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 book “Desert Scorpions”.

 

459 Squadron  Honours  and  Awards

Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) - Awarded while serving with 459 Sqn.

• 06 Dec 1942 - Flight Lieutenant Frederick Warren Madsen

• 06 Dec 1942 - Flying Officer Vernon Keith O’Brien

• 13 Dec 1942 - Flight Lieutenant Donald Charles Beaton

• 21 Jun 1943 - Flying Officer Allan William Proctor

• 07 Oct 1943 - Flying Officer William Weatherly

• 12 Jan 1944 - Flight Lieutenant Richard E. Blake

• 27 Jan 1944 - Squadron Leader Roy Douglas Shaw

• 02 Sep 1944 - Flying Officer David S. Noble

• 13 Oct 1944 - Wing Commander Keith Selwyn Hennock

• 06 Feb 1945 - Squadron Leader Francis James McHale

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)

​

Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM)

• 23 Jun 1943 - Flight Sergeant David Thomas Barnard

​

Order of the British Empire (OBE)   

• 01 Jan 1943 - Wing Commander Phillip Walter Howson

• WGCDR Pete Henderson also received an OBE after leaving to command No. 454 Sqn.

​

Mentioned in Dispatches

• Leading Aircraftman N.H.K. Best            

• Flying Officer Stephen Blumenthal

• 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

 

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.

 

<<<<<<>>>>>>

Key Events 

[The following information is from units of the Royal Australian Air Force, A Concise History - Volume 4 - Maritime and Transport Units]

• 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 History 

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 Wing Commander Keith Hennock, Wing Commander Phillip Howson, and Squadron Leader I L Campbell.

 

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.