B.9 Pastoral - F/O Ivan Smith and S/L Hugh Norsworthy test a German machine-gun for ack-ack defence, while F/Os Johnny Kalen and Ron Moen consider how to milk a cow. PL 30728

Photo source: 439 Sqn archives

S/L Norsworthy tried some new tactics the next morning when he led a group of seven Tiffies against a small pontoon bridge across the Orne south of Caen. The enemy flak posts had become accustomed to the pilots’ usual method of starting the bombing dive close to the target; this time, to fox the defences, Norsworthy went into a shallow dive while still about two miles away, increasing the angle to 60^o as he closed in. The new method seemed to work for the aircraft escaped untouched, although flak followed them the whole time they were over enemy territory. Despite unexpectedly strong winds, the bombing was well concentrated even though only one burst was actually seen to hit the approaches to the bridge.  Much more satisfactory was another attack on the morning of 6 July. After Nos. 438 and 440 had failed in their attempts to destroy a bridge near Mezidon, S/L Norsworthy and four companions tried their hand. Coming down in an almost vertical dive (80^o) from 7,000 feet to 2,000, they released ten 1,000 lb. loads of TNT.  Stelter and Johns both got direct hits which collapsed the bridge into the river. Good shooting was also reported for a second operation that day when two sections bombed the railroad between Mezidon and Lizieux, cutting at least three lines.

The rains of early July had shown the necessity of laying Summerfelt tracking on the clay runway at Lantheuil to prevent the aircraft becoming mired in mud. While the Army attended to this, the pilots moved to another airfield from which they carried out three missions an the afternoon of 7 July. All three were against army targets - a large group of tents, assumed to be a Nazi Army headquarters, just west of Domfront, which was bombed twice, and an enemy stronghold in Buron, south-west of Bayeux. Flak was a feature of the first two operations. The enemy gunners scored a hit on Tommy Dadson’s aircraft as he set out for the first show, forcing him to jettison bombs and return to base. Then our own anti-aircraft batteries came into action as the formation was coming back from the second sortie and, despite "every recognised trick in the trade” by the pilots to identify themselves as friendly, the gunners kept on firing “until it was no longer fun". Fortunately their aim was as bad as their aircraft recognition. In the two attacks the target at Domfront was effectively blanketed with bomb bursts and a few vehicles were strafed.

Typhoon aircraft parked on an apron of Summerfelt tracking. DND Photo

The Squadron's report on its third operation that day reads: "Given the information that severe resistance was being offered by the enemy at the village of Buron, nine aircraft led by S/L Norsworthy took off at 2045.  Despite an almost prohibitive ceiling of 4,000 ft, and many local showers, the target was reached without difficulty and bashed successfully. As the actual target was in close proximity to our own forward troops, the terrific damage wrought by dive-bombing Typhoons was easily apparent to them. It is a terrific morale booster for our own troops, and a shattering blow to the ego of the enemy."

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