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Association blog

RECONNAISSANCE DUTIES OVER CALAIS

23/9/2016

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At 12:20, 41 Squadron’s Fg Off John Mackenzie (R6887), Fg Off Harry Baker (P9394), and Sgt Plt ‘Bam’ Bamberger (R6697), flew to Hawkinge to provide an escort to an Avro Anson of Coastal Command on reconnaissance duty over Calais. The Anson belonged to No. 1 Coastal Artillery Co-operation Flight, whose duty it was to observe the fall of shells in cooperation with the Royal Marine Siege Regiment. 41 Squadron’s three pilots were to ensure its safety in doing so.
The four aircraft were airborne from Hawkinge at 13:00 and proceeded as planned, and the Anson’s crew subsequently observed three shells falling in the target area. At around 14:00, the Anson attracted some light Flak, but it was ineffective and fell short. However, shortly afterwards, it was attacked by four Me109s, which dived from the east, out of cloud cover, apparently vectored onto them by German observation posts.
The Anson’s pilot, Flt Lt Roderick McConnell, dived to sea level, chased by a pair of Me109s and headed as fast as he could for the English coast. Seeing this, Fg Off John Mackenzie attacked one of them and opened fire, but the second Messerschmitt then attacked him, forcing him to take evasive action, and he was unable to see the results of his attack.
Mackenzie then climbed to attack them again but encountered two more Messerschmitts mid-Channel at 5,000 feet. He fired two bursts at one of these aircraft from 200 yards, which resulted in white smoke issuing from it. The No. 2 then came around on his tail, and he was forced to break off again.
Meanwhile, below him, the Anson was being attacked by the original pair of Me109s, which made 12 quarter attacks upon it whilst McConnell tried his best to evade their fire. Mackenzie dived to sea level and fired the rest of his ammunition into one of the pair: “Bits flew off, smoke issued, and he appeared to stall at the top of a turn.”
He was fired at by another Me109 and broke to port, but was nonetheless able to see a large splash as the Messerschmitt he attacked hit the water. This was also seen from the English coast. However, whilst Mackenzie was thus occupied, the remaining Me109 of the first pair made a final attack on the Anson, unhindered, from astern.
This was the worst attack by far and the burst entered the fuselage and cockpit, killing the gunner, and injuring the co-pilot and wireless operator. The dinghy housing ignited and the starboard engine also burst into flame. McConnell switched off his remaining engine and managed to force-land his aircraft in a field at East Langdon, Kent. 
He jumped out and was able to extinguish the fires with the Anson’s fire extinguisher, but it was damaged beyond repair. The co-pilot and wireless operator were taken to hospital and only the pilot remained unscathed, though doubtless shaken by the experience.
Mackenzie then returned to Hornchurch to claim the first Me109 damaged and the second destroyed.
[Excerpts from “Blood, Sweat and Courage” (Fonthill, 2014). Sharing permitted, but no reproduction without permission, please.]
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LOCK BECOMES A TRIPLE ACE

20/9/2016

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20 September 1940 – A southwesterly wind at 5 mph, initially overcast but clearing to variable amounts of cloud, with occasional rain and moderate to good visibility. On account of the weather, Luftwaffe activity was confined to reconnaissance flights by individual aircraft, except between 10:50 and 12:00 when a raid of 100 enemy aircraft took place. 

Eleven units were scrambled to intercept them but only 41, 72, 92, 222, 253, and 603 Squadrons succeeded in doing so. For their part, ten of 41 Squadron’s pilots took off at 11:20, led by Flt Lt Norman Ryder, with an order to patrol Manston. Plt Off Eric Lock (X4338) was designated as the spotter. They joined up in the air with fellow Hornchurch based 603 Squadron, and climbed further, but the two units were dived upon by a large number of Me109s and both were hit hard.
It appears they were taken by surprise as one of 603 Squadron’s pilots was killed, a second baled out and a third crashed on landing, though uninjured, for the claims of only two Me109s damaged. 41 Squadron came out of the fight little better, having two pilots shot down, although unhurt, for two enemy aircraft destroyed. It is believed that the two 41 Squadron pilots in question were Fg Off John Mackenzie (R6887) and Plt Off ‘Ben’ Bennions (X4101), but the ORB provides little detail.
Meanwhile, Lock had been over Maidstone by himself as spotter, and was involved in combats of his own. He had climbed to 33,000 feet, and just ten minutes later sighted several enemy bombers crossing in near Dover at 15,000 feet, and reported them to the Controller. A short while later, he spotted three He113s [Me109Es] with orange noses “going round in a circle between Maidstone and Canterbury” just 3,000 feet below him.
He dived towards them but was seen, and the three aircraft split up in all directions. He picked out one that was diving towards Dover, and fired several one-second bursts from ranges of 250 yards down to 100. He had no trouble overhauling the aircraft, owing to his height and speed.
White vapour emanated from under the aircraft’s starboard wing after three bursts, and then flame issued from its engine. They then passed over the Dover Balloon Barrage “with only a few feet to spare”, and the enemy aircraft continued in a shallow dive until it crashed into the Channel approximately 15 to 20 miles northwest of Boulogne.
Lock then climbed back to the cloud base at 2,000 feet and orbited the area. Within a short time, a Henschel Hs126 reconnaissance aircraft “appeared from nowhere” and circled the downed aircraft at an altitude of no more than 50 feet. Grasping the opportunity, Lock dived on it and fired a two-second burst from 75 yards down to point blank range. The Henschel went directly into the Channel, tail first.
Seeing several more Hs126’s flying up and down the Channel below the cloud base, Lock climbed above it and headed home to claim the Me109 and the Hs126 destroyed. They were also Lock’s 15th and 16th claims, and he was now a triple Ace.
[Excerpts from “Blood, Sweat and Courage” (Fonthill, 2014). Sharing permitted, but no reproduction without permission, please.]
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Sharing Our History 9

17/9/2016

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The ninth article in this series has been made possible by a submission from our Honorary Historian, Mr Steve Brew.
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Squadron Leader Terry Spencer DFC
​A Rare Breed
 
Terry Spencer was a remarkable man.
            The things he achieved in his lifetime are so incredible that one could be forgiven for believing he was an invented character in some brilliant thriller. Terry’s life was certainly exciting – the very stuff of ‘Boys Own’ annuals – but it was no work of fiction.
            So many clichéd phrases come to mind – decorated fighter pilot, respected leader, daring escapee, world record holder, bold adventurer, and celebrated photo-journalist, to name just a few – but these words barely scratch the surface and do him no justice.

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Sharing Our History 8

10/9/2016

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(1944) In RAF uniform The "Palestine" badge can just be made out on his left shoulder.
The eighth article in this series has been made possible by Gideon Remez, Aharon's son:

My father, Aharon Remez, was born in the then-new city of Tel Aviv in 1919. While still in high school he became active in a Zionist youth movement, and in 1939 was sent to the United States as an emissary to the counterpart movement there. His mission was also to learn to fly, in anticipation that the Jewish community in Palestine -- then under British mandate -- would someday need and air force. Close to the airfield in New Jersey where he took flying lessons, the movement had an agricultural-training farm -- where he met my mother, one of the trainees.  Stranded in America by the outbreak of war, he volunteered for the RAF and was sent for flight training in Canada. He married my mother before shipping out to Britain.
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The original book. The Hebrew title, on top, is "Mi-Yomano shel Tayyas" (from a pilot's diary). The two words at the bottom are his name.
My father's "diary" begins in America; I have excerpted and translated here the entries following his assignment to 41 Squadron in early 1945. The book was evidently collated from my father's letters home by his father David Remez, who was a leader of the Jewish labor-union federation and Labor Party in Palestine. It was published by the party as Mi-Yomano shel Tayyas (Hebrew: From a Pilot's Journal) as part of a book series, "From the Front Lines." Though undated, it apparently came out before V-E day as the entries stop just before that date.
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As Israel Air Force commander 1948-1950, at his desk.
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As Israel Air Force commander 1948-1950, speaking at the force's annual memorial ceremony.
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As ambassador in London with a newspaper reporting the outbreak of the Six-Day War, 5 June 1967.
The text reflects the tension felt by my father, like tens of thousands of Palestinian-Jewish servicemen who volunteered for British forces in World War II, between their commitment to Britain's struggle against Nazism and their opposition to the almost-total restrictions that Britain imposed on Jewish immigration to Palestine, at the very time when the Holocaust made it most vital.  Returning to Palestine upon his discharge in the summer of 1946, he took part in the establishment of Israel's fledgling air force and commanded it during the country's War of Independence in 1948. 

My father never forgot and always cherished the friendship and support of his RAF mates. Among his later positions, he felt especially honored to serve as Israel's ambassador in London (1965-1970), when he had the opportunity to reunite with several of them.

Part 1 (UK)
Part 2 (Holland)
Part 3 (Germany)

The articles in this series have been made possible through content shared by our members. If you wish to broadcast a picture/article or short story to our membership via this blog then please send it to the secretary email address (41sqn.association.secretary@gmail.com) and I will post it here.
​
Please indicate if you wish to include your email for any further contact from those who may know something of the same era.
Hall of Heroes
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Sharing Our History 7

3/9/2016

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The seventh article in this series has been made possible by Steve Brew, our Association Historian:


These are the memories from Sgt Robert Scrimshaw, which he allowed me to reproduce in "Blood, Sweat and Courage"

Lipstick and Picnics
 
AC1 Robert Scrimshaw recalled the laid back lifestyle at on 41 Squadron at Catterick in the early days, remembering with amusement that one particular day,
 
One of the Riggers had called us over to have a look at his aircraft. He had cause to remove one of the belly panels immediately under the cockpit and to his amazement he found cigarette ends. Not only cigarette ends, but cigarette ends with lipstick on them!
            For the next couple of days, the ground crew carefully scrutinised their pilot for any signs of make-up. The mystery was soon solved. Conditions at Catterick were still very similar to those of pre-war, where married quarters were still occupied and, on occasions, on a beautiful day, and we were on standby, the pilots’ wives, who still had access to the airfield, would bring a picnic along for their husbands, and they would sit and chat amongst themselves.
            When it came time for take-off, a quick kiss and a cuddle, and the pilots climbed into their cockpits. In those days, lipstick wasn’t kiss-proof, but nearly everyone smoked.

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  • Home
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