459 Squadron History - 1942-1945
Commanding Officers
S Ldr P.W. Howson Temporary C.O. 24.12.41 to 18.4.42
W Cmdr K.S. Hennock C.O. 19.4.42 to 14.9.42
W Cmdr P.W. Howson C.O. 15.9.42 to 4.10.43
W Cmdr A.D. Henderson C.O. 5.10.43 to Nov 44
W Cmdr C.E. Payne C.O. Nov 44 to 10.4.45
Operational Bases
Formed on 10.2.42 No. 459 Squadron operated from
six main bases and some ten detachment locations - a
chain of airfields spanning 1000 miles of the North African
coastline form the Bay of Sirte (Benghasi) to the Levant
(Palestine and Lebanon) and to Southern Arabia.
Home Bases were:-
Egypt:-
Burg el Arab, LG Z, Gianaclis
Palestine:- St Jean
Cyrenaica:- Gambut, Berka
Detachment locations were:-
Egypt:- Mersa Matruh West, LG 91, LG 07
Cyprus:- Nicosia
Palestine:- Ramat David, Lydda, St.Jean
Arabia:- Aden, Salala, Socotra and Italian Somaliland.
Fatal Casualties and Awards
The Roll of Honour lists 78 fatal casualties of personnel
killed in action or who died in active service whilst on
Squadron strength.
During the period of operations, 459 Squadron personnel were
awarded one OBE, ten DFCs, one DFM and twenty three MIDs.
[The following
information was provided for the website by Professor Leon
Kane-Maguire, it is from his soon to be published book on the
RAAF 459 Squadron]
459 Squadron Honours and Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)1
6 Dec 1942 Flight Lieutenant Frederick Warren
Madsen
6 Dec 1942 Flying Officer Vernon Keith O’Brien
13 Dec 1942 Flight Lieutenant Donald Charles Beaton
21 Jun 1943 Flying Officer Allan William Proctor
7 Oct 1943 Flying Officer William Weatherly
12 Jan 1944 Flight Lieutenant Richard E. Blake
27 Jan 1944 Squadron Leader Roy Douglas Shaw
2 Sep 1944 Flying Officer David S. Noble
13 Oct 1944 Wing Commander Keith Selwyn Hennock
6 Feb 1945 Squadron Leader Francis James McHale
Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM)
23 Jun 1943 Flight Sergeant David Thomas Barnard
Order of the British Empire (OBE)2
1 Jan 1943 Wing Commander Phillip Walter Howson
Mentioned in Dispatches
Sergeant Vernon A. Chadwick Flight Lieutenant
Cyril D. Colling
Warrant Officer Bernard E. Dowser Sergeant T.R. Dunstan
Flight Lieutenant Archdall O. Gaze Flying Officer
Cecil T. Hyland
Flight Sergeant Jones Flight
Lieutenant Ralph Thomas Joseph
Corporal A. Lee Flight
Lieutenant Kenneth N. MacDougall
Pilot Officer Francis V. Murphy Flying Officer
Gordon Page
Flying Officer Norman C. Pottie Flying Officer
Allen H. Ringland
Flight Lieutenant Allan G. Storman Sergeant R. Swan
Sergeant Roy Tier Flying Officer
Ian M. Yeates
1
Awarded while serving with 459 Sqn. In addition, Colin Stinson
and Joseph Wright, Mervyn Griffiths and Jimmy Craig, who
completed their first tour with 459 Sqn, were awarded DFCs while
later serving with other Sqns {Nos. 454 (RAAF) and 267 (RAF)}.
2
WGCDR Pete Henderson also received an OBE after leaving to
command No. 454 Sqn.
Note:
Dates are when the award appeared in the Commonwealth of
Australia Gazette, otherwise the date when the Squadron was
notified. Ranks are those at the time of award.
<<<<<<>>>>>>
[The following information is
from units of the Royal Australian Air Force, A Concise History
- Volume 4 - Maritime and Transport Units]
459 Squadron History
|
10 February 1942 |
Formed at
Burg-el-Arab, Egypt |
|
December 1942 |
Moved to Gambut,
Libya |
|
June 1943 |
U-97 Sunk |
|
April 1944 |
Moved to Ramat David |
|
May 1944 |
Moved to St Jean,
Palestine |
|
10 April 1945 |
Squadron Disbanded |
459 Squadron was formed
on 10 February 1942, at Burg-el-Arab, Egypt, with Squadron
Leader P.W. Howson, temporary Commanding Officer. It was
to be a naval co-operation unit for general reconnaissance over
the Eastern Mediterranean. The initial complement of
aircraft was two Lockhead Hudsons. In April, Wing
Commander Keith Hennock became Commanding Officer, with Squadron
Leaders Howson and Campbell as Flight Commanders, and the
Squadron moved to its own aerodrome at Behig.
Seven more aircraft and
their crews arrived in April and May after flying from the
United Kingdom via Gibraltar and Malta.
A feature of the ensuing
few months was the Axis effort to reinforce its supplies at El
Alamein by means of convoys of 'F-boats' from Tobruk to Mersa
Matruh. Armed with one 75mm and two 20mm cannon, each of
these 300-ton barges could mount a formidable defence.
The Squadron's first
operational sortie was piloted by Pilot Officer Beaton in June.
Three critical weeks followed, with successful low-level dawn
attacks on F-boats, 17 of which were destroyed and three others
damaged. Three crews failed to return; two others reached
base with damage. These Hudson attacks, in conjunction
with those made by Bisley, Swordfish and Albacore aircraft of
the RAF and Fleet Air Arm destroyed many reinforcements and a
vast quantity of supplies significantly weakening the enemy's
position.
In September, Squadron
aircraft attacked a destroyer and a 6,000 ton merchantman. These
operations were reported in the Sydney Sun 24 September.
It is a young Squadron
composed entirely of pilots trained under the Empire Air Scheme,
with the exception of the Commander (Wing Commander Keith
Hennock, of Young).
Most notable single
achievement of any pilot in the Squadron is that of Pilot
Officer Donald Beaton, station owner, of Western Australia.
He is credited with probably sinking an enemy destroyer -
'probably' because nobody actually saw the destroyer go down -
though there is little doubt that it is now at the bottom of the
Mediterranean. Beaton was patrolling 20 to 30 miles from
Tobruk when he came on two enemy transports which were ablaze
after an attack by British bombers.
He cast about seeking
other units of the convoy and sighted two destroyers. They
opened up on him, but Beaton dived, went in against one in a
swerving attack, and released a bomb load when flying just
sufficiently high to enable his Hudsons to clear the destroyer's
funnels.
There was a terrific
explosion and a burst of flame, Hennock told me. The fire
could be seen from 30 miles away.
The Squadron's youngest
pilot, 20 year old Pilot Officer Alan Proctor, of Sydney also is
credited with probably sinking a ship - a 6,000-ton merchantman.
He sighted it north from Tobruk half an hour after dawn, which
is a dangerous time for a Hudson to operate within easy range of
enemy fighter bases.
Proctor bombed it and
flames shot up from the ship's deck. Smoke was pouring
from it and it was listing about 30 degrees as Proctor flew
away.
The decisive Allied
offensive at El Alamein on 23 October and by early November the
Axis troops were in retreat. As the ports were recaptured,
459 Squadron's commitments increasingly involved the escort of
troopships, tankers and supply vessels, and attacks on enemy
shipping. Soon it established a reputation as a highly
efficient, very mobile, aggressive search-and-strike night
operational force. Using many home bases and detachment
locations, it frequently penetrated the ring of enemy-occupied
islands off the west and east coasts of Greece. Though its
early sorties were individual and at night, its versatility and
aggressiveness were later exploited by day, sometimes singly,
sometimes in small bombing formations.
In the three weeks from
28 July to 17 August the Squadron claimed 17 F-boats destroyed
and 3 damaged. Mast-head dawn attacks by several
squadrons, including 459, stopped this supply line. For
these low-level shipping attacks the Hudsons' usual load of four
250-lb dept-charges were replaced by sticks of 100-lb bombs.
Five crews were lost in these attacks.
Other duties comprised
convoy escorts, anti-submarine patrols. For all these
activities, along with its high aircraft serviceability and low
accident rate, the Squadron was to receive high praise.
On 4 September Wing
Commander Hennock was posted to Australia and was replaced as
Commanding Officer by Wing Commander Howson. Squadron
Leader Campbell was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander and
commissioned to form and command 454 Squadron.
For the rest of 1942,
convoy escort (in collaboration with the Navy) and other
operations over the sea lanes, harbours and islands of the
Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean continued. In December
the Squadron's base moved to Gambut, Libya.
Bad weather early in
1943 made many airfields unserviceable, restricting operations.
In April, with the departure of 'tour-expired' crews,
replacements began arriving from the United Kingdom and from 75
Operational Training Unit at Gianaclis, near Alexandria.
Operations continued
from airfields in the Western Desert, Cyprus, Palestine,
Southern Arabia and Entrea, a record number of hours being
flown.
In June 1943, one Hudson
sank German submarine U-97. The aircraft's crew comprised Dave
Barnard, George Crisp and Brian Cobcroft. (In Melbourne in
1988, a survivor, Petty Officer Gerhard Deitz, met Barnard and
Crisp. He told them that, three weeks before being sunk,
U-97 had sunk an Allied tanker, eight merchant ships and a
destroyer).
From "Review of the Month' (May) by Wing Commander P.W. Howson
(Operations Record Book):
The number of hours
flown, 648, was well up to average, a total considerably boosted
by detachments at LG92, where there appears to be an increasing
demand for our service due to the lack of night flying and
anti-submarine squadrons in the vicinity of the Delta.
A periscope sighting
by Flying Officer A.L. Newton was the main incident arising out
of our usual patrols and it is hoped these sightings will
increase, with the added number of convoys passing through the
Mediterranean and the expected increase in the number of U-bots.
Our sightings should be assisted by the white camouflage now
being adopted by our aircraft and which has been well tested out
by formation flights of Hudsons with white camouflage alongside
those with the old blue camouflage.
The end of May
completes a year of operational flying with a grand total of
6,775 operational hours from 1,294 sorties. Recently the
Squadron's excellent record was the subject of a letter from the
Air Officer Commanding No. 201 Group to the Air Commanding RAF
Middle East.
The weather settled
down to days of almost constant sunshine although one khamein
was experienced. Real anxiety has, however, been
occasioned to aircrew by the appearance of regular early fogs.
These come unexpectedly and suddenly, almost immediately
rendering the aerodrome unserviceable. So far, no aircraft
has been caught out, although one morning Squadron Leader R.D.
Shaw had to land in a very heavy fog, which he did successfully.
Some of our 'old'
aircrews, having been posted from the Squadron on completing
their operational tour, were replaced by 25 new aircrew from the
United Kingdom and from 75 Operational Training Unit.
Unfortunately, the majority of these were comparatively
untrained, so that an intensive program of lectures and training
flights was embarked upon. At the same time, all aircrew
underwent a course of practice bombing and gunnery as part of a
'freshening up' plan, including dinghy drill and special
lectures.
On the lighter side
of Squadron activities, cricket has taken pride of place.
Inter-section matches are played on five days of the week and
the remaining two days usually see competitive matches between
the Squadron and 235 Wing or 454 Squadron.
On 19 May 1943, a
Squadron "Beach Club" was opened at Bardia, where we have taken
over and cleaned up two Italian houses on the beach. As
accommodation is limited, parties are restricted to 20
personnel, who can spend 48 hours there, temperatures reached
105°F or 40°C+. The arrangement
was immediately a success and constant contingents now make the
journey to Bardia for their 48-hours leave. During the
month we were entertained by two visiting E.N.S.A. shows and
also the 235 Wing Concert Party; the new outdoor stage was
completed and seems ideal for these Summer nights.
Bardia "Beach Club"
Aerial photo of
Bardia Harbour - sea port in Eastern Libya
The Medical Officer
reported maintenance of the high standard of health, the only
common complaint being enteritis. To curb this, an
intensive anti-fly campaign has been started and this already
appears to be producing satisfactory results as over 1-lb of
flies are taken from the fly-traps each week. There has
also been an increase in the number of snakes and poisonous
insects in the camp area, but so far no casualties have resulted
from them.
The month saw still
another record by our Maintenance, the average serviceability
being up to 98% - an increase of a further 2% over the record
peak of April -whilst the average output from Maintenance per
day was 1.3 aircraft, also a record figure.
The standard of work
at Maintenance Units continues to give us added labour, 12
receipt checks having to be made before aircraft received cold
be placed operationally serviceable. Most of our aircraft
are getting well on in hours now, averaging 400 hours each, but
we are still able to extend a number of engines beyond the
Command engine hours limit of 360 hours - 2 engines have again
been extended this month. Our experiments in locally
rewinding the fields of alternators is so far proving very
successful. During the month, the Instrument Section was
improved by the addition of a 100% dustproof hut for the repair
of delicate instruments; a further benefit of this building is
that is entirely collapsible so that it can be moved with the
Squadron, should the occasion arise.
A lot of work is done
to render serviceable a refrigerator salvaged from Tobruk but so
far completion of the task had been delayed by our failure to
find suitable motors to drive the compressors. The
Squadron watches with interest the completion of this job which
will assure us of a much needed ice supply during the coming hot
months.
459 Trucks in line waiting to be refuelled, during the move
to Benghazi.
459 on the move - trucks going up Sallum Pass through Tobruk
and Derna to Bengahazi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>>>an entry of 1999 454/459 Squadron's Bulletin reads --
"The Tale of the Ice Making Machine -- by Sgt J Wiggins M.I.D.
Fitter. IIA 459 RAAF Squadron ---- As most of you know, 459
Sqdn had a "Holiday Resort" at Bardia Bay across the road from
the beach. Whilst a few of the bods were spending 3 days
rest at the resort, a couple of them decided to explore the
township at the top of the cliff. While checking the
various buildings they discovered a 24 hole ice making cabinet.
Minds started to tick over. The old power station had an
"Orphan Generator". So it was decided that if the cabinet
and the generator were joined and a motor to drive the generator
was fitted, we could make ice. The cabinet found its way
to Gambut and the generator followed. A motor was obtained
from the motor transport wrecking pool and duly assembled.
The "various ingredients" were added to the water in the cabinet
and the 24 containers were filled with fresh water. The
motor was started and so the ice production company was in
business. Ice was supplied to the various canteens and
traded with other units nearby. The Yanks were very good
customers and some good trades were made. This continued
for some time. When we packed up and left Gambut, there
was the ice works standing in the middle of the desert like a
shag on a rock. It could still be there with a lot of
locals trying to figure out what the hell it was and how it got
there."<<<<<<
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Strength
Officers -- 45
Other Ranks -- 417
Total -- 462
The Squadron held a
dinner in June to commemorate the completion of its first year
of operational flying - 6,775 hours flown and an aircraft
serviceability of 98%. The following message was received from
the Air Officer Commanding Middle East Command.
"Once Again 459 and
454 Squadrons are to be congratulated on their effort, not only
for this month but also for the quarter. In view of the
large amount of night flying carried out by 459 Squadron, theirs
is a really fine record which should be the aim of all other
units."
From anti-submarine
and convoy escort work, 459 commenced bombing in the Aegean area
within the perimeter of the Axis-occupied (and defended) islands
of Crete, Rhodes and the Dodecanese, dropping 25 tons of bombs
in the first month of this light bomber role.
On 5 October 1943,
Wing Commander Howson handed over command to Wing Commander A.D.
Henderson.
Bombing in the Aegean
area continued, with Rhodes now the main target. Weather
conditions were very bad.
In December, Ventura
aircraft arrived in the Squadron and conversion commenced, night
operations continuing.
In January 1944 the
Squadron was again complimented on its low accident rate - 0.3%,
compared with the Group's average of 2.39%. Anti-submarine
patrols continued in very bad weather. Night bombing of
Rhodes and the Aegean recommenced, including the night of 459's
second anniversary. In April the Squadron moved to bases
in 'Palestine - first to Ramat David and then to St Jean, near
Haifa'.
Review for the Month' of June 1944 (from Operations Record
Book):
The month was very
busy, thanks to the presence of enemy shipping in Rhodes Harbour,
making it necessary for us to bomb during the dark period
without a moon. The Ventura is not well adapted for flare
dropping, but one 'illuminating' sortie was highly successful
and our technique should improve with practice. Accurate
navigation and a perfect timing are essential to the successful
execution of flare-illuminated attacks and our experience during
the month indicates that particular care be paid to these
points.
We bombed Rhodes
harbour ten times during the month, Porto Lago Bay three times
and Calato aerodrome once. In addition, odd aircraft
which failed to find the primary target dropped their bombs on
other targets rather than bring them back. On the whole,
the month's bombing was satisfactory. Total weight of
bombs dropped over enemy targets was more than 154,000 lbs -
over 60 tons. Quite a lot of damage was done for the loss
of one aircraft, the crew of which may yet be found to be safe.
Reports have come in that 43 buildings were destroyed, W/T
stations put out of action and an AA position wiped out. Details
of further damage will probably follow.
Total flying time for
the month was 883 hours 26 minutes, of which 820 hours 38
minutes was operational flying. In view of the strain
imposed on our crews involved in operating from advanced bases
and the fact that they were briefed to look for and attack
U-boats on the way to Nicosia, application was made for the
flying time between base to be counted as operational 'single
time'. This was granted, to the benefit and satisfaction
of all crews. it is regretted that the Squadron
anniversary celebration was not held this year. However,
in view of our heavy operational commitments, it was not
possible to hold the birthday party. This was in some
measure compensated for with a Squadron dance in Haifa, a great
success.
The work of a GR
Squadron such as ours is for the most part notoriously dull and
chances for aircrews to distinguish themselves in combat are
correspondingly low. It is therefore very gratifying to
know that in two years' service this Squadron gained seven DFCs,
one OBE and one DFM. For their last trip, completing a
tour of high distinction, Flying Officer Page's crew flew on a
bombing sortie over Rhodes Harbour to illuminate the target.
His Navigator, Flying Officer Thomas, who is also the Squadron's
Photographic Officer, maintained a strict schedule and perfect
timing on the outward trip, which resulted in an excellent
illuminated target just when the bombers were in the target
area. Thanks to this good effort, some exceedingly
accurate bombing was possible. All this was in no small
measure due to the Squadron Armament Officer, Flying Officer
Shaw, who with his well known cheerfulness and ingenuity for
improvisation surmounted difficulties, rigged a heath Robinson
affair on the bomb racks to carry flares. But then, having
served in the Western Desert for so long, we expect him to be
better than most at this sort of thing.
On 19 July, following
conversion to Baltimore aircraft, a program of bombing,
anti-submarine patrols and armed reconnaissance was established,
continuing when the Squadron moved to Berka 3, Cyrenaica.
In November, Wing Commander Henderson was posted to command 454
Squadron in Italy and was replaced by Wing Commander C.E. Payne.
The Eastern
Mediterranean now being virtually under Allied control, very
little shipping needed to be escorted, but bombing intensified
in the Aegean and on Rhodes, with some leaflet dropping on Crete
and other islands.
On 16 February 1945, the
Squadron moved to Almaza. It had been intended that the
Squadron move to the United Kingdom where, still in Coastal
Command it would convert to 'Leigh Light' Wellingtons for night
general reconnaissance duties. However, postings of
its crews to the Italian theatre and elsewhere meant that too
few experienced personnel were available for quick conversion -
hence a decision for disbandment.
On 10 April 1945, the
Squadron was officially disbanded.
From Flag Officer
Levant and Eastern Mediterranean:-
"Please say goodbye
to 459 for me. I should like to thank them all for the good work
they have done for us and to wish them good luck and good hunting in
the next job."
No. 459 Squadron was
the first of this RAAF's seventeen "Article XV" squadrons formed
under the wartime Empire Air Training Scheme to be disbanded, and
where it had been formed, in the Middle East. It had fulfilled
its Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean tasks admirably. In the
February 1945 it was to transfer to coastal command in the United
Kingdom and to convert to "Leigh Light" Wellingtons for general
night reconnaissance (G.R.) duties. However, aircrew postings to the
Italian theatre and elsewhere meant insufficient G.R. trained and
experienced crews were available for quick conversion, and the
decision for early disbandment on 10.4.45 was taken.
No. 459 RAAF Squadron
is remembered for its mobility and versatility. Its U-boat kill; its
deadly night strikes on destroyers, f-boats, merchant vessels, and
supply vessels off the Tobruk-Mersa Matruh coast during te pre and
post - Alamein ebb and flow; and for its relentless day and night
searches bombing and general harassment of German strongholds on
Rhodes and Crete. Until its disbandment some months before the end
of hostilities in Europe.
459 Squadron (unofficial) badge
Scorpion Crest - "Death to the Invader" Motto
Produced for 1995 Australia Remembers Year
Presented to Australian War Memorial - 14.6.1996
