Operation: Jubilee (Dieppe)

Date: 19th August 1942 (Wednesday)

Unit: No. 174 Squadron (motto: 'Attack')

Type: Hawker Hurricane IIc

Serial: BE505 'Pegs'

Code: XP-L

Base: RAF Ford, West Sussex

Location: Dieppe Harbour, France

Pilot: Fl/Sgt. Charles Bryce Watson, Aus/400849, RAAF, Age 26 – Prisoner of War No. 26821, Camp: Stalag Teschen

REASON FOR LOSS

The day saw the RAF involved in an aerial conflict bigger than the biggest day of the Battle of Britain. Allied pilots flew nearly 3,000 sorties over a sixteen-hour period and lost around 100 aircraft during combat, bombing and smoke-laying missions. The Germans admitted to losing 48 aircraft, though the RAF claimed at least 96 shot down. All in all, Operation Jubilee was a total disaster for the Allies.

Watson took off from RAF Ford at 10:25 hrs with eleven others, led by Fl/Lt. William Winder McConnell, 81643 RAF (Note 1). They were detailed to attack the eastern heights of Dieppe.

Flying at 2,000 feet, he was hit by flak and tried to nurse the aircraft home, but was hit again at 12:00 hrs. He was seen to bale out over the sea. After several hours paddling his dinghy in the hope of reaching the English coast, he came across another dinghy carrying a badly injured RCAF pilot. He decided to head for the French coast instead, as it seemed the quicker option. On arrival, both men were immediately picked up by the Germans.

Many publications list the RCAF pilot as killed. P/O. Dwayne Linton, J/15626, of 411 Squadron (Note 2), was flying Spitfire Vb BL542 ('Miss Herrin') when he was shot down by enemy aircraft. He became PoW No. 42708, held at Stalag Luft Sagan. The RCAF pilot was from Herrin, Illinois, USA, and survived the war.

174 Squadron lost four other pilots during this disastrous operation: P/O. Maurice Halna du Fretay BEM, FFAF, flying Hurricane IIc HL705, shot down and killed; Sq/Ldr. François Émile Fayolle DFC, FFAF, flying Hurricane IIc HV557, shot down and killed; Sgt. Charles Frederick James, flying Hurricane IIc BP649, shot down and listed as missing; and P/O. Raymond Léon Narcisse Van Wymeersch, 30368, FFAF, flying Hurricane IIc BE691, shot down, baled out and rescued.

411 Squadron suffered three losses on this operation: P/O. Paris Richmond Eakin, J/7 (Note 3), flying Spitfire Vb BM406, shot down and killed; and P/O. Sidney Albert (Sid) Mills, J/16088, flying Spitfire Vb AD263, injured by enemy fire but who managed to fly his aircraft back to England. On the 10th May 1944 he was shot down again, this time flying Spitfire IX MJ831; he baled out near Amiens and was taken prisoner of war (Note 4).

NOTES

Held at Dulag Luft for questioning for ten days, Watson was then moved to Stalag Teschen, where he remained for one year, before finally moving to Stalag Luft Sagan for about eighteen months.

Fl/Sgt. Charles Bryce Watson was born on the 23rd November 1915 in Carlton, Victoria, Australia. He was awarded his flying badge on the 30th May 1941, together with the rank of Sergeant. He married Peggy Watson (née Arnold) and lived at 31A Winter Street, Malvern, Victoria, Australia. He was released from captivity and arrived back in the UK on the 15th May 1945, and left the RAAF on the 28th September 1945. He later died at Sandhurst, Victoria, Australia, aged just 49.

AIRCRAFT HISTORY

After passing through the hands of other collectors, Hurricane BE505 was purchased by Tony Ditheridge of Hawker Restorations Ltd. Returned to the UK and initially stored as a future personal project, restoration work began in earnest in 2005 at HRL's facility in Suffolk. The project made steady progress until it was acquired by the Hangar 11 Collection in 2007 and re-registered as G-HHII. The comprehensive restoration was completed in January 2009, and the rare Hurricane was rolled out in fighter-bomber configuration, resplendent in the markings of BE505, a Manston-based Mk IIB operated by 174 (Mauritius) Squadron in the spring of 1942. Her first post-restoration flight took place from North Weald on the 27th January 2009.

Since then, BE505 has been converted to a two-seat configuration and moved to its new home at Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar, where flights have been offered to the public. (Information courtesy of 'Fly A Spitfire'.)

(1) W/Cdr. William Winder McConnell DFC and Bar. Born on the 6th September 1917 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His Typhoon aircraft MM962 was shot down over occupied Europe and he was taken prisoner by the German army, held at a Stalag Luft until VE Day, 8th May 1945. He later became an Aer Lingus pilot and passed away in 1998. (shown left)

(2) P/O. Dwayne Linton. Born on the 23rd September 1917 in Herrin, Illinois, USA. Passed away on the 23rd January 2000, aged 82. His wife, Margaret Ruth Linton (née Richmond), passed away within a month of Dwayne, on the 18th February 2000, aged 77.

(3) P/O. Paris Richmond Eakin. Born on the 9th September 1914 in Minnedosa, Manitoba. Son of George A. Eakin, K.C., and May J. Eakin, of Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada. B.A. (University of Manitoba). Enlisted 12th November 1940 at Winnipeg, Manitoba. Aged 27, he was buried at the Neufchâtel-Hardelot (Neufchâtel) New Communal Cemetery, Row A, Grave 4. Epitaph: 'God Bless'.

(4) Fl/Lt. Sidney Albert Mills. Born on the 27th May 1918. Son of Frederick Sidney Mills (died 1931, aged 58) and Mary Martha Mills (née Campbell, died 1959, aged 78). He passed away on the 21st February 1975, aged just 56, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot, with thanks to Julian Proddow, the National Archives of Australia, 'Fly A Spitfire Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary reports, personal records and correspondence, reference books, and other sources.', and other sources as quoted below.

SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• National Archives of Australia
• Julian Proddow
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• Aircrew Remembered Archives
• Paul McGuiness Australian Archives
• 174 Squadron Operations Record Book
• 411 Squadron Operations Record Book
• Free French Air Force Museum