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John Wiseman
1333551
Sergeant John George ‘Johnny’ Wiseman was born on January 31st 1923 and
lived and grew up at Grange Farm, Martham, in Norfolk. He was regarded as a
popular, kind, and intelligent boy and was a scholar and prefect at Great
Yarmouth Grammar School, although he completed his Grammar schooling at
Sevenoaks in Kent, as the school had been moved there from Great Yarmouth due to
the danger from the increasing amount of raids made on the town by German
aircraft flying from Holland. He returned home after completing his studies and
worked on the farm doing all the tractor work on the only tractor the family
owned in those days. With the outbreak of war, John had become an active member
of the Martham Local Defence Volunteers unit for a couple of years before
successfully applying for pilot training, having always been fascinated with
flying and hoping to follow a post-war career as an airline pilot. Johnny
is fondly remembered as having been a bit of a local hero, coming home on leave
as a fighter pilot in RAF uniform at a time when the heroes of the Battle of
Britain were still held in great esteem. One local boy, Roy Sales, was born and
brought up on Grange Farm, as his grandfather was team manager looking after the
horses. He often used to ride on the tractor with Johnny, and remembers that one
night the Luftwaffe dropped several incendiary bombs in the area. Johnny was on
leave at the time and he found one stuck in a hedgerow that had not detonated
– a find that he promptly took home. The next day he asked the young Mr Sales
if he would like to have it. Receiving a positive reply, he dismantled the bomb,
taking out all the explosives and combustible contents and igniting them out on
the field, and gave Roy the empty bomb casing. He went back two days later, and
Roy never saw him again. John
Wiseman reported to No. 1 Receiving Centre at Babbacombe in Devon on 28th June
1941. Here he was issued with his uniform and service number, and instructed in
saluting, marching and drill. After a two-week introduction to service life
here, John left on 5th July and was sent to No. 4 Initial Training Wing at
Paignton, staying until 15th August. Here the recruits were subjected to
intensive drill and a large amount of physical training and sport. They were
also lectured in Air Force law, service knowledge and administration, and
various flying based subjects as well as training on instruments, engines, and
radio. Leading Aircraftsman Wiseman was posted at the end of this, and arrived
in Canada at No. 31 Elementary Flying Training School just over a month later on
17th September. Johns
flying training commenced on the 27th, ten days after his arrival, with a 20
minute air experience and cockpit familiarity flight in De Havilland Tiger Moth
5135, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Phillipsen, the Officer Commanding 'D'
Flight. He had two further flights with Phillipsen that month, both in Tiger
Moth 5064, during which he was able to take the controls for the first time,
finishing September's logbook record with 1 hour and 10 minutes of flying under
dual instruction. Less than a month after his first flight, on October 23rd
1941, Leading Aircraftman Wiseman made his first solo flight in Tiger Moth 4305,
logging 20 minutes. Apart from training in real aircraft, John was also
receiving ground instruction under Sgt Koresky on the Link Trainer, in which he
received his first 30 minute lesson on 'D' on 10th October, recorded as 'Seq I'.
By
the time John completed the course, his last flight being 1 hour 40 minutes with
Pilot Officer Olmsted on 20th November, he had completed 29 hours 50 minutes
dual instruction and 25 hours 55 minutes of solo flying, a grand total of 55
hours and 45 minutes total flying, including 6 hours 5 minutes flying on
instruments. In addition, he had accumulated 3 hours 30 minutes simulation on
the Link Trainer. His ability assessment graded him as 'Average', and his
summary concludes that there were no points in his flying or airmanship in need
of watching. During the course, John was to have seven different flying
instructors, and he flew in 27 different De Havilland Tiger Moth aircraft fitted
with 130hp De Havilland Gypsy engines. John left the station on 23rd November,
when he moved on to No. 32 Service Flying Training School, several hundred miles
to the east at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. His
first flight here, on 27th November 1941, was 1 hour 20 minutes in North
American Harvard No. 34, as pupil to Pilot Officer Daly, who was to be his
regular instructor for the next few months. His first solo in the Harvard
followed with a 50-minute flight on December 9th. John finished 1941 well when
he passed his Navigation I test on 31st December, his total flying time for the
year now standing at 51 hours daylight, 43 hours 25 minutes night, including 12
hours 5 minutes of instrument flying. He amassed 37 hours 30 minutes dual and 43
hours 55 minutes solo in daylight, and 6 hours dual and 6 hours solo at night,
including 12 hours 5 minutes instrument flying, for a total of 93 hours 25
minutes on this course in 17 different North American Harvard II's fitted with
Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp engines, and under 11 different instructors. In
addition, John completed a further 20 hours instruction and completed the
General Instrument Flying Course in the Link Trainer achieving a score of A -
70%, this dated 11th February 1942. 1942
began with a height test on January 4th, which consisted of a 1 hour 15 minute
solo in Harvard 39. His Navigation II test took place two days later, the day
after taking his instrument flying test. His first night flight was undertaken
in Harvard 21 with Flight Lieutenant Halls, lasting one hour and including 4
landings. On the 9th, John took his Navigation III test, flying solo from Moose
Jaw via Dafoe to Watrous and return - a flight of 2 hours 5 minutes. His G I 25
hour test followed on 12th January, flying with Flight Lieutenant L'Estrange for
35 minutes, the day before he took his Navigation IV test, consisting of Moose
Jaw to Willow Bunch and on to Ceylon Station before returning to Moose Jaw, for
a flight time of 1 hour 40 minutes solo in Harvard 72. On the 17th, his G II 50
hour test followed with a 45-minute flight in the company of Flight Lieutenant
Wilson, who subsequently certified that "LAC Wiseman is qualified to spin
solo in Harvard Mk II aircraft". On the 21st John flew with Pilot Officer
Daly in Harvard 98 for his 15 minute night flying test, before passing his
Instrument Flying III test the following day, taking the route Moose Jaw via
Brown Lee to Chaplin and back to Moose Jaw with Flight Lieutenant Ezekiel in
Harvard 60, a duration of 1 hour 5 minutes. He passed his formation flying the
next day with a 1-hour flight in the company of Flying Officer Hartley in
Harvard 89. A further test, CFS, took place on 10th February, in the company of
Flight Lieutenant Bannock, a flight of 1 hour in Harvard 26. But 3 days later,
on 13th February 1942, Johns most important test of all came. Flying with Flight
Lieutenant Halls, Officer Commanding 'F' Flight, in North American Harvard 72,
John took his No. 5 Wings Qualification Cross Country, which he passed after 1
hour 20 minutes in the air, thus concluding flying on No. 33 Course at No. 32
Service Flying Training School, Moose Jaw, with the proficiency rating 'Above
Average', and being judged as having shown aptitude as a navigator. Leading
Aircraftman John Wiseman was now entitled under Kings Regulations to wear the
all-important Flying Badge - his Wings. It was time to return home to England. Having
safely crossed the Atlantic by ship, John was destined to be at No. 3 Personnel
Receiving Centre in Bournemouth from 10th March until 29th April 1942. This was
a centre for qualified aircrew from the Dominions and RAF personnel who had
returned from training abroad. At the end of his stay here, he was sent to his
home county of Norfolk with his posting to No. 17 Advanced Flying Unit at
Watton, where he would be able to practice his previous training under British
climate conditions. John's
instruction was on Master II aircraft with their Bristol XX engines. Making his
first flight, one of 45 minutes, on 3rd May in Master 23 accompanied by Sergeant
McTaggart, he soloed the next day in Master 27, being airborne for 40 minutes.
Over the duration of the course, he flew 12 Master II's, for a total of 7 hours
15 minutes dual and 9 hours 30 minutes solo under 7 instructors. This included
40 minutes instrument flying dual, and a further 1 hour solo, his last flight
taking place on 24th May. He also completed a further 1 hour 30 minutes in the
Link Trainer. At the end of the course, his proficiency was rated as 'Average',
with the additional comment that his navigation was weak. John had been amongst
the first people to pass through the unit, and in July 1943 No.17 AFU left
Watton and were replaced by units of the United States Army Air Force. John
next reported for duty at No. 46 Course, No. 56 Operational Training Unit at
Tealing, Dundee, in Scotland on 26th May. At 56 OTU, operational flying training
at this time took place on Hawker Hurricane and Miles Master aircraft. Johns
first flight was in the Rolls-Royce Kestrel engined Master I 8752, piloted by
Pilot Officer Deuntzer. This lasted for 35 minutes, and was followed by John
taking off in Master 7603 for a further 35 minutes. On June 3rd, John was
finally able to take up a single engined fighter aircraft for the first time
when he soloed on the Rolls-Royce Merlin-engined Hawker Hurricane 6825, making a
flight of 1 hour 50 minutes. Nearly all of his subsequent flying here was made
on the Hurricane, with the exception of a flight with Squadron Leader Kellett in
Pratt and Whitney Wasp-engined Master III 8697 for deflection attacks and air to
ground firing. This involved the use of gun-cameras, rather than ammunition. His
last flight on the course was made on 23rd July, concluding 51 hours and 10
minutes solo on Hawker Hurricanes, plus 1 hour ten minutes on the Master I,
split equally between dual instruction and solo flying, and 20 minutes dual on
the Master III. As an additional
part of his training, on 30th May John had been placed in a mobile decompression
chamber and after 9 minutes without oxygen at a simulated height of 30,500 ft,
the Medical Officer in charge recorded him as having no symptoms. He was
subjected to a simulated altitude of over 30,000ft for 23 minutes, to a maximum
of 42,000ft, and again was unaffected. During the exercise, he was given a
demonstration of anoxia at high altitude, and was rendered anoxic himself. He
was then 'descended' at a rate of 10,500 feet per minute without ear or sinus
trouble. John's summary for the course dated 26th May 1942 assesses his ability
as a fighter pilot as 'Average', 'Yes' is written in the space for
pilot-navigator, and his air gunnery skills as 'Low Average'. John had now
completed a total service flying time of 81 hours 30 minutes dual instruction
and 140 hours 25 minutes solo flying, including 6 hours dual at night, and the
same solo, 18 hours 50 minutes dual instrument flying, and a further 6 hours 50
minutes solo on instruments, and had flown 2 different Miles Master I's, 1 Miles
Master III, and 24 Hawker Hurricanes whilst with 56 OTU. He had also spent 9
hours 45 minutes in the Link Trainer (3 hours of which was in the Edmondes
Link). Thus, after his final training flight on 12th August 1942 in Hawker
Hurricane 7065 lasting 1 hour 35 minutes, John left Scotland on 13th August, and
appears to have taken a weeks leave before reporting for duty at his first
operational squadron, No.
609 (West Riding) Squadron were stationed at Duxford in Cambridgeshire flying
the new Hawker Typhoon fighters when John arrived on 21st August 1942. At the
time, this new aircraft was the fastest and most powerful aircraft in service
with any airforce, and Johns sister Betty can recall that he was very pleased to
be flying them. At this time, 609 was commanded by Squadron Leader Paul Richey,
who had written the best selling book 'Fighter Pilot' about his experiences in
the Battle of France back in 1940, a 1941 edition of which John himself owned.
John arrived on the same day as Flight Lieutenant Alan Lindsell, who had
originally been posted as a Flying Officer but had since been promoted and was
therefore attached as supernumerary. After
having been instructed in cockpit layout and operation, starting and stopping,
and running limitations of the Typhoon by Regular Pilot Officer Tom Yates, the
squadron's engineering officer, John commenced his squadron flying 2 days after
arrival by gaining 50 minutes 'experience on type' in Hawker Typhoon MKIA PR-R
on 23rd August. John's sister Betty recalls that on one occasion, after the
family had left Martham to live at 'Mill Cottage' on the marshes at Oby, she had
been on leave when an aircraft flew around the mill. Her father told her it was
Johnny. It later transpired that he 'received a ticking off' for this -
presumably by his Commanding Officer.
Up until leaving Duxford, Johnny had been gaining experience of flying the
Typhoon MKIA and MKIB fighters, with their 2,200hp Napier Sabre MKIIA engines,
and occasionally the squadrons 'hack', Hawker Hurricane MKI AG265. John's
first operational flight, a 1 hour 40 minute patrol from North to South Foreland
came on 16th October, after he had completed a total of 267 hours and 5 minutes
flying since joining the Royal Air Force. On this occasion, he was allocated
Typhoon PR-T. Two days later, when flying PR-J, his No. 1, Flight Lieutenant Joe
Atkinson, had to carry out a forced landing, wheels up, after his engine cut.
Both pilots got down safely at RAF Hawkinge, near Folkestone in Kent. 'Joe'
Atkinson was John's flight Commander in 'A' Flight. While at RAF Biggin Hill, John had appeared twice in the film 'Between Friends', firstly introduced by 'Joe' Atkinson as being “from Yarmouth, where they catch herrings”, and again discussing the merits of Polish Vodka with Polish Pilot Officer Tadeusz Turek. Soon after, on the 6th November 1942, he made the 25-minute flight to his news station, RAF Manston. During
the morning of 29th November, John gained another aircraft type in his logbook
when he flew Miles Magister T9908 with its De Havilland Gipsy Major engine to
Staverton in Gloucester with Sergeant Thomas Leslie as passenger. They then
swapped places and Leslie flew on to Brockworth. This was one of two Magister's
that had been borrowed in order to collect 2 new Typhoons. One of the
'Maggie's', belonging to No. 137 Squadron was damaged on arrival when it sank
into soft ground. John
then set off back to Manston in Typhoon 360, with Warrant Officer Geoff Stevens
flying the other. The pair encountered mist, whereupon Stevens lost his way and
landed with his wheels down in a clover field to the south of Sittingbourne in
Kent, causing no damage at all to the new aircraft. That evening, the Officers
were invited to the Sergeants Mess for a social, and Flight Lieutenant 'Joe'
Atkinson celebrated his second anniversary on the squadron. The following
morning, 609's current CO, Squadron Leader Beamont flew the stranded Typhoon out
of the clover field, a feat believed to be without precedent, missing a fence by
a few feet and passing through a gap in the trees 1½ spans wide. On
8th January 1943, the Form 540 records that John, along with Belgian Flying
Officer Raymond 'Cheval' Lallemand, Sergeant Alan 'Babe' Haddon and French
Sergeant Chef Armand 'Fifi' de Saxce visited the Swingate Operations centre,
with a view to greater mutual efficiency in controlling and being controlled.
The following day, 9th January, was bitterly cold. Flying Officer Lallemand's
section landed at Hawkinge after one patrol as they were short of petrol. On
their return to Manston, he investigated Johnny's aircraft, eliciting the
anxious response of "Cheval, it's me! It's Wiseman!". On
23rd January 1943, John recorded for the first time having sighted the enemy
with the comment "Two FW 190's sighted at Dungeness but dived away into
cloud". John was airborne in Typhoon PR-D for a flight duration of 50
minutes, patrolling between North Foreland and Dungeness. Three days before, on
20th January, the squadron had their most successful day since May 8th 1941, and
John's logbook records "Squadron bagged 6 Huns on 20th. F/O Nankivell
bagged another, 21st". Johns
'Fighter Pilots Gunnery Record', which is glued into his logbook, records that
he fired 480 rounds of 20mm ammunition from Typhoon PR-L on 3rd January 1943, on
a 20 minute air firing flight over the Goodwin Sands, 160 rounds from PR-D
during another 20 minute flight on the 26th, and 180 rounds on the 28th, also
during a 20 minute flight in PR-D over the Goodwin Sands. In the first instance,
he also took 5 feet of gun camera film. On
February 2nd, John had to return early from a patrol between North Foreland and
Dungeness with an unserviceable radio in Typhoon PR-E, but the next day, while
flying PR-N in the company of Joe Atkinson he was again rewarded with a sighting
of 2 Fw190's, but records that he "could not engage owing to friendly
flak". The Operational Records Book records it thus: " F/Lt Atkinson
and Sgt Wiseman, on the first patrol of the day, are sent to Folkestone to await
the return of bandits visiting Ashford. They chase an a/c (which turns out
probably to have been a Spit) then find the 190s behind them. These dive for the
coast at Hastings, but are obscured by puffs of Ack Ack. NE of Hastings the
Typhoons themselves are greeted with Bofors fire. Meanwhile F/O Raw chases
Atkinson on the theory that he may be a 190."
On the 13th, Babe Haddon and Johnny were about to land after a patrol
when they were told of a bandit approaching Dover. Turning back, Babe saw a
Focke Wulf Fw190 silhouetted by the sun and turning at 14000ft. They climbed
after it through thin cloud at 11000ft, and had reached 15000ft when 2 enemy
aircraft were seen diving for France. John
had completed 75 hours 30 minutes dual and 297 hours 15 minutes solo daylight
flying, 6 hours dual and 12 hours 15 minutes solo flying at night, including 18
hours 50 minutes dual and 6 hours 50 minutes of solo instrument flying in at
least 108 different aircraft of 8 different types, plus 36 hours 15 minutes in
Link Trainers (including 4 hours 30 in the Edmondes Link) when his logbook was
completed by Flight Lieutenant John 'Joe' Atkinson covering the period up until
14th February 1943, and signed by his Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader Roland
'Bee' Beamont - the final entry having been made via the Royal Air Force Central
Depository Stamp of June 1946 underneath that which reads DEATH PRESUMED.
1333551 Sergeant John Wiseman had held his wings for one year and one day when,
at around 11am on 14th February 1943,
Sgt John Wiseman and F/Sgt Alan Haddon were shot down and killed.
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