Mia's Notebook 9791096490639, 1096490633, 9781096490630

Table of contents :
Cover
Book title
Copyright
Glossary of Terms
The Boston/Havoc Intruder
March 1941 & August 1942
November 1941 & September 1943
Plate section
SQUADRONS! - The series

Citation preview

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S QUADRONS! NO. 39 The DOUglAS

BOSTON & hAvOc - The INTRUDeRS PhIl h. lISTeMANN

ISBN: 979-1096490-63-9 www.RAF-in-Combat.com

© 2020 Philedition - Phil Listemann Colour profiles: Gaetan Marie/Bravo Bravo Aviation

All right reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

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glOSSARy Of TeRMS

PersoNel : (Aus)/rAF: Australian serving in the rAF (bel)/rAF: belgian serving in the rAF (cAN)/rAF: canadian serving in the rAF (cz)/rAF: czechoslovak serving in the rAF (NFl)/rAF: Newfoundlander serving in the rAF (Nl)/rAF: Dutch serving in the rAF (Nz)/rAF: New zealander serving in the rAF (Pol)/rAF: Pole serving in the rAF (rho)/rAF: rhodesian serving in the rAF (sA)/rAF: south African serving in the rAF (us)/rAF - rcAF : American serving in the rAF or rcAF

other AtA: Air transport Auxiliary co : commander DFc : Distinguished Flying cross DFM : Distinguished Flying Medal Dso : Distinguished service order eva. : evaded orb : operational record book otu : operational training unit PoW : Prisoner of War PAF: Polish Air Force rAF : royal Air Force rAAF : royal Australian Air Force rcAF : royal canadian Air Force rNzAF : royal New zealand Air Force sAAF : south African Air Force s/d: shot down sqn : squadron † : killed

rANks G/c : Group captain W/c : Wing commander s/l : squadron leader F/l : Flight lieutenant F/o : Flying officer P/o : Pilot officer W/o : Warrant officer F/sgt : Flight sergeant sgt : sergeant cpl : corporal lAc : leading Aircraftman

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T he B oSToN /h AvoC I NTruder the Douglas boston was born as the Douglas Db-7, the production version of the Model 7b prototype. Although the prototype crashed while being tested by the French, they had seen enough to place an order for 100 aircraft, modified to meet their particular requirements, on 15 February 1939, only eleven days after the crash. Another contract for 170 with more powerful engines was signed on 14 october 1939, and a third contract was signed six days later for 100 examples of the improved Db-7A (Db-71 in French terminology) with its revised and larger tail. the usAAc also showed an interest in the aircraft and decided to buy a derivative that became the A20A havoc. the british, looking for a replacement for the bristol blenheim, as it had become abundantly clear that that type was severely outclassed, followed suit. the british model (Db-7b) was similar to the French Db-71 and 300 were ordered as boston Mk.Is in two separate contracts - the first 150 on 20 February 1940 and the second on 17 April. As the French received priority, the british did not expect their aircraft to be delivered before 1941. however, in the meantime, France collapsed in the face of the German blitzkrieg and subsequently handed its orders over to the british before the Armistice was signed. therefore, as only the French Db-7s were under production, the remaining aircraft were taken on charge first and took over the boston Mk.I denomination. the first sixteen were at sea sailing to French Morocco when the country collapsed, so were subsequently diverted to british ports where they arrived in July 1940. After being uncrated, they were delivered to the rAF as Ae457-Ae472. the rest of the French order was still on American soil and the aircraft were shipped as they became available, still with their French serial numbers, and received their rAF serials upon arrival in the uk – AW392-AW414, AX848-AX851, AX910-AX930, BB890-BB912, Bd110-Bd126, BJ458-BJ477, BJ485-BJ501, BK882-BK883, BL228-BL227, BT460-BT465, Bv203 (ex-No 131), dG554-dG555 (ex Nos 115 and 101), and dK274-dK277. In all the rAF took charge of 154 boston Mk.Is with the last being taken into account in April 1941. this number was soon reduced to 150 as the last batch, Dk274-Dk277, was almost immediately struck off charge due to excessive salt corrosion. the French Db-71 became the boston II, but, unlike the boston I, Douglas had not started production of this model for the French so took the time to fit the aircraft out to british standards before delivery to the rAF. these were shipped to the uk with the rAF serials Ah430-Ah529. however, of the 100 ordered by the French, the british took delivery of 99 between July and August 1941 as Ah430 crashed before delivery. It was replaced by a boston III (Ah740). this situation obliged the british Air Ministry to revise the denomination of the variant ordered by the rAF. they became boston Mk.IIIs. these direct orders had received the serials W8252-W8401 (150) and Z2155-Z2304 (150). the rAF would also inherit two contracts of the French equivalent of the Db-7b placed in May 1940. these were intended to receive the French Db-73 designation. Douglas and boeing had received an order of 240 aircraft each. the british eventually allocated serials AL263-AL502 for boeing-built bostons and AL668-AL907 for those coming off the Douglas production line. All were built to british specifications and were very similar to the boston IIIs of the first batches, but the rAF would not receive all of its orders as some aircraft were diverted before delivery to the usAAF or other allies shortly after the usA entered the war. later on, the rAF received a lend-lease batch of boston IIIs Arriving in the UK in September 1940, Boston I BD111 (formerly ‘204’ of the French Air Force) was first sent to 6 MU once officially taken on charge by the RAF. It was stored for almost a year before being converted to Turbinlite configuration. In the meantime, as the Boston I had not been selected for daylight operations, the undersurfaces were painted black for a night fighting role not completely defined at the time (note the worn black paint revealing the previous daylight scheme). Returned to normal configuration in January 1943, following its service with 530 Sqn, BD111 was stored from March 1943 before serving with Station Flight Heston between August and December 1943. It was then finally withdrawn from use and struck off charge. Note the characteristic small tail of the Boston/Havoc I.

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Havoc BJ496 was used for experimental night camouflage trials in February 1941. The upper surfaces consisted of Extra Dark Sea Grey and a special mix Olive Grey. The pattern was not accepted.

which were the equivalent of the usAAF A-20c. these were given the boston Mk.IIIA designation. While the rAF had a clear idea of what to do with the boston III, it was initially not the case with the boston I and II. the rAF soon realised that the boston I could not be used as a bomber as the French had intended as it was too far removed from british requirements at the time. the boston II was better, but was seen more as an interim version of the boston III. things changed in the autumn of 1940, however, when Fighter command needed fighters to counter the luftwaffe aircraft now attacking british cities by night. Actually, the night fighter force had to be almost developed from scratch. Fighter command could count on the boulton-Paul Defiant squadrons switching from day fighter work to night fighter work, but the type had a big disadvantage in being a single-engine aircraft so was far from being ideal for night work. there was the bristol beaufighter, but it had just entered service and production rates were not yet high enough to fulfill Fighter command’s demands. the bristol blenheim had been in service since well before the war, but the bomber squadrons still had priority over the fighter units of Fighter and coastal commands. the boston rapidly appeared to be a good choice. For its size, it was agile, had the speed and range to catch the German bombers of the time, its airframe could accommodate the many modifications the new task would require, and it was available in numbers. therefore the fate of the boston Is and IIs was sealed. As it was a new role for these aircraft, a new name was adopted, ‘havoc’, with the havoc I and II naturally being the night fighter variant of the boston I and boston II. It is known that two other denominations were also reserved – havoc Mk.III and Mk.IV. It is not clear as to what they were intended for, but they appeared when the practice of giving a new name to an aircraft when it was changing roles, a practice that was in force well before the war, had been discontinued. that happened around 1941 when the requirement to modify more bostons to the turbinlite role arose and boston IIIs were the only aircraft available. the boston IIIs, so modified, would have logically taken the havoc III denomination, but that never happened. some sources give this denomination as being the Pandoraequipped havoc to distinguish it from the conventional havoc night fighter, but that seems unlikely as that would mean the turbinlite version should have taken another denomination as well. In any case, the role remained the same for all three, defensive night fighter, so it is unlikely the Pandora-version fit the definition of the havoc III. As for the havoc Mk.IV denomination, it seems to have existed, at least in the minds of the powers that be, and was reserved for an intruder variant. that was certainly plausible given this havoc would carry out a new type of mission – offensive sorties over enemy territory by night, far removed from the defensive role of previous havoc versions, but not drastically different from the original havoc denomination to deserve a new name. It is somewhat confusing, however, as the havoc Is and IIs proved capable of carrying out intruder ops as well! so was it really necessary to allocate a new mark? In any case, as this type of operation was very different to night fighter duties already discussed in a previous volume.

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hAvoC/BoSToN INTruder the intruder version of the boston was intended to carry out offensive patrols over enemy territory at night to destroy enemy aircraft and supporting infrastructure. contrary to the night fighter version (see sQuADroNs! 24), the intruders retained the standard bomb load of the bomber variants. the only major modifications made for intruder work was a different camouflage scheme, which changed over time, and exhaust dampeners. Initial targets were luftwaffe airfields in belgium, the Netherlands and the northwest of France. the fixed nose armament (four 0.303-in machine guns) was ideal for attacking German aircraft at close range as they were in the airfield circuit, especially during the approach and landing phase. When, later in the war, intruder ops expanded to include railway targets, the four nose guns were not enough to cause major damage so the forward-firing armament was reinforced with a four 20mm cannon gun pack under the fuselage and bombs were replaced by an additional fuel tank which gave a safe endurance of some 4 and a half hours. When the boston was withdrawn from intruder ops, many surviving aircraft reverted to their original bomber configuration and saw further operational service in units in europe and North Africa. A few were also modified for other roles, like the turbinlite trials, or served as trainers. Indeed, modifications were simple and cheap to undertake, unlike the more complex night fighter variants. the delivery of 29 havoc I and 80 boston III intruders was completed as follows: January 1941: bJ470 February 1941: bJ464 March 41: AW404 April 41: AW402, AX922, AX929, bb890, bb893, bb905, bb910, bD121, bD124, bJ477, bJ485, bJ489, bJ492, bJ501, bt462 May 41: AW394, AW398, AX921, AX928, bb900, bD112, bD116 September 41: W8259, W8340 october 41: W8258, W8261, W8262, W8267, W8292, W8317 November 41: W8298, W8305, W8314, W8350, z2165 december 41: bJ490, W8264, W8278, W8281, W8304, W8318, W8321, W8325, W8333, W8335, W8344, W8349, W8351, W8356, W8358, W8360, W8361, W8365, W8386, W8390, W8394, W8395, z2171, z2173, z2210, z2299 January 42: W8283, W8374, z2186, z2188 February 42: W8268, z2240 A side view of Boston III W8292, fitted with night intruder equipment at the Burtonwood Repair Depot, following conversion from a standard Boston Mk.III. This aircraft served with 23 and 418 Squadrons before its loss during an air test in January 1943. At that time the Havoc denomination had been discontinued in favour of Boston Mk.III.

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Boston Mk.III (Intruder) W8325 at the Burtonwood Repair Depot following its conversion. The aircraft served with 418 Squadron RCAF until 11 April 1943 when it failed to return from a night intruder op over Melun-Villaroche in France. Except for the night camouflage and shrouded exhaust pipes, the intruder looked a lot like a conventional Boston bomber.

April 42: bJ490, DG554, W8359, z2243 May 42: bk883, W8303, W8342, W8380, z2226 June 42: W8263, W8266, W8290, W8326, W8331, z2192, z2241, Al459 July 42: W8370, W8385, W8399, Al463, Al465, Al479, Al500, Al871 August 42: W8284, W8345, W8389, z2155, z2207, Al466, Al467, Al480 September 42: Al468 october 42: z2290, Al425, Al766 the two missing bostons are W8256 and W8338. these were modified, but struck off charge in November 1941 and December respectively before allocation to a unit. three squadrons flew intruder operations on the type from uk bases: 23, 418 (rcAF) and 605. the boston intruders were replaced by the Dh Mosquito in 1943. the last unit to complete the transition was 418 in september that year. the havoc and boston initiated the true intruder role in which the type gave somehow good results despite a small number of sorties flown, 1500. twnety-three enemy aircraft were claimed as destroyed or probably destroyed, but the cost was high with over thirty aircraft lost on operations.

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An interesting view of the portside nose guns of a 23 Sqn Havoc undergoing maintenance. This armament, four forward-firing 0.303-in machine guns, might be seen as too light for use against bombers, but, as the Havoc had to get very close before opening fire, they actually proved very effective. (André Bar)

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march 1941 August 1942 Number of sorties:

First operational sortie: 08.04.41 Last operational sortie: 05.08.42

ca .

725

Number of claims: 15.0 Total aircraft written-off: 16 Aircraft lost on operations: 7 Aircraft lost in accidents: 9

Squadron code letters:

YP

C ommANdiNg o FFiCerS S/L george F.W. H eYCoCk S/L Cyril H.A. C oLemAN (†) W/C george F.W. H eYCoCk W/C rupert H.A. L eigH W/C William J. C riSHAm W/C Bertie r.o’B. H oAre

No . 26138 No . 24058 rAF No . 26138 rAF No. 26237 rAF No . 24248 rAF No . 37858

rAF rAF rAF rAF rAF rAF

rAF

rAF

... 04.12.40 05.01.41 11.05.41 06.12.41 17.04.42

04.12.40 04.01.41 11.05.41 06.12.41 17.04.42 ...

S quAdroN u SAge With a long tradition of flying two-seat fighters, 23 Squadron started the war with Blenheim fighters (fitted with a gun pack under the fuselage) to carry out convoy patrols off the east coast of England. Its role gradually switched to night fighter duties in response to the increasing demand for around the clock air defence. In the autumn of 1940, 23 began intruder ops over enemy airfields and re-equipped with the Douglas Havoc or the Bristol Beaufighter was considered. The squadron was based at Ford and was commanded by S/L G.F.W. Heycock. He was soon replaced by S/L C.H.A. Coleman. Three unmodified Boston Is (AX849, AX850 and BD114) were received to conduct an operational evaluation, but AX850 was destroyed in an air raid three days after its arrival while AX849 was damaged beyond repair on 3 November after less than two weeks of A pre-war RAF officer on a Short Service Commission, ‘Sammy’ Hoare had become a Fairey Battle pilot with 207 Sqn. Injured in one eye in an accident, he was kept away from the frontline for a while until, once he had recovered and was declared fit for operational duties, he was posted to 23 Sqn flying Blenheims in early 1941. He soon made claims and was awarded the DFC in May 1941. He switched to Havocs, then to Mosquitos, and was rested in October 1942 as OC and with a DSO to his name. He returned to operations one year later as OC 605 Sqn and left in April 1944, with the rank of group captain, having added a Bar to his DSO. Even though he subsequently held a non-operational position, he continued to fly on ops from time to time. He survived the war as one of the most successful intruder pilots of the RAF during WW2. (Andrew Thomas)

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Zeger Van Riel talking with the CO, W/C Crisham. A reserve Belgian infantry officer, Van Riel participated in the short campaign of May 1940. After the Armistice he joined France to continue the struggle until, when France subsequently collapsed, he managed to escape to the UK via Morocco. He reached the UK in August 1940 and decided to serve in the RAF. He joined 23 Sqn in August 1941 after further training at 54 OTU. He earned a DFC while serving with 418 Sqn. He was killed in an accident on 7 November 1943 while flying a Mosquito with 684 Sqn in India. Wing Commander W.J. Crisham, a regular RAF officer, was already a squadron leader when war broke out and was a squadron commander at 6 FTS before being posted to a HQ position soon after. It was not until August 1940 that he held an operational position by taking command of 13 Sqn and its Lysanders. He then switched to fighters and, after a very short spell as CO of 232 Squadron’s Hurricanes, he was transferred to night fighters at 54 OTU and given command of 23 Sqn in December 1941. He left 23 in April to become station commander of Kirton in Lindsey. No further operational positions followed before the end of war. He eventually retired as an air vice-marshal. (André Bar)

use. Finally, BD114 made a belly landing on the 16th. A replacement aircraft (AW397) was supplied and flew two night patrols before it was destroyed on 23 November after the nose wheel collapsed. It was quite the inauspicious start however trials were found conclusive for the Boston while the Beaufighter also evaluated was rejected. The real change came in March 1941 when the squadron finally began to see its Blenheims replaced by Havoc Is. Heycock, wing commander in charge since January after a short spell away from the squadron, was still CO (S/L Coleman had been posted missing the previous 4 January). The first Havoc I, AW404, was taken on charge on 23 March and, after some training, the first sortie was carried out on 7 April, an offensive patrol between 23.40 and 01.50, while the other crews continued operating Blenheims. The CO was the pilot in command and the sortie proved uneventful. The same crew was airborne again on the 8th, 14th and 16th and, from the 20th onwards, the other Havocs recently taken on charge were put into action with the last intended Blenheim op flown on the 23rd (one more was flown on 6 May). By end of April the following Havocs had been added to the squadron’s inventory: AW402, AW404, AX922, AX929, BB890, BB893, BB905, BB910, BD121, BD124, BJ477, BJ485, BJ489 and BJ501. Thirteen Havoc sorties were flown that month. More than fifty were achieved by mid-May (when the weather over France permitted flying). This was enough for the crews and their new aircraft to open their score. Sergeant J.B. Raffels and his crew achieved the first success. Taking off at 23.30 to patrol Rosières, the Havoc crossed the French coast over the Somme estuary at 10,500 feet. A red star, changing to white, was seen and it was thought an enemy aircraft had fired it while crossing the coast south of Cayeux. While nothing happened afterwards, it proved the Germans were active that night. Confirmation came a few moments later with the sighting of an enemy aircraft between Amiens and Rosières. It disappeared before an attempt at interception could be made. Rosières was reached an hour after take-off. Raffels made a dummy attack over the target before doing another run to drop his bombs, during which the navigation lights of an enemy aircraft were seen below. He made his bombing run from 4000 feet, dropping eighteen 40-lb bombs and fifty 4-lb incendiaries. The bombs were seen to explode among buildings near the airfield boundary and short of the flare path. Several bright green lights were thrown up and the resultant fires lit up a twin-engine aircraft close on the Havoc’s tail. The air gunner, Sgt L. Langley, was the one to see it and at this

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Flying Officer P.S.B. Ensor’s combat report (filed on 08.05.41)

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stage could not be certain whether the aircraft was making a quarter attack from the left and slightly above, or merely joining the circuit prior to landing. However, Langley reported on the R/T that the Havoc was under attack, so Raffels held a steady course in a gentle climb and heard his gunner open fire. Langley fired a long burst of about fifty rounds, right into the nose of the enemy aircraft, from about 50 to 70 yards. The German aircraft returned fire, but its tracers appeared to pass under the Havoc’s tail. It then dived vertically passed the tail of the Havoc. As it did so Langloy put another short burst of about twenty rounds into the top of its cockpit. The explosion of the enemy aircraft, as it hit the ground and caught fire, was seen by the whole crew. This unidentified aircraft was later confirmed as a Bf110. This claim was followed by two more by the same crew four nights later near Évreux (one Ju88 destroyed and another enemy aircraft claimed as probably destroyed). Other pilots began to score too with F/L B.R. O’B. Hoare claiming one He111 destroyed and a Ju88 as probably destroyed near Le Bourget on the same night and P/O P.S.B. Ensor adding a Ju88 destroyed and a He111 probably destroyed. The squadron continued to score over the next few nights, Ensor again claiming a He111, another damaged and an unidentified aircraft on the night of 4/5 May around Caen, while P/O S.S. Duff and crew claimed a He111 destroyed near Vitry-en-Artois on 5/6 May. The latter made his claim by closing to 30-50 yards and firing a long burst, followed by four short bursts (910 rounds in all). Flight Lieutenant Hoare added an enemy aircraft near Villacoublay the following night and Ensor claimed a He111 destroyed near Brussels the night after that. The Heinkel was hit by three bursts from Ensor and his gunner during one of the passes. This crew scored again two nights later (10/11 May), with a Ju88 shot down near Beauvais, while Hoare claimed an enemy aircraft damaged near Ostend. These would be the final claims filed before the end of May as bad weather stopped all night flying. The successes during the first part of May led to the award of the DFC to F/L Hoare and the DFM to Sergeants Raffels and Langley (plus a DFC for F/O Gawith). However those victories and awards were soon darkened by fatal accidents. The first, on 28 May, during a ferry flight to Manston, killed all three on board (BB893). Three days later, Sgt A.P.T. Lewis (RNZAF) was killed in Boston BJ485. When three miles off Rye, the left wing and nose dropped violently while turning in cloud. During these manoeuvres, Lewis, neither secured to the aircraft nor wearing a parachute, was thrown out and killed. The remaining crew and aircraft returned to base safely. Bad weather continued in June and no operational flights over the continent could be made. At the end of the month F/L Hoare was promoted to squadron leader. A change also occurred with a new CO, W/C R.H.A. Leigh, replacing W/C Heycock who had been absent since March (and temporarily replaced by S/L Gracie). Operations resumed on the night of 11/12 June, with four sorties flown, but the weather was so bad an early return was ordered. About fifty sorties were carried out during the month, but no enemy aircraft were encountered. The target for the squadron’s crews remained the Luftwaffe airfields in northwest Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). In July 1941, with the nice summer weather, 23 was able to dispatch more Havocs over the Continent. On the 4th, seven aircraft were sent to bomb the marshalling yards at Abbeville. The target was found, but it was the first time the squadron had been tasked to bomb such a target and accuracy proved difficult as the Havocs were not fitted with bombsights. The next night it was the turn of Caen aerodrome to be visited by seven Havocs. Wing Commander Heycock, following his attachment to HQFC, was appointed to command 141 Squadron so his return to the squadron was cancelled. From that point, 23 concentrated its attacks on single targets, sending 6-7 After modifications, Havoc BD112 served with 23 Sqn between May 1941 and June 1942. Issued to various units thereafter, it eventually became an instructional airframe in October 1943. In the autumn of 1940, the squadron had compared the Havoc and Beaufighter for intruder duties, but the Beaufighter was found unsuitable as it proved the less agile of the two.

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Havoc DG554 was one of the last two Havocs taken on charge by the RAF. It was retained in the US for various tests before being shipped to the UK. It was initially fitted with Pandora equipment but, when that concept was abandoned, it reverted to a classic intruder and was issued to 23 Sqn in April 1942. DG554 served with 51 OTU for a short time before being stored in September 1942. It was eventually struck off charge two years later. (André Bar)

Havocs each time, but it was a regular occurrence for a Havoc to miss the target and attack something else opportunistically. Target identification at night also proved problematic and in many cases it was not clear whether or not crews had attacked the initial target. No operation was flown on the 9th, but practice flights were carried out instead. During one such night flight, Sergeants R.G. Denyer and D.C.C. Graham were killed when their Havoc crashed southwest of Ford. It seems the pilot lost control while flying on one engine, possibly following an engine failure. Until the end of July, the squadron mainly concentrated its attacks on the German aerodromes at Poix, Caen and Évreux, but no claims or losses were reported however Sgt Raffles crashed at Manston on take-off on the 25th while returning to base after his patrol; Raffels would die of injuries soon after while the other crewmen survived. In July, 89 sorties were logged. The number of sorties reduced to 56 in August (with some flown from Manston), but 23 added a few claims to its scoreboard. On 13 August, at 00.40, a Havoc flown by P/O W.A. Bird was sent to the Dutch aerodrome of Gilze-Rijen and arrived overhead at 5000 feet. Bird saw a red cartridge fired from the aerodrome and descended to 3000 feet. Reaching that altitude, the Havoc crew saw an enemy aircraft landing with its lights blazing. After landing it turned left and taxied towards a dispersal point on the east side of the aerodrome. At the same time the crew saw 3-5 aircraft, with navigation lights on, flying around the circuit at 2000-3000 feet. The enemy aircraft switched off their navigation lights intermittently and occasionally flashed their landing light towards the aerodrome. For Bird, it was time to attack. The first enemy aircraft was attacked as it approached the aerodrome at about 500 feet. The attack was made with the four front guns. While no results were seen from the first burst, the second one, fired from 50 yards, hit the target and its navigation lights were immediately switched off. The German was lost and could only be claimed as damaged. As Bird was making his attack, Sgt D.B. Campbell (RNZAF), the top rear gunner, fired at, and damaged, another enemy aircraft. He also fired on a third enemy aircraft, which was coming towards him across the path of the Havoc. The enemy aircraft passed beneath the Havoc with its navigation lights still on. Bullets were seen hitting its fuselage. Bird then damaged a fourth enemy aircraft with his front guns, then another, firing a long burst at close range, before hitting its slipstream. When last seen, the enemy aircraft was turning over and away from its original course of landing and continuing to descend. As it seemed unlikely it could pull out of the dive, Bird claimed it as probably destroyed. Sergeant Campbell also claimed another enemy aircraft as probably destroyed when he saw flashes of bullets striking the front of the fuselage before the aircraft turned sharply to the right and entered a steep dive with navigation lights on. When the Havoc disappeared into cloud, this enemy aircraft was seen below 500 feet, four miles from the aerodrome, and it was estimated it was impossible for it to recover in time. Immediately after, the bombs were dropped across the dispersal areas from 4000 feet and the Havoc returned home having fired 799 rounds from the front guns and 234 from Campbell’s position. Further intruder ops were carried out without incident until the 30th when an aircraft returned from an unsuccessful sortie to Évreux with its bombs still on board. One of these fell off on landing and exploded. One crewman was injured, but the other was killed. The next night a crew was posted

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Havoc BD121/’YP-F’ banking to the right during a day practice flight. It was among the first Havocs to be issued to 23 Sqn and was part of the unit’s inventory from June 1941 onwards. It was eventually transferred to the Admiralty in April 1943

missing, but it was later learned two of the crew had been killed while the pilot, F/O W.E. Thomas, was reported as a PoW. He later took part in the Great Escape and, according to reports, he was one of the men captured in the tunnel. The squadron continued its bad run of luck when, on the night of 6/7 September, F/O Ensor’s experienced crew failed to return from a patrol to Lannion. They were last spotted about half way between the coasts of Cornwall and Brittany. Lannion was the target of the night and F/O Rozycki (Polish) dropped his bombs there, but was chased by a German night fighter that fired three inaccurate bursts. Other targets, Caen and Abbeville aerodromes, were also attacked, the latter by a Havoc captained by Belgian P/O Zeger Van Riel. Later in the month, two more Belgians, Pilot Officers René Lunden and P/O Léon Terlinden, were posted in, allowing a full Belgian crew to fly together. While the squadron sustained some losses in September, claims were also made. Squadron Leader Hoare and his crew made all the claims, but one, that month. The first ones were filed late in the evening of the 13th. Close to Beauvais aerodrome, Hoare saw an aircraft approaching to land on the Lorenz beam with navigation and landing lights on. Intending to run over the aerodrome to bomb the flare path as the German landed, Hoare saw another enemy aircraft orbiting with navigation lights on. He gave chase, but overshot as it turned to land, passing just below about 65 yards away. Hoare’s air gunner, Sgt W.T. Fletcher, fired a two second burst, but no results were seen and the enemy aircraft continued its approach unhindered. Hoare was unable to make another attack so flew across the aerodrome, to catch the aircraft as it landed, but saw yet another aircraft orbiting with navigation lights on. He immediately stalked it, formating on it to the right. Fletcher managed to fire a three second burst before he was blinded by a terrific flash, apparently from his own guns. The enemy aircraft turned its lights off and was lost, surely damaged as it was fired upon from a distance of 40 yards. The hunt, however, was not yet over. Another aircraft was soon seen as it approached to land. At just 800 feet, Hoare managed to get into a good position, astern and slightly below, and opened fire from 100 yards, at what was later identified as a He111, hitting the right engine. Hoare then hit the other engine and soon saw it, then the starboard engine, begin to pour black smoke. The He111 fell away to the right in a vertical dive. Hoare had fired 1070 rounds during the attacks, while Fletcher had fired 122. Two nights later, it was the turn of the CO, W/C R.H.A. Leigh, to claim a He111 damaged. Attacks on Luftwaffe airfields continued during the following weeks, but with bad weather now preventing attacks in the operational zone, the number of sorties reduced considerably, with 26 in October, eighteen in November, and only twelve in December. During this period, several claims were made with F/O S.P. Reymer (Polish) and crew claiming a Ju88 shot down in flames, and another one damaged, over the Dutch aerodrome of Gilze-Rijen, while P/O Hunt and crew damaged an unidentified aircraft over the same aerodrome the following night. A He111 was also damaged in the same area, to the credit of P/O R.F. Pegram and crew, late on the evening of the 17th. All claims were made for no operational loss. One Havoc, however, was lost by accident on 7 November when, during a local night flying test, the pilot of BD124 flew too low over the sea. When he realised what was going on he pulled up into a steep climb and eventually stalled. The three men on board were killed. Previously on the 17th October the squadron had wrecked another Havoc in a training flight when both props were feathered in error by Sgt C.C. Laschke who

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Boston III W8258 on the ground warming its engines for its next night sortie over the northern Europe. This aircraft was usually flown by a Belgian crew captained by Zeger Van Riel. Sadly, it suffered an accident on 2 April 1942, which caused the death of P/O Lunden, the air gunner. The Boston was repaired and stored before being sent to the Middle East in July 1944. (André Bar)

was flying solo and the aircraft crashed 6 miles east of Brighton but nobody was injured. A change of command took place on 6 December when W/C Leigh was posted to HQ 12 Group. Command was assumed by W/C W.J. Crisham from 54 OTU. January 1942 was quiet. Owing to foul weather and a lack of enemy activity, no operational flights were carried out before the 5th when sorties were flown despite severe icing that put an end to the night’s activities prematurely. Two more unsuccessful sorties were flown the next night with bad weather preventing further ops until the 22nd. Even though the weather improved a bit from then, only eleven intruder sorties were flown until the end of the month as enemy activity remained low. A new target, however, Dinard aerodrome, was added to the list. Mainly due to snow and very heavy frosts, no operational intruder sorties were flown during the first ten days of February. The squadron was notified, however, that it would receive more modern equipment in the form of the Boston III. The CO went to Burtonwood on the 4th for a conference on the technical equipment of the new aircraft. Operational activity resumed slowly and German aerodromes were visited and bombed. Flying Officer and crew found a target of opportunity on 10/11 February when they attacked an E-boat towing a submarine. He bombed and strafed the E-boat, and strikes were observed, but the bombs missed. On the next night, the first sortie with the recently arrived Boston IIIs was carried out. The old Havocs would continue to be used alongside the new machines for the next few weeks. On 27 February, a dramatic accident occurred when, during a practice flight from Manston, Havoc BB900 suffered an engine failure and was forced to ditch, causing the death of the observer, F/Sgt Shandley. For the first night of March, 23 dispatched three Havocs and one Boston. Only P/O Conventry and crew were able to deliver an attack by bombing the aerodrome at Caen. No further operations were flown until the 8th. Aerodromes and marshalling yards were the targets. Sergeant J.E. Millard damaged a Do217 near Poix as it was approaching to land, but lost sight of it. Pilot Officer Van Riel was later in the same area and attacked two aircraft near Poix, but missed them both and made no claim. A third was attacked soon after, Van Riel missing it again, but his air gunner, P/O Terlinden, was able to fire 100 rounds and the Do217, as it was now identified, was claimed as damaged. The following two weeks were a bit chaotic with few operations carried out. The last week of March was busier with eighty 250-lb bombs dropped. The pressure on the German aerodromes continued in April and some claims were made. On the night 2/3 April, Van Riel and his gunner, Terlinden, managed to damage an unidentified aircraft near the aerodrome of St-André, Terlinden silencing two gun positions with his rear guns. Flak was active and seriously damaged the right wing of the Boston III. Returning to base, the Boston overshot and hit a gun emplacement, nearly burying the observer, P/O Lunden, who died later in the day from his injuries. Squadron Leader Hoare and crew, meanwhile, claimed two Do217s near Évreux shortly after midnight. The next night it was the turn of Sgt E. Williams and crew to make a claim over an unidentified enemy aircraft near Beauvais and, two nights later, the CO and his crew damaged another Do217 near Évreux. The squadron had to wait until the night of 17/18 April to add another confirmed victory to the scoreboard. That night Sgt J.E. Millard and crew in ‘YP-X’ were on a patrol to Montdidier-Poix when they spotted and engaged an enemy aircraft. Millard managed to set fire to its left engine with his second burst and the German was seen gently diving to the ground. A large red

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Havoc ‘YP-B’ seen during a day training flight in the summer of 1942. Its serial is partially visible and begins with ‘BJ’. Only three Havoc Is were still serving with 23 Sqn during that time: BJ489, BJ492 (known to be ‘YP-J’) and BJ501, but it is believed that it was BJ489. (André Bar)

glow was seen soon after in the estimated position of where the aircraft should have crashed. The same day, the 17th, S/L Hoare was promoted to wing commander and took over the squadron from W/C Leigh who was posted out to command Kirton in Lindsey. There was no flying for the next few days, but operations resumed on the night of 24/25 April. Pilot Officer Van Riel, with a new observer, attacked the aerodrome at Caen and bombed the runway while an aircraft landed. He dropped his bombs from 900 feet causing the enemy aircraft to come to a sudden halt. It was claimed as probably destroyed on the ground. The next night, P/O T. Offord claimed a Bf110 as damaged near the same aerodrome. This run of good results was interrupted the next night when Sgt J.E. Millard and crew failed to return from an intruder mission to Dinard. The rest of the month was uneventful and, in all, 87 intruder missions were recorded for April, some being flown from Tangmere on a regular detachment. The aerodromes of Évreux, Abbeville, Rennes, Caen, St-André, Tours, Dinard, Bretigny, Beauvais and Poix received visits from 23 during the first days of May and were usually bombed whenever activity was noticed. Marshalling yards were also regular targets. Encounters were rare and only P/O Williamson and crew were able to come back home with a claim when they damaged an enemy aircraft near Rennes aerodrome in the early hours of 5 May. No operations were flown between the 9th and 27th, the squadron resuming flying on the 28th to the great satisfaction of the crews. It was the CO, W/C Hoare, who took off first, heading to Juvincourt aerodrome where he dropped bombs and claimed one enemy aircraft probably destroyed on the ground. At the end of the month, part of the squadron moved to Manston while the rest moved to Bradwell Bay. From these two aerodromes, the squadron’s twenty aircraft participated on two separate nights in the largest raids yet attempted on Germany when, on both nights, more than 1000 bombers drawn from all commands were engaged against Germany. From Manston, the Dutch aerodromes of Gilze-Rijen and Eindhoven were attacked while, from Bradwell Bay, the aerodromes at Deelen and Amsterdam/Schiphol received attention. One of the Deelen crews, captained by P/O R.D. Pegram, failed to return with only the air gunner surviving to become a PoW. The squadron returned to Ford and continued its intruder work during June without incident. This was achieved thanks to the excellent weather conditions enabling crews to carry out a record 100 sorties for the month. On the night of 1/2 July, Sgt R.E. Wakeford and crew had Évreux as their target and encountered a German night fighter. The rear gunner opened fire on it and saw strikes. One burst of return fire was experienced before the enemy aircraft broke away. This would be the last claim made by 23 Squadron while flying the Boston/Havoc as the first Mosquito Mk.IIs were taken on charge soon after. Quickly beginning operations on the new aircraft, the

15

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Havoc AW394/YP-U in the summer 1942 after it had rejoined 23 Sqn. It had suffered a slight accident in February 1942, but was repaired and re-issued in April. It then went to 51 OTU until April 1943 when it was transferred to the USAAF in England for training purposes.

16

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squadron’s Mossies soon made claims, the first by the CO on 6/7 July. During the month, the new machines progressively took over the job and the last Boston sorties were flown on the night of 5/6 August with one patrolling Villacoublay (P/O J.N. Striebel and crew) while another patrolled Orléans (P/O G.L. Shemilt and crew). The squadron flew 725 intruder sorties: 525 on Havoc Is and 200 on Boston IIIs.

Cla i ms - 2 3 S q u ad r on (Co n fi r m ed a n d P r ob ab l e)

Date (Take-off)

Pilot

28.04.41

Sgt John B. rAFFeLS Sgt Samuel N. BeCkeTT Sgt Leonard LANgLeY Sgt John B. rAFFeLS Sgt Robert W.S. CuTHBerTSoN Sgt Leonard LANgLeY F/O Philip S.B. eNSor F/Sgt Peter A. roBerTS F/Sgt George D. oLiver P/O Stanley S. duFF P/O Clive LANgLeY-riPPoN Sgt John A. mCdermoTT F/L Bertie R. O’B. HoAre Sgt Roy C. SHerriNgToN Sgt Walter T. FLeTCHer F/O Philip S.B. eNSor Sgt Peter A. roBerTS Sgt George D. oLiver F/O Philip S.B. eNSor Sgt Peter A. roBerTS Sgt George D. oLiver P/O William A. Bird Sgt C. morriS Sgt David B. CAmPBeLL F/L Bertie R. O’B. HoAre Sgt Roy C. SHerriNgToN Sgt Walter T. FLeTCHer F/O Stanisław P. reYmer F/O Andrzej STrASBurger F/O Kazimierz BokoWieC F/L John BroWN W/O John A.G. THomSoN Sgt Herbert C. JiNkS Sgt John E. miLLArd F/Sgt Vivian A. WiLLeTTS Sgt Robert P. moore

03.05.41

04.05.41

05.05.41

06.05.41

07.05.41

10.05.41

12.08.41

13.09.41

07.12.41

03.04.42

17.04.42

SN

Origin

Type

No. 745744 No. 970018 RAF No. 948409 RAF No. 745744 RAF No. 743033 RAF No. 948409 RAF No. 41003 RAF No. 522759 RAF No. 936196 RAF No. 42340 RAF No. 88693 NZ40610 RAF No. 37858 RAF No. 751458 NZ40606 RAF No. 41003 RAF No. 522759 RAF No. 936196 RAF No. 41003 RAF No. 522759 RAF No. 936196 RAF No. 84951 ? NZ40604 RAF No. 37858 RAF No. 751458 NZ40606 P-0537 P-0133 P-0492 RAF No. 84952 RAF No. 1365839 RAF No. 1177640 RAF No. 1191177 RAF No. 970524 RAF No. 1062574

RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RNZAF RAF RAF RNZAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF ? RNZAF RAF RAF RNZAF PAF PAF PAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF

RAF

RAF

Total: 15.00

17

Code

Nb

Cat.

Bf110

YP-N

1.0

C

Ju88 E/A

YP-B

1.0 1.0

C P

Ju88 He111

YP-X

1.0 1.0

C P

He111

YP-G

1.0

C

E/A

YP-D

1.0

P

He111

YP-E

1.0

C

YP-F

1.0

C

E/A

YP-B

2.0

C

He111

YP-A

1.0

C

YP-T

1.0

C

YP-B

1.0

C

YP-X

1.0

C

Ju88

Ju88

Serial

Bd121

Bd112

He111

E/A

dg554

Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 14:47 Page 19

S um ma ry of t he ai r c ra f t l ost on op er at i on s - 2 3 S q uad r on

Date (Take-off)

Pilot

08.10.40 29.08.41

Destroyed in air raid F/L Peter S.Q. ANderSeN F/Sgt Donald J. SmiTH F/O Sebastian B. de mier Sgt John A. mCdermoTT P/O William E. THomAS F/Sgt William D. mCAdAm Sgt Royston S. BrYer F/O Philip S.B. eNSor F/Sgt Peter A. roBerTS F/Sgt George D. oLiver Sgt John E. miLLArd F/Sgt Vivian A. WiLLeTTS Sgt Robert P. moore P/O Ronald D. PegrAm F/Sgt Thomas rANkiN Sgt Ernest W. NigHTiNgALe

31.08.41

07.09.41

27.04.42

31.05.42

S/N

No. 40197 RAF No. 519175 RAF No. 79234 NZ40610 RAF No. 60824 RAF No. 519802 RAF No. 913425 RAF No. 41003 RAF No. 522759 RAF No. 936196 RAF No. 1191177 RAF No. 970524 RAF No. 1062574 RAF No. 66602 RAF No. 758130 RAF No. 1253917 RAF

*Boston I **Boston III

Total: 7

Van Riel’s Belgian crew flew operations with 23 Sqn during the Boston era. Above, P/O Léon Terlinden, a pre-war Belgian army NCO. He served during the short May 1940 campaign, but managed to escape after a short time as a PoW, and arrived in Great Britain at the end of June 1940. During autumn that year he enlisted in the RAF and became an air gunner. He served for a year, from September 1941, with 23 Sqn, then 418 Sqn, before being posted to 201 Sqn in August 1942 and completing his first tour in April 1943. He survived the war, having completed a second tour of operations on Lancasters with 156 and 635 Squadrons. On the right, René Lunden, the air observer. Considerably older than his colleagues, at forty years of age, he nevertheless served with the RAF. A pre-war reserve officer in the air branch, he was recalled for active duty in August 1939 and participated in the fighting in May 1940 before being evacuated to Great Britain in June 1940. He logically joined the RAF in July. Trained as an air observer, he joined 23 Sqn at about the same time as Van Riel and Terlinden, but was sadly killed on 23 April 1942 after a landing accident. (André Bar)

18

Origin

Serial

AX850* RAF AX929 RAF (MEX)/RAF RNZAF RAF AW404 RAF RAF RAF BB905 RAF RAF RAF AW398 RAF RAF RAF W8374** RAF RAF

Code

YP-L

YP-H

YP-W

Fate

† PoW † † † † † PoW † † † † PoW

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A day practice flight for Havoc Is ‘YPT’, ‘YP-W’ and ‘YP-S’.

S u mm ar y of t h e ai r cr a ft lo st b y a cci d en t - 2 3 S q ua dr o n

Date

Pilot

03.11.40 16.11.40 23.11.40 28.05.41

Name not reported S/L George F.W. HeYCoCk F/O Nelson M. HArdiNg F/O Derek A. WiLLANS Sgt Lloyd JoNeS Sgt Gerald B. JoHNSoN Sgt John B. rAFFeLS[1] Sgt Ronald W. riCHArdSoN Sgt Colin L.M. ForTSYTH Sgt Robert G. deNYer Sgt Donald C.C. grAHAm Sgt Charles C. LASCHke F/Sgt Drummond CHAPmAN Sgt John R. SuLLivAN Sgt Douglas J. PArr P/O Samuel F. oFFord F/Sgt James G. SHANdLeY Sgt William A. WiNPeNNY

25.07.41

09.07.41 17.10.41 07.11.41

27.02.42

S/N

Origin

? ? No. 26138 RAF RAF No. 39519 RAF RAF No. 41089 RAF RAF No. 978863 RAF NZ391859 RNZAF RAF No. 745744 RAF RAF No. 522864 RAF NZ40607 RNZAF RAF No. 927380 RAF RAF No. 628544 (CAN)/RAF RAF No. 1063025 RAF CAN./ R.57927 RCAF CAN./ R.72531 RCAF RAF No. 751383 RAF RAF No. 46533 RAF RAF No. 950923 RAF RAF No. 1106540 RAF RAF

(Sgt Robert B. Madge was also on board as a passenger and survived the crash) *Boston I [1] Died of injuries on 10.08.41

Total: 9

19

Serial

Code

AX849* Bd116* AW397* BB893

AW402

YP-R

BJ485 BB890 Bd124

YP-D

BB900

YP-G

Fate † † † † † † † † † † -

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Various scenes taken during preparation for an operation. Left: F/L Ken R. Sutton (NZ) reading a map surrounded by aircrew. At that time, November 1941, he was a flight commander with 23 Sqn. Sutton was a former Fairey Battle pilot and served in France before switching to night fighters during the Battle of Britain (flying Defiants with 264 Sqn). He later served with 605 and 85 Squadrons and survived the war. Among the identified aircrew are P/O Stan R. Streeter, Sutton’s British navigator (†02.04.43 with 85 Sqn), to his right. Second on his left is Sgt C.R. Durrant, Sutton’s air gunner, who was also a Kiwi. He did not survive the war either as he was killed in action on 28.10.42 while serving as an air gunner on a 160 Sqn Liberator in the Middle East. On the far right is another New Zealander, Sgt J.A. McDermott, an air gunner who survived the war. Right and below: last minute words from Sutton to his crew before they board their Havoc, named ‘Evelyn’, for the next op. (K.R. Sutton via P. Sortehaug)

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Noevmber 1941 September 1943 Number of sorties: ca. 570

First operational sortie: 26.03.42 Last operational sortie: 08.07.43

Number of claims: 5.00 Total aircraft written-off: 34 Aircraft lost on operations: 25 Aircraft lost in accidents: 9

Squadron code letters:

TH

C ommANdiNg o FFiCerS W/C W/C W/C W/C

george H. g ATHerAL Arthur e. S AuNderS James H. L iTTLe (†) Paul Y. d AvouT

No . 34134 No . 37052 AAF No . 90125 C AN ./ C.325

rAF rAF

rAF rAF rAF rCAF

22.11.41 15.05.42 12.12.42 15.06.43

15.05.42 12.12.42 13.06.43 ...

S quAdroN u SAge Formed at Debden on 15 November 1941, 418 Squadron was unique as it was to be the only intruder unit formed by the RCAF during the war. The lack of suitably experienced RCAF officers meant command was given to a British officer, W/C G.H. Gatheral, who had previously commanded 256 Squadron on Defiants in the night fighting role. Contrary to the other intruder squadrons, 418 was equipped with the Boston III from the beginning. Although intended to be a Canadian squadron, the first crews were British, posted in from 23 Squadron. A dual citizen Mexican/British, F/O S.S. de Mier, an air gunner, was among the men who initially joined. The first two Boston IIIs were taken on charge on 22 November (W8298 and W8350). By the end of the month they were followed by W8302, W8304 and Z2165. The build-up continued during December with the arrival of more crews, from either 23 Squadron or 51 OTU, and more Boston IIIs (W8318, W8358, W8390 and W8386). The first Canadian flying personnel joined on the 9th when 42 observers and wireless operator/air gunners arrived. Canadians constituted 70% of the aircrew by 31 December, but only 4% of the ground personnel. During that time, training began and 134 hours were flown (all but six hours by day). In January the situation did not improve much with just 160 hours flown, 37 by night. The Canadian presence was increased among the ground personnel, Wing Commander G. Catheral entered the RAF on a Short Service Commission in the early thirties and served in light bomber squadrons flying Harts with 18 Sqn, then Blenheims in the Far East with 62 Sqn. He had been just promoted to squadron leader when war broke out and soon after was granted a permanent commission. Serving in Singapore, he returned to the UK where he received an operational posting in December 1940, taking command of 256 Squadron’s Defiants. He left in September 1941, to be trained on Beaufighters, and was eventually given command of 418 Sqn and its Bostons, a type he does not appear to have been trained on. No further operational positions followed. He served in the RAF until he retired in March 1958.

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growing to 27% (aircrew 62%). On the equipment side, 418 had to wait until mid-February to receive its full complement of aircraft. Training continued and, on 24 February, 418 suffered its first fatalities when Boston W8335 crashed into a hill 15 miles from Debden, near Royston, killing the four men on board. Two weeks later, on 9 March, another Boston was wrecked when W8314 crashed into a ploughed field as a result of the left engine failing on take-off. The crew was fortunate to escape major injury, but the Boston was totally destroyed by fire. The squadron reached the end of its training phase, was declared operational two weeks later, and put on readiness for the first time on the 23rd. The first operations were flown three days later by eight Bostons, the target being an oil refinery and tankage at Ghent. All aircraft reached the target and all but one released their bombs on the target with varying results. One Boston, flown by P/O J.D.W. Willis and crew, was unable to release its bombs over the target and had to drop them off the coast before setting course for home. The first eight were followed by six more two nights later, all being patrols over the aerodromes at Gilze-Rijen, Rennes and Le Touquet. Little enemy activity was noticed and only a few bombs were released on Gilze-Rijen and on a railway line adjoining the airfield at Le Touquet. On return W8395 had a misfortune when its pilot, P/O R.H.H. Pawsey, applied the brakes too hard causing the left tire to blow and the Boston end its landing off the runway. The crew escaped injury, and the aircraft sustained some damage which was repaired, but this was not the case for W8360 on the 29th when, during a bombed up day practice flight, it overshot on landing and crashed into the airfield’s perimeter fence. The crew was lucky to escape as the Boston caught fire immediately and the bombs exploded. The explosion was huge and the CO and P/O Muirhead were wounded by shrapnel in their knees and back respectively. No further operational sorties were flown before the end of the month. April started in the worst manner when, during a night test flight, Boston W8333 crashed with all four on board killed (the fourth man being Sgt W. Wright from 111 Squadron). A few hours later, misfortune struck again when the Boston captained by F/L A.J. Love failed to return from an intruder op. It was the unit’s first operational loss. The following days’ weather didn’t allow much operational flying with just two Bostons sent out each night. The squadron was able to send more than two again from the 10th. At the same time, however, losses increased. One Boston crashed on landing at Debden, when the nose gear collapsed, in the early hours of the 12th. The observer, P/O H.G. Jollymour (RCAF), located in the nose, was seriously injured and taken to the hospital at Cambridge, but the rest of the crew escaped major injury. The aircraft was only good for scrap. The squadron moved to Bradwell Bay four days later. The previous night a Boston had been posted missing, but the crew, led by P/O J.D.W. Willis, was later reported as safe in a PoW camp. A few days later on the night of the 17th/18th, P/O Riseley headed out for an intruder op. As the aircraft was on its take-off run, the left tyre was punctured and the Boston struck an unseen object (a small concrete block) with its nose wheel. The nose dropped, the left wheel collapsed and the aircraft slid along, but did not catch fire immediately so the crew had time to evacuate. Following this event, no operations were carried out for a week, only resuming on the 25th with just two sorties. Some success was achieved as Sgt G.W.C. Harding and crew returned to base to claim an enemy aircraft damaged near Évreux aerodrome. Harding had fired two bursts from 350 yards and a third burst of two seconds’ duration from 250 yards. The squadron again suffered fatalities when F/O R.J. Askwith and crew failed to return, while a second Boston, W8386 piloted by P/O S.J. Hansall, made a belly landing on return. No injuries were reported by the crew and the Boston was lifted back onto its undercarriage Modified in October 1941 to an intruder configuration, W8321 was stored for a little while before being allocated to 418 Sqn in April 1942 where it was coded ‘TH-G’. This photo was probably taken on return from a practice flight. It remained with 418 until October 1943 (after which its fate is unknown and all trace lost after it was sent for repairs). An administrative stricken date was given on 21.06.47, but the aircraft was surely scrapped well before the war ended.

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W/C G.H. Gatheral looking in on a planning session at Debden in 1942. From the left he is surrounded by Sergeants G.E. Fallis (observer, †03.05.42), M.H. Brandon, (observer, †01.04.42), F. Bradley, (observer, †10.07.42), H.M. Haskell, (wireless operator/air gunner from Boston, USA), and H.D. Baker (wireless operator/air gunner, †09.04.43).

and repaired soon after. In May, despite the weather being generally improved, only 33 intruder sorties against Luftwaffe aerodromes were carried out. These few ops proved costly though. Another Boston was lost in an accident on 3 May during a night test flight. The right oleo and wheel fractured and fell from the aircraft as it took off from West Malling, causing a loss of control that made the aircraft dive into the ground. All on board perished as did F/L H.W. Biggs, the station engineering officer, who was killed by shrapnel. Landings continued to cause issues as another Boston (Z2243) had to make a wheels-up landing on 12 May during a test flight, but, fortunately, no injuries were reported and the aircraft was later repaired. There was a change of command on 15 May when W/C A.E. Saunders, who was with the squadron as supernumerary, took over from W/C G.H. Gatheral who was posted non-effective sick. The new CO’s debut was tough as he had to deal with the loss of a Boston on operations two nights later. This was followed by two more on the 20th. With such losses, night operations were halted for a few days before resuming on the 28th. The last two nights of May were intense with twenty sorties carried out, for no loss, as a small contribution to the 1000 aircraft raid. The squadron continued its operations over occupied Europe in June, sending aircraft over German aerodromes on a regular basis. After take-off each member of the crew was very busy attending to his duties. The observer/navigator followed the assigned route, calculating the drift and ground speed, and predicting the ETA to the next turning point. The pilot kept his aircraft at 220 mph with 200 feet to spare over the phosphorescent North Sea. The gunner tried to keep warm in his exposed position while visually clearing the Boston’s tail. Once the intruder had reached the coast, it would climb to 1000 feet. Regardless of the fact that at that height it was a good silhouette target, the extra altitude was required to see the German airfields or any aircraft that might be approaching. In doing so, the Germans were also aware of the Boston’s presence, obliging them to be vigilant and disturbing their own missions for the night. Sometimes, however, the hunters became the hunted or the flak was accurate. Indeed, two more Bostons failed to return in June. Boston W8390 went missing on an op to Lille, with the loss of the Canadian crew, on 17/18 June and Z2171 also failed to return from a sortie over Holland on the night of the 24th/25th. Despite these two recent losses, 418 took part in the second Bomber Command Millennium raid (1000 bomber raid) of 25/26 June, dispatching ten Bostons in support. Operational activity was maintained in July with a peak on the night of 27/28 July, when eight Bostons were detailed, and losses limited to one aircraft that failed to return on 9/10 July. The most frustrating aspect was that no encounters with German aircraft occurred during this period. So far, compared to the other intruder squadrons, 418 had suffered a rather high rate of attrition across both operational and training flights. Sadly, August would be the worst month ever. It started with the loss of a crew, captained by P/O R.S. Patterson (RCAF), that failed to return from a sortie over enemy territory on the 1st. The next night the crew captained by P/O R.G. Blamires (a New Zealander serving in the RCAF) also failed to return. Operations were halted for a few days and resumed quietly on the 6th with two sorties. The following days’ operations continued at a low rate, but soon another Boston was posted missing (Sgt V.W. McCabe and crew) on 17/18 August. The following night, S/L G.L. Caldwell and crew were sent to patrol Chartres, but shortly before midnight the aircraft diverted to Creil, arriving in the area at 00.40. The aerodrome was lit up. As the Boston approached, one enemy aircraft was seen, with its navigation lights on, about to land. A few minutes later, a white flare, followed by a green one, was sent up from the aerodrome and immediately afterwards another enemy aircraft was seen turning with navigation lights on. It made a left hand circuit and, as it crossed the outer Visual Landing crossbar on its approach, the Boston, which had been waiting for it to the southwest of the aerodrome, turned into the enemy aircraft and fired two bursts, of three and one seconds’ duration, closing from 350 to 150 yards. Strikes were seen on the left engine of the target, which burst into flames with large pieces flying off. After the second burst the rear portion of the fuselage parted company with the rest of airframe. The Boston broke away to the right and the enemy aircraft was seen to disintegrate in a blinding white flash. The squadron had just destroyed its first enemy aircraft, later identified as a Ju88, since formation. Caldwell could have set course for home, but continued to nose around the now blacked out field. After a few minutes the lights came back on and another aircraft immediately landed. The Boston then kept to the southwest of the aerodrome and the airfield’s lights switched off at once.

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Shortly afterwards, an enemy aircraft with navigation lights on and acting as a decoy, flew downwind and, when the lights were switched on again, another enemy aircraft landed before the Boston, which had followed the decoy, could get to it. This procedure was repeated a few minutes later, but this time the Boston remained downwind and all lights were doused before the enemy aircraft attempting to land could do so. Several times afterwards the flare path came on again and the decoy appeared from time to time flying over and about the aerodrome. The Boston made one unsuccessful attempt to intercept the decoy, but no enemy aircraft was seen coming in to land. In the end Caldwell decided to head home at 01.23, landing at 02.50 on the 18th. The following day, 418 participated in Operation Jubilee and two aircraft were sent to lay a covering smoke screen. One of the Bostons, captained by F/O S.H.D. Venables, had to turn back over the Channel with engine trouble, leaving the second Boston, captained by Sgt W.L. Buchanan, alone to continue the op. That proved fatal as the Boston was caught by Fw190s and shot down. In the initial attack, the right engine was set on fire and the observer, Sgt P.C. McGillicuddy, was gravely wounded. The gunner, Sgt C.G. Scott, had his seat shot out from under him, but he returned fire with his Brownings. The Boston was on its way down and hit the water with such force that the fuselage broke in two ahead of Scott’s station. He was catapulted into the water minus his dinghy, seeing the nose of the aircraft sink with the two other crewmembers. He saw the two unconscious bodies bob to the surface soon after. Scott inflated the pilot’s life jacket and tipped him into his dinghy. He then swam to the observer whose inert body was being dragged under by his parachute. As McGillicuddy’s dinghy was torn and useless, Scott had to tow him to the pilot and lifted him on board as well. Scott was forced to stay in the numbing water, as the dinghy was too small, for the three-mile marathon swim to the embattled shores of Dieppe. A friendly aircraft spotted the swimmer and motioned him back to the dinghy. Inside an hour he and his companions were picked up by a rescue launch. Unfortunately, McGillicuddy later died in hospital from internal bleeding. Scott was awarded the DFM for his actions. Sadly, the squadron sustained further losses before the end of the month. The crew captained by Sgt J.C. Colter (RCAF) was posted missing on the 28th . In the meantime Pilot Officer S.H.D. Venables claimed a damaged Do217 on 24/25 August during a raid on Orléans aerodrome. By early September 1942 all of the Boston IIIs had been modified and fitted with a belly gun pack. The targets evolved from harassing German aerodromes, where bombs were needed, to attacking trains and marshalling yards. The first train attack had been recorded the previous 22 August (P/O White and crew). Airfields were now secondary targets. Losses continued, however. A Boston failed to return during an operation carried out on the 7th/8th with the loss of its British crew. Sergeant A.J.R. Millman and his crew were on their first operational sortie. This loss was followed by another during operations on the 17th/18th. Having been tasked to patrol betBoston III Z2165 was modified in October and sent to 418 Sqn the following month where it was coded ‘TH-X’. It was lost with its crew during a leaflet sortie over France. Note the gun pack installed under the belly.

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Three of 418 Squadron’s Bostons flying in formation during a spring 1943 day practice flight. Leading is Z2290/‘TH-F’, followed by ‘TH-H’ and ‘TH-D’. All are equipped with the ventral gun pack, but Z2290 seems to have its nose guns deleted. Note that ‘TH-D’ is still wearing the upper surface day bomber scheme, but its undersurfaces have been painted black. Z2290 eventually reverted to its initial day bomber configuration and was shipped out to the Middle East during the summer of 1944.

ween Melun and Orléans, the entire crew was lost. Four sorties were flown the next night and proved to be the last ones for the month. This lack of ops lasted until 8 October when three intruder ops were achieved. In the meantime 418 had lost a Boston, and two of its three aircrew, when it crashed during an air firing practice on 6 October. Only the air gunner, Sgt D.A. Forestell (RCAF), survived the crash with minor injuries. Another Boston was lost, a few days later in an accident on the 17th, when Z2186 crashed during a cross-country in North Wales. Two on board were killed while the pilot, Sgt M.H. Sims (RCAF), was seriously injured. Operational activity in October was very limited with only eighteen sorties logged. To boost morale a bit during the month, 418 saw two of its members decorated. Squadron Leader P.L. Caldwell received a DFC and F/Sgt C.L.M. Forsyth (RNZAF) was awarded a DFM. With bad weather arriving with the end of autumn, the number of days when 418 could dispatch aircraft over the continent was reduced. This did not prevent operational losses, however, with one aircraft flown by F/Sgt W.L. Buchanan posted missing after a sortie on 7/8 November. Two were killed and one became a PoW. Ten days later, the B Flight commander was killed, while his two crewmen survived injured, on return from an op, after the Boston crashed in the Blackwater River. During the final operations of the month, another crew, captained by F/Sgt M.R. Lockwood (RCAF), was posted missing from a nickelling (leaflet) operation over Roulers. That month the squadron had introduced a new operational duty, dropping leaflets over various targets. The first three leaflet ops were carried out on 16/17 November with three Bostons, piloted by the CO, P/O Stone (RAF) and Sgt J.B. James (RAF), operating over the Belgian town of Ghent. Seven trains were attacked in November, but no claims followed. In all, less than thirty sorties were performed in November with just 24 flown in December. Losses were sustained with P/O C.D. Marshall and crew (all British) posted missing on the 6th after having failed to return from a sortie the previous night. A new commanding officer, W/C J.H. Little, a Battle of Britain veteran with 219 Squadron, assumed command in December. January 1943 started in the worst possible manner, with the loss of a Boston during a As far as the Boston was concerned, 418 Sqn had never been a full Canadian unit even though the ‘Canadianisation’ greatly increased over time. Some of the non-Canadian personnel, like W/O Colin L.M. Forsyth RNZAF, who earned the DFM as a wireless operator/air gunner in October 1942, distinguished themselves. Forsyth had previously served with 23 Sqn. When 418 switched to Mosquitos, he was posted to Mitchell bomber squadrons (180, then 98), but was killed in action on 8 May 1944. (Forsyth family via P. Sortehaug)

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Boston III W8268 had a short career with 418 Sqn as it was lost with its crew about six weeks after being issued to the squadron. Coded ‘TH-O’, W8268 was christened ‘Ottawa/Ontario’.

training flight on the 2nd, when W8292 entered a spin and did not have the altitude to recover in time. Two of the three men on board were killed, including Air Cadet C.A. Hull, 17, who was on board as a passenger. That month, widespread bad weather prevented much flying over the continent and less than twenty sorties were effectively flown. February resembled January with the loss of another Boston during a cross-country on the 8th (the three crewmembers were killed). The weather fortunately improved and the squadron could finally dispatch more aircraft over the continent. Another Boston was posted missing on 12/13 February during a leaflet sortie to Nantes. Only the air gunner survived to be a PoW. A couple of trains were attacked during the month, but no results were seen. However, on the last night of the month, five Bostons got airborne and F/L R.J. Bennell (RCAF), who had been ordered to patrol Melun and Brétigny, managed to attack an enemy aircraft over Melun, noticing several cannon strikes on the fuselage, but soon lost contact. He returned to file a damaged claim. While the Boston was at the end of its career with 418, as the first dual-control training on Mosquitos had begun, 418 added a Do217 over Deelen to its tally during the night of 3/4 March. Bennell and crew were among the three Bostons sent on operations, reaching the Dutch coast at 3000 feet shortly before 22.00. Deelen was then reached via the Zuider Zee. Enemy activity was noticed and the Boston was soon orbiting with two enemy aircraft. Bennell made a dead astern attack with cannons on a now identified Do217. The Boston closed in until it was forced to pull away to avoid a collision. At the same time Bennell saw clouds of smoke coming from the left side and the Dornier side-slipped into the ground 3 miles southwest of the aerodrome. The flak batteries did not have time to open fire and the Boston escaped the area and returned home just after midnight to claim a destroyed Do217. German aerodrome harassment continued from Bradwell Bay until the middle of the month and continued from Ford from the 15th. The second fortnight of March was rather quiet with only ten uneventful sorties carried out. The first day of April saw the arrival of a second Mosquito. A T.III trainer had already been received by the squadron. A third Mosquito arrived on the 3rd with a fourth turning up later in the month while intruder missions were still being carried out on Bostons. The squadron dispatched two or three Bostons each night or so during the first half of the month then doubled this effort during the second fortnight to bring the number of sorties to 48. Other than a few nickelling sorties, it was German aerodromes that received the attentions of the Bostons. Not all returned, however, as S/L S.H.D. Venables and crew were posted missing on the 9th/10th while on a sortie over Melun/Brétigny aerodrome. It was later discovered they had collided with a Do217 of I./KG 2 that was on a night training flight. Both crews perished in the collision. This loss was balanced the next night with S/L P. Burton-Gyles and crew claiming an unidentified enemy aircraft destroyed near Beauvais. The Boston had taken off shortly after midnight to patrol Beauvais and Creil. It crossed the Channel at 1000 feet and the Beauvais area was reached after forty minutes of flight. The Boston began to orbit when an enemy aircraft was sighted landing. Another one was soon spotted approaching to land. Burton-Gyles positioned to intercept and followed the enemy aircraft, which was a two-engine type, before firing a half second burst from 150 yards. The aircraft blew up immediately and the wreckage was seen burning on the ground, illuminating the airfield. A similar action took place two nights later when W/C Little and crew shot down another enemy aircraft landing at Beauvais. The Germans came close to evening the score two nights later when S/L C.C. Moran’s Boston experienced heavy and accurate flak while flying over Évreux. The left engine was hit and lost all of its oil, making the return leg difficult. In May, the Mosquito II began to be used on operations, making its first claims on the 8th. The Bostons continued to score too. Indeed, four nights later, F/L M.W. Beveridge and crew, tasked to patrol Orléans, returned to base with no less than three enemy aircraft claimed as damaged. Beveridge initially attacked an unidentified aircraft from about 250 yards. He succeeded in scoring several strikes with a

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Boston III W8358 'TH-R', of 418 Squadron RCAF, flying off the French coast while heading back to its base at Bradwell Bay, Essex, following a night sortie over Europe. It was eventually lost on a night intruder sortie to Creil, France, on 8 November 1942.

three second burst. He then turned his attention to a Ju88 and fired a four second burst. While three of his cannons jammed, strikes were seen on the Junkers. For his third target he chose a Ju87, scoring strikes with machine guns. One week later, on the 21st, it was the turn of S/L R.J. Bennell (RCAF) to score when he damaged an unidentified aircraft near Melun shortly after midnight on the 21st. Near the same aerodrome, Sgt J.B. James and crew repeated the effort at 1.54 on the 26th. It was a good month with no losses recorded over about fifty Boston sorties. As the delivery of Mosquitos accelerated, the Boston saw its operational activity reduced in June and 418 flew both types from that month. A change of command took place on the 15th after W/C Little and his navigator lost their lives in a Mosquito on take-off for a sortie over Holland three days previously. The new CO, a Canadian, was W/C P. Davout, an experienced night fighter who had already led 409 and 410 Canadian Squadrons. The introduction of the Mosquito gave the crews the chance to make more claims over German aircraft, with five claims made in June, but the Bostons performed well during their last week of activity by making a final claim after several visual contacts came up dry. Having been tasked to patrol Colomiers, F/L M.W. Beveridge (RCAF) and crew arrived on site at around 00.30 on the 21st. It was immediately clear there was activity in the area. The gunner soon saw an enemy aircraft, less than a mile away, flashing its navigation lights. A second enemy aircraft was seen doing the same thing four or five times. It was followed by a third aircraft repeating the procedure. As it was approaching the Visual Landing system this enemy aircraft began to flash its navigation lights faster. Beveridge decided to follow this aircraft and engaged it, as it was over the perimeter track, with a two second burst from 100 yards dead astern, closing very rapidly. A blinding flash from the right engine illuminated the aircraft, making its identification possible (Do217). The Boston broke to the left, losing height and seeing the Dornier, navigation lights still ablaze, emit smoke from its right engine. At this point the Boston overshot and the Dornier appeared to have performed a left turn and was last seen smoking badly. The airfield lights were doused and did not come on again. Beveridge left the area and on the return journey saw four trains, but did not attack as he wanted to conserve ammunition for further aerial activity that, Paul Davout was the first Canadian CO of 418 Sqn. He had served in the RCAF in the 1930s, but at the outbreak of war was flying for a civilian aviation company. He re-joined the RCAF in June 1940 and served as an assistant to the chief flying instructor at Trenton. In June 1941 he sailed to the UK to take command of the newly formed 410 (RCAF) Squadron, a night fighter unit equipped with Defiants. In September, he left to take over 409 (RCAF) Squadron, another night fighter outfit, which had just reequipped with Beaufighters. He led 409 until February 1943. After a short rest period, he was given command of 418 Sqn until he relinquished command in January 1944 to become OC of 22 (RCAF) Wing (renamed 22 Sector in May) until July. He then became OC of 143 (RCAF) Wing, regrouping three Canadian squadrons. He held this position until the end of December 1944 and was released in July 1945 with a DSO and a DFC.

27

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ultimately, did not eventuate. Beveridge claimed a Do217 as probably destroyed. This was the last claim made by a 418 Boston and the last by any Boston intruder unit. A few days later, however, 418 lost its last Boston and crew on operations when W8394 was shot down by flak near Schiphol in Holland on 23/24 June. The last operational sortie on the type was carried out on 8/9 July, an intruder flight over Orléans/Chanteadun by W/O A.D. Day and crew. Some Bostons remained in the squadron for a while, seven still in the inventory at the end of July. They were down to five at the end of August and two at the end of September. The last one eventually left the following month, closing the squadron’s long, somewhat troubled, association with the Douglas Boston.

The Boston III was equipped with twin 0.303-in Browning Mk.II guns, which were more powerful and efficient than the older Vickers K model. The rear gunner’s role was not just a defensive one for he regularly took part in engagements, sometimes with success. The air gunner handling the guns here is Sgt H. Haskell, an American from Boston (Massachusetts) serving in the RCAF. Note the shoulder flash ‘USA’.

C la i ms - 4 18 S q u ad r on (C o n fi r m ed a n d P ro b ab le )

Date (Take-off)

Pilot

18.08.42

S/L Peter L. CALdWeLL P/O Samuel P. mArLATT F/Sgt Alfred C. BiST F/L Richard J. BeNNeLL P/O Francis SHieLd Sgt Ernie R. diCkeY S/L Peter R. BurToN-gYLeS Sgt J. riCHArdS Sgt W.V. WiLSoN W/C James H. LiTLLe F/Sgt Douglas H. STYLeS F/Sgt Ronald G. rATCLiFFe F/L Massey W. Beverridge W/O David E. ANderSoN Sgt Barnard O.R. BAYS

03.03.43

12.04.43

15.04.43

21.06.43

SN

Origin

Type

No. 85651 CAN./ J.7797 CAN./ R.56358 CAN./ C.1376 RAF No. 131833 CAN./ R.65448 RAF No. 40077 ? ? AAF No. 90125 RAF No. 758047 CAN./ R.62092 CAN./ J.15070 CAN./ R.61117 RAF No. 1445000

RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF

RAF

Total: 5.00

28

Serial

Code

Nb

Cat.

Ju88

1.0

C

Do217

1.0

C

E/A

TH-O

1.0

C

E/A

TH-A

1.0

C

1.0

P

Do217

Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 14:54 Page 30

S um ma r y of t he ai r c ra f t l ost on op er at i on s - 4 1 8 S q uad r on

Date (Take-off)

Pilot

02.04.42

F/L Arthur J. Love F/Sgt Harry E.D. TiLBY F/Sgt Malcolm BuNTiNg P/O Brian WiLLiAmS P/O Harold G. JoLLYmour Sgt Harold J.H. irviNg F/O James D.W. WiLLiS Sgt John E.C. PriNgLe Sgt Brian F. FiLLiTer P/O Arthur H. riSeLeY P/O Thomas E.E. keYeS Sgt James A. ForAN F/O Richard J. ASkWiTH P/O Norman W. mAPeS Sgt Gordon J. HArdY S/L Peter S.Q. ANderSeN F/O Sebastian B. de mier P/O William F. YouNg

12.04.42

13.04.42

17.04.42

27.04.42

17.05.42

S/N

Origin

Serial

Code

Fate

No. 85274 No. 978862 RAF No. 544647 RAF No. 107314 CAN./ J.7220 CAN./ R.78431 RAF No. 44972 CAN./ R.76364 CAN./ R.62949 RAF No. 106080 CAN./ J.7522 CAN./ R.61070 CAN./ C.1611 CAN./ J.7521 CAN./ R.77323 RAF No. 40197 RAF No. 79234 CAN./ J.5688

RAF RAF RAF RAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF (MEx)/RAF RCAF

W8351

TH-H

† † † PoW PoW PoW † PoW † PoW † †

RAF

RAF

Z2173

Z2210

W8278

Z2240

TH-T

W8318

TH-H

One passenger, Cpl G.J.G. Miller (RAF) was also killed

20.05.42

17.06.42

24.06.42

09.07.42

31.07.42

01.08.42

17.08.42

19.08.42

27.08.42

Sgt George W.G. HArdiNg F/Sgt Robert P. SHANNoN Sgt Roy G. duSTeN P/O Nicholas J. STABB Sgt George M. riCHeS P/O Dennis duxFieLd P/O Frank C. doWNiNg P/O Perry C. FoSTer Sgt Harry A. PoTTer P/O Roy WHiTe P/O Thomas E.E. keYeS Sgt James A. ForAN Sgt Anthony S. dougLAS Sgt Frederick BrAdLeY Sgt Elric C.L. JoNeS P/O Robert S. PATTerSoN P/O Mitchell G. ABeY Sgt Clarence O. o’BrieN P/O Ronald G. BLAmireS Sgt Hamilton E. Prime Sgt Harold L. greeN Sgt Vincent W. mCCABe F/Sgt John W. HuTCHiSoN Sgt Harold FirTH Sgt William L. BuCHANAN P/O Paul C. mCgiLLiCuddY Sgt Clarence G. SCoTT Sgt James C. CoLTer Sgt Ronald J. BLeNkArN Sgt Alastair G.G. mCBAiN

No. 1083456 CAN./ R.74962 CAN./ R.68328 RAF No. 67109 CAN./ R.88652 CAN./ J.5902 CAN./ J.8350 CAN./ J.9760 CAN./ R.65316 CAN./ J.3253 CAN./ J.7522 CAN./ R.61070 RAF No. 655207 CAN./ R.86295 CAN./ R.55620 CAN./ J.8402 CAN./ J.9511 CAN./R.54319 CAN./ J.6951 CAN./ R.88205 NZ404602 CAN./ R.93183 CAN./ R.85883 RAF No. 1112578 CAN./ R.82282 CAN./ J.15647 CAN./ R.70877 CAN./ R.95411 CAN./ R.105569 RAF No. 978098

RAF

29

RAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF (US)/RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF (NZ)/RCAF RCAF RNZAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF

W8261

W8268

W8390

Z2171

W8304

W8326

W8264

W8350

W8298

W8262

TH-O

† † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † PoW † † † † † †

Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 14:54 Page 31

07.09.42

17.09.42

07.11.42

18.11.42

30.11.42

04.12.42

12.02.43

09.04.43

23.06.43

Sgt Albert J.R. miLLmAN P/O James A.H. mCCLAFFerTY Sgt Sydney R. WiLLiAmS P/O Arthur T. PerSiAN P/O Charles G.T. mCgregor Sgt Charles E. STuArT F/Sgt William L. BuCHANAN P/O Raymond H. FooTe P/O Alfred C. BiST S/L Laurence H. WiLkiNSoN F/O John K. reYNoLdS F/Sgt John M. TAYLor F/Sgt Merton R. LoCkWood Sgt Robert V. ieverS Sgt John J.G. CHABoT P/O Charles D. mArSHALL P/O Joseph W.R. PAviTT P/O Gilbert J. LAWSoN F/Sgt Robert R. JACkSoN P/O Peter J. LeBoLduS Sgt Thomas J. mCNeiL S/L Hugh D. vANABLeS P/O Donald J. mCkAY P/O Henry D. BAker F/Sgt Ernest Q. FiNdLAY F/O Duncan A. CArmiCHAeL Sgt John W. roBerTSoN

No. 1441090 No. 123132 RAF No. 1377465 CAN./ J.7328 CAN./ J.9567 CAN./ R.68329 CAN./ R.82282 CAN./ J.15611 CAN./ J.15646 CAN./ C.1015 CAN./ J.7805 CAN./ R.58683 CAN./ R.87408 RAF No. 1126184 CAN./ R.69145 RAF No. 120519 RAF No. 125652 RAF No. 122063 RAF No. 655320 CAN./ J.15034 RAF No. 992621 RAF No. 106029 CAN./ J.18749 CAN./ J.15823 CAN./ R.91884 CAN./ J.12295 CAN./ R.115691

RAF

RAF

RAF RAF RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RCAF RAF RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF

W8284

W8331

W8358

TH-R

W8342

Z2165

Z2207

AL766

W8325

W8394

TH-x

† † † † † † † † PoW † inj. † † † † † † † † PoW † † † † † †

Total: 25

A Douglas Boston Mk.III, coded ‘T for Toronto’, with nine airmen of 418 Sqn who hailed from Toronto. Left to right: Sergeants H.J. Irving, G.M. Riches (†20.05.42), J.W. Hutchison (†17.08.42), and J.E.C. Pringle (PoW 13.04.42), Pilot Officers D. Duxfield (†20.05.42) and E. Keyes, and Sergeants J. Field (†02.01.43), J. Sharples, and G. Chabot (†30.11.42). The photo was taken at RAF Station Debden, Essex, in February 1942.

30

Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 14:54 Page 32

F/O S. de Mier was an interesting character. Born in Mexico, of Mexican parents, his father was an ambassador of the Porfirio Díaz Regime that fell in 1911, but passed away in 1917 in Europe. His mother remarried into a good Scottish family, avoiding a return to revolutionary Mexico. Living in the UK, de Mier enlisted in the RAF in May 1940 and was trained as an air gunner. He initially served with 141 Sqn on Defiants before moving to 68 Sqn in September and then 23 Sqn in June 1941. He joined 418 Sqn that November, but was killed in May 1942. His brother also served for Britain in the British army, but was captured after the fall of Singapore in 1942. He survived as a POW and returned to Mexico where he worked as a representative of KLM.

S um ma r y o f t he a i rc r af t l os t b y a cc i de n t - 4 18 S q n

Date

Crew

24.02.42

Sgt Bernard C. SmiTH Sgt Francis C. o’CoNNor Sgt Arthur kreuT

09.03.42

P/O Richard H.H. PAWSeY P/O John K. reYNoLdS Sgt John M. TAYLor P/O Stanley J. HASSALL Sgt Paul C. mCgiLLiCuddY Sgt Clarence G. SCoTT Sgt Charles L. LeWiS-HALL Sgt Melvyn H. BrANdoN Sgt Edward A. oWeN

S/N

Origin

Serial

No. 1293165 CAN./ R.74963 CAN./ R.74984

RAF RCAF RCAF

W8335

† † †

RAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF

W8314

-

RAF

Code

Fate

One passenger, LAC John W. Moore (RAF) was also killed in the crash

29.03.42

01.04.42

No. 107454 CAN./ J.7805 CAN./ R.58683 RAF No. 108994 CAN./ R.78174 CAN./ R.70877 RAF No. 389005 CAN./ R.91837 CAN./ R.77326 RAF

W8360

W8333

† † †

and one passenger, a pilot from 111 Sqn, Sgt W. Wright was also killed

03.05.42

06.10.42

17.10.42

02.01.43

P/O Harold H. WHiTFieLd Sgt George E. FALLiS Sgt Robert E. WiLLiAmS P/O Willam M. PouPore P/O Frederick W. TurveY Sgt Daniel A. ForeSTeLL Sgt Mervyn H. SimS P/O Harold F.L. LoNgWorTH Sgt Ronald WALker F/O Peter K. WHiTe Sgt John J.A. FieLd

No. 112313 CAN./ R.86387 CAN./ R.76043 CAN./ J.8952 CAN./ J.10889 CAN./ R.69440 CAN./ R.106533 CAN./ J.11105 RAF No. 1289633 RAF No. 107316 CAN./ R.71650 RAF

RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF RAF RCAF

W8340

RAF RAF RAF

W8380

W8359

Z2186

W8292

TH-G

† † † † † inj. † † † †

and one passenger, Air Cadet Cpl C.A. Hull (RAF), also killed in the crash

08.02.43

Sgt Archibald J. AdAmS Sgt Charles H.E. roSS Sgt Leonard V. JACkSoN

No. 1340969 No. 1365930 RAF No. 931418

RAF

RAF

One passenger Cpl B. Kapusta (RCAF) was also killed in the crash

Total: 9

31

† † †

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No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron - code UP An Auxiliary unit, 605 started the war as a conventional fighter squadron, initially equipped with the Gloster Gladiator, but had started its conversion to the Hawker Hurricane when war broke out. It participated in the Battle of Britain and was later sent to the Far East just after Japan invaded the British possessions in the region. The squadron vanished following the disaster that followed early in 1942. It was reformed in Fighter Command at Ford on 7 June 1942 to perform the new intruder role. Command of the squadron was given to W/C P.W. Townsend, one of the RAF’s night fighter experts at the time and Station CO at Drem. He had previously commanded 85 Squadron on Bostons/Havocs (see SQUADRONS! 24) so was very familiar with the type. From the beginning, 605 was to receive 23 Squadron’s Havoc Is and Boston IIIs as that unit re-equipped with the Mosquito. Formation was to take about a month. The first aircraft, a Havoc I, was taken on charge on 3 July and was followed by a second on the 8th and two more on the 13th. Despite not being at full strength, the first night intruder sortie was carried out by the CO the following night with an attack on the marshalling yards near Caen. Two 250-lb bombs and twelve 40 pounders were dropped from 2000 feet. More aircraft soon arrived, including the first Boston III. Further intruder sorties were recorded in July, with one on the 19th/20th. Later, in the afternoon of the 20th, tragedy occurred when two Havoc Is collided, causing the death of both crews and three Canadian soldiers who had been allowed to fly as passengers in a kind of baptism of flight. A third sortie was performed in July on the 26th with take-off at 00.20. The aircraft headed for Beauvais, but the bombs were not dropped owing to bad visibility over the target. These three sorties were carried out by Havoc Is. On 1 August three

August 1942: While 2 Group Boston squadrons are briefed at Ford, we can see a Havoc intruder of 605 Sqn, which also participated in the raid, parked in the background.

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Boston III AL425 ‘UP-Z’, 605 Sqn, RAF Ford, summer 1942. Standing, back row, left to right, Sergeants A.B. Tuttle (A/G), T. Harris (Nav) and D.W.O. Wood (Pilot). Crouching, front row, Sergeants R.O. Bridgen (Pilot), E.D.G. White (Pilot) and C. Maurice (Nav). Bridgen, Harris, White and Maurice were posted out at the end of February 1943. Maurice and White were lost together on 26.04.43, while flying Mosquitos with 23 Sqn on Malta, followed by Tuttle (†28.12.43, 14 Sqn Marauder in the Med) and Wood (†04.09.44, 515 Sqn Mosquito). (Andrew Thomas)

sorties were made in the early hours of the night the Boston III making its operational debut with the squadron. Aircraft were sent to Caen in France, St-Trond in Belgium, and Beauvais by order of time for take-off. All the aircraft were back at base by 05.00. This could not be repeated the next night when S/L J.D. Humphreys and crew failed to return from the only intruder sortie of the night, an operation over Beauvais. Because of this loss, 605 was ordered to complete further training. The Havoc Is left while a new CO, W/C G.I. Denholm, arrived on the 7th. He had led 603 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. A detachment was completed at Hunsdon between the 15th and 19th, the squadron returning to its main base in time to take part in the Dieppe raid, two sorties alongside 418 Squadron. The unit returned to training, but P/O Ken Pierpoint was killed during a night training flight. He was flying solo at the time. It was believed he was dazzled by searchlights and lost all sense of orientation. Another accident saw two men killed two days later in the General Aircraft Owlet, the only example of the liaison type ever built. It had been sent to 605 as a tricycle undercarriage trainer for the Boston. Training was intense and close to 570 flying hours were recorded in August, including 500 on the Boston IIIs. Training continued at the same rate in September with 500 hours flown by the Boston IIIs, but no operations. This lasted to 10 October when 605 was finally set for its second period of operational activities. Of the three crews ready that night, only two were given a target. Wing Commander Denholm set off for Beauvais via Le Tréport, but had to return short of the target owing to bad visibility. Pilot Officer C.F. Ponsford did not find Beauvais. The next night proved more successful with Évreux airfield, Villacoublay airfield, and Le Crotoy attacked by one aircraft each. The next three nights were free of any sorties over the continent, but this lack of activity was compensated by nine sorties on the night of 15/16 October. All targets were reached and Sgt J. Brochocki, a Polish pilot, and his crew were very lucky on their first sortie as they saw no less than two enemy aircraft near Évreux. They were greeted by searchlights and heavy flak over the target. The two enemy aircraft were chased until they flew over the aerodrome, where the Boston had to take avoiding action from a further dose of flak, and were lost. The CO flew with a special guest, G/C Helmore, who was connected to the BBC and could shine a media light on the squadron’s activities. Before the end of the month, eight more sorties were recorded during which one train near Beaumont was damaged by F/O Green and crew. The squadron had to mourn the death of one of its own, however, when, while detached at Tangmere, Sgt N.E.A. Ross was killed on 21 October when he collided with a Hurricane of 534 Squadron (its Canadian pilot was also killed). In November 31 intruder sorties were carried out over eight nights. Among the targets found and attacked was a loco, which was damaged south of Alençon on the 28th (F/O Olley and crew), and another at St Pol on the 29th (S/L Tomalin and crew). Most of the ops flown were, however, less aggressive as they involved leaflet dropping. By the end of 1942, the Luftwaffe had somewhat deserted the northwestern area of France by night, therefore limiting potential targets. In December 605 was able to dispatch forty more Boston sorties over the continent, and eventually exceeded its 100th sortie since reformation, but at the cost of a crew who crashed on return on the last day of the year. The operations remained the same, but sometimes targets of opportunity were attacked, like on 11 December when F/L Olley attacked a train travelling north to Lens just outside of Arras very late in the afternoon. It was given a two second cannon burst from astern, from 1000 to 500 feet, and strikes were seen towards the middle of the train. Turning for a head on attack, the Boston fired a three second burst, from 2000 feet to 500 feet, and further strikes were observed all over the engine, forcing it to stop. Other trains were also attacked that night, and damaged to varying degrees, and other nights when 605 was operating. Railway targets proved relatively easy prey late in the evening after darkness had fallen. By the end of 1942 the squadron had W8259/R, W8263/N, W8266/H, W8267/P, W8283/F, W8305/Q, W8344/E, W8345/G, W8349/A, W8370/S, Z2155/D, Z2192/J, Z2232/L, Z2241/W and AL467/V on strength. A replacement for AL425/Z (AL871) did not arrive until January. It was, however, almost the end of the Boston era as news had filtered through that 605 would convert to the Mosquito within weeks. Despite the bad winter weather generally preventing regular ops in northwest Europe, 41 sorties were recorded in January 1943 with eight sorties flown on the night of the 17th/18th (a record since the unit’s reformation). The targets remained the same: dropping leaflets, German airfields located in northwest Paris and Normandy, and trains. The best night regarding attacks on trains was the 15th/16th when no less than five trains were attacked and four claimed as damaged. At the same time, 605 prepared for the arrival of the

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Mosquito. The winds of change came on 3 February when the first dual control example arrived. Mosquito IIs began to roll in shortly after and A Flight was selected to convert first, its pilots consequently carrying out night operations on Bostons while practicing on the Mosquito by day. To simplify and speed the conversion, A Flight was stood down. That left B Flight to shoulder the unit’s operational responsibilities from 10 February. The number of sorties, therefore, decreased. It was during this time a Boston crew made the squadron’s first claim over a German aircraft. At 22.41 on 13 February, S/L A.W. Mack and crew took off for another intruder sortie. Looking for targets of opportunity near Évreux airfield, Mack saw three aircraft with their navigation lights on with one just about to land and the two others following close behind. He went after the third one, but it peeled off and steered south, travelling very fast, and was lost in cloud at 2000 feet. So the Boston went to north side of the Visual Lorenz and the enemy aircraft was seen making its approach right at the end of the system. Mack turned steeply to the right to come in behind, and slightly to the right of, the enemy aircraft (identified as Do217). When the Dornier was 400 yards from the flare path Mack gave it a four second burst with cannons followed by a second burst of three seconds from dead astern, closing this time to 150 yards using what was remaining of his ammunition. Strikes were seen during both bursts. The Boston stopped firing when the Dornier was at 50 feet over the green flares at the beginning of the flare path. At that point the aerodrome’s lighting was doused. The Boston broke away sharply to the left, passing over the Dornier, and the rear gunner saw a short trail of white and black smoke, the source being a shower of sparks. The white navigation light bounced up and down and went out. Several searchlights came on and flak opened fire from the south of the aerodrome. It was time to leave the area and the Boston set course for home. At base, Mack filed a claim for a damaged Dornier. He had been promoted to B Flight CO the previous day. As the Boston continued to be phased out, 605 made another claim the next night near Évreux. Caught in the circuit about to land, a Dornier was shot down in flames by a two second cannon burst, the Boston pilot, F/O C.F. Ponsford, closing from 100 to 50 yards. Strikes were seen from the left engine to the right engine, the left one catching fire and the bomb doors flying open to reveal a fire within. The Dornier began to bank to the left, but crashed just short of the perimeter track and exploded in flames. The Dorniers based at Évreux suffered more casualties from the squadron’s Bostons when, the next day, Sgt Brochocki, a Pole, claimed an aircraft shot down in flames near Évreux (a Dornier without a doubt) while F/O R. Smart claimed another damaged. This was later upgraded to probably destroyed. He also attacked a second Dornier, but made no claim. The weather deteriorated during the following days and operational activity did not resume until the 26th. Despite the Boston’s good showing, the writing was on the wall as half the squadron was already flying their new aircraft. The first week of March saw further sorties achieved, during which one last enemy aircraft was seen on the 7th, by S/L Mack and crew, but no contact was made and the final Boston ops were carried out on the 9th when three were dispatched to Rennes, Caen, Beauvais and Creil. Again, though, no activity was noticed. The Mosquito took over from the 10th to open another chapter in the squadron’s history. In all, 605 Squadron flew 184 intruder sorties in nine months of operations.

C la im s - 6 05 S q uad r on (C o n f ir m ed an d P r ob ab l e)

Date (Take off)

Pilot

15.02.43

F/O Colin F. PoNSford Sgt John IrvINe Sgt William L.WebSter Sgt George broChoCkI Sgt Frederick C.H. JohNS Sgt Albert H. WettoNe F/O Rae R. Smart P/O John K. SUtClIffe Sgt Leslie E. Short

16.02.43

SN

Origin

Type

Serial

Code

Nb

Cat.

No. 118945 No. 1097642 RAF No. 1062597 RAF No. 1312885 RAF No. 1386518 RAF No. 1151961 RAF No. 117511 RAF No. 125654 RAF No. 1290625

RAF RAF RAF (POL)/RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF

Do217

W8305

UP-Q

1.0

C

E/A

W8399

UP-X

1.0

C

Do217

W8259

UP-R

1.0

P

RAF

RAF

Total: 3.00

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A New Zealander from Wellington, Arthur W. Mack enlisted in the RAF in August 1937. At the outbreak of war he was serving with 102 Sqn and flying Whitleys. On 9 September 1939, while returning from a leaflet raid over Germany, he ran out of fuel and was obliged to make an emergency landing in Belgium where he was interned. He escaped in December with the help of friendly Belgian soldiers who provided a Belgian uniform. Mack completed a tour with Bomber Command then switched to night fighters for his second tour and was sent to 605 Sqn. He made one of the last Boston claims during an intruder sortie. He transferred to the RNZAF on 1 January 1944 and survived the war with a DFC. He is seen here in front of a 605 Boston which wears a swastika on its nose, possibly signifying the claim he made over a Do217 on 13 February 1943 while flying W8370/’UP-S’. (see colour profile)

S u mm ar y of t h e ai r cr a ft lo st on ope r at i on s - 6 05 S q ua dr o n

Date (Take-off)

Pilot

02.08.42

S/L Jack D. hUmPhreyS W/O Douglas L. mCCoNNell Sgt William R. WellS Sgt James WarreNder Sgt Robert veItCh Sgt James C. StIrrat

31.12.42

S/N

Origin

Serial

Code

Fate

No. 41419 No. 516831 RAF No. 1113347 RAF No. 754702 RAF No. 1117214 RAF No. 1284773

RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF

bJ489

UP-K

al425*

UP-Z

† † † † † †

RAF

RAF

*Boston III

Total: 2

S um ma r y of t he ai r c ra f t l ost b y a cc id en t - 6 05 S q n

Date

Crew

20.07.42

F/O Andrew C.R. mClUre P/O Ronald J. beNNett P/O Anthony N. tUStaIN

S/N

Origin

Serial

No. 82167 No. 116401 RAF No. 116763

RAF RAF RAF

aX921 bt462

RAF RAF

al463* al871*

RAF

RAF

Code

Fate

† † †

Three Candadian soldiers who were on board were also killed.

28.08.42 21.10.42

P/O Kenneth J. PIerPoINt Sgt Norman E.A. roSS

RAF RAF

No. 120515 No. 1314183 Total: 4

35

UP-D

† †

Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 15:00 Page 37

Number 51 Operational Training Unit was formed in July 1941 at Debden with the task to train night fighter crews, initially on Blenheims and a few Havoc Turbinlites. By July 1942 the OTU had an establishment of twenty Havocs plus six in reserve. BB902 served briefly with 51 OTU at the end of 1942 before being transferred, to the USAAF in England as a trainer in April 1943, as Havoc training was discontinued. BB902 is seen at the time of transfer still wearing its training scheme (note the yellow undersurfaces). More than 35 Havocs were used by 51 OTU. 

S u mm ar y of t h e ai r cr a ft lo st b y ac ci d en t - 5 1 ot U

Date

Crew (captain only)

21.11.41 07.02.42 12.02.42 08.06.42 12.08.42 25.10.42

P/O Alphonse lUkaS P/O Harold H. WhItfIeld P/O Charles D. F. kayeS Sgt Guy B.H. JameS Sgt Alec L. oSborNe P/O Peter F. SmIth Sgt Denis T.E. maSSey Sgt Leonard J. CaSey Sgt Clive JarvIS

28.11.42 11.12.42

S/N

No. 106031 No. 112313 RAF No. 110881 RAF No. 1338486 RAF No. 1291134 RAF No. 123022 RAF No. 1397540 NZ414957 RAF No. 1499895 RAF

RAF

Total: 8

36

Origin

RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RAF RNZAF RAF

Serial

bt460 ae467 ae457 bb901 aW402 bb898 bJ501 ae458

Code

Fate

† † † † † -

Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 15:00 Page 38

t he b oStoN I & h avoC I r egISter

Serials

Former French No.

Taken on charge (UK)

Operational units

Balance of the second French Contrat signed for 170 DB-7s with serials Nos 100 to 270. Intended to be powered with P&W 1,100 hp R-1830-S3C4-G with two-speed superchargers but the first 35 were powered with the same engine as the first batch, the P&W R-1830-SC3-G of 1,000 hp with a single-speed supercharger. The French took charge of 195 aircraft in the USA, but only 116 would reach France at the time of the armistice or soon after. Of the remaining aircraft, sixteen (AE457-AE472) were at sea and were diverted to British ports while the others still in the USA were transferred to the British. ae457 ae458@ ae459 ae460 ae461 ae462 ae463 ae464@

106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113

12.07.40 10.07.40 12.07.40 12.07.40 12.07.40 14.07.40 14.07.40 25.07.40

ae465

114

25.07.40

ae466 ae467 ae468 ae469 ae470@

116 117 118 119 120

31.07.40 31.07.40 31.07.40 11.08.40 11.08.40

ae471 ae472@

121 122

11.08.40 11.08.40

18 (as trainer), 88 (as trainer) 85 (as trainer) 93 (as trainer) 23 (as trainer), 418 (as trainer), 23 (as trainer) 226 (as trainer), 85 (as trainer), 1451 Flt (as trainer), 530 (as trainer), 107 (as trainer), 342 (as trainer) 226 (as trainer), 139 (as trainer), 88 (as trainer), 1455 Flt (as trainer), 534 (as trainer) 88 (as trainer) 93 (as trainer) 88 (as trainer), 85 (as trainer), 1451 Flt (as trainer), 1459 Flt (as trainer), 1453 Flt (as trainer), 532 (as trainer) 85 (as trainer), 1460 Flt (as trainer), 539 (as trainer) 226 (as trainer), 85 (as trainer), 1451 (as trainer)

@ took the denomination of Havoc I without specific mods.

Because of its 1000hp engines, and lacking operational equipment not requested by the French, the first batch of Boston Is served as useful tricycle landing gear trainers. Of this first sixteen, four received the Havoc I denomination (for no real reason). AE458 was one of the four, but was only used as a trainer, including at 51 OTU, until it was damaged beyond repair following an accident on 11 December 1942.

37

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aW392+ aW393+ aW394* aW395+ aW396** aW397 aW398* aW399** aW400+ aW401+ aW402* aW403** aW404* aW405+ aW406*# aW407+ aW408+ aW409** aW410# aW411+ aW412+ aW413+ aW414#

136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158

16.08.40 16.08.40 16.08.40 16.08.40 16.08.40 16.08.40 23.08.40 23.08.40 23.08.40 23.08.40 28.08.40 28.08.40 28.08.40 28.08.40 28.08.40 28.08.40 29.08.40 29.08.40 29.08.40 29.08.40 01.09.40 01.09.40 01.09.40

1422 Flt, 93, 1458 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1460 Flt 110 (as trainer), 1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1455 Flt, 1456 Flt 23 1422 Flt, 1454 Flt FIU, 1451 Flt 23 88 (as trainer), 23 88 (as trainer), 161 88 (as trainer), 1422 Flt, 1454 Flt, 1459 Flt, 538 226 (as trainer), 1422 Flt, 1455 Flt, 1456 Flt 23 85 23 1451 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1452 Flt 226, 23, 1422 Flt, 1457 Flt, 93, 1458 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1460 Flt 1422 Flt, 1457 Flt, 537 1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1454 Flt, 533 85, 1452 Flt 93, 1456 Flt, 535 93, 1422 Flt, 1452 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1456 Flt, 535 4122 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1452 FLt, 1456 Flt 1422 Flt, 1455 Flt, 1456 Flt, 1460 Flt -

+ Havoc fitted with Turbinlite (see SQUADRONS! No. 24) * Havoc Intruder ** Havoc Night Fighter (see SQUADRONS! No. 24) # Havoc with Pandora racks (see SQUADRONS! No. 24)

aX849** aX849 aX850 aX851@ aX910** aX911** aX912** aX913# aX914@ aX915# aX916# aX921* aX922* aX923+ aX924+ aX925# aX926 aX927+ aX928* aX929* aX930+

159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179

06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40 Not reported Not reported Not reported Not reported Not reported Not reported Not reported 06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40 06.09.40

85 23 23 25 (as trainer), 1453 Flt 85 85, 1451 Flt 93 93 93, 342 (as trainer) 23, 605 23 1422 Flt, 1455 Flt, 1456 Flt 1422 Flt, 1460 Flt, 539 93 93, 1460 Flt 1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1453 Flt 23, 605 23 1422 Flt, 93, 1458 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1456 Flt, 1459 Flt, 1424 Flt

bb890* bb891+ bb892# bb893* bb894 bb895# bb896# bb897+

180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187

11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40

bb898+

188

11.09.40

44 (as trainer), 23 44 (as trainer), 23, 1422 Flt, 1453 Flt, 1422 Flt, 530 93 23 93 93, 23, 605 93 107 (as trainer), 110 (as trainer), 1422 Flt, 1453 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1453 Flt, 1454 Flt, 1451 Flt, 530 1451 Flt, 1454 Flt, 533

38

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A close-up view of the rear gunner’s position on Havoc BB900. Note the old Vickers K model machine gun. Note also that the fuselage roundel has been modified by partially painting out the outer yellow ring.

bb899+ bb900* bb901# bb902 bb903# bb904** bb905* bb906 bb907+ bb908+ bb909+ bb910* bb911+

189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201

11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40 11.09.40

1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1453 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1454 Flt, 1451 Flt 23 93 1453 Flt, 1459 Flt, 538 93 85, 1455 Flt, 1457 Flt, 1454 Flt, 107 (as trainer), 342 (as trainer) 23 1422 Flt, 1452 Flt, 1456 Flt, 1422 Flt, 534 23, 1422 Flt, 1455 Flt, 1456 Flt 1422 Flt, 1452 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1456 Flt 23, 605 1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1454 Flt

The French took charge of 195 DB7s in the USA before the contract was relinquished to the British just before the armistice was signed. For practical reasons this second order of DB-7s could not be built to British specifications without considerably disrupting the production line. Therefore, this order was delivered to French standards and in primer paint. Only the RAF fin flash was added to the French colours, making a strange combination as seen here on ‘200’. While the French colours were later painted over, the French serial was kept and the DB-7s made the voyage like this. It was only upon arrival in the UK that the aircraft received their RAF serials, were painted in RAF camouflage, and converted to British standard. This explains why the sequence of serials covers a larger range compared to other types.

39

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bb912#

202

11.09.40

93

bd110+ bd111+ bd112* bd113# bd114* bd115+ bd116*+ bd117# bd118@ bd119@ bd120+ bd121* bd122# bd123#* bd124* bd125+ bd126**

203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219

18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40 18.09.40

93, 1422 Flt, 1452 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1460 Flt, 1455 Flt, 534 1422 Flt, 1454 Flt, 1452 Flt, 530 23 93, 342 (as trainer) 23 1422 Flt, 1453 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1454 Flt 23, 1422 Flt, 1452 Flt 93, 1458 Flt 93 85, 226 (as trainer), 342 (as trainer) 1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1453 Flt 23 93, 1458 Flt, 537 93, 23 23, FIU, 23 85, 1422 Flt, 1456 Flt, 534 85

bJ458@ bJ459@ bJ460+ bJ461+

220 221 222 223

02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40

bJ462+ bJ463+ bJ464* bJ465** bJ466** bJ467+ bJ468** bJ469+ bJ470*+ bJ471** bJ472+ bJ473@ bJ474+ bJ475** bJ476** bJ477*

224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239

02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40 02.10.40

FIU, 1454 Flt, 206 (as trainer), 1454 Flt, 533 1422 Flt, 1457 Flt, 93, 1458 Flt, 1456 Flt, 1452 Flt, 531 85, 1452 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1453 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1460 Flt, 1453 Flt, 1460 Flt, 1455 Flt, 534 85, 23, FIU, 605 1422 Flt, 1453 Flt, 532, 342 (as trainer) FIU, 85 93 23, 85, 1456 Flt, 1459 Flt 85, 1453 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1453 Flt, 532 FIU 23, 85, 1453 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1454 Flt, 1459 Flt 23, 1422 Flt, 1457 Flt, 93, 1458 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1456 Flt, 1452 Flt 23, 85, 1452 Flt 85, 1422 Flt, 1460 Flt 93 1422 Flt, 1460 Flt, 539 FIU 85 23, 161

bJ485* bJ486+ bJ487+ bJ488# bJ489* bJ490#* bJ491+

240 241 242 243 244 245 246

06.10.40 06.10.40 06.10.40 06.10.40 06.10.40 06.10.40 06.10.40

bJ492* bJ493# bJ494** bJ495** bJ496+ bJ497+ bJ498 bJ499+ bJ500** bJ501*

247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256

06.10.40 06.10.40 10.10.40 10.10.40 10.10.40 10.10.40 10.10.40 10.10.40 10.10.40 10.10.40

23 1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1452 Flt 1422 Flt, 1458 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1460 Flt, 1422 Flt 93 44 (as trainer), 23, 605 93, 23, 605, 1460 Flt 85 (as trainer), 1454 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1452 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1456 Flt, 1422 Flt, 1460 Flt, 1455 Flt 93, 23 93 85, 1454 Flt 85 23, 1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1454 Flt 110 (as trainer), 1422 Flt, 1452 Flt 1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1453 Flt, 1460 Flt, 1422 Flt, 539 85 23, 605, 1452 Flt, 605

40

Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 15:00 Page 42

bk882+ bk883#*

257 258

25.10.40 25.10.40

23, 1422 Flt, 1451 Flt, 1455 Flt 93, 23, 605

bl227@ bl228+

259 260

29.10.40 29.10.40

85, 1422 Flt, 1454 Flt

bt460** bt461** bt462* bt463** bt464** bt465#

265 266 267 268 269 270

22.12.40 22.12.40 22.12.40 22.12.40 22.12.40 22.12.40

85 85 44 (as trainer), 23, 605 85, 1455 Flt (as trainer), 342 (as trainer) 85, 1455 Flt, 1454 Flt, 1457 Flt, 536 93

Douglas retained three DB-7s from the second order to conduct various tests and experiments for the French. The aircraft retained were ‘101’, ‘115’ and ‘131’. Here, ‘131’ is in the foreground with ‘101’ behind. While these two aircraft were originally delivered with French roundels, they have been repainted in a British scheme with the roundels temporarily painted over for test flying in US skies. The original French serials remain. The ‘U’ was the type letter originally allocated by the French. U131 served to assess whether a twin tail design improved both stability and the gunner’s field of fire. This modification was requested by the French, but yielded no improvements. The aircraft reverted to its initial configuration and was sent to the UK where it became BV203. U-101 became DG555.

bv203@

131

10.01.41

85, 342

dg554#* dg555@

115 101

09.02.41 09.02.41

93, 23 -

dk274 261 Badly damaged in transit. dk275 262 Badly damaged in transit dk276 263 Badly damaged in transit dk277 264 Badly damaged in transit The last four Boston Is arrived actually before BV203 and DG554-555 and believed before BT460-465; it was found that they had been damaged in transit and so did not receive any serial when they arrived at the of end of 1940, pending investigation. When the decision was made in April 1941, they were given a serial each and struck off charge in sequence.

41

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† IN memorIam douglas boston & havoc Intruder

Name abey, George Micthell adamS, Archibald John aSkWIth, Richard John baker, Henry Douglas beNNett, Ronald Jeffrey blamIreS, Ronald Garland bleNkarN, Ronald James bradley, Frederick braNdoN, Melvyl Hamilton bryer, Royston Sidney bUChaNaN, William Lysle bUNtINg, Malcolm CarmIChael, Ducan Alexander CaSey, Leonard James Chabot, John Joseph Graham ChaPmaN, Drummond Colter, James Cecil de mIer, Sebastian Bernard deNyer, Robert Gordon doUglaS, Anthony Stewart doWNINg, Frank Chase dUSteN, Roy George dUXfIeld, Dennis eNSor, Philip Stephen Baddesley fallIS, George Emerson fIeld, John James Alfred fINdlay, Ernest Quarrier fIrth, Harold foote, Raymond Hamilton foraN, James Alexander foSter, Percy Clinton graham, Donald Clinton Charles greeN, Harold Lewis hardINg, George William Goldson hardy, Gordon James hUmPhreyS, Jack David hUtChISoN, John William IeverS, Robert Valentine JaCkSoN, Leonard Vernon JaCkSoN, Robert Renwick JohNSoN, Gerarld Bruce JoNeS, Elric Cameron Latter JoNeS, Lloyd kayeS, Charles David Fearnley keyeS, Thomas Eric Edmond

Service No

Rank

CAN./ J.9511 No. 1340969 CAN./C.1611 Can./ J.15823 RAF No. 116401 CAN./ J.6951 CAN./ R.105569 CAN. / R.86295 CAN./ R91867 RAF No. 913425 CAN./ J.16162 RAF No. 544647 CAN./ J.12295 NZ414957 CAN./ R.69145 CAN./ R.57927 CAN./ R.95411 RAF No. 79234 RAF No. 927380 RAF No. 655207 CAN./ J.8350 CAN./ R.68328 CAN./ J.5902 RAF No. 41003 CAN./ R.86387 CAN./ J.16910 CAN./ J.18008 RAF No. 1112578 CAN./ J.15611 CAN./ R.61070 CAN./ J.9760 RAF No. 628544 NZ404602 RAF No. 1083456 CAN./ R.77323 RAF No. 41419 CAN./ R.85883 RAF No. 1126184 RAF No. 931418 RAF 655320 NZ391859 CAN./ R.55620 RAF No. 978863 RAF No. 110881 CAN./ J.7522

RAF

42

P/O Sgt F/O F/O P/O P/O Sgt F/Sgt Sgt Sgt P/O F/Sgt F/O Sgt W/O2 F/Sgt F/Sgt F/O Sgt Sgt P/O Sgt P/O F/L F/Sgt P/O P/O Sgt F/O F/Sgt P/O F/Sgt Sgt Sgt F/Sgt S/L F/Sgt Sgt SGT F/Sgt Sgt Sgt Sgt P/O P/O

Age 26 n/k 22 24 24 21 21 20 21 21 22 n/k 23 21 25 19 21 32 n/k 23 27 22 27 21 28 22 23 19 24 23 24 24 23 18 24 n/k 21 n/k 20 n/k 21 32 25 20 20

Origin RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF RAF (NZ)/RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RAF RCAF RNZAF RCAF RCAF RCAF (MEX)/RAF RAF RAF (US)/RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF (CAN)/RAF RNZAF RAF RCAF RAF RCAF RAF RAF RAF RNZAF RCAF RAF RAF RCAF

Date 31.07.42 08.02.43 28.04.42 09.04.43 20.07.42 02.08.42 27.08.42 10.07.42 01.04.42 01.09.41 08.11.42 03.04.42 23.06.43 28.11.42 30.11.42 07.11.41 27.08.42 18.05.42 09.07.41 10.07.42 17.06.42 20.05.42 20.05.42 08.09.41 03.05.42 02.01.43 23.06.43 17.08.42 08.11.42 24.06.42 18.06.42 09.07.41 02.08.42 20.05.42 28.04.42 02.08.42 17.08.42 30.11.42 08.02.43 13.02.43 28.05.41 10.07.42 28.05.41 10.02.42 24.06.42

Serial W8326 W8380 Z2240 W8325 AX921 W8264 W8262 W8304 W8333 AW404 W8358 W8351 W8394 BJ501 Z2165 BD124 W8262 W8318 BJ485 W8304 W8390 W8261 W8268 BB905 W8340 W8292 W8394 W8350 W8358 Z2171 W8390 BJ485 W8264 W8261 Z2240 BJ489 W8350 Z2165 W8380 AL766 BB893 W8304 BB893 AE457 Z2171

Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 15:00 Page 44

kreUt, Arthur laWSoN, Gilbert James leboldUS, Peter John leWIS, Anzac Piripi Tamihana leWIS-hall, Charles Lewis loCkWood, Merton Ralph loNgWorth, Harold Francis Lawrence love, Arthur Jack lUNdeN, René Henri Théophile (Baron) marShall, Charles Douglas maSSey, Denis Thornhill Edmonds mCadam, William David mCbaIN, Alastair Gordon Gillies mCClafferty, James Alexander Howard mCCoNNell, Douglas Leslie mCgIllICUddy, Paul Clark mCgregor, Charles Gordon Tassie mCkay, Donald James mClUre, Andrew Crawford Rankin mIllmaN, Albert John Richard moore, Robert Paxton o’brIeN, Clarence Oswald o’CoNNor, Francis Charles olIver, George Dixon oSborNe, Alec Lawrence oWeN, Edward Albert Parr, Douglas John PatterSoN, Robert Samuel PavItt, Joseph William Robert Pegram, Roland Desmond PerSIaN, Arthur Thomas PIerPoINt, Kenneth James PoUPore, William Marshall Potter, Harry Archibald PrIme, Hamilton Earle raffelS, John Blenkin raNkIN, Thomas rICheS, George Merlyn robertS, Peter Alfred robertSoN, John Wallace roSS, Charles Hugh Eddie roSS, Norman Edward Albert ShaNdley, James Gerard ShaNNoN, Robert Porter SmIth, Bernard Charles SmIth, Donald James SmIth, Peter Francis Stabb, Nicholas John StIrrat, James Crawford StUart, Charles Edwin SUllIvaN, John Raymond tIlby, Harry Ernest Demmar tUrvey, Frederick William tUStaIN, Anthony Noel Hailes veItCh, Robert veNableS, Hugh Drummond Walker, Ronald WarreNder, James

CAN./ R.74984 No. 122063 CAN./ J.15304 NZ401460 RAF No. 389005 CAN./ R.87408 CAN./ J.11105 RAF No. 85274 RAF No. 87708 RAF No. 120519 RAF No. 1397540 RAF No. 519802 RAF No. 978098 RAF No. 123132 RAF No. 516831 CAN./ J.15647 CAN./ J.9567 CAN./ J.18749 RAF No. 82167 RAF No. 1441090 RAF No. 106574 CAN./ R.54319 CAN./ R.74963 RAF No. 936196 RAF No. 1291134 CAN./ R.77326 RAF No. 751383 CAN./ J.8402 RAF No. 125652 RAF No. 66602 CAN./ J.7328 RAF No. 120515 CAN./ J.8952 CAN./ R.65316 CAN./ R.88205 RAF No. 745744 RAF No. 758130 CAN./ R.88652 RAF No. 522759 CAN./ R. 115691 RAF No. 1365930 RAF No. 1314183 RAF No. 950923 CAN./ J.74962 RAF No. 1293165 RAF No. 519175 RAF No. 123022 RAF No. 67109 RAF No. 1284773 CAN./ R.68329 CAN./ R.72531 RAF No. 978862 CAN./ J.1089 RAF No. 116763 RAF No. 1117214 RAF No. 106029 RAF No. 1289633 RAF No. 754702 RAF

43

F/Sgt P/O F/O Sgt Sgt W/O2 P/O F/L F/L P/O Sgt F/Sgt Sgt P/O W/O P/O P/O F/O F/L Sgt Sgt F/Sgt Sgt F/Sgt Sgt F/Sgt F/Sgt P/O P/O F/O F/O P/O F/O F/Sgt F/Sgt F/Sgt F/Sgt F/Sgt F/Sgt W/O2 Sgt Sgt F/Sgt F/Sgt Sgt F/Sgt F/O F/O Sgt F/Sgt Sgt F/Sgt F/O F/O Sgt S/L Sgt Sgt

25 RCAF 34 RAF 24 RCAF 23 RNZAF 21 RAF 21 RCAF 26 RCAF n/k RAF 39 (BEL)/RAF 20 RAF 19 RAF 26 RAF 31 RAF 32 RAF n/k RAF 24 RCAF 23 RCAF 22 RCAF 24 RAF 21 RAF 21 RAF 26 RCAF 25 RCAF 26 RAF 20 RAF 22 RCAF 22 RAF 23 RCAF 31 RAF 21 RAF 21 RCAF 20 RAF 20 RCAF 21 RCAF n/k RCAF 25 RAF n/k RAF 20 RCAF 27 RAF 20 RCAF 28 RAF n/k RAF 21 RAF 27 RCAF 21 RAF 24 RAF n/k RAF 30 RAF 28 RAF 24 RCAF 22 RCAF 20 RAF 24 RCAF 20 RAF 27 RAF n/k RAF 22 RAF 27 RAF

24.02.42 04.12.42 13.02.43 31.05.41 01.04.42 30.11.42 17.10.42 03.04.42 03.04.42 04.12.42 25.10.42 01.09.41 27.08.42 07.09.42 02.08.42 21.08.42 17.09.42 09.04.43 20.07.42 07.09.42 27.07.42 31.07.42 24.02.42 08.09.40 12.08.42 01.04.42 07.11.41 31.07.42 04.12.42 31.05.42 17.09.42 28.08.42 06.10.42 18.06.42 02.08.42 10.08.41 31.05.42 20.05.42 08.09.41 23.06.43 08.02.43 21.10.42 27.02.42 20.05.42 24.02.42 30.08.41 25.10.42 20.05.42 31.12.42 17.09.42 07.11.41 03.04.42 06.10.42 20.07.42 31.12.42 09.04.43 17.10.42 31.12.42

W8335 Z2207 AL766 BJ485* W8333 Z2165 Z2186 W8351 W8358* Z2207 BB898 AW404 W8262 W8284 BJ489 W8298 W8331 W8325 AX921 W8284 AW398 W8326 W8335 BB905 AW402 W8333 BD124 W8326 Z2207 W8374 W8331 AL463 W8359 W8390 W8264 AW402 W8374 W8268 BB905 W8394 W8380 AL871 BB900 W8261 W8335 AX929 BB898 W8268 AL425 W8331 BD124 W8351 W8359 AX921 AL425 W8325 Z2186 AL425

Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 15:00 Page 45

WellS, William Ralph WhIte, Peter Kersey WhIte, Roy WhItfIeld, Harold Herbert WIlkINSoN, Laurence Hughes WIllaNS, Derek Alan WIllettS, Vivian Alquin WIllIamS, Robert Earl WIllIamS, Sydney Raymond yoUNg, William Falconer

No. 1113347 No. 107316 CAN./ J.3253 RAF No. 112313 CAN./ C.1015 RAF No. 41089 RAF No. 970524 CAN./ R.76043 RAF No. 1377465 CAN./ J.5688 RAF

RAF

Sgt F/O F/O P/O S/L F/O F/Sgt Sgt Sgt P/O

n/k n/k 25 22 27 n/k 24 20 26 22

RAF RAF RCAF RAF RCAF RAF RAF RCAF RAF RCAF

* Aircraft repaired

Total: 113 Canada: 47, Belgium: 1, British: 58, Mexico: 1, New Zealand: 5, USA: 1

n/k: not known

Flying as the last rays of light fade, a Havoc of 23 Sqn heads to its target in northern France or Belgium.

44

02.08.42 02.01.43 25.06.42 03.05.42 18.11.42 28.05.41 27.04.42 03.05.42 07.09.42 18.05.42

BJ489 W8292 Z2171 W8340 W8342 BB893 AW398 W8340 W8284 W8318

No. 23 Squadron ford, Uk, spring 1942

douglas boston mk. III W8258

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No. 23 Squadron ford, Uk, spring 1942

douglas havoc mk. I dg554

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No. 23 Squadron ford, Uk, spring 1942

douglas havoc mk. I aW397

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No. 418 (rCaf) Squadron debden, Uk, spring 1942

douglas boston mk. III Z2290

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No. 418 (rCaf) Squadron bradwell, Uk, summer 1942

douglas boston mk. III W8321

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No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron ford, Uk, february 1943

douglas boston mk. III W8370

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Sqns - Boston Havoc Intruder_Aircraft.qxd 19/05/2020 15:00 Page 52

SQUadroNS! - the series

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

The Supermarine Spitfire Mk VI The Republic Thunderbolt Mk I The Supermarine Spitfire Mk V in the Far East The Boeing Fortress Mk I The Supermarine Spitfire Mk XII The Supermarine Spitfire Mk VII The Supermarine Spitfire F. 21 The Handley-Page Halifax Mk I The Forgotten Fighters The NA Mustang IV in Western Europe The NA Mustang IV over the Balkans and Italy The Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVI - The British The Martin Marauder Mk I The Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII - The British The Gloster Meteor F.I & F. III The NA Mitchell - The Dutch, Poles and French The Curtiss Mohawk The Curtiss Kittyhawk Mk II The Boulton Paul Defiant - day and night fighter The Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII - The Australians The Boeing Fortress Mk II & Mk III The Douglas Boston and Havoc - The Australians The Republic Thunderbolt Mk II The Douglas Boston and Havoc - night fighters The Supermarine Spitfire Mk V - The Eagles The Hawker Hurricane - The Canadians The Supermarine Spitfire Mk V - The ‘Bombay’ squadrons The Consolidated Liberator - The Australians The Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVI - The Dominions The Supermarine Spitfire Mk V - The Belgian and Dutch squadrons The Supermarine Spitfire Mk V - The New Zealanders The Supermarine Spitfire Mk V - The Norwegians The Brewster Buffalo The Supermarine Spitfire Mk II - The Foreign squadrons The Martin Marauder Mk II The Supermarine Spitfire Mk V - The Special Reserve squadrons The Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIV - The Belgian and Dutch squadrons The Supermarine Spitfire Mk II - The Rhodesian, Dominion & Eagle squadrons The Douglas Boston & Havoc - The intruders The North American Mustang III over the Balkans and Italy (Pt-1)