Shepbur 7 Report post Posted May 21, 2020 (edited) So, back many years ago, i made a series of posts elsewhere on an event which happened on that day back in WWII - mostly focused on air conflicts (and normally western front stuff). Anyway - I had saved all my old articles which have now been lost to the ether, along with having produced 1 new one! In this thread i'll post them up as individual posts for you to hopefully enjoy reading. With regards to accuracy... I'm no historian, but i have done my best to dig around different sources to come up with the true story - i don't have many of my old sources to cite - so if you take offence to a mistake, sorry, but i can't really bring myself to go back and change them all now! List of articles: 1st April - A mile of yards 13th July - Dover raid 28th July - A new sting in De Havilland's tail 28th July - Dover Raid 4th August - Buzzing the stars 18th August - A white rose in a bed of thorns 25th August - The Swift's Tail 28th August - Coming out with a bang! 1st September - Reach for the stars 4th September - Into War 6th September - The Battle of Barking Creek 14th September - A plague over Norway 5th October - The end of a Schwalbe 22nd November - Stockings for the French 7th December - Attack on Pearl Harbour Other: Beekeeping in the 40s A mile of Yards - 1st April 1943 During 1942-1943, the allies began to get a hold back on the war, and began to hit back at German defences in Europe, as well as supply lines to starve the front ready for an invasion. Many of these attacks into Germany were aimed at large centres of production or population, as well as major transport routes through and out of Germany. On the 1st April 1943, a flight of 12 Mosquito B.IV's set off to bomb a power station and railway yard at the city of Trier, in the southeast of Germany, made up from No.105 and No.139 Squadrons. One of the primary targets, the locomotive works was bombed at an altitude of only 15m. The result of the speed and height at which the bombs were dropped resulted in the 500lb bombs bouncing across the steel roof of the works, across the road and into the tram depot across the road, destroying it completely. The railway yards were located in the cities district of Pfalzel, just north east of the main city. Although the targets at the railway yard were hit, like many of the rail links throughout Germany in the war, it was a matter of days, or even hours before normal service was resumed. Areas of track which had been hit by bombs were quickly and easily replaced. Resulting in little more than a short disruption to supplies heading to the front. As a result of this, the rail yard at Pfalzel was targeted several times during the war, until a raid from the RAF of 153 Lancasters of No.3 Group bombed the area on the 23rd December 1944, and the USAAF of 69 B-26 bombers on the 24th December 1944, destroying the bridge across the river Mosel to the south of the yard. Small bombing missions such as these were common for the Mosquitos, delivering fast and precise attacks on specific targets in occupied territory. Similar missions were also undertaken by fighter-bomber variants of the aircraft, with pilots targeting supply trains when spotted, with the knowledge that they were most likely carrying supplies to the front line. The Mosquitos would dive on the trains, strafing the carriages and engine itself before returning to their home bases at low level to avoid radar and AA positions. A comparison between a satellite image from 2009 (left) to the reconnaissance image taken by a PR Spitfire in 1943 a day after the raid, showing the locomotive works. A pair of images comparing the target site next to the main yard at Pfalzel from 2009(left) and 1943, a image which was taken from a Mosquito having completed it's attack run. This image was taken by a Mosquito completing it's attack run on the locomotive works. A second Mosquito is visible at the top of the image. Two images from the bombing attacks which took place in december 1944, resulting in the destruction of the railway bridge (visible in the right image). Dover Raid - 13th July 1940 Just a few days into the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe were flying daily raids against allied air force bases, and shipping across the channel. The attacks were concentrated around Dover - A small town on the south east coast of England, best known for the chalk cliffs to the east which stand tall against the English Channel. A large amount of shipping came into dover harbour at the time, including naval vessels. Supplying Britain with supplies from her colonies. The morning of saturday 13th July showed for some fog, however conditions cleared as the sun rose. The first raid of the day was just off Portland, when 20 enemy aircraft were spotted, No.238 Squadron and No.609 Squadron engaged these targets, Confirming 3 Me 110's and one Do17, and 1 Me 110 and 1 unconfirmed Do17. Losing a Hurricane in the process from No.238 Squadron. 3 hours later, a mixed formation containing Ju87's and Me109's attacked Dover Harbour and a convoy of ships just south of Dover. No.64 Squadron intercepted the raid, claiming 2 Me 109's unconfirmed. One Spitfire was damaged by AA fire, however landed safely. Throughout the day, Luftwaffe losses accounted for 6 Fighters confirmed, 3 unconfirmed, 6 Bombers confirmed, 2 unconfirmed, While the RAF lost 3 Hurricanes. The Hurricane I shot down from No.238 Squadron was flown by F.L. J.C.Kennedy. An Australian pilot, during the combat he was killed in a crash while trying to avoid H.T. cables attached to barrage balloons just off Chesil Beach. Edited May 21, 2020 by Shepbur Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepbur 7 Report post Posted May 21, 2020 (edited) 28th July – A new sting in De Havilland’s tail Today marks the 70th anniversary of the maiden flight of the DH 103 Hornet. The hornet was planned to be the successor to the DH 98 Mosquito, and followed many of it's design features, while incorporating new technologies. Using a combination of both wooden and metal construction, the airframe was built as a long-range fighter for the war in the pacific. To this end, the Hornet was intended for naval use from an early age. Requiring low stall speeds, as well as excellent visibility for the pilot. Unlike the Mosquito however, the Hornet used a much thinner laminar flow wing, as well as counter-rotating propellers to both increase the aircraft's speed and handling characteristics. Great care went into the design of the Hornets cockpit canopy to maximise it's visibility. The windscreen was designed to allow maximum visibility and minimise any possible blind-spots. Hornet Prototype PX217 in flight during testing Thanks to these advancements in the structure of the Hornet, with it's slim profile, and powerful Merlin 130/131 engines which produced up to 2060hp each, the prototype Hornet went on to achieve 485mph in level flight and becoming the fastest wooden aircraft which was ever to be built, as well as the 2nd fastest operational twin-propeller driven aircraft, with production models flying only 2mph slower than the German Do335 Pfeil. Sea Hornets of No.801 Squadron aboard HMS Implacable alongside Blackburn Firebrands Despite these achievements and advances in design, the DH 103 Hornet was already being out-dated by the modern jets such as the Gloster Meteor and de Havilland 100 Vampire. This resulted in a relatively minor career for the aircraft in the RAF. However thanks to it's initial design, it was quickly and easily adapted for naval use with the Fleet Air Arm, first being introduced to No.801 Squadron in 1947, with the last few Sea Hornets being withdrawn from FAA service in 1954. Dover Raid - 28th July 1940 Throughout Sunday 28th July 1940, shipping was attacked at Dover Harbour, as well as ports along the south coast. It was a fair day, with the weather clouding over in the evening. At 06:40, a raid was spotted on radar approaching Plymouth from Cherbourg, however Allied fighters failed to spot them and make contact. 4 hours later, at 11:10, a small raid of 3 aircraft was spotted heading to Swanage, fighters were dispatched once the raid had hit land, however there was no effect, with the raid returning south over the channel, disappearing at 12:50. There were two more raids approaching Portland and Bournemouth later in the day, however no contact was made by allied fighters. At 12:04, a large number of aircraft was spotted on radar circling over Calais, which then set course for dover. Once they were half-way across the channel, they turned back to the french coast and dispersed. An hour later at 13:35, 5 raids, equating to ~100 aircraft crossed the Channel, and were engaged by four Squadrons. No.74 Squadron managed to shoot down 3 MeBf109E's, while No. 41 Squadron shot down two MeBf109E's, and No. 11 Squadron Shot down two He59's, with a total loss of 2 Spitfires. Throughout the day, Luftwaffe losses accounted for 5 Fighters, 2 Bombers, and 2 Floatplanes, While the RAF lost 3 Spitfires and 1 Hurricane. The two Spitfire's shot down during the above conflict were flown by No.74 Squadron P.O. J.H.R. Young, and No. 41 Squadron F.O. A.D.J. Lovell. Young was piloting his Spitfire Ia, and was shot down near Goodwin Sands by a Bf109. He died as a result of the action. Lovell was shot down while on his patrol over Dover in his Spitfire Ia, but managed to control his aircraft while returning north, eventually crash landing at Hornchurch, wounding himself. Once recovered, he returned to No. 41 Squadron to continue flying sorties. 4th August - Buzzing the stars The 4th of August 1944 saw the first successful action performed by a british jet fighter of the war. Just two weeks earlier, the RAF's most technologically advanced fighter entered service with No. 616 Squadron - The Gloster Meteor F.1. The Meteor presented a new breed of fighter to the RAF, marrying the familar all-metal airframe, with low straight wings to the reveloutionary turbojet technology. Testing the meteor's abilities against one of the latest RAF fighters, the Hawker Tempest V, showed the Air Ministry that the meteor exceeded the Tempest's abilities in almost every respect, showing that it was a capable and versatile front line fighter. EE387 undertaking carrier trials for the Meteor on HMS Illustrious. Due to size and weight issues, it didn't pass, but alot was learned for later carrier jet aircraft. Despite this initial success, the meteor was destined to play a quieter role through till the end of the war. With jet technology being at the forefront of modern aviation, the aircraft were extremely valuable and no chances were taken to allow the enemy to gain access to one. This resulted in the new Meteors to be restricted to airspace over the british isles only. With the first 6 aircraft being delieved to No.616 squadron on the 21st July 1944, complete with some of the best pilots the RAF had to offer trained to fly them. A pair of early F.3 Meteors flying in formation On the 27th July, just 6 days after entereing operational service, 3 Meteors were patrolling over Kent when a V-1 flying bomb was spotted, the aircraft gave chase, however due to jamming issues with the 4 20mm cannons which were mounted in the nose of the aircraft, were unable to shoot down the bomb. A second chance arrived for the Meteors a week later, with the guns still presenting issues with jamming, the pilot closed the distance between him and the V-1, before performing the "toppling" manoeuvre, causing the bomb to crash. A second V-1 was also shot down during the action, claiming the meteors first technical aerial victory of the war. During future operations and sorties, the Meteors would go on to destroy 12 more V-1 bombs using similar methods. The first Meteors to cross the channel were painted completely white to aid with their recognition compared to Me262s. By the 18 December 1944, the Meteor F.3 had been developed, with a new canopy, as well as increased fuel capacity and some minor adjustments to the airframe. After further refinements, and the new, more powerful Rolls-Royce Derwent engines being installed, the RAF decided the Meteors should be allowed across into europe for the remainder of the war. Initially, 4 were transferred across to Belgium on the 20th January 1945 to defend Melsbroek airfield. It was hoped by the pilots that their presence may tempt Me262's to the airfield for combat as the Meteors were still forbidden from crossing into enemy or soviet-controlled territories. Later in April, the entire squadron relocated to Nijmegen and flew armed reconnaissance and ground attack sorties, however would never go on to encounter any german jet fighters. The meteors faced more issues with allied flak positions than they did with the Luftwaffe for the most-part as a result of mis-identification as Me262s. The Meteors would go on to end the war with 46 enemy aircraft destroyed through ground attack, with only two Meteors destroyed during the war; a result of poor visibility in the evening of the 29th April 1945, S/Ldr L.W. Watts and Fl/Sgt. B. Cartmel collied inside a cloud bank, killing both pilots. 18th August - White rose in a bed of thorns Today marks the birthday of the worlds leading female fighter ace - Lydia Litvyak. Born in Moscow in 1921, Lydia became interested in aviation from a very early age, joining a aeroclub and flying school at just 14, she performed her first solo flight at 15 years old. Only 3 years later she was a flight instructor at an aeroclub just outside Moscow. When war broke out, Lydia joined the airforce and was attached to the 586th IAP(an all-female division), however was later transferred to the 6th IAD with 3 other pilots. It was here on the 13th of September 1943 where she scored her first aerial victory. Shooting down a Ju88, she spotted a fellow pilot in trouble and turned to help. Entering a dogfight with a Bf109 she claimed her 2nd victory, saving her fellow pilot. The pilot of the 109 was captured the same day and taken to the airbase to meet his opponent. Initially dismissing Lydia as simply being part of a joke to humiliate him, the german pilot only realised she was his true opponent after she described every turn of the dogfight to him. By the 23rd Feburary 1944, Lydia had been awarded the Order of the Red Star, had achieved the rank of Junior Lieutenant, and was a member of the Okhotniki (free hunters). This allowed her to perform sorties on her own terms over enemy territory. The 1st August 1944 marked Lydia's last sortie. Having flown 3 earlier in the day, Lydia escorted a flight of IL-2s to their target. On the return trip to the IL-2's base in Orel, a pair of Bf109s dived on Lydia who was unaware of their presence. However, having eventually spotting the attacking 109's, she turned to meet them, dissapearing into the cloud during the fighting. She was last seen through a gap in the clouds, with her Yak-1b smoking heavily being pursuded by up to 8 Bf109s. Due to no crash or parachute having been seen by the IL pilots she was defending, it was unknown for some time whether or not she'd been captured by the germans, or had been killed. This prevented her from recieving the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" until her crashed Yak-1 and grave were found in Dmitrievka, south-Ukraine. She was finally awared as a Hero of the Soviet Union on the 6th May 1990 of a rank of Senior Lieutenant. During her combat career, Lydia shot down 12 aircraft on her own, with at least 4 shared kills over 66 official sorties including a 11-kill ace, forcing a landing of an 82-kill ace, and shooting down a 30-kill ace in her final action on the 1st August. Edited May 21, 2020 by Shepbur Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepbur 7 Report post Posted May 21, 2020 25th August - The Swift’s Tail The Supermarine Swift was developed directly from the attacker, initially through the Type510, which was then improved upon as the Type521 by Blackburn becoming the HP.88 to help test the wing design of the Handley Page Victor. Type 510 VV106 - The only remaining Type 510, currently being restored at RNAS Yeovilton Returning to Supermarines developments wit the Swift, the Type528 was produced. This prototype was the first to use a nose-wheel undercarriage(but retained two small tail wheels as bumpers). The nose of the aircraft, and diameter of the fuselage were also changed, as well as greater fuel capacity in the wings being introduced, along with the ability to mount 4 cannons in the wings. By the end of these additions and upgrades, it had become known as the Type535. Type 535 VV119 during flight testing - these prototypes mimicked the swifts appearance much more closely than the Type510's It was here where the Air Ministry first picked up on the idea of the Swift being a contender as the next main RAF fighter as a back-up for the Hawker Hunter. It was here, with the Type541, when the aircraft was first designated as the "Swift". With the addition of the Rolls-Royce Avon engine, and replacement of the 4 wing cannons to a pair of cannons under the intakes, the swift began to take it's more recognisable form. A little more than a year later, and the first F.1 Swift production model had been produced. Flown by the senior RAF test pilot, the aircraft had some undesirable characteristics, the Swift was again changed. Increasing the armament to 4 30mm ADEN cannon, the same as the Hawker Hunter, the swift was re-designated to the F.2 variant. This however introduced new problems as the wing roots had been brought forward, it caused the aircraft to occasionally pitch up abruptly before flipping onto it's back. With no simple ways to fix this, eventually ballast was added to the nose, decreasing the aircraft's performance and manoeuvrability. The problem wasn't fully solved until the F.4 came about with a new tailplane. However by then it was too late, the Air Ministry believed had less of a need for front-line fighters after the conflict in Vietnam and with the continued growing success of the Hawker Hunter, the swift slipped from the front-line. With the F.5's being solely for mid/low level reconnaissance roles. The F.7 variants were the final Swifts produced. Equipped with radar guidance systems and Blue Sky AAM's, they were never used in service by the RAF, however were used to test and gather information for future guided weapons which would eventually go on to supersede the Hawker Hunter. 28th August - Coming out with a bang! Today marks the 75th anniversary of the first successful flight under turbojet power by a manned aircraft. As a private venture by Heinkel, they produced germanys first jet engine, the HeS 1 in 1937, these plans were quickly adapted to produce an air-worthy engine, the HeS 3, along with an aircraft designed around the engine itself. With an all metal fuselage, and conventional high-mounted wings and tail design, the He178 was born. The He178 had several problems within it's design, firstly, the engine was buried within the fuselage, with nose intakes this required long ducts for airflow, which slowed the air, reducing the compression in the engine and limiting it's power and so speeds. The small wing area of the aircraft also severely effected it's stability, this coupled with a weak undercarriage resulted in below-par performance of the aircraft as a whole. The maiden flight of the He178 was performed on the 27th August 1939, by E. Warsitz, one of Heinkels test pilots, who had flown the first rocket powered aircraft just 2 months before. Despite the positive developments in the He178, the aircraft was kept completely secret, even from the Luftwaffe until the 1st November 1939. When Heinkel invited officials to a demonstration of the jet aircraft. Despite the new technology being used, very few officials turned up to the demonstation, and those who were there, were less than impressed with the performance of the aircraft. However despite the lack of interest from the officials, Henikel continued with the project privately, going on to design and produce the He280. The He280 was an extremely similar aircraft in looks to the Me262 which was being designed in parallel by Messerschmit. The He280 initially included a tricycle landing gear (later re-designed into the Me262), with intended HeS 8 engines powering the aircraft. Unlike the BMW 003 engines of the Me262, these were centrifugal flow engines of similar design to the Power Jets W.1 engine designed by F. Whittle. While using simpler concepts and technology for compressing the gasses for the engine, it limited to power. This along with the favoured design of the Me262 spelled doom for the He280, despite it's first flight occuring a month earlier than the Me262 despite the shorter timeframe of design. 1st September - Reach for the stars On the 1st September 1941, one of the most famous, and most dangerous took to the skies for the first time. The Me163 "Komet" was a German interceptor aircraft powered by a rocket engine. An Me163B sitting on the runway before take-off. Designed by Alexander Lippisch, the Komet was designed from his previous attempts at producing delta-wing aircraft. The reason behind the step to this new technology was a result of Lippisch being aware that not only would the exhaust from the rocket engine damage any tail surfaces which it passed over, but that it would make these surfaces useless for controlling the aircraft as the power of the exhaust passing across them would be too strong to change pitch accurately. The delta wing approach allowed for the exhaust to be placed at the rear of the aircraft, with control surfaces on the wings, and a single vertical stabilizer to help control the aircraft at high-speeds. With previous delta-wing aircraft designed by Lippisch being gliders, the design of the Me163 was no different. The rocket engine of the Me163 has extremely poor fuel economy at anything short of full throttle, resulting in only a few minutes for the Me163 to climb to it's required altitude. And so any further flight would have to be performed as a gliding aircraft. To allow the aircraft to maintain good gliding characteristics, weight was kept to an absolute minimum. A special detachable undercarriage was produced which could be jettisoned on take-off, with a landing skid on the belly of the aircraft being used to land the aircraft, with extra skids on the wings to protect the tips if the aircraft fell on it's side as it landed. This setup however greatly increased the danger to it's pilots. Firstly, the take-off dolly had to be jettisoned at a specific altitude. If it was left too late, the dolly could break apart on impact to the ground, or even fail to detach from the aircraft. And if the dolly was jettisoned too low to the ground, it was known to bounce back up and hit the aircraft. These dangers, combined with unreliable hydraulic dampers on the landing skid, causing severe injuries to the pilots, and the chance that it could cause fuels to leak and cause further damage meant that the Me163 was an extremely dangerous aircraft to fly. An Me163 after landing , it's tail and main skids are visible below the aircraft. The rocket engine used in the Me163 was the HWK 109-509. The engine used a mixture of two fuels, which when combined would ignite and combust releasing large amounts of energy which could be directed to produce thrust. This early design of rocket engine used "T-stoff" and "C-stoff" as it's fuel. Both chemicals were on their own, highly reactive and extremely dangerous to be handled, especially in large quantities. As a result, the refuelling process of the Me163 was extremely long-winded to ensure that there would be no cross-contamination or chance for reactions to occur during the re-fuelling. Initially the aircraft and engine would be washed out with large amounts of water, before the C-stoff fuelling truck would approach the aircraft. The C-stoff fuelling points were all clearly labelled with a large "C" to help avoid any confusions. Once the aircraft had been fuelled with C-stoff, the refuelling truck was removed from the area, before the aircraft was washed again with large amounts of water before the T-stoff truck was allowed near the aircraft and the process repeated. The danger of the fuels crossing was so great that there had to be individual crews for each fuel to avoid any confusion. Along with these precautions, pilots had to wear bulky, thick flight suits to help prevent any leaks from burning their skin. An Me163 during it's refuelling process of C-stoff. Despite these difficulties and dangers, the Me163 komet is still seen as a fearsome aircraft. Although in truth, it was extremely unsuccessful compared to most other german aircraft. Over 300 Me163's were built, however of all the missions the Me163 flew in the war, under 20 kills were recorded. This was mostly due to the extreme difficulty to aim and hit a bomber while travelling at the high speeds the Komet was capable of. To try and remedy this, and make the Komet more deadly, a new aerial weapon was designed, the Jagdfaust. This was a 50mm cannon which was placed in the aircraft to point directly upwards. An attached photocell ontop of the aircraft would detect when another aircraft was above the Komet, and automatically fire the weapon. The barrel of the gun would then recoil and drop out of the aircraft to stop the airframe from taking the force of the cannon. This weapon was used successfully to destroy a H.P. Halifax bomber, but didn't result in the miracle fix for the Me163. 4th September 1939 - Into War 2 days after Great Britain declared war on Germany, a reconnaissance aircraft was dispatched to the Kriegsmarine base at Wilhelmshaven. This reconnaissance aircraft was a Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV, once an attempt to break germany's speed record, the Blenheim was faster than any fighter in the RAF when it was initially designed. However, by the outbreak of the war, extra equipment, and rapid technological advances had rendered the Blenheim almost obsolete, being secluded to only a few squadrons. The Blenheim was used in many roles from PR to a light bomber, as well as being outfitted as a night fighter and long-range fighter. With its older style of design, the bomb bay doors were held shut with bungee cords, and were forced open by the weight of the bombs upon release. This caused poor accuracy as a result. The day after the reconnaissance was gathered, the first raid on Germany was executed. 15 Blenheim Mk.IV's flew across the channel to attack the cruisers stationed at Wilhelmshaven, of the 15, only 10 found the targets, with a result of 5 Blenheims being lost to AA fire from the harbour and ships. It was found that the light bombs the Blenheims carried were ineffective against the deck armour of the cruisers, with the only damage sustained as a result of the attack was to the cruiser Emden, when a Blenheim which had been shot down crashed into the ship, killing and wounding 29 men. The Blenheim had a relatively unsuccessful career in the RAF throughout the war as a result of its comparatively low speeds, minimal armour and small ordnance capacity. Despite this, the aircraft remained in service throughout the war across its various roles. 3307 Blenheim Mk.IV's were built throughout the war, with the aircraft being phased out to the more modern and versatile De Havilland Mosquito. Blenheim Mk.IV of No.139 Squadron. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepbur 7 Report post Posted May 21, 2020 6th September - The Battle of Barking Creek The morning of the 6th September 1939 saw an incident that would go down in RAF history as both tragic, but also vital to the future of the war over Europe. Hurricanes of No.56 Squadron flying in formation Just 3 days after Britain had declared war on Germany, the RAF and Coastal Command were on high-alert expecting air-raid attacks from across the channel. And new recruits were still learning how to communicate and identify aircraft in the skies. This resulted in an air-raid alert above Essex in the early hours of the morning, with Hurricanes of 56 Squadron at North Weald being scrambled to identify and intercept the threat, including 2 reserve Hurricanes. To further add to the situation, the Hurricanes of 56 Squadron were also mis-identified as enemy aircraft, to what now appeared as a large number of enemy aircraft in the area. In an attempt to counter this fictitious threat, Hurricanes of 151 Squadron, as well as Spitfires of 54, 65 and 74 Squadrons were scrambled into the air. John Freeborn standing atop his Supermarine Spitfire IIa After a short while, "A" flight of 74 Squadron lead by Adolph Malan spotted what were believed to be the hostile aircraft. With very little experience with communications between the aircraft, and with very few pilots having seen a enemy aircraft before the war, Malan called out to his flight to attack two aircraft. Failing to spot the RAF roundels and identifying the two aircraft as the reserve Hurricanes of 56 Squadron, Malans wingmen attacked, the combat resulting in both Hurricanes being shot down, with one pilot, Frank Rose bailing out, and the other, Montague Hulton-Harrop receiving a shot to the head and dying before the aircraft crashed. Upon landing, both Paddy Bryne and John Freeborn, the two spitfire pilots were arrested, and taken to a court martial. While Malan stated that he ordered "Friendly aircraft - break away" after realising his mistake, there were no actions taken against any of the pilots involved in the incident. With the case being ruled as "an unfortunate accident". However despite this result, it was seen that the major problem and cause of this incident was a lack in communications and ability to identify allied aircraft. Over the following year before the Battle of Britain, Fighter Command issued changes across the RAF to stop such an incident from happening again. All RAF aircraft were equipped with IFF systems, to allow ground controllers to clearly identify if aircraft were friend or foes, including a much more intensive training procedures for it's controllers, plotters and radar operators to help prevent those aircraft being scrambled to intercept enemies from receiving too much, or too little information on the enemies position. Montague Hulton-Harrop, the pilot who was killed in the incident was buried in St Andrew's Church, just a few miles from his RAF base at North Weald. While Adolph Malan, the flight leader went on to finish the war with 27kills to his name before retiring from the RAF. John Freeborn went on to fly more operational hours than any other pilot in the Battle of Britain, being credited with 13 1/2 kills, a DFC and bar. A plague over Norway – 14th September 1944 RAF Banff is located around 50 miles north west of Aberdeen on the north west coast of Scotland. In September 1944, 18 Group Coastal Command took over the airfield forming what is known as the ‘Banff Strike Wing’ – Their goal to help cripple German industry by denying them vital supplies from Scandinavia which were shipped along the Norwegian coastline. In the afternoon of 14th September, an armed patrol mission took flight, consisting of 25 DH Mosquitos (four of which were fitted with the 57mm Molins gun) from 235 and 248 Squadrons, alongside an additional 19 Beaufighters from 144 and 404 RCAF, led by S/L B. Schoales of 404. The patrol headed across the North Sea at sea level, reaching Egero on the Norwegian coast at 16:35. The patrol then headed east along the coastline to search the next 125 miles for targets. At 17:20, Schoales sighted six vessels steaming within only a few feet of each other around 35 miles southeast of Kristiansand. Loading rockets onto the rails of a Beaufighter of 404 squadron. The wing attacked from the west, with the sun behind them and were met with an extreme barrage of flak from the enemy vessels. The two escorts Vp. 1608 and Vp.1610 fired their 4 rocket dischargers at the approaching aircraft (essentially deployable barrage balloons). The aircraft split either side of this attack, with the Mosquitos of 235 and 248 squadron moving in to knock out the escorts. Simultaneously, a group of both Torpedo and Rocket equipped Beaufighers attacked, gaining hits on all vessels in the convoy as the Mosquitos strafed the decks with their guns at just 30ft above sea level. The No.3 aircraft to the left of Schoales broke away from the group after the pass and was hit by flak, sending the aircraft out of control. The pilot, F/O J. Baribeau, managed to regain control of the aircraft, however due to the damage he called out he was going to ditch and put the aircraft down 5 miles south of the convoy – just 15 miles from the coastline. Baribeau was able to reach the tip of the port wing and clamber into the 2-man dingy, however his navigator F/L C.H. Taylor was seen swimming some 150ft away, becoming exhausted in the cold water and drowned. Baribeau was later picked up by the germans. Schoales remained circling above the convoy despite his Beaufighter having been hit by cannon fire during the attack, damaging the starboard engine. Despite this, he was able to fly the aircraft the 400 miles back to the Scottish coastline, landing at RAF Crimond which was still under construction – 28 miles east of RAF Banff. During the attack, a 3rd Beaufighter, NE793 piloted by F/O A. Menaul was struck by flak, damaging its starboard propeller, breaking the intercom cable along with shattering the windscreen. The pilot was hit by fragments of Perspex, but despite this only turned home after finishing his attack on the vessels. With help from his navigator, F/O J. Tomes, the aircraft was brought under control, where Tomes performed first aid to Menaul’s shoulder before making several trips back and forth to set up a course to return home. Menaul was able to pilot his aircraft down for an approach to the runway – the windscreen having clouded up due to the damage, he had to look through an open side-window, when a rain shower hit, rendering him essentially blind. Menaul landed the aircraft safely on his first attempt before being taken away to the station hospital. The results of the attack showed that, Sulldorf – a converted 264-ton shipping trawler -turned flak ship which when hit had exploded and sank, a 2196-ton Merchantman named Pompeji was left burning – her crew was able to keep her afloat, and beached her at Justøy. The ship was later towed to Lillesand for 2 weeks of repair. The first of the merchant ships displacing 3323 tons, Iris – was also towed to Lillesand for repairs. A beaufighter of 404 squadron having straffed a german merchantman. The armed patrol was the first successful mission of the Banff strike wing, with the group taking flight most days to search for merchant shipping over Norway until May 4th 1945 – just 4 days before the war. For the courage and fortitude of their attack, both Menaul and Tomes were recommended for DFCs, which were awarded to the men on the 27th October 1944. 5th October - The end of a Schwalbe On October 5th 1944, a group of 5 Spitfire Mk. IXb's from No.401 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, set out on a routine patrol over Nijmegen, over the past few weeks, there had been several sightings and attacks from the Luftwaffe's newest fighter - the Me 262 Schwalbe. Attacks had been made over the town of Nijmegen in an attempt to destroy the bridge which crossed the river in the town, which had proven a hard target to hit and destroy. These sightings had been confirmed, with reports that previous patrols had managed to damage the fighter-bombers, however with no successful kills. A Spitfire IX of 401 Squadron - Built in the Castle-Bromwich factory, many of these Mk.IX's were upgraded from earlier variants At 14:45, roughly an hour into their patrol, the Squadron Leader, Rod Smith spotted a Me 262 diving towards Nijmegen. For the next few minutes, the patrol performed continued attacks on the Me 262, who attempted to return fire, however no damage was taken. Eventually, the aircraft caught fire, and crashed south of Nijmegen in a small village called Nerderasselt. The kill was shared between all 5 pilots on the patrol that day; S.L. Smith, F.L. Davenport, F.L. Everard, F.O. Mackay and F.O. Sinclair. The pilot flying the Me 262 was Hptm. H.C. Buttmann of KG51, Having been promoted 1 month before, Hans-Christoph died aged 24, without a single aerial kill. This action was credited as the first aerial victory against a jet fighter for the RAF in history. And many believe this kill was the first official victory over a jet aircraft in history. Previously, on the 28th August 1944, two USAAF P-47 Thunderbolts succeeded in destroying a Me262 as it landed at it's airfield near Chievres in Belgium. However the 5th October encounter was the first sustained aerial action which lasted several minutes, resulting in victory for the propeller driven aircraft. Stockings for the French - 22nd November 1944 With Europe firmly in the grip of the Nazi's in 1941, Britain had only minimal knowledge of what was going on with troop and supply movements throughout France. Most of this information was gathered through aerial reconnaissance, or the use of the French Resistance. A group of French civilians and agents working together to gather information to aid the allied war effort. They would transfer data across France to be taken back to England. One of the earlier methods of this was through transporting the agents themselves across the channel and into England to report their findings before relocating them. The choice aircraft for these missions was the Westland Lysander, a small 2 seater aircraft which was designed for message dropping and artillery spotting. Due to their small size, robust nature, and high power/weight ratio, these aircraft were found to be very successful at landing in obscure areas, such as un-prepared airfields. This made them perfect for the job. And many of these aircraft were produced and used throughout the war to quickly and safely remove agents from across France to safety, often working at night. However despite the efforts from the Lysanders, there was still a bottleneck in communications. With radio communications being very simple for Germans to detect and find the person broadcasting them, it was extremely dangerous for the agents. By 1944, a new technology had been developed, similar to the mobile phone, it was a two-piece set, with a lightweight transceiver being used to transmit a 260MHz signal over a short distance to a secondary transceiver. This frequency was very difficult for the Germans to detect, and with the low power of the unit allowed for a much safer form of communication for the agents using the equipment. The major drawback of the equipment was it's range however, which despite making it safer for the agents using it, made it difficult to transfer messages over distance. To relieve the equipment of this problem, the 2nd transceiver was carried on a aircraft which would fly above the agents location, and record the information. This allowed for a much clearer and simpler transfer of information as it was not encrypted, allowing for clarification of the message without complications. The Joan-Eleanor system was originally intended to be fitted to a B-17 Flying fortress, however after a brief meeting and explanation, the De Havilland Mosquito was chosen to be the host aircraft. As a B-17 flying alone across Germany and circling in one area was considered undesirable. With the Mosquito's power it would be able to fly high and fast enough to evade most of the danger. The equipment was placed in the fuselage of a Mk. XVI PR Mosquito, with a wireless operator sitting inside with direct communication to the pilot and navigator. The addition of long-range fuel tanks in the fuselage allowed for the aircraft to stay in the air longer over the agents to maximise the chance of obtaining the messages. Their extended range even allowed them to reach into Italy with their missions.The first Squadron to obtain the equipment and aircraft for these missions was the 654th Bombardment Squadron of the USAF. With the missions designated under the name "Redstocking" along with other missions of the squadron such as delivering agents into occupied territory. These missions were generally successful, with very few aircraft lost as a result. With the first successful message being recorded on the 22nd November 1944 while orbiting at 30,000ft over the Netherlands. Attack on Pearl Harbour - 7th December 1941 The morning of 7th December 1941 saw one of the most well known military actions of WWII. 2 waves of Japanese aircraft, coupled with submarines attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet while in harbour in an attempt to destroy the bulk of the U.S. Navy in a surprise attack. The main objective of the Japanese was to demoralise the US to try and stop them from continuing a drawn out war with Japan in their plans to invade Malaya. They planned to do this by destroy as many of the U.S. Navy's battleships as they could. Additional targets included 3 aircraft carriers, however on the date of attack, they were at sea and couldn't be located by Japanese spotting planes. The Japanese were so sure that the destruction of the navy's battleship's would lead to a fast victory, they ignored other targets in the attack such as fuel depots and ammunition storage areas on the islands. At 7:48AM, the first wave of Japanese dive-bombers, torpedo-bombers and fighters attacked the harbour, targeting the anchored fleet, as well as the airbase which was located nearby. Despite the first wave of the attack being spotted on radar, it was assumed to be a flight of B-17's heading to the island which were due the same day. This was caused by a similar angle of approach to the island the Japanese took to the planned route of the B-17's. The result of this meant that the hostile attackers were only identified as they had begun bombing and strafing targets in the harbour. Caught completely off-guard, there was very little AA defence, or air defence from the US. With only a few P-36 and P-40's able to take to the air to defend the harbour. This was also coupled to the continuous bombing and strafing attacks on the USAF bases, with many of their aircraft having been damaged or destroyed before pilots had a chance to reach their aircraft. As a result of the attack, 188 U.S. aircraft, and 1 Battleship were destroyed, with a further 7 damaged. 2403 Americans were killed and another 1178 wounded as a result of the action, with a loss of only 29 aircraft and 65 servicemen of the Japanese Navy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepbur 7 Report post Posted May 21, 2020 Beekeeping in the 40s Back in WW2, the war effort was the nation's first priority. If you wern't fighting on the front lines, you were producing materials or food for the people who were! As a result supplies of all kinds were rationed and it was very difficult to obtain extra food, or save money without entering the black market. This prompted the government at the time to persuade the public to grow their own food in their gardens to supplement their rations and support their communities. This was no different with sugar supplies, with a weekly ration of 8oz of sugar per adult from January 1940, it was difficult to fulfil a sweet tooth! The answer to this, obviously came from honeybees. Hundreds of people became amateur beekeepers, with hives in their back gardens producing their own supplies of sugar for consumption. It was also used for bargaining of goods, exchanging a small pot of honey for sweets or as an extra form of income, with 1lb of honey selling for 2/6s (£3.59 in today's money) during the war years.3 A single hive could produce anything between 40-100lb of honey every year. Atop this, the beeswax was valuable, and in great demand for use in waterproof materials, belts, and even used in bullet casings. As a result, apiculture was extremely important for the war effort as a whole. A few years later in 1943, the British government noticed how important the industry was to the war effort, and introduced a new ration for beekeepers. A beekeeper could claim 10lb of sugar for every hive they owned during the winter to help feed and support the bees. The addition of this new ration created a new boom of beekeepers, with many more becoming beekeepers, with the cost of equipment and your first hive at around £10 (£280 in today's money) with additional hives costing roughly £6 (£170). However it was often much cheaper to make the hives yourself from scratch and a few plans, dropping the costs considerably. It was suggested that not all of the sugar rations for the bees were being used, and that it was leaking over into the black markets. With a idea to dye the bee's sugar supplies green to stop this from happening. It succeeded, however at the next harvest it was apparent there was a problem, as many of the keepers who had used the green sugar also had green honey! So this stopped rather quickly after this appearance! Across the pond in america, both honey and beeswax were also receiving large amounts of attention from the war effort. The wax alone was used in waterproof canvas, as it was preferred over paraffin, protective coatings for shells, as lubricants in the warmer climates where grease would just run off machines. It was also used for dental work, sun creams, and camouflage paint for commandos. Not to mention the polishing of aircraft to save thousands of gallons of fuel with the smooth surfaces. In 1942, an article in the American Bee Journal quoted an official from the Office of Price Administration, who had calculated that beeswax alone had approximately 350 uses in the army and navy alone. Atop this, both beeswax and honey was used in the pharmaceutical fields. Honey was often used to treat wounds due to it's antiseptic properties. It was also used when penicillin was unavailable and was thought to reduce scarring, as well as a component in many medicines, with a suggested 150 uses in the pharmaceutical field from the same article. Beekeepers were urged to save as much beeswax as possible, as well as push the bees to produce wax at higher rates through drawing fatter frames, and replacing frames for bees to renew the wax. "Producing more beeswax - saving more beeswax - is a patriotic effort. It is part of the campaign for VICTORY. And more than that, it is your duty." My local apiary in the 2010 winter snow - We had to take our bees home and keep them in the garage for them to survive! The winter of 1942 in America was colder than average, and as a result, many colonies had died and starved due to lack of food as so much honey was harvested over the summer and autumn. As a result over 1943, beeswax in america was of an even greater value, with the War Food Administration urging american beekeepers to keep every single ounce of beeswax as more than a million pounds of wax was needed that year for war products. But it wasn't all bad... Many beekeepers had signed up for the front lines, with many joining the air force. One keeper, Norman Sharp, had been serving in the air force for 3 years before deciding to hive the Giant Bee while in India. These bees were much larger, and more vicious than the well known Aficanized "killer bees". However Sharp kept the bees inside the aircraft hangers to help protect the hives from the weather. This did have adverse effects though... "The bees scattered all over and drove everyone out of the hanger" "One hanger had five swarms." Despite the foul temper of the bees, and language of the fellow soldiers at the bees, several of the soldiers refused to leave the bees behind. "The First Battalion" proudly welcomed all bees to its "Bee Platoon". There was even a water dish! The 1st Battalion Bee Platoon From June 1947, the price of home-produced honey was decontrolled and it was able to be freely sold at any price, with the average price for 1lb increasing to 4/6d (£6.46) in Britain. Many kept their bees for some time after the war, despite the drop in demand for honey after sugar came off ration in the 1950's. As well as through change in agriculture with a increased use in pesticides and loss of many hedgerows to produce larger fields which made beekeeping more difficult. Apicultre slowly faded from the public eye up until the last 4-5 years where it's made a return, and beekeeping is back in another boom with hundreds taking up the hobby and supporting their local apiaries. If you're interested in this history and subject, there's a great book "Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation" written by Tammy Horn.4 With loads of information and some really interesting stories inside it. If you don't wish to buy the whole book itself, it is available on google as an E-book, where you can read most of it's content! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
