For the Canadians, much of both air and ground training in the first four weeks amounted to little more than a brush-up on skills that had lapsed since graduating from Rivers, although they were flying in the much larger bombers that were in actual operational use, with their full array of up-to-date equipment. Flying training included the use of radio direction finding to determine bearings and to locate aerodromes, and the use of aerial cameras. In the second half of the course, pupils would learn to operate together as a functioning Hampden crew.
Joe was thrilled to be back in the air after nearly three months since leaving Rivers.
Took my first flight in a Wellington today – felt good to get at it again – England looks wonderful from the air – like a quilt of lovely blended colours – all patches being trim & neat. (JJD 13 May 1941)
The boys here from operations sure take things calmly – this is a marvelous training for thinking fast & accurately under fire – I need it …
(JJD 16 May 1941)
He wrote to the Pony Club about life on a flying station:
I have been flying on Wellingtons, later we go on to Hampdens and Manchesters – all tremendous machines and about the biggest bombers here. We fly with staff pilots for a while, all boys who have finished their 200 hours on operations and consequently all DFMs & DFCs3 – we fly all over the place and keep on our toes – the obstacles – balloons – our AAK4 – our fighters and at night – the odd Jerry. Next week we start flying with our own crews … have our own ship and own ground staff … best of all, I shall have a chance to get some piloting in myself5 – but we still have another six weeks training before we go on operations if all goes well – but night training flights are about the same as operations – well almost – so there is lots of excitement when we fly –
… we are pretty well occupied now either at lectures or flying – flying is definitely the nuts – navigating is definitely a headache at times, especially in dirty weather and at night – which is when we do all our work now … here at RAF Finningley active service conditions prevail and the thing I like about flying is that every plane is on its own – you get briefed and given all available data, etc. – climb aboard and shoulder the responsibility of getting to the target – bombing is the objective and getting home again … our new flying outfits are super … we are lucky to be given superior equipment to fight the b____ds with.
(JJL 25 May 1941)
In fact, Joe had not done as much flying as he’d hoped. He had managed to get six daytime flights for dead reckoning practice, but then flying was scrubbed six nights in a row in late May due to bad weather. In theory, he needed to get another sixty-five hours of flying time. He did two night-navigation flights before the end of May, and also started practising on a new bombsight. Not all of this went well, as he acknowledged that he was “blowing hot and cold” in his navigation. One night he had done “a sloppy job of navigation,” but the next night had “a bang on flight.”
106 Squadron Hampden at RAF Finningley, April 1940. (Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre)
Crew exiting a Hampden bomber (83 Squadron, October 1940). The pilot is exiting the cockpit, the air observer, with his equipment satchel, is on the wing root, and the air gunner is coming up from under the wing, having left the lower turret. The wireless operator’s twin guns point skyward from the upper turret. (Imperial War Museum, HU104657)
Hampden bombers in flight over the patchwork quilt of the English landscape. (Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies)
By the end of May, Joe had completed the navigation portion of the course, and he had begun night flying on Hampdens. He was becoming attuned to a constant and substantial level of hazard both in the air and on the ground. German intruder aircraft had attacked Joe’s base in early May while he was on leave, and there had been two flying accidents with the loss of seven men. None of this dampened his enthusiasm for the job.
Got crewed up with Toby Jones a N.Z pilot who asked me to navigate for him – he is an athlete, a good head & we ought to get along fine – also picked a couple of likely looking gunners. (JJD 20 May 1941)
I think my pilot is going to be an ace … our two English gunners and myself pal around together quite a bit – My pilot is a star athlete – a real cool head and so the new gang has sprouted. (JJL 10 June 1941)
Crewing up was essential to learning to work as a team on big bombers, but it was not proceeding smoothly at No. 25 OTU at that point. Joe did not actually get to fly with Jones until the beginning of June, and then only once. His new pilot had developed boils and been sent to hospital. Without him, and apparently with few pilots to spare at Finningley, there was little flying for the rest of his crew. A promising start had ground to a halt. Joe went eight days without flying in early June, and then he was assigned to another pilot to begin bombing practice.
Whether a crew was self-selected (as Joe’s appears to have been) or assigned, how well they would actually function together was difficult to predict. They did not know each other’s grades or standing in trades training, other than if they were good enough to merit a commission. But such clues were not necessarily a reliable guide to performance in the air under duress. Nor could they know much about each other’s psychological makeup, or perhaps even their own – whether one could master one’s fear and maintain calm would become evident only under the stress and chaos of actual operations. But how well a crew would bond, and so perform as an effective combat unit over time, was critical to success. Each man depended on the others. The distinctions between officers and men, strictly observed on the ground, vanished in the air. During the second week of June, Joe began bombing practice over the nearby Misson bombing range. This began with low-level target practice by day, with twenty-five-pound bombs, then high-level practice, including a night session. Each time up was with a different pilot, in Jones’s absence.
Joe was enthralled by operational training, but it did not go as smoothly or quickly as he first hoped. Nearly two weeks passed with only one flight, which Joe described as a “wonderful day – bombed all morning trying to get ABS down pat.”
The ABS was the automatic bombsight, an improvement on the course setting bombsight that Joe had trained on at Mossbank. The ABS, now the standard bombsight on the Hampden, simplified the bomb-aimer’s work by enabling him to dial information on airspeed, altitude, wind, and bomb characteristics into an electro-mechanical computer on the run-up to the target, in order to maintain the correct track of the aircraft and determine the precise moment of release.
After seven weeks, Joe had put in six hours of nighttime navigation practice and one session of nighttime bombing practice. Joe found the inactivity demoralizing:
Beautiful day spent sunning – this is an unproductive O.T.U. waste plenty of time – we now have the English grumbling about the slowness. The mixing of different country’s fighting forces in Eng. should put an end to English smugness – we all tell lovely stories about our homes & life there and the RAF boys want to see for themselves.
… I am worried at heart – the war effort is all out of gear. I am working with the finest men in the world – but too much of our effort is wasted by too many incompetents & too little drive – things are slack – easy going – as if we had shot our bolt – I hope we wake up. (JJD 21 June 1941)
Shooting the bull in the crew room with Toby Jones – Bill Fulton – Jack McIntyre, Knowles – Stn had quite a night & all kind of shaky6 – most of our air[craft] are unserviceable – we do nothing most every day – take things leisurely still. … I will never get on ops if this keeps up – many fellows kind of get shaky about going on them – the sooner I can be of service the sooner I will be satisfied – one whole year in the air force & I have not earned my keep as yet. (JJD 28 June 1941)
Are we going to win the war – moan no 2 on this score – maybe. But boy am I fed up doing nothing – so is Bill Fulton & all the other boys – plenty of incompetence in the forces – no one willing to take the
responsibility for any decisions. Put in the first honest day’s work during the afternoon – went up three times – Toby should be a real good pilot – had a great time firing over Wash.7 (JJD 29 June 1941)
Am watching course three pack out at the moment – six crews – there will be about three left in a couple of months’ time – but we are fighting for something greater than ourselves – (JJD 30 June 1941)
Had our first cross country as a crew – Toby will be a good pilot – too independent & quick tempered at times but he knows what he is doing – Reg & Ron our gunners are not worth much – I am still too careless with my navigation – but I always seem to work & act better in the air. (JJD 1 July 1941)
A Spitfire’s unexpected detour at Finningley in mid-June reminded Joe of his “one disappointment” – that he didn’t get a crack at fighter piloting – but not for long. He was by now completely immersed in his role as navigator and bomber. By the end of the month his crew was back together again to complete their bombing and gunnery practice. Finally they were ready to begin the last part of their operational training: long-distance raid exercises over Britain and the North Sea. The weather was excellent in early July, and Joe was happy to have put in nineteen hours of flying time in eight days. In early July he recorded a “beautiful six hour cross country trip to the Bristol Channel bombing – gun firing – picture snapping” in nice weather by day, a “marvellous life.” The next day he wrote to the Pony Club:
we have a six hour trip scheduled and I must get cracking – here’s an example of what an observer does on a trip – 1. navigates, 2. handles the photography – takes pictures of all bomb bursts – and anything of importance on the way8 – 3. does all the bombing 4. handles a gun in the plane I fly in – we do plenty of shooting – 5. Make up meteorological reports – reconnaissance reports, and keep a log – we really are kept hopping – and that takes place whilst [Messerschmitt] fighter planes are trying to shoot you down – anti-aircraft fire absolutely knocking the plane upside down or the weather so rough at times you can hardly write – yes sir we really are on our toes when flying. (JJL 7 July 1941)
To Joe’s disappointment, after he was briefed, and the aircraft bombed up and ready for a long daylight cross-country training raid, one engine cut out on takeoff and the flight was cancelled. Then Toby Jones was hospitalized again, and Joe was grounded for ten days. In the meantime, most of his pals were completing their training and moving on.
Jack McIntyre & myself had a farewell party of canned peaches & cigars – he is going on ops tomorrow9 – we sat around & shot the bull on our crews – friends etc. (JJD 10 July 1941)
Waiting to go on a long North Sea sweep with some conversion pilots on their last flight – I spoke to Sqd Ldr Beauchamp today – trying to get put on operations faster – I feel it is about time I started earning my pay & doing something – 13 months in uniform without striking a blow – about time I swung into action. (JJD 16 July 1941)
Joe expounded on these developments to a new female friend:
If there is one thing I admire about the English it is their total mastery of the art of disorganization.
I have been hanging around all week for my pilot who is still in the hospital. I need but one trip to complete the course. There are a half a dozen other observers here who, like me need but one or two trips. There are also over a dozen pilots hanging around with nothing to do. They are either staff pilots or waiting for reports on recent crackups of a minor nature. It seems to be too complicated to pair up odd observers and pilots. You start with a pilot here and come hell or high water you don’t get another one if something happens to yours, despite the fact that a dozen young pilots are just about going crazy doing nothing.
Well I now have another pilot which I got after numerous conferences. We will make a few trips together and then I hope we will get cracking on some worthwhile trips.
But it really amazes me the way they do things. Honestly, at least ten out of every hundred get pushed around so much that when and if they do get on operations, they are so wild they get knocked off on the first trip. That is especially true with the Colonials who are anxious to get going – but it is a real feat to get thru the various courses, arrangements and round about schemes concocted here – intact.
Fortunately, Roger is in the same boat as me. All my other pals have gone from this station. So we drown our sorrows together and hope for the day when somebody with a spot of dash – a nip of ginger – a sprinkling of intelligence and plenty of imagination gets hold of this country and starts things rolling. (JJL 18 July 1941)
And so the frustration continued. Flying was cancelled two nights in a row due to enemy action near the airfield.
Weather cold – existence lonely unsatisfactory & uneconomical – still waiting to make two more trips – I feel as far away from ops as I did in Iceland – (JJD 20 July 1941)
Roger Rousseau was by this time Joe’s only Canadian classmate still at Finningley. He too had been delayed in completing his training there by virtue of minor accidents. Joe and Roger, already good friends since training, would become even closer in the months ahead.
One in ten wartime deaths in Bomber Command occurred in training. England’s skies were crowded and most hazards occurred in flight: malfunctioning aircraft, pilot and navigator error, and even “friendly fire” from RAF fighters and anti-aircraft gunners that failed to recognize their own aircraft, especially at night. During Joe’s time at Finningley, there had been four fatal incidents with twelve men killed, six non-fatal accidents, and four intruder attacks. Joe was well aware that operational training was a dangerous business, but he confined the details to his diary.
Met Mackenzie from [Leuchars] – on Beauforts – suicide jobs – they get really down at the mouth … Hampden crashed taking off yesterday – 3 killed. (JJD 17 May 1941)
Lost our second kite in three days – 7 men gone. (JJD 19 May 1941)
Got some figures on casualties – probably thirty per cent of aircrew get thru their 200 hrs ops – alive – they get the D.F.M. & deserve it.
(JJD 20 May 1941)
Sgt Cooper killed10 … total 18 since arriving here – bad show – strange to see a pal go up – never come back – fellows in air force are what I consider cool skillful – brave men – nobody makes a fuss about the living or dead – & nobody worries about the category he is going to be in – we just do our best & enjoy doing it. (JJD 12 June 1941)
Had a bull sesson with Morris, Tuffy & Bert White – they get “browned off” “cheesed” as they say on ops – O.T.U. flying as dangerous as ops – Jerries are held with respect amongst boys here – night bombing seems to be quite a strain & boys get nervy after a spell – the bloody Huns haven’t scared me as yet. (JJD 13 June 1941)
Rec’d letters from Jeep & Art – Jeep had his 4th crackup – Charlie Davis killed – Grange seriously hurt – 16 planes smashed at suicide Heyford – boys shaky there & for a good reason.11 (JJD 26 June 1941)
Went to Doncaster with Roger – met Milward who told me Mitchell “had it”12 – strange how affected I used to be by the death of someone I knew – how remote & impossible it seemed from me – now the thought of dying neither scares nor worries me – I can now face anything without panicking. (JJD 18 July 1941)
Pop Miller’s had it.13 (JJD 24 July 1941)
Of all this, Joe told the Pony Club:
The intimacy amongst groups of friends is exactly trebled amongst aircrew friends. Every reunion is a last reunion. No one says so – no one worries about who it is going to be the last one for – but all make a night of it – it is the same on our station – no petty rules or regulations or worries. You can almost say we are pampered. When we get up – we get briefed for a flight that cost around $10,000 think nothing of the expense – climb aboard with provisions for when you get hungry – and you’re off – it’s a great life – thrilling – adventuresome and inconsistent – that’s what makes it all the more exciting to me – you can’t predict or plan �
�� you must improvise and who does that better than your loyal Poneyite. (JJL 7 July 1941)
He said less of the hazards to his family:
A recent check-up of my pals shows that all are still going strong and faring well – Roger Rousseau who is with me is running Jeep a close race to see who can walk away from the most crashes – Roger has now had three – one less than Jeep – but he completely wiped out a couple of his planes so it’s a pretty close race. (JJL 22 July 1941)
But of his work he told them:
flying renders more chance for quick thinking and acting, careful preparation and excitement than I have ever had before. But you soon assess the dangers, obstacles, and your own chances of meeting them and overcoming them. Once you get that clear in your head you can get a real kick out of it all. … I like action – I’m getting it. So I would not worry too much if I were you – I am having a lot of fun, leading a unique and thrilling life and getting more personal satisfaction out of my work than I ever got before – I am on heavy bombers going over Germany. Every bomb I drop is a bomb well placed. But best of all is being with the nation’s finest men, young and old. Their ability, courage and personalities, absolutely make it impossible for me to get “browned off.” As a group, I have met no finer men anywhere. I do not think there are many finer to meet. Their records tell the tale. Maybe someday I will be able to read you my special diary dealing with operational flights.14 (JJL 17 June 1941)
Joey Jacobson's War Page 16