Catalina over arctic oceans : anti-submarine and rescue flying in World War 2

177 Pages·2013·2.09 MB·English

by  French

CATALINA
OVER
ARCTIC OCEANS
CATALINA
OVER ARCTIC
OCEANS
Anti-Submarine and Rescue
Flying in World War 2

Wing Commander John French
OBE, DFC, AFC, AE
Edited by Anthony L. Dyer
First published in Great Britain in 2013 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright © Anthony L. Dyer 2012

ISBN 978 1 78159 053 9

The right of Anthony L. Dyer to be identified as Author of this Work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
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any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission from the Publisher in writing.

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Contents

Introduction
Original Introduction
List of Plates
Glossary of Terms
1 How it all started
2 Learning to Fly – Northolt
3 Hullavington – Jurby – Upavon (CFS)
4 Instructing – Little Rissington and South Cerney
5 Aerobatics, small fields, low flying and more South Cerney
6 Squires Gate, Gibraltar and Invergordon
7 Shetland – anti-submarine patrols
8 Spitsbergen and North Russia
9 Winter 1943–1944
10 Operations in 1944
11 Flying a desk
12 Paris and Poland
13 Poland – Some reminders of the War and Faith
14 Poland – The Air Force Scene
15 USSR Revisited 1955–1956
16 Off to Norway – Svalbard revisited – RAF (Retired)
17 Civil Servant – The World of Customs and Beyond
Index
Introduction

It is now almost twenty-five years since my Grandfather died. To us, his
grandsons, he was known as Bandad (when children, we could not say
Granddad!) and he was taken from us at far too young an age – sixty-seven years
old.
To me, he was my personal hero; an instructor teaching bomber pilots to fly,
followed by operations on RAF Catalina flying boats. He was a quiet, modest
man, a superb cook and a loving Grandfather. On the day he died, I was coming
home from University and was met at the train station by my Dad. He never
usually picked me up, usually it was Mum, and so I knew immediately
something was wrong. Bandad suffered from a hole in his heart throughout his
life. When the murmur was first found during a pre-war aircrew medical, the
doctor simply asked if he ever got tired or puffed out, as he did not, nothing else
was said. In the 1960s his medical condition was properly identified and he had
to leave service flying, which was a terrible blow. The doctor suggested that he
should not get too excited – as Bandad’s life to that point had been full of
excitement this did amuse him! In 1986, the condition caught up with him.
Bandad is always in my thoughts and my memories and I feel his presence
around.
Several years before he died, he had finished his memoirs, but they remained
unpublished. I have always wanted to share his story and some of his extensive
photograph collection with others. I have not changed his words, only edited
them and added notes where an explanation may help the reader, or where
details from his diary have been added.
I dedicate this book to Bandad, Beatrice (his first wife) and their lovely
daughter Valerie (my Mum!) and Nana (his second wife).
I would like to thank the family for encouraging me and my friends for their
support.
Like Bandad, I hope you enjoy his memoirs and learn about one of this
country’s unsung heroes – my hero!
Tony Dyer, July 2012.
Original
Introduction

This is an account of some events of my life which may be of interest to
others (typically modest nature of my bandad!). They cover mainly flying
and Eastern Europe over the last fifty years or so. The reader should not expect
anything extraordinary, anything deeply analytical, but I hope that as he or she
goes along, it will be found that we have something to share and enjoy together.
A lot of the book is about my friends but by no means about all of them. There
have been and are so many, men and women, young and old, different races,
different colours, different creeds, different positions in life; some of them I did
not even know their names. Others could not stand the sight of some of the
others – which presents a problem that must tax God himself, who loves all his
creatures and creation, regardless of what they might think of one another.
With many of these friends I have lost touch – some still and always very dear
to me; others have or may have died; others are very much alive. It is to all of
them that I dedicate this book with love, in the sure hope and belief that we shall
all meet again. But if one out of the company is to be named to represent the
rest, then it is Bill McGuinty.

John French, 1980