Alexander Coumbis

Preface

I started with the Commonwealth Grave Commission (CWGC) on-line Archive which provided his service number, the names of his parents and his wife. With that information I started a tree on Ancestry.com for Alex (a tried and true method for me in the past), but that soon fizzled out as there were no other trees at the time to collaborate with, and therefore no family contacts.

Eventually, out of desperation, I turned to social media and got a hit on Facebook for a woman who thankfully included her maiden name of Coumbis and noted she had a connection to Rhodesia. This turned out to be Alex’s niece, Carol, my 'pen pal' over the last three years, and the breakthrough I had been hoping for.

Carol was aware of ‘Uncle Alex’ and that he had been killed during the war, but knew nothing of his flying career, especially his successes against U-Boats with 172 Squadron. As far as the family knew he was tragically killed in a flying accident in Scotland in 1944 and that was the beginning and end of it. Slowly, but surely over the next few years Carol was kind enough to share several other details about Alex that rounded out his personal story, which I’ll reveal below.

Unfortunately, the family does not appear to have Alex’s Flying Log, which made figuring out Alex’s wartime flying career a challenge.

With a few more pieces of the puzzle, however, I was able to purchase Alex’s military records from the Ministry of Defense, which I shared with his newfound family.

Alex's records, in turn, provided vital information on his training and the squadrons he served with. Operational Records Books (known as ORB’s) for these various units and other key documentation rounded out the information on his RAF career. Sadly, without his Flying Log, however, it will never be complete.

Finally, I connected with a dedicated group of researchers and historians with the private RAF Chivenor and North Devon Aviation History in World War 2 Facebook group, namely Graham Moore and Robert Palmer. Graham took a chance and invited me into their amazing group even though I was not a direct family member of someone who served there.

Graham and Robert’s dedication to keeping the memories alive of those who fought and often died during the war is truly inspirational. Robert’s impeccable research and vast subject knowledge with https://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/ combined with Graham’s social media skills and uncanny ability to find families to join the group is a perfect combination. Together they help educate the local population on the significant contribution their region provided during the war and bring descendants who visit some closure. 

The Early Years

Alexander Coumbis was born on October 28th, 1918 in Kimberley, South Africa. His parents were George Coumbis, a chef and restaurateur and housewife Margaret Walsh. Alex is believed to be one of at least three children, including Theodore and George (Jr.). There are potentially two other siblings, but it’s all a bit murky. Unfortunately, the fact that the family later dispersed between Scotland, South Africa and both North and South Rhodesia has caused the Coumbis branch to lose touch with one another.

According to his Niece Carol, Alex’s father George “was born in Greece, he was a Greek Cypriot as far as I can remember, he was a Chef and a fantastic one at that.”

How his father George went from being the Greek chef and restaurateur to raising a family in Kimberley, South Africa must be a fascinating story, but sadly appears to be lost to time. According to Carol, George’s oldest son Theo was born in Kimberley in 1910, but other than that one anchor milestone, the family sadly retains little of their Coumbis family history.

I suspect, but can’t yet prove, that Alex’s father George may have been a man that was born on the Greek island of Kythira in 1869. A member of that family and fellow genealogist indicated a man named George Combis moved to Africa after the turn of the century, based on oral history, but from that point was a mystery to them. The original family name was Combis, without the ‘u’, but that family happened to have other relatives that also immigrated to Africa and they were known as Coumbis with the 'u' added.

As it stands, I have a Greek family who have a long lost relative named George Combis that moved to Africa and I have a family in Africa that know their patriarch George Coumbis came from Greece around the same time, but nothing definitive to prove it’s the same man. 

Greece in general had a large amount of political turmoil at this time, which may have been George’s incentive to move away to start his family. Kythira was also known to have reached its population peak around the time of George’s birth. Plus, the island was highly prone to earthquakes, one of which hit in 1903 and many residents left after the turn of the century, so the timing is right. For now, it's just an intriguing possibility, but one I hope to resolve one day.

South Africa had just become a nation at the end of May 1910 after the bloody Second Boer War, so there were opportunities there, especially Kimberly with its diamond mines. I’m reminded of the Gold Rush in the American west during the mid-19th century that drew immigrants from near and far. Not sure if it was a theme or a coincidence, but George later moved the family north to Luanshya, North Rhodesia (Present day Zambia), which was a copper mining boom-town at the time.

That is where Alex’s records show he was living, working as an engineer’s clerk when he enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) as an Aircraftsman 2nd Class on April 8th, 1941 at the Age of 23. 

His records also indicate he was 5’-7” tall and had black hair and brown eyes and that he had previous military experience in what was known as the ‘Kimberley Regiment’ of the North Rhodesian Defense Force. This indicates another link between his birth and enlistment locations.

Sadly, to date I have not been able to locate any immigration or passenger manifests for his father George entering Africa, nor any birth, marriage or death records for the rest of the family in South Africa or Rhodesia. There is precious little information available online from typical research sources such as Ancestry.com and various online newspaper databases, which currently just don’t cover that part of the world very well.

Learning to Fly

After enlistment in the RAFVR, Alex was first posted to Salisbury, South Rhodesia (present day Harare, Zimbabwe), which was the center of an extensive wartime flight training program in South Rhodesia called the Rhodesia Air Training Group (RATG).

According to zimfieldguide.com; “From the May 1940 until the March 1954 the Royal Air Force (RAF) had a presence in Rhodesia in the form of the RATG which trained aircrew for the RAF, from many different countries, including Great Britain but also from Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Yugoslavia, Greece, France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Fiji and Malta as part of the Empire Air Training Scheme. Ashley Jackson's book ‘The British Empire and the Second World War’ states the Rhodesian Air Training Group trained 8,235 Allied pilots, navigators, gunners, ground crew and others—about 5% of overall Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) output.”

Unfortunately, as noted previously, none of Alex’s family know of or remember seeing his Flight Log book that he would have started in Rhodesia and carried through until his loss. There was a suggestion by his niece Cheryl that it could have been lost in a fire at their house when they were young, and Carol mentioned that family photos were lost in a move from Africa back to Scotland, but no one really seems to know for sure.

I was fortunate to connect with a fellow researcher named Maxell Williams, whose father William “Toby” Charles Williams, went through the program about two years after Alex. Toby’s flight logs were able to provide some valuable insight into Alex’s training. Max noted “his first posting would have been to an Initial Training Wing (ITW), almost certainly Hillside Camp near Salisbury, previously an Army camp” Indeed Alex’s records do indicate he was posted to Salisbury on April 8th, 1941. 

Max continued: “Here he would have done a lot of marching and square-bashing, then learned the basics of the theory of flight and undertaken courses in mathematics, navigation etc. along with practical exercises in finding their way in the bundu/bush using maps and compasses.”

You can read more about this phase of Toby (and Alex’s) training on Max’s wonderful site here: (https://www.rhodesianairtraininggroup.com/).

On August 4th, 1941 his “Basic Training” completed, Alex was now ready for hands-on flying and was assigned to No. 26 EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School). The school was known as “Guinea Fowl” which had just opened the year before in Gwelo (present day Gweru, Zimbabwe), about 140 miles southwest from Salisbury. Here, like most rookie RAF pilots, he first learned to fly on the iconic de Havilland Tiger Moth.

During this time, Alex would have learned the basics:

Just shy of five weeks later, on September 4th, 1941, having completed his Elementary Flight Training he was sent to what was called a Disposal Depot, essentially meaning he was in limbo until an opening in a new Multi-Engine Flying Course opened up. The five weeks was unusually quick to complete an EFTS course (normally it was 7-8 weeks), so Alex may have been a ‘natural” or he perhaps even had some previous civilian flying experience. Of course, there was also a desperate need for pilots at this time.

It didn’t take long and less than a week later, on September 9th, 1941 Alex was assigned to 21 SFTS (Service Flying Training School), “Kumalo” in Bulawayo, to learn how to fly the sturdy twin-engine Airspeed Oxford (nicknamed the 'Ox-box'). This school was about 95 miles southwest of Guinea Fowl. 

His flight training in the Oxford included ALL the things he learned above flying the Tiger Moth (over and over again), plus the following:

It should be noted that all these bases were located on a vast plateau that ran diagonally from southwest to northeast through the center of South Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). This plateau was at an elevation of 4,000 feet above sea level, so ironically, Alex likely flew higher during his training than he would later ever fly with Coastal Command.

Unlike his elementary flight training, this took about 12 weeks (which was about the norm for this time period), and then on January 14th, 1942 he was transferred to No. 61 Air School SAAF (South African Air Force) in George, Western Cape, South Africa. This was for a Maritime Reconnaissance Course, flying the multi-role twin-engine Avro Anson, which was to prepare him for Coastal Command service.

They needed to be vigilant, but we now know there was actually no threat of running into enemy submarines at this time. Japanese submarines would probe the eastern South African coast in April and May of 1942 using float planes they carried, and the Germans would not launch a U-Boat offensive off Cape Town until October of 1942, when American-Hawaiian’s Coloradan and a number of other vessels were lost.

Nonetheless, being able to conduct maritime patrols over the South Atlantic would have been a good introduction for what was to come.

Alex headed home on leave for a week or two on March 27th, 1942. It would be the last time his family saw him.

Far from Home

On April 27th, 1942 Alex arrived in the U.K., according to his service record. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate him on any passenger manifests to date. There are several possibilities; aboard a troop transport from Cape Town or Durban, South Africa via Freetown, Sierra Leone. Perhaps on one of the 26 merchant vessels and six escorts that made up Convoy SL.105 which departed Freetown on April 3rd and arrived in Liverpool on April 22nd (see below). He may have also arrived independently on one of Union-Castle Line’s fast liners which had regular service between South Africa and the UK, and last, but not least, he and other pilots from his class may have been flown to the U.K.

The next day he was assigned to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC) in Bournemouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England where he was processed and awaited assignment to an RAF Squadron.

It was during this time that he apparently spotted a beautiful 21-year-old Scottish lass from Rutherglen named Margaret Shearer. As his niece Carol recounts:

“She left work in an office in the center of Glasgow, and jumped on a bus to Rutherglen where she lived, she then walked the rest of the way home. She went in her front door and minutes later there was a knock on the door, it was Alex. He said, ‘You’re the girl I’m going to marry!’ and she shut the door in his face! The next night when she left work, he was waiting for her, but she had to go to do a four-hour shift watching for German bombers or working the searchlights as a volunteer, something like that, but said she would meet him outside her office when she finished. However, the girl who was to relieve her never turned up, and she had to work another four hours. When she left, she never thought he would wait but he did, he said he would have waited all night, and that was the beginning of their romance.”

We later discovered after reviewing letters between the two that it was not in Glasgow, Scotland, but had actually been in London or Bournemouth that the two first met. On June 11th, 1942, he wrote to Margaret, whom he referred to as “Marg”: “Those few days we were together in London and Bournemouth my heart was singing and bubbling over in shear happiness.”

RAF Chivenor

Rather than being posted to an Operational Training Unit (OTU) as was the norm to gain experience on a particular aircraft, Alex was posted directly to Coastal Command No. 172 Squadron based at RAF Chivenor, North Devon, England, on June 10th, 1942. Again, this speaks to the desperation at the time to provide trained pilots.

RAF Chivenor is located on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary on land that is only about 23 feet (7m) above sea level. It was named after a farm that occupied the spot, rather than a nearby town as was typical. See here for more information and history about the base.

There are low hills between there and the coast 3 miles away. My wife and I had the opportunity to visit in September of 2023 and what strikes you on the train ride up from Exeter is how hilly the terrain is. Within just a few miles of the base these hills get dramatically higher to the north and southwest.

Many of these hills are dotted with the wreck sites of various aircraft that tried to make it back, often in foul weather or suffering mechanical issues and couldn’t quite make it. The local Saint Augustine Church and graveyard at Heanton Punchardon overlooking Chivenor where we attended a memorial service contains the graves of over 80 of these heroes lost during the war.

As squadron mate Donald Fraser recounts in his book ‘Live to Look Again’ (Mika Publishing Co., 1984, ISBN 0-919303-80-3) for June 1942; “The next day a group of eight new pilots from Rhodesia arrived, none of whom had ever been in a Wimpy before.”

Assuming Fraser’s memoir was accurate, to date I have not been able to identify the other Rhodesian pilots. Alex is the only one from the squadron that is associated with Rhodesia in records or books that I have found to date. As mentioned earlier, the Rhodesia Air Training Group trained pilots from all over the world, so it’s possible the others simply trained there.

‘Wimpy’ was the nickname RAF crews gave the Vickers-Armstrong Wellington Alex would now learn to fly. The Wellington was a twin-engine, long-range, medium bomber with a unique geodetic airframe fuselage structure covered in fabric. This fabric was Irish linen treated with layers of dope/glue to make it weather proof and tight against the framework. This fabric covering was a throwback to the previous generation of aircraft and not aluminum skinned as most aircraft of the day were. The geodetic structure was new and revolutionary, however, and could absorb an enormous amount of damage. There are stories and photos of Bomber Command versions sustaining significant damage due to flak, damage that may have caused the loss of other conventional monocoque, stressed-skin all aluminum designs.

See here for an interesting propaganda film showing a special promotion to build a Wellington in 24 Hours (not standard), but it shows the assembly process quite well

The first main modification incorporated into the G.R. Mk. VIII version was the addition of the ‘Leigh Light’, named for its inventor, Wing Commander Humphrey de Verde Leigh. The Leigh Light was a powerful 22 million candela carbon arc search light, 24” in diameter, mounted in the belly of the Wellington behind the wing where the F-N.9 ventral gun turret was originally designed to be mounted (but few were). Leigh’s concept enabled the aircraft crew to visually sight and attack U-Boat’s at night after their radar had homed them to the vicinity of the target. It was a breakthrough in the U-Boat war that denied the German’s the freedom of movement at night they previously enjoyed while transiting to and from their bases in occupied France to the open Atlantic.

No. 172 was the squadron that pioneered and perfected these night attacks, which resulted in this method being expanded to several other squadrons as the war progressed. Unfortunately, due to the Leigh Light modification, the Mk. VIII’s required the standard twin-gun F-N.5 nose turret to be removed and replaced with several sections of Perspex (aka plexiglass), so that the hydraulic controls for the Leigh Light could be mounted, which gave the operator an unobstructed view forward.

The second main component, was of course radar, in this case the early form of airborne search radar known as ASV or Air-to-Surface Vessel Mk. II, which operated on the 176 MHz (VHF) bandwidth. An additional crewed position was added in between the Navigator’s position amidship, where a cot was typically installed, and the Leigh Light. ASV Mk. II did not utilize a rotating radar dish like modern radars, but an array of various external antennas, most notably mounted to the top, bottom and sides of the fuselage (which unfortunately necessitated the removal of the waist gun positions) between the trailing edge of the wing and the tail. Other antennas were mounted under the wings and on each side of the nose, essentially turning the aircraft into one giant antenna. As I noted on my U-126 page, radar helped them find the needle in the haystack, and the Leigh Light helped them thread the needle once they got close. One downside of all the external antennas is that they created a significant amount of drag, reducing performance and range.

Wellingtons were not known for their generous amount of defensive firepower to begin, and the elimination of the nose turret and waist positions (4 machine guns), only left two .303 machine guns in the Nash and Thompson F-N.10 tail turret. The initial logic is that they wouldn’t have to defend against swarms of German fighters like their Bomber Command cousins, and that their attacks on U-Boats, when done correctly, would have the element of surprise. Therefore, only the tail turret was deemed necessary to suppress enemy fire after they flew over and dropped their depth charges. Real-life operations would prove otherwise, something Coastal Command would eventually address with later versions, as will I.

Their patrol area at this time ranged all the way from the coast of occupied France in the east, to the coast of “neutral” Spain in the south, to the western approaches to the Bay of Biscay and everything in between. An area encompassing over 200,000 square miles. Like Bomber Command, the patrols were conducted almost exclusively at night, usually leaving after dusk and landing at dawn, although they did experiment with the schedules from time to time.

According to squadron mate Don “Coop” Cooper: “The Squadron tried to make things easier for the crews on these operations. As previously mentioned, there were the meals of bacon and eggs [real, not powdered], baked beans and fried bread and for the actual flight, we were provided with a meal pack, which considering the wartime rations, was imaginative and appreciated.

It consisted of the following:

Packet of sandwiches (Spam if you were lucky)

Small packet of sultanas [a type of raisin]

Small packet of sweets, sometimes chocolate

Small tin of Californian orange juice

Thermos of coffee.”

The flights were very long. Typically 8-10 hours when Alex first started in the Wellington Mk. VIII’s, but there were several flights over 12 hours. They were provided an Elsan chemical toilet in the event nature called.

Unlike Bomber Command which operated at 10,000 feet or more (and required oxygen), as noted above, No. 172 Squadron patrols were conducted at low level, typically between 2,500 and 300 feet, and other than takeoff and landing less than 4 miles from the coast, were flown completely over water. Despite often taking off in clusters of 2-5 aircraft, one after the other, they did not organize into protective box formations, and each aircraft operated independently, on a pre-assigned route.

Even though Alex joined the squadron 9-1/2 weeks after its creation, the first operational night patrol by 172 Squadron was flown on June 3rd, 1942 just a week before Alex arrived, during which Squadron Leader Jeaffreson Herbert Greswell and crew in ‘F’ for Freddy located and attacked the Italian Marconi Class submarine, Luigi Torelli (Migliorini). The submarine was badly damaged, but eventually limped back to their base in Bordeaux known as BETASOM.

There were several other attacks carried out by the squadron in June:

• June 7th - Squadron Leader Greswell and Pilot Officer Blackmore both attacked the inbound Type IXC U-162 (Wattenberg), but in both cases the aircraft were in poor attack positions on their first runs and the U-Boat was able to dive in time before they could be attacked again and returned to Lorient on June 8th.

• June 16th – Wing Commander Russell attacked the outbound Type VIID U-214 (Reeder), which had departed Brest on the 13th. The U-Boat was damaged enough to abort their patrol and arrived in Lorient on the 17th. They would not leave for patrol again until August 9th.

• June 20th - Flight Lieutenant Southall attacked what may have been the outbound Type IXC U-166 (Kuhlmann), which was able to continue on its patrol but was later sunk in the Gulf of Mexico on July 30th.

• June 20th - Pilot Officer Blackmore attacked the Italian Calvi Class submarine Enrico Tazzoli (di Cossato) but was apparently in a bad position and did not drop his depth charges on the initial run, and the Tazzoli managed to submerge before a second run could be completed. It is interesting to note that the official Operational Record Book entry states “Run was made from a position unsuitable to release depth charges.” However, in Donald Fraser’s book he asserts the run was “dead on” and the reason the depth charges were not dropped was that there was a miscommunication between Fraser and Blackmore and the bomb bay doors were not open.

The following month, on July 6th the squadron had what would turn out to be its first official ‘kill’ when American Wiley Basil Howell, from Prairie City, Oregon, sank the Type IXC U-502 (von Rosenstiel).

They had taken off in ‘H’ for Harry at 2239 hours on July 5th and per the Record of Events: 

“At 0455 in position 46° 10' N, 6° 40' W, 1 U/Boat was sighted and attacked. 'H' was flying on Course 005° (True) when S/E contact was obtained on homing aerials 7 miles away. L/E was switched on 1 mile off when a U/Boat was illuminated on surface. 4 Torpex D.C.'s were released from 50 feet across bows of U/Boat from starboard to port, at an angle of about 50° to its track - just as it was in act of crash diving, the conning tower and after deck still being visible - owing to spray caused by explosion it was difficult to observe exactly where each D.C. exploded but it is estimated that at least two must have been well within lethal range. As 'H' passed over, the rear gunner fired 400 rounds and on spray subsiding, he saw a swirling mass of water. A/C 'H' then returned and dropped flame float by which time the swirling mass of water had extended appreciably and was much darker than the rest of sea. A/C remained in vicinity until 0513 but no further contacts were observed.” They landed safely at 0745.

What was an America doing in an RAF Coastal Command Squadron, you may ask? Wiley had joined the RAF prior to America’s entry into the war. He was a civilian flying instructor in 1941, and after a chance encounter in Spokane, WA he was recruited to join the RAF. He was only 20 at the time and it was a way to jump-start what he hoped would be his commercial flying career.

Howell would eventually be presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross by King George VI himself at Buckingham Palace on December 17th, 1942. He later served in the US Navy (Ever the pragmatist, the Army Air Corps would not help transport his British bride back to America, but the Navy would). According to Fraser’s book, Howell and his bride rode back to America in a private cabin on the Queen Elizabeth. With him were plans for an under-wing mount of the Leigh Light that would soon be mounted to American made Catalina and Liberator maritime patrol aircraft.

Coincidently, U-502 was the U-Boat that U-126 replaced in the Caribbean when they arrived June 14th. U-126 would sink our Bernard’s SS Arkansan the evening of June 15th along with the SS Kahuku. Kahuku had picked up the survivors of several merchant ships (Scottsburg, Cold Harbor and West Hardaway) all sunk by U-502 earlier on the 15th before it headed back to France (or at least attempted to).

The day after Howell’s success, on July 7th, 1942, Alex was temporarily assigned to specialized BAT (Beam/Blind Approach Training Flight (A) at RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland, just north of the famous St. Andrews golf course. BAT was a course to train pilots on a system to assist them in landing at night or in poor visibility, a skill that Alex would need regularly flying out of RAF Chivenor with No. 172 Squadron.

Blackmore’s Crew

July 1942

Alex’s first operational patrol with Blackie was on the evening of July 23rd/24th, 1942. In addition to Blackmore and Coumbis, the crew consisted of:

Navigator - Flight Lieutenant William Robert Burnett

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Pilot Officer G.P. Brown

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Sergeant George Dennis Wadsworth

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Sergeant Henry Claude Evans

They took off in ‘B’ for Beer at 19:14 Hours (7:14 PM). The Squadron’s Record of Events noted; “Numerous tunneymen and two trawlers sighted.” Tunneymen were a type of sailing fishing boats whereas trawlers were powered. These were likely a mix of English, Welsh, Irish, French, Spanish and Portuguese, depending on where in the Bay of Biscay or the western approaches they were patrolling. 

These fishing boat contacts would form the vast majority of their engagements. Based on first-person accounts from Fraser’s book, the fishing boats weren’t simply just “sighted”. 

It is important to remember that it was typically pitch dark and the radar was not detailed enough to distinguish between a fishing vessel and a U-boat, so each contact had to be investigated. Not only did they have to contend with the darkness depending on the moon’s phase and clouds, but routinely they had to deal with bad visibility and rough flying conditions due to foul weather; low cloud, fog, rain, sleet, snow, thunder and lightning, and sometimes a combination thereof depending on the season. The Bay of Biscay has a rough reputation amongst sailors, and flying over it at low level is no better.

Occasionally the patrols were called off for the night, or cut short, but the weather often deteriorated far out to sea. As they had to rely on star sightings with a sextant, accurate navigation was extremely challenging as well if the stars were obscured.

As they approached their target, fog or heavy precipitation were particularly troublesome for the Leigh Light as the light would reflect back, similar to the way the high beams on your car's headlights will do on a foggy or snowy night.

A more casual flyby was not an option as the whole point of the squadron was to surprise a surface U-Boat and hopefully sink it.  Therefore, these “investigations” involved an actual attack run, the Wellington screaming in at 180 miles per hour, fifty feet above the sea, flipping on their blinding Leigh Light ½ to ¾ of a mile (about 10 seconds) from ‘target’, and only then determining neutral fishing boat vs German U-Boat. They had only seconds to decide whether to abort their attack or not before they dropped their depth charges. It must have been absolutely terrifying to the poor fishermen. I’m sure Alex and his crew/squadron mates were all filled with adrenaline as well, but as a side-effect it provided useful practice for the crews.

This night it was just harmless fishing vessels and they landed safely at Chivenor at 4:40 AM, after a patrol of 9 hours and 26 minutes.

They flew four consecutive nights, all with the same profile, taking off a little after 10 PM and getting back around 7 AM, lasting between 9 and 9-1/2 hours. On their last flight of July on the evening of July 29th/30th they ending up having to divert to RAF Predannack in Cornwall, apparently due to bad weather at RAF Chivenor. There were a number of bases they would occasionally divert to if the weather was bad at Chivenor and aircraft from those bases would occasionally have to land at Chivenor as well.

It should be noted that Coastal Command had dedicated meteorological units that courageously flew patrols in all kinds of weather to try and gather weather data, predecessors to storm chaser flights we have today that fly into hurricanes and the such. This was before Doppler weather radar and computer models we have today, which are still far from perfect.

The crew had a three-day break from operations, although this likely wasn’t time-off, and most, if not all, was spent on various training flights or even classroom study.

Besides the Squadron’s one success by Howell on the 6th, they had three other semi-successful attacks in July:

1. July 6th - Flight Lieutenant Southall attacked the inbound Type VIIC U-373 (Loeser), but all the depth charges exploded on the starboard side and failed to straddle. The U-Boat reached La Pallice on the 8th.

2. July 13th – Pilot Officer Howell attacked the inbound Type IXC U-159 (Witte) which was badly damaged and left unable to dive, but reached Lorient 12 hours later.

3. July 20th - Pilot Officer Howell attacked an unknown U-Boat (possibly the inbound Type IXC U-128 (Heyse)), which reached Lorient July 22nd.

July also saw the Squadron’s first lost due in part to enemy action. Although Alex was not involved in this engagement, the significance of the attack and the events it set in motion resulted in Alex eventually flying with the pilot. You can read more about this air-to-air engagement here in the pilot’s bio.

Due to the threat from German aircraft, the crews did routinely take what was called ‘Fighter Affiliation’ training and aerial gunnery practice. ‘Fighter Affiliation’ training provided instruction and practice on how to defend themselves in the air, sometimes with the use of captured German aircraft (including a JU-88 that accidently landed at Chivenor on November 26th, 1941!). This typically involved performing tight corkscrew turns, but the Wellington had its limitations in that regard. In the ‘Pilot’s Notes’ booklets given to pilots it clearly states: “These aircraft are designed for maneuvers appropriate to a medium bomber and care must be taken to avoid imposing excessive loads in recovery from dives and in turns at high speeds. Spinning and aerobatics are not permitted.”

Fraser mentions in his book that there were four bolts that secure each wing to the fuselage. These bolts had to be upgraded when they eventually upgraded the engines as the extra torque caused the original bolts to fail. Unfortunately, they apparently only discovered this after a number of wings separated mid-flight with disastrous consequences. The Wellington Mk. VIII’s also didn’t have the power to outrun anything the Germans were throwing at them. Their best bet when encountering enemy aircraft, if available, was to head for the clouds so the enemy lost visual contact.

As you can see, this was yet another danger the crews faced. There were several engagements in mid-1942 until Coastal Command started sending out long-range fighters, like the Bristol Beaufighter on sweeps. To protect the returning Wellingtons, No. 235 Squadron arrived in Chivenor on July 20th, 1942 and stayed until January of 1943 as Luftwaffe resistance mostly came to an end after November as the Allies gained air superiority over the Bay of Biscay.

Below is Alex's Summary for July, 1942:

7/23/42 – 7/24/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 19:14 Down: 4:40 Duration: 9:26

Numerous tunneymen and two trawlers sighted.

7/25/42 – 7/26/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 22:00 Down: 7:27 Duration: 9:27

Several tunneymen and trawlers sighted.

7/27/42 – 7/28/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 22:10 Down: 7:16 Duration: 9:06

Numerous tunneymen and some trawlers sighted.

7/29/42 – 7/30/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 22:12 Down: 7:12 Duration: 9:00

Numerous tunneymen sighted and also one merchant vessel of about 2000 tons near the Spanish coast. Aircraft was diverted to Predannack.

August 1942

All of August of 1942 they only flew three operational sorties on three consecutive nights starting August 3rd. The first included one of the most controversial decisions made by Coastal Command: the order to machine gun fishing vessels. The vessels were suspected of aiding the enemy in some way (navigation, supplies, early warning), and were possibly blamed for the poor results the squadron was experiencing. The order was rescinded later that month, as several of the crew’s expressed concerns.

Their third flight of August had to be aborted about 30 minutes after take-off due to engine trouble. Typically, depending on the urgency of the engine trouble (i.e., running rough to completely out), they would try to drop their depth charges and extra fuel off the coast before they attempted a landing at night on one-engine. If the emergency landing failed, as they sometimes did, the fuel tanks could rupture and catch fire, which could in-turn cause the depth charges to explode. In this case, Blackie landed safely back at Chivenor at 11 PM after a total time of 48 minutes.

Below is Alex's Summary for August, 1942:

8/3/42 – 8/4/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 21:58 Down: 7:20 Duration: 9:22

Several fishing vessels of various types were sighted, three of which were machine gunned in accordance with instructions newly given.

8/4/42 – 8/5/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 21:32 Down: 6:35 Duration: 9:03

A few tunneymen and some steam trawlers were sighted. The latter carrying lights.

8/6/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 22:12 Down: 23:00 Duration: 0:48

Patrol cancelled owing to engine trouble

It should be noted that even though they “only” flew three operational sorties in August, they likely flew many training missions: radar calibration, navigational exercises, gunnery practice, bombing practice, etc. Flight logs from other squadron members indicate they were constantly training when not on operations.

Air to Ground Gunnery practice typically occurred over the mouth of the river Taw. In some cases, the aircraft did not pull up in time and crashed into the shallow water, such as MP508 in April of 1943.

Practice Leigh Light attacks typically occurred in the Bristol Channel.

In Donald Fraser’s memoir, Live to Look Again’, he notes: "The night flying included operation-like sorties, homing in on the Helwick light vessel in the Bristol Channel with the ASV radar, lowering the searchlight, and illuminating the vessel in the dark hours of the night."

He first notes this as occurring sometime between April 13th and April 20th, 1942. There is a Helwick light vessel that still survives, LV-91, and is a floating display at the National Waterfront Museum in the Maritime Quarter of Swansea, Wales, across the Bristol Channel from Devon. Unfortunately, she can only be viewed dockside and is not accessible by the public.

I attempted to confirm whether this Museum display was the same vessel, but neither the National Waterfront Museum which maintains her, nor Trinity House, which manages all Light Houses and Light Vessels in the U.K. had any records to determine which vessel was used at which station during the war. It frankly sounds unbelievable as far as Trinity House is concerned, and I have my doubts they even tried. Regardless, that vessel was from the same era, and if it wasn’t that specific one, it would have been another very similar one.

I even went as far as to review all the U.S. Navy war diaries available in the Fold3.com database, in the hopes that some detail-oriented ensign had noted it. While there were a substantial number, they all unfortunately only mention the generic ‘Helwick’ and not the vessel number.

Now, admittingly, it seemed a bit odd to me that they were using their radar and searchlight to find a vessel at precisely the same time said vessel would have its own powerful light revolving around, threatening to blind their pilots flying at low level (real attacks occurred at 50-100 feet). Afterall, they used Bishop Rock Lighthouse in the Isles of Scilly as their last navigational waypoint (flying at around 2500 feet, however) before they headed out into the unknown hunting U-Boats.

However, Fraser doesn’t just mention it once in his memoir, he mentions it several times, which gives it some credence.

The daytime bombing practice occurred off the coast of North Devon in Morte Bay off Putsborough, about five miles northwest of Chivenor.

Per local historian Mike Westen:

“Putsborough bombing range

At the entrance to Putsborough beach car park, on top of the hill just inside the gate to the coastal path, there are the remains of a concrete foundation. Difficult to see from the ground, but from the air you can clearly see these concrete foundations form the shape of a large arrow.

Situated on the steep slope overlooking the beach, the arrow would have been about 82 feet long and was part of an RAF practice bombing range ground signal. It was used to guide the bombers on their approach to the bombing range out to sea. The structures associated with the arrow had reversible reflective signal discs to allow a range of codes to be communicated to aircraft from the ground, conveying a range of specific instructions as the planes flew overhead.

During the early years of the Second World War - before the US Army arrived in the local area - two RAF motor launches, which were moored at Ilfracombe harbour for rescue purposes, towed target rafts to open water off the beach for the bombing practice.

The target rafts were constructed from wood and cork bales, which were set central poles upon which a circular wicker ball was mounted. The rafts were painted bright yellow and the ball on top painted black - this being the actual target.

Most of the associated RAF bombing range structures at Putsborough were removed by 1964 but the concrete arrow remains visible, slowly reducing in size as nature reclaims this historic World War two legacy.”

There were only two unsuccessful attacks by 172 Squadron in August:

• August 6th – F/O George Vivian Syer and crew in ‘A’ for Apple located a U-Boat but by the time they visually sighted it they were too close and overshot it before they could drop their depth charges and the U-Boat submerged before they could swing around for another run.

• August 29th – Sgt. Hovers and crew were on temporary assignment to RAF Skitton in northern Scotland, but the U-Boat submerged in time and got away.

There were two notable events for August, the first being an amazing nighttime ditching by Australian F/O Allan William Russell Triggs.

Wellington ‘D’ for Dog (BB503) took off at 2030 hours on August 11th from Chivenor on an Anti-Submarine Patrol.

Crew consisted of:

1st Pilot/Commander - F/O Allan William Russell Triggs, RAAF

2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator - Sgt N.P. Walker, RAFVR

Navigator - P/O Colin Badham, RAAF

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - F/S A. S. Cartwright, RAFVR (Note: survivor of Dixon’s crash landing in July)

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - F/S R.P. McLean, RAFVR

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - P/O J.C. Devonshire, RCAF

Per the Record of Events: 

“D/172 failed to return. Some fishing vessels were sighted. Shortly after 03.35 on 12.8.42 “D” made a forced landing on the sea, in position 4806N 0739W (Approx.), owing to engine trouble and sank in 2 minutes. The crew took to the dinghy and at 07.30 on the 6th day after ditching, they were rescued in position 4807N 0620W, by High Speed Launch (HSL), in collaboration with our own aircraft on Air Sea Rescue duties and landed at Land’s End. A few minor injuries were sustained by some members of the crew when the aircraft “ditched”. Altogether 42 sorties were flown by Beaufighters, Whitleys and Hudsons operating from Chivenor during these rescue operations. Towards the end a screen by Beaufighters was maintained between our MLS, sent to pick up the crew and Arado 196’s, which were escorting all enemy ML’s being on the same mission. Several Tunnymen and Enemy Aircraft (Arado’s 196’s, JU.88’s and FW190’s) were sighted by the crew of “D” during the time they were afloat in their dinghy, and one Arado 196 in combat with a Whitley, was believed to have been shot down. A Sunderland which endeavored to rescue the crew was damaged whilst alighting on the sea, and sank, only one member of the crew surviving. He was subsequently contacted, with the help of our aircraft, by the crew of “D”. in company with whom he was eventually rescued.”

It was truly remarkable Triggs was able to successfully ditch at night and everyone survived. While that was the emergency procedure to save the crew that the Wellingtons were modified for, and trained for, no one in the Squadron had actually successfully achieved it yet. That and the effort (and sacrifice) that went into the search and rescue mission must have given Alex and his squadron-mates comfort and quite a morale boost in knowing it was feasible and that every effort would be made in getting them back home.

The other event, sadly did not end well. On August 19th Wellington ‘M’ for Mother (HX482) took off on a non-operational flight. The aircraft was shot down in a “friendly-fire” incident while on a training flight over Swansea Bay by the inexperienced Armed Guard anti-aircraft crew on the American tanker SS Gulf of Mexico. The Wellington may have been homing in on the tanker to demonstrate to their guests and as it emerged from solid cloud cover the American gun crew mis-identified it as a German aircraft and opened fire. Casualties also included 2 passengers riding along to observe; L.A.C. Cross and an American radar expert named Kaufman. The bodies of Pilot Gordon Cave Vincent Jamieson and 2nd Pilot John Stewart Haynes were found the same day. Navigator Ross Pringle Fahrni was found at sea 8/29. WOP/AG Edwin Thomas Arthur Deacon was found at Oxwich 9/5. Jack Mullins, who as noted previously had survived Dixon’s crash-landing in July, was found at Southerndown 9/8. Frederick Percy Charles Cross was found at Rhossilly 9/18. David H. Kaufman was believed not to have been recovered at the time.

In an excellent piece of detective work, historian Robert Palmer believes he has located Kaufman’s grave in the Goytre Cemetery on the outskirts of Port Talbot in South Wales. Rob writes: “Here is a grave of an unknown Airman of the Second World War. Having now viewed the Casualty File at TNA Kew, I am satisfied that, on the balance of probabilities, this is in fact the grave of O-428648 Second Lieutenant David Henry KAUFMAN, U.S.A.A.F., who died when Wellington HX482 was shot down in Swansea Bay on 19 August 1942. The body was washed up on the beach at Port Talbot, with a piece of a Wellington protruding from his leg. The person was wearing an R.A.F. tie, so it was discounted that the body was of Second Lieutenant KAUFMAN, but as all the others were recovered and identified, and this was the only Wellington lost in this period off Swansea, it has to be that of KAUFMAN. There is a picture of the body in the Casualty File, but it is not suitable for publication. I can only presume that KAUFMAN was presented with, or borrowed, an R.A.F. tie for this fateful flight.”

As if the sudden loss was not tragic enough, as noted the victim’s bodies slowly started to be found and recovered over the course of many weeks, which was a constant reminder.

In Squadron news: A contingent of 7 Wellington’s and crews plus 100 ground staff were transferred to RAF Wick, in northern Scotland on August 17th. This would eventually form the nucleus of 179 Squadron.

The advantage 172 Squadron and Coastal Command in general had in detecting surface U-Boats with radar was short-lived. This month saw the initial roll-out by the Germans of their FuMB 1 (Funkmessbeobachtungsgerät) radar detector known as Metox. The mine-layer Type VIID U-214 (Reeder) was the first to sail with the new unit from Brest on August 9th, followed by the Type VIIC U-69 (Gräf) from St. Nazaire and the long-range Type IXB U-107 (Gelhaus) from Lorient both on the 15th.

Based on the success of those U-Boats in detecting British airborne radar, Metox started to be rolled out in earnest in September. Of course, there were still dozens of U-Boats already at sea without Metox that still had to run the gauntlet through the Bay of Biscay, plus production and the roll out was slower than the Germans would have liked. Add to that the rudimentary and somewhat fragile nature of the antenna, receiver malfunctions and false alarms, it still wasn’t quite game over for Coastal Command, but over the next several months the Operational Record Books for 172 Squadron did note an increasing number of “disappearing contacts”, or U-Boats likely equipped with Metox that had detected the aircraft’s approach and had dived before they could get close enough to attack.

Sightings and attacks dropped to 1-2 per month, which was very frustrating for the crews. Still the work continued, flying out night after night on these long missions. They were dangerous enough, after all, with the various mechanical, navigational and weather-related issues that could and did occur.

September 1942

September saw Blackie and Alex fly seven operational sorties, most of which were uneventful. See summary below:

9/1/42 – 9/2/42 Wellington Mk. VIII K/172

Up: 21:30 Down: 7:30 Duration: 10:00

Airborne Chivenor. Several Tunneymen and two fishing trawlers were sighted. Weather - Good except for low cloud between Scillies and Base with rain near coast.

9/8/42 – 9/9/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 20:26 Down: 5:54 Duration: 9:28

Airborne Chivenor. Several fishing vessels sighted. Weather very poor. Low cloud and bad visibility.

9/16/42 – 9/17/42 Wellington Mk. VIII E/172

Up: 19:05 Down: 4:50 Duration: 9:45

Airborne Chivenor. Two Tunneymen sighted. Weather overcast. Low cloud over Cornish Coast.

9/18/42 – 9/19/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 20:35 Down: 7:20 Duration: 10:45

Airborne Chivenor. 4 Tunneymen and 2 other fishing vessels sighted. Weather: Fair.

9/22/42 – 9/23/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 23:36 Down: 9:01 Duration: 9:25

Airborne Chivenor. 2 Tunneymen sighted and 1 Spanish M/V of 2,000 tons (Similar to S.S. "Monte Buitre".). Weather: Cloudy, with rain between 4800 N. and Scillies.

9/24/42 – 9/25/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 23:15 Down: 8:45 Duration: 9:30

Airborne Chivenor. Several Tunneymen sighted. Weather: Fair, occasional thunder showers.

9/30/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 0:14 Down: 11:46 Duration: 11:32

Airborne Chivenor. At 0640 in position 4610N 0750W one single red star signal was sighted - similar to a distress signal. A long oil streak was seen in the same position. "B" searched the sea until 0754 hours but nothing further seen except 1 tunneyman with rods out, heading 200 degs. in position 4618N 0742W. 2 small trawlers were sighted during patrol and also a Sunderland. S.E not used. Weather: good.

There was only one unsuccessful U-Boat attack by the squadron this month by Canadian Sgt. Allan Francis Hakala (J17267) and crew in the early morning hours of September 7th. When the U-Boat was illuminated it was already in the process of diving and by the time they dropped their depth charges only the periscope was visible. Flames were reportedly seen coming from the conning tower as the U-boat resurfaced, so it was likely shaken up, but no U-Boats were reported lost on this date and the U-Boat (or Italian submarine) remains unidentified. 

October 1942

In the month of October Blackie and Alex flew seven operational sorties, most of which were uneventful, although they did suffer several mechanical issues, some of which forced them to shorten their patrol. I must point out that on the evening of October 24th/25th they accomplished the marathon flight of 12 hours and 26 minutes. I assume they were on fumes when they returned. See summary below:

10/2/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 0:10 Down: 8:16 Duration: 8:06

Airborne Chivenor. 10 Trawlers sighted. Patrol curtailed owing to exhaust stub blowing off. Weather: Hazy.

10/8/42 – 10/9/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 23:20 Down: 7:50 Duration: 8:30

Airborne Chivenor. 3 Tunneymen sighted. The I.F.F. went U/S. S/E used as per special instructions. Weather: Fair.

10/11/42 – 10/12/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 20:31 Down: 5:01 Duration: 8:30

Airborne Chivenor. 1 Tunneyman sighted. S/E used. Weather: Fair.

10/16/42 – 10/17/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 22:50 Down: 3:55 Duration: 5:05

Airborne Chivenor. At 0134 patrol was abandoned owing to vibration in port engine and loss of power attributed to broken rocker box. S/E used as instructed. Weather: Fair, but cloudy.

10/20/42 – 10/21/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 18:39 Down: 6:44 Duration: 12:05

Chivenor. Uneventful. S/E used throughout. Weather: Good.

10/24/42 – 10/25/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 18:39 Down: 7:05 Duration: 12:26

Chivenor. A few Trawlers sighted and 1 Spanish M/V of about 4,000 tons. S/E used throughout. Weather: Cloudy and local showers.

10/25/42 – 10/26/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 22:30 Down: 7:22 Duration: 8:52

Chivenor. Uneventful. S/E used throughout. Weather: Cloudy - showery.

In Squadron news, on October 22nd Wing Commander John Burgess Brolly assumed command of No. 172 Squadron. Brolly came from No. 4 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit in Scotland. His predecessor, Wing Commander John Bernard Russell, departed Chivenor on October 24th for his new assignment at No. 19 Group Headquarters. Russell had commanded 172 Squadron since its inception, and actually before, since March of 1942 while it was still No. 1417 Flight.

There was one unsuccessful attack by the squadron which occurred on October 27th. Australian Triggs and crew in ‘A’ for Apple attempted a head-on attack but their depth charges all exploded on the starboard side. Enough to stun the vessel but not enough to sink her. The unidentified U-Boat stayed surfaced and engaged Triggs’ Wellington with anti-aircraft fire until they were able to submerge and get away.

November 1942

On November 7th, 1942 Alex and Margaret were married at her grandmother’s house on 240 Main Street, Rutherglen, Scotland (just south, across the River Clyde, from Glasgow).

They had apparently been tasked with reconnoitering off the German U-Boat base at La Pallice in La Rochelle which routed them between the German occupied French mainland and île d'Oléron, both heavily defended with anti-aircraft batteries. Why Coastal Command would have risked a No. 172 Squadron Wellington with cutting edge technology and a skilled crew is a mystery to me. It could have very easily ended badly with the crew injured, killed or captured.

You can zoom in and explore the interactive map below:

Fortunately, despite the damage to the aircraft, no injuries were reported amongst the crew, including the rear gunner, who would have been in close proximity to the hit. They landed safely back at Chivenor at 4:09am.

They weren’t the only ones either. That evening three 172 Wellington’s had been sent to the French coast. In addition to Blackmore was F/O Douglas Dixon and crew in ‘D’ for Dog which took off at 1959 hours and F/O Gordon Lundon and crew in ‘K’ for King which took off at 2008 hours.

Dixon reported: 

“At 2359 in position 4544N, 0136W “D” was attacked by 2 small stationary flak ships. Both Coloured tracer which was accurate for direction but inaccurate for height. Numerous fishing vessels with lights were sighted near the French coast.” 

This position was about 20 miles southwest of where Blackmore was, off the Gironde Estuary. They also noted it was solid cloud cover, so the Germans likely could hear them but not visually sight them. They landed safely at 0454 hours.

Lundon’s patrol was a little more eventful. They reported: 

“At 0017 hours an S/E [Special Equipment, i.e.; Radar] contact was obtained which materialized into three vessels on Course 180°T. Our Aircraft maneuvered down moon to within 1 ½ miles and then turned to starboard to home on largest unit, an unidentified M/V [Motor Vessel] of about 4000 tons, on either side of which were two flak ships. Leigh Light was switched on at approximately 550 yards and attack was made at 0022 hours [in position 45°05'N 1°20'W per 19 Group records] from starboard quarter to port bow at an angle of 30° to vessels’ track. Four Depth Charges were released at mast height, one of which exploded slightly forward of bridge on starboard side and too close alongside port bow; the other is thought to have fallen on deck of M/V. The rear gunner fired 40/50 rounds as aircraft climbed away. Intense light flak was experienced from the flak ships and also some from the M/V. The Leigh Light was switched off immediately after release of D.C.’s. No results were observed.” 

They landed safely back at Chivenor at 0510 hours.

Note: both Dixon's (Yellow) and Lundon's (Purple) attacks are identified in the interactive map above as well.

172 Squadron was part of 19 Group which was responsible for this area of operations. Unfortunately, 19 Groups Operational Orders and Instructions for November didn’t specify why they ordered this particular mission, the records did reveal there was an increase in sightings and attacks on German surface craft for the month.

This may have been a result of the Metox roll-out and the drop off in U-Boat encounters. Surface vessels obviously cannot not dive to escape and perhaps this was a way to continue to take the fight to the enemy. Surface vessels, their escorts and the proximity of the coast came with a major inconvenience, however, much greater anti-aircraft armament than the single 20mm U-boats had at this time.

11/21/42 – 11/22/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 20:55 Down: 7:10 Duration: 10:15

A few trawlers sighted. S/E used throughout. Weather: Cloudy.

11/23/42 – 11/24/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 18:49 Down: 6:23 Duration: 11:34

Chivenor. A few trawlers sighted. S/E used throughout. Weather: Fair but cloudy.

11/26/42 – 11/27/42 Wellington Mk. VIII C/172

Up: 20:11 Down: 6:58 Duration: 10:47

Chivenor. 2 trawlers sighted. S/E used throughout. Weather: Intermittent rain at 4907N, 0700W.

11/28/42 – 11/29/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172 (Sgt H. Hever replaced Wadsworth)

Up: 22:42 Down: 9:01 Duration: 10:19

Chivenor. 2 Spanish trawlers. S/E used throughout. Weather: Cloudy.

11/30/42 – 12/01/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 23:09 Down: 8:42 Duration: 9:33

Chivenor. Sighted at 0547 in position 4645N, 0620W, a flare which disappeared at 0540. Patrol uneventful. S/E used throughout. Weather: Fine in south and cloudy in northern part of patrol area.

There was one successful U-Boat attack on the Type IXC U-66 (Zapp) by the squadron on November 10th conducted by a familiar name, P/O Douglas Eldon Dixon. While not sunk, it was damaged enough to force it to abort its patrol and return to base with an air escort. You can read more about it on Dixon’s bio here.

December 1942

Thanks to Hever’s flight logs, we know December of 1942 saw them start the month with two training flights; on the 3rd, a daylight Air Test which involved what they call QGH's (Practice landing patterns/procedures in poor visibility) and on the 4th daylight practice bombing.

In addition, they flew four operational sorties, two of which were cut short due to engine trouble. See summary for the month below:

12/3/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172 (According to Hever's Flying Log)

Up: N/A Down: N/A Duration: 1:10

Chivenor. Daylight Air Test, QGH's (Practice landing patterns/procedures in poor visibility)

12/4/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172 (According to Hever's Flying Log)

Up: N/A Down: N/A Duration: 0:35

Chivenor. Daylight Practice Bombing.

12/5/42 – 12/06/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172 (Wadsworth back in place of Hever)

Up: 23:05 Down: 8:35 Duration: 9:30

Chivenor. Sighted 4 trawlers. S/E used throughout. Weather: Cloudy - Poor visibility.

12/9/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 1:53 Down: 11:24 Duration: 9:31

Chivenor. Some fishing vessels sighted 4 trawlers. Patrol abandoned owing to engine trouble. S/E used as instructed. Weather: Cloudy and intermittent rain

12/24/42 Wellington Mk. VIII N/172

Up: 19:09 Down: 23:16 Duration: 4:07

Chivenor. Aircraft obliged to return to base owing to power failure and abandon patrol soon after reaching datum point. Weather: Fair but cloudy.

12/29/42 – 12/30/42 Wellington Mk. VIII N/172

Up: 23:24 Down: 9:36 Duration: 10:12

Chivenor. In position 4750N, 0620W, an S/E contact was observed and at the same time a light was observed. The L/E was switch on illuminating a pole, about 12 feet high with light on top. Two miles away another pole with light was observed. Patrol otherwise uneventful. S/E used throughout. Weather: very bumpy, fair visibility, frequent and heavy rain and hail showers in northern part of course.

Note that their observations of lighted poles on this last patrol were very curious and remain unexplained. The fact that they appear to be lighted seems to rule out debris of some kind. The fact that there were two seems to rule out a damaged navigation buoy of some kind. It is possible that they weren't actually lighted and it was a reflection of their own Leigh Light they were seeing. U-Boats were equipped with two periscopes; a slender attack scope and an observation scope that had a rather large bulbous head. The head incorporated a large lens that could be elevated from the horizon 90° up to directly above them, and combined with the periscopes ability to rotate 360° gave them the ability to observe anything around or above them (like enemy aircraft) while submerged, and even take navigational sightings. A possibility is a pair of U-boats that may have crash-dived, and were taking a look around to see what was above them, although it would be odd to have the scope raised that high unless the seas were rough.

There were only two unsuccessful attacks by the squadron late in the month; one by P/O Peter H.Stembridge and crew in ‘P’ for Peter on the 23rd and the other by F/O Gordon D. Lundon and crew in ‘C’ for Charlie on the 25th.

Tragically, two new crews were lost this month:

1.       F/O John Brian Thornton (24) and crew took off in ‘K’ for King (LB114) on a nighttime Air/Sea search and rescue mission on December 15th, and were never heard from again. It was their first operational patrol.

2.       F/S Jack Dunning Fitch (27) and crew took off in ‘F’ for Freddy (LA998) on a standard anti-submarine patrol on December 27th, and were also never heard from again. It was their fourth operational patrol.

Sadly, these vanishing aircraft were a fact of life for the crews, and made up a large percentage of their losses. While there is the slight possibility that some were shot down, the most plausible explanation was an unsuccessful night-time ditching. This could have been due to an engine failure or a navigational error causing them to be off course and run out of fuel before they solved the problem. As they flew so low, and the early pressure altimeters weren’t very accurate, its also possible some simply flew into the sea by accident. At least one crew lived to tell the tale of bending their propeller tips on the wavetops and another who hit a wave with the extended Leigh Light which bent the lift mechanism and prevented it from raising. They end up partially dismantling the light mid-flight so it could drop free of the aircraft and allow them to make a safe landing.

January 1943

January would see the departure of Frank Blackmore, but not before two last patrols, ending in the grand finale of a U-Boat attack in the pre-dawn hours of January 5th. The squadron’s Record of Events described the attack, but unfortunately did not note the coordinates.

The U-Boat’s course of 090° noted in the Record of Events suggested an inbound/returning vessel. Cross-referencing the German U-Boat Headquarters War Diary however, revealed there were 30 U-boats on return passage on this date. They all survived, and none reported an air attack or damage in commonly available sources, so clearly the coordinates would prove critical.

Fortunately, the British National Archives at Kew had a copy of Blackmore’s more detailed U-Boat Attack Assessment Form (known as UBAT) for this attack, which provided the necessary clues. It stated:

“On Anti-Submarine patrol flying on track 239° at 1500 feet. in weather 10/10 cloud, high up and 5/10 base 2000 feet, sea moderate, visibility good with dawn breaking, got Special Equipment [Radar] contact bearing green 10° range 6 miles. To avoid approaching out of the dawn aircraft intended to circle to approach from the other side. When flying 270° at 800 feet, a U-Boat was sighted on surface bearing red 60° distant 1 mile in position 45° 53’ North, 14° 04’ West, course 90° 8 knots. U-Boat was German similar to U.45 class [VIIB]. Aircraft circled round stern of U-Boat and attacked finally from its starboard beam but U-Boat dived when aircraft was 500 yards away. Continued the attack and from 60 feet, released 4 Mark XI Torpex depth charges set to shallow depth spaced actually to 28 feet, 7 seconds after U-Boat had disappeared. Searchlight was switched on 10 seconds before release. Evidence states that stick accurately straddled the line of advance and was 100 feet ahead of apex of swirl. Flame floats were dropped in the depth charge stick and aircraft circled the position of attack for 20 minutes but nothing unusual was observed. Having reached P.L.E. [Prudent Limit of Endurance] aircraft then set course for base.”

Alex was the Leigh Light Operator on this attack.

They were very far out in the western approaches, no longer technically in the Bay of Biscay (see interactive map above). The coordinates noted in the UBAT helped whittle down the list of candidates from 30 to just three, and with the help of Jerry Mason at Uboatarchive.net reviewing his available German war diaries, we were able to determine the attack was on the Type VIIC U-336 commanded by 27-year-old Kapitänleutnant Hans Hunger.

U-336 had departed Kiel, Germany on November 12, 1942 on their maiden patrol, intent on sailing to their assigned flotilla in Brest, occupied France. They got off to a rough start, however, and collided with their escort minesweeper M-1906 in the North Sea, the damage requiring them to return to Kiel on the 13th. Their next attempt would be a bit luckier. They departed Kiel on November 28th, and was credited with sinking the Belgian Motor Tanker President Francqui (a straggler from Convoy ONS-154) on December 29th, 1942. The vessel had actually been struck by a torpedo from U-225 the previous day and U-336 finished the job.

U-336 then survived the attack by Blackmore on January 5th and made it to Brest on the 8th with U-225, who had taken President Francqui’s Master, Gilbert Bayot, prisoner. Bayot was sent to Wilhelmshaven then to the Merchant Mariner POW camp Milag Nord located about 19 miles northeast of Bremen. He survived and was eventually repatriated.

U-336’s war diary notes they did not pick up the aircraft on their Metox radar detector, even though the squadron was still flying the Wellington G.R. Mk. VIII, in this case “D/172” equipped with the original ASV Mk. II Radar that Metox was designed to detect. U-336 visually spotted them (mis-identified as a Sunderland) about a mile away, and dived immediately and reached a safe depth (about 82 feet) with the depth charges exploding over them.

Analysis by naval staff is that it was a good run and noted: “Time interval of 7 seconds + 2 seconds time of flight + 3 seconds to reach depth = 12 seconds. During this time conning tower advanced 120 feet, ahead of apex of swirl, so that stick was correctly placed for line, and according to rear gunner’s evidence was correct for range.”

On January 20th Captain Dudley Vivian Peyton-Ward, Royal Naval Staff, provided the following assessment of Blackmore’s attack: “If the visual evidence of distances is correct it is a good attack and it is most disappointing that there were no apparent after results. I think aircraft should have gone into attack when the U-Boat was visually sighted as release might have been made while U-Boat was still visible above water. Still the reasoning was correct in that an approach out of the dawn was most disadvantageous. At the least the U-Boat must have been very severely shaken.”

No casualties were reported by U-336, but some minor damage was according to her war diary, such as: “Gyro-repeater, Speed Indicator and Depth indicator in bow compartment and conning tower, rudder position indicator in Conning Tower.” This indicates U-336 was in fact very severely shaken.

As Peyton-Ward noted, if Blackmore had attacked immediately, rather than take the time to get into a better position, they may have caught them on the surface before they could reach a safe depth, and in turn may have gotten a better result.

U-336’s luck would not hold for long, and after two unsuccessful patrols, they were sunk on October 5th, 1943 in the Denmark Strait south-west of Iceland, in position 62.43N, 27.17W, by a volley of 3” armor piercing rockets fired from a British Hudson Mk. III (FK.764) of 269 Squadron flown by Flight Sergeant Gordon Campbell Allsop (RAAF). U-336’s entire complement of 50 officers and crew were lost.

1st Pilot/Commander Flying Officer Blackmore was not the only one who left the squadron in January. Their Navigator, Flight Lieutenant William Robert Burnett and WOP/AG’s Pilot Officer G.P. Brown and Sergeant Henry Claude Evans also appear to have their 500 hours and were assigned to different squadrons.

The squadron had a policy that after 500 hours of operational combat patrols (Not including training and practice), the personnel would leave 172 squadron and be given their choice of assignment.

In addition, Sergeant G.D. Wadsworth had transferred to Pilot Officer Peter William Phillips crew after the previous patrol on January 2nd/3rd (Phillips was later killed August 7th, 1943), and Wadsworth’s replacement, Sergeant Sidney Brenner went on to serve on Pilot Officer Allan Francis Hakala’s crew, all of whom later vanished without a trace on April 2nd, 1943.

So now Alex, with 337 operational hours under his belt was odd man out, without a crew. Here is a summary of his two sorties with Blackmore in January:

1/2/43 – 1/3/43 Wellington Mk. VIII C/172

Up: 22:57 Down: 9:22 Duration: 10:25

Chivenor. Uneventful. S/E used throughout. Weather: Cloudy, turbulent, some rain.

1/5/43 Wellington Mk. VIII D/172 (Attack on U-336. Brenner replaced Wadsworth)

Up: 3:59 Down: 13:00 Duration: 9:01

Chivenor. "D" flying at 1500 ft. on Co. 239°, obtained, at 0843, on S/E contact on homing aerials, 6 miles to starboard. "D" homed, losing height and at 0843 (as dawn was breaking) sighted visually a U/B on surface 1 mile away. U/B was on Co. 090°, speed 12 kts. As A/C was then on Co. 270° and silhouetted against the light, pilot circled to port to approach from the other side and attacked across U/B's track from south to north. By this time the U/B had crash dived and had been submerged for about 5 to 10 seconds, and the D.C.'s were released from 60 ft., 100 ft. ahead of swirl. Rear gunner saw the four explosions, two on starboard and two on port side, forming a perfect "T" in relation to U/Boat's track. the L/E was exposed 10 seconds before the D.C.'s were dropped. Whilst a/c was maneuvering into position to attack, rear gunner fired short burst at U/boat "D" circled scene of attack for 20 minutes by nothing further was seen. S/E used throughout. Weather: Fair.

You may have noticed that the majority of flights Alex had with Blackmore were with Wellington Mk. VIII B/172 (Serial No. BB.513). Fraser in his book refers to her as ‘B’ for Beer, based on the phonetic alphabet the RAF used at the time, but I think we need to consider the possibility Blackmore fancied that her letter also represented his last name. In the early days of the squadron when there weren’t enough Leigh Light Wellington’s to go around, the men with seniority, like Blackmore, seemed to have considerable say in which aircraft they were assigned. It could have been superstition or practicality as “B” did seem to be one of the more reliable aircraft in the squadron. As the war progressed, the pilots had less input and eventually were just assigned whatever random aircraft the ground crews were able to get ready for that evening.

BB.513 was a G.R. Mk. VIII equipped with Pegasus XVIII Engines and built at the Vickers Armstrong main factory in Weybridge, south of London. This is where the Brooklands Museum resides today, and we were fortunate to visit there in September of 2023 and see the Wellington Mk. IA (N2980) they have on display. BB.513 was delivered to the 32nd Maintenance Unit on February 28th, 1942, then sent to the 38th Maintenance Unit on April 2nd, 1942, before finally being delivered to No. 172 Squadron on April 21st, 1942.

BB.513 was later transferred from No. 172 Squadron to No. 179 Squadron on January 11th, 1943 and was lost over the sea on November 19th, 1943 during a transit flight from RAF Lyneham, North Wiltshire, England to Gibraltar. Pilot Flying Officer Francis Albert Collins, Flight Sergeant Forbes Govan Benning, Sergeant James Stephen Edwards and Sergeant Wyndham Royce Silcocks were never recovered and are commemorated on the Malta Memorial.

Dixon’s Crew

Later in January, 1943 Alex was assigned as 2nd Pilot/Leigh Light operator on Douglas Eldon Dixon’s crew, who as noted started flying again in September with a whole new crew consisting of:

1st Pilot/Commander - Flying Officer Douglas Eldon Dixon

2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator - Pilot Officer John Burbridge

Navigator - Pilot Officer Donald James Ashworth

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Sergeant G. Cornfield

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Sergeant G.C. Bell

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Sergeant George Walter Young (noted as G.W. Yung)

Alex replaced Burbridge as 2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator and WOP/AG Sergeant Hubert Peter Hever (who joined Blackmore’s crew with Alex temporarily back in November) replaced Cornfield, so now the entire crew was comprised of the following:

1st Pilot/Commander - Flying Officer Douglas Eldon Dixon

2nd Pilot/Leigh Light Operator - Sergeant Alexander Coumbis

Navigator - Pilot Officer Donald James Ashworth

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Sergeant Hubert Peter Hever

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Sergeant G.C. Bell

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Sergeant George Walter Young

It was around this time that the following crew pictures were taken, I assume by Ashworth as he is the only crewmember not included:

In addition to Blackmore’s failed attack on U-336, there were three other unsuccessful attacks for the month:

1.       January 3rd – F/O A.W.R. Triggs and crew in ‘A’ for Apple located and attacked an unknown U-Boat, but had to dive too steeply which caused the depth charges to release in a group on the starboard side (one of which may have impacted the hull). Candidates include U-410, U-432, U-461, U-621 or U-659.

2.       January 16th – Sgt. A.F. Hakala and crew in ‘N’ for Nuts attacked an unknown submarine which they described as an Italian type in the process of diving. Their Leigh Light failed to lower and they attempted to use the available moonlight.

3.       January 18th – F/O J.N. Myers and crew in ‘L’ for Love, despite a jammed rear turret and an intercom failure attempted to attack the inbound Type VIIC U-618 (Baberg), which dived before they could get into position and it arrived safely in St. Nazaire later that same day.

While thankfully the squadron did not suffer any losses in January, there were a couple of close calls:

1.       January 7th - F/O A.W.R. Triggs and crew in ‘A’ for Apple started experiencing engine trouble on their starboard engine. They managed to climb to 8,000 feet when suddenly the propellor spun off, and then shortly thereafter the entire engine fell off! They were able to maintain 100 knots with the port engine, but gradually lost altitude. By the time they reached the coast about an hour later they were down to 200 feet, but managed to make a successful emergency landing at RAF Portreath in Cornwall. No doubt Triggs was having flashbacks of his previous ditching.

2.       January 20th – S/L R.B. Thomson and crew in ‘M’ for Mother lost power on one of their engines and turned into the wind to prepare to ditch, but found they were able to maintain height and managed to land safely back at Chivenor 2-1/2 nerve-wracking hours later.

Note that the new Mk. XII version of the Wellington started to be delivered at the end of the month, MP511 on the 27th and MP509 on the 29th, and I’ll detail those in March when they began flying them operationally. 

February 1943

There is actually a bit of confusion as to exactly when Hubert Hever joined Dixon’s crew, and I will address that when I add Heaver's biography. Per the Operational Record Books, their first operational patrol together was the evening of February 21st/22nd. This was intended to be a typical anti-submarine patrol, but ended up being an Air-Sea Rescue mission.

Per the Record of Events: 

“At 0018 in position 4620N, 1140W, a square search for a dinghy was commenced in accordance with W/T instruction from Base. At 0155 in position 4616N, 1119W the dinghy was located, with 5 or 6 survivors. A fix was obtained and Base informed.” 

This was not a 172 crew, and unfortunately, it is not known for sure if surface vessels were vectored to the location in time to make a successful rescue, but anecdotal information from Young’s family indicates a successful rescue was accomplished.  This was actually their only operational patrol in February.

Hever’s flying log indicated they flew six training flights as well, and I suspect that because there were so many changes to the crew, they wanted to make sure had some time to become a cohesive team. U-Boat encounters were not happening very frequently, but when they did, things happened fast, and each crewmember had an important role to fill and needed to act without hesitation. See February summary below:

2/19/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172 (New crew) Douglas Eldon Dixon

Up: N/A Down: N/A Duration: 1:30

Chivenor. Daylight Homings (I/C & U/S) Exercise.

2/21/42 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172 (According to Hever's Flying Log)

Up: N/A Down: N/A Duration: 1:00

Chivenor. Daylight Homings (Barnstaple Beacon) Exercise.

2/21/43 - 2/22/43 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172

Up: 20:28 Down: 5:50 Duration: 9:22

Chivenor. At 0018 in position 4620N, 1140W, a square search for a dinghy was commenced in accordance with W/T instruction from Base. At 0155 in position 4616N, 1119W the dinghy was located, with 5 or 6 survivors. A fix was obtained and Base informed. S/E used throughout. Weather: Good.

2/24/43 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172 (According to Hever's Flying Log)

Up: N/A Down: N/A Duration: 1:15

Chivenor. Daylight ASV Test.

2/25/43 Wellington Mk. VIII B/172 (According to Hever's Flying Log)

Up: N/A Down: N/A Duration: 1:30

Chivenor. Daylight ASV Test.

2/27/43 Wellington Mk. VIII BB.508 (According to Hever's Flying Log)

Up: N/A Down: N/A Duration: 1:00

Chivenor. Daylight ASV Test.