Diary of Garth Edward Sommerville Clabburn - 1942-1944 - Part 18

[*20th*] a hundred years war.
Today the Doc & Vic Watson
returned from Tripoli with bags
of fresh vegetables & lemons &      
a few oranges. Vic had bought
many fine pieces of Italian
uniforms & decorations from
an Officers Shop in Tripoli. He
paid 25/- for a beautiful leather
belt embroided with gold thread
& attached was a great gilt
buckle. We have sent back to
see if they will make us silver
wings. - Bags of Glamor!!
The Americans have been pushed
back by the 21st Panza Div in
the Southern Sector of the
Western front. They must
have been hit hard for I
believe they have lost over 60
Scherman tanks & if this is
the case their forces up North
are threatened & may have
to retreat.
[*21st^.*] This day we practiced a little.
I flew E my A/C. for a few circuits &
she went quite satisfactorily. She has
just undergone her first 80 [[Ch?]]. inspection
& they found very little wrong.
I forgot to mention that yesterday
I spent taking down a summary
of evidence of a charge against
an L.A.C. Timmins. It was a long
& fiddling job but am pleased to
say that it is now nearly completed.
The weather has been bad. Thomas
put his A/C on her nose after landing
& had to do one walk around the
drome & a spat of apps afficier.
Another new A/C crashed yesterday &
was cat 3. the pilot is OK.
[*21st Feb 1943*] Finished off the summary & have
had it all typed. During this day I
wrote a few letters & generally
mucked about. To tell the truth
I am writing this up a few days
late & just cannot remember what
happened. I do know that the Jeries
are pushing the Americans back &
inflicting very heavy casualties which

will affect the 8^th Army & us. We
will have to push ahead of schedule
& try & divert the 21st Panzar
Div. away from the Yanks.
[*22nd.*] I believe the Americans have lost
nearly 60 big tanks during the
past two days fighting. The 21st
Panza have about 100 & are
fighting like the devil with them.
I went up with the w/c &
carried out a recco right down
the bomb line. We flew low
through heavy rain storms & low
cloud The country was some of
the most rugged & barren I have
ever seen & an impossible area
to force lob in. In the
afternoon I led out four. & 
patrolled for two hours over
the forward troops - as a
moral builder. They all waved
despite the heavy rain & mud.
We are going to have a hard
job to make aerodromes in
this next area - all is soft & sandy
& too heavy for Spits. Gordon Jones
returned early in the piece with a
sick motor & we finished the job
with three.
[*23rd.*] We did not fly this day. There was a practice
flight during the afternoon but Andy Taylor
crashed squarely into P/O Hawkins &
A/C at full bore on take off - &
that fixed the practice flying. How
Hawkins was not cut into mincemeat
none of us can understand. The
prop of the charging kite cut the
fusalage in half either side of his
head yet he got out with out a
scratch. He had to sit there & watch
this A/C charge him at full throttle.
I visited the Senussi camp together
with Murray Knox & Brian Harris &
we were very welcome. We said we
would visit them again on the morrow.
The w/c was across during the evening &
told us that the battle was to start
for the Mareth Line in two days time
- just as we had expected - the

Jeries are cleverly forcing our hand.
[*24th*] Last night I wrote Billy & Coral.
Many planes were overhead last night
- some were enemy. The C.O. got
up before dawn & tried to get
any still hanging about but did
not meet up with any. I rose
at dawn & led the squadron
off on a Wing "do" to bomb a
drome near Gabes. All went well
except for a great blanket of low
cloud which obscured the target.
112 sq dropped their bombs through
the cloud layer & hoped, but we
brought ours back. Ron Susans
& I spent a most enjoyable
hour with the Senussi this afternoon
They - the old chief gave us "chi"
or tea very sweet & we
carried on a funny sign conversation
piece with about 20 male members
of the tribe in one of their old
tents. We drove the head man &
his cobber back to camp in the
Jeep & showed them my A/C.
He was real thrilled & hopped in the cockpit
& all together with his great flowing robes.
He wanted above all for me to take him
for a fly & I had great difficulty explaining
to him that the machine only carried one
fellow. Anyway he said he would
walk across & see me tomorrow &
perhaps I could arrange a fly then?
Mail arrived - one from Pop Mark
Mrs Clark & Betty Smith. Great letters
from both Pop & Mark. The battle
starts tomorrow & I do not feel happy
whilst on the ground. - Good news
to hand that the Yanks have fought
their way back to within 3 miles of
the pass they lost about 4 days ago.
If the first Army can only start one
hell of a push & go through
it would all be over in about
8 weeks.
[*25^th*] This my old Arab friend turned up & I
gave him a ¼ Lb. Pkt. of tea. He was very
grateful & insisted that we go to his
camp for tea tomorrow. The boys were
top cover in another raid on Gabes W.

For ^or five 109's or Maccihs attacked & Dave
fired a 4 sec burst at one & saw
a few strikes. The E/A were not very
agressive. The w/c saw about 20 in
all take off but only about 6 came
anywhere near our wing formation.
The battle has started in the usual way
with the opening of the air blitz. The
Army should try & crack the line in
a couple of days.
[*26th*]Went off at dawn as top cover to a Wing
raid on Gabes West. The weather was clear
& the bombing well on the target. I
fear these 40 Lbs. are a waste of time.
The ACK/ACK was very heavy & about
15 109's got stuck in to 450 & our
top 6 A/C who had lost me over
the target. Some of our birds became
separated & had to take on 6 to 1 for
some time. Hankey & Brian Eaton were
in this predicament for some time. Both
were shot up but brought their A/C
home & both did a very good job.
Three or four others fired bursts but
no claims were made. The squadron
led by the W/C Burton & 450 as top cover
did over the aerodrome just about 10 mls
to the Sth of Gabes at about 3 P.M. They
caught about 8 109's taking off & another
two patrolling the drome. The w/c
destroyed one just airbourne. W/O Stevens
destroyed one & damaged another. F/Lt Glendenning
of 450 sq. destroyed one & the remainder of
our fellows must have damaged about
6 between them. Ron Susans had a
terrific party which he seemed to enjoy
no end. He chased E/A all over
the sky, up & down valleys & over
big gun emplacements - with big guns
in them. He fired all his ammo.
& was fired at many times. He claimed
a damaged - but I think he must
have fixed two at least.
The other three wings have been
working flat out this day also so
Jeries servicability must have
dropped off considerably. Sgt Beer
did not return from the last operation.
Nobody saw him go. He was there
during the dive on the aerodrome

& may have been hit by ACK/ACK.
He has a good chance of being OK
but a P.O.W.
The big army push is on tonight &
I could hear the heavy barrage
going on to the N.W. when I
went to bed at 9:20. P.M.
 [*27th.*] Yesterday 211 Group:- destroyed 11 - 5
probables & 8 damaged. All were
enemy fighters & all were caught
in the Air - so it wasn't such
a bad day. I think that we
must have lost about two pilots
& about 6 A/C. The big push on
this Mareth Line is now posponed
for a while. The Army would
have gone through only if it
was a piece of cake - but
it now appears to be fairly
heavily held. The Americans
at Casserine have now taken
the pass & the town &
are advancing slowly. Therefore
the necessity of us pushing
here as a diversion has
been removed. Good old Sgt Beer
turned up as large as life at
about MIdday. He had enjoyed a
grand fight with almost four
different 109's & had chased one
bird right across the enemy
drome at nought feet. He
straffed several Germans who
were watching him try & beat
off three attacking 109's. The
Jeries were standing outside
their tent evidently expecting the
Fritz to "buy it" any moment
& as he came down he
saw them & gave the workes.
All vanished in a great cloud
of dust. He claims one probable
109. His engine seized up on
the way home because he had
been hit in the Glycol &
he had to crash land about 12 mls
from Medinnen. He showed
himself a most agressive fighter &
put up a fine shout.
[*28th.*] There was to be a very early job

but it was called off because of bad
weather. Providing the plan works; we
will be more or less on training for
the next 14 days. The C.O. left today
for Cairo where he has to undergo a
short administration course. I am now
Acting C.O. I approached him today about
getting off "apps" at 200 hrs & he
said O.K. Will have to weave like
hell & try & dodge the Ack/Ack for
the next 15 hrs. then all will be
well, & I may see home again.
[*1st.] We did not operate this day but
sent off a couple of practice
flights.
[*2nd.*] There was a surprise this eveng
when many Spitfires arrived in
a batch just as it was becoming
dark. 244 Wing had been
shelled off their drome by one
big 105 M.M. gun which had been
positioned about 15 miles West
of their drome. They lost 4 A/C
through prangs but the rest
were O.K. We expect Jerry
to make a push - but are ready.
[*3rd.*] This day we practice flew &
Brian Eaton returned on a
camel after having spent the
night out in the desert near
his A/C in which he crashed
yesterday due to engine failure.
We rewarded the Senussi
well & they were very happy
with the tea sugar & food
we gave them. P/O Leeds returned
in the Jeep after having found
the A/C but missed Eaton.
[*4th*] Many U/S press men & Johnny
Watson arrived & stayed
for lunch. They wrote up
a few stories about Beer
Eaton & others. There was
a Wing show to bomb &
straff Enemy stuff coming
in through the mountains
West of Medinnen & our
boys knocked out 4 trucks
but the target proved very
disappointing & they saw

only 25 M.T. in all. Even so
the ACK/ACK was heavy & must
have come from dug in guns.
The w/c & Sq/Ldr Eaton both
landed at 7^thA.A.F.'s with engine
trouble & returned during the
afternoon.
At 4.30 I led out 3 squadrons
to bomb & straff a reported 50
tanks & M.T. somewhere in
waddies & camoflaged positions
just west of the bomb line. The
whole show was most difficult
to pick up & although I went
down to 2000' over the pin

point I could not see     

the target - nor did we
get any ACK/ACK.
[*5th.*]The W/C received a report
from the Army this morning
saying that we had bombed
them. We figured that they
must have collected a few
of the 40 lbers because they
fall off at anytime after
pulling out of the dive - especially
when the electrical release does
not work & the pilot uses
the manual when pulling out
to ensure that they go. As
I have already said - we
were right on the bomb
line, & the gaggle should
never have been sent off.
John Bray flew Ron Susans
to Tripoli today ^because Ron
will have to go into
hospital to have his sinus
fixed up.
[*6th*] Sent five of the boys to
Zuara to have a look at
the Roman Ruins. We now
have about 33 pilots here &
more at base when we
want them. A couple of
days ago Col. Greeves &
the other four boys
arrived back from Cairo &
all enjoyed themselves &
also did a bit of work.

I also called a mess meeting
two nights ago & put the
mess on a sound footing
with a committee & everything.
The enemy has started his
big attack today & has sent
about 50 tanks & other
armour in amongst our
stuff around Medinnen.
The boys went out to bomb
but could not find a
target - the fighting & positions
are confused. Jerry & Iti
are pushing on their whole
front & seem their tactics
seem good for they are
not letting the 8^th Army
get around behind them at
any point & to cut them
off from their Mareth Line.
If Jerry finds us too
strong he will bounce
back to his strong
defensive positions. This
is what the 8th. Army have
wanted him to do ever since
El Alimein - to stand & fight
Well now he is coming in &
making the fight so we
will see what is to
happen. About 8 E/A flew
past our six top cover, on
the last job but did not
attack - fortunately because Dave
said they could not have done
much about it, if they had. He
said we had too many A/C in the
air - good show - I like it
that way. The bomb line is
now close to Medinnen -
we nearly got a scramble but
it was cancelled at the last
minute. Target to be 400 M.T.
about 10 mls West of Medinnen.
[*7th. March 1943*] This day there has been a big
battle in progress with the enemy
massing infantry at three points
about 10 - 12 miles to the West
of Medinnen. Our tanks are

massing to the N.W. of the town.
The spitfires today had much
success & scored 10 Destroyed 4
probables & 8 damaged. W/O Stevens
led six of ours out as top
cover to 2 sqdns who were to
bomb M.T. on the bomb line.
Many 109's were encounted in
twos & threes. They - our six
put up a wonderful show.
Goulder scored 1 destroyed 1 damaged
Murray Nash - a probable, Stevens
a damaged & Knox the same.
I led out a show in the evening
but found the target area
to be covered with heavy
cloud from 7 - 9000 ft.
We were informed that we
are to move tomorrow to
Nefartan about 18 miles from
the bomb line. We are to take
7 S.A.A.F.'s place whose servicability
has gone for a row.
Heard two charges this day.
Remanded one to a formal
investigation & gave the other
fellow 10 days field punishment.
Sq/Ldr Cotten the personnel
man was over this morning
& had a long talk about
pilots - tired & otherwise. I
received telegrams from Mother
& Joy & Ken congratulating
me on my promotion. The
forward dromes have been
raided by as many as 12 JW88's
at once this day - but they
did little damage to A/C. &
killed about 7 fellows. Three
A/C from out of the
whole gaggle were shot
down by ACK/ACK &
fighter patrol.
[*8^th.*] Took off for our new drome
at about 10.30 A.M. From
our new circuit area we
could see the shelling going
on over on the escarpment
& also hear the rumble
of the guns. Yesterday this

drome was raided four times
but today not an E/A showed
up. The boys chased a
couple who were mucking
about away to the West when
we were circuiting but did
not catch up with them.
Ulrich pranged on landing &
Leeds taxied into a shell
hole - both wet - but such
are the worries of a C.O. We
have been led to believe that
our Army is doing alright &
can hold its ground. The
heavy shelling has been going
on all day & stopped at
about 8 P.M. this evening.
Andy Anderson F/Lt of wing
is to fly to Castel Benito
tomorrow in our Gibley on
the first step of his journey
to Algiers.
All the convoy has arrived
& the sq. settled in & all
have been fed. I am
very happy the way the whole
move forward worked out
- all the pilots hopped in &
did their bit & the troops
worked like trogans. This is
a sq. to be proud of. I
don't say this others do not
work just as smoothly - but
this one goes well.
[*9th*] This has been a fine clear day but
we have not worked. P/O Weatherburn
& Sgt Allan Righetti are now both
confirmed prisoners of War. We
thought Allan would be but were
a little in doubt about Weatherburn.
Sent Rodiger off to Castel Benito
with Anderson from Wing. They struck
a tremendous dust storm &
Ian did a fine job to get
the A/C down safely. They also
went to Zilten & picked up
the new pilots gear.
[*10th.*] It has been a big day. In the
morning I went across to meet
Prince Bernhart of Holland. He