Sniper of the Skies: The Story of George Frederick 'Screwball' Beurling, DSO, DFC, DFM

by Nick Thomas

  No. 249 Squadron recorded the following claims:

  Wing Commander A.H. Donaldson (flying BR529 A-D), two Ju 88s, one Bf 109 destroyed, one Bf 109 probably destroyed

  Flying Officer J.F. McElroy (flying AR488 T-S), one Ju 88 destroyed

  Flight Sergeant E.T. Hiskens (flying EP135 T-Z), one Ju 88 destroyed

  Flight Sergeant L.G.C. De l’Ara (flying EP338 T-A), one Ju 88 probably destroyed, one Ju 88 damaged.

  Squadron Leader E.N. Woods (flying AR466 T-R), one Ju 88 destroyed

  Pilot Officer J.G. Sanderson (flying EP340 T-M), one Bf 109 damaged

  Pilot Officer A.S. Yates (flying EP199 T-K), one Ju 88 and one Bf 109 both damaged

  Pilot Officer J.L. Lewery (flying EP706 T-L), one Ju 88 damaged.

  Some of the Bf 109s claimed must actually have been Mc 202s, as only two were reported damaged according to Luftwaffe records.

  No. 229 Squadron’s Pilot Officer C.H. Parkinson claimed a Bf 109, one of a brace destroyed by the Squadron, while a Ju 88 was claimed by Flight Lieutenant E.H. Glazebrook. A second bomber was shared by Pilot Officers P.A. Nash and Parkinson, whose combat report read:

  ‘I closed to within a few yards firing head-on; could see shell bursts all over him. [I] put [the] front gunner out of action. Both engines were smoking. [He] went into a spiral dive. In the meantime I was attacked by three 109s. One overshot me so I turned into him and gave him a burst, which hit the engine and pilot. The 109 went down in a series of wide barrel rolls, burning and smoking. [It] crashed into sea.’

  In reply, three of the Squadron’s Spitfires were damaged in combat, but none of the pilots was hurt.

  Donaldson’s combat report read:

  ‘I was leading 229 Squadron as high escort. I sighted eight Ju 88s escorted by 30-plus fighters, five miles south of Gela, coming south … made a head-on attack on [the] leading Ju 88. No hits were observed. I broke upwards and did a stall turn into a Ju 88 which I singled out. I made an astern attack from 200 to 80 yards. [The] port engine smoked and burst into flames. [The] aircraft dived vertically and crashed into sea in flames.’

  The enemy fighters then made their presence known, as Donaldson recalled;

  ‘I then saw an Me 109F and got on his tail. I fired a two-second burst and he burst into flames, and crashed vertically into the sea. No parachute [was seen]. This was witnessed by Pilot Officer Sanderson [of No. 249 Squadron]. I was then attacked by an unseen aircraft and hit in rear fuselage by one bullet.’

  Wing Commander A.H. Donaldson later recalled:

  ‘We attacked them by surprise about 10 miles off Gela. This time I really was in luck. I personally destroyed two Ju 88s and one Me 109, and damaged one other and also probably destroyed one more Ju 88.

  ‘It was the most spectacular sight I have ever seen. The whole sky was filled with enemy aircraft in severe trouble. I saw three flaming Ju 88s and another three flaming Mes, and counted no less than ten parachutes descending slowly, three of them from a Ju 88 I had shot down. Two of my victims, a Ju 88 and an Me 109, burst into flames.’

  During the same dogfight, No. 229 Squadron’s Flight Lieutenant A.F. Roscoe probably destroyed an Mc 202 and damaged another. Squadron Leader H.C. Baker damaged a Bf 109. Meanwhile, Pilot Officer C.H. Parkinson (flying EP691) and Flight Sergeant J.H. Ballantyne each claimed a Bf 109. Flight Lieutenant E.H. Glazebrook claimed a Ju 88, while Pilot Officers C.H. Parkinson (flying EP691) and H.T. Nash shared in the probable destruction of another.

  Six of No. 1435 Squadron’s Spitfires were scrambled at 1205 hours, attacking the withdrawing Ju 88s and fighters. Flight Lieutenant H.W. McLeod (flying AR420) reported wading into a formation of seven Bf 109s, destroying one:

  ‘I closed to point-blank range on the right Me 109, breaking upwards after the attack. Strikes were observed, but he tried to get on the tail of my No. 2 who was, at this time, in front of him. I attacked, from astern, 200 yards, observing several explosions of cannon on the port wing root. The 109 flicked over on its back and then straightened out. I closed in again, firing from 250 yards, observing strikes behind the cockpit, and pieces fly off. The 109 flicked on to its back and went straight down. I broke as his friends were attacking me.’

  Meanwhile, Flight Sergeant I.R. MacLennan and Sergeant Rae10 each damaged a Bf 109. MacLennan recalled of his combats:

  ‘You’re closing. You hold off, hold off, hold off, until you get on top of them and then you press the button.’

  In all, three Spitfires were damaged and another was reported missing, but their combined attack had proved decisive and the remaining bombers turned back.

  At 1445 hours, the Controller scrambled a combined force of twenty-three Spitfires drawn from Nos. 126, 185 and 229 Squadrons, to intercept forty-plus enemy fighters making a sweep of the island. The raid was met full-on and quickly withdrew, but not before Wing Commander P.P. Hanks had led a section of No. 126 Squadron into the attack. Hanks probably destroyed a Bf 109. His combat report read:

  ‘I saw eighteen aircraft (mostly Me 109s) in three vics of six aircraft in close formation at 23,000ft. I dived to attack the right-hand section and immediately saw four of six 109s on our tails. I dived to attack, opening fire from 250 yards closing to point-blank range, giving approximately four-seconds burst, and observed strikes on the fuselage and cockpit followed by thick smoke and flames.’

  Beurling (flying BR173 T-D) took off at 1535 hours on a section strength scramble, but did not encounter the enemy and pancaked. No. 1435 Squadron engaged a force of five Ju 88s and their escort of Bf 109s from I./JG27 and I./JG 77. Squadron Leader A.D.J. Lovell (flying AR470 V-Q) reported:

  ‘While closing in rapidly on the starboard bomber I fired a two-second burst from a range of 300 to 50 yards and large pieces flew off, and flames came from the starboard engine. I then broke away sharply. P/O Walton and F/Sgt Scott witnessed the aircraft on fire.’

  With No. 249 Squadron’s Spitfires still refuelling, a second raid was seen approaching the island at 1640 hours. This was estimated as fifty-seven enemy aircraft, including at least six Ju 88s. Nos. 126 and 1435 Squadrons were scrambled to provide support.

  No. 1435 Squadron’s CO, Squadron Leader A.D.J. Lovell11 (flying AR470) destroyed a Ju 88 and Flight Sergeant A.H. Scott destroyed an Re 2001, damaging a second. Meanwhile, Pilot Officer W.C. Walten (flying EP140 V-P), Flight Sergeant A.H. Scott (flying EP203 V-G) and Sergeant Hawkins (flying EP259 V-L) each claimed a Ju 88 destroyed. Scott also claimed a Bf 109 destroyed and a second damaged. Meanwhile, Sergeant W.B. Knox-Williams (flying EN978) probably destroyed a Bf 109.

  The combat was not totally one-sided, with No. 1435 Squadron’s Flight Sergeant R.A. Stevenson12 being posted as missing (flying EP209).

  No. 229 Squadron was also engaged, with Squadron Leader H.C. Baker and Flight Lieutenant A.F. Roscoe damaging a Bf 109. Sergeant R. Miller destroyed one Bf 109 and damaged another.

  At 1715 hours, five of No. 249 Squadron’s Spitfires were scrambled on an interception. Three unidentified enemy aircraft were sighted but could not be engaged. An hour later, two of the Squadron’s Spitfires were scrambled. Beurling (flying BR173 T-D) sighted a Ju 88 but was unable to get close enough to engage due to failing light. Further Ju 88s were sighted and attacked but without result.

  By this date, a pattern of the enemy raids had emerged, with one before breakfast, another sometime during the morning, then one at about lunchtime. These were then followed by a raid during the mid-afternoon, one just after tea and sometimes one at about dusk. These raids generally comprised of about six Ju 88 bombers with large fighter escorts. The island’s airfields were the primary target.

  At 0620 hours on 13 October, Flight Lieutenant Hetherington led eight of No. 249 Squadron’s Spitfires on a scramble. Once airborne, they were vectored onto a formation of five Ju 88s of II./LG 1 and their escort of thirty-plus Bf 109s of I./JG 77.

  The Controller also scrambled eight Spitfires from No. 185 Squadron, which engaged three Ju 88s and their escort.
Flight Lieutenant K.L. Charney (flying BR375 GL-A) probably destroyed a Bf 109, while Major C.J.O. Swales (flying EP685) and Pilot Officer A.R.H. Maynard (flying EP343) each damaged a Bf 109. Sergeant E.L. Maher (flying EP969) also damaged a Ju 88.

  Next, eight Spitfires of No. 1435 Squadron were scrambled to intercept. Pilot Officer W.C. Walton13 (flying EP140 V-P) destroyed one Ju 88, while Pilot Officer J.A.H. Pinney (flying BR591 V-R) probably destroyed a Bf 109 and damaged a Ju 88.

  No. 249 Squadron was scrambled by sections, Beurling (flying BR173 T-D) taking off in the company of Pilot Officer J.W. Williams and Sergeant W.S. Shewell (flying 155 T-Z), with Flight Lieutenant E.L. Hetherington (flying AR466 T-R) leading. Climbing to 24,000ft, they followed the Controller’s vector onto the enemy. Beurling’s radio became unserviceable. Sighting a formation of Ju 88s retiring from their raid on Takali, Beurling peeled off and dived down, forcing a path through the fighters and overhauling the bombers about 8 miles north of Zonqor. Beurling latched onto the, ‘the outside starboard Ju, the rear position in the V of bombers, firing a long burst into the starboard engine.’

  He fired a two-second burst of well aimed rounds with both his cannons and machine guns from the starboard quarter ‘on a deflection angle’ at about 300 yards. Beurling’s rounds registered in the starboard wing root, somewhere between the engine and fuselage, and black, oily smoke poured out: ‘I gave it the remainder of my ammunition into the fuselage.’ The Ju 88 broke from its position in the formation and plummeted into the Mediterranean. His ‘kill’, probably the Ju 88 flown by Feldwebel Anton Wilfer (L1+KP 140716), which was reported shot down into the sea over Valetta, was unseen by the remainder of the section and therefore was only allowed as damaged.

  The combat had attracted the attention of, ‘about twenty Messerschmitts.’ Beurling put his Spitfire into a tight turn, passing head-on through the middle of the swarm, some of which managed to get off a burst of fire. He banked around and got onto the enemy’s tail, but two of the Bf 109s had followed him around. Beurling repeated the manoeuvre, singling out one enemy aircraft and firing a deflection shot at 300 yards, putting the short burst directly into the petrol tank and cockpit areas. The Messerschmitt erupted in an explosion of flames and flying debris.

  Throwing his Spitfire into a tight climbing turn, Beurling caught the second Bf 109 before it could follow him around, directing a one-second burst into the engine. The pilot pulled the canopy release, and rolled the Messerschmitt onto its back and bailed out.

  At that moment, a Spitfire came spinning past apparently in trouble, his path almost crossing that of the stricken Bf 109. This was just as the German pilot’s parachute opened. Two Messerschmitts closed in on the bailed pilot and, believing him to have escaped from the Spitfire, circled before raking the figure with machine guns blazing. Beurling was sickened to see them murder their own countryman:

  ‘I damned nearly vomited in the cockpit, just watching the swine kill their own man!’

  Pilot Officer Beurling’s combat report read:

  ‘As Tiger Red 3, I attacked eight Ju 88s, taking a straggler from slightly above to the right with a two-second burst of cannon and machine guns. Pieces came off the starboard wing. I broke away to port and saw one Me 109 closing in from port above. I broke left and then turned onto him [and from] 50 yards astern fired a one-and-a-half-second burst of cannon and machine guns. Enemy aircraft burst into flames. A second Me 109 came down from starboard quarter above. As enemy aircraft pulled out ahead at 250-300 yards, I gave him a four-second burst with machine guns; observed no strikes but pilot bailed out. At this time I saw E/A strike the sea.’

  Amazingly, all of this had been achieved by Beurling while he was struggling to keep upright in the cockpit. His seat had broken away from its housing as a result of the tight turns performed while getting onto the tails of his prey:

  ‘That last leap, down onto the 88, had been made at better than 500 miles per hour. One break in the luck – I’d got the R/T working again.’

  Beurling radioed Takali that he had broken his seat and requested the, ‘crash wagon, should be put on standby.’

  Craning his neck to see over the cockpit, Beurling never-the-less made a text-book landing. He was surprised to see so many medics at the scene, until he discovered that the Controller had misheard him and thought he said he had ‘broken his feet!’

  Beurling’s personal account was two Bf 109s and a Ju 88 destroyed. The remainder of the Squadron had been busy too, engaging the enemy three miles north of St Paul’s Bay, with the following pilots making claims:

  1 Ju 88 probable: Pilot Officer R. Seed14 [flying EP488 T-S]:

  1 Bf 109 damaged: Pilot Officer R. Seed:

  1 Bf 109 damaged: Pilot Officer K.C.M. “Giddy” Giddings [flying EP338 T-A]:

  1 Bf 109 damaged: Flight Lieutenant E.L. Hetherington:

  1 Bf 109 damaged: Sergeant W.S. “Scarlet” Shewell’:

  Following the air battle, Pilot Officer A.S. Yates (flying EN954) made a crash-landing at Takali, having been damaged in combat. His Spitfire skidded into the Squadron Armoury, but he escaped without injury.

  At 0935 hours, No. 229 Squadron scrambled eight Spitfires against a formation of six Ju 88s and their escort of forty-two fighters flying about 10 miles north of Zonqor. A diving attack was made on one Ju 88, but no claims could be made.

  About half-an-hour later, No. 126 Squadron scrambled eight Spitfires, joining eight from No. 1435 Squadron on an interception.

  No. 1435 Squadron’s Sergeant Hawkins (flying EP259 V-L) destroyed a Ju 88, while Flight Sergeant A.H. Scott (flying EP612 V-B) destroyed one Bf 109 and damaged another. Sergeant Sharp (flying EN968 V-H) also damaged a Ju 88, while Sergeant Eva (flying EP714 V-T) damaged a Bf 109.

  No. 126 Squadron’s Warrant Officer G.H.T. Farquharson (flying BP992) probably destroyed one Bf 109, while Wing Commander P.P. Hanks15 and Pilot Officer W.L.Thompson each damaged a Ju 88. One Spitfire was hit by return fire but the pilot was unhurt. Despite the efforts of the Spitfire pilots, some of the raiders got through to drop their bombs on Safi and Hal Far.

  At 1120 hours, No. 249 Squadron was scrambled with seven Spitfires, including Beurling’s BR173 T-D, flying on an interception which turned out to be an enemy Air-Sea Rescue seaplane. This was not engaged.

  At 1235 hours, eight Spitfires were scrambled from Hal Far to intercept six Ju 88s with a heavy escort of forty-four fighters heading for Malta. Major C.J.O. Swales probably destroyed a Ju 88. Flight Sergeant A.O. MacLeod16 was reported missing after the engagement (flying EP316).

  Ten minutes later, No. 229 Squadron scrambled eight Spitfires, engaging the remaining Ju 88s and their escorting fighters over Kalafrana Bay. Squadron Leader H.C. Baker and Flight Sergeant D.A. Bye each damaged one Bf 109, while Sergeant R. Miller damaged a Ju 88. Flight Sergeant Bye’s Spitfire was damaged in combat and crash-landed back at base.

  The Controller ordered eight of No. 126 Squadron’s Spitfires up to join the battle. Flight Lieutenant R.O. Jones destroyed one Bf 109, Flying Officer R.I.A. Smith17 (flying EP573) destroyed an Mc 202. Flight Sergeant A.W. Varey and No. 185 Squadron’s Major C.J.O. Swales, SAAF, shared in the probable destruction of a Ju 88, and Warrant Officer G.H.T. Farquharson (flying BP992) a Bf 109. Two Spitfires were damaged in combat.

  Major Swales’ combat report read:

  ‘I led Blue 3 in on the bombers, making an attack from beam to line astern. I fired a two-second burst and observed strikes on a Ju 88’s starboard engine and mainplane. First white smoke then black started coming from this engine.’

  This Ju 88 was also attacked by No. 126 Squadron’s Flight Sergeant A.W. Varey and was allowed as destroyed.

  Both Nos. 249 and 229 Squadrons scrambled eight Spitfires at 1550 hours, in order to intercept seven Ju 88s escorted by thirty Mc 202s, along with forty-two Bf 109s. The Ju 88s were intercepted 20 miles north of Gozo. Meanwhile, the fighters were reinforced by No. 1435 Squadron, which scrambled eight Spitfires at 1610 hours. Squadron Leader B
.E.G. White destroyed a Ju 88 and Flight Lieutenant H.W. McLeod destroyed an Mc 202.

  Nos. 229 and 249 Squadrons engaged the enemy in a general dogfight at 1630 hours. No. 229 Squadron’s Pilot Officer H.T. Nash and Pilot Officer C.H. Parkinson (flying EP691 X-A) both destroyed a Ju 88. Meanwhile, Wing Commander A.H. Donaldson (flying BR529 AD) attacked three Ju 88s, damaging one, but his own Spitfire was hit by their Bf 109 escort and crash-landed at Takali. Sergeant Miller’s Spitfire was also damaged. The bombers, however, were forced to jettison their payloads harmlessly.

  No. 249 Squadron’s Squadron Leader E.N. Woods (flying AR466 T-R) destroyed two Bf 109s, and Flight Sergeant E.T. Hiskens18 (EP135 T-Z) destroyed an Mc 202. Meanwhile, Squadron Leader M.M. Stephens (flying EP338 T-A) and Flight Sergeant L.G.C. de l’Ara (flying BR565 T-T) shared in the destruction of an Mc 202, Stephens also damaging a Ju 88. During the same engagement, Flying Officer McElroy19 (flying EP340) claimed what he identified as an Re 2001 and Sergeant A.B. Stead (flying 869 T-2) damaged a Ju 88 before being chased off by the escort.

  The Italian’s 153° Gruppo lost two Mc 202s, Capitano Enzo Radini, who bailed-out burned and was picked up six miles south-east of Delimara by High Speed Launch 128, and Tenente Felice Mezzetti.

  Squadron Leader Stephens recalled the air battle:

  ‘We saw Ju 88s and escorting fighters among AA bursts, flying south near Filfla. I dived after them through AA and they turned east. I attacked one Ju 88, hitting the starboard engine, which began to smoke nicely, but then disengaged as the Macchis were after me. This Ju 88 was seen from Qrendi Strip by Squadron Adjutant to be diving from 1,000ft with his starboard engine in flames. I then attacked two more Ju 88s and was closing in on them when I was warned to break, which I immediately did, and a 109 flashed by.’