213 SQUADRON 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
May 2018 FLYPAST 99LOTS OF FLAK
My last operation was flown on
May 4, 1945. It was two hours and
five minutes, an armed recce on
which we bombed a railway siding,
strafed locomotives and gharries
[horse-drawn vehicles].
I was hit by flak in the wing and my
logbook notes in Afrikaans that there
was “multo akkie” (lots of flak). This
‘op’ was in the hotly defended area
around Ljubljana, a major railway
junction. At that time, we had been
moved into Yugoslavia and were
based at Zara.
The Italian campaign ended on
May 2, 1945, but small pockets of
Germans continued to resist and
that was why we were still fully
operational. The squadron’s last
operation was on May 5, an armed
recce led by Geoff Holdsworth with
Johnnie Purchase, Rusty Jones and F/
Sgt Borthwick. They shot up some
wagons near Ljubljana.
I remained with 213 for a littlewhile after the German surrender,
but finally left for home with all the
other South Africans on July 10,- I have fond memories of my
time on 213. I still have my logbook
and from time to time I look at
the various entries and do a bit of
daydreaming about those wonderful
times we enjoyed.
This feature is dedicated to the memory
of Bryan Chiazzari and the South
Africans in 213 Squadron.Below
Left to right: Bryan
Chiazzari, Lt Owen
‘Rusty’ Jones SAAF,
Flt Lt ‘Maxie’ Gamble
RAF, Fg Off ‘Robbie’
Robinson RNZAF and
Lt ‘Spanner’ Stock.
ALL COURTESY BRYAN
CHIAZZARI UNLESS NOTED