They Spread Their Wings Read Online Free PDF Page A

into the desert a few days earlier. The squadron war diarist recorded that first sortie as follows:

    6.8.42. At about 08.30 this morning, Wg Cdr Porteous [squadron CO], Sqn Ldr Weston-Burt, Flt Lt ‘Pinky’ Bluett, Carswell and Sgts Robey and Wilcox, carried out an anti-tank sweep over the southern sector of the German front but located no target. It was the initiation run for the last two named and here’s hoping they all have better luck next time. A similar ‘nursery’ sweep was made at 12.17 hours with same result and the participants were Fg Off Julian Walford, Plt Offs MacDonald, Jones, Freeland, Clark and Sgt Hastings.

    In his next letter home, dated 7 August, Howard only remarked that he was very fit and losing some weight, he thought; he would not have been able to get any comments on operational matters past the censor anyway. On the 11th, however, he wrote to say his flight had returned to base – believed to mean Shandur – for a week’s ‘rest’. The squadron diary stated that on 9 August, ‘C’ Flight had moved to Shandur for a week’s refresher training, so it can be construed by this that Howard was in ‘C’ Flight.
    A training incident on the firing range at this time illustrates just how ‘hairy’ one of these 40mm firing runs could be. On 14 August it was noted in the squadron diary:

    Plt Off Petersen crashed Hurricane IID at 11.00 hours while firing at a screen target. He was slightly injured and the accident attributed to failing to pull up in time after firing. The attack was being carried out at ten feet and the starboard wing root and airscrew struck one of the railway lines [an upright] supporting the target. Landing was made wheels up and the aircraft was Cat B.

    ‘C’ Flight returned to LG 89 on 16 August and, interestingly, on that date it was also mentioned that signal exercises had been carried out between Wadi Natrum and the Delta, to discover if it was possible to vector aircraft (IIDs) on to ground targets by using a Forward Fighter Control unit. In another organisational change, as from 19 August 1942, No 7 South African (SA) Wing was formed and from that date No 6 Squadron came under its administrative as well as operational control. The squadron’s holding of aircraft was increased to twenty (IID); two Hurricane Is were to be allocated for training and one flight was to be retained at Shandur for training. This latter would be designated ‘D’ Flight.
    Howard’s real baptism of fire came at the close of the Battle of Alam el Halfa in which Erwin Rommel mounted what became his last major offensive against the Eighth Army. This battle was the result of a German effort to surround British forces gathered in the area of El Alamein. The Battle of Alam el Halfa began on 30 August 1942 and lasted until 6 September when Rommel’s attack was repulsed. Rather than chase his enemy, Montgomery took this opportunity to hold this line of defence in order to consolidate and train his forces and assimilate intelligence presented to him by the top secret ‘Ultra’ system, so that he could make an all-out attack on Rommel at a time of his own choosing.
    On 31 August all squadrons received a personal signal from the air officer commanding (AOC-in-C) that, ‘Everyone must do his utmost and more than his utmost. The enemy this time can and must be finally crushed.’ However, things had quietened down somewhat for No 6 Squadron at LG 89 – to the extent that in a letter dated 1 September, Howard wrote: ‘It is still pretty hot here and … a lot of dust storms. We don’t do much out here except read and play cards and we do a lot of both these.’ Things changed later that day: the commanding officer (CO) led an attack by three IIDs against three tanks and thirty mechanised transport vehicles, but with little visible result. A similar operation was mounted the next day but once again the tanks could not be found, although two of the three pilots hit an armoured car and