DEFEAT TO VICTORY No.453 Squadron RAAF JOHN BENNETT WINNER OF THE 1993 HERITAGE AWARD DEFEAT TO VICTORY OFFICE OF AIR FORCE HISTORY LEVEL 3 TUGGEfMNONG CHURCHES CENTRE 205 ANKETELL STREET TUGGERANONG ACT 2900 AUSTRALIA Other titles in this series: Secret Action of 305 DEFEAT Smith &C Coghlan Winner of the 1988 Heritage Award The RAAF Mirage Story TO VICTORY Compiled by Wing Commander M.R. Susans No.453 Squadron RAAF Winner of the 1989 Heritage Award JOHN BENNETT Alfresco Flight— The RAAF Antarctic Experience David Wilson Winner of the 1990 Heritage Award Edge of Centre— The eventful life of Group Captain Gerald Packer Chris Coulthard-Clark Winner of the 1991 Heritage Award Beaufighters over New Guinea— No.30 Squadron RAAF 1942-1943 George Turnbull Dick Winner of the 1992 Heritage Award Royal Australian Air Force Museum An occasional series Number 6 CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Foreword ;x Prologue xi PARTI—DEFEAT i 1 Fortress in the Far East 3 2 Lumbering Buffaloes \ \ 3 Day of Infamy 17 First published in 1994 by 4 Early Setbacks 26 Royal Australian Air Force Museum RAAF Base 5 A Running Battle 36 Point Cook, Vic., 3029, Australia 6 Final Defeat 45 Copyright © Royal Australian Air Force Museum 7 No Suitable Australian 56 Production by Sylvana Scannapiego, Island Graphics Cover and text design by David Constable PART II—VICTORY 67 Edited by Ogma Writers 8c Editors Typeset in 11/12 pt Sabon by Solo Typesetting, South Australia 8 Spitfire Squadron 69 Printed in Australia by Impact Printing, Melbourne 9 Patrolling 79 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted 10 A First Encounter 87 in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, 11 Ramrods, Rodeos and Circuses 93 recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. 12 D-Day 105 Cataloguing-in-publication information 13 Summer on the Continent 114 Bennett, John (John William), 1949- . 14 House in the Wood 124 Defeat to victory: No. 453 Squadron RAAF. Bibliography. 15 The Taste of Victory 133 ISBN 0 642 19785 7. 16 A Letter Home 140 1. Australia. Royal Australian Air Force. Squadron, 453. 2. World War, 1939-1945— Aerial operations, Australian. Appendices 145 I. Royal Australian Air Force Museum. II. Title. (Series: Occasional series (Royal Australian Air Force Museum); no. 6). Glossary 184 940.544994 Bibliography 186 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work would not have been possible without access to the RAAF Historical Section in Canberra, and for that I thank the former Officer-in-Charge, Bob Piper, and his assistant, Steve Locke. Also the help of David Pullen and Jennette Colovatti of RAAF Records has enabled this to be a complete reference document. I thank also historian Lex McAulay for his guidance, which led to the assistance of Jim Yarra and Ross Currie. Ross, an ex-453 Spitfire pilot, was generous with his time and introduced me to Bill Morath, Fred Cowpe and Don Andrews. Don, a key player in 453’s activities in Europe, has provided the foreword to the book. I can think of no-one better qualified than Don Andrews (who served on 453 as a Flight Commander, CO and finally Wing Leader) to open this history of No.453 Squadron. I would also like to thank Russ Baxter and Jim Porteous for their photographic assistance. I hope that those who served on 453 can look upon this book as an accurate record of their service to their country. Finally, words of thanks to my mother, Dorothy Bennett, for her critical grammatical eye, and to my wife, Marijke, for her suggestions and understanding. FOREWORD Several months ago I was given the opportunity to read the draft of Defeat to Victory, the history of No.453 Squadron. It is a compre­ hensive and detailed record of the Squadron’s operations in both Malaya and Europe and surely will evoke telling memories and feelings for all who read it, particularly for those who served in the Squadron. The operational successes described in the book are events of which Squadron members can be proud. On the other hand the reminder of the loss of so many fine comrades is a stark feature of the grimmest aspect of war and something those of us remaining continue to grieve over. 453 Squadron had a somewhat unique existence in that it was first formed in Australia in July 1941 and after a short but courageous period in Malaya it was withdrawn to Australia and disbanded in March 1942. Three months later, however, the Squadron was reformed in the United Kingdom where it again performed with distinction. Soon after the cessation of hostilities it was again disbanded, once and for all. I was privileged to serve as a flight commander, squadron commander and wing commander with 453 Squadron in the European Theatre of Operations. While my comments are necessarily drawn from experience there, it is abundantly clear from this book that the esprit-de-corps, the enthusiasm, the skill and dedication displayed by the Squadron personnel in Europe only mirrored the same qualities which were very much in evidence in those who served in the Squadron during the Malayan campaign. Understandably a substantial content of the book relates to events IX surrounding the pilots and flying operations but it is pleasing that the vitally important activities and efforts of the ground personnel have been recognised. Their efficiency, wholehearted application and cheerful outlook, working all too often under very difficult conditions, provided great support to the morale of the pilots. At take-off, a cheerful ‘good luck’ and wave goodbye and on return a relieved PROLOGUE ‘welcome back — any luck?’ were indications of the strong teamwork and bond that existed between the ground staff and the aircrew. Highlighted in the book are a number of individuals who had a strong influence in creating and maintaining the Squadron spirit. Enlisting from a wide variety of civilian occupations, these leaders, each in his own way, left the stamp of their personalities on the Squadron. They welded a number of individuals into an efficiently operating unit, both on the ground and in the air, whose spirit, The Commanding Officer of No.453 Squadron RAAF was sitting camaraderie— call it what you will— may have been equalled but alert at Sembawang, Singapore, on the night of 7 December 1941. certainly was not surpassed anywhere. Flight Lieutenant Timothy Vigors DFC was a 20-year-old Irishman One of the heart warming features to emerge from the war is the serving in the RAF. He had been posted to the Far East to fly Buffalo fact that the strong bonds of mateship established then, have not fighters as a flight commander on No.243 Squadron. During the diminished over subsequent years. The impact that the Squadron absence of No.453 Squadron’s CO in Australia, Vigors was had on its members can be readily felt in the comments made by two temporarily appointed to command the Australian Squadron. pilots many years after the war had finished— they are indicative of It was on this clear moonlit night that the Japanese were to begin the spirit which still exists. One who flew Spitfires in Europe said, the Pacific War. The thirty minutes’ warning of the approach of ‘We flew the best aircraft in the world and we were in proud Japanese bombers in the early hours of 8 December spurred Vigors company’. The other commented, ‘Anything that ever happened to and his two Australian flight commanders, Flying Officers Doug me, happened in 453 — anything else is a non-event’. Vanderfield and Mick Grace, to prepare to take off and intercept. The unit badge of 453 Squadron, granted during the war years, However, their request to engage the enemy was refused. Vigors depicts a kookaburra perched on a branch, the motto underneath could not believe this response, and was prepared to go anyway. The reading ‘Ready To Strike’. While the motto fittingly applies to the three eager pilots were informed that if they took off they would be bird, it also reflects the spirit and attitude of the Squadron personnel. charged with disobeying orders. Their dismay was soon compounded It is indeed pleasing that the unit badge has been installed in the at 4 am by the sight of enemy bombers over Singapore. On this first floor of the famous St Clement Danes Church, London, in the night of the war 36 Japanese medium bombers attacked the British honourable company of many other squadron unit badges— a ‘fortress’ of the Far East, and no aircraft intercepted them. lasting memory to all who served in the Squadron and a permanent To Vigors and his fellow pilots the reason for this inaction was reminder of its existence. inexplicable. Furthermore, they were not called upon for the first The compilation of this book has entailed considerable research two days of the war. This frustration and apparent incompetence and delving into records fifty years old, as well as contact with men typified the war that 453 Squadron was to fight in the futile defence associated with the Squadron. The concept of the book has been a of Malaya and Singapore. laudable one, and the extent of information amassed and the way it has been presented is to be commended. Don Andrews PART ONE DEFEAT i CHAPTER ONE Fortress in the Far East During the 1920s and 1930s the British policy for their influence in the Far East hinged on the naval base at Singapore. Second only to the United Kingdom for the defence of the British Commonwealth, Singapore was planned to have the largest naval base in the region, with a small garrison and strong seaward defences.