Military Despatches Vol 49 July 2021

The Aces The top fighter pilots of World War I

Farewell Uncle Syd We pay tribute to Uncle Syd Ireland, the last South African signaller of World War II

The Thunder Poland‘s Special Forces unit, JW GROM

Anthony Beaucamp-Protor South Africa’s leading fighter ace of World War I and recipient of the Victoria Cross

For the military enthusiast Military Despatches CONTENTS YouTube Channel July 2021 Page 14

Click on any video below to view Army Speak 101 The SADF had their own language. A mixture of Eng- lish, Afrikaans, slang and tech- no-speak that few outside the military could hope to under- stand. Paratrooper Wings Most armies around the world Elite Military Quiz also had their own slang terms. Units Quiz Most military paratroopers In this video we look at some Most military forces have an are awarded their jump wings of them. elite unit or regiment or a spe- Special Forces - JW GROM after they have qualified. cial forces component. In this quiz we show you 15 In this quiz we show you 15 different wings and you tell us and you tell us who they are and 30 where they are from. where they are from. Features 18 Battle of Britain - a few facts 6 The Battle of Britain lasted Top Ten WWI Fighter Pilots from 10 July – 31 October 1940 The Top Ten fighter aces of and was the first major mili- New videos World War I. tary campaign in history to be each week fought entirely in the air. Here We will be uploading new are a few facts about the battle videos to our YouTube channel 18 that you may, or may not, have each week. A legend has passed on known. So remember to bookmark On 29 May 2021 the last re- 24 Military Firearms the channel and keep an eye out Who said that? maining South African signal- for new content. ler of World War II, Sergeant The Dicta Boelcke 36 Quiz Throughout history military Sydney Thomas Ireland passed In 1916 World War I German Rank structure This quiz is all about military leaders and politicians have had away at the age of 100. Matt flying ace Oswald Boelcke was This month we look at the rank firearms. We show you 15 fire- some interesting things to say Tennyson pays tribute to the tasked to write a pamphlet on structure of the Polish Army arms, you tell us what they are. about war. remarkable ‘Uncle Syd’. aerial combat tactics. The result and the Polish Special Forces. We give you 15 quotes, you was the ‘Dicta Boelcke’. tell us who made them. 20 26 Quiz Early repeating rifles Disobedient Heroes The advent of the repeating rifle 55 Please remember to subscribe to our channel. In the military it is expected was to change the face of war- that you obey orders. Yet there Aircraft roundels fare forever. are cases where there is a good We show you 15, you tell us Feel free to leave a comment, and share this video. reason to disobey those orders. which country they are from.

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Editor’s PUBLISHER Sitrep Hipe Media EDITOR Matt Tennyson

PHOTO EDITOR t’s July and we’re into the achieves what is known as ‘herd Regine Lord second half of 2021. We’re immunity’. CONTRIBUTORS also been living under vari- Another thing that concerns me July in military history I Raymond Fletcher, Ryan Mur- ous forms of lockdown for more is that it seems we’re into a third phy, Matt O’Brien, Matt Ten- than a year now. wave of the virus and many peo- nyson.. On Tuesday 8 June I went for ple have become really lax when Head-to-Head Forged in Battle Book Review the first of my two COVID vac- it comes to observing COVID Military Despatches is pub- 38 48 59 cinations. Having registered on precautions. They’re not wearing lished on-line every month. As the crow flies the official website as an ‘over masks, not sanitising, and gather- Aircraft of the Battle of Britain The articles used in Military Fokker Dr.1 The story of Combat Group Al- 60’, I was told to wait for an SMS ing in large groups. Despatches are copyrighted This month we take a look at Flown by the Red Baron, the pha, later to become 31 Battal- telling me where and when to go. I’ve always wanted to depart and may not be used without some of the aircraft, both Brit- Fokker triplane was forged in ion, as told by Colonel Delville Of course I heard nothing. this realm at the age of 99 when prior permission from the edi- ish and German, that took part battle. Linford. I decided to go to Lentegeur a jealous husband catches me in tor. in the Battle of Britain. Hospital in Mitchell’s Plain as a bed with his 21 year old wife and Battlefield The views stated in this maga- Front Cover ‘walk in’. I was pleasantly sur- not because some inconsiderate zine do not necessary reflect the Famous Figures 52 An operator from Polish Spe- prised with the experience. pillock gave me COVID. views of Military Despatches, Fall Weiss cial Forces unit JW GROM on I arrived at 10h00, was asked if For the past two months I’ve the editor, the staff, or Hipe 44 Stuka dive-bombers carry out manoeuvres in Poland. They I had already registered, was then been harping on about our new Media. Anthony Beauchamp-Proctor asked a few questions, and took YouTube Channel and asking South Africa’s leading ace of the first mission of World War are nicknamed “The Surgeons”. II during Case White. my seat in the line. readers to please subscribe. The email World War I, credited with 54 By 11h00 I had received my response, as usual, has been un- [email protected] aerial victories. He was award- vaccination and was out of there, derwhelming. ed the Victoria Cross, Distin- Gaming and this included a 15 minute ob- Last month was the largest YouTube Channel guished Service Order, Military 56 servation period after getting the edition of Military Despatches Click here to visit our channel Cross and bar. jab. Everything was well organ- (108 pages) since we began back Tank Mechanic Simulator ised and efficient. I have to go in July 2017. This month we’re Updated with six new vehicles. A really good simulator. back in July for my second shot. back to a mere 84 pages. Since Back Issues What worries me, however, is we began we’ve produced 3,710 To view any back issues of Movie Review the fact that to date only 3% of pages of the magazine. No won- Military Despatches, go to South Africans have received the der I’m knackered. www.militarydespatches.co.za 58 vaccination. Take into account or click here. that we currently have a popu- Until next time. The Great Escape lation of 58.56 million and you A classic movie based on real can imagine how long it is go- life, one of the biggest POW ing to take before South Africa Matt escapes of World War II. 4 5 Top Ten Top Ten at Armour Heights and then at servation balloons. Shortly Camp Borden in Ontario, then after his final victory, he was Top Ten World War I finally received further training killed in a collision with anoth- in England at No. 43 Training er German pilot on 10 August fighter aces School, Ternhill. 1918. He was 21 years old. During World War I hundreds of pilots would go on to become ‘aces’. This meant that they He was then transferred into had claimed more than five victories in aerial combat. This month we look at the Top Ten No. 34 Training School for final aces of World War I. fighter orientation on the Bris- tol Scout and Sopwith Camel, n 17 December 1903 Dutch aircraft designer An- were subsequently developed. completing 9 hours solo on the Orville Write made the thony Fokker developed a The American qualification of Camel. world’s first powered successful gun synchronizer five victories eventually be- On 23 November 1917 he was O sent to France where he joined flight. A flight that lasted a mere in 1915, resulting in German came the standard, even though 12 seconds. Eight years later, Leutnant Kurt Wintgens scor- other air services had previous- No. 46 Squadron. His first air in 1911, powered aircraft were ing the first known victory for ly used differing figures. combat was in February 1918, 54 victories used for the first time in war. a synchronized gun-equipped In this article we take a brief where MacLaren successful- This was by the Italians against fighter aircraft, on July 1, 1915. look at the top ten aces of World ly shot down a German fighter the Turks near Tripoli. The Allies quickly devel- War I. ‘out of control’. 9. Erich Loewenhardt It was during World War I that oped their own synchronization He was awarded the Military Erich Loewenhardt was a the use of aircraft became wide- gears, leading to the birth of Cross for a sortie on 21 March German soldier and military spread. At first, aircraft were aerial combat, more commonly 1918 in which he helped destroy aviator who fought in the First 54 victories unarmed and employed for re- known as dogfighting. Tactics a railway gun with his bombs, World War and became a fighter connaissance, serving basically for dogfighting evolved by tri- then shot down a balloon and ace credited with 54 confirmed as extensions of the eyes of the al and error. The German ace two German LVG two-seaters. aerial victories. 8. Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor ground commander. Oswald Boelcke created eight In September he was awarded Originally enlisting in an in- Andrew Frederick Weatherby A desire to prevent enemy ob- essential rules of dogfighting, the Distinguished Flying Cross. fantry regiment even though he (Anthony) Beauchamp-Proctor, servation led to airplane pilots the Dicta Boelcke. When the squadron commander was only 17, he fought in the VC, DSO, MC & Bar, DFC was attacking other airplanes and Pilots often had little train- was killed in a crash later in the Battle of Tannenberg, winning a South African that served in balloons, initially with small ing before being deployed into year MacLaren was given com- a battlefield commission on 2 the South African Army, Roy- arms carried in the cockpit. combat. Some would have as mand. He was awarded the Dis- October 1914. al Flying Corps, and Royal Air It wasn’t long before pilots little as 10 hours flying time. tinguished Service Order for He would serve in the Car- Force. started to fit machine guns to The average life expectancy of his leadership of the squadron pathians and on the Italian Not only was he South Afri- their aircraft. A single machine a pilot was a mere 21 days. in the last months of the war. Front before being medically ca’s leading ace with 54 victo- gun was usually fitted to the top Yet there were pilots that not 54 victories MacLaren finished the war discharged in mid-1915. ries, he was also awarded the wing of a biplane. They were only survived, they also began with a Military Cross and bar, a Following a five month recu- Victoria Cross. difficult to reload and not very to wrack up a steady count of Distinguished Flying Cross and peration, Loewenhardt joined He was studying engineer- accurate. aerial victories. 10. Donald MacLaren the DSO. He was also awarded the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial ing at University of Cape Town In 1915 French pilot Roland The term “ace” (now com- Donald Roderick MacLar- the French Legion of Honour German Air Service) in 1916. when the European war broke Garros and designer Raymond monly flying ace) was first used en DSO, MC & Bar, DFC was and Croix de guerre. After serving as an aerial ob- out. He took leave from his Saulnier fitted deflector plates by French newspapers during a Canadian World War I fly- He achieved 54 victories, server and reconnaissance pilot, studies to join the Duke of Edin- to the back of the propeller of World War I, describing Adol- ing ace. He was credited with despite the fact that his first he underwent advanced training burgh’s Own Rifles. He served a Morane-Saulnier monoplane. phe Pégoud as l’as (the ace), 54 victories and, after the war, dogfight wasn’t until February to become a fighter pilot with as a signalman in the German It was the first example of an after he downed five German helped found the Royal Canadi- 1918 and that he scored all his Jagdstaffel 10 in March 1917. South-West Africa campaign. aircraft able to fire through its aircraft. an Air Force. victories in only nine months. Between 24 March 1917 and In August 1915, he was de- propeller, permitting Garros to When aircraft began to shoot He joined the Royal Flying He died on 4 July 1988 at the 10 August 1918, Loewenhardt mobilised with an honourable score three victories in April or force down other aircraft, Corps and did his initial training age of 95. shot down 45 enemy airplanes, discharge. He promptly went 1915. systems to count “air victories” at 90 Central Training School as well as destroying nine ob- to work with the South Afri- 6 7 Top Ten Top Ten can Field Telegraph and re-en- He was 26 years old. summer 1917. That same year fighter pilot, squadron leader, 5. Mick Mannock 1918, and scored nine more vic- rolled in university. He man- he dispatched a further 31 ene- and commanding officer who Edward Corringham “Mick” tories that month. aged to complete his third year my aircraft while claiming mul- served in the Royal Naval Air Mannock VC, DSO & Two Days after warning fellow ace of college before re-enlisting, tiple victories in one day on 11 Service (RNAS) and later the Bars, MC & Bar was a British George McElroy about the haz- this time with the Royal Flying occasions. Royal Air Force. flying ace in the Royal Flying ards of flying low into ground Corps (RFC), in March 1917. With his six British medals He was the highest scoring Corps and Royal Air Force dur- fire, that fate befell Mannock He was accepted as an Air and one French, McCudden RNAS flying ace and the sec- ing the First World War. Man- and he was killed in action dog- Mechanic Third Class. From received more awards for gal- ond highest scoring Canadian nock was a pioneer of fighter fighting too close to the ground there, he passed on to pilot lantry than any other airman pilot of the First World War. He aircraft tactics in aerial warfare. on 26 July 1918. He was 31 training at the School of Mili- of British nationality serving was noted as a great leader in At the time of his death he years old. tary Aeronautics at Oxford in in the First World War. He was the air, leading many of his own had amassed 61 aerial victories, Mannock was among the England, where he was also also one of the longest serving. formations into battle. making him the fifth highest most decorated men in the Brit- commissioned. By 1918, in part due to a cam- After the Great War, he be- scoring pilot of the war. ish Armed Forces. He was hon- He managed to learn to fly paign by the Daily Mail news- came a permanent commis- In 1914 Mannock was work- oured with the Military Cross despite his wiry stature of 1.57 paper, McCudden became one sioned officer in the Royal Air ing as a telephone engineer in twice, was one of the rare three- metres. His aircraft was altered of the most famous airmen in Force (RAF), seeing action Turkey. After the Ottoman Em- time recipients of the Distin- 57 victories to accommodate him; his seat the British Isles. against the Bolsheviks in 1919- pire’s entry into the war on the guished Service Order, and was was raised so he could have a On 9 July 1918, McCudden 20, and subsequently com- side of the Central Powers he posthumously awarded the Vic- better view from the cockpit was killed in a flying accident manding various Air Service toria Cross. 7. James McCudden was interned. Mannock was and so he could reach controls. when his aircraft crashed fol- detachments. badly treated and soon fell ill. James Thomas Byford Mc- Blocks of wood were also fas- lowing possible engine failure. During the Second World War, Turkish authorities repatriated Cudden, VC, DSO & Bar, MC tened on his rudder bar so he He was 23. His rank at the time he commanded No. 204 Group him to Britain believing him to & Bar, MM was a British flying could reach it. of his death was major, a sig- (which later became the De- be unfit for war service. ace of the First World War and He was not a gifted pilot. nificant achievement for a man sert Air Force) in North Africa, Mannock recovered and among the most highly deco- Beauchamp-Proctor’s piloting who had begun his career in the achieving great success against joined the Royal Engineers rated airmen in British military skills can be judged by the fact RFC as an air mechanic. the numerically and technologi- and then Royal Army Medi- history. he had three landing accidents cally superior Italian Air Force. cal Corps. He moved services Born in 1895 to a middle before he ever shot down an He was retired in 1943. again and in 1916 joined Roy- class family with military tra- enemy plane. While he was not Collishaw died at the age of al Flying Corps (RFC). After ditions, McCudden joined the particularly esteemed as a flier, 82 on 28 September 1976. completing his training he was Royal Engineers in 1910. Hav- he was a deadly shot. assigned to No. 40 Squadron ing an interest in mechanics he On 22 June 1918, he was RFC. Mannock went into com- transferred to the Royal Flying awarded the Military Cross. On bat on the Western Front partic- Corps (RFC) in 1913 at which 3 August, he was granted one of ipating three separate combat time he first came into regular 62 victories the first ever Distinguished Fly- tours. After a slow start he be- contact with aircraft. At the out- ing Crosses. On 2 November, he gan to prove himself as an ex- break of war in 1914 he flew as was awarded the Distinguished ceptional pilot, scoring his first an observer before training as a 4. Ernst Udet Service Order, followed by the victory on 7 May 1917. fighter pilot in 1916. Ernst Udet was a German Victoria Cross on 30 November. By February 1918 Mannock McCudden claimed his first pilot during World War I and He scored all of his 54 victories had achieved 16 victories and victory in September 1916. He a Luftwaffe Generaloberst in the SE5, becoming the most was appointed Flight Com- claimed his fifth victory - mak- 60 victories (Colonel-General) during successful pilot in the type. mander of No. 74 Squadron. He ing him an ace - on 15 February World War II. Beauchamp-Proctor was amassed 36 more victories from 1917. For the next six months he Udet joined the Imperial Ger- killed on 21 June 1921 in a 6. Raymond Collishaw 12 April - 17 June 1918. After served as an instructor and flew man Air Service at the age of training accident flying a Sop- Raymond Collishaw, CB, returning from leave Mannock defensive patrols over London. 19, and eventually became a with Snipe, in preparation for DSO & Bar, OBE, DSC, DFC 61 victories was appointed commanding of- He returned to the frontline in notable flying ace of World War an air show at the RAF Hendon. was a distinguished Canadian ficer of No. 85 Squadron in July 8 9 Top Ten Top Ten I, scoring 62 confirmed victo- an RFC aircraft return from a Higgins, Bishop was ordered to they began referring to him as marshal in the Royal Canadian ries by the end of his life. The mission, Bishop said, “it’s clean return to flight school at Upav- “Hell’s Handmaiden”. Ernst Air Force. highest scoring German fighter up there! I’ll bet you don’t get on. Major Alan Scott, the new Udet called him “the greatest In January 1940 he was ap- pilot to survive that war, and any mud or horse shit on you commander of 60 Squadron, English scouting ace” and one pointed Director of Recruiting the second-highest scoring af- up there. If you die, at least it convinced Higgins to let him Jasta had a bounty on his head. for the Royal Canadian Air ter Manfred von Richthofen, would be a clean death.” stay until a replacement arrived. On 30 April, Bishop survived Force. He was so successful in his commander in the Flying While in France in 1915 he The next day, Bishop claimed an encounter with Jasta 11 and this role that many applicants Circus, Udet rose to become transferred to the Royal Flying his first victory when his was Manfred von Richthofen, the had to be turned away. a squadron commander under Corps. As there were no places one of four Nieuports that en- Red Baron. In May, Bishop re- Bishop created a system for Richthofen, and later under available for pilots in the flight gaged three Albatros D.III ceived the Distinguished Ser- training pilots across Canada Hermann Göring. school, he chose to be an ob- Scouts near St Leger. General vice Order for shooting down and became instrumental in set- Udet spent the 1920s and server. Higgins personally congratu- two aircraft while being at- ting up and promoting the Brit- early 1930s as a stunt pilot, in- In September 1916 he was lated Bishop and rescinded his tacked by four others. ish Commonwealth Air Train- ternational barnstormer, light accepted for training as a pilot order to return to flight school. On 2 June 1917, Bishop flew ing Plan, which trained over aircraft manufacturer, and play- 72 victories at the Central Flying School at On 30 March 1917, Bishop a solo mission behind enemy 167,000 airmen in Canada dur- boy. Upavon on Salisbury Plain. In was named a flight command- lines to attack a German-held ing the Second World War. In 1933, Udet joined the Nazi November 1916 after receiving er with a temporary promotion aerodrome, where he claimed By 1944 the stress of the war Party and became involved in 3. Billy Bishop his wings, Bishop was attached to captain a few days later. On that he shot down three aircraft had taken a serious toll on Bish- the early development of the William Avery Bishop, VC, to No. 37 Squadron RFC at Sut- 31 March, he scored his second that were taking off to attack op’s health, and he resigned his Luftwaffe, where he was ap- CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DFC, ton’s Farm, Essex, flying the victory. him and destroyed several more post in the RCAF to return to pointed director of research and ED was a Canadian flying ace BE.2c. Bishop, in addition to the on the ground. private enterprise in Montreal, development. of the First World War. He was officially appointed usual patrols with his squadron For this feat, he was award- Quebec, before retiring in 1952. Influential in the adoption He was officially credited to flying officer duties on 8 De- comrades, soon flew many un- ed the Victoria Cross (VC), al- With the outbreak of the Ko- of dive bombing techniques as with 72 victories, making him cember 1916. Bishop disliked official “lone-wolf” missions though it has been suggested rean War, Bishop again offered well as the Stuka dive bomb- the top Canadian and British flying at night over London, deep into enemy territory, with that he may have embellished to return to his recruitment role, er, by 1939 Udet had risen to Empire ace of the war. He was searching for German airships, the blessing of Major Scott. As his success. His VC (award- but he was in poor health and the post of Director-General of an Air Marshal and a Victoria and he soon requested a transfer a result, his total of enemy air- ed 30 August 1917) was one was politely refused by the Equipment for the Luftwaffe. Cross recipient. to France. craft shot down increased rap- of two awarded in violation of RCAF. He died in his sleep on The stress of the position and In 1911, Billy Bishop entered On 17 March 1917, Bishop idly. On 8 April, he scored his the warrant requiring witnesses 11 September 1956, at the age his distaste for administrative the Royal Military College of arrived at 60 Squadron at Files- fifth victory and became an ace. (the other being the Unknown of 62. duties led to Udet developing Canada (RMC) in Kingston, camp Farm near Arras, where Bishop’s no-holds-barred Soldier), and since the German alcoholism. Ontario, where his brother he flew the Nieuport 17 fighter. style of flying always had him records have been lost and the The launch of Operation Bar- Worth had graduated in 1903. At that time, the average life ex- “at the front of the pack,” lead- archived papers relating to the barossa, combined with issues At RMC, Bishop was known pectancy of a new pilot in that ing his pilots into battle over VC were lost as well, there is with the Luftwaffe’s needs for as “Bish” and “Bill”. Bishop sector was 11 days, and Ger- hostile territory. Bishop soon no way of confirming whether equipment outstripping Germa- failed his first year at RMC, man aces were shooting down realized that this could even- there were any witnesses. ny’s production capacity and worked hard his second year British aircraft five to one. tually see him shot down; after It seems to have been com- increasingly poor relations with but in his third year was caught Bishop’s first patrol on 22 one patrol, a mechanic counted mon practice at this time to al- the Nazi Party, caused Udet to cheating. March was less than successful. 210 bullet holes in his aircraft. low Bishop to claim victories commit suicide on 17 Novem- When the First World War He had trouble controlling his His new method of using the without requiring confirmation ber 1941 by shooting himself in broke out later in 1914, Bish- run-down aircraft, was nearly surprise attack proved success- or verification from other wit- the head. He was 45 years old. op left RMC and joined The shot down by anti-aircraft fire, ful; he claimed 12 aircraft in nesses. “Our defeat was caused by Mississauga Horse cavalry reg- and became separated from his April alone, winning the Mili- In January 1936, Bishop was Udet,” Hitler would claim. “That iment. Bishop quickly became group. tary Cross for his participation appointed the first Canadian man concocted the most nonsen- frustrated with the mud of the On 24 March, after crash-land- in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. air vice-marshal. Shortly after sical state of affairs ever seen in trenches and the lack of action. ing his aircraft during a practice The successes of Bishop was the outbreak of war in 1939, he 75 victories the history of the Luftwaffe.” In July 1915, after watching flight in front of General John noticed by the Germans, and was promoted to the rank of Air 10 11 Top Ten Top Ten

2. René Fonck bilities of the aircraft he flew He seemed to overcompen- one area of Allied air activity to was feared that his death would Colonel René Paul Fonck was was unsurpassed by his fellow sate for his shyness by con- another – moving like a travel- be a blow to the morale of the a French aviator who ended the pilots. stantly mentioning his exploits. ling circus, and frequently set- German people. He refused to First World War as the top En- Fonck took few chances, pa- As a result, he seemed distant, ting up in tents on improvised accept a ground job after his tente fighter ace and, when all tiently stalking his intended vic- arrogant, even abrasive. His airfields. By 1918, Richthofen wound, stating that “every poor succeeding aerial conflicts of tims from higher altitudes. He comrades respected his skills, was regarded as a national hero fellow in the trenches must do the 20th and 21st centuries are then used deflection shooting but even one of his few friends, in Germany, and respected by his duty” and that he would also considered, Fonck still with deadly accuracy at close Marcel Haegelen, considered his enemies. therefore continue to fly in holds the title of “all-time Al- range, resulting in an astonish- him a braggart and shameless Von Richthofen led by exam- combat. lied Ace of Aces”. ing economy of ammunition self-promoter. ple and force of will rather than Von Richthofen received a Although he had been in- expended per kill. More often Fonck may have resented the by inspiration. He was often de- fatal wound just after 11:00 am terested in aviation from his than not, a single burst of less fact that Guynemer remained scribed as distant, unemotional, on 21 April 1918 while flying youth, he was rejected for the than five rounds from his Vick- more popular in the French and rather humourless, though over Morlancourt Ridge near air service when conscripted ers machine gun was sufficient. press even after he surpassed some colleagues contended the Somme River. A single on 22 August 1914. Instead, he His preferred method of aerial him in victories. Fonck also 80 victories otherwise. .303 bullet hit von Richthofen underwent five months basic combat was not to engage into seemed to lack insight into the He was cordial to officers and through the chest, severely training for the role of combat dogfights, but to carry out sur- effect his personality had upon enlisted men alike; indeed, he damaging his heart and lungs. engineer; his training duties gically merciless executions. his image or career. 1. Manfred von Richthofen urged his pilots to remain on good His plane crashed in a field included first digging trenches He was also reputed to be able However he and he alone car- Manfred Albrecht Freiherr terms with the mechanics who on a hill near the Bray-Corbie near Épinal, and later bridge re- to spot enemy observation air- ried the flag of the French Air von Richthofen, known in Eng- maintained their aircraft. road, just north of the village pairs on the Moselle River. craft from very far away, where Force at the victory parade on lish as Baron von Richthofen, He taught his pilots the basic of Vaux-sur-Somme, in a sector On 15 February 1915 he most other pilots would have the Champs-Elysées. and most famously as the “Red rule which he wanted them to defended by the Australian Im- was finally accepted into basic perceived nothing. His inter-war contact with Baron”, was a fighter pilot with fight by: “Aim for the man and perial Force (AIF). training to learn how to fly. He By the end of the war, he had the likes of former World War I the German Air Force during don’t miss him. If you are fighting There has been much debate trained at St. Cyr and then at Le accounted for all but 36 of Es- foe Hermann Göring and Ernst World War I. He is considered a two-seater, get the observer first; over who fired the shot that Crotoy. He completed his pilot cadrille SPA.103’s 111 claimed Udet cast a shadow upon Fon- the ace-of-aces of the war, be- until you have silenced the gun, killed the Red Baron. The RAF training in May 1915 and then victories. Unlike many leading ck’s reputation during the Ger- ing officially credited with 80 don’t bother about the pilot.” credited Canadian pilot Cap- flew Caudron G III observation French aces, Fonck’s score con- man occupation of France, as air combat victories. Von Richthofen sustained a tain Arthur “Roy” Brown with aircraft with Escadrille C 47. tained only three shared victo- did allegations of collaboration Originally a cavalryman, serious head wound on 6 July shooting down the Red Baron, At age of 23, on 15 April ries. with the Nazis and the Vichy Richthofen transferred to the 1917, during combat near Wer- but it is now generally agreed by 1917 (“Bloody April”), Fonck Also unlike most aces, he regime. Air Service in 1915, becom- vik, Belgium against a forma- historians, doctors, and ballistics received a coveted invitation to remained unwounded; indeed, After the war, a French po- ing one of the first members of tion of F.E.2d two seat fighters experts that Richthofen was ac- join the famous Escadrille les only a single enemy bullet had lice inquiry about his supposed fighter squadron Jagdstaffel 2 of No. 20 Squadron RFC, caus- tually killed by an AA machine Cigognes. Groupe de Combat ever hit his aircraft. He had also collaboration with the Vichy re- in 1916. ing instant disorientation and gunner, Sergeant Cedric Popkin, 12, with its four escadrilles (or forgone the most hazardous air- gime completely cleared Fon- He quickly distinguished temporary partial blindness. firing from the ground. squadrons), was the world’s first to-air combat: he shot down no ck. The conclusion was that his himself as a fighter pilot, and He regained his vision in time In common with most Al- fighter wing. The then leading observation balloons. loyalty was proved by his close during 1917 became the leader to ease the aircraft out of a spin lied air officers, No. 3 Squad- French ace, Georges Guynem- Yet for all his skill and suc- contacts with recognised re- of Jasta 11 also known as the and execute a forced landing in ron AFC’s commanding officer er, was serving at the time in cess, Fonck never captured the sistance leaders such as Alfred Red Squadron and later on he a field in friendly territory. The Major David Blake, who was one of its escadrilles, N3, and hearts of the French public as Heurtaux during the war. lead the larger fighter wing Jag- injury required multiple opera- responsible for Richthofen’s had just scored his 36th victory. Guynemer had. Fonck was as- He died of a stroke in his Par- dgeschwader 1, better known as tions to remove bone splinters body, regarded the Red Baron Known for his clinical pro- cetic and withdrawn. Instead of is apartment, Rue du Cirque, at “The Flying Circus” or “Rich- from the impact area. The Red with great respect, and he or- fessionalism, he applied math- drinking or socializing with the the age of 59. thofen’s Circus” because of the Baron returned to active ser- ganised a full military funeral, ematical principles to combat other pilots, he planned his fly- bright colours of its aircraft, and vice against doctor’s orders on to be conducted by the person- flying, and his engineering ing missions and tactics, ironed perhaps also because of the way 25 July. nel of No. 3 Squadron Austral- knowledge regarding the capa- his uniforms, and stayed phys- the unit was transferred from By 1918, von Richthofen had ian Flying Corps. Von Rich- ically fit through callisthenics. become such a legend that it thofen was 25 when he died. 12 13 Polish Revolutionary Home ple’s Army of Poland. similar to the one in Lebanon. Special Forces - JW GROM Army in 1982, General Edwin In 1989, many Jews were al- Petelicki’s ideas were well re- Rozłubirski proposed that a lowed to emigrate from the So- ceived, and on June 13, 1990, Part twenty-seven of a series that looks at Special Forces around the world. This month we clandestine military unit be es- viet Union to Israel. Poland was GROM was formally estab- feature the Polish Armed Forces’ JW GROM tablished to counter the threat one of the handful of countries lished as JW 2305. from terrorism and other un- that provided aid in the form of Sławomir Petelicki was cho- ednostka Wojskowa extensive medical training and a variety of special operations conventional threats. organization for the operation, sen as the first commander of the GROM is one of Poland’s knowledge and their surgical and unconventional warfare This proposal, later dubbed Operation Bridge newly formed unit. As a Polish Jpremier special missions ability to coordinate and exe- roles, including anti-terrorist however, was (Operacja Most). intelligence officer from Służ- units. GROM operators gained cute special operations. operations and projection of initially reject- After two Polish diplomats ba Bezpieczeństwa specializing the nickname of “The Sur- force behind enemy lines. ed by the Peo- were shot in Beirut, Lt. Col. in sabotage and subversion, he geons” due to their extensive Early History The unit was named after the Sławomir Petelicki was seemed perfectly suited to over- medical training and knowl- GROM, which stands for Silent Unseen (Cichociemni sent to Lebanon to secure see the unit’s initial formation. edge and their surgical ability Grupa Reagowania Opera- Spadochroniarze Armii Kra- the transfer of civilians and He gathered around himself a to coordinate and execute spe- cyjno-Manewrowego (Group jowej) – Poland’s elite World the Polish diplomatic out- group of like-minded and pro- cial operations. (for) Operational Maneuvering War II special-operations posts. fessional soldiers, functionaries GROM was originally mod- Response), which also means unit. Upon his return to Poland, he and set about choosing soldiers elled on NATO’s tier one spe- “thunder”, is one of the five In the 1970s and 1980s, presented his plan for the crea- that would be fit for special op- cial operations units such as the special operation forces units of there were several for- tion of a special military unit to erations. US Army’s 1st SFOD-D (Delta the Polish Armed Forces. mations of special forces the Ministry of Interior, a force Due to the high risks involved Force), the US Navy’s SEAL It was officially activated on units within Poland, but that would be trained in spe- in special service, it was decid- Team Six (DEVGRU), the Brit- July 13, 1990. It is deployed in these were either trained in cial operations to be de- ed that all men should be from ish Army’s SAS, and Canadian purely military tasks (sabo- ployed in the defence professional service. The first JTF2 . tage, disruption of communi- of Polish citizens batch of recruits all came from The unit’s other name is Jed- cations and such) or in purely in situations a variety of already-existing nostka Wojskowa 2305 (Mil- counter-terrorist roles. special units within the Polish itary Unit No. 2305). GROM After the Polish embassy Armed Forces. Among these operators gained the nickname in Bern was taken over by were: of “The Surgeons” due to their a group of four Polish em- • 1 Batalion Szturmowy from igrants calling themselves

14 15 Lubliniec (then known as GROM formed the part of the restriction placed on them was Team 6,British SAS,Austral- Approximately 75% of GROM 1 Pulk Specjalny Koman- core of the Naval Special Oper- regarding cross-border opera- ia’s SASR,Canada’s Joint Task personnel are trained as medics dosów and now known as ations Task Group, along with tions into Pakistan. Along with Force 2 and Germany’s Kom- or paramedics. JW Komandosów) US Navy SEALs, British Royal Direct Action successes, they mando Spezialkrafte. In addition, each group is sup- • 48, 56 and 62 Kompania Marines and attached US Psy were considered very effective The training of GROM sol- ported by several professional Specjalna Ops and civil affairs teams. in training and mentoring Af- diers includes a variety of dis- physicians. GROM soldiers are • 6 Brygada Desantowo-Sz- On March 20, 2003, US Ma- ghan National Police units. ciplines. All of them undergo trained in capture or kill meth- turmowa rines from 1st F.A.S.T. Com- the same specialized training ods. • Polish Navy divers pany and GROM operators Training in anti-terrorism and special • Anti-terrorist units of the assaulted the KAAOT Oil Ter- Candidates applying to serve operations, as well as frogman, Organisation Policja minals, whilst US Marines from in JW GROM have to pass psy- sniping, and parachuting. Command and support staff • Mechanised Warfare Officer 1st F.A.S.T. Company and US chological and durability tests, In four-man teams, each sol- in Warsaw. School in Wrocław Navy SEALs from SEAL Team along with the so-called truth dier must be prepared to assume • A Squadron (ZBA) – Land • Reconnaissance units of 8 and 10 seized the MABOT oil test, a physically and psycho- the respective responsibilities Element located in Warsaw Polish Armed Forces (PAF) terminal, both terminals were logically exhausting field test of his colleagues, should it be- • B Squadron (ZBB) – Mar- Out of the possible recruits, seized with no casualties and designed to filter out the weaker come necessary. itime Element located in only a small group passed the explosives which were found applicants. JW GROM receives ba- Gdańsk training. on the terminals were made GROM operators are known sic special operations training • C Squadron (ZBC) – Spe- Many of these initial instruc- safe by GROM and SEAL op- force’s primary direct action to train with the best special from the Swedish Navy’s Spe- cialty unknown located in tors were trained by the Special erators. assets, operating in conjunction operation units in the world. cial Command for Tactical Op- Warsaw Forces of the United States and A mixed team of 35 GROM on multiple occasions. These include the US army’s erations based in Karlskrona, • Logistic and security unit the United Kingdom. Currently, operators and 20 US Navy A GROM sniper aided Det Delta Force,US Navy’s Seal Sweden’s primary Naval Base. located in Warsaw. Jednostka Wojskowa GROM is SEALs from SEAL Team 5 One’s in its first “real” mission co-operating with similar units seized the Mukatayin hydro- - a close target reconnaissance of other NATO countries. electric dam, 57 miles north- operation - in which the sniper Weapons used by GROM During its formative first few east of Baghdad. Iraqi troops apprehended the target, (a sus- years, JW 2305 remained com- guarding the dam surrendered pected insurgent sniper). pletely secret and hidden from without a fight, there were no GROM’s early success in the public. casualties to the team (with the Iraq made it a valuable contrib- It was first reported to the exception of one GROM sol- utor to CJSOTF-AP. In Septem- Glock 17 press in 1992 and became dier, who broke an ankle dur- ber 2004, US Navy SEAL snip- Heckler & Koch HK416 known to the public in 1994, ing the insertion from a US Air er Chris Kyle was temporarily after their first major military Force MH-53J Pave Low heli- assigned to GROM’s Combat operation in Haiti. copter. Team B in Baghdad for a week. Before October 1, 1999, JW SEAL and GROM units con- The CIA reportedly found 2305 was subordinate to the tinued to cooperate throughout GROM snipers useful due to Ministry of Internal Affairs, af- the rest of the invasion phase, their low rules of engagement FN F2000 Tactical ter which time command was with raids and anti-sniper mis- threshold. transferred to the Minister of sions in Baghdad. In 2007, US Army Special National Defence, until 2007. Following the invasion, Forces and Polish GROM con- Since 2007 JW GROM is un- GROM operators formed the ducted Operation Jackal against Steyr AUG der the command of Dowódca core of Task Unit Thunder, as an insurgents in Diwaniyah. Wojsk Specjalnych (Command- element of CJSOTF-AP (Com- In 2007, GROM and JW er of Polish Special Forces). bined Joint Special Operations Komandosów were deployed Task Force-Arabian Peninsula), to Kandahar (after earlier suc- Steyr AUG War on terror providing a Tier-1 counterter- cessful tours of Iraq operating A 40-man GROM element rorism unit for the task force. alongside US Navy SEALs) deployed to Afghanistan in ear- Along with Task Unit Raider under direct US Command. ly 2002. (consisting of Det One opera- They weren’t restricted by Heckler & Koch PSG1 For the 2003 invasion of Iraq, tors), both units became the task any national caveats-the only 16 17 A legend has passed on On 29 May 2021 the last remaining South African signaller of World War II, Sergeant Sydney Thomas Ireland passed away at the age of 100. Matt Tennyson pays tribute to the remarkable ‘Uncle Syd’.

first met Sydney Ireland of the last AGM and luncheon love nothing more than to sit at the Italian Club in Cape of the 3rd Brigade Signal Com- and chat with Uncle Syd. I Town on 1 May 2016. A bit pany Reunion Association and Sydney Thomas Ireland was of a strange place to meet as simultaneously ‘transferred’ born on 9 March 1921 on a neither of us was Italian. the 70 year old tradition to the dairy farm in the Parow district. At the time he was one of the Signals Association as the next At the age of 18 he joined the three surviving members of the generation of Signallers. Union Defence Force (UDF) 3 Brigade Signal Company Re- I was there to film the event. and was drafted into the South union Association. The other This led to me helping Robbie African Signals Corps as a two were Major Charles Hollo- Roberts set up the Signals As- wireless operator. way and Signaller Eddie Mills. sociation website and produce During World War II he served At the end of World War II a quarterly newsletter called as a wireless operator in Kenya, Charles Holloway decided to ‘Jimmy’s Own’. Abyssinia, British Somalia and start a reunion of the members It was also the start of my as- Egypt. He spent much time in of the Cape Town based 3 Bri- sociation with Sydney Ireland, Cairo and Alexandria and took gade Signal Company. who was better known as ‘Un- part in the Battle of El Alamein. Every year the would get to- cle Syd’. He would become the last re- gether for an AGM and lunch. At every military veterans maining member of 3 Signal Bush War Books has probably one of the finest This tradition carried on for the gathering or parade, Uncle Syd Company and the last South Af- next 70 years. would always be there. He al- rican signaller of World War II. collections of military titles available. Especially Eventually, when there were ways had a smile on his face On 9 March Uncle Syd cele- on the South African Border War. only three surviving members, and a warm greeting. brated his 100th birthday. The they decided to call it a day. But After these events I would March issue of Jimmy’s Own their legacy and tradition were was dedicated to him. Unfor- set to live on. tunately, due to COVID regu- With the encouragement of lations, we were unable to give 71 Signal Unit, originally 3 Bri- Uncle Syd the type of celebra- gade Signal Squadron, estab- tion that he so richly deserved. lished on 1 May 1946, and the On Saturday 29 May at 15h00 Click here to visit their website. South African Signals Associa- Uncle Syd passed away at Huis tion, which was established on Luckhof where he resided. It 2 December 2000 as an initia- was 50 days after he had cel- tive by Lieutenant Colonel ebrated his 100th birthday. Robbie Roberts, then of- A soldier, signaller, gentle- ficer commanding of 71 man and a legend has left Signal Unit, the 3 Sig- us, bringing to a close nal Company Reunion the end of an era. Association’s tradition We are sure that all would continue. of you will join us On 1 May 2016 when we say, Rest in the Signals Associa- peace Uncle Syd. We tion hosted an event will remember you. which took the form “War does not determine who is right - only who is left”

18 00 Early repeating rifles The advent of the repeating rifle was to change the face of warfare forever.

he development of the Colt Revolving Rifle Model 1855 unitary cartridge in the Tmid-19th century paved the way for the “repeater” rifle. This new weapon fed ammu- nition from a magazine to the breech as part of a single action LeMat Revolver Rifle that emptied the used cartridge case from the chamber, cocked the action, and readied the gun to fire. The first repeaters were most- ly American, and used an un- derlever design. Europeans, Mauser Model 71/84 however, were familiar with Spencer Rifle

Lee-Metford Mark I the bolt action from single-shot Mauser and Spencer Carbine Model 1865 von Dreyse rifles of the 1870s, and came to pre- fer it in repeating guns. They considered the bolt action not only easier

Schmidt-Rubin M1889

Henry Model 1860 to use in a prone position, but also safer - because when the bolt was turned, the action was locked by lugs connecting with other parts in the receiver. Lebel MLE 1886/93 Winchester Carbine Model 1866 20 21 Colt Revolving Rifle Model Spencer Rifle Henry Model 1860 Lebel MLE 1886/93 Prior to the advent of the re- to break and rout. During the 1855 peater rifle, reloading a rifle American War of Independence Date 1863 Date 1860 Date 1893 was a time consuming process. irregular troops would be lucky Date 1855 Origin US Origin US Origin France A properly trained group of if they managed to get off two Origin US Weight 4.55 kg Weight 4 kg Weight 4.3 kg regular infantry soldiers was rounds before breaking. Weight 3.45 kg able to load and fire four rounds Compare this to a rifle such Barrel 72 cm Barrel 51 cm Barrel 80 cm Barrel 68.2 cm per minute from a musket. as the Winchester Carbine Calibre .52 in Calibre .44 in Rim-fire Calibre 8 mm x 50R Now imagine trying to reload that was able to fire up to 30 Calibre .56 in a musket while facing an in- rounds per minute. This meant The Spencer, which had a tu- In Tyler Henry’s repeating The Lebel MLE 1886 was the fantry bayonet charge or, even that a trained company of 100 The 1855 was the third model bular seven-round magazine in rifle, an under-lever ejected a first rifle to fire a small-calibre, worse, a cavalry charge. men would be able to lay down of the Colt Manufacturing Com- the butt stock, was the world’s spent round, chambered a new jacketed bullet propelled by It was not uncommon in sit- 3,000 rounds of fire per minute. pany’s 1838 revolving rifle. It first practical military repeater. one, and left the action cocked. smokeless powder. This modi- uations like this for the line made a considerable impact, It was adopted by the Union A two-piece bolt joined by a fied version followed in 1893. even though the loading proce- Army in the American Civil toggle-joint locked the action. dure of the five-chambered cyl- War. People often ask me how I feel about my invention being used to kill people every day and the inder was cumbersome. Schmidt-Rubin M1889 Spencer Carbine Model AK being a common weapon of ethnic conflicts. I want to make it clear that I created my assault LeMat Revolver Rifle 1865 Date 1889 rifle to protect my country. You can blame politicians for its spreading out of control on a global Origin Switzerland scale. Date 1872 Date 1865 Weight 4.45 kg Mikhail Kalashnikov Origin France/US Origin US Barrel 78 cm Weight 2.2 kg Weight 3.7 kg Calibre 7.5 x 55 mm Barrel 62.8 cm Barrel 51 cm Memorable Order of Colonel Rudolf Schmidt of Calibre 44 in and 16-bore Calibre .50 in the Swiss Army developed a Tin Hats Based on a similar pistol, the For this model, Christopher straight-pull bolt-action rifle LeMat Revolver Rifle had two Spencer amended the design with a 12-round box magazine. barrels. The lower, charged of his original repeater rifle It remained in service, though Click on the photograph below to take a with shot, acted as the axis pin and carbine to eliminate minor slightly modified, until 1931. for the nine-chambered cylin- faults. The 1865 carbine had virtual tour of Warrior’s Gate and find out der, which was charged with six-groove rifling. It was also Winchester Carbine Model more about the Memorable Order of Tin Hats. ball cartridges. made under contract by the 1866 Burnside Rifle Company. Date 1866 Mauser Model 71/84 Origin US Date 1884 Lee-Metford Mark I Weight 4.2 kg Origin Germany Date 1888 Barrel 58.5 cm Weight 4.6 kg Origin UK Calibre .44 Rim-fire Barrel 83 cm Weight 4.3 kg A modified Henry Model Calibre 11 × 60 mm Rim-fire Barrel 76.7 cm 1860, the 1866 allowed the re- Calibre .303 in (black powder) Peter Paul Mauser made loading - even part-full - of a many attempts to turn the sin- The Lee-Metford Mark I had magazine via a port on the re- gle-shot bolt-action M1871 ri- an enclosed bolt action and a ceiver. This doubled the rate of fle into a repeater. The Model box magazine, designed by fire to 30 rounds per minute. 71/84 suffered from weakness- James Lee, and anti-fouling es in the design of its magazine. rifling, developed by William Metford. The Mark II followed in 1890.

22 23 with the German military doc- 4. Always keep your eye on Jagdstaffel 2. trine of auftragstaktik, or order your opponent, and never By the time he died in ac- The Dicta Boelcke tactics: The belief that the jun- let yourself be deceived by tion after his 40th victory, he ior officer on the battlefield best ruses. had thoroughly schooled his In 1916 World War I German flying ace Oswald Boelcke was tasked to write a pamphlet on knows the tactics needed there. 5. In any form of attack it is es- squadron in his tactics. Jasta 2 aerial combat tactics. The result was the ‘Dicta Boelcke’. As part of his staff duties re- sential to assail your enemy went on to be one of the two vamping the Fliegertruppe into from behind. most successful German fighter y 1915 the aircraft had more fighters became known doctrine for fighters, to no avail. the Luftstreitkräfte (Air Force) 6. If your opponent dives on squadrons during the remainder become recognised as as aces. One such pilot was In mid-1916, Boelcke codified in early October 1916, Boelcke you, do not try to evade his of the war, scoring 336 victo- a weapon of war. They Oswald Boelcke. During mid- his tactics in the Dicta Boelcke, B wrote the Dicta, which was then onslaught, but fly to meet it. ries, and achieving a victory ra- were used for observation and May 1915, he began to fly one which was the world’s first tacti- distributed throughout the Luft- 7. When over the enemy’s tio that ran as high as 12 to one. reconnaissance, as well as for of the original fighter aircraft cal manual for an air force. streitkräfte as the world’s first lines never forget your own The simple Dicta Boelcke bombing missions. Certain air- equipped with a synchronized During early 1916, Boelcke tactical manual. line of retreat. manual has, over time, evolved craft, however, were being de- gun. As he began to shoot down wrote a brochure entitled “Ex- Spurred by the example of 8. For the Staffel (squad- into widespread use of tactics, veloped almost exclusively as opposing French and British periences of Air Fighting”, giv- the Dicta, many of the world’s ron): Attack on principle in techniques, and procedures fighter aircraft. airplanes, he became one of the ing tips for attacking any one of military air forces would even- groups of four or six. When manuals for air forces world- Yet the word “fighter” did first German fighter aces. three types of opposing aircraft. tually develop their own tacti- the fight breaks up into a se- wide. The United States Joint not become the official English Boelcke was tasked by This was not unique; a few oth- cal manuals, codified as tactics, ries of single combats, take Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the Unit- term for such aircraft until after Colonel Hermann von der Li- er fliers in the war were sharing techniques, and procedures. care that several do not go ed States Navy (USN), and the World War I. In Great Britain’s eth-Thomsen with writing a such combat tips with one an- for the same opponent. United States Air Force (USAF) Royal Flying Corps – later the pamphlet on aerial tactics. Com- other on a personal level. The Dicta Boelcke each have their own air tactics Royal Air Force – these aircraft pleted in June 1916, it was dis- After Immelmann’s death, 1. Try to secure advantages be- Legacy manuals. Under the auspices of continued to be referred to as tributed throughout the German Boelcke was withdrawn from fore attacking. If possible, After writing the Dicta, the North Atlantic Treaty Or- “scouts” into the early 1920s. Army’s Air Service (Die Flieg- combat on 27 June 1916, while keep the sun behind you. Boelcke’s tactics were taught in ganization (NATO), the USAF The U.S. Army called their ertruppen des Deutschen Kai- he was the war’s leading ace, 2. Always carry through an at- the fighter school he had sug- trains German, Dutch, Nor- fighters “pursuit” aircraft (re- serreiches). It would be almost and assigned to Fliegertruppe tack when you have started gested founding. He suggested wegian, Turkish, Italian, and flected by their designation in two years before the French and (Flying Troops) headquarters. it. that fighter planes be organized Greek fighter pilots at Sheppard the “P” series) from 1916 until British followed suit with their His reassignment was in line 3. Fire only at close range, and into squadrons. He also organ- Air Force Base, using air tactics the late 1940s. In the French, own tactical guides. only when your opponent is ized and led one of these orig- manuals descended from the Portuguese and German lan- Often flying with Max Im- properly in your sights. inal German fighter squadrons, Dicta Boelcke. guages the term used (and still melmann, Boelcke gained ex- in use) for fighters literally perience in the new realm of means “hunter”. aerial combat as he discovered This lead has been followed the utility of having a wingman, in most other languages, an ex- of massing fighter planes for SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION ception being Russian, in which increased fighting power, and the fighter is called “istrebitel”, of flying loose formations meaning “exterminator”. allowing individual pilots During the first part of the war, tactical independence. there was no established tactical Based on his success- SAAFA is an all-ranks Association formed to perpetuate a tradition doctrine for air-to-air combat. ful combat experiences, of comradeship, knowing no distinction of rank, race, language, During this period of pioneer- he used his training as a ing aerial warfare, the British professional soldier and gender or creed, which has developed over the years among Royal Flying Corps air effort his powers as an ana- members of the South African Air Force. could be summed up by, “At- lytic thinker to design tack everything”. The French tactics for the use of Aeronautique Militaire was aircraft in battle. concentrating its efforts on Boelcke tried to Click on the logo above to visit the SAAFA website building up its bomber force. interest Immelmann Pilots who shot down five or in devising a tactical

24 25 corporal. He was awarded the Desmond Doss the rank of corporal. Disobedient Heroes Distinguished Conduct Med- This was a man that wanted to al at El Alamein for knocking serve his country during World In the military it is expected that you obey orders. Yet there are cases where there is a good out three German machine gun War II. As long as he didn’t reason to disobey those orders. posts, destroying two tanks, have to kill anyone. and capturing one hundred pris- He was a pacifist and refused he military has a very settlement” (liquidation) action Battel’s stand against the SS oners. every order to carry a weapon strict code of conduct. against the Jews of Przemyśl came to be recognised only a During the Battle of Sattel- or fire one. He was given a court When a soldier is given on 26 July 1942, Battel, in con- long time after his death; most T berg in the Pacific nation of martial and the court eventual an order he/she is expected to cert with his superior, ordered notably, through the tenacious New Guinea, Derrick was now decided that he did not have to carry it out immediately. the bridge over the River San, efforts of the Israeli researcher a lieutenant. carry a firearm and would be al- Commanding officers can the only access into the Jewish and lawyer Dr. Zeev Goshen. On November 24, 1943, Lt. lowed to serve as a medic. order troops into a suicide mis- ghetto, to be blocked. On 22 January 1981, almost Derrick was ordered to with- As his unit climbed a vertical sion if it serves the greater pur- As the SS commando attempt- 30 years after his death, Yad draw his platoon because the cliffside at Okinawa, the Japa- pose. When obeying orders, it’s ed to cross to the other side, the Vashem recognised Albert Bat- CO didn’t think he could cap- nese opened up with artillery, necessary for those troops to sergeant-major in charge of the tel as Righteous among the Na- ture the heights around Sattel- mortars, and machine guns, believe a commander wouldn’t bridge threatened to open fire tions. berg. turning his unit back and killing order them into harm’s way un- unless they withdrew. All this Major Max Liedtke was also Derrick’s response: “Bugger or wounding 75 men. Doss re- less it was necessary, that the happened in broad daylight, to recognised as Righteous among Desmond Doss the CO. Just give me twenty trieved them one by one, load- order serves a greater good, and the amazement of the local in- the Nations. more minutes and we’ll have ing them onto a litter and down it’s not an illegal order. habitants. Daniel Hellings this place.” the cliff. The military takes a dim view Still later that same afternoon, Derrick climbed a vertical A few days later, in the mouth Hellings was serving with the on anyone that fails or refuses an army detachment under the cliff by himself, holding on with of a cave, he braved a shower British Army in Afghanistan. to obey an order. Those that re- command of Oberleutnant Bat- one hand and throwing gre- of grenades thrown from eight On 7 September 2010 he was fuse to carry out an order can be tel broke into the cordoned-off nades with the other, stopping yards away, dressed wounds, on a joint patrol with Afghan court martialled and, in some area of the ghetto and used only to fire his rifle. He cleared and made four trips to pull his allies in the Helmand Province. cases, even sentenced to death army trucks to evacuate up to out 10 machine gun nests that soldiers out. He treated his own An IED (Improvised Explosive if found guilty. 100 Jews and their families to night and forced the Japanese to wounds and waited five hours Device) was detonated in an al- Yet there are cases where there the barracks of the local mili- withdraw. The Aussies captured for a litter to carry him off. leyway. is a valid reason for disobeying tary command. Sattelberg and Derrick was On the way back, the three Two troops were injured in the an order. Such as when they be- These Jews were placed un- awarded the Victoria Cross. men carrying him had to take initial blast, one blinded and the lieve that the order is putting der the protection of the Wehr- cover from a tank attack. While second with severe leg wounds, the lives of friendly troops or macht and were thus sheltered waiting, Doss crawled off his and a third was wounded when innocent people at stake. from deportation to Belzec. litter, treated a more injured he triggered another bomb just The following people not only The remaining ghetto inmates, man, and told the litter bearers metres away from Private Hell- disobeyed orders, they even be- including the head of the Jud- to take the other man. ings. came heroes because of it. enrat, Dr. Duldig, underwent While waiting for them to Private Hellings was ordered “resettlement” in the following Albert Battel come back, he was hit in the to withdraw from the alley by days. Albert Battel arm by a sniper and crawled his commander but the young After this incident, the SS Thomas Currie Derrick As a fifty-one-year-old re- more than 250 metres to an aid soldier realised there was no authorities began a secret in- Tom Derrick was an Austral- serve officer and a lawyer by station. time to find an alternative route vestigation into the conduct of ian who went by the nickname profession, Oberleutnant Battel He was twice awarded the to recover the casualties and the army officer who had dared of ‘Diver’. was stationed in Przemyśl in Bronze Star Medal for actions volunteered to return to the task. defy them under such embar- During World War II he southern Poland as the adjutant in Guam and the Philippines. With his metal detector ren- rassing circumstances. joined the 2/48th Battalion of to the local military command- For his exploits at Okinawa, dered all but useless because so Heinrich Himmler, Reichs- the Second Australian Imperial er, Major Max Liedtke. Battel Doss was awarded the Medal of much metallic debris lay on the führer-SS, vowed to have the Force. had been a member of the Nazi Honour. ground, he carried out an hour- lawyer expelled from the Nazi At the Siege of Tobruk, he Party since 1933. He was the first conscientious long fingertip search for further party and arrested immediately was recommended for the Mil- Thomas Derrick When the SS prepared to objector to earn the Medal of IEDs. after the war. itary Medal and promoted to launch their first large-scale “re- Honour and was promoted to One hidden bomb he found 26 27 had wires stretching the width anyway. manned the gun while the other Daniel Sickles David Teich of the alley, which would nor- He knocked out three balloons drove the vehicle. Major General Sickles’ slight During the Korean War, US mally have prevented him go- that day before his aircraft was hit They drove right into the fire- disobedience to orders during Army Lieutenant David Teich ing any further. But Private by machine gun fire and he was storm, loading the beleaguered the Battle of Gettysburg changed was in a tank company near the Hellings knew that his injured forced down behind enemy lines. Afghans, mostly wounded, the momentum of the war and 38th parallel in 1951 when a ra- comrades would almost certain- He managed to land, climbed onto their Humvee. As weapons may have changed the entire dio distress call came in from ly die if he waited for a bomb out of his aircraft and, using jammed, Meyer would grab an- history of the United States. In a the Eighth Ranger Company. disposal team. his side arm, opened fire on the other, and another. They drove move historians haven’t stopped Wounded, outnumbered, and He disregarded the danger to Germans that were heading to into the melee five times, un- talking about for 150 years, under heavy fire, the Rangers himself and continued clearing take him prisoner. He was killed til they came across Meyer’s Sickles moved his men to Peach were near Teich’s tanks, and the ground around the IEDs so in the one-sided fight. friends, now fallen, and pulled Orchard instead of Little Round facing 300,000 Communist he could reach the three casu- He was later awarded the them out too. Top, as Gen. George G. Meade troops, moving steadily toward alties, giving them life-saving Medal of Honour, becoming the For his actions Meyer was ordered him. This move prompt- their position. first aid and helping to evacuate first pilot to receive the award. awarded the Medal of Honour. ed Confederate Gen. James Teich wanted to help, but was them. He is the second-youngest liv- Stanislav Petrov Longstreet to attack the Union ordered to withdraw instead, his For his bravery and quick ing Medal of Honour recipient. Benaya Rein troops in the orchard and the captain saying “We’ve got or- thinking, he was awarded the wheat field, nearly destroying ders to move out. Screw them. Queen’s Gallantry Medal. During the Second Lebanon War several Israeli soldiers, the Union forces there. Which, Let them fight their own bat- lacking accurate maps, became admittedly, sounds terrible. tles.” lost in 2006 while in Southern The Confederate move al- Teich went anyway. He led Lebanon. As they attempted lowed Union troops to flank four tanks over to the Rangers’ to get their bearings, about 20 them in a counter-offensive and position and took out so many men appeared in the distance, completely rout the Confederate Rangers on each tank, they cov- and the commander, convinced forces, winning Gettysburg for ered up the tank’s turrets. He the Union and ending Robert still gets letters from the troops Dakota Meyer they were Hezbollah fighters, ordered Benaya Rein to open E. Lee’s invasion of the North. he saved that day, thanking Stanislav Petrov fire. Sickles himself lost a leg in the him for disobeying his order to fighting, but received the Medal move out. On 26 September 1983, three Rein wasn’t so sure. Instead, of Honour. Frank Luke Jr. weeks after the Soviet military he took a tank out to the loca- Dakota Meyer had shot down Korean Air Lines tion to investigate. When he ar- Meyer was a member of the Flight 007, Lt Colonel Petrov rived, he found 20 of his fellow was the duty officer at the com- IDF soldiers. Daniel Hellings United States Marine Corps and it 2009 was at the Battle of mand centre for the Oko nucle- Rein would later be killed af- Frank Luke Jr Ganjgal in Afghanistan. ar early-warning system when ter the tank he was commanding the system reported that a mis- was hit by a Hezbollah missile. Frank Luke Jr was an U.S. His commander ordered him sile had been launched from the He was one of the last Israelis Army Air Service during World to disregard a distress call from United States, followed by up killed during the war. War I. He held the rank of 2nd ambushed Afghan and Ameri- to five more Lieutenant. can troops, four of them friends, Standing orders were clear He was an ace with 18 con- pinned down by possibly hun- - report it immediately to his firmed kills, second only to dreds of enemy fighters. commanding officers, who Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. He repeatedly asked permis- would have likely launched a Luke’s nickname was the ‘Ar- sion to drive his truck to help counter-strike with their nucle- izona Balloon Buster’. relieve his outnumbered and ar arsenal.. On 29 September 1918 he had surrounded friends and allies. Suspecting that it was a false been grounded by his squad- Each time the request was de- alarm he disobeyed the standing ron’s commanding officer, Cap- nied. orders and, in doing so, averted tain Alfred A. Grant, and told Taking matter into his own World War III and mutually as- that if he took off he would be hands he and another Marine sured destruction. considered AWOL. He took off hopped in a Humvee. Meyer Benaya Rein Daniel Sickles David Teich 28 29 What was the Luftwaffe’s together and, until the British old boy’ chaps they’re popularly Battle of Britain - a few facts plan? adjusted their own tactics, these seen as. The aims of the two sides looser formations gave the Ger- In fact, of the almost 3,000 pi- The Battle of Britain lasted from 10 July – 31 October 1940 and was the first major military were relatively straightforward. mans an edge in close combat. lots that flew during the Battle campaign in history to be fought entirely in the air. Here are a few facts about the battle The Germans planned to bomb However, the Germans con- of Britain, fewer than 200 were that you may, or may not, have known. key British military, industrial sistently underestimated how public-school educated. The rest t was described by British weeks, leaving Britain as the fered heavy losses during the and, later, civilian targets, thus many planes the RAF had, and came from a wide variety of Prime Minister Winston lone standing Allied power. Battle of France and its com- devastating Britain’s ability and how quickly it could replace backgrounds – bank clerks, shop Churchill as the RAF’s During a June 18 speech, mander Hugh Dowding con- willingness to fight. those it had lost. And, like the assistants and factory workers I They also reasoned that, as RAF, they usually overestimat- all served as fighter pilots. (Royal Air Force) finest hour. Prime Minister Winston troversially refused Churchill’s It was one of Britain’s most im- Churchill predicted a show- request for more squadrons to the RAF would have to respond ed how many planes they’d What they did have in com- portant victories of the Second down with Germany when he be sent there, arguing that every to these attacks, its fighter force shot down. As a result, they mon was their youth. While a World War and is credited with said, “The Battle of France is plane was needed for the forth- would be worn down until the never really had a clear picture few ‘old sweats’ were over 30, preventing Germany from in- over. I expect the Battle of Brit- coming fights over Britain. numerically superior Luftwaffe of how the battle was going. the average age of an RAF fight- vading Britain. ain is about to begin.” enjoyed supremacy in the skies In August, they began attack- er pilot was just 20, and many Adolf Hitler aimed to force Hitler tried to convince Brit- over Britain. Then, an invasion ing RAF airfields, which did, in were as young as 18. Britain to submit by bombing, How strong were the RAF ain to surrender without a might just be possible. fact, put Fighter Command un- At the time, you had to be 21 naval blockade or, if necessary, and Luftwaffe in July 1940? fight. In order to get at the bomb- der severe strain. But when, in to vote so many of these young invasion. But to achieve this, he The German Air Force, or Despite being fresh off his ers, the RAF first had to fight its early September, they switched men were risking their lives in needed air supremacy. So, in the Luftwaffe, consisted of three lightning conquest of France, way through a protective screen their sights to British cities, they defence of a democracy they summer and autumn of 1940, a Luftflotten (‘Air fleets’), de- Hitler was wary of invading of enemy fighters. And here, the did so at just the wrong time. were not yet old enough to par- few thousand airmen waged a ployed in an arc round Britain Britain. The island nation was Germans enjoyed a tactical ad- They believed Fighter Com- ticipate in. dogged battle in the skies over from Normandy to Scandina- protected by the English Chan- vantage. mand was on its last legs. They And not all of them were Brit- Britain. via. During the Battle of Brit- nel, and its Royal Navy was The RAF had always liked were wrong. When large num- ish. About 20 per cent of Fighter Next to the later conflicts of ain they had about 2,800 air- superior to the German Krieg- close formation flying. Its three- bers of RAF fighters inflicted Command’s aircrew came from World War II, it was a tiny af- craft, two-thirds of which were smarine. plane V formations looked im- heavy losses on the raids of 15 overseas: New Zealanders, Ca- fair. But the stakes were huge bombers. He instead hoped that Britain pressive, but were not very agile September, it was a devastating nadians, Australians and South – resting on the result was the The Luftwaffe had already would acknowledge “her mili- in battle. The Germans, on the blow to Luftwaffe morale. Africans took part in the Battle survival of Britain and the out- defeated the air forces of Po- tarily hopeless situation” and other hand, had learnt from their of Britain, and they were joined come of the entire war. land, Belgium, the Netherlands, sue for peace. A small contin- experiences in the Spanish Civil Who were ‘the Few‘? by volunteers from a variety of Most readers will know about France, and the RAF contingent gent of British politicians also War. RAF fighter pilots were a cos- nations including neutral coun- the Battle of Britain, and will prior to Dunkirk. favoured a compromise, but They replaced the V with a mopolitan bunch, very different tries like Ireland and the US. also know the final outcome Its crews were experienced Winston Churchill brushed off pair of planes – one would lead to the public school ‘Tally Ho Vital contributions were also of the battle - a victory for the and confident and its command- talk of surrender and announced while the other acted as Royal Air Force. er predicted it would only take a that Britain was determined to its wingman, watch- Yet there are some facts about few days to knock out the RAF. fight on. ing its back. Two the battle that are not all that In 1936, the RAF had been He rallied the public by char- pairs often worked well known. Here are a few of organised into four separate acterizing the coming battle as them. Commands: Training, Coastal, a struggle for national surviv- Bomber and Fighter. Fighter al, and when the Nazis dangled It got its name before it even Command was organised geo- the prospect of a peace treaty in began. graphically into four ‘Groups’. early July 1940, he rejected it The stage for the battle was Air Vice-Marshal Park’s 11 outright. set in May 1940, when Nazi Group, in the South East, would It was only then that Hitler Germany launched a massive bear the brunt of the fighting. It reluctantly approved plans for blitzkrieg against Western Eu- had about 650 aircraft and 1,300 Operation Sea Lion, an amphib- rope. Hitler’s armies over- pilots at its disposal at the start ious invasion originally sched- ran Belgium, the Netherlands of the Battle. uled to unfold in mid-August. and France in only a matter of Fighter Command had suf-

30 31 made by pilots from Nazi-occu- they nevertheless became a cru- they were posted to an opera- Women played vital roles in Battle of Britain, combat fa- This was less of a problem for pied countries – Poles, Czech- cial part of Britain’s strategy. tional unit, such was Britain’s the Battle of Britain tigue was as persistent a foe as the RAF as it was for the Luft- oslovakians, Belgians, French- By pinging approaching Luft- shortage of manpower. Many worked in factories enemy Spitfires and Messer- waffe. RAF pilots would nor- men and Austrians all flew in waffe raiders with radio waves, Pilots on both sides rapidly building the aircraft that actu- schmitts. mally be over friendly territory. the Battle. Many of them were the RAF could pin down their learned that there was a world ally did the fighting while one German morale sank to dan- If they bailed out from their air- experienced fighters, often mo- location and scramble fighters of difference between the flying out of every eight of the pilots gerous lows as the battle wore craft they could land and then tivated by an intense hatred of to intercept them, thereby rob- they’d learned in training and in the Air Transport Auxiliary on, and British airmen were be transported back to their the country that was oppressing bing the Germans of the ele- flying in combat. Some ‘aces’ (ATA), which delivered planes beaten down by gruelling 15- base. While they may have lost their own. ment of surprise. were not great pilots, but were to stations across the country, hour shifts and constant Luft- an aircraft, the pilot would of- Although it was only opera- Nazi leaders never appreciat- deadly shots. were female. waffe bombing raids on their ten be ready to go straight back tional for six weeks, the Polish ed the importance of British ra- You might have been the most One of these was the accom- airfields. into the fray. No 303 Squadron shot down dar, and their failure to degrade elegant flier in the world but it plished Amy Johnson, who Pilots often flew several This was not the case for more German planes than any it allowed the RAF to consist- counted for little if you couldn’t died in 1941 when the aircraft missions a day on only a few members of the Luftwaffe. They other unit. ently remain a step ahead of the shoot straight. she was flying crashed into the hours of sleep, and many took would often have to bail out Luftwaffe. Fighter planes normally had Thames estuary. amphetamine pills just to keep over England. On landing they The battle included one of the only enough ammunition for Members of the Women’s themselves awake. were usually captured quickly earliest uses of radar in com- RAF pilots generally received about ten seconds of sustained Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) In a bid to bolster its used up and would become prisoners of bat. less training than their Ger- firing, and so often the best worked alongside the RAF as fighter force, the RAF eventual- war. Not only did the Germans While the Luftwaffe enjoyed man counterparts tactic was to get your plane as drivers, clerks, telephonists, ly cut the training time for new lose and aircraft, they also lost an edge in total aircraft during At this time, all German air- close as possible to an enemy – cooks and orderlies. pilots from six months to just valuable pilots and crew. the early stages of the battle, the crew had to undergo at least six ideally without him seeing you Some served at radar stations two weeks. On the odd occasion, how- RAF had a secret weapon in the months of basic training; Brit- – fire off a short burst of one or while others famously worked Some recruits even ended up ever, things did not go all that form of Radio Direction Find- ish pilots rarely got more than two seconds and then quickly as plotters in the various Fight- on the front lines with as little smoothly for RAF pilots. ing, better known as radar. a month. move on. er Command operations rooms as nine hours’ experience in An RAF pilot, James Nicol- Shortly after the technology German aviators received up Such deadly encounters of- mapping friendly and enemy modern fighter planes. son, was hit by cannon fire from was developed in the 1930s, the to 80 hours’ training at specialist ten lasted moments and in these aircraft positions and helping to a German fighter. His foot was British built a ring of radar sta- bomber or fighter schools, and circumstances strong nerves, direct fighter planes. Insufficient Luftwaffe radio smashed and he was on fire. Yet tions along their coastline. took part in simulation sorties quick reactions and good eye- Many of the places they communications he still managed to shoot down These “Chain Home” stations and mock battles before seeing sight were as important as tech- worked at were primary targets The Germans had far more so- the enemy plane before bailing were still primitive - a civilian combat. RAF pilots were lucky nical flying ability. for German attacks. More than phisticated radar than the British out. Observer Corps was required if they got more than about 20 750 WAAFs lost their lives dur- but failed to use it. Radio com- As he drifted down, wounded to spot low-flying aircraft - but hours of actual flying before ing the war. munications once in the air were and still on fire, some members Meanwhile, women in the non-existent between fighters of the British Home Guard be- Army’s Auxiliary Territorial and bombers, leading to repeat- gan blasting away at him with Service (ATS) worked as radar ed confusion. shotguns. Somehow he sur- operators, and joined the crews There were no ground control- vived but was more injured by of anti-aircraft guns and search- lers as such, so that once on their his Home Guard colleagues light units. way to England, the Luftwaffe than by the enemy attack. More than 250,000 women were left with the pre-flight or- Nicholson would go on to be- served in the ATS during World ders and nothing more. Other- come the only Second World War II, including the future wise, they were on their own. War fighter pilot to be awarded Queen Elizabeth II, who joined Confusion frequently ensued. the Victoria Cross. up while a princess at the age of 19, training as a driver and ‘Bailing out’ The Spitfire was not Britain’s mechanic. When an aircraft was dam- main aircraft. aged by enemy, or sometimes Thanks to its sleek lines and Pilot exhaustion and person- friendly, fire the pilot and crew blistering speed, the Superma- nel shortages plagued both - if it was a bomber - would rine Spitfire has gone down in sides. have no option but to ‘bail out’ popular lore as the plane that For men on both sides of the and deploy their parachutes. saved England during the Bat- 32 33 tle of Britain. lieved pressure on the RAF, al- Five Key Dates of the Yet Spitfires only made up a lowing it to repair its crippled Battle Of Britain third of the British fighters dur- airfields and refresh its pilots. ing the campaign. The bulk of The respite proved critical. 10 July 1940: Official start the RAF force consisted of the When the Luftwaffe tried to of the battle of Britain less glamorous Hawker Hurri- score a knock-out blow with a The battle begins with the cane, an older wood-and-fabric massive air attack on 15 Sep- Kanalkampf, or Channel Bat- fighter that was slower than the tember, a resilient RAF in- tles phase, when the Germans Spitfire but reportedly sturdier tercepted them and downed The SA Legion is a national organisation, part of a world- launched sustained attacks and more forgiving in combat. roughly 60 aircraft. Hitler was wide family that addresses the needs of ex-service per- against British shipping to While the two planes carried forced to shelve Operation Sea sonnel and their dependents by way of housing, pensions, prevent much-needed sup- the same armaments, the Hurri- Lion only a few days later. employment and general welfare. It is apolitical, non-sec- plies from reaching the belea- cane’s superior numbers meant tarian, non-racial, non-sexist and non-partisan. guered British Isles. that it was responsible for the German bombing raids con- vast majority of Luftwaffe loss- tinued long after the battle The Springbok is the official journal of the South African 13 August 1940: Eagle Day es during the battle. had ended. Legion. Read the February issue of Springbok by clicking With the outcome of the The Battle of Britain fizzled on the cover to the left. Kanalkampf phase of the bat- Hitler’s decision to bomb out in late-October 1940, when tle inconclusive, Luftwaffe London turned the battle in Hitler abandoned his quest for commander-in-cheif Her- Britain’s favour. control of British airspace and mann Göring makes plans The Luftwaffe’s bombing cam- turned his attention toward at- The Sunday Breakfast Zone for an all-out assault against paigns in England were initially tacking the Soviet Union. Catch Military Despatches edi- Fighter Command on the restricted to military and industri- The campaign was Germa- tor Matt Tennyson every Sunday British mainland. al targets, but the strategy changed ny’s first major defeat in World morning from 09h00 t0 12h00 in September 1940, after the RAF War II, but it didn’t mark the end on the ‘Sunday Breakfast Zone’ 18 August 1940: The Hard- launched a retaliatory raid against of the Blitz against Britain. The est Day Berlin. Luftwaffe continued to conduct on Zone Radio. Bringing you the Both sides suffer their The strike sent Hitler into a fit night time bombing raids over best music of the 60s, 70s and 80s. greatest number of losses so of rage. Ignoring the progress the London, Coventry and other far: 69 German aircraft ver- Luftwaffe was making in attack- cities for several more months sus Fighter Command’s 29. ing RAF air bases, he demanded in a futile attempt to break Brit- On Sunday morning at 09h30 you can catch the Retro Top 20 and they shift their focus toward “eras- ain’s fighting spirit. listen to the Top 2o hit singles on the South African charts for a 7 September 1940: The Blitz ing” British cities from the map. By the time the campaign fi- begins Hermann Göring was also not nally ended in May 1941, some particular week or even a particular year. Dismayed by the failure to that happy about the raid. Weeks 40,000 people had been killed. destroy Fighter Command earlier he had said, ““No enemy Click here to listen live and incensed by a British bomber can reach the Ruhr [re- “The gratitude of every home bombing raid on Berlin, gion in Germany]. If one reaches in our Island, in our Empire, and Göring turns his attention to the Ruhr , my name is not Göring. indeed throughout the world, ex- London. You may call me Meyer.” Meyer, cept in the abodes of the guilty, What’s in the August issue? as every German understood, was goes out to the British airmen, 15 September 1940: Battle an insult. who, undaunted by odds, un- August is Women’s Month, so the August issue of Military Despatches will feature a number of Britain Day The bombing campaign now wearied in their constant chal- of articles looking at women in the military. Air Vice-Marshal Keith known as the Blitz began on Sep- lenge and mortal danger, are Park famously orders all his tember 7 with a raid on London, turning the tide of world war by • 10 Modern day women warriors aircraft into the air to de- and dozens more attacks followed their prowess and by the devo- • Females on the front line fend the capital, abandoning over the next several weeks. tion. Never in the field of human • Vietnam War - a few facts his own policy of deliberate, While the bombings took a conflict was so much owed by so • Special Forces - Special Air Service smaller attacks by individual sobering toll on British civil- many to so few” • Famous figures in military history - David Stirling squadrons. ians, they also temporarily re- Winston Churchill 34 35 Rank Structure - Polish Army Over the next few months we will be running a series of articles looking at the rank structure of various armed forces. This month we look at the Polish Army and Polish Special Forces.

he Armed Forces of the ticipated in the ISAF mission Republic of Poland are in Afghanistan led by NATO. Chorąży Starszy chorąży Starszy chorąży sztabowy Tthe national armed forc- Poland’s contribution to ISAF (Ensign) (Warrant Officer) (Senior Staff Ensign) es of the Republic of Poland. was the country’s largest since The Armed Forces of the Re- its entrance into NATO. Polish Officers public of Poland are the Wojska forces also took part in the Iraq Lądowe (Polish Land Forces), War. Marynarka Wojenna (Polish From 2003 to 2008, Polish Navy), Siły Powietrzne (Polish military forces commanded the Air Forces), Wojska Specjalne Multinational Division (MND- (Polish Special Forces) and Wo- CS) located in the South-Cen- jska Obrony Terytorialnej (Pol- tral Occupation Zone of Iraq. ish Territorial Defence Force). The division was made up of From 2002 until 2014, Pol- troops from 23 nations and to- Podchorąży Podporucznik Porucznik Kapitan ish military forces were part of talled as many as 8,500 soldiers. (Cadet) (Second Lieutenant) (Lieutenant) (Captain) the Coalition Forces that par- Polish Army and Special Forces Non-commissioned Officers (NCO)

Major Podpułkownik Pułkownik Generał brygady (Major) (Lieutenant Colonel) (Colonel) (Brigadier General)

Szeregowy Starszy szeregowy Kapral Starszy kapral (Private) (Private First Class) (Corporal) (Senior Corporal)

Generał dywizji Generał broni Generał Marszałek Polski (Major General) (Lieutenant General) (Generał) (Field Marshal)

Plutonowy Sierżant Starszy sierżant Młodszy chorąży (Platoon Corporal) (Sergeant) (Sergeant Major) (Junior Engisn)

36 37 head to head head to head Generally, the Spitfire would Bf 109E, and the thicker wing General characteristics Aircraft in the Battle of Britain intercept the German fighters, profiles compromised accelera- • Crew: One leaving Hurricanes to concen- tion; but it could out-turn both • Length: 9.83 metres This month we take a look at some of the aircraft, both British and German, that took trate on the bombers, but, de- of them. • Wingspan: 12.19 metres part in the Battle of Britain. spite the undoubted abilities of In spite of its performance • Height: 4.001 metres the “thoroughbred” Spitfire, it deficiencies against the Bf 109, • Gross weight: 3,479 kg n May 1940 Nazi Germany As a precondition for an in- RAF had a secret weapon in the was the “workhorse” Hurricane the Hurricane was still capable • Powerplant: 1 × Rolls- launched a massive blitz- vasion Hitler specified that he form of Radio Direction Find- that scored the higher number of of destroying the German fight- Royce Merlin XX V-12 liq- Ikrieg against Western Eu- wanted both air and naval su- ing, better known as radar. RAF victories during this period. er, especially at lower altitudes. uid-cooled piston engine, rope. They overran Belgium, periority. Luftwaffe (Air Force) Shortly after the technology On 8 August 1940, Hurri- The standard tactic of the 1,185 hp at 6,400 metres the Netherlands and France in commander Herman Göring as- was developed in the 1930s, canes of No. 145 Squadron 109s was to attempt to climb • Propellers: 3-bladed only a matter of weeks. Britain sured Hitler that he would eas- the British built a ring of radar were recorded as having fired higher than the RAF fighters stood alone with the Germans ily sweep the Royal Air Force stations along their coastline. the first shots of the Battle of and “bounce” them in a dive; Performance preparing for an invasion. (RAF) from the skies in just a These “Chain Home” stations Britain. the Hurricanes could evade • Maximum speed: 550 km/h During a June 18 speech, few days. were still primitive - a civilian The highest scoring Hurri- such tactics by turning into the at 6,400 metres Prime Minister Winston On 10 July 1940 the Ger- Observer Corps was required cane squadron during the Bat- attack or going into a “cork- • Range: 970 km Churchill predicted a show- mans launched a surprise air to spot low-flying aircraft - but tle of Britain was the No. 303 screw dive”, which the 109s, • Service ceiling: 11,000 me- down with Germany when he raid against a British shipping they nevertheless became a cru- Polish Fighter Squadron. This with their lower rate of roll, tres said, “The Battle of France is convoy in the English Channel. cial part of Britain’s strategy. squadron also had the distinc- found hard to counter. • Rate of climb: 14.1 metres over. I expect the Battle of Brit- Many consider this strike to be By pinging approaching Luft- tion of having the highest ratio If a 109 was caught in a dog- per second ain is about to begin.” Phase One of the Battle of Brit- waffe raiders with radio waves, of enemy aircraft destroyed to fight, the Hurricane was just as Hitler hoped that the British ain. the RAF could pin down their own losses suffered. capable of out-turning the 109 Armament government would seek a peace Between 8 and 23 August location and scramble fighters As a fighter, the Hurricane had as the Spitfire. In a stern chase, • Guns: 4 × 20 mm Hispano agreement. If, however, all oth- 1940 Phase Two of the Battle of to intercept them, thereby rob- some drawbacks. It was slight- the 109 could evade the Hurri- Mk II cannon er options failed he considered Britain takes place. British radar bing the Germans of the ele- ly slower than both the Spitfire cane. • Bombs: 2 × 110 kg or 1 x an invasion as a last resort. It stations and RAF airfields come ment of surprise. I and II and the Messerschmitt 230 kg bomb was given the code name Un- under attack. In this month’s Head-to-Head ternehmen Seelöwe (Operation While the Luftwaffe enjoyed we look at some of the aircraft, Sea Lion) and was planned for an edge in total aircraft during both British and German, that Supermarine Spitfire September 1940. the early stages of the battle, the took part in this famous battle. Throughout the Battle of Brit- ain the Spitfire was involved in Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIC countless dogfights with every Without doubt it was the Su- plane that the Luftwaffe sent. permarine Spitfire that was in Pilots of the Spitfire were able the public consciousness during to use the planes superior abili- the Battle of Britain. ties to outmanoeuvre and defeat Yet Spitfires only made up a the German invader. third of the British fighters dur- The Spitfire held another ing the campaign. The bulk of great advantage in combat, this the RAF force consisted of the was that it was much more ma- less glamorous Hawker Hurri- noeuvrable in a dogfight com- cane. pared to any German plane. The The Hurricane inflicted 60 British fighter could be stressed percent of the losses sustained much harder than the Me-109, by the Luftwaffe in the battle, so much so that if the Me 109 and fought in all the major the- would attempt to manoeuvre in atres of the Second World War. the same manner as its British counter part the structural in- 38 39 head to head head to head tegrity of the plane would fail. little easier without the engine • Wingspan: 11.23 metres 15,000 kills during the war. inverted liquid-cooled pis- • Rate of climb: 17 metres per Although the Spitfire would stopping. Secondly the 109 out- • Height: 3.02 metres ton engine, 1,455 hp second prove itself effective while be- numbered the Spitfire so much • Gross weight: 2,692 kg General characteristics • Propellers: 3-bladed ing chased, pilots also had to so that the RAF had to maintain • Powerplant: 1 × Rolls- • Crew: One Armament contend with the rear gunners an overwhelming kill ratio to Royce Merlin III V-12 en- • Length: 8.95 metres Performance • 2 × 13 mm synchronized of several Luftwaffe planes. stay relevant in the battle. gine, 1,030 hp at 4,877 me- • Wingspan: 9.925 metres • Maximum speed: 640 km/h MG 131 machine guns The rear guns in planes such The Spitfire played many tres • Height: 2.6 metres at 6,300 metres • 1 × 20 mm MG 151/20 can- as the Me-110 presented much roles throughout the Battle of • Propellers: 3-bladed • Gross weight: 3,148 kg • Range: 440 km non as centreline Motor- more danger to pilots than be- Britain. Arguably the most • Powerplant: 1 × Daim- • Service ceiling: 12,000 me- kanone ing shot at from behind. important part that this plane Performance ler-Benz DB 605A-1 V-12 tres Not only was it more likely played was psychological. It • Maximum speed: 582 km/h Junkers Ju 87 for a pilot to be directly shot, a was both a morale boost for the at 5,669 metres rear gunner would also have a British, and a spirit crushing • Range: 400 km Commonly known as the Stu- clear sight line at the powerful sight for the Germans. • Service ceiling: 10,485 me- ka (from Sturzkampfflugzeug engine of the Spitfire. Most pilots who flew in this tres - dive bomber) the Ju 87 could The Spitfires biggest test in conflict were impacted by the • Rate of climb: 11.0 metres drop nearly vertically from 450 combat came against the Ger- Spitfire and were able to see per second metres at up to 600 km/h and man Me-109. Spitfires held the what made this masterpiece of deliver its bombs with pin-point overall advantage on the Luft- aviation an icon. Armament accuracy. waffe fighter accept for two • 8 × 0.303” Browning ma- The intimidating nature of the areas. First was that the 109 General characteristics chine guns attack was often supplemented had a fuel injected engine that • Crew: One by a pair of screaming propel- allowed it to climb and dive a • Length: 9.12 metres ler-driven sirens, nicknamed, “Jericho trumpets.” Messerschmitt Bf 109 During the early stages of the Battle of Britain, the Stuka was (“Eagle Day”). Bf 109s of Jag- liquid-cooled piston engine, It was called the Me 109 by used to attack British shipping dgeschwader 26 (JG 26) were 1,100 hp at 1,500 metres Allied aircrew and some Ger- in the channel. It was also used sent out in advance of the main • Propellers: 3-bladed man aces, even though this was to try and destroy British radar strike and drew off RAF fight- not the official German desig- installations along the coast - ers, allowing 86 Ju 87s of StG Performance nation. without any real success. 1 to attack RAF Detling in Kent • Maximum speed: 339.6 A much more serious issue for Though sturdy, accurate, and unhindered. km/h at sea level the Luftwaffe’s single-engined very effective against ground The attack killed the sta- • Range: 595.5 km fighter force during the Battle targets, the Stuka was, like many tion commander, destroyed 20 • Service ceiling: 5,800 me- was the Bf 109E’s limited fuel other dive bombers of the peri- RAF aircraft on the ground and tres capacity as originally designed. od, vulnerable to fighter aircraft. a great many of the airfield’s • Rate of climb: 2.3 metres The Bf 109E escorts had a lim- During the Battle of Britain, its buildings. per second ited fuel capacity resulting in lack of manoeuvrability, speed only a 660 km maximum range mented with a 10 mm thick ar- er aircraft of World War II. One and defensive armament meant Armament solely on internal fuel, and moured plate behind the pilot’s hundred and five Bf 109 pilots that it required a heavy fighter General characteristics • Guns: 2× 7.92 mm MG 17 when they arrived over a Brit- head during and after the Battle were each credited with the de- escort to operate effectively. • Crew: Two machine gun forward, 1× ish target, had only 10 minutes of France. Behind the fuel tank, struction of 100 or more enemy During August, the Ju 87s • Length: 11.10 metres 7.92 mm MG 15 machine of flying time before turning for an 8 mm armoured plate was aircraft. also had some success. On • Wingspan: 13.805 metres gun to rear home, leaving the bombers un- placed in the fuselage protect- Thirteen of these men scored 13 August the opening of the • Height: 4.01 metres • Bombs: 1× 250 kg bomb be- defended by fighter escorts. ing the tank and the pilot from more than 200 kills, while two main German attacks on air- • Gross weight: 4,336 kg neath the fuselage and 4× 50 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 attacks from behind. scored more than 300. Alto- fields took place; it was known • Powerplant: 1 × Junkers kg under-wing. E-3 received extra armour in More aerial kills were made gether, this group of pilots was to the Luftwaffe as Adlertag Jumo 211Da V-12 inverted late 1939, and this was supple- with the Bf 109 than any oth- credited with a total of nearly 40 41 head to head head to head Dornier Do 17 er, a number were due to the Jumo 211J-1 or 211J-2 V-12 chine gun on flexible mount tricky behaviour of the plane, liquid-cooled inverted pis- in lower fuselage nose glaz- The Dornier Do 17 was often especially when compared with ton engine ing, firing forward. 2 × 7.92 referred to as the Fliegender the proven He 111, and to the • Propellers: 3-bladed mm MG 81J machine guns Bleistift (flying pencil). The air- crews’ lack of experience on the on flexible mount in the rear craft was designed as a Schnell- type – many having converted Performance of the cockpit canopy, firing bomber (fast bomber), a light to the Ju 88 only shortly before. • Maximum speed: 470 km/h aft. 1 × 7.92 mm MG 81Z bomber which, in theory, would • Range: 1,790 km twin machine gun on flexi- be so fast that it could outrun General characteristics • Service ceiling: 8,200 metres ble mount in the rear ventral defending fighter aircraft. • Crew: Four Bola position, firing aft The Do 17Z was an older type • Length: 14.4 metres Armament • Bombs: Up to 1,400 kilo- of German bomber that was no • Wingspan: 20 metres • Guns: 1 × 7.92 mm MG 81J grams of ordnance internal- longer in production by the start • Height: 4.8 metres machine gun on flexible ly in two bomb bays of the Battle. Still, many Kamp- • Gross weight: 12,105 kg mount in front windscreen. fgeschwadern still operated the General characteristics • Range: 660 km • Powerplant: 2 × Junkers 1 × 7.92 mm MG 81J ma- Dornier. • Crew: Four • Service ceiling: 8,200 me- Its air-cooled radial BMW en- • Length: 15.8 metres tres Heinkel He 111 gines meant that many of these • Wingspan: 18 metres aircraft were able to survive • Height: 4.56 metres Armament The He 111 was nearly 100 fighter attack because there was • Gross weight: 5,888 kg • Guns: 6 × 7.92 mm MG 15 mph slower than the Spitfire no vulnerable cooling system to • Powerplant: 2 × Bramo machine guns in front up- and didn’t present much of a disable. 323P 9-cyl. air-cooled radial per/lower, rear upper/lower challenge to catch, although the The Dornier was also ma- piston engine and beam positions (all fir- heavy armour for the crew sta- noeuvrable, and as a result was • Propellers: 3-bladed ing from cockpit area) tions, self-sealing fuel tanks and popular in the Luftwaffe. The • Bombs: 1,000 kg of bombs progressively uprated defensive main problem with the Dornier Performance carried internally, either 20 armament meant that it was still was its limited combat range • Maximum speed: 350 km/h x 50 kg bombs or 4 x 250 kg a challenge to shoot down. at sea level bombs It was the most numerous German bomber type during Junkers Ju 88 the Battle, and was capable of delivering 2000 kg of bombs to The Battle of Britain proved the target, carried in an internal very costly for the Ju 88. Its bomb bay – usually eight 250 higher speed did not prevent kg bombs, stored vertically. losses from exceeding those of The state-of-the art Lotfern- the Dornier Do 17 and Heinkel rohr 7 gyroscoping bomb sight He 111, despite being deployed fitted to the Heinkel allowed for • Gross weight: 12,030 kg tres in smaller numbers than either. reasonable accuracy, for a level • Powerplant: 2 × Junkers Ju 88 losses over Britain in bomber. Jumo 211F-1 or Junkers Armament 1940 totalled 303 aircraft be- Like the other Luftwaffe Jumo 211F-2 V-12 inverted • Guns: up to 7 × 7.92 mm tween July and October 1940. bombers, the He 111 was re- liquid-cooled piston engines MG 15 machine guns or 7 x Do 17 and He 111 losses for the stricted by its light armament. • Propellers: 3-bladed MG 81 machine gun, (2 in same period were 132 and 252 the nose, 1 in the dorsal, 2 in machines destroyed respective- General characteristics Performance the side, 2 in the ventral) ly. • Crew: Five • Maximum speed: 440 km/h • Bombs: 2,000 kilograms in Of all the losses suffered by • Length: 16.4 metres • Range: 2,300 km the main internal bomb bay the Ju 88 at that time, howev- • Wingspan: 22.6 metres • Service ceiling: 6,500 me- • Height: 4 metres 42 43 Famous figures in military history Famous figures in military history an observation balloon. For the remainder of his career, he Anthony Beauchamp-Proctor would choose to blind the en- Andrew (Anthony) Frederick Weatherby Beauchamp-Proctor, VC, DSO, MC and bar, DFC (4 emy, choosing to concentrate September 1894 - 21 June 1921) was a South African recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was on shooting down kite balloons South Africa’s leading ace of World War I, credited with 54 aerial victories. and observation aircraft. eauchamp-Proctor was ter view from the cockpit and so Beauchamp-Proctor’s pilot- Also notable is the drop in his born on 4 September he could reach controls. Blocks ing skills can be judged by the “out of control” victories; from B1894 in Mossel Bay, of wood were also fastened on fact he had three landing acci- here on out, the record shows Cape Province, the second son his rudder bar so he could reach dents before he ever shot down destruction after destruction of of a school teacher. He was it. an enemy plane. the enemy. attending the University of On 10 June 1917, he soloed, Beauchamp-Proctor contin- His June string would only Cape Town studying engineer- when he had just over five hours ued to fly the SE5 with modifi- run to the 13th, but in that time, ing when the European war flying time. He crashed upon cations to the aircraft’s seat and he would destroy four balloons, broke out. He took leave from landing, wiping out the landing controls, something his Phila- an observation two-seater and his studies to join the Duke of gear. Nevertheless, he contin- delphia-born American squad- a fighter. Only one fighter went Edinburgh’s Own Rifles (The ued to fly solo. He was passed ron mate, Joseph “Child Yank” KNIGHTS OF THE AIR: Beauchamp-Proctor flew an SE5 dur- down out of control. Dukes). He served as a signal- on to a bomber squadron, Num- Boudwin, who stood only two ing his career with the RFC/RAF. Pictured above is an SE5a, On the 22nd, he was awarded man in the German South-West ber 84, with a little under ten inches taller, also had to use. an upgrade of the standard SE5. the Military Cross. July would Africa campaign. hours flying experience. The alterations to relatively pass without incident. On 3 Au- In August 1915 he was de- When he joined 84 Squadron primitive controls could have His initial confirmed victory scribed Raoul Lafayette as ‘the gust he was granted one of the mobilised with an honorable in July 1917, it was reforming contributed to Beauchamp- did not come until the turn of “ace” of the American Lafayette first ever Distinguished Flying discharge. He promptly went as a fighter squadron. Proctor’s poor airmanship. the year. On 3 January 1918, Flying Squadron.” The German Crosses. to work with the South African he sent a German two seater equivalent was Oberkanone, The break in his victory string Field Telegraph and re-enrolled France 1917-18 ‘down out of control’. He then which means ‘top gun’. lasted almost a month, as he in university. He managed to On 23 September 1917, the claimed victories four more Although the definition var- went on home leave and helped complete his third year of col- unit went to France flying times in February, becoming an ied from country to country and a recruitment drive for the RAF. lege before reenlisting, this time SE5s. Under the command of ace on its final day. Only one of was never officially approved, On 8 August, he returned into the Royal Flying Corps Major William Sholto Doug- his first five victories resulted it was used during both World and resumed with tally number (RFC), in March 1917. las the unit became one of in the destruction of an enemy; Wars, with aces universally 29, another balloon. On Au- He was accepted as an Air the most effective scout the other four were planes sent hailed as heroes. gust 9 Beauchamp-Proctor was Mechanic Third Class. From squadrons in the RFC/RAF down as ‘out of control’. In April Beauchamp-Proctor leading No. 84 Squadron on a there he passed on to pilot train- during 1918. March brought him four more claimed only one kill. Among patrol over their base at Ber- ing at the School of Military The squadron would be victories; three of them were his 11 victories for the month of tangles, with Boudwin and six- Aeronautics at Oxford in Eng- credited with a victory total scored within five minutes on May were five on 19 May. On foot-four tall Hugh Saunders as land, where he was also com- of 323, and would produce 25 the 17th. With five kills to his that morning, he knocked an wingmen, and got involved in a missioned. aces. However, Beauchamp- name Beauchamp-Proctor was enemy observation plane out of heated engagement at 2:00 pm, Learning to fly presented a Proctor would be pre-emi- now regarded as an ‘ace’. the battle; fifteen minutes later, that involved the threesome in slight problem for Beauchamp- nent, with almost triple The term ‘ace’ - or, more pre- he destroyed an Albatross D.V combat against Fokker D.VII Proctor - he stood only five feet the number of suc- cisely ‘fighter ace’ - was first scout. That evening, at about fighters of JG I, led that day by two inches tall. This meant he cesses of the used during World War I to de- 6:35 PM, he downed three more the future Nazi Reichsmarschall was unable to see out of the second leading scribe a pilot who had brought Albatros D.Vs. Hermann Göring. cockpit and his feet couldn’t ace. He was down at least five enemy -air By the 31st, his roll had He would claim an additional reach the rudder bars. not particularly craft. The first-ever reference climbed to 21 victims -16 fight- 14 victories, and end the month His aircraft seating was al- esteemed as a in print to an air ‘ace’ appeared ers and five observation aircraft. with his claims list extended to tered to accommodate him; his flier, but was a in an article in The Times of The next day marked a change 43. seat was raised so he had a bet- deadly shot. 14 September 1917, which de- of focus for him; he shot down One memorable day was the

44 45 Famous figures in military history Famous figures in military history 22nd; he attacked a line of six balloons destroyed, 15 (and turned to South Africa where he period of a few months. down one enemy scout com- enemy balloon over the British one shared) aircraft destroyed, was given a state funeral. On a recent morning his pa- pletely out of control. On Octo- 3rd Corps front. He set the first and 15 (and one shared) aircraft There still exists confusion trol of five aeroplanes attacked ber 1, 1918, in a general engage- one afire with his machine guns ‘out of control’. over Beauchamp-Proctor’s giv- an enemy formation of thirty ment with about twenty-eight and forced the other five to the His 16 balloons downed made en name. For decades he was machines and was successful in machines, he crashed one Fokker ground, the observers taking to him the leading British Empire listed as “Anthony” but more destroying two of them. In the biplane near Fontaine and a sec- their parachutes. balloon buster. recent scholarship indicates evening he again attacked an en- ond near Ramicourt; on October His 15 ‘kills’ for August On 2 November, he had been “Andrew”, which apparently is emy formation with great dash, 2 he burnt a hostile balloon near would include five balloons, all awarded a Distinguished Ser- the name on his tombstone. destroying one machine and Selvjgny; on October 3 he drove destroyed, and two more two- vice Order, crowned by the Vic- forcing two others to collide, re- down, completely out of con- seater planes. He was now up to toria Cross later in the month, Citations sulting in their destruction.” trol, an enemy scout near Mont 43 victories. September claims on the 30th. Military Cross DFC citation, d’Origny, and burnt a hostile bal- would be all balloons - four of “For conspicuous gallantry loon; on October 5, the third hos- them. Post war and devotion to duty. While on Distinguished Service Order tile balloon near Bohain. In the first few days of Oc- He was discharged from hos- offensive patrol he observed “A fighting pilot of great On October 8, 1918, while fly- tober, he would destroy three pital in March 1919 and em- an enemy two-seater plane at- skill, and a splendid leader. He ing home at a low altitude, after more balloons and three Fokker barked on a four month long tempting to cross our lines. He rendered brilliant service on the destroying an enemy two-seater D.VII fighters, one of which lecture tour of the USA, before engaged it and opened fire, with 22nd August, when his Flight near Maretz, he was painfully burned. Another D.VII spun returning to England and quali- the result that it fell over on its The final resting place of was detailed to neutralise hos- wounded in the arm by machine- down out of control. fying as a seaplane pilot with side and crashed to earth. Captain Beauchamp-Proctor. tile balloons. Having shot down gun fire, but, continuing, he land- On 8 October he was hit by a permanent commission as a On a later occasion, when on He was one of only 19 pilots one balloon in flames, he at- ed safely at his- aerodrome, and ground fire and wounded in the Flight Lieutenant in the RAF. patrol, he observed three en- that were awarded the Victoria tacked the occupants of five after making his report was ad- arm, ending his front line ser- After his VC investiture at emy scouts attacking one of our Cross during World War I. others in succession with ma- mitted to hospital. vice. Buckingham Palace in No- bombing machines. Only three people have ever chine-gun fire, compelling the In all he has proved himself Up until the end of May, he vember 1919 he was awarded He attacked one of these, and been awarded two Victoria occupants in each case to take conqueror over fifty-four foes, Crosses. The first was Cap- destroyed six enemy planes a year’s leave, and this enabled after firing 100 rounds in it, it to parachutes. destroying twenty-two enemy tain Arthur Martin-Leake of the single-handed, and shared the him finish his BSc degree in fell over on its back and was Royal Army Medical Corps. He then drove down another machines, sixteen enemy kite destruction of two others. He Engineering. seen to descend in that posi- He won his first VC in 1901 balloon to within fifty feet of balloons, and driving down six- drove ten down out of control, tion from 5,000 feet. He then during the Anglo-Boer and his the ground, when it burst into teen enemy aircraft completely and shared in another ‘out of Death attacked another group of hos- second during World War I. flames. In all he has accounted out of control. control’ victory. Two of his vic- He was killed on the 21 June tile scouts, one of which he shot The second double VC win- for thirty-three enemy machines Captain Beauchamp-Proc- tims were captured. 1921 in a training accident fly- down completely out of con- ner was Captain Noel Godfrey and seven balloons.” tor’s work in attacking enemy Certainly a creditable record, ing a Sopwith Snipe, in prepa- trol, and another crumpled up Chavasse, earning both dur- DSO citation, troops on the ground and in re- and like many other aces, with ration for an air show at the and crashed to earth. ing World War I. His bar was connaissance during the with- no conquests over balloons. RAF Hendon. In addition to these, he has awarded posthumously. Victoria Cross drawal following on the Battle Balloons, with all the anti-air- His aircraft went into a vi- destroyed another hostile ma- The third was New Zealand- “Between August 8, 1918, of St. Quentin from March 21, craft artillery guarding them, cious spin after performing a chine, and shot down three er Captain Charles Upham and October 8, 1918, this officer 1918, and during the victorious and patrolling fighter airplanes slow loop, and he was killed in completely out of control. He who earned both awards dur- proved himself victor in twenty- advance of our Armies com- ready to intercede for them, the ensuing crash. At least one has at all times displayed the ing World War II. six decisive combats, destroying mencing on August 8, has been were very dangerous targets. observer remarked that the loss utmost dash and initiative, and Distinguished Flying Cross twelve enemy kite balloons, ten almost unsurpassed in its Bril- Commonly they were hunted of control and subsequent crash is a patrol leader of great merit “Lt. (T./Capt.) Andrew Weath- enemy aircraft, and driving down liancy, and. as such has made an by coordinated packs of attack- of the aircraft could have been and resource.” erby Beauchamp-Proctor, M.C. four other enemy aircraft com- impression on those serving in ing fighters. linked to Proctor’s diminutive MC citation, A brilliant and fearless leader of pletely out of control. his squadron and those around Beauchamp-Proctor’s victory size. Supplement to the our offensive patrols. His forma- Between October 1, 1918, and him that will not be easily for- list ran to a total of 54; two (and He was originally buried London Gazette, tion has destroyed thirteen ene- October 5, 1918, he destroyed gotten. one shared) captured enemy at Upavon, Wiltshire, but in 22 June 1918 my machines and brought down two enemy scouts, burnt three VC citation, aircraft, 13 (and three shared) August 1921 his body was re- thirteen more out of control in a enemy kite balloons, and drove 46 47 Forged in the first single wing aircraft to mament, the Sopwith swiftly ons and elevators. enter combat and enjoyed lim- proved itself superior to the Instead of submitting the V.4 battle ited success. more heavily armed Albatros for a type test, Fokker produced In early 1917 the British Sop- fighters then in use by the Luft- a revised prototype designated with Triplane entered service. It streitkräfte (Imperial German V.5. The most notable chang- was the first military triplane to Air Serrvice). es were the introduction of Fokker Dr.I see operational service and was In April 1917, Anthony Fok- horn-balanced ailerons and el- immediately successful. It was ker viewed a captured Sopwith evators, as well as longer-span Often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, the Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. nevertheless built in compara- Triplane while visiting Jasta 11. wings. It became famous as the aircraft in which Manfred von Richthofen gained his last 19 victories, tively small numbers and was Upon his return to the Schw- The V.5 also featured inter- and in which he was killed on 21 April 1918. withdrawn from active service erin factory, Fokker instructed plane struts, which were not as Sopwith Camels arrived in Reinhold Platz to build a tri- necessary from a structural ccording to the Smith- deny such reconnaissance to the main wings stacked one above the latter half of 1917. plane, but gave him no further standpoint, but which mini- sonian Institution and enemy led to air-to-air combat the other. The Germans noted the suc- information about the Sopwith mized wing flexing. AFédération Aéronau- in which each side tried to gain In December 1915 the Fokker cess of the Sopwith Triplane design. On 14 July 1917, Idflieg is- tique Internationale (FAI), on superiority in the air. Fighter E.III Eindecker (literally mean- and decided that it was time to Platz responded with the V.4, sued an order for 20 pre-pro- 17 December 1903, Wilbur planes were armed with fixed, ing “one deck”) entered service come up with a triplane of their a small, rotary-powered triplane duction aircraft. The V.5 proto- and Orville Wright made four forward-firing machine guns on the Western Front. It was own design. with a steel tube fuselage and type, serial 101/17, was tested brief flights at Kitty Hawk with that allowed the pilot to aim his thick cantilever wings, first de- to destruction at Adlershof on their first powered aircraft. The entire aircraft at the enemy, Design and Development veloped during Fokker’s gov- 11 August 1917. Wright brothers had invented and the effective range Despite its single ernment-mandated collabora- the first successful airplane. of these weapons (no Vickers machine tion with Hugo Junkers. Initial Operational history Just eight years later, in 1911, more than about 180 me- gun ar- tests revealed that the V.4 had The first two pre-production powered aircraft were first used tres) meant that the first aerial unacceptably high control forc- triplanes were designated F.I, in war by the Italians against combat took place at very short es resulting from the use in accord with Idflieg’s early the Turks near Tripoli, range. of unbalanced class prefix for triplanes. These But it was not until the Great By the second year of the war ailer- aircraft, serials 102/17 and War of 1914–18 that their use fighter tactics emerged on all 103/17, were the only machines became widespread. At first, sides emphasizing basic con- to receive the F.I desig- aircraft were unarmed and cepts that, with modification, nation and employed for reconnaissance, remained applicable through serving basically as extensions the jet age. of the eyes of the ground com- Both the Allies and the Ger- mander. mans made use of biplanes, Soon, however, the need to fixed-wing aircraft with two

48 49 could be distinguished from and Pfalz fighters, the Dr.I of- crash landing. the Dr.I continued to suffer from and Valenciennes, France. Al- subsequent aircraft by a slight fered exceptional manoeuvra- wing failures. On 3 February lied pilots tested several of these convex curve of the tailplane’s bility. Though the ailerons were Wing failures 1918, Leutnant Hans Joachim triplanes and found their han- leading edge. not very effective, the rudder On 29 October 1917, Leutnant Wolff of Jasta 11 successfully dling qualities to be impressive. The two aircraft were sent and elevator controls were light der Reserve Heinrich Gonter- landed after suffering a failure to Jastas 10 and 11 for combat and powerful. mann, Staffelführer of Jasta of the upper wing leading edge Postwar evaluation, arriving at Marke- Rapid turns, especially to the 15, was performing aerobat- and ribs. Three triplanes are known to beeke, Belgium on 28 August right, were facilitated by the tri- ics when his triplane broke up. On 18 March 1918, Lothar have survived the Armistice. 1917. plane’s marked directional in- Gontermann was fatally injured von Richthofen, Staffelführer Serial 528/17 was retained as a Richthofen first flew 102/17 stability. Vizefeldwebel Franz in the ensuing crash landing. of Jasta 11, suffered a failure testbed by the Deutschen Ver- on 1 September 1917 and shot Hemer of Jasta 6 said, “The tri- Leutnant der Reserve Günther of the upper wing leading edge suchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (Ger- down two enemy aircraft in the plane was my favorite fighting Pastor of Jasta 11 was killed during combat with Sopwith man Aviation Research Insti- next two days. He reported to machine because it had such two days later when his triplane Camels of No. 73 Squadron and tute) at Adlershof. Fokker Dr.1 the Kogenluft (Kommandier- wonderful flying qualities. I broke up in level flight. Inspec- Bristol F.2Bs of No. 62 Squad- After being used in the film- ender General der Luftstreit- could let myself stunt – looping tion of the wrecked aircraft ron. Richthofen was serious- ing of two movies, 528/17 is be- General characteristics kräfte) that the F.I was superior and rolling – and could avoid showed that the wings had been ly injured in the ensuing crash lieved to have crashed sometime • Crew: 1 to the Sopwith Triplane. an enemy by diving with per- poorly constructed. Examina- landing. in the late 1930s. Serial 152/17, in • Length: 5.77 metres Richthofen recommended fect safety. The triplane had to tion of other high-time triplanes Postwar research revealed which Manfred von Richthofen • Upper wingspan: 7.19 me- that fighter squadrons be re- be given up because although it confirmed these findings. On 2 that poor workmanship was not obtained three victories, was dis- tres equipped with the new aircraft was very manoeuvrable, it was November, Idflieg grounded all the only cause of the triplane’s played at the Zeughaus museum • Height: 2.95 metres as soon as possible. The combat no longer fast enough.” remaining triplanes pending an structural failures. In 1929, Na- in Berlin. This aircraft was de- • Wing area: 18.7 m2Aspect evaluation came to an abrupt As Hemer noted, the Dr.I was inquiry. tional Advisory Committee for stroyed in an Allied bombing raid ratio: 4.04 conclusion when Oberleutnant considerably slower than con- In response to the crash in- Aeronautics (NACA) inves- during World War II. • Empty weight: 406 kg Kurt Wolff, Staffelführer of Jas- temporary Allied fighters in lev- vestigation, Fokker improved tigations found that the upper In 1932, Fokker assembled a • Gross weight: 586 kg ta 11, was shot down in 102/17 el flight and in a dive. While in- quality control on the produc- wing carried a higher lift co- Dr.I from existing components. • Powerplant: 1 × Oberursel on 15 September, and Leutnant itial rate of climb was excellent, tion line, particularly varnish- efficient than the lower wing – It was displayed in the Deutsche Ur.II 9-cylinder air-cooled Werner Voss, Staffelführer of performance fell off dramati- ing of the wing spars and ribs, at high speeds it could be 2.55 Luftfahrt-Sammlung in Berlin. In rotary piston engine, 82 Jasta 10, was killed in 103/17 cally at higher altitudes because to combat moisture. Fokker times as much. 1943, the aircraft was destroyed kW (110 hp) on 23 September. of the low compression of the also strengthened the rib struc- The triplane’s chronic struc- in an Allied bombing raid. Today, • Propellers: Two-bladed The remaining pre-produc- Oberursel Ur.II, a clone of the tures and the attachment of the tural problems destroyed any only a few original Dr.I artifacts fixed-pitch wooden pro- tion aircraft, designated Dr.I, Le Rhône 9J rotary engine. auxiliary spars to the ribs. prospect of large-scale orders. survive in museums. peller were delivered to Jasta 11. Id- As the war continued, chron- Existing triplanes were re- Production eventually ended in flieg issued a production order ic shortages of castor oil made paired and modified at Fokker’s May 1918, by which time only Replicas Performance for 100 triplanes in September, rotary operation increasingly expense. After testing a modi- 320 had been manufactured. Large numbers of replica and • Maximum speed: 160 followed by an order for 200 in difficult. The poor quality of fied wing at Adlershof, Idflieg The Dr.I was withdrawn from reproduction aircraft have been km/h at 2,600 metres November. German ersatz lubricant result- authorized the triplane’s return frontline service as the Fokker built for both individuals and • Stall speed: 72 km/h Apart from the straight lead- ed in many engine failures, par- to service on 28 November D.VII entered widespread ser- museums. Bitz Flugzeugbau • Range: 300 km ing edge of the tailplane, these ticularly during the summer of 1917. Production resumed in vice in June and July. Jasta 19 GmbH built two Dr.I replicas • Service ceiling: 6,100 me- aircraft were almost identical 1918. early December. was the last squadron to be ful- for use in Twentieth Century tres to the F.I. The primary distin- The Dr.I suffered other defi- By January 1918, Jastas 6 and ly equipped with the Dr.I. Fox’s 1966 film The Blue Max. • Rate of climb: 5.7 m/s guishing feature was the ad- ciencies. The pilot’s view was 11 were fully equipped with the Surviving triplanes were dis- Because of the expense and • Zero-lift drag coefficient: dition of wingtip skids, which poor during take off and land- triplane. Only 14 squadrons tributed to training and home scarcity of authentic rotary en- 0.0323 proved necessary because the ing. The cockpit was cramped used the Dr.I as their primary defence units. Several training gines, most airworthy replicas • Frontal area at zero-lift aircraft was tricky to land and and furnished with materials of equipment. Most of these units aircraft were re-engined with are powered by a Warner Scar- drag coefficient: 0.62 m2 prone to ground looping. In Oc- inferior quality. Furthermore, were part of Jagdgeschwadern the 75 kW (100 hp) Goebel ab or Continental R-670 radial tober, Fokker began delivering the proximity of the gun butts I, II, or III. Frontline inventory Goe.II. engine. A few, however, feature Armament the Dr.I to squadrons within to the cockpit, combined with peaked in late April 1918, with At the time of the Armistice, vintage Le Rhône 9J or repro- • Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm Richthofen’s Jagdgeschwader inadequate crash padding, left 171 aircraft in service on the many remaining triplanes were duction Oberursel Ur.II rotary Maschinengewehr 08 I. the pilot vulnerable to serious Western Front. assigned to fighter training engines. “Spandau” machine guns Compared with the Albatros head injury in the event of a Despite corrective measures, schools at Nivelles, Belgium, 50 51 At 04h26 on 1 September 1939, three Ju 87 B2 Stuka aircraft followed like a double dive-bombers crossed the Polish border in the first mis- shadow. sion of Case White - the invasion of Poland. Now they were hedge-hop- battlefield ping toward the low-lying val- ley of the Vistula. The naviga- tion had been spot on. s night fell on 31 August 1939, Preparing for War Dilley could see the river ly- ing diagonally in front of him. the long flat airfield was cov- At 03h30 on 1 September a long row ered with patches of fog, giving He banked sharply to get in line A of dimmed headlights headed through with it, turning north. it an eerie feel. the fog towards the airfield. Their mission was the twin Ghostly skeletal shapes of aircraft Before long Luftwaffe staff cars and stood around the hangars and adminis- bridges at Dirschau. Their mis- crew trucks were pulling in before a low sion was not to destroy the brig- tration buildings. flat building near the tarmac. The airbase was the scene of quiet un- es, but rather to save them. The six men that comprised the crews The Germans knew that once hurried activity. Black figures moved in of three dive-bombers of 3rd Gruppe INTO ACTION: Stukas take off from an airfield in Germany. and out of the beams of truck lights as the Panzers crossed the border, of Stukegeschwader 1 were among the Their destination is a target in Poland. the Poles would demolish the maintenance crews serviced the aircraft, first to enter the building. F arming them with fragmentation bombs Then Dilley received the sig- countryside was covered in Dirschau bridge and others in Under the leadership of Hauptmann an effort to buy time. fitted to racks on the sloping struts, and Bruno Dilley they had a cup of hot cof- nal and his plane jerked forward cloud. He looked at the stars, fuelled them from tankers. and began roll across the field tooka compass bearing, and slid An armoured train carry- a fee and listened to last minute orders ing units of the German shock Each of the planes had a black cross and weather reports. in the direction of the airstrip. the screen shut. on its fuselage and wings, and a rakish, Forty-five metres behind him The navigator opened his troops was due to cross the bor- More and more Stuka crews filled into der at 04h50, the moment when l fixed trouser-type undercarriage. They the briefing room. They came the second plane, with the microphone and spoke a few were ugly gull-winged Junkers Ju other further behind. words to Dilley, giving him a armoured groups from west 87 B2 of Luftflotte 1, under the They reached the end of the slight course adjustment. Germany, Czechoslovakia and l command runway and swung round to face Dilley acknowledged and East Prussia would roll into Po- of General upwind. The engines roared to then switched over to the open land. hud- Dilleys mission was aimed Kesselring. dled in tight a crescendo and Dilley released radio network and spoke to the Along the broder his brakes. The Stuka began to other two pilots in the flight. at stopping the Poles from de- knots around their lead- stroying the bridges across the between Germany and Po- ers. The mood in the long pick up speed as it rushed down They checked in a altered land there was a tenseness in the runway. At short intervals, course with him. Vistula before the armoured W narrow room was confident. train could arrive. the air. Since sundown the night All briefings had taken place hours the second and third plane fol- Dilley pressed his stick for- had been filled with clanging of tank lowed. ward and throttled back. The The German High Command before and now they were checking knew that the Poles would have e tracks, the sound of vehicles moving changes to their flight plans because of Dilley cleared the trees and three Stukas sank slowly into place, and distant sounds of shunt- the low ridge of hills into the through the clouds. rigged the bridges with explo- the closed-in weather along the Eastern sives. These would have been ing trains. Front. darkness. The time was 04h26 Dilley turned the lighting i Despite rumours and intelligence re- and the first mission of Fall on his instrumentation down wired to charges fixed to the At 04h10, Dilley’s group fastened on bridge supports. It has been ports, few in Poland believed that Ger- their helmets, checked their parachute Weiss (Case White) had truly low to minimise distraction. At many would really attack Poland. After begun. 04h31 they crossed the border reasoned that the Stuka, armed s harnesses and left the building. On the with fragmentation bombs, all, Britain and France had said they tarmac they split into pairs and walked The sky above the clouds was into Poland. would come to Poland’s aid if Germany clear. There was no moon and would be the ideal weapon. to their aircraft. Ground crew mem- It was a hazardous mission s attacked. bers were waiting to give them a hand the whole of the eastern horizon Dawn attack The were convinced that Hitler was was lit by the dull pink glow of The ground seemed to slowly and the crews had been hand- aboard. picked. They had spent several mounting his greatest bluff ever and that The early morning stillness was shat- dawn. come up at Dilley as he brought he would not risk a European War. How- A cold blast of air swept into his plane down in a smooth weeks training at Insterburg air- tered by a deafening roar as one by one field. ever, during 31 August, Poland belated- the Jumo 211D engines burst into life. the cabin as Dilley’s naviga- sweep of controlled power. ly began to mobilise her troops. tor slid open the Stuka’s side The other two Stukas hung to Dilley and three other pilots The three Ju 87 Bs stood waiting for the had visited Dischau by train to go signal, held in place only by their air- screen. He looked down to get his tail. Dilley climbed to skim his bearings, but most of the over a low hill and the other two make a first-hand inspection of brakes. the bridges and the surround- 52 53 ing terrain, particularly the ap- The bombs exploded in a flat proach from the south. crackle of blasts. Flames illu- Quiz The kette (chain) leader had minated the darkness, exposing realised at once that it was not the gaunt under-structures of Aircraft Roundels a dive-bombing mission, some- the bridges into spectral relief thing for which the Stukas had against the sky. his month we’re looking at aircraft roundels. These are usually found on the fuselage and been built. Rather this had to be In a few seconds it was all wings of an aircraft and identify the country that it belongs to. We show you 15 of them, you a low-level bombing while fly- over, leaving the surrounding Ttells us the country they’re from. Answers on page 98. ing straight and level. countryside in silence. Then If the strike was to be effec- men began to cry out in alarm. tive the Stukas would have to Somewhere a dog began to 1 2 3 fly at the lowest possible lev- bark. A whistle sounded. There el and drop their bombs at the was the crackle of flames as very last instant. It would re- some buildings on the shore quire precision flying. caught fire. Bruno Dilley was born on At 04h35 the three Stuka pi- The Stukas climbed above 29 August 1913. He joined lots saw the twin bridges rush- the cloud base and turned for the Luftwaffe as a lieutenant ing towards them. The Jumo home. They were elated. They in 1935 and on 1 June 1938 engines throttled up to a wail- had just successfully completed he was promoted to squadron 4 5 6 ing scream as the planes swept the first mission of the war. commander. towards the target, a mere nine While the Stukas had suc- During World War II he metres above the ground. ceeded in severing the leads to fought in Poland, Norway, They released their bombs to the detonators, what they didn’t France, the Battle of Britain, straddle the shelving river banks know was that, even now, the the Balkans, Africa, and the and the row of shacks that lay at Poles were putting in fresh leads Eastern Front. the foot of the bridges. This was with which they would destroy He was shot down four where the Polish troops that had the bridges before the German times, managing to escape 7 8 9 the duty of blowing the bridges armoured train arrived. each time. He flew nearly were stationed. German engineers were 700 combat missions and was Once they had dropped their forced to build a pontoon bridge awarded the Knight’s Cross bombs they zoomed up over the across the river. of the Iron Cross with Oak bridges and away. Leaves. After the war he joined the Bundeswehr and finished his career as a Lt Colonel. He 10 11 12 died on 31 August 1968.

13 14 15

HELD UP: One of the bridges across the Vistula was destroyed, the other damaged. German engineers had to build a pontoon bridge. 54 55 Gaming

Matt O’ Brien is now in the tank repair- ing and restoration business. He’s just wondering what to do with all the parts left over once he’s finished.

ack in the April 2020 all of the parts from the engine, the blueprints to a vehicle you edition of Military Des- turret and also from both the can now craft your own spare Bpatches I did a review hull exterior and hull interior. parts from scrap metal. on Tank Mechanic Simulator. And trust me, there are a lot of Another upgrade is the paint- Since then I’ve spent 287 parts. ing room. You can place a ve- hours playing this simulator Once you’re left with just the hicle in the painting booth and and I’ve had a lot of fun doing shell of the vehicle you use the paint it in various colours and so. rust removal tool to remove all camouflage patterns. This is Something that I mentioned of the rust, then you use the also where you can add decals during my first review was that sandblaster to get it all clean and insignia to the vehicle. the game developers said that and shiny. Earlier on I said that you also you will find that it is missing German and this keeps the game fresh they would be adding new ve- Some tanks may have taken a get a tank museum. Sometimes parts. These can be purchased, • PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf. H and interesting. hicles to the game on a regu- shell or shells through the side you will receive an e-mail in- or if you have a crafting bench • PzKpfw V Panther Ausf. A If you’re interested in tanks, lar basis. And they have made or turret. Use the welding tool forming you that they think and the correct blueprints, you • PzKpfw IV Ausf. G then this game is a must. And I good on this promise. to repair the damage. they may know where a tank is can make the part. • PzKpfw III Ausf. J must admit that I’m having a lot Since I did the first review Then it’s time to spray it with buried. Outside the workshop you • PzKpfw III Ausf. M of fun with it. they have added six new vehi- primer before applying a final You then go to the area and, have access to a number of • StuG III Ausf. G It doesn’t need a super com- cles to the game and will con- coat of paint. using a jeep and a metal detec- parking bays. These are used • SdLfz 251/1 Ausf. D half- puter to run the game, and it’s tinue to do so on a regular basis. Once you’ve completed a tor, try and discover where it is to store tanks that you own and track well worth the price. You start off the game with a job you will receive both mon- buried. Once you have found it that are not being displayed in • PzKpfw II Ausf C workshop as well as a tank mu- ey and reputation points. The you can dig it up and transport the museum. seum. People will send you an money can be used to buy spare it back to your workshop. Once There is also a driving course American e-mail and offer you a contract parts and you can also buy blue- you have repaired and restored where you can take tanks for a • M4A3E8 Sherman to repair or restore a tank. If prints to tanks. it, you can place it in your mu- test drive. Often clients will re- • M26 Pershing you accept the contract then the The reputation points are im- seum. The public will then pay quest that you not only repair a • M10 Wolverine tank will be delivered to your portant. These you use to buy to visit the museum. tank, but also test it. • M3 half-track workshop. Nearly all of the upgrades. The first thing you Reputation points will allow Finally, there is a shooting • M29 Armoured car tanks you receive will be cov- will want to upgrade is your you to buy a quad bike, mag- range to test the guns of your • M8 Greyhound ered in rust. normal wrench to a power netometer and even a drone. vehicle. • The tank is placed over an wrench. The drone is vital in actually Currently there are 20 ve- British inspection pit and is ready for You can purchase extra tools finding buried tanks. hicles available in the game. • Vickers E you to start work. Also in your such as a sledge hammer and You can also find collecti- These include American, Ger- • Little Willie (the prototype workshop you have an engine angle grinder. ble articles in the area such as man, Russian and British. of the first tank) stand and a turret stand. Later on you can use reputa- weapons, helmets, medals and The first thing you need to do tion points to add an extra bay badges, and these can also be Russian So far 19 of the vehicles are is remove the engine and hang to your workshop. Now you displayed in your museum. • KV-1 from World War II and one - Publisher - PlayWay SA it from the engine stand. Then can work on two vehicles at the The more tanks and collecti- • KV-2 Little Willie - is from World Genre - Simulator you remove the turret and place same time. bles you have, the more you can • T34/76 War I. it on the turret stand. You can also buy a craft charge visitors to the museum. Score - 8/10 • T35/85 The developers seem to add a You will then need to remove bench. If you have purchased Often when repairing a tank Price - R71.50 (on Steam) new vehicle every two months 56 57 Book Review Movie The Great Escape Review Released: 1963 Running time: 172 minutes Directed by: John Sturges As the Crow Flies ntil now, Colonel Del- selves: the nature of their soci- ville Linford has had ety, tribal traditions, bush-craft, very little to say about customs that have become in- irected by John Sturges, Hendley is “the scrounger”. His Hilts, the “Cooler King” U his role as commander of Com- grained with time, historical The Great Escape is a job is to get hold of needed mate- James Garner - Flt. Lt. Robert 1963 film based on a es- rials from a camera to clothes and bat Group Alpha, or of that fears, life in the wild, tracking D Hendley, the “Scrounger” played by his Bushmen sol- ‒ as well as much else about a cape of British Commonwealth identity cards. Charles Bronson - Flt. Lt. Danny diers. In this volume he allows historical culture that goes back prisoners of war from a German Australian Flying Officer Lou- Velinski, the “Tunnel King” POW camp during World War II. is Sedgwick, “the manufacturer”. us a peek under the covers, not millennia. Together with many James Coburn - Flt. Off. Louis only how this tiny combat force of Colonel Linford’s empathet- It is based on Paul Brickhill’s He makes tools from picks for Sedgwick, the “Manufacturer” 1950 book of the same name, a digging to a pump to provide air operated, but also many ‘be- ic observations of these often- Donald Pleasence - Flt. Lt. Colin hind the screens’ machinations intriguing ‘little’ people, all go non-fiction first-hand account of to the tunnels. Blythe, the “Forger” the mass escape from Stalag Luft Flight Lieutenants Danny which explain how the unit was towards making for a rather fas- David McCallum - Lt. Cmdr. formed. cinating read. III. Valinski and William “Willie” Eric Ashley-Pitt, “Dispersal” In 1943 the Germans are per- Dickes are “the tunnel kings” in Following the independ- A hallmark volume with an Gordon Jackson - Flt. Lt. Andrew ence of Angola from Portugal, introduction by General Con- turbed about the number of es- charge of the digging. MacDonald, “Intelligence” caping Allied POWs. They have Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe a significant segment of that stand Viljoen, Colonel Linford James Donald - Gp. Capt. country’s Bushman communi- offers us – for the first time ‒ had to expend large resources on is the “forger” responsible for Ramsey, the Senior British Offi- recapturing them. identity documents, railway tick- ty crossed the border into what his own ‘warts and all’ report, ion - Delville Linford with Al J. cer (SBO) was then still South West Africa not only of the legendary 31 Venter Allied flyers fall under the ets and maps. John Leyton - Flt. Lt. William Luftwaffe and they decided to The Great Escape is a film that – Namibia today – and sought Battalion but also of his career Softcover, 336 pages Dickes, the “Tunnel King” refuge with the South Africans. in the South African Army. Cost: R300 built a new, high-security prison has stood the test of time. Most Angus Lennie - Flt. Off. Ar- camp named Stalag Luft III to of the characters in the movie are He goes on to tell us a lot about As The Crow Flies: My Bush- chibald Ives, the “Mole” the Bushman people them- man Experience with 31 Battal- house the serial offenders. based on real people or a com- Nigel Stock - Flt. Lt. Dennis Cav- As the camp commandant, posite of a few people. endish, the “Surveyor” Luftwaffe Colonel von Luger Roger Bartlett, for example, is puts it, “We have decided to put based on Squadron Leader Roger all our rotten eggs in one basket.” Bushell, a South African who The prisoners have an escape planned the great escape. committee and most of them However, many details of have ended up in the new camp. the actual escape attempt were RAF Squadron Leader Roger changed for the film, and the role Bartlett is brought to the camp of American personnel in both under the guard of the Gestapo the planning and the escape was and SS. Bartlett is the head of the largely fabricated. escape committee and is known In the end 76 prisoners man- as Big X. He immediately begins aged to escape. Only three made to plan an escape from the camp. it to safety and 50 of those recap- His plan is to dig not one, but tured were executed by the Ge- three escape tunnels nicknamed stapo. Tom, Dick and Harry. He aims to have 200 POWs escape at the The Cast The Battle of Savate Dingo Firestorm The Flechas same time. Richard Attenborough - Sqn. Ldr. R300 R300 R220 The POWs are organised into Roger Bartlett, “Big X” Click on the poster to watch a teams. Flight Lieutenant Robert Steve McQueen - Capt. Virgil trailer of the film. All books are available from Bush War Books 58 59 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July • 1983 - Rifleman Johannes battle last well into the night • 1979 - Rifleman Daniel Ger- This month in military history Albertus Wessels from Reg- with Rommel’s limited forc- hardus van Brakel from 61 iment Christiaan Beyers es holding off the British Mechanised Battalion died Some of the significant military events that happened in July. Highlighted in blue are the names of those members of the South African Defence Force (SADF) that lost their lives during the month of died from a gunshot wound through the use of 88 mm from a gunshot wound sus- July. accidentally sustained while Flak Guns used as anti-tank tained at stand-to as a result he was stationed at Vhembe artillery. of an accidental discharge 1 July • 1942 - World War II: North ing South Africa, sign the Base. He was 18. • 1943 - Lt Charles Hall, 99th at of a fellow soldiers rifle • 1863 - Beginning of the Bat- Africa. Hampered by sand- Nuclear Non-proliferation • 1986 - Rifleman Gavin Ba- Pursuit Sqn, becomes the while at Omathiya. He was tle of Gettysburg during the storms, General Erwin Rom- Treaty, to curb the spread of zil Glinski from 7 SAI was first black USAAF pilot to 19. American Civil War. mel’s Panzerarmee Afrika nuclear weapons. killed when his Buffel Troop shoot down a Nazi plane, a • 1982 - Special Sergeant • 1911 - A German gunboat, overrun an infantry brigade • 1968 - Two members from Carrier overturned at Acko- Focke-Wulf 190 over Pan- Hilalius Thomas from the Panther, reaches Agadir, at Dier el Shein as his troops Central Flying School Dun- rnhoek. He was 18. telleria. South West Africa Police Morocco, claiming that the move towards El Alamein. nottar were killed when their • 1989 - Lieutenant Nikolaos • 1944 - Marshal von Kluge Counter Insurgency Wing: French has ignored the terms • 1942 - The Germans cap- AT-6 Harvard crashed short- Sataras from Group 13 was replaces von Rundstedt in Ops K Division (Koevoet) of the 1906 Algeciras Con- ture Sevastopol after a long ly after take-off after strik- Killed in a private motor ve- command in France. was Killed in Action during ference. Thereby Germa- siege. ing High Tension Cables hicle accident at Gravelotte • 1966 - First French nuclear a contact with PLAN insur- ny precipitates the second • 1943 - The “Women’s Army near Dunnottar. They were: near Tzaneen while on offi- explosion, Mururoa atoll. gents in Northern Owam- Moroccan crisis, deepening Auxiliary Corps” is renamed Captain Ernest Lodewicus cial duty. He was 19. • 1976 - Gunner Cornelius boland. He was 32. divisions, which would ulti- the “Women’s Army Corps”. Groenewald (27). 2nd Lieu- Johannes Holtzhauzen from • 1987 - Rifleman Augistinus mately lead to the outbreak • Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, tenant Anton Fick Bosch 2 July 14 Field Regiment was Mbambo from 202 Battal- of World War I in 1914. Victor of Pearl Harbour, (21). • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer killed in a Military Vehicle ion SWATF was Killed in • 1912 - The South African Loser of Midway, commits • 1982 - 2nd Lieutenant Camp- War: the British forces occu- Accident, at Potchefstroom. Action during a contact with Department of Defence be- suicide on Saipan at the age bell Uys from 32 Battalion py Utrecht after the defend- He was 18. PLAN Insurgents in South- comes a separate state de- of 57. died from a gunshot wound ing burgers had to retire the • 1979 - Gunner Rolf Edu- ern Angola. He was 19. partment under Law no 13 • 1946 - US atomic bomb test accidentally sustained while previous day. ard Ortmann from 10 Light • 1988 - Corporal Anton Prin- of 1912. at Bikini Atoll, the forth nu- he was at Buffalo Base. He • 1901 - Second Anglo-Bo- Anti-Aircraft Regiment was sloo from 203 Battalion • 1913 - The 12th Infantry clear explosion. was 19. er War: Six unarmed Boer killed when the military SWATF was killed in action (Pretoria Regiment) later • 1948 - The Berlin airlift, • 1983 - Sapper Andries Petrus prisoners (later called the ambulance he was driving East of Cuito Cuanavale in known as the Princess Al- in which South Africa also Burger from 1 Construction Geyser group) are murdered at high speed, overturned South Eastern Angola. He ice’s Own Pretoria Reg- takes part, starts. It lasted Regiment was killed when by members of the Bushveld and caught fire in Wynberg, was 21. iment, but since 31 May until 12 May 1949. he was accidentally run over Carabineers who operated Cape town. He was 20. • 1988 - A car bomb explodes 1961 again known as Pre- • 1950 - First US ground by a construction vehicle. as a special British unit in toria Regiment, is formed troops arrive in Korea. He was 19. the Spelonken area, not far from the Northern Mounted • 1955 - The basic agreement • 1983 - Two members from from Louis Trichardt. Rifles, part of the Central about the transfer of Simon- 32 Battalion were Killed in • 1926 - Congress authoriz- South African Railways vol- stown naval base to the Un- Action during a contact with es the Distinguished Flying unteers. ion of South Africa by the enemy forces during Ops Cross. • 1913 - Second Balkan War: United Kingdom is conclud- Dolfyn in Southern Angola. • 1942 - World War II: North Serbia & Greece declare ed. The formal transfer took They were: Sergeant Gerrit Africa. British Command- war on Bulgaria. place at a historic ceremony Hendrik Du Rand (21). Ri- er-in-Chief (Middle East) • 1916 - Battle of the Somme on 2 April 1957. fleman Edwin Kasera (23). Claude Auchinleck, acting Claude Auchinleck begins. • 1961 - British troops land in • 1983 - Corporal Andries on information obtained by • 1918 - The US 4th Marine Kuwait to prevent an Iraqi Petrus Malan from 701 Bat- Ultra, sends troops south Brigade secures Belleau invasion. talion SWATF was killed to outflank General Erwin Wood. • 1968 - Britain, Soviet Union, when his Buffel Troop carri- Rommel’s Panzerarmee Af- • 1940 - German troops occu- United States and fifty-eight er overturned in the Opera- rika but hits them head-on py the Channel Islands. non-nuclear nations, includ- tional Area. He was 19. instead. The ensuing tank 60 61 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July at the Ellis Park Rugby Sta- Executive. 290 passengers aboard. A borders of Abyssinia (now Carnation. He was 20. President Yoweri Museveni dium. Two spectators are • 1976 - 103 hostages are res- subsequent U.S. military in- Ethiopia), Eritrea, and Su- • 1983 - Staff Sergeant John meet for first face-to-face killed and thirty-seven in- cued by an Israeli comman- quiry cited stress related hu- dan, are attacked and cap- Christian Anthony Oliver peace talks in Tanzania as jured. do unit at the raid on En- man failure for the mistaken tured by the Italian Northern from the South African En- part of an effort to end the tebbe airport in Uganda in identification of the civilian Army under the command gineer Corps was critical- three-year war in Congo. 3 July operation Thunderball (later Airbus as an enemy F-14 of the Duke of Acosta. ly injured when his Samil • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer re-named Operation Yoni). fighter jet. • 1942 - First American bomb- 50 vehicle overturned at 5 July War: The British abandon Seven pro-Palestinian guer- • 1992 - Two members from ing mission over Nazi-occu- Moshesh near Rundu. He • 1830 - The French occupy Utrecht, occupied the pre- rilla hijackers, twenty Ugan- 116 Battalion were killed pied Europe. succumbed to his injuries a the North African city of vious day, on receiving re- dan soldiers and three hos- near Punda Maria, in the • 1955 - The basic agreement short while later. He was 33. Algiers. The colonisation of ports of General Grobler’s tages are killed in the raid. Kruger National Park when about the transfer of Simon- • 1984 - Sergeant John- Algeria was seen as a way of approach. • 1983 - Corporal Frederick their Mamba vehicle col- stown naval base to the Un- ny Ralph Adams from the providing employment for • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer Coenraad Greyling from 5 lided with a tree during a ion of South Africa by the Army Catering Corps was veterans of the Napoleonic War: Lord Roberts orders SAI was accidentally killed follow-up operation against United Kingdom is conclud- grievously burned on 2 July wars. Col. Baden-Powell to evac- at Itenga Base near Opuwa MK Operatives that had en- ed. The formal transfer took 1984 when a phosphorus • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer uate Rustenburg and to oc- in an explosion inside the tered the area from Mocam- place at a historic ceremony grenade exploded while he War: Commandant-General cupy Commando Nek and Ops Room. The Platoon bique. The casualties were: on 2 April 1957. was playing with it in a bun- Louis Botha receives a tel- Silkaatsnek. Commander and Signaller Lance Corporal Nicholas • 1960 - The Congolese army ker at Hurricane Base, Rua- egraph from President Kru- • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer were both injured in the ex- Bizeki (34). Rifleman Tonki mutinies. cana. He died in 1 Military ger urging him to continue War: A general council of plosion and they were evac- Frans Kekana (18). • 1974 - Trooper Jan Albertus Hospital on 4 Jul 1984. He fighting. war with President Steyn uated to 1 Military Hospital Kotze from 1 Special Ser- was 23. • 1943 - The Battle of Kursk: presiding, hears the case in Pretoria. He was 21. 4 July vice Battalion was killed in • 1986 - Two members from Despite a massive German against Barend Cilliers, ac- • 1983 - Lance Corporal Ka- • 1879 - The Battle of Ulun- a Military Vehicle Accident 1 Parachute Battalion were assault; the Soviets lose cused of the murder of Lieut. rools Jonkers from the South di, decisive battle during the in Eastern Caprivi. He was killed in a Military Vehi- some ground, but halt the at- Cecil Boyle. The accused is African Cape Corps was Zulu War, takes place with 19. cle Accident at Richmond tack in about a week. acquitted. The court finds Killed in Action when his the British forces gaining the • 1979 - Rifleman Balthazer in the Cape. They were: • 1975 - Otto Skorzeny, World that Cilliers had received patrol walked into a PLAN upper hand and Cetshwayo, Johannes Carolus van der Corporal Jacobus Nicolaas War II Waffen SS Ober- a direct order from Gener- ambush in Northern Owam- king of the Zulus, suffers his Walt from SWA SPES was Claase(21). Rifleman Rich- sturmbannführer and the al Philip Botha to shoot the boland. He was 19. final defeat. killed when his Buffel Troop ard Alexander Knipe (20). man that led the rescue mis- prisoner. General Botha has • 1987 - Two members from 1 • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer Carrier overturned near Ru- • 2001 - Congolese President sion that freed the deposed subsequently been killed in Special Service Battalion, at- War: Republican General acana. He was 19. Joseph Kabila and Ugandan Italian dictator Benito Mus- action. tached to the 10th Armoured C.F. Beyers captures a troop • 1979 - Rifleman Carlo Jo- • 1940 - World War II: The Car Regiment were Killed train near Naboomspruit, hannes Kotze from 1 SAI British Royal Navy sinks the in Action when they walked Transvaal, killing nine sol- was critically injured in a French fleet in North Africa. into a “kraal”, unaware that diers. military vehicle accident at • 1950 - First US-North Kore- two PLAN insurgents were • 1913 - Fighting breaks out Otjiwarongo Base on 3 July an clash during the Korean hiding in one of the huts. as a riotous crowd on the 1979. He was evacuated to 1 War. The casualties were: Troop- Johannesburg market square Military Hospital in Pretoria • 1954 - World War II food ra- er Joseph Johannes Cloete is confronted by police and where he succumbed to his tioning ends in Britain. (18). Trooper Van Zyl Jac mounted soldiers during the injuries on 04 July 1979. He • 1962 - The Algerian Revolu- van Heerden (19). first miners’ strike. was 19. tion against the French ends. • 1988 - Iran Air Flight 655 • 1936 - League of Nations • 1981 - Rifleman Pieter Algeria eventually gains in- was destroyed while flying applies sanctions on Italy Adriaan van Niekerk from Otto dependence after 132 years over the Persian Gulf after for the invasion of Ethiopia. 6 SAI was accidentally Skorzeny of French rule. Abderrah- the U.S. Navy Warship Vin- • 1940 - World War II: East shot dead by own forces in man Farès is appointed as cennes fired two surface- Africa. British posts at Kas- Southern Angola in a friend- President of the Provisional to-air missiles, killing all sala and Gallabat, on the ly fire incident during Ops 62 63 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July solini from captivity, dies at 6 July poral Frans Adonio (31). Ri- during a fire and movement subsequent torture by the • 1981 - Rifleman T. Tjakuva the age of 67. • 1865 - The Pretoria Ri- fleman Kafuru Bango (29). drill. He was 23. Gestapo. from 102 Battalion SWATF • 1977 - Pakistan: coup by fle Corps is founded under Rifleman Pedro Kadem- • 1980 - Rifleman Johannes • 1944 - British troops cap- died from Malaria contract- General Mohammad Zia ul- Stephanus Schoeman as a ba (30). Rifleman Petrus Jacobus Joubert from 1 ture Caen, a month behind ed while serving in the Op- Haq. volunteer corps to defend Kapango (28). Rifleman Os- Maintenance Unit was killed schedule. erational Area. He was 27. • 1977 - Corporal Peter Noel Pretoria and surroundings. car Nando (23). when he accidentally fell off • 1950 - General Douglas • 1982 - Rifleman Vegkurid Wiggell HC from the Tech- The local police force was • 1983 - Rifleman B. Nga- the rear of a moving military MacArthur is named com- Kavari from 102 Battalion nical Services Corps was instituted at a later date. rukua from 102 Battalion vehicle. He was 23. mander-in-chief of United SWATF was killed when Killed in Action during a • 1916 - Second-Lieutenant SWATF was Killed in an ac- • 1981 - Private Wayne Ivor Nations (UN) forces in Ko- the Buffel Troop carrier in contact with PLAN insur- William Nimmo Brown of cidental Hand Grenade Ex- Purdon from the Jozini Mil- rea, including more than 800 which he was travelling, gents while attached to Bra- the 1st SA Infantry is killed plosion in Northern Owam- itary Base was killed in a South Africans. overturned at Opuwa. He vo Company Regiment Al- in the Battle of the Somme boland. He was 22. military vehicle accident be- • 1960 - The newly independ- was 24. goabaai. He was 25. and becomes the first South tween Magudu and Cando- ent Republic of Congo’s • 1982 - Two members from • 1977 - Sapper William African officer killed in 7 July ver. He was 18. army mutinies against Prime 201 Battalion SWATF were Thomas Wiggell from 2 France during World War I. • 1798 - Napoleon Bonapar- • 1983 - Lance Corporal Al- Minister Patrice Lumum- Killed when the Buffel Field Engineer Regiment • 1917 - Arab horsemen led te’s army begins its march exander John Tucker from ba’s government. Europeans Troop carrier in which they was killed in a Military Ve- by British officer T.E. Law- towards Cairo from Alex- 1 Parachute Battalion was are reported to be fleeing were travelling, overturned. hicle Accident at Bethle- rence also known as Law- andria, Napoleon’s desert Killed in Action when his the country. Belgium sends The casualties were: Rifle- hem. He was 20. rence of Arabia capture the nemesis. Patrol was ambushed by troops to Congo Republic. man T.A.S. Mesongo (27). • 1980 - Rifleman J. Dingom- heavily garrisoned Turkish • 1944 - RAF drops 2,572 tons combined FAPLA/Cuban Patrice Lumumba appeals Rifleman Joas Masonga bo from 31 Battalion (210 fort at Aqaba. on Caen, to support ground force while operating in an to the UN for military assis- (29). Battalion) SWATF was acci- • 1942 - German troops cap- attack. area North of Xangongo, ap- tance. • 1987 - Angolan news agen- dentally killed when he fell ture Voronez, USSR. • 1944 - Saipan: Japanese proximately 32km from Ca- • 1979 - Lance Corporal Ger- cy Angop reports that South from a horse and broke his • 1945 - Movement to the US troops make a final “banzai” hama, He was 19. hardus Johannes Jordaan African troops, backed by neck. He was 23. of captured German scien- charge. • 1983 - Rifleman V. Ka- (SAAF) from 2 Satellite planes, tanks and artillery, • 1981 - Rifleman Aubrey tists and equipment begins. • 1944 - U.S. B-29s from Chi- mundiro from 202 Battalion Radar Station, Ellisras died used chemical weapons in Leonard Neveling from 6 • 1967 - The Biafran War na attack Japan. SWATF was Killed in Ac- from a gunshot wound acci- attacks inside Angola. The SAI was Killed in Action erupts as Nigerian forces • 1944 - US troops capture tion during a contact with dentally sustained. He was SA Defence Force says the during a contact with enemy invade the Republic of Bia- Rosignano, NW of Rome. enemy forces in Southern 18. allegations are an attempt to forces in Southern Angola. fra. The war claimed some • 1948 - First women sworn Angola. He was 19. • 1980 - Corporal Pierre minimise setbacks incurred He was 18. 600,000 lives. About one into the US Naval Reserve. • 1990 - An illegal demon- Babin from 1 Construction • 1982 - Corporal Andre van million died of starvation. • 1960 - USSR shoots down a stration in Kenya becomes Regiment was accidentally der Walt from 4 Vehicle Re- • 1976 - Women are admitted US aircraft over the Barents known as the “Saba Saba” killed while towing a broken serve Park was killed in a pri- to the U.S. Naval Academy Sea. (Seven Seven the date in down military vehicle when vate motor vehicle accident for the first time. • 1960 - Belgium sends troops Swahili). The government he lost control of his vehi- approximately 20km from • 1980 - Rifleman Francis to the newly independent sends in police and military, cle, causing it to overturn Bloemfontein on the Win- Mukweli from 33 Battalion Congo. killing at least twenty and between Omega and Chetto. burg - Bloemfontein road. SWATF was killed in a Mil- • 1966 - Vietnam: Marines in- arresting several hundreds, He was 24. He was 21. itary Vehicle accident in the itiate “Operation Hasting” - including politicians, human • 1985 - Airman Benjamin Ar- Caprivi Strip. He was 37. to clear NVA from the DMZ. rights activists and journal- thur Nell from the South Af- • 1982 - Five members from • 1976 - Rifleman Leon Hen- ists. rican Air Force was acciden- 201 Battalion SWATF were drik Delport from the Dur- tally shot dead at his Guard Killed when their Buffel ban Regiment was acci- 8 July Post at Eros Airport, Wind- Troop carrier overturned dentally shot dead at the • 1943 - During the Nazi oc- hoek as a result of an acci- on the White Road between Oshivelo shooting range cupation of France, Resist- dental discharge of a fellow Bagani and Rundu, just east when he took up a position ance leader Jean Moulin T.E. Lawrence soldier’s rifle. He was 18. of Mashari. They were: Cor- behind one of the targets died following his arrest and 64 65 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July by Unita victories in the • 1940 - RAF bombs Germa- War: Queensland, Australia, 61 Mechanised Battalion South West Africa Police except the president who es- area. ny. offers military aid to Britain. Group died from multiple Counter-Insurgency Wing: caped with the help of Ruit- • 1988 - Rifleman Leon • 1941 - The British break • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer shrapnel wounds accidental- Ops-K Division (Koevoet) er, 29 persons, is captured Volschenk was critically Germany’s air-ground ops War: In a letter to Lord Rob- ly sustained when a 120mm was Killed in Action during in Reitz by General Broad- wounded in the stomach on code used on the Russian erts, Chief Commandant de mortar round exploded pre- a contact with PLAN insur- wood and sent to Heilbron 30 June 1988 after being ac- Front. Wet protests against the in- maturely during a live fire gents in Northern Owam- as prisoners. cidentally shot by an LMG • 1944 - US secures Saipan: discriminate destruction of training exercise between boland. He was 29. • 1915 - The German cruiser during a live fire and move- 3,200 US, 27,000 Japanese private property by British Tsintsabis and Omuthiya, ‘Konigsberg’ is scuttled near ment exercise at Oshivello. KIA, & many civilian sui- troops. prior to the launch of Ops 11 July Dar-es-Salam, Tanganyika. He was evacuated to 1 Mil- cides. • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer Protea. He was 19. • 1882 - The British fleet bom- • 1942 - Japanese GHQ ac- itary Hospital in Pretoria • 1979 - Rifleman Stephanus War: Colonel Lawson re- • 1982 - Two members from bards Alexandria, Egypt. knowledges the results of were he succumbed to his Petrus Janse van Vuuren ports that the De Beer and 42 Squadron were flying • 1899 - The Battle of Sil- the Battle of Midway. wounds on 08 July 1988. He from SWA SPES (SWATF) Van Rooyen’s commando, over an Army column near kaatsnek, west of Pretoria, • 1979 - Rifleman Peter Wayne was 20. was Killed in Action when raiding the upper Tugela Ondangwa in their Atlas starts with General De la Rey Bowry Atherton from 11 his horse detonated a land- from the Free State, includes AM3C Bosbok when the pi- launching a three-pronged Commando Regiment died 9 July mine while on patrol along thirty armed Basotho and lot decided to execute an un- attack on the British forces. from a gunshot wound ac- • 1900 - Second Anglo-Bo- the pipeline North of Etale. twenty other armed Blacks. authorised stall turn at low The British, under Colonel cidentally sustained at Jan er War: Lieutenant General He was 18. • 1913 - Second Balkan War: level for the benefit of the Roberts, surrenders the next Kemp Dorp as a result of Hunter and Brigadier-Gen- • 1980 - Rifleman H. Muhenje Romania declares war on troops on the ground. The morning. an accidental discharge of eral Sir Hector A. MacDon- from 102 Battalion SWATF Bulgaria. aircraft failed to recover and • 1901 - With dawn approach- a fellow soldier’s rifle. He ald arrive at Bethlehem, was Killed in Action during • 1943 - The Allied invasion crashed nearby, killing both ing, General Broadwood was 17. OFS. Hunter takes over a contact with PLAN insur- of Italy began with an attack crew members on board. surprises the Free State • 1982 - Rifleman Munehem- command of all the British gents in Northern Owam- on the island of Sicily. The The casualties were: Lieu- force, accompanied by Pres- ba Muharukua from 102 forces in the north-eastern boland. He was 26. British entry into Syracuse tenant Otto Carel Janse van ident Steyn, in Reitz. Pres. Battalion SWATF was killed Free State. • 1985 - Corporal Pieter Apol- was the first Allied success Rensburg (24). Candidate Steyn’s Griqua groom, Jan when the Buffel Troop Car- • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer lis from the South African in Europe. General Dwight Officer Anton Geno Roux Ruiter, wakes the President, rier in which he was a pas- War: ‘Long Cecil’, the gun Cape Corps attached to 53 D. Eisenhower labelled the (20). borrows a saddle and helps senger, overturned in North- designed and manufactured Battalion was killed after invasion “the first page in • 1985 - Corporal A.L. Tef- the president to mount and, ern Owamboland. He was by G.F. Labram and used by suffering a fatal gunshot the liberation of the Europe- fo from 5 Reconnaissance mounting another horse, 26. the British during the siege, wound as a result of an acci- an Continent.” Regiment was killed in- gallops away. When stopped is taken from Kimberley by dental discharge of a fellow • 1953 - American troops stantly after being struck by by a British soldier, Ruiter train to be exhibited during soldiers rifle. He was 24. abandon Pork Chop Hill, lightning during a thunder- dismounts and distracts the the visit of the Duke and • 1985 - Chad and Zaire sign Korea. storm while on operations soldier, allowing the presi- Duchess of Cornwall, later an agreement on military • 1960 - Belgium sends troops in Southern Angola. He was dent to escape into darkness King George V and Queen co-operation. to Congo. 24. without hat or coat. After the Mary. • 1988 - Corporal M. Kavetu • 1978 - A military coup takes • 1985 - Four British men battle Ruiter and the other • 1915 - World War I: Dr from 102 Battalion SWATF place in Mauritania. are jailed for conspiring to Blacks are left behind and Theodore Seitz, governor was Killed in Action when he • 1980 - Corporal Clive Ro- smuggle military compo- he rejoins his employer. of German South West Af- triggered a Soviet POMZ-2 land Hardenberg from 4 Re- nents into South Africa. • 1901 - The complete Free rica, surrenders at the farm Anti-Personnel Picket Mine connaissance Regiment ac- • 1986 - Rifleman R Tjiposa State Executive Council, Khorab, between Otavi and while on patrol. He was 27. cidentally drowned during from 102 Battalion SWATF Tsumeb, to General Louis Corporal Kavetu was the a training exercise at Sal- was killed when his Buffel Botha. last 102 Battalion Bush War mander Bay, Langebaan. He Troop Carrier overturned in • 1934 - Reichsfuhrer-SS Operational Casualty. was 20. Northern Owamboland. He Himmler takes command • 1981 - Rifleman Lionel was 25. Heinrich Himmler of German Concentration 10 July van Rooyen from 1 South • 1986 - Special Constable Camps. • 1899 - Second Anglo-Boer African Infantry attached Tjiposa Virero from the 66 67 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July • 1985 - Sapper Kenneth South Africa. accidentally sustained in the lence at the Ossuary at Ft. Myburgh at Zuurvlakte and Izak Tobias de Villiers (25). Claude Cole from 2 Field • 1900 - Second Anglo-Bo- Operational Area. He was Douaumont, Verdun. captures his laager. Lieutenant Leon Goldstein Engineer Regiment died er War: A court martial at 24. • 1966 - Candidate Officer • 1942 - Japanese Admi- (21). Flight Sergeant (Miss) from a gunshot wound acci- Fouriesburg confirms Boer • 1982 - Rifleman Katopora Christo Cornelius Johannes ral Yamamoto creates the (Air Hostess) Annerie Nie- dentally sustained as a result ex-Commandant S.G. Vil- Tjiharukua from 102 Battal- Joubert from Air Operations Eighth Fleet for operations mand (23). Major General of the accidental discharge joen’s sentence of five years ion SWATF was killed when School Langebaanweg was in the South Pacific. Dirk Johannes van Niekerk of a fellow soldier’s rifle. He hard labour for treason. his Buffel Troop Carrier killed when his AT-6 Har- • 1972 - Vietnam: Jane Fonda (53). Major General Jacobus was standing guard duty at 2 • 1902 - Second Anglo-Bo- overturned near Opuwa. He vard crashed near Velddrif makes first of 10 broadcasts Marthinus Crafford (48). Field Engineer Regiment in er War: Lord Kitchener re- was 25. during a routine training ex- on Radio Hanoi. Colonel Johan Adam Coet- Bethlehem at the time of the ceives a hero’s welcome in • 1983 - Lieutenant Bruce ercise. He was 19. • 1976 - Two members from zer (48). incident. He was 19. London on his return. Charles Chinery from 40 • 1971 - Firing squads in Mo- 11 Squadron and two ground • 1992 - President de Klerk • 1985 - Special Constable • 1941 - First Luftwaffe air Squadron was killed when rocco execute ten army of- crew personnel from 19 announces the future dis- U. Ngombe from the South raid on Moscow. his Atlas MB326M Impala ficers accused of trying to Squadron were killed when bandment of two security West Africa Police Coun- • 1943 - During World War Mk I suffered engine failure overthrow King Hassan. an 11 Squadron Cessna force units, the 31 and 32 ter-Insurgency Wing: Ops-K II, in the Battle of Kursk, shortly after take-off from • 1982 - Rifleman Jean Louis 185A crashed at the Umtali battalions, and the dissolu- (Koevoet) was Killed in Ac- the largest tank battle in his- Air Force Base Waterkloof. Moerdyk from SWA SPES River Mouth. The casualties tion of the controversial po- tion during a contact with tory took place outside the He was 22. (SWATF) was killed in a were: 2nd Lieutenant Mario lice unit, Koevoet. PLAN insurgents in North- small village of Prohorov- • 1994 - Germany’s Constitu- military vehicle accident at Almeroe Janse van Rens- • 1993 - Somali militiamen ern Owamboland. He was ka, Russia. About nine hun- tional Court ended the ban Bagani. He was 20. burg (21). Corporal Charles fire on UN headquarters in a 27. dred Russian tanks attacked on sending German troops • 1982 - Rifleman Karetu Lloyd van der Merwe (23). new wave of assaults hours • 1986 - Rifleman L. Sivanda an equal number of Ger- to fight outside the coun- Muhenje from 102 Bat- Private Izak Jacob Joubert after Somali militants dis- from 202 Battalion SWATF man tanks fighting at close try. The ban had been in ef- talion SWATF was criti- Geyser (18). Private Ger- tribute leaflets calling for re- was Killed in Action during range. When Hitler ordered fect since the end of World cally wounded on 12 July hard Nicholaas van Rooyen venge attacks on American a contact with PLAN insur- a cease-fire, 300 German War II. The ruling allowed 1982 during a contact with (19). soldiers. gents. He was 22. tanks remained strewn over German troops to join in PLAN insurgents in North- • 1982 - Three crew and five • 1995 - South Africa and • 1989 - WO I Johannes Petrus the battlefield. United Nations and NATO ern Owamboland. He suc- passengers of a SAAF 21 Russia sign a military coop- Coetzee from 16 Mainte- • 1944 - Theresienstadt Con- peace-keeping missions. cumbed to his injuries at Squadron Swearingen Mer- eration agreement. nance Unit was killed in a centration Camp disbanded, 05h00 the following morn- lin 4A and four members Military Vehicle Accident with 4,000 people gassed. 13 July ing. He was 26. of a civilian Piper Navajo 10km from the Mangetti • 1984 - A car bomb explodes • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer • 1998 - Unita again occupies were killed when the air- Dunes. He was 50. in Durban, killing five and War: At a council of war, two towns in Angola and craft were involved in a • 1990 - Private Iain Bruce injuring twenty-seven peo- Chief Commandant De Wet hundreds of inhabitants flee. mid-air collision at night Robertson from the Techni- ple. explains the shortcomings over the residential area cal Service Corps was criti- • 1973 - Rifleman Abraham of the Republican concen- 14 July of Swartkops. The SADF cally injured when the Ratel Frederik Greeff from 3 SAI tration in the Brandwater • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer casualties were: Captain Jan in which he was travelling, was killed in a military ve- Basin and the importance of War: The Free State govern- overturned on the road in hicle accident at Rundu. He moving out before they are ment is to dispense with the front of Special Forces Head was 18. bottled up. idea of a capital, and they Quarters in Pretoria. He • 1979 - Lance Corporal J.L. • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer become a government ‘in succumbed to his injuries a Samutiki from 33 Battalion War: J.P. Coetzee, Cape re- the field’. short while later. He was 27. SWATF was killed when his bel, is executed by the Brit- • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer Buffel Troop carrier over- ish and all male adults are War: British General French 12 July turned in the Operational ordered to attend. drives Scheepers out of the • 1899 - Second Anglo-Boer Area. He was 27. • 1936 - 15,000 World War Camdeboo Mountains and War: Lord Brassey of Vic- • 1980 - Rifleman T. Josef I veterans from all nations Major Moore, with a detach- toria, Australia, offers Brit- from 35 Battalion SWATF swear an “Oath of Peace” ment of Connaught Rang- Isoroku Yamamoto ain volunteers for service in died from a gunshot wound and observe a minute of si- ers, defeats the Boers under 68 69 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July 15 July Pershing, dies at the age of Leone. grace to say thank you for president, Muhammad Si- Owamboland during late af- • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer 87. 16 July the care bestowed on them”. yad Barre. ternoon counter-insurgency War: Chief Commandant De • 1960 - UN troops arrive to • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer • 1977 - Rifleman Christiaan operations in the area. He Wet, Pres. Steyn and mem- help deal with the political War: Lord Methuen reoccu- War: In the Free State, Lieu- Michael Albert Tesnar from was 39. bers of the Free State gov- crisis following Moïse Kap- pies Rustenburg. This is the tenant-General E.L. Elliot’s the Lydenburg Commando • 1993 - Staff Sergeant Rich- ernment break out of the enda Tshombe’s declaration third British occupation of drive ends. At the cost of was Killed in Action during ard Ebanhaezer Gericke Brandwater Basin through of independence for Ka- the town. only three British casual- a contact with PLAN insur- from 31 Battalion SWATF Slabbert’s Nek, with about tanga province on 11 July. • 1900 - Second Anglo-Bo- ties, the drive has resulted gents near Ruacana. He was was killed in a motor vehicle 2,000 men, 400 vehicles and Meanwhile the province of er War: Three commandos in three burghers killed and 24. accident between Schmidts- five field-guns. Their col- South Kasai also declares under the newly appointed wounded, sixty-one pris- • 1981 - Rifleman G. Ruhuzo drift and Kimberley. He was umn passes within three km independence, calling itself Combat General Viljoen, oners, 7,000 horses, 7,000 from 102 Battalion SWATF 27. of Paget’s (British) camp at the Federal State of South attack about 4,650 British cattle, 6,000 rounds of am- was Killed in Action during • 2006 - The first of South Af- Sebastopol, OFS. Kasai, with Joseph Ngalula soldiers with twenty field munition and 300 vehicles a contact with PLAN insur- rica’s fleet of Gripen aircraft • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer as head of parliament. guns and four to five ma- captured. gents. He was 26. ordered to re-equip the SA War: Dr K. Franks, camp • 1981 - Rifleman Ettienne chine guns under General • 1916 - World War I: The • 1984 - Private Gabriel Jo- National Defence Force is doctor at the Mafeking con- Zwanepoel from 1 SAI was Hutton at Tierpoort, Rietvlei South African brigade is hannes Jacobus Frederik transported by road to Ys- centration camp reports that accidentally shot dead dur- and Olifantsfontein, ZAR. called to capture Delville Crouse from 72 Motorised terplaat Air Force Base from the camp is “overwhelmed” ing a training exercise at the The burghers are support- Wood in France in a fierce Brigade was killed in a mil- Cape Town Harbour. by 1,270 women and chil- Wepener Training Area. He ed by three field guns and two-day battle. itary vehicle accident in Al- • 2006 - Maluleke George, the dren brought in after sweeps was 18. two pom-poms, but they • 1940 - Hitler orders prepa- berton. He was 19. deputy defence minister, at- on the western ZAR. Lack • 1982 - Special Constable have to charge over open rations for “Operation Sea • 1984 - Rifleman Daniel tends the 90th commemora- of facilities adds to the hard- Vusi Tsiposa from the South ground. Commandant-Gen- Lion”. Adonis Douwrie from the tion of the Battle of Delville ships encountered by the West Africa Police Coun- eral Botha, who observes • 1944 - With the aid of the South African Cape Corps Wood in France. During the new arrivals. ter-Insurgency Wing: Ops the Republican charge from Polish Resistance, the Sovi- was Killed in Action in ceremony, a new South Afri- • 1916 - World War I: The K (Koevoet) was Killed in a vantage point, later says he ets capture Vilna, Lithuania, a landmine explosion in can coat of arms is unveiled Battle of Delville Wood, the Action during a contact with has never seen a braver and from the Germans. Northern Owamboland. He bloodiest battle ever fought PLAN insurgents in North- more determined attack. The • 1945 - The experimental was 25. by South Africans, starts. ern Owamboland. He was heaviest resistance comes Atomic bomb “Fat Boy” • 1986 - Flight Sergeant Ed- It lasted till 20 July. Of the 27. from the New Zealanders was set off at 05h30. in the ward Michael Bloem from 121 SA officers and 2,032 • 1984 - Three members from and Irish Fusiliers. desert of New Mexico de- 31 Squadron was Killed soldiers, only 750 soldiers the Special Forces Head- • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer sert, creating a mushroom in Action when his Alou- survived. quarters Unit were killed War: The British Coloni- cloud rising 12,497 metres. ette III Helicopter collided • 1918 - World War I: Dur- when their Unimog Troop al Office appoints a Ladies The bomb emitted heat three with a radio mast stay-wire ing the Battle of the Marne Carrier overturned near Commission to investigate times the temperature of the at Okankolo in Northern in World War I, German M’pacha. The casualties the concentration camps interior of the sun and wiped General Erich Ludendorff were: Rifleman Christof- in SA. The commission, out all plant and animal life fel Booysen (21). Rifleman whose members are reputed within 1,6 kilometres. launched Germany’s fifth, Albert and last, offensive to break Marthinus Hendrik Grobler to be impartial, includes Mrs • 1946 - A US court sentences through the Chateau-Thier- (20). Sapper Nicolaas Jaco- Millicent G. Fawcett who 46 SS-men to death for the Kesselring ry salient. bus Gerhardus Helberg (17). recently criticised Emily Malmedy massacre. • 1937 - Buchenwald Concen- • 2000 - In a rare display of Hobhouse and Dr. Jane Wat- • 1960 - Albert Kesselring, tration Camp opens. force, UN troops launch a erson, daughter of a British German airman and field • 1944 - Britain’s Greenwich rescue mission that frees general, who recently wrote marshal, dies at the age of Observatory is damaged by all 222 peacekeepers and against “the hysterical whin- 74. a German V-1 flying bomb. eleven military observers ing going on in England” • 1977 - Soviet advisers are • 1948 - US World War I Gen- trapped by rebels inside a while “we feed and pamper expelled from the Republic eral of the Armies John J UN base in eastern Sierra people who had not even the of Somali by orders of the 70 71 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July at the South African memo- • 1976 - Rifleman Andries Jo- rocco. • 1983 - Rifleman Jan Harm ditions in the concentration died in that attack. rial on the site. The names of hannes Blaauw from 2 Par- • 1942 - Maiden flight of the Kruger from 1 Parachute camps: “... I doubt there • 1997 - Charles Taylor, a re- Black members of the South achute Battalion was Killed Messerschmitt Me 262, the Battalion died after suffer- being much for them to do bel leader with a reputation African Labour Corps who in Action after he and his first operational jet fighter. ing severe brain injuries in here as the camps are very for brutality, wins Liberia’s died at Arques-la-Bataille twin brother Pieter, had a • 1944 - US troops capture St. a non-military related acci- well looked after. Kendal first peaceful presidential and those who perished on brief contact with a group of Lo, Normandy. dent. He was 23. Franks was quite astonished election following a sev- board the SAS Mendi are SWAPO/PLAN insurgents • 1963 - Candidate Officer • 1985 - Rifleman George at the excellence of some of en-year civil war. also unveiled at the muse- while on patrol. Matthys Marthinus Hattingh Mike Thompson from the the camps ...”. um. • 1981 - Private David Gor- from Air Operations School Army Catering Corps was • 1918 - German armies re- 20 July don Munro from Sector at Langebaanweg was killed killed when his Buffel Troop treat across the Marne. • 1871 - Queen Victoria abol- 17 July 70 Headquarters died in 1 when his AT-6 Harvard Carrier overturned at Os- • 1941 - Winston Churchill ishes the practice of pur- • 1900 - Second Anglo-Bo- Military Hospital in Preto- crashed into a mountain- hakati. He was 22. flashes “V for Victory” for chasing commissions in the er War: Lieutenant-Colonel ria from Malaria contracted side near Porterville in bad • 1988 - Angola, Cuba, and the first time. British Army. M.O. Little, commanding while serving in the Opera- weather. He was 19. South Africa, after talks • 1942 - German occupiers • 1901 - Second Anglo-Bo- the 3rd Cavalry Brigade of tional Area. He was 18. • 1972 - Egypt demands the in New York from 11-13 confiscate bicycles in the er War: Boer General C.J. 738 mounted men, is ordered • 1986 - Trooper Willem Jan Soviet Union remove its July under US mediation, Netherlands. Spruyt is killed in action in the direction of Lindley to Pienaar from the School of 20,000 advisers from the announce that they have • 1991 - In a report published while attempting to cross join the hunt for De Wet. Armour died in the Univer- country, accusing it of fail- reached tentative agreement in the New Nation, a former the railway line between Val • 1917 - World War I: King sitas Hospital in Bloemfon- ing to supply promised arms. on a document containing South African army ser- Station and Vlaklaagte on George V orders the Brit- tein after being critically • 1973 - Rifleman Keith principles for a settlement in geant, Mr. Felix Ndimene, his way to invade Natal. ish royal family to dispense injured in a military vehicle Hahn from 1 SAI was killed south-western Africa. alleges that members of the • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer with German titles and sur- accident in Bloemfontein. when the Bedford vehicle in • 2005 - General William Five Reconnaissance Regi- War: At Paardekop, in the names. Saxe-Coburg be- He was 18. which he was travelling as Westmoreland, Command- ment, which is part of South Gatsrand, near Vereeniging, comes Windsor and Batten- a passenger, overturned at er of the US forces in Vi- Africa’s special forces, car- General J.C. Smuts and a burg becomes Mountbatten. 18 July Kandelaars River Station. etnam, between 1964-1968, ried out an attack on a Sowe- small party are surprised in • 1943 - RAF bombs German • 1900 - Second Anglo-Bo- He was 18. dies at the age of 91. to-bound train in September their sleep. His Black or- rocket research base at Pen- er War: In the first drive in • 1980 - Lance Corporal Nico- 1990. Twenty-six persons nemunde, on the Baltic. the Cape Colony, the Brit- laas Jacobus van der Merwe 19 July • 1944 - Having helped the ish under overall command from 1 Special Service Bat- • 1863 - During the Ameri- Russians to liberate Vilna of General French are de- talion was Killed in Action can Civil War, Union troops from the Germans, the lead- ployed along the Beaufort while on patrol 10km from made a second attempt to ers of the Polish resistance West Graaff-Reinet line and Ondangwa. capture Fort Wagner near “Army Krajowa” are arrest- march north. • 1981 - Rifleman James Charleston, South Carolina. ed by Stalin. • 1914 - The British Roy- Findlay-Marshall from the The attack was led by the • 1945 - US Third Fleet un- al Navy extends an invita- Infantry School was killed 54th Massachusetts Colour- dertakes surface and air at- tion to the German Imperial in a private motor vehicle ed Infantry, commanded tacks on targets near Tokyo. Navy to take part in a fleet accident on the National by Colonel Robert Gould • 1975 - Captain Geoffrey week in August road between De Rust and Shaw, who was killed along Dennis Law from 40 Squad- • 1935 - Ethiopian King Haile Uniondale while on week- with half of the 600 men ron was killed instantly Selassie urges his country- end pass. He was 18. in the regiment. This battle during a weapons demon- men to fight to the last man • 1982 - Rifleman Frisiano marked the first use of black stration exercise at Bloem- against the invading Italian Dala from 201 Battalion Union troops in the war. William fontein when the complete army. SWATF died in 1 Military • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer Westmoreland main plane of his AT-6 • 1936 - The Spanish Civ- Hospital from injuries re- War: Lord Kitchener writes Harvard separated in flight il War begins in the early ceived in a Military Vehicle in a letter concerning the while the aircraft was diving morning hours with a revolt Accident at Rundu on 06 Ladies’ Commission sent onto the target. He was 29. at Melilla in Spanish Mo- July 1982. He was 24. out to investigate into con- 72 73 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July derly, Kleinbooi, is shot and He was 19. Australia, offers 1,860 of- • 1962 - Indian and Chinese of injuries sustained during killed but General Smuts • 1983 - Two members from ficers, non-commissioned troops skirmish in the Him- 22 July a training exercise when he manages to get away by the South West Africa Po- officers and men to Britain alayas. • 1942 - Defeated on all was accidentally run over by shouting orders in English lice Counter-Insurgency for service in SA. • 1975 - Lance Corporal fronts in 16 day war with an armoured vehicle in con- and stealing away on bare Wing: Ops-K Division (Ko- • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer Douglas Brian Snell from Peru, Ecuador agrees to a ditions of poor visibility. He feet. He later retrieves all evoet) were Killed in Ac- War: British General Lord 11 Commando Regiment cease fire. was 20. the documents he has had to tion during a contact with Robert’s advance along the died from a gunshot wound • 1942 - 1st Battle of Alamein: • 1987 - Soviet PM Gor- leave behind in the dark. SWAPO/PLAN insurgents eastern line begins, starting resulting from the acciden- British halt German-Italian bachev agrees to negotiate • 1916 - World War I: Only in Northern Owamboland. from his outposts east of Pre- tal discharge of a fellow sol- drive under Rommel. a ban on intermediate-range three SA officers and 140 They were: Special Consta- toria along the Delagoa Bay dier’s rifle while stationed in • 1942 - 300,000 Warsaw nuclear missiles. men march out of Delville ble Frans Hamutewa (27). railway line for more than Northern Owamboland. He Ghetto Jews are sent to Tre- • 2001 - Bertie Felstead of the Wood. Six days earlier, on Special Constable Klemens 56 km. Commandant-Gen- was 18. blinka extermination camp. Royal Welch Fusiliers, the moving in, the strength of Mpase (22). eral Louis Botha split his • 1984 - Private Johannes • 1943 - Patton captures Paler- last known survivor of the the brigade was 3,433. In • 1987 - Captain Barend Jaco- force of about 2,200 men Ricardo Matthee from 16 mo. Christmas Truce of 1914, 1920 the SA government bus Vorster from 8 Squad- into small groups to render Maintenance Unit died • 1946 - Jerusalem: The Irgun dies at the age of 106. bought the wood and erect- ron was killed when his At- isolated local resistance to from a gunshot wound re- bombs British HQ in the ed a monument. las MB326M Impala Mk I the huge army moving east- sulting from the accidental King David Hotel, 90 die. 23 July • 1922 - The League of Na- crashed into the sea off Dur- wards. discharge of a fellow sol- • 1983 - Sergeant Walter Al- • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer tions agrees to award former ban during a joint training • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer dier’s rifle while stationed at exander Robinson from 61 War: Lord Milner is present- German colonies as man- exercise with the South Af- War: Captain Danie Theron Grootfontein. He was 21. Base Workshop, Technical ed with the freedom of the dates. rican Navy. He was 24. and his men capture a train • 1985 - Rifleman Christiaan Service Corps died in his City of London at the Guild- • 1944 - US Marines land on • 1988 - Corporal Johannes from the Welsh fusiliers. Jack from the Army Cater- sleep in the Single Quarters hall. Guam. David Gerhardus van der After looting what they ing Corps was killed in a at TEK Base after apparent- • 1940 - The “Blitz” begins: • 1944 - A plot by senior army Merwe from 3 Parachute could carry, they placed the Military Vehicle Accident at ly suffering a fatal heart at- the first all-night Luftwaffe officers to assassinate Adolf Battalion was killed when wounded under medical care Oshikuku. He was 26. tack. He was 42. raid on London. Hitler fails. his Buffel Troop Carrier in a railway carriage, which • 1986 - Corporal Mark Twain • 1984 - Rifleman Gerhard • 1942 - German troops cap- • 1949 - Israel’s 19 month war overturned at Batavia. He they push out of danger and Whiteley from 701 Battal- Ernst De Lange from 1 Par- ture Rostov. of independence ends. was 25. set the train on fire. The next ion SWATF was accidental- achute Battalion was Killed • 1942 - World War II: Hur- • 1954 - An agreement was • 1988 - South Africa, Ango- day he was congratulated by ly shot dead by own forces. in Action during a contact ricanes of No.1 Squadron signed in Geneva, Switzer- la and Cuba formally accept De Wet and promoted to the He left the TB at night to re- with SWAPO/PLAN insur- shoot down thirteen Ju-87s land, ending hostilities be- the principles of an Angola/ rank of commandant. lieve himself and was mis- gents while on patrol north over the South African po- tween French forces in Viet- Namibia peace plan. The • 1901 - Second Anglo-Bo- taken for a SWAPO/PLAN of Ondangwa. He was 20. sitions in the Alamein line, nam and the People’s Army three countries, in separate er War: The burning of insurgent on his return. He • 1987 - Corporal Adriaan of Vietnam. statements, announce their Bremersdorp. was 24. Jonker from 2 SWA SPES • 1976 - Last US troops leave agreement on the withdraw- • 1941 - Himmler orders • 1987 - Rifleman George Im- (SWATF) was accidentally Thailand. al of foreign troops from building of Majanek Con- melman was stationed at the killed in Windhoek when • 1982 - Corporal Michael Angola and independence centration Camp. Army Battle School. He was his parachute failed during Daniel Otto from 912 Bat- for South West Africa/Na- • 1944 - Colonel Claus Schenk accidentally killed when he a practice jump at the J. G. talion SWATF was killed mibia. von Stauffenberg (37), ex- was crushed between a load- Strydom Airport. He was 20. when his SAMIL 20 vehicle ecuted by firing squad, & er and a tipper during con- • 1987 - Rifleman Lyall Greg- overturned at Okahandja. 21 July Geneal Ludwig Beck (64), struction work. He was 22. ory Sole from 2 SAI died • 1983 - Rifleman James • 1798 - Napoleon defeats the assisted suicide, for their • 2004 - An Egyptian and Tjuima a SWATF basic Arab Mameluke warriors at part in the plot to assassinate three Kenyans, along with trainee, died in hospital from the Battle of the Pyramids in Hitler. four other truck drivers, are complications after con- Egypt. • 1945 - U.S. radio broadcasts taken hostage by a militant Claus tracting Pneumonia while • 1899 - Second Anglo-Bo- demand that Japan surrender Iraqi group. von Stauffenberg undergoing basic training. er War: New South Wales, or be destroyed. 74 75 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July North Africa. military meeting between dar screens to see a blizzard derwater A-bomb at Bikini, July 1987. He was 35. • 1943 - Battle of Kursk ends: Angola, South Africa and of false echoes. As a result, 25 July the fifth atomic explosion. • 1987 - Private Cornelius Jo- Soviets win the greatest tank Cuba ends in Cape Verde. only twelve of 791 Allied • 1866 - Ulysses S. Grant is • 1947 - The US Army, Navy, hannes Kriel from 93 Am- battle in history. The talks follow reports that bombers involved were shot named the first full gener- & Air Force are subordinat- munition Depot was killed • 1944 - Soviet Army captures a fresh contingent of 2,000 down. al in the history of the US ed to the new Department of in a Military Vehicle Acci- Lublin, Poland. Cuban troops, combined • 1945 - At the conclusion of Army. Defence. dent at Jan Kempdorp. He • 1951 - Lieutenant FM Bek- with Angolan forces, is the Potsdam Conference in • 1898 - During the Span- • 1982 - Rifleman M.J.J. was 21. ker and Lieutenant RM moving along the front. Germany, Winston Church- ish-American War, the U.S. Mahlio from 113 Battalion • 1988 - Rifleman Roelof van du Plooy, serving with the • 1989 - Airman (Miss) Mari- ill, Harry Truman and Chi- invaded Puerto Rico, which died from a gunshot wound Aswegen from the Infantry SAAF Cheetah Squadron in anna Christina Murphy from na’s representatives issued was then a Spanish colo- accidentally sustained while School was killed in a pri- the Korean War, are killed in the Highveld Airspace Con- a demand for unconditional ny. In 1917, Puerto Ricans stationed at Phalaborwa. He vate motor vehicle accident action. trol Sector died in the H.F. Japanese surrender. The Jap- became American citizens was 26. near Curries Post while on • 1951 - Henri Philippe Pe- Verwoerd Hospital from in- anese, unaware the demand and Puerto Rico became an • 1983 - Special Sergeant leave pass. He was 18. tain, Marshal of France, Vi- juries received in a private was backed up by an Atomic unincorporated territory of Leonard Mattheus from the • 1990 - Liberian rebels at- chyite, dies in prison at the motor vehicle accident on bomb, rejected the Potsdam the U.S. Partial self-govern- South West Africa Police tack an airfield in Monrovia, age of 95. the N1 highway near Wit- Declaration on 26 July. ment was granted in 1947 Counter-Insurgency Wing: closing off that city’s last • 1952 - Egyptian military of- bank. She was 18. • 1969 - Muhammad Ali is allowing citizens to elect Ops-K Division (Koevoet) link to outside world. ficers led by Gamal Abdel • 1994 - Gambian soldiers convicted of refusing induc- was the Driver of Koevoet • 1994 - Israel & Jordan for- their own governor. Nasser overthrow King Fa- proclaim military govern- tion in the US Army. Casspir Zulu Foxtrot 2. He mally end a state of war that • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer rouk I. ment in Dakar, Senegal. • 1973 - Four men from the was Killed in Action when existed since 1948. War: In the month since 25 • 1970 - UN Security Coun- Japanese Red Army, a mil- his vehicle was hit by a So- • 2006 - Carl M. Brashear, the June, Emily Hobhouse has cil adopts resolution 282 itant group dedicated to a viet RPG-7 Anti-Tank Rock- first black diver in the US 24 July addressed 26 public meet- (1970) calling on States to worldwide communist rev- et after the vehicle ran into a Navy, dies at the age of 75. • 1897 - A combined force ings in Britain on the con- take a series of measures to olution, hijack a Japan Air- SWAPO/PLAN ambush just • 2009 - Harry Patch, the last of the Seventh Hussars, lo- centration camps, raising strengthen the arms embar- lines plane. They release the North of Okatopi. He was British Army veteran of the cal troops and the newly money to improve condi- go against South Africa. The 137 occupants, then blow it 26. World War I trenches, dies recruited British South Af- tions. vote was 12 in favour and up and are arrested in Libya. • 1987 - Flight Sergeant Hen- at the age of 111. rica Police attacks Masho- • 1934 - Nazi coup fails in 3 abstentions (France, UK, • 1977 - Egypt’s President An- drik Andries Prinsloo Engel- na chief Mashayamombe’s Austria. USA). war Sadat orders his troops brecht from Air Force Base kraal. The Chief was killed • 1938 - Spanish Republican 26 July • 1973 - Eddie Rickenback- to observe immediate cease- Rooikop was critically in- and the rebellion, started in Army begins an offensive • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer er, the top American ace of fire in fighting with Libya. jured on 22 July 1987 when June1896, came to an end on the Ebro. War: General Piet de Wet, World War I with 26 kills, • 1977 - Sergeant Izak Cor- he accidentally fell off the in November 1897, with the • 1943 - RAF bombs Fokker dies at the age of 82. nelius Du Plessis from 1 Air backing of a moving Lan- surrender of Nyanda and airplane factory in Amster- • 1973 - Rifleman Stuart Craig Depot died in 1 Military Hos- drover while returning to Kagubi. dam. McGregor from 4 SAI died pital. He was suffering from AFB Rooikop from Swakop- • 1936 - Spanish Nationalists • 1943 - Mussolini was de- from a gunshot wound to the cancer. He was 25. mund. He succumbed to his form a junta to conduct the posed just two weeks after stomach while stationed at • 1984 - Rifleman Arthur James injuries in Walvis Bay on 25 civil war with the Spanish the Allied attack on Sicily. Greefswald. He was 18. Henn from the South African Republic. • 1944 - Allied breakthrough • 1974 - Greek military dicta- Cape Corps died from a gun- • 1943 - RAF bombs Ham- at St-Lo, Patton begins his torship collapses. shot wound accidentally sus- burg, initiating a firestorm. drive across France. • 1984 - Rifleman K. Mu- tained. He was 20. • 1943 - During World War • 1944 - First jet fighter used rongo from 202 Battalion • 2000 - In Sierra Leone, II in Europe, the Royal Air in combat, the Messer- SWATF was Killed in Ac- dozens of rebels, including Force conducted Operation schmitt 262. tion during a contact with children, surrender to UN Gomorrah, raiding Ham- • 1945 - Japan says it will sur- SWAPO/PLAN insurgents. forces in the eastern city of burg, while tossing bales of render, but not uncondition- Muhammad He was 22. Kenema and turn over their aluminum foil strips over- ally. Ali • 1988 - A surprise top-level weapons. board to cause German ra- • 1946 - US detonates an un- 76 77 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July brother of Chief Comman- flight. He was flying solo at Accident 15 km south of To- • 1954 - Britain and Egypt a firestorm killed 42,000 ci- after being struck by an ex- dant C.R. de Wet, and his the time of the accident. He sca. He was 18. initial an agreement to end vilians in Hamburg, Germa- tra heavy articulate vehicle. staff lay down their arms at was 19. • 1991 - Rifleman Mohapi British occupation of the ny. The firestorm occurred He was 23. Kroonstad. The two brothers • 1973 - Rifleman Joseph Petrus Mdakane from 21 Suez Canal Zone. after 2,326 tons of bombs • 1983 - Rifleman Eduard were never reconciled again. Petrus Hermanus Viviers Battalion was accidentally • 1978 - UN Security Council and incendiaries were Cornelius Mostert from 5 • 1942 - RAF bombs Ham- from 3 SAI accidentally killed when he was run over endorses Western plan for dropped by the Allies. SAI, attached to SWA SPES burg. drowned while his patrol by a Samil 20 in Lenz Base. ending guerrilla warfare in • 1945 - Kamikaze sink their (SWATF) was killed when • 1944 - The U.S. Army be- was crossing the Kavango He was 23. Southwest Africa and mak- last ship, the USS ‘Cal- his Buffel Troop Carri- gan desegregating its train- River. His foot got stuck be- • 1994 - The Department of ing it independent new state laghan’ (DD-792), off er overturned in Northern ing camp facilities. Black tween rocks in deep water Defence is allocated some of Namibia. Okinawa. Owamboland. He was 18. platoons were then assigned and by the time assistance Rl0.5 billion, more than 8.7 • 1985 - Rifleman James Rich- • 1960 - Dag Hammarskjold, • 1988 - Rifleman Sipho Brian to white companies in a first arrived and he was freed, per cent of the budget. ard Willard Rudd from 3 secretary-general of the UN, Msomi from 121 Battalion step toward battlefield in- he had already drowned. He SAI was killed in a military arrives in the Congo to try to was Killed in Action during tegration. However, the of- was 18. 27 July vehicle accident at Omauni. end the civil war. a contact with FRELIMO ficial order integrating the • 1979 - Corporal David Mi- • 1901 - Second Anglo-Bo- He was 18. • 1972 - Two members from Forces at Muzi, near Jozini armed forces didn’t come chael Muller from 2 Special er War: Chief Commandant • 1987 - Rifleman Andre the Army Services School on the Mozambique border. until July 26, 1948, signed Service Battalion died from C.R. De Wet, operating in Hartzenberg from Infantry were killed in a military ve- He was 27. by President Harry Truman. injuries sustained in a mili- the Bethlehem district, is- School was killed in a Mil- hicle accident at Voortrek- • 1944 - Russian troops arrive tary vehicle accident on the sues instructions to Com- itary Vehicle Accident at the kerhoogte. They were: Pri- 29 July on the Vistula. 23 July 1979 when his Lan- mandant Willem D. Fouche Infantry School Training vate Carel David Aucamp • 1900 - The Alabama, Amer- • 1945 - The U.S. Cruiser Indi- drover overturned approxi- in the Eastern Cape Colony Centre in Oudtshoorn. He Labuschagne (18). Private ican raider of the Southern anapolis arrived at Tinian Is- mately 8km from Jozini. He to summarily execute any was 19. Jonathan Peter Knight (18). States during the American land in the Marianas with an was 22. armed Blacks they capture. • 1990 - Rifleman Alan Full- • 1979 - Rifleman Ignatius Civil War, arrives in Saldana unassembled Atomic bomb, • 1981 - Lance Corporal Mi- • 1909 - Orville Wright er from 3 SAI was acciden- Matheus Fick Du Plessis Bay for provisions. met by scientists ready to chael Steven Hadlow from demonstrates a plane for the tally killed at the Vooruitsig from 5 SAI was accidental- • 1900 - Second Anglo-Bo- complete the assembly. 44 Parachute Regiment US Army, flying 72 minutes. Shooting Range after being ly killed at Elundu after be- er War: General Marthi- • 1953 - The beginning of Fi- Pathfinder Company was • 1943 - Stalin issues Order struck by a bullet that rico- ing struck by a bullet from nus Prinsloo, leader of the del Castro’s revolutionary Killed in Action during a No. 227: “Panic makers and cheted off a stone wall at the a fellow soldiers unattended Republican forces in the “26th of July Movement.” contact with enemy forces cowards must be liquidated range. He was 21. rifle when the weapon dis- In 1959, Castro led the re- in Southern Angola. He was on the spot. Not one step • 1995 - Korean War Veter- charged after it fell over and bellion that drove out dic- 25. backward . . . !” ans Memorial dedicated in hit the ground. He was 21. tator Fulgencio Batista. Al- • 1981 - Two members from • 1944 - First British jet fight- Washington. • 1980 - Corporal Johan Hein- though he once declared that Jozini Military Base were er enters combat, the Gloster • 2004 - Sixty-seven of the rich Wasserman from Air Cuba would never again be killed when their military Meteor. sixty-nine suspected merce- Force Headquarters was ruled by a dictator, Castro’s vehicle overturned near • 1944 - Soviets liberate naries plead guilty to lesser killed when his military ve- government became a Com- Jozini. They were: Corpo- Majanek Concentration charges of violating Zimba- hicle that was parked next to munist dictatorship. ral Rory Clyde Joliffe (19). Camp. bwe’s immigration and civil the Ben Schoeman Highway • 1957 - USSR launches its Rifleman Samuel Matenjwa • 1953 - The undeclared Ko- aviation laws. near Pretoria, was crushed first intercontinental multi- (34). rean War ends, after three stage ballistic missile. • 1988 - Swapo claims SA is years of fighting between 28 July • 1968 - Candidate Officer moving military equipment North Korean and Chi- • 1914 - World War I: Aus- Bruce Spafford Human and troops to the Ango- nese Communists against tria-Hungary declares war from Central Flying School la-South West Africa border. the United Nations forces on Serbia a month after the Dunnottar was killed when • 1989 - Private Johannes (mainly South Korean and murder on Archduke Fer- his AT-6 Harvard crashed Gysbertus de Klerk from American). dinand in Sarajevo. World Joseph near Balfour while on a rou- 16 Maintenance Unit was • 1954 - Armistice divides Vi- War I begins. Stalin tine general flying training killed in a Military Vehicle etnam in two. • 1943 - During World War II, 78 79 This month in military history ... July This month in military history ... July Brandwater Basin, sends when a fellow guard acci- 24. 31 July killed in a military vehicle ost School was killed when an emissary to Gen. Hunt- dentally dropped his loaded • 1982 - Rifleman Daryl Peter • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer accident at Kimbezi in East- his SAMIL 50 overturned at er, asking a 4-day armistice. rifle and a shot went off, hit- Croeser of 61 Mechanised War: General De la Rey ar- ern Caprivi. He was 21. the Army Battle School. He Hunter refuses and insists ting him in the head. He was Battalion was Killed in Ac- rests ex-General Schoeman • 1982 - Rifleman Domingo was 18. on unconditional surrender. 19. tion in Southern Angola on his farm near Pretoria for Dala Denge from 32 Bat- • 1990 - The chief of the SA • 1949 - Berlin Airlift ends, as • 1988 - Sergeant Zacharias during Ops Meebos when refusing to obey an order to talion was Killed in Action defence force, Gen. Jannie Soviets end blockade. Eduardo from 32 Battalion Ratel 72 detonated a double escort a convoy of supply during a contact with enemy Geldenhuys, announces that • 1953 - Soviets shoot was killed in a military ve- boosted Yugoslavian TMA- wagons. forces in Southern Angola. the Citizens Cooperation down US patrol bomber hicle accident. He was 35. 3 Cheese mine. He was 19. • 1917 - World War I: Third He was 30. Bureau (CCB) will be dis- northeast of Vladivostok. • 1991 - Major Wilfred de • 1986 - Lance Corporal R.H. Battle of Ypres (Passchen- • 1987 - Airman Jacques de banded. • 1965 - Private Petrus Fred- Koker from 1 Reconnais- Makaranga from 202 Bat- daele) begins (ends Nov. Villiers Snyders from TEK • 1991 - Two members from erick Johannes Kruger from sance Regiment was acci- talion SWATF was Killed in 10th), perhaps 500,000 die Base was killed in a pri- 111 Battalion were killed the Army Service Corps died dentally killed while partic- Action during a contact with or are injured on both sides. vate motorcycle accident in when their military vehicle from a gunshot wound acci- ipating in a night parachute SWAPO/PLAN insurgents. • 1925 - Last Allied occupa- Central Pretoria when his that was transporting pa- dentally sustained at Brits. training exercise at the He was 25. tion forces leave the Rhine- motorcycle collided with a tients to 1 Military Hospital, He was 18. Hellsgate Training Area. He • 1987 - Rifleman Johannes land. truck at the intersection of overturned on the N4 High- • 1969 - Lieutenant Andrew le was 32 Petrus Wessels Groenewald • 1970 - Black Tot Day: Par- Church and Rebecca Street. way near Cullinan. They Roux from 8 Squadron was • 2003 - Sierra Leonean rebel from 8 SAI was critical- liament abolishes the Royal He was 18. were: Rifleman Bonisani killed when his AT-6 Har- leader Foday Sankoh, who ly Injured and paralysed in Navy’s 330 year tradition • 1987 - Rifleman Louis Sam- Abednego Sibuyi (27). Ri- vard crashed into the Rust- had been in United Nations a landmine explosion near of a daily issue of grog, re- uel Du Piesanie from In- fleman Morris Mavabaza fontein Dam. He was 23. custody since 2000 and was Katima Mulilo on 14 July placing it with a daily can of fantry School was killed in Simbine (33). • 1980 - Sapper Hans Wolf- awaiting trial on charges 1983. He was placed into a beer. a private motor vehicle ac- • 1991 - George H.W. Bush gang Pfeffer from the South of mass murder and other care facility after discharge • 1978 - Sapper Louis Fran- cident 8km from Beaufort and Mihail Gorbachev sign African Engineer Corps crimes, dies at a hospital in from 1 Military Hospital but cois Porter from 46 Survey West. He was 23. the Strategic Arms Reduc- died in 1 Military Hospital Freetown, after a stroke. three years later, compli- Squadron, South African • 1989 - Private Edward Ste- tion Treaty. after contracting cerebral cations arose as a result of Corps of Engineers, was phen Cooper from the Prov- meningitis while serving in 30 July these injuries and gangrene the Operational Area. He • 1900 - Second Anglo-Bo- set in. He was re-admitted was 24. er War: General Marthi- to 1 Military Hospital where • 1982 - Rifleman Johan Wil- nus Prinsloo surrenders in he died on 30 July 1987. He helm Christiaan Scheepers the Brandwater Basin, near was 24. from 5 SAI was killed while Clarens. Some generals re- • 1987 - An ANC car bomb on official duty when his fuse to surrender and escape attack directed at the head- private motor vehicle over- through Golden Gate with quarters of the Wits Com- turned while he was on his about 1,500 men. mand, takes place in Quartz way to attend a military pa- • 1909 - US Army accepts de- Street, Johannesburg. One rade. He was 18. livery of its first military air- person is killed and six- • 1983 - Rifleman Andre Jor- plane. ty-eight are injured. daan from 3 SAI was Killed • 1966 - US airplanes bomb • 2002 - President Joseph in Action in a landmine ex- demilitarized zone in Viet- Kabila of the Democrat- plosion in Northern Owam- nam. ic Republic of the Congo boland. He was 19. • 1979 - Sapper Colin Ste- and Rwandan President • 1986 - Rifleman Martin Jo- phen Rees from the School Paul Kagame sign a peace hannes Botes from 2 SAI of Engineers died from a agreement intended to bring was killed while standing gunshot wound accidentally an end to the civil war that guard duty at the Seleleke- sustained while he was sta- started in 1998. More than Third Battle of Ypres la High School in Soweto tioned at Kroonstad. He was 2,5-million people died. 80 81 quiz Military Aircraft Roundels Despatches 1. India 2. Portugal 7 Website 3. Cuba 4. Russia 5. Angola 6. Republic of China (Taiwan) “Things don’t have to 7. Israel change the world to be 8. Bangladesh important.” 9. Chile Steve Jobs 10. Egypt 11. UK (Royal Air Force) 12. Zambia 13. USA 14. Syria 15. People’s Republic of China

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