Australia’s War Diary

December 3 – Pacific. To counter Japanese night raids on Morotai, airfields possibly used as bases for attacks are strafed and bombed. While attacking radar installations at Lambeh Island, F/Lt R Barber’s Beaufighter A19-195 of 30 Squadron, strikes a tree. The port wing is badly damaged and he ditches. The Beaufighter sinks almost immediately but F/O L Ryan, Barber’s navigator, just manages to free the dinghy. They are rescued by a US Navy Catalina.

December 4 – Australia. Adm Sir Bruce Fraser, C-in-C of the new British Pacific Fleet (BPF), visits Sydney before going on to Pearl Harbour to discuss fleet deployment with Admiral Nimitz. The BPF has its base at Sydney, from where its air groups can fly to Nowra Naval Air Station.

Western Front. 137 Squadron RAF attacks a train near Wesel. John Gates’ Typhoon receives a near direct hit from AA fire and he has to ‘hit the silk’ when it catches fire. After landing, he is quickly captured.

December 5 – Britain. Accompanied by five ‘Tor-beaus’ of 489 Sqn, S/Ldr J Pilcher leads 13 455 Sqn Beaufighters attacking an enemy convoy in Norway’s Orsten Fiord. Two merchant vessels and one escort ship are sunk but the Beaufighter of F/O J Hakewill & F/Sgt F Sides is hit by flak and dives into the sea. A second, crewed by P/O A Winter & P/O C Dunshea, manages to limp some distance towards home before ditching. The crew is rescued by a launch.

December 6 – Pacific. F/Lt A McPherson of 30 Squadron fails to pull out of a dive while strafing a truck. Beaufighter A19-202, crashes on a hill east of Cape Binta in the Celebes and bursts into flames. McPherson and his navigator F/Sgt N Stanton are killed.

Britain. F/Lt W Bennett leads the Spitfire XVIs of 453 Squadron to bomb V-2 fuel storage dumps near the historic Huis den Bosch in The Hague, Holland. All are dropped in the target area without damaging the historic building, apart from some broken windows.

Italy. Blizzards, snow and sleet inhibit action. Air operations, when possible, concentrate on the interdiction of transport. These are extended to targets in Yugoslavia. A formation of 3 Sqn Mustangs, led by F/Lt I Roediger, flies a successful long range strafing operation over Yugoslavia but while returning the weather closes in. W/O R Fountain disappears and is presumed lost. On the same operation, No 5 SAAF Sqn loses six out ten Kittyhawks.

December 6/7 – Britain. Bomber Command carries out three major raids: the synthetic oil plant at Leuna (487 aircraft – five Lancasters lost including P/O P Walter & crew of 460 Squadron); Osnabruck (453 aircraft – seven Lancasters and one Halifax lost); and Giessen (265 aircraft – eight Lancasters lost). Attacking Giessen, 463 Sqn Lancasters come under heavy attack from night fighters and one is lost. One Ju 88 is claimed a probable. A Bf 110 is destroyed by the gunners of F/O K Bennett’s crew.

December 7 – Pacific. On Bougainville, the fight for Artillery Hill opens. Led by Boomerangs of 5 Squadron, RNZAF Corsairs drop naval depth charges. F/Lt T Saunders and F/O Glassop mark the areas to be attacked.

December 8 – Western Front. Over the Dummerlake area, Tempests of 56 Squadron meet 14 Fw 190s. F/O K Watts destroys one. A second is damaged.

December 9 – Italy. No 454 (Baltimore) Squadron moves north to Cesenatico, between Rimini and Ravenna, forming No 253 Wing with No 15 SAAF and No 500 RAF This is the furthest forward bomber Wing in the theatre.

Pacific. The first Australian built Beaufighters had arrived for 30 Sqn at Morotai just in time to be damaged by the Japanese on Nov 24. Today, A8-28 (S/Ldr R Rankin & W/O G Cane) is used operationally for the first time. Meanwhile, 31 Sqn flies its first operation under 77 Wing control, long range sortie to Jolo Island. Led by S/Ldr J Boyd & Sgt D Beasley in Beaufighter A8-10, troops, stores and the jetty are strafed. Anti aircraft fire is light but accurate, S/Ldr W Tritton’s Beaufighter A8-8 being struck in the fuselage.

Britain. Seven 455 Sqn Beaufighters, with Beaufighters of 144 and 404 Sqns and escorted by Mustangs of 315 Sqn, attack an unescorted merchant ship off Norway. It is left blazing.

December 11 – Burma. S/Ldr R May leads Thunderbolts of 79 Squadron in a strafing attack on Meiktila and Thedaw airfields. Although May’s Thunderbolt is badly damaged by flak, he reaches Wangjing and lands safely.

December 12/13 – Britain. 540 Bomber Command aircraft raid Essen for the last time, a highly effective attack on the Krupp works. Six Lancasters are lost including that of S/Ldr J Clark DFC & crew of 460 Squadron.

December 14/15 – Pacific. Operating from Jinamoc Island in San Pedro Bay, Leyte, RAAF Catalinas of Nos 11, 20, 42 and 43 Sqns carry out mining operations in Manila Bay, Luzon Island, Philippines. Catalina A24-64 of 43 Sqn (F/Lt J Cox & crew) fails to return. Over 50 mines are dropped. On 11 Sqn’s return to Rathmines, its six aircraft used to mine Manila Bay will have flown nearly 14,500km each, in the RAAF’s longest single wartime operation.

December 15 – Italy. The front remains static. While attacking the enemy’s supply line, the Kittyhawk of 450 Squadron’s F/O A Ellis crashes in flames.

Pacific. The hydraulics of Beaufighter A8-28 of 30 Squadron are damaged by flak over Menado township. After a 3 hour 40 minute flight, S/Ldr Rankin lands with wheels up and no flaps at Morotai. Neither he nor W/O Cane are injured but A8-28, the first Australian built Beaufighter used operationally, is damaged beyond repair. Meanwhile, the Americans land on Mindoro, south of Luzon.

December 16 – Western Front. Snow, rain and fog persistently halts Allied air operations. At dawn, the Germans open an all out counter offensive against the American front in the Ardennes in a bid to retake Brussels and Antwerp. Luftwaffe units, which have been carefully built up to provide air cover and launch a simultaneous assault on Allied airfields, remain grounded.

December 17 – Western Front. Over Holland the Luftwaffe again appears in force. In a series of encounters Tempests from 56 Squadron claim three Bf 109s destroyed in the morning, F/O Watt sharing one. East of Nijmegen, F/Lt B McKenzie of 3 Squadron RAF damages another.

Italy. F/Lt Reg Hast’s Kittyhawk of 450 Squadron is hit by AA fire and blows up.

December 17/18 – Britain. Bomber Command’s first and only raid on Ulm. 317 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitoes devastate one square kilometre of the city, including 29 industrial premises, two large truck factories – Magirus-Deutz and Kassbohrer – the Gallwitz Barracks and 14 Wehrmacht buildings. Two Lancasters are lost. Elsewhere, 288 bombers cause widespread damage in Munich. Four Lancasters are lost including F/O Bennett & crew of 463 Squadron. 467 Squadron also loses a Lancaster and flak hits F/O Terry Evans’ aircraft. Heavily damaged and with most of the controls shot away, the Lancaster plummets down in a starboard spin before Evans can regain some control. He keeps it flying until an engine bursts into flames over France. Ordering bale out, Evans is last to leave but his boot becomes caught and he barely escapes in time. Evans and his crew land near Chalons-sur-Marne with their Lancaster crashing and exploding almost on top of them.

The Ca-11 Woomera A23-1 Made Its Maiden Flight On July 7 1944, Flown By G.R. Board. Unfortunately, This Australian Reconnaissance Bomber Project Was Cancelled In September. A23-1 Was Taken On Charge By The RAAF On November 22 And Delivered To No 1 Aircraft Performance Unit Laverton, Victoria, For General Performance Trials. On January 16 1945 Approval Was Given For Its Conversion Into Parts. (Awm)

December 18/19 – Britain. On their first operation in 464 Squadron, F/O G Curry & F/Sgt W McAuliffe flying Mosquito NT143 are lost without trace.

December 19 – Burma. While approaching to attack river craft near Mandalay, W/Cdr L Hudson, CO of No 82 Squadron, on a “rhubarb” with F/Lt A McKenzie as wingman, hits the surface of the water. The damaged Mosquito becomes airborne again but Hudson has to force-land near the junction of the Chindwin and Irrawaddy Rivers. He and his navigator, F/O J Shortis, are captured by the Japanese.

December 20 – Pacific. BPF Avengers, Corsairs and Hellcats strike at the Sumatran oil refinery of Pangkalan Brandan. Bad weather frustrates the operation and the Belawan Deli docks (secondary target) are attacked.

December 21 – Burma. Ten Thunderbolts of 261 Sqn support troops east of Gangaw. F/O T Cambridge is killed when his aircraft, hit by AA fire, crashes and bursts into flames.

December 22/23 – Britain. 106 aircraft – 90 Halifaxes, 14 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitoes – raid the railway yards at Bingen. The bombing is highly accurate and all movement of supplies by rail through Bingen to the Ardennes front is blocked. Lost are one Lancaster and two Halifaxes, one being NP957 (F/O R Feilberg & crew) from 462 Squadron.

December 23 – Western Front. The weather clears allowing both sides to resume daylight air attacks. Although the Luftwaffe attacks in force, providing 800 sorties on December 23 alone, it is unable to turn the tide against the ever increasing weight of Allied air superiority.

December 24 – Britain. In the heaviest anti V-2 attacks yet mounted, 33 Spitfires, including 12 453 Squadron aircraft, are led by the CO S/Ldr Esau DFC. With two 250lb (115kg) bombs on the wings and a 500lb (225kg) bomb under the fuselage, refuelling in Belgium is necessary on the return leg. 453’s target in The Hague is a block of flats, HQ of rocket firing troops, near Huis den Bosch. Attacking through intense flak, F/Lt Bennett’s Spitfire SM187/FU-N bursts into flames and disintegrates. He bales out and is captured.

December 24/25 – Britain. 97 Lancasters and five Mosquitoes bomb Cologne. Bombing is extremely accurate. Nearby Butzweilerhof airfield is also damaged. Five Lancasters are lost, including that of 460 Squadron’s F/O M Skarrett & crew. Two others crash in England.

December 25 – Australia. German submarine U-862, operating off the south east coast, sinks the US Liberty ship Robert J Walker. The ship’s crew are finally rescued almost 24 hours after the sinking, despite being within an hour’s flying time from the Kingfisher base at St Georges Basin. Throughout Christmas and Boxing Day, RAAF Beauforts, Catalinas and Kingfishers cover the survivors until they are picked up and search in vain for the submarine.

Pacific. On Bougainville, Wirraway A20-410 of 5 Sqn, F/Lt Gil Cory & F/O Bill Tucker, force lands on a ledge on the side of a ridge when the engine fails while flying up a gully under low cloud. Both men are injured but they are found by friendly natives and concealed from the Japanese. They are taken to an Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) camp on the 30th.

December 26 – Pacific. F/O Jim Russell of No 17 AOP Flight sets out in Auster A11-16 for Pusupa village, Bougainville, to pick up injured NZ airman, F/Sgt Neville Gardiner, sole survivor of crashed Ventura NZ4634. On landing, Russell’s Auster crashes, breaking the propeller. A new propeller is dropped and fitted but in the next attempted takeoff, Auster A11-16 crashes again, beyond repair. Russell, with F/Lt N Sandford of the local AIB, brings Gardiner home on foot.

Italy. Lagging behind, Mustang KH616/CV-J of 3 Squadron is jumped by two Bf 109s and sent down in flames. W/O J Quinn bales out. Jettisoning their bombs, the other Mustangs counterattack and one Messerschmitt is damaged. Later, W/O L “Strawb” Robinson of 450 Squadron, on his last sortie before resting from operations, has to bale out from his Kittyhawk into the sea on the enemy’s side of the line. He is picked up by an air/sea rescue amphibian after 35 minutes, but has perished with the cold.

December 27 – Australia. Catalina A24-77 of No 112 ASR Flight flies to Seroe and rescues an Allied meteorological party. Because of rough waters, S/Ldr Ken Crisp has to taxi for several miles but the pick up is uneventful and the party flown to Darwin. A24-77 is a No 20 Squadron machine on loan as the Flight does not yet have its own aircraft.

December 29 – Western Front. Tempests of 56 Squadron become involved in a fight with more than 50 Fw 190Ds and Bf 109s in the Dummerlake area. One Focke-Wulf is destroyed by F/O V Turner but two Tempests fail to return.

December 30 – Pacific. Beaufighter A19-149 of 30 Squadron is last seen in the vicinity of Mount Danap while on an armed reconnaissance along the Celebes coastline from Cape Doelang to Kohendang Bay. F/Sgt D Benson and Sgt R Jones are lost without trace.

Britain. No 464 Sqn, still based at Thorney Island, is preparing to move to the Continent. An advance road party leaves for Rosieres-en-Santerre to set up Squadron Headquarters.

December 31/January 1 – Britain. W/O I Bradley & F/Sgt E Bule, both RAF newcomers to 464 Squadron, fail to return in Mosquito NT231.

Germany. The Luftwaffe is poised to launch Operation Bodenplatte, a bold attempt to destroy unsuspecting weather bound British and American aircraft on airfields in Belgium and Holland.