This is post 110

It’s about a book I bought today on Google Books.

I got curious when I was searching for this pilot.

I only had his name and that he was with 416 Squadron. The above image is part of this one.

This is the original black and white picture part of Gordon McKenzie Hill’s collection.

 

Gordon Hill is 94 years-old and is sharing all the pictures he took during World War Two.

This is a book review taken on this Website:

http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/spitfire-aces-northwest-europe-1944-45

Harten’s name was mentioned a few times in the book and for $9.99 I thought I would be a good buy.

This is an image taken from the book.

This is the book review of the Website.

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Spitfire Aces of Northwest Europe 1944-45
Published: October 30th, 2014

Author: Andrew Thomas; Illustrator: Chris Thomas
Reviewed by: Paul Mahoney, IPMS# 8943
Company: Osprey Publishing
ISBN #: 978-1-78200-338-0

Other Publication Information: Softcover, 96pp, 12 pages of color profiles, 2 appendices;
Price: $22.95
Product / Stock #: Aircraft of the Aces #122
Web Site: Osprey Publishing [4]
Product Web Page: View [5]
Product provided by: Osprey Publishing [4]

Osprey has produced so many different “Aces” titles at this point, that the remaining subjects are becoming very narrow indeed. This new volume, as the title says, covers Spitfire Aces of Northwest Europe during 1944-45, and even more specifically the Spitfires covered are limited to Marks V, VII, IX, and XVI (all Merlin-engined).

Despite the narrow subject, the book essentially follows the same format anyone familiar with this series will recognize. The author plows right in with description of the first Spitfire combat of 1944 that resulted in the pilot becoming an ace. The book continues chronologically, with six chapters ranging from “Early Encounters”, through “Normandy” and culminating in “Surrender.” The author does a great job of narrating the ‘big picture’ history, and then brings it to life in the context of the chapter title via personal narratives taken from diaries, combat logs and interviews. The text is supported throughout by a good deal of photographs, most having detailed captions describing the subject aircraft or pilot in some detail.

Beyond this there are 12 pages of extremely well-done side profiles (in color) of various aces’ mounts. These also have in-depth captions (at the back of the book) with some good details on the pilot associated with the profile. The artwork was done by Chris Thomas, who has written and illustrated a number of other Osprey publications.

The number of appendices in this book is limited to two (other Osprey titles often have several more). The first, as would be expected, lists Spitfire Aces of NW Europe 1944-45. The second lists aces with some claims while flying Spitfires during the same time period.

Overall, this book is yet again what one comes to expect from the Osprey “Aces” series. A well-written narrative of this particular part of the War, interspersed with many stories about individual aces (many in their own words). All this is complemented by nicely-done color plates, lots of good photos, and a few useful appendices. While I definitely recommend this for those interested in the topic, I wonder how much further down the series will be able to drill? There certainly are still more topics to be covered, but they are indeed narrowing!

I will mention again (as I have in earlier reviews), that the publisher’s website shows this and many other titles are also available in e-formats. These e-books are almost half the full retail price of the print copy. This might be a cost-effective way to add more titles to your library!

Finally, I would like to thank Osprey publishing for providing the book, and IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it!

Source URL: http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/spitfire-aces-northwest-europe-1944-45

Links:
[1] http://web.ipmsusa3.org/category/review-type/aircraft
[2] http://web.ipmsusa3.org/category/product-type/publications
[3] http://web.ipmsusa3.org/sites/default/files/reviews/spitfire-aces-northwest-europe-1944-45/review_spit_aces_1.jpg
[4] https://ospreypublishing.com
[5] https://ospreypublishing.com/spitfire-aces-of-northwest-europe-1944-45

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I wonder how much further down the series will be able to drill?

Flight Lieutenant John Harten

Spitfires in Malta – Update

Stuart Bean added this comment…

My granddad was in 137 MU* on Malta and worked in Gzira on the long term repair of Spitfires and Hurricanes. He was involved in the cannibalisation of planes and recovering wrecks to serviceable states. One of the planes he repaired was BP961. Which he received 23/10/42, and it left him 6/12/42. The plane was in a real mess and the books has two pages detailing what they had to do, to get it going again.

* Maintenance Unit

Also worked on BR177 that he described as shot up in action, with shrapnel T/P and M/P 8/4/43.

ORIGINAL POST

Spitfire Mk Vc BP961
Collection Georges Nadon

Collection Georges Nadon

Spitfire – a documentary on this mythical fighter

Time Machine

All found  on the Internet.

Official caption from the rear of the photo:

“Neg No. OCR-11890 — U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier Wasp ferries British aircraft to Malta. First photographs showing the carrier en route to the British Mediterranean Stronghold.”

“(a) Comdr. Dickey, Executive Officer, Flight Lieut. Sly, RAF, and Lieut Sims, RAF, Engineer Officer interview Pilot Officer S.A. Smith, RAF, and examine his Spitfire after he made a successful landing aboard the USS Wasp. Pilot Smith, shortly after his take-off, developed engine trouble and signaled he was returning for a landing. Although the Spitfire has no arresting gear, Pilot Smith managed to land the high speed fighter on the deck of the carrier without mishap—a remarkable feat of flying and coordination with the ship.”

[According to DANFS entry for Wasp, Smith accidentally released his drop tank and lacked the range to make it to Malta.]

NARA San Francisco. (Photo is dated 3 July 1942, which is obviously wrong, sinceWasp ferried aircraft to Malta in April and May, and was already in the Pacific by July. This may be the date the photo was developed, or reprinted, or whatever).

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Corrections: Wendy Noble, sister of P/O Smith, notes:

(1) “The correct initials for my brother areJ.A. (for Jerrold Alpine) whereas you wrote of him as Pilot Officer S.A. Smith.” [“S.A.” is actually what is written on the back of the photo.]

(2) “You note that Jerry ‘accidentally released his drop tank.’ [This is what DANFS states.] Actually the problem was that his auxiliary tank failed to draw.”

(3) “The question of the date of the landing. According to Jerry’s logbook, the date of this event was May 9, 1942.”

Additionally, Wendy explains:

“My name is Wendy Noble and Jerry was my eldest brother. He and his younger brother Rod (Sq/L Roderick Illingworth Alpine Smith, DFC & Bar) briefly flew as a pair in Malta, having landed there at different times, until Jerry went missing on August 10, 1942. Rod ended the war an Ace with a score of 13 1/5 shot down, the latter being the sharing of the first Commonwealth downing of an ME 262 German jet fighter. Jerry was born on March 26, 1921, and Rod on March 11, 1922 so they were just short of a year apart in age.”

“Sources:”

“1. My source for the [second] point is my brother Rod whom I noticed crossed out a reference in a book he owned, written by another author, which erroneously reported that Jerry’s auxiliary tank had ‘fallen off.’ Rod had penned in ‘Failed to draw.’ It’s a mistake many writers make. After the war Rod graduated from mechanical engineering and then became a lawyer, meticulous about accuracy!”

“2. I have both Rod’s and Jerry’s log books and was able to easily nail down the date of the landing which was under question beside your photo.”

“I have a variety (about 5) of official photos taken that day, and photos and negatives of the landing at different stages, including one of signalman David McCampbell giving his hat to Jerry when he said ‘My hat’s off to you’ by way of congratulating him on the landing. I also have letters from the officers written to my parents. You may know that Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was aboard the Wasp that day and wrote several pages about the landing in his memoirs.”

“About 20 years ago Rod went to the States, bearing photos of the landing day, and met with the remarkable David McCampbell who autographed them. Needless to say, I treasure those photographs.”

“Rod’s unfinished memoirs were taken on by British historian and Aviation writer, Christopher Shores, for Grub Street Publishing, London. Chris added to Rod’s considerable body of work where needed, and it was published under the title, The Spitfire Smiths: A Unique Story of Brothers in Arms.”

(Thanks to Wendy Noble and Tracy White for the corrections.)

Sgt. Keating’s effort at dusk landings

Spitfire BP961

FF 23-3-42

6MU 24-3-42

RAF Abbotsinch 9-4-42

ff Malta 603S

CB ops 24-4-42

SOC [Hit obstruction on landing Takali 24-3-43] Struck off (RAF) Charge

Additional Info

• Serial: BP961
• Mark: Vc
• c/n: 2711
• Factory: Chattis Hill
• Engine: Merlin 46

Source

http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p028.html

 

Other abbreviations:

1 2 3 4	Damage categories
AC CA CB CE	Damage categories
Cv	Converted
FA	Flying accident (followed by Damage Category: CE=Writeoff)
FF	First flew
FH	Flying hours
FTR	Failed to return
GA	Ground accident (followed by category)
RNDA	Royal Naval Deposit Account
SOC	Struck off (RAF) Charge

Spitfires in Malta

Collection Georges Nadon

Collection Georges Nadon

B-2 Bazenville

Taken from this source here.

Airfield Bazenville (Advanced Landing Ground B-2 Bazenville or B-2 Crépon) was an Allied wartime airfield in Normandy, France.

The airfield was built by the Royal Engineers 16th Airfield Construction Group together with the RAF’s 3207 and 3209 Servicing Commandos starting just after midnight after D-Day.

The groups built a runway, dispersal areas, communications facilities, landing lights and many other requirements to run an airfield.

It was located between the villages of Crépon, Bazenville and Villiers-le-Sec.

ALG B-2 would have been completed as the first ALG in Normandy on 9 June, but a B-24 Libeator crashlanded at the uncompleted airfield that morning and ripped up a lot of SMT.

Instead it was completed two days later, on June 11, and serviced the first 36 aircraft (Spitfires) of 127 Wing that same day.

The complete Wing (403, 416, 421 and 443 Sqns) moved in on 16 June 1944.

Collection Georges Nadon

 

Even more – Encore plus

probably at St-Eugene, Ontario

From Van Sainsbury’s collection

His son had shared with me on my RCAF 403 Squadron blog some old pictures of his father.

403 Squadron

He also had this one of an unknown Spitfire pilot.

 

Not anymore

Georges Nadon – l’homme derrière l’avion

Je sais que Georges Nadon se tient devant et non derrière son Spitfire… Juste un petit jeu de mots ce matin.

Je connais le type de Spitfire photographié ici, et je sais probablement quand cette photo fut prise.

Qui était Georges Nadon, l’homme “derrière” l’avion, et comment découvrir tout son courage puisqu’il a si peu parlé de ses souvenirs de guerre?

Je me demande aussi pourquoi il a baptisé son Spitfire Henry.

Je l’ai demandé à son fils et à sa fille qui ont partagé les souvenirs de guerre de leur père en leur écrivant un courriel. Son fils m’a écrit et a partagé cette anecdote racontée par son père.

Un moment donné en Europe, un squadron leader venait d’atterrir et mon père atterrissait tout de suite en arrière de lui sauf que le leader ne s’est pas tassé  pour donner assez de place à mon père pour atterrir avec aisance. Ils ont failli avoir une collision. 

Le leader a commencé à engueuler mon père mais mon père s’est défendu en disant que lorsqu’il avait pris son cours de pilotage, une des choses à faire une fois atterri, c’était de faire la place pour le suivant, chose que le leader n’avait pas fait. Selon les pilotes, il parait que le leader était un peu “show off”.

C’est à ce moment là que tous les autres pilotes qui étaient sur place ont pris la part de mon père et le leader s’est viré de bord avec la face rouge sans dire un mot de plus.

Les vétérans parlaient rarement de la guerre. Je le sais pour avoir eu le privilège d’en rencontrer quelques-uns depuis 2010.

Revenons à l’avion derrière George. C’est un Spitfire Mk IX, et la photo a dû être prise en France en regardant le sol et le type de revêtement de plaques d’acier perforées utilisées sur les aérodromes en France après le Jour J.

Je sais que Georges Nadon était avec l’escadrille 403 Squadron lors de son dernier tour d’opérations en regardant son logbook. Il fit son premier tour avec l’escadrille 122 en Angleterre, puis avec l’escadrille 185 à Malte, avant d’être rapatrié au Canada et basé à Bagotville en 1943. C’est à cette époque qu’il se maria. 

Son deuxième tour d’opérations fut avec l’escadrille 403 de juin 1944 à mars 1945.

Pourquoi est-ce si important que j’écrive sur un Spitfire baptisé Henry?

Parce que Georges Nadon n’a jamais parlé de ses 277 missions faites durant le Deuxième Guerre mondiale, et que fort probablement il avait baptisé son Spitfire Henry à cause d’Henriette qui était le nom de sa femme.