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Media Circus
On 4th March 1943, 609 (West Riding) Squadron were visited at RAF Manston by 35 journalists.
From:- Officer Commanding, R.A.F. Manston. 2. It would appear that a good time was had by all, the credit for which should go mainly to the pilots for the excellence of their line shooting" Here
to end the news is something about 'Tiffy'. That's a nickname given to the
Typhoon fighters which are coming more and more into the news. They are playing
a big part in bring down sneak-raiders over our coasts, and attacking the
enemy's transport systems on the other side of the Channel. One of the squadrons
now flying Typhoons is No. 609, the West Riding Squadron, whose pilots recently
shot down sixteen enemy aircraft, probably destroyed another seven, and damaged
ten, and has bagged something like twenty-two railway engines - all within the
past five weeks. So, as a squadron it's well worth talking about. A full
description of the Typhoon can't be given yet for security reasons, but from the
sort of work it does you can get some idea what it's like. Most
of the enemy's planes accounted for by 609-Squadron's Typhoons have been
Messerschmitt 109's, and the faster Focke-Wulf-190's - both originally fighters
and now often used as fighter bombers. They come across the Channel at
wave-top-height, where radio-location is least effective. They drop their bombs
on the first target they see, and then make a dash for home, but a lot fewer are
now getting there. Many more of them are meeting Typhoons and that usually means
the end of them. They
are offensively equipped too. Those who call the Typhoon the world's best
fighter aren't merely boasting. You've only to hear those pilots singing Tiffy's
praises, and to hear the roar of the two thousand horse power Sabre motor which
drives it to get an idea of its terrific speed in flight. The Typhoon looks what
it is, a sturdy fighter, agile and controllable, yet solid and deadly. There is
enough armament sticking out of it to remove any doubt about its fighting power. You would have to travel a long way to find a bunch of pilots more happy in their job and more pleased with their craft than the pilots of Squadron 609. They won a high reputation with their Spitfires and now they're adding to it with their Typhoons. Home News Bulletin, 8 A.M. Saturday, 6th March 1943
THE MASTER PILOT OF THE TYPHOONS Nursed them from "babyhood" From JAMES STUART, Evening Standard Air Reporter AT A "FRONT LINE" AIRFIELD, Saturday. The fighter, streaking in from the sun, roared over the airfields at less than 100 feet. In a few seconds it was high in the sky again, rolling over as it reached to top of its climb, to straighten out before making a second low level "attack". Flying Officer J. R. Baldwin, D.F.C., the pilot who shot down three Nazis on the day of the last daylight raid on London and another one this week, had to yell to me to make himself heard above the noise of the fighter as it dived down over us again. "That's the fastest flying you've ever seen!" he exclaimed. It was. The fighter, glinting in the sunlight as it climbed almost vertically once more, was a Typhoon, Britain's latest 400 M.P.H.-and-more weapon to defeat the low-flying German sneak raiders. As it flashed above our heads. finishing a dive from several thousand feet, it was travelling at something approaching 500 miles an hour. Controlling the Typhoon with masterly ease and grace in this hair-raising aerobatic display - an every-day thing for the R.A.F.'s fighter pilots - was Squadron Leader R. P. Beamont, D.F.C., boyish - looking commanding officer of the No. 609 (West Riding of Yorkshire) Fighter Squadron. Only 22, Squadron Leader Beamont, who lives at Chichester, is Fighter Command's "master" Typhoon pilot. A "veteran" of the Battle of Britain, with five enemy aircraft to his credit, he was loaned by the R.A.F. to the Hawker Aircraft Company as a test pilot when the Typhoon was being developed. Since "Babyhood" He has flown it since its "babyhood," nursed it through all its troubles until now, finally perfected, he leads the squadron whose Typhoons have in three months "pranged" 16 German aircraft, probably destroyed another seven, and severely damaged a further 10. But he told me, he has been around the south coast waiting for the enemy to put in an appearance. "It seems," he said "that whenever I get a day off, or get called to command or group headquarters, the boys meet the enemy and shoot them down." Squadron Leader Beamont, however, has excelled on "intruder" operations, and numbers of little railway engines are painted on the fuselage of his Typhoon. They represent the number of enemy locomotives he has put out of action. Twenty of them he has shot up at night. He has led the West Riding squadron, a unit which distinguished itself in the Battle of Britain, for about three months. Flying Officer Baldwin, who, with one of the squadron's eight Belgian pilots, shares the squadrons top score in combats with Typhoons - they have each shot down four enemy planes - is a nephew of Major-general W. H. Ramsden, who was announced as commanding the 50th Division in the Middle East. Now on his way to becoming an "ace" fighter pilot, 23-year-old Flying Officer Baldwin joined the R.A.F. in December, 1939, as a bomb disposal officer. Evening Standard.
TYPHOONS BEAT 'SPITS' OUR NAVAL AND AIR CORRESPONDENT R.A.F. Fighter Station, S.E. England. I MET a Spitfire pilot here who told me a remarkable story. He said he was flying over the Channel just off the South Coast, when he spotted two F.W. 190s going towards France about ten miles out from England. At the same time, just over the coast, he saw two Typhoons. He turned towards the Huns and at the same time called on the Typhoon pilots over his radio to join in the chase. "They did," he said. "Suddenly there was a whoof, and the Typhoons overtook me going like a couple of dingbats. Nothing like it has ever happened to me before." "They went like an express train and I watched them overtake the Hun and jump on them. One was blown out of the sky right away, the other was damaged too, but he nipped into a cloud and escaped. It was an amazing site." Downed 16 Now the Spitfire this pilot was flying at the time was not one of the latest Mark 1x's, but it was, nevertheless, a more recent model than those which helped to whip the Germans in the Battle of Britain. That is as far as I can go on describing the performance of Britain's new 2,400 h.p. Napier engined fighter, because it is still on the secret list. I can tell you, however, that the demonstration of aerobatics given at this airfield today by the leader of one of the RAF's Typhoon squadrons was breathtaking. During the comparatively few weeks the have been operating, the Typhoons have destroyed sixteen enemy aircraft, probably destroyed seven, and damaged ten German sneak raiders. In the words of one pilot "The Typhoon is faster than anything Jerry has got and it packs the hell of a punch." As the Air Ministry revealed a week or so ago, it is not always possible to detect low-flying sneak raiders by radiolocation, but the pilots here are confident that in the Typhoon they have an instrument to correct this flaw. The squadron commander, Squadron - Leader R. P. Beamont, D.F.C. and bar, whose home is in Chichester, is only 22. He was a test pilot with Hawkers for some time before he took command. Daily Mirror.
TYPHOON - TERROR OF F.-W.s By 'Daily Sketch' correspondent JOHN HADDON R.A.F. STATION, South - Eastern England, Friday. - I have just watched in action Britain's deadliest fighter; the lightning - like fury which is scaring German pilots and blasting their crack fighter, the Focke - Wulf 190, out of the skies. Focke - Wulf pilots - the men who make the tip - and - run raids on British towns and villages - were boastfully proud of their machines until they met this British fighter - the Typhoon, worlds fastest and most powerfully armed fighter. Now they often turn tail when they catch the glint of a Typhoons wings in the sunlight. In command here is 22 - year - old Squadron - Leader R. P. N. Beamont, D.F.C. and Bar, whose home is in Chichesterand who has five "kills" to his credit. He said: "Our main job is defensive. At least 80 per cent. of the dogfighting is out of sight of land and the people on the South East Coast see nothing of it. M.E.109 Is 'Pathetic' "We are faster than the Focke - Wulf 190, but if we have to chase it back it takes many miles for us to catch it and it is often destroyed or damaged around the enemy coast. "The Messerschmitt 109 is comparatively pathetic these days. We are faster and when we catch them it is all over. "Many dog fights have taken place at 20,000 feet and one Focke - Wulf was shot down at 27,000 feet." Another pilot said: "The Typhoon is faster than anything Jerry has got, and it packs a hell of a punch." Daily Sketch. 6th March 1943.
Typhoons Fly in Wait for Coast Raiders FIGHTER pilots who won renown in Spitfires are now flying the fast, still secret, Typhoons and find, in the words of one of them, that "the Typhoon is faster than anything German and it packs a hell of a punch." These fighter planes, equipped with the Sabre engine, have become the terror of the Tip - and - Run raiders. Every time the raiders set out for the English coast the Typhoons are waiting for them high above the Channel. Most of the Nazi pilots wisely head for home again. One of the most notable Squadrons defending the south - east coast is the west Riding of Yorkshire Auxiliary Squadron (No. 609) which is justly proud of its record. In command of the squadron is 22 - years - old Squadron Leader R. P. N. Beamont, D.F.C. and Bar. "Our main job is defensive," he said yesterday. "At least 80- per cent. of the dog - fighting is out of sight of land, and the people on the south - east coast see nothing of it. When We Catch "We are faster than the Focke - Wulf 190, but if we have to chase it back it takes many miles for us to catch it, and it is often destroyed or damaged around the enemy coast. "The Messerschmitt 109 is comparatively pathetic these days. We are faster, and when we catch them its all over." Many dog - fights have taken place at 20,000ft., and one Focke - Wulf 190 was shot down at 27,000ft. "When you get used to it you can do anything with a Typhoon that you can do with a Spitfire, but you need a bigger area of sky." said Squadron - Leader Beamont. "We feel that we are faster than anything else in the sky." The squadron was originally composed of pilots living in Yorkshire, but now it is cosmopolitan and includes seven Belgians, one Pole, one Norwegian, two Canadians, and one New Zealander. Altogether the squadron has shot down 172 aircraft, 16 of them with Typhoons. Footnote : Mascot of the Squadron is Wing Commander William B. Goat. He is saluted every morning to give the squadron luck. Like other goats he eats almost anything, with a partiality for cigarettes. Daily Mail.
"SNEAK" RAIDERS Stronger Defence of Coast OUR TYPHOONS From our Air Correspondent In the Battle of Britain the technical superiority of the interceptor fighters of Fighter Command formed the key which opened the door to final and decisive victory. Since that period developments have been pressed forward so that we have retained that position, although the enemy has not failed to develop machines which are much faster and better armed than those of 1940. I have just returned from a station where a Typhoon squadron operates as a defensive unit, and from the pilots I gathered accounts which show the Focke - Wulf nuisance raider is being most satisfactorily dealt with to - day. This fighter unit is No. 609 Squadron, which is the West Riding of Yorkshire Auxiliary Squadron that was previously equipped with Spitfires. To date it has destroyed 172 German aeroplanes, and since it was charged with the task of dealing with the daylight raids of the Luftwaffe fighter - bombers it has shot down sixteen of them. LEADER INTERVIEWED The squadron is commanded by Squadron Leader R. T. Beaumont, D.F.C. and bar. He told me that in nine days it had accounted for eleven "sneak" raiders. He himself has shot down five German aircraft and has a well - deserved reputation as a specialist in night - intruder operations. The toll which has been taken by the squadron while carrying out its defensive task is making the enemy increasingly chary, and nowadays sometimes the Focke - Wulfs turn tail on sighting the approaching Typhoons. They then roar back to the French coast. These combats and pursuits of the day marauders are more often than not out of sight of the English coast, which would explain the erroneous impression that arose some time ago that satisfactory measures were not being taken to deal with the hit - and - run raiders. In 64 enemy attacks of this kind Typhoon pilots have destroyed 23 German aircraft and severely damaged five. Eighty per cent of the dog - fights in which No. 609 Squadron has been engaged have taken place out of sight of land, Squadron Leader Beaumont told me. Under his command he has seven Belgians, one Pole, two Canadians, a New Zealander, an Irishman, and the remainder are English. One of the Flight Commanders, Flight Lieutenant J. C. Wells, was an R.A.F. apprentice at the age of 15. He has been in the service for 16 years. Manchester Guardian. 6th March 1943
'Achtung
Typhoon,' they cry now 'GHOST'
MEN BEAT SNEAK RAIDERS By
BASIL CARDEW R.A.F. FIGHTER STATION, S.E. Coast, Friday. - After a three-point landing, Bob Beamont taxied his Typhoon fighter across the airfield, switched off his 2,000 horsepower engine, vaulted from the cockpit and came towards me with one of the largest grins I have seen in years. "Shake
hands with a ghost man," he laughed, "for we are the ghost men of the
R.A.F." Squadron
Leader R.P. Beamont, 22-year-old double D.F.C., wiry, tough, from Chichester,
Sussex, had just come back from one of those anti-tip-and-run raider patrols
over the sea which the R.A.F. has just allowed the people of the blitzed coastal
areas to know about. He has destroyed five enemy planes. "We've
been at it for three months with the finest, fastest and most heavily gunned
stalker in the R.A.F.," he said, "and we've knocked down 16
tip-and-run daylight raiders in the daily routine. "Often
we've had a laugh when we've thought about our ghost activities. But there was a
good reason why we had to remain anonymous." Beamont
commands the West Riding of Yorkshire Auxiliary Squadron (No. 609) and on this
part of the coast they are the men who work out at sea and are never seen by the
people attacked by the F.W.190s. A
Wily Bird Beamont
told me that his men just stooge round on patrols waiting for the F.W.190's to
try to come in. "Sometimes
we get them as they head towards their non-military targets," he said,
"but when they jump our patrols and get in behind us we catch them going
back. "We
reckon that the F.W. pilot is a wily bird but he won't often show fight, even
when he has dropped his bombs, unless he outnumbers us two to one. "We
hear them speaking over the radio now and again. Now it is 'Achtung, Typhoon!'
instead of 'Achtung, Spitfeuer!' "We
know that the hun fears us and has good reason to. The Typhoon is well and truly
the master of the F.W.190 in speed and fire power. But the Germans often get
back to the French coast before we can close to a range that wipes them from the
skies. "They
try all the tricks, low over the water, but we just keep on their tails, trust
to the superior power of our engines and get them like cold turkeys." At
Wave Level The
German fighter-bombers streak across the sea at almost wave height to elude our
radio location, and the Typhoons are brought down to their level for the same
reason. "It
is no use flying high to catch our slippery customers, because they'd be gone
before we reached them," Beamont said. "And another thing, it is
almost impossible to see a plane flying low over the sea if you are up only 1000
feet. "So
this catch-as-catch-can game that goes on across the Channel almost every day is
being fought out at heights just above the altitude that smears your windscreen
with the salt from the waves. "We
reckon that for every machine that tries to come in there are others waiting to
take off. But we don't fall for their decoys and the Hun sneak raider is getting
a worse time week after week." While
Beamont was talking another roar sounded overhead, and another Typhoon landed.
From it climbed Flying Officer John Robert Baldwin, with a new D.F.C. ribbon on
his chest and four raiders to his credit. Baldwin
was wearing a wide smile, for this week he got his first F.W.190, and in the
last daylight raid on London - on January 20 - he blew from the sky three
Messerschmitt 109 Gs while on a single patrol. Daily Express, 6th March 1943
Bee's Response Reference ; DE/RPB. No. 609 (WR) Squadron. Royal Air Force Station Manston Kent 6th
March 1943 Squadron Leader Tomlinson Public Relations No.
11 Group
Dear Squadron Leader Tomlinson, As you know representatives of the Press visited this unit on Thursday 4th March, with a view to obtraining material for a story about the measures taken to combat tip and run raiders. The results of this appeared in the Press today, 6th March 1943. In the Times, Telegraph, Mirror, Mail and Sketch, the situation was described reasonably accurately and very fairly. The last three papers quoted me word for word in such a way as to give a fair impression of the Typhoon's work and what we think of it. I wish however to lodge the strongest possible protest against the publishing, in the Daily Express, of an article entitled "Achtung Typhoon" by Basil Cardew. Mr Cardew has so far allowed his imagination to run riot as to describe and even quote, in some 500 words, a purely fictitious conversation with me. I did in fact have some two minutes conversation with the gentleman, and the substance of this was exactly the same as that quoted by other correspondents. At no time was there any reference to "Ghost" men or "Achtung Typhoon" etc.! Such statements as these can only be regarded as laughable by the services and the knowledgeable public, and this squadron feels that the publication of such insidious bilge is not only harmful to its reputation, but is also a very poor return for the trouble taken to entertain the Press during a normal hard working day of operations. Yours sincerely R.P. Beamont
Squadron
Leader, Commanding 609 (WR) Squadron. P.S. During my 22 years I have been called many things, but never Bob.!
TIP - AND - RUN RAIDERS HATE THE TYPHOON From Our Air Correspondent Although performance details of the 2,400 - h.p. Typhoon, Britain's latest fighter, remain on the secret list there is no doubt what pilots think about it. "The F.W.190 fighter pilot does not like us," was a typical comment I heard at the West Riding of Yorkshire Auxiliary Squadron, one of the first to be equipped with Typhoons. This squadron has taken part in hundreds of sweeps since Fighter Command turned to the offensive. It has 172 "kills" to its credit, a large number of trains and locomotives. Leading Scorer Leading scorer in the squadron is the commander, Squadron - Leader R. P. Beamont, D.F.C. and bar, of Chichester. He has destroyed five, got two "probables" and damaged 11. He is also building up a reputation as a "night intruder specialist," with particular attention to train - busting. His score of locomotives runs into double figures. Evening News.
TYPHOONS AND WHIRLWINDS WE RECENTLY had the pleasure of visiting No. 609 squadron, which is equipped with Hawker Typhoon fighters, and a squadron which has Westland Whirlwinds, now being used as fighter – bombers. Both squadrons have lately been in the news – No. 609 for some masterly interceptions of enemy sneak raiders, and the Whirlwind squadron for some good work against enemy transport systems, aerodromes and ships. No.
609, the West Riding of Yorkshire Auxiliary Squadron, took delivery of its
Typhoons towards the end of last year. Since then its pilots have shot down 16
enemy raiders, probably destroyed another seven and damaged at least 10 more.
Five of those destroyed were Me 109s which, with others, raided London in
daylight on Jan. 20, when a school at Lewisham was hit and many children lost
their lives. Besides
Me 109s, the squadron has accounted for an even greater number of the faster
Focke – Wulf Fw 190 fighter – bombers, which, for some months, have been
raiding the southernmost parts of England when conditions are right. These raids
occupy the briefest time. The raiders cross the Channel at wave – top height
where radiolocation is least effective, bomb the first target they see, and make
for home. Only the swiftest interceptors can hope to catch them. As testimony to
the Typhoons speed and gun power, fewer of these sneak raiders are getting back. Three
of the London raiders were destroyed by Pilot Officer J. R. Baldwin, who was
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in recognition of his brilliant
accomplishment. On the day before our visit, this officer shot a Focke – Wulf
Fw 190 into the Channel and with a Canadian companion damaged another which
escaped into cloud and disappeared. Intercepting
sneak raiders is only part of the squadron’s work. It also has a place in the
R.A.F.’s non – stop offensive against railway targets in occupied countries.
Since it got its Typhoons, it has made 49 attacks on railway objectives by day
and 37 by night, a total of 86. The highest individual scorer ids the commanding
officer, Squadron Leader P. R. Beamont, D.F.C. and Bar, who has many trains to
his credit in night attacks and has put three locomotives out of commission in
day raids. During a recent period of five weeks the squadron destroyed foru Fw
190s. Twelve of the 22 locomotives were damaged by the leader of the Squadron Watching Over The Convoys Another
defensive duty which falls to the squadron is the protection of convoys round
our coasts. The Luftwaffe doubtless casts envious eyes at the ships steaming
stolidly by under its very nose, while no enemy ship dares to show itself in the
Channel by day in any but the dirtiest weather. Fighter Commands covoy patrols
made attacks on our coastwise shipping too expensive for the German Air Force a
long time ago, but there has been no relaxation on the part of our fighters.
Each convoy is guarded during every mile of its journey while within range of
the Luftwaffe’s bombers. No.
609 went to its war station in late Summer of 1939, and has taken part in most
of the R.A.F.’s big clashes with the Luftwaffe. Over Dunkirk it shot down four
German bombers and two Me 109s in one day. In the Battle of Britain its pilots
distinguished themselves on many occasions. Their outstanding success came on
August 13, 1940, when they destroyed nine Junkers JU 87 dive bombers and four Me
109s in the space of a few minutes and suffered no loss themselves. Since
Fighter Command switched from the defensive to the offensive early in 1941, the
squadron has taken part in countless sweeps and has acted as escort to many
bombers. Altogether, it has shot down 172 enemy bombers and fighters, probably
destroyed 45, and damaged nearly 100 others. Before
receiving Typhoons, No. 609 was flying Spitfires. Their ratio of losses in air
combat must be one of the best in Fighter Command (n.b. it was. The pilots Kill
/ Loss ratio was 1:9.3, with 303 Squadron in second place getting a score of
1:7.1). Their record with Typhoons is almost as good, although conditions are
now less favourable. The
Typhoon is still on the secret list and may not be described in detail. On
seeing it in squadron service we were impressed anew by its robust appearance.
The cockpit enclosure, smooth and well tapered, helps to make it look fast. Enough
of the armament projects to leave no doubt about the gunpower of the Typhoon.
Pilots say that the effect of a single short burst is devastating, and quite
adequate to blow up a railway locomotive. Speed and Manoeuvre We
were mildly astonished at the Typhoons powers of manoeuvre. Whether Squadron
Leader Beamont is an exceptionally brilliant aerobatic pilot or not we cannot
say, but his handling of the Typhoon in dives and climbs and his smooth,
polished aerobatics, showed that great speed, great strength and a forceful
punch had not been gained at the expense of control. The Squadron Leader’s
slow rolls had all the grace and precision of those of that king of slow
rollers, Chris Staniland, now, unfortunately, gone. Slide
rules are not needed to find the approximate top speed of the Typhoon. Its
ability to catch the Fw 190 gives a reliable clue, and a demonstration such as
we had would seem to justify the most optimistic calculations. We almost
unhinged our neck trying to keep our eyes on the Typhoon as it hurtled over our
heads in a shallow dive. In
fact, the Typhoon is so fast that not long ago one of 609’s pilots almost shot
himself down. He was out on firing practice over the sea and caught a
ricocheting bullet in his radiator with such force that the radiator was holed
and he had to hurry back to base. Sometimes
a good aeroplane has a bad cockpit. Questions to the pilots, and a personal
inspection of the layout of the Typhoon’s office, suggested that few
improvements could be made to the present arrangement. All the buttons, knobs,
levers, switches, pumps, and screws which have to be operated in flight are on
the pilots left so that he does not have to take his right hand from the control
column to perform an essential operation with it at a crucial moment. We
heard nothing but praise of the 2,000 – odd horse – power Napier Sabre
motor. Our own observations suggested that starting was simple, and running
remarkably smooth. After the starting cartridges have been fired, the pilot does
a little vigorous pumping to supplement the normal fuel supply, and once revs
are picked up, ordinary throttle movements suffice. At slow speeds, the Sabre
has a distinct exhaust crackle, but at full throttle its note is musical if a
little deep – throated. Of
all the pilots we spoke to, all but one voted the Typhoon their first choice.
The exception, an Irishman, preferred the Spitfire, but we suspected that no
other aeroplane will ever displace the Spitfire in his affections. He has flown
more than 400 operational hours on “Spits,” and clearly intends to be loyal
to their memory for the rest of his life. That did not make him disparage the
Typhoon. “They are all right,” he said, generously, as Squadron Leader
Beamont flashed by like a meteor, and as the C.O., now almost vertical, climbed
and continued to climb, there came into the Irishman’s eyes something that
might have been a look of admiration. Of one other thing we had no doubt. The Squadron, from the Commanding Officer down, is offensively minded. That is half the secret of their success. The other half is unquestionably the Hawker Typhoon – universally called the “Tiffy”. The Aeroplane. 12th March 1943. |
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