Hurricanes
over Crete
At
15.30 on 27 May 1941 two Hurricanes of 274 Squadron flown
by Flying Officer Weller (Z4250) and Sergeant Nicolson
(Z4536) rendezvoused with a Blenheim IVF of 45 Squadron
flown by South African Lieutenant D. Thorne. The trio was
directed to attempt further interception of the Ju52 air convoy
streaming into Maleme. As they headed towards the south coast of Crete
however, six Ju88s of II/LG1 were encountered and engaged. The Blenheim
pilot made a port beam attack on one low-flying bomber, the crew
claiming that considerable damage had been inflicted and that the
Junkers had probably been destroyed although they did not see it crash.
Both Hurricane pilots also engaged, each believing they had shot one
down and, indeed, the Blenheim crew reported seeing one Ju88 falling in
flames and two others hit the sea; possibly the latter were bombs being
jettisoned.
However
only one bomber was lost, Leutnant George Freysoldt and
his crew perishing when L1+EW crashed into the sea.
Presumably all three fighters had attacked the same
aircraft, each unaware of the others' involvement. Following the fight
the Hurricanes became separated from the Blenheim and, after an
uneventful patrol hunting for transport aircraft, both landed at
Heraklion. Weller however damaged his Hurricane while landing and he was
stranded on the island.
Nicolson
returned at daybreak from Crete to Gerawla next day and
Weller was later evacuated and returned to Egypt where he
rejoined his squadron.
Source:
Håkans aviation page - Biplane Fighter Aces from
the Second World War (http://www.dalnet.se/~surfcity/index.html)
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Freelance
over Lybia
Ernest
“Imshi” Mason was a career Royal Air Force Pilot who
joined the RAF in March 1938. When the war began, he was
Adjutant of No. 80 Sqn. flying Gloster Gladiators. At the
end of 1940, he transferred into 274 Squadron. Mason and
Lieut. Robert Talbot, a South African, were detached to
what he called in his letters home a “famous place.” Their mission was
to roam “freelance” over the Libyan Desert from their base in Egypt at
Sidi Barrani attacking targets of opportunity. It was during this period
that Mason developed his own style of attack, and embarked on long
range missions to attack enemy bases far behind the lines. Mason
described a typical attack in a letter dated January 17, 1941:
“We
decided to go over Italian aerodromes a long way away. The first day we
went over an aerodrome; in the morning I ground strafed some 42’s and
Bob shot down a 79 taking off; in the afternoon we went there again and
circled over the aerodrome. Suddenly I saw two CR.42's
approaching to land. I dived down and came up behind. I gave the leader
a burst and as I shot past him he turned slowly and dived straight into
the middle of the aerodrome and exploded. In the meantime the other chap
had turned and came for me head on. I gave him a short burst and
he did the same thing. This time on the edge of the aerodrome. By then
five more, also returning home, had seen me and were diving on me so
Bob shot down the leader and they dispersed. Of course, we were
disobeying orders going to these places..."
By
the end of January 1941, Mason’s score stood at fourteen
confirmed kills and he was awarded the DFC on February 1,
1941. By this time, he was also the leading allied ace in
the Middle East and he’s acquired an Italian tank as his
personal transportation!
Source:
Making History (http://www.making-history.ca)
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Christmas
Eve over Eindhoven
On
Christmas Eve 1944, Tempests from 274 Squadron were returning from a
Patrol over Aachen. They ran into FW 190s that had just downed two
Canadian Typhoons over the Malmedy area. Evan "Rosie" Mackie, later to
become Wing Commander (DFC, DFC (US), DSO), filed the
following report:
"I
was flying No.2 to Talbot Leader in Red Section on a
patrol Julich-Malmedy and while we were returning to base
and approaching Eindhoven, I noticed approx. 8 Typhoons
flying in the opposite direction at about 4,000 ft. They
were in open formation. When almost abreast of these A/C at about 6,000
ft I noticed one of the Typhoons suddenly break formation and dive into
the ground on fire and I did not see anybody bale out. I then noticed
the machine which had been flying behind that one, had moved behind
another Typhoon, which then began shedding large pieces and losing
height. Although we were not close enough to these aircraft to identify
one of them as an enemy, I realised that this particular one must have
been, so I immediately jettisoned my long-range tanks and gave chase.
There
was no R/T communication between myself and the other
members of the section, as I had not heard the order to
change to channel 'A'. The E/A lost some height then
pulled vertically upwards. I identified it as a short
nosed FW190 and opened fire with four cannons at a range of about 250
yds closing to 50 yds. I then broke off the attack as I was then rolling
over on to my back. I gave about a 2 1/2 sec. burst and numerous
strikes were seen on the wings and centre section of the FW190 by
myself and F/L Malloy who was flying Red 3. After I broke away, S/L
Baird stated that the FW190 levelled out, going very slowly, dropped a
wing and then spun into the ground approx. 4 miles SE of Eindhoven,
where it blew up."
It
appeared that Mackie had shot down Hauptmann Wolfgang Kosse,
Staffelkapitän of 13 Staffel, IV/JG3.
Source: Max Avery and
Christopher Shores, Spitfire Leader
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The
Terror of Rheine
S/L
David C. Fairbanks (DFC)
David
Fairbanks was born on 1923 in the USA. After finishing high school, he
moved to Canada to join the Royal Canadian Air Force. He succeeded and
enlisted at Hamilton in February 1941.
After
training he was posted as a flight instructor to the No 13 SFTS. After a
year he managed to be posted in the UK, after advanced and operational
training. He joined 501 Squadron at Hawkinge flying Spitfire Vs. His
first victory was a Bf 109 on 8 June 1944, near Le Havre.
When
501 Squadron re-equipped with Tempests, Fairbanks was
posted to 274 Squadron. Before the squadron moved to
Europe, Fairbanks destroyed two V-1 Flying Bombs. During
the next two and a half months he scored 11 1/2 victories,
becoming the most succesful Tempest pilot in air combat.
On 19
November 1944, Fairbanks´ Tempest was hit by ground fire in the
leading edge of the port wing. The fuel tank caught fire and the flames
burned the fuselage and tail surfaces. Fairbanks was able to return
to Volkel and land safely. He was awarded a DFC. The plane was JJ-F
(EJ762).
Fairbanks
was posted to No 3 Squadron in late December 1944. On 9
February 1945 Fairbanks was posted back to 274 Squadron as
a Squadron Leader. "Foob" Fairbanks, the "Terror of
Rheine" is to return to us, enthused the Squadron diarist.
Only two days after his return Fairbanks downed an enemy plane, which he
identified as a Me 262. Luftwaffe records shows that it was in fact an
Arado Ar234B jet reconnaissance bomber. This was the first aircraft of
this type to be destroyed by Allied forces.
On
the way back from a train busting mission on 28 February
1945 , Fairbanks led his six Tempests to attack 40 Fw 190s
and Bf 109s. After a hard fight he was finally shot down
by a Fw 190 and was immediately captured. Fairbanks spent
the rest of the war as PoW. During his time as PoW he was awarded a bar
to his DFC, followed by a second at war's end.
After
the war, Faibanks flew Vampires and T-33s with the RCAF
Auxiliary working for Sperry Gyroscopes. He also spent two
years in the UK flying Meteors. In 1955 he became a test
pilot at de Havilland Canada. At the early age of 52, "the
Terror of Rheine" died a natural death.
Source: The Hawker
Tempest Page (http://user.tninet.se/~ytm843e)
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Pierre
Clostermann
Pierre
Clostermann was born on February 28 1921 at Curitiba,
Brazil, where his father worked as a French diplomat. At
the early age of sixteen he acquired his pilot's licence
in November 1937. He was educated in Paris and studied
engineering in USA when Germany invaded France.
In
1941 he joined the Free French Forces (341 "Alsace"
Squadron). The following year he was transferred to RAF
and 602 Squadron, where he flew Spitfires. During this
time he destroyed at least 11 enemy aircraft, 2 probable and seven
damaged.
On 4
March 1945 Clostermann joined No 274 Squadron flying the
Hawker Tempest. His first Tempest score was a Bf 109 on
his second day during a "cannon test". In the middle of
March 1945 he was posted as a Flight commander to No 56
Squadron. With this unit he destroyed a Bf109 in the air. On 8 April he
was transferred to No 3 Squadron as "A" Flight commander where he on 20
April scored two Fw 190D-9s'.
Clostermann's
final score in Tempest is at least 12 destroyed, 6 shared and 2
probables . He was awarded the DSO and DFC and Bar in addition to
French, Belgian and American decorations.
After
the war Clostermann went into politics and business,
serving as Deputy in the French parliament and as
aeronautics executive for Cessna and Dassault. Clostermann
served briefly on operations in the Algerian war of early 1960's.
Source: The Hawker
Tempest Page (http://user.tninet.se/~ytm843e)
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