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The Tangmere Logbook Magazine of the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Summer 2016 Jets over the Atlantic Mustang Bale-out • A Wife’s Tale Danish Presentation Spitfires • Donavon Smith Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Trust Company Limited Patron: The Duke of Richmond and Gordon Hon. President: Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller, KBE Hon. Life Vice-President: Alan Bower Hon. Life Vice-President: Duncan Simpson, OBE Council of Trustees Chairman: Group Captain David Baron, OBE David Burleigh, MBE Reginald Byron David Coxon Dudley Hooley Peter Lee Ken Shepherd Bill Walker Joyce Warren Officers of the Company Hon. Treasurer: Ken Shepherd Hon. Secretary: Joyce Warren Management Team Director: Dudley Hooley Curator: David Coxon General Manager: Peter Lee Engineering Manager: Reg Lambird Events Manager: Jason Riches Publicity Manager: Pam Marsden Staffing Manager: Len Outridge Treasurer: Ken Shepherd Shop Manager: Sheila Shepherd Registered in England and Wales as a Charity Charity Commission Registration Number 299327 Registered Office: Tangmere, near Chichester, West Sussex PO20 2ES, England Telephone: 01243 790090 Fax: 01243 789490 Website: www.tangmere-museum.org.uk E-mail: [email protected] 2 The Tangmere Logbook The Tangmere Logbook Magazine of the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Summer 2016 All for a Caterpillar 4 I survived a mid-air collision over Germany Ray D. Stebbings A Pilot’s Wife’s Tale 9 Waiting at home for news of Ray Effie M. Stebbings Danish Spitfires at War 14 The Danish pilots who few with the RAF, and their aircraft Mikkel Plannthin Donavon Smith 22 Tangmere’s second USAF squadron commander Reginald Byron Jets over the Atlantic 26 The story of a historic event in 1948 Letters, Notes, and Queries 28 Life at Tangmere, 1954-55; and The Fastest Woman on Earth Published by the Society of Friends of the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Tangmere, near Chichester, West Sussex PO20 2ES, England Edited by Dr Reginald Byron, who may be contacted care of the Museum at the postal address given above, or by e-mail at [email protected] Copyright © 2016 by the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Trust Company All rights reserved. ISSN 1756-0039 The men of No. 234 (Madras Presidency) Squadron pose for a formal group portrait with a Spitfire Vb at North Weald, 1944. The author is seated at the right-hand end of the second row. All for a Caterpillar Ray D. Stebbings I joined the Caterpillar Club on 15th the other chaps. “What’s the form?” January 1945. I know I couldn’t re- one would ask. “Dunno” would be the member very much about it at the time, laconic reply. and even a lot less now. However, I Some would pick up reading matter, kept a diary in a small exercise book some would take a few deep breaths of given to me by a Swedish YMCA man pure oxygen from a cylinder and mask who came to inspect, as did the Interna- at the ready (pilots for the use of). Oth- tional Red Cross on occasions. ers would start a card game. The con- I imagine the day was much like any versation might turn to the previous other — a good breakfast in the officers’ evening in the mess or in the local pub. mess, perhaps in silence after a boister- As the air of expectancy (or tension, ous, noisy evening, and too much beer because that’s what it was) built up, the the night before. Anyhow, pilots on conversation and laughter got louder operations did get real eggs whereas and louder. It’s remarkable how jolly the rest of the station had to stomach we could become. powdered egg. A drive down to “dis- All the time there was a wariness persal” to the squadron Nissen hut and and alertness creeping in amongst the exchange a few grunted greetings with majority of pilots. Not with all though. 4 The Tangmere Logbook Some, it seems, were quite clueless already on their feet before the com- about what was going on about them. manding officer entered the flight The flight sergeant in charge of the room. “OK chaps, show on, briefing ground crew working on the aircraft 11.00 hours and early lunch 11.45”. A dispersed about the perimeter, known quick confirmation, glance at the board as “Chiefy”, would enter and chalk up and on our way over to the intelligence on the board the availability of aircraft officer’s (the “Spy’s”) briefing room. on the “squadron strength”, in other Usual pandemonium, from the few words the serviceability or unservice- clueless ones: “Who’s on?”, “Am I on?”, ability of each particular aircraft. We “Which kite have I got?” were No. 234 Squadron, equipped with Briefing consisted of a detailed North American P-51 Mustangs, and weather report, seldom accurate, exact stationed at RAF Bentwaters, in Suffolk. route on a large wall map. One hun- dred and fifty bombers targeting Lan- dreeveer, Solingen, and Bochum, and bombing from 20,000 feet, seventeen squadrons of fighters, top cover, flank cover, or whatever, at 26-30,000 feet! Bombers from anywhere in East Anglia or Yorkshire, taking off at 10.00 hours, laboriously climbing up and up with full bomb loads to cross out over Bournemouth, and reach the French coast near Bordeaux at the desired alti- tude. We fighters were to pick them up as they cross into Germany, stay with them, and bring them out again. The bombers could log up to eight hours, but with our speed, later take-off and earlier landing, probably less than three hours. Ray with a Mustang III, to which 234 Squadron converted after D-Day. The fact that one’s particular aircraft was withdrawn as u/s did not neces- sarily mean that there was no flying. There might be a shortage of pilots due to any reason like missing on opera- tions, forced landing away from base, sick or on leave. So the flight com- mander could be seen toying with the chalk, trying to make up a flight of six pilots and aircraft should there sud- denly be a “show” on. Two flights of six make up a squadron of fighters. The telephone would ring in the squadron commander’s office, and ears would strain for any part of his conver- Ray (on the right) with squadron colleagues and sation over the phone. The alert were another Mustang. Summer 2016 5 We were briefed on the proximity of of sky is a very complicated manoeu- any known German anti-aircraft batter- vre. Actually only one pilot is flying — ies on our planned route. A pep talk the squadron leader — and the two sec- and encouragement from “The Boss”, tion leaders are flying on him. The prepare maps, study the route and de- other three pilots in each section fly on tails of operation, and then off to an their section leader (that is to say, for- early lunch in the mess. The “show” is mation is maintaining a position rela- not mentioned — “careless talk costs tive to standstill). The No. 4 in each lives” was displayed everywhere on section has to keep an eye on both his placards. Back to the flight line after section leader and also on the No. 3. lunch to get into flying gear and out to Radio silence was broken. “Huns the aircraft. We know our time for up!”, but without knowing the position take-off so we sit in the cockpit all of the caller, and poor visibility, one’s ready to go. All eyes are on the squad- neck had to gyrate through about 180 ron leader’s plane. All aircraft are degrees frequently to search one’s angle plugged in to a starter-acc trolley, and of vision in the formation. In these as soon as the blades of the prop turn turning and twisting conditions, the sky on the CO’s plane, thumbs-up to the lad can be full of aeroplanes and empty on the starter-acc and “push the tit”! within seconds. The German ack-ack We taxi along the peri-track onto the was always very accurate, and at any runway in use and line up three vics of altitude, if one maintained a straight four aircraft, and away we go. Roaring and level course for any length of time, down the runway, each vic of four, shells would burst very close indeed. closely following the section in front. “Scarecrows” were also put up by the Wheels selected up the second they Huns: a special shell would burst with leave the ground and quickly form up huge flame and black smoke to un- in squadron formation for the long nerve pilots thinking it was an explod- climb to rendezvous. ing aircraft due to a direct hit. The long slow climb through cloud So, it was this scene when it all hap- in tight formation with piston-engined pened, suddenly and unexpectedly, a aircraft is very arduous, especially No. million-to-one chance, or so it is said. 4 in each of the three sections. The lead Later, in the “Bag”, I wrote a diary, as section climbs on course and the two mentioned before, and I will now quote wing sections vary their course one de- verbatim from that. My memory still gree port and one degree starboard re- remains very hazy, so whether what I spectively, hopefully still within sight, have written is strictly accurate or and able to re-join when emerging out partly a figment of my imagination I on top of the cloud. will never know. The weather was lousy, 10/10ths January 15th 1945: Don’t remember cloud all the way up, and once on top, much about the accident.

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