FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1854.PDF
FLIGHT AUGUST 14TH, 1941. ervice viation Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm News and Announcements W.C for New Zealand SergeantT HE KING has been graciously pleased toconfer the Victoria Cross on SGT. JAMES ALLEN WARD, E.N.Z.A.F., No. 75 (N.Z.)Bquadron. On the night of 7th July, 1941, Sgt. Ward was•eeond pilot oi a Wellington returning from an attack on MuDeter. When flying over the ZuiderZee at 13,000 feet, the aircraft was attacked from beneath by a Messerschmitt 110 which securedbits with cannon shell and incendiary bullets. The rear gunner was wounded in the foot butdelivered a burst of fire which sent the enemy fighter down, apparently out of control.Fire then broke out near the starboard engine and, fed by petrol from a split pipe, quicklygained an alarming hold and threatened to spread to the entire wing. The crew forced a hole inthe fuselage and made strenuous efforts to reduce the fire with extinguishers and even the coffeein their vacuum flasks, but without Buccess. They were then warned to be ready to abandon theaircraft. As a last resort. Sgt. Ward volunteered io make an attempt to smother the fire with an Sergeant J A. Ward, v.d, engine cover which happened to be In use as acushion. At first he proposed to discard his parachute, to reduce wind resistance, but wasfinally persuaded to take it. A rope from the dinghy was tied to him, though this was of littlehelp and might have become a danger had he been blown off the aircraft. With the help of thenavigator, he then climbed through the narrow astro-hatch and put on his parachute. Thebomber was flying at a reduced speed, but the wind pressure must have been sufficient to renderthe operation one of extreme difficulty. Breaking the fabric to make hand and footholds where necessary, and also taking advantage of existing holes in the fabric, Sgt. Ward suc-ceeded in descending three feet to the wing and proceeding another three feet to a position behindthe engine, despite the slipstream from the air- screw, which nearly blew him off the wing.Lying in this precarious position, he smothered the fire in the wing fabric and tried to pushthe cover into the hole in the wing and on to the leaking pipe from which the fire came. As soonas he removed his hand, however, the terrific wind blew the cover out and when he tried againit was lost. Tired as he was, he was able with the navigator's assistance to make successfullythe perilous journey back into the aircraft There was now no danger of the fire spreadingfrom the petrol pipe, as there was no fabric left near-by, and in due coarse it turrt itself out.When the aircraft was nearlv home some petrol which had collected in the wing blazed upfuriously bat died down quite suddenly. A safe landing was then made despite the damage sus-tained by the airemft The flight home had been ROYAL NORWEGIAN NAVAL AIR SERVICE : A flight of three Northrop N.P.3floatplanes on patrol. The Norwegian Naval squadrons operate with the Coastal Command of the R.A.F. made possible by the gallant action of Sgt. Wardin extinguishing the fire on the wing in circum- stances of the greatest difficulty and at the riskof his life. Awards THE KING has been graciously pleased to ap-prove the following awards in recognition ofgallantry displayed in flying operations against the enemy : — BAB TO THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS.Fit. Lt. C B. F. KlNGCOME, D.F.C., No. 92.— This officer has at all times displayed determina-tion, judgment and courage, and has set a very high standard to other pilots which has beenretlected in the achievements of his squadion. He has now destroyed at least ten enemy aircraft anddamaged many others. DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSSAct. Sqn. Ldr. H. L. PRICE, R.A.F.O. NO. 218 Squadron.—One night in July, 1941, this officerwas detailed to attack Duisberg. In spite of searchlight concentration and heavy anti-aircraftfire, he spent 40 minutes locating the target, which was eventually successfully bombed. Hisaircraft was repeatedly hit, and the rear turret put out of action. Over Holland, on the returnjourney, his aircraft was intercepted by an enemy aircraft, which was shaken off by skilful avoidingaction. Over Holland the port engine failed, and the aircraft began to lose height rapidly. Allavailable articles were jettisoned, but Sqn. Ldr. Price was nevertheless compelled to fly at 600 feet.By Ekilful piloting, however, he landed safely at his base. He has always shown the utmost cool-ness, courage and determination. Fit. Lt. L. Fox. No' 209 Squadron; and Act.Fit. Lt. H. E. HUNTER. NO. 240 Squadron.—These captains of aircraft have completed 500 and 850operational flying hours respectively, and have always shown outstanding zeal, cheerfulness andcourage in their flying duties. On two occasions they liave carried out important duties involvinglong-distance flights, in which the weather condi- tions were most adverse and navigational aids werealmost non-existent. In the successful completion of these most responsible tasks they showed finedetermination and a very high standard of air- manship. • Fit. Lt. R. A. L. KNIGIIT. NO. 610 Squadron —This officer has shown great personal courage and sound leadership in sweeps over enemy terri-tory. By his dash and consistent courage Fit. Lt. Knight has set an example to his flight. He hasdestroyed at least three enemy aircraft and damaged others. Act, Fit. I.t. H. S. L. DUNDAS, A.A.F. No. 616Squadron.-This officer has shown unflagging courage in the face of the enemy and the utmosttenacity in supporting his leader. He has destroyed at least three enemy aircraft and damaged others.Fit Lt. A. R. H. BEAUMAN, R.A.F.O.—Post- humous award with effect from 20th November,1940.—This officer consistently displayed deter- mination and devotion to duty of a high order,especially when the squadron was suffering losses. He completed 36 major operations involving bomb-ing and torpedo attacks and mine laying, often in adverse weather conditions and in the face ofconsiderable enemy opposition. His keenness to engage the enemv Rt all times was exceptional. I' lt. Lt. H. SPEKE, A.A.F.. No. 6D4.—This officer has been engaged on operational flying with thissquadron continuously since the outbreak of war. He has carried out a considerable amount of ope •&-tional flying at night, and has flown in ali kinds of weather with resource and skill, He has des-troyed four and damaged at least two enemy air- craft at night. F/O. E. D. CREW, R.A.F.V.R., No. 604—Thisofficer is a pilot of outstanding ability -who has shown a tenacity of purpose to engage tue enemywhich culminated in the destruction of two enemy aircraft in one night. He has now destroyed fourand damaged at least a further four enemy air- craft at night. Sqn. Ldr. H. P. WIDDOWSON, NO. 75 (N.Z.).-One night in July Sqn. Ldr. Widdowsou and Sgt. Box were captain and rear gunner respectively ofan aircraft which carried out a successful attack on Munster. On the return journey the aircraftwas attacked by a Messerschmitt 110. In the ensuing action Sgt. Box fired a burst of 200 rounds,at point blank range, causing the attacker to turn away, and dive steeply towards the sea with itiengine on fire and emitting trails of dense black smoke. Sqn. Ldr. Widdowson's aircraft was severelydamaged and a fire of considerable proportions hail broken out on the starboard wing. Nevertheless,he refused to abandon the aircraft. Excellent crew control was displayed and tremendous efforts weremade to subdue the fire. All loose articles were jettisoned and, despite reduced speed with graduslloss of height, Sqn. Ldr. Widdowson, with great skill, flew the aircraft to an aerodrome in thiscountry and landed safely This officer and airman displayed splendid cour-age, coolness and skill throughout Both have completed numerous operational missions againstthe enemy. See also Sgt. Ward, V.C. P/O. H. WAPLES, R.A.F.V.R., No. 21.—In JaneP/O. Waples, Fit. Sgt. Patterson and Sgt. Uiblin were pilot, wireless operator/air gunner and ob-server respectively of an aircraft which carried out a successful attack on Bremen. In spite oi ex-tremely adverse flying conditions, Sgt. Giblin's exceptional navigational skill enabled his pilot toreach the target, which was bombed from a low level. On the return journey the aircraft was attackedby two enemy fighters, but Fit. Sgt. Patterson, by his timely and accurate instructions, was in-strumental in enabling the pilot to take successful avoiding action. When the aircraft was laterattacked by three enemy fighters. Fit. Sgt. Patter- son destroyed one of them as we]l as greatlyassisting his pilot again by giving him invaluable evasive instructions. In spite of damage sustained to the aircraft,P/O. Waples, assisted by the splendid navigation of Sgt. Giblin, flew safely back to an aerodrome inthis country, where he successfully landed with out injury to his crew. The success of th« missionwas due to the great determination displayed by this crew in the face of many difficultiesP/O A S. RAMSAY. R.A.F.V.R., No. I05.-On July 4 P/O Ramsay and Sgt. Quinn were the airobserver/navigator and wireless operator/air gunntr respectively of the leading aircraft o^ a formationwhich carried out a daylight bombing attack on Bremen. The flight was carried out mostly underconditions of poor visibility. Three changes ol course were necessary on the outward journey, of
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
