Chris Scott and
MPN11,
Have now had the chance to read the Telegraph Obituary carefully, and it takes nothing away from the reputation of a great and gallant gentleman to say that his Obituarist has, shall we say, "gone over the top" more than somewhat.
First, a minor detail:
"The Vengeance crews placed their two 500lb bombs with great accuracy, sometimes only 100 yards ahead of Allied Troops".
All the Vengeance flown on operational sorties carried 2x500 GP internally and 2x250 GP under the wings. There was no reason for them to carry less, and they could not carry more. The "
100 Yards" is right. And what's this "
near vertical dive" ? They were designed to dive vertically, and they
were dived vertically.
The general impression left on the reader is that 84 Sqdn were the "only show (with Vengeances) in town". It is reminiscent of Errol Flynn's "Objective Burma", where the (whole) part played by British, Indian and Gurkha troops is completely ignored, and you come way thinking that Flynn reconquered Burma all by himself (Google > Objective Burma 1945 > Objective, Burma! – liberating cinema from the truth | Film ...
News, sport and opinion from the Guardian's US edition | The Guardian › Arts › Movies › South and Central Asia).
Four RAF Squadrons (45, 82, 84, and 110) and two IAF (7 and 8) operated the Vengeance in Burma. All were taken off "ops" at the onset of the '44 Monsoon (Why ? - but that is another story).
45, 82 and 110 started in spring '43, did a bit before the monsoon, started again in October and carried on till the (premature !) end at the onset of the '44 monsoon. 84 arrived on the scene only on 16.2.44. and operated to 16.7.44. (D.Tel). Five months, true - but as the last two were monsoon months, only three in fact (you cannot dive-bomb through cloud - the dog
must see the rabbit !) We (110 and 8 IAF), who had "
borne the heat and burden of the day" feel a bit miffed.
"
Formations of 14 and 24" are pure moonshine. The most I ever heard of was 12 - and I only flew in one of those in the first of my 52 sorties and never again. The reason is simple: the 'clear and present' danger of a formation being intercepted by "Oscars" on its way to the target. The (mistaken, IMHO) policy was to stand and fight. As our gunners (and some of our back-seaters were navs who'd never even touched a Browning) would be most unlikely to hit anything except their own tails (for there was nothing to stop that happening), our only defence lay in vigorous avoiding action. One VV is about as nimble as an arthritic tortoise, a box of six in formation much less so. Anything more - forget it. Fresh in the mind was the night, a year before, when a 'vic' of three "Bettys" was approaching Calcutta - with a F/Sgt Pring creeping stealthily up the rear in a Beau. As the "Bettys" gallantly stuck together when he opened fire (instead of scattering), he bagged the lot in 30 seconds. Made us think. Thank God it never occurred to the Jap High Command to set the Oscars on us (the 'Why Not ?" is another of the unsolved mysteries of the War).
Nice pic of the huge VV cockpit. At least it looks like one. And yet, and yet... The seat back looks funny. Why is he wearing a leather helmet, and not 'cloth, tropical' ? What are those railings doing behind ? (never remember anything like that anywhere in India). Perhaps, it's just me.
DFC ? - Yes, certainly, and I'm sure he earned it - but not in a VV ! (you could die of old age in one of those).
Could go on for miles, but much too long already. Long session at dentist this afternoon
- wish me luck !
Danny.