Operation: “Circus” to Morlaix, France

Date: 26th September 1942 (Saturday)

Unit No: 133 (Eagle) Squadron, RAF

Type: Spitfire IX

Serial No: BS447

Code: MD:?

Location: Hanvec, some 25 km east of Brest, France

Base: RAF Great Sampford, Essex

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Robert E. Smith O-885110 AAF Age 23. Evader

REASON FOR LOSS:

133 Squadron, RAF was the third “Eagle” Sqn manned by American personnel. The squadron was initially equipped with Hurricanes at RAF Coltishall. On the 29th September 1942 the Sqn transferred to the US Army Air Force (AAF) and became the 366th Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Group. The American pilots, who were volunteers, had RAF ranks and service numbers were also transferred to the US AAF. This is indicated by the Army Service Numbers (ASN) allocated to the pilots of the squadron which were consecutively numbered; e.g. in the series O-885NNN.

On the 26th September 1942, fourteen Spitfires from the Sqn took off from RAF Great Sampford for RAF Bolt Head, near Salcombe in Devon, landing there at 12:30 hrs. At 13:50 hrs, on only the fourth mission on this type, thirteen aircraft were detailed on a “Circus” Mission to Morlaix. Plt Off. (2nd Lt) Don Salvatore Gentile’s Spitfire IX BS445 suffered mechanical problems and did not join the mission. Flt Lt. Brettell was the acting squadron commander.

Operation Circus: Daytime bomber attacks with fighter escorts against short range targets, to occupy enemy fighters and keep them in the area concerned.

After the Sqn formed up over the airfield it headed south to rendezvous with a formation of B-17 Fortresses from the 301 Bombardment Group (H) in mid-channel approximately half-way between Bolt Head and Morlaix which were on a mission to bomb the Morlaix-Poujean airfield (Mission #12) in France. What actually happened is difficult to determine but some Fortresses were seen after they had been in the air for 45 minutes, during which time the Sqn had probably flown over the Bay of Biscay several times.

Eleven of the aircraft were lost over the Brest Peninsula due to a combination of navigational errors, weather, German fighters and low fuel. The twelfth fighter, Spitfire IX BS148 flown by Plt Off. (2nd Lt) Richard Norton Beaty managed to reach the English coast but crash landed from fuel starvation in a small field near Kingsbridge some 5 miles inland from the south Devon coastline. He was critically injured but recovered from his injuries.

The other Spitfires and pilots from 133 (Eagle) Sqn that were lost on this mission were:

Spitfire IX BS313 MD:A - Flt Lt. Edward Gordon Brettell, DFC, MiD, 61053 RAFVR Age 29 PoW No 760 *. Murdered by the Gestapo;

Spitfire IX BR638 - Plt Off. (100533), RAFVR; 1st Lt. George Brooks Sperry O-885120 AAF Age? PoW No. 746 *. Ran out of fuel and crashed near Morlaix, France;

Spitfire IX BR640 MD:V - Flt Lt. (103476), RAFVR; Capt. Charles Albert Cook Jr. O-885112 AAF Age? PoW No. 728 *. Lost in the Brest area for unknown reasons;

Spitfire IX BS137 - Plt Off. Dennis David Smith RAFVR Age 22. Killed. Ran out of fuel and crashed near Morlaix, France. Buried as 2nd Lt., O-885128 AAF at the Brittany American Cemetery Plot D, Row 18, Grave 8. Purple Heart;

Spitfire IX BS138 - Plt Off. (112286), RAFVR; 2nd Lt. Gilbert Graham Wright O-885139 AAF Age 24. PoW No. 27669 *. Ran out of fuel and crashed near Morlaix, France;

Spitfire IX BS140 - Plt Off. Gene Parks Neville RAFVR Age 24. Killed. Crashed at Guingamp, some 80 km west of Saint-Marlo, from flak damage. Buried as 2nd Lt., O-885129 AAF in the Brittany American Cemetery Plot I, Row 4, Grave 2. Purple Heart;

Spitfire IX BS275 - Plt Off. Leonard Thomas Ryerson RAFVR AAF Age 31. Killed. Ran out of fuel and crashed near Morlaix, France. Buried as 2nd Lt. O-885137 AAF in the Brittany American Cemetery Plot H, Row 10, Grave 5. Purple Heart;

Spitfire IX BS279 - Flt Lt. (100519), RAFVR; Capt. Marion Elmo Jackson O-885117 AAF Age? PoW No. 793 *. Lost near Morlaix, France, for unknown reasons;

Spitfire IX BS301 - Fg Off. (112311), RAFVR; 1st Lt. George Hancock Middleton O-885127 AAF Age? PoW No 796 *. Lost near Morlaix, France, for unknown reasons;

Spitfire IX BS446 - Plt Off. William Henry Baker Jr. DFC. 108626 RAFVR. Age 22. MiA. Lost near Morlaix, France. Remembered as 1st Lt., O-885113 AAF, Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. Air Medal, Purple Heart.

DFC awarded on the 6th October 1942. London Gazette 2nd October 1942. Citation reads: “Pilot Officer William Henry Baker (108626), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No.133 (Eagle) Squadron. Pilot Officer Baker has been engaged in numerous operational sorties over enemy territory. Throughout he has displayed the greatest keenness and enthusiasm for operational work and his courage and determination have been an example of a high order. Pilot Officer Baker has destroyed 2 and probably destroyed 2 other enemy aircraft”.

* Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland. (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser, Bavaria).

Upon his return to England 2nd Lt. Smith provided the following description of his mission and his escape and evasion:

I took off from Bolt Head at approximately 16:05 hrs. After forming above the field we started on a southernly course. We had a very strong tail wind and climbed steadily. About ten miles from the coast of England we were above 10/10 cloud which was at about 4,000 feet. We continued to climb until about 28,000 feet. The Fortresses could not be seen and we had been out about 30 minutes when my engine failed, causing me to drop out of the formation. However, my engine picked up again at 22,000 feet and I followed the formation, but turned back when I saw three Fortresses and proceeded to follow them. These Fortresses jettisoned their bombs but no target was in sight at the time as we were still over cloud. In about ten minutes I saw my Sqn and attempted to join them and we all came down below the cloud base and found ourselves over water. We could just see the northernly coast of France and the squadron leader took us over the coast.

At this point the weather was bad, poor visibility, a strong north wind and heavy clouds. We flew straight over Brest at 2,000 feet in squadron formation and met very heavy antiaircraft fire. From the Radio Transmission (RT) conversation it was evident that some of the pilots had thought that we were over England.

I received a burst at back of the cockpit in the fuselage and I broke formation and went down low and flew out of the area. Then, having very little petrol left, I climbed up into the clouds at about 4,000 feet, rolled over and baled out. I landed in a small field near Hanvec, some 25 km east of Brest, at about 18:15 hrs. My plane crashed a total wreck.

After landing I immediately hid my parachute and tunic in bushes that ran along a ditch. Later, they were removed by the French. I started walking and had gone about 3½ km when I was approached by a French boy who took me to a secluded place behind a hedge. He then left me and returned about 20 mins later with a raincoat and chocolate. He then took me to a local Mill where I was given wooden sabots to replace my flying boots. He also gave me cider and then hid me in a cave till after dark.

At about 22:30 hrs he returned with bicycles and a friend. We travelled for about 8 km and met a third friend, with whom I was to spend the night, and we all continued for about another 5 km. They then abandoned me through a misunderstanding, thinking I was a German, because, when my bicycle broke down and called to them, "Come here" which must have sounded like German.

I spent the night in a lean-to and next morning carried on until I met some peasants. We gestured back and forth and indicated that I was American. They hid me in the woods and gave me food, but more than I could eat, and also gave me some raw spirits. I spent that night in the house of a friend of theirs and hid again in the woods the next day. That day, the owner of the house, went to Hanvec and returned with a friend who talked, or tried to talk to me. He then went away and returned later on the evening of the 27th September to take me to the home of another man in Hanvec. I stayed here in a room for seven days during which time he fed me and gave me a suit of civilian clothes, which was altered to fit me.

During this week the owner of the house went to Brest and several other places to see if they could find some way of getting me away. On the morning of the 5th October, a Monday, I went to Quimper by train accompanied by the owner of the house. At this time I had no papers at all but the German guards at the station did not bother us.

At Quimper we stayed at the home of a lady whose husband was a prisoner of war. At 19:00 hrs we continued by train south to Libourne arriving at mid-day the next day. We travelled with two suitcases full of food. At Libourne we stayed at a hotel. We ate there free of charge and stayed for three days, leaving on the third day in a truck and going to a farmhouse near the line of demarcation, where we had a large dinner with about 16 people. While having dinner a German patrol passed through the farmyard. Ten minutes later we departed and a guide took us across the line of demarcation on foot, the journey taking us about ten minutes.

The line of demarcation was the border between German occupied France and the Vichy controlled “Free Zone” of France.

We then proceeded on foot for about 22 km, then spent the night with a man and woman. The next day we went by train through Périgueux to Roanne. Arriving the next morning, we went to the home of a friend of the man we had stayed with before and he went into Vichy with a note to the Charge d'Affaires of the American Embassy and returned with clothing, cigarettes, soap, whiskey, and instructions that I would be picked up by the Naval or Military Attaché in Roanne next day in a diplomatic car. I met him and they drove me to Lyon, where they put me in the house of a friend of the American Vice Consul. I stayed with him one might and two nights in the home of some French people. On the third day I went to Marseille by train with a guide. He took me to the home of a friend of his, where I stayed until the 22nd of October. During this period I went to a dentist and had three teeth filled. I also had my first bath here.

On the 22nd October I went to Toulouse with a guide where we stayed in a private home. While there I met an American pilot who I had known before and who was shot down earlier. On 22nd November two more RAF men came. I had previously been furnished with an identity card. We left and went by train and were asked to show our identity cards on the train. This request was made by a control officer. He asked several questions of one of my companions who could not speak French. The guide covered up for him.

The American Pilot is believed to be Fg Off. Eric Ellington Doorly 101458 RAFVR from 103 (Eagle) Sqn. His Spitfire IX BS276 was shot down by German fighters during a Circus operation to Abbeville on the 6th September 1942;

After his return to England he was transferred to the USAAF as a 2nd Lt. with an ASN of O-885937. During the war he was promoted to Captain and awarded the Distinguish Flying Cross (DFC) on the 7th November 1944 and the Air Medal with 13 Oak Leaf Clusters (2 Ribbons, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze).

We left the train just before Paulilles. We jumped off the train and hid in a ditch and then waited on a hillside for the guide who was supposed to take us the balance of the way. We stayed on this hillside all night. The guide did not show up, so we returned to Toulouse. The next day we tried again, but this time returned from Narbonne after finding that our guide was not on the train. The next time, on the 13th December we left and had the guide in the same carriage with us. We again jumped off the train at Pau Lilles at 21:00 hrs and started up into the mountains.

We spent the first night on top of the mountains and proceeded on early the next morning. The guide appeared to be very confused and eventually we stopped him and asked if he knew where he was. He said "Yes", but wanted to locate himself and took our only compass and disappeared, leaving his suitcase behind. We waited two hours and then the fog lifted and we could see the Mediterranean and could also see that our course was leading us back into France. There were now seven of us. We turned and headed in the general direction of Spain. At 15:00 hrs we stopped and there was a big argument as to whether to stop for the night in the mountain shelter or to continue on.

The other five in the group were:

Sqn Ldr. David Beausire Barnard DFC 40352 RAF. Pilot from 142 Sqn Wellington III DF550. On the 16th September 1942 abandoned after being shot up by night fighter (3 Evd, 2 PoW);

Sgt. Ralph Forster 1053891 RAFVR. WOp/Air Gnr on 142 Sqn Wellington III DF550 (above) and the second of three evaders from this crew;

LAC Arthur Victor Bromwell 250433 RAF. RAF Groundcrew from No.1 Servicing & Repair Flight, AASF. He was wounded on the 14th June 1940 and escaped from Frontstalag 203 (Mulsanne) on the 25th December 1940. His overall story was treated with a great suspicion and it was believed that part of his story was designed to cover up that he made no attempt to get home until he was forced to do so;

Mario Prassinos alias Captain Forbes. Believed to be Lt. Mario Lambros Achilles Prassinos OBE 294435 British Army and an agent with the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Involved in the Marseille escape network. Died in Schwerin Concentration camp on the 4th March 1945.

A Frenchman named Frost (No further details found).

On the 14th December went on with three of our party and at about 21:00 hrs we were fired at by two Spanish soldiers, who arrested us, searched us, and told us that we would have to return to France. We bribed them, giving them each a watch. We were then allowed to continue on and slept two hours at a time and then walked for two hours and we continued this all that night and until noon the next day, then met a friendly Spaniard who brought us wine and bread.

The other three from the party were:

Sqn Ldr. David Beausire Barnard, LAC. Arthur Victor Bromwell and the Frenchman named Frost.

The Spanish people along the way seemed to know pretty well who we were and in many cases warned us of road patrols. We walked on, skirting Figueras and small villages until arriving in Girona. In Girona we walked right past the control officer and attempted to hire a taxi but found it impossible. We were told there was a British Consul and they learned his address for us. We went to see him and inquired if he could help. We asked him, after telling him who we were, if he would call for a car from Barcelona or if he could put us on the train for Barcelona, or find a truck to take us, or even bicycles, but he said there was nothing he could do. However, he sent us to a Spaniard who gave us a meal. He also gave us some cigarettes and money.

At about 10:50 hrs on the 17th December we started for Barcelona with a loaf of bread and a bottle of water. We walked to within 56 km of Barcelona and were picked up at 06:00 hrs, 18th December, by members of the Guardia Civile. They put us in Malgrat de Mar prison for four days. The food was very poor there but they did take our money and bring us coffee and Cognac. We were then taken by national police to Jefatura at Barcelona and put in prison. We were questioned in both prisons as to dates shot down, which we told. They also asked us how we travelled but we told very little. They knew, or seemed to know, that we were lying to them. We asked to have the British Consul notified and eventually succeeded in sending a message by a Belgian boy, who was being released, to the Belgian Consul.

On 24th December we received two packages from the British Consul containing blankets, food, etc., and then the British and American Consuls came to see us. They said they thought they could get us cut in four days. The next day we were told to pack up. We went to Saragossa, where we were taken to a hotel The only restrictions put on us were that we were not to leave the city limits. Here we were allowed to phone the British Consul who sent us some money with which to buy clothes, We stayed about nine days here and were then taken to Ahlama de Aragón, where a great many air crews are interned.

We stayed 2 or 3 hours and then went to Madrid by ambulance with 15 unknown members of RAF crews. We stayed in Madrid in a private home for eight days, left on the 14th January and spent the night in Seville. On the 15th January 1943 we continued on to Gibraltar.

2nd Lt. Smith flew back to England aboard a C-47 which left Gibraltar at 03:00 hrs on the 26th January 1943 and landed at RAF Portreath in Cornwall at 10:00 hrs the same morning. The others known to be aboard this flight were:

1st Lt. Gilbert T. Schowalter O-724073. Navigator aboard B-17F 41-24585 ‘Wulfe Hound’ (303BG, 360BS) which forced landed on the 12th December 1942. (4 PoW, 6 Evd);

1st Lt. John R. McKee O-435689. Pilot aboard B-17F 41-24495 'Rose O’Day' (306BG, 367BS) which was shot down on the 20th December 1942. (2 KiA, 6 PoW, 1 Evd);

2nd Lt. Forrest D. Hartin O-660490. Navigator on board B-17F 41-24491 (306BG, 423BS) which was shot down on the 9th November 1942. (6 KiA, 3 PoW, 1 Evd).

Note: 2nd Lt. Hartin was the first American airman, and the 80th, “Comet Line” evader.

2nd Lt. Smith arrived in London at 16:30 hrs on the 28th January 1943 and reported immediately at HQ ETOUSA.

HQ ETOUSA was the Headquarters of the European Theatre of Operations US Army located at 20 Grosvenor Place, London.

He was awarded the Air Medal on the 12th February 1943 and 4 Oak Leaf Clusters (4 Bronze) during his service.

Courtesy of the Evening Star, dated Friday, 26th February, 1943

After the war he was assigned to the Officer Reserve. He was recalled to active service in January 1951 as a Capt. to serve in Korea with the 5th Air Force, 18th Fighter Bomber Wing. He was awarded a Bronze Star on the 12th May 1951.

Courtesy of the Redwood City Tribune, dated Thursday, 14th June, 1951

Burial details:

None – Evaded and returned to England

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this Pilot.

Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt