"Little Black Box" & 4th "Op" SCRAMBLE! - 141 Squadron - RAF Wittering - May 1943

Bristol Beaufighters in formation 1943

At 14.10 hours on 30th April 1943, all 16 aircraft of 141 Squadron, bar one, which was out on an Air/Sea Rescue mission, were led off in formation by their Wing Commander "Bob" Braham from RAF Predannack, Cornwall. After a short cross-country flight, they landed at RAF Wittering at 15.40 hours. This was to be their new base and serve as home for the new and highly secret mission that their C.O. had volunteered them for. The rest of the ground crew personnel left by train and arrived a day later on 1st May, unless they were lucky and had managed to hitch a lift in one of the squadron aeroplanes. This is what must have happened to F/Sgt Mugleston, as he is noted as an extra passenger in F/O Howard Kelsey's Pilot's Log Book for the flight to Wittering in Beaufighter 4626, alongside his usual crew, Nav/Rad Sgt 'Smithy' Smith. I've no Idea what happened to Mugleston after this, but hopefully my Grandfather got a drink out of it!

W/C Braham was going to miss Cornwall and wrote in his book "Scramble";

" ...we took off from Predannack to fly to Wittering...I had a feeling of regret. At Predannack the squadron had rejuvenated and had lost forever it's sense of inferiority."

That sense of inferiority stemmed from the day 141 squadron had been removed from frontline duties during the Battle of Britain after being almost wiped out on one sortie. Since then, despite being moved to night fighter duties, 141 sqn. had been very much in the doldrums and a bit of a laughing stock, despite the bravery and sacrifice exhibited by individual crews, shuffling back and forth from one base to another with little future direction, until the arrival of W/C Braham.

John Randall Daniel "Bob' Braham

Braham had brought a new aggressive attitude and a desire to "get at the Hun", his personal mission being to inspire 141 Squadron to "become the best night fighter squadron in the RAF". This attitude and his mounting number of combat victories, he had already shot down 12 enemy aircraft, 11 of them at night, caught the attention of Air Vice Marshal Basil Embury, No. 2 Group Bomber Commander, and resulted in the rapid promotion of the squadron back to frontline action. Being the "new broom", Braham swept out many personnel, with the removal of those that were deemed not "made of the right stuff" and the call for new recruits who had the  drive to attack the enemy without hesitation. If you didn't make the grade, or showed a "lack of moral fibre" you were swiftly replaced. 

Charles Vivian Winn

It is perhaps for this reason a new Squadron Leader was drafted in to over take 'A' flight. Sq/Ldr Winn was a larger than life character and a friend of Braham from earlier days. He brought with him his Nav/Rad, F/lt "Scotty" Scott who was renowned for a facial twitch. When he was "ragged" about this by his new mess mates his reply was "What do you expect, if you have to fly with a clot like Winn".




RAF Wittering, the new base for 141 Squadron, was then in Northamptonshire, but after the boundary changes, is now in Cambridgeshire. It had been a Royal Flying Corps aerodrome during the 1st World War, and closed soon after. Then, during the late 1920's it was re-opened and a substantial number of hangars, barracks and concrete aprons were constructed. So this was a purpose built airfield and had already come under some concerted attack by the Luftwaffe, particularly in 1941.  The airfield had grass runways and had one of the longest landing runs in the country, consequently it was a popular diversion for bomber aircraft returning, damaged from raids over Europe.

RAF Wittering 1944

British AI Mk.IV Radar signal display

What was this highly secret "little black box" that 141 squadron had moved to Wittering to have fixed to all it's Beaus and be schooled in it's operation? Both British and German aircraft already had onboard radar systems (A.I. Airborne Interception) by this time which were rudimentary and didn't have a very long range. 

This, in combination with the land based Radar (G.C.R. Ground Controlled Radar) on home soil would give a pretty accurate picture of the direction and size of enemy raids at night over Britain. But what were the RAF going to do now they were on the offensive over the Reich? Another problem the RAF had was A.I. Radar was no good at identifying the difference between allied bombers and enemy night-fighters in the crowded night skies over German cities during a bombing raid. Sadly there were numerous reports of so called "friendly fire" where British crews had shot down aircraft from their own side. To try and aid confirmation of friend or foe a way of tuning into the Lichtenstein radar frequencies of the German night fighters had been developed. 

Messerschmitt Bf110G displaying Lichtenstein radar aerials.

Diagram of Serrate signal display top and AI Radar signal below

If there was an enemy aircraft within range and it had it's FuG 212 Lichtenstein radar set turned on, the new British device made it possible to detect it and "home in" on the radar signals it was sending out and set course to intercept it. Once close enough, the navigator would switch back to the A.I. radar system to close in on the target, in the safe knowledge it was definitely the enemy. Well that was the theory anyway. The name of this new device was called 'Serrate' because of the jagged signal it gave in the cathode ray tubes on the set the Nav/Rad would sit and operate. 






The development of radar by the British boffins is explained in much better detail in this rather wonderful BBC series "The Secret War". Well worth a watch if you can find it. (https://dai.ly/x123k8x)

I'm not sure how well my Grandfather understood the workings of this radar technology, later in life he was very sceptical when I tried to explain to him how a microwave oven worked, perhaps he wasn't very "clued up" about radio waves. Perhaps even his Nav/Rad Sgt. "Smithy" Smith didn't know exactly how it all worked, but he certainly became expert at how to make sense of the flickering, jagged lines on his 'Serrate' homing box and to combine that with his radar set to pinpoint where the enemy were in the blackness of the night sky. 

One thing I am fairly certain of is that on 4th May 1943, my Grandfather went on leave for 7 days, as noted in his Log Book, and flew back to Predannack. 

F/O Kelsey Log Book May 1943

Now this leads me to believe that perhaps my Grandmother, Audrey Victoria "Vicky" Kelsey, who was now 6 months pregnant, had been billeted in Cornwall somewhere, and he was going back to see her? If this is so, I hope they had a lot of fun exploring the small coves and beaches of deepest Cornwall. Most wartime RAF aircrew wives were kept in blissful ignorance of what their husbands were up to, and this was doubly so with the invention of this new top secret "Little Black Box". 

He returned to duty on 11th May to find a very busy squadron getting packed up ready to move to RAF Drem in Scotland for further "serrate" training. It was thought that Wittering was a bit too close to the enemy coast and the radio and RADAR signalling during training flights may be picked up. Sadly this date held the some tragic news with the loss of another crew, F/Sgt Judge  and Sgt Blower, as detailed in my last blog post.

On the 12th May the first 6 aircrew of "A" flight flew from Wittering to Drem to begin training in their "Serrate" equipped Beaufighter 1Fs. Drem was home to 1692 (Radar Development) Flight which flew Defiants equipped with transmitters that could imitate the German Lichtenstein AI radar and would serve as 'bogeys' for the 141 squadron navigators to practice on.

On the night of 13th May my Grandfather's Log Book details a "Scramble" as his 4th "Op", with no further comment. This probably means that they encountered nothing and after 'tooling about' in the night skies for an hour and five minutes they returned to base none the wiser.  There is no mention of this in the detailed "History of 141 Squadron" written by Don Aris. 

Meanwhile, the RAF were maintaining the bombing offensive on industrial and urban targets on the Rhine and the Ruhr. On the night of 4th May, 596 aircraft were sent to bomb Dortmund, 30 didn't return. Severe damage was caused in central and northern parts of Dortmund. It was reported that 1,218 buildings were destroyed and 2,141 seriously damaged including the Hosch and Dortmund Union steel factory buildings and many factories in the dock area. At least 693 people were killed, 200 aircrew were taken prisoner and 1,075 people were injured. Luftwaffe pilot, Lt. Robert Denzel of 12 Nachtjagd Geschwader 1 shot down his fourth and fifth allied aircraft on this night. The first, a Short Stirling III BF505 of 218 Squadron, captained by F/Lt. Wilbur L Turner, crashed at Murmerwoude, Holland, killing Turner and four of his crew mates, three others were taken prisoner.

Crew of Stirling III BF505 - F/Lt Turner back row, second left.

The second was a Handley Page Halifax MKII HR667, of 102 Squadron, captained by S/Ldr J.B. Flowerdew. It crashed at Vooreg, east of Westergeest, Holland. Sadly, all the crew were killed, but only two bodies were found in the wreckage. A third was apparently found dead in a nearby canal by a fisherman, but he left it there to sink below the water, without reporting it to the authorities. The families of the other five missing men never found out what happened to their loved ones. A memorial was laid for them by the Dutch people in May 2015.

Events in the wider World War were starting to edge in favour of the allies. The Battle of the Atlantic was still raging, however May 1943 was known after the war as "Black May", as it was a turning point with technological improvements leading to a greater number of U-Boats destroyed and a decline in numbers of allied shipping being sunk. In Africa, the remaining German Africa Korps and Italian troops surrendered,  the allies took over 250,000 prisoners of war. And the famous "Dambusters Raid" is judged a success.

2nd "Op", Search and Rescue Patrol - 141 Sqn, Predannack, Cornwall. 18th April 1943

In the Spring of 1943, RAF Predannack was the launching point for many Air-Sea rescues in the Bay of Biscay and the North Atlantic. The allied convoys transporting goods and weapons from the USA were coming under increased attack from submarines and Focke-Wulf FW200 Condor long range bombers, as Hitler hoped to starve the British into submission. This conflict became known as the Battle of the Atlantic.

Although the Beaufighter aircraft of 141 Squadron had limited range, they would be sent out in large numbers to scour the sea for other "downed" pilots, or torpedoed ships' crews, often more in hope than expectation of finding anyone. The navigation aids the RAF had were still very primitive, with only the system of "dead reckoning" and predicting wind shifts by looking at the sea surface, to help plot your course once you were beyond the range of the primitive, land based radar. Then, once the crew had reached what they thought was their search area, they had to try and pick out a small dinghy or individual person floating in sometimes very rough seas. Almost impossible you would think, but often surprisingly successful in rescuing stricken crews from "the drink".

RAF Predannack Memorial

My Grandfather, Howard Kelsey, took part in one such "search and patrol" on 18th April 1943 as he noted in his Pilot's log book. This was his 2nd "Op" (operation) as denoted by his red underlining and red number 2 in the right hand margin.

Log Book 18th April 1943

The ORB (Operations Record Book) for 141 Squadron, which is published on the Public Records Office website, tells us he took off on patrol in Beaufighter X7643 at 14.50 with his trusty navigator Sgt. E. Smith. They returned again at 17.25 after an "Unsuccessful Air/Sea rescue patrol"

18th April 1943 ORB Detail of Events

With the wonders of the internet, I found a photo of what the website claims is Beaufighter X7643, although I cannot see any identifying numbers. 

Bristol Beaufighter Mk 1F - X7643 1941- www.worldwarphotos.info

They were part of an Air/Sea Rescue search group of 5 Beaus that were ultimately successful in pinpointing a Spitfire pilot, Sgt. G. F. Emes from 602 squadron who had been shot down 8 days before whilst on a shipping reconnaissance mission. 

1. F/O H. C. Kelsey with Nav/Rad Sgt. E. Smith in Beaufighter 1F X7643

2. P/O/ A. C. Newton with Nav/Rad Sgt. V. G. McBurney in Beaufighter 1F R2149

3. F/lt D. C. Maltby with Nav/Rad F/O J. E. Watts in Beaufighter 1F X7805

4. S/L S. T. Beal ('A' Flight O.C.) with Nav/Rad P/O J. C. Hair in Beaufighter 1F X7552

5. F/O R. C. MacAndrew with Nav/Rad P/O L. Wilk in beau fighter 1F T4626

After being successfully spotted by the 141 Squadron Beaufighter crew of F/O R. C. MacAndrew and Nav/Rad P/O L. Wilk, they were able to direct a Walrus amphibious aircraft to the position to rescue the Spitfire pilot.  He was picked up in his dinghy 50 miles SW of the Lizard but due to heavy seas,  were unable to take off again so had to taxi for five hours all the way to Mullion Cove and the whole of 141 squadron "turned out to assist to pull it up onto the beach" (Braham). The pilot thankfully survived this ordeal. On this one day, 47 aircraft in total were used in Air/Sea Rescue searches by 10 Group. This level of commitment to rescue pilots was a huge morale boost and gave some reassurance to young men heading out over the sea with little to help them navigate home again.

18th April 1943 ORB Summary of Events

Walrus seaplane picking up downed pilot 1943- histomil.com

The pugnacious Beaufighter was not exactly a beautiful aircraft, which is perhaps why it got it's slightly ironic name. However, the pilot had a really good view of his surroundings through the huge glazed cockpit, with the only obstructions being the massive Bristol Hercules engines on either wing.

A Beaufighter pilot waves away the ground crew. - pinterest

The navigator, sitting half way back down the fuselage, also had really good all-round sight-lines through his perspex canopy, which made the Beaufighter an excellent aircraft for search and rescue patrols.

Beaufighter Navigator position - pinterest

During his time at RAF Predannack, my Grandfather and the other officers were billeted in the beautiful Mullion Cove Hotel, with it's panoramic views of the Atlantic.

Mullion Cove Hotel 2018

View from Mullion Cove Hotel, Cornwall

Mullion Cove entrance

This, along with many other large hotels, had been requisitioned for the war by the Government. The 141 squadron C.O. , Bob Braham, also recounts from his book, "Scramble" that their time at Predannack coincided with some generally beautiful weather and on days off, they would take a group of officers in the squadron Oxford transport aircraft to the Scilly Isles. Here they would delight in the daffodil covered islands with their  "almost tropical climate" and whilst drinking a beer in the warm sunshine, it was "difficult to imagine the war raging so close across the Channel".  I hope my Grandfather managed to tag along on one of these trips. His wartime exploits in Cornwall were one of the few stories that he would readily tell me about with a smile on his face. With the freedom of the roads due to petrol rationing and the relatively long periods of time waiting to fly, he and his mates spent many happy days exploring the secluded coves, swimming and enjoying themselves. I'm pleased he had a chance of so much fun, having seen how busy his war was soon to become.

The war was indeed still raging just across the Channel. On 19th April 1943, the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw once again had an uprising, following an attempt by the German SS auxiliary forces to complete the deportation of Jews to the death camps. The uprising continued until 16th May 1943 when the Great Synagogue of Warsaw was demolished on the orders of SS-Brigadeführer Jürgen Stroop. 13,000 jews were killed during the uprising and of the remaining residents of the Warsaw ghetto, some 50,000 men, women and children, were shipped to concentration and extermination camps, principally Treblinka.

Sprog on the Squadron - 141 Squadron - RAF Predannack - April 1943

In April 1943 my Grandfather, F/O Howard Kelsey, was posted to 141 Squadron stationed at RAF Predannack, near Perranporth, Cornwall. 141 Squadron was an operational squadron equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter nightfighter aeroplane. But in April 1943, instead of night fighting, the squadron was stationed at RAF Predannack to try and help Coastal Command secure the Western Approaches from the U-Boat threat against the Atlantic Convoys. Without this vital lifeline of cargo ships steaming back and forth to America, Britain would starve.

Bristol Beaufighter Mk If

The squadron leader of 141 Squadron at this time would eventually go on to become the most successful and highly decorated RAF fighter pilot of the war. His name was J.R.D."Bob" Braham and by the time my Grandfather joined his squadron, he had already been awarded two DFC's and a DSO and built himself a reputation for aggressive and determined leadership against the Luftwaffe. And yet in 1943 he was still only 23 years old.

J.R.D"Bob" Braham from "Ciel de Gloire"

Unfortunately, I have little idea how well my Grandfather got on with Bob Braham, as he really didn't like talking about his wartime experiences, but he was certainly flying in the slipstream of a giant of the service and of the war. Luckily for me and my research, Braham wrote a book of his wartime experiences titled "Scramble", so I no longer have to scratch around to try and find the less well known details of RAF life for this blog. If you get a chance to read it, I highly recommend it, it's a rollicking good read with one of the best blow-by-blow accounts of a daylight raid over enemy territory I've read so far. A great deal is made these days of the importance of rôle models, well if my Grandfather was looking for a rôle model, he needn't have looked much further.

"Scramble"- Braham, published in 1961

Now that I am researching an Operational Squadron, there is a relative wealth of resources compared to researching the training of pilots during the war. Most pilots' autobiographies skim through their trainee days in a paragraph or two, but to help me research 141 squadron, there are numerous books written by serving pilots and navigators. Alongside this, I have my Grandfather's log books, as well as three thick folders that he was given by an armourer on the squadron called Don Aris, which detail all the operations and some recollections of Mr. Aris's time with the squadron. There are quite a few blogs. that refer to 141 squadron personnel and most amazingly, the National Archives have Operational Record Books for most of the wartime RAF squadrons and Combat Reports for individual pilots. If you would like some information about 141 Squadron, I can probably supply it.

Despite his 1,353 flying hours, my Grandfather had never seen "action". So, as "sprog on the squadron", in other words the new boy, how would my Grandfather fit in? 

At the outbreak of war, the "old boy" network was in full effect in the RAF. Most RAF officers were from public school and either Oxford or Cambridge. Therefore, they often knew each other or knew of each other's families. Indeed, recruitment to a squadron often depended either on who you knew, or how good you were at sport! However, by 1943, the number of officers had increased dramatically, and with the high casualty rate it meant that officer recruitment had opened up and they were accepting even ex-grammar school boys such as my Grandfather! Despite this, the class system of Commissioned Officers and NCO's was still in operation as it is today, so there was still a strong demarcation due to your background and aspirations. Even the nicknames given to the "Lower Ranks", or "Erks" as they were called,  hinted at a disdain for their social standing. How my vehemently Socialist, anti-royalist, pro-Russian, republican revolutionary Grandfather dealt with this, I have no idea, but realistically, what could he do? I expect he felt like an outsider and kept his politics to himself.

Most squadrons had a complement of 12 aircraft, and new crews usually were replacements due to a crew either finishing their tour, being posted elsewhere or because of casualties. In my grandfather's case, sadly, he and his navigator, Sgt. E.M."Smithy" Smith, where replacing two Beaufighter crews that didn't return from an "Instep" operation over the Gironde estuary and Merignac airfield near Bordeaux on 23rd March 1943. "Instep" operations, mainly over the Bay of Biscay, were introduced to try and counter attacks on Coastal Command by German interceptors. Coastal Command was equipped with long range Short Sunderland flying boats, very good for attacking U-Boats entering the Atlantic from French coastal ports, but not quick enough to fight off long range Junkers 88s or Focke Wulfe FW190 fighters. 

Junkers 88 Long Range variant

Focke Wulf 190 over Bay of Biscay

"Instep" patrols, therefore maintained a presence to protect the Sunderland flying boats and Motor Torpedo boats of the inshore Navy, and perhaps get the chance to shoot down the long range FW200 (Condor) reconnaissance bombers of the Luftwaffe.

Sunderland Flying boat

Focke Wulf 200 (Condor)

The lost Beaufighters of 141 squadron, are thought to have been shot down by a large number of long range Junkers 88's that may have been alerted by an earlier "Instep" operation of 141 squadron in the same area. No sign of the lost aircraft or crews was ever found. The dead crew from Beaufighter X7846 were S/Ldr W.G. Joy aged 30 and P/O J.C. Semple aged 26. Beaufighter X7714 was piloted by Sgt. W.F. Ambler aged 20 and Sgt. A. Haigh, also aged 20, was the navigator. They are all commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede and on a plaque in Perranporth Memorial Hall.

Plaque in Perranporth Memorial hall

My Grandfather would have known that it was important to make a good start in his new squadron. Wartime reputations were quickly made and very hard to shake off. It was expected that you made snap judgements in air combat and this extended to opinions made of other people. Sadly, my Grandfather never lost his ability to cut people down to size if they didn't measure up! His brother, who was also an RAF officer was even harsher if he sensed a weakness in you. I think the RAF inculcated this combative mentality, and when combined with "officer" status, was a heady mix which made quite a difficult person to be with after the war. Wartime characteristics of combativeness, competitiveness, aggression and a rigid certainty of who your enemies are, are often not prized in peacetime. Being quite combative and competitive myself, I really enjoyed spending time with my Grandfather. I knew if I was playing chess against him, he would make no allowances for my age, so the one time I beat him after years of trying, the exhilaration was all the more great. Reading between the lines in Bob Braham's book "Scramble", I think he put his wife through a great deal, she is often referred to as "long-suffering". I remember my own Grandmother also suffered after the war.

Speaking of reputations, 141 Squadron was renowned in the RAF for having been virtually wiped out during the Battle of Britain. On 29th June 1940, equipped with Bolton Paul Defiants, on their first daylight mission, six of the nine aircraft of the squadron were shot down over the Channel by ME109s. It was a slaughter. 141 Squadron was immediately withdrawn from the front line and the Defiant was removed from daylight duty, being hopelessly outclassed, and used only in a night fighter rôle from then on. 

Defiants of 141 Sqn. - IWM

Since then, 141 Squadron had had many successes, but by 1943 it was almost moribund. Bob Braham's mission was to try and develop a sense of unity and comradeship in the squadron, and to get it up and running again as a fighting unit. To help him inculcate some pride in this squadron, he had stories of bravery, a squadron emblem and a squadron song, competitive sports and plenty of parties and alcohol. But mostly he had to use his own energy and drive. He had to lead by example and be involved in everything that the squadron was doing. Today he would be called a control freak, but from all accounts, he was well respected and well liked in the squadron.

Caedimus Noctu - "We Slay by Night"

April 1943 is synonymous with the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This was the awful climax of the terrible treatment meted out to the Polish Jews by the Nazis. Despite being untrained and with few arms, the Jewish fighters and Polish underground held up the Nazi forces for weeks, longer in fact than it had taken the Nazis to over-run most of Western Europe. In the end, the Nazis had to use massive military force to smash the uprising, even so, many Jews escaped through the sewers.

News report of Warsaw Ghetto uprising 1943