Australia’s War Diary

April 3/4 Britain. Target Essen. 460 Squadron sends 12 aircraft out of a total of 317 bombers. Sgt K Giles’ Lancaster is badly damaged by flak and a night fighter before reaching the target. Returning to base with the bombs, he touches down but suddenly ground loops violently, crashing through the bomb dump fence before stopping. Fortunately, there is no explosion.

April 4-Britain. On a shipping strike along the Norwegian coast, two 455 Squadron Hampdens (F/O Dick Humphrey and Sgt Eaton) find a merchant vessel of 6000 tons and prepare to attack. Humphrey’s aircraft is jumped by a Bv 138 flying boat which he shoots down. Although wounded, he attacks the heavily armed merchantman but his navigator, F/OD Hawkes, is injured and his Hampden badly damaged by flak. Nevertheless, the ship is sunk and he succeeds in flying home. Humphrey receives an immediate DFC. Previously, on March 22, he had dropped four bombs on three ships in Allesund Fiord amid poor visibility and reported “no observed results. ” Norwegian underground later reported that all three German ships had sunk. Humphrey had been charged with wasting a bomb!! April 4/5-Britain. Target Kiel. Bad weather causes disappointing bombing results. P/O K Moore DFC, on his first raid with 460 Squadron, is lost. Previously, he had completed tours in the Middle East in 458 Squadron and 148 Squadron RAF. April 5-Tunisia. Allied air forces begin Operation Flax, to eliminate the huge Axis airlift between Sicily and Tunisia. During the next fortnight formations of Ju 52s, SM. 82s and giant Me 323s are intercepted, mainly by USAAF units, and slaughtered, culminating on April 18, Palm Sunday, in a massacre of 75 aircraft. These losses suffered by Axis transport units so soon after Stalingrad are crippling.

Burma. Led by 11 Squadron’s Australian CO, W/Cdr H Strumm, escorted RAF Blenheims attack Meiktila. Over Thazi, Oscars briefly engage 79 Squadron Hurricanes and F/O Russ Bowes shoots one down. Sgt D “Barney” Barnett of 136 Squadron claims a probable.

April 6-Tunisia. 12 Kittyhawks of 3 Squadron bomb German troops massing for a counterattack at Wadi Akarit. F/Lt Ron Susans destroys a Mc. 202 but Sgt W Ward’s aircraft is seen to crash and burn.

April 7-Tunisia. The British 8th Army links with the American 1st Army near Graiha.

Pacific. Allied air strength has been brought home to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, C-in-C of the Japanese combined fleet and architect of the attack on Pearl Harbour, with Japan’s crushing defeat in the Bismarck Sea battle. He personally assumes command of all his air forces in the area and sets up an advanced HQ at Rabaul. Highest priority is the destruction of Allied air power in New Guinea and the Solomons. To achieve this, he commences I-Go Sakusen (Operation-A). American ships at anchor off Guadalcanal are attacked in strength. Yamamoto has to face the fact that the Japanese now have fewer aircraft in action than when they first went to war, whereas Allied air strength has mounted steadily. Also, because of disastrous losses at Midway and in general the acute wastage of combat aircrews, he has a shortage of skilled pilots. Australia. F/Lt C Haydon of 20 Squadron in Catalina A24-41 reports being on fire while on patrol in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Then there is nothing. A search by other Catalinas finds only a large oil slick.

April 8-Britain. Twelve 453 Squadron Spitfires engage eight Fw 190s over the Foret de Crecy, France. S/Ldr J Ratten, F/Lt D Andrews and P/Os Rickard and Swift all damage their opponents, two heavily, but none are seen to crash. Tunisia. Kittyhawks from 3 Squadron strafe motor transport north-west of Sfax. Sgt Thomas’ aircraft is hit by fire from a tank and forced to land on a beach in Allied territory.

April 8/9-Britain. Target Duisburg. The Lancaster of Sgt J Ball and crew of 460 Squadron is lost.

April 9/10-Britain. Target Duisburg again. This time 450’s W/O D McDonald and crew do not return.

April 11-Pacific. I-Go Sakusen. 45 Japanese dive bombers and fighters raid Oro Bay gaining two direct bomb hits on a cargo ship and damaging a small supply ship and a corvette. Defending USAAF P-38s and P-40s claim 17 attackers destroyed.

New Guinea. Operating from Milne Bay with new P-40K Kittyhawks, 77 Squadron makes its first daylight kill when F/O JHodgkinson destroys one Zero and F/Lt R. Kimpton damages another.

Mediterranean. Axis forces trapped in Tunisia now only have a tenuous air and sea supply link with Sicily. 458 Squadron continues to take a toll of shipping. F/O Hailstone makes a successful torpedo attack on a 3000 ton vessel which blows up. In a few days time a 458 Wellington will spot two enemy destroyers which will be promptly sunk by the Royal Navy. Also, new Wellington XIIIs begin arriving to replace the earlier marks.

April 12-Tunisia. Axis troops dig in on the Enfidaville line. 8th Army attacks continue, and the Allies occupy Sousse. Now only Enfidaville separates the 8th Army from Tunis.

New Guinea. I-Go Sakusen. Warned by radar, the 106th airraid on Port Moresby costs the Japanese 15 bombers and 9 fighters for only 2 American interceptors. On the ground, 4 aircraft (one Beaufighter and 3 Mitchells) are destroyed and 15 damaged. Several runways are cratered but casualties are light. April 14- New Guinea. Exaggerated Japanese reports for I-Go Sakusen claim a total of one cruiser, two destroyers and 25 cargo and transport ships sunk, 134 planes shot down; and many others wrecked in ground attacks which severely damaged four air bases for the loss of 49 aircraft. Yamamoto declares I-Go Sakusen concluded successfully after a raid on Milne Bay.

April 15/16-Britain. Target: the Skoda works at Pilsen. 460 Squadron loses three Lancasters (F/Sgt D White DFM, Sgt I Miller and Sgt J Williams with their crews). F/Sgt D Moodie is attacked by a night fighter near Nuremburg, which his rear gunner Sgt H McWaters damages. F/Sgt J Murray in Lancaster W4783/AR-G, on its 30th mission, cannot find the target so he bombs Koblenz.

April 18-Pacific. Thanks to decoded Japanese communications, the itinerary of Admiral Yamamoto’s planned tour of forward bases in the south-west Pacific after I-Go Sakusen, is known to American intelligence. Sixteen P-38 Lightnings surprise Yamamoto’s aircraft over Bougainville. The admiral is flying in one camouflaged Betty bomber, his staff in another, under an escort of six fighters. Yamamoto’s pilot dives for the jungle and zigzags above the treetops in an attempt to escape, but the Lightnings’ cannon fire sends the two bombers crashing into the jungle. The death of Yamamoto, Japan’s most celebrated strategist is a great loss to the Japanese, particularly in terms of morale. One P-38 is lost.

April 19-Tunisia. During 239 Wing’s second sortie of the day, 12 Kittyhawks of 450 Squadron find a hapless lone Ju 88 and shoot it down into the sea in flames. Shortly afterwards, F/Sgt Devon Minchin destroys a Bf 109.

April 20-Tunisia. Montgomery launches a series of attacks on the Axis positions near Enfidaville, but they fail with heavy casualties. 12 Spitfires of 92 Squadron covering Kittyhawks over Cap Bon, bounce three Mc. 202s, F/O Ted Sly claiming one out of two destroyed.

Australia. Two No 2 Squadron Hudsons, A16-183 and A16-197, collide shortly after taking off from Milingimbi for an armed recce over Timoeka. No survivors. The navigator of A16-197 is F/Sgt W Gove, after whom the airfield in Arnhem Landis named. April 20/21-Britain. Target Stettin. Another disastrous night for 460 Squadron when three more Lancasters do not return, those of F/Sgts K James and R Hogben, and Sgt W Pridgeon. Several more aircraft are badly damaged.

April 21-Tunisia. W/O George Downton in 1437 Strategical Reconnaissance Flight, is detailed as air gunner on a recce to Cape Bon. His aircraft, Baltimore AG766, is attacked by ten Bf 109s. After 20 minutes, it crash lands on fire. Downton scrambles out slightly wounded then, regardless of the flames, he goes back and helps extricate the mortally injured observer. His courageous effort to recover the rear gunner is defeated by heat. Downton and the only other survivor are captured. He will receive the CGM.

April 22/23 – New Ireland. Code name Popsy No 1. Eight Catalinas of 20 Squadron lay magnetic mines in Silver Sound, near Kavieng. Thisis the inauguration of the RAAF’sminelaying campaign which will be carried out solely by Catalinas. The first target selected had been Wewak Harbour but performance trials showed that the Catalinas would be unable to cross the New Guinea mountains. During the first 12 months, 11 and 20 Squadrons complete an average of 15 mining operations per month but the other tasks of convoy protection, general reconnaissance, bombing and supply work have to continue. Post war investigations will reveal that at Kavieng at least six vessels will hit mines, the Seikai Maru, Ryuosan Maru and Tsukushi being sunk, while another three will be damaged, including the cruiser Nagara.

April 23-Mediterranean. The first CGM awarded in the RAF’s anti-submarine war is gained by navigator Sgt Arthur Blackwell RAAF serving with 500 Squadron, Coastal Command, in a detachment at Blida, North Africa. In Hudson ‘N’ they spot a U-boat on the surface and attack but the submarine opens fire with cannon, killing the pilot. After closing the bomb doors, Blackwell takes over and flies the Hudson back to base. Unsure of landing safely, he orders the crew to bale out and then heads towards home before baling out himself. Baltimores of 454 Squadron continue to fly anti submarine patrols and convoy escorts plus leaflet and bombing raids over Crete. Aircraft AG869 fails to return from Crete.

Tunisia. P/OR “Rusty” Kierath of 450 Squadron is shot down and taken prisoner. He will be one of 50 Air Force officers murdered by the Gestapo following the “Great Escape” from Stalag Laft III in March 1944.

New Guinea. Australian troops occupy positions around Mubo without opposition.

AROG Lancaster W4783/AR-G, “G” for George, of 460 Squadron RAAF. On the night of April 15/16, “George’s crew, F/Sgt J Murray (pilot) could not find the target, the Skoda works at Pilsen, so they bombed Koblenz instead. It was the Lancaster’s 30th mission, a third of its operational career. It will fly a total of 90 missions and eventually be brought to Australia for display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. (Dennis Newton).

April 24 – Cyprus. During a typical convoy patrol by 451 Squadron, the engine of P/O Ray Hudson’s Hurricane catches fire over the vessels and he has to ditch. He is rescued by a ship but suffers burns and other injuries.

April 25 Tunisia. West of Cap Bon, F/Sgt Goulder of 3 Squadron shares in destroying a Bf 110.

April 26- Bougainville. While supply dropping, Catalina A24-43 crashes into a hillside in the Aita area. F/Lt Bill Clark (captain), F/O John Potts and Sgt Dudley Ward are killed instantly, and the remainder injured. Fortunately, they are quickly found and cared for by coast watchers but an attempt to evacuate them on the 28th will be unsuccessful.

Australia. For 31 Sqn, April has been quiet due to poor weather and shortages of aircraft. Today, two Beaufighters fly an armed reconnaissance to Taberfane. Over the Aru Islands, F/O C Greenwood and Sgt C Thompson in A19-59 are attacked and shot down by eight Japanese fighters. After 18 hours in the water, Greenwood struggles ashore alone and is captured. April 27-Tunisia. The British take Djebel Bou Aoukaz after a vicious battle. At night, a Wellington of 458 Squadron from Malta fails to return from a shipping search, possibly the victim of night fighters. It is one of three crews lost late in the month. Britain. Off the Channel Islands, 263 Squadron (Whirlwinds) attack a convoy. P/O Max Cotton and two others bomba 1500 ton motor vessel, leaving it in flames. Three ships are sunk. April 28-Britain. During another shipping strike north of Sept Пles, P/O Cotton of 283 Squadron bombs and strafes a minesweeper, sinking it, but his Whirlwind suffers flak dam- age. He manages to reach Exeter and land safely.

April 28-29 Tunisia. Heavy fighting around Djebel Bou Aoukaz.

April 29-Britain. Sunderlands flown by 461 Squadron’s F/O Raleigh Gipps and crew in “P” and F/O Norm Gerrard and crew of No 10 Squadron inconclusively attack submarine U-119 in the Bay of Biscay. This marks the start of a very hectic period for both squadrons as an intensive campaign against U-boats transiting the Bay of Biscay is about to begin.

April 30-Britain. Attachment of RAAF Hampdens has been flying anti-submarine patrols from Sumburgh to cover the Northern Transit between the Shetlands and the Faeroes. F/Sgt J Freeth of 455 Squadron makes two accurate depth charge attacks and sinks the U-227, an outward bound vessel on its maiden voyage.