RAF Davidstow Moor ORB November 1942

Operation Torch, initially called Operation Gymnast, was a British, Free French, American invasion of French North Africa. It followed the British 8th Army success at El Alamein in October 1942. The Soviet Union had been pressing Britain and the United States to open a second front in Europe to reduce the pressure on Russia from German troops. The Americans wanted a landing in occupied Europe. British commanders proposed an attack on French North Africa on the basis that the removal of Axis powers from North Africa and improved naval control in the Mediterranean would prepare for an invasion of southern Europe. Churchill was concerned to remove the Vichy French.

The allies planned a three-pronged amphibious landing to seize the key ports and airports of Morocco and Algeria. It was devised to be the second front the Russians had wanted. Aerial operations were split in two. East of Cape Tenez in Algeria with British aircraft under Air Marshall Sir William Welsh. West of Cape Tenez were all American aircraft under Major Jimmy Doolittle under the command of General Patton.

Operation Torch started on 8 November 1942. RAF Davidstow Moor played a supporting role along with other air bases in the south west.

Weather fair cold sunny periods.
F/Lt Alexander reported for admin duties.
F/L Sewell posted to Headquarters 16 group.

16 group Coastal Command was responsible for an area covering the eastern half of the English Channel and the southern half of the North Sea.

Weather fine & cold.
F/Lt Alexander posted to Chivenor.
Major Jackson, RA, reported for duty as AADC.

Weather sunny & warm.
Colonel Clark ,16 group GDC, visited the station.
F/O Davis attached for medical duties.

Weather heavy mist and drizzle with showers fair periods.
F/O Smellie posted to Headquarters 18 group, for accounts duties.

18 Group Coastal Command was responsible for the northern half of the North Sea and areas to the north and west of Scotland.

Weather fine bright sunny periods. Heavy rain pm. Gale warning pm.
Lt General Pargiter, GCC AA Group, conferred with station commander and Battery Commanders.

Action started on the afternoon of this day. The 18 B24D Liberators were from the 93rd and 44th bomb groups of the United States 8th Army Air Force based at Alconbury and Shipdam respectively. Their mission was to bomb the U-boat pens on the Atlantic coast of France in support of the allied invasion of North Africa codenamed 'Operation Torch'. British and American convoys going to North Africa were in danger from the U-boat and the operation was intended to destroy or at least confine them to the U-boat pens.

I spent many hours talking to the late Jack Colwill who had a remarkable memory for dates and events that happened at Davidstow. This is his account of 8 November 1942.

The day was fine and sunny. In the afternoon, at about half past two, someone heard the noise of aero engines and spotted many dark bomber type aircraft circling Hallworthy Downs to the north east of the airfield. Immediately the news went round the local inhabitants. A panic set in as people remembered the bombing at St Eval and rushed to their air raid shelters, including Jack's mother and father. Jack however, remained outside watching the aircraft circling the downs despite his mother's and father's pleas to get inside. Jack had other ideas. He had read with great interest, like most youngsters of his time, publications on wartime identification of aircraft. Everyone knew about German Heinkels and Dorniers. About the differences and how to tell them apart. The Dorniers, for a start, had twin tails. He was also interested to see how the Germans would drop their bombs, either in sticks or all at once. Someone had already noticed the aircraft although a long way off had twin tails. That along with their dark appearance meant that the Germans had finally arrived. This idea was reinforced when the aircraft, someone had counted eighteen of them, started to peel off and head for the aerodrome.

Jack watched with mounting apprehension and a great deal of excitement as the bombers roared ever closer to the aerodrome. As they arrived overhead, instead of dropping bombs, they banked and turned into the aerodrome circuit. As they did so they showed their flanks to the sky and Jack saw the blue star in a white circle and the drab olive green flanks and grey undersides. He also noticed that each aircraft had four engines, not the two that the Dorniers would have had. In fact the aircraft were quite large. The penny suddenly dropped. He was watching American Liberators, or B24s, as they called their aircraft. The Yanks had come to Davidstow.

Weather fine and sunny.
14 Liberators operated and returned without loss.
Major Halt, RA, reported for duty AADC.
Major Jackson returned to unit.

Having been refuelled and re-armed overnight 14 of the Liberators operated to St Nazaire where they successfully bombed the target before returning to Davidstow without loss. Five aircraft were from the 44th Bomb Group and nine were from the 93rd Bomb Group.

All five aircraft from the 44th Bomb Group returned after successfully completing their mission. The 44th Bomb Group was the second to arrive in the UK and became known as the Flying Eight Balls. Every aircraft in the Group carried the flying eight ball symbol on it's nose. The eight ball represents the make or break ball in a game of pool and signified the Group's bad luck attributed to it's high loss rate on missions.

The 93rd Bomb Group was the first to arrive in the UK. Of the aircraft that took off from the 93rd Bomb Group seven were effective, two were ineffective and one of those two was damaged. An accident report was filed for B24D Liberator 41-23686 Lt Warren E Alberts, pilot.

Aircraft 41-23686 329 Sqdn - "Thunderbird" (click for crew list)

Lt Alberts, Warren E, [P]
Stover, Jack Richard
De Brino, Mike, [Ground Crew]

Weather morning ground frost and mist bright sunshine later.
F/Lt H T C Windsor reported for admin duties as Adjutant.

Weather continuous rain am. Bright periods pm. Gale pm.
22 Wellingtons arrived and stayed the night.
S/Ldr JA Smith, C&C officer, attached to 19 Group for temporary duty.

The Wellington aircraft were from 142 Squadron on a navigational exercise from RAF Waltham [Grimsby] 1 Group Bomber Command. 142 Squadron RFC, was formed 2 February 1918. It reformed as a bomber unit in 1934. In June 1940 it began converting to Wellingtons in preparation for strategic night bombing.

Weather bright and cold strong winds am.
F/Lt T K Wyles, Nav officer HQCC, visited the station.
Wellingtons returned to base.

Aircraft F for Freddie, serial BK 280, piloted by Sgt W Taylor burst a tyre and slewed off the runway into muddy ground at 1130hrs and was wrecked.

Weather bright sunshine all day.
S/Ldr Clark, Eng officer and S/Ldr Sisson, Equipment officer, 19 group HQ, visited the station.
20 Fortresses and crews landed and were accommodated.

The Fortresses were from the 322nd, 323rd, 324th and 401st Bomb Squadrons of the 91st Bomb Group the US 8th AAF from Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire where they were stationed from 14 October 1942 to 23 June 1945. The unit arrived in the UK in September 1942 and flew their first mission on 5 November 1942. On this occasion they were taking part in Operation BC19 to La Pallice on the west coast of France. The B17 Flying Fortresses found their target obscured by haze and went on to their secondary target at St Nazaire. After the operation they returned to RAF Davidstow Moor. The following aircraft have been identified as landing at Davidstow.

Aircraft 41-24499 - P - "Fury" (click for crew list)

Capt Gillespie and crew

Aircraft 41-24512 - N - "Rose O Day" (click for crew list)

Lt Kenneth K Wallick
Lt John B Hawkins
T/Sgt Harvis E Hall [top turret]
Sgt Vito Pugliese [waist gunner]
T/Sgt Daniel Goldstein [radio/gunner]
S/Sgt John J Hudjera [tail gunner]

Aircraft 41-24479 - R - "Sad Sack" (click for crew list)

Lt Thomas B McCormick
Lt Preibe
Lt Clinton
Lt Frazier
Sgt Pidgeon
Sgt Anderson
Sgt Ryder
Sgt Janor
Sgt Graddy
Sgt Hamrick

Aircraft 41-24453 - O - "Mizpah/The Bearded Lady" (click for crew list)

LT John T Hardin and crew

Mission remarks – Height 19,000ft weather clear over target, target attacked successfully. All aircraft landed at Davidstow due to weather at base.

Aircraft 41-24639 - OR - W - "Carful Virgin" (click for crew list)

1st Lt William Clancy [P]
John Gladstone [CP]
Harry Ackerman [N]
Jack Fisher [B]
Kenneth Heron [E]
William Wheeler [AE]
Adan Teliercio [R]
Micheal Olexa [AR]
Henry Streets [TG]
Joseph Conley [UG]

Aircraft 41-24549 - OR - Q - "Stupen Taket" (click for crew list)

1st Lt Lawrence Dwyer [P]
John Evans [CP]
Charles Maas [N]
Dean Bohlen [B]
Ford Cowherd [E]
Carl Hunter [AE]
James Thompson [R]
Marshall Miller [AR]
Joseph Alvey [TG]
George Fournier [UG]

Aircraft 41-24523 - OR - N - "Lil Audrey" (click for crew list)

1st Lt Joseph Yuravich [P]
Robert Shaw [CP]
Byron Bennett [N]
John Bell [B]
Clarence King [E]
Thaddeus Kusowski AE]
David Hatch [R]
James Farrar [AR]
Richard Shumard [TG]
Alvar Platt [UG]

Aircraft 42-5077 - OR - T - "Delta Rebel No. 2" (click for crew list)

1st Lt George Birdsong [P]
Joseph Reynolds [CP]
Ernest Miller [N]
Robert Abb [B]
Eugene Remmell [E]
Steven Perri [AE]
Harry Kulchesky [R]
Buzz Byrd [AR]
Henry Carter [TG]
Randy Petersen [UG]

Aircraft 41-24589 - OR - R - "Texas Bronco" (click for crew list)

1st Lt Eugene Ellis [P]
Kenneth Futch [CP]
Howard Dunham [N]
Marvin Beiseker [B]
Rodny Demars [E]
Anthony Gaeta [AE]
Edward Corrigan [R]
Nathan Floyd[AR]
William Howard [TG]
Russell Gillian [UG]

Aircraft 41-24544 - OR - O - " Pennsylvania Polka" (click for crew list)

1st Lt Alan Bobrow [P]
John Sanders [CP]
John Roten [N]
Norman Andrews [B]
Paul Bass [E]
Arthur Sullivan [AE]
Cyril Curb [R]
Lewis Fredricks [AR]
Robert Card [TG]
Richard Wirt [UG]

Mission remarks. Primary target was La Pallice enemy sub pens. Visibility difficult there so ships[planes] went to alternative target St Nazaire to bomb warehouses and submarine facilities. Bombs seen bursting on objective. It is believed mission was quite successful.

Aircraft 41-24506 - G - "The Shiftless Skonk" (click for crew list)

Lt McLellan and crew

Aircraft 41-24503 - E - "Pandora's Box" (click for crew list)

Lt Garrett and crew

Weather fine cloudy early sunny periods later.
Fortresses returned to base.
Brigadier Leech visited.

Weather dull and overcast.
9 Fortresses arrived.
W/Cdr Grant – Dalton, liaison officer, visited the station commander.

At 1630hrs Flying Fortresses of the 306th Bomb Group US 8th AAF landed at Davidstow with injured crewmen aboard after sustaining heavy battle damage during the bombing of the La Pallice U-boat pens. Air gunners of three of the B17s shot down a Focke Wulf 190 fighter aircraft apiece:

Aircraft 41-24469 367 Bomb Squadron - unnamed
Aircraft 41-24460 423 Bomb Squadron - unnamed
Aircraft 41-24465 368 Bomb Squadron - "Montana Power"

Air gunners in 41-24489 367 Bomb Squadron - "Terry And The Pirates" shot down two Focke Wulf 190s.

Weather dull and overcast.
9 Fortresses tried to return against advice of Flying Control, aircraft returned to aerodrome 1 hour later.

The home bases of these aircraft were all fogged in despite Davidstow being clear.

Weather fine with sunny periods.
9 Fortresses returned to base. 2758 (D) Sqdn ceased attachment and returned to home station.

Weather heavy frost overnight fine and bright sunshine.
22 Fortresses arrived from operations.

Fifty B17F Flying Fortresses of the 91st, 303rd, 305th and 306th Bomb Groups, US 8th AAF left their respective bases at Bassingbourne, Molesworth, Grafton Underwood and Thurleigh for the U-boat pens at St Nazaire. Of the fifty 22 returned to their home bases base due to poor weather. The remaining 28 reached the target but were caught by the Luftwaffe who, using a new tactic for the first time, attacked them head on. The mission report for the 322nd Bomb Squadron estimates the number of enemy aircraft as 20 to 40. Of the 28 aircraft that reached their target only one returned safely to it's home base, 22 aircraft diverted to RAF Davidstow Moor, 1 crash landed and 4 were shot down.

Aircraft, 41-24505 - E - "Quitchurbitchin", 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group returned successfully to base but was so badly damaged it was used for spares.

Aircraft 41-24506 - G - "The Shiftless Skonk", 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group crashed at Leavesden, Hertfordshire. Lt Corman [P]. Five of the crew were killed in action over the target and the remaining 5 survived.

2nd L Ball John AJR, 0728157 [N]
2nd L Davis Gene F, 0727088 [B]
Sgt Hoffman Herbert, 32196625 [W2]
Sgt Welton Shelby L, 15047870 [BT]
S/Sgt Wright Walter J, 12033533 [W1]

Aircraft 41-24568 - U - "Lady Fairweather" (click for crew list)

1st L Redding Arthur E, [P]
Capt Miller C G, [CP]
2nd L Ercegovich John. [N]
2nd L Plummer J W, [B]
Sgt Van Fleet Robert W [E]
Sgt Mann Ferrel A [LWG]
Sgt Sturgis Gerald S [BT]
Sgt Nollen Devon B [R]
Sgt Senior George T [TG] 13097329
Sgt Grieb Alexander S [RWG]

This aircraft was seen to crash into the Atlantic in flames near Belle Isle. All the crew were killed.

Aircraft 41-24503 - E - "Pandora's Box" (click for crew list)

Major Smelser Harold H, 0023372 [CMP]
Capt Jones Duane L, 0427139 [P]
2nd L Baxter Phillip K, 0727075 [B]
Sgt Boomer John L, 36305914 [W2]
T/Sgt Emerson Louis E, 17015920 [R]
1st L Hemingway John S, 0433981 [N]
Sgt Hernandez Fidel, 19039467 [BT]
T/Sgt Masters Aley G, 39603073 [WI]
Sgt Medved Joseph, 33115223 [T]
S/Sgt Watson Doyt, 34175666 [W2]

Mission report Pandoras Box: Major Harold Smelser's aircraft was in group lead. The weather was reported to be bad. Many aborted. Only 4 B17s bombed. 2 B17's lost. These two aircraft were the 91st Bomb Group's first losses.

Crashed at St Nazaire. 7 of the crew were killed and 2 were taken as prisoners of war.

Aircraft 41-24479 - R -"Sad Sack" (click for crew list)

Major Zienowicz Victor S, [P]
Capt Mc Cormick Thomas B, 04430603 [CP]
Capt Hampy Herbert, 0432000 [N]
2nd Lieut Clinton Ralph L, 0728177 [N]
2nd Lieut Frazier Ross E, 0727094 [B]
Lt Applebaum Arthur S, 0437102 [G]
T/Sgt Hamrick Doyce F, 14055688 [E]
Sgt Janor Joseph G, 35287764 [AE]
T/Sgt Anderson George A, 16043224 [R]
S/Sgt Ryder Wordon J, 14031931 [AR]
S/Sgt Grad(d)y William C, 15112286 [TG]

Weather overcast mist and low cloud.
22 Fortresses unable to return due to bad weather.
Works Sqdn personnel returned to units.

Weather ground frost am sunny periods later.
Fortresses returned to base.
F/Lt Roberts, Medical officer, appointed to A/S/Ldr.
S/Ldr Wood, HQ 19 group, visited the station and returned the same day.

Weather cloudy am sunny periods later.
F/O Down, Station Engineering Officer, appointed to A/F/Lt.
Armoured AA Flight returned to base.

Weather low cloud with heavy showers.
G/Cpt K F T Pickles arrived on posting to command.
Heavy and light AA returned to base.

26042 G/Cpt Kenneth Frederick Travis Pickles promoted Wing Commander 1 September 1940.

November 1942 saw the first flying action at RAF Davidstow Moor in the form of the US 8th AAF Bomber Command operations to the U-boat pens of St Nazaire, La Pallice and Lorient on the west coast of France. RAF Davidstow Moor played it's part in Operation Torch, the allied invasion of North Africa which started on 8 November 1942. With much of the manpower and equipment being shipped by sea from the USA it was hoped that the bombing of the U-boat pens would hamper the submarines' activities against the allied convoys.

Davidstow Moor saw it's first casualties of the war and Trewassa Hospital gave initial medical attention to the returning airmen who were relatively inexperienced having only arrived from the United States in the previous few weeks. For them this was to be their baptism of fire. For 8 months raids to the U-boat pens were so regular they became known as 'The Milk Run To St Nazaire' but it was a far from easy ride. German fighters and flak from anti aircraft guns were to take a grim toll of the American bombers even when flying 5 miles high. The guns around St Nazaire were particularly notorious and prompted the expression ' The flak was so thick you could get out and walk on it'. However the hard lessons learnt over the U-boat pens were to stand the 8th Air Force in good stead in the campaign over Germany in 1943.