A Very Unusual Air War by Gill Griffin Read Free Book Online Page A

the same day I had my one and only lesson in dog fighting. Perhaps even more unbelievable is that I had only 1 hour 40 minutes flying solo at night and that in a Miles Master trainer within sight of the flarepath. On joining 41 Squadron, on June 12th, I was ordered off for a night reconnaissance of the Catterick sector. My Spitfire was fully armed and operational in case I ran across the odd German bomber. We had only the old TR9 radio with poor reception and limited range and, apart from the magnetic compass, no navigation aids. It still seems absolutely amazing that we supremely confident youngsters got safely back to our bases. Of course there were some who were not so lucky.
    At OTU most instructors were veterans of the Battle of Britain just a few months earlier, on rest from their battle experiences or recovering after being wounded or injured in crashes. Some of them still showed the stress and trauma of their operations. They taught me as much as time permitted, to improve my flying and how to hold my own in combat; they also taught me to play bridge.
    Having a car made me popular with the other cadets and I made particular friends with four of them. Ron Rayner came from Manchester and being quite near, we spent a weekend with Ron’s parents. Desmond O’Connor (Dessie) came from the north of England and was a quiet, likeable youngster. Later we both became members of 602 Squadron and I was most upset when in the hard fought battles of the next year, on March 8th, he was shot down; later it was confirmed that he had died. Ronnie Rayner and I first joined 41 Squadron at their home base of Catterick, although my stay there was only two months. Ron remained with the squadron and after a full tour was posted to Malta and North Africa. He converted back to Hurricanes and later still went to Yugoslavia, instructing Tito’s airmen. He was awarded the DFC and survived the war. Ron passed away in 2001.
    John Niven joined 602 squadron straight from OTU, like me as a sergeant. He and Jimmie Garden were both Scotsmen. Johnnie was commissioned early in 1942 and became my flight commander in ‘A’ Flight. He survived being shot down later in the war and was, I believe, badly wounded. Awarded a DFC, he attained the rank of squadron leader, but some years after the war he, like Ron, developed heart trouble. We met at the Hendon RAF Air Museum in 1976 and he invited Estelle and me to visit him at his home in Inverness but he died before we could take up the invitation.

2
41 SQUADRON, HOME BASE CATTERICK
YEAR
1940
AIRCRAFT
Pilot or 1st Pilot
2nd Pilot, Pupil or Pass.
DUTY (Including Results and Remarks)
Flying Time
Passenger
MONTH
DATE
Type
No.
Dual
Solo
June
11th
Spitfire
B
Self
 
Local reconnaissance
 
1–30
 
 
 
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Air firing; Air to ground
 
−55
 
 
12th
Spitfire
E
Self
 
Night flying. Local
 
−25
 
 
 
Spitfire
C
Self
 
Squadron formation
 
−55
 
 
 
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Formation and DF homing
 
−35
 
 
 
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Night flying. Circuits and landings
 
−35
 
 
13th
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Night flying test
 
−10
 
 
14th
Spitfire
H
Self
 
Formation and cloud flying
 
1–10
 
 
 
Spitfire
H
Self
 
Local flying
 
−25
 
 
15th
Spitfire
H
Self
 
Cloud formation and dog fighting
 
−50
 
 
 
Spitfire
H
Self
 
Squadron formation and climbs
 
1–3
 
 
 
Spitfire
H
Self
 
NIGHT FLYING. Circuits and landings
 
1–00
 
 
16th
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Aerobatics
 
1–05
 
 
 
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Squadron formation to Acklington
 
−30
 
 
 
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Air firing
 
−25
 
 
 
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Acklington to base
 
−30
 
 
17th
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Night flying, Army co-operation
 
1–20
 
 
 
Spitfire
D
Self
 
Formation to Leeming. Crashed on landing
 
−10
 
 
18th
Spitfire
G
Self
 
Night flying test
 
−10
 
19th
Spitfire
G
Self
 
Night flying. Army co-operation
 
1–45
 
 
 
Spitfire
G
Self
 
Night flying