The Unabridged History of 439 Tiger Squadron Page 90

On Boxing Day the activity lasted from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., with four strafing shows for No. 439. Two of the missions found good hunting in the area between Houffalize and St. Vith, although the pilots remarked that "Jerry wasn't as noticeable as in the two (3) previous days". One section indeed could find no targets at all to satisfy the "itchy fingers that were ready to unleash four cannons on anything that showed itself. " and another sortie had to be content with damaging
three staff cars. But the other shows resulted in five flaming and 16 damaged MET, plus a tank and two armoured fighting vehicles damaged. Included in the booty was a double decker bus that was left rolling down a hill wreathed in flames.

(3) MET was so scarce that, on later sorties in the day, the aircraft worked only in pairs instead of the usual section of four.

Although some of the reports mention that ground fire was "rather and scattered", there was ample evidence that on the whole it was uncomfortably accurate.
On the first sortie FS B.Propas, a new pilot who had arrived only four days previously, had his Typhoon grazed by a 20 mm slug. The next time he went out the enemy gunners again picked on him and slammed a 40 mm. shell through the port wing.

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On another sortie F/O Bell also received a hit that narrowly
missed the gas tanks in the port wing. Two more Tiffies were
put out of action in forced landings. Returning to base very
short of fuel, F/O Walt Kubicki was dismayed to see that his
indicators showed the port wheel was not locked in the down
position. With insufficient gas to carry out any emergency
measures he had to make a belly landing beside the strip.

Then F/O Jack Sweeney returned to base in a similar predicament. Near St. Vith (which was in flames from a heavy bomber assault) his Typhoon had been clobbered by 20 mm. shells, one of which pierced a gas tank. Jack got back to Eindhoven safely but as he was on the approach another aircraft cut him off and he had to go around again. By this time so much petrol had leaked out that the engine cut before he could complete a circuit and he forced landed in a field near the runway. Only one wheel retracted with the result that the aircraft was written off in the hazardous landing. The pilot luckily was uninjured.

So many aircraft had been damaged in the past few days by flak and accidents that the serviceability state reached a very low ebb. Eight of the squadron's Typhoons had to be turned over to the maintenance section for repairs, and of the ten that remained only eight were ready for operations. Another aircraft was written off on the 27th when the squadron made two small, four aircraft recces into the area around St. Vith. F/L Johnny Carr and F/O D.E. Johnson had "considerable joy" strafing a small convoy (six vehicles damaged), but F/O B.E. Bell intercepted some flak as he went down to attack some target. Black smoke gushed from his Typhoon, followed by flames. Carr told him to
bail out and Bell did so. He appeared to strik plane, however, and after his parachute opened he was seen to be hanging limp in the harness. Presumably he had only stunned himself, for F/O Bell was later reported a prisoner of war. He had made 21 sorties before going missing.

The second recce led by F/L Joe Cote also found a convoy of trucks that was "pretty well camouflaged, but not well enough." After emptying their cannons into the vehicles, the four pilots counted four flamers and two damaged but could not determine further results because of the overhanging trees. On the way home the Tiffies were bounced by
a pair of Mustangs that came out of the sun; fortunately no harm was done.

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