The move to Coleby Grange was not completed until 23 February as the morning haze, which was a feature of this low, level area, delayed the aircraft for two days. Once arrived at their new base, the aircrew settled down to intensive training for day and night "rangers" (low flying offensive sorties) into enemy-held territory. They would still be available for defensive night patrols if required, but their major activity for the next few months would be offensive missions. Their operational "day" was no longer restricted to the hours of darkness; it extended now around the whole clock. Plans were to make three rangers a night during the moon period which would begin on 17 March, and day rangers as conditions permitted.

Meanwhile, as preparations and training went ahead, the Squadron continued "night state" and had a number of scrambles over the Wash. These led to one vain chase, a victory and a tragedy. The chase was on the 15^th when one crew closed on a Ju.88 that dived to sea level and got away. Three nights later, when some Huns came over again, F/L D. Williams and P/O P.N. Dalton found a Do.217 near King's Lynn. The sighting was mutual and the enemy pilot dived away with the Mosquito in hot pursuit. At 1800 feet Williams pulled out in a steep turn, but the Dornier continued to dive and a moment later a huge ball of crimson fire exploded on the ground. Although the Mosquito had not used it guns, the crew believed they had been responsible for the bomber's headlong crash. The assessment officer, however, decided to share the credit between the nightfighter and the anti-aircraft defences.

Pleasure at this success was short-lived for another Mosquito, returning from a patrol that night, crashed near base and F/S B.M. Haight and Sgt. O.S. Milburn (RAF) died in the wreck. Haight, it will be recalled, had scored the Squadron's first kill in January of that year.

The moon period of March came and passed while the night rangers cursed the weather which made it impossible for them to operate. The day rangers were somewhat more fortunate, attempting nine sorties on the 26^th, 27^th and 30^th. Eight had to turn back when the weather over the Dutch coast was found to be unsuitable for penetration inland. S/L Ferguson, who with W/C Hillock made the first two sorties on the 26^th, met some concentrated and accurate flak which gave his Mossie a good shaking before he got out of range.

The one successful day range in March – Fighter Command's first daylight penetration by a Mosquito into Germany – was a remarkable achievement. Taking off from Coleby Grang at 1415 on the afternoon of the 27^th, P/O M.A. Cybulski and his navigator, P/O H.H. Ladbrook (RAF), struck across the North Sea to Vlieland, turned south-east past Stavoren to Meppel where they altered course eastward and, hedgehopping across northern Holland, reached Meppen, just across the German border; here they flew down the Ems to Papenburg and turned westward for home where they landed at 1725 after covering more than 600 miles. Flying down the cannel and rail line between Meppen and Papenburg, the Mosquito attacked five targets. First it damaged a tug and two barges; from which debris flew into the air: then it riddled a locomotive and raked a line of six freight cars; two military buses were shot up and, to end the strafe, pieces were shot off another locomotive which was left wreathed in clouds of steam. Newspapers heralded the record flight but the pilot's name had to be suppressed lest it bring reprisals upon his relatives in Poland. Cybulski.'s home was in Renfrew, Ontario; his grandparents were Polish.

The next few day rangers were less fortunate and indicated the great danger attending these daylight penetrations into enemy territory. On 6 April, F/L C.D. McCloskey and P/O J.G. Sullivan did not return from a sortie. The German radio announced that a British aircraft had been shot down over north-west Germany and it was later learned that the two men were prisoners of war. Mac McCloskey, one of the original members of No.410, had just that day been informed of his promotion to Flight Lieutenant as deputy commander of "A" Flight. Four days later F/Os J.E. Leach and R.M. Bull were lost over Friesland and were presumed killed in action.

When the moon period began in mid-April, the night rangers were at last able to get into action. W/C Frank Hillock who, with his navigator, F/L O'Neil.-Dunne, was the first to take off, on the night of the 15^th, headed for the Ruhr. The weather was not too good and, as the Mosquito was skipping along at 300 feet over Holland, Hillock suddenly saw the eight radio masts of Apeldoorn Station rushing at him. There was no time to climb and no room to fly between them, so the pilot threw the Mossie on its side and ripped through the antennae, tearing away several wires. On return to base it was found that one wing tip of the aircraft had been sliced off, and another wing had been cut through to the main spar before the wire broke; about 300 feet of well-made quarter-inch copper cable were trailing behind the Mosquito. Despite this shaking experience Hillock had coolly flown to his target area before coming home.

On the 17^th, one crew, crossing the North Sea, spotted a convoy off the Dutch coast and reported it for suitable action by the Royal Navy at dawn. The same night, F/S D.M. Norman and Sgt. J.R. Hunt (RAF) flew up the Rhine, strafing barges and a factory near Rees. Three nights later Norman and Hunt shot up a freight yard at Cleve and strafed some more barges near Cuijk, across the frontier in Holland. But F/S W.J. Reddie and Sgt K. Evans (RAF), who had gone out on a ranger in the early morning of the 20^th, were missing. On these night sorties the crews usually encountered considerable flak as they crossed the coast and it was presumed that the Mosquito had been shot down by the Nazi gunners.

(7) Out of eleven Cougar crews missing on operations over enemy territory, McCloskey and Sullivan alone survived.

For over a week the weather was unsuitable for rangers. Finally, on the last day of April, W/O D.M. Mackenzie and Sgt. B.H.T. Taylor (RAF), on a day sortie into Holland, shot up two coal trains, bringing both to a stop, and seriously damaging one of the engines. The next day a barge on a Dutch canal was strafed by F/O C.F. Medhurst and F/S W.J. Gordon.

The moon period in May was busy and profitable for the night rangers whose sphere of operations was now extended to include France and Belgium as well as Germany and the Netherlands. The Squadron also undertook night intruder sorties in support of Bomber Command operations, sending out aircraft to patrol over airfields from which enemy fighters might be active. Altogether, between 14 and 29 May, the Cougars made 10 intruder and 14 night ranger sorties, as well as seven scrambles. The intrusions and scrambles were uneventful, but seven of the rangers crews found targets in France, Holland and Germany, attacking 14 locomotives, 11 freight cars, and a number of barges in addition to destroying a vehicle and a high-powered railroad light. Norman (now a Pilot Officer) and Hunt made two of the attacks, the other crews being F/O C.P. Green – Sgt. E.G. White (RAF), MacKenzie – Taylor, F/O H.O. Bouchard – Sgt. W.S. Fyfe (RAF), S/L R.R. Ferguson – P/O D. Creed, and Sgts. S.B. Huppert – J.S. Christie (RAF).

"Butch" Bouchard and Fyfe, a very good team who on their sortie to the Dummer Sea area on the 15^th had made a spectacular haul of five locomotives, eleven freight ears, a vehicle and a light, did not return from another ranger to the Hanover-Bremen area three nights later.

On 20 May Frank Hillock completed his tour and on his departure from the Cougars was presented with silver mugs, cigarette case and smoking box. W/C G.H. Elms succeeded him in command, having returned from No. 409 Squadron. Early in April F/L Don B. Freeman, one of the original members of No. 410, had gone to No. 406 to take command of a flight. Another departure in May was F/O D. Williams who was tour-expired; a month later he was killed in a flying accident in Northern Ireland.

One of the highlights of May occurred on the 27^th when the Squadron’s aircrew went to Digby to be presented to their Majesties the King and Queen, and have an informal chat with the King who took a keen interest in the work of the Cougars.

After the day and night ranger activity of May, June was a decided contrast. The only two sorties of this type were foiled by lack of adequate cloud cover over the Dutch coast. Nor were the 14 scrambles any more eventful. The Squadron's major activity this month was a new operation called "Instep". For many months Coastal Command had been maintaining a close surveillance of the Bay of Biscay to harass or stop the movement of U-boats. Recently the enemy counter air activity over the Bay had increased and Coastal Command asked Fighter Command for assistance in protecting its crews. As a result No. 410 was instructed to detail several crews to Predannack in Cornell as reinforcement whence, in company with Mosquitoes of Nos. 307 (Polish) and 456 (RAAF) Squadrons, they made "Instep patrols" over the centre of the Bay {47 N –07 W and 44 N – 03 W). The detachment remained in the south for a month, making 20 patrols (each of four or five hours' duration) between 12 June and 7 July. Four of the sorties were eventful.

On the afternoon of the 13^th P/O R.B. Harris and Sgt. E.H. Skeel (RAF), accompanied by three other Mosquitoes were over the Bay, south-west of Brest, when four Ju.88's were sighted. Some minutes later the patrol leader heard one of his crews say it was being chased by FW.190s and another requested an emergency homing. Nothing more was heard. The other three Mosquitoes did not return. Harris and Steel, an able and popular team, had joined the Squadron late in March.

The next morning P/Os J.A. Watt and E.H. Collis (RAF), flying with three Polish Mossies, sighted five U-boats which drew into a tight circle to throw up a wall of flak. Two of the fighters attacked nevertheless, making strikes on two conning-towers. One Mosquito was also damaged and the patrol returned to base.

Yet another patrol from Predannack, consisting of three crews from No. 307 and F/Os E.A. Murray and P.R. Littlewood (RAF) from No. 410, had an encounter with the enemy. The patrol was zigzagging at sea level over the Bay at mid-day on the 19^th when an olive-green camouflaged BV.138 was seen, also at sea level. In line astern the four Mossies made two attacks in succession as the big flying-boat climbed desperately for the cover of the clouds. One engine soon began to smoke and, unable to gain height, the aircraft nosed down toward the sea. Another attack set the starboard engine ablaze. After the BV crashed into the water, three men emerged and scrambled into a dinghy.

The last bit of action occurred on the 21^st when P/0 C.F. Green and Sgt. E.G. White (RAF) shared in an attack on two small armed merchant vessels or trawlers. Both ships were damaged, steam escaping from near the bridge of one. Their defensive fire was inaccurate.

S/L A. Barker, one of the Squadron’s old-timers who had been in command of "B" Flight for eight months, ended in tour in June, and was posted to an O.T.U. as an instructor. In his place came S/L A.G. Lawrence, DFC, from No. 406 Squadron. Lawrence brought with him his team-mate, FS H.J. Wilmer, DFM, (RAF). With the Lynx squadron they had destroyed three enemy bombers between April 1942 and March 1943. They were soon able to add another e.a. to their score.

July was a busy month, thanks in considerable measure to enemy activity. When a raid came over Bull and Crosby about midnight of the 12^th/13^th, four Mosquitoes were scrambled from Coleby Grange to intercept.⁽⁸⁾ Over the mouth of the Humber, Lawrence and Wilmer caught a Do.217 which took violent evasive action and got away after the Mossie had fired one short burst. Flares, ack-ack and searchlights over Hullmade it impossible to continue the chase. Resuming their hunt for targets, the Mosquito crew were vectored on another Do.217, obtaining A.1. contact followed immediately by a visual. This one did not get away, although it tried to by diving, climbing and making tight turns. One short burst from the Mosquito's four cannons had no effect; a second squirt caused a huge flash in the Dornier's starboard engine followed by clouds of smoke. In a driving turn to starboard with the engine glowing brightly, the bomber went down, hitting the sea with a great splash. Its gunners had opened fire on the night fighter for Lawrence and Wilmer had seen some streaks of red and white tracer pass under the starboard wing.

(8) There were also three intruder and one ranger sorties that night, making it the busiest the Squadron had known for many weeks.

Again the next night Jerry came over but the six crews that went up did not get one contact. Nor were six further scrambles later in the month any luckier.

After a month's layoff the intruders and rangers resumed operations in July, making 20 sorties. Early in the month the Squadron received six type VI Mosquito bombers for use on this work and a special flight was formed under F/L Murray for night rangers and patrols over enemy aerodromes. The new aircraft were used for the first time on the night of the 15^th when P/O Norman and F/S Hunt attacked a tug boat on the Elbe River and strafed a marshalling yard at Lenzen. Another crew, P/Os Watt and Collis on a Mosquito II, damaged a locomotive en another range in the Netherlands. Both crews had trouble with their cannons; Norman's guns jammed and Watt's wouldn't stop firing until the ammunition was gone.

The next ranger sortie on the 18^th resulted in the loss of P/O L.A. Wood and F/O D.J. Slaughter (RAF), who did not return from France after leaving Ford, their advanced base. ⁽⁹⁾ The crew had joined No. 410 early in March. Poor weather intervened for a week. Then on the 25^th two crews went out patrol Deelen aerodrome, in the Netherlands, in support of Bomber Command operations. Earlier in the month there had been five of the "flower" sorties, as they were called, all of which were without incident. It was otherwise this night. The first crew, Norman and Hunt, saw the visual Lorenz lit three times during their patrol and noticed bombs fall on or near the aerodrome, starting fires. An hour later they were relieved by Murray and Littlewood. As the second Mosquito approached Declan, after orbitting a dummy aerodrome for a few moments, the crew saw an aircraft come in and land. Half an hour later a second Hun appeared, flicking its navigation lights off and on. Murray came in behind, saw it was a Do.217 and fired a three-second burst. Searchlights coned the Mosquito while the flak guns opened up. But the Dornier was finished; its port engine on fire. The bomber, lit up by five searchlights, veered to the left, crashed and exploded in flames on the boundary of the airfield. As the Mosquito continued to circle, a third e.a. slipped in for a hurried landing. When it reached the end of the runway the Jerry switched on its navigation lights again and Murray came down in a sharp diving turn to fire a long burst that struck and damaged the aircraft. The navigation lights were quickly doused as the defenses, flak and searchlights, again came into action.

(9) A summary of the squadron's ranger and intruder operations shows that Sgt. Huppert and F/S Christie damaged two trains on the night of the 19th. The Squadron diary makes no mention of the incident and does not report any operational activity that night.

On three other nights (28 to 30 July) crews went out to patrol Schleswig / Jegel, Gilze-Rijen and Venlo aerodromes while our bombers were abroad, but apart from haze and flak, there was little to report.

The Cougars suffered a severe blow on the 30^th when F/L Murray and F/O Littlewood were killed in the crash of the Squadron Oxford near Honiley, Warwickshire, while on navigation flight. Murray was deputy flight commander of "B" Flight and was in charge of ranger and intruder operations. With his observer he had destroyed one enemy aircraft, shared in the destruction of a second, and had damaged another on the ground. Murray was a native of Stellarton, N.S. His navigator was also a Canadian, from Saanichton on Vancouver Island. Just a few days before their death both officers had been highly commended for their services and they received, posthumously, a Mention in Dispatches.

It was anticipated that August would be another busy period for the flower and ranger crews. Six Mosquito VI bombers and six Mosquito II night fighters fitted with Mark IV A.1. were available for these operations over enemy territory, in addition to the squadron's normal defensive commitments. Twenty-five sorties were made over enemy territory, including four by day. Most of the activity was concentrated in the last half of the month, the first fortnight being a period of poor weather. There were however, numerous bull's-eye exercises and much bombing practice during the first part of August, and one novel mission when two Mosquitoes went out on Air/Sea Rescue work to keep watch for a long period over an airborne lifeboat and its occupants. During this period too the Squadron welcomed a number of U.S.A.A.F. pilots.

Three day rangers set out at dawn on the 14^th but had to turn back at the Dutch coast because of unsuitable weather. The next night (15^th) two rangers went out from Castle Camps (used as an advanced base for night Operations) on the Squadron’s first operation with bombs; their target was St.Dizier aerodrome. Lawrence and Wilmer dropped their two 250-lb bombs on the runway and, on the return flight, attacked a train near Paris. Cannon and machine-gun strikes were seen, followed by a vivid blue flash. The second crew, P/O R.D. Shultz and F/O V.A. Williams, did not reach St. Dizier, but had an exciting sortie nonetheless. First three locomotives and three freight cars were damaged between Clermont and Poix and a bridge was bombed; then, 20 miles off Beachy Head on the way home, they met another aircraft and closed to investigate. It proved to be a Do.217 whose under gunner opened accurate fire on the Mosquito. Schultz engaged in a long chase while the enemy pilot tried to shake off pursuit. His second burst hit around the Dornier's cockpit where fires broke out and burning debris fell away. Three, perhaps four, of the crew were seen to bale out. Then, as the Dornier turned toward the French coast in a shallow controlled dive, Schultz fired again. The starboard wing and engine broke away and, completely enveloped in flames, the bomber hit the sea where it continued to burn brightly. After taking some cine camera films of the scene and reporting the position of the crew, Schultz headed for home. En route he flew over an Air/Sea Rescue launch already on its way to the crash.

On the l6^th, seven locomotives were attacked, Dijon aerodrome was bombed twice and St. Dizier once by three crews, P/O Norman – F/S Hunt, P/O Watt – F/O Collie, and P/O K.R. McCormick – F/S W. Nixon. Further sorties on the 17^th and 18^th found no targets. F/Os G.B. MacLean and H. Plant (RAF) were lost on a ranger over Germany the second night. A relatively new crew, they had joined No. 410 from O.T.U. on 25 May, and had become well-liked and able.

There was no further activity until the 23^rd when Cybulski and Ladbrook dropped one bomb on a rail junction near Schleswig and another on the airfield at nearby Jagel. On the 27^th Norman and Hunt bombed Florennes aerodrome while Deelen was similarly attacked by Watt and Collis three nights later.

Sgts. S.B. Huppert and J.S. Christie made an eventful daylight penetration into north-western Germany on the 29^th, during which they damaged a motor launch, four barges and a dredge on the Ems canal between Lingen and Papenburg.

Enemy activity over England had led to a number of scrambles several nights, particularly on the 31^st when five crews were sent off. With one exception they had no contact with the foe. The exceptional sortie was a case of the biter being bit. F/O F.W. Foster with P/O J.H. Grantham had just become airborne when an enemy intruder came in below the Mosquito and let off a burst of cannon and machine-gun fire that caused some damage. By climbing to 10,000 feet and taking evasive action Foster was able to shake off the Hun and landed safely.

Sgts. W.T. Cheropita and N.M. Dalton, who had been posted to No. 410 from O.T.U. on 17 August, met their death ten days later on a practice flight.

The first three weeks of September were somewhat quieter than August had been. Ranger sorties were cancelled, but flower operations continued in support of Bomber Command with 15 sorties between the 3^rd and 16^th. These resulted in six bombing attacks on St. Michel airfield, Laon airfield (twice), one railway bridge near Avranches, another south of Rennes, and a marshalling yard near Fougeres. In addition F/Os E.S.P. Fox and C.D Sibbett, who had joined the Squadron in August, blew up a locomotive in the last attack of this type carried out by the Cougars. One crew was lost, P/O J.E. Fisher and Sgt. D. Ridgeway(***) (RAF), who failed to return from a sortie to the Melun area on the night of the 16^th, when the last Mosquito VI sorties were made.⁽¹⁰⁾ These aircraft were then transferred 11 and both ranger and flower operations ceased. In their place the Squadron prepared to undertake "Mahmoud" sorties, or offensive patrols over specific points in search for enemy aircraft. For this purpose two specially equipped Mosquito IIs were to be kept at readiness each night.

(***) Webmaster's Notes: Could not find any reference to this aviator on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

(10) Two crews from another squadron on their return from France that night reported seeing an aircraft shot down in flames by flak and cannon fire near Beaumone le Roger. The location and time agreed with the flight plan of the missing Cougar aircraft.

For a week, from the 17^th to the 23^rd, there was no activity except for a number of fruitless scrambles. This gave the Squadron time to train for Mahmoud, engage in more bull's-eye exercises, prepare for a visit from the Inspector General and engage in softball games with neighbouring USAAF units – some of the varied activities which filled in the time when there were no operations on the board. S/L Lawrence finished his tour early in September and was repatriated, his place in "B” Flight being taken over by S/L I.A. March, a native of Newfoundland.

Mahmoud was schedule to begin on the 21^st, but weather delayed the start until the 24^th when F/L R.H.B. Jackson with F/O M.C. Murray made the first patrol. They had no luck, nor did two other crews on the 26^th and 27^th. But F/L M.A. Cybulski and F/O H.H. Ladbrook (RAF) had an experience which brought them the immediate award of the DFC – the first won by the Cougars.

They had taken off from Coleby Grange shortly after 8 p.m. to make a Mahmoud patrol between Zuyder Zee and Meppen. Except for some heavy flak, a concentration of searchlights and jamming of the A/1 • set, the 90-minutes patrol was uneventful. Homeward bound, Ladbrook got a radar contact, and despite jamming, held it until he and his pilot caught sight of a Do.217 flying east. As the enemy pilot went into a steep climb the night fighter closed rapidly to deliver a three-second burst. "The e.a. immediately exploded with a terrific flash and descended enveloped in flames. Burning petrol and oil flew back onto the Mosquito, scorching the fuselage from nose to tail, the port wing inboard of the engine, the bottom of the starboard wing, the port tailplane and the rudder, from which the fabric was tom away. Pieces of the e.a. struck the port oil cooler, resulting in the loss of oil and making it necessary to shut down the engine ... The pilot was completely blinded by the explosion and it was necessary for the navigator to take control of the aircraft for approximately five minutes until F/L Cybulski regained normal vision ... Course was set for base and after a remarkable 250-mile flight on one engine with aircraft seriously damaged" the Mosquito got safely home. "Cy" and "Laddie" had more than once distinguished themselves on operations and the Squadron was delighted when they received the purple and white ribbon to climax the long period of splendid work.

(11) There had been 48 sorties on this type, 9 in July, 27 in August and 12 in September Two crews had been lost.

There were eight more Mahmoud patrols in October, all without incident. The same was true of scrambles, which rose to the unusually high figure of 26 for the period 1 to 19 October, but this spate of Luftwaffe activity held promise of better hunting in days to come. One night, indeed, the enemy raiders dropped three H.E. and five anti-personnel bombs on the airfield at Coleby Grange, rendering it temporarily unserviceable. This visit from the enemy and this rush of defensive activity marked the end of No. 410's sojourn at Coleby Grange and the close of another phase of its career.

In its eight months at this base the Squadron had made 286 operational sorties. The majority of these (125) had been scrambles on which one enemy aircraft had been destroyed and another shared. But the most interesting operations had been the 161 offensive missions into enemy territory or waters on day and night rangers (78), intruders and flowers (49), insteps (20) and Mahmouds (12). These had resulted in the destruction of three Do.217s, a share in the destruction of a BV.138, and damage to another Hun. In addition, enemy airfields, bridges and freight yards had been bombed, 33 trains, more than 20 freight cars, two tugs and a motor launch, ten or more barges, a dredge, two trailers, three vehicles, a factory and other targets had been strafed. Nine crews had been lost on these operations and, in the same period, two crews had been killed in flying accidents.

 

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