A Very Unusual Air War (39 page)

3 May
: First trip of the day. Another first flight in a Fleet Air Arm aircraft. The Fairey Fulmar was a smaller and faster version of the Fairey Battle and was used as an FAA carrier-based fighter.

11 May
: The trip to Pershore was for the fitting of a modified radar set by RAE Malvern.

14 May
: There was increasing interest in the use of rockets for ground attack. These were carried on rails under the aircraft wings. With a 6 lb. warhead, they proved a devastating weapon when fired against tanks and thin-skinned transport. They were used with great effect when fitted to the Typhoon and Tempest.

22 May
: To Desford. A visit to my old EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School). A busy day, seven flights.

23 May
: It didn’t take me long to drop the tank!

24 May
: The most accurate way to drop a bomb from a fighter was in the steepest possible dive, sighting the gun sight at the target. The boys in the squadrons were nervous about this method, as there was a belief that the bomb would hit the aircraft or at least the propeller. To disprove this we fitted a camera in the fuselage, pointing sideways, behind the pilot’s head. The pilot, S/Ldr Wade, flew the bombing aircraft and I as his No. 2 maintained close formation, with a sighting spot painted on the wingtip, lined up with the bomb. While I maintained position, Wimpy dropped the bomb. Fortunately, our photographs proved that the bomb fell away clear of the aircraft; otherwise we would both have been blown to kingdom come!

29 May
: These bombing runs were done from different starting heights, speeds and angles of dive to determine the most accurate methods. It proved best to start at 8,000 ft, over-fly the target until it reappeared behind the wing, perform a half-roll or stall turn into a dive at 70°, locate the target with the gunsight and release the bomb. At this point a Spitfire would reach a speed of nearly 500 mph, so recovery should commence immediately!

31 May
: Hurrah!! I passed 1,000 hours today!

5 June
: From 12.00 hours until dawn on June 7th, covering D-Day (June 6th), the Normandy invasion, all non-combatant aircraft were grounded. At units like AFDU, potentially operational aircraft, our Hurricanes, all Marks of Spitfire and Mustang, Typhoon, Tempest, Boston and Mitchell, were painted with wide black and white stripes on wings and fuselage. It was not until the public announcements were made on the 6th that we knew for sure what was happening. Of course, we already had a good idea, as on the evening and well into the night, Estelle and I, with Mr and Mrs Walker, stood in the garden watching streams of aircraft passing over, all heading south. First came hundreds of troop-carrying Dakotas (DC3s) then the glider tugs and finally the Fortresses, Halifaxes and Lancaster heavy bombers. From before dawn on June 6th, from dozens of airfields in the South of England, the light bombers and fighters, the Spitfires, Typhoons and Tempests of the RAF and the Mustangs, Thunderbolts and Lightnings of the USAAF, flew in their thousands to maintain constant cover and absolute air supremacy over the beachheads. The constant drone of engines was incredible. It was a sight and sound that would never be forgotten by those of us who witnessed it.

7 June
: On D-Day plus one I was given permission to fly into the Active war zone. At Tangmere airfield I talked to pilots of the Canadian Wing, whose Mark IX Spitfires had been equipped with the new Gyro gunsight. In an encounter over the beachheads they shot down 10 out of 12 JU88s.

Both my outward and return flights took me across the Channel to witness the incredible sight of hundreds of ships and thousands of aircraft but I was under strict orders not to cross the French coast, so my dream of firing a few shots at an enemy aircraft was not to be realised. But I can say that I was there, saw it all and would certainly have bought the T-shirt!

9 June
: A note regarding my flight on the 9th said it was a quick flip over Colley Weston to Easton on the Hill and our rented part of Chain Cottage. By then our host Fred Walker could be seen pushing Gill around the village, first in a pram and later in a pushchair, despite earlier misgivings about a baby on the premises. The Walkers were very upset when, in the spring of 1945, I was posted to Tangmere. At their request I posted a notice in the Officers’ Mess offering our rooms to any other couple who had a young baby. Estelle and I were amazed ten years later, back in Worcestershire, to meet the landlord of our local pub, the Neville Arms, and learn that he and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Hayden-Jones, had taken up the offer and spent two or three happy years there with their baby Jennifer.

19 June
: Our continuous programme of bombing flights attempted to improve the method and accuracy of fighter dive-bombing. After take-off we usually flew to the Holbeach or Wainfleet bombing ranges in The Wash, the large bay on the East Coast. On towers at various points, facilities were set up to measure dive angles, release heights and accuracy of bomb drop.

This equipment was operated by WRENs of the Fleet Air Arm, under the command of a WREN officer, popularly known as a Queen Bee or Wasp, depending on their personality. It was a lonely spot and most weekends our chaps and the NAFDU pilots were invited over for dances and social evenings. Being a sedate old married man, I only attended once that I can remember but several of our pilots went often. Romances blossomed and I believe that our Canadian, F/Lt W. A. (Bill, but known as Otto) Waterton, married one of the WREN officers.

20 June
: To Catfoss. I believe my passenger was ACW M.S. (Peggy) Snashall, our Orderly Room secretary and assistant to F/Lt Simms, the Adjutant. I kept in contact later and visited her many times. On our first meeting after the war, she congratulated me on receiving an AFC and would not believe it when I said I had not received the award as she had typed the citation. It would seem that a change of CO caused the medal to go to one of his favourites.

24 June
: This was the last attempt to get ‘my’ 190 flying again. The airscrew pitch control on the 190 was by an electrically operated unit called the
kommandgerat
. On this flight it developed a fault which caused the pitch to change from fine (for take-off) to full-course, thus stalling the engine. Luckily I was over the airfield boundary on the downwind leg and was able to make an emergency landing. However, as I did not fancy a deadstick touchdown with a closed canopy, I operated the hood jettison device, which was the only damage. So in fact, this was not a prang.

As our programme with PM679 was virtually complete and as other 190s were now falling into our hands, it was decided not to attempt further repairs. PM679 was sent to Colley Weston to be used by 1426 Flight for spares. I was very lucky to survive the two forced landings, as similar trouble at 1426 Flight caused their 190 to catch fire and crash on 13th October 1944. The pilot, F/Lt E.R. Lewendon, was killed.