The following content can be found at: http://bloodhoundmkii.org.uk/41S.htm 41 Squadron reformed as a Bloodhound surface-to-air missile unit at RAF West Raynham in September 1965. Changes to the Bloodhound squadrons saw No 41 disbanded as a Bloodhound unit in September 1970. RAF West Raynham 41 Squadron operated with six sections with 8 missiles per section. The sections were known as MS-1 to MS-3 (T87's) and MS-4 to MS-6 (T86's). Prior to 41 Squadron disbanding in 1970 it exchanged equipment with 25 Squadron at RAF North Coates to form six missile sections with T86 radars prior to 25 moving to RAF Germany in 1970/71 Contribution by Graham Sandford Jones I joined 41 Squadron at RAF West Raynham in September 1967 as a brand new Corporal, straight from Apprentice training at RAF Locking. Other members of my entry (107th) to arrive on 41 at the same time were Nigel Ayling, Dave Coulter and two other ex 107 guys whose names I have forgotten. Over the course of two years I worked in almost every area from Ops, through Missile Servicing, Armaments and Handling, but with most time being spent on the sections MS-3, MS-4 and MS-6. If my memory serves me right the winter of 1968/69 was bad with approx 1.5 to 2 feet of snow. During this time I spent a short time on Missile Handling driving a Side-Loader and putting missiles onto launchers etc. As cold-weather gear, all we got was a white donkey jacket which did nothing for keeping the feet warm and dry. I scrounged my Father's WW2. Fleece lined flying boots and wore them. For this, I was charged and hauled in front of the C.O. for wearing non-regulation clothing. The charge was thrown out for the simple reason that they had been 'official Issue' and still had the W.D. label inside! After that, I’m sure that I was the only guy working outside who had warm and dry feet. 41 Squadron did a detachment to Cyprus in April 1969 (I think), as part of a NATO exercise, and opened up the old transmitter site just outside Episkopi. For some reason, I got a C.O.'s Commendation out of that. In 1970 41 Squadron disbanded and we became a part of 25 Squadron, with an influx of people from North Coates and Hank Costain as C.O. By this time I was serving as a Tech Sup. on the sections. I remember working with Dave Clegg on MS3 ... but I can't remember whether it was as 41 or 25 Sqn. (41 Sqn I think). As 25 Squadron, we took the T86 sections to Germany in Oct 1970 - 2 to RAF Bruggen and 1 to RAF Wildenrath. RAF Wildenrath was made up to 2 sections by a section from RAF North Coates with 2 more North Coates sections going to RAF Laarbruch. In my 41 Squadron days, people were rotated onto training courses at RAF Newton. Further information on the Bloodhound Missile Preservation Group can be found here: http://www.bmpg.org.uk/ Blog edit: The following information was provided by BMPG:
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Only two patrols were undertaken by the Hornchurch Wing all day, and both were completed by 41 Squadron. The first was a brief, abortive patrol by three pilots (Lovell, Mileham, Wells) from 09:20 to 09:40, and the second a similarly uneventful patrol by 12 pilots from 10:10 to 11:30.
These patrols concluded 41 Squadron’s participation in the Battle of Britain in a rather anti-climactic manner. Although hostilities would continue for a long time yet, and the date was perhaps not yet recognised as the official end of the Battle, today saw the end of a three-month, three-week campaign that turned the tide of the War. The pilots participating in the Squadron’s last official patrol of the Battle of Britain were the following: Flt Lts Tony Lovell (P7300) and Norman Ryder (P7443), Fg Offs Dennis Adams (P7322), Guy Cory (P7448), and John Mackenzie (P7507), Plt Offs Frederick Aldridge (P7283), Denys Mileham (P7326), and Edward Wells RNZAF (P7281), and Sgt Plts Robert Angus (P7299), Aubrey Baker (P7314), Robert Beardsley (P7354) and Terence Healy (P7371). The Squadron's strength at the conclusion of the day is shown in the below table. Note that 'U/S' = Unserviceable, 'RAD' = Repairable at depot, 'AWO' = Awaiting write off, and 'IE Est' = Immediate Equipment Establishment (i.e. the number of aircraft they should have available to fly operations)
It was also today that Plt Off Eric Lock DFC & Bar claimed his last victory of the Battle of Britain. Attesting to his skill in the cockpit, he probably destroyed an Me109 with just 140 rounds from seven guns, as one was inoperable.
Lock singled out his own Me109 to port, and attacked it from astern and slightly above at a range of 250 yards. Firing just a single one-second burst as he closed to 200 yards, the aircraft reacted immediately by climbing almost vertically. He followed it upwards, but the Messerschmitt soon stalled and “fell forward into a vertical dive” with glycol steaming from beneath the starboard wing. He watched it fall from 28,000 feet to approximately 7,000, where he left it, noting the pilot had made no attempt by that altitude to recover his aircraft. He assumed the aircraft would crash in a triangular area bounded by Sevenoaks, Maidstone, and Tonbridge, and claimed the aircraft probably destroyed southeast of Biggin Hill. He had now claimed 20 destroyed and seven probably destroyed enemy aircraft, and was very likely the highest scoring RAF pilot of the entire campaign. The Squadron as a whole today made fourteen claims, which was the third highest number of claims for a single day – after 5 and 18 September 1940 – of the entire war. The Squadron’s first World War II victory was shared by three pilots just six weeks into the war, on the late afternoon of 17 October 1939.
At 15:47 that day, B Flight’s Green Section, comprising of Fg Off Peter ‘Cowboy’ Blatchford, Flt Sgt Edward ‘Shippy’ Shipman and Sgt Plt Albert ‘Bill’ Harris, was scrambled to investigate Raid X18. Once airborne, they were ordered to the vicinity of Whitby. Just before 16:25, whilst still heading south to Whitby from Saltburn at an altitude of approximately 9,000 feet, they spotted a lone Heinkel He111 bomber below them, flying north about eight or nine miles off the coast. Flt Sgt Shipman was the first to see it. He and the Heinkel’s crew must have spotted each other simultaneously, as the aircraft suddenly dived away to the east, heading out over the North Sea. He alerted Harris and Blatchford, and from their position above and behind the Heinkel, they opened their throttles and gave chase to confirm its identity. When he was close enough, Shipman noted the aircraft bore a “Black cross on red on fuselage, black cross on white underneath wings halfway along the span. Tail mud colour with green marking (diamond shape).” Flying to the fore of the trio, he immediately came under fire from the aircraft’s dorsal turret. He quickly dropped below the Heinkel’s altitude and fell back approximately 600 yards, out of range of both the dorsal and ventral guns, and was not hit. From this position, he also noticed the belly of the Heinkel was painted pale blue. Shipman positioned himself dead astern, narrowed his range to 500 yards, and gave a burst of fire to check his guns were operating. The chase had already taken him almost 20 miles east of Whitby. Closing now to 450 yards, he opened up again from dead astern, to which the Heinkel’s dorsal gunner replied with machine gun fire of his own. Shipman saw tracers pass down his port side and fired at the Heinkel a third time. Opening his throttle again, he closed to around 250-200 yards and fired off his remaining ammunition, around 2,200 rounds in all, noting “the rear gunner ceased to fire and both engines began to smoke badly.” The resulting failure of the Heinkel’s engines increased Shipman’s rate of closing and he soon found himself in the aircraft’s slipstream, making control difficult. He broke off his attack and dived away. This was the sign for Sgt Plt Harris to take over the attack, and he moved in behind the Heinkel, positioning himself for his own stern attack. Whilst he opened fire, Shipman turned back for RAF Catterick alone, leaving Harris and Blatchford to finish the job. The squadron’s second fatal Spitfire accident occurred on 18 July 1939 when Sgt. Plt. Kenneth Mitchell flew into Great Dun Fell in the North Pennines in Mk. I, K9888. Having grown up in Bournemouth he was later employed by Vickers Armstrong, working at the Supermarine Aviation works in Southampton. In 1937 he joined the RAFVR and received his wings in late 1938 Mitchell had taken off from Catterick for a cross country navigation exercise to RAF Kingstown, near Carlisle, necessitating a crossing the Pennine Hills, which lay between the two airfields. After crossing the Pennines on his outbound, north-westerly leg, the exercise was called off because of bad weather and, accordingly, Mitchell turned back for Catterick. By the time he approached the Pennines on the return leg, however, the weather deteriorated to such an extent that visibility had been reduced to virtually nothing. Flying blind through low cloud, Mitchell flew straight into high ground approximately five miles north east of Knock village, by Appleby in Cumbria. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and he was killed instantly. A parachute was on board, but Mitchell never had the opportunity to use it. The crash site was found the following day by a local shepherd at the height of around 2,500 feet. Although the accident was clearly caused by Mitchell flying into a cloud-obscured hillside, the blame was split between both himself and his Flight Commander. Mitchell is believed to have obtained unfavourable weather forecasts but had not shown them to his Flight Commander prior to the flight although, the Accident Report Card states, there were no specific orders to do so. It was also felt Mitchell should have turned back sooner, as the weather deteriorated. The Flight Commander shared the blame with Mitchell for “not ensuring [the] weather [was] O.K. before authorising [the] flt.” [Flying Accident Card for Sgt. Kenneth Mitchell, 18 July 1939, Air Ministry Form 1180, RAF Museum, Hendon]. The accident card goes on to note that the Navigation Officer should also have provided more information on the flight, but that “both he and [the] Flt. Cdr. [were] young & inexperienced” and that there was therefore “no case for censuring them.” [Flying Accident Card for Sgt. Kenneth Mitchell, 18 July 1939, Air Ministry Form 1180, RAF Museum, Hendon] At the time of the accident, Mitchell had only flown 29 hours solo on Spitfires but an additional 345 hours, including dual, on other types. Spitfire I, K9888 was just 10 weeks old when she was struck from charge. The photos above were taken by Mark Sheldon, BAE Systems Flight Test Engineer. They show the crash site of Spitfire Mk.I K9888 on Great Dun Fell in the North Pennines. The first photo was taken just below the point of impact looking down in to the Vale of Eden, while the other is of his research colleague, Richard Allenby, holding up one of the small pieces of wreckage that remain nearby. *Permission from the landowner was sought to visit this site. Aside from a number of reconnaissance flights by individual aircraft, two major attacks were launched on the southeast by the Luftwaffe today. The second attack began at 14:40, and comprised two phases. The first consisted of 50 fighters in two formations, which made landfall between Dover and Dungeness at 20,000 feet and headed towards Maidstone. One formation split up just north of Maidstone, and eight of these aircraft flew to the Isle of Sheppey, then on to Hornchurch, Tilbury and Gravesend; the remainder headed towards the docklands and Central London. Twenty aircraft from the second formation flew into London, and bombs were reported to have been dropped at Eltham, Poplar, along the Thames Estuary, and at Wanstead. All enemy aircraft returned to the Channel on reciprocal courses, and 11 Group responded by ordering up 12 squadrons to intercept them.
The second phase commenced as the first ended, when 60 fighters crossed in in two formations between 25,000 and 30,000 feet, and headed for Maidstone again. One formation split into two at Rochester, one group flying to Biggin Hill and the other, comprising approximately 15 aircraft, to Central London. The other formation headed for Hornchurch, but turned southeast just south of the area and flew over the docklands, providing significant activity in a triangular area between Hornchurch, Maidstone and Kenley. Bombs were dropped at Blackheath, near Manston, at New Cross and Ramsgate, and along the Thames Estuary. On this occasion, 11 Group detailed ten squadrons to intercept the Luftwaffe, some of which were already airborne in response to the first phase. In total, the Group’s fighters claimed three Me109s destroyed, two probably destroyed and two damaged; all of them the work of the Hornchurch Wing. 41 and 222 Squadrons were ordered up together at 14:50 to patrol Hornchurch, the former unit leading. 41’s contingent comprised ten pilots under the command of Sqn Ldr Finlay. The two squadrons managed to reach an altitude of 25,000 feet in the Maidstone area, and were on a course of 270°, when Finlay sighted a number of fighters. He ordered the pilots into line astern in preparation for an attack but it soon became clear that they were friendly aircraft. The Wing then continued their climb, but a short while later three Me109s were seen below the Squadron, travelling on an easterly course in a loose formation. A number of Spitfires were also seen approaching them from their far side, clearly intent on attacking them. Finlay banked hard to starboard and dived on the Me109s, closing on the tail of one he picked out and immediately fired a burst of three seconds from 150 yards down to 100. This caused smoke and sparks to emit from beneath the cockpit area, but Finlay could not press his attack home as he was himself attacked from above. It was later apparent from reports submitted by 222 Squadron, that just as 41 Squadron was attacking the trio of Me109s, a further 20 to 25 Me109s appeared out of cloud at 30,000 feet, and immediately dived on the rear of 41 Squadron. Seeing this, 222 Squadron dived on the enemy aircraft and a dog fight ensued, which saved 41 Squadron from a potential disaster. As it was, Sqn Ldr Finlay was hit by fire from above by an Me109, although it had no immediate effect. He broke off sharply when he was attacked, and blacked out for a time. When he regained consciousness and control of his aircraft, he found himself alone and patrolled the Ashford area by himself for approximately 20 minutes, in the hope of finding a lone straggler. Unable to do so, he returned to Hornchurch where he found he could not lower his undercarriage, and belly-landed, causing Cat 2 damage. He claimed his Me109 damaged for the expenditure of approximately 500 rounds. Plt Off Robert Boret was also attacked “by an aircraft of unknow[n] type with two glass windows”, which was believed to have been an Me110, but could not be confirmed. However, he appears to have evaded successfully, as no damage is recorded. Sgt Plt Leslie Carter was also on the receiving end: 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.] 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.] 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. The Forces War Records have made a number of documents free to view until the 28th August: The 24th of August marks the 1st official and horrific air raid on London, when the Luftwaffe misjudged their bomb attack on oil deposits at the docks and hit civilians in East London instead. The rest, as they say, is history! To help you to find out more about your ancestor’s history during wartime, and discover what it was really like to live through the Blitz, we’re making 16 original publications from our Historic Documents Archive free to read from the 21st-28th of August. The Protection of your Home against Air Raids The King's Regulations and Air Council Instructions for The Royal Air Force, 1943 There's Freedom in the Air R.A.F. Middle East - The Official Story of Air Operations The Air Battle of Malta We Speak from the Air - Broadcasts by the R.A.F. The King's Air Force Front Line 1940 - 1941 Merchant Airmen Target Germany Roof over Britain - the official story of the A.A Defences, 1939 - 1942 Wings of Britain The Battle of Britain, August - October 1940 The W.A.A.F. In Action Bomber Command Continues Propeller Sense |
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