Dropzone Issue 1

HARRINGTON AVIATION MUSEUMS VOLUME 6 ISSUE 1 THE DROPZONE SPRING 2009 Editor: John Harding Publisher: Fred West ‘C’ Class Radar Project—Norway INSIDE THIS ISSUE: By Ron Clarke Radar Project 1 In May 1940 British forces were dis- was mounted to fire downwards. Fi- patched to Norway to try and stem the nally, another gun was mounted in a Editorial 3 German advance. Gloster Gladiator hatch cut in the top fuselage just in fighter planes were sent on an aircraft front of the tail. carrier and other aircraft, based in Brit- Obituary 3 ain, flew sorties against the German For good measure, two broom- army units. sticks were fixed in the extreme tail, The Short Stirling 4 and it was hoped that these would be It was considered vital to provide ra- mistaken for cannons! Ammunition dar based Information for the few fight- for the guns was carried in forty five Pubs and Bikes 5 ers available, so a mobile radar unit 97 round magazines that were stored was hurriedly taken to Invergordon by in two boxes in the centre of the fuse- Roger Hall 6 ship from where it was to be flown to lage. Norway in two ex-Imperial Airways ‘C’ James Heddleson 11 Class flying boats. These were named The radar unit was duly embarked, Cabot and Caribou. and on May 10th the graceful flying boats took off heading north-east for These large flying boats had been the 800 mile flight to Bodo, high on provided with makeshift gun positions the Norwegian coast. They landed to offer some deterrent in the event of in the evening and a Royal Air Force interception. Seven Class K 303 ma- unit that had been sent on ahead, OTHER POINTS OF chine guns were mounted at various unloaded the vital detection equip- positions in the hulls; one in the port ment and proceeded to set up the INTEREST and starboard windows of the main aerials and generators. · Major-General Antonin Petrak passenger cabin, and one at the top hatch amidships. It was the season of continual day- · Visit of Linda Hall light and no cover was available for · Visit by The Worshipful Mayor of Two more guns were mounted for- the moored aircraft whose crews had Kettering ward in port and starboard windows been instructed to stand by should a and a hatch was cut in the bottom hull hurried evacuation become neces- aft, clear of the waterline, where a gun sary. Short S.23 Empire flying boat Cabot. Riding ‘on the step’ late 1938 PAGE 2 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 1 In spite of a valiant action by the Gladiators that death for the towing party if they were caught in the accounted for several German aircraft, and a vi c- open sea. tory by the Royal Navy at Narvik, the German advance continued, and it was obvious that nothing The flying boat was moored in the inlet and eve- more could be done to prevent Norway from being rything possible was done to conceal it by draping it overrun. The detachment at Bodo was still operat- with netting. However the next day two Junkers 88 ing, but the order to withdraw was expected at any aircraft appeared and, after strafing the radar site, moment. found Caribou and blew it out of the water with 100 kg bombs. The two big planes at anchor were an That brought to an end the Bodo project and as easy target the personnel had no means of escape, they eventually became prisoners of the advancing Germans. Miraculously, the only casualty was a hand wound suffered by the Captain of the Cabot while defend- One evening the radar detected an aircraft com- ing his ship. ing in from the sea that was eventually identified as a Dornier 24 flying boat. The Dornier pilot saw the two aircraft at their anchorage and came in low for HAMS Christmas Dinner, 2008 a strafing attack. The crews of Cabot and Caribou, along with some of the ground staff, manned the On Monday 1st December 2008 HAMS members machine guns and waited for the Dornier to make and guests met at the usual venue, Market Harbor- its second run. Once more the crackle of machine ough Golf Club, for the annual Christmas dinner. gun fire echoed around the high cliffs as the black seaplane pressed home the attack, but the Vickers In spite of being unwell in the late summer, Vera guns on Cabot and Caribou could not get into the still managed to organise the event and everyone correct position to counter an attack from above. enjoyed a good meal in good company. Once more Mick Gray did a fine job of running the raffle The two big planes at anchor were an easy tar- and with around twenty prizes to hand out I’m sure get and incendiary bullets from the Dornier’s nose he was glad when it was all over. mounted guns pierced the fuel tanks of Cabot, and the entire wing exploded into flame. The fire Please book early for this year’s shindig. quickly spread into the fuselage and the crew had no option but to abandon the aircraft. The Caribou was undamaged and to everyone’s relief the Dorn- ier turned and flew inland, probably having ex- pended all or most of its ammunition. Correction In the last issue of the DropZone, in the article Miraculously, the only casualty was a concerning Lilian Rolfe, I made reference to the fact that on the night that Lilian was flown to hand wound France, Violette Szabo was also flown to France in a Carpetbagger aircraft. Tom Ensminger, 801st Historian, has pointed out that Violette flew with the It was obvious that another attack would soon fol- Carpetbaggers only on her second mission in June low, so a means had to be found to protect the 1944. On the 5th April 1944, Violette was trans- Caribou, the detachments only means of escape. ported by an aircraft from 161 Squadron based at The first essential was to do something about the RAF Tempsford. FW. shining silver finish of Imperial Airways – even the house flag was still displayed – so the crew went in search of paint. Cans of brown and green paint were eventually found and used to cover the upper New Exhibit surfaces of Caribou in what the crew hoped represented a camouflage pattern. Clive Bassett has presented the museum with the rudder section from a Messerschmitt 110. This The Officer Commanding then decided to tow is mounted in a case and has a card giving a brief the aircraft along the coast to a sheltered inlet, history of the artefact. where he intended to use nets in a further effort to keep it concealed from German aircraft. A motor It was presented to Mr. E. Clarke of Rushden by launch was used for the operation that took six the 305th Bombardment Group, Chelveston, in nerve-wracking hours, and all concerned knew that 1945 and originated from a German night fighter a further attack then would have meant certain base in France. PAGE 3 George White EDITORIAL It is with deep regret that we report the death of Welcome to our first edition of the DropZone George White after a long illness. George was a newsletter for 2009. regular volunteer at the Carpetbagger museum and had a life-long interest in aviation, starting as a During the past winter, which has been longer young boy during the Second World War. and harder than we have experienced for a number of years, things have not been standing still at He was befriended by US Airmen at Shoreham the museum thanks mainly to two or three of our and given the use of a derelict farm building on the stalwart members (Roy, Fred and Keith) who have base, from where he could observe the movement been actively working over many week-ends to en- of aircraft. sure that when we re-open for the summer months our museum will be looking as smart as we would George served with the RAF Regiment and after all like to see it. demobilization worked for an electrical wholesaler. His spare time activities included work with the Wel- With the winter closure of both museums we do lingborough Air Training Corps, the local branch of not, of course, have a lot to report but we can say the RAF Association, and service in the Civil De- that the Xmas dinner which was held at the Market fense Corps. Harborough Golf Club was again an outstanding success, thanks go to Vera for organising this and He was a staunch member of his local church, thanks also to Mick Gray for generously providing serving as Sexton, and he also served his commu- a vast number of prizes for the raffle. nity as a Parish Councillor. Somehow he then found time to work with the Airfield Research Group On the 21st March, thanks to Betty, Fred and (airfield archaeology). Tom, a luncheon was held at the village hall at Harrington at which 25 members attended. This George’s funeral took place at Wellingborough on was again a great success, bringing many of us Tuesday 31st March and Harrington Aviation Mu- together in a wonderful social atmosphere. Follow- seum Society was represented by Vera Tebbutt, ing this, there was even talk of holding a summer Ron Clarke and Fred West. barbecue ! We send our condolences to George’s widow, Prior to the re-opening of the museum during the Joyce, and their family.

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