Short History No.2 Squadron Contd.

Low Blower, 1 September 1945, Page 7

Short History N 0.2 Squadron Contd.

of carrying out regular anti-submarine patrols.. Further training was also clone in anticipation of more offensive work .being allotted later in th tour .• On the 4th. and 5 th. cf January 1945 the Squadron moved forward to Green Island wh re it took or m from No.l Squadron. The principal function at Green was. the performance of medium, level strikes "on targets in tin Gazelle peninsula., and Bougainville, in conjunction u. th :n American Mitiholl Squadron. ' As the Ventura, wore not intallo d with bomb-.sights, our formations. on medium level strikes wore led by a Mitchell and pattern bombing was done on this load aircraft. A number cf lav vol strikes wore also carried, oit on targets on Now ■ Ireland, North Bougn nv ills and-New Britain. During a' lew level strike.,on Namatanai, F/O. J.H. Hudson sustain). d a direct hit’which splattered the nose of his aircraft and doiia.god his port motor and main-plane. By skilful piloting he flew th) m .ejairo. back to base. The Navigator B/D* M. Dayman was hit' by dircpnol in the shoulder and log but recovered after a short spell in hospital. ' When one cf the N.Z. Fighter Pilots F/O. Keefe,was shot down in Simpson Horben . on 15th. January it was W/0. (now P/0.) R. Lindsay who obtained th Ventura which went in to drop rafts .to th downed airman in th face of strong enemy fire. While 1 on a' low 1 vol strike on Bonin Harbour, Nih F/L. J.W. Monks was hit in one motor and once again made a subdessful J single engine landing at base. In a period, of two months the Squadron dropped the record tci Al of 1,200,000 lbs. of bombs on enemy held territory, end flew th first Ventura, on operations 5 with a 5000 lb. bomb load. In addition to the strikes regular night heckling missions were flown or ex’ Rabaul. . The tour. ended on a much brighter not o than it started. Personnel arrived kick in N.Z. on 16th. and 19th. March - and immediately proceeded on leave. . . Whoa the Squadron reformed at Whonuapai on 7th. May 1945 it was noted that once again old . fsi iliar faces were missing but. new ones wore, thro to fill the gaps . After a short but . intensive trainiig p?o gramme the Squadron. Io ft in two echelons on 20th. and 2'6th., Juno aspectiv under the • •coramand of W/C.'K.O. King A.F<O., with S/L. D.S. Hamilton and' S/L. R.'F. Watson.A.F.C. as flight. commanlors,for Jacquinct - Bey. For the first few weeks after arrival Squadron personnel had to turn to and build their own huts and -general get,, settled in. Rain and mud predominated during those earlier days and it was sore ti:ne-bcfcro operations could commence owing to the, sher tag cf bombs. , However th). Squadron ha s been able to put as many as eleven aircraft up on one siiglc. s’erike md da en conditions were favourable the enemy has felt th full weight cf th blows delivered Regular phogogrcphic reconnaissance flights have been Aado by crows on detachment at Borg anvillo. * . With the end cf th) war* operational flying has teen tailed, and only travel duties are ‘no? - being -perfeme d.- - During the timm it 'has been in exas toned, No., 2 Squadron has. acquitted itself with honour, worthy cf the best traditions of the H.N.Z.A.F• ‘ i ■ '