Australia’s War Diary

August 3 – Britain

Bomber Command dispatches 1114 aircraft against flying bomb storage sites. All raids are successful for six Lancasters lost, five from the Trossy-St Maxim attack. F/O R Fidocks’ Lancaster of 460 Sqn is downed by flak north of Rouen. Only one parachute is seen. Burma: General Stilwell’s forces capture Myitkyina. Both Merrill’s Marauders and the Chindits are flown back to India. Myitkyina and the repulse of the Japanese at Imphal marks the turning point in Burma. From now on the Japanese will be on the defensive. Italy: G/Capt Brian Eaton DSO DFC, former CO of 3 Squadron, assumes command of 239 Wing.

August 4 – New Guinea

Now under 77 Wing, 30 (Beaufighter) Squadron moves to Noemfoor to join 22 (Boston) Squadron.

August 4/5 – Britain

Six Beaufighters of 455 Squadron led by W/Cdr Davenport are part of a force which attacks six E-boats and a trawler off Normandy. The trawler “mother ship” is left on fire and later sunk by British MTBs. Only three E-boats are seen returning to their base. F/O A Crellin & F/Sgt T Orr of 464 Squadron in Mosquito HX858 fail to return from an intruder sortie.

August 5 – Britain

After being overtaken by a V-1, F/Lt Tony Gaze of 610 Squadron keeps his Spitfire XIV, DW-U, in range and destroys it for his only victory over the pilotless robots. Australia: F/O M Frecker DFM & crew of 24 Squadron on armed reconnaissance in Liberator A72-41 bomb and strafe a Japanese freighter off Bandalontar island. AA fire kills rear gunner F/O Bert Middleton DFM, the first fatality in a RAAF Liberator. (Other Australian casualties have occurred among aircrew flying in American B-24s.)

August 6 – Australia

2 Squadron suffers its first Mitchell loss when A47-6 crashes during bombing practice.

August 8 – Italy

239 Wing, including 450 Squadron, bombs gun positions south of Farno. F/O Stan Youl’s Kittyhawk is damaged by AA. He afterwards counts some 40 holes in the aircraft. 450’s CO, S/Ldr Jack Gleeson, is slightly injured when he crashes while landing.

August 8/9 – Britain

F/Sgts G Miller & A Lister in Mosquito MM423 are lost on an intruder mission in the vicinity of the Orne bridgehead.

August 9 – Britain

W/O N Turner of 455 Squadron crashlands off North Coates airfield. The Beaufighter bursts into flames but, completely disregarding the danger, F/Sgt T Holmes drags him from the wreckage. Holmes is awarded the George Medal. Among other daylight raids, Bomber Command sends 172 aircraft to attack flying bomb launching sites. 3 Halifaxes are lost including MZ368/HD-X (F/Sgt L Burrow & crew) of 466 Squadron, hit by flak west of the target. 5 or 6 parachutes are seen to open.

August 10 – Britain

An enemy convoy of five merchant men and ten escort vessels is encountered and attacked near Heligoland. 455 Squadron sinks one large merchant vessel and damages a gunboat and two other escort vessels but three Beaufighters are lost – W/O W Jones & F/Sgt H Brock; F/Os L Kempson & R Curzon; and W/O G Bachelor & P/O H Morris. Italy: Flying radar equipped Beaufighters with 255 Squadron on intruder operations over Yugoslavia and the Danube, between July 29/August 10 F/O Bruce Bretherton destroys three Ju 88s to bring his score to 13 (including three Ju 87s on July 6/7). He is in a detachment located behind enemy lines supporting Yugoslav partisans. Pacific: Japanese resistance is declared ended on Guam.

August 11 – New Guinea

S/Ldr Bob Green & P/O Jeff Love in Mosquito A52-2 of No 1 PRU operating from Noemfoor Island carry out reconnaissance flights to the Philippines. A strong Japanese build up in the Davao Gulf is revealed. Bay of Biscay: 461 Squadron’s P/O Ivan Southall & crew in Sunderland ML741 bombs the U-385 off Brest. Badly damaged, the submarine is finished off by HMS Starling next morning.

August 12 – Bay Of Biscay

F/O Little & crew of 461 Squadron in Sunderland ML735/2-A sink the U-270 despite heavy flak. The Royal Navy picks up 71 survivors.

August 12/13 – Britain

379 aircraft bomb Brunswick losing 17 Lancasters and 10 Halifaxes. 466 Squadron suffers no losses and claims three enemy fighters destroyed. 460 Squadron is successful when F/O G Garratt’s two gunners, Sgts Compton and Powlson, shoot down a Bf 110 north of Hanover.

August 13 – Britain

Ten 455 Squadron aircraft, led by S/Ldr Milson, accompany aircraft of 254 and 489 Squadrons, damage two merchantmen and four escort vessels near Heligoland. A larger force, led by W/Cdr Davenport, makes a “last light” attack on a convoy near Borkum. 455 claims two minesweepers damaged. All aircraft returned safely, in spite of a new type of enemy defence encountered for the first time – an escort vessel with balloons. Bay of Biscay: 461 Squadron’s F/O Alexander & crew damage another U-boat, the squadron’s third attack this month. Italy: Lt H Gater SAAF in 450 “Desert Harassers” Squadron, is shot down by AA fire and killed. The rest of the month will be taken up supporting the Poles on the Adriatic Coast.

August 14 – Britain

W/Cdr D Shannon DFC is appointed to command the newly reformed 462 (Halifax) Squadron at Driffield. Many crews from 466 are transferred to the new squadron.

August 15 – Britain

Operation “Dragoon” – Allied landings in the south of France. New Guinea: S/Ldr Green & P/O Love in Mosquito A52-2 of No 1 PRU encounter a typhoon on the way to Leyte. The aircraft is almost lost because of serious hail damage but returns to land at Noemfoor safely.

August 17 – Australia

Langgoer airfield is rendered unserviceable by eight Mitchells. 18 NEI Squadron’s N5-210 is shot down by AA fire. New Guinea: Beaufighters of 30 Squadron, F/Lt “Mick” Smith & F/Sgt John Gleeson in A19-205 and F/O R Porch & W Harty in A19-104, bomb eight barges and a lugger in Kamrau Bay. While returning, Smith becomes lost in a severe storm. Low on fuel, he force lands on a spit of sand at Bras in the Mapia Islands. After contacting Noemfoor by radio, they are rescued by an American PT boat next day. Three sailors from the PT boat had been landed to search for the Australians on nearby Pegun Island. When the boat returns to collect them they do not appear. As Smith and two others prepare to land, one of the sailors staggers from the jungle and warns of Japanese before being shot down. The PT boat escapes.

August 18 – France

In 39 sorties 453 (Spitfire) Squadron destroys 45 vehicles and damages another 49.

August 19 – France

The French Underground initiates an uprising in Paris.

August 21 – Italy

3 Squadron bombs field gun positions south of Pesaro. W/O Halpin’s Kittyhawk is hit and crashes. France: The Falaise pocket is closed. 50,000 prisoners are taken and the Germans suffer 10,000 dead but 30,000 succeed in escaping across the Seine.

August 22 – Britain

12 Mosquitoes of 464 Squadron successfully bomb railway marshalling yards at Chagny near Dijon. Unfortunately, NT229 is shot down. The CO, W/Cdr G “Peter” Panitz, and F/Lt R “Dickie” Williams are killed in action. New Guinea: F/Lts Mick Smith and Ray Wheatley (30 Squadron engineer officer), an Army liaison officer and seven maintenance personnel set out in PT boats for Bras Island to repair stranded Beaufighter A19-205 and fly it home. The Americans will land an armed patrol on Pegun Island.

August 23 – New Guinea

By now most Japanese aircraft have been withdrawn to the Philippines but bases at Ceram, Ambon and in the Halmaheras are still operational and can be used to stage raids against Allied bases. 30 Squadron Beaufighters bomb and render unserviceable three airfields in the area south of Maccluer Gulf, Mongosah, Sagan and Otawiri. Meanwhile, Beaufighter A19-205 is repaired and flown off Bras. On Pegun, the American patrol is pinned down by the Japanese (estimated 350 strong) on the island. Covering, Sgts M Morgan & F Cassidy in Beaufighter A19-104 strafe where requested by radio. The patrol evacuates without casualties before returning to collect the Australian ground crew. France: 453 RAAF and 132 Squadron RAF fly their Spitfires over Paris in a Cross of Lorraine formation to salute the liberation of the capital. Italy: 454 Squadron begins close support backing up the 8th Army. S/Ldr Cashmore leads six Baltimores to attack Russi accompanied by 223 Sqn RAF. Flak shoots down Baltimore FW701. Badly damaged, FW602/R crashes while landing.

August 24 – Australia

Mitchell N5-169 of 18 NEI Squadron is shot down by AA fire near Tanimbar Island. Aircraft searching for the missing Mitchell strafe two Japanese vessels in Hom Bay.

August 25 – France

French and US troops enter Paris. Britain: The Opel works at Russelheim is raided by 412 Lancasters. 15 are lost, one from 460 Squadron. A fighter hits F/O N Twyford’s Lancaster in the fuel tanks and he has to force land on the beach at Normandy. Nobody is hurt. Australia: Beaufighter A19-172/EH-O crashes while landing at Coomalie. P/O T Linney & Sgt D Finlay are unhurt. The greatest problem faced by 31 Squadron now is the distance it has to fly to find worthwhile targets. Japanese forces and installations have retreated further north and north-west, almost beyond range. One Beaufighter after 5 hours 45 minutes on a sortie to Maumere, 1046km from Broome, has an engine stop through fuel starvation while landing. Meanwhile, Beaufighter firepower is to be increased with rockets but examination of the equipment on delivery reveals most of it to be unserviceable. F/Lt J Carrigan & crew of 24 Squadron flying Liberator A72-35 bomb a Japanese convoy of five vessels scoring two and possibly three direct hits on the largest vessel.

August 26 – Italy

239 Wing is ordered to Jesi, near Ancona. France: S/Ldr D Smith, W/O K Daff and F/O J Olver of 453 Squadron claim three Bf 109 probables.

August 27 – Australia

A shipping search is undertaken by 42 Squadron, its first operation. There are no sightings so the alternative target, Dili, is bombed instead. Other Catalina units are active too: 20 Squadron mines Pomelaa Harbour using British combined magnetic-acoustic mines for the first time; 43 Squadron mines Boeton Strait (one night), Tioro Strait (four nights), Soerabaya (one night) and Kendari (three nights). 43 Squadron also provides air-sea rescue cover for B-24s of the 380th Bombardment Group USAAF returning to their bases at Fenton and Long. By now the RAAF has received 103 Catalinas, of which 72 are still on strength. Britain: Target – Rheinpreussen synthetic oil refinery at Homberg-Meerbeck. 243 aircraft are dispatched on Bomber Command’s first major raid to Germany in daylight since August 12 1941. The raid is escorted by 9 squadrons of Spitfires on the outward flight and 7 squadrons on the withdrawal. One Bf 110 is seen and driven off. There is intense flak over the target but no bombers are lost. The bombing is carried out using Oboe marking because of clouds. Less than two weeks after reforming, the 462 Squadron is on its first operation. F/O A Lane’s Halifax has engine trouble before crossing the coast, but he continues to Hamberg on three engines. Forced lower than the bomber stream, over the target Lane’s Halifax comes under fierce AA fire and is in danger of being struck by sticks of bombs tumbling down from overhead. Another engine is put out of action. Undeterred, Lane diverts and bombs a secondary target, then flies the crippled bomber home safely. He is awarded a DFC.

August 28 – Britain

Out of 94 V-1s launched only four reach London. 65 are destroyed by AA guns, 23 by fighters and four by London’s barrage balloons. Italy: The 8th Army begins an attack to get around the Gothic Line onto the Lombardy Plains. F/O Stan Youl of 450 Squadron fails to return. F/Lt Burden has engine trouble and has to bale out over Allied lines.

August 29 – Britain

13 Beaufighters of 455 Squadron are part of a large force attacking a convoy in the Heligoland area. 455’s share is damage to two merchantmen, a minesweeper and an R-boat for one Beaufighter damaged. By the end of August the 455 Squadron is credited with 13 enemy ships sunk and 102 damaged.

August 29/30 – Britain

A highly successful raid on Stettin by 402 Lancasters and one Mosquito. 23 Lancasters are lost including two from 460 Squadron, F/O K Humphries and P/O Peter Aldred & their crews. Aldred reaches Sweden.

August 31 – Britain

601 RAF bombers attack nine sites in Northern France where the Germans are believed to be storing V-2 rockets. Eight sites are found and bombed for six Lancasters lost, including P/O L Grey & crew from 460 Squadron.