RAF Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces (Aircraft of the Aces 93)

51 Pages·2010·38.88 MB·English

by  Andrew Thomas

ANDREWTHOMASisone
ofBritain'sleadingRAF
researchers,havingpublished
numerousarticlesandbooks
onthesubject,aswellas
readilyassistingotherauthors.
HavingjoinedtheRAFtofly
straightfromschool,hehas
maintainedhisenthusiastic
interestinthehistoryand
developmentofhisService
OSPREY AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES • 93
throughouthiscareer.Hehas
previouslywritteneighttitles RAF Mustang and
intherenowned Osprey
AircraftoftheAcesseries.
Thunderbolt Aces
ArtistCHRISDAVEYhas
illustratedmorethan30titles
forOsprey'sAircraftofthe
Aces, CombatAircraftand
AviationEliteUnitsseries
since 1994.Basedin
Mansfield,Nottinghamshire,
andoneofthelasttraditional
airbrushartistsinthe
business,hehasbecome
theartistofchoiceforboth
USAAFfightersandRAF
subjectmatter.
SERIES EDITOR: TONY HOLMES
II~-"'~~,,-,"~ 0 S PRE Y A IRe RAFT 0 F THE ACE S • 9 3
RAF Mustang and
Thunderbolt Aces
Andrew Thomas
FrontCover FirstpublishedinGreatBritain in 2010 byOspreyPublishing CONTENTS
On8March1945Norwegianace Midland House,WestWay, Botley,Oxford,0X2OPH
LtColWernerChristiearrivedat
44-0223rdSt,Suite219,LongIslandCity,NY11101, USA
RAFHunsdon,inHertfordshire,to
leadthewingthatcomprisedNos
E-mail;[email protected]
154and611'WestLancashire'Sqns.
Bothunitswereequippedwiththe
superbMustangIV,flyingthemon © 2010OspreyPublishingLimited
long-rangefighterescortmissions
forRAFBomberCommand'heavies'
All rightsreserved.Apartfrom anyfairdealingfor thepurposeofprivatestudy,
hittingtargetsindaylightraids.
Christiesoonbeganleadingthewing research,criticismorreview,aspermittedundertheCopyright, Designand CHAPTER ONE
inhispersonalaircraftthatborehis PatentsAct 1988, no partofthis publication maybereproduced,stOred ina
initialsWHC,aswastheprivilegeof retrievalsystem,ortransmitted inanyform orbyanymeans,electronic, EARLY DAYS 6
hisposition.Thefighter(KH790)also
electrical,chemical, mechanical,optical, photOcopying, recordingorotherwise
hadaredspinnerthatChristie
recalled'mademyaeroplanealittle withoutpriorwritten permission.Allenquiriesshouldbeaddressed to the CHAPTER TWO
easiertospotandformateuponafter publisher.
adogfightorgroundattack'.
D-DAY AND IDOODLEBUGS' 10
Alittleoveramonthlateron
ISBN 13;978 I 846039799
16AprilChristie,flyingKH790,led
theescortforaLancasterraidon
CHAPTER THREE
Swinemi.inde.Whenthebombers Edited byTonyHolmes
weresafelyontheirwayhomehe
Pagedesign byTonyTruscott LONG-RANGE ESCORT 32
tookNo611Sqndownonastrafing
CoverArtworkbyMarkPostlethwaite
sweep,initiallyflyingtotheeastof
Berlinwheretheyencountered AircraftProfilesbyChrisDavey
CHAPTER FOUR
SovietIlyushin11-2Shturmoviks IndexbyFinelineEditOrialServices
escortedbyYakfighters.After
OriginatedbyPDQDigital MediaSolutions ITALY AND THE BALKANS 62
exchangingrecognitionsignalswith
Printedand boundinChinathrough Bookbuilders
theRedArmyAirForcepilots,heled
theunitbackoverBerlin.At1750hrs
CHAPTER FIVE
nearFinowairfield,northeastof 101112131410987654321
theenemycapital,some20+short
THUNDERBOLTS OVER BURMA 75
nosedFw190fighterswerespotted
abovetheMustangIVsat10,000ft.
ChristieclosedononeoftheFocke
CHAPTER SIX
Wulfs,describingwhathappened
nextinhisCombatReport; FORACATALOGUEOFALLBOOKSPUBLISHEDBYOSPREY
'1openedup,firingafive-second MILITARYANDAVIATIO PLEASECONTACf: VALEDICTION 83
burstattheleadingaircraftina OspreyDirecr,c/oRandomHouseDisrribmionCenter,
formationofthree,range150yards, 400HahnRoad,Westminster,MD21157
andobservedstrikesontheportside Email:[email protected] APPENDICES 87
oftheengineandcockpit,andalso
OspreyDirect,TheBookServiceLtd,DisrriburionCemre. COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 91
thathisstarboardwingtipwas
ColchesrerRoad,FraringGreen,Colchesrer,Essex,C077DW
damaged.Theaircraftthenbegan
E-mail:[email protected] BIBLIOGRAPHY 95
tosmokebadlyandglidestraight
ahead.Ipulledouttotheportside www.osprcypublishing.com INDEX 96
andmadeasecondattack,opening
upat200yardsandagainclosing
intoabout50yards,endingupdead
astern.Ifiredseveralshortbursts
lastingtenseconds,andduring
theattackIobservedstrikesonthe
cockpit,engineandbothwings.
Thefighter'sportwingfelloffand
theportundercarriagelegfelldown,
afterwhichitdidfiveorsixquick fourmoreFw190sweredestroyed. Thisspeciallycommissioned
rollshorizontallyandcrashedin Christiethenreformedhiswingand paintingbyMarkPostlethwaite
flamesinawood.' leditbacktoEngland.The27-year showstheportwingofLtCol
OtherspilotsfromNo611Sqn oldNorwegianacehadjustclaimed WernerChristie'sfinalvictim
werealsoengaged,andinwhat histenth,andfinal,victory.Itwas startingtodetachastheFocke-Wulf
provedtobetheAuxiliary alsothelastaerialkillcreditedto fighterbeginstospinawaytoits
squadron'slastactionofthewar, anaceflyinganRAFMustang. destruction
L.U EARLY DAYS on 24 April! The BPC was m
Z >
o impressed, aurhorising producrion :0
a:: ofrheaircrafrfor rheRAF,which in r-<
L.U
le. .. A December bestowed upon ir rhe >o
« -<
::r:: name'Mustang'. (/)
u I
coupleofmilesshortoflandfallIspottedfourFw190soffro PoweredbyanAllisonV-I710-39
ourrighrarabour 1500fc.Theircourseandspeedwasgoing engine,rhefirstMustangIwassemro
ro pur rhem direcrly overhead when we crossed rhe beach. rhe UK by sea in Ocrober 1941,
I called Freddie rwice wirh a "Tally ho!", bur rhere was no response. where in flighr trials ir proved ro be
Hedid nor hear rhewarnings and apparenrlydid notsee the Fw 190s. fasrerrhantheSpitfireVar15,000ft.
When Freddie rurned righr to inrerceptour recce roadatAbbeville, we However, irs performance fell away
werepurinan idealposirion for rheFWstoattack. Iswungverywideto sharplyafrerthar,asunlikerheRolls
Freddie'slefrduringrherum, dusringrheAbbevillechimneytops. That Royce Merlin 45 in rile Vickers
keprmebenearhrheFWs,andIbelievetheylostsightofme. Supermarine fighrer, me Allison
'Myplanwas to cutoffrheleadFW190before hecouldopen fire on engine was nor supercharged. Wirh
Freddie,burmyrimingwenrroporwhenacrashingSpirfireforcedmeto subsranrial numbers of Spirfire Vs
rum to avoid acollision.Thatgave theleadFWpilottime to gerintoa available, rhe Musrang I's excellem range and low-level performance led No414SqnMustangIslike
firing posirion, and he hir Freddie's Mustangwith rhe first burst. Igor roitbeingfirredwimanobliquecameraforuseinmearmycooperarionrole AG427/RU-Hformedpartof
along-rangeshotatrheFWleaderbuthadtobreakrightwhen hisNo2 insread. Indeed, rhe fighrer was gladly welcomed byArmy Co-operarion ArmyCo-operationCommand
fromearly1942,undertaking
man had a go ar me. The No 2 missed and made rhe big misrake of Command, which desperately needed a modern aircrafr ro replace rhe
tacticalreconnaissancemissions
slidingtomylefrsideaheadofme.IrwasaneasyshotandIhithimhard. TomallawkIIsrhen inservice. overoccupiedwesternEurope
Hisenginecaughrfire, andsoonafterirsrarredsmokingandthecanopy The Musrang I enrered operarional service on 5January 1942 when (No414SqnRecords)
cameoff. Ihithimagainandhewasagoner, fallingoffto rhe righr into No 26 Sqn, based ar RAF Garwick, in Surrey, received AG367 for
rherrees. operarional rests. The unir received rwo more examples rhe following
'Thesecond pairofFw 190s hadvanished so I raced towards Dieppe momh. More squadrons were also issued wirh Musrang Is through
looking for Freddie's Mustang. I saw him heading for rhe harbour ar rhe spring, and on 10 May Fig Off Dawson from No 26 Sqn flew
1000 ft, srreaming glycol, wirh rhe lead FW (I'ailing behind. The FW Thefirstofthecountlessenemy rhe Musrang I's firsr operarional sorrie when he scrafed the airfield
starredtoslidedeadasrern Freddie,soIgavehimashorthigh-deflecrion aircraftshotdownbytheMustang at Berck-sur-Mer. The unir flew itssecondoperarion on rhe 14th when
bursr to ger his attenrion. He broke hard lefr into my attack, and the appropriatelyfelltoanAmerican irphotographed a radarsire in rhe Pasde Calais- an unglamorous rask
servingintheRCAF,PitOffHollis
ensuingfighrseemedrogoon forever. Icouldour-rurnhim, veryslowly rhat was neverrheless viral in rhe planning for rhe invasion ofFrance
HillsofNo414Sqn.Helaterbecame
gaininganadvanrage,burjusrasIgorintofiringpositionhewouldbreak anacewhenflyingF6FHellcatswith in 1944. Gradually, rhe paceofthese fighrer-reconnaissance operarions
offandS(I'eak inland, usingrhesuperiorpowerofhisBMWengine. He USNavysquadronVF-32inthe over occupied Europe increased, wirh No 239 Sqn becoming rhe nexr
wouldcomebackarmeassoonasIrurnedtoheadforthecoast,andwe'd Pacificin1944(CanadianArmed unittodeclareirselfoperarionalwirh rheMustangIinJune.
Forces)
srart our rurning comperition allover again. Duringone rum I had ro The firsr major action for rhe aircrafr in RAF service came during OneofthefirstRAFunitstofly
dodgeacrashingaeroplane- an Me 109- and rheFWpilorgorhisonly OperarionJubileeon 19Augusc.Thiswasalargescaleraidon rheporrof theMustangIwasNo4Sqn,which
wasalsoequippedwiththecannon
shotarme.Hisdeflecrionwastoogreatandhemissed.Myopponentwas Dieppe,andirledrosomeoftheheaviesrairfighringofrhewar.Thefour
armedMkIA- thisexamplewas
ahighlycomperenrpilor,andIwasreadytocalladrawassoonasIcould.' MusrangsquadronsofNo35Wing- Nos26,239,400and414Sqns- photographedin1943(J0 Oughton)
Thus did American Plr OffHollis Hills ofthe Royal Canadian Air
Force's No 414 Sqn describe in the Summer 1990 edition of naval
aviation journal The Hook how over Dieppe on 19 Augusr 1942 he
claimed the Musrang's firsr aerial victory. Hills later cransferred to the
US Navyand becamean aceflyingF6F Hellcars in rhe Pacificin 1944.
ThiswasNo414Sqn'sbaprismoffire,anditwenrontobecomethemost
successfulofrheMusrangreconnaissanceunitsinrenTISofaerialvictories.
The aircrafr rhar Hollis Hills was flying rhar day was a producr of
a proposal by North American Aviarion to rhe British Purchasing
Commission (BPC) in early 1940. Having received US government
sancrion,rhecompanywenron todevelopaverycleansingle-seatfighter
design- theNA-73X- rhar received rheUS designarionXP-51. Irflew
for rhe firsr rime on 26 Ocrober 1940. This was an exrraordinary
6 achievemenr,asapproval toproceedwirhrheprojecthadonlybeengiven 7
UJ HewinsupportofJubileethroughouttheday,bloodingthenewfighterin Command, and examples were duly delivered to the Air Fighting m
oZ aircombatforthefirsttimeashasalreadybeendescribedin thischapter. Development Unit (AFDU) at RAF Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, for l:J>J
tUIJ: As well as reconnaissance missions, theexpandingforce ofMustangI trials and compararive testing. The pilots ofthis unit were all highly r-<
l«e. .. squadrons also regularly mounted moreoffensivesorties in the form of experienced,andinJune 1943thefamousone-armedaceSqnLdrJames lo>
::r:: 'Rhubarbs', 'Rangers' and 'Populars'. These led to occasional brushes MaclachlanjoinedtheAFDUfollowingalecturetourin theUS. e-<n
u
with theLuftwaffe,andasteadystreamoflossesmainlytolightHak. On 29 June, in company with Fit Lt Geoffrey Page (who had 2.5
Oneofthemostsuccessfuloftheseearlyarmyco-operation pilotswas victories to his name), Maclachlan Hewan offensivesweepoverFrance.
FigOffFrankHantonofNo400Sqnwho,on8July1943,sharedin the Leaving RAP Lympne, in Kent, at0915 hrs, theycrossed theSeineand
destructionofanFi 156Storch.Thenduringanight'Ranger'toRennes when northwestofRambouillettheyspottedanumberofaircraft,asthe
airfield in theearly hours of15August he caughtaBf110 nightflghter AFDUrecordsnoted;
inbrightmoonlightasitmadeitsapproachtolandanddulyshotitdown, 'Overawood thenorthwestofthetown theysighted threeHs 126sat
so achieving the Mustang's first night victory- Hanton also damaged 2000 ft in line abreast. Sqn Ldr Maclachlan attacked the port aircraft,
aJu88duringthesamemission. which caughtfire afteraburstofabout twoseconds from all guns. The
Through the summer of 1943 a number ofaces were posted into aircraftHewforaboutthreemileson fireand crashedintoahouse.Then
MustangI units includingFitLt Bob Doewho, on 31 August, Hew his adogfightensuedwith theothertwo, oneofwhichSqnLdrMaclachlan
onlyoperationalsortiewith No613 Sqnwhen he ledasearch forsome attacked until itglideddown intoawood. FitLtPagedowned thethird.
refugee boats in the North Sea. Anotherwas FIg OffGlyn Griffiths of Italsocrashedin thewoodafteratwo-secondburstfrom deadasternata
No4Sqnwhoon 1AugustHewareconnaissanceoftheCherbourgarea. rangeofabout300yards.Noonebailedoutofanyoftheseaircraft. Thefirstpilotstoclaimmultiple
victoriesinanRAFMustangwere
However, when returning to Odiham from a sortie over France on 'The Mustangs Hew on for about ten milesand then sighted another
assignedtotheeliteAFDU.Oneof
16 October his wingman collided with him and he was badly burned Hs 126doingcircuitsatabout2000ft. SqnLdrMaclachlan fired ashort themwasone-armedaceSqnLdr
Oneofanumberofacesthatlater
beforehecouldbailoutofhisstricken fighter,spendingmuchoftherest burstwhichcaused theenemyaircraftto takeevasiveaction. Itwas then JamesMaclachlan,whosefour
flewMustangIsinthearmy
co-operationrolewasFitLtGlyn ofthewarhavingtreatmentforhisdreadful injuries. attacked by FitLt Page, whosawstrikes. It half-rolled and dived into a claimson29June1943tookhis
totalto16and1shareddestroyed
GriffithsofNo4Sqn,whoisseen The most successful army co-operation pilot in air combat was fieldnearLimours.Wreckagewasstrewnalloverthefield.Theythenflew
(viaBCull)
herewhenstillasergeantpilot Canadian Fig OffGordon Wonnacott ofNo 414 Sqn who soon after on to Bretigny and saw twoJu 88s circling the aerodrome with wheels
withNo17Sqnin1940.Hewas
lunchon2NovemberleftRAPRedhill,inSurrey,withFigOffBrownon down,oneat2000frandoneat1000ft.SqnLdrMaclachlanattackedthe
badlyinjuredinamid-aircollision
in 16October1943(MGoodman) a reconnaissance mission over Belgium. They attacked and damaged aircraftat2000 ft andsawstrikesand brokeaway, and then FitLtPage
several locomotives and also a goods train. Then when in the vicinity closed inandattacked.TheJu88crashedoutsidetheaerodrome.'
ofCambrai Brownspottedtwo Fw 190satzerofeetcrossingfrom leftto In sharing in its destruction, Geoffrey Page had became the first of
right. Wonnacottrelatedhisactionsafterhavingturned toattackthem; manyAllied pilots to becomean acewhen atthecontrolsofaMustang.
'1 started to attack the starboard aircraft but could not close until it The pair were not yet finished, as on turningback theysaw thesecond
turnedinto"Blue2",whowasattackingtheportFw190.Isawstrikeson Ju88abouttoland. Maclachlanattackeditand thebomberimmediately
the Fw 190 beingattacked by "Blue 2", and as he overshot, the fighter caughtfireandcrashedon theedgeoftheairfield. Havingshotdownsix
1waschasingturnedinto"Blue2"and1instructedthelattertobreakinto enemyaircraftbetweenthem,thepairthen returnedhomefrom themost
him.1thenclosedinon theFw 190that"Blue2"hadovershot,opening successfulMustangsortietodate.
fire at 250 yards and closing to 150 yards, observing strikes on the
-----A STAR IS BORN------
fuselage.Theenemypilotwaggled hiswingsasIstartedtofire, andwhen
1brokeofftheattackheturnedoverontohisbackandwentstraightinto Soon after the MustangI's arrival at theAFDU in thespringof1942,
thedeck. I pulledaway inatight turn to find theotherFw 190heading itwas noted byRolls-Royce chieftest pilotRonald Harkerafter heflew
forhome.' theaircraftthat'wirhapowerful and goodenginelike the Merlin 61, its
Wonnacott's shared victory started him on the path to acedom. On performancecould beoutstanding'. Furtherdiscussions tookplacewith
28 January 1944 during a 'Ranger' to the Chartres area, his section the recommendation that aircrafr should be thus fitted for resting in
spotted a pair ofAt 96 advanced trainers. One exploded when hit by Britain rhatsummer,and thatavariantoftheMerlin builrin the US by
a burstoffire from FigOffR 0 Brown and thesecond was downed in PackardsuchastheV-1650-3befitted and tesred inaP-51AinAmerica.
Hames byWonnacott in AP211 and FitLt Burroughs in AM251. They ThefirstHightofaMerlin-MustangsubsequentlytookplaceintheUK
then encountered Bf 109£s from JG 105, and although Brown went on 13 October 1942, and the aircraft generally performed well. In the
down, BurroughsandWonnacotteachdestroyed one. Gordon Wonna US the first Highr was undertaken at orth American's Inglewood,
COttwentonto'makeace'afterNo414Sqnre-equippedwithSpitflreIXs. California, facilityon30November,with thesecondonebeingHown in
-------FIRST AcE------- February 1943. An order for 2000 examples of the new varianr,
designared the P-51B, had been placed even beforethe prototype's first
When delivered, in spite of the reservations about its high altitude Hight, and theyenteredservicewith the USAAF and RAF in late 1943.
8 performance, the newMustangInaturallydrewtheattentionofFighter Astarhad been born. 9
o D-DAY AND o
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f- »
CC -<
L.U »
«af. .. IDOODLEBUGS' oz
::c
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ThefirstUSAAFP-51Bstoreachthefrontlineweredeliveredtothe Gl
en
354th Fighter Group (FG) in the UK in November 1943. On
22 December No 65 Sqn accepted its first Merlin-powered
MustangIIIatRAFGravesend,inKent,andbytheendofjanuary1944
theunitwasoperational.No65Sqnwasledbyeight-victoryaceSqnLdr
Reg Grant, who was promoted to lead Mustang III-equipped No 122
Wing shortly after his unit returned to operations. He was in turn
replacedbySqnLdrG RAM 'Robin'Johnston, who hadclaimedfour
victoriesinNorthAfricain 1941-42.AlsojoiningNo65Sqnatthistime From there we did long-range escorts with B-17s to the Ruhr, TheonlyRAFunitinNo133(polish)
was New Zealander Fit Lt BG 'Buck' Collyns and the RAP's only and then on to Berlin - the latter missions took close to five hours to WingwasNo129Sqn,towhich
Icelandicpilot,FigOffTE'Tony'Jonsson,whoalsohadfourvictoriesto complete. Just before the invasion we used the Mustang for ground MustangIIIFB129/DV-Fbelonged.It
wasflownbyseveralnotablepilots,
his name. Both men would 'make ace' on Mustang Ills during the arrack, taking two 500-lb bombs on board. I left the unit two months includingseven-victoryaceFigOff
comingmonths. afterD-Day,andon thatdayitwastakenoffoffensiveopstochaseVis.' DesmondRuchwaldy.Oneofthe
No 19Sqnalsobegan re-equippingatthistime,andon 15Februaryit HawhadseveralothersuccessfulpilotsonstrengthwithhimatNo 129 longestservingMerlinMustangIlls,
thefighterparticipatedinNo129
combinedwithNo65SqntoperformthefirstMustangIIIsweep,flying Sqn, including Fit Lt John Hancock, who had five and one shared
Sqn'sfirstoperationwiththetype
overBrusselsandLille.FutureaceFitSgtBasiliosVassiliadesnoted inhis victories, and FigOffDesmondRuchwaldywith seven kills. Elsewhere, on26April 1944andalsoflewinits
logbook,'Nothingseen.FirstfightersweepbyRAPMustangIlls'. thePolishmannedNo316SqnatRAFColtishall,inNorfolk,alsobegan laston20April1945lPau/Ham/yn)
No 122Wing's third unit, No 122Sqn,wasstill re-equippingat this FitSgtBasiliosVassiliadeswaswith te-equippingforescortwork.
time, but among its pilots were Fig Offs Lance Burra Robinson and No19Sqnwhenitconvertedfrom On 1AprilNo 133Wingmoved toRAPCoolhamALG, inSussex,and ThewingleaderofNo122Wingwas
theSpitfireIXtotheMustangIII WgCdr'Robin'Johnston,whoin
MauricePinches,bothofwhomweretoachievegreatsuccessthroughthe andflewonitsfirstoperationwith like No 122 Wing at nearby RAP Funtington, also in Sussex, claimingthefirstofhisMustangIII
summer. However, on 28 February No 122 Wingsuffered a great loss theAmericanfighteron15February it became parr of the 2nd Tactical Air Force (TAP). Despite this victorieson22April1944became
when,aftertakingofftoleadaMarauderescort,WgCdrGrantsuffered 1944.Bythetimehewasshotdown organisationalchange,operationsremainedmuchasbefore.Duringawing anace.Hisprevioussuccesseshad
inAugustVassiliadeshadclaimed comeinHurricaneIICswithNo73
an engine failure in his fighter (FX9%) and crashed into the sea off sweep to Strasbourg in the late afternoon of 22 April, Fit Sgt
fiveandtwosharedvictories SqninNorthAfricain1941-42
Gravesend. He thus became the first ace to be killed in a MustangIII. (viaCHThomas) Vassiliades(inFB104)shotdownaBf109forhisfirstkill,whileonthesame (viaCHThomas)
Grant'splacewastakenbySqnLdrJohnston,whowasin turnsucceeded sorrie Fig Off N ES Mutter (in FX944) claimed No 65 Sqn's
by Kiwi ace Sqn Ldr D F 'Jerry' Westenra. The wing then gradually premier Mustang III success when he too destroyed a Bf 109. Also
increased itsoperational tempo, flyingsweeps and escorts in supportof victoriouswasWgCdrJohnston(inFX9%),whoseBfl09killgavehimace
USAAFandRAFmediumbombersandprotectinganti-shippingCoastal status.HisCombatReportstated;
CommandBeaufightersovertheNorthSea. 'I sighted 14 Me 109s crossing my bow 400 yards below at about
TowardstheendofMarchadditionaldeliveriesenabledthesquadrons 15,600ft. Theywereon mystarboardsideatarangeofabout1000yards.
of No 133 (Polish) Wing to begin re-equipping at RAF Heston, in Almost immediatelyafterwards Isaw the Hun leaderjettison his tanks.
Middlesex, No306gettingitsfirstMustangIIIon the26thandNo315 1jettisonedmineandcalledout"attacking".lturned toporrabovethem
on the28th.Thelarrerunitwasledby II-victoryace:SqnLdrEugeniusz as they were also turning to port. After halfa circuit they half-rolled.
'Dziubek' Horbaczewski, and among his pilots were Sgt Jakub Ichasedthem,andafterthreeminutesbegantooverhaultherearaircraft.
Bargielowski, who had suffered in a Soviet Gulag for some years, and 1fired from deadastern, rangeabout250yards,andsawstrikes.Hetook
seven-victoryaceFigOffKazimierzWunsche. me through some high tension cables, interrupting my firing. He was
The wing's third unit was No 129 Sqn, whose CO was Sqn Ldr then incrediblylow, and eitherhis enginestoppedor he throttled back.
Charlton 'Wag' Haw.Averyexperiencedpilotwith four victories tohis 1putdown 20degreesofflap and closedinastern to 100yardsand gave
name, Haw had been awarded the OrderofLenin by the USSR for his himalongburst.Lightsmokestreamedout.Suddenlyhisnosedropped
actionsduringtheMurmanskexpeditionin 1941.Hetoldtheauthor; and hehitthesideofasmallvalleyandblewup.'
'We were given Mustangs just before moving to Heston, then on to On 23April No 122Sqn,which had lostitsCO to flak earlier in the
10 No 133 Advanced LandingGround (ALG) near Horsham, in Sussex. month, also got in on the action during a 'Ranger' to Dole/Tavaux 11
o airfield,ontheSwissborder.Fourof during a 'Ranger' to the Tours area. Sharing the kill with Fit Sgts o
5: o
the unit's Mustangs arrived at the W T Warren(inFB158)andAJFellows(FZI81),herecalled;
f- :l>
CC base at the same time as eight 'I flew lineabreastand identified itasanArado96. I turned and fired -<
LJ.J :l>
f He Ills, and in the one-sided from 300 yards, closing to 200 yards, from variousangles. Theaircraft Z
a... o
<:( action that followed six were shot took evasive action, and I eventually saw strikes in the cockpit after
I o
U down. FitLtLanceBurra-Robinson an attack from astern and above. The starboard undercarriage leg fell o
(in FZ164) began his road to 'ace downandtheaircrafthittheground.' oo
dom' when he shot down two On the last day of the month No 122 Sgn's CO, Sgn Ldr T H rm
bombersandsharedathirdwiththe Drinkwater, ledeightMustangIllson a'Ranger' thatdestroyed several CCD
restofthesection. Hedescribed his training aircraft on the ground. Shortly afterwards he was replaced by (G/))
firsttwovictoriesasfollows; aNewZealandacefrom NorthAfrica,SgnLdrErnestJoyce.
'A He III crossed my path from With their confidence in the range oftheir Mustang IIIs confirmed,
"two0'clock"atabout300ft.Ibroke No 122 Wing was tasked with a 'Ranger' to an airfield in Aalborg,
into a position line astern ofit and in northern Denmark,on6 May. Nos 19and 122Sgnseach sentapair
fired from 300 yards, closing to offighters, and it provedsuccessful. Lance Burra-Robinson (in FZ168)
200 yards, observingstrikes first on desrroyedaHs 129on rheground,butFigOffELGermain (in FX955)
Thefourpilotsfrom No122Sqn thestarboard mainplaneclosetotheengineand then on thefuselage. The ofNo 19Sgn was in turn attacked by two Fw 190sand shotdown and
whoona'Ranger'toDole/Tavaux aircraft's nosedropped and the pilotappeared toattemptacrash landing. killed by UnteroffizierLlickenbackof10./JG 11. Despite this setback,
airfieldon23April1944shotdown Theaircraftskidded on impact, crashed through a hedgeand the greater thewingbelieved thatthiscouldbeafruitful areaforfurthersweeps,and
sixHe111sbetweenthem.They
are,fromlefttoright,FitLtLAP partofthestarboardmainplanesimultaneouslydroppedoff.Ihadtobreak arepeatattackwasdulysuggested.
Burra-Robinson,PitOffsEA immediately as I saw another He III approaching. I broke into line The followingday withdrawal coverwas given to ahomeward bound
RoemmeleandJCrosslandand astern, firingandclosingfrom 250 to 100yards. Strikeswereseen on the USMF raid byNo65Sgn(ledbyDerekWestenra), theunitpickingup
FitLtAFPavey.BothBurra-Robinson mainplaneandonthefuselage.Piecesflewofftheaircraft,whichdivednose thebombersjust70mileswestofBerlin.
andPaveywouldbecomeaces
flyingtheMustangIIIbytheend firstintoafield,burstingintoflames.' No 122 Wing returned to Aalborgearly on the morningofthe 17th
ofthesummer.Theaircraftbehind Pit OffJohn Crossland (in FZ131) also shot an He III down and when WgCdrJohnston ledeightaircraftfrom Nos65and 122Sqnson MustangIIIFZ120/YT-JofNo65Sqn
thembearsthesquadronmarking sharedindestroyingtwoothersforhisfirstvictories.Alsotastingsuccess one ofthe most successful Mustang III 'Rangers' ever flown. Having sitsbombedupawaitingitsnext
onitsnose(ww2imagesl sortieintheweeksbeforeD-Day.
werePitOffEARoemmele(inFB110)andFitLtAFPavey(inFZ168), refuelledatRAFColtishall,theaircraftflewatlow-levelacrosstheNorrh Theaircraftwasregularlyflownby
whowrote; Sea in twosections- Johnston, Westenra, Collynsand FitLt RBarrett, unitCOandex-desertaceSqnLdr
'Iattackedonewhichwasjustloweringitsundercarriage.Myrangewas with Lt K Nyerrod, Fig OffM H Pinches and Fit Sgts W P Kelly and JerryWestenra,whoshotdown
anFw190initon8June.FZ120
approximately250yardsandlineasternoftheaircraft.Isawstrikesonthe RT Williams in 'Blue' section. They arrived over Aalborg at midday,
wasalsoflownoccasionallyby
engine,andoilfrom theaircraftcoveredmywindscreen.Weavingattacks where although achieving surprise, some Bf 109s and Fw 190s from fellowaceFItLt'Buck'Collyns
had to be made due to the low speed ofthe bomber, and after several 10./JG 11 did managetoengagethem. (MrsMKidnerviaStephenDar/ow)
ofthesethestarboardenginestoppedand thestarboardwingcaughtfire.
Theaircraftcrashedinafield,simultaneouslycollidingwithatree.Three
membersofthecrewgotoutand ranacrossthefield.'
Havingdamaged another Heinkel, he then went for a third bomber
He111HG1+MUwasoneofthe
thathadalreadybeenattacked bytheothers;
victimsofNo122Sqn'sdevastating
attackonDole/Tavauxairfield 'Iattacked,hittingthefuselage,andonmysecondpassIstoppedtherear
(ww2imagesl gunner's fire - strikes were also seen on the starboard engine. This
aircraft endeavoured to escape by
flying very low and comparatively
fast. Isaw it blow up in the air and
crashintoawood.'
Thetempoofactioncontinuedto
increase,withNo129Sgnbeginning
operations and the numbers of
claims steadily mounting. On 28
April-thedayNo306Sgn flew its
first Mustang III mission - No 19
Sgn's Basilios Vassiliades (in
12 FX955) claimed his second success 13
o Thefirstsectionspottedaformationof]u88sfromKG30,andallfour flown backto England byaBOAC o
S
I- were shot down - Johnston (in FZ15l), Westenra (in FZ120) and Mosquitoon2]uly!Forhisexploits :ol>
a: Collyns (in FX900) each claimed one, with all threesharing the other. on thisepicfight inwhich he made -<
w
Ia. .. However,enemyfightersarrivedandBarrett(inFX993)waskilledwhen hisonlyclaimsofthewat, Rowland :Zl>
:<:r:!: he was shot down into the Lim Fjord by Unteroffizier Rudschinat. Williams received an immediate o
u BarrettmayhavedownedtwoBf109spriortohisdemise. DFMupon hisreturn. oo
To the south, 'Blue' section spotted two elderlyJunkers W 34s, one As the long awaited invasion o
o
ofwhichNyerrod(inFZl18)sentdowninflameswhilefutureacePinches ofFrance approached, the Mustang r
m
andAustralian 'Ned' Kelly (in FZ125) despatched the second. Pinches Ills of both wings switched OJ
c:
thenspottedtwomooredA1.196floatplanes,whichhedulystrafed.Ashe to fighter-bomber duties. As the G1
C/)
pulledup from his run, hespottedan He177thathepromptlyattacked. intensity of operations increased
Thehugebomberfrom4.1KG 100explodedwhenithitthegroundwest intheleaduptoOperation Overlord,
ofAalborgtown. Pinches then attackeda]u88overtheairfieldthatalso other pilots began to open their
crashedinverted. scores. One was the experienced
Whilethiswas happening,'Ned'Kellyhadpositionedhimselfbehind FItLtWladislawPotockiofNo306
aBf109,butjustashewasabouttoopenfirehewasbaulkedbyanother Sqn, who had previously carried
MustangIII (possiblytheaircraftflown byBarrett),whichsetthefighter FitItWladislawPotocki(left)of out operational testing on the SpitfireXII. On 18 May he and three of
onfire. KellyswitchedtoasecondBf109,shootingitdownbeforefiring No306Sqn,whobecameanace his squadronmates shared in the destruction of an He III northeast
duringJune1944,discussestactics
onanFw190thatheclaimedtohavedamaged.Hethen firedonwhathe ofNevers for his first success. Another was 21-year-old Australian WO
withanotherace,SqnLdrPeter
thought was a Do 217, and saw one ofthe crew baiJ out - this was Max Bell (in FX943) ofNo 19Sqn,who madehis firstclaim on 21 May
ThompsonofNo129Sqn.Thelatter
creditedtohim asaprobable. hadassumedcommandofNo129 when he helped shootdown aLeO 451 south ofViborg whileescorting
Kelly'sfellowNCORowlandWilliams(in FZ110)wasalso inaction, Sqnfrom'Wag'HawinJuly1944 a Mosquito raid. He noted in his Combat Report that after seeing a
(PolishInstituteandSikorski
having damaged a W 34 before spotting three aircraft flying very low Mosquitofiringatit;
Archive)
in lineabreast thathe thoughtweremoreHe 177s. Hisfire hitone, but
then anotherMustang(possiblyMauricePinches) alsoattacked,forcing
him to break away. Williams' frustration was, however, momentary, ThemostsuccessfulMustangIII
as he then attacked aformation ofthree more W 34s and claimed two missionpriortoD-Daywasthe
ofthemdestroyed.Ashepulledofftothenorthhespottedwhatheagain 'Ranger'flownbyNo122Wingto
Aalborgon17May.Onthissortie
identified as an He 177 (actually another ]u 88) and fired on it too.
FitSgtRowlandWilliamsshared
Williams saw the crew bailout ofthe blazingaircraft. However, as he intheshootingdownofan'He177'
describedyearslatertotheauthor; (actuallyaJu88)andalsodestroyed
'AsImademyfinalattackfromtherear,withflapsetdownsoIdidnot asecond'He177'andtwoW34s. No129Sqn'sfirstMustangIIICO
However,apieceofdebrisfromhis wasSqnLdr'Wag'Haw,whois
overshoot, the pilot pulled the bomber's nose up. The lower gunner
finalvictimstruckFZ110/YT-S, seenheresittingonhiskitsharing
jettisonedsomething-possiblyarmout-plating-thatgotstuckinmyait forcingWilliamstocrash-land ajokewiththeunit'smedicalofficer
scoop, causing the engine to seizeand the aircraft to almoststall. With inDenmark.Shelteredbythe upontheirarrivalatRAFCoolham
noheighttobailoutI hadto makeaforcedlanding.' Resistance,heeventuallyescaped ALGinearlyApril1944.Hawhad
viaSweden,anduponreturning previouslybeenawardedtheOrder
Williamswasalmostimmediatelypickedup bytheDanish tesistance,
tohisunithereceivedtheDFM ofLeninbytheRussiansforhis
andaftetmanyadventutesheteachedneutralSwedenon6]une. Hewas forhisexploits(RTWilliams) actionsoverRussia(CHaw)
'Wag'Haw'sregularaircraftwas
FB169/DV-H,whichheflewmany
times.OntheeveningofD-Day
hewasatitscontrolswhenheled
fightercoverforairborneforces
landingintheeasternbeacharea
14 (viaCHThomas) 15
o 'Iopenedfirefrom400yards,closingto250yards.Theenemyaircraft area.Afteralongchaseatlowlevel three German fighters werebrought o
S
I- stuckits nosedown,which broughtme intolineastern,andIcontinued down. Onefell tothegunsofSqnLdrDerekWestenra(in FZ120),who »o
0:: firingandsawstrikeson the portengine, which blewup.Theportwing describedhisfinal victoryin hisCombatReport; -<
LU »
le. .. then fell offandtheaircraftdroppedawayin Aames.' 'I overtook one'190 and opened fire at 600 yards. Throughout the z
« However,casualtieswerealsomounting,withfourMustangIllsbeing chasetheHun did notweave, Ayingstraightas the inrerveningcontours o
:I:
U losttovariouscauseson the20thandtwomoreonthe21st.No315Sqn permittedtowardstheeast.Iclosedandfired numerousshortburstsfrom o
o
diditsbesttoevenupthescoreon25Maywhenfourofitspilotsdowned differenr angles. I saw strikes and the engine stopped. Then the'190 o
o
apairofAT96trainersnearBourgesduringa'Ranger'.No 19Sqngained pulledup to800ftand thepilotbailedout.Theparachuteopened.This r
m
anewCO duringMay toowhenseven-victoryaceSqnLdrW M 'Mac' waswestofDreux,60milesfrom wherethechasehadstarted.' co
C
Gilmourtookover.On 1JuneNo 122SqnbossErnestJoyce(inFX954) Thesteadystream oflosses to Aakcontinued, however, and one pilot Gl
(I)
made hisonlyclaim on theMustangIII when heshotdown an He III broughtdownon8JunewasfutureaceFitLtMichalCwynarofNo315
northofAlteMellum,in theFrisianIslands,duringa'Ranger'. Sqn,whoforce-landed(inFB188)southofCaenbutreturned tohisunit
-------- D-DAY--------
JusrpriortoD-Daytheaircraftofbothwingshadbroadblackandwhite
AlliedExpeditionaryAirForceidentirystripespainredaround thewings
and fuselage. On 6 June itself, No 122 Wing's squadrons formed part
ofthe huge fighter force thatescorted thesecondwaveoftroop carriers
andgliderstoNormandy.Theythen Aewmyriadgroundsupportsorties
for the invading troops, resulting in mounting losses to the enemy's
deadlylightAakbatteries.
The Polish wingescorted glider trains in the evening, No 129 Sqn's
'Wag' Haw(in FB169) leading 11 aircraftto theeastern beacharea near
Caen.InafightwithFw190sofJG26,FitLtJohn Hancock(inFZ121)
andWOW ERigby(inFB171)shared in thedestructionofan Fw 190
- thesolevictoryclaimedbyMustangIllson D-Day.
D+1, however, saw the wings involved in some intenseaerial action,
with 16Germanfightersbeingdestroyed forthelossofsixMustangIlls.
Among the successful pilots in the morning sortie was No 306 Sqn's
FitLtGrzegorzSologub(in FX873),whoshotdownaBf109toclaimhis
firstMustangIIIkill,andfourthsuccessoverall.Inanearlyeveningpatrol
squadronmate Fig Off Herryk Pietrzak (in FB111) was Aying east
ofArgenran when he encounreredsome Bf109s, oneofwhich heshot
down and damaged a second. Also successful was Fit Lt Wladislaw
Potocki (in FZl96),as he tooclaimedaBf109in thesameaction.Ten
MustangIIIFB145/PK-FofNo315
minuteslater, inanothercombatsometen milessouthofCaen,Pietrzak
SqnisbombedupatRAFCoolham
becameanacewhenheshotdownanotherBf109,asdidPotocki. ALGjustpriortoD-Day.FitSgt
ThefollowingdayNo65Sqnwasin theprocessofconductinganearly JakubBargielowskiusedthis
bombingattacknearDreuxwhen Fw 190swerespotted near the target machinetodowntwoFw190s
nearSenson12June,thefighter
alsobeingflownbyFigOffJerzy
Theseguncamerastillsshowthe
Polakwhenhedestroyedtwo
demiseofoneofthetwoBf109s
Bf109s12dayslater(Polish
shotdowntothenortheastof
InstituteandSikorskiArchive)
Neverson0+1 byFitLtWladislaw
PotockiofNo306Sqn(Polish
InstituteandSikorskiArchive)
Whenhegainedhisdouble'kill'
on7June1944Potockiwasflying SqnLdr'Mac'Gilmour,COof
MustangIIIFZ196/UZ-D,whichis No19Sqn,laysinrelaxedrepose
seenherelandingfullybedeckedin outsidehistentinearlyJune1944.
D-DaystripesatRAFCoolhamALG SeatedisfellowaceandCOof
(polishInstituteandSikorski No122Sqn,SqnLdrJohnShaw
16 Archive) (JWBennett) 17