by Gill Griffin
28 April: F/Lt Simms (Simmie) was the Unit Adjutant and joined AFDU when it was first formed, as a civilian Civil Service clerk. He was commissioned into the service and remained as the adjutant until soon after the war ended, when he returned to the Civil Service. We became great friends and remained in contact for many years. Our final meeting took place when I paid a visit to the RAF Maintenance Unit at Hartlebury, where he was stationed. Shortly after, he was posted elsewhere and sadly we lost contact.
Summary for:- April 1943 1 Spitfire Vb and Vc 4–20
Unit:- AFDU Duxford 2 Spitfire IX 9–45
Date:- 4/5/43 3 Spitfire XII 3–25
Signature: H.L. Thorne 4 Mustang X 1–20
5 Typhoon 3–30
6 Heston Phoenix 3–40
7 Oxford 1–45
8 Boston −20
9 Mosquito 1–30
TOTAL FOR MONTH: 27 hours 45 minutes
Signed J.H. Hallowes Squadron Leader
O/C Flying AFDU
YEAR 1943 AIRCRAFT Pilot or 1st Pilot 2nd Pilot, Pupil or Pass. DUTY (Including Results and Remarks) Flying Time Passenger
MONTH DATE Type No. Dual Solo
May 3rd Phoenix ? S/Ldr MacLachlan Self To Snailwell −35
Phoenix ? Self To base −35
Phoenix ? S/Ldr Hallowes Self To Hixon −45
Phoenix ? S/Ldr Hallowes Self To base −40
4th Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Target for cine gun −20
Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Testing modified gun-sight −35
Spitfire IX BS552 Self Handling with bomb racks fitted 1–05
5th Typhoon 622 Self Experience on type −10
Typhoon 622 Self Air experience 1–00
Spitfire IX BS552 Self Straight and level speed runs −45
7th Spitfire Vb AD318 Self Bombing runs 1–15
Spitfire IX BS552 Self Light-series bomb racks −15
Typhoon 622 Self Handling −50
10th Mustang X AM203 Self Test handling 1–05
Spitfire IX BS552 Self Glide bombing 5 to 3,000ft −40
Spitfire IX BS552 Self Handling with a 250lb bomb −50
12th Spitfire Vc AEF Self Handling, light-series racks −30
Spitfire Vc AEF Self Glide bombing, low level −30
13th Phoenix ? Self To North Luffenham −20
Phoenix ? Self To base −20
Spitfire IX BS552 Self Bombing, 7,000 to 4,000 feet −55
14th Spitfire IIb AFU Self To Woolfox −10
Spitfire IIb AFU Self Affiliation with Wimpy 1–25
Spitfire IIb AFU Self Co-op and return to base −35
Spitfire Vb AEP Self Bombing, 7,000 to 4,000 feet −30
Spitfire Vb AEP Self Bombing, 9,000 to 6,000 feet −30
15th Spitfire Vb AEP Self Bombing, 9,000 to 6,000 feet −25
Spitfire IX AF10 Self Operational scramble −10
Spitfire Vb AEP Self Bombing −30
Spitfire Vb AEP Self Bombing −30
18th Father of one
20th Tiger Moth AF1 Self F/Lt Brown Local −30
21st Spitfire Vb AEP Self Bombing −20
Boston ? W/Co Smith Self To Worthy Down −30
Spitfire XII EN222 Self To base 1–00
Spitfire Vb AEP Self Bombing −20
22nd Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Local −25
Phoenix ? F/O Corser Self To Digby −30
Phoenix ? F/O Corser Self & F/Lt Luing To base −40
23rd Mustang X AM203 Self Co-op with Mosquito −35
Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Speed runs −25
24th Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Bombing in formation −30
Spitfire XII AF2 Self Formation bombing −25
25th Phoenix ? Self F/Lt Joce To Manby −50
Phoenix ? F/Lt Sewell Self, Luing and Calder Viewing new bombing range −25
Spitfire XII AF2 Self Live bombing with 250 lb. bombs −20
Spitfire Vb AEP Self Live bombing with 250 lb. bombs −25
Spitfire Vb AEP Self Live bombing with 250 lb. bombs −30
Spitfire XII AF2 Self Live bombing with 250 lb. bombs −25
Spitfire XII AF2 Self Live bombing with 250 lb. bombs −10
Phoenix ? Self Sgt Green Watch ‘Susie’ bombing −15
Phoenix ? Self F/Lt Joce To base −40
26th Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Comparative dives versus a Mk IX −45
Spitfire IX AF10 Self Low-level bombing −25
27th Spitfire Vb AEP Self Bombing −20
Spitfire Vb AF6 Self To Duxford −20
Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Cine gun −20
Spitfire IX AF10 Self Cine gun −20
Spitfire IX AF10 Self To base −20
28th Spitfire IX AF10 Self Air test −35
Mustang X AM203 Self To Duxford −20
Mustang X AM203 Self To base −20
29th Spitfire XII EN222 Self Experience testing .511 reduction gear −30
Typhoon 622 Self Dive bombing −45
30th Spitfire Vb AEP Self To Digby −15
Tiger Moth AF1 F/Lt Sewell Self To base −25
Spitfire XII EN223 Self Dummy attacks on Mosquito −35
Spitfire Vb AUJ Self Test curved windscreen −15
Spitfire XII EN222 Self Target for the curved windscreen −15
31st Spitfire XII EN222 Self Aileron test −55
Spitfire XII EN222 Self Aileron test 1–00
Spitfire Vb AF8 Self Air test −20
GRAND TOTAL TO DATE 770 hours 55 minutes 3–30 8–25
60–00 699–00 12–45
5 May: When the Typhoon first went into Squadron service it suffered from engine trouble due, I believe, to air locks in the fuel system. On the first flight, when the engine coughed after take-off, I decided that a quick emergency landing was called for. We deliberately flew the Typhoon under varying conditions, in an attempt to reproduce the engine cutting that was worrying the squadron pilots. Needless to say, on these flights we stayed close to the airfield so that if one of us succeeded in producing an engine cut, a ‘dead stick’ landing could be made. It did not happen to me but one of the other pilots managed to get an engine cut at 6,000 feet over the airfield and successfully made a forced landing.
7 May: Spitfire Vb. This was the start of our experiments to develop methods of using fighters as bombers.
14 May: In these early days of using fighters for bombing, we were trying to develop techniques for accuracy as well as the best method. The safety of the pilot had to be considered, bearing in mind the murderous accuracy of German low-level flak.
15 May: At first bombing was a novelty but after a time I came to hate it; but our work was necessary. We first had to ascertain exactly what the Spitfire could carry, starting off with a single 250 lb. bomb, then one under each wing. Getting more ambitious, a single 500 lb. bomb was successfully carried under the centre section and finally the 500 pounder, plus a 250 lb. under each wing.
After November 1942, when General Montgomery, leading the 8th Army, drove the Germans out of North Africa following the battle of El Alamein, enemy fighter opposition was almost eliminated. From then on almost all Allied fighters were used more and more for ground attack.
This operational scramble was meant to be an attempt to intercept one of the high-flying JU 86s. These aircraft had been developed by the Germans for PRU operations; they had pressure cabins and although somewhat slow, could accelerate quickly in a dive, so were very difficult to catch. Shortly after take-off, I discovered that I had lost my radio and could not receive instructions from control. I had no alternative but to return to base and land. It was found that the radio connection had not been fully tightened and vibration caused it to fall off. It was one of two occasions when I had to put a ground staff member on a charge. In this instance the fitter (radio) was charged with carelessness and severely admonished, which went on his records. I was particularly upset as I had been scrambled early and stood a real chance of achieving an interception and adding to my score.
18 May: On 16t
h May I was given four days leave to take Estelle back to her family home in Redditch as our baby was due any day. On the morning of the 18th she was given a routine examination by her midwife, Mrs Gwen Jefferies, who switched to panic stations saying, ‘No way can she have this baby; she is too small!’ She called in the doctor, who agreed. Estelle was given an emergency admission to the Smallwood Hospital in Redditch, seen by Sir Beckwith Whitehouse, an eminent surgeon and immediately prepared for a caesarean section operation. The operation was successfully performed that evening, so Gill was born and, as is recorded in my logbook, I became a ‘father of one’.
At that time caesarean operations were still fairly rare and very much an emergency situation. Things did not go well for Estelle. There were no antibiotics and penicillin was not readily available for civilians. She remained in Smallwood Hospital, seriously ill, for three weeks, followed by a further week in bed at her mother’s home in Redditch, which was not a good place to be as the house was cold and inclined to be damp. Despite protests from her mother, I took Estelle and baby Gill to Poletrees Farm where, for the next two weeks, they were cared for by my sister Gwen and my mother. The baby had to be bottle-fed and I often wondered whether the same bottle was used to feed the motherless lambs! It was nearly two months before Estelle came back to me at Easton.
Meanwhile, bearing in mind the Walkers’ doubts about a new baby in the house, I had been scouring the neighbourhood for alternative accommodation. I had eventually found rooms some eight or ten miles from the airfield and informed Mr and Mrs Walker accordingly. They were taken aback and explained that their comments were only a passing concern; they really liked having Estelle and me and were sure there would be no baby problems. Good! So we stayed on at Chain Cottage. The new cot was installed on Estelle’s side of the bed. Baby Gill was always as good as gold; she and the Walkers took to one another on sight.
21 May: To Worthy Down. This was a well-earned promotion to Wing Commander for Squadron Leader Smith, though we said a sad farewell to Wing Commander Campbell-Orde.
25 May: F/Lt (later Squadron Leader) Joce was the Unit Armaments Officer, having taken over from Squadron Leader John Hobhouse (the Hon. John Hobhouse). Squadron Leader Joce was a short, thickset man, usually known as ‘Sawn off’.
These bombing tests were from straight and level flight; although very inaccurate, it was wrongly believed to be safer for the pilot. In a later flight, S/Ldr Tom Wade and I proved that there was no danger in releasing a bomb in a steep dive. There was more satisfaction in dropping live bombs and seeing the explosion on impact. Nine flights today. Is this a record? I believe it was for me, but we shall see!
28 May: It is obvious that we were still spending a lot of time at Duxford. The AFDU maintenance section continued to function for some time in No. 2 hangar, which also housed some of the offices. The boffins technical section, which was shared by NAFDU, were still there. Many years later in the making of the film The Battle of Britain, No. 2 hangar was made the main target of the Luftwaffe bombing and was completely destroyed; only the outline foundations can still be seen.
29 May: Dive bombing in a Tiffie was not, in my opinion, very much fun; the aircraft picked up speed quickly in a dive and there were a number of fatal accidents in training and on operations through leaving the pull-out too late.
30 May: During the next few weeks, while Estelle was in hospital back in Redditch, I moved back into the Duxford Officers’ Mess and spent a lot of time with ‘Susie’. He was good company, played a good game of snooker and usually beat me. His stock of service songs and stories was unbelievable. He had a number of female friends in the locality and on one occasion attempted to lead me into temptation. I rashly agreed to make up a foursome when we were invited for the evening at one lady’s house, somewhere over towards Peterborough. I spent the evening in the lounge writing a letter to Estelle.
The unit maintenance staff had learned about our expected happy event, so one day the Flight Sergeant Fitter (A), the A stands for ‘Airframes’, who was a skilled carpenter, invited me into his section for a chat. He asked whether we had a cot for the expected new baby. I said no, we were intending to buy a ‘utility’. He said he would make one for us and the maintenance staff would like to give it as a present. Of course I jumped at the offer, as utility furniture was pretty poor stuff. The new handcrafted cot was magnificent and was duly installed at Chain Cottage. It was beautifully made; even the metal fittings were hand-made in the station workshops. When, in 1945, the unit moved to Tangmere and we took up residence in the seaside village of Bracklesham Bay, it moved with us. When Gill had outgrown it, the cot went into storage to be brought out when Penny arrived in 1948. We eventually gave it to one of the office girls at Black and Luff, the Birmingham company of which I was a Director, in 1957 or ’58. I like to think that somewhere in her family it is still in use. In a letter I found among Estelle’s memorabilia and dated June 1st 1943 I had written: ‘F/Sergeant Bennett is getting on nicely with the new cot for the baby; he is a damn good chap and is making a splendid job of it.’
Summary for:- May 1943 1 Spitfire II & Vb 13–15
Unit:- AFDU Duxford 2 Spitfire IX 6–20
Date:- 2/6/43 3 Spitfire XII 5–35
Signature:- H.L. Thorne 4 Typhoon 2–45
5 Mustang X 2–20
6 Tiger Moth −55
7 Heston Phoenix 6–35
8 Boston −30
Total for the month: 37 hours 45 minutes
Signed J.L. Hallowe
O/C Flying AFDU
YEAR 1943 AIRCRAFT Pilot or 1st Pilot 2nd Pilot, Pupil or Pass. DUTY (Including Results and Remarks) Flying Time Passenger
MONTH DATE Type No. Dual Solo
June 1st Phoenix ? Self F/Lt Joce To Manby −35
Spitfire XII EN223 Self Bombing −35
Spitfire IX AF10 Self Bombing −45
Spitfire IX AF10 Self Bombing −40
Phoenix ? Self F/Sgt Rudman, F/Lt Joce To base −50
2nd Typhoon DN622 Self Low-level bombing −35
4th Typhoon DN622 Self Low-level bombing −30
Spitfire Vb AUJ Self Test curved windscreen −40
Spitfire XII EN222 Self Aileron test −15
Spitfire XII EN223 Self Engine cutting test −30
Tiger Moth AF1 Self To Westcott 1–00
5th Tiger Moth AF1 Self Westcott to Hockley Heath 1–15
7th Tiger Moth AF1 Self To base −50
Mustang 1A FD442 Self Camouflage test −50
10th Spitfire XII EN223 Self Engine cutting at Positive G −25
11th Spitfire XII EN223 Self Air test −15
12th Spitfire Vb AU-J Self Air firing −55
Typhoon DN290 Self To Manby −35
Typhoon DN290 Self Bombing −50
Typhoon DN622 Self Bombing −45
Typhoon DN622 Self To base −40
15th Hurricane IV KX581 Self Low flying VP attacks −55
16th Hurricane IV KX581 Self Low flying VP attacks −50
Hurricane IV KX581 Self Low flying live VP practice −45
Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Night flying test −15
Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Local −10
17th Mustang AM107 Self Speed runs −40
19th Spitfire Vb AU-J Self Air test −10
Spitfire XII EN222 Self Low flying attacks on a Mosquito −35
Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Night flying test −35
Spitfire Vb AF6 Self Local flying −40
20th Spitfire Vb AF9 Self Air test −25
Spitfire Vb AF8 Self To Lichfield −25
Spitfire Vb AF8 Self To Castle Bromwich −10
22nd Spitfire Vb AF8 Self To base −25
Typhoon EK290 Self High speed dive bombing −55
Spitfire IX AF10 Self Engine test −25
23rd Typhoon EK290 Self High speed dive bombing −40
24th Spitfire IX AF10 Self Army co-operation 1–40
25th Spitfire Vb AF8 Self Cine gun −30
Spitf
ire Vb AF8 Self Target −30
26th Spitfire XII EN222 Self Acting as target −20
27th Heston Phoenix 2891 Self To Church Fenton 1–05
Phoenix 2891 Self To base 1–05
GRAND TOTAL TO DATE 798 hours 15 minutes 3–30 9–15
60–00 725–30 12–45
1 June: Manby was a localised area north of The Wash used initially for bombing trials. There were no facilities for marking the fall of bombs; results were judged by observers in the aircraft or on the ground.
4 June: Flying straight and level or in a shallow dive right down to ground level was very exciting in a Tiffie, which had a fair turn of speed, but the result was very inaccurate bombing.
Apparently on some Spitfire XIIs with the new Griffon engine there had been one or two cases of the engine cutting out or missing a beat. We tried to reproduce the fault by flying at varying altitudes and making sudden throttle movements but our tests never showed up the trouble. The Griffon had a harsher beat than the Merlin so we deduced that pilots who were used to the latter were taking time to get used to the change.
Westcott was a Wellington OTU at the foot of Waddesdon Hill, Buckinghamshire, only a mile or so from the village itself and actually inside the boundaries of Westcott village. It was the nearest airfield to Poletrees Farm, the home of my sister Gwen and her husband Joe; my mother also lived at the farm. It was only 6 or 7 miles away, so very convenient for me to pay them a call. After scrounging a lift from the airfield to see them, Joe would take me back to the airfield, a real adventure for Joe, as I managed to fix a one hour visitor’s pass so that he could take me right up to the little Tiger Moth. On future visits that I made in more advanced aircraft like a Spitfire or a Mustang, it was an even greater treat, as those types attracted a lot of attention and some envy from the staff at Westcott.
