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History
of
 Squadron
  
Chapter
VII
The Advance to the Rhine
February
- March 1945
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On the 26th, a cloudy windy day, No.439 was detailed for runway
readiness. After seven hours of this tedious "bird" F/L Lyal Shaver's section got away
on an armed weather recce which simply confirmed that "oranges were
sour", a report which was repeated by a second recce a little later.
On the 27th not
even a weather recce could be made, and conditions were not a great deal better on the last day of the month. Two sections which did go out in search of ground targets bombed the line west of Emmerich
without success, and destroyed one ammunition truck and two other vehicles near Geldern. So ended one of the
busiest and most succesful months in the squadron's history.
A compilation of the results
showed (3)
Railroad cars 7 destroyed, 30 damaged
Vehicles 3 destroyed, 1 damaged
Tanks and AFVs 3 destroyed
V.l sites 3 damaged
Enemy aircraft 2 destroyed
Railway buildings 2 destroyed
Canals 1 damaged
Bridges 2 damaged
Towns & villages 2 damaged
Houses & warehouses 2 destroyed.
(3) This tabulation, as the squadron diary pointed out, excluded results
"unobserved due to weather and
debris"
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Intentionally
left blank
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Intentionally
left blank
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For some time the squadron had been under strength in pilots; by the end of February, however, it had been built up to 26, just one below the full establishment of 27, with the addition of F/Ls J.H. McCullough, J.O. Gray and F/O H.R. Herod. Both McCullough and Gray were second tour men; the former had done his first tour on Tiffies with No. 1 Squadron in Britain, and "Tex" Gray, who as his nickname
indicated was an American, had flown Hurricanes, Spitfires and Kittyhawks in the Western Desert, Malta and Italy.
Since its reformation in England No. 439 had carried about 30 officers and airmen on its ground crew strength. At the end of February 1945, however, the squadron establishment was amended, reducing its ground strength from two officers and 31 airmen to only two officers and four airmen. The other airmen were transferred to either 6439 Echelon or the
Wing.(1)
(1) The new establishment was: one S/L, two F/Ls, 11 F/Os and 13 Sgt. pilots (total 27 aircrew), one F/O Admin., one F/L Medical, one Sgt. Fitter(E), one Cpl. Clerk, and two ACs General Duties.
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The scale of operations in February had been a severe test for the maintenance personnel of the squadron, echelon and wing. They had acquitted themselves nobly, and won congratulations for their consistent good work. The armourers, in particular, won compliments as there were no cannon stoppages and very few other failures. They and all the fitters and riggers were
"a pretty proud bunch of lads"; they had good right to be.
Copyright
©1998-2016 Michael T. Melnick. All rights reserved
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