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No.137 SQUADRON

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No.137 SQUADRON DO RIGHT, FEAR NAUGHT strength, 6 Officers & 9 Sergeants, with a total of 18 28th OCTOBER 1941 aircraft. The remaining 7 Pilots were undergoing Sgt James Reginald Rebbetoy RCAF arrived for flying intensive training & the aircraft lacking in some duties from No.56 OTU. This new Squadron was ordered to be formed at RAF essentials of Operational equipment were being put Sgt Brennan was carrying out practice single-engine Colerne on 20th September 1941 under Fighter through the preliminary gun testing on the ranges at landings when one of his engines cut. He landed at Command Signal Q109 of 12th September 1941 to be Sand Bay. Training Operations were carried out & 2 Colerne with the undercarriage retracted & the equipped with Whirlwind Mk. I aircraft. S/L John pilots carried out Air-to-Sea firing. aircraft was damaged. Sample DFC was posted to command on the date of S/L Sample with Sgt Peskett took off from Base to do formation. The site of formation was subsequently 24th a formation practice, with practice attacks to be changed from Colerne to the satellite aerodrome of 1st Operational Sorties carried out by Sgt Luing who took off 10 minutes Charmy Down, as the Squadron was to replace S/L Sample & F/O Clark flew to the Forward Base at later. All 3 aircraft carried out turns at about 1,000 No.125 Sqn, & in short time the personnel began to Predannack & landed there without incident, feet for some minutes & Sgt Luing broke away on the arrive. followed by Sgt Häggberg as reserve. Refueling & Squadron Leaders orders to carry out the 1st attack. crystal changing. The objective was railway sidings On approaching for the 2nd attack, Sgt Luing saw the F/L Joseph Grantley Hughes & Sgt Douglas St. John at Landernau near Brest, where it had been Squadron Leaders aircraft going down out of Jowitt arrived from No.263 (Whirlwind) Sqn for previously reported trains of fuel containers had control, with part of the tailplane coming off. The flying duties on 22nd September 1941. Orders were been seen. They crossed the French Coast at 500-600 machine was in a spin, & when close to the ground, sent out by Fighter Command to various feet. Both attacked, but the fuel containers had Sgt Luing saw S/L Sample leave his machine & his Maintenance Units for the delivery of 18 aircraft evidently been moved. No opposition from the parachute open, but his canopy did not open, & the Operationally equipped, & this number was held on ground or air was experienced, but 2 Bf.109s were he landed on the roof of some farm buildings near charge in the Squadron as at 30th September 1941. seen near Brest. S/L Sample attacked some coal English Coombe. The aircraft landed on the same trucks from which smoke was seen, whilst F/O Clark buildings & burst into flames. S/L John Sample was The strength of the Squadron as at 30th September attacked a large Loco & Trucks. He left it enveloped killed. Sgt Peskett reported that his aircraft was 1941 was 3 Officers; 1 Sgt Pilot; 12 Senior NCOs & in steam. The 2 aircraft returned safely to Forward bumped but remained under control & he returned 165 Other Ranks. Base, & in company with Sgt Häggberg left there & immediately to Base & landed. His aircraft was found returned safely to Base. to be damaged but repairable on the unit. He did not Owing to the lack of facilities & equipment, the see anything of the Squadron Leaders crash. After maintenance & inspection of the aircraft was carried To Forward Base - Predannack. seeing the crash, Sgt Luing returned to Base & out from RAF Filton, & this necessitated the transfer P7053 S/L John Sample DFC reported the accident. of part of the Maintenance Flight to that station, the P7050 F/O Colin Anthony Gordon Clark rest remaining at Charmy Down. Flying up to the end P7094 Sgt Ralph Otto Gustaf Häggberg 30th of the month consisted of transport flights to & from Sgt Maurice John Peskett posted. Filton & some training flying by S/L Sample DFC, Mandolin who had not previously flown Whirlwind aircraft. Railway Sidings at Landernau, Brest. Mandolin P7053 S/L John Sample DFC Landernau Rail Yards near Brest. Left Base for 1st-19th P7050 F/O Colin Anthony Gordon Clark Predannack, which was reached 1 hour later. F/O RAF Charmy Down Clark & Sgt Jowitt crossed The Channel at 1,000 feet This record covers 1st-19th October, as 1 Flight was From Forward Base to Base. & the French Coast at Pontusval. The target was made Operational on 20th, & the record carries on P7053 S/L John Sample DFC found, & trains of Goods Wagons were seen in the from that date. Training carried out continuously P7050 F/O Colin Anthony Gordon Clark Yards. Attacks were made from 300 feet & hits were throughout the 19 days, the weather in general P7094 Sgt Ralph Otto Gustaf Häggberg observed with resultant black smoke, but no definite being good for the time of year. The operation of results. On the return journey, Sgt Jowitt overtook flying aircraft to Sand Bay for Air Firing Tests 25th F/O Clark who was seen to be flying on 1 engine. He continued & all serviceable aircraft were so tested. A Air Firing Tests in Sand Bay. called him up on the R/T but was unable to total of 171 flying hours was reached & pilot understand the reply, so climbed to 1,500 feet & strength increased from 3 as of 30th September, to 15 26th weaved around F/O Clark. As his petrol was then on 19th October, consisting of 6 Officers & 9 Mandolin running short, he made for Forward Base & lost sight Sergeants. These new postings were transfers from Low-level attack on Goods Yards at Landiviseau. F/L of the other aircraft, but when just short of the No.263 Sqn, & subsequently enabled the Squadron to Hughes & Sgt Robertson with Sgt Peskett as reserve, English Coast he heard F/O Clark say that he would show a Flight of Operationally trained pilots. left Base for Predannack. The first 2 named pilots have to bale out. Sgt Jowitt landed safely at Personnel strength was well up to establishment & it carried out a low-level attack on the Landiviseau Predannack, but F/O Colin Anthony Gordon Clark could be said that good progress had been made by Goods Yards in north-west France. Landfall was did not report. He was picked up about 26 miles the Squadron in the month since its formation. made 4 miles west of Ile de Batz, & an attack was south of Lizard Point by a destroyer but died on made on a Train of covered trucks at 150 feet, & a 2nd board. There is no news as to the cause of his death 1st attack from 400 feet. Hits were observed & smoke at present. His body was taken to Plymouth by the P/O Alexander Torrance & F/S Joseph Laurier seen. A wireless mast 5 miles north of Landiviseau destroyer & deposited in the R.N. Hospital at DeHoux RCAF arrived for flying duties from No.56 was attacked & damaged. Landfall was made at Stonehouse. Reconnaissance attempts by Sgt OTU. Lizard Point. No air or ground opposition & no Robinson, the reserve pilot, were made from shipping observed. R/T was good, & contact was Predannack, & a Lysander dropped a dinghy close to 8th made 60 miles from Base at 200 feet. F/L Hughes F/O Clark, but he was not seen to make any attempt P/O John Clifford Lawton, P/O George William burst his tail wheel on landing at Forward Base, & to get into it. As no opposition was encountered Martin, Sgt Ralph Otto Gustaf Häggberg, Sgt John Sgt Peskett remained to fly the damaged machine either from the ground or air, F/O Clark could not Frederick Luing, Sgt Jack Maddocks, Sgt Hugh Leo back after repair. have been wounded, & it is supposed that he was O’Neill, Sgt Maurice John Peskett, Sgt Basil Lionel P7096 F/L Joseph Grantley Hughes injured when his aircraft hit the water & sank. Robertson, Sgt John Anthony William Sandy arrived P7107 Sgt Basil Lionel Robertson P7050 Sgt Douglas St. John Jowitt for flying duties from No.263 Sqn. P7050 Sgt Maurice John Peskett P7091 F/O Colin Anthony Gordon Clark P7107 Sgt Basil Lionel Robertson 20th 27th It has been decided that the Squadron should make Cross-country, aerobatics & air combat practice. 31st every effort to have 1 Flight Operational by this date Sgt John Edward McClure RCAF & Sgt John Robert Air Firing at Sand Bay. & this was accomplished with a total of 8 Brennan RCAF arrived for flying duties from No.263 Operational Pilots & 12 aircraft, this Record for the Sqn. Squadron commences. There were 15 Pilots on 13th 23rd NOVEMBER 1941 Patrol 1 aircraft to Swanton Morley for inspection & P7037 F/S Basil Lionel Robertson identification purposes by the Observer Corps. RAF Charmy Down P7096 Sgt Hugh Leo O’Neill 1st Scramble After being Semi-Operational from 20th October, the 15th P7050 P/O Douglas St. John Jowitt Squadron was made Non-Operational under orders Sgt Douglas St. John Jowitt to P/O. P7036 Sgt John Robert Brennan RCAF from No.10 Group HQ. This was partly because it had P/O Martin & Sgt Brennan, after being marooned at lost S/L John Sample DFC on 28th October & F/O Charmy Down since 11th were able to return. 24th Colin Clark, on 30th. It was also due in part to the An Oxford arrived for twin-engine training.
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