MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
On 9 Feb 1945 a force of 30 Beaufighters from 144, 404, 455, and 498 squadrons along with 10 Mustangs from 65 Squadron set out to attack German naval ships in Forde Fjord in Norway. The ships were about 15 miles up the fjord from the coast. Normally they would have attacked by flying from East to West but steep rising terrain to the East ruled that out. So they overflew the fjord and attacked from the North, thereby giving the Germans almost 30 minutes of warning to get ready and scramble fighters.
The team of Percy Smith, Observer, and Spike Holly, pilot attacked a ship, watched a Beaufighter next to them explode and then were shot down by an FW-190, with Smith blazing away with his Browning and badly wounded. They both became POWs at Stalag Luft 1. The FW-190 pilot Rudy Linz, who had 69 victories, was shot down and killed by one of the Mustangs.
Flight Sgts Butler an Nichol were on their first anti-shipping mission. They were hit, which knocked out their hydraulics and splashed so much fluid over the windshield the pilot could hardly see to fly. An FW-190 attacked but broke off after Nicholl fired a red Very flare and the Mustangs responded. They climbed through clouds, came out on top, and were a bit surprised to find that while hit they were unhurt and with two good engines. They made a belly landing at Dallachy.
The raid failed to do significant damage to the German ships and cost 9 Beaufighters, with only 5 surviving crew from those shot down. The Germans lost 5 fighters. It was the most clostly shipping strike of the entire war.
I suppose that if we made a movie about this we could call it "455 Squadron" or perhaps "Ill-Starred Wars."
The team of Percy Smith, Observer, and Spike Holly, pilot attacked a ship, watched a Beaufighter next to them explode and then were shot down by an FW-190, with Smith blazing away with his Browning and badly wounded. They both became POWs at Stalag Luft 1. The FW-190 pilot Rudy Linz, who had 69 victories, was shot down and killed by one of the Mustangs.
Flight Sgts Butler an Nichol were on their first anti-shipping mission. They were hit, which knocked out their hydraulics and splashed so much fluid over the windshield the pilot could hardly see to fly. An FW-190 attacked but broke off after Nicholl fired a red Very flare and the Mustangs responded. They climbed through clouds, came out on top, and were a bit surprised to find that while hit they were unhurt and with two good engines. They made a belly landing at Dallachy.
The raid failed to do significant damage to the German ships and cost 9 Beaufighters, with only 5 surviving crew from those shot down. The Germans lost 5 fighters. It was the most clostly shipping strike of the entire war.
I suppose that if we made a movie about this we could call it "455 Squadron" or perhaps "Ill-Starred Wars."
