WAR OVER THE PACIFIC |RAAF
http://www.britainatwar.com^75to become a prisoner; he was one of
just two 2 Squadron PoWs to survive
Japanese captivity. Two Hudsons of 13
Squadron were also lost in this brutal
introduction to the war.
Ambon rapidly became untenable
and by late January, the two squadrons
had lost 17 aircraft between them,
including four to strafing Zeros on the
26th, ironically Australia Day. These
effective attacks continued, as did 2
Squadron’s reconnaissance sorties
until the evacuation, though some,
including Fg Off Bill White who was
later awarded 2 Squadron’s first DFC,
were captured and executed, the fate of
most of the unit’s captives.
Attacks on Timor also increased and
soon Kupang could only be used by
night, and early on Thursday February
19 the last Hudson left for Darwin
shortly before Dutch Timor fell. Therewas little respite as the first enemy
air raid on Darwin destroyed four
more Hudsons (Mk.I A16-6, Mk.IIs
A16-57 and A16-78 and Mk.IVA
A16-135) on the ground just three
hours after their arrival. The survivingaircraft were therefore then dispersed
around the area.
Action soon resumed with six aircraft
bombing their old home at Kupang
on March 18, beginning a sustained
period of operations over the Banda
Sea from northern Australia. During a
raid on the 23rd, Flt Lt Jack McAllister
in A16-109 attacked a flying-boat in
Kupang, but was then intercepted by
a Zero. The Hudson’s gunners shot
it down, but the crippled bomber
crashed into the sea with only its pilot
surviving to enter a cruel captivity.
These RAAF raids continued almost
daily with some success, but the
Hudsons were always vulnerable to
enemy fighters as one (anonymous)
2 Squadron pilot described: “He used
his cannon well and one burst put the
turret guns out of action. The aircraft
became more difficult to handle when
another burst from the Zeros put my
port engine out of action. An instant
later it burst into flames...”LEFT
This Hudson IIIA was
delivered to
2 Squadron in
July 1942. Its crew
prepares for a
mission in it, but all
except Plt Off Winzar
(centre) were killed
in a mid-air collision
on April 20, 1943.
(JOHN BATCHELOR
COLLECTION)LEFT
Mk.IIIA A16-160
joined the unit in
September 1942
and survived a
raid on Penfoi
airstrip on October
25 after it force-
landed short of fuel.
(VIA J W BENNETT)BELOW
The aircrew of
2 Squadron in
March 1942, but
many of the men in
this photo would be
lost over the Banda
Sea area in the next
few months.was little respite as the first enemy72-78 RAAF BAW SEPT2019.indd 75 8/15/2019 9:03:53 AM