June 2018 FLYPAST 41the bombers turned away, the
Tomahawks executed strafing runs
before resuming the escort home.
On May 30 the Axis offensive
was temporarily halted and the
following day an Eighth Army
thrust committed 4 Squadron to
heavy fighting. Intercepting a raid
of Stukas with a Bf 109 escort,
the Tomahawks claimed two dive-
bombers and a Messerschmitt for
the loss of Lts Jackson and R F
Marillier. Taking to his parachute,
Lt N W Hancock eventually
managed to return to the unit.
A Ju 87 was downed on June
4, while a pair were claimed as
‘probables’ during the fighting near
Bir Hacheim. Lt J de la H Lane
was forced down but was able to
rejoin his unit, while Lt K H Lawler
ended up in captivity.
South of Tobruk was a region
known as ‘Knightsbridge’ and this
was the starting point for an Eighth
Army counter attack on June 5.
On that day 4 Squadron escorted
Boston raids before being forced to
relocate east to LG 167 at Baheira,
Egypt, as the Allied offensive was
checked and then reversed.
Rommel launched yet another
effort to topple Bir Hacheim on the
9th. During a sweep on the 10th, 4
Squadron lost Captain G G Bayley
and Lt M P Ironside in a collision.
With a general retreat under way on
June 10 the squadron, flying barely
airworthy machines, rapidly moved
from LG 76 to Sidi Haneish for a
period of rest before flying further
east to LG 100 on the 24th.
With the situation on the ground
rapidly deteriorating, 4 was ordered
to LG 9 at Mersa Matruh and
LG 105 before withdrawing to
LG 85 at Amiriya South on the
29th. The South Africans were not
alone in their nomadic existence
as conflicting intelligence reports
and uncertainty on the ground
saw large-scale movement of units
throughout the DAF. On June 21
the garrison at Tobruk surrendered
and Mersa Matruh fell on the 27th.TURNING POINT
Major J Hewitson, the CO, was
shot down and parachuted into
captivity on the 26th. Later that
afternoon Captain T P L Murray
exacted a measure of revenge bydispatching a Stuka near Mersa
Matruh. This came shortly after
the unit began re-equipping with
Kittyhawks although a mix of both
types continued to be flown in the
coming months.
From the first week of July, 4
Squadron began escorting the light
bombers of 3 Wing SAAF and
DAF fighter-bombers. They were
attacking enemy tanks heading
for battle and the frail supply lines
supporting them.
During one such escort on the
5th Lt S I Reinders reported a Bf
109 shot down while Lt J van Nus
returned to claim a ‘probable’.
Casualties increased: Lt D G White
was killed on the 20th and 2nd Lt
G B MacKenzie on the 23rd.
August began with the squadron’s
introduction to dive-bombing;
hitting enemy transport on the 3rd.
Lt Hancock was killed on the 14th
during a combined Boston and
Martin Baltimore raid on LG 19 at
Fuka.
The frequency of these raids
seriously hampered Rommel’s
preparations for an outflanking
manoeuvre on the Alamein line
which he launched on the last
day of August at Alam el Halfa.
Bostons and Baltimores, escorted
by 4 Squadron, continued to offer
determined resistance and slow the
advance.
By dusk on September 1 the unit
had lost another commander. Major
Smith was killed when a USAAF
P-40F Warhawk collided with his
aircraft upon landing. It endedBelow left
The squadron
maintenance fl ight at
the head of Halfaya
Pass in Egypt.Below
The grave of Lt Alder
who was shot down on
November 12, 1941. The
inscription on the cross
erroneously reads ‘1
Squadron’.