Australia’s War Diary

November 2 — Belgium. F/Lt P Strong leads Typhoons of 182 Squadron attacking pontoon bridges near Donk but is shot down and killed.

November 2/3 — Britain. 992 aircraft make the last major Bomber Command raid on Dusseldorf. Eleven Halifaxes, two from 462 Squadron, and eight Lancasters are lost. Two airmen from 462, P/O Jubb and W/O Scott survive. Jubb escapes on foot to American positions close to Aachen. Scott escapes from detention near Cologne and remains in hiding until rescued by American troops three weeks later. When his Halifax is hit by seven incendiaries dropped from above, F/O A Kopp of 466 Squadron limps home to safety with 50 holes in the fuselage. Another incendiary is found the next day — lodged in the petrol tank!

November 3 — Burma. Fourteen Thunderbolts of 146 Squadron, three flown by Australian pilots, strafe installations at Heho airfield, destroying one aircraft. While returning to base they destroy a troop truck, set fire to three trucks at Myingyan and strafe boats on the Chindwin River.

November 3/4 — Britain. W/O J McCrone & F/Sgt T Phippen of 464 Squadron in Mosquito Hr185 fail to return from a sortie over Holland near Apeldoorn.

November 4 — Australia. Using Broome as a staging point, the Mosquitoes of 87 (Pr) Squadron photograph targets in east Java. Anti-aircraft fire is encountered on three occasions. Although regarded as inaccurate, examination of Mosquito A52-6 after a flight to the Kai Islands by S/Ldr Gamble & F/O Lobb reveals shell fragments. This is probably the closest any will ever come to being shot down by Japanese fire.

November 4/5 — Britain. The last major Bomber Command raid on Bochum. Of 749 aircraft, 23 Halifaxes and 5 Lancasters are lost, among them two Halifaxes of 466 Squadron: Lv936/D (F/Lt J Herman & crew) and Nr132 (P/O N Dodgson & crew).

November 5 — Italy. The weather continues cold and wet with snow appearing but whenever possible operations supporting land forces are flown. No 450 Squadron’s F/Sgt A Cousins is reported Kia. Twelve Kittyhawks of 3 Squadron, F/Lt C Wannan leading, attack shipping in Fiume harbour. A corvette receives a direct hit and sinks within a minute. A Siebel ferry is also capsized and claimed destroyed. Two others are damaged by strafing.

November 6 — Italy. 239 Wing, including 3 and 450 Sqn, attacks a transformer and power station south of Verona. Led by Wing Co, G/Cpt Brian Eaton, waves of Kittybombers with long range tanks and two 230kg (500lb) bombs unload with devastating accuracy. The plant is destroyed.

November 6/7 — Britain. 235 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos attempt to cut the Mittelland/Dortmund-Ems Canal junction at Gravenhorst. A low-flying Mosquito of 627 Squadron navigated by S/Ldr F Boyle finds the canal and drops its marker so accurately that it falls into the water and is extinguished. Only 31 aircraft bomb before the raid is abandoned. Ten Lancasters are lost including three from 463 Sqn: Pd311 (F/O P Bowell & crew); Mw990 (F/O C Lynch & crew); and Ng191 (F/O J Austin & crew). F/Sgts F Bean and P Carter, mid-upper and tail gunners of Lancaster Pb306/Poj (Pilot: F/L Colley) of 467 Sqn, down an Me 163 which explodes on the ground, the first Australian rocket fighter kill.

November 7 — Britain. Another crew of 456 Squadron is lost, Lt E Woodward & Ensign W Madden, two of four Us Marines attached to the unit for operational experience. They were to have returned to America to instruct on Raf night fighting techniques.

November 8 — Britain. Six 455 Squadron Beaufighters, part of a force of 22, attack five merchant vessels in Medjulen Fiord, Norway. Three are left burning.

November 9 – Burma. Mosquitos of 45 Squadron Raf again attack Meiktila airfield, encountering Japanese Oscars and anti-aircraft fire. F/O Ewing is wounded but returns safely. One Mosquito is lost.

November 10 — Australia. No 8 Communications Unit’s last Catalina air-sea rescue. A24-92 captained by F/Lt Ian Wood rescues six survivors of a B-25 off Cape Wom. Beauforts from No 71 Wing bomb nearby Japanese gun positions during the rescue. Six Liberators of 24 Squadron led by F/Lt R Overheu in A72-40 carry out a 13-hour “search and destroy” mission against shipping off Bali and east of Java. They destroy one vessel, beach another and leave three more in flames. All aircraft return to Fenton. A72-40 has its hydraulics severed by a flak strike.

November 11/12 – Britain. 237 Lancasters and eight Mosquitos raid the Rhenania-Ossag oil refinery, Harburg. Of seven Lancasters lost two are from 467 Squadron, F/Os T Eyre and M Feddersen & their crews.

November 12 — Italy. During a strafing attack against German gun positions, the Kittyhawk of F/Sgt Dobie of 3 Squadron is shot down by Aa fire. Britain. The third and final attack on the Tirpitz in Tromso Fiord, Norway, by Nos 9 and 617 (Lancaster) Squadrons Raf. After an internal explosion the huge ship capsizes. Only one of the 29 Lancasters is damaged but it force lands in neutral Sweden. Tirpitz’ last moments are filmed by a cine-Lancaster from 463 Squadron piloted by F/Lt B Buckham Dfc. Bougainville. No 5 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, consisting of eighteen Boomerangs and four Wirraways, carries out its first operation, a tactical reconnaissance of the Numa Numa area.

November 13 — Italy. No 3 Squadron is to be re-equipped with P-51D Mustangs. The first arrives during the afternoon. Fitters, riggers, armourers and radio technicians waste little time becoming acquainted with the new type.

November 14 – Australia. No 31 Squadron, declared non-operational pending its move to Noemfoor, has this status rescinded when orders are received for further operations in the Timor and Tanimbar areas.

November 15 — Pacific. The 1st Taf moves forward to Morotai to utilise Bostons and Beaufighters in sweeps of Halmahera and the northern Celebes. 30 Squadron’s advance detachment arrives.

November 16 – Pacific. Twenty-two Beaufighters of 30 Squadron leave Noemfoor for Morotai. Taking off from Kamiri, A19-206 crashes and bursts into flames. F/O R Porch is killed and Sgt W Harty is mortally injured. Two passengers, Lac’s Heidke and Parker, escape without serious injury. Landing at Morotai, Beaufighter A19-186 bursts a tyre and ground loops. It is a write-off but both F/O K Hopkins and P/O K Oliver are unhurt. Australia. No 31 Squadron becomes the first Raaf unit in the Pacific theatre to use 27kg high explosive rockets on operations when it attacks Japanese occupied buildings at Hatoelia (Vila Celestina de Silva). The strike consists of six aircraft led by S/Ldr J Boyd & Sgt D Beasley in Beaufighter A8-10, with G/Cpt C Eaton along to observe the results. The target is left gutted.

November 17 — Italy. During an attack on a bridge at Faenza by 450 Squadron, the Kittyhawk of Sgt S Moncrieff Raf is seen to spin at the bottom of its dive bombing attack and crash near the target. He did not survive. Faenza bridge will also be the Squadron’s objective on the 18th, 19th and 22nd. No 3 Squadron is taken off operations so that pilots can undergo conversion to their new Mustang fighter bombers. Pacific. No 22 Squadron’s Bostons are now established at Wama Strip, Morotai. 22 Sqn is operational again by the 17th and on the following day carries out strikes against enemy airfields, watercraft and installations in the Northern Celebes.

November 18 — Pacific. In support of the American landings in the Philippines, the 1st Taf flies its first strike from Morotai, 30 Squadron in conjunction with 22 Squadron Bostons raiding the northern Celebes. For the safety of Allied communications through Morotai, the neutralisation of Halmahera and the Celebes is essential.

November 18/19 – Britain. Bad weather has been so poor that No 2 Group has been unable to operate for 17 consecutive days and 12 nights. W/O Beer & F/Sgt R Fountain of 464 Squadron in Mosquito Nt189/0 fail to return from a sortie over Holland near Apeldoorn. 285 Lancasters and 24 Mosquitoes raid the Wanne-Eickel oil plant. One Lancaster is lost, that of F/O A Carter & crew of 460 Squadron.

November 19 — Britain. 456 Squadron has had a change of duty, patrols to catch He 111s air-launching V-1s from over the North Sea. F/Os D Arnold & J Stickley in Mosquito Hk246/U destroy one, sending it burning into the sea.

November 20 – Italy. Pilots of No 3 Squadron fly Kittyhawks operationally for the last time when a formation of 12 attack German gun targets in the Faenza area. Kittyhawks have served the Squadron for three years from North Africa, Alamein to Tunis, Malta, Sicily and through Italy, establishing an outstanding record.

November 21 – Australia. Beaufighters of 31 Squadron rocket attack Japanese occupied Vila Salazar at Baucau. The target is left battered and burning. This is the last operation by 31 Squadron in the North West Area. Preparations are made for the move to Noemfoor.

November 21/22 – Britain. 274 Lancasters and nine Mosquitoes attack the Aschaffenburg railway yards and town. Two Lancasters are lost, both from 460 Squadron (F/Os W Ottaway and R McMaster & their crews).

November 22 – Italy. Six Mustangs led by S/Ldr M Nash fly 3 Squadron’s first operation with the new type, the mission being to escort a Lysander on a special flight over the north of Italy. In an unexpected and regrettable incident, an American P-51 slips in behind the escorts and shoots the slow-moving observation plane down in flames. A subsequent court of inquiry exonerates the pilots of 3 Squadron from all blame. Pacific. 22 Squadron’s Bostons become the first Raaf aircraft to strike as far north as the Philippine Islands, hitting Bunawan Harbour on Mindanao Island. Eight Beaufighters of 30 Squadron led by W/Cdr C Thompson make their first sortie to the Philippines, strafing coastal targets in the Davao Gulf, destroying one barge and probably another.

November 22/23 — Italy. Wellingtons of 458 Sqn continue to fly combined “search and strike” operations with 272 Sqn and one tanker is sunk. Generally, bad weather hampers operations and there are few targets to be found. Pacific. Nine Japanese aircraft attack Morotai in retaliation for Allied raids on the Philippines. No 22 Squadron is decimated, the raid damaging 13 Bostons — A28-6, 10, 51, 52, 54, 57, 59, 60, 65, 67, 68, 75 and 76 — of which only two (54 and 57) are not beyond repair and converted to components. This effectively ends the Boston’s offensive career in the Raaf as 22 Squadron has been the only unit operating the type. Since no replacement Bostons are readily available, the squadron will be withdrawn to Noemfoor for re-equipment with Beaufighters. Surviving Bostons will carry out miscellaneous duties including communications flights.

November 23 — Pacific. To counter the enemy raids on Morotai, the Raaf and the 13th Us Air Force carry out heavy raids on enemy airfields within range, particularly on Halmahera Island, which lies midway between New Guinea and Morotai. Eleven Kittyhawks of No 82 Squadron dive bomb Lolobata and Hatetabako airfields and twelve from No 77 Squadron dive-bomb airfields at Galela. F/Sgt B Palme and Sgt K Smithwick fail to return from the attacks on Galela. The same targets will be attacked again on the 24th.

November 23/24 — Britain. W/O J Mulhall & F/O J Jones of 456 (Mosquito) Sqn fail to return from an anti-diver patrol. Pacific. The Japanese raid Morotai again. 30 Sqn loses two Beaufighters destroyed (A19-179 and A19-190) and eight others are damaged. The enemy’s success is not sufficient to neutralise Morotai effectively. 22 Sqn will be withdrawn to Noemfoor to re-equip with Beaufighters. With the impending move of 31 Sqn from the Northern Territory to join the First Taf, all three squadrons of 77 (Attack) Wing — 22, 30 & 31 – will be equipped with Beaufighters.

November 24/25 — Britain. F/Os F Stevens/F/O W Kellett of 456 (Mosquito) Sqn in Mosquito Hk290/J destroy a He 111 after a 25-minute chase. It blows up on the sea close to the Dutch Coast.

November 27/28 – Britain. 464 Squadron loses two Mosquitoes on intruder sorties: Hr353 (F/Os W Greenshields & E Norman) near Zwolle; and Hp934/X (F/Os Jim Colgan & Ross Stoner) crippled by a flak ship off the Dutch coast. Stoner is the sole survivor, his parachute opening just in time. Hidden by the Dutch Underground along with a mixed bag of other Allied personnel, he eventually escapes to safety in March 1945.

November 28 ~ Burma. A Sunderland of 230 Sqn, captained by S/Ldr K Ingham Dfc, fails to return from an anti-submarine patrol. Another Australian crew member is F/O S Cary.

November 29 – Britain. Dortmund is the target for 204 Lancasters and 17 Mosquitoes. Bad weather causes the bombing to be scattered and six Lancasters are lost, F/O M Grey & crew from 460 Squadron failing to return.

November 30 — Britain. No 451 (Spitfire) Sqn arrives in England after 3.5 years’ service in Egypt and the Western Desert, Palestine, Syria, Cyprus, Corsica and southern France.