On All Fronts; Ubiquity

Few events can match the amazing growth of the Royal Australian Air Force in the last few years. From a bare nucleus in 1934 of 82o men and a score or so of first line aircraft, the R.A.A.F. has expanded, in this fourth year of war, to a powerful striking force which has proved its virility in a dozen countries.

Some of them were among Mr. Churchill's few to whom so many owed so much in the Battle for Britain. 

They have taken part in air battles over France, Germany, Denmark, Holland and Norway. They have ranged the North Sea and the sea lanes about Britain, and have flown millions of miles in the Battle of the Atlantic. 

They have fought in Russia, alongside the fliers of the Red Air Force, as members of the Hurricane wing which Britain sent to that beleaguered country. They have operated in the defence of Malta, in Greece and in Crete.

In North Africa they are flying bombers, fighters, and army co-operation aircraft against the panzer forces of Rommel and Mussolini. 

When the war spread to the Pacific, Australian airmen were at action stations in Malaya and Singapore. Taking part in the first aerial action in the Far East against the Japanese, as they had been the first Dominion air force to strike at the enemy in Europe, they wrote in the Malayan campaign fair chapters in courage and sacrifice. From Malaya, they moved to Sumatra and from Sumatra to Java, and took part with the Dutch and British airmen in the aerial operations which were designed to halt the headlong rush of the invaders and reprieve the sorely-tried land forces.

Besides these squadrons, there were other men of the R.A.A.F. holding back the enemy in the islands to the north of Australia, notably at Ambon, New Ireland, New Britain, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

In these operations the R.A.A.F. has been tried and tested in all phases of aerial warfare, in all types of British aircraft, and in some types of American aircraft. Perhaps the only type they have not flown in action are dive bombers. But even the absence of dive bombers has not meant that men of the R.A.A.F. have not dive-bombed. Some of the most remarkable and hair-raising exploits of the whole war were performed in the Australian theatre by men dive-bombing in clumsy aircraft only built for sea reconnaissance.

They have manned fighters, long-range fighters, and night fighters, light, medium, torpedo and heavy bombers, reconnaissance aircraft over land and sea, and army cooperation aircraft. Australian airmen have been in battle in Gladiators and Gauntlets;

Wirraways, Hudsons, Catalinas, and Kittyhawks; in Hurricanes, Spitfires, and Bolton Paul Defiants; in Beaufighters, and Brewster Buffaloes; in Blenheims, Beauforts, Whitleys, Manchesters, Lancasters; and in Sunderlands and Stirlings. Indeed, it is doubtful whether there is any British aircraft which has been in operation in the British Isles which has not been flown by a member of the R.A.A.F., a member of the R.A.F. trained by the R.A.A.F., or an Australian pilot attached to, or a member of, the R.A.F.

Already having proved themselves in at least three types of American aircraft, it is certain, as the war progresses and more aircraft come to Australia for the Allied Air Forces operating here, that they will be found flying against the enemy in the biggest and best that country can provide.

Of all these tasks, perhaps that in which Australians have had most experience is in seaward reconnaissance. Immediately war was declared, the R.A.A.F. was mobilized and seaward reconnaissance began. It has gone on ceaselessly ever since and will continue until the war is over. In this connection it must be mentioned that the first Australian squadron to go into action against the enemy in this war was the famous No. 10 Sunderland squadron of the British Coastal Command.

Many of its members have become world famous and many have won decorations.

The honour of popularity must be shared between this squadron and No. 452 Spitfire squadron, which for three consecutive months topped the poll in Britain for the greatest number of kills for any British fighter squadron, and on the fourth month, tied with two R.A.F. squadrons for the lead. 

These two Australian squadrons - 10 and 452 - have overshadowed the other Australian squadrons in Britain, but as the new ones have grown older in combat, they have measured up well to the high standard set them.

Since then, the exigencies of war have necessitated readjustments and expansions, and the R.A.A.F., at home and abroad, has steadily increased. For security reasons, it is impossible to state the number of R.A.A.F. squadrons in operations and training at home, but it is no secret that Australia provided:

In the United Kingdom-five squadrons, made up of three fighter squadrons (one a night fighter squadron), one bomber squadron, and one reconnaissance squadron.

In the Middle East-four squadrons - No. 3 fighter squadron, NO. 450 fighter squadron, No- 451 army co-operation squadron, and No. 458 bomber squadron.

In Malaya, Australia had three squadrons-bomber, reconnaissance and fighter and in the hectic days of that disastrous campaign, they were converted to fighters or bombers as the necessity arose.

In this building up of air strength, of course, the Empire air training scheme played a major part. This colossal plan to harness the youth of an empire till the skies of the Axis were black with the planes they flew must rank as one of the finest federated achievements of the Empire.

At the outbreak of war there were 3500 men in the R.A.A.F. In August 1941 there were more than 6o,ooo, including reservists and there were nearly twice as many men serving overseas in August 1941 as there were in the R.A.A.F. at the outbreak of war. In the same interval, units and training establishments had increased fivefold.

Early rearmament plans made provision for two major types of aircraft-single engine Wirraway fighters and twin-engine general reconnaissance type-Bristol Blenheims. In July 1939 the first acceptance flight of Wirraways was made at Fishermen's Bend, but because of shipping difficulties, the Blenheims were not available, and Hudsons were ordered from America. The Wirraway, when it eventually went into action, was no longer a first-line fighter, and suffered terrible punishment at the hands of the Japanese Zero type. The Hudsons have been used, as stated, for all purposes, from fighters and bombers to reconnaissance aircraft, and in this and other theatres of war have proved themselves to be an outstanding aircraft for bombing and reconnaissance.

As the result of protracted negotiations with the British authorities, arrangements were also made to make Beaufort bombers in Australia, to be powered by twin-row Wasp engines, and the first Beaufort underwent its test flight in Australia on May 5, 1941. A number of these torpedo-carrying aircraft is now in service in Australia.

The Government had also selected the famous Short Sunderland flying boats as suitable for seaward reconnaissance in Australian waters, and had actually sent Australian airmen abroad to ferry the first section of three from England to Australia. The war interfered, and men and machines remained in England and formed the nucleus of No. io squadron. In place of the Sunderlands, the Government acquired a number of Catalina flying boats-made famous in Australia by the Guba, which under Captain P. G. Taylor made the successful survey flight of the Indian Ocean in 1939,

This type of aircraft, since it has been in service in and about Australia, has been called on to perform many tasks for which it was never designed, has made many of the long-distance reconnaissances and bomb raids on enemy territory, and has even

been put into power dives by pilots wishing to get down to their targets for accurate bombing.

Coastal patrols began the day war was declared, and have continued tirelessly ever since. Daily, R.A.A.F. aircraft are flying over the sea lanes watching for shipping, submarines, raiders, aircraft and any tell-tale sign which may presage enemy action. To indicate the immensity of the task these unsung members of the R.A.A.F. patrols are doing, the following figures are useful and safe-By April 1940, they had flown 750,000 miles, covering an area of 15,000,000 square miles. This had been quadrupled little more than a year later.

A vast area was scoured by R.A.A.F. aircraft in convoying the A.I.F. to the Middle and Far East, and it was estimated that about 3,ooo,ooo square miles of ocean was made safe when part of the A.I.F. in the Middle East was recalled to Australia.

The mining of two merchant ships in Australian waters late in 1940 caused an intensification of seaward patrols, and another incident which brought the R.A.A.F.'s work prominently under public gaze was the shadowing and scuttling of the Italian motor ship Romolo in the Indian Ocean. In December 1940, flying boats figured in a dramatic rescue. On receipt of a message from Kavieng that passengers and crews had been transferred from a German prison ship to Emirau Island, doctors were flown to the island and some of the captives were brought back to Australia by air.

Ready to go !

His squadron carried out raids over Addis Ababa after its occupation by the enemy, blockaded the French Somaliland port of Djibouti, and helped to strafe Axis forces when they temporarily occupied part of British Somaliland.  

Sayers then returned to the Middle East, and went thence to the United Kingdom. Later he went to Russia and then, after a week with the Red fliers, he returned to Britain and was then returned to the Middle East.

From the Middle East Sayers flew with an R.A.F. bomber squadron to Singapore, going by way of India and Burma. Sayers was in Singapore only a few days before that citadel fell to the Japanese. From Singapore he went to Sumatra, and Sumatra was raided 21 times in the 21 days he was there. From Sumatra he went to Java, where he took part in bomb raids on the Japanese who were occupying the aerodromes which the Allies had just vacated.  

He was one of the last Australians to fly in Java before the island also fell into the hands of the Japanese.

That which follows in this section will give some indication of the ubiquity of Australian airmen.

Pilot Officer Jeffrey Peter Maurice Haydon, of Canberra, was in command of one of the British aircraft which, on February 27, 1942, took part in the famous commando raid on the Nazi radio location equipment at Bruneval, on the coast of France. Pilot Officer Haydon's aircraft carried some of the paratroops whose sudden descent on the Germans resulted in the destruction of the radio warning system which was used to tell the Germans of the advance of British raiders. 

Other Australians serving in the same unit were Sergeants Allan Fletcher Ada, of Sydney, Geoffery Norman Reeve, of Geelong, and Alfred Bertram Boyle, of Mount Isa. Most of the paratroops were returned safely to Britain, taking prisoners with them, and the undertaking was another example of the smooth working of the three Services when they embarked together on an expedition against the enemy.

The Australians who accompanied the British Hurricane wing to Russia were Flying Officer Selwyn McKenzie Clark, of Pert.1i, Pilot Officer Mark Ernest Sheldon, of Sydney, Sergeants Arthur John Gould, of Roma, and Barton Jodrell Campbell, of Cairns. Clark's squadron acted as escort for Russian bombers attacking front-line positions, while the other squadron acted as rear cover for the Russians as they returned to their bases. They lost only one pilot during their stay in Russia-he was not an Australian-and in that period of two months of operational flying, their bag was 17 confirmed German aircraft, nine probables, and six damaged. 

These figures beat those of the Russians in the same period by four to one. On its first operational flight in Russia, the squadron ran into five Messerschmitt 109s and a Henschel, and shot down four of the Messerschmitts and the Henschel. It was in that action that the only casualty was suffered.

All of these men were greatly impressed by the fanatical courage of the Russians, and they related that when a Red pilot had exhausted his ammunition, he would attempt to ram the opposing aircraft, and then bale out-if he could. They were also informed, while in Russia, that there were many women fliers, and that some of them had shot down Nazi pilots in combat. Life at the military outpost on Russia's northern frontier where these Australians were stationed was very hard, with an average of between 2o and 3o degrees of frost and frequent blizzards, and only five or six hours of daylight each day.

All Australians must get a thrill of pride to know that their sons numbered among the gallant defenders of Malta, most bombed island of the world. Only meagre details have come out of the island of the part they have played, but those details which have emerged have shown that the same dash and verve which have characterized Australians' aerial performances in other theatres of war, have been maintained over Malta. There, as elsewhere, Australians have been found in all types of aircraft, on all types of operations. Whether in Spitfires, Beaufort torpedo-carrying ships, bombers, or reconnaissance aircraft, they have done and are still doing magnificent work.

An Australian crew in a Hudson reconnaissance squadron in the Malta zone thrilled the world as recently as June 1942, when, in one of the war's most amazing aerial

duels, waged at no time higher than 400 feet above the surface of die Mediterranean, and for a considerable time, only io feet above the water, they destroyed two of three Junkers 88s which had dived to attack them. At times the waves of the Mediterranean splashed the Hudson as it manoeuvre for position.

The Hudson was patrolling when the three Junkers cut across its course, and two of them dived to attack. Both came from astern, one of the attackers diving past, and then pulling up steeply to shoot up the Hudson from below. The Hudson's gunner fired at the first Junkers and saw bullets enter its nose. The Junkers turned away, and the other followed. The Hudson coolly went on with its patrol. Apparently the two remaining Germans thought it was off its guard, for after a period of maneuvering, they came in to attack again. The Hudson finessed for a time, and then the gunner let go a terrific burst from his machine gun at 6oo yards at one of them. As the Hudson charged head-on, with lead still streaming from its guns, one Junkers burst into flames, with dense smoke pouring from its engine. It was last seen losing height, and making in the direction of home in the wake of its damaged companion. The third Junkers broke off the engagement also.

The pilot of the Hudson was Pilot Officer James George Cowan-Hunt, formerly of Stanmore, Sydney, who had gained his flying badge a short year before.

Another amazing exploit by a R.A.A.F. pilot-a Sydney man whose name was not released by R.A.F. Headquarters in the Middle East-occurred off Malta on November 8, 1941. With other R.A.A.F. pilots flying Hurricane fighters, the Sydney man attacked a strong formation of enemy aircraft and during the dogfight that ensued, he rammed an enemy machine and baled out to safety. The enemy formation consisted of Cant bombers and 2o escorting Italian Macchi 202 fighters. As the Hurricanes climbed to attack, combats developed with the Macchis and three of the enemy were destroyed, a fourth was probably destroyed, and another was badly damaged.

Describing the engagement as he lay in a Malta hospital, the Sydney pilot said: "As we were going for the bombers, the Macchis dived on us. I counted 16, and as I went after one of them, I saw the rest of the Hurricanes keeping engagements of their own. One of them was among six of the enemy, four of whom were on his tail. I put a few bursts into the one I was after, and his tail began to smoke. Then another attacked me from astern. I turned and saw this chap and flew straight at him. I expected him to turn, as the Italians usually do; but he didn't, he came straight on. Perhaps the pilot was killed and the Macchi was flying itself; anyway, I flew right into him, and the Macchi broke up in the air. There were pieces all over the place.

"I am told that one of my wings broke off, but I don't know, for I didn't see the Hurricane again. I was in a spin and didn't need to jump, I just opened the lid and fell out. I was about 2ooo feet up at the time, and as I came down over the island I saw that I was going to land on a village. I hit the wall of a house, and landed on a .at roof right on top of a dog, which let out a terrific yell, jumped off the roof, and 7tlted up the road."

A less high note is sounded in the available information of Australians serving in Iceland. This is not because they are doing a less devoted job, but because the work to which they have dedicated their war years is less spectacular-they are on seaward reconnaissance, scouring the sea for enemy raiders and U-boats, and protecting the precious cargoes of war material which are pouring from the United States factories to the front lines in Britain, Russia and the Middle East. Monotonous, cold, and uncomfortable, this work is an invaluable contribution to the Allies' offensive and defensive operations, and calls for men with a peculiarly keen and even temperament. 

The Australians in Iceland include Pilot Officers John R. W. Redman, of Sydney; Terence H. G. Glassford, also of Sydney; Thomas Geoffery Dobbie, of Manly; Donald George Totolos, of North Sydney, and Sergeant Pilots Robert Raynes Royle, of Wentworth Falls, and Herbert E. Beale, of Sydney. Other Australian airmen in Iceland, were formed into two crews under the captaincy of United States pilots. They include Pilot Officer Robert Lewis Charles Stewart, of Melbourne; Sergeant Pilots Ambrose A. Tonkin, of Yorktown, South Australia; Robert Downie, of Kilkenny, South Australia; f Essendon; Nathaniel Robert Goudie, of Ballarat; and Wallace B. Hutchinson, of Sydney.

Not the least important part of the work done by these pilots in Iceland is connected with the ferry service between the United States and the United Kingdom, and any account of the work of Australians would be incomplete without a passing reference to the R.A.A.F. men ferrying aircraft across the Atlantic. A remarkable flight was carried out early in 1942 by three Empire air scheme trainees-Pilot Officer George Vivian Syer, formerly a clergyman in Victoria, as pilot; Pilot Officer R. A. Stevenson, of Artarmon, Sydney, as navigator; and a wireless operator of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The flight, which was made in a Hudson reconnaissance aircraft, occupied 7 hours 4o minutes, and broke the ferry record held by a Liberator bomber, by 30 minutes. Flying at great height, the members of the crew were compelled to use oxygen for more than six hours, and landfall in the United Kingdom was made within a few miles of the point of reckoning - a stirling performance for raw and recent graduates, and a striking commentary on the thoroughness of the training methods of the Empire Air Training Scheme. During the flight, the temperature fell as low as minus 39 degrees Centigrade, the food in the aircraft became uneatable, sandwiches were frozen hard, and coffee in the thermos flasks was stone-cold.

Soon after this Hudson set out for Britain, another, piloted by Pilot Officer Allan William Russell Triggs, of Elwood, took off in its wake, and arrived in the United Kingdom 5o minutes after Syer's Hudson.

This chapter is a suitable place to chronicle the adventures of H.M.A.S. Sydney's Seagull. amphibian, a slow, cumbersome craft which left her nest high up on the cruiser's decks to spot for the Sydney's gunners and generally to be the eyes of the ship. On one occasion, when attacked by three Italian CR42s - Italian fighters with a speed of about 300 miles an hour - the Seagull was spotting for the first naval bombardment of Bardia. At 9,000 feet, it was attacked by the Italians, the first one of which shot away the Seagull's aileron controls. The second riddled the rudder and after part of the hull, and shot away most of the tailplane struts. The rear gunner of the Seagull went into action, and after a few bursts, the three Italians flew off, while the Seagull spun down dizzily for 7,000 feet as the pilot struggled to regain mastery.

At Sollum. the pilot found the terrain too rough for a forced landing, and so coolly flew on 120 miles to Mersa Matruh.

On another occasion, the Seagull was responsible for warning H.M.A.S. Sydney and escorting destroyers of the presence of five Italian E-boats during the bombardment of a fighter aerodrome at Scarpanto, in the Dodecanese Islands. Two of the E-boats were sunk by naval action, one was damaged, and the others, in the highest Italian naval tradition, ran for it.

Aces and the Deuce

Air Vice-Marshal George Jones, CBE DFC, Chief of the Air Staff, RAAF

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