Notes |
- Biplane fighter aces
The Commonwealth
Flying Officer Eldon W. C. Trollip
Eldon Trollip was from Rhodesia.
He joined 80 Squadron in early January 1941 and served with the unitduring the Greek campaign.
On 28 January, Squadron Leader Edward 'Tap' Jones led 15 Gladiators from80 Squadron on an offensive patrol between Kelcyre and Premet.
At 14.20 four 37o Stormo BR.20s and five 35o Stormo Z.1007bis weresighted, and Flight Lieutenant 'Pat' Pattle’s section of three (Pattle,Sergeant Charles Casbolt and Pilot Officer Trollip) engaged one of thelatter unit's new aircraft in a line-astern attack, which fell in flames,only two members of the crew managing to bale out. Casbolt then attackeda second Cant, while Pattle and Trollip went after one of the BR.20s. TheFiat was seen to go down gushing smoke from its starboard engine,disappearing into the clouds covering the mountains near Premeti and wasclaimed as a probable. Flying Officer Nigel Cullen also reported shootingdown a Z.1007bis, which exploded in midair, but as only one was actuallylost it is presumed that he also fired at the aircraft shot down byPattle’s section. One other Cant in another formation was damaged andreturned with three wounded aboard - presumably the second bomberattacked and claimed damaged by Casbolt.
Early in the afternoon on 20 February 1941 eight Gladiators of 80Squadron and nine of 112 Squadron flew up to Paramythia from Yannina. At14:45 15 of these Gladiators took off in five sections of three aircraftflying in vic formation, echeloned to starboard and led by SquadronLeader H. L. I. Brown, to escort two Wellingtons of 37 Squadron, flown byFlight Lieutenant M. J. Baird-Smith and Sergeant R. T. Spiller, eachcarrying about one and a halt tons of supplies. A Greek Ju52/3maccompanied the Wellingtons and their mission was to drop the supplies tothe troops near Kelcyre. Low cloud and rain made the flight difficult,and near Korouode five hostile aircraft were seen, but these did notapproach. The supplies were dropped successfully, and the three aircraftwere escorted back to Paramythia. The fighters then returned to thefrontline to patrol.
Soon after the supply-droppers had gone, 17 Blenheims (eight of 84Squadron, six of 211 Squadron and three of 30 Squadron) commenced takingoff for a bombing attack on Berat. One of the 84 Squadron aircraftsuffered an engine failure and belly-landed, but the remaining 16, withan escort of six Hurricanes led by Flight Lieutenant 'Pat' Pattle(Hurricane Mk.I V7724), arrived over the target, their bombs falling onthe town, supply dumps, and demolishing a bridge carrying the main roadover the River Osem. AA fire was experienced and Fiat G.50bis from the361a and 395a Squadriglie, 154o Autonomo Gruppo C.T. were scrambled fromBerat airfield. As the Blenheim formation, which had completed itsattack, was turning a few miles to the north of the target the climbingItalian fighters were spotted by the escorting Hurricanes.
Pattle's section took on four of the attackers and Pattle shouted toFlight Lieutenant 'Timber' Woods and Sergeant Charles Casbolt to attackindividually. Pattle selected the leading G.50 as his own target. As heapproached, the dark green Fiat pulled away into a steep turn, but hemanaged to hold it in his sights until he came into range. When he openedfire the Italian fighter exploded and disintegrated. Woods (HurricaneMk.I V7138) claimed another and Casbolt claimed two destroyed in thiscombat. The crews of the Blenheims under attack verified these claims.Pilot Officer Cox's Blenheim L8542 of 211 Squadron was badly shot-up, buttwo Hurricanes shot down their attacker. Pilot Officer Geary, gunner inSquadron Leader Gordon-Finlayson's aircraft, reported:
'A G 50 came for us and in a flash a Hurricane just shot it off ourwingtip. It simply rolled over, went on fire, and dived into themountain. It was wizard.'
Other Fiats followed the Blenheims as they withdrew. One of the 30Squadron Blenheims had its starboard engine shot out, but SergeantRatlidge managed to get it back to Paramythia. As the formation nearedthe front, the patrolling Gladiators of 80 and 112 Squadrons spotted thepursuing Italian fighters and engaged them. Flying Officer Nigel Cullen(Gladiator Mk.II N5817) reported:
'The leader came into close range and then flicked over on its back anddived down. I did a half-roll and got into position dead astern. Fourlong bursts and the enemy caught fire and crashed into a snow-coveredhill. Then engaged another G.50 and got in some good deflection shots.Saw two formations of biplanes, thought they were Glads and went to takea look at them. They were CR 42s. Got on the tail of one, gave him aburst, and he went over on his back, and the pilot baled out. The othersmade off at once. Just as well- I hadn't any ammo left.'
Cullen's Gladiator received some damage during these combats and onebullet furrowed the knuckles of his right hand, but he returned toYannina without further incident. Three G.50s were claimed damaged by 112Squadron pilots Flight Lieutenant R. J. Abrahams, Flying Officer EdwinBanks and Pilot Officer Jack Groves. Flight Lieutenant George Kettlewell(Gladiator Mk.II N5917) of 80 Squadron also claimed a G.50, but did notsee it crash (thus it was only credit as a probable) whilst Pilot OfficerTrollip claimed another probably destroyed.
The Italian fighters had claimed one Blenheim shot down and one fighteridentified as a 'Spitfire'. Despite the many RAF claims, it seems thatonly two Fiats were actually lost. Tenente Alfredo Fusco of the 361aSquadriglia was shot down and killed, while Tenente Livio Bassi of 395aSquadriglia was wounded and while attempting to force-land his damagedaircraft at Berat, the Fiat flipped over and caught fire. Bassi, creditedat this time with seven victories, was to linger for 43 days before dyingin hospital in Rome. A third G.50bis, flown by Sergente Gambetta, wasdamaged. Both Bassi and Fusco were subsequently awarded posthumousMedaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare.
On 28 February HQ 'W' Wing ordered that all available aircraft shouldpatrol between Tepelene and the coast between 15.30 and 16.30, sinceIntelligence sources indicated the operation of large numbers of Italianaircraft in that area at that time. Hence during the morning allavailable Gladiators of 80 and 1l2 Squadrons were flown up to Paramythiain preparation for this action. Patrols were flown during the morning byflights of Hurricanes but nothing was seen.
At about 15.00 Squadron Leader H. L. I. Brown and Squadron Leader Edward'Tap' Jones led of eleven Gladiators of l12 Squadron and seven of 80Squadron to patrol over the designated area; they were accompanied by the'W' Wing leader, Wing Commander ’Paddy’ Coote, flying an 80 SquadronGladiator. Fifteen minutes later Flight Lieutenant 'Pat' Pattle inHurricane V7589 led Flying Officer Nigel Cullen (V7138), Flying OfficerWanklyn Flower (V6749) and Flying Officer Richard Acworth (V7288) to thesame area, while Flight Lieutenant Young led four 33 Squadron Hurricanesto patrol near the coast. Here some S.79s were seen and chased overCorfu, two being claimed damaged, one of them by Pilot Officer D. S. F.Winsland (Winsland was later during the war shot down and killed byBernardino Serafini). These were probably 105o Gruppo B.T. aircraft,which reported being attacked by Spitfires, one Savoia landing at Tiranawith one member of the crew dead.
Meanwhile Pattle’s section spotted BR.20s of 37o Stormo B.T. flying southfrom Valona; they identified the ten-strong formation as comprising 15aircraft, while the bomber crews reported being attacked by 18‘Spitfires'! Pattle selected one on the starboard flank of the formation,and after three short bursts it broke into flames and went down; a secondbomber likewise burst into flames following a further attack by Pattle,and his windscreen was covered in oil from this doomed aircraft. Reducingspeed, Pattle attempted to clean the screen with his scarf, but he wasthen attacked by five G.50bis which dived on him. After a brief skirmishhe managed to get away and returned to Paramythia. Both Flower andAcworth also claimed BR.20s. although the latter thought his victim mayhave been a Z.1007bis. Flying Officer Cullen reported considerablesuccess in the run of claims which was to bring him the award of animmediate DFC. He later recalled:
“The battle extended right across Albania. First I found four Breda 20s(sic). I got one, which went down in flames Then we found threeformations of S.79s. I took on one and aimed at the starboard engine. Itcaught fire, and crashed in flames. I climbed and dived on the next - andhe too crashed in flames. Then we attacked ten CR.42s, climbing to getabove them. I got behind one, and he caught fire and went down in flames.Up again immediately, dived, fired into the cockpit, and another tookfire, rolled over and crashed. I had to come home then - no more ammo.â€
Three BR.20s were in fact shot down during this combat and a fourthforce-landed near Otranto; others returned with wounded crewmembersaboard, plus one dead.
By now the Gladiators had joined the fighting, as had CR.42s of 160oGruppo and G.50bis of 24o Gruppo. A single Hurricane of 33 Squadronarrived late on the scene. Flying Officer Newton having scrambled fromParamythia when news of the heavy fighting came through. On arrival overthe battle area he promptly attacked a CR.42, only to find that it was an80 Squadron Gladiator! A 112 Squadron Gladiator then got on his tail,obviously taking the Hurricane for a G.50bis, and inflicted damage on hisaircraft, chasing him back towards Paramythia. A few of the Gladiatorsmade contact with the bombers, Pilot Officer William Vale claiming anS.79 shot down, whilst Flying Officer Edwin Banks and Pilot Officer R. H.McDonald of 112 Squadron each claimed damage to a BR.20. The Gladiators’main claims were for nine CR.42s and two probables, plus six G.50bis andthree probables after that the rest of the Gladiators made contract withthe Italian fighters. 80 Squadron made following claims – Squadron LeaderJones (2 CR.42s), Wing Commander Coote (1 CR.42), Warrant Officer Richens(1 CR.42), Pilot Officer Vale (1 S.79 and 1 G.50bis), Flight LieutenantKettlewell (1 probable CR.42 and 1 probable G.50bis), Pilot OfficerTrollip (1 probable CR.42) and Flying Officer Dowding (1 probableG.50bis). 112 Squadron also made a number of claims CR.42 and 1 damaged BR.20), Pilot Officer Jack Groves (1CR.42), Sergeant Donaldson (1 and 1 probable G.50bis), Flying OfficerSmith (1 damaged CR.42) and Pilot Officer McDonald (1 damaged BR.20).
Squadron Leader Brown recorded that the G.50bis he attacked turnedsharply to starboard on its back and fell away in an inverted spin; hethought he had hit the pilot. Flight Lieutenant Fraser claimed that hisvictim flew into a mountainside, while the pilot of the CR.42 he claimedbaled out, but his parachute failed to open; Sergeant Donaldson’s victimwas seen to crash on the seashore. Flight Lieutenant Abrahams, after hisvictory, was attacked by another G.50bis - believed to have been flown byTen Mario Bellagambi - and was shot down near Sarande. He recalled:
“The old Glad suddenly went all soft. Nothing would work. I sat there andthen decided I had better get out. I couldn't, so I sat there with myhands on my lap, the aircraft spinning like mad. Then, eventually, I didmanage to get out. It was so pleasant sitting there in the air than Idamn nearly forgot to pull the ripcord. I reckon I did the record delayeddrop for all Albania and Greece. I landed, and no sooner had I fallensprawling on the ground than I was picked up by Greek soldiers whocheered and patted me on the back. I thought I was a hell of a hero untilone soldier asked me. "Milano, Roma?" and I realized that they thought Iwas an Iti. They didn't realize it was possible for an Englishman to beshot down. So I said "Inglese", and then the party began. I was hoistedon their shoulders, and the "here the conquering hero comes" processionstarted. We wined and had fun. Jolly good chaps.â€
Following his initial combats, Pattle had returned to Paramythia, landed,and taken off again ten minutes later in another Hurricane (V7724).Returning to the battle area, he spotted three CR.42s in formation,heading back towards Valona:
“I got behind them and put a long burst into all three. One went downvertically at once, but in case it was a trick I followed him. He was indifficulties, that was most obvious, and when it looked as if he wasgoing straight into the sea I decided to go and see what the other twowere up to. As I climbed again I was most surprised to see tow parachutesfloat down past me.â€
On his return, Pattle claimed two destroyed, those from which he had seenthe pilots come down by parachute, and one probable for that which he hadfollowed down. Just before he got back to Paramythia for the second timeat 17.40, Flying Officer Flower, who had returned an hour earlier, alsotook off for a second patrol over the area after his Hurricane had beenrefuelled and rearmed. There was nothing to be seen - the battle wasover. . .
On the Italian side, the CR.42s of 160o Gruppo had been escorting fourS.79s of 104o Gruppo in the Kuc area, between Tepelene and Himara, whenBritish fighters identified as Spitfires, Hurricanes and Gladiators, wereencountered. Two Gladiators were claimed shot down and one as a probable,a ‘Spitfire’ also being claimed. Sottotenente Raoul Francinetti of 394aSquadriglia was wounded in the leg, and Sottotenente Italo Traini of 394aSquadriglia was shot down and killed. Gunners in the S.79s also claimedtwo Gladiators shot down, as did the G.50bis pilots of the 24o Gruppo,the latter also claiming two more as probables. Tenente Bellagambi,following his combat with Flight Lieutenant Abrahams, was then shot downand wounded in one arm: he force-landed near Tirana airfield. CapitanoEttore Foschini's aircraft was also hit and he was wounded, also comingdown at Tirana.
This day was recorded as RAF’s most successful during the Greek campaign.During the large engagements RAF made claims for 5 and 2 damaged BR.20s,3 and 2 damaged S.79s, 13 destroyed, 3 probable and 1 damaged CR.42s and6 and 3 probable G.50bis. In fact 4 BR.20s of 37o Stormo B.T. were lostwith several damaged, 1 S.79 of 104o Gruppo was damaged, 2 CR.42s of 160oGruppo and 2 G.50bis of 24o Gruppo were lost. Regia Aeronautica claimed 6and 2 probable Gladiators and 1 ‘Spitfire’ while in fact only 1 Gladiatorof 112 Squadron was lost.
On 6 April Germany declared war on Yugoslavia and Greece and immediatelyattacked.
On 15 April it was decided that 33 Squadron’s remaining Hurricanes wouldjoin 30 and 80 Squadrons at Eleusis, while 112 Squadron’s Gladiatorswould share Hassani with 208 Squadron.
At daybreak on 19 April Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft spottedAustralian, New Zealand and Greek troops retreating across the ThessalyPlain when they were near Pmokos. Soon some 40 Ju87s arrived, bombing andstrafing, and causing much damage and confusion, and many casualties.
Seven Hurricanes of 80 Squadron, led by Flight Lieutenant William Woods,arrived in the area and promptly claimed four of the Stukas shot downbefore escorting Bf109Es of II/JG 27 could intervene. Cheering troopsreported seeing at last three of these crash; two were claimed by PilotOfficer William Vale (Hurricane V7134), and one each by Flying Officer P.T. Dowding and Flight Sergeant Rivalant.
Apparently two Ju87s were lost, one from Stab/StG 2, crewed byOberleutnant Sebastian Ulitz and Oberfeldwebel Emil Kuklau, which crashedsouth-west of Elasson with the death of the crew (recorded by the Germansas having been on 18 April), and one of I/StG 3, which crash-landed nearKozani, Leutnant Herbert Wingelmayer being killed and his gunner wounded.The escorting Bf109s then attacked, two Hurricanes being claimed shotdown, one each by Oberleutnant Wilhelm Wiesinger and one by UnteroffizierAlfred Heidel. In fact only Sergeant Charles Casbolt’s aircraft was hit,and he was able to return to Eleusis without undue trouble. Casboltclaimed to have damage one of the Bf109s, and Flying Officer Trollip tohave shot down one, but no Messerschmitts were hit on this occasion.
Trollip ended the war with 1 shared biplane victory and a total of 1.
Claims:
Kill no. Date Number Type Result Plane type Serial no. Locality Unit
1941
28/01/41 1/3 Z.1007bis (a) Shared destroyed Gladiator IIKelcyre-Premet 80 Squadron
28/01/41 Æ° BR.20 (a) Shared Probable Gladiator II Kelcyre-Premet 80Squadron
20/02/41 1 G.50 (b) Probable Gladiator Berat area 80 Squadron
28/02/41 1 CR.42 (c) Probable Gladiator Tepelene-coast 80 Squadron
1 19/04/41 1 Bf109E (d) Destroyed Hurricane Pmokos area 80 Squadron
Biplane victories: 1 shared destroyed, 2 and 1 shared probably destroyed.
TOTAL: 1 and 1 shared destroyed, 2 and 1 shared probably destroyed.
(a) Claimed in combat with BR.20s from 37o Stormo and Z.1007bis from 35oStormo. 80 Squadron claimed 2 destroyed, 1 probable and 1 damaged. Itseems that only one Z.1007bis was lost and one was damaged.
(b) 80 and 112 Squadrons claimed seven destroyed and two probables inthis combat while 154o Autonomo Gruppo C.T. lost two G.50s (TenenteAlfredo Fusco of 361a Squadriglia was killed and Tenente Livio Bassi of395a Squadriglia was later to die from wounds sustained) and got onedamaged (Sergente Gambetta). 154o Gruppo claimed one bomber and onefighter but RAF only got one fighter and one bomber damaged.
(c) During this large engagements RAF made claims for 5 and 2 damagedBR.20s, 3 and 2 damaged S.79s, 13 destroyed, 3 probable and 1 damagedCR.42s and 6 and 3 probable G.50bis. In fact 4 BR.20s of 37o Stormo B.T.were lost with several damaged, 1 S.79 of 104o Gruppo was damaged, 2CR.42s of 160o Gruppo and 2 G.50bis of 24o Gruppo were lost. RegiaAeronautica claimed 6 and 2 probable Gladiators and 1 ‘Spitfire’ while infact only 1 Gladiator of 112 Squadron was lost.
(d) Claimed in combat with Bf109Es from II/JG 27 and Ju87s from StG 2 andStG 3. 80 Squadron claimed four Ju87s and one Bf109 and one damaged whilegetting one Hurricane damaged. Apparently two Ju87s were lost, one fromStab/StG 2 (Oberleutnant Sebastian Ulitz and Oberfeldwebel Emil Kuklauboth killed) (recorded by the Germans as having been on 18 April) and oneof I/StG 3 (Leutnant Herbert Wingelmayer being killed and his gunnerwounded). The escorting Bf109s claimed two Hurricanes and all of themreturned without damage.
Sources:
Ace of Aces: M T StJ Pattle - E C R Baker, 1992 Crécy Books, Somerton,ISBN 0-947554-36-X
Air war for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete - Christopher Shores, Brian Culland Nicola Malizia, 1987 Grub Street, London, ISBN 0-948817-07-0
Luftwaffe Claims Lists - Tony Wood
Shark Squadron - The history of 112 Squadron 1917-1975 - Robin Brown,1994 Crécy Books, ISBN 0-947554-33-5
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