Australia's Few. 20 July 1940

238 Squadron on convoy protection duties on 20 July 1940. Flying at 8000 feet, Blue Section arrived at the convoy, which was 15 miles south east of Portland, at 12.20 p.m. They encountered the enemy ‘in force’ and ‘the sections broke for individual combat’. Stuart Walch ‘twice investigated aircraft which turned out to be Hurricanes’. By 1.00 p.m., he had lost the rest of Blue Section and, as his main petrol tank was empty, he switched to his reserve tank and decided to return to base. He was down to 6000 feet by this stage. Climbing back to 8000 feet as he flew towards Swanage, he ‘observed fifteen aircraft flying in formation towards the convoy on [a northerly] course at approx. 12,000 feet’. Stuart was too far away to identify the aircraft but, given the direction they were taking, he concluded that they weren’t Hurricanes this time. ‘They were hostile’.

 

Stuart tried to contact ground control to see if the relief section was on its way but he could not raise them. He then ‘turned and headed for convoy climbing to get into sun’. When he was about five miles from the convoy, he saw bombs exploding around the escorting destroyer. He was right. He had encountered an enemy formation. Despite being alone, he ‘pulled the plug and went after the enemy aircraft which had turned southwards’. When he was south east of the convoy, at 10,000 feet, he saw ‘three Me 109s flying in [a] wide vic at about 9000 feet’. He dived and attacked the port machine. He opened fire at 200 yards quarter, firing two rapid two second busts as he closed to astern at approx. 50 yards. He watched as ‘black smoke poured from under the engine of the enemy aircraft’. It then ‘turned right and made vertical dive towards sea’. Stuart did not follow it down to confirm its destruction ‘as the other aircraft were trying to get astern of me’. His tanks were almost empty and so he ‘pulled up in a steep stall turn and made for home.’ Although Stuart did not mention it, as he ‘fired a burst causing the Me 109 to catch fire’, he was assisted by another friendly aircraft and was accordingly credited with a half share of the 109.