Two Weeks in January, 1945
If you read to the end, a sense of fatigue wouldn’t be unexpected. It will pale though when compared to the fatigue these men must have endured. I don’t know how they did it.
Mrs. Yarra’s Boys
Two brothers, two Spitfires; Ft/Lt. John Yarra and his brother, P/O Robert Yarra from rural NSW and their No.453 Sqn. Spitfires.
A Balkans Bf 109 E-4/B
Ever since I first saw a picture of the “crazy paving” camouflaged 109’s of JG 54 I’ve wanted to make one. After many a year of procrastination, here it is…
The RCAF’s No.404 “Buffalo” Squadron
Coastal Command’s war against the elements as well as the enemy as experienced by the RCAF’s No.404 “Buffalo” Squadron.
Rudolf “Rudi” Müller’s Bf 109 G-2/R6 of 6/Jg5, April 1943
An old model, a new set of pictures and a potentially controversial op-ed comprise this piece on Rudolf Müller’s Bf109G-2/R6.
Lt. John “Ray” Johnson’s “Fighting Cocks” P-38L-1 Sep 1944 – Mar 1945
The 13th Air Force did not fight the most glamorous of wars, theirs’ was a war of ground attack, relentlessly destroying Japanese ground forces and infrastructure. They fought, not from centralized bases closely tied together, but from island bases, spread hundreds of miles apart.
No. 25 Squadron, RNZAF Piva Airfield, Bougainville, March – May 1944
This update brings to life another of the older articles, from around 2005-2006 and tells the story of No.25 Squadron RNZAF in Bougainville in mid 1944…
Col. James Beckwith’s 15th FG P-51D-25 Mustang “Squirt” at Iwo Jima, March-May 1944
Early on the morning of 7 April the 15th and 21st Groups were poised ready for the signal to start engines. The briefings of the day before and that morning had everyone eager to get the operation underway…
2nd Lt. John A. Weese’s USAAF P-47D-15-RE of 365th F/G, 386th F/S in June, 1944
“A short time later 2nd Lt. Weese reported that his engine was out and that he thought he could put his aircraft down behind friendly lines in the shallow water a little offshore Juno Beach. 1st Lt. Beaudrault reported that nothing more was heard from Wesse.”
F/O Les Clisby’s Hawker Hurricane Mk.I of No.1 Squadron RAF, France May 1940
I present my first previously unpublished Feature Article. The subject is F/O Les Clisby and his Hawker Hurricane Mk.1. This remarkable Australian fighter pilot was noted for his aggression, both in the air and on the ground… “Remarkably, Clisby landed nearby, drew his service sidearm and chased the German crewmen across the field as they tried to escape! He captured one in a rugby tackle…” I hope you enjoy the article.
