Australia’s War Diary

April 4 – Britain.

Eight 455 Sqn “Rock-beaus” led by F/O S Sykes, with six Beaufighters of 489 Sqn and a Mustang escort, attack a merchant vessel off Oardals Fiord, Norway, scoring rocket and cannon hits. Flying through heavy flak, Sykes is badly wounded but he continues as attack leader. Sykes’s navigator, F/O H Pearson, gives first aid and stands behind his wounded pilot to help fly the aircraft. Sykes manages to fly back to Sumburgh where he makes a belly landing. He receives an immediate DSO and Pearson the DFC. Italy. 450 Squadron Kittyhawks attack ferries at San Dona. Sgt K Nash’s aircraft is crippled by flak and he parachutes into the sea. He is later recovered by an American Catalina. Pacific. 31 Squadron flies an armed shipping reconnaissance around Amboina. Beaufighter A8-151 is shot down by ground fire. F/Lt C Arbon and P/O R Wood are killed.

April 4/5 — Britain.

Bomber Command launches major raids against Leuna, Harburg and Lutzkendorf. 460 Squadron sends 14 Lancasters to the oil refinery at Lutzkendorf. Six Lancasters are lost and that of 460’s F/L W Lancake and crew crashes on return. Mosquitoes fly bomber support patrols, 456 Squadron providing seven aircraft. F/O Hewson strafes the runway at Luneburg.

April 5 – Britain.

Eight 455 Squadron Beaufighters, accompanied by 17 other Beaufighters and a Mustang escort, attack shipping off Hareid Island. They are bounced by Bf 109s. The Mustangs destroy four 109s, but two 455 Squadron Beaufighters collide and crash. Killed in action are F/Lt K Moore and F/Sgt R Ball and F/Os G Hassell and E Loonam. Italy. P/O B Brown of 450 (P-40) Sqn fails to return.

April 6 – Pacific.

20 Mitchells (2 and 18 Squadrons) and nine Liberators (21 and 24 Squadrons) attack the Japanese cruiser Isuzu and three escorts near Koepang. Following the Mitchells, nine Liberators encounter AA fire and two Japanese fighters which mortally damage F/Lt S McDonald’s AT2-81. Fire spreads quickly and McDonald orders the crew to bale out. W/O Keith Shilling is the only survivor. F/Lt E Ford’s A72-77 is hit next. Five of his crew manage to jump before it plunges into the sea and explodes. After the attack, from which the Japanese vessels emerge unscathed, Catalina A24-54 of 112 Air/Sea Rescue Flight, (F/Lt Bulman) arrives and picks up survivors. As one man is being pulled in over the gun blisters, the Catalina is attacked by an Oscar. It sinks in three minutes as the men scramble out. A few minutes later, air-sea rescue Liberator A72-72 (F/Lt Byfield) drops two large dinghies and supplies. Another Catalina A24-58 (F/Lt Corrie), directed by the Liberator, eventually picks up nine men, six from Bulman’s Catalina and three from the Liberators. Corrie’s Catalina fights a 20 minute running battle with two Irvings before breaking free and heading for Darwin.

April 6/7 — Britain.

The first 464 Sqn crew to attack in the vicinity of Berlin are W/O Rutter and F/Sgt Taylor in Mosquito TA372/Y. F/Lt J Campbell and F/Sgt G Burke in Mosquito LR334/B record the Squadron’s 2000th sortie since D-Day. 58 Australian Aviation April 1995.

April 7 – Britain.

21 Beaufighters (six from 455 Sqn) and 18 Mustangs attack a convoy in Vadheim Fiord, Norway. One ship is sunk and all others damaged. Afterwards, the Beaufighter of W/O I Murray and F/Sgt D Mitchell is “jumped” by six Fw 190s. In a 10 minute running battle, the Beaufighter is riddled with bullets, its instrument panel smashed and its hydraulics disabled. Murray manages a safe landing at over 175kt (320km/h).

April 8/9 — Britain.

While the last major Bomber Command raid of the war is made on Hamburg by 440 aircraft, 231 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes attack and wreck the oil refinery at Lutzkendorf. Among six Lancasters lost, 463 Sqn’s F/O P Balderstone and crew are shot down. The only survivor, rear gunner Sgt Don Broadhead, evades capture. F/O N Ferris’ Lancaster, hit by flak, manages to reach Allied lines before he and his crew bale out. Over Hamburg, 466 Sqn Halifax LW172/HD-F, on its 97th operation, is damaged and crashes on return. F/O D Watson and crew are killed. F/O P Forrest and crew in Halifax NP968/HD-B also fail to return. These two crews are the last losses sustained by 466 sqn in WW2.

April 9 – Italy.

Final offensive. The British 8th Army assaults across the Senio River after heavy bombing and an artillery barrage. The Desert Air Force’s 239 Wing, including 3 (Mustang) and 450 (Kittyhawk) Squadrons, attack gun positions, occupied buildings and battalion and company headquarters to create the greatest possible confusion. There are rapid advances and the NZ Division crosses the river without a casualty.

April 10 – Britain.

While escorting Lancasters and Halifaxes to Leipzig, F/O John ‘Slops’ Haslope of 165 (Mustang) Squadron, destroys an Me 163 rocket fighter.

April 10/11 — Britain.

Between Berlin and Leipzig, F/Lt Thompson and Sgt Carver of 464 Squadron in Mosquito NT236/K, bomb a small fire which erupts, spurting flames 3000-4000ft (900-1200m) high.

April 11 – Britain.

20 Beaufighters, six from 455 Squadron, escorted by Mustangs and air-sea rescue Warwicks, attack a convoy in Fede Fiord, Norway. All Beaufighters return safely. One ship is sunk. Western Front Europe. On a patrol between Bremen and Nienburg, F/Lt Tony Gaze of 41 (Spitfire XIV) Squadron destroys a Ju 52.

April 12 — Britain.

Near Berlin, F/Lt Shrimpton and F/O Lake of 464 Squadron in Mosquito TA120/E destroy three railway engines, stop another, attack a loan vehicle and a building, and probably a blast furnace. Western Front Europe. Near Bremen, F/Lt Gaze and another Spitfire pilot of 41 Squadron force an Ar 234 jet bomber to crash land and blow up.

April 13 – Italy.

Allied units reach San Bernadino. During a “cab-rank” operation by four No 3 Squadron Mustangs, W/O Higgins fails to rejoin formation after bombing positions along the Santerno River. He has baled out. Pacific. The first raid from Morotai by Liberators of 1st TAF is on Tawao by six aircraft from Nos 21 and 24 Squadrons, led by G/Capt Kingwell. While these Liberators concentrate on Borneo, others of 25 Squadron (based in WA) and 23 Squadron (near Darwin) raid Java and other targets in the Netherlands East Indies.

April 14 – Britain.

Nine 455 Squadron Beaufighters, in a strike force led by W/Cdr Milson, damage two ships in Josing Fiord, Norway.

April 16/17 — Britain.

222 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes carry out an accurate attack on the railway yards at Pilsen. J Hagley and crew on their first operation. The crew bales out some distance short of Juvincourt.

April 17 — Britain.

The Gestapo’s remaining established headquarters in Denmark, on the island of Odense, is attacked by six Mosquitoes, one provided by 464 Squadron. The building is destroyed but Mosquito PZ463 is damaged by bomb blast. F/Lt W McClelland and Sgt J Barr force land at Eindhoven.

April 19 – Italy.

Mustangs of 3 Sqn use “napalm” bombs to attack a strongly-held block of buildings opposing the advancing New Zealanders. They are left burning fiercely. F/O P Allen of 450 (Kittyhawk) Sqn fails to return.

April 20 – Pacific.

To prepare for the landing on Tarakan, six Beaufighters of 31 Sqn strafe anti-aircraft positions while a USAAF B-25 photographs the waterfront.

April 20/21 — Western Front Europe.

On 464 Squadron’s second night of operations from Brussels, Mosquito PZ378/U (F/Lt H Purnell and F/O L “Lofty” Walker) bombs two mechanised vehicles at very low altitude but the blast damages their port wing. No results of the attack are seen.

April 21 — Pacific.

While returning to Morotai, W/O L Hanson (A29-819) of 77 Squadron runs short of fuel and bales out. He is rescued by a PT boat.

April 22 — Britain.

Twenty five Beaufighters, seven from 455 Squadron, and escorting Mustangs attack four enemy vessels in Ulversund Fiord. A merchantman is hit but the Beaufighter of F/O T Higgins and W/O A Mirow is seen shooting up a warehouse on the quay before crashing.

April 22/23 — Britain.

During Ranger operations over airfields in Germany despite poor weather, 456 Sqn flies six sorties. Flak hits F/O D Hewson’s Mosquito in the fuselage, propellers and tail but he returns without difficulty. W/O W McWhinney and F/O J Costigan cause an explosion on Bad Aibling airfield after strafing an unidentified aircraft.

April 23 – Britain.

Twenty Beaufighters (six from 455 Squadron), led by F/Lt C Thompson DFC, and escorted by 12 Mustangs, attack a convoy in Risne Fiord. All the ships are damaged and one large merchantman sunk. After this attack, Thompson’s aircraft catches fire, but his navigator, W/O I Gordon manages to quell the flames and Thompson returns safely to base. Pacific. During takeoff, a bomb under Kittyhawk A29-900 drops and explodes, killing the pilot, 77 Squadron’s F/O K McFadden. Several Beaufighters of 22 Squadron are damaged and one ground crewman is killed.

April 23/24 — Western Front Europe.

Twelve 464 Sqn Mosquitoes participate in attacks on Bremen under Mobile Radar Control Post (MRCP) control supporting the British 2nd Army’s ground assault. Afterwards, they attack targets of opportunity but lose two crews, the last of the unit’s wartime casualties: F/Os P Baker and C Lee in NS943 and W/O T Rutter and F/Sgt A Taylor in TA372/Y. Rutter returns after evading capture for four days and nights but Taylor is captured.

April 24 — Burma.

W/O M Keightley of 146 (Thunderbolt) Squadron fails to return from a cab-rank patrol supporting the 14th Army.

April 25 — Britain.

Bomber Command despatches 359 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitoes to bomb Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s ‘Eagle’s Nest. Among the force are 16 Lancasters of 617 (Dambuster) Sqn and 20 Lancasters from 460 Sqn. Two Lancasters are lost, one of them from 460. F/O H “Lofty” Payne’s aircraft receives a direct flak hit and orders his crew to bale out. Thinking they have all gone, he is about to leave himself when his rear gunner appears carrying a snagged parachute. Payne stays with the crippled and burning aircraft and manages to glide to a safe crash landing. Both men are captured. Burma. W/O M Keightley of 146 (Thunderbolt) Squadron is killed when he collides with a Harvard over his base.

April 25/26 — Britain.

107 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos attack and severely damage Tonsberg oil refinery and a 60 Australian Aviation April 1995 U-boat refuelling depot in Southern Norway. Lancaster RA542/J0-Z of 463 Squadron is shot up by a night-fighter and force-lands in Sweden. F/O Arthur Cox and his crew survive and are interned. Cox’s Lancaster is the last of more than 3300 lost in the war.

April 26 – Britain.

F/O W Edwards leads six 455 Squadron Beaufighters as part of the usual composite force in what will be the second last shipping strike of the war. The target is two merchantmen sheltering under the steep cliffs of Fede Fiord. One vessel is sunk and the second damaged. After the attack, the Beaufighters are bounced by fighters and Edwards’s Beaufighter crashes into a hill and explodes. He and his navigator, W/O K Hamilton, are killed, 455’ last operational casualties of the war. Pacific. No 25 Squadron loses its first aircraft over enemy territory when eight Liberators attack Malang airfield near Surabaya to put it out of commission for the Tarakan operation. Bombing results are not observed because of cloud. S/Ldr J Wawn in A72-133 sends out distress signals and ditches off Sumba. He and his crew are captured by the Japanese.

April 26/27 — Western Front Europe.

Four Mosquitoes of 456 Squadron fly low level Ranger patrols near Munich. F/Os R Richardson and T Landy damage an unidentified aircraft on the ground at Schleissheim airfield. F/Lt W Killingworth and F/Sgt D Watson of 464 Squadron in Mosquito HR186/N bomb a small ship which sinks without trace.

April 27 — Pacific.

F/O H Krause of 77 Squadron in Kittyhawk A29-808 reports engine failure but bales out too low, hitting the water without his parachute opening. Western Front Europe. Four Spitfires of 41 Squadron meet 10 Fw 190s orbiting Schwerin, F/Lt Gaze sharing one destroyed.

April 29 — Italy.

Mustangs of 3 Squadron attack enemy transport in the Trento-Bolzano region. W/O D Williamson’s Mustang is hit by AA fire and he bellylands at Porto di Lido near Venice. He is taken back to a friendly area by Partisans. Meanwhile, the Commander of the remnants of the German Army in Italy, General von Vietinghoff, signs an unconditional surrender at Field Marshal Alexander’s Headquarters at Caserta, to take effect from 2nd May.

April 30 — Western Front Europe.

122 (Tempest) Wing attacks airfields. 3 Squadron RAF strafes Schwerin, P/O J Torpy hitting a Bf 109, but losing two Tempests to flak. Fw 190s are met during the return flight, one of which is destroyed by F/O J ‘Bay’ Adams. 41 Squadron Spitfires patrol over the Elbe bridgehead and encounter Bf 109s and Fw 190s. F/Lt Tony Gaze downs a Fw 190.