Officer Dryburgh, died (“Hismachine dived straight in,” reportedCooper), and the next day Flight LieutenantCollis baled out, but was picked up.Many sorties now involved strafe attacks

against ground targets such as locomotives,vehicles and barges; inevitably there wasenemy flak to contend with and on almostevery sortie at least one of the Spitfires washit. It was, therefore, an event worthy ofnote when Cooper wrote in his logbookagainst one bomber escort sortie: “Noaircraft hit! All returned.”On July 27, the other flight commander

and Cooper’s good friend, John Harder washit and forced to bale out over the sea forthe second time, which he did successfully.

BoMBing, Strafing anDflakOn July 29, 1944, the Harrowbeer WingSpitfires, with Tony Cooper leading 64Squadron, carried out an unusual pre-planned low-level bombing raid against aGerman army headquarters and garrison inthe small Brittany village of Scrignac.The raid was led by Wing Commander

‘Birdy’ Bird-Wilson, the wing leader. EachSpitfire carried a 500lb bomb under thecentre of the fuselage. Intelligence indicated

26 D-DAY RAF

D-DayOn D-Day, 6 June 1944, Cooper’s logbookrecords that he flew twice. 64 Squadron wastasked with providing “low beach cover”over the American assault. The SquadronORB records that Cooper was allocated hispersonal Spitfire BM327, ‘SH-F’, for bothsorties. He took off at 4.30am (before dawn)for his first sortie of the day, as part of a 13-aircraft formation, providing “fighter coverfor Utah Beach” and landed back after a totalof two hours and 40 minutes airborne (thefirst hour recorded as night flying). Thenaval barrage was so intense that it was notsafe to be over the coast and the WingLeader withdrew the formation to a saferdistance.Cooper’s remarks in his logbook give an

interesting picture of the confusion thatreigned and suggest that the invasionstripes, so painstakingly painted on by theground crew, were not entirely effective:“Navy shelling coast defences – first landing(by the invading troops) made at 6.20am.Nearly shot down by a Thunderbolt –Spitfire in front actually was – another Spithit by naval shell and blew up – GeneralBrock’s benefit!”Remarkably, Tony Cooper took his

camera with him and took a photographover the striped wing of his Spitfire just afterdawn broke on D-Day, looking towardsanother of the squadron’s Spitfires intactical formation. He says that he

‘PeterJohn 1’ inscription on Tony Cooper’sSpitfire Mk.Vb BM327.Tony Cooper

remembers “…a huge cloud of smoke anddust totally covering the beaches,” causedby the bombing of the night before and thenaval barrage. “From our transit height of12,000 feet,” he says, “it appeared that thesea was full of a multitude of ships.”In the evening of June 6, Cooper flew his

aircraft on another sortie over the invasionbeaches, taking off at 10pm, this timetasked with “fighter cover for OmahaBeach”. His comments in his logbookagainst this sortie read: “Hun bombersattacked invasion fleet – tremendous returnfire from ships – one bomber destroyed.”He landed back at 10 minutes past midnight– almost 18 hours after his first take-off thatday – logging two hours and five minutes ofnight flying.When asked about night landings in the

Spitfire on the short runways at Deanland,Tony said: “I remember them well withreasonably controlled terror, especially inthe rain!”

D-Day +1On June 7 (D-Day +1) Tony Cooper flewthree fighter cover patrols over the Utahand Omaha beaches; two of them in hispersonal aircraft PeterJohn 1. In all, Cooperwas airborne for a total of seven hours 25minutes that day. The Spitfires’ freedom ofmovement was severely restricted by thelow cloud base and the many anti-aircraftballoons being flown from the Allied shipsinvolved in supporting the landings; this ledto a much increased risk of collision.The last operation of the day took place

in the late evening, with Cooper leading asection of four Spitfires, flying in formationon him in the dark with no lights showing.This sortie provided ample evidence that itwas possible to be nearly as frightened byyour own side as by the enemy, as Cooperrecorded in his logbook: “Very bad visibility– no attacks – sent 40 miles out to sea onreturn owing to reciprocal homing vectors –very shaky experience – brought ineventually by rockets”. By the time Cooper’ssection landed, it was completely dark and

“Out of the darkness...”Artist Spencer Trickett captures Tony Cooper’s 64 Squadron SpitfireMk.Vb ‘SH-F’,with his wingman in ‘SH-L’, lifting off from Deanland at dusk for his evening sortieon D-Day – recorded in his logbook as “fighter cover for Omaha Beach”.

that all of the French civilian inhabitants ofthe village had been evacuated and only theGerman garrison remained.

The raid appeared to be a total success,with the German HQ and much of thevillage destroyed and only the church leftstanding among the rubble. This apparentsuccess was reported in the Britishnewspapers and on the BBC radio nineo’clock news. (Years later, after the war,amid rumours regarding double agents, itcame to light that there had been somemisinformation and, in fact, the localpopulation had not been evacuated fromScrignac. Tragically, 23 civilians includingwomen and children had been killed in theraid).

On August 1, with Wing Commander‘Birdie’ Bird-Wilson leading the squadronand Cooper leading a section, the Spitfiresstrafed enemy gun positions at a target inFrance, before the bombers went it. Theythen saw and chased a German Bf 109, “atdeck level, flat out for five minutes”.Cooper’s logbook records: “Birdie got infront of me and got strikes on him – I got ina burst from 500 yards – Birdie finished himoff – German pilot baled out.”

Four days later, on August 5, afterescorting 15 Lancasters of 617 Squadron,which dropped 12,000lb Tallboy bombs onthe U-boat pens at Brest, Cooper led hissection of four Spitfires in a strafe attack onflak positions. He says that as they dived ontheir target: “It was the worst flak I’ve everseen in my life.”

Unbeknown to them, since planning theattack, two German flak ships had movedinto the harbour during the previous nightand they put up an intense barrage. One ofCooper’s section was killed during theattack; another was hit and forced to baleout only two miles off the enemy coastline.The pilot climbed into his dinghy and waspicked up by an Air-Sea-Rescue Walrusseaplane, in a courageous rescue, and hewas back at base within three hours.

On August 26, during a sortie to strafeenemy transports and railway trucks, FlyingOfficer Blake Smiley, who had been luckyso far having been hit by flak several timesbut always getting home, was hit by flak andbaled out five miles off Manston. He spentthe night on a buoy and was picked up at10.30am the next day. Another 64 Squadronpilot, Flying Officer Schmitz, did not pullout of his attack dive and was killed.

Off ‘Ops’In November 1944 Tony Cooper was postedoff ‘ops’ and back to instructing. In his 16months with 64 Squadron he had flownsome 600 hours, the vast majority of itoperational flying and had twice been‘mentioned in dispatches’. He had seenmuch action, including being involved in theD-Day operations; he had made a significantcontribution and was very lucky to be alive.Many of his fellow pilots on the Squadron –his friends and colleagues – had not been sofortunate.

D-DAY RAF 27

Tony Cooper with his 64 Squadron Spitfire and his own caption from his photo album.

64 Squadron Spitfire Mk.Vb ‘SH-L’ taxies out for a beachhead cover patrol sortie fromDeanland.Tony Cooper

28 D-DAY RAF

In the early evening of June 4, 1944, 12Spitfires Mk.IXs of 443 (‘Hornet’)Squadron (RCAF), led by thesquadron commander, 15 victory aceSquadron Leader Henry Wallace

‘Wally’ McLeod DFC and Bar, flew the lastof their pre-invasion ground attack missions,

the type of operation they had been involvedin since mid-April.

This was a dive bombing mission againsta German radar site on the coast 10 milessouth east of Fécamp, part of the carefullyorchestrated plan to blind the enemy. Oneof the Spitfires was forced to return early to

D-Day survivor 2Spitfire Mk.IX MK356

(443 Squadron (RCAF)and Flying Officer

Gordon Ockenden DFC)

Gordon Ockenden in 1944,aged 21.

himself and two of the others were claimedby 443 Squadron’s Flight Lieutenants DonWalz and Hugh Russel, both of whom willfeature in this story again.On May 5, Wally McLeod shot down

another Fw 190, his 15th confirmed victory.Combats with the enemy were the exceptionrather than the rule, however, in thispre-D-Day period. On most of the fightersweeps and bomber escorts the mainopposition encountered was German flak.443 Squadron carried out its first dive-

bombing mission on April 26, against a V-1flying-bomb site south of Dieppe. In thenext six weeks there were many suchfighter-bomber operations against ‘Noballs’(the V-l sites), bridges, rail junctions andyards, and radar posts. On most of theseattacks the pilots had to run a gauntlet ofintense flak and many of the Spitfiresreturned peppered with holes.

D-DAY RAF 29

the squadron’s base at Ford, in Sussex, dueto engine trouble, but the other 11 bombedthe target successfully and four direct hitswere observed as well as some near misseswithin damaging distance. Despite intenselight flak from nearby batteries, none of theSpitfires were hit.One of the pilots flying on this mission

was 21-year-old Flying Officer Gordon‘Ockie’ Ockenden from Alberta, a foundermember of 443 Squadron, who was flyinghis favourite aircraft, Spitfire Mk.IX LF,MK356, coded ‘2I-V’ (the ‘LF’ designationindicating that the Spitfire was fitted with aRolls-Royce Merlin 66 engine optimised forlower levels). This aircraft is still flyingtoday with the RAF’s Battle of BritainMemorial Flight (BBMF) and the authorhas had the privilege of flying this Spitfirehimself on many occasions during his 11years as a display pilot with the flight.

443 Squadron inthebuild-upto d-dayFormed in February 1944, 443 Squadronwas part of 144 (Canadian) Wing, under thecommand of RAF fighter ace and renownedfighter leader Wing Commander J E‘Johnnie’ Johnson DSO and Bar DFC andBar (who eventually became (officially) thehighest scoring RAF fighter ace with 34confirmed kills).In the build-up to D-Day, between April

13 and June 5, 1944, 443 Squadron flew 487operational Spitfire sorties on 43 offensiveoperations.The squadron’s victory ‘score card’ was

started by Squadron Leader McLeod on April19 when he destroyed a Dornier 217 bombernear Louvain. On April 25, a 144 Wingformation led by ‘Johnnie’ Johnson ‘bounced’six Luftwaffe Fw 190s and destroyed them all.Two of the 190s were shot down by Johnson

A 443 Squadron Spitfire Mk.IX taxies at B2 ALG, Bazenville,Normandy,while French farmersgather in their crop.

With a ground crewman laying on the wing to guide the pilot, a 443 Squadron Spitfire Mk.IX(with a 45 gallon ‘slipper’ tank) taxies past a Hawker Typhoon at B2 ALG, Bazenville,Normandy, creating the usual cloud of dust.

Spitfire Mk.IX MK356 – a true D-Daysurvivor – now flies with the RAF BBMF.(Rachel Warnes Crown Copyright)

Munro lifted MK356 off the runway at Fordfor another beachhead cover patrol overNormandy, one of its main wheels fell off.Munro continued the sortie, completed thepatrol and then executed a successful ‘bellylanding’ back at Ford on his return.When 443 Squadron was deployed

forward to France two days later, beforeMK356 had been repaired, the aircraft wasleft behind to be collected by a maintenanceunit. It subsequently spent 53 years on theground, always in RAF hands, untileventually being returned to airworthycondition. It took to the skies again inNovember 1997 and then joined the RAFBBMF collection – a true D-Day survivor.

443 SquaDron innorManDy443 Squadron moved with 144 Wing fromFord to the newly completed B2 ALG atBazenville, Normandy, on June 16 tocontinue the war from forward bases on thecontinent, the first of many RAF units to doso. By day the field was blanketed withclouds of dust; at night the incessant din ofthe Allied artillery barrage and anti-aircraftfire, along with enemy bombing, made sleepalmost impossible.The Spitfires continued to be used for

strafing and dive-bombing missions as wellas for fighter sweeps and patrols. Luftwaffefighters were appearing in greater numbersover Normandy and the Spitfire pilots of 141Wing found themselves in more frequentcombats with some success.However, tragedy struck on June 16, a

day which started well with Spitfires of 443Squadron being scrambled from cockpitreadiness at 5am to intercept 20-plus Bf109s over the beachhead. The Spitfiresbroke up the enemy formation and chasedthe 109s away; Flight Lieutenant Don Walzclaimed a Bf 109 destroyed. The day endedbadly, though, with the deaths of three ofthe 443 Squadron pilots, including HughRussel who had shared the kill with ‘Ockie’Ockenden only nine days earlier on June 7.

30 D-DAY RAF

flak forced his wingman to retire.Maclennan was captured and became aprisoner of war.On the third mission of the day,

Ockenden flew MK356 again, taking off at3.40pm for another patrol over the invasionbeaches, as one of 12 Spitfires of 443Squadron. Under heavy cloud cover, thepatrol was uneventful until nearing the timeto leave, when Flight Lieutenant Prest,leading the four Spitfires of ‘B’ Flight whichincluded Ockenden, spotted four LuftwaffeBf 109s which they ‘bounced’ east of Caen.Prest chased one of the 109s south, but

one of his cannons jammed and, althoughthe 109 appeared to give off some smoke, itescaped. The two Spitfires flown by FlightLieutenant Hugh Russel and Ockendenchased another of the 109s out over the sea,both firing at it. They were rewarded withthe sight of the German fighter exploding inmidair under the onslaught of theircombined cannon and machine gun fire.Unsure which of them had delivered thecoup de grace, they claimed half a kill each.This was the first of an eventual total of fourcombat kills, plus one ‘damaged’, forOckenden, who was also later credited withdestroying at least 35 enemy vehicles(Ockenden was awarded the DistinguishedFlying Cross (DFC) in December 1944).

Spitfire MK356’SwarThe Spitfire that Ockenden was flying whenhe claimed his first (shared) kill was hisfavourite, MK356 ‘2I-V’.This Spitfire had a typically short but

intensive war. It flew 60 operational sortiesin a period of 61 days between April 14, 1944(when it was flown on a ‘Rodeo’ fightersweep between Compiègne, Paris andRouen, encountering light flak) and its lastwartime sortie on June 14. On 19 of thesesorties Ockenden was at the controls.MK356 was hit by ground fire on at least

three occasions and neatly-repaired bulletholes can still be seen in its rear fuselage.On June 14, 1944, as Flying Officer Gordon

D-Day for 443 SquaDronOn June 5, there was no operational flyingby 443 Squadron as the Allies ‘paused forbreath’ prior to D-Day and ‘invasion stripes’were applied to the aircraft. The next day –D-Day itself – 12 of 443 Squadron’s SpitfireMk.IXs took off from Ford at 0620, carrying90 gallon drop tanks, led by Wally McLeodand tasked with a beachhead cover patrolbetween Courseulles and Le Havre.The squadron penetrated up to five miles

inland, no enemy aircraft were seen, but thepilots saw plenty of intense and accurateflak being thrown up from five flak ships inLe Havre harbour and they also reportedseeing naval shells passing close to theiraircraft! The Spitfires landed back at theirbase at 8.25am, two hours and five minutesafter they had taken off.Gordon Ockenden had to sit out this first

mission of D-Day, but he flew SpitfireMK356, ‘2I-V’, on the next two beachhead-cover patrols that day, taking off at 11.25amand 3.40pm respectively, each missionlasting about two hours and both beingrelatively uneventful with no enemy aircraftseen. Spitfire MK356 was also flown on athird mission on D-Day, taking off at7.45pm, in the hands of Flying OfficerArthur Horrell. By the end of D-Day, 443Squadron had flown a total of 48 sorties and95 hours.

D-Day +1On D-Day +1, 443 Squadron was againtasked with four beachhead cover patrols.Spitfire MK356 was flown on the second ofthese by Flight Sergeant G E Urquhart.On this mission, Flight Lieutenant I R

Maclennan, who was flying MH850 ‘2I-H’,was forced to crash-land just beyond thebeach head, his engine having failed due toa glycol leak. Unfortunately, he landed in anarea which was not controlled by Alliedtroops. His aircraft was considerablydamaged by prepared ‘anti-invasion’obstacles in the field, but he was seen toclimb from the cockpit and run away, before

Spitfires of 144 Wing, including ‘2I-N’ of 443 Squadron, some equipped with 90 gallon drop tanks, at ALG B3 St Croix-sur-Mer on June 10, 1944for refuel and re-arm.The first time that Spitfires had landed in France since 1940.

Digby, Lincolnshire, in February 1944, halfof them were dead by the time that the warin Europe ended in May 1945.

Ockenden was one of the lucky ones, hesurvived, to serve in the postwar RCAF andto rise to the rank of Major General (AirVice Marshal).

After the war he freely admitted that hehad joined the RCAF in 1942 just to fly. “Inever thought of going to war,” he said, “butflying operations you suddenly realised, hey,this isn’t just fun flying this is a seriousbusiness. I was pretty scared at times.”

Gordon Ockenden passed away in 2000,aged 77.

Eighteen Spitfires of the wing, under theleadership of Wing Commander Johnson,were on a late evening fighter sweep of theArgentan area. They ran into large numbersof Bf 109s and Fw 190s near Caen. TheSpitfires tore into the German raiders,which initially stayed to fight and thenturned and ran. Wing Commander Johnsonshot down an Fw 190, which was runningaway at very low level; Wally McLeodclaimed a Bf 109.

One of the sections of four Spitfires waslast seen climbing into thick cloud nearCaen amid a barrage of flak. It is believedthat the section of four engaged some Fw190s above the cloud near Caen, notrealising in the fading light that they wereconsiderably outnumbered by the Germans.It seems that the Fw 190 pilots tookadvantage of their superior situation, stayedto fight and shot down all four Spitfires.Squadron Leader J D Hall, Flight LieutenantHugh Russel and Flying Officer Luis Perez-Gomez (from Mexico) were all killed.

Flight Lieutenant Walz, the only survivorof the four-aircraft section, was forced totake to his parachute. He managed to evadecapture with help from the FrenchResistance and eventually returned to thesquadron.

Hugh Russel’s loss was especially painfulfor his older brother, Squadron Leader DalRussel DFC and Bar (later DSO, DFC andBar), who was the squadron commander of442 Squadron, a sister squadron on 144 Wing.

By the middle of July the number ofblazing, smoking or damaged vehiclesattacked by 443 Squadron Spitfires had

D-DAY RAF 31

risen to 99, plus four locomotives or trains, abarge, and a railroad signal house. On July14, when the fighter wings in Normandywere reorganised, 144 Wing was broken upand Squadron Leader McLeod’s 443Squadron joined 127 Wing at Crépon.

‘Wally’Mcleod’s deathOckenden’s decorated and highlysuccessful squadron commander, SquadronLeader Wally Mcleod DSO DFC and Bar,eventually achieved a total score of 21enemy aircraft destroyed, three probablydestroyed and 11 damaged (13 of his killshad been achieved while flying from Maltain 1942).

On September 27, 1944, McLeod led thesquadron as part of a patrol by 141 Wing,but he failed to return after the Spitfiresbecame involved in a mass combat on thebanks of the Rhine. One of the squadron’spilots last saw him fighting a lone Bf 109 in a‘dogfight’ above the clouds. It seems that hefell victim to the 109’s pilot, who wasprobably the Luftwaffe ‘experten’ MajorSiegfried Freytag of JG 77, who claimed aSpitfire in the Duisburg area near Weselthat day for his 101st victory.

After the war McLeod’s body wasdiscovered in the wreckage of his Spitfire IXon the outskirts of Wesel; he was buried inthe Commonwealth War Graves cemeteryat Rheinberg.

the oddsIt is a sad fact, and an indication of the riskswillingly accepted by these men, that of thepilots who had formed 443 Squadron at

Spitfire Mk.IX MK356 in its original colourscheme as 443 Squadron’s ‘2I-V’ – it nowflies with the RAF BBMF. (Chris Elcock –Crown Copyright)

Gordon Ockenden at the end of the war inEurope.

‘Spitfire v Bf 109 combat scene’.On June 7, 1944,D-Day +1, the Spitfires of 443 Squadron RCAF were tasked with four beachhead coverpatrols.On the third mission of the day, Spitfire Mk.IX MK356,‘2I-V’was flown by its regular pilot, Flying Officer Gordon Ockenden RCAF.Thepatrol was uneventful until nearing the time to leave,when the Spitfire pilots spotted four Luftwaffe Bf 109s east of Caen.Ockenden in MK356,in company with the Spitfire of Flight Lieutenant Hugh Russell, chased one of the Bf 109s out over the sea.The German fighter exploded inmid-air under the onslaught of their combined cannon and machine gun fire. Unsure which of them had delivered the coup de grace, theyclaimed half a kill each.This was the first of an eventual total of four combat kills plus one ‘damaged’ for Ockenden,who was awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in December 1944. Spitfire MK356 today flies with the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.Artwork: AdamTooby www.finesthourart.com

my back I caught a split-second glimpse ofthe extent of the damage, but then almostimmediately another explosion caught medirectly beneath the port wing root,loosening the studs on the port and topengine cowlings and smashing the cockpithood. The cockpit side door was forced openat the front runner, the acrylic glass of thehood was all smashed and the windscreenwas starred. Something had grazed the rightside of my flying helmet above the earpiece,luckily without injuring me.

“By this time my prop had stopped and Iwas coming round in the roll to the rightway up. Then yet another burst took out the

34 D-DAY RAF

lines at the time and according to the mapand with the marker of the road, we shouldhave been... the next thing there was a hellof a bang and a great big flash. I assume itwas a very near miss from a German 88mmanti-aircraft battery because you don’t get hitdirectly by one of those and stay airborne.

“The shell burst just underneath mystarboard wingtip and blew the aircraft some200ft upwards and upside down. I was flyinga clipped-wing Mk.VB and the explosiontook another 2ft off the starboard wingtip,opening up the end of the wing like blowingup a paper bag and leaving the ailerondangling by a piece of cable. While I was on

On June 14, 1944, 12 Mk.VBSpitfires of 234 Squadron tookoff at 2pm from theiradvanced landing groundairfield at Deanland, situated

five miles to the north east of Lewes inSussex, for a beachhead cover patrolbetween Bayeux and Caen. FlightLieutenant Walter ‘Johnny’ Johnston wasone of the pilots taking part, flying SpitfireMk.VB BL415 ‘AZ-B’. He takes up the story:

“We started our patrol along a lineroughly between Bayeux and Caen, justnorth of the main road, at a height of about1500ft. We thought we were over our own

Shot down by flakFlight Lieutenant Walter ‘Johnny’ Johnston

(234 Squadron Spitfire Mk.VB pilot)

German 88mm anti-aircraft flak gun of IIIFlakkorps in Normandy in 1944.

‘Johnny’ Johnston’swarupto november 1943By this stage of the war Johnston was a veryexperienced pilot with over 1100 hours’flying in his logbook, having started flyingtraining as a volunteer reservist in 1939,before war was declared. His firstoperational flying was as a sergeant pilot onSpitfires with 152 Squadron from February1941 and then with 92 Squadron from Julyof that year. With them he flew on manyfighter sweeps over enemy-occupiedFrance, he claimed three Bf 109s probablydestroyed and one as damaged; he wascommissioned in November 1941.

He flew with many of the most famousfighter pilots of the time, no doubt learnedmuch from them and also lost many friendsand colleagues. Each of those is recorded inhis logbook by name, perhaps with anothercomment such as “Nice chap”; one pagealone records the loss of six fellow Spitfirepilots in a matter of days. In all he recordedthe loss of 13 friends during those earlyyears of the war and another seven while

radiator under the port wing, along with ahuge square of the skin above the wing. Icouldn’t get out of the cockpit because thehood had jammed closed and I could only flythe aircraft with both hands and the stickright over to port as far as it would go. Ittook all my strength to stop the aircraftturning over and at one point I even cockedmy leg over the stick to get the aircraft intothe turn and keep it there. I was now comingdown in a screaming flat turn. Funnilyenough my pitot head was still working and Isaw that I had about 200mph on the clock.”

Crash landingAt that moment Johnston saw a small flatstrip of ground in front of him. He had madea mental note of this flattish line on theground from previous passes over the areaand now he tried to put his crippled Spitfiredown on it. As he thumped on to the groundat about 180mph he thought to himself:“Please don’t let me burn.” The Spitfire hitthe ground “with a hell of a smack”, brokeits back and spun round and round.

D-DAY RAF 35

The impact snapped the right-handshoulder strap and Johnston was flungforward on to the gunsight. Fortunately hehad his oxygen mask on and goggles down,which prevented any facial injuries; he didnot even get a black eye. The next thing thatJohnston remembered was that he hadstopped and was surrounded by men inkhaki who, it transpired, were from theBritish unit building the airfield. One ofthem shoved a rifle into the hood and tore itoff to get him out of the cockpit. Johnstonwas himself a ‘Geordie’ from the Newcastlearea and was surprised to hear one of hisrescuers say in a broad Geordie accent, asthey hauled him out of the cockpit, “ByChrist man, ye haven’t half been hit”.

As he was led away he suddenly realisedthat he had lost his gold watch, so hestaggered back to the wreck to find it. Theimpact of hitting the ground had been sogreat that it had removed his watch from hiswrist and over his hand; he found it lyingneatly over the throttle, not that there wasan engine to throttle.

Twenty-two-year-old Dennis Simms of 234 Squadron was killed on D-Day.

nearby and they went inside the HQ tofind the officer in charge.The Spitfire pilots probably looked like a

bunch of desperados with their gun beltsslung around their waists and knivessticking out of their flying boots. The Armyofficer who met them was somewhat takenaback and exclaimed, “Good God, whathappened to you lot?”After they had explained their situation

and the need to get back to England and tooperations as soon as possible, he wrotethem a note to flying control at the B2Bazenville ALG, asking them to provide anyassistance possible. The pilots had ideas oftheir own though; they sent the Army driveraway to get some dinner and then stole hisvehicle.

ViPtranSPort homeAfter some more driving, they found theairfield at Bazenville, which happened tohave a Dakota transport parked on it.Seeing this as a potential lift home, theydrove the staff car, with its Bren gun on top,right up to the ‘Dak’ and to within a few feetof a group of people standing near it.Johnston’s heart sank when, on closer

inspection, he recognised two of the groupas Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory (Commander-in-Chief AAEAF) andAir Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst (AOC83 Group, 2 TAF).The air marshals appeared unimpressed

with this unscheduled interruption to theirbusiness by these scruffy hooligans anddemanded an explanation. Johnson obligedand handed over the piece of paper. Leigh-Mallory chuckled and offered the threepilots a VIP lift home.First though, the air chief marshal milked

the situation for the public relationsopportunity it provided by getting theaccompanying press photographers to takeseveral photographs of the pilots standing bythe Dakota.Eventually they all piled into the ‘Dak’ and

were fed chocolate and drinks on the wayback to Thorney Island, where they stoppedthe night in the officers’ mess (with JoeFargher masquerading as a pilot officer).

36 D-DAY RAF

Fargher had been unfortunate because,having landed with his wheels down, hisSpitfire had tipped up on landing and he hada badly gashed forehead as a result ofhitting the gunsight. Apart from that, allthree pilots were uninjured.The British engineers who were building

the airfield had gone to the trouble ofbringing to Normandy with them a crate ofbeer to share with the first pilots to land attheir brand new airfield. They reckonedthat this had now happened, so the pilotsenjoyed a bottle of beer with the engineerswhile Johnston contemplated his very sadlooking Spitfire.The commanding officer of the Airfield

Construction Unit fixed them up with astaff car, complete with a Bren gun on theroof and an Army driver and they set offalong the main road from Caen towardsBayeux. They were stopped several timesby British soldiers, but eventuallyreached a British Army HQ. There was abattery of 4.5s “firing away like hell”

with 234 Squadron. In December 1941,Johnson started a long stint as an instructorat a Spitfire Operational Training Unit andthen at the Central Gunnery School.

234 SquadronIn November 1943 Johnston was postedback on to operational duties as a flightcommander with 234 Squadron with itsSpitfire Mk.VBs. During the spring of 1944he was involved in the squadron’soperations in the build up to D-Day,including, for example, a train busting strafesortie on May 21, 1944, in the Antwerp area.His logbook records: “Good day! Eleventrains by Wing, two by our section”.

d-dayOn D-Day Johnston flew twice onbeachhead cover patrols; the first taking offfrom Deanland at 4.30am. On this missionthe squadron lost 22-year-old FlightSergeant Dennis Simms “missing presumedkilled”; one of the first British fighter pilotsto be killed on D-Day. His aircraft simplydisintegrated over the sea after being hit,possibly by enemy flak, but most likely byan Allied naval shell or by anti-aircraft firefrom a ‘friendly’ naval vessel. Sims has noknown grave and his name iscommemorated on the Commonwealth AirForces Memorial at Runnymede, Surrey.

onthe ground innormandyOn June 14, Johnston’s was not the only 234Squadron Spitfire to be hit by the salvo offlak over Normandy. He was soon joined bytwo other pilots from his squadron, FlyingOfficer Bill Painter and Flight Sergeant ‘Joe’Fargher, who had also been hit by thebarrage of anti-aircraft fire and were forcedto land at the same partially completedairstrip, which was in fact B6 Coulombs.

Pilots of ‘A’ Flight 234 Squadron with a Spitfire Mk.VB at Coltishall in February 1944 (Johnstonis fourth from left on the wing). Five of these pilots were destined to die on future operations.

‘Johnny’ Johnston as a Sergeant Pilot in a 92 Squadron Spitfire Mk.VB at Biggin Hill in July 1941.

D-DAY RAF 37

The three 234 Squadron Spitfire pilots photographed in front of ACM Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory’s C-47 Dakota at B2 Bazenville,Normandy, onJune 14, 1944.They are, from left, Flt Sgt ‘Joe’ Fargher, Fg Off Bill Painter and Flt Lt ‘Johnny’ Johnston.

‘Johnny’ Johnston’s Spitfire Mk.VB BL415 ‘AZ-B’. (Illustration by Chris Sandham-Bailey © INKWORM.com)

Thanks to ‘Johnny’ Johnston’s son,Martin Johnston, for his help inproviding information for this article.

Luck – good and badAll three pilots were operational again thenext day, June 15, having featuredprominently in the morning edition of anational daily newspaper. Johnston’s logbookentry for his next flight records anotherbeachhead cover patrol with the remark:“Not bad going – back home and over againin less than 24 hours”.Bill Painter’s luck ran out on June 17, just

three days after their adventures, whenreturning in the dark from anotherbeachhead cover patrol his section was firedon by the anti-aircraft batteries situated on

the English south coast near Brighton. Asthe Spitfires took evasive action two collided;Bill Painter was killed in the mid-air collisionalthough the other pilot, Flying OfficerGeorge Sparrow, managed to land hisSpitfire safely at Deanland.Joe Fargher’s good luck continued to

hold – just. He was shot down by flakagain on July 11, on this occasion overenemy-occupied France. He evadedcapture with the help of the Maquis andescaped back to England in a Navy motorgunboat, returning to rejoin the squadronon July 31.

SequeLJohnston remained with 234 Squadron andconverted to Mustang IIIs when thesquadron was re-equipped at the end ofSeptember 1944. He was promoted to actingsquadron leader in November 1944 andsurvived the war, remaining in the RAF forsome years afterwards. Walter ‘Johnny’Johnston died in 2009, aged 88.

might perhaps use a small VolkswagenType 82 Kübelwagen – a Jeep-like vehiclebased on the VW Beetle – in order to be lessconspicuous.

Rommel waved off the suggestion andset off as usual in his personal staff car, alarge open-topped Horch 830BL, sitting inthe front, as was his habit, alongside hisregular driver, Unterfeldwebel Karl Daniel.In the back of the car were staff officersHauptmann Lang, Major Neuhaus andFeldwebel Hoike, who were briefed to act aslookouts for Allied aircraft.

On the N179, between Livarot andVimoutiers, travelling at high speed, the carcame under attack from Spitfires. Theofficers in the rear of the car spotted the‘Jabos’ and shouted their warnings too late.

Shells from the Spitfire hit the vehicle,seriously wounding the driver, who lostcontrol of the speeding car, which hurtledon for several hundred metres beforeleaving the road and crashing into a ditch.Rommel was thrown against the windshieldpost, sustaining serious head injuries; thedriver died soon afterwards and MajorNeuhaus also suffered minor injuries.

38 D-DAY RAF

Generalfeldmarschall ErwinRommel, the 53-year-oldcommander of the Germanforces defending the so-called‘Atlantic Wall’ in 1944, was

much respected by both sides as a soldierand brilliant military tactician and strategist.

At the time of D-Day, Rommel was incommand of the important Army Group B.After the Allied invasion of Normandy heregularly travelled many kilometres everyday, meeting with his battle commanders,personal contact being very much part ofhis leadership style.

JULY 17, 1944In the late afternoon of July 17, 1944,Rommel had just left the command post ofthe I Panzer Corps after a meeting withGeneraloberst Josef ‘Sepp’ Dietrich of theWaffen SS, to drive back to hisheadquarters at La Roche-Guyon.

With Allied fighter-bombers roamingfreely over Normandy the risk of attacks onvehicles moving in daylight was very high.Dietrich suggested that Rommel and hisparty should not take the main road and

Who got Rommel?

ABOVE:Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel.BELOW: Flt Lt Charlie Fox with his 412Squadron Spitfire Mk.IX.

This research has led to it now beingwidely accepted that the most likelycandidate as the pilot of the Spitfire whichattacked Rommel’s car is Canadian FlightLieutenant (later Squadron Leader) CharlesW Fox of 412 Squadron (RCAF).Charlie Fox was in exactly the right

place at the right time. His logbook entryfor the day records that he was flying hisusual aircraft on armed recce duty. Time inthe air was one hour and 15 minutes. Underthe “results and remarks” column is theseemingly routine entry “1 staff cardestroyed”. A question mark, added later,precedes the word “Rommel”, and then…the word “Yes”.

the attaCkIn the late afternoon of July 17, 1944, 12Spitfires of 412 Squadron took off from B4Bény-sur-Mer on an armed recce mission.The squadron split into three sections offour aircraft, one of these led by Fox.During the sortie Fox and his wingman,Steve Randall, spotted a large black cartravelling at high speed along a road withtrees on either side. It was coming towardsFox’s section from about his 11 o’clockposition. Fox recalled: “I saw this staff carcoming along between lines of trees on amain road.“I did a diving, curving attack and I

probably started firing at about 300 yards. Itimed the shots so that I was able to fire andget him as the car came through a smallopening in the trees. I got him on that pass.“We were moving pretty fast, but I knew I

got him. I saw hits on the car and I saw itstart to curve and go off the road. At thetime, I had no idea who it was... just a largeblack open car... gleaming in the sun withoutany camouflage, which was unusual.”

aFterthewarCharlie Fox suspected that he had hitRommel but did not pursue the matter. Afterthe war he did not talk about it for manyyears, “but it’s always been sitting in mylogbook,” he said.It is most likely that it was Charlie Fox

who put Rommel out of the war. Fox endedthe war with a Distinguished Flying Crossand Bar. He lived to the age of 88, passingaway in October 2008.

a sad endIn the days after the crash, Rommel’ssurvival was in doubt, but slowly he beganto recover. However, he was then implicatedin the July 1944 bomb plot against Hitler,not directly, but because he was deemed tohave defeatist views and Hitler was nowconvinced that treachery was everywhere.In order to save his family and himself

from disgrace Rommel was given no optionbut to commit suicide by taking a cyanidepill on October 14, 1944. Subsequently, hewas given a state funeral, officially havingdied of his wounds. The Germans had lostone of their greatest military commanders,partly as a result of the attack by theSpitfire, but mainly because of Hitler’sparanoia. The effect of Rommel’s absencefrom command for the remainder of the warcan only be guessed at.

ClaimantsThis much is fact, but who the pilot was whofired the shots that may have changed thecourse of history on the Normandy fronthas long been contested. Over the yearsthere have been many claimants to theattack on Rommel’s staff car: American,South African, Australian and Canadianpilots have all claimed responsibility.One of the first to claim credit for the

attack on Rommel was American P-47pilot Lieutenant Ralph Jenkins.According to Jenkins, he strafed aGerman staff car in the St-Lô area. Thecar was flying command flags and whenJenkins came around for another pass hesaw the car in a ditch with bodiesscattered around it. However, the

D-DAY RAF 39

German accounts clearly indicate that itwas Spitfires that attacked Rommel’s car,so this claim can easily be discounted.Australian Spitfire pilot Fred Cowlph of

453 Squadron also claimed responsibility forthe strafing attack, asserting that his guncamera verified this, but there are othermore credible possibilities.Squadron Leader Chris le Roux DFC and

Bar, a South African Spitfire pilot with 602Squadron RAF has been widely credited overthe years as being the pilot involved in theattack on Rommel’s staff car. Le Rouxclaimed that on July 17, he attacked aGerman staff car near the village of Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery, causing it to overturnin a ditch. One of the causes of confusionover these various claims has been thedifficulty in resolving exact times betweenthose used by the Allies and the Germans.Recent research has shown that

although Le Roux was in the right area onJuly 17, it was at the wrong time. Inaddition, the car carrying Rommel did notoverturn; it ran into a ditch and hit a treestump. Le Roux did not survive the war; hewas killed in an aircraft accident onSeptember 19, 1944.

Charlie FoxIn recent years, historians have comparedflight logs, consulted German reports(which specifically said that the car wasattacked by four Spitfires, two flying highand two flying low), accounted for the timedifferences between European clocks andBritish Double Summer time and confirmedthe time, location and, therefore, the aircraftand pilot involved.

Rommel riding in the front seat of a staff car in Normandy. A Horch car similar to Rommel’s staff car.

Mk.IX Spitfires of 412 Squadron on B4 ALG at Bény-sur-Mer,Normandy, July 1944.

(RP-3), four under each wing, which couldbe fitted with different types of explosivewarheads. The 6in (150mm), 60lb (27kg)high explosive warhead was the mostcommonly-used version, but the rocketscould also be fitted with a 25lb (11kg),3.44in armour-piercing warhead.

The rocket projectiles were unguidedand inaccurate, with considerable gravitydrop after firing and it took considerableskill and practice to aim them anything likeaccurately. However, the firepower of alleight RPs from a Typhoon was theequivalent of a navy destroyer’s broadside.

The Typhoon could, alternatively, carrytwo 500lb (226kg) or two 1000lb (453kg)bombs, one under each wing. The first timethat RAF single-seat fighter-bomberscarried two 1000lb bombs each was on April24, 1944, when the Typhoons of 438Squadron were sent to attack bridges innorthern France. This was to becomestandard practice and significantlyincreased the level of tactical firepoweravailable to commanders. Although, intheory, the role equipment was easy tochange, in actuality the Typhoon squadronsstuck to being either rocket-firing (RP)units (there were 13 of these squadronsavailable on D-Day) or bomb carriers – so-called ‘Bomphoons’.

42 D-DAY RAF

Loaded for a fight, the Typhoon couldhave a gross weight of up to six tons(6000kg). It was fitted with a massive ‘H’-layout, 24-cylinder Napier Sabre engine, oneof the most complex piston engines ever builtwith a displacement volume of 36.7 litres anda power output in excess of 2000hp with thelater versions having an astonishing 3000hpin reserve (with injection of a mixture ofwater and ethanol). The large chin intakeunderneath the nose contained the radiatorand gave the aircraft its particular profile.

Typhoon performanceThe ‘Tiffy’ was something of a ‘beast’ to fly.It cruised fast, typically 350mph, with amaximum level speed of around 400mph.In a dive it picked up speed very quickly,but was (officially) limited, for stabilityreasons, to 400mph loaded with bombs orrockets, although it was cleared to 525mphwithout them.

Typhoon armamenTNormally fitted with four 20mm cannons,the Typhoon was an excellent strafeplatform with heavy hitting power,especially against unhardened buildings andunarmoured vehicles. From September1943, Typhoons were also armed with eight3in (75mm) unguided rocket projectiles

The Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB(‘Tiffy’ in RAF slang) was theRAF’s dedicated fighter-bomberaircraft on D-Day, with 20operational squadrons available,

18 of them operating as part of 2 TAF.Having overcome the difficulties that

plagued the design in its early years, theTyphoon had now found its niche as ahighly effective fighter-bomber, whileretaining a useful air-to-air pure fightercapability at lower levels. The aircraftproved itself to be the most effective RAFtactical strike aircraft both on interdictionraids against communications and transporttargets deep in North Western Europe priorto the invasion, and in direct support of theAllied ground forces after D-Day.

Typhoon viTal sTaTisTicsThe Typhoon was a large and imposingaircraft for a single-seat fighter, measuring32ft (9.75m) long with a wingspan of 41½ft(12.65m) and a massive three-bladed 14ft(4.3m) diameter propeller. Sitting high on itswide undercarriage, the cockpit was 8ft(2.4m) above the ground and pilots climbedin with the help of a pull-down ‘stirrup’ andsteps hidden by sprung doors in the fuselage.While on the ground, there was no forwardvisibility at all for a pilot sitting in the cockpit.

Hawker Typhoon

Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB,MN317,‘ZY-B’,of 247(China British) Squadron being re-armedat B2/Bazenville,Normandy,on June 15,1944.The ground crews are loading 3inrocket projectiles,while the pilot waits inthe cockpit for the next mission.

Typhoons versus TanksThe Typhoon’s effectiveness against soft-skinned targets is widely accepted, but itsability to knock out German tanks has beenthe subject of considerable postwar debate,with some arguing that the relatively limitedsuccess rates were, perhaps, not worth thelosses in aircraft and pilots.

Against the Wehrmacht’s tanks, theTyphoon’s rockets needed to hit the thin-walled engine compartment or the tracks tohave any chance of destroying or disablingthe tank. The 20mm shells from theTyphoon’s cannons were only effectiveagainst armoured vehicles if they ricochetedoff the ground into the lighter armour of thetanks’ undersides, having been aimed short.

Inevitably, as in air-to-air combat, therewas an element of confusion and over-claiming by the Typhoon pilots over thenumber of tanks destroyed. The results oftheir attacks were difficult to assess and theycould not easily tell if a tank had alreadybeen attacked or previously abandoned.Operational analysis of destroyed tanks afterthe battles in Normandy indicated thatactually only some 4% of German tanks hadfallen victim to Typhoon rocket attacks.

However, these operational analyses alsosuggested that apart from the directdestructive effects of fighter-bomberattacks, the effects on the morale of theGerman troops caught up in Typhoon RPand cannon attacks were equally decisive,with many German tanks and vehicles beingabandoned by their demoralised crews withonly superficial damage.

One German tank commander said afterthe war: “We feared the Typhoons most ofall. These aircraft continued to attack atarget in spite of heavy ground fire, causingcomplete devastation, coming round againand again. It created a low morale fromwhich we never recovered. I was lucky tosurvive; the only possible means of escapewas to get out of our tanks and run.”

D-DAY RAF 43

The MorTain vicToryEvidence of German tanks being abandonedunder rocket attack was seen in the onlylarge-scale German armoured offensive inNormandy, which was mounted at Mortain,in the Falaise pocket on August 7, andwhich seriously threatened the Americanbreak-out from the beachhead. Despitedetermined defence, the credit for bringingthe German attack to a halt on the afternoonof August 7, is generally regarded asbelonging to Allied fighter-bombers,particularly RAF Typhoons, which werecalled in to intervene.

German accounts clearly attribute thefailure of their attack to the fighter-bombers. The Typhoons first went intoaction against the armoured column justbefore 1pm, when early morning fog andmist had cleared. Finding a concentration ofsome 60 tanks and 200 vehicles groupedclose together, many heavily camouflaged,the Typhoons commenced attacks againstthe front and rear of the column, which wasimmediately brought to a halt.

By the end of the day RAF Typhoons hadflown 294 sorties in the Mortain area, firing2088 rockets and dropping 80 tons ofbombs. In addition, strafe attacks with the

Typhoon’s 20mm cannon had destroyedlarge numbers of unarmoured supportvehicles laden with fuel and ammunition forthe tanks. Three Typhoons and their pilotshad been lost. Although the level of flak hadinitially been light, it had increased duringthe day with box-like patterns being put upover the tanks, and many of the Typhoonswere found to have suffered damage fromthis and from small-arms fire. Interestingly,though, it was discovered in the aftermaththat some 30% of the German tanks hadsimply been abandoned by their crews, whowere, understandably, terrified by theTyphoon’s rocket attacks. The tank crewsknew that they were trapped and while thechances of a direct hit were low, theirchances of survival were extremely small ifthey were hit.

The Supreme Allied Commander,General Eisenhower, said of the RAFTyphoon pilots’ actions at Mortain: “Thechief credit in smashing the enemy’sspearhead, however, must go to the rocket-firing Typhoon aircraft of the SecondTactical Air Force... the result was that theenemy attack was effectively brought to ahalt and a threat was turned into a greatvictory.”

440 Squadron ‘Bomphoon’ RB389 ‘I8-P’ named ‘Pulverizer IV’ taxies out for a sortie loaded with two 1000lb bombs.

Hawker Typhoon Mk.IBs of 121 Wing assembled at B2/Bazenville,Normandy, for close-support operations. Second from the right is MN666 ‘C-G’, the personal aircraft of WingCommander C L Green, the wing leader.Note the mixture of three- and four-bladedpropellers; the latter being a more recent modification.

‘Clash of the Titans’.An RAF Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB fires 3in rockets at a German Tiger tank. Len Krenzler

Cap-d’Antifer, not far from Le Havre. This waspart of the vital and carefully-plannedcampaign to blind the enemy prior to theinvasion. The Typhoons crossed over theFrench Coast, high enough to avoid the lightflak, and then turned through 180º into asteep dive-bombing attack on the Germanradar site with a final burst of cannon firebefore levelling out over the sea at about500mph. They then formed up into sections offour in battle formation for the return flight.Total flying time was one hour, 15 minutes.That night orders were received to paint thebroad black and white invasion stripes on thewings and fuselage of the Typhoons.

The eve of d-dayOn June 5, Trott air-tested a newly-deliveredTyphoon, one of the first with a four-bladedpropeller which were just starting to arriveat the squadrons. That evening he carriedout another operation over the Frenchcoast, noting later in his logbook: “Largeconvoys of LCRs seen heading towardCherbourg.” In fact, the Channel wascovered with boats of various kinds – afantastic sight – and he thought that it wasimpossible that the Germans did not knowwhat was happening.

After returning to Needs Oar Point, all thesquadron pilots were ordered to the large

46 D-DAY RAF

Soon after Trott’s arrival, the squadronwas moved to Norfolk and led a rathernomadic existence for several months, beingbased at Ludham, then Matlask, thenColtishall, before settling for a while atFairlop in Essex from September 1943.During this time Trott carried out operationsacross the North Sea into Holland and overFrance. In early 1944, 195 Squadron wasdisbanded and Trott moved to 197 Squadronstationed at Tangmere Airfield, WestSussex. The Typhoons were then equippedwith bomb racks under each wing to take500 or 1000lb bombs. The squadron’s maintasks were attacking radar and V-1 sites, aswell as being on escort and standby duties.

needs oar poinT and146WingIn April 1944, 197 Squadron moved to thenewly constructed temporary airfield atNeeds Oar Point near the Beaulieu River,overlooking the Solent and the Isle ofWight. In preparation for D-Day, it becamepart of 146 Wing, 2 TAF, with 257, 266 and193 Squadrons. In May 1944, the Typhoonswere frequently called upon to make attacksagainst radar targets along the coast ofFrance, as well as against V-1 sites.

On June 3, Trott was involved in a high-level dive-bombing attack on the radar site at

Ken Trott was born in Ilford, onthe outskirts of London, inDecember 1922. He joined theRAF Volunteer Reserve inSeptember 1941 and was

posted overseas to Canada for flyingtraining. In September 1942 he received hispilot’s ‘wings’ and was commissioned as apilot officer.

TyphoonsAfter his return to England he completedhis training on Miles Masters and was thensent to 59 OTU at Millfield, near Berwick-on-Tweed, to fly Hawker Hurricanes. Thenin April 1943 he was posted to 195Squadron, which was equipped with themighty Hawker Typhoon, at WoodvaleAirfield near Southport, Lancashire.

D-Day Typhoon PilotFlight Lieutenant Ken Trott

(197 Squadron Typhoon IB pilot)

‘Bomphoon’of 197 Squadron – as flown by Ken Trott – loaded with two 500lb bombs.

mess tent where a covered blackboard wasset up. They were briefed by the wing leader,Wing Commander Reggie Baker DFC andBar, that tomorrow, June 6, would be D-Day.The blackboard was unveiled to reveal theproposed landing beaches and other detailsof the invasion. The pilots were told to turnin early, as they would be on call from around4am the next day, but the roar of aircraftoverhead, heading towards France, madesleep almost impossible in their tents.

d-dayAfter an early breakfast the pilots reportedto their various dispersals, where theground crew were already running up theSabre engines of the Typhoons and thenrefuelling them. The pilots waited to becalled to briefings while listening to theBBC radio broadcasts. 197 Squadron wasthe first to launch at 7.10am, eight aircraftbeing led by Wing Commander Baker (wholost his life over Normandy 10 days later, onJune 16). The Typhoons attacked a GermanHigh Command headquarters in a chateausouth of Bayeux. They encountered littleopposition with only small amounts of lightflak in the vicinity of their target. Bombingand strafing at will for 20 minutes, theTyphoons left the chateau a smoulderingruin. They all landed safely back at NeedsOar Point at 8.20am.As soon as the aircraft from this first

operation of the day had landed and taxied in,they were surrounded by both ground crewand the other pilots on standby, who werechecking firstly to see if the muzzle covershad been blown off the cannons (whichwould indicate that each of the four 20mmcannons had been fired) and then if there wasany flak damage to the aircraft. As soon asthe pilots had climbed down, everyonewanted to know what it was like over thebeachhead. “Any enemy aircraft seen? Howmuch flak? The weather conditions? Whattargets had been attacked?”Meanwhile, the squadron intelligence

officer was hovering around, wanting tospeak to each pilot who had taken part in

D-DAY RAF 47

this first operation of D-Day. Having slungtheir parachutes over their shoulders,many pilots walked away to light acigarette before giving way to the countlessquestions coming from all sides. Theaircraft were now surrounded by theground crews, busy refuelling and re-arming to get them ready as soon aspossible for the next operation.Trott was not involved in the early

operations of the day, but he remained oncall until 5.50pm when he and seven otherpilots were briefed to carry out an armedreconnaissance south of Caen. Trott’slogbook shows that this involved low-levelbombing of an enemy supply dump, whichwas left with black smoke and flamescoming from it. All the Typhoons on thismission returned safely at 7.20pm. The lastoperation for 197 Squadron on June 6 tookoff at 9.05pm, with eight aircraft on anarmed reconnaissance in the Caen andBayeux area. They landed back safely at10.15pm, and so ended D-Day.

NormaNdyIn early July, 197 Squadron moved fromNeeds Oar Point to Hurn in preparation forthe move to their new airfield in Normandy.On July 8, the Typhoons landed at B3 StCroix-sur-Mer on the beachhead, due tostay for a few days. They were about toreturn to Hurn on the evening of July 13when they were briefed to conduct anarmed recce over the Caen area.Four Typhoons, including one flown by

Trott, took off led by Wing CommanderBaldwin, who was due to become the wingleader. During the patrol Trott spotted anarmoured carrier and requested permissionto attack it with his wingman. With thenecessary permission granted, the twoTyphoons detached from the others, whichheld at higher altitude, while Trott and hiswingman strafed and immobilised thevehicle. They were about to return for asecond attack when they heard on the radiothat the other Typhoons were beingengaged by about 30 Bf 109s.

Climbing up into the fight above, Trottmade a head-on attack against a Bf 109. Ashe broke away, the starboard wing of hisTyphoon struck the Bf 109 withcatastrophic consequences. Trott’s headand shoulder struck the side of the cockpitas the canopy disappeared; his helmet,oxygen mask and goggles were torn off himand he was catapulted into the air from hisdisintegrating aircraft with only hisparachute intact. He managed to pull the ripcord and then lost consciousness. When hecame to, he was hanging in his parachutefrom a tree, surrounded by Germansoldiers. He was taken prisoner andsubsequently spent the next 10 months as aprisoner of war, much of the time in medicalcare in the hospital at Stalag Luft III.Ken Trott was finally demobilised from

the RAF in November 1946 in thesubstantive rank of flight lieutenant. Hepassed away in September 2013, aged 90.In total, during the 10 weeks of the battle

of Normandy, 150 Typhoon pilots lost theirlives, while many others became prisonersof war.

Typhoon IB loaded with two 1000lb bombs, taxiingthrough a large puddle at a forward airfield.

Destroyed German Würzburg radar on thecliff tops at Arromanches, similar to the sitewhich was attacked by the Typhoons of 197Squadron on June 3, 1944.

‘Storm Rising’.Two Hawker Typhoon Mk.IBs of 197 Squadron, coded ‘OV-Z’ and ‘OV-C’ takingoff, roaring into the air, kicking up the dust.On D-Day, 2 TAF fielded 18 squadrons of Typhoonfighter-bombers. In the following weeks they played a vital role in the battle for Normandy,establishing a well-earned reputation for fast and accurate close support. By this time,mostTyphoons were carrying rockets rather than bombs. In theory it was possible to re-role theTyphoons for the carriage of rockets or bombs quite easily, but in practice a number ofsquadrons, including 197 Squadron, retained bombs as their principle air-to-ground weapon.In this case the Typhoons are each carrying two 500lb bombs.These aircraft were referred toas ‘Bomphoons’.Artwork: Adam Tooby www.finesthourart.com

of catching fire at the next attempt.“The fuel had a very high octane rating

at this stage of the war, the Typhoon usedonly 130 octane grade gas. Before startingthe engine (and during the flight), the pilotwas obliged to wear an oxygen maskbecause the cockpit immediately filled withcarbon monoxide exhaust. The NapierSabre engine had an awesome decibeloutput, sounding nearly five times louderthan a Merlin. The vibration caused by thisbeast was quite disconcerting to aninexperienced pilot.“While taxiing, it was recommended not

to abuse the brakes, to avoid heating themand consequently decreasing theireffectiveness. At the hold position, the pilothad to run up the engine 3000rpm to clearout the cylinders. At start-up and duringtaxi, the engine would spit plenty of hot oil,but the mechanic, who often guided thepilot by sitting on a wing, learned to have acloth handy to wipe the windshield beforethe pilot took off. It was better not to waittoo long before taking off, as the engineheated up quickly, easily reaching atemperature of 95ºC.

Flight Lieutenant ‘Johnny’ Coltonfrom Quebec, Canada, joinedthe RCAF in January 1942, aged19. On completion of histraining he joined 137 Squadron

to fly Hawker Typhoons operationally.At the time of D-Day, 137 Squadron was

part of 11 Group ADGB and was based atManston, Kent. Colton flew 104 operationalsorties during the war and survived, anextraordinary accomplishment on bothcounts. ‘Johnny’ Colton passed away inCanada in May 2013. Here he describes whatthe Hawker Typhoon was like to operate:“To start this monster, the Typhoon

pilot had to set the throttle to five-eighth ofan inch open and no more, otherwisethere was a risk of drowning thecarburettors in gasoline with a resultingengine fire. The ignition of the 24cylinders, using what was called theCoffman System, was effected using ashotgun-style cartridge. As the cartridgeexploded, the propeller rotated about 450º.At that point, with the cylinders full ofgasoline, it was a must for the engine tostart successfully, or it had an 80% chance

Flying the beastFlight Lieutenant ‘Johnny’ Colton (RCAF)

(137 Squadron Typhoon pilot)

‘Johnny’Colton with his 137 SquadronTyphoon in spring 1944.

Rocket armed Typhoons of 124 Wing taxiingon ‘PSP’matting in the Netherlands in theautumn of 1944.

He was commissioned in July 1942 and byAugust he was a flight commander,receiving a DFC and Bar before beingpromoted to squadron leader and restedfrom operations in a staff position.In April 1943 he converted to the

Hawker Typhoon and joined 198 Squadron.Despite some of his less thancomplimentary comments below, Scottloved this monster and mastered itthoroughly. Subsequently, he was posted tocommand 486 Squadron (NZ) Squadron. InAugust 1943 he received the DSO andbecame the Wing Leader at RAF Tangmere.After commanding the airfield at

Hawkinge in early 1944, during which timehe was awarded the OBE for rescuing apilot from a burning, crashed Spitfire, Scottenjoyed his greatest and most exhaustingfighting days. Until February 1945, as theyoungest group captain in the RNZAF, hecommanded 123 Wing, a mobile wing offour Typhoon squadrons in 2 TAF, and ledthem from Normandy to Holland. His air-to-air combat claims for the war were five (plusthree shared) confirmed destroyed, four(plus two shared) ‘probables’, and five (plusone shared) damaged.Scott passed away in October 1997, aged

79. This is his description of flying theTyphoon:“She roared, screamed, groaned and

whined, but apart from being rather heavyon the controls at high speeds, as far as Iwas concerned she flew well.“In stability terms, the aircraft was

directionally and laterally stable but slightlyunstable longitudinally, except at highspeed, when it was just stable. Aileroncontrol was light and effective up to

“With the massive propeller poweredby the equally massive Sabre, the poweron take-off was phenomenal, the torquebeing so strong as to frighten any unwarybeginner pilot. On the take-off roll, theaircraft would veer violently to the righteven with the rudder pedal fully depressedleft. It was only with the proper ruddertrim and the right mix of power that thepilots were able to keep the aircraftstraight, the ailerons not being effectivebelow 93mph.“The flak that we experienced... you’ve

heard the expression, ‘it was so thick youcould almost walk on it!’ It was just black,and we suffered quite a few losses. Wewould start our dive at 6000ft and we’d begetting close to 500 miles per hour beforewe’d release our rockets and pull out. Onthe way down we had the 88mm anti-aircraftguns firing at us at five or six thousand feet,then 37mm, then 20mm, as we got lowerand closer to the target. Then on the wayout it was 20, 37 and 88mm in that order.They didn’t have too hard a time picking offthe boys.“At the speed we were doing when we

pulled out you could easily ‘black out’ fortwo or three seconds and when you cameround you were going straight up.Frequently, when I got back to base theairframe mechanic would say to me, ‘Youknow the rivets are pulled in the wingshere. What happened?’ This occurred quiteoften, the rivets would come loose from thestresses of the G-force.”

D-DAY RAF 51

Des ‘Scottie’ Scott was called up to join theRoyal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF)when war was declared in 1939. He joined 3Squadron RAF in January 1941, as asergeant pilot, flying Hawker Hurricanes.

Group Captain Des Scott, leader of 123 Wing, (wearing the mae west) having dismountedfrom his Typhoon behind him,converses with another RAF officer at B53/Merville, France,watched by an interested group of local boys.

Group Captain Des ‘Scottie’Scott (RNZAF)

(Typhoon pilot with 198 and 486(NZ) Squadrons)

52 D-DAY RAF

maximum speed, but at very low speedresponse was sluggish, particularly whencarrying ordnance. The elevator controlwas rather light and could not be usedharshly. There was a tendency to ‘tightenup’ in a looping aircraft. If ‘black out’conditions were accidentally induced insteep turns or pulling out of a dive, thecontrol column needed to be pushedforward firmly.“Stalling speeds were quite low. The

typical Typhoon trait, as with many aircraftat the time, was to drop a wing sharply atthe stall either with flaps up or down. Thestalling speeds varied depending onexternal load. At all-up weight plus two500lb (230kg) bombs (12,155lb in total) withflaps up the Typhoon stalled at 90-100mph.With flaps down, the stall was initiated at 70-75mph. With all ammunition and nearly allfuel expended (9600lb) the stall occurred at75-80 and 65-70mph.“Should the Typhoon’s temperamental

engine stop in the air you were faced withtwo alternatives – over the side, or thegliding angle of a seven-ton brick; in aforced landing it was apt to somersault andeither crush the pilot or explode.”

A salvo of Typhoon 3in rockets on their way to a target.

The cockpit of the ‘beast’ – pilot’s view ashe climbs into the Typhoon cockpit.

Typhoon Mk.IB MN234 ‘SF-T’ of 137 Squadron, running up on an engine test at B78Eindhoven,Holland. It is loaded with 3in rocket projectiles with 60lb warheads.‘Johnny’Colton flew this particular Typhoon while in Holland in 1944.The aircraft was eventually shotdown during the Ardennes Campaign in December 1944.

SquadronLeader BasilGerald ‘Stapme’Stapleton(Typhoon pilotwith 247 and257 Squadrons)Squadron Leader Basil Gerald ‘Stapme’Stapleton DFC was born in May 1920 inDurban, South Africa. He used the first nameGerald and was nicknamed ‘Stapme’ after aphrase used in his favourite cartoon stripJust Jane published in The Daily Mirror.‘Stapme’ was a Spitfire pilot with 603

RAuxAF Squadron during the Battle ofBritain. His personal score of six enemyaircraft destroyed, three shared destroyed,eight probably destroyed two damaged, allachieved on Spitfires during the battle, madehim one of the outstanding fighter pilots ofthe period. He was awarded the DistinguishedFlying Cross in November 1940.Having subsequently served with various

units, including flying ‘Hurricats’ with theMerchant Ship Fighter Unit, ‘Stapme’converted to the Hawker Typhoon whileserving as a flight commander with 257Squadron when the unit re-equipped withthe type in July 1942. Later, from August1944 he commanded 247 Squadron, part of124 Wing, 2 TAF, flying Typhoons innorthern France.On December 23, 1944, Stapleton was

forced to land behind enemy lines andbecame a prisoner of war, after debris from

an exploding train, which he had attacked,punctured the radiator of his Typhoon.‘Stapme’ was one of the real ‘characters’

to survive the war, complete with hishandlebar moustache and always with amischievous twinkle in his eyes. The authorhad the privilege and pleasure of meetinghim on many occasions in his later life andbeing regaled with his many wartime stories.‘Stapme’ passed away in April 2010, a

month before his 90th birthday. This is his‘take’ on flying the Typhoon:“The first thing that struck me when I

climbed into a Typhoon was that you had toget used to the height you were sitting at.On take-off the Typhoon swung the oppositeway to the Hurricane and Spitfire, so we hadto unlearn that which had become secondnature to us. Early Typhoon take-offs werenearly always in a climbing turn!“The Typhoon was far more powerful

than previous aircraft I’d flown. On an earlyflight I achieved 400mph on the clock at sealevel; it really was a tremendous groundattack aircraft. The cannons weredevastating for soft-skin targets, such asvehicles. If there was grass around thetargets, it was like a wave when the shells

hit the ground and the turf seemed to ripplein retreat.“There was no recoil when firing

rockets. Having sighted the target, I linedup, dived, started to pull out and fired justas soon as it disappeared beneath the noseof the aircraft. Using this method, Ireckoned that I couldn’t miss.“I found it best to stay low after an attack

and utilise the speed to get away from thetarget, rather than attempting to climb away.This seemed to work and when I camedown in December 1944, I wasn’t shotdown, I suppose I shot myself down when Iflew through the debris of the locomotive Ihad attacked with my rockets!”

In addition to the Spitfire andTyphoon units, on D-Day the RAFalso had at its disposal sevensquadrons of Mustang IIIs, theBritish name for the North American

P-51B/C with the Packard Merlin engine,which were acquired by the RAF underLend-Lease arrangements.The Mustang III entered service with

122 Wing (19, 65 and 122 Squadrons) inFebruary 1944. The second Mustang wingwas 133 Wing (306, 315, 316 (Polish)Squadrons) which re-equipped with theMustang in April 1944, under the commandof the Polish fighter ace Wing CommanderStanislaw Skalski, and which wassubsequently joined by 129 Squadron RAF.After these so-called ‘razorback’

Mustang III aircraft had been delivered toEngland, the RAF decided that the hingedcockpit canopy offered too poor a view forEuropean operations. A fairly majormodification was made in which theoriginal framed hinged hood was replacedby a bulged Perspex frameless canopy thatslid to the rear on rails. This canopy gavethe pilot much more room and afforded agood view downwards and to the rear. Thishood was manufactured and fitted by theBritish corporation R Malcolm & Co andbecame known as the ‘Malcolm Hood’.

D-DAY RAF 53

This hood was fitted to most RAF MustangIIIs, and many USAAF Eighth and NinthAir Force P-51B/C fighters received thismodification as well.The RAF found the Merlin-engine

Mustangs to be robust and fast, capable ofover 400mph level at 2000ft. Many pilotsregarded the ‘razorback’ Malcolm-hoodedMustang III as the best of the entire series.It was lighter, faster, and had crisperhandling than the later bubble-hoodedP-51D/Mustang IV.Prior to D-Day, being a scarce resource,

the RAF Mustang IIIs were mainlyemployed on operations for which theaircraft’s long range and high speedprovided an edge over other RAF single-engine fighter types, such as long rangefighter sweeps, and escort dutiessupporting USAAF heavy bombers orcoastal command anti-shipping strikes byBristol Beaufighters and DH Mosquitos.On D-Day the Mustang III units

provided fighter cover and subsequentlysome were deployed into France toprovide ground support. In July half ofthem were pulled back to southernEngland to deal with the V-1 flying bombs,but they were soon back on the continent.The Mustangs continued to providefurther long-range bomber escorts,

North American Mustang III

Warrant Officer C R Castleton in his 122Squadron Mustang III loaded with two1000lb bombs at B12/Ellon in 1944.

‘Malcolm’hooded Mustang IIIs of 19Squadron,April 1944.

including some in support of RAF BomberCommand daylight raids.During the Battle of Normandy, the

RAF Mustang III really proved its worthas a true multi-role fighter. Very capableas a pure fighter in the air-to-air role at allaltitudes, the Mustang was also anexcellent ground attack strafe platformwith its armament of four wing-mounted.50in (12.7mm) Browning heavy machineguns (with 350 rounds per gun (rpg) forthe inboard guns and 280rpg for theoutboard). It was also a very usefulfighter-bomber able to carry two 500lbbombs or even two 1000lb bombs, oneunder each wing.

protecting the UK, later on with Mk.IXs. InMarch 1944, 315 Squadron re-equipped withMustang IIIs, joining 133 Polish MustangWing of 2 TAF, operating from bases insouthern England.

Squadron LeadereugeniuSz HorbaczewSkiAmong the many Polish airmen who gavesuch valued service to the RAF, SquadronLeader Eugeniusz Horbaczewski, was oneof the most distinguished.

Nicknamed ‘Dziubek’, Horbaczewski wasa legendary Polish fighter pilot – the thirdhighest scoring Polish fighter ace with atotal of 16½ confirmed kills (plus oneshared) – and an exceptional leader, highlyrespected by all those who knew him.

Horbaczewski had been a member of thespecial Polish unit consisting of 15experienced Polish fighter pilot volunteers –the Polish Fighting Team (PFT) or‘Skalski’s Circus’ – that operated in NorthAfrica with Spitfire Mk.IXs in the spring of1943 and with which he destroyed eight

54 D-DAY RAF

One of the Polish fightersquadrons formed in GreatBritain as part of anagreement between the PolishGovernment in Exile and the

United Kingdom. One of several Polishfighter squadrons that flew and fought withthe RAF during the Second World War, itwas named after the city of Deblin, wherethe main Polish Air Force Academy waslocated.

The squadron was formed at RAFAcklington in January 1941. Initiallyequipped with Hawker Hurricanes, 315 wasmoved in March 1941 to RAF Speke (nowLiverpool Airport) from where it madefrequent patrols over naval convoys as partof 9 Group RAF. In July that year it moved toRAF Northolt and re-equipped withSpitfires. After only a month with Mk.IIaSpitfires, 315 Squadron received Mk.Vbsand, from then until March 1944, thesquadron operated Spitfires on offensivefighter sweeps and fighter escorts overoccupied Europe and defensive patrols

Mustang – ‘two up’Squadron Leader Eugeniusz Horbaczewski

(315 Squadron Mustang III pilot)

Squadron Leader Eugeniusz Horbaczewskiclimbing into his Mustang III.

Horbaczewski with his 315 Squadron Mustang III FB382 ‘PK-G’ used in the rescue.

enemy aircraft in combat.Among the decorations Horbaczewski

was awarded were the Virtuti Militari, fourPolish Crosses of valour, the DSO and DFCand Bar. Horbaczewski took command of315 Squadron in February 1944 just beforethe unit re-equipped with Mustang IIIs.

315 squadron musTang iiisDuring the invasion, the two RAF wings ofMustang IIIs were given responsibility forcutting off German forces behind thebeachhead, with deep-penetration missionslaid on at a rate of two to three missions perday, attacking both German ground targetsand Luftwaffe aircraft in the air.On the morning of June 12, 1944,

Horbaczewski led four Mustangs of 315Squadron on a dive-bombing mission northof Mortagne, during which they ran acrossseven Fw 190s at low level. The Poles shotdown three of the 190s with Horbaczewskiand Flying Officer Kirste claiming one each,while Flight Sergeant Bargielowski got two.On July 30 Horbaczewski destroyed a Bf109 and shared a kill against another 109with his wingman.

HorbaczewskiToTHerescueOn June 22, Horbaczewski led a formationof 12, 315 Squadron Mustang IIIs on astrafing attack against enemy groundpositions in Normandy. Two of theMustangs were hit by ground fire; FlightLieutenant Henryk Stefankiewicz in FB398,‘PK-A’ was killed and Warrant OfficerTadeusz Tamowicz’s Mustang FZ157 ‘PK-J’,was also hit by 20mm shells, slightlywounding the pilot in both legs.Tamowicz managed to get his aircraft

back into the beach-head area where hecrash-landed in a marsh. Extricating himselffrom the cockpit of his Mustang which wassinking into the mud, Tamowicz crawled,with some difficulty due to his wounds, to aclump of bushes and used his shirt to dresshis bleeding legs. Meanwhile,Horbaczewski found a short strip nearby, anALG under construction by a group ofAmerican engineers. He circled it anddecided to land to help his colleague.Having landed safely on the strip,

Horbaczewski was driven by the Americansin a jeep to the area where Tamowicz hadcrash-landed. On reaching the marsh about30 minutes later, Horbaczewski and theAmerican soldiers had to wade throughmud and water for 400m, waist deep inplaces, to reach Tamowicz. With theAmericans’ assistance, Tamowicz wasrescued, his wounds were tended and hewas helped to the jeep and returned to theALG.

Two-upHorbaczewski slid the seat of his Mustangas far back as possible and enlisted thefurther help of the American engineers toget Tamowicz into his Mustang (FB382 ‘PK-G’). Then Horbaczewski, who was

D-DAY RAF 55

fortunately small in stature, climbed in andsat on Tamowicz’s lap, started up, taxied tothe end of the strip and took off.The Mustang landed safely back at 315

Squadron’s base at Coolham, Sussex, wherethe ground crews were understandablysurprised to see two men emerge from thecockpit. Some of those who witnessed thisreturn were deeply moved byHorbaczewski’s actions and devotion to hismen. The official RAF reaction was lessbenevolent in view of the many regulationsthat had been broken!

Tamowicz’s logbookenTriesTamowicz was back flying on operationsagain five days later. His logbook containstwo entries for June 22, 1944, the firststating: “Mustang III ‘J’ – Duty: Strafingsouth of ‘Cher’ – 1:40 – “shot down andcrash landed south of Cherbourg. Ack.Ack”. The second entry for June 22 states:“Mustang III ‘G’ – Pilot: Sqn LdrHorbaczewski, Passenger: Self – Duty:Return with CO from France – 45 minutespassenger.”

Horbaczewski’s faTeIn mid-July, 133 Wing was reassigned to AirDefence of Great Britain to participate inthe anti-diver patrols against the newlyintroduced V-1 flying bombs. During thistime, Horbaczewski shot down four V-1flying bombs.After a successful campaign against the

V-1s, on August 18, 1944, Horbaczewski led12 Mustangs of 315 Squadron on their firstair-combat mission since their withdrawalfrom France – a ‘Rodeo’ fighter sweepagainst the Luftwaffe base at Beauvais.Despite being massively outnumbered, thePoles attacked a group of some 60 Fw 190sof Jagdgeschwaders 2 and 26 that theysurprised over the airfield. A massive

Flt Sgt Slon and Sqn Ldr Horbaczewski demonstrate for a press photograph (not veryconvincingly) how two can fit into a Mustang cockpit. (Tadeusz Tamowicz was recoveringfrom his wounds when the picture was taken).

Warrant Officer Tadeusz Tamowicz.

dogfight ensued in which the PolishMustang pilots were officially credited with16 victories, one ‘probable’ and threedamaged (German documents record theloss of 12 Fw 190s in the combat).Sadly this victory haul cost the life of the

315 Squadron CO, Squadron LeaderHorbaczewski, who had been seen to shootdown three of the German Fw 190s. As heopened fire on the last victim, a 190 rolled inon Horbaczewski’s tail and delivered a fatalburst; the Mustang was seen to roll on itsback and dive straight in, exploding onimpact. In 1947 the wreck of Horbaczewski’sMustang, with his body still inside it, wasfound crashed near Valennes.

flew Boeing B-17 Fortress IIs and IIIs,equipped with special RCM jammingequipment, as part of 100 Group. The RAFhad adopted the B-17 Fortress for the RCMrole because the aircraft’s deep bomb baywas ideal for accommodating the specialelectronic countermeasures equipment; theB-17’s ability to fly high above the bomberstream was also an asset.

The RCM Fortresses were painted withthe standard Bomber Commandbrown/green camouflage pattern on the topsurfaces, the black undersides extended upthe sides of the fuselage and the fin was alsopainted black. The crew of these Fortresseswas 10, with only a single pilot, assisted by aflight engineer who occupied the co-pilot’sseat. They also carried a navigator, bombaimer, wireless operator, top gunner, twowaist gunners and a rear gunner. The 10thmember of the crew was a German-speaking ‘special operator’.

These special RCM Fortresses carried aradar jamming device codenamed Mandrel,which operated in the 85 to 135MHz band,to counter German ground radars, such asthe Freya early warning radar. The Piperackequipment they carried was used forjamming the German night fighters’Airborne Intercept radars. The aircraft alsocarried and dropped ‘Window’ (now knownas ‘chaff’) to confuse and swamp the enemyradar picture. On RAF Bomber Commandmain force bombing raids the RCMFortresses flew just above the bomberstream or sometimes ahead of it as a‘Mandrel screen’, throwing out a protective

56 D-DAY RAF

specialist aircraft and crews. So successfulwere these operations that the German HighCommand retained Wehrmacht divisionsnorth of the Seine and in the Pas-de Calais,even after the invasion in Normandy hadoccurred, in the belief that this was wherethe main blow would fall. These enemyforces could, potentially, have made a majordifference if they had been deployed toNormandy early enough. They might haveturned the tide entirely and they would, atthe very least, have inflicted greatercasualties on the Allied troops during theinitial break out from the invasion beaches.

100 Group radarCounter MeasuresThe Radar Counter Measures (RCM) unitsof RAF Bomber Command’s 100 (BomberSupport) Group had become a standardpart of offensive air operations by spring1944, helping to reduce bomber losses onthe Command’s night-time raids. 214 (BS)Squadron, based at RAF Oulton in Norfolk,

No account of OperationOverlord would be completewithout mention of thedeception operationsconducted against the

Germans. Since there was no disguising theimminence of the invasion, it was essentialto its success that the enemy be misledabout the actual location of the assault.

Imaginative, elaborate and realisticintelligence deceptions, for exampleutilising double agents, ‘dummy’ forces and‘spoof’ radio traffic, played no small part inthis campaign over the weeks and monthspreceding D-Day.

As the date for the invasion drew closer,the air campaign continued to sow confusionby attacking more targets north of the Seineand in the Pas-de-Calais area than inNormandy. However, on the eve of D-Day thelion’s share of the credit for successfullyblinding, confusing and misleading theGermans, must go to the air operationsconducted by a relatively small number of

‘Jammers’and ‘Spoofers’

Boeing B-17G Fortress III ‘BU-W’of 214 Squadron, in flight.

Boeing B-17 Fortress II ‘BU-A’ SR386 of 214 Squadron.

electronic ‘cloak’ to help conceal the attack.214 Squadron Fortresses also carried‘Jostle’ VHF radio jamming equipment,officially T3160, which had become knownas ABC (‘Airborne Cigar’) and which hadbeen used by 101 Squadron in its specialLancasters, with an eighth crewman, since1943. It consisted of a panoramic receiverand three transmitters, which enabled theVHF ground-to-air R/T frequency beingused by the German fighter controllers tobe identified and then jammed.

The special operator used the equipmentto listen in for a controller’s transmissions.When he was sure that he was listening tothe master controller, he jammed thefrequency and if the Germans changedchannels he had to find the new frequencyand jam that as quickly as possible.

The Jostle equipment was large andheavy (it weighed over 600lb) and itreplaced the underside ball turret fitted tothe USAAF B-17s used on daylightoperations (the use of the original ‘ABC’Jostle equipment was terminated in July1944, as it proved very easy for Germannight fighters to home onto it. It wasreplaced by Jostle IV).

The Short Stirling IIIs of 199 Squadronbased at North Creake, Norfolk, and theHandley Page Halifax IIIs of 192 Squadronat Foulsham, Norfolk, were similarlyequipped to the RCM B-17 Fortresses andthey also played a part on the eve of D-Day.

‘Jamming’operationSfor D-DayFrom the night of June 4-5, 1944, thespecialist RCM aircraft of 100 (BS) Group,including USAAF B-17 Fortresses of 803Squadron, which were attached to 100Group, set up a radar jamming ‘Mandrelscreen’ to cover the invasion fleet from the‘eyes’ of those German radars which hadsurvived the earlier attacks by Alliedfighter bombers.

On the eve of D-Day, June 5-6, all thejamming squadrons of 100 Group were inthe air performing their specialist duties.First up, around dusk, were 199 and 214Squadrons. 199 Squadron Stirlings took upstation at 15,000ft at intervals along thesouth coast of England, spread from Dorsetto Dover.

Flying at precisely determined intervals,heights and bearings the aircraft jammedGerman radar across the entire central andeastern English Channel, masking theinvasion fleet.

Meanwhile, B-17 Fortresses of 214Squadron and a small force of 101 SquadronLancasters were heading east to fly overCalais and along the Somme Valley,penetrating 80 miles into France thenturning around to fly back and forth acrossthe Channel.

On each inward run ‘Window’ bundleswere tossed out as fast as possible. Just 10aircraft created on German early warningradar a ‘ghost’ bomber stream of hundredsof non-existent raiders heading for precisely

D-DAY RAF 57

those targets that would have been chosenif the invasion were taking place near Calais,distracting the German’s attention fromNormandy. The Fortresses also jammed theGerman fighter control radio frequencieswith their special on-board equipment.

An electronic wall, blocking all Germancommunications and radar, was establishedfor several hours over northern France,masking the presence of the huge andvulnerable force of Allied transport aircraftand the gliders they towed, on their way todeliver airborne forces as the precursor tothe invasion.

In early 1942, Joan Curran, a scientistand researcher, and the only woman‘boffin’ at the British TelecommunicationsResearch Establishment (TRE),suggested and then developed theidea of dropping aluminium strips fromaircraft to generate a cloud of falseechoes on enemy radars.

‘Window’was the code nameallocated to these small metallised strips,like tinfoil,designed to be dropped inbundles from RAF bombers.The strips ofaluminised paper were cut to a halfwavelength of the operating frequencyto be jammed,although quarter-wavelength strips were later used as well.

When ‘illuminated’ by radar thesestrips re-radiated the signal.‘Window’appeared on enemy radar screens asa cluster of primary targets or,

alternatively, the screen would beswamped with multiple returns. Specialtreated paper was used to minimisethe weight and maximise the time thatthe strips would remain in the air, toprolong the effect.The result was agently drifting cloud of metallic stripsthat created confusing signals onGerman radar screens, eitherconcealing the position of the actualbombers or generating a ‘ghost’bomber stream.

‘WinDoW’

D-Day ‘Spoof’ operationSWhile the specialist ‘jammers’ of 100 Groupdid their work, three other special airoperations added to the trickery that theGermans had to contend with on the eve ofthe invasion. Operations Taxable andGlimmer, flown by 617 SquadronLancasters and 218 Squadron Stirlings,created ‘spoof’ invasion fleets, whileOperation Titanic conducted by SpecialDuties Halifaxes and Stirlings generateddecoy airborne landings. These operationsare described in more detail in thefollowing pages.

The 10-man crew of a 214 Squadron RCM B-17 Fortress. Back row: Jimmy Pate (tail gunner),Jock Knox (flight engineer), Don Austin (pilot), Geoff Godfrey (navigator), Les Bostock(bomb aimer). Front row: Pip Piper (mid-upper gunner), Harry Richardson (wirelessoperator),Abe Levine (special operator), Chas Lewis (starboard waist gunner),Alf Butler(port waist gunner).

used for the forthcoming operation toaugment 617 Squadron. This decision wasmade due to the former’s familiarity andexpertise with the ‘GEE’ and ‘G-H’ radionavigation and ‘blind-bombing’ systems.

Based at Woolfox Lodge, Rutland, 218Squadron was equipped with the ShortStirling Mk.III and was, at the time, the onlyfront line heavy bomber squadron fullyoperational and trained within BomberCommand to use this equipment for ‘blindbombing’. However, the poor performanceof the Stirling compared with the laterheavy bombers had meant that, prior to D-Day, 218 Squadron, which was now one ofthe last units using the Stirling as a bomber,had been relegated to mostly mining(‘Gardening’) operations and shortpenetration raids into the occupiedterritories.

During the spring of 1944 the squadronhad executed a number of extremelyaccurate raids, utilising its expertise withthe GEE and G-H equipment, including aprecision attack on the Luftwaffe signalsdepot at Vilvoorde, north of Brussels onApril 23-24, 1944, and an extremely accurateraid on the railway depot at Chambly onMay 1-2, 1944; both raids causing extensivedamage. The air staff’s opinion was,therefore, that with their proven precisionnavigation skills, the crews of 218 Squadroncould successfully complete the special andhighly secret D-Day task without extensiveadditional training.

Planning and PreParationOn May 7, 1944, a meeting was held at 617Squadron’s base at Woodhall Spa,Lincolnshire, to discuss the ‘spoof’ raid. Anumber of high-ranking personnel from theAir Ministry and senior Bomber Commandofficers were present, along with the

58 D-DAY RAF

Selecting the SquadronSDue to the complex nature of the task,Bomber Command’s premier precisionnavigation and bombing unit, 617 Squadron(of Dambusters fame) was approached inearly May 1944 to evaluate the feasibility ofthis deception plan. It was apparent that theoperation would call for a high degree offlying ability, navigational accuracy andcrew discipline. 617 Squadron was, ofcourse, equipped with the Avro Lancasterfour-engine heavy bomber and its successwith target marking and precision bombinghad proved that its aircrews possessed thenecessary attributes in abundance.

Also during early May it was decidedthat 218 (‘Gold Coast’) Squadron would be

Operation Taxable and thesimilar Operation Glimmerwere sophisticated deceptionoperations simulating largeinvasion forces heading for

Cap-d’Antifer and Pas-de-Calais. Both ofthese operations were conducted on the eveof D-Day, the night of June 5-6, 1944, whilethe actual invasion fleet was on the way toNormandy for the real landings.

To generate these decoy assaults tworelatively small, specially trained forces ofRAF bombers and Navy and RAF boats, setout to persuade German radar operators(and through them the high command) thatmajor invasion fleets were sailing for andassembling off Fécamp and Boulogne.

‘Ghost’ invasion fleetsOperations Taxable and Glimmer

One of the 617 Squadron Lancasters thattook part in Operation Taxable on June 5-6,DV385,‘KC-A’‘Thumper Mk.III’ flown by Flt LtBob Knights and his crew, is now recreatedby the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial FlightLancaster PA474. Crown copyright

Sqn Ldr Les Munro (back left), who led the Operation Taxable mission, with his regular 617Squadron crew, posing alongside their Lancaster LM482 ‘KC-W’.

time on the squadron. Not measured by anyvisual result, but because of the exactingflying and navigational requirements. Therewas absolutely no latitude for deviation fromthe correct ground speed, track, rate of turnand timing if it was to be successful.“The object of the operation was to

create the impression of a fleet of shipsadvancing at eight knots towards theFrench coast. To achieve this, two waves ofeight aircraft were required, taking off twohours apart. Each Lancaster flew paralleloblong circuits (racetrack patterns) at180mph at a height of 3000ft, maintaining adistance of two miles between them on boththe outbound and return legs of eachcircuit, thereby creating a 16 mile front.“From a predetermined start point each

aircraft flew a straight course towards theFrench coast for two minutes 30 seconds,they then executed a rate one turn to portthrough 180º, lasting one minute, returningtowards the English coast on an exactreciprocal track. After two minutes and 10seconds the aircraft then carried outanother 180º turn to port to arrive back overthe original outbound track. The differencein the timing of the outbound and inboundlegs resulted in the whole pattern advancingtowards the French coast at the rate of eightknots, the average speed of a naval convoy.“To create the impression of an armada

of ships on the German radar screens, eachaircraft dropped bundles of ‘Window’ ofpredetermined sizes every five seconds.The illusion of a convoy approaching theFrench coast was amplified by usingprogressively thicker window strips as theaircraft flew nearer to the coast on eachoutward leg, and lighter strips as they flewon the return legs. As well as the variationin the size of the ‘Window’ strips on eachleg, the overall size was also increasedevery few circuits as the whole pattern

commanding officer of 617 Squadron, WingCommander Leonard Cheshire.A number of points were raised by

Cheshire who was concerned about thecomplexity of the operation and the strain itwould place on his crews. His concernswere acknowledged, and as a consequenceit was decided that each of the crews for theoperation would include a second navigator.New autopilots and new H2S radarnavigation equipment would be fitted to theunit’s Lancasters and an extra chute wouldbe added to the squadron’s aircraft toensure the required amount of ‘Window’(radar-reflective, aluminium foil strips)could be released quickly enough. Inaddition, extra relief pilots would be postedonto the squadron to augment the unit’salready overworked crews.As they had with the ‘Dams Raid’ exactly

a year before, 617 Squadron now set abouttrying to achieve what seemed animpossible task; within a matter of days theaircraft modifications were completed andadditional personnel had joined thesquadron.As an amusing aside, while the new

equipment was being fitted to LancasterME561, the personal aircraft of Americanpilot Lieutenant Nick Knilans, it wasdiscovered that the aircraft’s ailerons hadbeen fitted upside down at the factory.Correcting this mistake improved theaircraft’s flying characteristics no end andsorted a problem which had led to Knilansbeing ribbed for his flying and especially forhis landings.A second planning meeting held 10 days

later to finalise the preparations for theoperation included representatives from theRoyal Navy, including the Vice Admiral ofDover, Commodore Jessel, and thecommanding officer of 218 Squadron, WingCommander Royd Fenwick-Wilson. Amongthe decisions taken at this meeting, it wasagreed that apart from the installation of anadditional GEE set in the Stirlings, no othermajor aircraft modifications needed to becarried out to the 218 Squadron aircraft.

trainingWhen the crews of 617 Squadron werecalled together amid tight security for aspecial briefing by the air officercommanding 5 Group, Air Vice Marshal SirRalph Cochrane, to be told: “Gentlemen, thenext time you are airborne operationally itwill be D-Day”, they all wondered whatexciting task they would be given asBomber Command’s elite unit on such anhistoric occasion. It is easy to imagine thatwhen the details of their diversionary taskand the ‘spoof’ raid unfolded, there was acertain amount of disappointment. At thetime they could not have realised theimportance and enormity of what they werebeing asked to do.From the middle of May, the two

squadrons were kept off operations so thatthey could carry out weeks of extensivetrials, training and equipment testing overthe North Sea. For 617 Squadron these

D-DAY RAF 59

training flights and the impending operationinvolved all of the crews, while 218Squadron selected six experienced seniorcrews (and two reserve crews) under theleadership of the CO, Wing CommanderFenwick-Wilson, for their part in theoperation.Captured versions of the German radars

were mounted on the headland atFlamborough Head to assess the effect oftactics as the training progressed. Theweather for these training flights was oftenfar from ideal with low cloud, heavy rain andpoor visibility, but the bomber crews carriedon regardless. The crews recorded thesetraining flights in their logbooks with simpleentries, such as ‘special local flying’ or othersuch mundane descriptions of the dutycarried out.

OperatiOn taxableOn D-Day, June 5-6, 1944, the first wave ofeight 617 Squadron Lancasters took offfrom their base at Woodhall Spa shortlyafter midnight, each carrying a crew ofbetween 12 and 14 men rather than thenormal seven, with an additional pilot andnavigator in each crew, as well as ‘extrapersonnel’ to assist with the task ofdropping the bundles of ‘Window’. Theleader for the operation was one of thesquadron’s flight commanders, NewZealand Squadron Leader Les Munro, whohad on board with him as his second pilot,the CO, Wing Commander LeonardCheshire.Les Munro takes up the story and

describes the complexities of the operationin his own words (it should be rememberedthat this whole operation was, of course,carried out in total darkness):“I have always believed that Operation

Taxable was in one sense the mostimportant that 617 carried out during my

The ‘ops log’ on Flt Lt Bob Knight’s 617 Squadron Lancaster DV385 ‘KC-A’‘Thumper Mk.III’included a ‘D’ on the bomb symbol for its 23rd ‘op’ indicating the D-Day Operation Taxablemission (the swastika on the 32nd bomb symbol indicates the shooting down of a Germanfighter by its crew).This is now replicated on the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial FlightLancaster PA474.Crown copyright

second wave of three, which joined in afterthe first eight, would only fly 18 circuits.‘Window’ was dropped in the samemanner as Taxable and a naval task forceof 12 HDMLs equipped with the samejamming devices, radar-reflecting balloonsand radios sailed beneath the Stirlings.The boats began jamming operations at1am followed by radio ‘chatter’ around anhour later.

the effectiveness Oftaxable and GlimmerThe real D-Day assault into Normandy wassupposed to have been completely maskedby the radar jamming of the specialist 100Group RCM aircraft.That jamming, it transpired, was

insufficient to overcome the powerfulGerman radars that had survived earlierattacks, whose operators did in fact detectand report the real invasion fleet headingtowards Normandy. By that point, however,the Germans were in a state of disarray andconfusion, which had been added to by the‘spoof’ invasion fleets simulated by Taxableand Glimmer.While some German officers wanted to

respond to the real invasion, others refusedto accept it for what it was and would notbelieve the reports they were receiving. Thefact is that potent German forces were keptin the Pas-de-Calais area, even after theinvasion in Normandy had occurred, in thebelief that this was where the main blowwould still fall, proof indeed of the successof the numerous deception operations,including Taxable and Glimmer.The commander in chief of RAF Bomber

Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir ArthurHarris, sent a message to the air crewsinvolved which said: “It is alreadyestablished that the operations on whichyou engaged on the night of June 5-6 werevery successful and it may well be when thefull facts are known it will be found that youachieved results of even greater importancethan can be known at present.”

60 D-DAY RAF

counter measures (RCM) equipment,beneath the 617 Squadron ‘Window’dropping aircraft.The leading line of boats carried

equipment that jammed the German radars,but not so effectively that they could not‘see’ the ‘fleet’ behind them. The followingboats each towed two radar-reflectingballoons which would reproduce big shipsized echoes on the enemy radar screens.They were also equipped with RCM devicesknown as ‘Moonshine’ (ARI TR1427).‘Moonshine’ had originally been

intended for airborne use; it was a pulse-repeater device which, when it received asignal from the German Freya radars, re-transmitted a portion of the signal as agreatly amplified, spread out pulse on thesame frequency, giving the impression of amuch larger radar return than was actuallythe case. Meanwhile, radio operators on thelaunches simulated the radio traffic thatwould be expected of a large fleet of ships.Combined together, the jammers,

‘Moonshines’ and ‘Window’ dropped fromabove created a remarkably accuratesimulation of a large invasion fleet,attempting to cover itself with RCM, on theGerman radar screens.

OperatiOn GlimmerThe first three 218 Squadron Stirlingstasked for Operation Glimmer, plus the tworeserve aircraft, took off from WoolfoxLodge during the 20 minutes leading up tomidnight on June 5. The second wave ofthree more Stirlings took off 50 minuteslater. Each Stirling carried a crew of 13 men:two pilots, three navigators, a wirelessoperator, a flight engineer, two air gunnersand four ‘Window’ dispatchers.As with Operation Taxable very precise

flying and navigation was needed toachieve the desired effect. The timingcalled for an overall advance of 18 milestowards Boulogne at an apparent speed ofseven knots. The front line of threeaircraft needed to fly 23 orbits while the

advanced towards the French coast. No‘Window’ was dropped during the turns.The directions to crew members

manning the ‘Window’ chutes as to when tocommence dropping bundles of ‘Window’,when to cease and when to change the size,were relayed by a system of red and greenlights operated by the second navigator.“While we were doing our job in the air, a

number of naval vessels on the sea directlybelow us were advancing at the same eightknots, using radar counter measures andbroadcasting sound effects to simulate alarge convoy at sea.“Each aircraft flew those parallel circuits

for two hours. The second wave of eightLancasters took over from the first eightafter two hours. Each aircraft of the secondwave joined the circuits at precisely thesame time as the first wave aircraft werestarting their last circuit but 500ft above.When the first wave aircraft left, those of thesecond wave descended to 3000ft. Amaximum of 90 seconds was allowed withinwhich to complete the handover betweenthe waves. Throughout the operation weflew without lights and in complete radiosilence.“Because of the tedious and repetitive

nature of the operation, our crews weredoubled up so that individual crew memberscould be rested periodically. I was onceasked if I rested during my hour ‘off’, butwith so many ‘bods’ on board, I stayed in myseat in the cockpit as there was nowhereelse to go!”The ‘naval vessels’ involved in Operation

Taxable, which Les Munro refers to in hisaccount above, were 18 small boats, a mix ofRoyal Navy Harbour Defence MotorLaunches (HDMLs) and RAF Air SeaRescue launches. The bad weather on June5, 1944, and the heavy seas that resultedfrom it, caused the launches to struggle toconverge at their meeting point on time.However, they all made it and between 2amand 4am, they advanced towards the Frenchcoast, operating specially fitted radar

Short Stirling Mk.III LF133,photographed here in the summer of1944,was one of the 218 Squadron aircraft that took part inOperation Glimmer on June 5-6, 1944.

A wonderful colour shot of a Short Stirling bomber and some of thecrew taken earlier in the war, showing the enormous size andungainliness of the big aircraft on the ground.

removal of the mid-upper, dorsal turret, theinstallation of additional fuel tanks and thefitting of a ‘para’ exit, along with otherequipment to support clandestine parachutejumps and re-supply operations.

The Halifax was captained by FlightLieutenant Johnson who, along with hiscrew, was well used to dropping agents andsupplies into occupied Europe at night, tosupport the work of the Resistancemovements.

For this drop the Halifax would havebeen at the usual speed and height of140mph and 5-600ft. This was low, but gavesufficient time for the parachutes to open,while minimising both the time in the airunder the parachute canopy and any driftaway from the drop zone.

The crew’s post-mission report for thissortie stated that: “The passengers jumpedwith alacrity”, although it also admitted thatthe equipment containers holding the SASmen’s heavier equipment, which weresupposed to follow immediately after them,were delayed by a technical hitch and werenot released until 10 seconds after the lastman jumped. Unfortunately, this meant that,in the darkness, the SAS soldiers were unableto find the containers which held their Brenguns and additional ammunition, food andsupplies, so they were left ill-equipped.

Special dutieS HalifaxeSand StirlingSOperation Titanic involved 34 RAF aircraftin all. 138 and 161 (SD) Squadrons, based atTempsford, provided 12 Special DutiesHalifaxes. 90 and 149 Squadrons, basedrespectively at Tuddenham, in Suffolk, andMethwold, in Norfolk, provided 22 ShortStirling Mk.IIIs. For the Special DutyHalifax crews this was the type of para-

Poole’s arrival into enemy territory wasnot exactly what he had planned. Heknocked himself out on leaving the aircraftand was unconscious on the ground foralmost an hour after landing, eventuallycoming round with a cut lip and grazed chin.

OperatiOntitanicThe SAS team’s mission was part of a ‘spoof’deception operation, intended to decoyenemy forces away from the real Allied dropzones and invasion beaches by sending theGermans on a ‘wild goose chase’ respondingto apparent but actually non-existent, massparatrooper landings further inland.

The operation, codenamed Titanic, hassubsequently captured people’s imaginationsand has featured widely in films and booksabout D-Day. As a result it has becomeimmersed in myths, legend and inaccuracies,and sources vary wildly over the details, notleast relating to the involvement of the SASand their miniature ‘friends’.

SaSteam para drOpThe 138 Squadron Halifax from which Pooleand his team parachuted was a Mk.V series1 (special) from Tempsford. These aircraftwere modified for ‘special duties’ with the

The first Allied soldier to land inNormandy at the start of D-Day,June 6, 1944, was British ArmyLieutenant Norman Harry‘Puddle’ Poole of 1 Special Air

Service (SAS). At 11 minutes after midnight,Poole jumped from a Handley Page HalifaxMk.V of No 138 (Special Duties) Squadronand parachuted into occupied France, landingtwo miles west of his intended drop zone, in amarshy area near Marigny, west of Saint-Lô inthe Manche, 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

Poole was the first of a team of sixcourageous SAS soldiers out of the Halifax,the others being Lieutenant FrederickJames ‘Chick’ Fowles and TroopersDawson, Hurst, Merryweather andSaunders. These men had all volunteeredfor what they knew was quite likely to be aone-way mission.

D-DAY RAF 61

Operation TitanicDropping the SAS and ‘Ruperts’

Handley Page Halifax Mk.V (Special) JD319 NF-A of 138 Squadron at Tempsford.

62 D-DAY RAF

the sAsteAm’stAskThe SAS team, meanwhile, was to playamplified recordings of battle sound effects,such as bursts of small arms fire, mortarfire, explosions, screams and soldiers’shouted commands. The SAS men werealso equipped with 20 Lewes bombs tocreate explosions and were to engage anyGerman troops they saw.

Having created the noises of a largeairborne landing for 30 minutes and createdconfusion among the defenders they werethen to melt away into the countryside andallow silence to return. Subsequently, theSAS men were to conduct whateversabotage or disruptive activity they could.

titAnic i-iVOperation Titanic was originally conceivedin four parts. Titanic II was cancelled beforethe event due to the high volume of airtraffic in the planned area on a very busynight, but the other three parts of the

dropping mission that they carried outregularly and were expert in completing.The Stirling crews, however, were morenormally employed on bombing operationsas part of Bomber Command’s 3 Group. TheStirlings’ poor performance, especially theirlow operational ceiling, meant that theaircraft were now coming to the end of theiruseful lives as heavy bombers (some mightargue that they were, in fact, already pastit). 90 Squadron had begun the process ofre-equipping with the Avro Lancaster, and149 Squadron was similarly re-equipped inAugust 1944.

The Stirlings had been progressivelywithdrawn from main force bombingoperations and since April 1944 both thesesquadrons had conducted a number of‘special operations’ over France in supportof the Resistance.

‘RupeRts’The Operation Titanic aircraft were taskedwith dropping large amounts of radar-reflective ‘window’ en route to the dropzones to mask from the German radaroperators the relatively small number ofaircraft actually involved in the operationand as a defensive tactic.

Apart from the Halifax flown by FlightLieutenant Johnson, which dropped Poole’sSAS team and their containers, the otherscarried between them some 450 dummyparatroopers, officially known as ‘Paragons’but nicknamed, engagingly, ‘Ruperts’. Asurviving Second World War British Armyinfantryman told the author that it wascommon practice for the troops to refer totheir officers in jest as ‘Wuperts’ inrecognition of their likely background inBritish society. He believes that the nicknamefor the dummy parachutists came aboutbecause ‘Wuperts’ traditionally made a lot ofnoise but were actually completely useless!

The ‘Ruperts’ were 3ft tall. They weresimply made from hessian sackcloth (burlapin the US and Canada) stuffed with sand,straw and wood shavings to form the crude

outline shape of a human figure. They wereattached to scaled-down parachutes whichwere opened by static line just like realparatroopers. The static lines also activateda time-delay mechanism in the ‘Ruperts’which caused them to ignite and self-destruct after reaching the ground, burningaway completely. It was hoped that thismight look, to any enemy troops finding thesite, like paratroopers’ attempts to burntheir parachutes after landing. Some of thedummies were designed to produce soundsof gunfire or explosions after landing,before self-destructing.

The aircraft also dropped ‘Pintail’ bombs,which fell faster than the ‘Ruperts’ andlanded first. These devices landed uprightwith a spike that stuck into the ground andthey then fired off a Very light, giving theimpression that there was a reception partyon the ground to receive the ‘paratroopers’and to illuminate the ‘Ruperts’ as theydrifted down.

Dispatchers inside a Special Duties Halifax using the ‘para’ hatch to drop supplies.

An unknown Halifax (SD) crew of 161 Squadron standing by their aircraft LL392 ‘MA-W’showing the special ‘para’ hatch.

A surviving ‘Rupert’ – a dummy parachutist ofthe type used on Operation Titanic.Author

eventually liberated, one by one, betweenAugust 1944 and August 1945 as the Alliesoverran their locations. Both of the officerswere awarded the Military Cross for theirexploits and the troopers received MilitaryMedals. For them the operation had indeedbeen a one-way ticket, just like those on theship it was named after.

reSultSBy 2am on June 6, the Germans hadreported parachute landings east of Caenand as far west as Saint-Lô. Over half of the12th SS Panzer Division was ordered to dealwith an enemy parachute landing nearLisieux. The dummies and the SAS team ofTitanic IV diverted a Kampfgruppe from the915th Grenadier Regiment, which was theonly reserve element of the 352nd InfantryDivision, away from the Omaha and Goldbeaches and the US 101st AirborneDivision’s drop zones.The German regiment spent the

morning of June 6 searching the woods forthe parachutists, believing an airbornedivision had landed in the area, instead ofsupporting their colleagues at the coast.‘Enigma’ intercepts from the area of TitanicI, revealed that one German commanderwas reporting a major landing up the coastfrom Le Havre (well to the north of thelanding beaches) and that he had been cutoff by them!Overall, Operation Titanic achieved its

objective of adding to the confusion theGermans were experiencing as a result ofall the various deception operationssurrounding the invasion. In addition,German forces were decoyed away from theactual Allied airborne landing zones andinvasion beaches.

hospital in Rennes with a broken leg; he wasfreed on August 4 when American forcesentered the town.Pilot Officer John Nind, one of the

gunners, who had only been commissionedon June 4 and who had completed 20 ‘ops’on Stirlings (half of them specialoperations), hid in some woods for two daysbefore being captured by the Germans onJune 8. He was taken to a prison camp atRennes, where he remained until July 6when he was put on a prison train to betaken to Germany. For 10 days the train wasstranded outside Tours, being unable toproceed because of Allied air raids. Therewere 40 POWs in the boxcar and they weregiven one loaf of bread and a small piece ofmeat each day between them. On July 23 heand the other POWs cut a hole in the end ofthe boxcar in which they were imprisonedand jumped out. Subsequently, Nind evadedrecapture with the help of the FrenchResistance and was eventually handed overto Allied forces on September 5, 1944.

the aftermath fortheSaSteamThe SAS team on the ground in Normandyalso received assistance from a FrenchResistance worker, Monsieur Le DucEdouard, as they laid low for a month andthen tried to make their way back to theAllied lines in an area crawling with enemytroops. Unfortunately, they weresurrounded and captured by Germanparatroopers on July 9 with three of the SASteam being wounded by a German grenade.Le Duc Edouard, who was only 28 years

old, was later executed by the Germans forassisting the SAS men. All six of the SASsoldiers became POWs; they were

operation went ahead. Titanic I saw 11Halifaxes and four Stirlings drop 200‘Ruperts’ near Yvetot, Yerville, Doudevilleand Fauville. Meanwhile on Titanic III,three Stirlings from 149 Squadron dropped50 dummies in the Calvados region nearMaltot and the woods to the north of Baron-sur-Odon to draw German reserves awayfrom Caen. Titanic IV, which included theSAS team, was allocated 15 Stirlings whichdropped 200 ‘Ruperts’ near Marigny.

Stirling loSSeSAll of the Special Duties Halifaxes returnedfrom the operation safely, but sadly two ofthe 149 Squadron Stirlings were shot downwith the deaths of all but three of the 18men on board the two aircraft.Stirling III LK385, ‘OJ-C’, captained by

Squadron Leader Hutchins, took off fromMethwold at 10.28pm on June 5 toparticipate in Titanic IV. The aircraft isbelieved to have crashed near Baudre(Manche) 4km southeast of Saint-Lô. Allthose on board were killed. Four of theunusually large crew of nine are buried inBaudre churchyard; the others arecommemorated on the RunnymedeMemorial as having no known grave.Stirling III LJ621, ‘OJ-M’, took off from

Methwold at 10.09pm on June 5, also with acrew of nine and similarly tasked. It wasshot down in the vicinity of Caen at 1am onJune 6 and crashed at Marcelett (Calvados).The captain, Pilot Officer Mayo, and fiveother crew members were killed; they areall buried in the St Manvieu War Cemeteryat Cheux. Three of the crew escaped theburning aircraft; Sergeants Heal andWynne-Cole were captured and becameprisoners of war. Sgt Heal was admitted to

Rare colour image of a 149 SquadronShort Stirling III coded ‘OJ-B’ taken inJanuary 1942.

D-DAY RAF 63

many anti-tank guns as possible.These paratroopers and glider-borne

troops were dropped on the eastern flank ofthe invasion area, tasked with capturing twostrategically important bridges over theCaen Canal and Orne River, destroyingother bridges and securing severalimportant villages. The Merville gun batterywhich could, it was believed, have inflictedheavy casualties on the troops landing onSword beach was also to be assaulted anddestroyed. The division was then to createand secure a bridgehead around thecaptured bridges until they linked up withthe advancing Allied ground forces.

opeRAtion tongA – timelineOperation Tonga commenced at 10.30pm onJune 5, when six Halifaxes, three each from298 and 644 Squadrons, began to take offfrom Tarrant Rushton airfield each towing aHorsa glider carrying the ‘coup de main’force tasked with capturing the vitalbridges, codenamed ‘Pegasus’ and ‘Horsa’.

Wing Commander Duder DSO DFC, thecommanding officer of 298 Squadron, ledthe formation, towing the glider on boardwhich was Major Howard who led theassault on the bridges. The brilliant successof this mission is now a well-known part ofD-Day history. It is rather beyond the scopeof this publication, which focuses on theRAF involvement, but the outstanding flying

opeRAtion tongABefore the Allied heavy bombers and thenthe naval artillery started to pound theenemy beach defences and the seaborneassault went in, the massive airborneoperation in support of the invasion wasalready under way.

The lifting capability of the relativelylimited number of aircraft available to 38and 46 Groups made it impossible totransport all of the British 6th AirborneDivision to Normandy in a single wave. Theplan, therefore, was for two lifts, the first ofwhich, codenamed Operation Tonga, wasexecuted overnight during the early hoursof D-Day, six hours before the seaborneassault commenced. On this lift the RAFaircraft transported the 3rd and 5thParachute Brigades into Normandy,together with over 80 gliders, some targetedagainst specific high-priority objectives andothers carrying the Divisional HQ and as

While the RAF’s offensiveaircraft types were fullyengaged in operationsduring the build-up toD-Day, aside from those

aircraft involved in ‘Special Duties’operations in support of the Resistancemovements, the remainder of the RAF’stransport aircraft and glider-towing fleet of38 and 46 Groups did not have anoperational role to play prior to June 5-6.

The pilots and crew of these transportaircraft had been training hard in formationflying and partaking in large-scale airborneexercises to ensure that they were ready forwhat was required of them. On D-Day theirturn came to do it ‘for real’ in the airborneassault phase of the great invasion.

RAF tRAnspoRt squAdRonsOn the eve of D-Day 38 and 46 Groups hadsome 337 aircraft available, compared withthe 876 transport aircraft which made upthe US 9th Air Force’s IXth Tactical CarrierCommand.

The RAF order of battle included 15squadrons of transport and glider-towingaircraft. 46 Group consisted of fivesquadrons of Douglas C-47 Dakotas, whilefour squadrons of Armstrong WhitworthAlbemarles, four of Short Stirlings and twoof Handley Page Halifaxes made up 38Group’s assets.

Attached to these groups were a total ofover 700 gliders with another 400 inreserve, mostly Airspeed Horsas withsome of the larger, light-tank- and heavy-load-carrying General Aircraft Hamilcars.The crews for these gliders were providedby the Glider Pilot Regiment of the ArmyAir Corps.

Airborne operationsTransport aircraft, glider tugs and para-droppers

Halifax tugs with Horsa and Hamilcar gliders waiting to go,at Tarrant Rushton airfield,June 6,1944.

Halifax tug towing one of the largeHamilcar gliders.

Paratroopers landing on a drop zone inNormandy.

skill and courage shown by the Army gliderpilots, who put their five gliders down safely,on the spot, in the dark, coming to a haltwithin yards of their objective, must beconsidered one of the finest pieces ofoperational flying of the entire war.

At 11pm 28 Albemarles of 295, 296, 297and 570 Squadrons took to the air fromHarwell and Brize Norton. They weretransporting the pathfinders of the 22ndIndependent Parachute Company, who wereto mark the three drop-zones to be used bythe airborne troops of the division, and alsothe advanced parties of the 3rd and 5thParachute Brigades.

About 30 minutes later the main body ofthe 5th Parachute Brigade left the airfieldsof Fairford and Keevil. 38 Group contributeda total of 109 aircraft for this lift, with 190,196, 299 and 620 Squadrons each providing23 Stirlings, and 296 and 297 Squadronsproviding eight and nine Albemarlesrespectively. These forces were due to landin their respective drop zones at 12.50am.

At the same time, the Dakotas from thefive squadrons of 46 Group, 48, 233, 271,512 and 575 Squadrons, took off and headedfor their drop zones, with 108 aircraftcarrying the 3rd Parachute Brigade and afurther 17 towing Horsa gliders. TheAlbemarles of 38 Group’s 295 and 570Squadrons contributed additional support tothis lift, carrying between them 20 loads ofparatroopers and towing four Horsas.

Several hours later, at about 1.40am onJune 6, having allowed enough time for theArmy Engineers to clear the landing strips,the remaining aircraft of 38 Group took offwith the main glider lift. The Halifaxes of 298and 644 Squadrons each towed 17 gliders,included among which were four of the largeHamilcar gliders. Albemarles of 295, 296, 297,and 570 Squadrons towed 41 Horsas. Thetroops on this second part of the lift wereplanned to land at 3.20am. The final part ofthis wave towed the three Horsa gliderscarrying the sappers and men from the 9thParachute Battalion, who were to land atopMerville battery at 4.30am.

operatioN toNga –executioNThe towing of gliders was always aprecarious business and it was common fora small number to cast-off prematurely, dueto broken tow-ropes or similar malfunctions.Several gliders came down over Englandonly minutes after take-off, while othersditched in the English Channel and some,having made it to the French coast, fellseveral miles short of the landing zone.

The flight across the Channel wasuneventful, but as soon as the aircraftcrossed into France, sporadic bursts of lightflak came up at them. Flying slowly and at avery low altitude, they were easy targets forthe anti-aircraft gunners to hit and a numberwere damaged, to a greater or lesserdegree, while others were shot down.

In addition to the losses among thegliders, eight towing aircraft also failed to

D-DAY RAF 65

return: five Stirlings, one Albemarle, oneHalifax and two Dakotas. 620 Squadronsuffered the worst, with three of its Stirlingsbrought down, aboard one of which all sixaircrew and 19 men of the 7th Battalion and591st Parachute Squadron were killedfollowing a direct hit as the aircraft struggledto locate its drop zone. In comparison to whatmight have been expected, however,resistance was relatively light.

In fact, the main source of problems wasthe weather. Conditions for the airbornedrop were, as they were for the troops atsea, not ideal. Patches of low cloud hadgathered over Normandy and obscuredsome of the terrain, making navigationmore difficult. From the air, the River Divesand the River Orne appeared very similarand, in poor visibility, a number of aircrewmistook one for the other, causing someerrors in the landing areas for paratroopersand gliders.

operatioN mallardOn the evening of D-Day, after only a shortrespite for the air crews, Operation Mallard,the second lift of the day, delivered thebalance of the 6th Airborne Division’sequipment, including the light tanks,artillery and the glider-borne infantry. Thefirst of 256 aircraft/glider combinations totake off from seven airfields in southernEngland were the Dakotas of 271 Squadrontowing Horsa gliders, the first of whichlifted off from Down Ampney at 6.40pm.

Over the next one hour and 20 minutesthe remainder of the force took to the air andslowly made their way across the Channel toFrance. This time the gliders that the largeaircraft towed included 30 Hamilcars as wellas 226 Horsas. From this vast air armada,one Horsa crashed on take-off, three broketheir tows en route and three were forced toditch in the Channel. The remaining gliders,including all the Hamilcars with theirprecious heavy weapons and armouredvehicles, made it safely down to their landingzones. A further 50 RAF Dakotas undertooksupply-dropping missions.

This lift occurred in daylight and sorequired a fighter escort. For the British andAmerican airlifts combined the overall airescort comprised 110 Spitfires, 72 RAF and98 USAAF P-51 Mustangs, and 96 P-47Thunderbolts. As it happened, the airarmada was not threatened by the Luftwaffeand the escort fighters’ presence wasalmost, with the benefit of hindsight,unnecessary.

Losses in this second phase were 13transport aircraft: nine Dakotas, two

Albemarles, one Stirling and one Halifax.The Halifax that did not make it home fromthis mission was from 298 Squadron. FlyingOfficer Carpenter’s LL407 ‘8T-H’ was hit byflak after releasing its glider over the dropzone. It staggered away, but was forced toditch in the sea eight miles from the Frenchcoast. Another Halifax crew from the samesquadron saw Carpenter’s aircraft go downand circled the area until a naval vesselarrived to pick up the crew, who were allreturned safely to England.

Considering the scale of the assault andthe intensity of the flak these losses weresurprisingly light. That said, these baldnumbers do not in any way convey the fearthat must have been experienced by thetransport aircraft crews as they ploddedthrough the flak over enemy territory, lowand slow, to get into their drop zones andout again, nor the courage it must havetaken to do so and then go back for more.

Battle of NormaNdyAfter D-Day the air dropping of suppliescontinued. When there were sufficientadvanced landing grounds constructed toallow it, RAF transport aircraft beganlanding in France to deliver supplies. OnJune 13, three of 233 Squadron’s Dakotashad the honour of being the first Alliedtransport aircraft to land in France since theinvasion, arriving on the B2/Bazenvilleairstrip with four tons of freight on board.

During the following months the battlefor Normandy was supported by a several-times-a-day shuttle service of transportaircraft, flying military supplies, equipmentand ammunition into France, andevacuating wounded on the return flights.Meanwhile, resupply drops to the troops onthe front line continued when needed.

Operation Mallard: Halifax tugs, towing Hamilcar gliders approaching Normandy on theevening of June 6, 1944.

British Army Glider pilots pose in front of aHorsa glider. Pictured from left are Lt J FHubble; S/Sgt B L Morgan; S/Sgt J L Crone;Sgt R Biagott.

66 D-DAY RAF

powered by a pair of 1590hp (1186 kW)Bristol Hercules XI radial engines, givingthe aircraft a cruising speed of 170mph anda maximum speed of 265mph. A formerpilot said of the Albemarle that it had “novirtues but no vices either”.

operationsDuring the build-up to D-Day theAlbemarles were involved in droppingsupplies to SOE agents and the FrenchResistance in enemy territory, as well astraining with Airborne forces.The pinnacle of the aircraft’s career

though was its involvement in the airborneoperations in support of the D-Dayinvasion, Operations Tonga and Mallard,and then on Operation Market Garden, theArnhem para drop.On June 6, 1944, the four Albemarle

squadrons of 38 Group and the OperationalTraining Unit (OTU) were fully committedto Operation Tonga. 295 Squadron towed21 Horsa gliders, although it lost six intransit; 296 Squadron used 19 aircraft,some towing Horsas; 570 Squadron sent 22aircraft with 10 towing gliders and 42 OTUprovided four aircraft and crews. OnOperation Mallard, later in the day, theAlbemarle squadrons towed 220 Horsas toNormandy.During these D-Day operations the

Albemarle proved to be a real success. Ofthe 602 Albemarles delivered to the RAF,only 17 were lost on operations, whileanother 81 were lost in accidents.

The Armstrong WhitworthAlbemarle is a lesser knownaircraft type of the SecondWorld War, which in factplayed a major role in the

D-Day airborne operations.

ConCeptionOriginally conceived by the Bristol AircraftCompany as a medium bomber, intended to beconstructed by subcontractors from readily-available materials, such as steel and wood, thedesign was taken over by ArmstrongWhitworth, who reworked it as areconnaissance bomber.Although the type was occasionally used on

offensive operational duties, it was apparentthat its performance was no improvement overother aircraft already in service and it hadobvious shortcomings in the bomber rolecompared with the RAF’s new four-engineheavy bombers, the Halifax and Lancaster.Only 32 Mk.I Series 1 bomber Albemarleswere made before it was decided to produce allsubsequent Albemarles as Special Transports(ST.1) or General Transports (GT.1). The firstST.1 and GT.1 Albemarles entered RAF servicein mid-1942 and early 1943 respectively.The entire production run of just over 600

Albemarles was assembled by AWHawksleyLtd of Gloucester, a subsidiary of the GlosterAircraft Company formed specifically for thepurpose of constructing the Albemarle. Theindividual parts and subassemblies for theAlbemarle were produced by about 1000subcontractors.

DesignThe Albemarle was a mid-wing, cantilevermonoplane with twin fins and rudders. Thefuselage was built in three sections; thestructure being of unstressed plywoodover a tubular steel frame. The forwardsection used stainless steel tubing toreduce interference with the magneticcompasses. It had a hydraulically operated,retractable tricycle landing gear (one ofthe first UK production aircraft to do so).The main wheels retracted backwards intothe engine nacelles, and the nose wheelalso retracted backwards into the frontfuselage (there was also a semi-concealed‘bumper’ tail wheel).Most of the transport versions of the

Albemarle retained the Boulton-Pauldesigned dorsal turret with four .303machine guns. The original bomber designhad a crew of six including two gunners;one in a four-gun dorsal turret and one in atwin-gun ventral turret, but in the transportrole the normal crew was five, with a singlepilot (who was the captain), navigator,bomb-aimer, wireless operator and airgunner. When used as a paratrooptransport, up to 10 fully armed troops couldbe carried. The paratroopers were providedwith a dropping hatch in the rear fuselage,and there was a large loading door in thefuselage side. The ST Mk.I Series 2 aircraftwere equipped with the necessary gear fortowing gliders. The Mk.V was essentiallythe same but also had a fuel jettisoncapability. All production Albemarles were

Armstrong WhitworthAlbemarle

Albemarle Mk.V of 297 Squadron complete with invasion stripes.Note the glider towing hook.

D-DAY RAF 67

Albemarle pilotFlight Sergeant ‘Bernie’ Johnson of 296 Squadron

When the Second World Warbroke out, John BernardJohnson, of Wigan,Lancashire, was 15. In1942, at 18, he was

accepted for pilot training. In early 1944,Johnson joined 296 Squadron, whichoperated Armstrong Whitworth Albemarlesin the transport, para-dropping and glider-towing roles.In mid-March 1944, 296 Squadron was

based at Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire,which was to be its base for the forthcomingD-Day operations. The squadron consistedof three flights, each with 10 aircraft andthere were an additional three spare aircraftin the ‘reserve pool’. ‘Bernie’ Johnson, as hewas known in the RAF, served on ‘B’ Flight.

Soe operAtionSMost of the flying being conducted by thesquadron at this time was training with theAirborne Forces, both for para-dropping andglider towing, in preparation for the impendingD-Day invasion. Johnson and his crew wereheavily occupied with these training exercisesduring the run-up to D-Day.Occasionally, the squadron was tasked to

send individual aircraft out at night, overenemy occupied territory, to conductclandestine supply drops to the Resistancemovements in Europe on behalf of the SpecialOperations Executive (SOE). By May 1944,Johnson was considered ready to take hiscrew on one of these operations. Taking offfrom Tarrant Rushton, in Albemarle Mk.V,V1775, on the night of May 6-7, 1944, thecrew flew their first operational sortie to dropsupply canisters to the French Resistance.They landed safely back at Brize Norton sixhours and 15 minutes after take-off.On May 21, 1944, the 296 Squadron

Operational Record Book (ORB) recorded

that a News of the World article had beenpublished stating that the RAF glider tugpilots were usually older men, unfit forcombat duties! Bernie Johnson was 20 andready and fit for all combat duties. It seemsthat the report caused some amusement!

trAining AndtongAFrom June 2, all personnel at Brize Nortonwere confined to camp as a securityprecaution and preliminary aircrewbriefings for the forthcoming operationwere conducted. On June 4, some air testswere flown and briefings continued withcrews being shown film of the run-in totheir drop zones. Also on this day, Air ChiefMarshal Sir Trafford Leigh Mallory visitedthe station and addressed the crews.For Operation Tonga, the first

Airborne Forces air lift, which wasexecuted overnight during the earlyhours of D-Day, 196 Squadron initiallyprovided three Albemarles to drop theParachute Brigade Pathfinders. Then 30minutes later, having given enough timefor the Pathfinders to set up lights at thelanding zones, another 17, 296 SquadronAlbemarles carried troops of the 5thParachute Brigade, to Normandy.Nine of the Albemarles, including

Johnson’s, carried nine paratroopers each,while the other eight towed Horsa gliders.Johnson and his crew took off at 11.48pmon June 5, in Albemarle II, V1744. Theydropped their nine paratroopers and sixkitbags on to a drop zone near Caen, andalso released six containers of supplies.The Albemarles experienced

considerable light flak and some aircraftreceived minor damage; one rear gunnerfrom the squadron, Flight Sergeant Jones,was unfortunately killed when his aircraftwas hit by ground fire. Johnson and hiscrew returned safely, landing at 3.07am.

operAtion MAllArdHaving returned from Operation Tonga atdawn, most of the squadron’s aircrew wentto bed. They were awakened at midday tobe briefed for Operation Mallard which wasto take place that evening.The 296 Squadron Albemarles were

tasked to tow 20 Horsas, but in fact only 19made it as one had a structural failure ontake-off and crashed. Johnson and his crewtook off at 7.36pm on June 6, in Albemarle

II, V1696, towing a Horsa glider loaded withtroops and equipment of the 6th Air LandingBrigade, which they released near Caen.Near the release point the German flak

gave the 296 Squadron Albemarles sometrouble and several were hit. However,Johnson and his crew landed safely from at10.34pm. Their D-Day was over.

AtrAgic endAfter D-Day, Johnson and his crew were notrequired to fly operationally again until thenight of July 11-12, 1944. This time they werenot so lucky. It was their turn to fly anotherSOE clandestine supply operation.Johnson took off at 12.15am with his

usual crew plus a passenger, Sergeant Daceof the Parachute Regiment, who wasassistant to the station army liaison officer.The planned drop zone was near Marolles-les-Braults, Sarthe, about 25km southeast ofAlençon. Exactly what happened is notknown, but the aircraft, Albemarle Mk.V,V1744, failed to return; all on board wereposted missing and have never been found.Flight Sergeant ‘Bernie’ Johnson was stillonly 20 years old when he was killed.

Albemarles towing gliders over some of theAllied invasion fleet on the evening of June6, 1944,during Operation Mallard.

Albemarle towing a Horsa glider off therunway during training for the D-Day invasion.

68 D-DAY RAF

D-DAY RAF 69

Short Stirling Mk.IVs towing Airspeed Horsa Gliders. In the early evening of D-Day, June 6, 1944,as part of Operation Mallard, 36 Short StirlingMk.IVs of 620 and 190 Squadrons, based at Fairford, towed the Horsa gliders of the British 6th Airborne Division to their landing zones inNormandy.The Airspeed Horsa gliders cast off and landed troops and equipment near Ranville.The gliders carried 254 men, 33 jeeps, 29trailers, 11 motorcycles and eight 75mm Pack Howitzers.One of the Stirlings involved in this operation was LJ849 of 620 Squadron, coded ‘QS-E’, captained by Flight Lieutenant Gordon Thring DFC (RCAF).Moments after releasing its glider, LJ849 was hit by German anti-aircraft fire.Apetrol tank in the port wing blew up and the aircraft rolled upside down. Fortunately,Thring managed to make a successful crash landing.Allthe crew survived and their remarkable story ‘The Tables Turned’ is told on pages 71-72.Artwork: Adam Tooby www.finesthourart.com

carried by the RAF’s twin-engine mediumbombers such as the Vickers Wellington.

Another problem was that, although theStirling’s bomb bay was large at 40ft long(12m), it was divided into separatecompartments, so it could not carry bombslarger than 2000lb (907kg). As the RAFstarted using the 4000lb (1815kg) ‘cookie’and even larger special bombs, the Stirlingbecame less useful.

The Handley-Page Halifax and especiallythe Avro Lancaster offered betterperformance (the Lancaster could carrytwice the Stirling’s bomb load over longdistances, it was at least 40mph faster andcould operate significantly higher) so whenthey became available in greater numbersfrom 1943, it was decided to withdraw theStirlings to secondary tasks. Their finalBomber Command operation was flown byStirlings of 149 Squadron against Le Havreon September 8, 1944.

a new rOle – glidertugAs the Stirling became surplus torequirements as a bomber, it was realised

The prototype Short Stirling,which was designed to meet AirMinistry Specification B12/36for a four-engine heavy bomber,first flew on May 14, 1939,

before the Second World War had started.The original design had been compromisedby the Air Ministry’s insistence that theaircraft’s wing span should not exceed 100ft(30m). In order to generate the necessary liftfrom a shorter span, the wing was thickenedand reshaped, which subsequently had anadverse effect on the aircraft’s performance,particularly at altitude.

OperatiOnal debutAfter various early problems had beencured, initial deliveries of the big newbomber began in August 1940 to 7Squadron based at Leeming. The Stirling’soperational debut was on the night ofFebruary 10-11, 1941 when aircraft from 7Squadron took part in a raid on Rotterdam.

Stirling perfOrmanceA consequence of the Stirling’s thick wingwas a low ceiling and many missions wereflown as low as 12,000ft. On combinedoperations with other RAF bombers whichcould fly higher, the low-flying Stirlings tookthe brunt of the enemy’s firepower. Withinfive months of being introduced, 67 out ofthe 84 aircraft delivered had been lost toenemy action or written off after crashes.

Despite the disappointing performance,Stirling pilots discovered that the thick wingendowed the big aircraft with an excellentturn rate and radius, allowing it to be flungaround the sky in evasive manoeuvres. Itshandling was much better than that of theHalifax and some pilots actually preferred itto the Lancaster.

However, the Stirling’s maximum bombload could only be carried for a shortdistance of around 590 miles. On typicalmissions deep into Germany or Italy onlysome 3500lb (1590kg) of bombs could becarried. This was the sort of load being

Short Stirling

that it could fulfil the need for a powerfulglider tug to tow heavy transport gliderssuch as the Hamilcar and the Horsa.

By mid-1944 the Stirlings had found anew lease of life, being modified to Mk.IVstandard for the glider-towing and para-dropping role, with the removal of the frontand dorsal gun turrets (to save weight), andthe addition of a para-exit hatch in the rearfuselage and glider towing equipment.

In August 1943, the first of at least 130Mk.III bombers were modified to Mk.IVspecifications and production was switchedto building new Mk.IVs, with a total of 577eventually being built.

The Stirling fulfilled its new roleadmirably, its low operational ceiling was notan issue as 2000ft was now the normaloperating altitude, and its manoeuvrabilitywas a positive asset. It could carry 20paratroopers and as a tug it could tow thelarge Hamilcar glider, two Horsas or up tofive Hotspurs. On D-Day the RAF’s 38 Grouptransport forces included four squadrons,190 and 622 at Fairford and 196 and 299 atKeevil, equipped with the Stirling Mk.IV.

Short Stirling Mk.IV LK203,‘8E-B’, of 295 Squadron, taxiing from its dispersal at MountFarm,Oxfordshire, during a glider towing exercise in August 1944.

Stirling Mk.IV glider tugs of 196 and 299 Squadrons lined up at Keevil on June 5, 1944, inpreparation for Operation Tonga – the airborne operation that launched D-Day.

the magazines, hitting him in the face.Struggling with the controls, the pilot,

Gordon Thring, managed to right theaircraft at the last moment and made acontrolled ‘belly landing’ in a ploughed fieldnear Plumetot, the Stirling skidding to a haltin a cloud of dust and soil. Fortunately noneof the crew were injured in the crashlanding and all escaped the burning aircraft,moments before it blew up. ‘E-Easy’ was notgoing home and the crew was down inenemy territory; their chances did not lookgood either.

620 Squadron620 Squadron was one of the four glider-tugunits equipped with Short Stirling Mk.IVs,as part of the RAF’s 38 Group, whichprovided airborne support on D-Day andafterwards. The Squadron had been formedfrom a nucleus of ‘C’ Flight of 214 Squadronin June 1943.Initially based at Chedburgh and equipped

with Stirling Mk.Is, it was used on nightbombing raids, carrying out its firstoperational sorties two days after its

way out, after releasing their glider, hemight get the opportunity to engage theenemy position with the intention of puttingit out of action.

Shot downStirling LJ849 released its glider in thebriefed location and then proceeded to dropcontainers of supplies for the troops, fromits bomb bay. Turning for home, theyheaded back towards the wood they hadpassed on the way in, as the gunner,McMahon, had hoped they would. However,the enemy anti-aircraft gunners must havespotted the Stirling returning and beforeMcMahon got the chance to open upagainst the flak position, ‘E-Easy’ wastargeted by the battery and hit severaltimes, sustaining heavy damage.At such low altitude and short range the

effect of the flak salvo was devastating. Oneof the petrol tanks in the port wing took adirect hit and exploded, the port outerengine caught fire and the Stirling wasblown violently upside down. In the rearturret McMahon’s ammunition fell out of

During the early evening ofJune 6, 1944, still in daylight,Short Stirling Mk.IV, LJ849,‘QS-E’ (‘E’ for ‘Easy’), rumbledinto Normandy, towing a

Horsa glider behind it, as part of OperationMallard. This second massive airlift ofD-Day, involved over 250 aircraft and glidercombinations with a huge escort of over 370Allied fighter aircraft.‘E-Easy’s crew of six – Flight Lieutenant

Gordon Thring RCAF (pilot), Flying OfficerM E Price (navigator), Flying Officer HBraathen (bomb aimer), Flight Sergeant RW A Burgess (wireless operator), SergeantW Buchan (flight engineer) and FlyingOfficer Gerry McMahon DFM (reargunner) – had played their part in the firstairlift, Operation Tonga, about 19 hoursearlier, when they dropped paratroopers ofthe British 5th Parachute Brigade into adrop zone near Ranville. Now, on this, theirsecond mission in the 24-hour period, theywere towing a Horsa glider containingsoldiers of the 6th Airborne Division,reinforcements for the paratroopersdelivered overnight.

FlakOn the way to the drop zone, ‘E-Easy’s reargunner, Gerry McMahon, noticed somevery accurate anti-aircraft gunfire comingfrom the corner of a wood; a number of tugsand gliders were hit by the flak from thisposition. McMahon reported the location ofthe battery to his pilot, hoping that on the

D-DAY RAF 71

‘The tables turned’The remarkable story of the crew of a 620 Squadron

Stirling glider-tug, shot down on D-Day

British paratroopers preparing to board Stirling Mk.IVs of 620 Squadron at Fairford.

72 D-DAY RAF

tables turneDThe next morning the chateau was attackedby RAF Hawker Typhoons. The Germansand the RAF crew all took shelter in a slittrench together during the Typhoons’attacks, which soon reduced the chateau torubble. At this point the Germans’ moralebegan to crumble and the officer in charge,believing that he and his men weresurrounded, decided that they were now onthe losing side, and offered to surrenderwith his 40 men to the RAF crew of six.Exploiting the situation, Thring, McMahonand the rest of the crew agreed to acceptthe German troops’ surrender on conditionthat they marched up formally to the Alliedlines with them and gave themselves up.

receiveD – 62 prisOnersOver the next four days, as the RAF crewand their charges made their way to theAllied invasion beaches, the number ofGerman prisoners swelled to 90 as more andmore gave themselves up in the hope ofsaving their lives. Unfortunately, some of theGermans were killed during the march,mainly by Allied snipers. When they finallyreached the safety of Allied lines the numberof prisoners stood at 62. Handing theGermans over to the Canadian Army on June11, four days after they themselves had beencaptured, the RAF crew demanded andreceived a receipt for their prisoners (infinest military tradition)!

sequelThe Stirling crew were returned to Englandcourtesy of the Royal Navy, to discover thatthey had been posted as missing in actionand that most of the squadron who hadwitnessed their crash believed that they hadbeen killed. They were given ‘survivorsleave’ and when rear gunner, GerryMcMahon went home, he met his parentson their way to attend his own requiemmass; his poor mother promptly fainted!Gordon Thring and his crew all returned

to 620 Squadron and flew with the unit forthe rest of the war, including the othermajor airborne operations, such as MarketGarden (Arnhem) – they all survived thewar, with a remarkable story to tell.

formation. The Squadron re-equipped with MkIII Stirlings in August 1943 and flew its lastmission for Bomber Command on November19, 1943. Three days later its 20 aircraft movedto Leicester East for conversion to theAirborne Forces role. In five months ofbomber operations, the squadron had lost atotal of 26 aircraft; at least 19 more were to bedestroyed in their new role.Over the following months, the aircrews

practised the techniques for towing glidersand for dropping parachutists and supplycontainers. The chief features of the trainingwere day and night cross country navigationexercises and glider-towing. By February1944, 620 Squadron was ready to undertakethe first of numerous sorties over France onbehalf of the Special Operations Executive(SOE), dropping arms and supplies to theResistance forces, frequently using TarrantRushton as a forward base.On March 18, 1944, the Squadron was

moved to Fairford, which it shared with 190Squadron, and training continued apace forthe impending invasion. During the remainderof that month alone, its aircraft carried out sixexercises with airborne troops, each involvingbetween eight and 16 aircraft.

D-Day – OperatiOn tOngaOn the first night of the Normandylandings, 620 and 190 Squadrons were bothheavily involved in Operation Tonga.Commencing their take-off at 11.30pm onJune 5, the Stirling Squadrons carriedbetween them 887 men of the 5th ParachuteBrigade, to a drop zone near Ranville.Twenty-three of 620 Squadron’s Stirlings

were used on this first lift, not without loss;three were shot down by anti-aircraft fire,and a further four received damage.Upon their return to Fairford, it was

discovered that no fewer than 27 aircraft fromthe two squadrons were in an unserviceablecondition. The ground crews workedfeverishly throughout the morning, and bythe afternoon all but two had been repaired.

D-Day – OperatiOn MallarDOn the evening of June 6, as part ofOperation Mallard, 18 Stirlings from eachsquadron helped to transport the mainglider element of the 6th Airborne Divisionto their landing zones. The Horsa glidersthat they towed carried 254 men, 33 Jeeps,29 trailers, 11 motorcycles, and eight 75mmPack Howitzers. All but one of 620Squadron’s Horsas managed to reach theirintended landing zone. The only Stirling loston this operation was Gordon Thring’sLJ849, although six more were damaged bylight anti-aircraft fire.

Onthe grOunD innOrManDyAs German troops appeared on the scene ofStirling LJ849’s crash site in Normandy,hunting for the crew, the airmen hidtogether in a wheat field. After dark, whenthings had quietened down somewhat, thecrew began to make their way back towardsthe Normandy coast. Unfortunately, in theearly hours of the morning they mistooktwo passing German soldiers for Americansand, having hailed them, they were takenprisoner and were held in the barn of aFrench chateau.

In the foreground of this formation of Short Stirling Mk.IVs of 620 Sqn is ‘QS-E’ (‘E for Easy’)flown by Flt Lt Gordon Thring RCAF.This is actually LJ566, the replacement aircraft for Thring’sLJ849,‘QS-E’, in which he and his crew were shot down on D-Day.

Stirling Mk.IV towing a Horsa glider.

Horsa gliders across the Channel. After D-Day Dakotas were also used as freighters,air ambulances and personnel transports.

Dakota speCiFiCationsThe Dakota was fitted with two Pratt andWhitney Twin Wasp radial enginesproducing 1200hp each and giving theaircraft a typical cruising speed of 160mph.The Dakota III could carry a payload of8000lb (more than double the originalspecification), 28 fully-equipped soldiers orparatroopers, or 18 stretcher cases. Inpractice, the aircraft’s specified load limitswere often exceeded and its ruggednessbecame legendary. The C-47 was actuallyoverbuilt, making it almost indestructible.As one pilot put it: “You can wreck a Dak,but you can’t wear it out!”

The most numerous and probablythe most famous transportaircraft of the Second World Warwas the Douglas C-47 Dakota,the military freighter version of

the DC-3 airliner. The type saw widespreaduse by the Allies during the war and went onto become one of the most successful aircraftdesigns in history, used by air forces andcivilian operators worldwide.

DC-3 originsThe DC-3 airliner first flew in 1935 and wasused extensively thereafter by America’sairlines. Recognising the aircraft’s greatpotential as a military transport, the UnitedStates Army Air Command specified anumber of changes needed to make theaircraft suitable for military use, includingmore powerful engines, the replacement ofairline seating with utility seats along thewalls, a stronger rear fuselage and floor, andthe addition of large loading doors. Thedouble, port side loading door was closeenough to the ground, thanks to theaircraft’s tail wheel configuration, for heavyor unwieldy military freight to be loadedrelatively easily. Deliveries of the militaryversion of the DC-3, which was designatedC-47 ‘Skytrain’ in the United States,commenced in October 1941. Whenproduction finally ended, a remarkable totalof 10,692 DC-3/C-47 aircraft had been built.

raF DakotasUnder the Lend-Lease programme largescale deliveries of C-47s were made to theUK; over 1900 Dakotas, as the aircraftbecame known in RAF service, had beendelivered by the end of the war. The first

D-DAY RAF 73

Dakotas to enter service with the RAFarrived in 1942. The delivery of largenumbers of Dakota IIIs revitalised theRAF’s transport capacity, which until thenhad been based around a number ofobsolete bombers and general purposeaircraft, which were poorly adapted for therole. The Dakota III eventually equipped 22RAF squadrons and three RCAF squadronsunder RAF operational control.

D-Day DakotasIn June 1944, RAF Transport Command’sNo 46 Group comprised five squadrons,each equipped with 30 Dakotas, based atBroadswell, Down Ampney and BlakehillFarm. These Dakotas dropped the mainelements of the 3rd Parachute Brigade intoNormandy on D-Day, as well as towing

Douglas C-47 Dakota

Douglas C-47 Dakota of 233 Squadron withinvasion stripes.Crown copyright

Paratroopers jumping from a C-47 Dakota of 271 Squadron.Crown copyright

‘Operation Tonga’. Shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944, the great D-Day invasion gotunder way with Operation Tonga when 108 RAF Douglas C-47 Dakotas droppedparatroopers of the British 3rd Parachute Brigade into Normandy. Illuminated by searchlightsand ‘flak’, Dakotas of 233 Squadron from Blakehill Farm are seen over Drop Zone ‘K’, nearCaen. In the foreground is C-47 Dakota FZ692, named ‘Kwicherbichen’ by its crews.All 30 of233 Squadron’s Dakotas flew to Normandy on Operation Tonga; two of them failed to return,victims of German ‘flak’.Artwork: Adam Tooby www.finesthourart.com

tracks to each of the dropping zones. So wewere prepared with a mental picture of whatwe would expect to see as we flew in.

“As we crossed the coast, my navigatorreported two large houses which weexpected to see before a line of trees cameout of the murk. I was getting ready to dropmy troops south of the road to Caen. Therewas a fair amount of moonlight and I couldsee that the Germans had flooded the areasouth of the road where we were supposedto drop. I didn’t have much time to think,but I decided that I had better drop to thenorth of the road rather than in the water.

“The red light was on and the RoyalEngineer paras were standing ready tojump. There was some flak. But I hadn’t hadto take any evasive action. I was intent onmaking as steady a run as possible whensuddenly the aircraft banked almost 45º. Ina flash of light from the ground I saw aStirling passing very close in front of us.Clearly, we had been caught in hisslipstream which threw us off course. Ibrought the wings level and regainedheading as quickly as possible. Theparatroopers in the back were no doubthurled about and were probably cursing me.

“I would like to think that my engineerswere dropped accurately, especially as thetwo bridges assigned to them weresubsequently blown up.”

76 D-DAY RAF

“My DZ was one-and-a-half minutes’ flyingtime from crossing the French coast todropping. The briefing for the mission hadbeen tremendously detailed. Accuratemodels of the Normandy coast andhinterland had been constructed. Fromthese models, cine films were made of the

Flight lieutenant alecBlythe – a pilot with 48Squadron BaSed at downampney – Flew a c-47dakota on operation tongaonthe eve oF d-day.thiS iShiS Story:

RAF DakotaD-Day experiences

British paratroopers inside a RAF C-47 Dakota, ready to go.

RAF C-47 Dakota ZA947 – an actual D-Day veteran – now serves with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.Crown copyright

Hebblethwaite, who was only 21, were laterkilled in action on September 19, 1944,during Operation Market Garden (Arnhem),after having successfully landed a glider inenemy territory for a second time.“On the evening of June 6, I was flying a

resupply mission to the troops who hadlanded earlier in the day, when I saw aDakota of 575 Squadron shot down in flames.I watched helplessly as the Dakota crashedsomewhere near Giberville and laterdiscovered that it was being flown by myfriend Pilot Officer Errol Wood. I was surethat he and his crew must all have beenkilled. It was not until the 1960s that Ilearned that they had all survived the crash,but were captured and became POWs for therest of the war before finally being liberated.”

pilOt OFFicer geOrge ‘peter’brett bailey – a dakOtapilOt With 233 SquadrOnbaSed at blakehill Farm. hetOWed a glider FOr the‘cOup de main’attackagainSt ‘pegaSuS’ bridge,and alSO drOpped SupplieSOn OperatiOn mallard:

“I was a pilot on 233 Squadron and towedgliders on the D-Day operations. All theRAF glider-tug and glider pilots carried outextensive training early in 1944 prior toD-Day. I was flying Dakotas from BlakehillFarm in Wiltshire and was fortunateenough to team up with a particular Horsaglider crew. The glider captain was StaffSergeant Richard Banks, known, for somereason, as ‘Admiral’ Dickie Banks, and hisco-pilot was Sergeant Brian Hebblethwaite.“On the night of June 5-6, I took off from

Blakehill Farm at 10.50pm towing the Horsaflown by Dickie and Brian, to Drop Zone ‘K’,near Caen. The glider was loaded withRoyal Engineers of the 6th Air LandingBrigade and their stores. The engineerswere tasked with blowing up certainbridges at Troarn, east of Caen. Ours wasthe second of five gliders to be released.“On crossing the French coast we flew

into cloud, necessitating instrument flyingby me and the glider crew to keep in theproper tow position. When the gliders werereleased, their pilots found that their

D-DAY RAF 77

Flying OFFicer rOnaldWarren – a navigatOr With575 SquadrOn baSed atbrOadWell. On OperatiOntOnga hiS dakOta WaS theFirSt tO crOSS the enemycOaSt:

“We were detailed to take paratroops fromBroadwell in Oxfordshire to a field besidethe river Orne at Ranville near Caen. Thefirst ‘vic’ of three Dakotas, led by WingCommander Jefferson, was due to drop at12.57am. The second ‘vic’, led by SquadronLeader Cragg, was due to drop 20 secondslater. I was the navigator of the lead aircraftof the third ‘vic’ piloted by Flight LieutenantDixon. Our dropping time was 20 secondsafter that.“We took off in loose formation and I was

busy for some time making sure that wewere on the right course at the right speedto arrive at Ranville at the right time.Twenty seconds between aircraft is not abig margin so, as soon as things wererunning smoothly, I looked through theastrodome to see how close we were to thesix aircraft in front. To my horror there wasnothing there but empty black sky! Whathad I done wrong? Where had I boobed?“I looked back and saw the lights of

aircraft stretching back as far as the eyecould see and probably beyond. For somereason the first two ‘vics’ had not formed up

planned landing zone had not beenprepared and was not lit. Only two of thefive gliders made it to the correct landingsite, one of them ours.“Banks and Hebblethwaite landed their

glider successfully in the correct place inthe dark, despite the poles which had beenset up by the Germans to prevent landings.The paratroops were successfully unloaded,with a firefight occurring only about 200yards away. The bridges were blown and theoperation was a complete success. Banksand Hebblethwaite returned to our unitunscathed about two weeks later amidmuch celebration!“Dickie Banks was awarded the

Distinguished Flying Medal for his part inthe operation. Both Banks, who was 25, and

C-47 Dakota towing a Horsa glider.

in front. Finding myself in the lead, I shotback to my position and for the next hourworked like never before making sure thatwe were on course and time to arrive atRanville at the correct time.“We crept very slightly ahead of our time

so that our ETA became 12.57am. I shouldperhaps have instructed the pilot to knocktwo or three knots off our speed but Ifigured that with nobody in front and thewhole invasion behind us, early was betterthan late, and in any case 12.57am was theleader’s dropping time. We arrived and JockYoung our fourth crew member took overthe map reading for the last few hundredyards. Then the fun started.“Gerry Brown, the wireless operator

went to the rear to see the boys out. Thefirst four left in orderly fashion, they wereMilitary Police, but the fifth man with amortar barrel stuffed up his jumper fell inthe doorway and blocked the way for theothers. By the time they got him back onhis feet we were past the drop zone. Gerrypassed the information on but, because heforgot to release his microphone button hedidn’t hear Dixon say that we would goround again so I had to nip back and tellhim. They all went out in good order thesecond time round.“With all the excitement only Jock

noticed that we were being fired at, butnothing hit us, and we made our uneventfulway back to base. Because of the delay we

were on the end of a very long queue forlanding. It was a bit of an anti-climax and Ididn’t mind the mild telling off I got forbeing 40 seconds early over the drop zone.”

A ‘vic’ of Dakotas dropping paratroopers.

78 D-DAY RAF

recommenDation FortheVcFurther to this personal report,arecommendation,dated June 30,1944, for theaward of theVictoria Cross to Flying OfficerHarvey Jones was made:

“Flying Officer H Jones was the captain of aDakota aircraft detailed to drop parachutetroops in the Caen area on the night of 5-6June,1944.The approach was made at aheight of 600ft above ground, in the face ofheavy anti-aircraft fire.“About four miles fromthe Dropping Zone the aircraft was badly hitand set on fire. Flying Officer Jones continuedheading towards the dropping zone and gavethe signal for the parachute troops in theaircraft to jump,which they did successfully.Hethen ordered his crew to abandon the aircraft.Flying Officer Jones could himself haveabandoned the aircraft through the pilot’sescape hatch at the same time as the crewwere ordered to jump.Although well aware ofthe danger of remaining in the aircraft,herefused his parachute pack when it wasbrought to him and stayed at the controls tokeep the aircraft on an even keel andmaintain sufficient height for his crew to jumpsafely.Two of the crew jumped successfullyafter which the aircraft crashed and FlyingOfficer Jones was killed.

“By his premeditated action in remainingat the controls until the mission wascompleted and the crew had left the aircraft,Flying Officer Jones deliberately sacrificed hislife to carry out his orders and to ensure thesafety of his crew.The dauntless courage andself-sacrifice displayed by this very gallantofficer are a glorious example to all pilots inhis Majesty’s Service.”

This VC recommendation was approved bythe Blakehill Farm Station Commander,by 46Group and by the AOCTransport Command.However, it was denied by the Air Ministry andHarvey Jones was simply awarded a Mention inDispatches for his actions.

Flight Sergeant J aDalDorph – a Dakota co-pilotwith 233 SquaDronbaSeD at blakehill Farm.thiS Statement iS FromanoFFicial reportwritten onJune 17, 1944:

“At 11.17pm on the night of June 5-6, DakotaKG356 took off from Blakehill Farm as partof Operation Tonga. The captain was FlyingOfficer Harvey Edgar Jones (RCAF), theremainder of the crew being Flying OfficerLN Williams, navigator, Warrant Officer‘Cobby’ Engleberg (RCAF), wirelessoperator, and myself as second pilot.

“The aircraft was carrying paratroopsand containers. In the circuit, whileclimbing, we lost sight of the ‘vic’ leader anddid not regain contact again, so the captaindecided to proceed independently. Just aftercrossing the French coast we were hit bylight flak which must have caught one ofour starboard petrol tanks alight. It couldhave been an underslung container holdingpetrol, although we did not realise thatpossibility at the time.

“At the correct point the order was givento drop the containers and the wirelessoperator reported this had been done. Withthe aircraft now on fire the paratroops werealso dropped. Just afterwards Flying OfficerJones gave the order to abandon aircraft,although the rest of the crew could not hearthis command as the intercom was dead.The fact that the intercom wasunserviceable made things rather confused.As far as I could make out Flying OfficerJones refused his own parachute when itwas offered and wanted us to get out.

“The navigator and myself went back to thedoor at the rear of the aircraft and found thewireless operator pulling in the static lines. Hethen went to get his parachute. We waited atthe door for a short while and as neither thecaptain nor the wireless operator came back,we abandoned the aircraft. A few seconds later

the aircraft dived into the ground. DuringTuesday morning we returned to theaircraft crash site and found that FlyingOfficer Jones was dead and that thewireless operator was unconscious butbeing attended by the villagers (Englebergreceived severe internal injuries and wastaken to the beach by stretcher bearers. Hewas still unconscious three days later, butwas eventually evacuated to Britain andrecovered from his injuries).

We also found that the containers hadnot been dropped as previously thought, asapparently the electrical circuit must havebeen rendered unserviceable by the fire.

“The crash occurred on the outskirts ofBassenville, a village east of Caen. In myopinion Flying Officer Williams and I were ableto bale out safely due to the fact that FlyingOfficer Jones remained at the controls in spiteof the fact that the aircraft was alight.”

C-47 Dakota of 233 Squadron.Inset: Fg Off Harvey Jones RCAF.

Crashed and burning C-47 Dakota.

for the rest of the campaign. A photographof the three ‘Flying Nightingales’ from thatfirst operation, standing together in front ofone of the 233 Squadron Dakotas, waspublished in the newspapers the next day.The three nurses were LACWMyraRoberts, Corporal Lydia Alford and LACWEdna Birbeck. These are their individualaccounts of what it was like for them.

On the morning of June 13,1944, (D-Day +7) threeDouglas C-47 Dakotatransport aircraft of 233Squadron, took off from

Blakehill Farm, Wiltshire, and flew acrossthe Channel to France, escorted by asquadron of Spitfires. They landed at thenewly-completed B2 airstrip at Bazenvillenear Bayeux, thereby gaining the honour ofbeing the first Allied transport aircraft toland in France since the invasion.The three Dakotas were carrying four

tons of military freight, mostlyammunition. After the supplies had beenunloaded, 14 casualties on stretchers andsome sitting wounded were loaded on toeach of the aircraft ready for an immediatereturn to England.The three Women’s Auxiliary Air Force

(WAAF) air ambulance nurses, one onboard each Dakota, who cared for thewounded soldiers on the return flightsbecame the first females to fly into thecombat zone in Normandy and the firstBritish women to be sent into a war zone onactive service by the British Government.

‘CasevaC’operationsThese first air ambulance casualtyevacuation flights were something of anexperiment, but the military was keen thatthey should succeed. They did, and theypaved the way for the large-scale evacuationof casualties from the battle areas.Full scale ‘Casevac’ air operations began

on June 18, 1944, when 11 Dakotas landedon the airstrip at B4/Bény-sur-Mer inNormandy. They were loaded with 183casualties who were flown back to DownAmpney, to be followed by 90 more, threedays later.By the end of June, 1092 stretcher cases

and 467 sitting wounded had beenevacuated from Normandy by 233, 271 and48 Squadrons. This was the beginning of aregular casualty evacuation service by airthat continued up until the end of hostilitiesin May 1945.

WaaF nursesCarrying up to 24 wounded soldiers on eachreturn trip, with one WAAF nurse on boardeach Dakota to care for them, theseoperations played a vital part in speedilyevacuating casualties to hospitals in the UKwhich could provide the necessary life-saving operations and treatment.The nurses had to deal with horrifying

injuries. Many of the young soldiers were

D-DAY RAF 79

missing limbs or had their faces burnt orblown away; treatment such as amputations,transfusions and colostomies had often beenimprovised in the field.During the course of the remainder of

the war, two WAAF air ambulance nurseswere killed on active service; many otherssuffered subsequent mental breakdownsbecause of the horrors they witnessed, butthe women received little officialrecognition and no medals for their bravery.

‘Flying nightingales’The first casualty evacuation flights on June13, 1944, with the female nurses on board,were met by members of the press on theirarrival at B2/Bazenville and, later, on theirreturn to Blakehill Farm, by dozens morepress correspondents, representing manyBritish, Canadian and American newspapers.The WAAF nurses were immediately

dubbed the ‘Flying Nightingales’ by thepress, a name that was to remain with them

‘The Flying Nightingales’Dakota casualty evacuation from Normandy

and the WAAF air ambulance nurses

Casualties being loaded onto RAF Dakotasat an ALG in Normandy in June 1944.

The first ‘Flying Nightingales’, from left, LACW Myra Roberts,Cpl Lydia Alford and LACW EdnaBirkbeck,photographed with a 233 Squadron Dakota on June 13, 1944.

be fitted with parachutes, told that we wereoperational the next day, and spent the nightin sick bay headquarters.“We were awakened before dawn on the

13th, given our ‘flying meal’ and then takento an aircraft each with our medicalpanniers of equipment and large flasks ofhot tea. My panniers went aboard the plane,which was already loaded with supplies –mostly ammunition, so there was no RedCross insignia on it. But we were givenfighter air cover for this first flight intoNormandy.“My first flight to France began with a

handshake and ‘bon voyage’ from the airmarshal, and he gave me a newspaper toread on the outward journey. I rememberthinking, silly chap, does he really think thatI shall be reading a paper? I’d be too busywondering what the next few hours had instore for me.“We flew in over the coast, which was an

indescribable scene with boats and ships ofevery size and shape, barrage balloons, andall the debris of the landings. Our threeplanes landed in Normandy on an airstripwhich was a cornfield with a metal strip laiddown the middle as a runway, about twokilometres from the shore where the boyshad just gone in and the Germans had justvacated their trenches.“Our planes were quickly unloaded of

supplies and then loaded with the wounded.Lydia’s plane took off almost immediatelybut the weather closed in and Edna and Iwere told there would be a delay until theweather improved. We were taken by anewspaper correspondent on a short tour ofthe area towards Caen where the action wasfierce. We could hear the bombing and seethe shelling and sense the snipers in thetrees! As we made our way back to a farmwhere there were some refreshments, wepassed convoys of soldiers who, when they

80 D-DAY RAF

up, and roads being made. An aerodrome wasbeing built, but it was grim. You had to wearboots or wellingtons everywhere because youwere knee-deep in mud.“I was told that I was going to become

part of the air crew of a Dakota. Ten of us,from different parts of the country, werebilleted in Hut 5. Among them was Minniefrom Trinidad, she was a great big tall girl.We shared a double bunk. Eventually therewere about 20 of us at the station. Thistraining of ours was for D-Day, but nobodyknew that. We just did as we were told, butwe realised that there was something bighappening. We had to have flyingexperience. So we went up in the Dakotawhenever the crew of our plane went up.Sometimes they’d do glider towing; andthey’d practise circuits and bumps, theycalled it; sometimes they’d be taking six ofthe airborne, paratroopers, up and lettingthem jump out. Day or night, whenever youwere allotted you had to go with it, you werepart of the crew.“The pilot of the Dakota in which I did

my training flights was Scottish, WarrantOfficer Jock McCannell. After the first fewtrips I had the feeling he didn’t want meaboard and eventually I asked why. He saidit was nothing personal. He’d come from afishing family and fishermen would neverput out to sea with a woman in the boat. Itwas considered bad luck. During that firstweek of June we girls were grounded, whileall the planes took part in the landings.Jock’s was one of the few that didn’t returnon June 6, 1944. I thought about the womanin the boat.“On June 12, the air ambulance pool

were summoned to the headquarters andgiven a pep talk by Sir Harold Whittingham,the Director-General of RAF MedicalServices. He chose three of us: LydiaAlford, Edna Birkbeck (Morris now) andme. We were taken to collect our gear and

LACW MyrA roberts – 233squAdron dAkotA AirAMbuLAnCe nurse:Myra Roberts was part of a large family ofeight children and came from the Midlandsarea of the UK, near Birmingham. Shestarted to train as a nurse at the AngelHospital in Birmingham before the warbroke out, but had to give it up and returnhome when her father was taken ill withduodenal ulcers. Her mother needed Myra’shelp with him and the six youngest childrenwho were still at home. Myra was naturallydisappointed at the time, but the war gaveher a further opportunity to take up hervocation as a nurse.“I joined the air force, the WAAF, to get

away. I was sent first to Bridgnorth inShropshire, and did all the ‘square bashing’.I wasn’t all that enamoured with thatmarching and saluting stuff so I was veryglad when I was directed into the medicalsection for we never had to do a lot ofsaluting again – even for our pay!“From here I was sent to further my

nursing experience at a school in Sidmouthin Devon. After that I was inSawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire for acouple of years. Just when this hospitalpatch was becoming a bit humdrum, and Iwas wishing for a change, the medicalofficer had a talk with me: ‘We’ve beenasked to find people for flying duties, airambulance duties. But you’ve got tovolunteer before we can recommend you.’He warned me I’d have to do some extra,hard training. I volunteered immediately. Hewas right, they did put us through the millin our training.“Not long after, I had orders to go to a place

called Blakehill Farm. I was to pack all mystuff and get on a train to this place nearCricklade in Wiltshire. When I got there, goodgracious. It looked like a place that had beentorn out of fields. There were buildings going

RAF Blakehill Farm airfield with C-47 Dakotas lined up in preparation for a training exercise inApril 1944.

LACW Myra Roberts after returning toBlakehill Farm on June 13, 1944, holding thebunch of flowers given to her by a Frenchgirl in Normandy earlier in the day.

let me start vomiting now, I begged,because once you start you can’t stop. So Ikept my head back and prayed.

“Another time for prayer was when wehad to crash-land. We’d taken somecasualties to Oxford and were returning toWiltshire, empty. And I couldn’t understandwhy the pilot was circling, and circling, untilthey explained that we were going to haveto crash land. I put myself with my handsbehind my head and curled up into a ball.This way you could roll and take the impact.I ended up at the foot of the plane, but itwasn’t too bad a crash-landing; we justskidded along.

“We were overworked, really. You couldbe on duty that afternoon, come back atnight and find you had to stay put for thenext flight back. We had very little leave atall and it was dangerous work, though noneof us seemed to suffer from nerves. Wewere carrying ammunition. We had bombsat our feet, and once I had to sit on the edgeof one, because there was nowhere else,and you couldn’t stand.

“At the time you didn’t think anything ofit. You became acclimatised to it. I don’tknow why, your brain realised you werehelping, you were doing your duty, kind ofthing, and if it was your duty, you did it.There was an urgency. You didn’t have timeto think, really. Once or twice it was a bitharrowing. The war taught me to stand onmy own two feet, I suppose, and keep an eyeon other people at the same time. It made mefeel capable of taking things in my stride.”

saw us in the jeep, yelled ‘Blimey! Women!’ Iwas given a bouquet of flowers by a verypretty French girl called Giselle. Then it wasback to the aircraft and Edna’s plane took off.

“Just as we were closing our doors, anambulance came tearing up. ‘Sorry to dothis to you,’ said this young MO. ‘I have abadly wounded soldier and no place to keephim. He probably won’t make it, but forGod’s sake don’t let him die on the plane –do your best.’ My first thought was ‘Whyme?’ while I was fixing this dying soldier upwith oxygen, slowly to begin with, graduallyincreasing it. And as I did, he started to usethe most frightful words in Welsh. He wasbadly injured internally – he was minus aleg, and an arm had gone. I thought, he’llnot last 10 minutes, let alone make it back tothe base.

“I got hold of his hand, and told him Iwas sorry that I couldn’t speak Welsh but Icould understand it! I read his label and hewas from Tywyn. I told him I knew hishome-place very well and not to worry, he’dbe back there. And then I got the wirelessoperator to ask for a medical officer on thebase as soon as we landed. The soldier hadto be seen immediately. I was glad to handhim over still alive, and I wondered if he’dmake it.

“Do you know what? Six years later, Iwas married by then and living near Tywyn,my husband Jack came home one day andsaid: ‘Guess what? I met this chap on a kindof trolley wheelchair who asked me whowas the girl he saw me with the other day. I

D-DAY RAF 81

told him it was you, my wife. And he told meyou were the girl who’d fetched him backfrom France.’ In the hospital they’d shownhim a picture of me, which had been in thepapers. And he’d remembered the face. Sonext day we went down to the pub and had adrink with him. And he lived for a good 20years, you know.

“Anyway, to go back to that firstsuccessful ambulance lift that he’d been on.After all the casualties had been removedand all the equipment had been put into theambulances, just as I was coming out of theDakota I was asked to pose for a picturewith my bunch of flowers from Giselle in myarms. There was a sea of cameras and allthe army big wigs and the air forcehierarchy were there. This trip was afeather in their caps. It was a boost foreveryone to know that if any of our troopswere wounded they could be brought backswiftly and safely.

“After that, we followed the fighting.They’d make an airstrip near the latestfighting, we’d take in supplies and bring thewounded out. We went right into where theaction was going on.

“One trip I’ll never forget. I prayed moreearnestly than I have ever prayed in my life.The weather was grim, one of the casualtiesstarted being sick and more followed. I wastrying to wedge sick-bags under them. Onesoldier had a tracheotomy tube in. I had toundo this and clear the inner tube so hecould breathe and fix it back. And I began tofeel so sick myself. Please, please God, don’t

Loading a wounded soldier on a stretcher into a 233 Squadron Dakota at an ALG in Normandy in June 1944.

and took off again. Unfortunately, theweather closed in and the other two girlshad to wait for it to clear. Most of mywounded men were stretcher cases. Oneman required oxygen; a few hours earlier hehad been shot in the chest and back by aGerman sniper.

“As the first back, I was overwhelmed bydozens of press men. The story thatappeared in the newspapers the next daywas the first that my family knew of exactlywhat I was doing.”

(Lydia Alford died in 1993)

82 D-DAY RAF

discarded equipment. The thing Iremember chiefly about that first time onthe ground in Normandy is the dust whichwas everywhere, coming up in great clouds.While the freight was being unloaded I triedto make the wounded men as comfortableas possible in all that dust. I had water togive them and panniers of tea. There was alittle stray dog that came up fromsomewhere or other and started to play withthe wounded – it cheered them up no end.

“After the supplies were unloaded, weimmediately loaded the wounded on board

Corporal lydia alford –233 Squadron dakota airambulanCe nurSe:Lydia Alford was born in July 1916 andgrew up in the village of Horton Heath, nearEastleigh, Hampshire. She was the fourthchild in a family of six. After leaving schoolshe spent a period in domestic service andthen trained to become a nurse at the SouthHants Hospital, Southampton, beforejoining-up as a WAAF nursing orderly.

“I responded to a call in routine ordersasking for volunteers from suitably qualifiedmedical personnel to train for air ambulanceduties. Within weeks of applying, I was senton an intensive air ambulance trainingcourse at Hendon for special training. Thisincluded instruction in the use of oxygen,injections, learning how to deal with certaintypes of injuries such as broken bones,burns and colostomies, and to learn theeffects of air travel and altitude.

“When I had completed the course, I wasposted to Blakehill Farm, near Cricklade.The training continued with a ‘brush-up’course at the nearby RAF hospital atWroughton, dinghy drill in the swimmingpool at Bath and several hours of flyingexperience often in night glider exercises.These were pretty terrifying, as they werecarried out with the aircraft cargo doorremoved, and when the glider was releasedthe whole plane juddered. During the tensedays of waiting we were put through a toughroutine of physical training and helped withbuilding roads on the newly-built airfield.

“It was raining slightly when we boardedthe planes at 5am on June 13, wearing ourmae west life jackets and parachutes andcarrying the first-aid panniers. Flying overthe Normandy coast, we could see theaftermath of the D-Day landings strewnacross the beaches; abandoned landingcraft, broken tanks, craters and scattered

Cpl Lydia Alford on June 13, 1944. Cpl Lydia Alford loading a casualty into a Dakota.

Checking on a wounded soldier at an ALG in Normandy in June 1944.

LACW EdnA BirkBECk – 233SquAdron dAkotA AirAmBuLAnCE nurSE:Edna Birkbeck was born inNorthamptonshire in August 1924. Afterleaving school she became a trainee nurseand in February 1943, still aged only 18,she joined the WAAF as a nursing orderly“for excitement”. She was trained atMorecambe and Sidmouth before movingto RAF Medmenham in Buckinghamshire.Shortly afterwards she responded to a callfor volunteers for air ambulance duties,although she was not entirely sure whatwas involved.

“I had, like Myra, volunteered to becomean air ambulance nurse. We met with theother ‘Nightingales’ at Blakehill Farm,before we went into action.

“About a week before the first operation,we had to go to the RAF hospital atWroughton for a refresher course. When wegot back we found that the camp was allunder curfew – no one could get in or outwithout passes – so we knew something wasgoing to happen. Then D-Day came, whenthe planes all took off, and a few daysafterwards we were called up to a marquee,a field hospital ready to take the wounded.

“A senior medical official gave us a peptalk, and said that we would soon have to bedoing the work we’d trained for, and thenpointed to Myra, myself and Lydia. He said:‘You three stay here. All the rest can go.’Then he told us he wanted us to go and pickup a mae west – a life-jacket – and aparachute, and take it up to the crew room.

“In the crew room, of course, there wereone or two of the air crew, and one of them,sounding a bit miffed, remarked that itlooked like the girls were going over beforethem. They’d flown over, but they hadn’tlanded, you see. From now until we left, wewere not allowed to go back to our ownWAAF quarters at all. They sent someone toget our night clothes, and our instructionswere not to go out, not to speak to anyone.

“The WAAF sergeant came along: shegave us best hospital blankets to sleep on,not the old grey ones, and a tray with cocoaon it. Lambs to the slaughter! Someonecame in and said my boyfriend was outsideand wanted to speak to me. I’d only beengoing out with Glyn a short time then (GlynMorris and Edna later married). Well, ofcourse, I wasn’t supposed to, but I poppedout and had a few words with him. I couldsee he was worried about me, and wanted tomake sure I was all right before I went.

“The airstrip we landed on was only acornfield that had been flattened down, andit still had poppies round the edge, but allthe rest was barren. There was a concretedugout, a German dugout, so I wentinvestigating there. It was strange to thinkthat only a few days before, Germans hadbeen walking round in the dugout. I pickedup a German helmet, a gas mask and abayonet. I’ve still got the bayonet, and also ahand grenade – I was very naive about handgrenades in those days. I’d never seen one

D-DAY RAF 83

before. Anyway, back in barracks it went upon the shelf above my bed, and there itstayed for 12 months, until I got married.When Glyn my husband saw it. ‘Good God,’he said, ‘it’s live’, and he promptly took it offto the armoury. It could have gone off at anyminute if it had fallen and the pin had comeout. I had no idea.

“By the end of the war I had done about70 flights with 233 Squadron. Some of thewounded were very badly injured but youcouldn’t let it get to you. None of mypatients ever died on any of my flights. Theyalways wanted tea, those that could drink.We’d carry an industrial-sized urn. Andthey’d always want to know when we wereover the coast. I’d tell them that and say: ‘Itwon’t be long before you’re home.’ Andthey’d cheer. All this changed me certainly,because I was a really shy person when Ijoined up and before I started flying, butthat gave me a lot of confidence.”

(Edna Morris died in 2004)

LACW Edna Birbeck on the steps of herDakota after returning to Blakehill Farm onJune 13, 1944.

Checking the casualties’ details inside a Dakota.

An RAF Servicing Commando introduces himself to the girls in Normandy.

‘Kwicherbichen’. C-47 Dakota ZA947 of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is currentlypainted to represent Dakota FZ692 of No 233 Sqn, which was named ‘Kwicherbichen’ by itscrew.This ‘Dak’ was involved in the D-Day operations and in subsequent casualty evacuationmissions, as shown by the mission symbols on the side of the cockpit. Photo: John Dibbs,ThePlane Picture Company

Halifaxes were progressively relegated tosecondary theatres such as North Africa andItaly, while many were converted to or builtnew as glider tugs, transports and maritimereconnaissance variants. Meanwhile, theLancaster became Bomber Command’s pre-eminent heavy bomber and, of course, it wasalso the ‘darling’ of its crews.

targets in franceIn the two months before D-Day the RAFBomber Command Lancasters andHalifaxes were increasingly tasked againsttargets in France. In April 1944 less thanhalf of the bomb tonnage dropped wasdirected against targets in Germany. In Maythree-quarters of the heavy bomber sortieswere against targets in France and otheroccupied territories outside Germany.

In the final weeks before D-Day much ofthe heavy bombers’ work was directly insupport of the impending invasion, withtheir efforts directed at destroying theGerman lines of communication in Franceand attempting to destroy the Germancoastal batteries covering the Frenchchannel ports.

‘easy’targets?For the crews of the bombers, the attackson the French targets brought a welcomerelief from the assault on Germany. The‘Battle of Berlin’ and the winter were behindthem, and the spring brought lengtheningodds on each man’s survival.

Their morale plunged, however, whenword came that Bomber Commandintended to recognise the relative ease ofattacking targets in France by making each

86 D-DAY RAF

Halifax, the few remaining Short Stirlingshaving been more or less withdrawn tosecond line duties. The Halifax had enteredservice with the RAF in November 1940 with35 Squadron and flew its first operational raidon March 11-12, 1941.

The Lancaster, on the other hand, hadevolved from the less-than successful AvroManchester and did not carry out its firstoperational sorties until almost a year later,on March 3-4, 1942. By June 1944 though,there were twice as many Lancastersquadrons in Bomber Command as therewere Halifax-equipped units.

ACM Harris had been very critical ofHandley Page and the performance of theHalifax in comparison with the Lancaster,which had proved to be the better of the twodesigns in terms of bomb-carryingcapability and survival rates. The latervariants of the Halifax, powered by BristolHercules radial engines and fitted with thePerspex nose and modified tail, were almoston a par with the Lancaster in terms ofspeed and altitude performance andbettered it on loss rates and crew survivalstatistics. However, Harris did not alter hisopinion and the Lancaster remained hisheavy bomber of choice.

If he had his way, he would have had allproduction switched to the Lancaster. As itwas, while new manufacturing facilities weredevoted to the Lancaster, Halifax productioncontinued at Handley Page’s existingmanufacturing facilities because it wasconsidered more efficient to allow this,rather than to stop production for anunknown period while the factoriesconverted to building Lancasters. However,

Up until the end of March 1944the heavy bombers of RAFBomber Command had beentotally committed to thecampaign against German

cities and Berlin in particular, with the so-called ‘Battle of Berlin’ officially lasting fromNovember 1943 to March 1944.

The commander-in-chief of BomberCommand, Air Chief Marshal Sir ArthurHarris, had believed for some time that anall-out bombing campaign against Germany,with the combined might of the British andAmericans, might bring about the downfallof the Nazis and bring the war to an endwithout the need for a prolonged landoffensive. By the end of March 1944,however, it had become apparent that thewar would only be ended by the defeat ofGermany in the field.

The costly Nuremberg raid of March 30-31, 1944, when 95 of the 795 bombers on theoperation failed to return and another fivewere written off in crashes, was temporarilythe last of Bomber Command’s majoroffensives against the German homeland. Inpreparation for Operation Overlord theemphasis was switched to targets inoccupied Europe and the transportationsystem in western Germany, although therewere still some occasional raids againstcities further east in an effort to keep theGerman night fighters and flak defences asfar east as possible.

Lancaster and HaLifaxBy this stage, the two principal types of heavybomber in use by Bomber Command werethe Avro Lancaster and the Handley-Page

The ‘Heavies’The RAF heavy bombers’ contribution toOperation Overlord

Three Avro Lancaster B Mk.Is of 44Squadron,based at Waddington,Lincolnshire, on a daylight operation.

of these sorties count as only one third of anoperation towards a man’s tour. Crews withonly three or four trips left to complete theirtour of 30 ‘ops’, which most did not live tosee, were appalled by the prospect thatthese remaining hurdles to survival mightstretch to nine or 12 trips.

In May 1944 two bombing raids onFrench ‘tactical’ targets demonstrated whythis invidious idea was so ill-conceived. OnMay 3-4 a force of 348 Lancasters, led by 14Mosquitos, was sent to bomb a largeGerman Wehrmacht depot at Mailly-le-Campsoutheast of Paris. The enemy troops andtanks in this depot could have been used toresist the Allied advance after the invasion.

Problems with marking the targetaccurately and then with radiocommunications between the master bomberand his force, resulted in the bombers beingdelayed on their attack runs and beingforced to orbit in bright moonlight. TheGerman night fighters got in among thebombers and caused carnage, proof indeedthat the Allies did not have the same airsuperiority at night as they enjoyed by day.

From the point of view of the bombingresults, the operation was a success; 1200tons of explosives were dropped on theGerman camp, 220 Wehrmacht soldierswere killed and another 150 wounded, and37 tanks were destroyed. However, of the362 aircraft on the operation 42, or 11.3%,were shot down, overwhelmingly by thenight fighters. It was a high cost and onethat could not be justified.

On May 10, 89 Lancasters were sent tobomb a target at Lille. There was aprolonged delay in the middle of the attack,when the target indicators were blown outand the target had to be remarked. Twelveaircraft, 13.5 per cent, were destroyed.

These were two exceptionally badnights, but they were a brutal reminder of

meant that most of the bombing was carriedout ‘blind’, but these raids helped to create a‘shock and awe’ effect as well as puttingsome of the batteries out of action.

Battle of normanDyAfter D-Day the heavy bombers continuedto be used against tactical targets and insupport of the Allied ground forces,targeting communications, railways,ammunition dumps, enemy troop positionsand other specific targets.

More than 4200 Lancaster sorties wereflown during June against these types oftargets and in direct support of OperationOverlord and the Battle of Normandy. OnJune 14, as a result of the overwhelmingdaylight air supremacy achieved by theAllies, Bomber Command was able toresume daylight operations for the first timein years. Fighter cover was provided forthese relatively short penetrationoperations.

From mid-June much of BomberCommand’s efforts were directed againstthe German ‘V’-weapon sites, which couldhave directed their missiles against theAllied forces in Normandy as well as againstthe UK mainland.

the ‘heavies’ contriButionThe heavy bomber operations of the RAFhave been covered in myriad books,documentaries and accounts, but they areoften taken in isolation. Most people would,perhaps, not consider that the heavybombers played much of a direct part in thesuccess of the Allied invasion of Europe. Infact, though, the ‘heavies’ part in OperationOverlord, the D-Day invasion, and thesubsequent ‘Battle of Normandy’ wasextremely important and actually contributedsignificantly to the ultimate success of theseoperations as well as to the final victory.

D-DAY RAF 87

what the Luftwaffe night fighters could stilldo, given the chance. Lingering around atarget for accurate visual marking could befatal. There was no more talk of Frenchtargets counting as a third of an ‘op’.

Destroying the railwaysBy June 3, the RAF heavy bombers hadattacked every one of their allotted pre-invasion targets. A total of 54,869 tons ofbombs had been dropped, of which theLancasters contributed just over 33,000 tons.The devastation inflicted on the railwaysystem in France and Belgium was extensive.

Every important railway junctionthrough which German reinforcements andsupplies could reach Normandy had beenseverely damaged or destroyed. By D-Daythe capacity of the lines had been reducedto six trains a day when German plans hadcounted on 48 trains a day to reinforce thepossible invasion areas.

German defences all along the Frenchcoast had been pulverised by the heavybombers, which had flown some 1700sorties on 30 separate raids on gunemplacements and batteries. Throughoutthese operations, the continuing deceptionof the Germans demanded that three timesas many bombs fell east of the Seine as didto the west.

D-DayOn the night preceding the invasion itself,June 5-6, 1944, the ‘Heavies’ targeted thecoastal batteries overlooking the actualplanned invasion beaches. BomberCommand set a new record that night with1211 aircraft despatched on missions of alltypes, most of them in direct support of theinvasion. Of the heavy bombers targetingthe coastal batteries, four Halifaxes and fourLancasters failed to return, most shot downby German night fighters. Cloud cover

Halifax B Mk.III, LV857, of 51 Squadron,was one of the 95 aircraft lost on the costly raid on Nuremberg on the night of March 30-31, 1944. Itwas shot down by a Me 110 night fighter flown by Oberleutnant Martin Becker of I/NJG6.The crew of seven,who were only on their thirdoperation,were all killed.

‘Spitfires Escorting Lancasters on a Daylight Raid’.Operations like this were part of themassive Allied air effort against German forces after D-Day in 1944,when the hard-wonAllied air supremacy permitted daylight bombing operations by RAF heavy bombers.As thenumber of daylight raids increased, the Lancasters received fighter cover from the RAF forthe first time in the war. 617 Squadron Lancaster pilot Bob Knights later said:“The Spitfireswere a very welcome sight and would accompany you to the target; they would hangaround and see you were all right.”Artwork: Gary Eason

Carter’s CrewCarter’s crew were at least as experiencedand decorated as their pilot and captain; inall they boasted no fewer than nineDistinguished Flying Crosses or Medalsbetween them. The crew consisted of: PilotOfficer Guy Dunning DFM (flightengineer), Flight Lieutenant Ron ConleyDFC RAAF (navigator), Flight LieutenantHerbert Rieger RCAF (bomb aimer), FlightLieutenant Albert Chambers DFC and Bar(wireless operator), Warrant Officer FrankWatson DFM (mid-upper gunner) andSquadron Leader Martin Bryan-Smith DFCand Bar (rear gunner). Two of the mostexperienced of these crew members werethe leaders for their aircrew trades on thesquadron; Squadron Leader Bryan-Smithwas the gunnery leader, and 23-year-oldFlight Lieutenant Chambers, who had flown58 ‘ops’, was the signals leader.It was not uncommon for pathfinder

Lancasters to carry an eighth crew memberon some ‘ops’, who sat alongside thenavigator and operated the H2S groundmapping radar for blind bombing andaccurate target marking. This was the casein Carter’s aircraft on the night of June 6and Flying Officer ‘Hank’ Jeffery DFM flewwith the crew as the secondnavigator/bomb-aimer in this role, as hehad done on a previous occasion. Jeffreyhad already completed a tour of 30operations on Lancasters with 9 Squadron atBardney, being awarded the DFM inDecember 1943. Having been ‘screened’ asan instructor at the heavy conversion unit atWinthorpe he was now flying regularly on

90 D-DAY RAF

Then various other pieces of informationrelating to the night’s operations trickled in,details such as convoys to be avoided,keeping strictly on track and at the briefedaltitude, news of impending naval actions tothe east, and so on.It became obvious to those piecing together

the plan for the night that the great day theyhad all been waiting for had arrived, theinvasion of Europe was about to commence andthey would have a part to play in it. Thecommanding officer of 97 Squadron, 24-year-old Wing Commander Edward James ‘Jimmy’Carter DFC, was heard to exclaim: “Thank GodI’m still on ops and not at an OTU (OperationalTraining Unit).” He would not have time toregret that statement and he was not to know it,but his desire to be involved in the greatenterprise was going to cost him his life.

‘Jimmy’Carter‘Jimmy’ Carter had been in the RAFthroughout the war; he was now a veryexperienced bomber pilot, as his DFC from aprevious tour of operations showed. He hadassumed command of 97 Squadron, whichwas then based at Bourn, in January 1944,after completing a tour as an instructor on aVickers Wellington training unit. 97 Squadronmoved to Coningsby in April 1944. Sincetaking over the squadron, Carter had led theunit’s crews on pathfinder target markingoperations to Berlin, Leipzig, Essen, Lille,Brunswick, Schweinfurt, Kjeller (Oslo), thePhilips Works at Eindhoven and the Germanartillery battery at Maisy on the Frenchcoast. For the operation on June 6, Carter wasnominated as the deputy master bomber.

On June 5, 1944, 83 and 97Lancaster PathfinderSquadrons, based at RAFConingsby in Lincolnshire,received the details of the

target for the night at about 1pm. It seemedlike a normal operation to start with, thetarget being a battery of coastal heavy gunson the French coast at a point called StPierre-du-Mont, situated on the southeastcorner of the Cherbourg Peninsula.

‘Lost and found’Lancaster shot down on D-Day

found 68 years later

Lancaster Mk.III PB410 ‘OF-J’ of 97 Squadron.Note the H2S radar blister under the rear fuselage.

Wg Cdr ‘Jimmy’Carter,OC 97 Squadron.

‘ops’ again with 97 Squadron, although hehad told his mother that he had volunteeredfor just one last flight.

This crew which was, at the time,probably one of the RAF’s most decorated,was also a very valuable team of experts.

D-Day ‘op’Excitement among the Lancaster crews wasat a fever pitch as they went through theroutine build-up to a night on ‘ops’,including the necessary planning andbriefing. The popular station commander atRAF Coningsby, Group Captain AnthonyEvans-Evans, kicked off the briefing and setthe scene for the crews. Evans-Evans wasone of the great characters at Coningsby, abig cheerful man he flew on ‘ops’occasionally, but his age (he was 42), hisrank and his sheer size were against him inthis. Most of the aircrew believed that hewould never fit through the escape hatch ifhe needed to bale out! Sadly, he waseventually killed in an 83 SquadronLancaster on an operation over theMitteland Canal in February 1945, only afew days after being awarded the DFC.

The crews of the 18 Lancasters flying onthe operation from Coningsby on June 6,were driven to their aircraft which weredispersed around the airfield. Carter andhis crew were flying Lancaster Mk.IIIND739, ‘OF-Z’, which was loaded with 111000lb bombs and four 500lb bombs. Theymust have been feeling good about theirchances as they lifted off from Coningsby’srunway at 2.56am, not only because theywere going to be part of a momentous eventbut also because the target was barelyinside enemy territory and their exposureto enemy defences, flak and night fighterswas surely only going to be brief. As theyclimbed to their briefed operating heightand cruised southwards over England andthe English Channel the cloud cover belowthem did not allow them to see the armadabeneath them.

onThe german siDeAcross the Channel, at Évreux airfield inNormandy, Hauptmann (Captain) HelmutEberspacher of 3/SKG(Schnellkampfgeschwader) 10 was on alert.SKG10 was a Luftwaffe fast-bomber, ground-attack unit equipped with Focke-WulfFw 190G-3s and G-8s. Twenty-eight-year-old

The combaTCarter and his crew had dropped theirbombs on the target and had turned forhome when they were found byEberspacher in his Fw 190 shortly after 5am.It would not be true to say that they came‘face to face’, because the bomber crewprobably never saw the Fw 190 and neverknew what hit them. Eberspacher spottedseveral Lancasters silhouetted against themoonlit clouds below him. He dived downon Carter’s ‘Z-Zebra’ and attacked from theLancaster’s blind spot underneath, avoidingengaging the bomber from any other angleout of a healthy respect for the RAFgunners. He later said: “Similar to a shadowtheatre, the bombers stood out against theclouds. However, they could not see meagainst the dark ground. We were at war, theenemy had to be combated and I was in afavourable position.”

At 5.04am a transmission from Carter onthe Force radio frequency, acknowledging amessage from the master bomber, wassuddenly cut short. Cannon shells andmachine gun fire from the Fw 190 rippedinto the underside of the Lancaster, causingimmediate catastrophic damage, probablywounding and killing some on board andsetting the bomber on fire. It is almostimpossible to imagine the adrenalin-pumping terror that would be felt by abomber crew on the receiving end of a

D-DAY RAF 91

Eberspacher, a holder of the Iron Cross firstand second class, had been promoted toStaffelkapitän to lead the 3rd Staffel of the 1stGruppe in May. SKG10 flew ‘hit and run’fighter-bomber missions with their Fw 190sover southern England both by day and bynight. Due to the lack of regular nightfighters in France and in view of theincreasing number of night bombingmissions being flown by the RAF overFrance, from April 1944 onwards the Fw 190sof SKG10 were also employed on Wilde Sau(‘Wild Boar’) free-ranging, night-fightermissions against the British bombers on thebrighter moonlit nights. It was for thispurpose that Eberspacher and some of hispilots were sitting on alert at Évreux.

Earlier that night, warnings of enemyglider and paratroopers landing inNormandy had reached Évreux, but the Fw190 pilots that were scrambled had found noenemy air activity. They were ratherdowncast by this lack of success and failureto see anything of the enemy. Then at about4.30am information came into the GruppeHQ that Allied bombers were pounding thecoast between Carentan and Caen.

Eberspacher was ordered to scramblewith three other Fw 190s into that sector.There was very limited assistance fromthe German fighter controllers whoseradars had mostly been destroyed, whilethe surviving parts of the air defencesystem were being heavily jammed.However, there were so many RAFbombers in such a small area that it wasalmost inevitable that the Fw 190 pilotswould stumble across some. Fate wasabout to bring Eberspacher’s Fw 190 and‘Jimmy’ Carter’s Lancaster together.

The bombing aTTackThe heavy bombers’ attack against thecoastal battery at St Pierre-du-Mont startedat 4.50am, about 30 minutes before dawn,with a red target indicator (TI) which wasdropped accurately on the target by an‘Oboe’-equipped Mosquito Pathfinder. Itwas instantly backed up by green TIsdropped visually by Mosquito aircraft of 627Squadron. These latter TIs were not asaccurate as those dropped with ‘Oboe’.However, by the time the main force camein to bomb, the target was well marked. Thebombing was extremely accurate and thewhole point was flattened.

Some of Carter’s crew, from left,wireless operator Flt Lt Chambers, second nav/bomb aimer Fg Off Jeffery, bomb aimer Flt Lt Rieger RCAF andrear gunner Sqn Ldr Bryan-Smith.

Hauptmann Helmut Eberspacher, Fw 190pilot.

92 D-DAY RAF

Found 68years LaterSixty-eight years later in 2012, Britishaviation historian and archaeologist TonyGraves was taken to an aircraft crash site inNormandy by French locals. Some farmershad found part of a wheel protruding fromthe soil and a local metal detector had founda gold ring, which bore the initials ‘AC’ onits face, and the inscription ‘Love Vera’engraved on the back. Some detective workby Mr Graves led him to realise that the‘AC’ referred to Albert Chambers (Carter’swireless operator) who had married VeraGrubb, aged 21, at St Giles’ Church,Normanton near Derby, in October 1943,just eight months before he died on D-Day.Permission was obtained from the land

owner and from the French Government toexcavate the site, where some 300 rounds ofBritish .303 ammunition was still lying onthe surface. The excavation uncovered two

sustained burst of cannon fire from acompletely unseen foe.Eberspacher reported no return fire

from the Lancaster and knew it was fatallydamaged. He immediately attacked asecond Lancaster and then a third, shootingdown all three within three minutes, withthe loss of all on board except one of thegunners. One of the other pilots in his flight,Feldwebel Eisele, claimed another of theRAF heavy bombers, so when they landedback at Évreux they were able to claim atotal of four bombers shot down, the first aircombat action and the first kills for theLuftwaffe on D-Day.

LostwithouttraceNone of Carter’s crew escaped from theburning Lancaster; the bombing height waslower than usual and there was little timefor any survivors of the Fw 190 attack tobale out before the bomber ploughed intothe Normandy fields and exploded. All eightof the crew were still on board and all werekilled. They were proof that experience,expertise, skill and alertness were notenough to survive in the bomber crews’ warand, in the end, it was just a lottery thatcame down to sheer luck. They were lostwithout trace.Many, indeed most, of the heavy bomber

crew members who were killed over enemyterritory during the Second World Warreceived a decent burial from the Germans.However, in this instance the location of thecrash site, near Carentan in Normandy,quickly became a battlefield and was,therefore, not dealt with in the usual way.The war rolled over the site and the men’sbodies were never recovered. Their nameswere listed on the Runnymede memorialwhich commemorates 20,389 airmen of theSecond World War with no known graves.

of the inner Merlin engines, one outerengine and several propeller blades, one ofthe Lancaster’s wheel hubs, the back of anarmour-plated seat, one of the bomb baydoors and all the bomb racks clamps.The fragmentary wreckage that emerged

convinced the aviation archeologists thatthese were the remains of ND739, WingCommander ‘Jimmy’ Carter’s Lancaster,which had been missing from Coningsbysince June 6, 1944. A number of personalitems found during the dig were the mostpoignant: a silver-plated cigarette casetwisted by the impact, a watch torn from thewrist of an airman, a mangled BomberCommand whistle, a forage cap, a silk flyingglove, and remains of wool sergebattledress jackets, one with a DFM ribbon,one with the remains of a Waterman pen inthe pocket and one with a German 7.92bullet lodged inside a sleeve. LancasterND739 and some personal reminders of itscrew had finally been found 68 years afterthey went missing on D-Day.The motto of 97 Squadron was ‘Achieve

your aim’. These eight airmen gave theirlives on D-Day doing just that.(Helmut Eberspacher was later awarded

the coveted Knight’s Cross in January 1945after he had flown 170 fighter-bomber andnight-fighter missions and shot down sevenenemy aircraft. He survived the war anddied in June 2011).

Fw 190s of SKG10 in their camouflaged ‘hides’ on an airfield in Normandy.

A Lancaster bombing blind through cloud.

The major Bomber Commandeffort on the night of June 8-9,1944 (D-Day +2) involved 483bombers attacking rail centresat Alençon, Fougères,

Mayenne, Pontaubault and Rennes. Fouraircraft were lost on these raids. One of themost significant attacks that night was madeby 617 Squadron against the Saumurrailway tunnel and involved the firstoperational use of a new ‘special weapon’,the Tallboy earthquake-effect bomb.

Saumur railwaytunnelAs the invasion unfolded, the FrenchResistance and British intelligence reported toAllied headquarters that the GermanWehrmacht was planning to move a Panzerarmoured division by rail from the Bordeauxregion to Normandy. If they had succeeded,this division could have been used to initiate apowerful counterattack against the break outfrom the beaches. The railway line that wouldbe used to transport the division crossed theLoire River over a bridge and then immediatelypassed through a tunnel near the town ofSaumur in the Loire valley, some 125 milessouth of the battle area. A raid against thisimportant target was planned in great hasteand was a classic example of the heavybombers being used tactically, with the specificaim in this case being to block the route of theGerman reinforcements to the ground battle.

Just after 2am on June 9, the Saumurtarget area was illuminated by flaresdropped by four Lancasters of 83 Squadron,although it was reported that most of themwere dropped inaccurately, too far away, andonly the last two or three were of any use.

Nonetheless, at 2.06am WingCommander Leonard Cheshire, the OfficerCommanding 617 Squadron, who was flyingMosquito VI MS993, with navigator FlyingOfficer Kelly, dived on the southernentrance of the tunnel from 3000ft down to500ft and released four red spot fire

Twenty-five Lancasters of 617 Squadron(a new squadron record for an operation),19 of them carrying the new Tallboy bomband the others with eight 1000lb generalpurpose bombs each, then bombed thetunnel and the bridge. The 1000lb bombswere dropped against the bridge, but thebombing was inaccurate and the bridge wasleft undamaged. The 19 Tallboys which

D-DAY RAF 93

markers, one of which fell on the railwaycutting just at the mouth of the tunnel.

A second Mosquito, flown by 617Squadron’s ‘Tom and Gerry’ duo of FlightLieutenant Gerry Fawke and Flying OfficerTom Bennet, dropped flares to illuminatethe target area, followed by three red spotswhich landed 50 yards from the north endof the tunnel.

‘Sledgehammer to crack hard nuts’

Tallboy bomb being manoeuvred for loading by RAF armourers.

Post-raid reconnaissance photograph of the Saumur railway tunnel,showing the Tallboy craters, two of which are on the line and onepenetrating the tunnel itself.

The hole in the roof of the Saumur railway tunnel cause by a Tallboyon June 9, 1944,after the debris had been cleared.

Lancaster a sitting target for the defences,especially radar-directed predicted, flak.The combination of SABS and Tallboy

was effective only if the aiming point couldbe clearly identified and tracked visually bythe bomb aimer. Some missions wereaborted or unsuccessful because this wasnot possible and, due to the cost andcomplexity of their manufacture, Tallboybombs which were not dropped werebrought back to base.

DuSk raiD againST E-boaTpEnS aT lE havrE, JunE 14,1944After the initial success at Saumur, Tallboyswere used against a wide range of targets inFrance over the summer of 1944, especiallyagainst the German’s heavily hardenedconcrete structures, such as U-boat and E-boat pens and ‘V’-weapon sites.One such raid, on the evening of June 14,

was Bomber Command’s first daylight raidover enemy occupied territory since 1941(actually it was a last-light, dusk raid). A totalof 221 Lancasters bombed the German E-boatpens at Le Havre, including 22 from 617Squadron carrying Tallboys. Being relativelyclose to the invasion beaches, these fastGerman motor torpedo boats were asignificant threat to the hundreds of Alliedships crossing the Channel daily with men andsupplies for the Second Front. The destructionof this naval target would safeguard the Alliedshipping. The heavy bombers were escorted

94 D-DAY RAF

STabiliSing auTomaTic bombSighT (SabS)To achieve accuracy with these large singlebombs, 617 Squadron used a specialbombsight – the Stabilising Automatic BombSight (SABS) Mk.IIA – which, for the firsttime in the RAF’s history, permitted trueprecision bombing from medium altitude.These special bomb sights were hand-

made, precision instruments, produced insmall numbers and used only in specialistroles. With a well-trained and practicedbomb-aimer, able to keep the SABS aiminggraticule exactly over the aiming pointduring the approach to the target, the sightautomatically calculated the aircraft’s groundspeed and wind drift. These were theprincipal factors which led to inaccuracieswith earlier bomb sights, like the Mk.XIV inuse with the rest of Bomber Command.The SABS fed information to a Bombing

Direction Indicator mounted in front of thepilot, which showed him whether anycourse correction, left or right, wasrequired. It also calculated the bombrelease point and released the bombautomatically at the correct moment.Given optimum conditions, a well-trained

crew could reliably place a bomb within 80yards of the target from 18,000ft. Achievingthis level of precision required extremelyaccurate flying. Unfortunately, it alsorequired a long straight run-up to the targetof between five and 10 minutes, during whichno evasive action was possible, making the

were dropped against the tunnel frombetween 8000 and 10,500ft were much moreeffective. Although the clouds of dustcaused by the bombs temporarily blottedout the marker flares and caused somedelays, many of them were dropped withgreat accuracy; 50% of the bombs fell within100 yards.Reconnaissance photographs taken the

next day showed the full extent of thedamage caused by 617 Squadron’s attackand the Tallboys in particular. The railwaytrack at the southern end of the tunnel wasbroken by two huge Tallboy craters and athird Tallboy actually pierced the roof of thetunnel and brought down a huge quantity ofrock and soil, some 15,000 cubic metres ofit. The tunnel was blocked for aconsiderable time and the Panzer unit wasbadly delayed in its movement to the battlearea. The Saumur railway tunnel had stillnot been completely cleared by the timethat part of France was liberated and thisstretch of line remained unusable to theGermans. No aircraft were lost on this, thefirst Tallboy raid.

TallboyDesigned by Barnes Wallis, the Tallboybomb was a remarkable weapon, combiningthe explosive force of a large, high-capacitybomb and the penetrating power of armour-piercing munitions. When it was introducedit was the only weapon in the Royal AirForce’s inventory capable of breakingthrough the thick concrete structures of theGerman U-boat shelters, E-boat pens and V-weapon sites.Tallboy measured 21ft (6m) long and

contained 5200lb of Torpex explosive. Witha streamlined (ogival) shape, it was fittedwith a long, light-alloy, conical tail with foursmall square fins. These fins were offset by5º, causing the bomb to spin during its fall,aiding stability and improving its accuracy.To increase its penetrative power, the noseof the bomb contained a specially-hardenedand precisely-machined, steel plug. Tallboywas ballistically perfect and in consequencehad a very high terminal velocity. Releasedfrom an altitude of 18,000ft, a Tallboy tookonly 37 seconds to fall to the ground; whenit hit, it was supersonic and stillaccelerating. It could penetrate 16ft (5m) ofconcrete or 90ft of earth and made a crater80ft (24m) deep and 100ft (30m) across,which would have taken 5000 tons of earthto fill.The bomb was designed to detonate

below ground, transferring all of itsenergy into the target structure. Thisearthquake effect caused more damagethan a direct hit, as it shook the wholetarget structure, causing major damage toall parts of it and making repairimpossible or uneconomic.The fuses in the rear of the bomb could

be set to give it sufficient time topenetrate before exploding. The timedelay could be set to between 11 secondsand 30 minutes after impact.

A 12,000lb Tallboy bomb being loaded on to 617 Sqn Lancaster ED763,‘KC-Z’‘Honor’.Thisaircraft led a charmed life and served with the squadron to the end of the war.

by Spitfires which prevented any Luftwaffefighters from interfering with the raid, but theenemy flak was still a problem and somebombers were hit.

Tallboy was on the secret list, so theother Bomber Command crews had notbeen briefed about it. Flight engineer KenDown, of 550 Squadron, who was on theraid said: “...when I saw 617 Squadron’sbombs explode it was as if the wholesurface had erupted. We hadn’t been toldanything at the briefing about the Tallboybombs, but when I saw them go in, it wasobvious that this was something special.”

The long straight run in to the target,required for the SABS bomb sight tofunction correctly, nearly cost Flying OfficerMichael Hamilton and his 617 Squadroncrew dear in their Lancaster DV403 ‘KC-G’,as he later recalled:

“We went into the target and immediatelythe flak started. The first shot burst underthe Tallboy, which deflected the shrapnelinto the aircraft and we lost our hydraulics.More shots went through the Lancaster; onebent the bomb bay doors, another broke thelock on the starboard undercarriage,causing the wheel to come down. The dragfrom that was pulling us to the right. Wewere still on our 12 mile bomb run.

“The next flak burst went straightthrough the starboard middle tank and welost 140 gallons of petrol, which sprayed onto the rear gunner through his clear visionpanel. It felt like a fortnight, but it was only14 seconds.

“We dropped the Tallboy and the bombaimer (Flying Officer Duck) shouted: ‘We’vehit it.’ Just as he said that the nose of theaircraft was shattered; the escape hatch hadgone and all of the Perspex too. A terrificdraught came in and blew window all overthe place as well as all of the navigator’spapers. The bomb aimer was writhing aroundin agony. The crew tried to help. Theengineer said: ‘I don’t know what he’s making

D-DAY RAF 95

Two of the 617 Sqn Lancasters that took part in the dusk raid against the E-boat pens at Le Havre, en route to the target on June 14, 1944. Inthe foreground is Lancaster DV385,‘KC-A’,‘Thumper Mk.III’, flown by Flt Lt Bob Knights. Leading him is Sqn Ldr Les Munro in his trusty LM482‘KC-W’.On this raid Thumper Mk.III was hit by flak but only lightly damaged. It was flying again the next day,dropping a Tallboy against the E-boat pens at Boulogne.

all the fuss about, he’s only got a small hole inhis leg’. They tried to put a tourniquet aroundit, but he wouldn’t let them.

“I was now totally engaged in flying theaircraft. Even though we had climbingpower on, we were sinking. It was chaoswith the drag, the undercarriage half down,the draught, and the bomb aimer, who in hiswrithing had kicked the throttles and pitchlevers. I shouted at them to get him back tothe rest bed. By this time we were down toabout 3000ft over the Channel.”

Hamilton fully expected that he wouldhave to ditch in the Channel and he put out adistress call so that an Air-Sea Rescue boatwould be launched. Somehow, though, thebattered Lancaster managed to get its crewback to England and to RAF West Mallingwith its grass runway. The crew blew theundercarriage down using the emergency

air system and managed to get it lockeddown, but it was not possible to get all of theflap down for the landing. Hamilton was veryconcerned about the damagedundercarriage collapsing and also knew thatthey would be coming in to land faster thannormal, so he had all of the crew in theircrash positions. His landing was, “one of thesmoothest I have ever done”, theundercarriage held and the aircraft rolled toa halt.

After the Lancaster had stopped andfallen silent, one of the West Malling crashcrews appeared at the front of the aircraft,looked up through the wrecked nose andsaid: “God, how the bloody hell did you getthis thing back?” The bomb aimer was takento hospital, where doctors found he had 27pieces of shrapnel in his body between hischest and his legs. He survived.

Oblique recce photograph showing one of the destroyed E-boat pens at Le Havre after theTallboy raid on June 14, 1944.

Lancaster PA474 of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight which currently represents 617Sqn Lancaster DV385,‘KC-A’,‘Thumper Mk.III’.The real ‘Thumper’ was the regular aircraft of FltLt Bob Knights and his crew. It flew on the ‘spoof’ chaff raid, Operation Taxable, on the eve ofD-Day, and on many of the squadron’s ‘Tallboy’ bombing raids, including the first against theSaumur railway tunnel on June 8-9, 1944, and the dusk raid against the E-boat pens at LeHavre on June 14.The real ‘Thumper’ survived the war and was scrapped in after the warhad ended. Photo: John Dibbs,The Plane Picture Company

98 D-DAY RAF

extreme devotion to duty in the presence ofthe enemy”. During the whole of the SecondWorld War, only 30 awards of the VictoriaCross were made to airmen serving in theRoyal Air Force, its Volunteer Reserve andthose serving with the air forces of theCommonwealth countries. The VC awardedto Andy Mynarski was the only one that wasmade to an airman during the immediate D-Day period.

419 squadroN419 ‘Moose’ Squadron was a heavy bomberunit of the RCAF, part of the all-Canadian 6Group, embedded within the RAF andBomber Command, based at Middleton StGeorge (now Teesside Airport). WhenCanadian pilot Flying Officer Art de Breyneand his crew joined 419 Squadron the unitwas still flying Handley-Page Halifaxes, butsoon afterwards the squadron re-equippedwith Canadian-built Lancaster Mk.Xs. Thede Breyne crew actually flew only oneoperation in a Halifax with 419 Squadronbefore converting to the Lancaster.

the crewArt de Breyne’s crew consisted of flightengineer Sergeant Roy Vigars (the onlyEnglishman in the otherwise all-Canadiancrew); navigator, Flying Officer RobertBody; bomb aimer, Sergeant Jack Friday;wireless operator, Warrant Officer JimmyKelly; mid-upper gunner, Andy Mynarskiwho was commissioned as a Pilot Officer onJune 11, 1944 and rear gunner, FlyingOfficer Pat Brophy.Individually skilled in their own areas of

expertise, the seven members of theLancaster crew welded together into aclose-knit, disciplined and professional teamin the aircraft, each reliant totally on theothers not only for success but also forsurvival. On the ground they were friends,especially the two gunners who, despitetheir age difference (Mynarski was 27 andBrophy was 22) enjoyed socialising togetherin the English pubs. In early June the crewwas allocated its ‘own’ Lancaster Mk.X,KB726, VR-A’, making the team complete.

JuNe 12-13, 1944On June 12-13, 1944, 16 Lancasters from 419Squadron were detailed to participate in anight bombing raid on the rail marshallingyards at Cambrai, as part of a force of 40Lancasters from 6 Group. It was to be arelatively low-level attack, bombing from aheight of only 2000ft. For Art de Breyne andhis crew, this was their 13th ‘op’ and theywere planned to be over the target onFriday the 13th. For the superstitiousamong the crew, there were some bad

In addition to the special operationsconducted in concert with 617Squadron and their ‘Tallboys’, theBomber Command ‘Main Force’ heavybombers flew a huge number of other

sorties in support of the initial phases of theBattle of Normandy. They attacked road andrail targets, enemy troop concentrations,military barracks, radar installations and fueldepots.In the week immediately after D-Day, the

Bomber Command Lancasters alone flew2689 operational sorties, of which 1856 wereflown against road and rail targets. Theseoperations were not without risk and therewere significant losses to enemy flak andnight fighters; a total of 77 Lancasters werelost on these raids.

Victoria crossOne of the Lancasters lost during thisperiod was that of Flying Officer Art DeBreyne and his crew from 419 ‘Moose’Squadron of the RCAF. This Lancaster wasone of three from 419 Squadron shot downduring an attack against a rail yard atCambrai, in northern Picardy on the nightof June 12-13, 1944.The actions that night of one of the

gunners in De Breyne’s crew, Pilot OfficerAndy Mynarski, resulted in his later awardof the Victoria Cross (VC), the highestaward for gallantry in the face of the enemythat can be made to members of the Britishand Commonwealth forces.The VC is awarded only for “most

conspicuous bravery, a daring or pre-eminent act of valour, self-sacrifice or

Victoria CrossLancaster gunner, Pilot Officer Andy Mynarski,

was awarded the VC for his actions on the night of June 12-13, 1944.

omens here. Lancaster KB726, VR-A’, withde Breyne at the controls, lifted off fromMiddleton St George at 9.44pm on June 12.In the Lancaster’s bomb bay were 16,

500lb GP bombs and two 500lb GP long-delay bombs; a total of 9000lb of highexplosive. The weather conditions werefavourable, promising good visibility overthe target.

Night fighter attackAfter encountering flak over the coast andhaving briefly been illuminated bysearchlights, the Lancaster began itsbombing run. Suddenly, a Junkers Ju 88night fighter bored in from the Lancaster’sport beam in a lightning attack, sweeping upfrom below and astern, raking the bomberwith its angled-up Schrage Musik cannonfire. In the rear turret, gunner Pat Brophysaw the Ju 88 at the last moment, yelling acommand to ‘corkscrew’ to the pilot, heswung his turret 45º to the port side of thebomber, depressed his four .303 machineguns down and fired at the night fighter. Itwas too late.The cannon fire from the Ju 88 tore into

the Lancaster’s port wing, knocking outboth port engines and setting the wingablaze. The hydraulic pipes to the rearturret were hit and a fine spray of hydraulicfluid ignited, starting a raging fire in therear fuselage. All the bomber’s electricsfailed, the cockpit was thrown into darknessand the intercom, used by the crew tocommunicate with each other, also failed.The captain – de Breyne – realised that

the situation was hopeless and, with nointercom system available, flashed the pre-arranged signal of the letter ‘P’ in Morsecode on the crew-station lights, to order thecrew to bale out.

trapped iN the rear turretIn the rear turret, Brophy was notsurprised to get the bale-out signal, as hecould see the mass of flames spreadingback from the port wing. In the LancasterFlying Officer Art de Breyne RCAF.

the gunners could not wear their chestparachutes in their turrets; there simplywasn’t room. The rear gunner’s parachutehung on the wall of the Lancaster behindhis turret doors. In order to bale out, thegunner first needed to get his turretstraight, open the doors, get his parachuteand clip it on to the chest harness, andthen bale out from the aircraft, eitherthrough the main entry/exit door justahead of the tail, or by rotating the rearturret through 90º, so that the back of itpointed sideways, and then doing a backflip out into the night sky.

harness, but he could not get out of theturret either into the aircraft or into theairflow. He was trapped.

MynarskiThrough the open doors of his turret andthe side Perspex, Brophy saw his friendAndy Mynarski, the mid-upper gunner,climb out of his turret, get his parachute offthe wall of the Lancaster, clip it on to hischest harness and move to the side door. Ashe was about to jump, Mynarski looked tohis right and saw the rear turret askew withno movement in it and realised that his

D-DAY RAF 99

With this desperate need in mind,Brophy tried to rotate his turret straight,but with the hydraulic pipes ruptured itwould not move. No problem, there was amanual back-up handle, but as Brophystarted to wind that, it snapped off in hishand. He was now stuck with his turretpointing 45º to the Lancaster’s port side,with the guns pointing down where he hadlast fired at the German night fighter. Heopened the turret doors, but could onlyjust get his left arm through the small gap.He reached his parachute, pulled it intothe turret and clipped it on to his chest

Lancaster Mk.X KB745 ‘VR-V’ of 419 ‘Moose’ Squadron, flying over a bomb-cratered Normandy during the summer of 1944.This aircraft waslost on October 4, 1944, during an attack against the U-boat pens at Bergen; all of the crew were killed.

The piloTIn the Lancaster, the pilot, de Breyne, withno intercom to communicate with the crew,thought he had given enough time foreveryone to bale out, certainly the crewmembers at the front had gone. To givehimself a chance of getting out too, hethrottled back the two starboard engines, tobalance the dead engines on the port side,and he trimmed the aircraft for wings leveland a gliding attitude. He then left his seatand baled out through the hatch in thebomb aimer’s compartment.

A mirAcleThe Lancaster was now gliding down in thedark, pilotless, with Brophy trapped in therear turret, no doubt expecting to die. Thepilot must have done a good job because theaircraft remained wings level in a gentledescent and that was how it hit the ground.At over 100mph it slid along on its belly andinto some trees. The first thing to hit thetrees was the port wing; this swung theaircraft so violently that the whiplash effectfreed the rear turret and whipped it roundso that the open doors at its rear faced thestarboard side. Brophy was flung out of histurret backwards and found himself sittingagainst a tree, with his unopened parachuteon his chest and the Lancaster, with thebombs still on board, exploding some 200

100 D-DAY RAF

friend Pat Brophy was trapped. Withcomplete disregard for his own safety andsurvival, Mynarski made his way to the rearof the Lancaster, crawled through theflames, and started trying to hack a way outfor his friend with the fire axe. When thatfailed, he tried to force the turret straightwith brute strength.As Brophy watched, he was horrified to

see Mynarski’s clothes catch fire up to thewaist, as he became soaked with burninghydraulic oil. He realised the hopelessnessof the situation and yelled and gesticulatedat Mynarski to leave him and to savehimself. The anguished look on Mynarski’sface showed how he felt about leaving hisfriend, but he knew he had no choice andbacked off through the flames. By the timehe reached the Lancaster’s door, Mynarskiwas on fire from head to foot; the parachuteon his chest was also burning. Even so,before he jumped, he straightened up andsaluted his friend in the rear turret who hethought was going to die. He then baled out.When his parachute opened it was on

fire and he descended far too rapidly.Although Mynarski was alive when he hitthe ground in France, he died shortlyafterwards from a combination of theimpact and the severe burns he hadreceived. Andy Mynarski is buried inMéharicourt Cemetery, France.

The crew (l to r): Brophy, Kelly,Vigars, de Breyne,Mynarski, Friday and Body.

Pilot Officer Andy Mynarski VC.

yards away. Miraculously, not only had hesurvived, but he was completely unscathed!

The afTermaThBrophy was picked up by the FrenchResistance and hidden for six weeks, bywhich time the Allies had advanced furtherinto France and he was handed over tothem. Three other members of the crew, deBreyne (pilot), Body (navigator) and Kelly(wireless operator), also evaded capture andwere eventually repatriated. The other twobecame PoWs for the duration of the war.

The VCIn 1945, Pat Brophy was reunited with Artde Breyne and the rest of the crew andthe details of the final moments in theaircraft that night were revealed,including the valiant efforts made byMynarski in trying to free Brophy. In late1945, de Breyne started the process ofgetting Mynarski’s extraordinary deedrecognised with an award. Therecommendation worked its way slowly upthe command structure of the RCAF andthe RAF and, on October 11, 1946, theaward of a posthumous VC to AndyMynarski was finally announced, for hissupreme sacrifice in giving his own life totry to save that of his friend and colleagueon June 12-13, 1944.

D-DAY RAF 101

Rear gunner, Flying Officer Pat Brophy.

infrastructure in France, they lost threeaircraft during this time. Taken together,these day and night operations by themedium-bomber/intruders added to thehavoc being wreaked in enemy-occupiedEurope by the RAF and Allied air forces.

De HavillanD MosquitoThe ‘Wooden Wonder’, affectionately knownto its crews as the ‘Mossie’ will need nointroduction to most readers. This twin-Merlin-engine, two-crew aircraft, of almostentirely wooden construction had originally

102 D-DAY RAF

daylight operations without too muchinterference from the Luftwaffe, but theenemy ‘flak’ was still very dangerous andcaused some losses.

During the build up to D-Day, the pace ofoperations for these units intensified and itcontinued to do so after the invasion. Totake just one of the Mosquito FB VI units asan example, 464 Squadron (RAAF) alone,flew 350 sorties in July 1944 and another400 during August.

Concentrating mainly on night-timeintruder attacks on German transport and

The twin-engine mediumbombers and intruders were arelatively small, butnonetheless effective,component of the RAF’s order

of battle during the D-Day period. In June1944, the RAF’s 2 TAF fielded six squadronsof De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomberFB Mk.VIs, four of North American B-25Mitchells, and two of Douglas A-20 Bostons.The Boston was gradually being phased outand replaced by the other two types; by thewar’s end there was only one Boston unitstill operating (342 Free French Squadron).

These squadrons of Mosquitos,Mitchells and Bostons conducted tacticalprecision-strike, interdiction and intruderoperations by day and by night, during thebuild-up to D-Day and the subsequent Battleof Normandy, frequently operating at lowlevel. Targets were numerous and variedand included fuel and supply dumps,barracks and headquarters, airfields,communications targets – such as railwayinfrastructure, bridges, road transport andconvoys – and ‘V’-weapon ‘Noball’ sites.Some attacks against pinpoint targets fromvery low-level, such as against certainGestapo headquarters, were spectacularlysuccessful. Fighter escorts and the hard-earned Allied air supremacy allowed

Medium bombers & intruders

B-25 Mitchells of 320 (Dutch) Sqn under attack from Luftwaffe Fw 190s and being defendedby their escort of Spitfire Mk IXs of 602 Sqn (Aux AF) during a daylight raid around D-Day.Artwork by Wiek Luijken

Mosquito FB VI of 418 Sqn (RCAF).

been conceived as an unarmed fast bomber.It first entered service with the RAF as aphotographic reconnaissance aircraft inSeptember 1941, at which time it was one ofthe fastest operational aircraft in the world.By 1942 it was in widespread service with theRAF and was being adapted to fill many roles.Its performance remained impressive, latermarks being capable of over 400mph, and ithad a good range and altitude capability.

From late 1943, Mosquito bomber unitswere formed into the Light Night StrikeForce often dropping 4000lb (1812kg) HCblast bombs, ‘cookies’, in high-altitude,high-speed raids that German night fighterswere almost powerless to intercept. Theywere also used as pathfinders for RAFBomber Command’s heavy-bomber raids.

As a night fighter, from mid-1942, theMosquito not only defended the UnitedKingdom against German night bombingraids, but was also employed offensively asa night intruder, conducting raids overLuftwaffe airfields and as a night fightersupporting RAF Bomber Command’s heavybomber raids. In these roles it played animportant part in reducing bomber lossesduring 1944 and 1945.

The Mosquito’s survivability wasenhanced not only by the capability of itswooden structure to soak up battle damage,but also by its legendary ability to fly on oneengine, quite happily, if required.

The Mosquito FB VI, operated by 2 TAFat the time of D-Day and the Battle of

fuselage. The ventral bay doors weredivided into two sections; the forward pairgiving access to the 20mm cannon breechesand ammunition feed, while the rear paircovered a bomb bay which could hold two250lb bombs. The top speed of this mark ofthe Mosquito, with the more powerfulengines, was over 370mph. As well as beingextremely effective against ground targetswith its bomb and gun armament, the FB VIwas quite capable of holding its own againstsingle-engine fighter aircraft and ‘Mossie’crews did indeed claim numerous LuftwaffeFw 190s and Bf 109s on their intrudermissions.

D-DAY RAF 103

Normandy, had first entered service in May1943. Powered by two 1460hp Rolls-RoyceMerlin 21s or two 1653hp Merlin 25s, theMosquito FB VI introduced a restressedand reinforced wing, capable of carrying asingle 250lb (113kg) bomb on racks instreamlined fairings under each wing(increased to 500lb (227kg) bombs onSeries 2 FB VIs ), or up to eight 3in rocketprojectiles. Alternatively, a 50 gallon or 100gallon fuel drop tank could be fitted undereach wing. The usual armament was four.303 Browning machine guns in the solidnose and four 20mm Hispano Mk IIcannons under the cockpit section of the

Loading 500lb bombs into the internal bomb bay of a Mosquito FB VI.

A Mosquito FB VI flying effortlessly in close formation alongside the camera ship,with theport engine feathered.

defensive armament consisted of a dorsalturret with a pair of 0.5in (12.7mm) heavymachine guns, a retractable, remotely-operated ventral turret also fitted with two0.5s, and a further two 0.5s in the Plexiglassnose, one fixed forward firing and oneflexible. The Mitchell could carry up to3600lb (1600kg) of bombs in its bomb bay

TheMitchell was an amazingly sturdyaircraft that could withstand tremendouspunishment. It was also a safe and forgivingaircraft to fly. With one engine out, it waspossible to fly 60º banking turns into the deadengine and control could be easily maintaineddown to 145mph. However, the pilot had toremember to maintain engine-out directionalcontrol at low speeds after takeoff with rudder;if this manoeuvre was attempted with ailerons,the aircraft would snap out of control. Thetricycle landing gear made for excellentvisibility while taxiing and on landing. Theonly significant complaint from its crews aboutthe Mitchell was the extremely high noiselevel produced by its engines.

The Mitchells were sometimes used ondaylight short-penetration raids with afighter escort, and they also flew nightoperations, including illuminating targetswith flares for Mosquitos to make nightattacks against ground transport targets. Asthe invasion approached, they flew nightattacks against ‘V’-weapon, ‘Noball’ sites andagainst communications targets.

After D-Day the Mitchells operated insupport of the ground action, bombingenemy positions and attackingconcentrations of armour and fuel depots, aswell as making more attacks against ‘Noball’sites. With air supremacy achieved, theMitchell crews found, as did the othermedium bomber crews, that enemy fighterswere not a particular threat, but the ‘flak’certainly was.

104 D-DAY RAF

took place on January 22, 1943, when sixaircraft from 180 Squadron attacked oilinstallations at Ghent. It was not a goodstart to the aircraft’s operational career asone aircraft was shot down by ‘flak’ over thetarget and two others were lost whenattacked by Fw 190 fighters. This was anaircraft that needed air superiority tooperate without high loss rates.

The Mitchell II was powered by twoWright R-2600-13 radial engines, producingaround 1700hp each, giving the aircraft acruising speed of 230mph and a maximumspeed of about 270mph at 13,000ft. The

North AmericAN B-25mitchellThe North American B-25 Mitchell was anAmerican twin-engine medium bomber,which was widely used by the USAAF andother air forces during the Second WorldWar. The RAF received nearly 900 B-25Mitchells under the Lend-Lease programmeand it was the only air force to operate theaircraft from the UK on raids against targetsin Europe. The majority of the aircraftdelivered to the RAF were B-25Cs and Ds,which the British designated Mitchell II.The first RAF operation with the Mitchell

RAF B-25 Mitchell II with D-Day invasion stripes applied.

RAF B-25 Mitchell of 226 Sqn over the invasion fleet.

Douglas a-20 BostonLargely replaced by the other two mediumbomber types by the time of D-Day, the twounits still operating the Douglas A-20 Bostonwere Nos 88 and 342 (Free French) Squadronsbased at Hartford Bridge, in Hampshire. Alongwith No 226 Squadron, equipped with theMitchell II, these units made up No 137 Wing,part of 2 Group of 2 TAF.

Variously known as the DB-7, A-20,Havoc and named Boston by the RAF, thiswas the most-produced American attackbomber of the Second World War, with over7000 built. The DB-7B was the first batch ofthe aircraft to be ordered directly by theRAF, in February 1940. Three hundredwere delivered and the British designatedthis version ‘Boston III’. Although not thefastest, nor endowed with the longest rangeor great load-carrying capability, the Bostonwas a tough, dependable and manoeuvrablemedium bomber with a decent turn of speedand a good reputation among its crews.Powered by two Wright R-2600-A5B TwinCyclone radial engines producing around1700hp each, the Boston III had a maximumspeed of just over 330mph and a serviceceiling of over 23,000ft, although it wasmore often employed at low level.

The Boston had a crew of three and wasarmed with four fixed forward-firing 0.303Browning machine guns, plus a dorsal turretwith two .303s and a ventrally mountedVickers K .303 machine gun. It could carry2000lb (910kg) of bombs in its bomb bay.

D-DAY RAF 105

The RAF Bostons took part in a numberof spectacular low-level raids againsttargets in occupied Europe. In the first halfof 1944, from their base at HartfordBridge, they concentrated on attackinginvasion targets in northern France,including coastal defences, Luftwaffeairfields and communication targets. On

RAF Douglas A-20 Boston IIIs of 88 Sqn.

RAF Douglas DB-7 (A-20) Boston III.

D-Day, the two Boston squadrons werecharged with the important and dangeroustask of laying the smoke screen to hide thefirst wave of landing craft from the enemygunners on the shore. After D-Day, 137Wing moved to France as part of thetactical air forces supporting the Alliedarmies as they advanced.

‘RAF Bostons on a Low-Level Strike’. Eight RAF Douglas Boston medium bombers from 342(Free French) Squadron streak across northern France in loose formation at low level in oneof the many attacks on communications and transport targets in the build-up to the Alliedinvasion in 1944. Artwork: Gary Eason

Boston naVigator – ‘Jock’loudenFlying Officer George ‘Jock’ Louden wasthe navigator in Boston IIIA, BZ292 ‘RF-L’ of88 Squadron for the D-Day operation. Helater recalled: “At 0436 hours we wereairborne and heading for the ‘big one’.“Our task was to lay smoke at sea level

(our aircraft had been specially adaptedwith canisters in the bomb bays andfunnels projecting out through holes in thebomb doors), to protect the Royal Navyships and also the invasion troops as theyforged ashore.“We flew from Hartford Bridge to Selsey

Bill at about 500ft and descended to wavetop height as soon as we reached the Bill,then on course for the beachhead. I was tocall up the battleship HMS Ramillies on theradio transmitter while en route and informthem that we were ready and about to laysmoke. I am still awaiting their reply!“However, as we flew below her decks at

sea level the Ramillies’ acknowledgement

108 D-DAY RAF

He joined 88 Squadron in May 1944 and hehad already completed operational sortiesover France, attacking vital supply lines todisrupt the transportation of enemyreinforcements. Describing theseoperations, he said: “We flew in very closeformation, an arrowhead of six aircraft. Wehad a lead navigator who got you over thetarget. He was in charge.“You needed a very good navigator. You

were always a bit apprehensive, but onceyou’d started the job you had to concentrateon what you were doing.”On D-Day, Valentine was flying Boston

IIIA ‘RH-E’, ‘E-Easy’. As he roared along theinvasion beaches at 50ft, the trajectories ofshells from the big guns of the navalgunships offshore arced overhead, andenemy gunfire came from the otherdirection. He later said: “I’d anticipated thatit was going to be a little hairy. I had just 44seconds to let off four canisters of smoke.The Germans were only half a mile backfrom the beach.“The noise of the shells was deafening.

Not only was there the chance of being hitin the crossfire but also, as the Alliedground forces were unsure who the aircraftflying so low above them were, they also letfly with small arms fire. I was flying at250mph at only 50ft and I had to hold it verysteady, as at that speed and height if I’deven sneezed that would have been it.”Valentine returned safely to RAF Hartford

Bridge from the D-Day operation andsubsequently went on to fly many moresorties against tactical targets by both nightand day. He survived two tours of operations,60 ‘ops’ in all and said: “After a while you feltyou had become lucky.” Leslie Valentinecelebrated his 95th birthday in 2013 and isthe only surviving British serviceman tohave been awarded the French Croix deGuerre with Silver Star, one of the country’shighest accolades, for heroic deedsperformed in the liberation of France.

As the invasion forces on thesurface headed towards theNormandy beaches at 5am onD-Day, June 6, 1944, their firstvisible evidence of 2 TAF’s

support for them was the arrival of theBostons of 137 Wing’s 88 and 342 (FreeFrench) Squadrons, laying a smokescreenoff the beaches to cover the dash to theshore by the first wave of landing craft. 88Squadron covered the eastern half of theinvasion area, while 342 Squadron took thewest. It was a precision operation, with 12Bostons from each unit arriving singly fromeach flank at 10 minute intervals in order tomaintain a continuous smokescreen.The Bostons hurtled along the

Normandy shoreline at 250mph and at only50ft laying a thick trail of smoke to shieldtheir comrades from the view of the enemygunners. As they did so, they ran thegauntlet between the devastating barrage ofnaval heavy gunfire and that of the Germanartillery defences. The operation wasdeemed completely successful in its aims,although each of the two squadronssuffered the loss of an aircraft (bothBostons crashed into the sea with the lossof all on board).A second 88 Squadron aircraft was hit by

‘flak’ and shortage of fuel forced the pilot toland downwind at Hartford Bridge. TheBoston ran off the end of the runway andinto sand pits, killing the navigator.

Boston Pilot – leslieValentineOne of the Boston pilots on the D-Daysmoke-laying operation was 24-year-oldFlying Officer Leslie Valentine. Valentinehad originally joined the army and sawaction in France in 1940 with the HighlandLight Infantry. Gaining selection for pilottraining in the RAF he was sent to Canadafor training, returning to 13 OperationalTraining Unit at Bicester in January 1943.

‘Smokers’

Boston IIIs of 88 Sqn flying low over the sea to avoid detection by enemy radar as they head towards a target in Europe prior to D-Day.

Fg Off Leslie Valentine (Boston pilot).

was to give us everything she’d got by wayof tracer gunfire and what have you, thisdespite the fact that we were painted like ahumbug!“Our next pin-points on the lead into the

beach area were the battleships HMSWarspite, Rodney, and Renown, they handledus more gently, but inevitably we were inthe middle of it and were catching it fromboth ‘Jerry’ and our own forces.“We found out afterwards that

commanders were anticipating 75% lossesfrom this smoke laying operation. Our finalpin-point before hitting the beaches was aNaval Monitor, this was merely a barge withone bloody great gun on it. My memory isthat as we flew below the deck height of thebattleships I could hear their big gunsgoing, “wuff, wuff, wuff” at the enemy, whilethe Naval Monitor was covered in blacksmoke and it was delivering a massive,“crump, crump, crump” towards the‘Jerries’.“We were going in to the beachhead at

intervals to lay smoke and, approaching theNaval Monitor, I could already see thesmoke screen laid by our leading aircraft,Wing Commander Paddy Maher. We hit thebeach slightly to the North West of Bayeuxturned to port and laid our smoke slightlyinshore of the Wing Commander’s. I’m gladwe were on the deck although I suppose itdidn’t make much difference as we weregetting attention from our own and theGerman forces.“Having pressed the tit and laid the

smoke we turned to port to come home, andimmediately we were over the port entranceof Le Havre, where we got a rough

I wasn’t in contact with the rest of the crewinside the aircraft during this part of theoperation, so 44 seconds to me felt likeforever. As Hank pulled away I was glad toget my mask off and helmet on and to beback in contact with my mates again.“It was pretty scary flying so low and

when we started to climb it was a relief. Thepilot Hank said excitedly: ‘Bill, did you seethem?’ (meaning the invasion fleet). I said:‘Yes! Who the hell’s going to stop that lot?’“We were all so elated and proud to have

done our little bit on that very special day.”

D-DAY RAF 109

reception from German E-Boats and theirharbour defences.“Then we were home: a cigarette, a pint

and a good meal. A wonderful, hairy, scaryand sad day; a proud success. I shall neverforget the sight of the English Channel thatday, nor of those mates that ‘bought it’.”

Boston Gunner – BillMorrisSergeant William ‘Bill’ Morris was a 23-year-old British wireless operator/Air Gunner(WOp/AG) serving with 342 (Free French)Squadron on the D-Day smoke-layingoperation. These are his recollections:“My crew and I went to breakfast then

gathered in the briefing room. After wewere all settled in and all crews werepresent and accounted for the doors to theroom were locked.“A high-ranking officer said: ‘Good

morning gentleman, today is D-Day. Whatyou have been trained to do, you will dotoday.’ Of course those words provoked amurmur of excitement from all of usgathered there.“At around 5am we took off from

Hartford Bridge aerodrome in our trustyBoston aircraft, in relays of two, to laysmoke for the invasion fleet.“We flew 50ft above the waves and as we

were coming up to our target my pilot Hanksaid: ‘Bill, helmet off, gas mask on’, assitting in an outside turret I could otherwisebe choked by the smoke. Each aircraftcarried four canisters that were timed 11seconds per canister to discharge thesmoke. This took 44 seconds and we had tofly straight and level during this time.

Boston IIIAs of 88 Sqn with smoke laying equipment fitted,at Hartford Bridge.

Sgt Bill Morris (Boston gunner) on the left,with some of his mates.

‘vic’ formation at 50ft. Leaving the southcoast of England we dropped down to 20ftover the Channel, cruising along at a happy289mph.

“Soon the coast of France loomed up infront of us, so full bore up to 3000ft, weavinggently to avoid the ‘flak’, and back downagain at 400mph to 50ft over the fields ofFrance, heading for our target.

“Five minutes later we saw a long convoyof German lorries moving slowly along aroad at right angles to our course. Almostimmediately, the flight commander’scannons and machine guns opened fire. Icould see that most of his fire was goingover the top of the lorries, so down went thenose of my Mosquito a little and, withthumb pressed hard on the firing button,much havoc and disintegration was caused

110 D-DAY RAF

trot along at nearly 400mph when in a realhurry. Although constructed almost entirelyof wood and plywood, I was soon to learnthat this wonderful aeroplane would flyalmost without any visible means ofsupport. This, coupled with the fact that mynavigator who, apart from being a goodBridge player, could also navigate andinterpret the complicated ‘Gee’ box reallywell, ensured that we always managed toland on a friendly aerodrome.”

During the build up to D-Day, one of thetasks given to 487 Squadron was to find andattack the ‘V-1’ sites that the Germans werebusily constructing in France. Bovet-Whitedescribed one such mission that had adramatic outcome: “We were part of a flightof three Mosquitos winging their way toFrance one bright afternoon, in a nice tight

Flight Lieutenant Charles DerekBovet-White (RAFVR) was a deHavilland Mosquito FBMk.VIpilot with 487 Squadron (RNZAF)during 1944. His route to the

Mosquito had been a roundabout one. Hehad previously flown Boulton Paul Defiants, avariety of communications aircraft and, afterrecovering from a broken neck suffered in anaccident while flying a Hawker Hurricanewhen he had only one hour on type, hebriefly flew the Spitfire.

He was posted to the Mosquito as anintruder pilot in 1943 and immediately took tothe aircraft, saying: “The Mosquito was oneof the finest twin-engine aeroplanes that hasever been made. Apart from handling andaerobatic qualities which were almost asgood as a single-engine fighter, she could

‘On a wing and a prayer’

Mosquito FB VI MM417 ‘EG-T’ of 487 Sqn(RNZAF) carrying a 250lb bomb undereach wing.

Crews of 487 Sqn briefing in a huddle prior to flying a mission.Their Mosquito FB VIs are loaded with a 250lb bomb under each wing.

among the German convoy as the deadlyhail of bullets and cannon shells found theirtarget, and then –‘crunch’!

“The Perspex cockpit cover shattered,the starboard engine ran very rough and aquick glance showed masses of wirethrashing about, flaying the starboard wing,which was considerably torn and had thewing tip missing. At one and the same time,back came the control column to gainheight as quickly as possible and I stoppedthe starboard engine and feathered thepropeller. My worst suspicions were nowconfirmed, we had hit some Frenchtelephone wires no more than 20ft abovethe ground. We had certainly managed tosever telephonic communications in thatpart of France!

gunners very much. So down went theMosquito’s nose again and, weaving rapidly,at 220mph, we dived for the EnglishChannel. Occasionally, there would be anoise like hailstones on a tin roof, butmostly the ‘flak’ was blazing on one side orthe other and quite soon it ceased. Then wehad the serious business of getting back toEngland and down in one piece.

“Beachy Head was the nearest bit ofEngland and Friston, a Spitfire aerodrome,was very close by. So, steering a steadycourse and climbing all we could, which wasin fact only about 50ft a minute, we vibratedour way to England. The port engine wastaking a beating, running at full bore, andthe oil and water temperature were risinghigher and higher, but at long last beautifulBeachy Head came into view.

“Obviously, the landing would have to bemade at no less than 160mph, some 50mphfaster than normal, and we were going tocover a lot of the grass area at Friston beforestopping, but I decided to give it a try. As wemade a circuit I let the wheels down, but theflaps refused to lower. Settling down to165mph, I lined up with the grass strip.

“We were certainly moving, and as wetouched down it seemed obvious that wewere quickly going to run straight off theend at Friston and fall 175ft off the cliffs intothe sea, despite all the brakes could do. So,off with the fuel tap and up with theundercarriage lever; the tattered Mosquitosank on to her belly and scuffed to an untidyhalt. My navigator and I jumped out of the‘Mossie’ as quickly as possible and then werealised that there was still 200 yards to goto the cliff edge. However, a quick look atthe noble old lady showed that she wouldnever have flown again anyway. Thefuselage and tailplane were riddled withholes, the starboard wing was torn indozens of places and one wondered how shehad managed to stay in the sky at all.

“At the hilarious party in the mess thatevening they told us that we had alsobrought back 150ft of French telephonewire with us.”

(Derek Bovet-White was later awarded theDFC. He passed away in 1996, aged 83)

D-DAY RAF 111

“Fortunately, the Rolls-Royce Merlinengine on the port side was still singing ajoyous song of power, but the Mosquito wasvibrating quite a bit, with jagged pieces ofthe starboard wing flapping in a most un-aerofoil-like fashion. Using full throttle onthe single engine we were just making170mph and once, when the speed droppedto 160, we almost fell out of the sky.Obviously we only had 10mph above thenew, unorthodox stalling speed of thereshaped Mosquito.

“As we approached the French coastheading for home as best we could, theGerman light ‘flak’ started. We let the two500lb, 11-seconds-delay bombs go with asatisfactory ‘wump, wump’, but these didnot seem to discourage the German ‘flak’

Tight formation of three ‘bombed-up’ 487 Sqn Mosquito FB VIs (MM417 ‘EG-T’ in the foreground with ‘EG-V’ and ‘EG-D’ beyond).

Mosquito FB VI MM401 ‘SB-J’ of 464 Sqn with wing damage similar to that experienced byDerek Bovet-White.This aircraft, flown by Squadron Leader A G Oxlade (pilot) and FlightLieutenant D M Shanks (navigator), was hit by anti-aircraft fire while attacking a flying-bombsite in the Pas de Calais on February 21, 1944.The port engine was shattered, and the portundercarriage and most of the outer starboard wing was blown off. Despite the damage,the crew flew MM401 back and crash-landed safely at Friston, where Bovet-White landed hisbadly damaged ‘Mossie’.

to ensure that the German defences andthe Normandy hinterland held nosecrets. In common with other aspects ofthe Allied air campaign prior to D-Day, tocontinue the deception campaign againstthe Germans, more photographicreconnaissance missions were tasked tothe north and east of the Seine than inthe actual invasion area.

The aiR SpoTTing poolOne of the essential firepower elements ofthe D-Day assault was an intense anddevastating naval bombardment, whichcommenced at 5am on June 6.

The task of spotting for the navalgunfire from the ships of the Allied Fleetsagainst the invasion area on D-Day,required the ‘pooling’ of resources in aclassic example of the combinedoperations that characterised much ofOverlord. A special temporary formation,known as the ‘Air Spotting Pool’, was setup at the RN Air Station at Lee-on-Solent,with squadrons trained and tasked inensuring the accuracy of the naval gunfire.

Unsurprisingly, four of the Air SpottingPool’s units were RN Fleet Air Arm SeafireIII squadrons, well used to the task in hand.Two RAF Spitfire Mk.V Squadrons, 26 and63, were also trained up and drafted into thepool to increase the number of spotters andto ensure continuous coverage during thebombardment period.

The RAF Tac Recce Mustang pilots werealready trained for artillery spotting, andthe Mustang 1/1As of 2, 414 and 268Squadrons were also used for this importantbut dangerous task up to midday on June 6,before returning to their photo-recce andarmed-recce roles.

112 D-DAY RAF

shape and configuration of the terrainthey were going to encounter. Closer toD-Day there was concern over the degreeof flooding the Germans had been able toachieve and what effect this would haveon movement inland, away from thebeaches. The 2 TAF Mustangs andSpitfires flew hundreds of dangeroussorties, many of them at ultra-low-level,

Tactical reconnaissance andthe Air Spotting Pool

The provision of photographicreconnaissance images to theAllied commanders wasobviously of vital importancefor their planning and decision

making processes. The RAF’s strategically-orientated photographic reconnaissance(PR) was conducted by the specially-modified Spitfire and Mosquito PR aircraftof 106 (Photographic Reconnaissance)Group based at RAF Benson, which was, forhistorical reasons, part of CoastalCommand. Meanwhile, tacticalreconnaissance (‘Tac Recce’) in theEuropean theatre was the business of 2TAF’s Reconnaissance Wings (34, 35 and 39(RCAF) Wings) with their five squadrons ofMustang Mk 1/1As, three squadrons ofSpitfire PR XIs, and a squadron of MosquitoIX/XVIs.

‘Tac Recce’ pRioRTo D-DayThese Tac Recce units were particularlyheavily tasked as D-Day approached. Thenumber of reconnaissance requestsincreased exponentially as Army andNavy commanders sought low-angle,oblique photography to show the latestbeach obstacles and defences, landingcraft approach routes, the routes inlandfrom the beaches, and the topography,

Oblique recce photograph of German beach defences taken by a 2 TAF Tac Recce aircraft,clearly from very low level.

Recce photograph of Graye-sur-Mer invasion beach on D-Day taken by a 2 TAF Tac RecceMustang.

after d-dayOnce the invasion had occurred and theBattle of Normandy had commenced, theTAC Recce units became the eyes of thecommanders at the front, providingcontinuous, extensive and rapid intelligenceof enemy movements and of Allied successes.The Tac Recce pilots had a photographic

task to perform, to bring back images to beassessed by the expert photographicinterpreters, but they were also trained touse ‘eyeballs Mark 1’ to gather intelligence.Anything of importance that they saw ontheir sorties, such as the location anddetails of tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft sites,vehicle parks, troop concentrations and anynew construction, was recorded in a writtenreport. Backing up the courageous work ofthe recce pilots were the equally importantskills of the photographic interpreters whoanalysed the images and reported theresulting intelligence to commanders.In common with most other 2 TAF units,

the Tac Recce squadrons moved to forwardoperating bases in France as space becameavailable from July onwards and thenadvanced with the ground forces.

‘Before and after’Occasionally, the Tac Recce pilots weretreated to a complete end-to-end cycle oftheir work – the ‘before and after’ views. Notmany were as immediate as on the sortieflown by Flight Lieutenant Larry Seath in aSpitfire PR XI of 400 (RCAF) Squadron onJuly 6, 1944. Having completed his briefedtask of taking vertical shots of bridges nearCaen and at Saint-André-sur-Orne, he setcourse for the squadron’s base at Odiham,just as Allied bombers commenced attackson the bridges.Seath returned to the target area and

recorded the results of the attacks on thesame sortie; the bridge at Saint-André-sur-Orne had been destroyed and those near

a quick detachable mount and an obliquecamera mounted aft of the pilot’s head,shooting through a hole cut in the left sideof the canopy Perspex. The cameras werecontrolled by the pilot and were automaticin their operation.

armamentThe Mustang 1 carried an armament ofeight mixed machine guns: Two 0.5in(12.7mm) machine guns were mountedunder the engine cowling firing throughthe propeller, and each wing housed two0.303in (7.62mm) Browning machineguns and a single 0.5 gun, with the largergun mounted between the .303s. TheMustang 1A was equipped with four20mm Hispano cannons, two in eachwing, with most of the long barrels of thecannons protruding well ahead of thewing leading edges.

armed reconnaissanceFrom 1942 onwards, the emphasis for theMustang Tac Recce squadrons, swungtowards offensive operations and armedreconnaissance. Taking advantage oftargets of opportunity the Mustangsattacked railway locomotives, canalbarges, military motor transport vehiclesand enemy aircraft on the ground. By1944 the RAF Mustang Tac Reccesquadrons were experts at these sort ofoperations.Despite the generally ‘bad press’ that

the Allison-engine Mustangs havereceived over the years, the RAF actuallyfound the aircraft to be extremely usefulin the Tac Recce and armedreconnaissance roles. The final RAFMustang 1s were not struck off chargeuntil 1945.

D-DAY RAF 113

Caen damaged. The original Allison-engineversions of the North American P-51(officially not P-51s, but NA-73s and NA-83s) were designated Mustang 1 and 1Aby the RAF. The Mustang had firstentered service with the RAF in January1942, making its combat debut in May thatyear with 26 Squadron, from Gatwick.The single-speed, single-stage

supercharger fitted to the Allison V-1710-39engine of the Mustang 1/1A had beendesigned to produce maximum poweroutput at a low altitude (the maximum ratedoutput was 1220hp at 10,000ft). Above15,000ft, however, the Mustang’sperformance reduced markedly. Ratherthan becoming a Fighter Command asset,therefore, it was initially allocated to ArmyCo-operation Command, where its excellentlow-altitude performance and long rangecould be utilised effectively for tacticalreconnaissance and ground attack duties.

PerformanceWhen it entered service the Mustang 1had the best low level performance of anyRAF fighter; its maximum speed wasquoted as 382mph at 13,700ft. Its low-dragairframe gave it a 30mph speed advantageover the Spitfire Mk.V at 5000ft and it wasactually 35mph faster at 15,000ft, despitethe British fighter’s engine being themore powerful. The Mustang’s combatrange at low level was impressive too; itwas able to cover 480 miles on its internalfuel of 180 US gallons, and could fly for750 miles with two 75 US gallon droptanks fitted.

camerasThe Tac Recce Mustang 1/1As were fittedwith two F24 cameras; a vertical camera in

Mustang 1/1AMustang Mk 1s of 2 Sqn RAF.

Mustang Mk 1 in D-Day invasion stripes overa column of Allied Sherman tanks.

Spitfire PR Mk.XIConsidered by many to be one of the finestphotographic reconnaissance aircraft of theSecondWorld War, the Spitfire PRMk.XIentered service with 541 (PR) Squadron RAFin December 1942. This variant of the Spitfire,modified from the Mk.IX, provided an all-round improvement in performance overprevious versions, with more powerful engines(Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk 61, 63, 63A or 70 werefitted to Mk.XIs) and with aerodynamicimprovements such as a retractable tail-wheeland flush mounted cameras.

PerformanceThe most powerful of the engines fitted tothe PR XI was the Merlin 63 which produceda remarkable 1710hp at 8500ft, giving amaximum level speed of well over 400mph.The PR Mk.XI was unarmed; in place of theSpitfire’s normal gun armament it carried66½ gallons of fuel in the leading edge ofeach wing. It also had an enlarged oil tankunder the nose, to provide for the longduration PR missions, which changed theprofile of the nose from the fighter variantsof the Spitfire. Fitted with a slipper tankproviding a total fuel load of 307 gallons, thePR XI’s maximum range was 1650 miles.

camerasThe standard camera fit was two F24s (later,F52s) as split verticals plus, in some aircraft,an oblique F24. In the Tac Recce role theSpitfire PR XI could be fitted with two five-inch-lens F8 cameras in a blister under eachwing, which had only minimal effect on itsaerodynamics. These wing cameras pointeddownwards, played out at an angle of 10ºand were used to photograph targets frommedium and low altitudes.

raf Pr XI UnItsIn June 1944, the RAF had five squadrons ofSpitfire PRMk XIs on it strength. 541 and 542Squadrons, based at Benson, Oxfordshire,were part of Coastal Command’s 106 (PR)Group and were engaged in strategic PRduties. 400 (RCAF) Squadron based atOdiham, 4 Squadron at Gatwick and 16Squadron at Northolt were 2 TAF’s Spitfire PRXI Tac Recce units, whose work mostly tookplace at medium, low and ultra-low altitudes.

Spitfire PR Mk.XI PL775 ‘A’, of 541 Squadron RAF.

Spitfire PR Mk.XI in its element.

Spitfire PR Mk.XIs at a forward airfield.

Spitfire PR Mk.XI PL965 ‘R’ of PeterTeichman’s Hangar 11 Collection –the only surviving airworthy PR Mk.XI.

Allison-engine Mk 1A Mustangswere flown by 268 SquadronRAF as part of 35 (Recce) Wing,84 Group, 2 TAF. By 1944, 268Squadron was primarily a low-

level photographic reconnaissance and ‘TacRecce’ unit with a mixture of aircrew drawnfrom across the Commonwealth, includingAustralia, Canada and New Zealand, as wellas British pilots.

naval gunfire SpoTTingPrior to D-Day, the 268 Sqn pilots weretrained (along with other RAF Mustang unitsand two RAF Spitfire squadrons) for navalgunfire artillery spotting duties as part of the‘Air Spotting Pool’.

These sorties involved pairs of aircraftoperating at relatively low level. The actualoperating height depended on the cloudbase, but was always low enough for thepilots to be in visual contact with the surfaceand with the naval gunner’s targets, whichalso put them well within range of lightenemy ‘flak’. Once in position and havingmade radio contact with the ship they werespotting for, the Mustangs generally flew athigh speed, with tight, high G turns, to keepthe target in view.

The lead aircraft was the ‘spotter’ whocalled the fall of shells to the ship until thetarget was bracketed and then ordered“fire for effect” to engage and hopefullydestroy the ground target, which wouldtypically be enemy artillery or bunkers.The spotter’s wingman was there to ‘rideshotgun’ and protect his back while theleader concentrated on map referencesand observing the shells landing.

There were occasions when this savedthe formation from attack by enemyaircraft, but more often it was to providewarning of an impending attack by Alliedfighters that became suspicious of the low-flying, circling pair, with a shape quitesimilar to Bf 109s, notwithstanding theblack and white D-Day invasion stripes onthe under-surfaces.

painted with black and white invasionstripes that day. The low level tacticalreconnaissance squadrons had received adispensation regarding the extent to whichthey would carry the invasion stripes. MostAllied aircraft were required to carry theblack and white stripes fully encircling thefuselage and wings of the aircraft. The ‘TacRecce’ Mustangs, though, in order not tocompromise the effectiveness of theircamouflage when operating at low level,were only required to wear the invasionstripes on the under surfaces of the rearfuselage and under both wings where theywould be most visible to Allied naval forcesand ground troops beneath them.

D-DayThe Mustang pilots were up early on June 6,breakfast was from 3.30am and detailedbriefings for the naval gunfire spottingsorties were then given by Captain Parishand Captain Wilson RN. The first pair of 268Squadron aircraft took off from their base atGatwick at 4.55am for naval gunfire spottingmissions, two more pairs took off fiveminutes later and a further five pairs wereairborne by 6am. The remaining Mustangswere flown to Lee-on-Solent from whereoperations would continue with other unitsof the ‘Air Spotting Pool’.

‘air SpoTTing pool’ DuTieSInitially, the Mustangs were taskedexclusively with naval gunfire spotting forBritish Home Fleet ships operating insupport of the landing forces. As the daywore on they were also requested to conduct

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The eve of D-DayOn the evening of June 5, 1944, GroupCaptain Peter Donkin DSO, the WingLeader of 35 (Recce) Wing, called hisMustang pilots to a briefing. Donkin was, bythis stage of the war, a very experiencedMustang ‘Tac Recce’ pilot and Wing Leader,who also happened to have the distinction ofhaving been the very first Allied servicemento be attacked by the Germans during theSecond World War. He informed the pilotsthat the invasion would begin at midnightwith the first waves of airborne forces andthat the seaborne invasion would land atfirst light the following morning. Allpersonnel were confined to camp and spenta listless night listening to the constantdrone of paratroop aircraft, glider tugs andheavy bombers passing overhead on theirway to France.

The news was not a total surprise to thepilots as the wing’s Mustangs had been

268 Squadron MustangsDirecting the big guns

A ‘Tac Recce’Mustang pilot makes out his report while the airman waits on the wing withthe film canister in his hand.Note the sideways facing oblique F24 camera poking throughthe hole in the cockpit Perspex.

The RN battleship HMS Warspite firing its big guns. It was reputedly the first Allied warship toopen fire against the German coastal defences on D-Day.

measured tone with a single word of thanksand we were back off to Lee-on-Solent,airborne for two and a half hours. After asatisfactory debriefing, a short rest and asandwich we were back to Gatwick in 20minutes. Most of the squadron had a ‘look in’on this day; we had been waiting for a longtime. Now the first hurdle was behind us andeverything seemed to be going well on theground. D-Day was a success for thesquadron, but marred by the loss of aMustang with a most experienced and valuedmember of the team.”Australian Flying Officer Basil Rachinger

RAAF flew two missions with 268 Sqnduring the day in Mustang 1A FD476 ‘B’,both as No 2 to Flight Lieutenant MauriceLissner. On the first they took off at 5am fora naval shoot and on the second they wereretasked in the air for a ‘Tac Recce’, as theplanned target had already beenneutralised. Rachinger’s diary for June 6gives an interesting first-hand insight intothe day’s action:“Controlled the bombardment of enemy

coastal defences byMontcalm (a Frenchcruiser with nine 6in guns) just prior to theinitial landings at Port en Bassin (at 2000ft,one hour 20 minutes over the target). Had abox seat view of the whole proceedingswhich looked remarkably under control –also not a Hun in the sky – bags of ‘flak’ andlots of our own boys though. Quiteimpressive watching utter hell let loose onboth sides: ‘Ack ack’, coastal guns, rocketsgalore, aerial bombing, naval bombardmentand thousands of ships across the Channelas far as the eye could see.“Shell holes, water spouts, smoke,

flames, smoke screens and debris addedimpressiveness to the general proceedings.A destroyer sunk, a battleship hit, a landingcraft vanished leaving a dirty mark in thewater, Spitfire in a death dive, E boats inBassin blazing furiously, town razed toground level, aircraft burning on theground. We flew the second sortie from Lee-on-Solent at 9am (55 minutes over theinvasion area). Hun coastal resistanceceased, barges now on a regular shuttleservice to and from the beach. Did a Tac Rtrying to find targets for more NavalBombardment but without success. Flewfive hours between 5am and 11am when wereturned to base – happy but very tired.”

Turn-rounDAs the Mustangs landed at Lee-on-Solentthey were refuelled, rearmed and had anyproblems that had arisen during themorning sorties rectified. The pilotsdebriefed with the army liaison officers andthe intelligence officers, while grabbing acup of tea, a quick cigarette and perhaps ahot bacon sandwich. There would be a quickbriefing from the Intelligence Officers onthe next sortie, maybe a quick word with theCO or the flight commander, some flightplanning with the maps and charts,calculating the headings, the distances, thetime at a given airspeed between each point,

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ImpressIons of D-DayThe commanding officer of 268 Squadron,Squadron Leader A S Mann DFC, flew asortie over the beachhead area, taking off at9.25am, to direct naval gunfire on to twotargets – German coastal defence batteriesin large concrete bunker emplacements –which were both hit.This was his recollection of the

momentous day: “D-Day was upon us quitesuddenly. Early naval gunfire directionsorties were briefed at Lee-on-Solent, and weflew there at ‘first light’. Bill Tuele, aCanadian, was my number two, and after themain briefing we were taken through thedetail of our individual shoots by veryconvincing naval experts who also made itclear that we should make our sea crossingat 4000ft, not the usual wave-top height,because the ships were going to be ‘trigger-happy’ and would take exception to anyaircraft approaching at sea level!“Once we were airborne, we set off to the

south, and there it was – a fine view oftremendous activity. Ships, ships, ships andsmall craft as far as the eye could see in anydirection, their wakes pointed southwards.Many thousands at the start of the greatestsea-borne invasion in the history of theworld. It was the sensation of a lifetime!“There were one or two ‘puffs’ on track to

our rendezvous, but nothing of concern. Wefound our ships, made contact, and set aboutthe morning’s work. Two coastal gunemplacements near Trouville were thetargets allocated to my section. After acouple of good sighting shots our guns wereon number one target, and the first salvostraddled it; others followed. The secondemplacement got similar treatment. Big gunsreally are the best and the Navy werecertainly on form! My happy calls ofcongratulations were returned in calm and

tactical reconnaissance of the beaches andthe area beyond, bringing back some of thefirst and finest images of the invasionbeaches. Most of the Mustang pilotsexperienced intense and accurate, heavy andlight ‘flak’ over the invasion area, much of itfrom Allied ships beneath them, despite theaircraft’s invasion stripes on theirundersides. The squadron’s one recordedloss for D-Day was Mustang Mk 1A FD495‘R’ (the 268 Squadron aircraft wore nosquadron code letters only their individualaircraft letter). This aircraft, flown by Flt LtEric Woodward, failed to return from a navalgunfire observation tasking over the invasionarea and may have been a casualty of Alliednaval anti-aircraft fire. Eric Woodward has noknown grave and his name is recorded onthe Runnymede Memorial.All of the squadron’s pilots brought back

with them their own images of the invasion,both photographic and locked away in theirmemories. Each had their own ‘front rowseat’ view as the landings took place beneaththem. Most had vivid memories of theimpact of naval gunfire that they haddirected on to the invasion beaches justbefore the landing took place, and on toremaining pockets of resistance afterwards.Others remembered the effects of the

German defences, with landing craftdestroyed and crippled, and of the waves ofAllied aircraft prowling over the Invasionfleet awaiting some reaction from theLuftwaffe. More than one pair of thesquadron’s Mustangs had to avoid theattentions of the masses of Allied fightersover the beachhead, their lack of invasionrecognition stripes on their upper surfacesrequiring closer inspection and confirmationof their friendly status. Most of thesquadron’s pilots flew twice in the day onsorties lasting around two and a half hours.

Recce photograph of the invasion beach at Anselles taken by a 268 Sqn Mustang Mk 1Aon D-Day.

Found trains galore at Lisieux which Iphotographed – town burning – on toEvreux where I found five truck-loads ofHun troops who sure scattered prontowhen I turned four cannon on to them.

“I knocked over quite a few of them andpeppered the trucks, I wish Frank couldhave been there to add fire support.Proceeded on to Bernay, then back toTrouville without further incident, exceptsome meagre ‘flak’ from Bernay. Sky wasfull of fighters, but luckily they were ours.Met Frank back at base.”

subsequenT DaysThe following few days saw the squadronflying sorties at the highest rate possible, inorder to bring back information on themovements of German reinforcementstrying to get through to the beachhead.

Many times the squadron aircraftreturned with photographs that led to thedespatch of rocket firing Typhoons orbombers to disrupt the Germans’reinforcement efforts. A number of aircraftreturned to base showing the scars ofclashes with the German defences, theLuftwaffe at this stage starting to make itsreappearance over the battlefront, but thegreatest threat still remaining that fromenemy flak. The squadron’s Mustangs alsoadded to the Germans’ woes, letting loosewith their four 20mm cannon whereappropriate, especially against Germantroop and supply transports.

areas to avoid, and then it was back to theaircraft and on the way for the next sortie.Just after lunch time, a BBC Radio recordingteam arrived and recorded interviews withselected pilots, capturing their impressionsof the events they had seen during the day.

‘Tac Recce’missionsIn the afternoon 268 Squadron was retaskedwith tactical reconnaissance in the areasbehind the invasion beaches, looking forGerman reinforcements being moved intothe area, with the naval gunfire spotting taskbeing continued by other RAF and Fleet AirArm units flying Spitfires and Seafires. Thesquadron’s aircraft brought back therequired information, including photographsshowing the extent of the Allied advance andlack of movement from any Germanreinforcements trying to move towards thebeachhead. As the Mustangs landed fromrecce sorties the cameras were stripped oftheir exposed film magazines, reloaded withfresh ones, refuelled and rearmed ifnecessary. The pilots were debriefed by theintelligence officers on what they had seenand then they scoured the fresh, wet printsstraight from the mobile film processingunit, to pick out possible targets for futuresorties and point out features of interest.

D-Day+1On June 7, D-Day+1, 11 pairs of 268Squadron Mustangs were despatchedduring the day for ‘Tac Recce’ sorties. The

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primary purpose of all these sorties was tocheck for the movement of any Germanreinforcements towards the beachheadarea. There was no significant enemymovement sighted during the sortiesconducted in the morning, while those inthe afternoon and early evening saw ahigher level of ground activity and also anappearance by four possible Bf-109s on onesortie. The German anti-aircraft fire duringthe afternoon sorties was also much moreactive, with heavy ‘flak’ being received froma number of locations.

One notable sortie for the day was thatby Basil Rachinger in FD506 ‘A’ with FlyingOfficer Frank Normoyle RAAF in FD544 ‘V’as his wingman. They took off from Gatwickat noon to conduct a ‘Tac Recce’ coveringTrouville – Lisieux – Evreux – Bernay –Trouville. They were separated over thecoast due to thick cloud cover, butRachinger went on alone and on the wayshot up five trucks loaded with Germantroops; he also reconnoitred Evreux airfieldseeing no enemy aircraft present there.

He noted the details of the sortie in hisdiary at the time: “I got airborne with FrankNormoyle as my No 2 at midday. Crossedout of England at Selsey Bill instead of theusual Beachy Head exit and made landfallat Trouville across the Seine estuary fromLe Havre. Cloud was ten tenths with a baseof between 1500 and 3000ft, so we had tostooge under it. Frank lost me just aftercrossing into France so I went on alone.

Mustang 1A of 35 (Recce) Group at low level over occupied France.

fighters and few conclusive actionsoccurred. Even German reconnaissanceaircraft usually failed to penetrate thedefences beyond mid-Channel. With theRAF mounting standing patrols by day andnight, Allied mastery of the sky over theEnglish Channel was now complete.Although the air supremacy that existedeverywhere by day could not be claimed tobe as comprehensive by night, as witnessedby the significant losses still beingexperienced by Bomber Command, the totalair supremacy over the UK and itsapproaches proved to be of incalculablevalue to the Allied armies and navies, whichwere able to complete their preparations forthe D-Day assault virtually unmolested.

d-dayOn the night of June 5-6, 1944, the 2 TAFnight fighter Mosquito NF XIIIs conducteddefensive night patrols over the invasionareas. A standing airborne ‘pool’ of sixMosquito night fighters was maintained offCherbourg, with the aircraft beingconstantly relieved so that continuous coverover the beaches could be maintained.

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bombers attacking German night fighterairfields. From mid-1943 radar-equippednight-fighter Beaufighters were engaged inoffensive intruder operations in support ofBomber Command. In November 1943, 100(Bomber Support) Group was formed tocontinue these operations, with Mosquitonight fighters gradually replacing the‘Beaus’; the group also provided electronicradar counter measures support to theBomber Command operations. These night-fighter intruders not only had the benefit ofairborne intercept (AI) radars but were alsofitted with equipment that allowed them tohome on to the emissions from the Germannight fighters’ radars. Luftwaffe nightfighter losses to the RAF night intruderssteadily mounted and eventually a so-called‘Moskitopanik’ was induced among Germannight fighter squadrons, with just aboutevery unexplained loss being blamed on theRAF night-intruder Mosquitos.

Mastery ofthe Night skyDuring the build-up to D-Day there werevery few nights when the enemy operatedover the areas patrolled by the 2 TAF night

The defence of the UK homelandagainst German night-time raidswas, by the time of D-Day, theresponsibility of the RAF’s AirDefence of Great Britain (ADGB)

and its dedicated night fighter squadrons, nowmostly equipped with de Havilland Mosquitos,although some Bristol Beaufighters remainedin service in June 1944.

In the spring of 1944, 29, 264, 409(RCAF), 410 (RCAF), 488 (RCAF) and 604(AuxAF) Squadrons, equipped either withMosquito night fighter (NF) Mk.XII or XIIIs,formed 85 (Base) Group, within 2 TAF, forthe purpose of providing night fighter coverleading up to, and in the wake of, D-Day, forthe invasion forces. These aircraft wouldoperate not in direct defence of the UK, butas offensive night intruders over occupiedEurope, hunting down Luftwaffe aircraftwhich threatened Allied bombers or, later,the surface forces at night.

Night iNtrudersThe RAF had begun night intruderoperations in May 1942, with non-radar-equipped medium bombers and fighter

Night Fighters

Mosquito NF XIII of 604 Sqn ready to taxi for a night mission from B51/Lille-Vendeville in late 1944.

One of the ADGB night fighter Mosquitosquadrons, 418 (RCAF) Squadron, wastasked to perform a secondary role on thenight of June 5-6, acting as ‘flak bait’ anddrawing searchlights and ‘flak’ away fromthe more vulnerable paratrooper and gliderdropping transport aircraft. So successfulwere they, that two of the Mosquitos wereactually hit by ‘flak’, one so badly that itcrash-landed near its base at HolmsleySouth, near Bournemouth, and burned out.Its crew escaped with their lives.

BeyoNd d-dayThe Mosquito night fighters maintainedcover over the beachhead from dusk todawn from D-Day to D-Day +37. By the endof June 1944, the combined efforts of the sixMosquito night fighter squadrons of 85(Base) Group had resulted in 76 enemyaircraft destroyed, plus five probablydestroyed. In July these six Mosquitosquadrons downed a further 55 enemyaircraft and also claimed two ‘probables’.From mid-June, with the Germans

launching ever increasing numbers of V-1flying bombs, many of the night fighterMosquitos participated in ‘anti-diver’ nightpatrols against them, with considerablesuccess. As Allied ground forces overranthe V-1 launch sites, the night fighterswere able to return to operations over thecontinent, finding the night air now full ofaircraft. However, most were Alliedaircraft, and many interceptions ended

The NF XIII benefited from having thestrengthened wing of the Mosquito FB VI,which allowed it to carry underwing fueldrop tanks which increased its range to 1800miles. Powered by two 1460hp Rolls-RoyceMerlin 21 or 23 engines, the NF XIII had atop speed of 370mph giving it a considerablespeed advantage over most of the Germannight fighters and bombers that were its prey.The NF XIII’s AI Mk.VIII was a

centimetric radar, operating in the 10cmwaveband and employing a dish-basedscanning system in place of the AI Mk.IVsstatic-aerial system. The British inventionof the cavity magnetron by theTelecommunications ResearchEstablishment (TRE) provided thenecessary leap forward in microwavetechnology that led to the centimetricradar. The AI Mk.VIII’s radar dish was 28inin diameter and rotated at 200rpm, at thesame time tilting up and down, and fromleft to right, thus tracing a spiral scanahead of the aircraft at up to 45º. A newtype of indicator display was developed forthe AI Mk.VIII, providing the radaroperator with all the information herequired on one screen.The very first victim of a Mosquito NF

XIII was a German Me 410 night fighter,shot down on November 8, 1943, by HK367of 488 Sqn. Subsequently, the NFXII provedto be a very capable night fighter andintruder, it was well-liked by its crews andmet with considerable success.

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with the identification of the target as a‘friendly’. Some though, resulted in thedestruction of yet another Luftwaffeaircraft.As other Allied aircraft, particularly the

fighter-bombers, moved on from thelanding grounds in France with theadvancing Allied ground forces, the 2TAF night fighter units were able to moveto the airfields they had vacated.The first to do so was 409 (RCAF)

Squadron, which deployed forward onAugust 24. Subsequently, the 2 TAF nightfighter Mosquitos advanced with theAllied forces and continued to provide thevital element of air superiority whendarkness fell.

Mosquito NF XiiiThe first unit to receive the NF XIIIMosquitos was 85 Squadron at the end ofFebruary 1943. By D-Day the six 2 TAFnight fighter intruders squadrons were allequipped with the Mosquito NF XIII.The NF XIII was the production equivalent

of those Mosquito NF XIIs which had beenmodified to carry the centimetric AI Mk.VIIIradar in a solid ‘thimble’ nose radome in placeof the earlier versions’ static aerial systems.This arrangement necessitated the removal ofthe nose-mounted 0.303 machine guns,leaving the armament as the four 20mmHispano cannons under the forward fuselage.Later aircraft had the so-called ‘universal’ or‘bull-nose’ radome fitted.

View into the cockpit of Mosquito NF Mk.XIII HK382 ‘RO-T’ of 29 Sqnat Hunsdon in 1944.

AI Mk VIII indicator, with the visor removed, as seen from thenavigator’s seat of a Mosquito NF Mk.XIII.The receiver unit (bottom)was hinged so as to fold back into the space beneath the indicatorunit in order to render access and egress from the cockpit door.

Junkers aircraft. The third kill that night wentto Flying Officers R L Fullerton and PCastellan. Fullerton had a little difficultygetting on to the tail of his target. Finally, afterovershooting and re-setting four times, thecrew got an AI contact at a range of two milesand this time the interception wasstraightforward. Two bursts from theMosquito’s four 20mm cannons sent theGerman aircraft spiralling earthwards with thestarboard engine on fire.To add to the night’s achievements

Squadron Leader ‘Johnny’ Hatch, the ‘A’ Flightcommander, returned with one engineunserviceable and shut down, making aperfect single-engine landing at West Malling.

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first kill over France. Jephson and hisnavigator, Flying Officer C D Sibbett, wereflying on a beachhead patrol when thecontroller vectored them after a ‘bogey’.Sibbett’s AI radar soon registered a ‘blip’ andthe navigator brought his pilot on to the tailof a Ju 188. Following standard night fightingprocedure, Jephson closed in, identified histarget, and then opened fire. His first burstset the enemy’s starboard engine on fire, thesecond started a blaze in the port engine, onthe third burst the Ju 188’s fuselagedisintegrated and the enemy aircraft fell fromthe sky, exploding as it hit the ground about30 or 40 miles south-east of Le Havre.

THREE IN ONE NIGHTThe next night, 409 Squadron experienced thesatisfaction of shooting down three enemyaircraft in one night. Flying Officers C JPreece and W H Beaumont distinguishedthemselves on this occasion by destroying twoJu 188s. Preece knocked down his first victimwith a fine piece of deflecting shooting,scoring three times with three bursts.Continuing their patrol the crew werevectored after another ‘bogey’ about three-quarters of an hour later. Beaumont got acontact on his AI showing the target aircraft tobe 2500 yards ahead and he directed Preeceonto it. At 1000 yards the pilot gained visualcontact with the target and, at 800 yards hewas able to identify it as another Ju-188.Closing to 250 yards, Preece fired a one-

second burst. The enemy aircraft exploded soviolently that Preece had to pull the Mosquitoup sharply, to avoid a wing which broke off the

Having been formed as a nightfighter squadron in June 1941,409 ‘Nighthawk’ Squadron(RCAF) was, by D-Day, part of2 TAF’s 85 Group and was

equipped with the Mosquito NF XIII. In mid-May 1944, the squadron moved to WestMalling, near Maidstone, Kent, in preparationfor the impending invasion of Europe. In Maythe ban on night fighters chasing ‘bandits’across the Channel (imposed because of theneed to keep the AI VIII radar secret from theenemy) was lifted and the crews were alsoissued with French money and maps. Nightintruder operations were on and clearly therewas more action to come.

D-DAYOn June 5, the squadron personnel werebriefed by the station commander that thenext day would be D-Day. That night, FlyingOfficer ‘Red’ Pearce with his navigator,Flying Officer G WMoores (RAF), scoredthe squadron’s first victory in over a yearwhen they attacked and probably destroyeda German bomber over the English coast.On the evening of D-Day, June 6-7,

working with mobile GCI (Ground ControlIntercept) fighter control units that had goneashore with the assault forces, 409 Squadronflew its first sorties over the beachhead.Patrols on the first three nights after theinvasion were uneventful; it appeared that,apart from a few scattered raids, theLuftwaffe was late getting into the fray.On June 9, Squadron Leader R S Jephson,

the ‘B’ Flight commander, got the squadron’s

‘Nighthawks’409 Squadron (RCAF)

Mosquito NF XIII, with the ‘thimble’ nose radome for the AI Mk.VIII and underwing drop tanks, at Hunsdon in 1944.

June 1944On June 19, the ‘Nighthawks’ moved to join410 (RCAF) Squadron at Hunsdon,Hertfordshire, from where they continuedtheir night-time hunting. In the 25 dayperiod from D-Day to June 30, 409 Squadronsaw more action than during the previousthree years of its night fighting operations.It flew a total of 227 night sorties,

destroyed 11 enemy aircraft, probablydestroyed two, and damaged five. Itoperated over the Normandy beachheadevery night except one, June 26, whenpatrols that had taken off had to be recalleddue to deteriorating weather. During themonth one of the squadron’s Mosquitos wasshot down over France and the crew takenprisoner of war. Another aircraft’s crewwere killed when their aircraft hit hightension wires on returning from a patrol.Two other aircraft were written off incrashes, although the crews escaped injury.

‘antI-DIver’ patrolsFrom the middle of June the squadronbegan to fly one or two patrols nightlyagainst the V-1 flying bombs which werebeing launched against England by theGermans. Flying Officers Preece andBeaumont were the first to destroy one ofthe ‘doodlebugs’ on the night of June 18; asecond fell to Squadron Leader Jephson’sguns on June 20.During the first part of July the

‘Nighthawks’ were employed almostexclusively on night ‘anti-diver’ patrolsagainst the V-ls. When the squadronreturned to regular night fighting dutiesover Normandy in mid-July the number ofthese flying bombs launched againstEngland was reducing as their launch siteswere overrun, although it was Octoberbefore the V-1 attacks ceased completely.

July 1944In July 1944, 409 Squadron destroyed eightenemy aircraft and damaged another. Six ofthese were German Ju 88 night fighters. Upuntil this time 409 had seen little of theseaircraft, for it was the German’s policy touse them mainly for home defence. As thetide of battle rolled towards Germany,

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engagements between the intruderMosquitos and the Ju 88 night fightersbecame more frequent. By the end ofhostilities 409 Squadron had destroyed 20Ju 88s, probably destroyed two more anddamaged another.One victory over a Ju 88 on July 26 cost

the squadron one of its most experiencedcrews, Squadron Leader Jephson and hisnavigator Flying Officer Roberts. Theyengaged the enemy aircraft over Caen anda burst from Jephson’s guns caused it toexplode so violently that the Mosquito wasdamaged by the blast and the debris, andboth engines stopped. Jephson reported viaR/T that he and Roberts were going to baleout, but on discovering that his navigatorwas injured and unable to move, Jephsoncourageously decided to stay with theaircraft, informing the GCI controller thathe was going to attempt a crash landing.This was an extremely hazardousundertaking in the dark and, tragically,both of the crew were killed in thesubsequent crash.On August 6, the squadron suffered

another fatality when Wing Commander MW Beveridge DFC, the 409 Squadron CO,was killed when his aircraft (MM587) wasshot down by a Ju 88 hunting in formationwith a Fw 190. Miraculously, his navigatorsurvived a very low-level bale-out, aftergetting stuck in the escape hatch and beingpushed out by his pilot.

Four nights later Squadron leader‘Johnny’ Hatch and his navigator, FlightLieutenant J Eames (RAF), turned thetables on one of these Fw 190/Ju 88combinations. As they came within visualrange of the two aircraft the Fw 190 turnedoff to starboard; Hatch followed it, knowingfull well that the Ju 88 would be positioningon his tail.Before that could happen though, a two

second burst of cannon fire from theMosquito sent the Fw 190 spirallingearthwards in flames. Hatch turned sharply,looking for the Ju 88, but it had melted awayinto the night sky and all further contactsturned out to be friendly bombers. A weeklater Hatch and Eames marked up a doublevictory, shooting down a Ju 88 after arunning fight and then blasting another Ju88 out of the sky.

Into FranceOn August 24, the ‘Nighthawks’ had thedistinction of being the first night fighterunit to operate from European soil whenthe squadron moved to Carpiquet inFrance. Two weeks later the squadronmoved on to St Andre and at the end ofSeptember it left that badly battered airfieldfor Le Culot. The ‘Nighthawks’ continued tomake night kills and also took morecasualties, but by the end of the war inEurope the unit had accounted for morethan 60 enemy aircraft.

Mosquito NF XIII (this is actually HK382 ‘RO-T’, a 29 Sqn aircraft).

A Mosquito NF XIII ready for take-off for a night patrol.

In the months preceding D-Day, therewere signs that the Germans werereducing the number of U-boatsoperating in the Atlantic, presumablyto conserve their submarine forces

for the forthcoming invasion. They alsostarted to move some of their Norwegian-based boats into the Atlantic and thencesouthwards to the English Channel and tothe French West Coast ports to reinforcethe U-boat flotillas in the Bay of Biscay.

The Allies recognised this and fullyrealised the threat that could be presented tothe D-Day invasion fleets by these U-boats. Inaddition, the Kreigsmarine had considerablenumbers of small warships – fast motortorpedo boats, known as E-boats, and the T-boats, which resembled small destroyers –plus conventional destroyers, midgetsubmarines and unmanned radio-controlledexplosive motorboats. If these Germanvessels and submarines got in among theconvoys in the English Channel on D-Day orin the following weeks, as the convoyssteamed back and forth across the Channelto resupply the invasion forces, it could beextremely costly and could even threaten thesuccess of the invasion.

The task of preventing this and ofguarding the flanks of the invasion fleets fellalmost entirely to RAF Coastal Commandwith some additional assistance from the USNavy’s Consolidated Liberator maritimesquadrons, which came under the operationalcontrol of 19 Group, Coastal Command.

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Coastal CommandProtecting the Flanks

Coastal Command B-17 Fortress Mk.IIA of 220 Sqn patrolling over the Atlantic Ocean.

Leigh Light under thewing of an ASW Liberator.

Anti-SubmArineWArfAre(ASW)By 1944, Coastal Command was aformidable force. It now possessed some 24UK-based, ASW squadrons equipped withlong-range Consolidated B-24 Liberators,Boeing B-17 Fortresses, Handley PageHalifaxes and some Vickers Wellingtonland-based maritime patrol and attackaircraft, together with Short Sunderland andConsolidated PB-Y Catalina flying boats.These anti-submarine aircraft wereemployed in escorting convoys and huntingU-boats in the Atlantic, the Bay of Biscayand the Western Approaches.

From January to the end of May 1944,Coastal Command aircraft sighted andattacked over 100 U-boats; 24 of which weresunk outright, while others were seriouslydamaged. The tide of war was turningagainst the German submariners.

An outstanding part of the operationsprior to D-Day was Coastal Command’s Mayoffensive in the sea areas between Norway,Shetland and Iceland, against the U-boatsattempting to redeploy from Norwegianhavens to reinforce the Biscay flotillas. Thefirst sighting and attack against one of theseU-boats was made on May 16, appropriatelyby a Norwegian crew flying with the RAF inCoastal Command. During the nextfortnight, 12 more U-boats were depth-charged from the air; six of them were sunkand some of the others were forced back toport in Norway.

U-boat hunting at night, when they weremost likely to be on the surface, was aidedby a number of technological advancementsincluding radar, magnetic anomalydetectors and the Leigh Light. This was apowerful carbon arc searchlight fitted to anumber of Coastal Command’s aircraft toilluminate German U-boats on the surface atnight. The ‘nacelle’ version fitted under thestarboard wing of the Coastal Command

Bomber Command, but they inflicted evengreater damage on the enemy in relation totheir own losses. During the Second WorldWar, the British public was only vaguelyaware of the dramatic and ferocious eventsinvolving the Coastal Command StrikeWings and their attacks on enemy shipping.

At the time, anti-shipping attacks cameunder the strictest secrecy, with only briefdetails being released to the press and theBBC. This secrecy was in place, not least,because of the success of the GovernmentCode and Cipher School at Bletchley Parkin decrypting the ‘Hydra’ code used by theenemy convoys (after acquiring ciphermaterial from the captured U-boat U110 onMay 8, 1942).

This intelligence provided accurate andtimely information on the movement ofGerman coastal convoys, allowing plannedstrikes by Coastal Command.

By 1944 the anti-shipping-strike unitshad honed their tactics against the heavily-armed vessels that were their targets. Theconcept of operations was to employ closely-coordinated mass formation attacks.Anti-‘flak’ aircraft, armed with cannons,bombs, or rockets, saturated the heavily

D-DAY RAF 123

Liberators, for example, was a 20insearchlight mounted in a nacelle of 32indiameter slung from the bomb lugs underthe wing and producing a maximum beamintensity of 90 million candles.

Anti-Shipping Strike/AttAckIn June 1944 Coastal Command also hadunder its control nine squadrons of anti-shipping, strike/attack, fighter-bombers,mostly Bristol Beaufighters. In a sign ofthings to come, one squadron, 248Squadron at Portreath, had alreadyre-equipped with the de Havilland Mosquitoin the anti-shipping role. (Coastal Commandalso included a number of Royal Navy FleetAir Arm squadrons flying antiquated FaireySwordfish and also Grumman Avengerstorpedo bombers). These aircraft would beresponsible for protecting the flanks of theinvasion fleets from German surfaceraiders, as well as attacking convoysattempting to re-supply the German forces.

The Coastal Command Strike Wingsfought in some of the bitterest andbloodiest engagements of the war, all at lowlevel and at close quarters. They sufferedheavy losses, in the same proportion as

Coastal Command B-24 Liberator GR Mk.V: Equipped with radar, loaded with depth charges and fitted with stub launch rails for rockets, thiswas one of the German U-boats crews’most feared opponents.

Coastal Command 404 Sqn Beaufighters armed with rockets at Davidstow Moor,Cornwall,June 1944.

Allied navies in a wide and complicatedpattern of patrols which, it was hoped,would seal both the eastern and westernentrances to the Channel.

An example of this activity was the anti-shipping strike force of 10 Mosquitos of248 Squadron from Portreath along with31 Beaufighters of 144 and 404 Squadronsfrom Davidstow Moor, which took off at6.45pm on June 6, 1944. At 8.15pm theformation spotted a U-boat, but it crashdived. About 40 minutes later, theformation sighted three Seetier Classenemy destroyers on a northerly course at15 knots. The Mosquitos climbed to give

124 D-DAY RAF

between the coasts of Cornwall and Brittany,and a third from west of the Scillies toUshant. From D-Day onwards, for a period ofsix weeks, twenty-four hours a day, CoastalCommand aircraft patrolled these belts onthe ‘endless chain’ principle. After dark theLeigh light carrying aircraft took over.

On D-Day there were 36 U-boats in Bayof Biscay ports. The submarines beganmoving out on the evening of June 6, butCoastal Command presented a solid wall ofair power to the enemy. The submarineswere harried almost from the hour theysailed, though at a cost to the aircrafthounding them. The U-boats carried heavy‘flak’ defences and, in the first 24 hours aftersailing, they shot down four low-flying anti-submarine aircraft, including a Wellingtonof No 407 Squadron, with the deaths of thesix crew members on board. Two Liberatorswere also lost. In the same period, however,U-955 was sunk and five more U-boats wereso damaged they had to return to port.

As the operations progressed so theenemy losses mounted and approximately24 U-boats were lost between D-Day and theend of June. Total losses to CoastalCommand in the month of June were 10aircraft and 80 airmen. Overall, during theseoperations, aircraft of Coastal Commandflew 2197 ASW sorties in the Channel andWestern Approaches; 72 enemy submarineswere sighted and 40 were attacked.

anti-Shipping StriKeS D-DayOnWarDSIn the last weeks before D-Day theBeaufighters flew patrols along the enemycoast in search of E-boats and other lightnaval craft that were operating from basesbetween Ijmuiden and Cherbourg. Suchpatrols marked the first stage of operationsdesigned to ensure that the Allied invasionfleets would not be molested by surfacecraft during their passage to Normandyfrom ports in southern England.

The main operations were planned tobegin on the eve of D-Day, when squadronsof Coastal Command and the Fleet Air Armwould co-operate with surface vessels of the

armed shipping with multiple-directiondiving attacks. This allowed the torpedo-carrying ‘Torbeaus’ to carry out theirultra-low-level run-in to their release pointthrough a reduced ‘flak’ barrage.Engagements between the Beaufighters ofthe Strike Wings and German surfacevessels must be classed as some of the mostdangerous and ferocious encounters of theentire war. The sky would be full of shells,bullets and missiles travelling in alldirections, with the opponents in full view ofeach other. Inevitably, casualties wereextremely heavy on both sides.

OperatiOn COrK – aSWafter D-DayThe Allied D-Day assault was unopposed byGerman naval forces, not least because totalsurprise had been achieved. In subsequentdays and weeks, however, the enemyattempted to interdict Allied shipping, butcame up against Coastal Command’s aircraftin the process. The anti-U-boat operation byCoastal Command was named OperationCORK and comprised continuous day andnight air patrols between southern Ireland,the Cornish Peninsula and Brest Peninsulawith the aim of preventing U-boats frombreaking into the Channel and coastalwaters around the South of England.

The plan was that a Coastal CommandASW aircraft would search with its radarevery part of the CORK area, from southernIreland to the mouth of the Loire, 20,000square miles, every 30 minutes, day andnight for an indefinite period. Thirtyminutes was chosen because a U-boat wasbelieved to use, in a crash dive, about asmuch battery energy as could be chargedinto the batteries in 30 minutes on thesurface. If a U-boat had to crash dive every30 minutes it would show no net gain fromcharging its batteries while on the surfacebetween dives. If it ever arrived in thefighting-zone it would be with its crewexhausted, little compressed air available tosurface and its batteries low on reserves.

Three patrol ‘belts’ were laid across thewestern end of the English Channel: two

German Navy Schnellboot S-17.

Coastal Command Beaufighters in a co-ordinated rocket attack against Germanshipping, summer 1944.

cover and the Beaufighters attacked withRocket Projectiles (RP) and cannon fireout of the sun. Strikes were observed onthe middle of the first ship which causedan explosion and fire; the ship stopped.

The rear vessel received numerousunderwater RP hits and sank. The otherwas hit by RPs, stopped and was leftsmoking. One Beaufighter was lost to theships’ anti-aircraft fire. On their return tobase, the formation saw a Ju 188shadowing six Allied destroyers. Two ofthe 248 Squadron Mosquitos attacked.Hits were observed on the cockpit of theJu 188, and the starboard engine caught

D-DAY RAF 125

fire. The enemy aircraft rolled on its backand spun steeply into the sea sheddingpieces of fuselage.

The overwhelming Allied air and navalpower entirely prevented daylight surfaceattacks on convoys proceeding across theEnglish Channel. They also limited thesuccess of nocturnal attacks. In the firstweek after D-Day, German E-boats managedto sink only three small freighters, two LST(Landing Ship Tank) transports and a half-dozen small craft; as the enemy surfacevessels were returning to their bases atdawn, they were harried by the CoastalCommand strike/attack aircraft.

The Coastal Command anti-shipping andstrike squadrons flew 1672 reconnaissanceand 315 strike sorties during the weeksfollowing D-Day.

The ResulTsAt the conclusion of three months ofmaritime operations, from D-Day onwards,the German naval units and merchantshipping in Western Europe had beenhammered unmercifully and theKreigsmarine had been unable to interferewith the Allied invasion fleets and convoys,largely due to Coastal Command’soperations against it.

‘Protecting the Flanks of the Invasion’. Six Bristol Beaufighters from 236 Squadron,part of RAFCoastal Command's North Coates Strike Wing,attacking Kriegsmarine E-boats(Schnellboots) near the French coast in June 1944.Hit-and-run raids by these fast Germantorpedo boats could have posed a significant threat to Allied shipping supporting the D-Day invasion and subsequently resupplying the Allied forces on the Continent.This picturedepicts a typical early morning operation to hunt for them.New Zealand Squadron Leader‘Bill’Tacon has led the attack with cannon and 25lb rocket projectiles in Beaufighter TF XNE746 ‘MB-Q’, sustaining some damage to the aircraft in what the squadron's operationsrecord book records as “intense and accurate” return fire.Artwork: Gary Eason

sea and homed in on the radar contact. Withtwo miles to go, he told Foster to switch theradar off in case the submarine haddetection equipment. As they reached theposition identified on radar, Moore spotted aU-boat off to one side, riding on the surface,clearly illuminated in the moonlight.Swinging round in a gentle turn and lettingdown to only 50ft he began the attack runfrom the submarine’s beam. Thesubmarine’s crew had been caught bysurprise and as the sailors ran towards theirlarge calibre ‘flak’ guns, the Liberator’s frontgunner opened up on them, hitting some.The big aircraft flashed over the conning

tower of the submarine, and the bomb-aimer, Warrant Officer Johnston ‘Jock’McDowell, peering through the low-levelMk III bomb sight, pressed down on therelease button.Six depth charges straddled the

U-boat perfectly, three on each side of it.Seconds later the rear gunner yelled: “OhGod, we’ve blown her clean out of thewater.” By the time Moore had hauled theLiberator back round, all that he could seewas the water still heaving from theexplosions, patches of black oil and somedark objects, which were probably bodies,floating among the slicks.His subsequent report grimly noted: “U-

boat was observed to lift out of the sea anddisintegrate and was then hidden from viewas plumes rose up to full height.” U-441 hadbeen sunk with the loss of all 51 sailors onboard, the day after her crew had shot downa sub-hunting Vickers Wellington with thedeaths of the six RAF crewmen.

128 D-DAY RAF

AttAck AgAinst U-441Suddenly, at 2.11am, the voice of the radaroperator, Warrant Officer William Foster,jolted the whole crew to action stations:“Contact dead ahead, range 12 miles.” Thecrew’s extensive training and regularpractice produced an immediate, calm andwell-drilled response. Moore took the bigfour-engine bomber down to 200ft over the

At 10.14pm on June 7, 1944,Flying Officer Kenneth OwenMoore (RCAF), known as‘Kayo’ to his friends, lifted hisheavy, anti-submarine

Consolidated B-24 Liberator GRMk.V, coded‘XB-G’ off the runway at St Eval, nearNewquay, Cornwall. Twenty-one-year-old‘Kayo’ Moore was the captain of a crew ofnine other airmen (six of them Canadians)who were setting off on a long OperationCORK patrol. They were playing their part inclosing the English Channel’s south westernapproaches to German U-boats from the Bayof Biscay and, thereby, protecting the flanksof the Allied invasion shipping steaming backand forth between England and Normandy.By now Moore had some 30 operations

under his belt and had already beencredited with crippling a U-boat in action inMarch 1944. The long-range, 224 SquadronLiberator he was flying could carry aweapon load of 5000lb and had a ferry rangeof 3300 miles. Carrying a normal munitionsload of depth charges, the typical sortieduration for a Coastal Command Liberatoron an Operation CORK sortie was 13½hours. With an air-to-surface radar fittedand the huge Leigh Light under thestarboard wing, the aircraft had a genuineand effective night-hunting capability. Theweather in the early hours of June 8 wasideal for ‘sub’ hunting. It was a warm night,the stormy weather of D-Day haddissipated, the sky was full of stars and themoon was bright, laying a silver beamacross the calm sea.

“Sighted Two Subs, Sank Same”

Flying Officer ‘Kayo’Moore DSO RCAF in the cockpit of a B-24 Liberator.

B-24 Liberator GR Mk.V, BZ877,‘2-Q’of 86 Sqn, the type flown by Moore and his crew on June8, 1944,and which sank two U-boats on one sortie.

AttAck AgAinst U-331Liberator ‘XB-G’ resumed the patrol and 30minutes later, the highly improbableoccurred. At a range of six miles, just off thecoast of Ushant, France, a second radarcontact was obtained. At a range of two anda half miles the crew spotted another U-boaton the surface, illuminated in themoonlight, but in a position unsuitable foran attack. Moore muscled the Liberatorround in a steep turn, descending to 50ft toattack from the submarine’s starboard

vertically out of the water. Then it slid downinto the sea stern first and was gone. On thenext pass over the spot, the Liberator’sLeigh Light illuminated three inflatabledinghies crowded with sailors, floating amida cluster of debris on a thick black oil slick.This U-boat was U-331; four of thesubmarine’s crew died but the other 47survived.

AftermAthFollowing this second attack and victory,Moore told his wireless operator to send alaconic message to base, which simply read:“Sighted two subs, sank same.” This wasthe war’s only double submarine kill by asingle aircraft during one patrol. For hisgallantry and skill, Moore was awarded theDistinguished Service Order (DSO)effective from August 22, 1944; a UnitedStates Silver Star also followed. For theirpart in the attacks, radar operator, WarrantOfficer William Foster, and bomb aimer,‘Jock’ McDowell, received the DFC, whilethe flight engineer, Sergeant J Hammer, wasawarded a DFM.

The RAF and RCAF public relationsofficers and the Press were ecstatic at theachievement of Moore and his crew; theywere almost equally delighted to learn thatthe crew always flew with a good luckmascot, a stuffed teddy bear named‘Dinty’, which was dressed in a miniaturebattle dress, with Canada shoulder flashes,an observer brevet and patent leatherflying boots!

D-DAY RAF 129

beam. This second attack was almost arepeat of the first, except that there was‘flak’ from the U-boat in an exchange of firewith the Liberator’s gunners. The aircraft’sdepth charges straddled the submarine, twoon one side and four on the other.

This time however, the U-boat seemedonly to drop a little at the stern and listslightly to starboard. Then mid-uppergunner Don Griese shouted: “She’s goingdown,” and as Moore banked round he sawthe U-boat’s bow sticking up almost

U-441 returning to port in Brest in happier times for her crew.All 51 lost their lives when the U-boat was sunk on June 8, 1944.

A German U-boat crew franticallyabandoning their submarine, which isdown at the stern and moments fromsinking.

‘Kayo’ Moore (right) with his arm round theshoulders of his bomb aimer ‘Jock’McDowell, in front of their Liberator.

Some other members of Moore’s 224 Sqn crew with ‘Dinty’ the mascot. From left they are FgOff Gibb (navigator), Fg Off Ketcheson (second pilot),WOs Davison, Foster, Greise andWerbeski (all WOpAGs).

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FlyingFrom

FranceAirfield Construction and the RAF Regiment in Normandy

48 ROYAL AIR FORCE SALUTE 2014

48-53_Airfield ConstructionPE.indd 48 09/05/2014 09:54

Air superiority was vital to the success of the Normandy invasion. It allowed Allied aircraft to pound German defences,

infrastructure and reinforcements. It protected ground troops and, most importantly, the masses of vulnerable shipping, from German air attack. Operating from bases in southern England, Allied fighters and fighter-bombers cast a protective umbrella over the invasion fleet and beachheads, but flying across the English Channel wasted valuable time and fuel. For air superiority to be maintained, it was crucial that advanced landing grounds (ALGs) be established in Normandy as soon as possible.

This was the job of the RAF’s Servicing Commandos and Airfield Construction Service (ACS). They built and maintained landing grounds from scratch in the fields of Normandy, often within sight and even mortar-range of the frontlines, and later they repaired captured German airfields.

The RAF Servicing Commando Units (SCUs) were specially trained for such frontline work. Formed in 1943, the units grew out of the RAF’s experience in North Africa, where it had been found that ground crews at advanced landing grounds needed not only technical skills, but also had to be highly mobile and to know how to look after themselves. As well as training in aircraft handling and repair, the Servicing Commandos were given extensive combat and fieldwork training to prepare them for their role.

Airfield Construction ServiceThe Airfield Construction Service had also been formed in 1943, to take responsibility for building and repairing RAF stations, a job which had at least partly been done up to then by the army’s Royal Engineers. From the beginning, it had kept one eye on the eventual need to

support landings in France.Each ACS wing had three construction squadrons,

supported by a plant squadron of heavy

machinery, and smaller specialist flights,

such as a quarrying flight and a well-boring

flight. Efforts were made to keep these units as light and as mobile as possible, but there was only so much that could be done in these areas while maintaining their abilities.

Therefore, an ACS Field Force Wing was established, with just two construction squadrons, a construction flight, a workshop flight (for making or repairing equipment) and a field plant flight. Smaller and comparatively light, this unit was designed specifically to operate in the narrow confines of the expected beachhead, and be able to keep up with the rapidly moving frontlines.

The first RAF personnel landed in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. They included beach units and advanced parties to help plan the RAF’s next moves. On June 7, four SCUs landed on the beaches, then drove inland to begin work at a number of sites. Aerial reconnaissance had identified many potential airfields in advance of the landings, and the Royal Engineers had already begun surveying likely sites, clearing mines, crops, undergrowth and obstructions, and levelling the ground. They also began to lay surfaces for runways, taxiways and dispersal points.

The surfaces could be tarred canvas, or coconut matting with a metal mesh over the top, although these were found too fragile for the heavy use they later came under. Steel mesh tracking was more durable and pierced (or perforated) steel planking (PSP) was even more hardwearing, but it was also much heavier and in the early weeks of the invasion every ounce of weight being shipped across the English Channel mattered.

Working AirfieldsAs the shape of each runway began to emerge from the fields, the SCUs turned them into working airfields. Camouflaged tents were set up for use as living areas and workshops. Protective sites were dug for airfield defence, air raid shelters, and to protect the precious stocks of fuel, ammunition and spare parts carried by the

Royal Air Force Servicing Commando Units landed in Normandy on June 7, 1944 and the first advanced landing ground opened on the 8th. Stuart Hadaway of the Air Historical Branch (RAF) reveals this little known episode in the RAF’s history

IN SUPPORT

Ground crew refuel and re-arm one of

the first Supermarine Spitfires to land in France, a Mk IX of 441 Sqn, RCAF.

The aircraft put down at the advanced landing ground at

B.3/St Croix-sur-Mer, Normandy, on the afternoon of June 10,

1944. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright

2014

ROYAL AIR FORCE SALUTE 2014 49



IN SUPPORT

Commandos. After all, many of these sites were within shelling, mortar, or even small arms range of the frontlines.

Lorries would bring replacement stores up from the beachhead on a daily basis, with an occasional special airlift also taking place; when stockpiles ran low in the middle of June, 30 Douglas Dakotas flew 75 tons of 500lb bombs into Normandy. This kept operations going until a further 1,750 tons of bombs was landed by sea.

Mobile control vehicles, equipped with radio transmitters and transportable flare paths, were used to provide air traffic control. The first to land, on D-Day, ran over a mine and the vehicle and equipment were destroyed. The crew escaped unharmed, however, and managed to set up a temporary system using equipment salvaged from crashed aircraft. A replacement eventually arrived and, within weeks, every airfield in Normandy had its own control system. The Flying Control Sections also included ambulances and fire tenders to deal with crashed aircraft.

On June 8 the first new airstrip, designated B.1, opened at Asnelles-sur-Mer as an emergency landing ground for damaged aircraft that might not be able to make it back across the English Channel. The next day, four more airstrips had been set up for RAF use, by which time the Service had more than 3,500 men and in excess of 800 vehicles operating in the beachheads.

By June 20, this had risen to 13,000 men and 3,200 vehicles, operating six advanced landing grounds with combined stockpiles of 3,000 tons of petrol, 2,500Impgal (11,365 litres) of oil, 500,000 rounds of ammunition and 1,000 cylinders of oxygen and hydrogen. As well as the SCUs and ACS units, there was also a Repair and Salvage Unit to patch up badly damaged aircraft, and two Air Stores Parks to receive, hold and then issue stores as needed by the airfields.

To begin with, the advanced landing grounds provided a temporary base for aircraft operating from southern England. Squadrons would arrive in the morning and fly from the ALGs during the day, being rearmed and refuelled as necessary, while any minor damage could also be patched up. Three squadrons usually operated from one field, supported by half an SCU and often flying more than 100 sorties each day.

Left: Airmen of 3206 SCU gather wheat for transportation from a dispersal area needed for aircraft at B.5/Camilly on July 29, 1944. Behind them, armourers attend to Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX MK940/ZF-B, of 308 (Polish) Squadron, which had flown in from Ford, Hampshire. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

RAF airmen watch while a bulldozer towing a scraper levels ground as work commences on the construction of the first Allied airstrip in Normandy, on June 8,1944. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

Left: Dust was a primary issue on the ALGs, reducing visibility and damaging engines. Several suppression methods were employed, one of which was to spray a mix of used engine oil and water. This cart was among many requisitioned from Bermondsey Borough Council for work with the Royal Engineers. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

Three bulldozers and scrapers, working in echelon, level the area to be used in the construction of a new, all-weather hard runway at B.10/Plumetot airfield, in July 1944. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014



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At night, the squadrons returned to England, until June 15. By then, some of the airfields were deemed safe enough for aircraft to spend the night without the risk of being destroyed by German aircraft, artillery, or counter-attack. On that day, No. 144 Wing (Nos 441, 442 and 443 Squadrons) landed their Supermarine Spitfires at airfield B.3, near St Croix-sur-Mer, and stayed. By June 29, a total of nine wings, with supporting units, were based at ten airfields in Normandy.

Improvisation And ExpansionMany problems had to be overcome by the SCUs and ACS. Some, such as shelling, snipers and rough living conditions, had been predicted and prepared for. Others needed improvisation on the spot. One major problem was the dust kicked up by airfield activity. This proved highly abrasive and began damaging aircraft engines. The army tried spraying water on the runways, but this evaporated in minutes. The ACS instead sprayed oil from the boiler of a beached Royal Navy destroyer, and this proved much more effective at keeping the dust down until filters could be fitted to aircraft engines.

By the end of June the ACS increasingly took over from the Royal Engineers in clearing ground and laying runways. However, it was also frequently diverted off to support the army. As well as being used on airfields, ACS heavy equipment was used to clear rubble and build or repair roads and bridges for the advancing British forces, particularly at Conde and in Caen.

As the breakout from Normandy gathered pace, the ACS kept up with the advancing forces, building airfields from scratch as it went. Only in early September did former German airfields begin to be occupied and extensive repair work was often needed to make them operational. By early November, after the Allies had advanced more than 400 miles (644km) across France, Belgium and Holland, the ACS and SCUs had helped in building and operating some 75 airfields, and had proved crucial in maintaining the air superiority that was vital to victory.

A pair of RAF Mustangs takes off from an ALG with a Spitfire Mk IX parked off to the right. The ALGs allowed aircraft to be turned around close to the battlefield, increasing sortie rates and helping ensure close air support was available. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

Right: A load of recently delivered prefabricated bituminous surfacing (PBS) is stored for future use at B.10/Plumetot in July. The strips were laid under a tarmac surface to provide weatherproofing. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

Middle right: Members of an ACS lay square mesh track to create the runway for the first British-built strip at B.19/Lingevres on August 7. The airstrip was occupied just six days later, when Spitfires of the four squadrons of 125 Wing – Nos 132; 441 and 453 RCAF; and 602 – landed on its 5,000ft (1,524m) runway. The scene looks serene, but construction of these temporary strips was often close to enemy lines and shelling was frequent. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

Right: A corner of the ‘plant park’ at Lingevres, Normandy, showing some of the heavy machinery used to build a new airfield (B.19) in less than a week. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014



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The role of the Allied air forces during Overlord was to support the British 2nd and US 1st Armies of General Sir Bernard Montgomery’s 21st Army Group, with 2TAF primarily supporting British and Canadian ground forces and comprising Nos 83 and 84 (Composite) Groups, No. 2 (Bomber) Group and No. 85 (Base) Group.

From the earliest stages of preparation in summer 1943, it was intended that the Royal Air Force Regiment should be included in the landings and the Regiment’s Wing Commander CW Mayhew was included on the planning staff for Overlord at Norfolk House in St James’s Square, London. The Regiment’s roles were to provide light anti-aircraft (LAA) protection and local ground defence, in coordination with the army, to the airfields captured or being constructed in the beachhead.

Colonel RL Preston, Coldstream Guards, Commander, RAF Regiment, and his staff of No. 83 Group, RAF, sailed with the first assault troops, but he was unable to land until 09:00 on D-Day + 1 at ‘Juno’ Beach. They were soon joined by 1304 and 1305 Mobile Wing HQs, which arrived the same day, suffering casualties from a mine in the run-in to the beaches. The Mobile Wing HQs were to control whatever mix of squadrons was deemed necessary for particular operations, the most common being a rifle squadron and an LAA squadron.

Numbers 2834, 2809 and 2819 LAA Squadrons also disembarked, 2834 Sqn having been bombed twice during a night raid by enemy aircraft. One gunner was killed and another seriously wounded. With the need to land 25,000 troops alone on ‘Juno’ beach, there were long delays due to the lack of ferries to transport the airmen ashore.

Squadrons AshoreBy late on June 7, however, all three LAA squadrons had moved to their airfields. At Brazenville, No. 2834 Sqn had six guns in action by 23:30 that night. By the end of June 8, the three squadrons were deployed across Brazenville, St Croix-sur-Mer and Beny-sur-Mer.

A further two LAA squadrons, Nos 2817 and 2876, landed after their convoy had been attacked by ‘E’ Boats off the coast near Le Havre. The LCT carrying their vehicles and guns was sunk, three airmen were killed and

three seriously wounded. Number 2817 went to Camilly and No. 2876 to Coulombs. The build-up continued apace, and by June 18 there were two Mobile Wing HQs, and ten LAA squadrons deployed across ten airfields in the beachhead.

By June 12, British and American forces had linked up and the port of Cherbourg had been captured. The Allies now set about enlarging their foothold and defeating counter-attacks around Caen and the Brittany peninsula. Enemy aircraft appeared in numbers over the airfields throughout June and July.

In one instance, 50 aircraft attacked Matragny airfield and by the end of the month the Regiment LAA squadrons had claimed 14 enemy aircraft destroyed and 13 damaged. This was only limited by an order to halt all AA fire, since Allied gunners had shot down several friendly aircraft. An enquiry exonerated the RAF Regiment.

Airfield DefenceWith the lack of field/rifle squadrons, the LAA squadrons also had responsibility for local ground defence and anti-sabotage measures for airfields and, as the beachhead expanded, the airfield construction groups moved out to construct new landing grounds. This was done under the protection of the Regiment’s 40mm Bofors guns.

Some of the forward airfields were being shelled and No. 2834 LAA Sqn at Christot found itself only 3 miles (4.8km) from the enemy gun line. Snipers were also a frequent problem. In one instance, fighting patrols of No. 2876 Sqn were formed to drive out enemy troops harassing airfield operations. Although fighting off air attacks, and patrolling the airfield perimeter, the Regiment airmen were also called on to assist with refuelling and rearming aircraft.

While the LAA squadrons had been busy dealing with enemy air attacks, the rifle and armoured car squadrons had been held back in Britain until late July and early August. Seventeen squadrons and nine Mobile Wing HQs were then despatched to France. Two rifle squadrons (a rifle squadron consisted of a squadron HQ, three rifles flights and a 3in mortar flight with four weapons) and an armoured car squadron arrived in late July as reinforcements for No. 83 Group. The remainder went to 84 Gp, which was allocated eight LAA, two rifle and two armoured car squadrons.

Three rifle squadrons were allocated for special duties with Nos 2 and 85 Groups, bringing the total RAF Regiment deployment in France to 19 Wing HQs, 18 LAA, eight rifle and four armoured car squadrons. The rifle and armoured car squadrons were employed in a number of tasks, much of it of an engineering nature, including assembling RPs, breaking down and re-belting ammunition for fightes, laying surfacing materials on new strips, constructing aircraft dispersals, mine clearance and escorting the three airfield construction groups. A rifle flight of No. 2726 Sqn lifted out and neutralised 115 ‘Teller’ and 20 ‘S’ type mines without a single casualty from the recently captured Villers-Bocage.

ATI EscortFollowing the breakout, the RAF Regiment used fast moving detachments of armoured car and rifle flights to escort RAF Air Tactical

The RAF Regiment in Normandy: June–August 1944 RAF Regiment gunners make use of a captured

German MG34 machine-gun soon after D-Day.

© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

Humber armoured cars with 2806 Armoured Car Squadron in Eindhoven, as the Allies pushed into the Netherlands. © UK

MoD Crown Copyright 2014



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Intelligence (ATI) teams investigating crashed enemy aircraft, captured airfields and radar installations. After the launch of the British Operation Bluecoat on July 30, an ATI team was dispatched with a flight of No. 2806 Armoured Car Squadron and a rifle flight from No. 2726 Rifle Squadron to examine equipment in a radar station located on Mont Pincon.

It was not known if the enemy was in occupation and the airmen came under mortar and shell fire as they approached the crest. Assisted by a guide from the Worcestershire Regiment, they entered the station. A counter-attack then caused their withdrawal and it was not until three days later that they reoccupied the site and set about de-lousing the area of mines and booby traps, with the assistance of four sappers. Spasmodic shelling continued and a sniper gave trouble, but was located and eliminated.

A few days later, following up on a Canadian attack, two flights of No. 2827 Rifle Squadron and a flight of No. 2806 Armoured Car Squadron escorted an ATI team to a captured V-1 installation in a quarry at Haut Mesnil near Caen. The armoured car squadron’s Humber vehicles moved in the day after the attack and a complete search was made, punctuated by mortar, shell and small arms fire. The force withdrew without casualty on August 11, only to see the quarry overrun by a counter-attack.

With the successful Allied breakout from Normandy in mid-August, the RAF Regiment deployed detachments of armoured car and rifle flights to move onto captured airfields. A flight of No. 2798 Rifle Squadron entered Paris with the first Allied elements on August 25, 1944 and, assisted by the French Maquis, secured the Longchamps racecourse as a possible landing ground. Meanwhile, another flight was sent with an ATI team to investigate and occupy 78 potential V-1 launch sites located around the city.

By September 1944, with the advance reaching the Netherlands, there were Regiment armoured car and rifle squadrons positioned on the frontline alongside army troops. Other units were involved in protecting RAF signals units during the Ardennes offensive and had an interesting time protecting their charges from encirclement during the German offensive that became known as the Battle of the Bulge.

The LAA squadrons continued their vital work as the Allies advanced into Germany, and No. 2875 Sqn was credited with destroying the first jet fighter, a Messerschmitt Me 262, by ground fire. By December 31, 1944 there were 16 RAF Regiment wing HQs and 45 squadrons on the Continent. As the war in Europe drew to a close, RAF Regiment units played a major role in taking the surrender of the German forces in northern Germany and Scandinavia.

Extracted from Centurion Journal 2013, by Dr Nigel Warwick, Official RAF Regiment Historian

The RAF Regiment in Normandy: June–August 1944

Above: A mechanical excavator operated by 4854 Quarrying Flight at a quarry between Carpiquet and Caen in Normandy, releases stone for the repair and construction of runways and airfields. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

Right: A groundcrew man works on the electrical connections of a stockpile of 60lb RPs. The weapons were almost certainly destined for use on Typhoons. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

Right: Men of the Pioneer Corps, an army unit providing labour for light engineering tasks, caulk PBS during construction of the hard runway at B.10/Plumetot airfield. A ‘fairweather strip’ was located off to the left. RAF (AHB)/© UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014

Below: A Hawker Typhoon of 198 Squadron at B.10/Plumetot in July 1944. The blast in the distance was the result of a bomb disposal squad ‘de-

lousing’ the airfield ahead of construction work. Mines and other enemy ordnance could easily damage or destroy important plant. RAF (AHB)/©

UK MoD Crown Copyright 2014


63JUNE 2014www.britainatwar.com

FOR THE Second Tactical Air Force, including its Typhoon squadrons, the build up to D-Day,

as well as the events during and after the landings, was unquestionably a busy period. The Typhoon pilots were tasked with attacking a wide variety of targets in northern France; targets which included radar stations, road and rail communication facilities, and No-ball, or V-weapon, sites.

By 6 June 1944, eighteen squadrons with around 350 Hawker Typhoons, the majority of which were equipped with rockets, were

available for close support missions over Normandy. Indeed, the lead up to, during and after D-Day was an extremely hectic

period – as Mark Hillier discovered from the flying log book of one Typhoon pilot,

Pilot Officer Brian Spragg.

For one of the Hawker Typhoon pilots, 257 (Burma) Squadron’s Pilot Officer Brian Spragg, just how busy a period it was can be ascertained from the entries in his flying log book. Born at Weedon in Northamptonshire in 1923, and educated at Daventry Grammar School, Brian had joined the RAF in September 1941 having attended St. Andrew’s University. After his initial training, Spragg was sent

TYPHOONS TYPHOONS A D-DAY PILOT'S LOG BOOK

OVER THE BEACHES

An artist’s depiction of Hawker Typhoons IBs in action over Normandy which is based around Airfix’s remarkable 1:24 scale Hawker Typhoon model. For more information on the kit, or the others in Airfix’s range, please visit: www.airfix.com

For one of the Hawker Typhoon pilots, 257 (Burma) Squadron’s

TYPHOONS OVER THE BEACHESOVER THE BEACHES

JUNE 201464 www.britainatwar.com

TYPHOONS OVER THE BEACHESA D-Day Pilot's Log Book

to No.5 British Flight Training School in Florida to continue his flying training. Upon his return to the UK he was posted to an Operational Training Unit flying Hurricanes. Finally, in October 1943 Spragg was posted to 257 (Burma) Squadron which was, at that time, based at RAF Warmwell in Dorset.

By the eve of D-Day, Spragg and his fellow pilots were aware that the Allied invasion of France was imminent. Even 257 Squadron’s Operations Record Book (ORB) notes this fact on 4 June 1944: “By this morning all aircraft of the wing bore the black and white stripes which convey to all that ‘something’s cooking’. Flying was confined to quick low circuits.”

The squadron’s aerial offensive was, however, resumed the next day: “Aircraft of this squadron, plus eight of No.193 Squadron, continued the air assault against radar targets when they dived and low-level bombed installations near ST. VALERY. Results were moderate … T/A

[Target Area] was sprayed with 8,700 cannon-shells.”

For Brian Spragg, his log book notes three flights on 5 June 1944. The first was a circuit; the second, an air sea rescue patrol. Whilst 146 Wing was returning from the attack on St Valery, 193 Squadron’s Squadron Leader David Ross DFC was observed to bale out fifteen miles from Sandown on the Isle of Wight. He was last seen trying to climb into his dinghy. Spragg (who was at the controls of Typhoon MN757) and his fellow pilots, in successive patrols, hunted in vain for the missing pilot

until a mist which descended over the water led to the search being abandoned.

Spragg’s final sortie of the day, for which he and seven other Typhoons took off at 19.30 hours, was to attack a German headquarters near Carentan. The mission was, he noted, “abortive”. In his log book he also added the comment, “Didn’t bomb”.

“Coming back,” Spragg later informed the historian Norman Franks, “we went over a ship that was keel-up in the water and there were a lot of chaps swimming about in the sea. We were on strict R/T silence and couldn’t even call up and tell anybody. It was about 20-30 miles off St Catherine’s Point, off the Isle of Wight.”1

The scale of the naval and maritime activity in the English Channel that day was obvious to the Typhoon pilots, as another member of 257 Squadron, Flying Officer S.J. Eaton, later recalled: “We suddenly became aware of all these boats, hundreds and hundreds of boats, as far as

bore the black and white stripes which bore the black and white stripes which hunted in vain for the missing pilot

to No.5 British Flight Training School in [Target Area] was sprayed with 8,700

until a mist which descended over the

Flight Lieutenant Brian Spragg pictured beside a Boeing-Stearman PT-17 trainer at

an airfield in Florida during 1942.

JUNE 201464

A pair of 257 Squadron Hawker Typhoon Mark IBs are pictured waiting on standby, whilst attended by their ground crews, at RAF Warmwell, Dorset during 1944. The furthest aircraft is JP494, coded ‘FM-D’. (WW2IMAGES)

TOP LEFT: Pilot Officer Brian Spragg’s log book entries for May 1944, during which month he attacked a variety of targets in northern France.


Airfield … all squadron pilots were told to attend a large mess tent where a covered blackboard was set up. We were then informed by the senior officer present that tomorrow, the 6th of June, would be D-Day. The blackboard was then unveiled to reveal the proposed landings, etc. We were told to turn in early, as we should be on call from approximately 4 a.m. the next morning. Needless to say, the roar of aircraft going overhead towards France made sleep almost impossible in our tents.”3

D-DAYThe pilots of 146 Wing awoke on the morning of D-Day to the sounds of the invasion underway. “We all took an early breakfast,” continued Trott, “and reported to our various dispersals, where the ground crew were already running up the Sabre engines of our Typhoons and then refuelling them while we awaited the first calls to briefing.”

The pilots of 257 Squadron were equally keen to play their part in Operation Overlord, but they would have to wait until the evening. The honour of being the first Typhoon units to go into action


Airfield … all squadron pilots were told to

A D-Day Pilot's Log Book

– 6th June 1944 – was ‘D’ Day. Maps and data of the invasion plan were displayed and the assault plan revealed by the W.C. … Suitable toasts were partaken of, and the meeting closed in an atmosphere of eager anticipation of the ‘big party’.”

Flying Officer Ken Trott, a 197 Squadron Typhoon pilot, was another who recalled the build-up on 5 June 1944, having also being tasked with attacking targets in northern France. “The Channel was covered with boats of various kinds,” he recalled, “a fantastic sight and it seemed impossible that the Germans did not know what we were up to.

“On our return to Needs Oar Point

the eye could see. It was an incredible picture and our Wing Leader, Reg Baker, called up and ordered R/T silence, ‘… not another word until you land’.”2

“Late in the evening,” continued 257 Squadron’s ORB, “all the pilots and technical people were assembled in the Officers’ Mess. W.C. [Wing Commander Ernest] Baker informed us that tomorrow

– 6th June 1944 – was ‘D’ Day. Maps and – 6th June 1944 – was ‘D’ Day. Maps and data of the invasion plan were displayed data of the invasion plan were displayed and the assault plan revealed by the W.C. … Suitable toasts were partaken of, and the meeting closed in an atmosphere of eager anticipation of the ‘big party’.”

Typhoon pilot, was another who recalled the eye could see. It was an incredible

Personnel of 146 Wing pictured in June 1944, at about the time of the D-Day landings. Pilot Officer Brian Spragg is circled. This formation was made up of the following Typhoon units – Nos. 193, 197, 257, 263 and 266 Squadrons.

ABOVE and TOP RIGHT: Brian Spragg entries in his log book for June 1944, including that for D-Day, and, on the right, those for July.



fell to three Canadian squadrons of 143 Wing which were over the beachheads as the first landing craft charged in towards the shore.

“Der Tag – but ours,” noted 257’s ORB. “Not such a heavy programme as anticipated, but almost all our pilots ranged over the beachhead once.”4 The first six pilots to take off, Brian Spragg included, did so at 17.05 hours.

Led by Squadron Leader R.H. Fokes DFC, DFM, the seven Typhoons headed south over the Channel. In due course they came under the control of a ship which, code-named Baldwin, was positioned off the French coast. Acting on Baldwin’s instructions, they attacked two tanks four miles north-east of Caen which they raked with cannon fire. In his log book, Spragg noted that they had attacked tanks, vehicles and cattle!

“They were on the road but from height we couldn’t really tell exactly,” Spragg informed Norman Franks. “By the time we got down – spraying – we found that ‘they’ were cattle. It was all of a bit of an anti-climax for we’d been up since 3.45 a.m. waiting for something to happen.”

Two further patrols were duly

completed by 257 Squadron, the other sorties taking off at 19.45 hours and 21.40 hours respectively. The ORB states: “A fairly successful bag of assorted transport including tanks, trucks and staff cars were ‘britched up’ and a tented Hun camp was strafed. The occupants of one staff car tumbled out and sought shelter in a chateau. This was promptly demolished by a direct hit with a 500-lb bomb. There was little flak opposition in all these prangs.” For his part, in his log book Brian Spragg made the following entry: “Invasion – Allied forces landing in France from Cabourg

to Montebourg. Beachheads well established. D-Day!!”

Another of 257 Squadron’s pilots airborne on D-Day was Flight Sergeant A. Shannon. “On D-Day we went to Caen and I clobbered two trucks and one staff car,” he later recalled. “We were a little over-awed by the occasion, and by the forecast of events. I was rather set by Wing Commander Baker who got us all together on the evening of the 5th and said the possibility is that I won’t be with you here tomorrow – but it’s going to be a great day for all of us. Circumstances rather overtook us and we were quiet rather than thrilled or emotionally affected by it, more or less reflective. We went to bed early but we didn’t see a lot on D-Day because it was hazy. We saw the lines of ships stretching across the Channel and the movement on the other side, the smoke and haze rising.”5

New Zealander Typhoon pilot Desmond Scott recalls the efforts of 123 Wing (198 and 609 squadrons) which flew out of Thorney Island. It was “extremely busy hammering away in support of the Allied landing; but in view of the confused state of the bridgehead it was almost impossible to learn exactly what was happening. Several pilots had been shot down by

completed by 257 Squadron, the other to Montebourg. Beachheads well

Two further patrols were duly

BELOW: Training complete, Flight Lieutenant Brian Spragg is photographed sitting in the cockpit of a 257 Squadron Typhoon.

BELOW: A weather-beaten Typhoon with underwing invasion stripes gets bombed-up, presumably in the summer of 1944. (WW2IMAGES)

Armourers load rockets on to a Typhoon in the summer of 1944. (WW2IMAGES)



Typhoons, Mustangs and Thunderbolts, all heading for the peace and security of their home bases on the south coast of England. For us it was the end of D-Day; for many it had been the end of a lifetime. Tomorrow would be D+1, and for our pilots more targets of interdiction.”6

On D-Day, the Typhoons of the Second Tactical Air Force flew over 400 sorties at the cost of eight aircraft and pilots. Four of those had been shot down by the Luftwaffe, whilst the others had succumbed to flak or debris thrown up from the bombing.7

THE OFFENSIVE CONTINUESD+1 dawned with a solid cloud base over the North Coast of France from 1,500 feet to 3,000 feet. Indeed, Brian Spragg recorded in his logbook that the “weather was pretty poor”. For his flight sortie of the day, an armed reconnaissance, he took off from Needs Oar Point at 10.05

flak ... The squadrons had destroyed their first tanks in an attack on two enemy road columns. Southwest of Caen many thin-skinned vehicles had been destroyed. Until conditions on the bridgehead had stabilized, thus establishing a pronounced bombline, our activities were mainly confined to areas southeast of the main assault zone.

“It was not until the evening that I was able to head for the Normandy beaches, and was just in time to join a sky train … that reached out southwards from Selsey Bill as far as the eye could see. Hundreds of four-engined bombers were strung in a narrow stream … all bound for the Normandy bridgehead.”

Overhauling the slower aircraft in the massive aerial armada, Scott was soon over Normandy. There was no shortage of targets.

“Two motorcycles and what appeared to be a staff car were racing along a road near Cagny, and I swept down and raked them with cannon fire. All three came to a sudden and dusty stop, but I did not see what became of them … All along the fringe of the bay [near Ouistreham], as far as visibility would permit, I could see smoke, fire and explosions. Inland some areas were completely smudged out by evil clouds of smoke. Underneath it great flashes of fire would erupt and burst like bolts of orange lightning. Normandy was like a huge, fire-rimmed boiling cauldron …

“Like homing seabirds, many aircraft accompanied me back across the Channel. At various distances were lone Spitfires, and here and there a lumbering four-engined bomber, ragged packs of

hours. As the seven aircraft approached the beachhead they were diverted by their control ship to investigate possible targets on the road south-west of Caen that runs through to Villers-Bocage.

As the Typhoons flew over the French countryside, they spotted some German motor transport. In the moments that followed a half-track and a truck were attacked with bombs and cannon fire. The outcome, noted Brian in his log book, was “vehicles left burning”. A concentration of troops was also sighted but the control ship indicated that they might be Allied personnel, so no attack was made. The seven pilots returned to Needs Oar Point having been airborne for 1 hour 45 minutes.

There were some 493 Typhoon sorties flown on D+1. As a result of stronger German resistance, fifteen Typhoons were shot down.

The following day Spragg took part in another armed reconnaissance. The four Typhoons involved, having taken off at 15.30 hours, headed just to the south of the beachheads, patrolling from Saint-Lô onwards to Caumont. Locating tanks which they believed to be Panzer IVs, the pilots rolled in to attack with bombs. One tank immediately blew up, whilst the other was left smoking. Three German trucks were also attacked, this time with cannon, and though the ORB reports that strikes were seen, “no conclusive results could be observed”. Spragg recorded in his log book: “2Pz Mk IVs destroyed, 3 MT damaged. Bags of joy.”

Though the weather on 9 June 1944, prevented operations, many of the sorties flown by 257 Squadron over

TOP: Wing Commander R.E.P. Brooker, the No.123 Wing Leader, takes off from RAF Thorney Island in his Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB, MN570 ‘B’, to carry out a sortie over the Normandy beachhead in company with seven more Typhoons of 198 Squadron. They attacked and destroyed several German armoured vehicles on the Caen-Falaise road. (IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM; FLM3107)

ABOVE RIGHT: Even whilst the battle was raging in Normandy, there was still training to be undertaken.

LEFT: A post-war photograph of Wing Commander Brian Spragg DFC. (ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE)

Typhoons, Mustangs and Thunderbolts, TOP: Wing



NOTES 1. Norman Franks, Typhoon Attack (Stackpole,

Mechanicsburg, 2010), p.115-6.2. Ibid, p.115.3. Quoted on: www.winkton.net4. TNA Air 27/1528.5. Norman Franks, Ibid, p.116.6. Desmond Scott, Fighter Pilot (Arrow, London,

1982), pp.109-10.7. Chris Thomas, Typhoon Wings of 2nd TAF

1943–45.

the next few days continued to be directed by the control ship code-named Baldwin. The actual targets included troop concentrations, motor transport, tanks, and railway or road centres. At the same time, losses amongst the Typhoon units continued to mount.

On 12 June, D+6, seven 257 Squadron pilots undertook an armed reconnaissance led by Battle of Britain veteran Squadron Leader Ronald Fokes DFC, DFM. Splitting into two sections, the Typhoons ranged out across the area between Falaise and the south of Caen. The ORB notes that six German vehicles were hit, four of which were left smoking. One staff car was also left in flames. One section spotted and attacked some railway wagons loaded with tanks near St Pierre: “Two bombs dropped with unobserved results.”

At one point, however, Squadron Leader Fokes’ aircraft was hit by flak eight miles south of Caen. He was seen to bale out at 1,000 feet. Flying Officer “Paddy” Carr, Fokes’ wingman, was orbiting overhead and saw 257’s CO hit the ground hard, after which he lay motionless in tall grass near his aircraft.

Fokes’ Typhoon was not the only one to be hit. Having also suffered flak damage, Carr managed to land at airstrip B3 near Sainte-Croix-sur-Mer.

The following day Spragg was also hit by German fire during a sortie that he described in his log book as “low level bombing and strafing south of Caen”. A total of eleven aircraft led by Wing Commander Baker were briefed to attack a German HQ near a wood south west of Troarn. All aircraft successfully dropped their bombs in the target area from heights of 2,500 feet down to 1,500 feet, following up the attack with strafing runs. Flak was noted as being “meagre” but Spragg was unfortunate and records in his log book being “hit by flak, wing

tip blown off”. Spragg was the first to return, landing back at Needs Oar Point at 18.30 hours.

On the evening of 20 June 1944, 257 Squadron was tasked with attacking a tunnel on the railway line south-west of Pont l'Éveque. “We attacked the target in two waves,” states the ORB, “one wave against each end of the tunnel. The results were considered very good; several bombs going through the tunnel mouth at S.W. end and two near misses at N.E. end successfully closed the tunnel. All attacks were carried out at zero feet.” Spragg noted in his log book that he had “lobbed bombs in tunnel”. The attack was, he added, a “Wizard prang”.

By the end of June 1944, Spragg had completed twenty-one hours of operational sorties. He served with the squadron right through until February 1945 completing 187 hours of operational flying on the Typhoon and having, by

the 15th of that month, flown no less than 163 sorties. Awarded the DFC in 1945, he had survived being shot down twice and force landed his aircraft, gaining two “Green Endorsements” in his log book for exceptional flying skill and judgement.

tip blown off”. Spragg was the first to the 15th of that month, flown no less

RIGHT & ABOVE: One of the post-Overlord missions undertaken by Flying Officer Spragg (he was promoted in October 1944) was an attack by 146 Wing (led by Group Captain D.E. Gillam) on the Sicherhe-itsdienst headquarters in Amsterdam on 26 November 1944. A total of twenty-four Typhoons were involved, with Spragg leading a section of four aircraft. Smoke from the attack can still be seen in this aerial reconnaissance photograph. The successful attack destroyed German records on the Dutch resistance movement.

BELOW: The open farmland that was RAF Needs Oar Point - Pilot Officer Brian Spragg’s base for his D-Day operations. This Advanced Landing Ground was constructed in 1943, the first aircraft of 146 Wing arriving on 10 and 11 April 1944. (COURTESY OF STUART LOGAN; WWW.GEOGRAPH.ORG.UK)

NEXT MONTH: In next month's issue, Mark Hillier details one of Brian Spragg's post-war actions which involved a future Israeli Prime Minister.

normandy airwar 1944

Documents

luftwaffe high command

combat report lelong

roy lelong

landing lights

nightfighter sortie

saintandr airfields

german nightfighters

fockewulf fw