Australia’s War Diary

Britain. Spitfires of 457 Squadron cover bombers raiding a munitions factory at Marquise. Two are lost including that of 457’s NZ flight commander, F/Lt Harold North. North was highly regarded, and although suffering from ill health, his fighting spirit had been exceptional.

May 2 – Pacific. The two remaining Catalinas leave Tulagi just beating an air raid. RAAF andAIF personnel evacuate before the Japanese landings.

May 3 – New Guinea. 75 Squadron’s lastsortie from Port Moresby. PIO Arthur Tucker, in the only combat worthy Kittyhawk,joins US Airacobras intercepting 20 escorted enemy bombers. During 44 days, 75 Squadron has destroyed 35 enemy aircraft (18 in combat and 17 on the ground), probably destroyed 4 and damaged47 (29 in combatand 18 on the ground) for the loss of 1 2 pilots killed or missing and 22 aircraft (9 in combat, 4 missing, 3 on the ground from enemy action, and 6 in accidents). Never again will RAAF fighter pilots in the Pacific be involved in such unrelenting day-to-day air combat.

Pacific. Japanese troops occupy Tulagi and start converting it into a seaplane base to support their landings at Port Moresby. Allied ships concentrate in the Coral Sea. There are two task forces, the 17th under Rear Admiral Fletcher USN and the 44th supporting, under Canberra born Rear Admiral John Grace. On hand are carriers Lexington and Torktown with 143 aircraft, 7 heavy cruisers (including HMAS Australia), light cruiser HMAS Hobart, 13 destroyers, two tankers and a seaplane support ship. May 4 – Pacific. The 4th Japanese Fleet sails for Port Moresby. It comprises 3 carriers (Shokaku, Zuikaku and Shoho) with 1 25 aircraft, eight cruisers, 17 destroyers, one seaplane tender, seven submarines, three gunboats, one minelayer, two tankers, auxiliary craft and troop transports.

South of Bougainville, Catalina A24-18 is lost, apparently shot down by “Pete” floatplanes from the tender Kamikawa Maru heading for Deboyne Island to establish a floatplane base supporting the Port Moresby invasion.

Malta. Sgt Brennan, flying Spitfire A-2, destroys a Bf109.

May 6 – Philippines. 15,000 American and Filipino troops surrender on Corregidor.

Pacific. The disappearance of Catalina A24-29 near Misima Island is attributed to Zeros from the Shoho.

May 7- Pacific. The Battle of the Coral Sea commences. US aircraft sink the Shoho.

Australia. Since Port Moresby is unsafe for Allied aircraft, except as a staging base, 1 1 and 20 (Catalina) Squadrons establish at Bowen, Qld, previously used by the RAAF 1926-29 when 101 Flight Seagull amphibians helped survey the Great Barrier Reef.

North Africa. Kittyhawks of 3 RAAF and 1 1 2 Squadrons are attacked over Tobruk by Bf 109s. S/Ldr Gibbes and a 1 1 2 Squadron pilot claim one each.

Malta. F/Lt Tom Stokes of 10 Squadron RAAF in Sunderland W3993/RB-W, carrying Lord Gort, the new Governor, arrives during a raid. In Gort’s attache case is Malta’s George Cross. Bombs fall nearby as the party is ferried ashore where Gort is informed that, without reinforcement and supplies, Malta can only last another six weeks. Support is in fact on its way. Sgt Tweedale destroys a Bf 109.

May 8 -Philippines. Surrender to the Japanese.

Pacific. Battle of the Coral Sea. The Americans lose the Lexington and 69 aircraft. The Japanese, besides losing Shoho and 85 aircraft, have Shokaku so badly damaged that they are ordered back to Rabaul. This battle, the first naval engagement in which surface vessels never sight each other, is proclaimed “The Battle That Saved Australia”. Tactically a draw, but strategically a victory, Port Moresby will never again be directly threatened by seaborne invasion.

Malta. A rehearsal is held for the arrival of new Spitfires, to have them refuelled, rearmed and ready for takeoff quickly to avoid being caught on the ground. Afterwards, everyone has to run for cover while defending fighters engage an incoming raid. Sgt Tweedale claims a Ju 88 and Bf 109 destroyed, with another 109 probable. Sgt Boyd in Hurricane GL-Y destroys a Ju 88.

May 9 – Malta. At dawn, 62 Spitfires launch from USS Wasp and HMS Eagle, and head for Malta. Incoming Australians include Sgt Fred Johnson, Sgt Ken Mitchell, Sgt W Irwin, P/O Alan Yates and F/Lt Ray Sly, formerly of 452 and 457 Squadrons in the UK. Sly is killed during the landings while in the covering air battles Sgt Gordon Tweedale is shot down and killed in Spitfire BR248. PIO Eisley claims a MC. 202, Goldsmith a Cant Z-1007 and PIO Briggs a 109. Britain. 457 Squadron loses two Spitfires without scoring. Since May began, 457 has flown 7 sweeps, 6 Circuses and numerous coastal patrols, flying more intensive than 452 had done earlier, but the enemy’s caution and the Fw 190’s superiority prevent it from achieving similar outstanding successes.

New Guinea. 75 Squadron’s three remaining airworthy, but unfit for combat, Kittyhawks are strafed on Three Mile aerodrome by Zeros. Only one, A29-79, remains flyable and F/Lt Les Jackson will ferry it back to Cairns.

May 10 – Malta. Heavy fighting. Sgt Boyd, now flying a Spitfire, destroys a Ju 88 and Sgt Brennan, a Stuka. Max Briggs, in Spitfire BR282, is killed, apparently by “friendly” AA fire.

May11 -Malta. Sgt Brennan destroys a Bf 109.

May 12 – NorthAfrica. Luftwaffe Ju 52 transports are regularly flying reinforcements between Crete and North Africa. In aspecial mission led by W/Cdr Clive Mayers, six Beaufighters of 252 Squadron and ten Kittyhawks of 250 Squadron, intercept a large formation of transports. 250 Squadron claims ten Ju 52s and two Me 110s, Mayers scoring two Junkers and F/Lt John Waddy another two plus the two escorting Me 110s. 252 Squadron claims five more Ju 52s for one Beaufighter lost.

Malta. Sgt Yarra destroys a Bf 109.

May 13 – Pacific. Nine Hudsons of 2 Squadron RAAF, now operating from Hughes Field, attack Japanese shipping near Ambon. One vessel is sunk and another hit but one Hudson is lost. NorthAfrica. 3 Squadron RAAF is bounced over Gazala by two Bf 109s, one flown by the German ace Marseille who’shoots down two Kittyhawks. Sgt McDiarmid bales out slightly. wounded but F/O Pace is KIA. F/O Chinchen damages one Messerschmitt. May14- Malta. Sgt Goldsmith claims a Bf 109 and a Ju 88 and Sgt Boyd in Spitfire 3-C destroys a Bf 109 but is·shot down and killed by a MC. 202 during his second sortie. The longest serving Australian on the island, Tony Boyd “. . . was generally regarded as the greatest Hurricane pilot on Malta”.

May 15 – Malta. Sgt Yarra destroys two MC. 202s and the newly arrived Sgt Irwin claims a probable Bf 109.

May 16 – North Africa. In deadly form, Marseille again punishes the Australian Kittyhawks, shooting down Sgt Teade of 3 Squadron and P/O Parker of 450 Squadron whose falling aircraft strikes that of Sgt Metherall, who crashes. Parker returns the next day. May17-Pacific. 100 Squadron RAAF make sits first armed reconnaissance when two Beauforts, piloted by W /C Balmer and S/Ldr Parker, cover Deboyne Island. One small floatplane and two large land based aircraft are sighted.

Eastern Front. German forces halt the Soviet offensive east of Kharkov.

May 18 – Britain. 456 Squadron’s sector at Valley in the isle of Anglesey is quiet for night fighters so the Beaufighters assist day fighters on convoy patrols. P/O D Wills/Sgt R Lowther, over convoy “Topaz”, damage a Ju 88 after a 20 minute chase. Later, when the German crew is rescued in their dinghy, the claim is changed to destroyed. Minor accidents, due to the Beaufighter II’s “deadly swing”, persist.

Malta. 17 Spitfires from HMS Eagle, one flown by Sgt Eric Mahar, reach the island. PIO Eisley and Sgt Yarra both destroy Bf 109s and Sgt Brennan an Re. 2001 .

May 19 – Far East. The British in Burma are about to experience their first wartime monsoon. For them it is a godsend. Fighting in the rains will be impossible. They will be able to build up enough strength to hold the Japanese and then plan a counter attack For the Japanese, it means further conquest will have to wait until the end of year “dry” season. The RAF has retreated from Rangoon, Magwe and Akyab, and the remnants ofits squadrons have moved to the Indian continent, most going to Calcutta to regroup. Some are to the north of the Arakan. A few Blenheim units still launch strikes back into Burma. 1 13 Squadron loses an all Australian crew to fighters during a raid on Akyab. (F/O M Hickey, F/O R Rogers and Sgt E McK Campbell. )

North Africa. Marseille downs two 450 Squadron Kittyhawks. Sgt Young is recovered by the army.

May 22 – Pacific. Amid heavy AA fire, 8 Hudsons of 2 and 13 Squadrons attack Japanese shipping near Ambon. All bombs miss and two Hudsons, captained by P/O P Brooks (Al. 6-177) and P/0 Allchin, are shot down by Zeros.

North Africa. Kittyhawks of 239 Wing escort SAAF Bostons bombing M:artuba. Bf 109s shoot down Sgt Quirk and Sgt Williams of 450 Squadron while F/Lt Rose scores a probable 109. S/Ldr Gibbes and F/Lt Barr of 3 Squadron and F/O Waddy of 250 Squadron each claim a Messerschmitt.

May 23 – Pacific. A 13 Squadron Hudson drops supplies to “Sparrow Force” near Beco in occupied Portuguese Timor. Identification is made by the soldiers waving their shirts while standing on the roof of native huts.

Burma. A Blenheim of 1 13 Squadron is lost attacking targets on the Mayu River (F/O E Pearce, F/O C Grigg and Sgt J Germain). May 24-NorthAfrica. S/Ldr Clive “Killer” CaldwellDFC and Bar is posted to the UK to convert to Spitfires before leading the first Spitfire Wing to Australia to fight the Japanese. His score of 20 German and Italian aircraft will remain the highest of any Allied pilot in the Western Desert.

May 25 – Malta. Sgt Goldsmith shares a Cant Z. 1007.

May 26-NorthAfrica. Rommel attacks the Gazala Line. 3 Squadron intercepts Ju 88s and Bf 109s over El Adem. S/Ldr Gibbes claims a probable 109, before return fire from aJu88 causes him to bale out irtjured. Later, F/0 Waddy, now with 260 Squadron, claims a Bf 109 probable.

May 27 – Britain. F/Lt Hugo Throssell Armstrong of 129 Squadron claims a probable Bf 109 during a sweep near Fecamp. His score so far is five. From Perth, WA, he is the nephew of Captain Hugo Throssell who won a VC at Gallipoli during WWL

North Africa. Amid numerous fighter bomb”er sorties, 3 Squadron loses three Kittyhawks to Bf 109s. Sgt Thomas and Sgt Clabburn both return next day but Sgt Norman becomes a POW.

Pacific. 100 Squadron bombs Japanese petrol dumps on Deboyne Island.

New Guinea. Since the 23rd, F/Lt Norman Fader has led American C-47s carrying Australian troop reinforcements over the ranges to Wau, diverting once to Bulolo when fog makes landing at Wau impossible. For the first time in New Guinea fresh troops are being airlifted in.

May 29 – North Africa. 450 Squadron’s Kittyhawks have a brutal fight with Bf 109s and Ju 87s over Gazala. Sgts McBurnie and Jenkinsshare one Ju87, Sgt Nursey claims a second and McBurnie also shoots down a 109. Sgts Dean, Packer and Shaw fail to return. Pacific. The first attack on Tulagi by RAAF Catalinas causes large fires and one Mavis is reported destroyed.

Australia. After extraordinarily rapid design and construction, the first CA-1 2 Boomerang, A46-1, has a 20 minute maiden flight flown by test pilot Ken Frewin.

May 30 – Malta. Sgt Goldsmith shares a BR. 20 and an Re. 2001. North Africa. A day of heavy combat with massive attacks by fighter bombers and Bostons on German armour. F/Lt Barr and Sgt McDiarmid of3 Squadron go missing, Barr returning two days later. From 450 Squadron, Sgt Nursey is KIA and Sgt McBurnie crash lands injured south of Gambut.

May 30/31 – France. RAF Bomber Command’s first “thousand bomber” raid, 1,046 aircraft, 599 of them Wellingtons, attack Cologne. This enormous effort is made possible by scraping together every plane from operational squadrons and OTUs, some being flown by instructors and pupils. 17 Wellingtons from 460 Squadron bomb the target successfully. Australians are spread throughout RAF units. Navigated by W/O H Connely, a Lancaster which stays over the fires for fifty minutes obtains a photographic record. 40 bombers are lost, one a Manchester from 50 Squadron. Four of the crew, including mid upper gunner Alastair Benn, bail out but are captured. WAG Reg Collins, from a flak crippled Wellington from 15 OTU, eventually contacts the Belgian underground and escapes to England. 45,000 people are made homeless in Cologne and the raid is considered a military and propaganda success.

Pacific. A night strike on Dili by five Hudsons of 13 Squadron. May 31 -Britain. First operation of de Havilland Mosquitoes in a daylight follow up attack on Cologne by 105 Squadron. 457 Squadron is withdrawn to Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire, in preparation for returning to Australia.

Australia. Three Japanese midget Submarines attack Sydney Harbour. One is caught in anti torpedo nets near the west boom gate. The second is sighted outside the Heads and damaged by depth charges from patrol boat HMAS Yandra. The third penetrates the defences and fires two torpedoes at cruiser USS Chicago. One fails to explode and runs aground on Garden Island. The other passes below the cruiser to explode under and sink the Kuttabul, an old Sydney Ferry being used as a depot ship. 21 Australian Seamen lose their lives.