Load -Unload - Load

Photo courtesy of Brian & Don Pinnell Copyright © 2003 -2005

 

G/C Davoud's wing did not remain long at St. Andre de 1'Eure. The tents and equipment had hardly been unloaded before it was necessary to pack than up again and move on. No. 439 Squadron carried out only one operation from B.24, in the evening of 31 August. The next  three days were cloudy, showery and windy with the result that operations were scrubbed; but even if the weather had been fine the Wing would probably have had little to do as the bomb-line was virtually out of range of the Typhoons.

On the morning of 3September 1944 "A" party pushed on 150 miles north-eastward across the Seine and into the valley of the Somme to take up residence briefly at another former Luftwaffe airfield at Glisy (B.48), a few miles east of Amiens. Most of the pilots flew down to the new base that evening, and the rear convoy, springs sagging from the weight of tents and equipment, followed the next day. Glisy had been bombed many times while the Luftwaffe was in occupation, and the new tenants were very interested in inspecting the pranged (bombed) hangars, dummy buildings and aircraft upon the sites. The camouflage was very effective.

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No operations ware carried out during the short time No. 439 remained at B.48; the bomb-line was still beyond practical range of the aircraft and petrol supplies were very limited. There was, however, one very interesting incident, (5 Sep 1944) a surprise visit from W/C Bob Davidson, the Wing’s first leader who, it may be recalled, had been forced down in enemy territory early in May.  "It was a real treat to see him and listen to his experiences. he looked like a typical Frenchman with his beret and civvy wit, not to mention his old pipe. He had been working in the French "underground” (resistance) movement and for a time was connected with a German outfit that thought he was a very devout collaborator. He had access to the buzz-bomb launching sites and other important German positions. It was quite a joke to hear him say that Jerry wanted him to work on their flak defenses. The obvious retort from our gang was 'We wondered why the flak was so accurate'. All in all, it was absolutely marvellous to have our Wing leader back."

 

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