Posting at Death : 459
Squadron
Roll of Honour :
Upper Landsdowne
Shipping Strikes - Hudsons
On 19.4.42 K.S.
Hennock assumed command as Wing Commander. Hudson
aircraft continued to arrive, and by May the Squadron had
moved to its own airfield at Behig. On 1.6.42 the
first squadron sortie flown was to be the forerunner of
three years of concentrated effort in a wide variety of
roles. In a period of three weeks from 28.7.42 to 17.8.42
Squadron Hudsons claimed as destroyed 17 F-Boats and 3
others damaged, for the loss of 5 crews in very low level
attacks. F-Boats were landing barges, heavily armed for
their size (approx. 300 tons displacement), ferrying fuel,
vital equipment, and stores for Rommel's rapidly advancing
Axis forces driving past Mersa Matruh towards Alamein and
the Nile Delta area. Successful mast head dawn attacks by
several squadrons, including No. 459, towards silhouetted
targets stopped this supply line. Depth charges had been
replaced by sticks of 100lb bombs for 459's shipping
attacks.
<<<<>>>>
The Squadron finally had its own airfield but a horrific
accident took place and was witnessed by Syd Wickham who was
Acting 'B' Flight Commander at the time, he recalled:
"I heard an aircraft on the circuit, picked up the field
glasses to read off the identification letters and walked
outside the Flight tent. I focused the glasses and in trying
to read the letter I realised my body was twisting over
sideways. I thought, this is odd, stood up straight
and dropped the glasses in horror, as the aircraft rolled
completely over and crashed at the end of the runway.
There was no hope for anyone to survive the crash, much less
the instantaneous inferno that followed. The pilot was
Sergeant Leavey and a good pilot too.
In a tight steep turn the aircraft appeared to have done
a high-speed stall. The fire tender was slow getting
to the scene, but it couldn't be effective and I was too
devastated to complain."
<<>>
Pilot Sergeant Frank Leavey was returning from Kasfareet
where modifications had been carried out on its Wright
Cyclone engines to improve oil consumption. three of
those killed when the aircraft crashed on its return were
ground crew fitters who had been taken to 107 MU to assist
with the modifications. Understandably, there was
considerable concern as to what had caused the tragedy, as
it did not appear that an engine had cut. Another
fitter, Stan Charington, who had been waiting at the
airfield for the return of his friend Bob Aitken (RAAF) who
was on board, gave a similar explanation to that of Syd
Wickham.
"The pilot overshot the strip, then on banking with the
large wing flaps extended, turned into the wind for second
approach. According to those watching, at 150 feet
that was inviting disaster. The port wing stalled, the
nose dropped and it was all over"
