NigG,
In the Index to "Vengeance", Peter C. Smith has no entry for "Chindit(s)", but "Gill, Sqdn Ldr, Arthur M." (pp 69-72), but has nothing relating to the Chindits.
But (p.106) gives:
"Arthur Gill was later to record how: 'By December 1943, 84 Squadron was ready to move forward to the Arakan, even going so far as to advance party to Chittagong where they bought a large brood of hens for the Squadron's Christmas dinner'.
"Two days before we were due to move, however, the A.O.C. No 221 group flew to Ranchi to say that we had been selected to support General Orde Wingate's Long Range Penetration Group (1st Indian Division), the Chindits, and so, on 6th December, 1943, we moved to Maharajpur, Gwalior, to train and exercise with General Wingate's forces."...
Gwalior is south of Delhi, a long way West. What happened to the hens is not recorded !
(pp 121-122):
..."The new penetration by Wingate's troops, coded "Operation Thursday", had been muted as far back as the Quebec Conference, which Wingate himself had secretly attended. Arthur Gill himself described what this involved : We spent two months training and learning to co-operate with these jungle columns. It was in this period that we devised our method of attack, after many arguments on the subject with Wingate himself. Ultimately they got it right with Wingate,and when his column moved off in March 1944, 84 Squadron stood by to co-operate with his demands...
But what were these 'methods of attack' agreed ? Peter C. Smith is infuriatingly silent on the point; we will never know, unless from the Chindit records or 84's ORB.
...They moved to Khumbirgram airfield in Assam on 10th February 1944. They were to relieve No.45 Squadron initially, however, and they carried out their first dive bombing attack proper on an enemy occupied village a few days after their arrival in Assam. Le-u was the target on the next conbined attack by the Vengeance Squadrons, both mounting two attacks each this day, with 22 machines from 110 Squadron and 23 from 84 Squadron...
At first sight, we are in the realms of fantasy. A VV Squadron had 16 aircraft, of which it would be expected to keep 12 serviceable. Perhaps he means "sorties" instead of "machines", and the "sorties" were flown as two separate strikes.
...On the 11th the targets were more diverse, 84 Squadron striking at Gwengu and Nyaungintha, with six planes on each mission, while 110 was hitting Nanbon and Tanga with the same numbers of aircraft. On the 11th the targets were more diverse, 84 striking at Gwengu and Nyaungintha, with six planes on each mission, while 110 was hitting Nanbon and Tanga with the same numbers of aircraft...
There follows a lengthy description of a VV dive from a Bob Browning RNZAF but he is listed as being on 8 Squadron IAF, and we know where
that was then (Arakan) so not relative.
More in a while.
Danny.