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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1735.PDF
776 FLIGHT SERVICE AVIATION . . . THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY Recollections of the Part Played by the Royal Air Force in the Invasion of Europe SUNDAY last, June 6th, was the 10th anniversary of the successful invasion of Europe and it is timely to recall the part played by the R.A.F. in "Opera tion Neptune," as the landing part of "Overlord" was code-named. For the Air Command there were four main tasks: the provision of an air umbrella over the actual landings; the mounting of spoof raids to divert the enemy's attention from the selected beaches; the bombing of coastal batteries; and the dropping of airborne troops. D-Day was the culminating point of many weeks of interdiction and softening-up. The diversionary operations were on a very large scale, a specialist force of no fewer than 105 aircraft and 36 Naval vessels being allocated to the task. One of the most important of these spoof operations—"Taxable"—was largely conducted by No. 617 (the "Dam Busters") Squadron; it was no less than the simulation of a large "ghost" convoy of ships moving across the narrowest part of the Channel. Eighteen ships steamed at seven knots towards Cap d'Antifer and, to transform the radar response caused by these vessels into one indicating a large convoy, the Lancasters of No. 617 flew over the ships in a continuous wide orbit, gradually nearing the French coast. Every four seconds throughout the three-and-a- half hours of the operation, bundles of "Window" (the code-name for metal-foil strips which produced a false echo on the enemy radar screens) were thrown out of the aircraft to create the impression of a large convoy. This false picture was heightened by the ships towing balloons to create a large-ship type of radar echo. Meticulous timing was necessary, as an error of four seconds would have been sufficient to make the "convoy" look suspect. As the last Lancaster turned for home, German coastal guns opened radar- predicted fire on the non-existent convoy. Recalling "Taxable," F/L. K. J. Ryall, D.F.C., writes: "Several weeks before D-Day No. 617 Squadron visited a radar station on the Yorkshire coast, where we were shown how coastal radar worked. Then we put in a spell of intensive train ing over the sea to perfect the special flying pattern required for our operations. I was flight-engineer leader of the squad ron, but for "Taxable" I acted as one of the "Window" droppers. Three of us looked after the "Window" in each air craft. The bomb-aimer timing with a stop watch, raised his hand every four seconds as a signal for us to push the stuff out, while another engineer and myself did the actual dropping. We took turns to do half of each circle over the convoy beneath. We worked on all fours, pushing the "Window" out of the photo-flash chute." A similar deception was practised by No. 218 Squadron and another 16 ships heading for Boulogne. In the meantime 20 Lancasters of No. 199 Squadron patrolled the Channel, jamming enemy radar stations, while others flew patrols designed to lure enemy fighters from the landing areas. In fact the bulk of the German night-fighter force was ordered to intercept these aircraft. Another spoof operation was "Titanic," in which three squadrons of Halifaxes and Stirlings simulated the approach of an air borne landing, "Window" giving an impression of a landing 20 times its size. Fighter Command and 2nd T.A.F. pro vided the air cover and spotted for the Naval guns. The following eye-witness account is from S/L. R. H. G. Weighill, D.F.C., who was then a flight commander with No. 2 Squadron : "I was detailed," he says, "to lead the first pair of Mustangs from Gatwick, and dawn was breaking as we flew across the Channel. We could pick out the convoys, all heading in the one direction, and established contact with the cruiser Bluck Prince, We soon neutralized our first target, a large con crete gun emplacement, and flew inland to find further targets. We selected a con centration of enemy armour, and while diis was being destroyed I was instructed to abandon the shoot and go down to 500ft and report on the progress of the landings. At that moment the barges were about 500 yards from the beaches, and were obviously racing each other to get there first. As they got nearer and nearer the excitement was tremendous. It was one of the greatest moments of my life when I reported to Black Prince that the invasion of Europe had begun. In all the excitement I had not realized that I was getting short of fuel, and as I turned for home my thoughts were with those magni ficent army chaps for whom there was no easy way back. They had literally burned their boats, and were fighting for their lives to gain that foothold which was to mean so much." Curiously enough, in three patrols flown that day over the back areas of the beach heads by a Spitfire wing led by W/C. D. G. Smallwood, D.S.O., M.B.E., D.F.C., only one enemy aircraft was seen —a Ju 88, which was promptly shot down in flames. Three trains were attacked. Silencing the German Guns S/L. E. L. D. Drake, D.F.C., A.F.C., of No. 105 Squadron, contributes a Bomber Command memory of that vital day. "As far as most members of No. 105 Squadron were concerned," he says, "we did not know officially that the invasion had started until we returned to base after completing our sorties. No. 105 was a Pathfinder unit of Mosquitoes using 'Oboe,' the radar blind-marking and bombing device. My navigator and I suspected from the steadily increasing tempo of activity—and refusal of permis sion to leave camp—that D-Day must be imminent, although the form of briefing on the night of June 5th did not differ from any normal occasion. "Our target was a German gun emplace ment at Merville, on the coast of Northern France. We took off from Bourn, near Cambridge, early on June 6th and were soon over the target. The aircraft was flown on an accurate course, guided by signals from the control station in Eng land for the final ten-minute level run-in to the target. At me prescribed moment the navigator received a release signal from the controller in England and dropped the markers. Due to cloud beneath us, we saw nothing of the target, nor any signs of the attack by the heavy bombers follow ing behind. This was not unusual for a blind-bombing attack, but during the return to base in the early light of the morning we could see the mass of sea and air movements leaving our coasts. We heard soon after landing that Bomber Command's attack had been successful." In all, 1,136 bombers dropped 5,260 tons of bombs on ten coastal batteries. The task of transporting the British 6th Airborne Division to the dropping zones north-east of Caen entailed the employ ment of 264 aircraft and 96 aircraft and glider combinations. These were drawn from Nos. 38 and 46 Groups and, like the bombers, saw the invasion ships ploughing their way across the Channel. From S/L. T. R. N. Wheatley-Smith of No. 48 Squadron, comes the following descrip tion: "Our Dakotas were to drop para troops near the river Orne, about one minute's flying from the French coast. We took off at 11.30 p.m. As well as our 20 paratroops, we carried motor cycles slung under the fuselage and small bombs to be dropped over the enemy coast, just to keep die defences pre-occupied—surely one of the very few occasions when the old Dak has acted as a bomber. We flew in a stream, in vies or three and, with cloud obscuring the moonlight, forma tion keeping was a tricky task. "There was no opposition over the coast, though we did see some flak towards Le Harve. Finding the dropping zone was difficult, owing to the short run-in and the diffused moonlight. There was no time for second runs as everything was timed to the second and we had to return at set heights to avoid interference with other aircraft. Coming back we could see the wakes of the invasion vessels ploughing across the Channel. "On reaching the English coast we all switched on navigation lights, presenting a remarkable sight. Red, green and white lights were all around us, serving as a sharp reminder of the risk which existed due to the large number of aircraft operating." Coastal Command's share in the com plicated task was to prevent U-boats and enemy surface vessels from attacking the convoys. On the first two days the Com mand flew no fewer than 353 sorties. Describing the invasion as seen by the commanding officer of a Beaufighter unit, W/C. E. H. McHardy, D.S.O., A.F.C., of No. 143 Squadron, says: "A short time before the invasion we moved from North Coates, Lincolnshire, to Manston, Kent. We painted black and white stripes on our aircraft, and this, in addition to glimpses of the build-up of shipping on our coasts, was a fair indication that something was about to happen. "Assisted by our radar stations, we operated every night against enemy vessels venturing out from Continental ports. Once we had been directed to the target it was comparatively easy to pick up the white wake of the E-boats, even in the dark. On the night of June 6th we were extremely active off the French coast, mounting between 18 and 26 sorties. The E-boats were out in force. An entry in my log-book describes a sortie under the control of G.C.I, station operating in the Le Touquet area, and an attack on three E-boats, during which one was sunk."
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