Mosquito: Menacing the Reich: Combat Action in the Twin-engine Wooden Wonder of World War II (26 page)

NF.XIII HK425/KP-D
Lonesome Polecat
of 409 ‘Nighthawk’ Squadron RCAF on the unit’s grass dispersal at Twente in Holland. On 6/7 October 1944 Flying Officer Al Webster and Flying Officer Ross H. Finlayson destroyed a Bf 110 in this aircraft, followed on 25/26 November 1944 with a claim for a Ju 88 by Flying Officer A.I.E. Britten RCAF and Flight Lieutenant L.E. Fownes over Rheindahlen. By the end of the war Britten and Fownes had destroyed five aircraft.
Lonesome Polecat’s
final victory was on 18/19 December when Finlayson and Webster destroyed a Ju 88 in this aircraft. The nose art was inspired by a drunken Indian character from a very popular comic strip of the day, Finlayson having added the name to the aircraft and then asked his parents to send him a copy of the comic from Canada for copying. However, before the publication arrived, one of his groundcrew painted the skunk on the nose ahead of the titling, and it was considered to be so well done that Finlayson left it on. (
Ross Finlayson
)

Canadian built B.XXV KB471. (
via GMS
)

The bombed out barracks at Caserne des Dunes, Poitiers after the raid by twenty-four FB.VIs of 487 Squadron RNZAF and 21 Squadrons on 1 August 1944. (
via Paul McCue
)

HK425 of 409 (‘Nighthawk’) Squadron RCAF. (
Ross Finlayson
)

Air crews in 409 (‘Nighthawk’) Squadron RCAF in the winter of 1944. (
Ross Finlayson
)

FB.VI
Moonbeam McSwine
of 418 (City of Edmonton) Squadron RCAF was flown by Lieutenant Lou Luma (smoking his pipe) and navigator Flying Officer Finlayson (right). Wing Commander Howard Douglas ’Howie' Cleveland (far left) and his navigator Flight Sergeant Earl Boal (middle) are the remaining aircrew in this photo taken at Ford in April 1944. (
Stephen M. Fochuk
)

B.IVs DZ353/E and DZ367/J of 105 Squadron in formation. DZ353 flew its first operation in 105 Squadron on 23 October 1942 and laterserved with 139 and 627 Squadrons in 8 Group (PFF) before failing to return from a raid on the marshalling yards at Rennes on 8 June1944. Flight Lieutenant Bill Steere DFM and Flying Officer ’Windy' Gale DFC RAAF were killed. (
via Shuttleworth Coll
)

B.Mk.IV Series ii DZ367/J of 139 Squadron is bombed up in preparation for a raid. (Note that the shrouded exhausts have scorched the cowlings). DZ367/J flew its first operation in 105 Squadron on 16 November 1942 and was one of the Squadron’s eight Mosquitoes that took part in the Eindhoven raid on 6 December 1942 when it was flown by Flight Lieutenant Bill Blessing and Sergeant J. Lawson.

DZ367 failed to return from Berlin on 30 January 1943 when 105 and 139 Squadrons were the first to bomb Berlin, during an attempt to disrupt speeches by Goering and Nazi propaganda minister, Dr. Joseph Göebbels at Nazi rallies in the capital. Squadron Leader Donald F.W. Darling DFC and Flying Officer W. Wright were KIA. (
via Shuttleworth Collection
)

Flying Officer A.B. ‘Smokey Joe’ Stovel RCAF of 139 Squadron gets a light from his navigator Sergeant W. A. Nutter before setting off in B.IV DZ593/K on 27 May 1943 to bomb the Schott Glass Works at Jena with five other Mosquitoes. A few miles further on eight Mosquitoes of 105 Squadron bombed the Zeiss Optical factory. Stovel made it back and landed at 23.40 hrs. (
via Peter Pereira
)

Flying Officer William S.D. ‘Jock’ Sutherland, a Scot from Dollar, whose navigator was Flying Officer George Dean. Returning from Jena on 27 May 1943 they flew into high voltage overhead electric cables when attempting to land at RAF Coltishall and they crashed at Wroxham railway station. Both were killed. (
RAF
)

Squadron Leader Roy Ralston DSO DFM and Flight Lieutenant Syd Clayton DFC DFM of 105 Squadron on 9 December 1942 following a very successful bombing raid which saw them lead two other B.Mk.IVs in a ‘skip bombing’ raid on the mouth of a French railway tunnel. The attack was designed to cause damage to both the tunnel and the track on the other side, thus making it difficult for the Germans to effect repairs. (
via Philip Birtles
)