Churchill's Channel War: 1939-45 by Jackson Robert

Author:Jackson, Robert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Churchill’s Channel War: 1939 – 1945
ISBN: 9781472801319
Publisher: Osprey Publishing

We would cross the Channel in sections, line astern, climbing all the time. We always climbed into the sun, which was absolute hell; your eyes felt as though they were burning down into your head and within a few minutes you were saturated in sweat. It might have been just a coincidence, but on every sweep I flew we always seemed to head for Lille, which we hated. It was our deepest penetration at that time, and there was flak all the way.

I will never forget my first operation. Seventy-two Squadron was flying top cover; I was ‘Yellow Two’, in other words the number two aircraft in Yellow Section, and quite honestly I hadn’t a clue what was going on. We flew a sort of semi-circle over France, still in sections line astern, and then came out again. I never saw a single enemy aircraft; but we must have been attacked, because when we got home three of our Spits were missing.50

Number 72 Squadron’s commanding officer was an Australian, Desmond Sheen, who had begun his operational career with the Squadron before the war. In April 1940 he had been posted to No. 212 Squadron and during the next few month had flown photo-reconnaissance sorties all over Europe in specially-modified Spitfires, returning to No. 72 Squadron just in time to take part in the Battle of Britain. He was to lead the squadron on sweeps over occupied Europe for eight month from March to November 1941.

Sheen’s opposite number with No. 92 Squadron was Squadron Leader Jamie Rankin, a Scot from Portobello, Edinburgh, who had originally joined the Fleet Air Arm but later transferred to the RAF. When he was appointed to command No. 92 Squadron in March 1941 it was the top-scoring unit in Fighter Command, and its score increased steadily under Rankin’s leadership. Rankin himself opened his score with No. 92 by destroying a Heinkel He 59 floatplane and damaging an Me 109 on 11 April. This was followed by another confirmed 109 on the 24th and in June – a month of hectic air fighting over France – he shot down seven more 109s and claimed another probably destroyed.

It was Jamie Rankin who provided Jim Rossar with the latter’s first Me 109. Rosser was now commissioned, with the rank of pilot officer.

We didn’t always fly operationally with our own squadron. On this occasion Jamie Rankin was leading the Wing and I was flying as his number two, which was a considerable privilege. The Luftwaffe was up in strength and there was almighty free-for-all during which the Wing got split up. I clung to Jamie’s tail like grim death, and as we were heading for the Channel he suddenly called up over the R/T and said: ‘There’s a Hun at two o’clock below – have a go!’ I looked down ahead and to the right and there, sure enough, was a 109, flying along quite sedately a few thousand feet lower down. I dived after him, levelled out astern and opened fire.

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