All the Fine Young Eagles

David L. Bashow

Description

During the six years of the Second World War, Canadian fighter pilots flew and fought with great distinction in every theatre of war to which Commonwealth fighter forces were deployed. All the Fine Young Eagles captures the spirit and magnitude of the Canadian contribution, which began in Europe's Low Countries in 1940 and ended among the Japanese Home Islands in 1945. In keeping with the country's developing autonomy, Canadians served in both RAF and RCAF units, fighting with great courage in their Spitfires, Hurricanes, Kittyhawks and Typhoons.

All the Fine Young Eagles collects the wartime diaries and postwar reminiscences from a great variety of the Canadian fighter pilots who served in World War II. Their vivid first-hand accounts take the reader into the cockpit to experience dogfights, tactical manoeuvres, forced landings and injuries, as well as the often tedious periods between engagements. They also illuminate the day-to-day living conditions on base and include humorous accounts of the vivid personalities and lighter moments of wartime.

To provide context for their stories, Bashow's authoritative voice offers both a large-scale historical framework and detailed information about tactics, equipment and people, including such famous flying aces as "Buzz" Beurling and "Moose" Fumerton.

This updated second edition contains a substantial amount of new material that veterans have contributed since the publication of the first edition.

Sujets

• Seconde Guerre mondiale
• General
• Canada
• World War II
• Military
• General officer
• Segunda Guerra Mundial
• HISTORY

Informations

• Publié par: Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd.
• Date de parution: 15 octobre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781771621366
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

All the Fine Young Eagles


other books by david l. bashow
Sting of the Hornet
Starfighter
No Prouder Place: Canadians and the Bomber Command Experience 1939–1945
Knights of the Air
None but the Brave
Soldiers Blue


All the Fine Young Eagles
in the cockpit with canada’s second world war fighter pilots
updated and expanded second edition
David L. Bashow
foreword by air vice-marshal j.e. “johnnie” johnson


Douglas & McIntyre


Copyright © 2016 David L. Bashow

1 2 3 4 5—20 19 18 17 16

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission of the publisher or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright, www.accesscopyright.ca , 1-800-893-5777, [e-mail] .

Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd.
p.o. Box 219, Madeira Park, bc , v0n 2h0
www.douglas-mcintyre.com

Copyedited by Merrie-Ellen Wilcox
Indexed by Tori Hannesson
Cover design by Anna Comfort O’Keeffe
Text design by Mary White
Printed and bound in Canada



Douglas and McIntyre (2013) acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. We also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and from the Province of British Columbia through the bc Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.


Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Bashow, David L., 1946–, author
All the fine young eagles : in the cockpit with Canada’s Second World War fighter pilots / David L. Bashow ; foreword by Air Vice-Marshal J.E. “Johnnie” Johnson.— Updated and expanded second edition.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
isbn 978-1-77162-135-9 (paperback).— isbn 978-1-77162-136-6 (html)

1. Canada. Royal Canadian Air Force—History—World War, 1939–1945. 2. Great Britain. Royal Air Force—History—World War, 1939–1945. 3. World War, 1939–1945—Aerial operations,Canadian. 4. World War, 1939–1945—Personal narratives, Canadian. 5. Fighter pilots—Canada—Biography. I. Title.

D792.C2B37 2016 940.54'4971 C2016-903801-7 C2016-903802-5


Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight.
Drove to this tumult in the clouds.
—W.B. Yeats


Foreword
air vice-marshal j.e. “johnnie” johnson cb, cbe, dso (2 bars), dfc (1 bar)
During the early years of the Second World War, I knew several distinguished Canadian fighter pilots—Stan Turner, Dal Russel, Gordie McGregor, and Ernie McNab, all of Battle of Britain fame—but my real association with the Canadians began in the spring of 1943 when I was Wing Commander Flying of the Kenley Wing (403 and 416 Squadrons) and ended two years later when I left 127 Wing (403, 416, and 443 Squadrons). We were fortunate to fly the elegant Spitfire ix , whose only disadvantage was its lack of range; as a short-range fighter it had no equal.
We saw a fair amount of action, and I think the highlight of 1943 was escorting the B-17s of “The Mighty Eighth” as they fought their way deep into Germany. Before the arrival of the long-range Mustang—the most significant fighter of those days—the Americans took some hard knocks; but they pressed on and eventually won a great victory.
In the spring of 1944, I was appointed Wing Commander Flying of 144 Wing (441, 442, and 443 Squadrons), and on June 15, 1944, we made history when we were the first fighter outfit to move into Normandy at St-Croix-sur-Mer. From the beachhead our fighter-bombers—especially the Typhoons, flown by the bravest of the brave—stunned and paralysed the German armies.
After the great killing ground of Falaise, we began the long trek across northwest Europe, only to be halted by the Rhine and Montgomery’s failure at Arnhem. By the following spring it was all over.
During these peregrinations I came to know many Canadian fighter pilots, and I knew the squadron commanders best of all because I saw and briefed them every day. The outstanding squadron commanders were Danny Browne, Hugh Godefroy, George Hill, Wally Conrad, George Keefer, “Buck” McNair, Dal Russel, and the greatest marksman of those days, Wally McLeod. They were good and trusted leaders who were always there in the tightest of corners. It was a privilege to be associated with such fighting Canadians, and here in Colonel David Bashow’s outstanding and carefully researched narrative we meet again that gallant company:
“He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d.”
— Shakespeare, King Henry V


Preface
During the six years of the Second World War, Canadian fighter pilots flew and fought with great distinction in every theatre to which Commonwealth fighter forces were deployed. All the Fine Young Eagles attempts to capture the spirit and magnitude of the Canadian contribution, which began in Europe’s Low Countries in 1940 and ended among the Japanese Home Islands in 1945.
A few words on the content and scope of the book are warranted. Since the Royal Canadian Air Force’s aerial fighter contribution predominated over northwest Europe, a lot of my material relates to that theatre. A great many Canadian fighter pilots also served in Royal Air Force units, however, and deployed to all active theatres of British interest. Therefore, a substantial amount of text relates to operations in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and the Far East. Home Defence fighter operations, including the Aleutians campaign, also form a significant part of the overall story.
Initially, I had intended to cover only day fighter, night fighter, and intruder operations, but I soon discovered that to provide a true representation of fighter actions, I would also need to properly recognize the army cooperation/fighter reconnaissance and fighter-bomber disciplines. Although their respective missions did not primarily involve air combat, circumstances frequently demanded it, particularly during the last year of the European war.
A brief explanation of particular language in the book is also warranted. Some of the former pilots who have contributed personal accounts occasionally described or referred to their enemies in terms that by today’s standards might be considered somewhat derogatory, although they were indeed household words during the war. I have felt from the outset that it was not part of my mandate to pass judgement on or tamper in any way with the veterans’ contributions or to impose an unwarranted layer of political correctness upon their recollections, and thus, their stories appear just as they were presented to me.
All the Fine Young Eagles is not intended to be an exhaustive history, although a great amount of historical fact has been painstakingly researched and meticulously cross-checked for veracity before being incorporated into the text. The historical background is meant to serve as a supportive medium for the first-person recollections of the veterans themselves. While I have culled a substantial number of direct quotes from existing publications, I have done so because I feel that no better passages exist on a particular subject, or because the principals involved in a specific event have passed away. I have used Christopher Shores’s and Clive Williams’s excellent Aces High: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in wwii as the final overall arbiter for combat claims verifications, since I do not believe a finer or more comprehensive treatment of the subject exists. I also wish to make it clear that the individual contributions contained in this book are representational and not all-inclusive. For myriad reasons, it would have been impossible to create a book that singled out each and every Canadian fighter pilot specifically. That said, they are all heroes to me, whether their names appear herein or not.
A few specific comments about this revised version of the book. The original version was published by Stoddart Publishing in 1996 and enjoyed two print runs and very favourable reviews. It also achieved Canadian bestseller status for a non-fiction work. As often happens over time, I received a significant number of additional personal recollections from other veterans over the intervening years, and decided that if I ever published a substantial revision to Eagles, I could incorporate at least some of them into the revised text. That day is here. Notably, the word count of the original manuscript was in the order of 153,000 words, while that word count is now upwards of 193,000, and aside from a few minor structural refinements and additives, most of the revisions are new recollections in the words of the veterans themselves. To that end, I am grateful to the following individuals and organizations for granting me permission to quote from their previously published works: Norman Avery, E.C.R. Baker, Donald L. Caldwell, Don Carlson, Tom Coughlin, “Stocky” Edwards, Hedley Everard, Adolf Galland, Hugh Godefroy, Hugh Halliday (from Orleans), Lloyd