Australia’s War Diary

October 2 – New Britain. On an early morning sweep, two Beaufighters of 30 Squadron shoot down a Betty, P/O E Marron & Sgt C Gollan in A19-142 and F/Lt A Thompson & P/O P White in A19-137 sharing.

New Guinea. Finschhafen is taken.

October 2/3-Britain. 294 Lancasters raid Munich losing only eight but four of these are from the Australian squadrons. 460 Squadron loses F/Sgts F Lloyd and G Waller and their crews. Many crews suffer a fuel shortage on such a long operation and P/O K Mclver DFC of 467 Squadron is killed when he crashes into the Channel 40km short of the nearest emergency airfield. Heavy damage is claimed to Munich’s railway communications and an IG Farben instrument factory. October 3 – Britain. 464 Squadron’s first operation with Mosquitoes since converting from Venturas. 12 aircraft bomb a power station at Mur-de-Bretagne. Flak strikes four but all return safely. Results are assessed as good.

F/Lt G Panitz leads four 456 Squadron Mosquitoes attacking the German flying boat base at Lake Biscarosse. A refuelling launch is left sinking and a tender damaged. Going home, a minesweeper south of Biscarosse is set alight. Panitz & F/O Dickie Williams then find and explode a Ju 88. Bay of Biscay. F/O Fred Lees and crew of 10 Squadron fail to return from an anti submarine patrol. Information later received from 10 Group suggests that their Sunderland DP179/M, may have ditched south of the Scillies. German fighter interference slackens considerably for the Sunderland squadrons during October due to deteriorating weather and the switch to night operations.

Aegean. The Germans land on Cos, complete the capture next day and take 1400 British and 3150 Italian prisoners.

but have decided to use the DIP switches until a new game comes out which does not include a programme for the DIP switch.

Rudders make up the complete set. These are strongly made and again are simple to install – you plug the rudder cable into the games port, then through an adapter you plug the joystick into the rudder cable. This is a simple way to get both controls working.

You don’t have to disconnect any of these controls if you need to do something boring on your computer like writing a October 5/6 – Britain. 406 bombers raid Frankfurt. 11 are lost, including a USAAF B-17, one of three dispatched. This is the last RAF night raid in which American aircraft will participate. Clear weather and good Pathfinder marking cause extensive destruction. All 467 Squadron’s twelve Lancasters return although F/Lt H Locke’s aircraft is heavily damaged by a fighter before reaching the target. He has to jettison his blazing incendiaries.

October 6-Italy. Twelve Kittyhawks of 3 Squadron bomb and strafe German supply lines. F/Sgt. Hankey’s aircraft is struck by AA fire. While baling out his parachute pack catches in the cockpit hood but it miraculously pulls loose and the parachute opens just in time. On the ground, Hankey evades capture and is sheltered by an Italian farmer. He returns to the squadron on the 19th.

New Guinea. During October’s first two weeks the Japanese launch small scale air attacks on Goodenough, Kirawina, Lae and Finschhafen. 77 Squadron sends a detachment of eight Kittyhawks to Nadzab to provide escort for Boomerangs and Wirraways of 4 Squadron supporting the 7th Division. Today, they are ordered to intercept a Japanese general believed to be flying from Wewak to Rabaul. Led by F/Lt I Kinross, the Kittyhawks circle over Karkar Island on the expected flight path, but in vain. Japanese troops continue pressure on Australian positions at Kumawa. Today, and over the next three days, 24 Squadron Vengeances and American Bostons attack the enemy’s main base at Sattelberg. October 8-Atlantic. While escorting a convoy, Liberator R/86 sinks the U-419 with depth charges. F/OH Webb and W/O A Craine are the navigator and wireless operator. Resuming patrol, another U-boat is discovered. While R/86 circles en- gaging the enemy with gunfire, Liberator Z/86 captained by F/O C Burcher homes in and attacks but fails to inflict damage. The position is marked and a “baiting procedure” is adopted. When Burcher returns an hour later he finds the U-643 surfaced again trailing the convoy but already engaged by another Liberator (T/120). After several attacks by both Liberators the submarine hoves-to. The crew abandons ship just before it is rent by a shattering internal explosion after which it sinks. Britain. Spitfires of 453 Squadron meet a Bf 110 formation west of Brest. Five Messerschmitts are destroyed by F/O P McDade (2), P/O C Leith (2) and F/Lt R Ewins (1). Ewins ditches at sea and is rescued by a passing British destroyer. F/O H Parker fails to return. October 8/9-Britain. 504 bombers raid Hanover. This is the last Bomber Command raid using Wellingtons. 14 Lancasters and 13 Halifaxes are lost, two of the former from 460 Squadron. W/Cdr R Norman DFC and F/O M Caffyn, are both captured, Caffyn after being mortally injured while trying to board a moving train. A Lancaster piloted by F/Sgt A Simpson of 467 Squadron collides over the target with an Fw190. Because of the gaping hole torn in the bomber. Simpson and his navigator suffer severe frostbite during the return flight. Conditions over the target are clear and the Pathfinders are able to mark the centre of the city accurately to cause what is probably Hanover’s worst attack of the war. October 9-Australia. S/Ldr Gordon & Sgt R Jordan lead six 31 Squadron Beaufighters on an armed reconnaissance to Selaru. He shoots down two Nicks and P/O D McCord & F/Sgt J Childs in A19-148 destroy a Sally. One of Gordon’s engines October 9/10 – Aegean. 459 (Hudson) Squadron operating from Gambut has switched from bombing airfields on Crete and Greece to anti shipping strikes. Near Cos, P/O G Page bombs an F-boat and F/O H Hawkins scores a hit on the stern of a merchant vessel.

October 11-New Britain. Despite escorting floatplanes, F/O S Hales from 6 (Beaufort) Squadron attacks a convoy of six Japanese ships in St George’s Channel. He scores a direct hit on one which catches fire. Hales is hotly pursued by the floatplanes which he eventually evades. October 12-New Britain. 308 Allied aircraft raid Rabaul. In a dogfight over Tobera, 30 Squadron Beaufighters claim two probables but F/O D Stone & F/O E. Morris-Hadwell in A19-97 are lost. Australia. After mining Waingapoe, two Catalinas, A24-35 (S/Ldr D Lawrence) and A24-62 (F/Lt W Bolitho) attack a small vessel loaded with deck cargo along the northern coast of Timor. Lawrence’s torpedo fails to explode but the ship is strafed and left burning. This is one of several occasions when a mixed offensive load has been carried and the practice will soon be discontinued.

October 14-Britain. 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses from the 8th USAAF attack the German ball bearing works at Schweinfurt. They cause considerable damage but lose 60 planes with a further 140 damaged, mostly during the unescorted round trip from Aachen. This is on top of 88 aircraft lost over the last week. Even for the Americans, such losses are intolerable and they abandon long range, unescorted daylight attacks for now. The theory that bombers can fight their way to the target without prohibitive casualties has been disproved. Meanwhile, ball bearing production in Germany is quickly switched to other areas and extra supplies are bought from Sweden. October 15-New Guinea. Between October 15/November 1, SWPA air force operations from Kiriwina aim at attacking shipping and neutralising Rabaul’s airfields to prepare for landings on the Treasury Islands between the 20th and 25th, and at Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, on November 1st. A Japanese air attack on Oro Bay suffers heavy losses. An other attack on October 17 brings similar results. October 16-New Guinea. The Japanese, disregarding losses, heavily attack the Australians at Finschhafen. Italy. The Germans retreat to the Barbara Line, between the River Trigno and San Pietro.

October 17-New Guinea. Fighting continues at Finschhafen. Heralded by air bombardment, Japanese troops in barges attempting to land at Scarlet Beach are repulsed. Wirraways of 4 Squadron drop ammunition and food to isolated companies.

October 18 – New Guinea. At Finschhafen, Australian gunners fire over open sights at hordes of enemy infantry. An all-out Japanese assault is broken by repeated dive bombing by 24 Squadron’s Vengeances, joined by Bostons and Mitchells. Australia. Two Catalinas, F/Lt Bolitho in A24-62 and W/Cdr R Green in A24-35, return to Cairns after a search operation lasting 38 hours 25 minutes, the longest carried out by RAAF Catalinas. They had orders to attack a convoy reported in the Halmaheras. At Darwin they had loaded torpedoes, flown north to the west coast of the Halmaheras and down Morotai Strait into Kaoe Bay. No convoy was found. A subsequent attack on a vessel in Ambon Harbour was unsuccessful. October 18/19-Britain. 360 Lancasters raid Hanover, 18 are New Britain. Aircraft from the Japanese carriers in Truk are transferred to defend Rabaul.

New Guinea. The 24th Brigade arrives at Finschhafen. October 22/23 – Britain. 322 Lancasters and 247 Halifaxes attack Kassel. German defences account for 25 Halifaxes and 18 Lancasters but the raid is the most destructive on a German city since the Hamburg firestorm in July. Amid wide devastation, all 3 Henschel aircraft factories making V-1 flying bombs are seriously damaged. This delays the eventual opening of the V-1 campaign. One 467 Squadron Lancaster is lost. October 23-New Britain. Four Beaufighters of 30 Squadron intercept a Jake which F/O E Drury & Sgt D Beasley in A19-111 shoot down west of Cape Orford. USAAF Liberators bomb Rabaul while Beauforts of 6 and 100 Squadrons strike at Gasmata and Cape Hoskins. October 24-Italy. 3 Squadron carries out its first long range anti shipping operations over Zagorje, Yugoslavia and the Lagosta Islands. Led by S/Ldr Eaton, the Kittyhawks bomb and strafe a 1400 tonne vessel, setting it on fire. It later sinks. October 25 – New Guinea. Finschhafen is secured. Enemy dead, not including many already buried, total 679 while the 9th Division has suffered 228 battle casualties, 49 KIA. Finschhafen can now be developed as an air base for the next stage of the advance towards Rabaul.

Burma. While on a photographic reconnaissance over Akyab, a shell strikes one of two Beaufighters of 27 Squadron RAF exploding in the cockpit. F/Sgt E Trigwell, although temporarily blinded, manages to reach Cox’s Bazaar, 100 miles to the north helped by his navigator F/Sgt Dobson, and land successfully. Two other Beaufighters, operating in the Thazi- Kalaw area, are jumped by two Oscars. F/Sgt D Clegg’s aircraft is hit in the starboard wing and engine before they can escape.

October 28- Britain. A PRU Spitfire brings back the first photograph of a German V-1 launch site at Abbeville in northern France. It is the first physical evidence of preparations for a “flying bomb” offensive against England. October 29/30-New Guinea. Beauforts of 8 Squadron led by W/Cdr G Nicoll bomb Tobera airfield at Rabaul. In the air assault on Rabaul, the RAAF will follow RAF doctrines by making night attacks while the Americans will bomb in daylight, escorted by long range fighters.

October 31 – Eastern Front. The Soviets capture Chaplinka. They have now cut all the railroad lines leading out of the Crimea, severing German supplies.

New Guinea. 79 (Spitfire) Squadron has its first success when F/Sgt I Callister blows up a Japanese search aircraft north of Kiriwina.