Simpson - Spitfire dive-bombers versus the V2 : Fighter Commands battle with Hitlers mobile missiles

Spitfire
Dive-bombers
Versus the V2

Spitfire
Dive-bombers
Versus the V2

Fighter Commands Battle with
Hitlers Mobile Missiles

Bill Simpson

First published in Great Britain in 2007 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS

Copyright William F. H. Simpson, 2007

ISBN 9781844155712

The right of William F. H. Simpson to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library

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any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission from the Publisher in writing.

Typeset in Palatino by
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Printed and bound in England by
CPI UK

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& Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Military, Wharncliffe Local History,
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T his work could not have been completed without the encouragement and support of a large number of individuals, many of whom were actively involved in the campaign against the V2s or were under the rockets in the south of England or the Spitfires bombs in the Netherlands. Much of the factual base of the account comes from the squadron records but the human side draws on written and spoken recollections which have been made freely available to me. Those whose exploits are recounted are getting on in years and some are unwell sadly a few have passed away during the four years it has taken to complete the work but all have given their help, advice and encouragement unstintingly and I am grateful to them all. The research has been made more difficult because so many of the pilots live in Australia, but the internet and the ability to e-mail has made it easier than I would have believed to resolve issues, answer queries and keep in touch.

It is almost inevitable that a work of this nature will contain errors and, as always, they are mine and mine alone. If I have omitted to thank any particular person or organization then I apologize it has not been done deliberately.

Of course, the most important contributors are those who took part in the campaign, either in the aeroplanes or on the ground, and some who had no involvement in the campaign but could comment from personal experience during the war. In particular I have to thank Flight Lieutenant Russell Leith, who has been my main contact in Australia, along with Flying Officer (now Sir) Brian Inglis, the late Flying Officer Norman Marsh, Flying Officer Tom Hall and Russell Baxter. In Europe my thanks go to the late Warrant Officer Eric Mee (for permission to quote freely from his memoir), the late Flight Lieutenant Bob Sergeant, Warrant Officer Max Baerlein, the late Flight Lieutenant Raymond Baxter, Flying Officer John Moss, Warrant Officer Tom OReilly, Pilot Officer Freddy van Dyck, Flying Officer Michael Francis, Warrant Officer Roy Karasek, Sergeant Arthur Inch, Flying Officer George Pyle, Warrant Officer Stan Sollitt, the late Sergeant Bill Vine, Flight Lieutenant Jack Batchelor and Flying Officer Nick Machon.

I also thank the late Jan vant Hoff and his wife Betty in the Netherlands for their hospitality and interest in the project, and for sharing with me their experiences during the war, and Jos Borsboom for his interest and help and for spending a weekend in 2003 guiding me round V2 sites in The Hague and western Holland as well as recounting to me his familys experiences in Bezuidenhout and allowing me to write about them. Bart Tent gave help in researching the attacks on the BIM building, and Rita Gathercole provided recollections of the V2s hitting the south-east of England. Geoff and Richard Zuber gave me information about their father, Cec Zuber of 602 Squadron, and I am grateful to them.

Paul Baillie and Geoff Dewing carried out sterling research for me at the UK National Archives, and the help and encouragement given to me by fellow authors Squadron Leader Bruce Blanche and David Ross is greatly appreciated. Professor Dugald Cameron, who has an abiding interest in 602 Squadron, also provided encouragement, and I am very grateful to him for allowing me to use his profile of the 602 Squadron Spitfire XVI in the book. Lieutenant-Colonel David Bashow also helped and gave me permission to quote from his excellent history of the RCAF in the war, All the Fine Young Eagles. Michael Francis kindly allowed me to use his poem which appears as a postscript and I am grateful to him.

The source of most of the photographs is acknowledged beside them but I have to thank all who have helped me find appropriate illustrations. These include the late Eric Mee, the late Jan vant Hoff, Tom OReilly, George Pyle, Tom Hall (who also allowed me to quote from his book Typhoon Warfare), John Moss, Russell Leith, the late Bob Sergeant, Freddy van Dyck, Sir Brian Inglis, the late Raymond Baxter and his family particularly Mrs Jenny Douglas - Geoff and Richard Zuber, Rob Lawa, Senior Archivist with Shell International BV in The Hague, Yvonne Oliver at the Imperial War Museum, staff at the Australian War Memorial, Hugh Alexander at the UK National Archives at Kew for permission to reproduce the aerial photograph of The Hague illustrating the tragic bombing of Bezuidenhout, Mr Norbert Ludwig at Bildarchiv Prussischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin, Margrit Prussat of the Photographic Archive of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Mr G.I. Smit and KLM for permission to use one of their aerial images of Bezuidenhout, John Coulter of the Lewisham Local History and Archives Centre at Lewisham Library for permission to use the image of the V2 damage at New Cross. Others who helped with images and/or approvals to copy were Judy Nokes at the Office of Public Sector Information in Norwich, Harco Gisbers of the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, Mel Knight at Mirrorpix, Jane Cramb at Macmillan Publishers Ltd., Venetia Bridges of Osprey Publishing Ltd, Heather Thomas of ITV, Rebecca Barnard at Solo Syndication on behalf of Associated Newspapers for permission to quote from the News Chronicle and to reproduce an article from the Daily Sketch of December 1944, Joanna Sinclair of BBC Information for permission to quote from the BBC Scotland radio broadcast Beware the Crossed Lion, Michael Neufeld of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for his help with photographs of forced labour at Nordhausen and information about Hans Kammler, and Harry Griffiths, the Executive Chairman of The Spitfire Society, for his agreement to my use of quotations from the societys journal. In particular, I would like to thank miss Sjoukje Atema of the Haags Gemeentearchief in The Hague who was very patient with my queries and requests for photographs.

Phil Makanna of Ghosts in San Francisco (www.ghosts.com) has been very generous in allowing me to use his beautiful picture of a refurbished Spitfire flying over the mountains of New Zealand, and I am grateful to him.

In a few cases, it has not been possible to identify the photograph owner. In such instances, I would be pleased to be made aware of the ownership to make appropriate corrections in any future issue of the book. In the meantime, I apologize for any omissions and/or errors.