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If
you can supply further information on any of the topics below, or
would like to send a message to any of our correspondents,
please *contact
us
at the 3 Squadron Website.
Contacts prior to 2009:
Correspondence came in from former 3 Squadron
Sabre-driver, Wing Commander Peter Larard, concerning the
dedication of a plaque honouring those RAAF Units and personnel who
served in the Vietnam War during the years 1964 – 1975. The
plaque ceremony will be at Point Cook, Victoria on the 28th of March. After his time with 3 Squadron, Peter flew
in Vietnam, commanding the United States Air Force Tactical Air Support
Squadron (TASS) supporting 1st Australia Task Force (1ATF) during late
1969, and flying unarmed Cessna O-2 Super Skymaster aircraft
from Vung Tau in the Forward Air Controller (FAC) role over Phuoc Tuy
Province.
The Australian War memorial has a handsome oil portrait of
Peter
and also a photo of him with his rather vulnerable-looking
piston-engined Cessna (interestingly, with push-pull propellers).
Rodney Cockfield is a memorabilia collector who has
quite a few photos of RAAF 3 Squadron history. The
photos belonged to Leslie Herbert BRADBURY (dec.) who told
Rodney he shared aircraft marked CV-X & CV-Z. Les
was a Hurricane pilot during the early-1941 campaign deep into Libya. Some of these photos have now been used on
our website.
Bob Muirhead, a 91-year old
DFC winner, emailed us to make some suggestions concerning the website
(which we implemented!) and to enquire about the fate of his friend Geoff
Hiller, who, according to our Roll of Honour,
"was shot down by Hauptmann
Karl-Wolfgang Redlich of l/JG 27 just outside Tobruk and baled-out
of his burning aircraft with burns to the head. Geoff was
taken prisoner and hospitalised, but died of his wounds on
2/12/41".
There is an AWM photo of Geoff in
Palestine and the records of his individual missions can be read
online, finishing at p407 of the Operations
Record Book. [We also have an interesting letter about Geoff being
shot down.]
We also provided some information
for Bob about Geoff's German opponent: Karl-Wolfgang Redlich
was an expert Luftwaffe pilot with around 30 victories at that
time. (It's frightening to think of the 3 Squadron boys in their
dusty old "Tommies", cheerfully going up against such men in their
excellent ME109Fs. - There's a controversy amongst historians
these days as to whether Churchill should have been hogging all the
Spitfires back in England in 1941, and throwing them away on wasteful
"circus" missions over France. Some better top-cover in Africa
would certainly have saved a lot of P-40 losses.) Redlich
himself was killed in combat in 1944.
Brendon Wood, the son of a
3 Squadron Sabre groundcrew member, Perce Wood, has passed on
some interesting colour photos of the arrival of the first 3 Squadron
Sabres onto the brand-new concrete strip at Butterworth Malaya in
November 1958. This was at the conclusion of their historic and
complex multi-stage flight from Australia, called 'Operation Sabre
Ferry'. The Sabres looked very smart in their decorative
orange recognition bands on tail, tailplane air intake and
wingtips. (Orange was the "Squadron" colour for No.3 at that
time; presumably based on the flame-colour on the Squadron's badge -
but does anyone know the official reason?) The pictures have
been included in our "Sabre
Ferry" web-page.
Former Mustang pilot Alan Clark has forwarded a
letter of thanks from Edwin Adamson for information that we provided
about his uncle Vic CURTIS, who flew Tomahawks with 3 Squadron
but was sadly killed later in a flying accident in Australia.
Vic is mentioned extensively in Brian
Thompson's diary.
Neil Smith's speech about World War One at
the Squadron's 93rd Birthday celebrations bought to light the amazing
co-incidence that one of the current Squadron personnel, Kristi
Adam, had a grandfather who not only served with 3 Squadron in
WWI, but who also received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
In, fact, it was a very "special" DFC; Lt. E.F. Rowntree was
the only "Observer" in 3 Squadron to receive it (the other 15 DFCs all
went to pilots). Rowntree must have been an exceptional
team-member with his usual pilot: Lt. T. L. Baillieu DFC. The
Australian War Memorial's online database shows that Rowntree received
his DFC after flying (at altitudes of less than 100 feet) for an hour
and a half under heavy enemy machinegun fire during the Battle of
Amiens! (8-8-1918.)
A Polish reader, Paul Powzyk,
wrote to question whether the Kittyhawks at Iesi, Italy (alternatively
spelt "Jesi") in November 1944 wore a colour-scheme of "green and
brown" (with light grey undersides, as the Squadron Kittyhawks had in
the first half of 1944), or darker "green and grey" camouflage, as
with the Mustangs received in November 1944. The limited
photographic evidence available seems to suggest that the Iesi
Kittyhawks were in the darker "green and grey" camouflage, but if
anyone has any further knowledge of this rather specialised topic,
please contact us.
AWM MEA2051
Jesi, Italy. c. November 1944.
Fitters of No. 3 Squadron RAAF, a fighter bomber squadron in Italy, at
work on Curtiss P40 Kittyhawk aircraft.
Bruce Nash, son of Murray
Nash, wrote to thank us for some brief research into the fate of
his father's famous natural-metal Mustang CV-P, which was struck off
charge and scrapped by the RAF in March 1946. In fact, the shiny
KH716, which is illustrated on our website and in many other
references, was Murray's second "CV-P" Mustang. - The first was
KH677, a camouflaged P51K, which Murray handed-down to the Squadron.
KH677 was later lost on operations when "Jungle Jim" Edmonds was
killed. (This was the Squadron's last fatality of WW2 - 11 April
1945.)
Murray Nash's mounts.
Illustrations Steve Mackenzie
Aviation Enthusiast Robert Blaikie was
attracted by our website article about Jack
Treacy (WW1 pilot in 3 Squadron AFC, and 1920s Australian
Aviation pioneer). Robert has provided several interesting
additional photos and newspaper clippings. One photo shows Jack
after he landed an Avro 504K in Central Queensland. (This was
the first-ever aeroplane landing at St. George Queensland and the
plane bears markings showing it to have been manufactured by Nigel Love at
Mascot!)
Veteran Kittyhawk pilot Tom Russell has been
chasing up (for Terry van Haren's aviation-mad young son, Rhys...!)
some details about one particular Kittyhawk, "GA-M"
from the famous "shark" squadron, 112 RAF. 112 Squadron served
beside 3 Squadron in the Western Desert and later in 239 Wing in Italy
through until the end of the war. 112SQN had many Australian
pilots including the famous Clive Caldwell, Australia's top WW2 ace
(whose code was usually GA-X).
It turns out that there was a long series of
aircraft coded "GA-M" during the war years, numbering at least one
Tomahawk, seven Kittyhawks and four Mustangs. Since each of
these aircraft was replacing a lost, damaged or obsolete predecessor,
this is a stark reminder of the wastage of war.
One famous commander of 239 Wing was Brian Eaton,
who had worked his way up from the bottom in 3 Squadron. The
specially-painted Kittyhawk that Brian flew from Cutella (Italy) in
1944 continues to attract attention from artists and modellers around
the world, including one recent correspondent Tony O'Toole.
This aircraft (Serial FS490, CV-V) displayed a Squadron “Shield”
showing a "Kittyhawk" bird with a bomb in his claws, swooping in front
of a large red number "3" over the white-and-gold Desert Air Force
Shield. This aircraft also exhibited a spectacular
yellow-and-black chequered tailplane. Slim Moore recalls that
this aircraft was later marked "BA-E", once Eaton was promoted to Wing
Commander and was allowed to use his personal initials on his
plane. In April 1944, Slim taxied this same aircraft to safety,
despite one burst tyre, after the Americans mistakenly strafed Cutella
airstrip (a wise move, Slim - to save the CO's crate!). BA-E
later had the radio removed so that a lucky passenger could be
carried, sitting on the battery behind the pilot's seat, for
non-operational hack flights. Slim remembers enjoying some of
these flights himself - although his options for baling out would
appear to have been quite limited if anything went wrong with old
BA-E!
An aviation researcher named Dave Barlow has
brought to our attention a 3 Squadron casualty who was not previously
recorded on the Squadron's Honour Roll. Flight Sergeant David
John Galabin SHEARMAN; Service Number 411394; was killed in a flying
accident, behind the front lines in Tunisia on 2 May 1943. He
was due to commence flying with 3 Squadron, but at the time of his
death was practising dive-bombing over the Mediterranean Sea, flying
an old Kittyhawk of the 239 Wing Training Flight. Flt.
Sgt. Shearman's body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the
Malta Memorial to the Missing, which honours those lost in the
Mediterranean Area.
Malta Memorial to the Missing
Douglas Taylor writes: “While researching my wife’s
family history, I found her great-uncle Jules Numa SANDOZ had
served with 3 Squadron AFC, between 1916 and 1919. He was a
Private, Air Mechanic, Serial No.635. I am lead to believe
he was probably a driver. He was born in Switzerland and spoke
fluent French, which would have been useful on the Western
front.”
Jules is shown in the AWM database, signing up as a Chauffer from
Woolwich, NSW, and
shipping out from Melbourne with the 3AFC “Originals” in
1916 (at the time called “No.2” Squadron). His full WW1
record is available online in the National Archives. Jules
had a bad run with Influenza at the end of the war (Page 21). (As
did, unfortunately, many of the men in 3AFC. Seven fatalities are
recorded on our WW1 Honour Roll.)
The grand-daughter of WW2 No.3 Squadron
Armourer, George Freeman CLAYTON, has been in touch, asking if
we could help her find pictures of George. We were able to find four nice photos from
Tunisia and Malta in the Australian War Memorial collection, including
an excellent one of George at the wheel of a captured German "Kubelwagen"
- a jeep-like vehicle based on the Volkswagen car. George's
signature is also visible in his Militia records from the 1930s, which
may be viewed online in the National Archives.
George Clayton at the wheel of his
captured Kubelwagen in Tunisia (Photo: AWM MEC0476)
Greg McMahon, ex-RAAF, asked us about the Squadron's "History
Sheets" (daily Operational Records) for Malaysia in the early
1970s. We were happy to inform Greg that these records are
available online at the National Archives:
Our "Family History
Research" page has links to all of the daily
records from 1916 to 1987.
James "Scotty" Potter, who worked on Mirages in Malaysia with the
Squadron and now lives in the UK, is looking for old mates Greg Gow,
John Day, and others by the names of Polaski and Schoebruber. We
were able to help with Greg Gow, but if anyone knows of contacts for the
others, please let us know.
Hard-working Neil Handsley
from the Association's Queensland Branch forwarded an interesting query
on the differences between the "King's Crown" and the "Queen's Crown" depicted on various versions of
the Squadron Badge.
The answer is; in short, that
the "Kings Crown" only applies to the Squadron Badge prior to
1953 and has a more uniformly "rounded" top compared with the "Queen's
Crown" (with two distinct lobes on top), which came in with Queen
Elizabeth the Second.
Post-1953 No.3 Squadron Badge
with "Queen's Crown"
Aviation Historian Peter Finlay, who helped
the popular author Peter Fitzsimons with the research for his
latest book on Charles Kingsford Smith, asked for our help in
determining whether 3 Squadron had featured in the amazingly lavish
13-aeroplane fly-past at the State Funeral of
pioneer aviator Keith Anderson, held in a public park in the Sydney
suburb of Mosman in 1929.
Anderson, in his tiny monoplane "The Kookaburra", had
tragically died of thirst after a forced-landing whilst searching for
his colleague "Smithy" during the "Coffee Royal" affair in North-Western
Australia.
Unfortunately, the funeral is
not mentioned in 3 Squadron's brief monthly records from that time
(although the records do mention other public display flights) and
none of the newspapers on the Google
Newspaper Archive database mention any RAAF
Westland Wapiti aircraft in the fly-past.
We were also able to direct Peter towards
many relevant details and pictures from those press articles,
and also from the online "Picture Australia" database.
However, it seem that an old book reference to 3SQN being in the flypast
is a mistaken garble of a Sydney Morning Herald report about "three
squadrons" (meaning groups) of planes.
3 Squadron veteran and former POW Alan Righetti has been helping a
young aviation enthusiast to find some information about the authors of
"3 Squadron at War"; Wing Commander John Watson and Louis
Jones. We discovered that "Wingco" Watson was a former
Sydney broadcaster who worked for the Department of Information and was
attached to Desert Air Force Headquarters. He wrote extensively
about 3 Squadron during the Desert campaign and conducted visits to the
Squadron for journalists. There is less information about Louis
Jones, except that he became a successful author in the USA.
Kylie Miljkovic of Sydney wrote to enquire about her
great-grandfather, Jack Treacy, who flew with 3 Squadron in World
War One. Besides Jack's exciting
story of combat over the Western Front,
already listed on the 3 Squadron website, we were able to
direct Kylie to some very nice pictures of Jack online, and to
locate his logbook and papers in the Australian War Memorial and the
National Archives. After World War One, Jack became an aviation
pioneer in Queensland, mapping many thousands of kilometres of air
routes and also making the first-ever landing on Brisbane's
spanking-new Eagle Farm airstrip!
The dashing Jack Treacy in his Australian Flying Corps Uniform -
Probably taken in France circa 1918.
(State
Library of Queensland / Image number: 27964)
Danny Roberts wrote from Perth, he is the son
of Harold "Robbie" Roberts (sadly now
deceased) who was a Tomahawk pilot shot down on one of the Squadron's
"black days", 22 November 1941, in a huge air battle south of
Tobruk. Harold was captured but met up with other 3 Squadron
POWs in Italy. When the Germans tried to transfer them out of
Italy they escaped from the train but Harold was
recaptured. He ended up, like several other 3 Squadron POWs, at
Stalag Luft 3 at Sagan in Poland. Harold had to endure the
forced march away from the advancing Russians in the depth of the 1945
winter, but thankfully he survived the war. Danny has typed up
his father's desert diary, which we have now
published
on the website.
David Midson in Queensland wrote to us about his
mother's cousin Garth Neill, who was one of the Squadron's most
successful Kittyhawk aces, winning a Distinguished Flying Medal, and
who sadly was shot down and went missing during the Battle of El
Alamein on 22 October 1942.
Elmer C. Meider, an American aircraft illustrator,
has been asking about Brian Eaton's Kittyhawk CV-V, which sported a
large "3 Squadron" shield on the nose and a colourful yellow-and black
chequered tailplane at the time when Eaton led 239 Wing at
Cutella and San Angelo (Spring 1944). Elmer has also been
interested in the "Angel chasing Hitler" nose art of Harry Shipley's
Kittyhawk CV-Z in March 1944. Harry was shot down and made a
POW, being wounded in the left leg, which had to be amputated by the
Germans. He survived captivity and there is a beautiful painting
by Stella Bowen in the War Memorial of Harry enjoying rehabilitation
in England.
Painting by Stella Bowen (AWM ART26274) showing Harry Shipley putting, left.
Mike Fox, an author and illustrator from the
USA, has enquired about the aerobatic display teams flown by 3
Squadron's Sabre aircraft in the late 1950s and early 1960s at
Williamtown and Butterworth. We were able to direct him to the
online Operations Record Books referring to the aerobatic displays,
and also to a few of our Sabre veterans. The Sabres sported very
attractive orange bands on their nose, wingtips and tail tips when
they were flown to Malaya as a squadron group during "Operation
Sabre Ferry" in 1958.
James Potter
writes from Scotland (October 2007),
I am an
ex-3 Squadron Butterworth 1971 to 74. Now living back in Scotland. Trying
to get my hands on squadron patches, and to get in touch with anyone
else that was there at the same time. Can you help.
We
replied to James:
Although the Association doesn't have cloth patches of our
own, I see they are available from the
RAAF Museum shop.
Scott
wrote (September 2007)
> Hi, I am chasing a little information.
> My wife's grandad was a Australian who
flew Hawker Hurricanes in WW2 for RAAF. He discharged from Cranfied airport.
> I would like to know the squadrons that the Australians flew.
> His name was Stephen John Holland. Rank pilot Officer.
> If you would have any information at all we would appreciate it
very much. If you don't know about it, it doesn't matter.
> Bye for now Scott.
We
were able to reply:
Dear Scott,
P/O Holland was not
involved with 3 Squadron, but you can find more details about him on
the National Archives of Australia for a small fee... (see
below). It will list all of his Squadrons. - It is very
likely he was attached to the British RAF if he was flying
Hurricanes this late in the war and was discharged in the UK.
Best Wishes from James
3 Squadron RAAF
Association Sydney.
Title: HOLLAND STEPHEN JOHN : Service Number - 430500 : Date of birth
- 17 Jun 1924 : Place of birth - NEWBRIDGE VIC : Place of enlistment -
MELBOURNE : Next of Kin - HOLLAND GERALD
Barcode 5250365. Series number A9300. Control symbol
HOLLAND S J. Contents date range 1939 - 1948. Location
Canberra
In May 2007, Bob Lynes dropped a
bombshell...
Subject: Missing W.W.1. Ace !!
Hi James,
I have been looking at 'The Squadrons of the
Australian Flying Corps 1914-19' website, which I found very
interesting, but was slightly disappointed to see they have missed
off one of YOUR 3 A.F.C. Aces -
Awards
of the Belge Croix de Guerre to Members Of The Australian
Flying Corps
ANDERSON, Captain William Hopton; Australian Flying
Corps; 3 Sqn AFC; London Gazette 12 July 1918, Commonwealth of
Australia Gazette 27 November 1918
BLACKETT,
Lieutenant Basil John; Australian Flying Corps; 3
Sqn AFC attached Royal Flying Corps; London Gazette 12
July 1918, Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 27 November
1918
Lieutenant B.J. Blackett was one of seven observers from 3
Squadron AFC who in late 1917 were dispersed to British squadrons
to be trained as Army Observers. 3 Squadron was being formed at
the time as a Corps Squadron and the remaining Observers were
trained as Corps Observers. Lieutenant E.R. Dibbs, one of the
seven observers, met Major D.V.J. Blake, the operational commander
of 3 Squadron and told Blake of the seven observers being sent to
British squadrons. Blake organised for the observers to be
transferred back to 3 Squadron. Unfortunately two had already been
killed in action and a third wounded in action. Blackett was
unique in that he remained attached to the Royal Flying Corps for
intelligence duties, he later transferred to the Royal Air Force.
B.J. BLACKETT, is listed as an Ace in 'Above the War Fronts'.
I cannot see anyone on the Aus. site to contact, so as you are 3
A.F.C. I thought you might like to advise them !!
I thought it was because his victories were with the R.F.C. but I
see a number on their list only had victories with the
R.F.C./R.A.F. (all the ones quoting R.F.C./R.A.F. sqds.)
Any chance a picture of Blackett survives in the Sqd. Archives ??
Over to you !
Best wishes,
Bob
We
replied:
I think Blackett's continued "attachment" to the RAF is the
reason for the confusion, but as you say, the list of Australian
aces includes several of the men who served with the RNAS etc., so
Blackett should be on it.
A 3 Sq WW1 Ace is certainly
news to me! (And very interesting no matter how transient
the connection!)
...Below is some more
information about Blackett....
"The Aerodrome" WW1 enthusiast site shows a table which expands slightly on the
information that you unearthed, including the times of the combats
that Blackett was flying in, and the nature of the damage
done to the German machines ("out of control",
"destroyed-on-fire"). Interestingly, Blackett was in DH-4
light bombers on all occasions, acting as the Observer
(i.e Rear Gunner).
The Australian War Memorial records the gazetting of his
Belgian Croix de Guerre, in July 1918.
- I was thrilled to see that the only other two Belgian
Croix de Guerres awarded to the AFC also went to 3 Squadron men
(Capt W.H. Anderson and Lt T.L. Simpson). - So, one way or
another, 3 Squadron "scooped the pool" for this gong!
Cam also lists Blackett's discharge from the AFC, which
is the date that he transferred to the RAF.
Lieut.Blackett Basil
John AFC Disch 31.10.1918
Luckily, Blackett's WW1 service file from the National
Archives of Australia is online...
It contains many interesting details...
His service number, "700", was quite low - he had signed up
on the 11th of August 1914. - Obviously a keen Empire
patriot! He had quite a lot of previous
citizen-military experience in the UK and Ceylon and was promoted
rapidly from the ranks to Lieutenant. (Turns out he'd been
educated at Eton and Cambridge - very
Wellingtonian!)
Note he was born in the UK, this would be another reason
that he has been claimed as an "RFC/RAF" ace even though he was a
member of the AFC at the time.
Page 31 shows that he served at Gallipoli in the 18th
Infantry Battalion AIF, from whence he was medically evacuated
(with severe dysentery and a "superficial gunshot wound"...) and
given two months convalescent leave in Britain.
On Page 53 Blackett makes an interesting
distinction between "Army" and "Corps" Observer work. (This
whetted my interest for finding out more about this.
According to the brief definitions on RAFweb, "Army" is reconnaissance behind the enemy
front, "Corps" is reconnaissance over the front line. )
Page 55 shows he was selected as an AFC observer in May
1917, and p56 shows he was attached to 25 Sqn RAF from 18 June, so
I don't think he spent any time actually with 3 Squadron
AFC. [Note: 3 Squadron (originally designated 69
Australian Squadron RAF) didn't fly to France until 9 September
1917. They were training at South Carlton, U.K., just
north of Lincoln, during the time that Blackett was in training at
Reading, west of London.] Also there is nothing in this file
about any administrative attachment to 3 Squadron (a minor
mystery), but there must be records somewhere else to have
prompted the connection mentioned by Cam Riley.
Very interestingly, page 88 shows that Blackett was a member
of the "Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force" which
invaded Rabaul (the German colony off New Guinea) in 1914 -
Australia's first military action of WW1. He had an
interesting Great War!
An appeal from Nev Hayes.
"Can somebody oblige me with a copy of the flying log
book of William Hopton ANDERSON?
I am chasing entries for Sept 23 - Oct
18th, 1920, being the period in which he
was involved in the search for the schooner Amelia J, and
subsequent search for Billy Stutt and Abner Dalzell. Extracts
from the log book OK, or even his memoirs if such exist. Contact
with
his relatives would be helpful."
FLTLT Les Crawford advises :
The Squadron has received an Observer's Air Gunner's and W/T Operators
flying log book which belonged to Cpl A. L. Godden who graduated from
No 36 Course at Uranquinty Jul-Oct 1943. To
allow us to place this item in our display areas, I would appreciate
if any of your members could contribute some information on this
member.
Buz and Sue Busby
sent a request for some assistance compiling their history of
each and every Kittyhawk ever built (13,738 of them!). They'd
love to hear from 3 Squadron Kitty pilots particularly those who may
have flown Kittys at OTUs, for the Wing, and on RSU training
flights.
Susan Philbrook is
looking for anyone who knew her Uncle Robert (Bob) Philbrook
who served with 3 Squadron in Italy 1944/45.
A few people have enquired 'why and when' the Southern
Cross was adopted on rudders, firstly on Kittyhawks and then Mustangs
flown by 3 Squadron in Italy. One is
Stephen Maire who has made a P40 model and another is
Andrew Smith. - The background story is that the
attractive "Air Force Blue" rudder with white "Southern Cross", later
used universally on 3SQN Mustangs as a 3SQN unit-marking, was first
used on a single Kittyhawk, "CV-Z" in mid-1944 during the "Gothic
Line" campaign. The 3SQN commanding officer of the time, Murray
NASH, gave the credit for the design to groundcrew member "Grizz"
BEAR.
Neena de Rofe seeks information
about a Squadron leader Rodger Adaams (that's ADAAMS) who was in
Australia in 1944/5. Anyone know him?
Walter Houghton had a cousin, Paul Carpenter,
who was the Curtiss-Wright technical rep who visited 3 Squadron (and
took a lot of photos too) in about 1942. Anyone
who recalls Paul's visit should drop Walt a line or two.
Harry Schaeffer was a 3 Squadron WWII pilot. His son David would like to know
more about his father's service during 1941 and early 1942. In
later years, Harry also flew as a Squadron Leader with 77
Squadron in New Guinea. Would anyone
who remembers serving with Harry, contact David via
us please. Phone: (02) 4942
3242.
Alessandro Patroncino lives in Pescara,
Italy. He is writing a series of
books about Allied aircraft that fought in Italy during WWII. He'd
like anyone who remembers 239 Wing's participation in attacks near the
area, particularly any dam
and Pescara River attacks, to e-mail him.
Alex Crawford seeks information and
photos about Gloster Gladiators and Gauntlets for his
research project covering 3 Squadron's use of these wonderful
aircraft. He'd love to hear from any
pilots who flew them and ground crew who worked on them. He's also
published a book about Gladiators
"Further to my Gladiator
book, I am gathering material for a combined book on the Gloster
Gauntlet and Bristol Bulldog. I
have info on the Gauntlets with 3 RAAF and some on the Bulldog in
general. What I am looking for is
some photos of Australian Bulldogs. Do
you know where I may be able to obtain some? If
you can help I would be most grateful. This
book will also be published by Mushroom Model Publications."
Lin Krust seeks information:
I'm seeking information on C. G.
Krust, who served with 3 Squadron during WW2.
His service record with AWM & NAA has only name, rank and serial
number. My father and I are
researching our family's history and C. G. (Charles) is a bit of a
mystery. He is listed as an Airman 1,
and would have been a little older than perhaps other crew - 34 or 35
in 1942. He was originally from
NSW. Many thanks in advance for any help.
Editor's Note: Charles
is not listed in "3 Squadron at War". Newspaper
articles indicate that he was a Chaplain , which
would account for sparse records and his wandering from Army to
Air Force.
John Bennett wants to
know about this:
The picture below is a 3 Squadron Cirrus Moth at
Richmond. It has been damaged in some unidentified accident
probably late 1920s. Of interest is the short-lived 3 Squadron tail
marking, applied to some Moths and Wapitis. Can anyone provide
the identity of this aircraft, and any details of this tail marking?
Ian Gillett sends this picture and asks for help:
Bob Gillettt (left) and two mates.
I am contacting you on behalf of my father Bob Gillett
who served in 3 Squadron in the middle east and Europe during the war.
An old friend recently sent him a
photo taken in Tel Aviv at the "Australian Club". I'm
not sure of the date but my father (on the left) and his mates are
having a good time so it is probably late in the war. They were
drinking from glasses made from old beer bottles and these glasses
were called "Lady Blameys". We have asked a few of his old war
mates but nobody can give an exact origin of the name.
Editor's Note:
This photo will probably be from 1941, at around the time of the
Syrian campaign.
Lady Blamey was
the wife of General Sir Thomas Blamey and was able to join him in
the Middle East (the only wife of an Australian serviceman to do
so), as she was also Commander of the Australian Red Cross.
She apparently promoted the idea of making drinking glasses
for the troops from beer bottles.
There are further pictures of the Australia Club and its
beach setting in the Harry Clare Collection.
Mick Sinclair, who is planning to use 3
Squadron as a "reality-squadron" in a new website educational-game
he's thinking of creating, writes as follows:
"Just a question: I have seen an aircraft which is CV-D
but has the D reversed. The picture is in Desert Warriors and may have
been a replacement a/c to the Squadron flown by Danny Boardman and
renumbered. In the photo the a/c is
damaged, but the author was unable to put a serial number to the
plane. Just wondering if you could
help, I'd like to replicate this a/c in the game with a serial number.
"
Anne Mainsbridge writes for information:
"I am looking for information about my great uncle,
Reg Percival, who served with the 3rd Squadron in WW2. He
was killed in action in September, 1943. I am particularly interested
in hearing from anyone who knew him, or who may have photographs of
him."
Editor's
Note: Our Roll of Honour lists:
Warrant Officer Reginald Edmund Percival,
service number 402671, is buried at Catania War Cemetery,
Sicily. Plot I, row K, grave 47. Age 22. Son of Edmund Samuel
and Edith Annie Percival, of Strathfield, New South Wales,
Australia.
On 5/9/43 at 1710, twelve 3 Squadron Kittyhawks took off and
circled Lentini. Of an escort of
eight Spitfires, four went with a formation from 450 Squadron, but the other four didn't follow the 3
Squadron formation who flew west without fighter cover to bomb and
strafe the Pizzo-Gioria-Locri area in three sections led by
Squadron Leader Brian Eaton (FS431), Flying Officer Murray Nash
(FS409) and Flight Sergeant Ted Hankey (FS410). Vehicles
on the road south to Gioia were bombed and strafed. The
formation then turned inland where Ted Hankey and Flight Sergeant
George Hardiman (FS454) damaged vehicles, they then continued
along the road across a peninsula to Locri. Whilst attacking enemy
transport near Vibo Valentia, Mileto and Givia Taura, Warrant
Officer Percival's Curtiss Kittyhawk II FS446 was badly hit by
flak at Mileto (Y 7904). He was
escorted back to the tip of Sicily by Murray Nash but he was
unable to control the aircraft. He
crash-landed on a Sicilian beach at D 4265, but the aircraft hit a
bump and bounced into the sea. Army
personnel were seen to help Percival out of the aircraft, but he
died of his wounds the same night.
Reg's Casualty
file is available online in the NAA and an image of Reg's gravestone in the peaceful Catania
War Cemetery is available here.
Silk Map of SE France and NW Italy
Brad Johns sends a message:
I am ex 1 & 6 SQN
( F111) - and had the pleasure of showing some ex 3 SQN gentlemen over
a 6 SQN F111 at Amberley back in the mid-80s. I was
handed a silk escape map by one of them who said to me upon completion
of the the aircraft visit, " here you can have this now - it kept me
safe when I was flying Mustangs over Europe in WW2..." or words to
that effect. I have the map proudly displayed on my study wall and
would dearly love to be able to trace the gentleman who handed me that
map 20 odd years ago. I would very
much like to preserve this tiny bit of history with an account of the
original owner and his exploits. I
have not much more to go on than what I have told you - is it possible
to post something on the website to see if I can get a response? Sincerely Brad
Johns ( ex FLT LT Brad Johns 321108 - 6 SQN 1983-86 )
Bob Parrish writes:
"I am doing some research for the grandson of a member
of 3 Squadron RAAF, 68248 RONSON John William. His overseas record
shows that he left Aussie in 27/1/43 (ship
not known) and arrived Egypt 16/2/43 and was involved in North Africa,
Sicily and Italy campaigns. Was in
the UK 22/8/45 to 22/10/45 (Driffield Yorkshire 466 Squadron) and
returned to Aussie 3/1/46. His
rank was LAC and his trade was Fitter Mech then Fitter/IIE. From
the 3 Squadron records could you tell me of the ship that was involved
as transport Melbourne to Middle East and help with the RAAF's cyphers
- 2RC, 2RD, 2ED, 1ED, 56PTC, 1PDC, 4466SE,
11PDRC and 2PD mean. Any other info
would be great and anyone from that time that may have served
with him."
[1ED
was No.1 Embarkation Depot, located at the Royal Agricultural
Society Showgrounds at Ascot Vale, an inner western suburb of
Melbourne.
11PDRC - No.11 Personnel Dispatch and Receiving Centre, Brighton
UK.
56 PTC
- No. 56 Personnel Transit Centre: formed 16/11/44 at Portici,
Naples.]
Tom Ross seeks information:
I have come across several profiles showing 3 Sqn
Mustang III/IVs with blue propeller spinners rather than the standard
red used in Italy. Was this a flight
marking or used on the squadron as a whole? Was
the blue the same shade as that used on the rudder and was it used for
the code letters as well?
Were 3 Sqn P-40s in Italy camouflaged Green and Brown rather than the
desert Middle Stone and Brown? Definitive
evidence is hard to come by.
Editor's Note:
During WW2, 3
Squadron's propeller-spinners were always the standard "red" of
the Desert Air Force. There were no Mustangs flown on
operations with "blue" spinners - such references are
mistaken. Also many Kittyhawks did wear more "temperate"
camouflage colours in Italy. See Steve MacKenzie's
outstanding articles on the markings of the
Kittyhawk and Mustang in Italy.
An enquiry from Steven Vernon:
"I am writing to you regarding a gentleman who is
featured on your website, a Boxall-Chapman who helped recover the
tri-plane of the Red Baron along with other members of 3
Squadron.
Mr Boxall-Chapman was an active member of the 3 Squadron Association
and through great disability suffered during the war managed to rise
up through the ranks to become a Warrant Officer Class 1 of 3
Squadron. He was wounded in both eyes
by stray metal and shot in the left eye at Gallipoli whilst serving
with an Infantry Battalion. After
being declared unfit for duty he did not go home, but instead
re-enlisted this time with the Australian Flying Corps.
My interest resides in this gentleman as he was born in my home town
of Lincoln, England. I am something
of researcher in my town and have contributed to several books on the
subject of the Great War.
At present I have all the information from the Australian Archives
regarding this gentleman however I do not have access to any of the
Association material or any of the Squadron histories… I am unsure
even if there is a war diary for the Squadron? Might
it be possible for you to point me in the right direction into finding
more information on the above gentleman? Are there anymore references
to this gentleman elsewhere? I would
also like a photo of him, sadly the one photo of him that resides at
the Archives is very small. "
Editor's
Note:
Boxall-Chapman's fascinating 92-page AFC file
can be read online.
The War
Diaries for 3AFC can be downloaded from the AWM.
Similar to the above query, John Willis writes:
I am researching a little bit of local history here in the Latrobe
Valley in Victoria and wondered if you could help me.
I understand that Charles Cuvet Matheson was the pilot of
the first aeroplane to fly into this area, landing at Traralgon in
1919
on a Peace Loan flight.
I understand that Captain Matheson, who came from Trafalgar in this
area, was a pilot in 3 Squadron AFC in WWI.
I have been able to track some of his post-war flying but I am short
of detail on his WWI service.
We hope to establish some form of
recognition for him at the Latrobe regional airport terminal
building.
Matheson was promoted to Captain
and Flight Commander in 3AFC in October 1918.
His NAA file can be read online
at the NAA.
The War Diary for
October 1918, and surrounding months, will have details of each
of his flights, plus other administrative details.
Renato Zavattini (Address:
v. Bronzetti 19, 46100 Mantova, ITALY) sends:
I'm an Italian teacher of history; I started a research related to
Italian air force "Regia Aeronautica" in WWII, and I'm
focusing my attention on the point of view of its opponents. So I would like to interview, or to hear
something, from their opponents, that is, allied pilots who fought it.
Of course no political intentions,
just history! Any suggestion? I would greatly appreciate any personal
account and witnesses of veterans.
One excellent
place to start is the "Australians at War Film Archive"
and search for the keywords "Italian Air Force".
30 veterans' interviews come up.
Rebecca Diehm: My uncle, FO
William George Diehm, known as Bill, 412049, was shot down and
killed near Bir Dufan on the 14/1/43. Tom
Russell contributed a photograph of his grave marker to Russell
Brown's book, "Desert Warriors". A
similar photo, taken from a bit further away, was given to my
grandmother (his mother) shortly after the war. I
remember seeing it when I was a child. However,
Bill is named on the wall of the Alamein Memorial run by the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is for "people for whom
war has denied the honour of a known or marked grave". Would
anybody know what happened to my uncle after he was shot down? Who might have buried him and written so
nicely on the propeller grave marker in the photo? Why
might the Commonwealth War Graves Commission be adamant that there was
no marked grave? And would anybody
have any pictures of him while he was with 3 Squadron? I
would appreciate any information from anyone who might remember him.
The War
Memorial's page has a photo of Bill
and clicking on their related Roll of Honour circular shows that
Bill is still buried somewhere on the remote desert flatlands of
Bi'r
Dufan.
The isolation of this location may be the reason why Bill's
grave was not recovered to a Commonwealth cemetery after the
fighting had finished. Bill's Personnel File is
in the National Archives and was updated in 1948, so this is
likely to contain further explanation of why the grave was not
moved.
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