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Valentines Day 1943
The Story of Johnny Wiseman and Alan Haddon.
On the morning of 14th February 1943 it was ‘A’ flights turn to come to readiness, and Sgt Johnny Wiseman, flying Hawker Typhoon R7872 PR-S was paired with Flight-Sergeant Alan ‘Babe’ Haddon in Typhoon DN294 PR-O as Red Section. Together they took off in perfect flying weather from RAF Manston in Kent. Also patrolling was Yellow Section, consisting of the Belgian (and future Commanding Officer) Flying Officer Raymond ‘Cheval’ Lallemand in R7855 PR-D, and Polish pilot Flying Officer Antoni ‘Tony’ Polek in R8889 PR-X. Their mission was to protect some Royal Navy Motor Torpedo Boats, which had got into difficulties close to the French coast. During the night, the MTB’s had been making a nuisance of themselves around the French ports, and one was now lying disabled off Cap Gris-Nez, having struck some hidden wreckage. With dawn breaking, and still in range of the German coastal artillery, attempts were made to tow it to safety, as the men on board were now at the mercy of both this, and the German Luftwaffe who would surely soon appear. Sergeant Wiseman and Flight-Sergeant Haddon were tasked with the job of close escort, while Lallemand and Polek patrolled close by, ready to help if needed. Then bad luck struck the Navy. The cable that was being used to tow the stricken vessel snapped (although by this time they were out of range of the German guns). With the boats now stationary, Wiseman and Haddon could do no more than circle relentlessly around them. It was around this time that contact was lost between Red Section and Bill Igoe (the Sector Controller at RAF Biggin Hill, codenamed ‘Swingate’) and Yellow Section (who were now mid-Channel) At around 11am on 14th February 1943, Sergeant ‘Johnny’ Wiseman was shot down, by one of two Focke-Wulf FW190’s of Stab III./Jagdgeschwader 2 ‘Richtofen’ based at Vannes-Meucon in France. One of these also shot down Flight-Sergeant Alan ‘Babe’ Haddon. Luftwaffe records show three claims from that day (at 11:36, 11:40, and 12:12 hrs) made by the Squadron Commander Oberleutnant Egon Mayer, holder of the Knights Cross, and one by Leutnant Fritz Rösle (at 11:38 hrs.) Mayer, the first Luftwaffe pilot to reach 100 kills on the Western Front, was officially credited with shooting down 102 enemy aircraft in 353 combat missions, and developed the head on attack against the American daylight bombers in conjunction with Major Georg-Peter Eder. He was killed in action just over a year later on 2nd March 1944, believed to have been shot down by an American pilot of the 365th Fighter Group flying a P47 Thunderbolt fighter 1½ miles south of Montmédy, France. The Captain of the immobile MTB was later to tell ‘Cheval’ Lallemand that the Focke-Wulfs had come up on the Typhoons, which were patrolling at 500ft and a 1000yds apart, from just above sea level, and being unable to give a warning to the pilots in time, they could only watch as one aircraft was seen to go down in flames, while the other folded up ‘like a book’, its wings shot away, and also crashed into the sea. Shortly afterwards, Yellow Section engaged the first of two flights of four German fighters, with Lallemand altogether claiming two Focke-Wulfs confirmed destroyed and one probable, with Polek (in his first combat) claiming two probables. They were then joined by fellow 609 Squadron pilots Flying Officer Roy Payne, flying Typhoon R7845 PR-H, and another Belgian, Flying Officer Jean De Selys Longchamps in R8888 PR-Y, who proceeded to destroy another Fw190 apiece off Calais. Official Luftwaffe losses were three pilots with their Focke-Wulf Fw190-A-4 aircraft. JagdGeschwader 2 ‘Richtofen’ recorded losing 3 aircraft destroyed and 3 pilots missing, believed killed, in the area of this combat on this day: Fw190-A4 Werknummer 0733 flown by Unteroffizier Fridolin Armbruster of 7/JG2, to the west of Boulogne at 12:20 hrs, Fw190-A4 Werknummer 2421 flown by Leutnant Leonhard Deuerling of 9/JG2, north west of Calais at 12:08 hrs, and Fw190-A4 Werknummer 7177 flown by Unteroffizier Gerhard Bischoff of 7/JG2 around Gris Nez at 11:50 hrs) The Nine O’ Clock News that night announced: “In the course of defensive patrols over the English Channel, Typhoons of Fighter Command destroyed five Focke-Wulf 190’s, the latest type of German fighter. Two of our pilots failed to return.” Sergeant ‘Johnny’ Wiseman has no grave but the sea.
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Copyright © 2002 609 (West Riding)
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