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This
Day In History
Summary
of Events for No.
439 (CAN) Squadron
as
compiled by C20089
F/L M. Harrison
in the 439 Squadron Operations Record Book Form
540
for
22
February 1945
B-78
Holland
The
ground haze early this morning was caused by the warm solar beams
on the frosty ground, even so the enormous operational activity
commenced quite early in the morning. Thirteen operations
totalling 52 sorties were carried out today, and these were the
greatest number of operations ever carried out by this Squadron in
one day. The claims for the day were:
We
were tickled to death to have J21837
F/L Babe Swingler arrive yesterday on posting to take command
of "A" Flight. He is a youthful character with an
abundance of good humour and is extremely popular. But fate
ultimately interrupted his second tour on his second trip of the
day which he was leading. It was a tremendous blow to the Squadron
as we had unshouldered a lot of responsibility onto Babe knowing
that with his reputation as an operational pilot, he would go a
long ways in achieving good results for the Squadron.
F/O's
Art Derouin and Andy Anderson took off for Megeve, France for a
spot of leave after a considerable amount of pestering in the last
few days to get these vacancies.
Three
of our kites are unserviceable today.
Detail
of Work Carried Out by
No. 439
RCAF Squadron
as
recorded by
J20602 F/O R.H. Laurence, J29881 F/O W.G.
Davis,
and
C20089 F/L M. Harrison in
the
439 Squadron Operations Record Book
Form 541
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| MN144
PD461
PD451
RB324
|
F/L Shaver L.C.
F/L Jackson S.C.
F/O Saunders A.W.
F/O Bullock J.W.
|
Dive
Bombing |
09:20 |
10:25 |
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
The first show
of the day, led by F/L Shaver, was a Ramrod on the Geldern,
Wesel rail line, just south of the battle area. The boys
carried 1000 lb. bombs with 11 second delay tail fuses. They
went into the area via the Reichswald Forest, flying at
10,000 feet then turned sharply to the south, approaching
the track at right angles. The bombing was very successful
with five cuts, and one tank and one truck destroyed at
A090282. The latter were parked on a siding on the railway
line. No flak was noticed. Some ground targets were reported
by "Kenway" in the Dorsten area, but on arriving
there they noticed a hospital train on the track, but they
did not attack them. The aircraft returned safely to base.
Claims - Rails -
five cuts, Flat Car - 1 destroyed, AFV's - 1 destroyed.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| RB456
SW446
RB198
RB326
|
F/O
Davis W.C.
W/O
Roach R.J.
F/L
LeGear V.H.
F/O
Johnson D.E. |
Dive
Bombing |
09:25 |
10:45
10:25
10:35
10:40 |
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
Rail
interdiction was the vogue for today. F/O Bill Davis led
four aircraft against the Wesel-Dorsten line. 1000 lb.
bombs, 11 second delay tail fuses were carried. They took
off at 09:25 hours and climbed to 10,000 feet heading for
Wesel. The visibility, except for low-lying haze, was good.
Midway between the two towns the Section went into echelon
starboard and bombed to port towards Wesel, in a 50 degree
dive. Two cuts were made with 2 near misses at A3643.
Pulling up from the dive the Section became involved with
some Spitfires and Typhoons and became separated. Bill Davis
circled the target, while Nos. 2 & 3 mistook F/O Johnson
who was returning to base with engine trouble. Despite the
mix-up of aircraft all returned safely to base. No flak was
encountered.
Claims
- Rails - 2 cuts & 2 near misses.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| RB206
RB510
RB377
SW443
|
S/L
Beatty J.H.
W/O Horrocks L.J.
F/O Cleghorn D.G.
F/O Kubicki W. |
Dive
Bombing |
09:30 |
10:45 |
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
S/L
Beatty led four aircraft on a Ramrod into the Tactical area,
to cut the rail line between Dorsten and Borken. They were
carried 1000 lb. bombs with 11 second delay fuses. The
Flight went straight into the target and on starting the
dive the leader noticed that he had mistaken the rail
line for the road running west of the rail line.
No.2
(W/O Horrocks) however, had already dropped his bombs on the
road with a near miss as the outcome. The remaining three
aircraft bombed the rails obtaining two cuts and two near
misses at A4354 without interruption from flak. They carried
out an armed recce in the Geldern-Keffeld area with no
movement noticeable. All aircraft returned safely to base.
Claims
- Rails - 2 cuts and 2 near misses.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| RB281
SW420
MP151
RB477 |
F/O
McBride A.G.
F/O Harrison J.L.
F/L Swingler B.P.
F/O Roberts J.
|
Dive
Bombing |
11:15 |
12:20
12:15
12:15
12:15 |
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
F/O
Al McBride led four aircraft on a unique job of bombing a
train carrying tanks on the line at Issum. They carried 1000
pounders with 11 sec. delay tail fuses. After crossing the
Reichswald Forest area, they altered course to starboard and
approached Issum which is east of Geldern where they
attacked the train with seven flat cars and each carried a
tank, from 8000 to 2000 feet and scoring direct hits causing
large explosions and setting some flat cars on fire.
Following
this, they set course for home, where they landed safely and
unmolested by flak.
The
claims for this insignificant Section is as follows: - Flat
cars, 2 destroyed, Tanks, 2 destroyed, Rails, - 2 cuts.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| SW446
RB324
PD451
RD461 |
F/L
Shaver L.C.
F/O
Bullock J.W.
F/O
Saunders A.W.
F/L
Jackson S.C.
|
Dive
Bombing |
11:35 |
12:55
|
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
Four
aircraft, on another Ramrod, carrying 1000 lb. bombs with 11
second delay tail fuses, took off on another rail cutting
job, into the Coesfeld-Ahaus line, F/L Shaver leading the
show. The boys crossed the bombline at 8000 feet letting
down slightly to 7000 feet, then went into bombing formation
(starboard echelon) and peeled off to port from the dive.
Three cuts were claimed at A5879 and one large truck was
strafed. No flak was noticeable. The aircraft returned to
base, all landing safely.
Claims
- Rails - 3 cuts, HDV's - 1 damaged.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| RB456
RB510
RB198
SW443 |
F/O
Davis W.G.
W/O
Horrocks L.J.
F/L
LeGear V.M.
F/O
Kubicki W.
|
Dive
Bombing |
11:50 |
13:00 |
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
F/O
Bill Davis led off another rail show at 11:50 hours. Four
aircraft were used with 1000 lb. 11 second delay tail fused
bombs being carried. The weather was clear and the
visibility was good in the target area. While passing east
of the Reichswald Forest at 11,000 feet, an explosion was
seen at about 2000 feet and an aircraft that looked like a
Spitfire headed in flames for the ground. Lots of flak was
seen but it was aimed at other aircraft. The
Coesfeld-Burgsteinfurt line was bombed at A7389 but no hits
were seen. One road cutting the line a A7389 received a
direct hit. No flak observed. The aircraft returned to base
via the Reichswald Forest and landed safely at 13:00
hours.
Claims
- one road blasted.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| RB206
RB326
RB377
MN144
|
S/L
Beatty J.H.
W/O Roach R.J.
F/O Cleghorn D.G.
F/O Johnson D.E.
|
Dive
Bombing |
12:10 |
13:15 |
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
A
four plane Ramrod led by S/L Beatty, became airborne at noon
hour, into the Coesfeld-Ahaus rail line. They carried 1000
lb. bombs with 11 second delay tail fuses. The visibility on
the ground was rather bad, making the pinpointing rather
difficult. After searching the area the rail line between
Ahaus and Coesfeld was bombed at 5778. No hit or cuts
were claimed. There was no flak over the target. As the
Squadron reformed, (No. 3) F/O Cleghorn, reported an
unidentified twin engine aircraft about a mile ahead and
slightly below them. Our boys, flying at 8000 feet, promptly
took after this aircraft of unknown origin, and on reaching
the Reichswald Forest they recognized it as a Marauder, much
to their disappointment. The Flight returned to base, all
aircraft landing safely. |
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| MP151
SW443
RB281
SW420
|
F/L
Swingler B.P.
F/O Roberts J.
F/O McBride A.C.
F/O Harrison J.L.
|
Dive
Bombing |
13:55 |
14:55
15:05
15:05
15:05 |
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
F/L
Babe Swingler, led four aircraft on a Ramrod, to cut the
rail lines between Borken and Stadtlohn. The aircraft each
carried 2 x 1000 lb. bombs with 11 second delay tail fuses.
the boys reached the lines near the small town of Weseke,
but due to bad visibility, no results could be observed. No
flak was noticeable in this area. They then carried out an
armed recce, just north of the Rhine on their way home.
F/L
Swingler noticed a lone transport between Haldern and Mehr,
north-west of Wesel. He made one orbit and then the Squadron
dove down. When F/L Swingler was about 2000 feet, all hell
seemed to break loose. It was evidently a flak trap, judging
by the amount of 20 MM which seemed to fill the sky.
Unfortunately F/L Shaver never had a chance, and although no
explosion was seen, F/O McBride noticed a small column of
black smoke on the ground in the area at Map reference
A1552.
The
remaining three aircraft formed up and set course for base
all landing safely. This was a very bad loss to the
Squadron, as "Babe", as the boys called him, had
just arrived the day before, to start his second tour as our
"A" Flight Commander. Very little hope is held for
his return.
No
claim for this operation.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| MN144
RB324
RB510
PD461
|
F/L
Shaver L.C.
F/O Bullock J.W.
F/O Saunders A.W.
F/L Jackson S.C.
|
Dive
Bombing |
14:25 |
16:00
|
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
F/L
Shaver, led four aircraft on a Ramrod into the Enschede
area. They carried 1000 lb bombs with 11 second delay tail
fuses. They were to do a double bombing effort, that is, the
first two aircraft were to bomb the tracks running south of
Enschede and if uneventful, the other two were to bomb the
same track. If the first two were successful, then the
second two were to bomb the tracks running east of Enschede.
On
approaching the area, the leader noticed that there were no
tracks running south of Enschede apparently removed,
although they encountered quite a bit of 40 MM in this area.
The four aircraft then dive-bombed the tracks between the
two towns of Gronau and Langenhorst, obtaining three cuts at
V5502. A tank car was also strafed, but the only claims made
by the Squadron were rails cut in three places.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| RB456
RB477
RB198
RB326
|
F/O
Davis W.C.
F/O Kubicki W.
F/L LeGear V.H.
W/O Horrocks L.J. |
Dive
Bombing |
14:35 |
16:10 |
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
F/O
Wee Willie Davis led another rail interdiction mission on
the Zolle-Almelo line. Once again four aircraft were used
and 1000 lb. 11 second delay tail fused bombs carried. The
aircraft took off at 14:35 and headed for the Reichswald
Forest climbing to 8000 feet. The haze was rapidly becoming
worse. No flak was seen over the battle area. They headed
north for the target but found the area covered with
10/10ths cloud at 4000 feet. They then about-turned and
headed for the Deventer-Almelo line.
At
this point Bill Davis had R.T. failure so F/L Vic LeGear
took over lead. An awkward shallow dive to get under the
cloud made in an easterly direction resulted in good
bombing. All bombs landed on or beside the rails and three
cuts were claimed at V0609. They were met by considerable
light flag from Holten. It was accurate but no one was hit.
The aircraft returned to base via the Forest and landed
safely but short of fuel at 16:10 hours.
Claims
- 3 rail cuts, 2 near misses.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| RB206
SW446
RB377
PD451
|
S/L
Beatty J.H.
W/O Roach R.J.
F/O Cleghorn D.G.
F/O Johnson D.E. |
Dive
Bombing |
15:30 |
16:35 |
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
S/L
Beatty led four aircraft on a show to cut the
Dorsten-Haltern rail line. As before they carried 2 x 1000
lb. bombs with 11 second delay tail fuses. They went in over
the Reichswald Forest and after passing the Rhine, cut down
to the south. The flight dived from 8000 feet to 2000 feet.
Black 2, W/O Roach had his coupe top blown open in the start
of the dive, and had to release his bombs at 5000 feet.
The
bombing was fairly good as there was no interruption by flag
over the target area. On setting course, it was not noticed
that S/L Beatty had two hang-ups. He jettisoned both south
of Borken with unobserved results. All aircraft returned
safely to base.
Claims:
Rails - 2 cuts in one place at A5847.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| RB510
RB281
SW443
SW420
|
F/L
Shaver L.C.
F/O Harrison J.L.
F/L Roberts J.
F/O Saunders A.W. |
Dive
Bombing |
16:40 |
17:55
17:50
17:05
17:50
|
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
On
one of the last shows of the day, F/L Lyall Shaver, led four
aircraft on a Ramrod into the Enschede area on the line east
of the town of Gronau. The target was to be a line of
tankers numbering around nine on the rail line east of the
town of Gronau. They carried 1000 lb. bombs with 11 second
delay tail fuses. After passing the Reichswald Forest, they
encountered poor weather, there being 10/10ths cloud at 4000
feet north and north-east of the Forest with 5/10ths cloud
at 7000 feet and poor visibility.
However,
on flying into the area of Enschede and finding the weather
unserviceable, they jettisoned their bombs over what was
believed to be in the Almelo area with unobserved results
due to 10/10ths cloud. They then did an armed recce of the
battle area but visibility was very bad so the lads returned
to base, all landing safely. No claims were made.
|
| A/C
Type & Number |
Crew |
Duty |
Up |
Down |
| RB456
RB477
PD461
RB324
|
F/O
Davis W.G.
F/O Kubicki W.
F/O LeGear V.H.
W/O Horrocks L.J. |
Dive
Bombing |
17:05 |
18:10
|
| Details
of Sortie or Flight
To
finish off a big day, F/O Bill Davis led a bomb line show
with the intended target the ferries at Rees. The four
aircraft carried 1000 lb. bombs with 11 second delay tail
fuses. They took off at 17:05 hours into a mist-filled sky
and climbed to 11,000 feet. They found the area east of the
bomb line was completely covered with low cloud.
Bill
Davis' R.T. failed him once again so F/L Vic LeGear took
over. The area to the south was clearer so they headed for
the Wesel-Geldern line. From echelon port they dived
westerly at 35 degrees from 11,000 feet to 6000 feet pulling
up starboard. Three sets of bombs cut the line cleanly and
the fourth set fire to an unidentified object alongside at
A1333. No flak was seen over the target though some light
flak was tossed up near Geldern. The aircraft landed safely
at base at 18:10 hours,
Claims
- 6 rail cuts.
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