Forgotten pilots or flights...

[TheGreenGoblin]

Bob Cardenas, born in Mexico, not dead, not forgotten, but should be better known... an extraordinary man and an outstanding pilot at every stage of his multi-faceted career as bomber and post war test pilot (amongst others)...

World War II
In 1944, he was assigned to the 506th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bomb Group, also known the Flying Eightballs, based at Shipdham in Norfolk, England. He flew his first mission on the B-24 Liberator "Southern Comfort" on January 24.

On March 18, Captain Cardenas was flying as Command Pilot for the 44th Bomb Group on his 20th mission. His airplane, the B-24 "Sack Artists" (serial number 42-100073), was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire. His attack run was supposed to target the Manzell Air Armaments factory in Friedrichshafen, Germany. However, the right wing was severely damaged by a shell and two engines were set on fire. According to his report relayed to the War Department, his number 2 engine was "hit by flak [and] on fire," causing the loss of 3,000 ft. altitude. Despite this damage he "Rejoined formation for [a] second [bomb] run." After this pass his "[numbers] 2 and 4 [engines were] on fire," and "[number] 3 vibrating badly" in addition to "gas leaks," damage to bomb bays, wings, and electrical systems, and "hydraulics inoperative." Several members of the crew were also wounded, including Cardenas, who received a head injury when a piece of flak pierced his helmet. Since the plane was severely damaged and losing stability, 1st Lieutenant Raymond J. Lacombe decided to pilot the plane to Switzerland. Cardenas' crew all parachuted safely. The bomber then exploded at a low altitude and sheared off the top of several trees.

Capt. Cardenas landed on the German side of Lake Constance. He swam across the lake to the Swiss side in order to evade capture. He was first interned at a camp for American officers at Adelboden, and was later assigned to teach Swiss officers how to fly interned American bombers at Dübendorf Airfield near Zurich. On 27 September 1944, Cardenas escaped into France with the help of Swiss civilians and the French resistance. He was flown to England and then sent back to the United States to recover from his head injury.

[TheGreenGoblin]

[TheGreenGoblin]

A flight by an old school mate in NZ in a Spitfire (in the colours of this man's Squadron) this weekend, brought this man to mind.

Wing CO Colin Gray.JPG (59.17 KiB) Viewed 614 times

Group Captain Colin Falkland Gray, DSO, DFC & Two Bars (9 November 1914 – 1 August 1995) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and the top New Zealand fighter ace of the Second World War.

Born in Christchurch, Gray was accepted into the RAF in 1939 on a short service commission, after two previous attempts failed on medical grounds. He flew with No. 54 Squadron during the Battle of France. His twin brother, who had also joined the RAF and was a bomber pilot, was killed in a flying accident at this time. He flew extensively for the majority of the Battle of Britain and by September 1940, he had shot down 14 enemy aircraft and had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). He fulfilled a training role for the next few months before returning to offensive operations in early 1941.

Gray commanded No. 616 Squadron on the Channel Front and was awarded a Bar to his DFC before being sent to the Mediterranean theatre of operations to lead No. 64 Squadron. By 1943 he was a wing commander and flew a number of operations in the North African and Italian Campaigns. By the end of the year he had destroyed at least a further 13 enemy aircraft and been awarded the Distinguished Service Order. A return to Europe followed and in September 1944, he commanded a wing supporting the airborne operations of the Battle of Arnhem. He finished the war with a confirmed 27 victories. After the war he held a number of staff and command positions in the RAF before his eventual retirement in 1961. He returned to New Zealand to work for Unilever. He died in 1995 at the age of 80.

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Falkland_Gray

And not to forget his twin brother Ken Gray who flew as a (decorated) bomber pilot and who was killed in a flying accident in Scotland.

Pilot Officer Kenneth Neil Gray, of Gisborne (N.Z.), has been killed on active service. He won the D.F.C. on January 1 for gallantry against the enemy.

Pilot Officer Kenneth Neil Gray, of Gisborne (N.Z.), has been killed on active service. He won the D.F.C. on January 1 for gallantry against the enemy.

[FD2]

When I lived in Aberdeenshire, a friend who was in the Royal Observer Corps took me up the Hill of Foudland behind his house near Insch, around 1980. It's the only time I have visited an old wreck site and it was as sad an occasion as I'd feared. What remained of the wreckage of the Whitley bomber was strewn across a scree slope way up the hill and amongst the blown bullet cartridges and other pieces of fuselage were the poignant reminders of the lives lost - I remember a key ring, the soles of shoes and bits of suitcases. The aircraft was flying from Kinloss to Driffield via Leuchars and was piloted by Flying Officer Kenneth Gray. All the flight crew died and there were four passengers in the aircraft taking the opportunity of a lift down to Driffield to get a head start for leave, which is confirmed by this account: http://aircrewremembered.com/gray-kenne ... XLiCq0Hgvb I think one of the passengers eventually survived, after treatment for burns, and saw out the War.

Gray's family seems to have moved from Christchurch to Gisborne and I now live not far from his birthplace in Papanui - he was a long way from home. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/02599.php

[FD2]

GG - The locally based Spitfires and a Mustang have been busy lately for the ANZAC Day commemorations. Slightly higher volume of noise than the locally based light aircraft!

[TheGreenGoblin]

When I lived in Aberdeenshire, a friend who was in the Royal Observer Corps took me up the Hill of Foudland behind his house near Insch, around 1980. It's the only time I have visited an old wreck site and it was as sad an occasion as I'd feared. What remained of the wreckage of the Whitley bomber was strewn across a scree slope way up the hill and amongst the blown bullet cartridges and other pieces of fuselage were the poignant reminders of the lives lost...

Gray's family seems to have moved from Christchurch to Gisborne and I now live not far from his birthplace in Papanui - he was a long way from home. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/02599.php

Those high places in England, Wales and Scotland were cruel places to pilots during the war. While visiting my brother near Haddington 3 years ago, I paid my respects to Vaclav Jicha's grave. Jicha was killed, in an Avro Anson on a flight that was ostensibly a training one.

On 1 February 1945, Václav was aboard a Avro Anson NK945 for a training cross-country flight. The aircraft took off at about 14:15 from RAF Kinloss en route to Berwick on Tweed, south-east of Edinburgh. The aircraft was piloted by F/Lt R.D. Fergusson with Václav as co-pilot and P/O A.S. Davidson, a flight engineer, as passenger. No more was to be heard from the aircraft.

Prior to take-off the pilot did not obtain a weather report for the route. During the flight, the Anson encountered a heavy snow storm. The pilot tried to return but, at about, 15:45, in bad visibility it crashed on Soutra Hill between Hunters Hall and Turflaw, East Lothian, some 30 yards east of the A68 Edinburgh/Lauder road.

https://fcafa.com/2014/02/10/vaclav-jic ... f-the-few/

I took the following photograph and felt awfully sad for the victims lost up on that hill side in the snow... (sadly it was also the last time I saw my brother alive, but that's another story)...

PS - I know a Kenny Gray, who lives in Simons Town, a South African of Scottish ancestry, and his charmingly crazy Irish wife. He was once a very promising racing driver, his career being cut short here in the UK by a very bad crash, his life being saved by the redoubtable Sid Watkins, but I digress, as is my wont.

As for Wing Commander Gray, this Spitfire, flown in as a passenger by my old school mate from Johannesburg last weekend (now a doctor in New Zealand) now flies in the colours of his Squadron in tribute to them and him.

[FD2]

I lived for 7 years in the north of Northumberland. The area was rich in pitch battles between Scotland and England - Halidon Hill 1333, Homildon Hill 1402 (where Harry 'Hotspur' Percy caught up with some Scottish marauders) and Flodden in 1513 where the 'Flowers of the Forest' perished. From 1942 to 1946 there was an active RAF station at Millfield https://aviationtrails.wordpress.com/20 ... airfields/

There is a beautiful Anglican church nearby at Kirknewton which was used by the airmen and where 14 of them are buried.
https://flyingforyourlife.com/pilots/ww2/cj/cosh/

I don't know what Digby Cosh was doing in the area but he died in an accident nearby in June 1944. His mother commissioned a stained glass window in the local church where he is buried along with thirteen other Allied servicemen.
https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/1691 ... Church.htm

[FD2]

His mother visited the grave after the War and commissioned the window (right):.

Screenshot_2021-05-06 Memorial Windows St Gregory Church - Kirknewton - TracesOfWar com.png (164.28 KiB) Viewed 573 times

https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-ceme ... HURCHYARD/

Lt Cdr Digby Cosh RCNVR

index.jpg (4.83 KiB) Viewed 573 times

[Undried Plum]

The accident rate of pilots in training at RAF Grangemouth was absolutely horrendous. There's a graveyard just outside Falkirk where Polish pilots are stacked three deep in a row of graves. Some killed on consecutive days. CFITs were appallingly common, as were accidents involved trainees equaling the world record for low flying and getting too close to eachother in formation flying practice.

Until quite late in 1943 the RAF lost more pilots in accidents than were lost to enemy fire.

[CharlieOneSix]

Found this on the Find a Grave website:

Lieutenant Commander Cosh was killed in the crash of 881 RN Squadron's Submarine Spitfire (#EN794) during a bombing exercise.

From the Canadian Virtual War Memorial-
Military Service:-
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Trade: Pilot, Commanding Officer (No. 881 RN Squadron)
Age: 25
Force: Navy
Unit: Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, Fleet Air Arm
Division: No. 881 RN Squadron on HMS 'Furious'
-----------------

Didn't know the RN had Submarine Spitfires!!!

and some more info...http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/16235.php

[ian16th]

I had cause to search through the record of RAF deaths in South Africa, during the Empire Training Scheme, in WWII.

I was searching on behalf of the RAF Boy Entrants Association for former Boys.

But I remember the total deaths in SA was in the hundreds.

This included deaths by natural causes, remember appendicitis was usually fatal in those days, and such things as RTA's, but the vast majority were during flying training.

[FD2]

I suppose we should be pleased that at least someone has made an effort to write him up C16, even if they didn't know the difference! I was a bit puzzled by the HMCS Niobe inscription until I found it was an administrative building for the RCN ships and personnel in the UK, situated in Greenock. http://www.forposterityssake.ca/SE/SE0027.htm

The original Niobe was the first RCN ship, transferred from the RN, and scrapped after being damaged in the 1917 Halifax explosion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

[FD2]

C16 - that link has a lot more info about him - thanks. It looks like he was seconded to the Fighter Leaders' School at Millfield. What an amazing career through the War.

Goswick has a lovely peaceful beach now - good to get away from the very popular Bamburgh beach and castle in summer.

[TheGreenGoblin]

Long personal preamble to this one - "I first heard of the chap in the title to this thread through a charming meeting over lunch in 2013 with the very aged father (sadly now dead and a candidate for an entry on this thread himself) of a friend of a good friend of mine. I met him only once over lunch in Simon's Town. It was a social occasion and the old chap, who I had never heard of, or met before, had been gulled by his daughter, into a luncheon appointment that he clearly didn't want, sitting as he was opposite me, and apart from a polite hello would have held his counsel at the outdoor table at the restaurant, had not a BAC Strikemaster flown over and I had, in my inimitable way, looked up and said "weaponised version of the Jet Provost trainer you know", to which the old bloke brightened up immediately and retorted in cultured tones "not a patch on the Harvard as a trainer and not as good a fighter as the Sabre". Thus began a long conversation, anticipated, by my friend who had advised his friend of the seating arrangement, knowing full well that being an aviation bore, I would be ideal company for her father. Turned out that he had flown Sabres in the SAAF during the Korean war. He had flown far more in the latter years of the Second War, as I discovered later. A long and interesting conversation ensued in which he mentioned the South African noted as the subject of this thread as being the only member of the RAF to be captured by the North Koreans.

Sadly the old bloke passed away some months after our meeting. He was well into his 90's and had had a good innings, becoming a director for BP South Africa after his flying days were over."

Post that lunch, I really struggled to find any detail relating to Wing Commander Martinus Oelof van den Berg on the web or anywhere else until I discovered that he had been flying as a member of the RAF for the RAAF in one of the RAAF Meteors as part of a Commonwealth Squadron in Korea. What had added to his elusiveness was that he was known by the Aussies and the British as Olaf Berg or Olaf Bergh (according to taste), presumably because the poor dabs couldn't pronounce his Afrikaans name! An Afrikaner, flying for the RAF in an RAAF aircraft!

Lost in combat during Rocket Strike 27/8/52 Near Yongmadong, North Korea. Shot down by enemy ground fire. Pilot, Flying Officer Olaf M. Bergh (RAF) - ejected and was captured by North Korean Ground Forces.“Stories of Olaf are legion. He was one of the few RAF pilots who was chosen to fly in the Commonwealth Squadron in Korea. He spent 18 months in the hands of the North Koreans who tried to break him. He spent most of his time up to his neck in freezing water in a pit. Olaf would always make light of this, although I believe he never fully recovered from the experience. He said that the North Koreans unusually sent him back before the end of the war as they couldn’t put up with the hard time he was giving them!” (Wing Commander Mick A F Ryan – Retired)

Repatriated in February 1954, Olaf M. Bergh returned to RAF service, rising to the Rank of Commanding Officer of 93 Squadron, RAF, in 1960. Olaf M. Bergh died 15/5/83, aged just 58. His ejection was the 7th time a pilot had ejected from an RAAF aircraft. Struck off charge 8/9/52 as lost in combat.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/85914


It seems that "Olaf Bergh" had a notable career after his release rising to the rank of Wing Commander in the RAF. I wonder if any of the good folks here knew him or of him?

93sqnpic027.jpg (28.37 KiB) Viewed 522 times

http://www.rafjever.org/93sqnper008.htm

[TheGreenGoblin]

Description
PANMUNJOM, NORTH KOREA. 1953-09-01. STILL WEARING THEIR BLUE CHINESE PRISON UNIFORMS, FIVE PILOTS SHOT DOWN WHILE SERVING WITH NO. 77 SQUADRON RAAF ARE SHOWN SHORTLY AFTER THEIR RELEASE FROM PRISONER OF WAR CAMPS IN NORTH KOREA. LEFT TO RIGHT: (BACKROW) PILOT OFFICER RON GUTHRIE; FLIGHT LIEUTENANT OLAF BERGH (RAF); FLIGHT LIEUTENANT JOHN "BUTCH" HANNAN (FRONT ROW); PILOT OFFICER VANCE DRUMMOND AND PILOT OFFICER BRUCE THOMSON. ON HAND TO GREET THEM WAS SQUADRON LEADER NEVILLE MCNAMARA, EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NO. 77 SQUADRON.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C41834

All of them in the back row looked half starved.

The Korean Kid was actually the name of the aircraft...

The Korean Kid

[TheGreenGoblin]

Not forgotten really, but always worth being reminded of.

Bob Smyth, who was Chief Test Pilot and Bill Miller, who was a project test pilot, both flew for Grumman and, along with many others, were members of the team who flew and tested the F-14.

Bob Smyth



Both of the above named men being unfortunate enough to have to eject from the F14 prototype on one of its very first test flights. That the F14 went on to become such a successful aircraft was due in no small to the efforts of brave, skilled men such as these two.

Story of the second, incident filled flight of the prototype as told by Bob Smyth

https://www.airspacemag.com/military-av ... 4-9474656/




Sadly Bill Miller was killed a year and half to the day after that accident. Bob Smyth describes the cause of that accident below.

Bill Miller had been doing the F-14 Carrier Suitability demonstration at PaxRiver in the Spring and Summer of 1972. As you may know, in that program, you demonstrate the structural capability of the airplane to perform to all the limits of arrestments and catapult launches. All this is done on the gear on the airfield at PaxRiver. The airplane never gets above 1,000 feet and hardly ever retracts the gear or flaps. Also there is little use for a back-seater, so we put an instrument package on the rear cockpit seat rails. The airplane had a known problem with wing sweep because one of the interlocks that prevents wing sweep with the flaps down or spoilers up, was hanging up. To sweep the wings the pilot had to fiddle with a circuit breaker and the flap handle at the same time- a two handed job. Not a big problem, Bill was quite familiar with the process. Every 4th of July, Patuxent has a big Navy Relief air show with thousands attending. They ask the contractors who have their latest aircraft there if they would participate in the air show. They usually all say they will. Bill agreed to perform, and had planned a high performance takeoff, followed by a 90/270 reversal, and return down the runway at 400 KTS with the wings fully swept. On June 30, 1972, Bill went out for a practice flight. The weather was said to be VFR (3 miles or better visibility); in fact it was much less out over the Chesapeake Bay - a common summertime condition. Bill lined up on Runway 20, which is parallel to the bay. He advanced power to Zone 5 afterburner, and made his takeoff run. He pulled up very steeply, retracted the gear, then rolled inverted, pulled the nose back down to the horizon and began his 90 deg. left turn out over the bay. He noticed his gear did not show up and locked so he had to recycle the gear. He then started fiddling with the circuit breaker and flap handle while starting his right 270 deg. turn to line up with the runway. At this point the nose fell slightly and he unwittingly started to descend from his 1,000 foot altitude. There was no horizon and the water was a flat calm. At the last minute he must have seen a sailboat (one saw him), went to full power and yanked the stick back. He hit the water at 350 KTS and that was the end. Had there been someone in the back seat to warn him, the accident would never have happened. Most accidents are stupid; this was no exception. That's about the most factual account you will get. Incidentally, it was 18 months, exactly, after the loss of Number One on December 30th, 1970. Yours, Bob Smyth.

[TheGreenGoblin]

In searching for more detail about Bill Miller I came across this site which claims to be a memorial to Grumman test pilots and yet doesn't seem to mention Miller at all (written out of Grumman history?) and is riddled with software errors... some lack of respect for excellence there...

http://www.grummanpark.org/content/contact-information

[FD2]

John Godley, 3rd Baron Kilbracken DSC 1920 - 2006

An Irish peer, Godley took flying lessons at school and joined the Royal Navy in 1940 with the intention of flying. He spent most of the War flying Swordfish from Merchant Aircraft Carriers ('MAC' ships) in North Atlantic convoy escort duties. Promoted Lt Cdr in 1944 he took command of 835 Squadron, a mix of Swordfish and Wildcats for which he was awarded the DSC. He, like many other naval aviators of the time, had deep suspicions of the Barracuda and his next command (deserved as a 'rest') was 714 second line squadron flying Barracudas and based at RNAS Rattray, at Crimond, near Peterhead.

After spending most of the War at sea, often in Arctic conditions, and surviving one ditching where he and his two crew had nearly died (only survived because the second Swordfish spotted them ditching at extreme visual range and alerted a nearby fishing vessel) he had become 'twitched' and tried to avoid flying the Barracuda and anything else for that matter and was proved right when returning to the airfield in 1945, a leak developed from a pipe in the cockpit:

During the earlier part of its service life, the Barracuda suffered a fairly high rate of unexplained fatal crashes, often involving experienced pilots. During 1945 the cause was traced to small leaks developing in the hydraulic system; the most common point for such a leak to happen was at the point of entry to the pilot's pressure gauge and was situated such that the resulting spray was directed straight into the pilot's face. The chosen hydraulic fluid contained ether and, as the aircraft were only rarely equipped with oxygen masks and few aircrew wore them below 10,000 ft/3,000 m anyway, the pilot quickly became unconscious during such a leak, inevitably leading to a crash. At the end of May 1945, an Admiralty order was issued that required all examples of the type to be fitted with oxygen as soon as possible, and for pilots to use the system at all times

Realising he was passing out he managed to slam the aircraft on the ground as he did. In the sick bay he finally gave in to his fears and confessed his state to the PMO who immediately grounded him. It was a very hard thing for him to admit and he felt guilty in doing so - the section of his book which describes these events makes difficult reading. Despite their problems over 2,500 Barracudas were delivered to the Navy. There was a song at the time titled 'Somewhere a Barra's Crashing'.

His account of his wartime experiences is in his book 'Bring Back My Stringbag' - a very well written and exciting book and well worth the effort of buying reading. For several years after the War he could not set foot in an aircraft and became a journalist. He achieved a scoop in wangling an invitation to a party in Moscow and chatting to senior Soviet leaders. He succeeded his father as Baron Kilbracken in 1950, while visiting New Zealand to celebrate the centenary of the foundation of Christchurch and the province of Canterbury by his great-great-grandfather, John Robert Godley in about 1850.

Screenshot_2021-05-13 lord kilbracken - Google Search.png (131.18 KiB) Viewed 432 times

Screenshot_2021-05-13 john godley ww2 - Google Search.png (58.89 KiB) Viewed 432 times

[TheGreenGoblin]

John Godley, 3rd Baron Kilbracken DSC 1920 - 2006

What an extraordinary and truly brave man, able grit his teeth, to overcome his well founded fear, and then, when it was necessary, to admit it as well. I had never heard of him before FD2's excellent post. I feel another book purchase on the way.

I also knew nothing about the Barracuda , save for the name, prior to this.

During July 1943, the Barracuda first saw action with 810 Squadron aboard HMS Illustrious off the coast of Norway; shortly thereafter, the squadron was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to support the landings at Salerno, a critical element of the Allied invasion of Italy. During the following year, the Barracuda entered service in the Pacific Theatre.[citation needed]

As the only British naval aircraft in service stressed for dive bombing following the retirement of the Blackburn Skua the Barracuda participated in Operation Tungsten, an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz while it was moored in Kåfjord, Alta, Norway. On 3 April 1944 a total of 42 aircraft dispatched from British carriers HMS Victorious and Furious scored 14 direct hits on Tirpitz using a combination of 1,600 lb (730 kg) and 500 lb (230 kg) bombs for the loss of one bomber. This attack damaged Tirpitz, killing 122 of her crew and injuring 316, as well as disabling the ship for over two months. However, the slow speed of the Barracudas contributed to the failure of the subsequent Operation Mascot and Operation Goodwood attacks on Tirpitz during July and August of that year.

Fairey Barracuda

It must have taken some courage to fly an aircraft that was really not up to the job it was undertaking, in the context of such hotly contested targets.

Pilots came to appreciate the powerful flaps/airbrakes fitted to the aircraft; reportedly, performing a carrier landing while flying the Barracuda was relatively straightforward due to a combination of these flaps and good visibility from the cockpit. Retracting the airbrakes at high speeds whilst simultaneously applying rudder would cause a sudden change in trim, which could throw the aircraft into an inverted dive. Incidents of this occurrence proved fatal on at least five occasions during practice torpedo runs; once the problem was identified, appropriate pilot instructions were issued prior to the aircraft entering carrier service.

Edited to add (tongue in cheek) - The "rectification" of the hydraulic leak situation, seems to me anyway, to have been a very typical British kludge, fixing the symptom and not the cause!

[CharlieOneSix]

.........Despite their problems over 2,500 Barracudas were delivered to the Navy. There was a song at the time titled 'Somewhere a Barra's Crashing'.......

From 'The Fleet Air Arm Song Book'

Somewhere a Barracuda's Always Pranging
(Tune: Pedro The Fisherman)

Somewhere a Barracuda's always pranging
Dive brakes hanging down.
Somewhere a Barra's diving - Merlin banging,
Pilot's pants are brown.
Whistling down towards the sea,
A.L.T. bags of 'G'
Wings will never stand the strain.

Night navigation with the compass on "Setting"
Pilot's getting twitch.
While in the back the "O" and T.A.G. are sweating.
Both are betting 'Ditch'.
Did he have his finger in? Was it gin caused the spin?
Can we blame the hydraulics once again?

Frame 25's are cracking, Fairey's slacking
Large scale sacking due,
But soon we'll have the Barra V
Longer may we stay alive
Then we'll know that Fairey's have a clue.