Danny, Lend-Lease and an Argument with Higher Authority.
At the end of February the CDRE's programme was complete, all the gas was gone and there was no further use for 1340 Flight. 225 Group ordered me to stop flying and get rid of my aircraft. The Thunderbolt and Mosquito had long gone back with their pilots, the Harvard had been written-off and I was left with the three VVs (all Mk.IIIs, so Lend-Lease aircraft). Now the fine print of that generous arrangement kicked in.
From the US standpoint, it made perfect sense. They had lent us these aircraft to fight a war, and the war was won. Now they were entitled to take back anything they could use or sell themselves. (Primarily these would be transport aircraft like the Dakota. These, refitted as DC-3s and repainted, would be the backbone of short-haul civil aviation round the world for years to come (the things are flying yet).
As for the rest, if we wanted to keep them, we had to pay for them (in scarce dollars). Otherwise we must destroy them completely, so that no components could come back on the market to compete with new US sales. Sadly, no one thought of keeping even one as a museum specimen.
This led to a lot of heartbreaking waste. For example, the Navy had an escort carrier en route to Ceylon. Stowed on the flight deck were a number of Vought "Corsairs" in crates, for assembly in Ceylon and flying out to carriers in support of the planned invasion of Malaya. The crates were bulldozed off the flight deck, the brand new aircraft went to the bottom. I would guess that many US-built Fleet Air Arm aircraft at sea at the time of the surrender would suffer the same fate.
Predictably, nobody wanted a Vegeance. 225 Group took the last option and ordered me to burn my aircraft where they stood . I was appalled. It would be a disgusting thing to leave three piles of blackened scrap on the town maidan as a last memento of our occupancy.
And what would be the likely effect on my airmen's morale? They'd worked tirelessly on their aircraft for two years: we'd never had to cancel a single Trial for unservicability. Was I now supposed to order them to chop them up and put them to the torch ? These were the times of the large scale mutinies in the northern cities (among disaffected troops kicking their heels, waiting to get home). I didn't want a mutiny on my hands, and protested vigorously.
Group's first reaction was pig-headed. They ordered me to do as I was told or face Court Martial. Still I remained obdurate, and after further exchanges of acrimonious signals, wiser counsels prevailed and the SASO relented. I was allowed to fly my aircraft to a M.U. at Nagpur for scrapping. There the dark deed would be done, but at least by somebody else out of sight of my chaps.
The day came in March 1946 when FB986 and I had to part. We'd come to the end of the road. I had to move quickly before Group changed its mind. On March 4th I paid my last visit to Yelahanka "pour prendre congé" from the SASO, did airtests in the next few days and on the 12th my log reads simply "Hakimpet - Nagpur.......4hr 15min". It would be the last entry in it for more than three years.
A forlorn little armada set off. Hakimpet was of course a refuelling stop. I had faithful Sgt Williams in the back with all the paperwork, and the other two VVs with me. We were cruising around 10,000 ft and as Nagpur came over the horizon ahead I toyed for a few moments with the mad idea of doing a dive down on them as my swan song.
Of course I put it out of mind immediately; the Cholaveram reaction was reason enough, and neither of the other two pilots had ever done a dive; they were non-operational (on VVs, that is); we'd never dived at Cannanore - there was no reason to. I suppose I could have said: "just follow me down and do what I do", but that risked making a profound impression (or even two !) on Nagpur. (As a matter of interest, Nagpur is reckoned to be in the exact mathematical centre of the Indian subcontinent - just thought you'd like to know).
We trailed in, parked, handed over the aircraft documents, patted the aircraft, lugged our parachutes over to the parachute section, left them there and that was that. It was the end of the Vultee Vengeance story (well, not quite yet).
Bit more next time. Goodnight, all,
Danny42C
The best of friends must part !