Fly Past

66 FLYPAST April 2018

I

n Shakespeare’s play, Julius

Caesar, Mark Anthony said:

“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs

of war”. This statement could very

well describe 295 Squadron during

World War Two. The unit’s ‘Special

Delivery Service’ involved towing

gliders full of troops or supplies,

parachuting agents into enemy-

occupied Europe or dropping men

of the Special Air Service.

Rae Churchill, newly

commissioned as a flying officer,

and many other Canadian graduates

of the Canadian-based British

Commonwealth Air Training Plan

arrived in Britain in June 1943. The

RAF informed them that no more

medium bomber crews were needed

but ‘Special Duties’ crews were

required in an expanding role.

Fg Off Churchill takes up the

story: “We went to 42 Operations

Training Unit [at Ashbourne,

Derbyshire] within 38 Group. Here

we flew Armstrong Whitworth

Whitley Vs learning how to tow

[Airspeed] Horsa gliders, drop

paratroops and drop supplies.

“Most of this training was at night.

After completion of the course, I was

posted in October to 295 Squadron’s

base at Hurn, near Bournemouth.”

The requirements of the tour

of duty were the same as Bomber

Command’s: 30 trips or 18 months

or 600 flying hours, whichever

occurred first.

Formed at Netheravon, Wiltshire,

on August 3, 1942 as an airborne

forces unit, 295 Squadron was

initially equipped with the Whitley

but in February 1943, Handley

Page Halifax Vs were also received.

In June 1943, the Halifaxes were

engaged in towing gliders to North

Africa, a task that continued until

September.

FOLLOWING THE MOON

In October the unit began

conversion to the Armstrong

Whitworth Albemarle. This was the

first operational RAF aircraft with a

tricycle undercarriage.

“My Albemarle crew consisted of

THROUGH THE LOGBOOKS AND RECOLLECTIONS OF CANADIAN ALBEMARLE

AND STIRLING PILOT RAE CHURCHILL, KEN WRIGHT REVEALS THE RISKY

NATURE OF SPECIAL DUTIES OPERATIONS

DELIVERYDELIVERY

SPECIAL

1918 2018

Right

Stirling IV LK117/V8-F

of 570 Squadron

returns from Arnhem

on September 17,

1944. It was damaged
      by fl ak, a week later
      on a day the squadron
      suffered severe
      losses. VIA ANDY THOMAS

Below right

A page from Rae

Churchill’s logbook.

Note how the

summary of fl ying

time is split to include

glider towing.