67 and other RAF squadrons Burma?
 

Hello.

I'm writing a short history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG or 'Flying Tigers').

As a sidebar, I want to include the very significant support on the ground and in the air that the RAF played in the defense of Rangoon and Burma during late 1941.

The AVG gathered much publicity and through time has taken on legendary status, but much of their success was due to the help of the RAF and local citizens.

In particular, 67 Sq with its Buffalos and 45 Sq with its Blenheims were in the thick of it with the AVG. I'd like to get that into the story.

Any help on good, available sources would be greatly appreciated.

Defense of Rangoon
 

I wrote the long history of the AVG, Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942, which contains quite a bit about 67 Squadron and the several Hurricane squadrons that came to Rangoon in January and February 1942, notably RAF 17 Squadron. A very detailed, day-by-day account is in the first two volumes of Christopher Shores, Bloody Shambles, published by Grub Street in 1992 and 1993. A wonderful book about one of the 67 Squadron pilots, Vic Bargh, is available in New Zealand. Neal Frances: Ketchil. For its availability elsewhere, see Neal's posting on the Warbird Forum. Vic is still alive and evidently doing well. I talked to him by phone several years ago; that interview is posted at my website Annals of the Flying Tigers which also contains much else about the AVG and some about the RAF.

The Operational Record Book of 67 Squadron (incomplete) is at the National Archives (formerly Public Records Office) at Kew outside London.

My email address should be on file here. Feel free to ask what you'd like to fill out the above.

Blue skies! -- Dan Ford

RAF in Burma
 

> Any help on good, available sources would be greatly appreciated.

Brickhistory -- You might take a look at: Bloody Shambles, Volume 1 (1992) by Christopher Shores; Brian Cull and Air War for Burma (2005) by Christopher Shores; Hurricanes Over Burma (1988) by M.C. "Bush" Cotton, D.F.C.; and Wings Over Burma (1944) by Kenneth Hemingway.

-- Brad Smith

Thank you! The Shores' titles sound promising. I'll go look for them.

Burma WW2
 

Hi,
A gentlemen I met earlier this year was a former DC2 pilot who flew out of Peshwar and Khota in 1944!He had a couple of intersting accounts especially one about test flying a Vickers Valencia the ground crew put in a flying condition after the a/c had sat in a hangar for many years !He was with a 27 squadron .
In the South-East Asian Theatre, the Beaufighter Mk VIF operated from India on night missions against Japanese lines of communication in Burma and Thailand. The high-speed, low-level attacks were highly effective, despite often atrocious weather conditions .
Look out for the Areoplane March,April and May editions 2007 which you should find interesting!

Brad Smith
 

Hello, Brad! Fancy meeting you here! Blue skies! -- Dan Ford

Re Mr. Ford,

Your posts were not visible when I posted my reply concerning Shores' books. I'm guessing they were delayed while the mods reviewed as your are on probationary status.

Indeed, your book is one of my primary sources and what led me to find out more about the RAF's contribution.

USAF History Office asked me to write 25,000 words booklet on AVG and I thought the RAF contributions would make an interesting sidebar.

RAF put up a fight
 

my grandfather was in the RAF in burma. all he told me was they did not have a chance aganst the zeros. most of the RAF planes in burma at that time were out dated planes. most of the planes were from the first world war. i think they only had 4 harricanes. he said from take off to been shot down was less then 10 mins.