This show, sprung on us after the Squadron had been
officially released for the day, promised to be a "humdinger".
One thousand MET had been reported on the roads leading
just north and northwest of Hornoy.
Twelve pilots were hurriedly rounded up and the Squadron
set course at 19:40 hours. The target area was reached and
the Squadron was split into three sections to carry out an
armed recce. A number of straffing attacks were carried
out, most of them on vehicles which had already been
knocked out.
However,
despite the poor visibility up sun, the Squadron claimed 2
flamers and 1 smoker. In the course of their recce, one
section encountered a fair amount of flak, both light and
heavy, from the area at map reference N.0568 just 8 miles
northwest of Amiens. None of our aircraft were damaged and
all returned safely to base at B.24: St Andre de l'Eure.
Total
of ammunition expended during the month:
55,878 rounds.
Total
of bombs expended during the month by weight:
202 tons.
Original
signed by
(H.H.
Norsworthy), Squadron Leader,
Commanding,
439 R.C.A.F. Squadron.
Webmaster's Notes:
(1) F/O GWH Hewson carried out
two flight on this date. The first was an aircraft
transfer (Typhoon M) from B9 to St Andre, a forty
minute flight. His Logbook reads
"Carried 2 x 500 lbs. Started to chase the Jerry & now
we are out of range again."
The second was a straffing mission where no
bombs were carried. Geale, in Typhoon M as usual filed
this log entry: "a big
concentration of MET. I got two horses and a gun. Very
accurate flak."
For the record, Geale war effort contribution
totaled 13.35 flying hours, 12.25 of which were on
operations; 1:30 hours in the Auster, and 20 minutes
in a Piper Cub.
Not bad for someone being away on leave for more
than half of the month.