439 Sqn Team

Photo source: 439 Sqn archives

In September the Squadron held a sports day, under the able direction of Herbert C. Morton, the YMCA  (Young Men’s Christian Association) Auxiliary Services Officer, and numerous aides. Special buses brought out wives, relatives and girl friends, and the work of the athletes was compensated by the Squadron cooks who prepared a “magnificent" turkey dinner to end the day. There was another party in October when the unit reached its first anniversary, the eight "originals" (P/Os Johnson, Pinsent, Gould, Scharff, McKessock, Prendergast, Saville and Hays) spending a happy time reminiscing about the early days

Although the Squadron's role was army co-operation training it had a taste of active operations for a period of about four months. Operations began in October 1942 when a detachment of three aircraft was sent to Sydney, Nova Scotia, to carry out harbour entrance patrols at dawn and dusk (first and last two hours of light).  The work was routine and unexciting, after the pilots learned that small buoys were not submarine periscopes!  One morning not long after the detachment arrived at Sydney the early morning patrol noticed some unusual naval activity with vessels traveling at top speed towards St. Paul Island.  On return to base the crew learned the explanation - a U-boat (German submarine) had made an attack near the island, about 30 miles outside the aircraft's patrol area.  This was the only bit of excitement in the air.

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The next night, however, there was an even more stirring incident on the ground, During the day a Flying Fortress had landed at Sydney, en route to Gander, and was the object of much admiring scrutiny - "a very nice aircraft."  Its unusual size appears to have presented some problem of parking and that evening when one of the Sydney Hudsons was taking off for a night patrol its wing tip snagged the Fort, which was standing almost on the runway. The Hudson ground-looped and burst into flames.  P/Os Hays and Johnson were just returning to their quarters from a station dance when they heard the crash and rushed down to the hangar area.  Seeing one aircraft in flames, they kept a safe distance away, peeking around the corner of a hanger to watch developments. Soon a petrol tank blew up, followed seconds later by a terrific explosion as the Hudson's depth charges went off.  The whole station shook, while exploding ammunition and flares and the crash of falling glass added to the dun.  No. 123's three Lysanders were in a hanger only 150 yards from the scene, but a quick inspection by the two pilots showed that they had escaped damage.  Then P/O Scharff, the third member of the Squadron detachment, appeared on the scene, nattily if unofficially attired in red pyjamas and a trench coat. His remark that he must be suffering from insomnia because he couldn't get to sleep merits records as an example of mild understatement.  

In the first month at Sydney the detachment flew almost 89 hours. Thereafter it was less active: 69 hours in November, 31.5 in December and 26.5 in January. On 26 January the detachment returned to Debert and No. 123's first brief tour of operations ended.  The pressure of training in the parent unit made it difficult to spare aircraft or personnel for these detached operations.