大象传媒

This is a transcript of a taped story done by Ted Powell who has given his permission for these stories to appear on the website and they have been submitted to the People's War Website by Wendy Young.he fully understands the site,s terms and conditions.

It was exactyly 12.25pm when Eugene Esmonde waved his arm to signal the pilots behind him to take off. Esmonde had as his crew Lieutenant W. H Williams, the senior observer and petty officier William John Clinton as his telegraphist air gunner. Immdeiately behind the COs plane, was sub-Lieutenant Brian Westland Rose with sub-Lieutenant Frederick Lee as observer and leading airman Ambrose Laurence Johnson as his telegraphist air gunner.
Thirdly, came sub-Lieutenent Charles Major Pat Kingsmill with sub-Lieutenent Reginald McCartney, Mac Samples as his observer and leading airman Donald Arthur Bunce as his telegraphist air gunner. These three planes formed the first vic formation. Behind them , leading the second vic was lieutenant John Chute Thompson with sub-Lieutenant Herbert Fuller Wright as observer and leading air man Ernest Tapping as his telegraphist air gunner. On one side of these three aircraft flew sub-Lieutenant Cecil Ralph Wood, with sub-Lieutenant Robert Laurens Parkinson as his observer, and leading airman Henry Thomas Albert Wheeler as his telegraphist air gunner. On the other side was sub-lieutenant Peter Bligh with sub-Lieutenant William Beynon as observer and leading air man William Granville Smith as his telegraphist air gunner.
As the 6 biplanes climbed into the air, the station commander wing commander Tom Gleave stood alone on the snow covered airfield giving a farewell salute to those 18 heroic young men.
In biplanes only capable of flying 90 knots due to the weight of their torpedoes, they were on their way to attack two mighty battle ships and a heavy cruiser, escorted by seven large destroyers, flagships, and 4 e-boats. All supported by the largest Luftwaffe air cover ever put up.
At 1500 feet the Swordfish circled around the east coast of kent waiting for their fighter escort. Four minutes after the arranged rendezvous time they were still circling off Ramsgate, but the weather was thickening up and there was not a fighter to be seen in the sky, where were the promised spitfires? Only 10 arrived from no.72 squadron, commanded by squadron leader Brian Kingcome. He found the Swordfish at 12.30pm, of the others there was no sign at all.
Esmonde was concerned, the time and opportunity were passing by, they circled for another two minutes, but no more fighters arrived. Esmonde sensed that it was now or never. He waved his arm and the six Swordfish biplanes dived down to 50 ft above sea level to head out to sea. Within minutes the British aircraft were approaching the main Luftwaffe screen and as they flew through layers of cloud they met German aircraft at all levels. As soon as the Spitfires broke up one wave of attacking aircraft,another flight of Messerscmitts dived to attack the Swordfish. Squadron leader Kingcome noticed more than 20 Messerscmitts 109 circling to make a mass dive on the old biplanes, and rushed in to scatter them, suddenly all 10 spitfires were lost in a whirling battle with the German fighters. While the spitfires engaged the Germans, the Swordfish got their first sight of the enemy battle fleet. It was a daunting sight, from just above sea level, to 2000 feet, the whole sky swarmed with Luftwaffe fighters.
Aboard the cruiser Prinz Eugen the anti aircraft gunnery officer commander Schmalenbach heard one of his lookouts cry the warning "Enemy planes at the sea level", he realised he faced the greatest danger of all, a suicide attack.
When the Swordfish were 2000 yds away every flat gun in the German fleet burst into a flickering flame, everything from the 4 inch to the multiple barrelled guns spewed forth a deadly hail of gold tracer shells, and white stars of bursting flak filled the skies up around the old biplanes, each flew on unswervingly.
Lieutenant Commander Esmonde led his squadron over the destroyers while his ta/g petty officer W.J.Clinton continually fired his machine gun at the diving Luftwaffe planes. Tracer from the destroyers smacked into the cockpit, as some FW190s joined the attack. They dived onto the Swordfish and their cannon shells tore large holes in the fabric of the wings and the fuselage. It was a miracle they kept flying, trace of bullets set fire to Esmondes tail plane at which point Clinton was seen by a spitfire pilot flight Lietenant Michael Crombie to climb out of his cockpit and crawl along the back of the fuselage to the tail where he beat out the flames with his hands. By the time that Clinton had eased himself back to his cockpit, they were over the outer screen of the flak ships and now faced the German battle ships main 11 inch guns.
Belching smoke and flames they laid down a barrage which sent spray splashing over the low flying, now limping Swordfish. One shell burst infront of Esmonde's plane and blew off his lower port wing. The plane shuddered and dipped but some how stayed in the air, and Esmonde, now bleeding from headwounds, clung to the controls and made for the cruiser Prinz Eugen, behind him lay the bodies of Clinton and Lieutenant Williams, both killed in the last swoop of the FW190.
In a final deperate attempt, Esmonde pulled the nose of the Swordfish, and released his torpedo, then there was a flash as a direct hit blew his plane to pieces, as the wreckage splashed into the sea, lookouts aboard the Prinz Eugen reported the track of the torpedo and captain Brinkman ordered "Port 15" and easily avoided it.
Among the Germans the heroic attack by the Swordfish created no sense of danger, just compassion for the flyers, sacrificing themselves against impossible odds. Admiral Ciliax on the bridge of the Scharnhorst watching the Swordfish lumbering towards them remarked to Captain Hoffmann the British were now throwing in their mothball navy and that the Swordfish were doing well to get their torpedoes away.As his ship steamed ahead still the Swordfish struggled towards them
The plane following Esmonde's lined up for the attack. Aboard was Sub Lieutenant Edgar Lee who saw Edmonde go down. The pilot Sub Lieutenant Brian Rose tried to keep a steady course. When Edgar Lee had a clear sighting standing out under the clouds, he gave directions through the gosport tube shouting "Now Brian now!" unaware that the tube had been severed by gun fire, and that his instructions were not being heard.
Sub Lieutenant Brian Rose, wounded in the back, held on to the controls while Sub Lieutenant Edgar Lee was too busy shouting directions to notice that the torpedo had been released. The main petrol was hit and there was fuel starvation to the engine which began to splutter. Brian switched over to the twelve gallon emergency gravity tank which would allow them ten to twelve minutes flying time. As they were losing height Brian tried to pass round the stern of the Gneisenau, b ut flew right as they swerved away from bhe barrage of anti aircraft fire. Edgar Lee saw TA/G Ginger Johnson slumped over his gun, he had been mortally wounded. Sub Lieutenant Brian Rose kept control of the plane and managed to bring it down on to the sea about half a mile from Prinz Eugen. Edgar Lee managed to get Brian out of the aircraft and into the dingy which he had released. The the Swordfish sank taking the body of Leading Airman Johnson with it, as he was still attached by his G strap.
The third Swordfish was flown by Sub Lieutenant Kingsmill.
Almost three quarters of the fuselarge was full of holes and tears. Suddenly through the mist Mac Samples, the Observer, caught a glimpse of the big ship which was the Prinz Eugen. The three aircrew watched the shells and bullets rip through their their wings, but amazingly the swordfish kept flying. A cannon shell hit the fuselage behind the pilot and exploded wounding Sub Lieutenant Pat Kingsmill and Sub Lieutenent Mac Samples. Don Bunce saw the Observer was covered in blood, but as he was continuing to shout orders to the pilot to dodge the attacking aircraft, Don continued firing his Vickers gun.
The Swordfish chugged along at 50 feet above sea level, but PAt Kingsmill could not at first get lined up properly. He then turned back to make another run in, against the intense flack sent up from the destroyer screen.As he once again flew towards Prinz Eugen they continued to fire everything that they could at him.
Mac Samples had been drilled with holes he did not notice that Pat had dropped his torpedo aimed at Prinz Eugen from 2000 yards.
A shell sliced the top off two or three cylinders which reduced the engine power, the plane was losing height and Pat pulled the stick back to bring the nose up to keep flying. With the fabric of the wings tattered with holes the plane could not maintain height. As it was sinking towards the water the engine burst into flames and the port wing caught fire. Don Bunce continued firing, Pat tried to shout to Mac through the gosport tube but it had been shattered. Mac, coveredin blood, managed to climb towards the pilot and shout in his ear "we'll never make it try to ditch near those friendly MTBs", pointing towards Pumphrey's MTB which was still in the area.
Sub Lieutenant Kingsmill's burning plane with the engine shot to pieces glided towards the sea. The crew saw the second vic of swordfish led by Lieutenant J.C.Thompson approaching the Prinz Eugen at a height of about 100ft and Pat Kingsmill being unable to gain height passed underneath them never to see them again.
Lieutenant Thompson's Swordfish limped on, the fabric of the wings and fuselage now tattered and the crew now wounded and dying. They maintained a steady course and flew into the red and orange wall aof exploding shells. One after another, the three swordfish with their young aircrews were blown to pieces.
As he watched the smoking wrecks of the swordfish falling into the sea Captain Hoffman of the Scharnhorst exclaimed "Poor fellows, they are so very slow, it is nothing but suicide for them to fly against these big ships". Willhelm Wolf aboard the Scharnhorst said "What an heroic stage for the them to meet their end on. Behind them their homeland which they had just left, with their hearts steeled to their purpose, still in view".
The heroic incredible Swordfish attack was over. There were only 5 survivors out of the 18 who had flown into the hail of fire, all six Swordfish were lost.

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