Australia's Few. 5 September 1940

The Luftwaffe continued its assault on the airfields of the south east. Although back at Croydon by 5 September, 72 Squadron was ordered to Hawkinge for the day to patrol that station. Because of casualties of personnel and machines, only eight Spitfires were airborne. Des was leading in X4034. At 2.25 p.m. they encountered two formations of Messerschmitt 109s. They were climbing to get above the raid when Des:

 

‘heard a shout of warning from one of our fighters weaving behind but before I could do anything about it there was a terrific bang from behind the cockpit and the aircraft shuddered from what must have been an accurate and heavy burst from dead astern. I knew I had been hit in the leg and my left hand showed signs of flying fragments. I think that the explosion must have been from the oxygen bottle as I quickly passed out’.

 

When he came, he realised his Spitfire was diving vertically and out of control. He then:

‘tried the control column but it was useless so I prepared to bale out. As soon as I undid my harness the suction lifted me out of the cockpit. Unfortunately, it did not quite do the job and in some strange way my feet caught under the windscreen. There I was in a flat out dive, lying along the top of the cockpit with my feet fastened. I had given up hope when my feet suddenly became free and almost by instinct I suppose, I pulled the ripcord from my parachute. I discovered afterwards that I was only about 800 feet up when I pulled the cord...By the law of averages I should have been killed. I fell into the middle of a wood near Canterbury and climbed through the boughs of a tree.’

Des then crawled through the forest to a path and discovered that he had acquired an audience. As the crowd watched, a policeman approached on a bicycle, pulling a very welcome flask from his pocket. Des suffered only a few scratches from the fall but his battle injuries had to be taken care of so he was whisked away to hospital to recover.

Flight Lieutenant Desmond Sheen had survived his second bale out in a week. Recognising his good fortune, he later told his parents that ‘[I] must admit I have a knack of getting into and out of trouble’. He certainly did. But for Des the Battle of Britain was now effectively over. The war was a little over 12 months old and he was just shy of his 23rd birthday. With all his experiences under his belt, felt ‘practically grown up’.

 

Australian's Few. 3 September 1940

According to Des Sheen, he was in the air on 3 September when ‘we attacked about 20 Me 110s and 20 bombers trying a low level penetration near Dungeness ... I was flying top cover at the time but went down to attack a Me 110 which was supposed to be escorting the bombers. I clobbered the port engine and this aircraft turned inland. This was quite a good party’. But most of the squadron were stood down on 3 September and 72 Squadron’s ORB records no activity that day. Des’s recollection, however, does accord with the ORB’s 2 September report of a patrol where Do 17s and Me 110s were sighted five miles south of Dungeness. ‘The enemy was attacked first from astern and later a beam attack was made. Four Me 110s were damaged.’

 

If Des’s clobbered Messerschmitt was included in this total, it was not acknowledged in the post war tally sheets. Des later admitted that the details of this period were sketchy and his sense of timing was confused. ‘So much has happened the last week ... It seems ages since we came south but actually it’s only about five or six days ago. ... [We] have been ever since flying darn nearly all day every day’.

 

These days might have been a bit hazy for Des Sheen but there was one thing he remembered clearly. His promotion to Flight Lieutenant, effective from 3 September, had come through. He had been expecting it as he announced to his parents: ‘Have got my second stripe at last’!

 

 

Australia's Few. 1 September 1940

On 1 September 1940, Des Sheen and 72 Squadron took part in their first combat since coming south. Roughly 30 Dornier light bombers, escorted by about the same number of Messerschmitt Me 109E single-engine fighters were sighted at Tunbridge Wells.

 

Des lined up a bomber and then ‘glanced behind and found six Me 109s bearing down on me’. He ‘mixed for quite a time’ with them. As he frantically twisted and turned, he ‘collected a shell in the engine. After I had disengaged I was climbing to reengage ... when the Spitfire started to burn’. He ‘was left with no option’. He rolled his Spit on its back and pushed the stick forward. The aircraft bunted and he was out, ‘clean as a whistle’. He somersaulted, straightened out and counted to ten before pulling the ripcord. ‘The parachute opened smoothly and there was a reassuring jolt, as it took effect’. His descent, ‘which took some time, was very pleasant’ but not without a sense of danger. ‘Quite close to me a Messerschmitt 109 went down vertically in flames’ and ‘another Me 109 turned towards me but a Spitfire turned onto his tail and both quickly disappeared. Des was fortunate the Me 109’s attention was deflected from him. ‘The Jerries shoot us coming down now and as I was surrounded didn’t feel too happy.’ As it happened, ‘quite a few Jerries were shot down so I was lucky and got away with it’.

 

Des’s Spitfire crashed at Court Lodge Farm and he landed in a field at Ashford ‘with nothing but a slight jar’. He released his harness and started to roll up the parachute. ‘A young girl came up and eyed me shyly and a few minutes later a young army lieutenant appeared on the scene, doubtfully waving his revolver in my general direction ... wondering whether I was a German.’

 

Australians were not common in the RAF at that stage of the war and the lieutenant did not recognise the dark blue uniform as belonging to an ally. Des ignored the revolver. He continued to pick up his parachute and started to chat with the soldier. All was soon sorted out and Des was staked a meal and a welcome shave at the lieutenant’s mess.

 

1 September was also the day Des Sheen traded in his RAAF uniform for RAF kit and sewed an ‘Australia’ patch on his shoulder. He would not be mistaken for the enemy again.

 

 

Australia's Few. 16 August 1940

After his hectic session in the air the day before, Des Sheen had the day off. He might not have realised it at the time but Acklington was once again becoming an aerial backwater. With no flying duties on offer, Des decided to pen a long overdue letter to his family. He had received two letters from them that week, both taking many weeks to arrive and he was concerned that his parents were worrying unduly about him.

You seem rather depressed by the way things are going. Trouble is you are all too far away. If you could see the confidence the people here have it would amaze you as it has me.

Things really aren’t too bad. The last 4 or 5 days have cost the German air force nearly 400 aircraft, probably more. As a result the RAF is quite popular and it’s good to know our service is appreciated.

Food is plentiful and the public laugh at the invasion. Not that they don’t expect it but they are determined to make it fail. The confidence is incredible...So what the devil—why worry?

Young Des with his parents, Harriet and Walter Sheen. 

Australia's Few. 15 August 1940

On 15 August, the Luftwaffe launched a day-long series of attacks designed to saturate RAF defences. Almost all of Britain was within range of enemy bombers.
 

A heavy raid aimed at Edinburgh was identified. Just after midday, 72 Squadron were directed to intercept it. Their eleven Spitfires met a large formation of He111 bombers and their escort of Me110s. It was a mighty force, the largest Des Sheen ever encountered. All he saw was line upon line of bombers.
 

72 Squadron attacked. The enemy formation split up and Des eased himself into a defensive circle formed by the Me110s. He closed on one and opened fire. It exploded in a mass of debris.
 

He spotted another defensive circle. He aimed at a Messerschmitt but missed. He quickly lined up another and fired again. Success! Flame and smoke poured from its engine. The stricken fighter attempted to ram Des’s Spitfire but Des dived steeply and it disappeared, burning furiously. The sky then emptied; the battle had moved on. He was low on fuel so returned to base. Combat had lasted just five minutes.
 

Des noted in his log book his claims of two Me 110s and a ‘squadron bag’ of eleven. His personal total was now 3 1/3 destroyed. He recalled that the atmosphere at Acklington at the end of the day was ‘very elated ... because it was the first action for some of them and it was a successful day out.’
 

It was also a successful day for Australians. Bill Millington of 79 Squadron shot down three German bombers. In the South, John Pain of 32 Squadron, the youngest Australian in the Battle of Britain, probably destroyed a Me 109 and Pat Hughes of 234 Squadron, shot down one Me 110 and shared another destroyed.
 

Fighter Command more than held its own in what was for far the largest air battle in which it had engaged. 76 enemy aircraft had been shot down but at a cost. Fighter Command lost 34 aircraft destroyed and 17 killed, including 25-year-old Western Australian Pilot Officer Frank Cale of 266 Squadron, who had attended the same school as Dick Glyde and had received his RAF short term commission in May 1939. An Australian also joined the ranks of prisoners of war when Pilot Officer Vincent Parker of 234 Squadron, was picked up by a German launch after baling out near the Isle of Wight.
 

Despite Fighter Command’s the losses, Winston Churchill described 15 August 1940, the day that became known to the Luftwaffe as ‘Black Thursday’, as ‘one of the greatest days in history’. Fighter Command rightly claimed victory in the largest air battle in which it had engaged.

 

 

Australia's Few. 31 July 1940

At Acklington on 31 July 1940, Bill Millington lined up with his squadron to welcome Air Commodore Nicholas and Wing Commander Reas-Jones who were visiting. They officially passed out 79 Squadron operationally and the boys celebrated by carrying out attacks and formation flying. Before they knew it, they would be on readiness. But would they be in action?

 

 

Bill Millington

 

Des Sheen, also installed at Acklington with 72 Squadron, found that life up north was very quiet and he bemoaned the fact that ‘I’ve not had a scrap’ since December. ‘Other Fighter Command squadrons seem to have had all the luck.’

 

 

Des Sheen

 

Over the last weeks especially, when they had not been frustrated by poor weather, his confreres had just been on training flights and routine readiness with the usual sort of non productive convoy patrols. There was a least the memory of some funny moments to relieve the boredom. When he had first arrived at Acklington in March 1940 (before his stint in France) there were no runways and the ground was waterlogged and very soft, making take-offs difficult. On one memorable occasion, Squadron Leader Ronald Lees (now posted elsewhere) found just how soft, tipping his Spitfire on its nose when he landed. He climbed out and promptly declared that the airfield was unserviceable for Spitfires! Desmond recalled that Spitfire could only be taxi-ed with someone sitting on the tail. It ‘needed great care, with its narrow track undercarriage and small wheels—and the great weight of the Merlin engine’.

 

 Ronald Lees