When the invasion of
Normandy began, No. 410 Squadron, then approaching its third birthday,
counted 19.3/4 enemy aircraft destroyed, one probably destroyed and
five damaged. Fifteen weeks later, when the Cougars moved to the
Continent, the number of "kills" had passed the half-century mark and
three more probables or damaged had been added to the score.
The Squadron's first activity in connection with D-Day was to send a
detachment of four crews, led by W/C Hiltz, to Colerne on the night of
the 5th to provide cover for the airborne troops which opened
"the
Second Front" early on D-Day. The same night six other crews made the
usual patrols out over the North Sea, east of Bradwell Bay and the
Thames Estuary. They found no enemy air activity; nor was there any
the next night (6th / 7th June) when nine crews formed part of a
night fighter
"pool" that had been set up to support Operation
Neptune (the sea-borne crossing). Free-lancing or patrolling over the
French coast, these crews did see much evidence of activity on the
ground – numerous fires and the flashes of guns and bombs that
flickered like heat lightning in the night sky. The only A.1. contacts
obtained were on Lancasters that were abroad in great numbers.
The next night was much the same, with the addition of enemy flak and
some vain chases after
"bogeys" that could not be caught. Friendly
bombers still outnumbered the enemy, although the night fighters had
some doubts about the accuracy of the adjective, for the gunners of
the bombers occasionally operated on the
“Wild West” maxim of shoot
first and identify afterwards. If the adjective sometimes seemed
inaccurate, so too was their marksmanship, except for one Lanc
mid-upper gunner who put some holes in F/O Dinsdale's Mossie.
Bad weather stopped flying on the night of the 8th / 9th. The next
night Cougars made their customary nine sorties over the North Sea,
the Rouen area and the beachhead. Five crews had nothing to report,
two more had only friendly contacts, and another had a chase after a
very elusive
"bogey". But the last crew to return had a different
story to tell. After leaving the fighter pool, F/O R.L. Snowdon and
his navigator, Lt. L.A. Wilde of the RNVR, had patrolled over the
beachhead around Cabourg for about an hour, engaging in one or two
unsuccessful chases. Then the mobile G.C.I gave them another vector
which led first to a contact at 2-1/2 miles, followed by a visual of a
Ju.188 at 1500 feet range. Closing rapidly, Snowdon fired one damaging
burst that made the Junkers dive while its rear gunner opened up. The
Mosquito followed, getting in two more bursts after which the Hun
exploded as if its petrol tanks had blown up. It plunged headlong into
the ground. Returning to the patrol line, Snowdon and Wilde had
another chase before returning to base at 0515 hours.
They scored again three nights later when the Cougars made four kills,
(possibly five) within four hours for the most successful bag in their
long career. The series opened with a Ju.88 which F/Os J. Maday and
J.R. Walsh attacked over Bayeux a few minutes after midnight of the
12th / 13th. The Mosquito's cannon shells ripped into the port engine
of the enemy, causing a flash of orange flame. Then the 88 peeled off,
and went straight down out of sight and A.1. contact. Maday claims it
as probably destroyed.1
1 The assessors admitted it as "damaged".
Eight-five minutes later P/O L.J. Kearney and F/O N.W. Bradford, who
already had one victory to their credit, made it two by shooting down
an He.177 in flames north-east of Le Havre. Their first burst missed
the Heinkel, which was seen to be carrying some object slung out-board
of each engine; but the second burst struck home. The starboard engine
and wing root began to burn, and a large panel blew off. As the
Mosquito orbitted, watching the bomber go down steeply in flames, one
member of the crew was noticed to bale out. When the Heinkel crashed
the terrific explosion illuminated and shook the night fighter 6,000
feet above. Kearney nosed down to take a photograph of the fiercely
burning wreckage. At that moment the Mosquito's engine began to cut
up. First, one ran rough, streaming sparks; then the other started to
heat up and the first one again caught fire. The propeller was
feathered and the flames died out but, unable to maintain height,
Kearny asked if he could put down on one of the advanced landing
grounds on the beachhead. It was necessary to fire
Very lights so the
night fighter could see where the strip was and in turn be located by
the ground control. The first attempt at a crash-landing overshot and,
after skimming under a balloon barrage that was flying at one end of
the strip, Kearney and Bradford tried again. The Mosquito hit the
ground, wheels up, and skidded to the end of the runway where it
struck a truck, killing a man who was in it. The wreckage finally came
to a stop in a field, a complete washout, but neither of the crew was
injured.
W/O W.F. Price and P/O J.G. Costello had taken off from Hunsdon at the
same time as Kearney and Bradford to join the fighter pool off the
beachhead. Directed by the same mobile G.C.I., they too got a contact
and despite violent evasive action closed to a range where, by the use
of Ross night glasses, they could identify a Do.217. Coming in behind
and below the Dornier, Price raised the nose of the Mosquito for two
short bursts whereupon the port engine and wing of the target
disintegrated in a flash of orange flame. The night fighter then
stalled and spun; Price pulled out at 2000 feet and saw a fire burning
on the ground directly below. Resuming patrol, the crew found a second
217 and, following the same tactics, shot it down to crash and burn
near the first some 23 miles south-east of Caen. Two down in twenty
minutes!
These combats had been fought between 0200 and 0230 hours, at 0405
Snowdon and Wilde concluded the night’s eventful and successful work
by crashing a Junkers in the Caen-Lisieux area. The enemy, an 88 or
188, was taking no evasive action as the Mosquito closed in behind and
below it, but, to Snowdon's disgust, the first two bursts from 200
feet missed. For a third time he pressed the firing button in an third
longer burst. That did it! A sheet of orange flame gushed from the
petrol tanks around the port engine, lighting up the bombs hanging in
external racks. Slowly the blazing Junkers spiralled earthward,
exploding in a great flash of flame as it crashed.
These five successes marked the beginning of a remarkable week in
which the Cougars destroyed 11 enemy bombers and probably destroyed or
damaged two more, scoring one or more victories on every night except
one.
In the early morning of 14 June, F/L C.E. Edinger and F/O C.L. Vaessen,
who were to become one of the Squadron's most successful teams,
damaged a Ju.88 over the beachhead west of Rouen. They were
handicapped by an unserviceable A.l., the set having gone out of
action when the first burst was fired. As a result the target could
not be relocated when it took evasive action out of visual range. A
few minutes after this encounter S/L March and F/L Eyolfson found
another Ju.88 over the sea due north of the beachhead. Closing on
their A.1. contact, through several batches of
"window", the Mosquito
crew first sighted a white light slightly above them. With the use of
Ross night glasses, they were able to identify the enemy aircraft and
pulled up into position for one burst that smashed into the left side
of the Junkers, starting a small, but bright blaze. A second burst,
fires as the bomber went into a diving turn missed, but the fire and
white tail light enabled March to calculate the correct deflection for
three more quick squirts. He was about to fire again when the 88
suddenly burst into flames and disintegrated, forcing the Mosquito to
pull up hard to avoid the flying debris. Like a ball of flame the Hun
plunged into the sea.
The next night, shortly after midnight of the 14th / 15th, F/L W.G.
Dinsdale and P/O J.E. Dunn won one of the most unusual victories of
the air war. From the fighter pool at the beachhead they were vectored
south-east up the Seine to engage some bandits that were busily
strewing
"windows”
in their wake. Turning westward the night fighter
got several contacts simultaneously, followed almost immediately by a
visual of a curious aircraft lumbering along at 11,000 feet. With the
help of night glasses the crew identified a Ju.88 carrying what
appeared to be a glider bomb attached to the top of the fuselage.
Actually this composite aircraft consisted of an 88, packed with
explosives, coupled to an Me.109 which carried the pilot. Dinsdale
closed to 750 feet astern of the cumbersome contraption and fired a
short burst of 32 rounds from his cannons. Flames streamed from the
cockpit and wing root. Banking slowly to port, the "pick-a-back"
bomber suddenly went into a steep dive and like a meteor plunged
earthward, blazing fiercely and trailing sparks. When it crashed, some
25 miles south-east of Caen, the terrific explosion lit up the whole
countryside.
The night of the 15th / 16th was quieter, only five crews being sent
out instead of the usual nine. Two of these sorties were abortive
because of unserviceable equipment, and a third crew on patrol over
the beachhead found only friendly aircraft. The other two crews
patrolled over the North Sea. S/L Somerville and F/O Robinson during
their patrol tried in vain to catch one of the new flying-bombs that
were now bombarding south-eastern England. This was the Cougars' first
encounter with the V.l. Several more were sighted on later occasions,
but No. 410 was not detailed for
"anti-diver" work, being retained for
the night defence of shipping in the Channel and the beachheads in
Normandy.
F/O I.S. Girvan and his RN navigator, Lt. M. Cardwell, had some
anxious moments when they destroyed a Ju.88 over the Cherbourg
peninsula on the night of June 16 / 17. Stalking one contact, they
closed on a raider at 11,000 feet in time to see it drop two bombs on
some target near Valognes. Then the aircraft turned to port, showing
its outline clearly silhouetted against the lighter sky of the spring
night. Girvan opened up with a long burst that dotted strikes along
the Junkers from tail to cockpit. Just as he released the firing
button the whole port wing blew up. The Mosquito then resumed patrol
for an hour before setting course for home. Midway over the Channel,
Girvan and Cardwell were startled by a crack and a flash, followed by
another very vivid flash beside the starboard engine. Whence the
attack came, neither could say; the pilot thought it was an ack-ack
burst, but the navigator believed it was a night fighter. Fortunately
the attack was not repeated, for the Mosquito was in difficulty. The
engines were running smoothly, but the aircraft lost speed and became
very hard to handle, requiring full left aileron and full left rudder
to keep it stable. Cardwell had to relieve Girvan at the stick several
times as the strain became exhausting. Heading for the nearest base,
Ford, the pilot came in on a normal landing, but the starboard tire
had been punctured, causing the aircraft to swing off the runway. The
undercarriage collapsed under the strain and the Mossie skidded 50
yards tail first before coming to rest.
Two more Junkers, both of the 188 variety, went down the next night
before the guns of Edinger – Vaessen and March – Eyolfson. The first
crew found their Hun over the Channel and blew its port wing away. The
bomber spun into the sea, a few miles west of Le Havre, exploding as
it hit. On the way home Edinger saw a flying-bomb buzzing up from
behind, several thousand feet below. A diving turn brought the night
fighter into position behind the doodle-bug, but the Mossie could not
overhaul it in level flight and Edinger could only fire two chance
bursts at long range as the target drew away.
March and Eyolfson had a long 15 minute chase after their
"bogey"
before they caught up with it south-west of Caen. Night glasses showed
it to be a 188. A short burst from 200 feet astern made debris fly
from the cockpit, port wing and engine. The enemy pilot made a violent
break down to the left, but a second burst caught his aircraft again
in the port wing. After a great explosion the wing collapsed and the
Junkers, flicking over on its back, went straight down in flames.
March pinpointed the burning wreckage on the ground before heading for
Hunsdon.
These were the last
victories won from Hunsdon for on 18 June the Squadron moved from that
station to Zeals, near Warminster in south-western Wiltshire. Here it
was closer to the Cotentin Peninsula and the western flank of the
invasion area over which the Cougars did most of their work in the
next two months. The first night at Zeals was marked by a pair of
victories won almost simultaneously in the vicinity of Vire. Lt.
Harrington and Sgt. Tongue were patrolling east and west along one
beat south of the American lines when the G.C.I. controller put them
on to a target. As they closed on their contact it divided into
aircraft which broke away in opposite directions. From their movements
Harrington suspected they were fitted with rearward searching radars.
He pursued one, coming in to 400 feet before he could identify it as a
Ju.88. Recognition was difficult because the aircraft had two large
bombs mounted on external racks between the engines and fuselage.
Satisfied that it was a Hun, Harrington moved in to 200 feet, pulled
up the nose of the Mosquito and tripped his guns. No strikes were
seen. Then suddenly the whole aircraft blew up in the air. One wing
and engine tore away and went hurtling past the night fighter. Masses
of smaller debris and burning oil splashed over it, puncturing some
holes in the leading edge of a wing and smearing the fabric on wings
and fuselage. Ten seconds after the wreckage disappeared into the void
below there was a vivid explosion on the ground which lit up the
Mosquito 10,000 feet above. Some moments later Harrington and Tongue
saw a second aircraft crash and burn near the blazing wreckage of
their victim.
The second e.a. had been shot down by F/O G.T. Edwards and F/S W.
Georges who were on patrol in the same area. Possibly it was the
second of the two 88s that Harrington had stalked. Guided by the
controller, the Mosquito crew were following one contact when another
appeared nearer at hand. In one of its turns this
"bogey" passed
across a light patch in the northern sky and Edwards saw from the
silhouette that it was a Ju.88. He got away a quick burst of 34
rounds, hitting the port engine and cockpit. They burst into flames.
The Mosquito, breaking away to avoid a collision, passed through the
slipstream of the bomber and Edwards, struggling to regain control,
lost sight of his target as it peeled off in a vertical dive through a
thin layer of cloud. Some moments later when he orbitted the area he
saw two fires burning on the ground – his Junkers and Harrington's.
Since D-Day the Cougars had destroyed twelve enemy bombers. They had
to wait five nights before making it a baker's dozen. In the interval
the crews, still maintaining their nine sorties a night schedule, had
little but N.T.R. (nothing to report). One night there was much
excitement and a near tragedy when one engine in W/C Hiltz’s Mosquito
failed on the take-off run and the aircraft, swerving off the runway,
crashed into "A" Flight dispersal. The crews escaped injury but the
Mossie, a truck, a tractor and a building, went up in flames.
On the 23rd the Squadron got its thirteenth Hun since D-Day, and
suffered its first casualties in over four months. W/O R.G. Jones and
F/A L.W. Gregory were the successful crew in an engagement that was
reminiscent of Edwards' victory on the 18th / 19th Patrolling east and
west over the sea about 15 miles from the beachhead, they were
vectored after a "bogey" which proved to be a Ju.188. The Hun was
taking evasive action, but the Mosquito kept closing in until it could
open fire at 400 feet, continuing to point blank range. Then the e.a.
exploded right in Jones' face, spattering the night fighter with
debris and showering it with oil. As the Canadian crew orbitted they
saw the Junkers crash into the' sea and burn. Visibility was difficult
because oil smears covered the windscreen, so Jones deemed it prudent
to return to base.
F/Os J.R. Steepe and
D.H. Baker had taken off from Zeals at the same
time as Jones and Gregory. Some time later Steepe reported that he had
been hit by flak and that his aircraft was on fire. 2 His position at
the time was off Barfleur. No further report was received. Later
Baker's body was recovered from the Channel where the Mosquito had
presumably gone down. He and his pilot had been with the Squadron
since April of that year.
2 Crews frequently reported accurate flak at this
period. One Mosquito returned with a flak hole through its cockpit
cover, and on another occasion, S/L March’s aircraft was thrown on its
back by a very close burst.
F/L Huppert and F/O Christie added a damaged to their score the next
night (24th / 25th), while on patrol up and down the west coast of the
Cherbourg Peninsula. Following a Ju.188, Huppert gave it two short
bursts that struck on the port wing root and engine and on the bottom
of the cockpit. One bright flash was seen, after which fragments flew
away from the cockpit and fuselage. In a steep dive to port the Jerry
disappeared from sight in the haze. At the same time the night
fighter’s radar suddenly went out of commission, preventing pursuit of
the damaged foe.
For the next weak the weather was poor, restricting operations by
night. Most of the crews that did go out had to be diverted to other
bases on their return. Enemy activity had also diminished and the
beachhead was much quieter than it had been in mid-June. On the first
two nights in July there were no sorties at all from Zeals. Then the
weather improved and the nightly round of nine patrols was resumed.
Edinger and Vaessen seized the opportunity to make another kill, their
second, for ”A" Flight. Working again with Pool 2 over the western
beachhead, they were put on to a target off Point de la Percee.
Pursuing it through mild evasive action and some window, the Mosquito
crew closed on a Ju.188 and, after checking their identification,
dropped back into firing position below. The enemy pilot apparently
realized then that he was being pursued for he made a violent peel off
to port. It was too late. Edinger followed, firing. After 22 rounds
from the 20 mm. cannons, the port wing tore away and the Junkers spun
into the sea with one nacelle blazing fiercely.
Another Hun went down in the same area four nights later (7 / 8 July),
but this time the victory had a tragic sequel and the Cougars lost one
of the ablest pilots.
F/L S.B. Huppert
and F/O J.S. Christie ware on
patrol over the beachhead with Pool 2 when they got a contact and gave
chase. From the exhausts and a faint silhouette against patches of
cloud, they could see it was a Ju.88. After a short burst from 600
feet which hit on the port engine and cockpit, Huppert closed in to
300 feet for the kill. With a very violent explosion the Junkers
disintegrated. Seriously damaged by the shower of debris, the Mosquito
was in immediate trouble. The starboard engine stopped, the aircraft
lost height, and presently (the) second engine, labouring under the
strain, overheated and seized. The Mosquito was now down to about 1500
feet and the crew reported they were baling out. Christie got away
through the hatch and as he was floating down he saw the night fighter
hit the water. Inflating his dinghy, he climbed aboard, bobbing on the
sea for almost six hours until an American naval patrol boat picked
him up and carried him to Plymouth. "Red" Huppert apparently did not
have time to jump before his aircraft went in. Long-timers with the
Squadron, Huppert and Christie had risen from sergeants to
commissioned rank and had made an enviable record in air combat and
ground attacks. A Canadian by birth, John Christie was educated in
England where he joined the RAF in 1941. In September 1944 he was
decorated with the DFC, the citation mentioning this experience and
the "high degree of courage and determination" which he had invariably
displayed in attacks on aircraft, airfields, locomotives and barges.
Christie left No. 410 early in August on completion of his tour, but
he later returned to the Cougars for a second tour and added further
laurels to those already won.
The same night that Huppert and Christie won their tragic victory, a
second Hun was destroyed by March and Eyolfson after a long chase
which took them to the vicinity of Paris. They had gone out from Zeals
in company with the first crew and had seen the Ju.88 go down in
flames 15 miles north of Pointe de la Percee. A few moments later
Eyolfson got a contact on his A.1. and the night fighter set out in
pursuit. The enemy pilot seemed to know that he was being followed for
he took violent evasive action at very high speed, dropping several
batches of "window" as he fled southwards. Nevertheless the Mosquito
was gaining on its target when the enemy veered sharply to the east
and, probably presuming that pursuit had been shaken off, settled down
to a steadier course. The range began to increase again. Opening up,
March gradually drew in until he could see four bright exhausts which
night glasses revealed were those of an Me.410. Two bursts were seen
to hit the aircraft. Then the Hun, perhaps thinking he was being
attacked by one of his own night fighters, switched on his navigation
lights and fired a recognition cartridge. A third burst from March's
four cannon produced an explosion and large fire in the Messerschmitt's port wing and engine, the glare lighting up the
blue-green camouflage and black cross on the fuselage. With the whole
port side blazing furiously, the 410 spun into the ground, crashing
with a terrific explosion that illuminated the country-side and
revealed the dispersal area of an aerodrome. The Mosquito crew fixed
the position as the southwestern outskirts of the French capital. The
very long chase at high speed from the Norman coast had overheated the
Mossie's port engine and it was running rough as March headed westward
and set course for home.
This victory was the third won by March and Eyolfson within 25 days.
They both received the DFC, being the third Cougar crew decorated
simultaneously for their services. The victory also marked the close
of a period of excellent hunting for the Squadron. It was just over a
month since the landings had been made in Normandy. In that time No.
410 had fought 19 combats, destroying 16 of its opponents. The next
three weeks were much quieter over the Cherbourg Peninsula and the
battlefields of Normandy. Despite much poor weather at Zeals, the
Squadron was able to maintain its nightly schedule of softies on every
night except the 21st, but the Luftwaffe seemed to be resting from its
exertions of invasion month and most of the contacts gained during
this period were on friendly aircraft. 3
3 June and July 1944 were the peak months in the Squadron s
operations, with 209 sorties in the first month and 206 in the second.
On 28 July, No. 410 moved to Colerne, another station in Wiltshire
near Chippenham, and about 25 miles north of Zeals. As was so
frequently the case, a change of scene brought a change of fortune and
the six weeks at Colerne were another fruitful period of 14 victories
over Normandy and the Channel. There were no losses. The
Somerville-Robinson team was outstanding during these weeks,
accounting for four of the 14 kills.
Most of the action came during the first fortnight at Colerne. It
began with seven victories in the first week (28 July – 3 August),
followed by a further three in the second week. The first aircraft to
take off from Colerne on the night of the 28th had trouble with one
engine and was forced to land at the American airfield at Maupertus
near Cherbourg. The Mosquito overshot and was damaged, but the crew,
F/O F. Chad and F/S W. Georges, escaped injury. This was the second,
quite unpremeditated, landing on the continent by a Cougar crew. Later
that night F/L W.A. Dexter took off to patrol along the Cherbourg
peninsula. With him was S/Lt. R.M. Richardson of the RNZNVR
***, one of
half-a-dozen naval personnel serving with the Squadron. Several
vectors from the ground controller brought the night fighter onto a
violently jinking target which was identified as a Ju.88. After a
short burst from 500 feet dead astern which blew up the starboard
engine, the enemy aircraft went straight into the ground, lighting up
the low clouds with a violent explosion. Dexter orbitted the burning
wreckage to fix his position some miles east of Tessy.
***
Webmaster's Note:
RNZNVR =
Royal New Zealand Naval
Volunteer Reserve
The next night another Ju.88 was destroyed inland of the beachhead by
P/Os D.M. MacKenzie and G.P.A. Bodard. They had been on patrol for
some time and day was beginning to break when Yardley control put them
on to their target. Aiming at the port engine Mackenzie fired a fairly
long burst and saw the 88 dive into the clouds with the engine
flaming. Following it down below the clouds the night fighter crew saw
their victim burning on the ground. By this time fuel was running low,
necessitating a landing at Maupertus, whence they returned to base the
next morning.
July ended with the destruction of a third Ju.88 in the Granville area
on the western flank of the battlezone. For an hour F/Os J. Maday and
J.R. Walsh had patrolled one line without a nibble; then they changed
their beat and almost immediately got a contact which the controller
permitted them to investigate. At first the target was taking only
mild evasive action, but as the Mosquito closed it began dumping very
large quantities of
"window". Despite the interference Walsh guided
his pilot to a visual on a Ju.88, confirming the identification by
night glasses. The first burst hit the port engine; the second, fired
as the 88 went down in a steep, sharp peel-off, made the other engine
explode. There was another very large explosion when the Junkers
crashed vertically into the ground.
August began as July had closed, with another Junkers diving into the
deck. This time, for variety, it was one of the 188 types: but the
locale was the same, a point ten miles north-east of Tessy, where the
Americans had recently broken through the enemy lines and were rolling
back the Nazi forces. At the beginning of their patrol, S/L Somerville
and F/O Robinson intercepted two
Stirlings. A third chase was more
successful, as it led to the sighting of a Ju.188, weaving its way
northwestward. In one of their
"jinks" the enemy crew evidently saw
the Mosquito close behind for they did a violent peel off. Luck was
against them. The Junkers' frantic manoeuvre carried it directly
across the light of chandelier flares, enabling Somerville to keep
sight of his target as he dived in pursuit. Then the e.a. pulled up in
a steep climbing turn, but the Mossie made a tighter turn, closing the
range for one quick deflection shot. The port wing disintegrated and,
flicking into a steep spiral dive, the 188 went down, exploding
violently as it crashed.
That was No.2 for Somerville and Robinson. They made it three the next
night (2 - 3 August) by crashing a Do.217 a few miles from Pontorson,
near the Bay of Mont St. Michel. Following vectors from the
controller, the night fighter crew obtained a contact and, manoeuvring
to silhouette it against the still bright northern sky, identified the
target as a Dornier bomber. Somerville then got into position in line
astern and opened fire. At that precise moment, the Hun pilot,
catching sight of the Mosquito, made a sharp turn. But cannon shells
tore away half of the port tail plane and rudder and holed the oil
tank. A film of oil smeared the night fighter, so obscuring the
windscreen that Somerville had great difficulty in keeping sight of
the Dornier as it started down in a spiral dive. Either the enemy
pilot had been put hors-de-combat or was having trouble in controlling
his damaged aircraft. His gunners, however, were still in action,
opening fire on the attacker from the dorsal and ventral turrets. The
Mossie was not hit, but Somerville commented that the tracers
“appeared to be uncomfortably close”. He re-opened fire whenever he
got close enough to see his target through the oil smears which were
gradually clearing under the force of the slipstream. The dogfight
continued, with both Mosquito and Dornier exchanging bursts until the
night fighter's ammunition (600 rounds) was expended. As Somervi1le
fired his last shells Robinson saw the other half of the Dornier's
mutilated tail tear away. From 300 feet the bomber dived into the
ground and burned furiously. During the long combat the Mosquito had
encountered intermittent flak and on return to base it was found that
a 13 mm. shell had punctured the left wing between the engine nacelle
and fuselage.
Two hours after this Cougar victory another was won by F/L B.E. Plumer
and F/O V.W. Evans in a brief combat over Normandy. In the bright
moonlight of the August night the Mosquito crew sighted their target
at 3000 feet distance and, after closing the range, identified it as a
Ju.188, carrying two large bombs between the engines and fuselage.
Thirty-eight shells barked from the four Hispano cannons. The port
motor of the bomber blew up. Then, burning fiercely, it fell over to
one side, crashed and exploded violently. Like Somerville and
Robinson, this crew also met some flak in the combat area.
On the 3rd / 4th Dinsdale and Dunn knocked down a Jerry to give the
Squadron its fourth successive night of joy. Working as usual with
Pool 2 in the western area, the crew was informed of
"trade"
approaching from the east and given a course to intercept. Through
some "window” interference Dunn got a contact approaching head-on. His
pilot swung about, came in behind, and closing rapidly, soon
identified an Me.110. It too was carrying bombs externally but, unlike
the Junkers, they were suspended outboard of the engines. Dinsdale let
off a longish burst at the mildly Jinking target. It apparently
missed. From dead astern he fired again. This time the starboard
engine caught fire. With a start the Messerschmitt crew woke up. The
rear gunner fired a short, wild burst, while his pilot took violent
evasive action. Dinsdale went down after the bomber until his
navigator cautioned him that they were approaching the ground rapidly.
Yardley control also broke in with a warning that the Mossie was
getting very low. At 800 feet Dinsdale pulled out of his dive, leaving
the 110 still going down with its engine ablaze. After pulling out the
Cougar crew searched the ground for signs of a crash, but there were
so many fires burning in the area around Avranches no particular
explosion could be distinguished. Yardley, however, reported that
while it could still plot the Mosquito it had no further contact on
the enemy aircraft. Dinsdale initially claimed a probable with the
request that, in view of the circumstances, consideration be given to
up-grading. The assessors concurred and the Me.110 was confirmed as
destroyed.
After this series of seven kills in seven nights, there was no further
joy until 6th / 7th August when Somerville and Robinson got their
fourth Hun, a Ju.88 shot down over St. Milaire du Harcourt (near
Isigny), followed the next night by another 88 shot down in flames
near Rennes by F/L R.M.G. Currie and F/O A.H. Rose. The first action
was fought while Somerville was on patrol south of St. Malo. Robison
got a contact on a target considerably higher than the Mosquito which
was cruising at 4000 feet. Despite considerable trouble with one
engine which was missing badly, Somerville got the night fighter up to
5500 feet where he caught sight of his quarry, still 1000 feet above.
Then ack-ack batteries came to his assistance. Their bursts ahead of
the enemy aircraft seemed to frighten the pilot who began to turn and
let down. Somerville cut across the turn, getting within range of the
Hun which he now identified as a Ju.88 carrying the usual external
bombs. The Mosquito's cannons set fire to one engine on the bomber
which went down in a wide, sweeping spiral. It struck the ground with
a very violent explosion that scattered debris over a great area.
During the brief combat the enemy aircraft took no evasive action
whatever, but the Junkers which Currie and Rose destroyed the next
night was weaving mildly and dumping lavish quantities of
"window”
when the night fighter took up the chase. For almost five minutes
Currie followed his target, closing the range until he could identify
the type. Two short bursts had no effect other than to put the 88 into
a sweeping turn. Coming in again, Currie fired a third time hitting
the port engine, wing root and fuselage.
"The e.a. exploded in a mass
of white flame (Currie reported) and peeled off to port, going
straight down. We followed him in an almost vertical dive from 9500 to
3500 feet before he disappeared into cloud. The last impression I had
of the e.a. was a burning mass going straight down with pieces falling
off it."
W/C Hiltz with F/O J.R. Walsh as his navigator made the first patrol
on 10th / 11th August, a night on which there was considerable enemy
"trade". (No. 409 Squadron had three successful encounters). Guided by
ground control, the Cougar C.O. obtained a contact over the Channel
about 10 miles north of Pointe de la Percee, following the raider as
it weaved eastward, scattering "window" for a time. With night glasses
Hiltz and Walsh confirmed that their target was a Ju.88 and then
attacked from dead astern. Nineteen shells sped from each of the four
cannons. Strikes flashed on the starboard wing of the 88, followed by
an explosion which appeared to be that of a bomb. Orbitting overhead,
the night fighter crew watched their opponent go down through the
clouds with a large orange glow shining on the wing. For some moments
longer the clouds were lit up by the reflection of a fire from the
burning wreckage. There were more Huns about, but Hiltz's windscreen
and cockpit cover were smeared with oil, forcing him to cease patrol
and return home.
Yet another Ju.88 was destroyed on the 14th / 15th by Somerville and
Robinson in a combat that might almost be described as
"routine". A
patrol with Pool 2 off the beachhead; vectors leading to a contact; a
chase ending in a visual; identification at a close range, confirmed
by night glasses; then a carefully aimed burst from dead astern at 450
feet range. The result, however, was not
"routine". The Junkers,
carrying two heavy bombs on racks between the engine and fuselage,
disintegrated with a violent explosion and Somerville had to pull up
in a very steep climb to avoid the flying debris. Calling control for
a
"fix", he was told that his position was 15 miles due west of Le
Havre. As a sequel to this victory, their fourth since the beginning
of August, "Red" Somerville and "Robby" Robinson were decorated with
the DFC.
4
4 Their total score was five destroyed and one damaged,
including two successes in February 1944.
S/L Somerville’s “B” Flight had enjoyed a monopoly of all the fighting
since the beginning of August, as "A" Flight had been temporarily
withdrawn from operations to convert to the Mosquito XXX equipped with
the new Mark X A.1. While training on the new type progressed at top
speed, "B" undertook all the operational commitments that were now
reduced to four and later {after 11 August) to three sorties per night
instead of nine which had been the schedule since D-Day. On 15 August
the whole Squadron was ordered to go non-operational for a fortnight
in order to accelerate the change-over, but by that time such progress
had been made that the conversion had been virtually completed and W/C
Hiltz was able to get the orders amended. 5 Very poor weather stopped
flying on the night of the 16th / 17th , but the next night ”A" was
ready to resume operations on their Mossie XXXs making three patrols
nightly until the 25th when the schedule was stepped up to six. By
early September the Cougars were again able to carry out a full programme of nine sorties. 6
5 For the past week the crews of "B” Flight had been
taking instruction on new equipment on their free afternoons.
6 As a result of the reduction in their commitment
during August, the Cougars' sorties fell off to 121, a decrease of 40K
from the previous two months. Non-operational flying, however, was
doubled.
In the eight and a half months (December 1943 – 15th / 16th August
1944) that they flew the Mark XIII Mosquito, No. 410's crews made over
1000 sorties, destroyed 37 enemy aircraft (roughly one-half of their
total bag) and probably destroyed or damaged seven. They almost equalled this record in the next eight and a half months on their Mark
XXX nightfighters, with a total of 29 kills and one damaged.
"A" Flight was soon in action on its new aircraft and began to whittle
down the lead which "B" Flight had gained – in mid-August the score
stood:
”B" 25.3/4 destroyed,
"A" 21 destroyed.
F/Os J, W. Fullerton and B.E. Gallagher did much to cut down this lead
by scoring a double
"kill" on the night of 19th / 20th August. Working
with Pool 1 this night (the western area had now been liberated), the
Mosquito was sent to patrol south-east of Caen. Control reported a
raid coming in from the east and Fullerton caught sight of flares
which the enemy bombers dropped. Through
"window" interference,
several contacts were pursued until finally a Ju.88 was sighted and
identified. Fullerton's first burst produced a cloud of sparks from
the port engine; his second made the other engine blaze with a
brilliant white flame. In a steep dive, with the engine burning
fiercely, the Junkers hit the ground and exploded in a sheet of dull
red flame. For five minutes the Mosquito circled about the burning
wreckage, looking for further contacts. Then, as the raiders were
returning from their attack, the night fighter found another Ju.88
that was throwing out
"window" and doing fairly violent evasive
action. At first its movements were too jerky to permit an accurate
attack, but Fullerton waited patiently until the enemy pilot
eventually steadied down. Then he fired a short burst. Blinded
momentarily by his gun flashes and the glow of his ring sight, the Mossie pilot could not see if his shells struck home. The target,
however, peeled off to the left and as Fullerton followed in a hard
diving turn he saw the 88 crash and burst into flames. After this
engagement one engine of the Mosquito packed up, forcing the crew to
land at Camilly in France, where they remained overnight. 7
7 These two combats showed that with the new Mark X
A.1. it was much easier retain contacts through "window" interference.
For twelve nights there was an uneventful round of patrols, hampered
somewhat by poor weather which washed out operations on three nights.
Hitherto the Squadron had been engaged exclusively with enemy bombers.
It was therefore quite an innovation when one crew encountered and
destroyed a Jerry single-seater fighter on the first night of
September. The Mosquito, flown by F/L I.E. MacTavish and F/O A.M.
Grant, was on patrol off the beachhead, between Cherbourg and Le
Havre, when a bomb flash was seen amid our shipping. Turning towards
it under the guidance of ground control, Grant got a contact which was
flying eastward and gradually loosing height. MacTavish caught up with
the Hun over Le Havre, identifying it as an
FW.190. After one short
burst of 29 rounds, the fighter blew up in a mushroom of orange flame,
forcing the Mosquito to swerve violently to clear the blazing debris.
Most of it burned out before reaching the ground, but one large piece
was seen to hit in flames.
With this victory the Cougars' sojourn at Colerne ended. After weeks
of hard fighting in Normandy the Allied forces had broken out of the
beachhead and, wheeling eastward, were now driving ahead rapidly in
pursuit of the Nazi armies as they fell back on their Rhine defences.
It was time for the nightfighters to cross to the Continent and hunt
in more distant skies. In preparation for the move, No. 410 returned
to Hunsdon on 9 September. Here the Squadron remained for a fortnight,
shifting its patrols from the familiar areas of Normandy to Brussels,
Antwerp, Liege, Maastricht and Aachem. The weather was still poor, as
it had been during the early days of September, and on only one night
could any trade be found.
The lucky hunters were Edinger and Vaessen who destroyed an
unidentified aircraft in a most unusual manner over Walcheren Island.
While patrolling west of Antwerp, they were vectored to the north to
intercept some
"trade". A contact was picked up and, as the Mosquito
closed in at 330 m.p.h., the target began very violent evasion, warned
possibly by a rearward looking radar. Despite its antics, Edinger
continued to close in, but could get no nearer than 1200 feet due to
the hard turns to one side and the other. This desperate effort to
escape was the enemy pilot's undoing. In his turns he lost height to
600 feet at which point he began another hard turn to port, followed
by an abrupt reverse turn in the other direction. Either he lost
control or his aircraft did a high-speed stall, for it suddenly passed
under the Mossie's wing and crashed into the sea. Not a shot had bean
fired. With this unique victory the Squadron reached the half century
mark (excluding two shared
"kills"), and left the United Kingdom for a
new base and new hunting fields.
Before leaving Hunsdon several crews made the acquaintance of
"Big Ben",
as the new
German
V.2 (or A.4) rocket bomb was nicknamed. F/L Currie and F/O Rose
were the first to meet it, on the night of 10th / 11th
September. While on patrol from Brussels to Antwerp and Rotterdam they
saw a bright orange light dead ahead and seemingly at their own level,
10,000 feet. At first glance Currie paid no attention to it, taking it
for a bright star. Suddenly, Currie said,
"it began to climb – hell it climbed!"
The light appeared to go straight up, so rapidly that within a few
seconds it had passed out of sight. On return to base the crew
reported the sighting as a V.1., or flying bomb, but their account of
the spectacular rate of climb and other details aroused great interest
at higher levels. That night, a few moments after Currie and Rose made
their sighting, a V.2 crashed on the English coast.8
Two nights later F/Os Fullerton and Gallagher also saw a ball of
yellow flame streak vertically into the night sky, and in the weeks
that followed there were many more similar reports.
8 The first reported V.2 incident had occurred in
London on 8 September.
Several changes in personnel had occurred during the last weeks in
England. On 16 August F/L T.B. Allerton, who had been Squadron
Adjutant since July, 1943, handed over his duties to F/O E.P. Ward. A
week later S/L March and F/L Eyolfson finished their tour and were
posted for repatriation. Command of “A” Flight then passed to S/L R.H.
Hedger, formerly in 409 Squadron.
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