Mosquito: Menacing the Reich: Combat Action in the Twin-engine Wooden Wonder of World War II (55 page)

NOTES

Chapter 1

1
Mosquito Aircrew Assoc (MAA)
The Mossie
No.36 September 2004.

2
W4064/C FTR on 31 May 1942 when it was hit by flak on the operation to Cologne and was ditched 10 km SW of Antwerp, at Bazel on the bank of the Schelde. Pilot Officer William Deryck Kennard and Pilot Officer Eric Raymond Johnson were killed.

3
Simmons was later killed flying a Turkish Air Force Mosquito.

4
A further 60 Mosquito bombers were on order, but they would not start to arrive until the following February. For now, 105 Squadron had to make do with W4066, the first Mosquito bomber to enter RAF service. This aircraft arrived at Swanton Morley on 17 November watched by the AOC 2 Group, Air Vice Marshal d’Albiac and his staff. Three other B.IVs – W4064, W4068 and W407l – were delivered at intervals to Swanton Morley by Geoffrey de Havilland Jr. and Pat Fillingham.

5
Losigkeit had proved very effective during Operation
Donnerkeil
(The ‘Channel Dash’) during which the three German warships
Scharnhorst, Gneisenau
and
Prinz Eugen
had escaped from Brest to Norway February 1942. On his return to Germany he formed IV Gruppe, JG1.

6
Klemens Rausch, whose job it was to keep the plot. (See
The Mosquito Log
by Alexander McKee. Souvenir Press. 1988). DK295/P crashed at Tilburg and the crew, were killed and were laid to rest in the Reichwald Forest war cemetery. Bugaj who in March 1943 received the
Eisern Kreuz I
(Iron Cross First Class) was killed at Achmer flying Fw 190A-4 ‘Black 8’ on a non-combat flight on 12 April 1943. See
Defending The Reich. The History of JG1
, Eric Mombeek (JAC Publications 1992).

7
On 15 June 1941 Edwards led a formation of three Blenheims in successful attack on a 4,000-ton merchantman and on 1 July he was awarded the DFC for this daring low-level exploit. On 4 July a raid on Bremen (Operation
Wreckage
, as it was code-named) was led by Edwards. Although four crews were lost, successful attacks were made on the docks, factories, a timber yard and railways and great damage was caused to the tankers and transports that were loaded with vital supplies. All the aircraft were damaged. After the target Edwards proceeded to circle Bremen and strafed a stationary train that had opened up on them, before leading the formation out of Germany at low level. Edwards, his aircraft minus part of the port wing, the port aileron badly damaged, a cannon shell in the radio rack and a length of telegraph wire wrapped round the tail wheel and trailing behind, reached Swanton Morley where Edwards put down safely.
Operation Wreckage
received considerable publicity and on 21 July it was announced that Wing Commander Hughie Edwards DFC had been awarded the Victoria Cross for courage and leadership displayed on the operation. He thus became only the second Australian to receive this award (the first having been awarded to Lieutenant F. H. McNamara of the RFC during the First World War). Edwards later embarked on a publicity tour of the USA. Then, during the last week of July 1941 ten tropicalised Blenheims of 105 Squadron, led by Edwards, arrived at Luqa on Malta to relieve 110 Squadron on shipping strikes from the Mediterranean island. The 105 Squadron detachment returned to East Anglia in September 1941. In the winter of 1941–42 Edwards became CFI at Wellesbourne Mountford.

8
The Men Who Flew The Mosquito
by Martin W. Bowman (Leo Cooper 2003 and 2005) has the full story of Tommy Broom’s escape to England. In London they were interrogated by MI9 at the transit camp at the Grand Central Hotel in Marylebone and eventually issued with a certificate to take to RAF Uxbridge. Then they were free to send a telegram home and were taken to Air Ministry. They were given a written note stating their identity, had a couple of interviews, and asked where they wanted to be posted. Tommy Broom was told 105 Squadron had now moved to RAF Marham and 1655 Mosquito Training Unit was being formed and he agreed to be posted there. Squadron Leader Costello-Bowen AFC was killed in August 1943 while CFI at 1655 MTU when he was a passenger in a 487 Squadron Ventura flown by Flying Officer Sydney C. B. Abbott DFC RAAF, pilot on the Oxford Flight of 1655 MTU. After a rest as Chief Ground Instructor 1655 MTU, Tommy Broom resumed operations with Flight Lieutenant Ivor Broom (no relation) on 571 Squadron, 128 Squadron, and then l63 Squadron; Ivor as Wing Commander and Tommy as Squadron Leader. ‘The Flying Brooms’, as they were known, flew 58 operations together (21 to Berlin) in 8 Group Pathfinder Force. Ivor later became Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom KCB CBE DSO DFC** AFC. Tommy was awarded the DFC and two bars.

9
KIA 13.11.42. See Squadron Leader Tommy Broom DFC** published by Pen & Sword.

10
Piffer, an Austrian, was killed on 17 June 1944 when USAAF P-47 Thunderbolts shot his Fw 190A-8 ‘White 3’ near Argentan. He was posthumously awarded the
Ritterkreuz
(Knight’s Cross) on 20 October 1944 for his 26 victories in the West.
Defending The Reich: The History of JG1
, Eric Mombeek (JAC Publications 1992).

11
‘In September 1942 the Mosquito had ceased to be a secret. After a display in Canada of the aeroplane’s capabilities, the Station newspaper of 5 SFTS reported both the demonstration and the fact that the machine was being manufactured in Canada - much to the fury of the rest of the media, who had been cheated of a scoop by the littlest of little brothers. After much futile fuming and recrimination, an Official World Press Release was made on 26 September, 1942. On 27 October, the
Daily Express
ran a two-page spread under the headline SWIFTEST BOMBER-FROM WOODSHOP, telling how a firm, which had formerly made ‘bookcases and bedroom suites’ was now making the fastest warplane in the world. And the report listed three main roles: Long-range day bomber; Long-range fighter-bomber or escort bomber; Long-range picture-gathering reconnaissance machine. The dimensions were given but, naturally, not the performance figures. More technical articles appeared in
The Aeroplane
of 15 January 1943,
Flight
of 6 May 1943, and
Aircraft Production
for June 1943.’
The Mosquito Log
by Alexander McKee. Souvenir Press. 1988.

12
Rowland, a post war captain for BEA, learned this at a stopover in Hamburg in 1963. Klein had later lost a leg in a crash-landing after he was shot down by a P-51 Mustang. In July 1993 Parry met Fenten face-to-face also, when the German flew his light aircraft to Horsham St Faith (Norwich Airport) and they flew a memorable flight around the city!

13
Oberfeldwebel Timm was KIA on 28 May 1944 flying Bf 109G-6 ‘Yellow 3’.

14
Kirchner had been awarded the
Eisernes Kreuz II Klasse (EK II
or Iron Cross 2nd Class) after shooting down a 9 Squadron Wellington III (Z1577) on the raid on Duisburg on the night of 23/24 July. He was killed on 19 April 1945 when his Heinkel He 162A-2
Volksjäger
jet fighter crashed after he had claimed a Spitfire shot down. II Gruppe JG1 earned something of a reputation shooting down Mosquitoes and before the end of the year nine pilots had been awarded the
Eisernes Kreuz II
. They included Feldwebel Erwin Roden of 12./JG1 who had shot down the Mosquito flown by Sergeant K. C. Pickett and Sergeant Herbert Evans over Belgium on 6 September. Pickett survived to be taken prisoner but Evans was killed. Two days later Oberleutnant S’trohall had been credited with a Mosquito also. A complete account of the loss of Lang and Thomas is contained in
Mosquito Thunder
by Stuart R. Scott (Sutton 1999). See also,
Defending The Reich: The History of JG1
, Eric Mombeek (JAC Publications 1992).

15
See The Mosquito Log
by Alexander McKee. Souvenir Press. 1988.

16
See Mosquito Thunder by Stuart R. Scott (Sutton 1999).

17
Eindhoven was Mike Carreck’s final op on 105 Squadron. His tour over he was posted to 17 OTU ‘on rest’ as an instructor.

18
107 houses and 96 shops were completely destroyed and 107 Dutch workers and civilians living around the factory were killed and 161 wounded.

19
See
The Mosquito Log
by Alexander McKee. Souvenir Press. 1988.

20
The Mossie, Mosquito Aircrew Association
, Vol.18 January 1998.

21
Flight Lieutenant John Gordon DFC and Flying Officer Ralph G. Hayes DFM, who were lucky on 26 April when their petrol tank was hit by a Bofors shell over Eindhoven but the shell failed to explode, saw their luck finally run out on 5 November 1943. They were killed in a crash at Road Green Farm, Hempnall about ten miles south of Norwich returning from the operation to Leverkusen on one engine.

22
By the end of the year he had taken up an appointment in Air Command Far East Asia and held the rank of SASO (Senior Air Staff Officer) until the end of 1945. He remained in the post-war RAF and was awarded the OBE in 1947. In 1958 he was promoted to Air Commodore and finally retired from the service in 1963. He returned to Australia, was knighted and in 1974 became Governor of West Australia.

23
Thompson and Horne were KIA on 1 May 1943 shortly after take off from Marham, while forming up for the raid on the Philips Works at Eindhoven.

24
Bommen Vielen op Hengelo
by Henk F. Van Baaren, translated in The Mossie - Mosquito Aircrew Association, Vol. 16 April 1997.

25
Brown, who had a similar experience 6 days later after taking part in an attack by 15 Mosquitoes on the Renault works at Le Mans, was killed shortly after on a raid on the engine sheds at Malines in Belgium. His Mosquito was hit by coastal flak and finished off three minutes later by two Fw 190s.

26
The first was flown by Reggie Reynolds with Ted Sismore, then number two Flight Sergeant K. H. N. Ellis with Flight Sergeant Donald, then Pilot Officer L. T. Weston with Flight Sergeant G. ‘Jake’ Brown

27
9.8 tons of bombs were dropped on the John Cockerill works. Pace and Cook crashed into the Ooster Schelde off Woensdrecht. A full account of this raid is contained in
Mosquitoes to Liège
in
2 Group RAF
by Michael J. F. Bowyer and in
Mosquito Thunder
by Stuart R. Scott.

28
Wooldridge spent 3-months in command of 105 and on 25 June he was posted to 3 Group at RAF Stradishall. On I September 1943 he was posted back to the PWD. His replacement at Marham was 109 Squadron’s Wing Commander Henry John ‘Butch’ Cundall AFC (later Group Captain Cundall CBE DSO DFC AFC. After the war Wooldridge wrote
Low Attack
and having studied with Sibelius, he composed music, worked as a conductor, with the Philharmonia Orchestra especially, and wrote many plays, orchestral suites, incidental film music and film scores. His most famous was
Appointment in London
(1952), for which he wrote the music and also the squadron song. Wooldridge died in a car accident on 27 October 1958.

29
The Mossie,
Mosquito Aircrew Association, Vol. 19 April 1998.

30
Bommen Vielen op Hengelo
by Henk F. Van Baaren, translated in
The Mossie
-MAA, Vol. 16 April 1997.

31
They were buried at Maubeuge Centre cemetery on 5 April. On 30 July 1943 Mackenstedt crash-landed his Fw 190A-5 after being hit by return fire from a 8th Air Force B-17 and he died of his injuries in hospital. (See
The JG26 War Diary
, Vol.2 1943-45, Donald Caldwell (Grub Street 1998).

32
The Mossie
No.31 May 2002.

33
Mosquitoes of 140 Wing, 2nd TAF flew the 11th and final RAF raid on Hengelo on 18 March 1944 when they bombed the Hazemeyer works.

34
On 28/29 June 1942 Oberleutnant Reinhold Knacke, Staffelkapitän, 1./NJG1 had been the first
Nachtjagd
pilot to claim a Mosquito kill, when he shot down DD677 of 23 Squadron at Haps, Southern Holland). Guided by Leutnant Lübke,
Jägerleitoffizier
of
Himmelbett
box
Eisbär
(‘Polar Bear’) at Sondel, Northern Holland, Lent power-dived onto a Mosquito west of Stavoren from superior altitude and at 500 kph fired a burst of cannon shells at the Mosquito. NF.II DZ694 of 410 Squadron flown by Flight Sergeant W. J. Reddie RCAF and his navigator, Sergeant K. Evans, who were on a Night Fighting Patrol over Holland, were KIA. Lent was noted for experimenting with new methods of attack. He would practice and perfect a diving attack, which would give him sufficient speed to overtake a Mosquito and shoot it down. For being one of the first German pilots to overcome this versatile aircraft he received special praise from Göring. Lent eventually rose to the rank of Oberst with a position of high command in the night fighter arm. He achieved 102 night-victories and 8 day-victories before being killed in a flying accident on 5 October 1944.

35
Shand remains missing while the body of his navigator was washed ashore at Makkum. Linke, with 24 night and 3 day victories was killed on the night of 13/14 May 1943. After shooting down two Lancasters (W4981 of 83 Squadron and ED589 of 9 Squadron) and Halifax DT732 of 10 Squadron over Friesland, he suffered an engine fire. He baled out near the village of Lemmer in Friesland but he struck the tail unit of his Bf 110 and was killed. Linke’s
Bordfunker
Oberfeldwebel Walter Czybulka baled out safely.

36
Flight Lieutenant Harold Sutton DFC and Flying Officer John Morris and Flying Officer Fred Openshaw and Sergeant Alfred Stonestreet, of 139 Squadron.

37
Unable to find the target by DR Patterson identified and attacked Weimar railway station from 300ft. Patterson completed two tours of daylight operations on Mosquitoes and he was awarded the DSO early in 1944. Squadron Leader Blessing DSO DFC RAAF was KIA on 7 July 1944 on a PFF marking sortie over Caen.