Diary of Garth Edward Sommerville Clabburn - 1942-1944 - Part 11

with Gordon Jones & Bill Cashmore
& we had a deal of fun. I spent
one very fine afternoon at the Alex
Sporting Club pool.
Last night led a gaggle at 5 A/C to
L.G.104- 8 mls West of Daba to
bomb 2 JW88's that were bogged.
We got there & back but the
bombing was poor.
Have had a wonderful batch of
20 letters during the past few days
& intend spending spare time
answering them.
7th Oct 1942. Not much activity this day
most flights were devoted to
recco. A/C trying to find the
the 109's which we think must be
bogged down because of the
heavy rain which fell two
days ago futher West.
[*I missed out
the 8th but I 
am sure not
much happened*]
9th Oct.The 109's were found to be on
Daba dromes but very well camouflaged - 

that is why I had not
seen them two days ago.
Information has it that there

are over 100 parked in the area.
Forty eight bombers & about as
many fighters took off at 9.30AM.
& I led out the Sq. & formed
up, as a top cover at 16000'.
Was not supposed to be there but
we lost 450sq on the way out.
We were to straff after the bombers
but I did not get down to
the drome for I met up with
five 109's at about 14000'.
P/O Richie shot one into the sea.
We, NO 3 lost none but 450 sq
one. About 6 E/A were destroyed
in this first raid & many more
on the ground. Four more
large raids were carried out
during the day & about 44
E/A were definitely destroyed
in the air or on the ground.
We lost 12 A/C but about 3
pilots have returned to date.
It was a good days work &
only made possible because of
the heavy rain to the West.

10th Oct. More letters from home telling of my
Grandfathers death & also of my
dear dog "Tiki" being killed by
a car. We were to have raided
Fuka drome this morning with
70 bombers but unfortunately the
cloud base was too low & it
was about 10/16^th
There was no activity from
Jerries side.
10th.Nothing much doing except Danny
& Cauldwell went off to have
a look at Daba but found the
cloud too thick for our Fuka raid.
Keith Kildy took off for a "rubarb"
over Daba & had a few shots at
2 109's but could not hold
them in a vicious dive. Garth
Neill & Keith fired about 1000 pounds
between them but do not think
they damaged the two E/A.
Garth Neill, Danny Boardman & Keith
Kildy now all have the D.F.M.
11th Oct. A cake arrived from Mother
yesterday & also a tin of shortbread 

from Joy. I have been sending away
Christmas cards today. We have had
them especially printed for the Squadron
Have not been feeling very well today
the muggy weather has been making
me perspire too freely.
Walked around amongst 66 American
Sq this morning & had a yarn,
with a few of their boys. They
are with us now, & we work
together.
12th Oct.
to 17th
Have been slipping again in keeping
the diary up to date.
About the 14th I led out 66 sq. & 6
& NO3 & made a perfect interception
with 12 ME109's at 14000' over El
Alamein. One hell of a scrap started
which lasted about 20 mins but.
neither side could claim any results.
Three of our formation were
shot up & one of the Yanks
claimed one 109F damaged. On
the 15^th we scrambled up over the
base to 16000' & waited there for
some trouble which did not 

turn up. About the same day
Air Marshal Conningham came
to the Squadron & here in the
mess briefed us on the coming
offensive. If all goes to plan it
will be a most decisive "do" in
which our wing will play a vey
important part. The spearhead & thats all!
Yesterday Lord Trenchard paid us
a visit & proved himself to
be, a very likable interesting &
thorough Gentleman. His talk
which lasted fully 3/4 hr. was full
of good humour & interesting
facts & I am sure that the
whole A/F is wholly behind
its founder - Lord Trenchard.
During the afternoon the most
tremendous dust storm developed
& visibility was reduced to 2ft.
Heavy rain fell during the night
& at no time has the wind
dropped below 30 M.P.H.
Several tents have blown down
& many flooded out &
altogether it has been a terrible
24 hrs as regards weather. It is
now very cold & all the boys are
wearing their Irving Jackets. The
dromes are now nearly 4/5 because
of the rain, but I should think that
Jerry is in the same position.
Yesterday wrote letter transferring £20 to
home to meet insurance premiums.
18th. Oct.This morning we tried to fly the A/C
back from 175L.G. but after taking
off we were told to land again
at 175 L.G. because our own drome
was still too soft.
19th Oct. This day the whole squadron moved
to 175 L.G. We spent a very busy
morning taking down all the tents
& found that we have about 14
truck loads of gear too much.
We will have to discard all the
surplus for the big push is near
at hand.
20th Oct. Rose early & led the Squadron out
on, a big bombing job. Fuka
landing ground was bombed very 

successfully & two very large fires
resulted & no doubt several other
A/C were badly damaged. The W/C
detailed me to take down Red
section & shoot down an A/C
which was in the circuit but I
could not pick it up so came
up again. 109's & Mackies 202's
attacked the large formation on
the way home & 450 sq shot
down one 202 Sth at Galal.
The formation consisted of 10. B25's
10 Baltimors & 40 P40's.
Later at 11:30 A.M.  Keith Neill led
out the Sq. on a similar "do" &
Red Section attacked a Caproni 82
but could not shoot it down.
After following it nearly to
Sidi Hadinish & doing many
panzy attacks on the blighter
he went in & landed - the
rear gunner did not stop
firing. No doubt he needed a
good stiff whisky when the
kite stopped rolling for there
must have been a deal of lead
flying past his ears.
During this "opp" George Plinsten had
to force land in the sea, &
Sgr John Hook circled around &
saw him swim ashore & saw
our army boys welcome him -
no doubt he has been
enjoying many a long beer with
the A.I.F.
Unfortunately my two very good
friends Ted Alderson &
Tom Wood, did not return from
this operation & I fear they must
have gone down as a result
of attacks made by 7.E/A.
Nobody saw them go & nothing
regarding them was heard on
the R/T - they have a chance
of being P.O.W.
George Plinsten has just turned
up with a cut head. A strap
broke with the impact & he
hit the reflector sight.
We are now very short of 

pilots - having about 20 serviceable.
Allan Regittie from Melbourne
arrived as a new pilot member
of 3sq. today.
News just to hand that all leave
is stopped which means that
the all out offensive to finish
this Middle East front off is
to start in two days.
Many fine & manly men will
give their lives & all that
is dear to them in that the
Allies may enjoy a great &
overwhelming victory here in
the desert & I honestly
feel that those lives will
not be given in vain.
Through great effort & sacrifice
on our part will emerge
the downfall of the Nazi regime
& its policies & consequently
the world will be a more
peaceful place to live in
for those to come. That is
a cause worth fighting for.
21st Oct. There were three big bomber jobs this
day carried out on Daba & there were
more E/A about than yesterday.
The C.O. led our show & met up with
seven 109E's. He badly damaged one
& Mackenzie & Richardson both had
bursts but made no claims. They
used the good cloud cover to retreat
when the formation was split up.
The Americans met up with a
force of 16E/A but lost none &
claimed none.
We dive bombed a railway station
West of El Alamein at 3.30 P.M
& I was very nearly whiped off
by very heavy bursts of big
Ack/Ack. Had two shells
burst right under my tail unit
& cannot understand why I
was not holed. No E/A were
sighted on this trip & I think
the bombing was quite good
but the target not a big
enough concentration
Today I posted home beach photographs.

22 Oct. This day my best friend Garth Neill has
gone missing. He was leading top cover
on a bomber escort job & several 109's
attacked the formation. Nobody saw
what happened to him but we fear
that he was shot down & the best
we can hope for is that he is a P.O.W.
because he was over Daba when last
seen.
23 Oct
[*Martin was held
prisoner in Greece
for three months.

He then escaped
& came back to
the desert & 
told us all
about it.*]
13.2.44.
At dawn was top cover to 450 & 112 sqs
in an attack on Daba 104 L.G. it was
a fair show & 3 109's attacked our
formation over the target. 112 sq lost
F/Lt Martin & Kildy's bottom four bought
a scrap over El Alamein but made
no claims. Norm Cauldwell had to
put his A/C down in our lines because
of Engine failure.
After lunch six of us went off &
did a quick patrol over Daba again
& were chased home by 5 + E/A.
There was good cloud about but
it is a long & sticky job for 6A/C.
The big offensive is timed to start
at 2140 hrs tonight & all Hell will
be let loose.
Went to the pictures this evening over
at Wing & saw a perfectly dreadful
show called "Mutiny in the Big House"
- of all the shows to put on as
an entertainment to fellows who
are right on the threshold of
the greatest blood bath the
desert has ever seen.
Heard the barage open up on
time.
24th Oct. Rose at 0545 & went off on an
armed recco of the Northern area
or main battle position. We bombed
a good concentration & saw a
tremendous battle in progress on
the Western Road. The artillery flashes
were thick & steady & I saw a
great army on the move on the
Western Road. We hear that the
South Africans & New Zealanders have
taken their first objective - the big
mine field - but they have
suffered heavy casualties.
We saw no E/A on this trip & ever 

since large formations at Bostons
326's & Baltimores, have been going
over every 1/2 hr to bomb the
concentrations we reported at about
7:30 AM. It is now midday & I
must prepare myself for another
trip.
Led out top cover to a formation
of 12 Baltimors & 6 B25's & they
bombed M.T. concentrations West of
the Central sector. Over the target 6
Macchi's 202's dived on the formation
& several of NO3 sq got good bursts
at them. I spun inverted after following
one E/A up vertically & firing at the
same time & was no sooner back
again with my top cover when 2 more
E/A attacked my green 1 & 2 from
6 oclock. I gave a turn about
right, which incidentaly, was very
nicely timed for the E/A pulled
up & away. I got in another
good attack climbing attack on
the leader & saw strikes under
his cockpit. They did not
continue the engagement, & all
our A/C returned undamaged.
A record number of sorties have been
carried out this day for 239 Wing &
I am sure that all bomber & fighter
desert squadrons have broken records
this day for the air has been full
a large formations continuously. The
squadron carried out a 2hr patrol
over the front line in the evening
but no E/A were seen.
Three hundred prisoners were taken
during last night & today. These Italians
stated that t the big Allied offensive
had come as a complete surprise
to them all – but I take that
with a grain of salt.
25th Oct. There has been heavy air & land
activity all last night & again
today & our land forces have
enjoyed success. 1400 prisoners
were taken today in one
of the greatest tank battles yet
seen. They were 50-50 Italian &
German personnel. We carried 

out two squadron escort bombing
jobs. Little was seen on the first.
I led medium cover on the second
six 109s attacked the Yanks who
were top cover. They got none &
lost none. We encounted very
heavy & light ack/ACK over the
Rantora box xxx but nobody
was hit. A large raid was carried
out on Fuka Drome this afternoon
but many of the escorting fighters
were lost in the heavy dust
cloud which rose to 7000'. 109's
Attacked over the target & to
date I have heard no results
because all our A/C except two
have landed at a drome on
the Coast to avoid the dust
storm. Have been a bit sick
this day & the doctor has
been fixing me up with castor
oil agh!!
Later - All our A/C returned with the
exception of Sgt. Richardson who
I fear from various reports, went
down over Fuka. There were evidently
five or six enemy fighters covering
the target & they attacked our
boys while they were turning East
over the bomber formation. In the
mix up Sgt Cauldwell saw 2 A/C
going straight down & thought one
to be a Kitty Hawk.
145Sq. Spitfires jumped 9 109's today
& destroyed 4, probably destroyed 2
damaged 2 & one got off scot
free - a very good show for
there were only 4 Spitfires on
that particular job.
The 64^th U.S.A. sq also jumped a
bunch of 109's & achieved the
same score as 145 Sq without loss.
This effort deserves exceptional
praise for a kitty hawk is not
the same fighter A/C that is the
Spitfire & great credit should go
to the pilots for their show of
skill & aggressive attacks.
26th Oct. Last night was up, many times
under orders of the caster oil & 

this morning feel very light & airy.
Rose at 0545 & took off at
0700hrs on a bombing recco of
the Northern Sector. I was late
getting off because a faulty R/T
& just managed to get into
position over El Alamein. 450sq.
turned to bomb & six 109E's
came down & attacked our sq.
Sgt. Bullwinkle  was shot down
before anybody could help him - 
he was behind & not weaving
at the time. John Bray, Huck
Finlason & Bill Cashmore all
got good xx  bursts into E/A & one
A/C was seen to hit the
ground & burst into flames.
A parachute was seen, floating
down & may have been our
friend Bullwinkle . Cashmore
claimed a probable & this may
be confirmed by the Army.
Our Southern Armour has now
moved further North & will
attempt to break through there
for the minefields proved to be
too thick & deep in the place
they first tried.
[*Later:-*] News just to hand that Bully
did parachute but broke his leg
& is now in an Army clearing
station. Evidently we did not
get and 109's.
On the 25th the Beaufighters had a very
good day at sea shooting down
about 17 E/A & smashing up ships
& trucks & tents on the coast road.
27th We were top cover to a bomber escort
job on Fuka drome. The bombing
was very good & all fell amongst
dispersed A/C. One Macchi 202 was
shot down over the target. Unfortunately 
Sgt Churchill did not
return - nobody saw him shot
down or even attacked so
we conclude that he has force
landed in enemy territory.
A large formation went all the
way to Mersa Matru this morning
to bomb a ship - & missed it. 

I have done only one escort job
to day on which we met no
E/A & little ACK/ACK. The Army
said the bombing was accurate
& right on the best spot. There
was about 7/10^th cloud at 6000'
which made the target - 21st
Panza Div. difficult to pick
up. I saw one good fire from
the bombing when the dust
cleared.
Sgt Howie had to crash land
son after taking off & his A/C
burnt. He was slightly injured
& is now at the M.R.S.
Last night we saw Charlie Chan
at the open air show & at
about 3 A.M. an Enemy A/C dropped
a few bombs a far distance
away.
It is growing increasingly
evident that our Air Force here
is great in strength & serviceability
& if the army do their
damndest we should all go
through to final victory. The Air &
[*Army*] Corp has been exceptionally good
to date in this offensive, & I
see few reasons why it should
not remain so.
This day I received an E.F.M from
my dear Mother & she said all
was well at home, which means
a great deal.
We now have only 10 servicable A/C
but more must be not far away.
28th Oct. This day the squadron only did one
escort with six A/C. Macchi's attacked
& the C.O. knocked the 200th A/C for
our squadron out of the sky. Many
pressmen & photographers arrived during
the evening & many photographs were
taken & a recording made which
should be broad cast over the air tomorrow
night. We had a little party in the
mess during the evening & I had a
good yarn with 450 sqs Doctor.
29th Oct. On an armed recco this morning
the boys missed a big Stuka party
of about 30 plus. There were so