The sad fate of Pelican 16

South African Air Force Shackleton 1716 – Pelican 16. This iconic image by photographer Dietmar Eckell for his photo book ‘Happy End’ – stories about miracles in aviation history, says it all. The fate of Pelican 16 carries with it a tale of heroism and sadness.

Restored to flying condition by volunteers in 1994, Pelican 16 was offered to take part in the Fairford Military Air Tattoo in the United Kingdom and departed South Africa for England on July 12th, 1994.

The departure from Cape Town (CT) was scheduled for a midnight take-off, on Friday 08 July 1994. The entire flight from CT to the UK, entailed four legs, with stops in between and the routes were planned for as follow:

a. CT to Libreville, Gabon
b. Libreville to Abidjan, Ivory Coast
c. Abidjan to Lisbon, Portugal
d. Lisbon to Duxford, England

(The return flight to SA, one month later, would have been just the reverse of the above route.)

Flown by a group of active SAAF pilots, Pelican 16 was operating over the Sahara desert on the night of July 13th. They were alerted to a warning on #4 engine, indicating signs of overheating, the engine was shutdown, as a precautionary measure and power was increased on the other three engines, in order to maintain the safety altitude.

The propellers on #4 feathered properly. The reason for the indication of overheating, can be contributed to a suspicion of a possible leak within the coolant system. However, within approximately 15 minutes after shutting down #4, sparks were seen emitting from #3, which ensued into flames around the contra-rotating propeller spinners.

The #3 engine was also shutdown, after the flames were successfully extinguished by the activation of the engine fire extinguishing system. However, after shutting down #3, the propellers would not feather completely and remained windmilling at +- 150 RPM.

The aircraft was now rapidly losing height and it was elected to restart #4 to gain height again. Within +- 10 minutes after restarting #4, the engine became so hot, that the exhaust stacks reflected a white magnesium glow. #4 was then shutdown for the second time, but this time round the propellers would not feather completely and they kept windmilling, much faster than those of #3, at +- 650 RPM.

With two sets of windmilling propellers, both on the same wing, a crash landing became inevitable, as asymmetric forces began to gain the upper hand.

The terrain where the crash landing was eventually executed, (approximately 14 km from the Eastern border of West Sahara with Mauritania), was indeed flat sands, but with multiple rocky outcrops in the area. In fact, the impact was, very fortunately, right on top of a slightly raised rocky outcrop and from there the aircraft skidded along the sandy surface, until she suddenly slewed by 90° to the left and thereafter skidded sideways to the right, before coming to a standstill.

The distance from point of impact and coming to a standstill, was paced off later that morning, after it became daylight, to be 243 metres – a very short landing for a Shackleton!

The failure of #3, was determined to be a probable Translation Unit (TU) failure. The TU is situated between the two contra-rotating propellers, inside the engine cowlings. It is attached to the front propeller by three rack bolts and it governs the rear propeller. After removing the front spinner from #3 engine later that morning, quite a few ball-bearings were found to be strewn inside the spinner. That confirmed the suspicion of a TU failure, which resulted on account of the rack bolts that pulled the TU apart. The latter can only be surmised that the cause was on account of the increased RPM on the three remaining engines, after #4 was initially shutdown. Why it happened, is still unknown.

Though none of the crew were seriously injured by the landing, all 19 men were miles from any assistance and in the middle of an active warzone. The crew of Pelican 16 were quickly located and returned safely to South Africa.

Time of the crash landing was at 01h40 GMT.

This is the photo taken from the French rescue aircraft “Pelican 16” taken after the belly landing in the Sahara desert – the ’19 OK’ written on the ground is to inform any rescue aircraft of the number of surviving souls from the crash.

The original sign on the ground was structured by the laying out of a combination of the spare orange flying suits and the single-man dinghies.

The word “OK” is no longer clearly visible when this photo was taken from the Atlantique ll Maritime aircraft, belonging to the French Navy’s 22 Squadron, that was on detached duty at Dakar, Senegal, from where it was scrambled at 04h00 GMT that morning, to conduct the search of the 19 souls of “Pelican 16”.

She is still where she landed – located about 2 hours drive from Zouérat in northern Mauritania in contested territory – lying open to the desert elements and subject to decay as there is no means of retrieving this beautiful aircraft.

Researched by Peter Dickens. Image Copyright Dietmar Eckell. Information on the route and sequence of events written by Lionel Ashbury with his kind permission and assistance.

That old familiar drone – SAAF Harvards

Posted by Peter Dickens

An image (and sound) some of us remember very well, the sky full of droning SAAF Harvards training our pilots.

The first Harvards arrived in South Africa in October 1942 for use by the Joint Air Training Scheme schools. By July 1944, 633 Harvard Mk IIA and III aircraft had been shipped to South Africa, with 555 surviving in October 1945 (379 MkIIAs and 176 Mk IIIs).

As the Harvards had been supplied on lend-lease by the US, 300 were shipped back to the UK from 1946, with the remainder being purchased by South Africa.

65 AT-6Ds (7634 to 7698) and 30 T-6Gs (7699 to 7728) were purchased from the USA during 1952-1956.

The South African Air Force discovered Auschwitz extermination camp

Posted by Peter Dickens

Little known historic fact but it was a South African Air Force reconnaissance aircraft which first discovered and then photographed the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. This is one of the aerial photos.

Painting by Derrick Dickens of two SAAF Mosquito PR Mk XVI s of 60 Squadron.

Mosquito XVI aircraft of No. 60 Squadron South African Air Force operating from Foggia Airfield Complex, Southern Italy in 1944, carried out detailed large-scale photographic surveys of German held areas, eventually ranging over the Alps and deep into Germany and German occupied territory.

During one of these missions in Spring 1944, a SAAF 60 Squadron plane piloted by Lt. C.H.H Barry and his navigator Lt. I McIntyre photographed Auschwitz when they went to photograph the rubber refinery plant next to the camp. They were reconnoitring the plant which was earmarked for bombing by the USAAF (USA Air Force).

When the photos of the complex next to the plant were analyzed, they found rows of people lining up in the camp. The photos also showed chimneys and all the other characteristics of a camp for prisoners. This, with other intelligence, brought them to the conclusions that extermination camps existed.

This image is an enlargement of part of a photo of Auschwitz-Birkenau taken by the SAAF on Sortie no. 60PR/694.

Clearly seen on this image is the selection process of a recently arrived transport visible on the ramp has been completed, and those selected to die are being to taken to Crematorium II. Also visible is a cultivated garden in the courtyard of Crematorium II, the open gate into it, and Crematorium III. The basement undressing rooms and gas chambers of both complexes can also be seen.

When these photo’s were taken by 60 Squadron SAAF, the Squadron was working for the USAAF heavy bomber Squadrons in Italy, so the South Africans handed the film to the Americans to analyse and strategise. Kept secret for a long time, these annotated images of the film were only finally released by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1979.

Mosquitos mark XVI of No 60 Squadron South African Air Force, at San Severo Airfield, part of the Foggia Airfield Complex, Southern Italy, 1944. The red and white stripes on the tail fin (known as Barber Shop stripes) served as identification to Allied fighter pilots (especially American pilots) who mistook them for enemy aircraft, incorrectly thinking they where German Me 410’s.

Auschwitz was operational as an extermination camp from May 1940 to January 1945, it held mainly Jews as well as Poles, Romani and Soviet Prisoners of War. In all it is estimated that 1.1 million people were murdered there.

Extermination of human beings deemed undesirable to Nazi German doctrine began on an industrial level at Birkenau in March 1942 when the first gas chamber was established called the “red house” (called Bunker 1 by SS staff). A second brick cottage, the “white house” or Bunker 2, was converted some weeks later. These structures were in use for mass killings until early 1943. Himmler visited the camp in person on 17 and 18 July 1942. He was given a demonstration of a mass killing using the gas chamber in Bunker 2.

In early 1943, the Nazis decided to increase the gassing capacity of Birkenau to an elevated industrial level. Crematorium II, which had been designed as a mortuary with morgues in the basement and ground-level incinerators, was converted into a killing factory by installing gas-tight doors, vents for the Zyklon B (a highly lethal cyanide based pesticide) to be dropped into the chamber, and ventilation equipment to remove the gas thereafter. It went into operation in March. Crematorium III was built using the same design. Crematoria IV and V, designed from the start as gassing centers, were also constructed that spring. By June 1943, all four crematoria were operational. Most of the victims were killed using these four structures.

Towards the end of the war, Himmler, fearing the discovery of this most dark Nazi program of extermination and in need of labour for the German war machine ahead of the Soviet and Allied advances, ordered the evacuation of all concentration camps, charging camp commanders with making sure that “not a single prisoner from the concentration camps falls alive into the hands of the enemy.”

On 17 January 1945, 56,000–58,000 Auschwitz detainees, of whom two-thirds were Jews, were evacuated under guard, most on foot, in severe winter conditions. Thousands of them died in the subsequent death march west.

Auschwitz was eventually liberated on 26 and 27 January by the Red Army (Soviet Russian), the soldiers found 7,500 prisoners alive and over 600 corpses. Among items found by the Soviet soldiers were 370,000 men’s suits, 837,000 women’s garments, and 7.7 tonnes (8.5 short tons) of human hair.

The Auschwitz complex with its false Nazi message “arbeit macht frei” (work sets you free) stands today as a sinister reminder of the cruelty of man, it is a very dark stain on the human race.

Written by Peter Dickens, additional research from Sandy Evan Hanes. Painting by the late Derrick Dickens of SAAF Mosquito copyright Peter Dickens. Photo references and sources include Wikipedia.

The SADF’s finest hour

Posted by Peter Dickens

The tragedy of the MS Oceanos can be regarded as the finest hour for the SADF and more specifically one where both the South African Navy and South African Air Force proved their mantra as the best in Africa and more. It is also regarded as one of the greatest and most successful maritime rescues ever undertaken – anywhere in the world.

Not only was every soul saved, the SAN and SAAF personnel conducted themselves in great regard with a number of medals awarded for bravery, and even a Honoris Crux Gold awarded to Able Seaman Paul Burger Whiley (one of only six ever awarded).

On 3 August 1991, the Oceanos set out from East London heading to Durban. Unwittingly she headed into highly dangerous sea conditions with 40-knot winds and 9 m swells.

At approximately 21:30 while off the Wild Coast, a muffled explosion was heard and the Oceanos lost her power following a leak in the engine room’s sea chest , the ship was left adrift and then started to sink. The crew at this stage did not conduct themselves with great decorum and reports indicated that they were quite prepared to save themselves and abandon the passengers.

Nearby vessels responded to the ship’s SOS and were the first to provide assistance. The South African Navy along with the South African Air Force launched a seven-hour mission in which 16 helicopters were used to airlift the passengers and crew to a site south of Coffee Bay. Of the 16 rescue helicopters, 13 were South African Air Force Pumas, nine of which hoisted 225 passengers off the deck of the sinking ship. All 571 people on board were saved.

To see just how dramatic this sinking was, here’s the original footage – think, if the South African Navy and Air Force hadn’t acted as they did what the cost in lives would have been:

Of the many awards and citations of bravery, one stands out. Able Seaman (AB) Paul Wiley from the SAS Scorpion was presented with the Honoris Crux Gold Decoration by the then Minister of Defence, Mr R.P. Meyer on the 6 March 1992.

He was cited as the first diver to be lowered aboard the MV Oceanos, and although he was severely beaten against the ship’s superstructure, he reached the deck.
Under extremely trying conditions he then succeeded in creating order and stability among the passengers. He then started hoisting passengers, on the first lift he accompanied a survivor up to the helicopter, after which it took a further 10 minutes of nerve-racking hovering to get him back on the deck.

During this maneuver, after being severely battered against the railing of the ship he was flung out of the hoisting strap and fell to a deck lower than intended. Thereupon a male survivor also fell out of a hoisting strap and fell 40 meters into the mountainous swells. AB Whiley, disregarding his own life, dived into the treacherous seas and on reaching the semi-conscious passenger, revived him and assisted him into a rescue craft.

Not quite finished Paul Whiley then swam back to the sinking ship and was confronted with the further difficulty of climbing back on board. Whilst scaling a ladder draped over the ship’s side, he was repeatedly beaten against the ship’s hull. However, his perseverance paid off and he managed to return to the deck to continue his vital task. After six hours aboard the Oceanos Able Seaman Whiley was one of the last persons to be hoisted from the stricken vessel.

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Roelf Meyer, the Minister of Defence, presenting the Honours Crux (Gold) to AB Paul Whiley at Silvermine on the 6 March 1992

This rescue proves beyond any shadow of doubt the exemplary level South Africa’s statutory forces had become by the early 1990’s. This rescue cannot be politicised – there are no “struggle heroes” in it, it has nothing to do with any political mantra or policy – it stands as a pure example of the heroism, skill and professionalism of the statute forces of the time. It truly is the SADF’s finest hour.

Honours

Consider this, the Honoris Crux is the highest SADF award for bravery and three levels of this award were issued, for accounts of bravery in the extreme, just on the MS Oceanos alone on the 4 August 1991, were the following:

Honoris Crux (Gold): AB. Paul Burger Whiley (as per the account above)

Honoris Crux (Silver): AB. Gary Ian Scoular.

Honoris Crux: Lt.-Cmdr. André Geldenhuys; PO. Frans Hugo Mostert; LS. Darren Malcolm Brown; LS. Luke James Dicks. All from the South African Navy, all from the Divers School.

In addition to Honoris Crux, consider the following decorations for bravery and actions above the call of duty which were also won on that day by South African Air Force personnel:

The Air Force Cross decoration recipients: Kmdt. Eric Brennan Elphick; Kmdt. Anthony Charles Hunter; Maj. Phillip Fenwick; Maj. Anthony Wright Johnson; Maj. Martin Johannes Hugo Louw; Maj. Hermanus Frederik Steyn; Maj. André Stroebel; Capt Anton Botha, Capt. René Martin Coulon; Capt. Peter Evans Hanes; Capt. Charles Glen Goatly; Capt. Hendrik; Capt Jacques Hugo; Capt. Tarri Jooste; Capt. Johannes Meintjies; Capt.. Slade Christoper Thomas; Capt. Francois Johann Weyers; Lt. Mark Graig Fairley; WO2 William James Riley; F/Sgt Norman Herbert Askew-Hull; Capt. Len Pienaar; F/Sgt Frans Campher; F/Sgt Daniël Francois Bezuidenhout; F/Sgt. Daniël Roedolf Jacobs; F/Sgt Christoffel Jacobus Pedlar; F/Sgt. Philip Davey Joseph Scott; F/Sgt. Frans Schutte; F/Sgt. Willem Hendrik Steyn.

Mentioned in Dispatches.

South African Air Force: Brig. T.J.M. de Munnink, SD; Brig. R.S. Lord, SD; Col. G.A. Hallowes; Col. B.J. Kriegler; Col. L.E. Weyer; kmdt. D.B. Janse van Rensburg; Maj. W.H.W. van Wyk. South African navy: Capt. (Naval). P.C. Potgieter; Capt. (Naval). R.D. Stephen; Cdr. A.G. Absolom; WO1 P. Hutchinson.

In conclusion

Quickly forgotten now as these fine men and woman are now painted as “Apartheid Forces” and great deeds such as this rescue are confined to a history nobody references or even considers anymore.

However this rescue is still regarded as the greatest and most successful sea rescue of its kind – to have ever been undertaken in modern maritime history. Under current cut-backs and capability restraints it is unlikely that the South African National Defence Force can ever replicate such a rescue if presented with it again.

It stands directly in the way of the current ANC’s political narrative and therefore it is another ‘inconvenient truth’ to be ‘passed over’ when referring the Permanent Force and National Service Conscript heroes of South Africa.

Written and researched by Peter Dickens

A Beaufighter, a Bible and a Badge

Posted by Peter Dickens

Having known Lt. Steve Stevens DFC, I remain in total awe of his generation. I met him in Wothing in England and Steve was 96 years young bed-ridden, in pain and weak – but he was no less the man, and this famous featured image of him firing rockets from his South African Air Force (SAAF) Beaufighter during WW2 says everything about him as a fighter pilot, but he was also a devout Christian who pioneered missionary aviation, leading a rich and interesting life. This is a little of his very remarkable story.

Steve Stevens was born on 27th August 1919 in Amesbury, Dorset. His father George was gassed in Salonica during WW1 and was sent to a special medical facility in Aberdeen for mustard gas victims, and he met and married Dora, one of the VAD’s.

Steve’s father was not expected to live past 40. However, in typical Stevens fashion George Alexander Stevens took no notice of this pronouncement and his health improved enough for him to take up a new assignment in the British Army of Occupation in Germany. The family was billeted in a huge house complete with stables, and young Steve was delighted to be placed in the care of a beautiful young fraulien. Steve adored her, and from her learned to speak German better than he could speak English.

However, George’s health deteriorated and after the family was moved around from Switzerland (where Steve became proficient in skiing, jumping and skating), Italy and Ireland on various Army assignments, on medical advice it was agreed that George Stevens’ lungs would not survive the wet European climate, it was recommended that he was to be invalided out of the army and moved to somewhere nice and warm and dry.

So it was that the family left for a life on a farm in South Africa in November 1929. George’s health improved, but Steve’s mother Dora suddenly fell ill and died of a brain tumour when Steve was only 14.

When World War 2 broke out Steve was at the Bible Institute of South Africa. With the decision to close the college for the duration, some of the students joined the Ministry, and Steve joined the South African Air Force (SAAF). Steve was convinced that the prayers offered three times a day by his father and stepmother would keep him safe during the war. Steve joined the SAAF as a trainee air photographer, but soon re-mustered as aircrew.

A Beaufighter

During the War Steve flew air strikes over Yugoslavia with SAAF 19 Squadron, based at Biferno in Italy. These strikes included the daring raid on the occupied walled town of Zuzenberk. The image of Steve firing his rockets is one of the two iconic Beaufighter images of the war. It is astonishing to realise that Steve could accurately hit a target as small as a 44 gallon fuel barrel with his rockets. In Steve’s words;

“This photograph is widely recognised as one of the most famous Beaufighter air- strike photo of WWII. It shows my plane attacking the Nazi-held medieval walled town of Zuzenberk, Yugoslavia. The attack by the South African Air Force resulted in the Yugoslav Partisans recapturing their town that very day.”

And this is the photograph, the SAAF Bristol Beaufighter TF Mark X of No. 16 Squadron South African Air Force seen in the image is been flown by Lt Steve Stevens as he releases its rocket projectiles at an enemy target in the town of Zuzemberk.

The photograph was taken by Lt. Schonveld flying just behind Lt. Stevens (SAAF 19 squadron) who’s Beaufighter is in view while attacking a target in Zuzemberk Feb 1945. Schonveld was a keen photographer and positioned his aircraft in a perfect position behind Stevens to capture this epic shot with the nose camera, but he flew a bit too close and ended with dents in his wings from spent 20mm shell cases from Steve’s aircraft.

Take the time to watch this short video interview of Steve Stevens by Tinus Le Roux, as to how this photograph was taken. It is as insightful as it is fascinating.

This photograph is historically well-known and has been published in many writings. It shows the aircraft, fired rockets and target simultaneously in a perfect balanced setting, indeed very rare.

Luckily for all of us, we get to preserve unique insight as both SAAF 16 and 19 Squadrons had unofficially mounted F.24 camera’s in the nose of their Beaufighters which took photographs during their attacks so that reconnaissance aircraft did not have to over fly later to asses the battle damage.

In another raid Steve also photographed Major Tilley attacking the armed German warship SS Kuckuck as Tilley’s number two. It was a desperate sortie which Steve and his fellow pilots fully expected to be a suicide mission. The rockets holed the target under the waterline. The pilots had been briefed by the Partisans that they would face the fire from 140 anti-aircraft guns. Remarkably all four planes returned safely.

Tinus Le Roux interviewed Steve Stevens to capture this attack on the SS Kuckuck, his short video is fascinating, a capture of a man and a time that is truly remarkable, take the time to watch it (many thanks to Tinus for bringing this experience to us)

A Bible

Lt Steve Stevens DFC had a very remarkable life, deeply God-fearing, religion was a very central pillar in all of it.

After the war ended, in 1946, as liaison officer between the South African Air Force and the Royal Air Force in Khartoum, Sudan Steve saw how badly the Christian missionaries needed a plane, not only just to spread the word of Christ, but also to get aid (medicines, foodstuffs and equipment) to remote communities. He joined the MAF, the ‘Mission Aviation Fellowship’ – a group of pilots dedicated to Christian missionary becoming MAF’s first operational pilot to be based in Sudan in 1950.

In Sudan, Steve flew a de Havilland Rapide – an eight-seater twin-engine wood and fabric covered biplane – not best suited for flying in Africa, but the best MAF could find and afford at that juncture. Over time, more and more airstrips were hacked out of jungle, bush, desert and grasslands, and Steve began to fly to other places where no planes had ever been before.

At the end of 1951, Steve experienced some problems with his vision, diagnosed as a detached retina and he lost the sight in one eye. He was grounded , however Steve still felt that his call was still to aviation missionary work so he and his family moved to the UK. He re-established MAF’s UK HQ and worked tirelessly to raise financial, staff and prayer support for the ministry.

In 1970, after more than twenty years of service to the MAF cause, Steve and his wife Kay moved on to become early members of the National Festival of Light, forerunner of today’s CARE organisation. Steve later became Executive Director of Australian Festival of Light.

A Badge

Steve Stevens remained a great advocate and supporter of veterans associations, the MAF and his Christian charities and institutions, throughout his life and was active in his backing all of them until age and frailty forced him to slow down a little, but not entirely, Steve even continued to use the internet and podcasting Christian messaging from his frail care bed. He also actively ran his own website to sell his work and outreach his messages, he became an avid author of all his adventures, his book on his time in the war called “Beaufighter over the Balkans” is a welcome addition to anyones library.

I met Steve Stevens, when the South African Legion of Military Veterans initiated an outreach to him to see if there was anything we could do to help him as a frail care WW2 veteran in his 90’s, I was astounded when he replied that he was at peace with himself and how could he help the Legion instead. Steve then kindly donated signed copies of his books to the Legion so that we could fundraise for other initiatives. Cameron Kinnear and I visited him at his home in England and awarded him a lifetime honoury membership of the South African Legion, and we pinned his SA Legion ‘veterans badge’ on his lapel.

Steve passed away in June 2016 and is survived by his children – Merle, Pam, Coleen and Tim – in addition to his grandchildren. His veterans badge was given back to the SA Legion by his family and, as means of keeping people like Steve in living memory his badge was loaned to me to wear.

This was an extraordinary man you can easily attribute words and values which would describe him as ‘noble’, ‘selfless’, ‘adventurous’, ‘brave’, ‘humble’ and most importantly a man with a solid backbone, unwavering in his belief and demonstrating that rare value of spiritual self actualisation ‘completely at peace with himself and the world’.

This man was cut from a very different cloth to the rest of us mortals, and it is with the greatest pride that I wear his veterans badge and an even bigger privilege that I am allowed to carry his memory.

Capt. Peter Dickens (Retired)

Written by Peter Dickens. Image Copyright: Imperial War Museum. Information Tinus Le Roux and Sandy Evan Haynes. Thanks to Cameron Kinnear for the extraction from his visit with Steve Stevens. Video (SA Legion UK stories: South African Legion UK and EU), “SAAF Beaufighters attack a German Ship – WW2 Pilot Steve Stevens DFC” Produced and Directed by Tinus Le Roux, copyright Tinus Le Roux. “How one of WW2’s greatest rocket air strike photographs was taken: Steve Stevens DFC” Produced and Directed by Tinus Le Roux, copyright Tinus Le Roux.

A German of French descent shot down by a South African of German descent in a country occupied by Italy ….

Posted by Peter Dickens

Another amazing and very human story about one of our World War 2 South African heroes. This one where two former enemies became close friends long after they met in the skies of North Africa during Word War 2. A German and a South African pilot fought to the death, the South African shooting down the German, later only to become friends.

The colorised image is Stuka pilot Lt. Heinz-Georg Migeod, shot down in Libya, 11/11/1942 by SAAF fighter pilot DB “Hoefie” Hauptfleisch (in the black and white portrait insert).

After the war Heinz relocated to South Africa where he met Hoefie and they became good friends. Hoefie passed away in 2009 and Heinz in 2010.

Tinus Le Roux was fortunate to have met Heinz. He once said to Tinus that the incident on 11 Nov 1942 was very funny: “a German of French descent was shot down by a South African from German descent in an African country occupied by Italy”

Now that is sheer irony.

Watch Tinus’ interview of the German Stuka pilot Heinz-Georg Migeod on the day he was shot down by Hoefie Haupfeish, its historic gold and gives an excellent insight into the manner the war was fought in North Africa.

Researched by Peter Dickens. With thanks to Tinus Le Roux for the colorised image and story as well as the families of Heinz Migeod and Hoefie Hauptfleisch for their stories, pictures and memories. Image and video copyright – Tinus Le Roux

Maj. Edwin Swales VC – a true South African hero’s legacy now under threat

Posted by Peter Dickens

A very notable South African hero and Victoria Cross winner, Captain Edwin (Ted) Swales VC, DFC (pictured in the centre with his crew) was born in Inanda, Natal, South Africa, he went to Durban High School (DHS) and then joined Natal Mounted Rifles, seeing action in Africa before he transferring to the South African Air Force and then went onto serve with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

In 1945, while with the RAF Pathfinders (No. 582 Squadron), Captain Swales was the Master Bomber and captain of Avro Lancaster III PB538. On 23 February 1945, the very same day as his D.F.C. award was gazetted, Swales led the bombing raid on Pforzheim, Germany.

Swales’ Victoria Cross citation:

“Captain Swales was ‘Master Bomber’ of a force of aircraft which attacked Pforzheim on the night of February 23, 1945. As Master Bomber he had the task of locating the target area with precision and of giving aiming instructions to the main force of bombers in his wake.

Soon after he reached the target area he was engaged by an enemy aircraft and one of his engines was put out of action. His rear guns failed. His crippled aircraft was an easy prey for further attacks. Unperturbed, he carried on with his allotted task; clearly and precisely he issued aiming instructions to the main force. Meanwhile the enemy fighter closed the range and fired again. A second engine of Captain Swales’ aircraft was put out of action. Almost defenceless, he stayed over the target area issuing his aiming instructions until he was satisfied that the attack had achieved its purpose.

It is now known that the attack was one of the most concentrated and successful of the war. Captain Swales did not, however, regard his mission as completed. His aircraft was damaged. Its speed had been so much reduced that it could only with difficulty be kept in the air. The blind-flying instruments were no longer working. Determined at all costs to prevent his aircraft and crew from falling into enemy hands, he set course for home.

After an hour he flew into thin-layered cloud. He kept his course by skilful flying between the layers, but later heavy cloud and turbulent air conditions were met. The aircraft, by now over friendly territory, became more and more difficult to control; it was losing height steadily. Realising that the situation was desperate Captain Swales ordered his crew to bail out. Time was very short and it required all his exertions to keep the aircraft steady while each of his crew moved in turn to the escape hatch and parachuted to safety.

Hardly had the last crew-member jumped when the aircraft plunged to earth. Captain Swales was found dead at the controls. Intrepid in the attack, courageous in the face of danger, he did his duty to the last, giving his life that his comrades might live”

Citation ends:

Although often referred to as being a “Captain” at the time of his last flight, Swales was in fact an ‘Acting’ Major. The S.A.A.F. was using the army ranking system, hence the ranks of ‘Captain’ and of ‘Major’. At the time of his death on 23 February 1945, Swales was aged 29 years. In 1958, the British Air Ministry wrote to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission informing them that the South African Air Force authorities had confirmed that at the time of his death, Swales had in fact held the rank of Major.

A Personal View

It is a great pity that in South Africa that the main Highway in Durban – Edwin Swales Drive has been renamed in support of some of other political narrative rather than to continue to acknowledge such a massive contribution to South Africa’s “honour” by this truly international hero – in whose memory the naming of the highway was originally intended. This is how South Africa’s military heritage is destroyed and it’s how the country’s multi cultural fabric is insidiously removed to support one groups political ideology over that of another.

My personal view. Part of the problem is also the “allowist” nature of South Africans with British roots for whom this man is a hero, they would rather put the issue into a “too hard box” and pursue individual security instead – they themselves are “allowing” this insidious rot to fester rather than really challenging it in a manner South African politicians today are accustomed.

Take a leaf out of the “Student Handbook” if you want things changed in South Africa – I’m not condoning violence in any way – but as a community, students really know how to mobilise in the digital and media age and challenge the status quo. People who want things like this changed and would like to impact a real difference should take a leaf out of that book.

SAAF Boston Bombers in living colour

Posted by Peter Dickens

Sometimes some well preserved original colour photography can take you right back to South Africans taking part in World War 2 as if it was yesterday. Here, in Libya March 1943, are Douglas Boston light bomber aircraft of No 24 Squadron, South African Air Force lined up at Zuara, Tripolitania. The nearest Boston is AL683/`V’.

On 5 March 1941 24 Squadron SAAF was formed when No.14 Squadron SAAF and its Maryland bombers were moved from Kenya to Egypt, and renumbered as No.24 Squadron. The squadron then operated alongside No. 39 Squadron RAF as a daytime tactical bomber unit carrying out bombing sorties against targets in the Mediterranean theatre. 24 Squadron was later in the year re-equipped with Bostons.

In December 1943, the squadron was relocated to Algeria and re-equipped with the B-26 Marauders and in 1944 flew to a new base at Pescara, Italy, before later advancing to Jesi, Italy. At the end of the war the squadron used its Marauders as transport aircraft, before moving to Egypt in October 1945 and disbanding on 6 November 1945.

The squadron was reactivated when the Buccaneer entered SAAF service in 1965. 24 Squadron SAAF Buccaneers saw active service during the Border War in South-West Africa,. They flew over Angola and Namibia in the 1970s and 1980s, and attacked SWAPO guerrilla camps with rockets and bombs.

The squadron was disbanded in March 1991 at AFB Waterkloof, Pretoria.

Photo copyright – Imperial War Museum, source IWM and wikipedia

Tragedy on Devils Peak and the end of the SAAF H.S. 125 Mercurius fleet

Posted by Peter Dickens

Tragedy on Devils Peak, 26 May 1971. Three South African Air Force Hawker Siddeley 125 Mercurius jets, on a practice formation flying above the Cape Town peninsula, in preparation for a massive 220 aircraft flypast for a Republic day display, slam into the mountain just above Rhodes Memorial with the loss of eleven lives.

The mountain was shrouded in mist and it is believed the lead aircraft most probably miscalculated the arch of its turning circle coming from the direction of the Athlone cooling towers. The lead aircraft’s error in judgement meant the other two tragically followed it into the mountain with the loss of all three.

The accident decimated this fleet, as the SAAF where left with only one H.S. 125 Mercurius jet which was not included in this formation flight. This was a tragedy which took a long time to overcome and in many senses is still quite raw in SAAF circles and memories even to this day – lest we forget

Photo Copyright; Cape Argus

SAAF Pilot single handedly captures his captors – Lt. Peter During’s amazing story

Posted by Peter Dickens

This colorised image captures a must read story about a South African Air Force pilot who escaped from becoming a Prisoner of War (POW) by capturing his own German captors during WW2. The image shows South African Air Force (SAAF) Fighter pilot Lt. Peter During (SAAF 7 squadron) with German prisoners in Italy April 1945, and this is the story of how he came capture them.

Lt. Peter During was shot down behind enemy lines in Italy right at the close of the war, he survived a crash landing and was promptly taken prisoner by the Germans. Whilst been escorted to a German Lufwaffe Prisoner of War (POW) camp (he was a pilot and thus his interrogation and imprisonment was the responsibility of the German airforce), he opened a conversation with his captors.

He was quickly able to establish that they could already see the writing on the wall, that the war was at an end and Germany would loose it. The Germans agreed with him that the best way for them to survive the war was to make it over to the Allied lines and surrender. He then convinced his four German escorts that he was their ticket to survival and to become his prisoners. They agreed and then changed direction and headed for the Allied lines instead.

It was a simple agreement really – if challenged by any German or other Axis Forces along the way the German’s agreed to say they were transferring an Allied pilot and continue on their way, and if challenged by Allied troops or the Italian Resistance fighters, Lt. Peter During would be given their MP-40 machine pistol and state he was transferring German prisoners.

On their way they stopped at several Italian houses for food and wine. One of the Germans had a camera and hence the photograph. In the feature picture you can see Peter has the MP-40 machine pistol while they enjoy a glass of wine with a rural Italian family hosting this odd group of men, whilst in other pictures the MP-40 has changed hands. Proof positive that there is some humanity in the craziness of war.

They made it over to the Allied lines, Peter During wrote them a note as to their good conduct which he gave to them as they went into captivity. The camera was given to Peter for safekeeping as its owner knew it would fall into the wrong hands and be lost once going into captivity.

Despite trying on numerous occasions to track down these men Peter had “saved” after the war ended, he was unable to find them, thank them and reunite the camera with its original owner. He printed the role of film to discover this priceless snippet of history.

If you want to hear this remarkable story from Peter himself, take the time to watch this video interview he did with Tinus Le Roux, it’s an absolute gem of South African military history.

Written by Peter Dickens. The photograph is from Peter During’s collection and it was given to Tinus le Roux, who has also done this fantastic job colourising it. Photo copyright Peter During and colouring credit to Tinus le Roux. Video copyright and my deepest thanks once again to Tinus.

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