Australia’s War Diary

January2/3-Britain. First operations flown by 467 Squadron RAAF. Four Lancasters mine the Bayonne area off France, and a fifth the waters off St Jean de Luz.

January 415 – Britain. The target is Essen for 4 Pathfinder Mosquitoes and 29 Lancasters of 5 Group, ten coming from 460 Squadron. ‘Skymarker’ flares are dropped using Oboe. Essen reports 42 buildings destroyed, 64 seriously damaged and 14 people killed. 2 Lancasters are lost including that of Sgt H Brooks and crew.

January 617 – Timor. On Run “M”, after strafing and bombing Gasmata airstrip, F/Lt David Vernon and crew of 11 Squadron in Catalina A24-1 find and sink the 5447 Nichiryu Maru. January 718-Britain. First bombing attack by 467 Squadron when three Lancasters set out for Essen. One aborts, but the others bomb the target. Further bombing raids onEssen will be made by the squadron on January 11/12, 12/13 and 21/22, all without losing an aircraft.

January 8 – Britain. Bomber Command’s Pathfinder squadrons are promoted to group status, becoming No 8 Group. “Bomber” Harris resists Air Ministry pressure to appoint a • senior regular RAF officer to command and retains G/Capt D Bennett, who is promoted immediately to air commodore.

Donald Bennett will be an air vice marshal before 1943 ends, rising from wing commander within a year!

Tunisia. From Hamraiet, five 92 Squadron Spitfires plus three others scramble towards Tamet and engage Bf 109s. An army unit reports seeing one of four Spitfires turn back, attack six Bf 109s and fight them off two recceHurricanes for 15 minutes before spinning into the ground. P/O Geoffrey Rose of 92 Squadron fails to return.

New Guinea. F/O B “Tubby” Higgins flies Catalina A24-2 from Milne Bay to pick up the crew of a crashed USAAF B-24. Coincidentally, the Liberator captain’s name is also Higgins – Lt Walter Higgins. January 8/9 – North Africa. Over Libya, the 89 Squadron detachment at Benina destroys three German aircraft, F/O Shipard with FISgt Oxby, claiming a Ju 88 and a He 111. The Ju 88 falls north of Tobruk.

January 9 – Timor. F/Lt David Vernon in Catalina A24-2 attacks three enemy vessels east south east of Gasmata, scoring a direct hit on the forward hatch of a transport.

January9/10-Timor. DestroyerHMASAruntawithdrawsall

troops of the 214th Independent Company except for small Intelligence parties, which will be removed in February. January 10-Eastern Front. The Russians begin an offensive around Stalingrad.

January 13 – Britain. Venturas of 464 Squadron bomb Abbeville aerodrome, France. Tunisia 239 Wing DAF strafes Churgia landing ground, damaging a Bf 109 and a Fi 156. SgtG O’Neil of 450 Squadron is lost but will arrive back at base on foot in two days.

January 14- Tunisia. 239Wing, escorting araidby18 Bostons to attack Bir Dufan airfield, is heavily attacked by twenty Bf 109s and Mc. 202s. 3 Squadron Kittyhawks are hit hard, S/LdrGibbes, F/O W Diehm, P/O A Tonkin, PIO L Weatherburn and Sgt N Caldwell all failing to return. FISgt A Nicholson and Sgts L Frost, G Cameron and M Harrison of 450 Squadron are also shot down. Frost returns on the 18th, Nicholson and Gibbes on 20th. F/Sgt McFarlane of 450 claims a Bf 109, F/Sgt Stevens and Sgt Hooke of 3 Squadron each claim Bf 109 probables. Later, 3 Squadron flies an armed reconnaissance over the Gheddahia area, again meeting Bf 109s. PIO Bayly claims a Bf 109 but PIO Austin fails to return. New Guinea. The first troops of the 17th Brigade are airlifted into Wau.

January 16 – Tunisia. Four Beaufighters of 272 Squadron from Malta sweep between the island and the coast. F/Lt Coate shoots down a Ju 88. Further west over Tobruk during the night, F/O Shipard with F/Sgt Oxby of 89 Squadron destroy two Ju 88s.

January 17 – Burma. Eighteen Japanese bombers raid Feni. F/O Colin Doudy of 607 Squadron RAF shoots down an Oscar but one Hurricane is lost. The Blenheims of 11 Squadron retaliate by effectively bombing Rathedaung but Sgt Bruce Ferguson and his all Australian crew fail to return.

January17118-Britain. 170 Lancasters and 17Halifaxes raid Berlin for the second consecutive night. 460 Sqn contributes 6 aircraft, the Lancaster of Sgt WWendon running out of fuel just after passing the English coast on return. The crew bales out but navigator, Sgt D Corfe,jumping with his helmet still on, is killed when the intercom wire obstructs his parachute. January 18 – Australia. No 18 (B-25 Mitchell) Squadron Netherlands East Indies Air Force (NEIAF) officially completes its move to the Northern Territory, coming under the command of RAAF North Western Area (NWA). It is comprised of 253 NEIAF and 287 RAAF officers and men. With it in NWA during the first half of 1943 will be the 319th Squadron USAAF (Liberator based at Fenton), 54 Squadron RAF (Spitfires, Winnellie), No 2 (Hudsons, Hughes), No 12 (Vengeances, Batchelor), No 13 (Hudsons, Hughes), No 31 (Beaufighters, Coomalie Creek), No 452 (Spitfires, Strauss) and No 457 (Spitfires, Livingston). Spitfires and personnel of the “Churchill” Wing arrive in the Darwin area throughout the month, a formation of 24 aircraft under a Beaufighter escort today reaching Daly Waters. 76 and 77. (Kittyhawks) defend Darwin until they are fully deployed. 18 Squadron’s first operation is a reconnaissance to Tanimbar Island in the Arafura Sea.

Tunisia. 450 Squadron Kittyhawks on an armed reconnaissance over Tarhuna attack motor transport but Sgt A Gregory is lost. (He returns on foot on 22nd. ) On a similar mission, Sgt R Prowse is shot down by Bf 109s.

January 19 -New Britain. F/Lt W “Bimbo” White in Catalina A24-17 evacuates three coast watchers and five natives, an intelligence group operating behind Japanese lines,from Johann Albrecht Harbour.

Tunisia. Flak over the Tarhuna area causes FISgtTaylor of 450 Squadron to force land his damaged Kittyhawk in no mans’ land.

January 19120-India. Charles Crombie, with navigator F/Lt R Moss, of 176 Squadron RAF intercepts four Mitsubishi Ki21 ‘Sally’ bombers over Calcutta. He shoots down two, but one engine of his Beaufighter is set on fire. Ordering Moss to bale out, he damages a third Sally and then bales out himself when the petrol tanks explode.

January 20-Australia. The first enemy raid over Darwin for 1943 is by seven Bettys. Kittyhawks of 76 Squadron intercept, S/Ldr Bluey Truscott claiming one bomber.

Timor. Three Mitchells of 18 Squadron probably shoot down two out of five Zeros over Fuiloro and another flight probably destroys a Nakajima Dave over Dobo.

January 21 – Britain. In bad weather over the Western Approaches, 461 Squadron loses Sunderland T9084/Aflown by F/Lt B Buls and crew.

Tunisia. 11 Kittyhawks of 3 RAAF Squadron cover 450 Squadron attacking the Zuara-Tripoli road, but flak damages Sgt Goulder’s aircraft he has to belly land. Later, 450 Squadron strafesCastel Benito, leaving three aircraft inflames and seven damaged.

Tunisia. 24 Kittyhawks from 450 and 3 Squadrons encounter 11 Mc. 202s escorting three SM. 79s. F/Lt Clabburn and P/O Knox of 3 Squadron each damaged an SM. 79 while F/Sgt Hankey and S/Ldr Gibbes destroy a Macchi each. PIO Winn of 450 Squadron also shoots down a Macchi and F/Lt McQueen damages one bomber. Sgt J Stanley of 450 Squadron, crash lands. (He will return in two days. ) Sgts Willis and Jones of 3 Squadron collide, Willis spinning into the ground, but Jones manages to return to base. On a later mission, the two Australian squadrons strafe the coast road near Zuara. Four Bf 109s attack 3 RAAF’s Sgt Righetti, who is lagging. He bales out, and FIO Russell is slightly wounded. During a third mission near Zuara, five Bf 109s are bounced by 450 Squadron. F/Lt Schaaf claims one destroyed and a second shared with Sgt Minchin. F/LtGlendinning and F/Lt Johns share a third.

January 23124-Britain. After bad weather for nearly a week, Düsseldorf is bombed through cloud cover by 80 Lancasters and 3 Mosquitoes. 460 Squadron dispatches 11 aircraft. “A” Flight Commander, S/Ldr R Osborn DSO DFC and his crew are shot down by two Ju 88s over the Zuider Zee. Osborn is seriously wounded, so much so that he will be repatriated from Germany before the end of the war.

January 24 – Egypt. No 454 Squadron is re-established at Gianaclis. Its surviving Blenheims have been left in Iraq and in February it will begin training with Baltimore Ills for reconnaissance duties.

Tunisia. 239 Wing bomb and strafe Ben Gardane landing ground. At least four Bf 109s are badly damaged. After leaving the target a stray Ju 88 is shot down by F/Lt Glendinning and FISgt McQueen of 450 Squadron.

January 26/27 – Britain. Target Lorient. 157 aircraft (139 Wellingtons, 11 Lancasters, 4 Halifaxes, 3 Stirlings) bomb in poor visibility. Two Wellingtons and one Lancaster are lost including 460 Sqn’s, Sgt H Oliver and crew on their first operation.

January 27 – Britain. 55 American bombers attack Wilhelmshaven, the first raid by the USAAF on a German target. For a B-17 and two B-24s lost, they claim 22 German fighters. The Americans believe that unescorted Fortresses and Liberators can defend themselves in daylight missions over Germany and that they can bomb specific industrial targets with pinpoint accuracy. This first raid helps to reinforce these beliefs.

Tunisia. During a clash with Bf 109s near Ben Gardane, F/Lt Watt of 3 Squadron fails to return.

January 27/28 – Britain. The Target is Dussel dorf for 162 aircraft(124Lancasters,33Halifaxes, 5 Mosquitoes). 3Halifaxes and3 Lancaster sare lost, the latter including P/OR Brittingham and crew from 460 Squadron. This is the first occasion Oboe Mosquitoes use the more accurate ‘ground marking’ method for the Pathfinders.

January 28 – New Guinea. At Wau, the Japanese are now strongly engaging the Australian defenders with heavy mortar and machine-gun fire. There is real danger of Wau falling and Brig M Moten signals urgently for reinforcements.

January 30- Germany. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hitler’s, special speeches are made in Berlin by Goebbels and Goering. Coincided the interrupt these speeches, the RAF marks the occasion by using Mosquito bombers to mount its first daylight raids on Berlin.

February 1-New Guinea. 53 transports in to Wau carrying 26,612lbs of men and supplies. Over the past four days, C-47s of the US 374th Troop Carrier Group have made 244 sorties bringing in Australian reinforcements with their equipment and supplies. Although the Japanese fight on fiercely, the crisis has been averted. In 16 days, Kanga Force has been built up from 403 officers and men to 201 officers and 2965 men, most of whom have come by air.

February 2 – Eastern Front. The last German troops in Stalingrad surrendered. Of280,000Germansoriginallysurrounded in the city, 90,000 are prisoners and approx. 40,000, mostly seriously wounded, have been evacuated. Amid huge equipment losses, the Luftwaffe has lost 500 transport planes in the fruitless supply operation.

February 213 -Britain. 161 aircraft raid Cologne. Five fail to return. This attack is an experiment using various forms of Pathfinder techniques. Markers are dropped by both the Oboe Mosquitoes and the H2 Sheavy marker aircraft. The Lancaster of Sgt M Sullivan, of 460 Squadron is attacked by night fighters on three different occasions. It returns home on three engines, with a burst tail wheel and still carrying a 40001b bomb. February 3 – Britain. 464 Squadron successfully attacks St Omer airfield but another Ventura, AE781, is lost, the pilot and navigator surviving as POWs.

February 5 – Australia. No 18 Squadron’s first tragic loss occurs when fully loaded B-25 Mitchell N5-132 crashes and explodes shortly after an early morning take off, killing all nine on board.

February 6-Australia. F/Lt Bob Foster of 54 RAF Squadron intercepts a photo reconnaissance Mitsubishi Ki 46 ‘Dinah’, shooting it down into the sea near Bathurst Island in the first Spitfire victory over Australia.

February 7/8 – Bougainville. A successful raid on Kahill by Catalina A24-17 (F/Lt Clem Haydon). A direct hit is scored on a dump, two aircraft are destroyed and a searchlight is apparently destroyed.

February 8 – Burma. Led by General Orde Wingate with the taskof penetrating behind Japanese lines to cause damage and disruption, the first Chindit raid begins at Imphal and sets out toward Tamu. This expedition is designed to demonstrate that British and Indian troops can take on the Japanese in the jungle.

February 12 -Australia. 77Squadron is instructed to move to Milne. Bay, along with 75Squadron, for fighter defence. It is being re-equipped with P-40K Kittyhawks.

February 13 – Burma. Five Hurricanes of 261 Squadron encounter nine Oscars, part of an escort to six Japanese bombers returning from attacking Donbaik. F/Sgt Kas Mann destroys two and probably a third. One Hurricane is lost. February 15 – Tirrwr. During the first half of February,RAAF Hudsons and Beaufighters and NEIAF Mitchells have concentrated on the Japanese flying boat base at Dobo. By now half the town seems to be gutted.

February 16 – Tunisia. Axis forces push towards Kasserine. Montgomery’s 8th Anny arrives at Medenine, a few miles south of Rommel’s ‘Mareth Line’.

February 18- Timor. The first 18 Squadron Mitchell lost in action is N5-l44 raiding Dill. Six attacking Mitchells engage in a running battle with two Zeros. One Japanese fighter is probably destroyed but N5-144 goes down in the sea Its pilot, LtB Grummels and bombardier SgtR Tyler, are both killed but the remaining crew take to a dinghy. They are rescued by a RAN vessel after having supplies dropped from RAAF Hudsons. Tunisia. Units of the British 8th Anny enterBen Gardane and Medenine. Kittyhawks of 3 and 450Squadron attack defences on Medenine West landing ground in support of the advancing ground troops. Six Bf 109s and three Mc. 202s attack. Sgt K MQws of 450 probably destroys a Messerschmitt. February19/20-Solomons. During a spectacular raid against Ballale by 3 Catalinas of 11Sqn, hits are made on ammunition dumps and large fires are started in dispersal areas. February 25 – Tunisia. The battle of Kasserine ends with the city’s occupation by the Allies. The Axis attack has caused 10,000 Allied casualties, more than half Americans, against 2000 Axis dead.

February26-Britain. 464Squadron mounts an attack against an iron ore ship, off Dunkirk. Led by W/Cdr Young, the formation is unable to bomb properly because the flak is accurate and all Venturas are hit. AE853/0 and AJ231/ D force land on their return. In AE847IN, S/Ldr I. “Daddy” Dale,OC ‘B’ Flight and his navigator are both injured by splinters of perspex. Dale, on his first operation, has to crash land with two hung up bombs still aboard due to damaged hydraulics.

Tunisia. 239 Wing bombs Bordj-Touaz (Gabes, South) airfield. 3Squadron engagesBf 109s. WingLea1er, W/Cdr’Billy’Burton, crashes one, while W/ORegStevens claims a second and badly damages a third. F/LtRonSusans probably destroys a fourth. Sgt Jackie Beer force lands (and will return safely next day). The top cover does not engage the Messerschmitts but F/Lt Alfred Glendenning of 450 Sqn dives on one and destroys it. February 27 – Tunisia. 12 bomb carrying Kittyhawks from 450SqJ. 1. a<iron attack targets around ElHamma After bombing they spot four Bf 109s and attack. F/O G Norton destroys one in flames. Sgt F Sanders’ aircraft is badly damaged. New Guinea. RAAF Catalinas are involved in the delivery, supply and, if necessary, evacuation of intelligence groups operating behind Japanese lines. F/Lt N Fader in A24-36 flies from Port Moresby to Yessan on the Sepik River behind Wewak, to disembark members of a party who are to report on enemy forces at Wewak. Tomorrow, another flight will bring in more stores and equipment.

February 28- Tirrwr. Alerted by intercepted Japanese wireless traffic of a possible heavy attack on Darwin, Beaufighters of 31Sqn raid Penfui destroying 12 aircraft on the ground and damaging 10. A few Zeros intercept and damage two Beaufighters but all return safely. The Darwin attack does not eventuate.

Australia. Catalina A24-25 with W/Cdr J Daniell and crew disappears from an anti submarine patrol off Cairns. March 1 -New Guinea. Lt Walter Higgins and crew in Libera tor 1-24070 of the 32 1stSquadron, 90th Bomb Group, USAAF, reports a 14 ship convoy on a westerly course north-west of Ubili. It is the first sighting of the Japanese convoy which will be involved in the Bismarck Sea Battle.

March 2 – Australia. First major clash for Spitfires of the Churchill Wing. Fifteen escorted bombers attack Coomalie. 54 RAF Squadron flying under W/Cdr “Killer” Caldwell intercepts. Caldwell claims a Zero and a Kate torpedo bomber and S/Ldr E Gibbes another Zero.

March 2-4 – Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Eight Japanese transports making for Lae and Salamaua are intercepted by USAAF-25s and A-20s with RAAF Bostons,Beaufighters and Beauforts joining in a series of co-ordinated low level attacks. B-17s andB-24s, escorted by P-38s and P-40s, bombing from medium height. RAAFCatalinas and American PT boats shadow and attack the convoy at night. All the transports and four of the destroyers are sunk. The other four destroyers, with the remaining infantry on board, are seriously damaged. At least 3500 men have lost their lives, and the precious cargoes forLae and Salamaua have been destroyed. Because of the disaster, the Japanese High Command will decide that all future supplies for the Lae and Salamaua garrisons must be carried by submarine. Dramatic convoy attack film footage is obtained by Australian cameraman Damien Parer from 30Sqn Beaufighter Al9-5 flown by Flight Lieutenant ‘Torchy’ Uren. Allied losses are 13 aircrew killed (10 in combat and 3 accidentally), 8 wounded and 6 aircraft lost – one B-17 and three P-38s in combat, one B-25 and one Beaufighter (A19-75) by accident. March 4 -Mediterranean. F/O Bailey and crew fly 454Sqn’s first Baltimore sortie, an uneventful anti submarine patrol. New Guinea. Airfields at Lae and Malahang are attacked to catch Japanese fighters refuelling after combat over the Bismarck Sea convoy. Eleven Beaufighters of 30 Squadron destroy six Zeros, a petrol truck and an aircraft with an in line engine, “possibly a Messerschmitt 109” (probably one of the first Kawasaki Ki 61Hien ‘ Tony’ to arrive in New Guinea).

March 5-Burma. During heavy fighting over Akyab, F/LtJack Storey of 136 Squadron destroys three Oscars, F/Sgt Norman Crawford probably two others and F/O Russ Bowes of 79 Squadron one more in flames. Six Beau fighters of 27Squadron led by W/Cdr Harry Daish strafe various targets in the area. March 7 – Australia. A recce Dinah is downed north of Lee Point by Spitfires flown by F/Lt D McLean and F/Sgt V McDowell of 457 Squadron.

Tunisia. Six Kitty hawks from 3Sqn on an armed recce west of Medenine encounter nine Axis fighters. Sgt Goulder destroys a Bf 109. W/O Nash claims a probable. Others are claimed damaged. Three 92 Sqn Spitfires scramble and encounter 20 Bf 109s near Neffatia. F/O Ted Sly claims a probable.

March 8/9-NewBritain. S/Ldr Frank Chapman and crew fail to return from a “Milk Run” in Catalina A24-22.

March 11 -Burma. F/O Peter Macdonald of 607Squadron in Hurricane HV781 is shot down and killed by ground fire during a Rhubarb to Yenangyat on the Irrawaddy after setting fire to an oil derrick and leaving a launch sinking.

March 13 -Burma. F/Sgt Doug Cropper of 17Squadron fails to return from another Rhubarb over Akyab. His Hurricane is brought down by small arms and he is captured.

March 14-Burma. Three Blenheims of 11 Squadron escorted by Hurricanes arejumped byOscars over Donbaik. Blenheim Z7927flownbyF/SgtFrankRichardsoncrashes near Hparabyin. He is KIA

March 15-Australia. Darwin’s 53rd raid. 24Japanese bombers and 25 fighters target the town’s oil storage tanks. 27 Spitfires intercept and destroy two bombers and six Zeros. Maltaveteran,F/O “Tim” Goldsmith of 452 destroys a Betty and a Hamp (clipped wing version of the Zero). Three pilots are lost;54Sqn’sF/Sgt FVarney dies in Darwin Hospital after crash landing, Spitfire A58-8 at MyillyPoint, andSgt A Cooper crashes A58-9 near North Shell Island. S/Ldr R Thorold-Smith disappears in A58-92 and is posted “Missing”. S/LdrRon McDonald takes over as CO of 452 Sqn. 43 years will pass before the wreckage of Thorold-Smith’s aircraft will be found.

March 16 – Pacific. In a typical attack, six Bostons of 22 Squadron raid fuel dumps, stores and buildings on the foreshore of Salamaua Leading in Boston A28-7,F/Lt William Ellis Newton, ignoring intense anti aircraft fire, presses straight on to his target from half mile out. A28-7 receives four direct hits, losing one engine and causing substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, control surfaces and fuel tanks. Regardless of this, Newton presses on and successfully bombs from low altitude, starting fires which will consume two 40,000 gallon (182,000 litre) fuel tanks, the stores dumps and buildings. He then flies 180 miles (290km) back to Port Moresby over the Owen Stanley ranges on one engine. Two other Bostons are hit by AA fire but all return safely.

March 17-Burma. Two sections of 79Sqn scramble when the Japanese raid Ramu. F/ORussBowes destroys. His Hurricane, HV653 is shot up but he returns safely.

Tunisia. Spitfires from 92 Sqn intercept 12 Bf 109 Jabos, escorted by sixBf 109s and three Mc. 202s. PIOPaulBrickhill’s aircraft is hit and he bales out. (After the war, Brickhill will write the classics The Dam Busters and Reach For The Sky. ) March 18-New Guinea. For his 52nd sortie,F/Lt Newton and his crew fly Boston A28-3 on another mission to Salamaua. Bombing from low level, Newton scores a direct hit on the remaining building but A28-3 bursts into flames. Newton manages to control it enough to fly along the shoreline, hoping to get as far from the Japanese positions as possible for some chance of escape after force landing. The Boston comes down just offshore. Newton and F/SgtBLyon escape before it sinks but not so Sgt B Eastwood. The two surviving airmen swim ashore and manage to evaded capture for one day. After interrogation, both are executed, Lyon by bayonet at Lae and Newton by beheading using a sword on March 29 at Salamaua. Newton’s execution is according to Samurai code, a so called ‘honorable’ death. Nothing will be known of this until September when Salamaua is recaptured and Newton’s body found. Positive identification of the corpse will be finally established in October, and on the 20th of that month he will be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Lyon’s body will not be found until 1948.

March 20 – Tunisia. The New Zealand Corps reaches the Tebaga Gap. During the night the main attack on the Mareth Line begins.

March 21 – Britain. No 617 (Lancaster) Squadron RAF is formed at Scampton as an elite heavy bomber unit under the command of W/Cdr Guy Gibson DSO and bar, DFC. It is being created for one specialized, top secret operation with crews highly skilled in low level flying. In it is a high percentage of Australians including F/LtH “Mickey” Martin DFC, formerly of 455Squadron and 50SquadronRAF, and his crew. His naviga tor, F/LtJLeggo, is appointed squadron navigation leader, and F/Lt R Hay, his bomb aimer, squadron bombing leader. March 23 – Tunisia. 450 Squadron covers Kittyhawks of 260 and 3RAAF Squadrons strafing guns south-west of El Hamma. Sgt R Rowe is hit by heavy flak and force lands. (He is picked up by Arabs and returned safely. )

March 24- Tunisia. 12 Kittyhawks from 450Squadron strafe vehicles in the EIHamma region. FightersflownbyS/Bartle and Sgt Day are hit by flak and make belly landings. New Britain. S/Ldr Reg Burrage in Catalina A24-17 successfully picks up 7 Allied survivors from Ea Ea and flies them to Port Moresby.

March 26-Burma. Flights of Beaufighters from 27 Squadron attack Japanese aerodromes at Toungoo. P/O David Innes strafes a taxying Ki 45 fighter bomber. They continue on to the railway station and shoot up locomotives but are then chased off by two Oscars. One Beaufighter fails to return. General Wavell orders Wingate to break up his Chindit groups and pull them back into India The Chindits have seriously interfered with Japanese communications, cutting the Mandalay-Myitkina railway in at least 25 places.

Tunisia. Kittyhawks from 3 Squadron escort Hurricane IIDs attacking tanks near the Gap. Flak is heavy causing S/LdrBrian Eaton to force land (He returns next day) and Sgt Goulder to force land at Neffatia Main.

March 27 – Burma. Japanese bombers attack Cox’s Bazaar and shipping off the Arakan coast. RAF Hurricanes find 25 unescorted Ki 48 “Lily” bombers and score 7 destroyed, 2 probables and 2 damaged without loss. Ground fire also claims 3 more. Sgt Norman Crawford shares one with F/ORussBowes and a third pilot and both score another each to themselves. March 28-Australia. 76Squadron is now located at Exmouth Gulf to protect the American naval base there. S/Ldr Truscott takes off with F/O Ian Louden to escort a Catalina returning from an uneventful submarine patrol. They both make feint fighter attacks on the flying boat as she slowly descends up the bay to land. After countless dummy attacks, Truscott misjudges his height above the glassy water and his Kittyhawk plunges into the sea. Soperishes Keith William”Bluey” Truscott, at age 26, probably Australia’s most famous fighter ace. March 29- Tunisia. British 8th Army units occupy Gabes and EIHamma.

March 30 – Australia. The final operation by 13 Squadron Hudsons is a bombing sortie over Timika, Dutch New Guinea Aircraft and equipment are handed over to 2 Squadron which will move to Hughes and plod on with Hudsons until reequipping with Beauforts in March 1944.

Burma. No 79 Squadron Hurricanes engage bombers and Oscars over Cox’s Bazaar. F/O R May claims a Lily and F/O RussBowes damages anOscar.