AUSTRALIA AND THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY|NORMANDY 75
http://www.britainatwar.com^87the BOAC Flight 781 Comet airliner
crash off Elba, in 1954, robbed the
world of a talented broadcaster, author
and historian.
Thousands of Australians serving in
Bomber Command squadrons were
also active on D-Day. In deception
operations mounted in conjunction
with the landings, 617 Squadron –
the famous ‘Dambusters’ – undertook
a highly specialised task of dropping
‘window’. These were clouds of
aluminium strips dropped at specific
intervals to deceive German radar
by simulating a large Allied fleet
approaching the Pas-de-Calais area.
Six of the 16 Lancasters on this
mission were
piloted by
Australians.
Each of the RAAF squadrons in
Bomber Command took part in the
pre-invasion bombardment and
comprised nearly 15% of the force
committed on D-Day. In fact, two of
the few Avro Lancasters still displayed
in museums worldwide were flown by
members of an Australian squadron on
D-Day. Likely familiar to many readers
in Britain, they are the 467 Squadron
Lancaster (R5868) PO-S ‘S-for-Sugar’
at the RAF Museum Hendon, in
London, and 467 Squadron’s forward
fuselage of PO-F (DV372) ‘Old Fred- the Fox’ at the IWM London. Their
display in British museums is of
immense pride to Australian veterans
of Bomber Command.
Escape And Evasion
Naturally, Australians manned aircraft
that were shot down over occupied
territory, and among the many
incredible stories of evasion after
being downed behind enemy lines is
that of Flight Sergeant Stanley Black
from North Fitzroy, Melbourne. A
bomb aimer with 106 Squadron RAF,
Black’s Lancaster was shot down on
the night of June 7. After parachuting
safely, Black was guided by farmers tothe nearby French village of Graignes,
known to be in the hands of a small
group of American paratroopers.
There, Black attached himself to
a 180-strong force from the 82nd
Airborne Division preparing to defend
the village, which was situated on the
southern approach to the strategically
important town of Carentan.
On June 10, the German 17th
SS Panzergrenadier Division –
outnumbering the Americans by as
many as ten to one – launched an
attack. The defenders managed to
inflict heavy casualties and held the
village for a crucial 24 hours. The
Germans finally entered the town on
June 11 and rounded up and executed
the remaining paratroopers. They
also murdered two priests and more
than 40 villagers they accused of
aiding the Allies. Flight Sergeant Black
was among those killed. His name is
listed on a memorial alongside the
Americans and citizens who died in
the defence of Graignes.”This is Chester Wilmot
broadcasting”
LEFT
Australian war
correspondent
Chester Wilmot.
(NATIONAL LIBRARY
OF AUSTRALIA)LEFT
Spitfires of
453 Sqn being
prepared by
ground crew
at an advanced
landing strip
in Normandy,
June 1944.BELOW
A Spitfire of
453 Sqn, RAAF,
being prepared
for take-off from
Ford, England,
June 6, 1944.