VK5PAS

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Contact with Mike G0WKH and Louis Stanley Doc Watson of the RAAF

Posted: 31 May 2021 08:15 PM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2021/06/01/contact-with-mike-g0wkh/

On the 30th April 2021, whilst I was using the special Royal Australian Air
Force

(RAAF) callsign of VI100AF, I made contact with Mike G0WKH on the 20m
band.


Mike followed up with a very interesting email to me which reads as
follows:-
Hi Paul,
I was pleased to make contact with you today. I thought you might be
interested to know that my family played host to a number of servicemen
during WW2. We had a large house as there were 13 in the family of 3
generations. There was a mobile extra population of service men from all
the Services and those with large houses were compelled by The War
Department to make room for them. In some cases the whole property was
requisitioned. Amongst 3 men who were billeted with us when the Australian
461 Squadron of Sunderland Flying Boats came to Poole was one Louis

(Doc)
Watson. He was flying as an airgunner on anti submarine patrols in the
Channel and the Bay of Biscay. He was well liked by my family. I was 11
at the time and I think he was glad to talk to and play with me. The
squadron eventually moved to Pembroke on the coast of Wales and we lost
touch with him as,indeed, we did with practically all our’Guests’. Some
years ago some enterprising people in Poole set up a club called the
Friends of the Poole Flying Boats. They have extensive archives on
activity covering these aircraft both civil and military. At a meeting
some years ago I gave their Secretary a lot of info. From memory about
our contacts which included Doc. She subsequently came back to me with
the sad news that he had been shot down and killed on a patrol over the Bay
of Biscay. His plane was attacked by 6 Junkers88 and there were no
survivors. Included in the material she gave me was the fact that his home
was in the Mile End area of Adelaide. I believe there might be some sort
of Memorial to Aussies in Thebarton. A long story but it seemed to be
appropriate!
Best regards
Mike G0wkh.
As a result of Mikes email I decided to do a little research on Louis Doc
Watson.
My first stop was the website of the Friends of the Poole Flying Boats.


Louis Stanley Watson was born on the 12th day of February 1918 at Adelaide,
South Australia. His parents being William Henry Watson

(1881-1954) and
Mabel Wilhelmina Watson nee Rogers

(1880-1964).
At the age of 22, he enlisted with the Royal Australian Air Force at
Adelaide on the 21st day of May 1940. His locality on enlistment was
recorded as Mile End, South Australia. His next of kin was recorded as his
father William Watson.
Louis attained the rank of Sergeant in the RAAF, with his service number
being 26588. He served with 461 Squadron.

Louis Stanley Watson. Image c/o awm.gov.au
The No. 461 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force

(RAAF) was a
maritime patrol squadron during the Second World War, which operated under
Royal Air Force control. The Squadron was formed on the 25th day of April
1942 and was disbanded on the 20th day of June 1945, following the end of
the war in Europe. The role of 461 Squadron was to protect convoys and
deter submarine attacks. They flew over miles of the Atlantic to hunt and
destroy U boats, the German submarines. Personnel were drawn from many
countries of the British Empire, although the majority were Australians.
The Squadron were originally based at Mount Batten and then located to
Hamworthy. In 1943 the Squadron was relocated to Pembroke Dock in Wales.

Above:- Map showing the location of Pembroke Dock.
The Squadron consisted of Sunderland flying boats. The Sunderland was a
slow flying aircraft and often came under attack by enemy German fighters.
As a result, ground crew modified the Sunderlands with twin gun nose
turrets and galley mounted machine guns. As a result, the aircraft became
known as the Flying Hedgehogs.


Throughout the war, the Squadron was credited with destroying a total of
six German U-boats, and operated mainly in the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic.
RAAF 461 Squadron lost a total of twenty

(20) Sunderlands to enemy action
and accidents. A total of 86 Squadron members were killed on operations,
including 64 Australians.

RAAF 461 Squadron emblem. Image c/o RAAF Museum Point Cook
At about 12.55 p.m on Wednesday the 2nd day of June 1943, a Short
Sunderland GR3, serial number EJ134, with its famous callsign of N for Nuts
took off from the Royal Air Force Base Pembroke Dock, under the command of
the Captain of the aircraft Flight Lt. Colin Braidwood Walker. The flight
was described as a normal A/S

(anti submarine) patrol in the Bay of
Biscay. Sergeant Louis Stanley Watson was the Rigger aboard the aircraft.

Above:- the crew of EJ134. Sergeant Watson is fourth from the left.
Their mission that day included to look for a civilian aircraft, a DC-3
Dakota which had failed to arrive in Bristol and was suspected to have been
shot down by the Luftwaffe. Aboard the aircraft was the British actor,
Leslie Howard.

Above:- Leslie Howard. Image c/o Wikipedia
The crew did not locate any sign of the missing Dakota. At about 6.45 p.m.
EJ134 was patrolling over the Bay of Biscay at a height of 2,000 feet in
are area known as Tiger country. It earnt this name due to the number of
lone aircraft which had been shot down by German fighters in the area. It
was at this time that eight JU 88 German aircraft rapidly closed in on the
aircraft and the Sunderland came under attack.
The Junkers Ju 88 was a German WW2 Luftwaffe twin engined multi-role combat
aircraft.

Above:- A JU 88. Image c/o Wikipedia
In what followed, the crew of EJ134 won their places in aviation history.
In a prolonged attack by the Luftwaffe, the Sunderland lost one engine and
its tail turret. Despite this, EJ134 managed to shoot down three of the
eight German fighters. Of the remaining five JU 88s which were damaged by
EJ134, only two returned to Bordeaux in France. The remaining three JU 88s
are presumed to have crashed into the sea.
During the firefight, Sergeant Louis Stanley Watson was in the nose turret
of the aircraft.
A number of the crew sustained injuries, while Edward Charles Ernest Ted
Miles, the First Flight Engineer, aged just 27 years, was killed.
The severely damaged Sunderland EJ134, with about 500 holes, most of the
bridge destroyed with all radio and some flying instruments destroyed, made
the 350 mile journey back to Cornwall. It did not make it to Pembroke
Dock, and made a forced landing in the shallows on the shores of Cornwall,
at Praa Sands.


Sir Charles Portal, Chief of Air Staff sent the following to the crew:
I have just read the account of the flight by Sunderland N/461 against 8
JU88 on 2nd June. I should like Flight Lieutenant Walker and the surviving
members of his gallant crew to be told of the admiration and pride I felt
on reading the details of this epic battle which will go down in history as
one of the finest instances in this war, of the triumph of coolness, skill
and determination against overwhelming odds. I am sure that not only the
heavy losses inflicted on the German fighters but above all the spirit and
straight shooting of the crew will have made a profound impression on the
morale of the enemy in the Bay of Biscay and will thus greatly assist in
the war on the U Boats. From Sir Charles Portal, Chief of Air Staff.

Four of the crew of EJ134

(and a BBC staff member) recording the story of
the encounter with the JU88s in a BBC studio. Sergeant Watson is in the
middle. Image c/o awm.gov.au
Many of the crew of EJ134 were all back to operational flying from the 8th
July 1943 and completed a further 4 operational flights together. In
August 1943 they shared in the sinking of U-106 with a 228 Squadron
Sunderland. However Sergeant Watson was not to be so lucky during August
of 1943.
At 7.08 a.m. on Friday the 13th day of August 1943, a Short Sunderland Mk
III, serial number DV968, took off from the Royal Air Force Base Pembroke
Dock for an anti-submarine patrol over the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic
Ocean.

Above:- No. 461 Squadron Sunderland Mark V landing at Pembroke Dock,
Wales. Image c/o Wikipedia
Nothing was heard from the aircraft until 2.47 p.m. when a signal was
received which stated that the aircraft was being attacked by six JU 88s.
It is suspected that the Sunderland was shot down by one of the JU 88s and
crashed into the Bay of Biscay. Louiss aircraft was later claimed by Lt.
Artur Schroeder of 13/KG 40. Kampfgeschwader 40

(KG40) was a Luftwaffe
medium and heavy bomber wing and the primary maritime patrol.
The following day, Sunderland JM683 patrolled the area where it was
suspected the aircraft was shot down, however no dinghies or survivors were
located.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Bay of Biscay. Map c/o Google maps
An extract from Herrington; J

(John) book entitiled Air War Against Germany
and Italy 1939-1943, read as follows:-
Flying Officer Dowling of No. 461, leading the gallant crew which under
Flight Lieutenant Colin Braidwood Walker

(404610) had won the heroic
struggle against eight Ju-88’s on 2nd June, failed to return from patrol on
13th August after reporting enemy fighters approaching his Sunderland.
The crew members of DV968 we

Flying Officer Wilbur James Dowling

(400788) (Pilot)Flight Sergeant Alfred
Eric Fuller

(576061) (RAF) (Wireless Air Gunner)Flying Officer David Taylor
Galt DFC

(400976) (First Pilot)Warrant Officer Ray Marston Goode DFM

(407499) (Air Gunner)Flying Officer James Charles Grainger

(400411) (Second
Pilot)Flight Sergeant Albert Lane

(414701) (Wireless Air Gunner)Flight
Sergeant Charles Douglas Les Longson

(415338) (Wireless Air Gunner)Warrant
Officer Harold Arthur Miller

(405083) (Wireless Air Gunner)Flight
Lieutenant Kenneth McDonald Simpson DFC

(403778) (Observer)Flight Sergeant
Phillip Kelvin Turner

(26697) (Flight Engineer)Sergeant Louis Stanley
Watson

(26588) (Flight Mechanic / Air Gunner)
Not flying that day in DV968 were James Collier Amiss and Colin Braidwood
Walker who were aboard EJ134 during the 2nd June incident.
Louis was just 25 years old. His body was never recovered.
Louis is remembered at the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, England. He is also
remembered at various other locations including the Australian War Memorial
in Canberra, and the National War Memorial of South Australia in North
Terrace, Adelaide.

References.
ancestry.com, 2021, https://www.ancestry.com.au/, viewed 31st May 2021
Air Crew Remembered, 2021, http://aircrewremembered.com/, viewed 1st June
2021.
Australian Government, 2021,
https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=876708&c=WW2, viewed 31st May
2021.
Australian War Memorial, 2021, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C251485,
viewed 1st June 2021.
Australian War Memorial, 2021, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C147771,
viewed 1st June 2021.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 2021, https://www.cwgc.org/, viewed
31st May 2021.
Highgate RSL, 2021,
https://highgate-rsl.org.au/afcraaf-roll/watson-louis-stanley-26588/,
viewed 31st May 2021.
Knifton; John, 2021,
https://johnknifton.com/tag/leutnant-artur-schroder/, viewed 1st June
2021.
RAAF Museum Point Cook, 2021,
https://www.airforce.gov.au/sites/default/files/minisite/static/7522/RAAFmuseum/research/units/461sqn.htm,
viewed 1st June 2021.
RAAFA Aviation Heritage Museum, 2021,
https://aviationmuseumwa.org.au/afcraaf-roll/461sqn-430602-ej134/, viewed
1st June 2021.
Virtual War Memorial Australia, 2021,
https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/392, viewed 31st May 2021.
Wikipedia, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_88, viewed 31st
May 2021.
Wikipedia, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampfgeschwader_40, viewed
1st June 2021.
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Aeronautical mobile contacts

Posted: 31 May 2021 04:40 AM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2021/05/31/aerona...bile-contacts/

A few weeks ago on the ANZA DX Net I spoke with Denny KN6KNE who was
aeronautical mobile. He was in the cockpit of American Airlines 1209 from
San Diego to Miami. Following our QSO, Denny sent me an email to let me
know that one of the Captains at his base had the same first and last name
as me.Â*
About a week later on 25th May 2021, I spoke with Denny again on the ANZA
DX Net on 20m. This time he was in the cockpit of an American Airlines 737.


The flight AAL456 was between Dallas and Sacramento.


While speaking with Denny I was able to track him on Flight Radar 24 as he
flew over Utah in the USA. Signal report was 5/6 both ways.


And then a few days later, on 27th May 2021, on 40m, I spoke with Steve
VK4VN who was in a Cessna flying over Queensland.


Again, I was able to track Steve on Flight Radar 24.


I have spoken with Jerry PH9HB a number of times in the past, while he has
been flying over Europe. However, I have not heard Jerry for a few years
now. I think the band conditions are starting to pick up, so hopefully my
next contact with Jerry wont be too far away.