D-Day. A Royal Air Force Pilot’s Recollections.

One of the great privileges that has accompanied my foray into writing has been the opportunity to meet the most fascinating people. One such person was the subject of my first book, “Down to Earth”, was one such person – Squadron Leader Kenneth Butterworth McGlashan AFC – or “Mac” as I came to know him.

Mac had been an active participant in some of the most notable operations in World War Two. Dunkirk, The Battle of Britain, Dieppe and D-Day. With reference to Dunkirk, if you recall the final scene  of the movie where the Spitfire makes a forced landing onto the beach – well Mac did that for real, although it was in a Hawker Hurricane. Also, unlike the movie, he evaded capture and caught a boat back to England. (That Hurricane has been restored and now flies in the UK)

However, when it came to D-Day, Mac participated in a rather clandestine mission. As he related the story, they all knew D-Day was coming but not exactly when. There was build up of C-47 Dakota aircraft at the airfield and the armour around the perimeter was thinning out.

On 5tn June 5th Mac was summoned to a briefing for an operation that night. Flying a modified DH Mosquito, he was to fly to France and then fly in ever-increasing circles, seeking out any German aircraft planning to disrupt allied communications with its jamming equipment. The task was so critical that Mac and his fellow pilots were told that if they failed to shoot the aircraft down by the time their ammunition was expended, they were to ram the enemy aircraft.

Departing after midnight, it was now June 6th as Mac crossed the English Channel and positioned the aircraft 10 miles inland between St. Martin and St. Pierre. Levelling out at 30,000 feet, his navigator was head down and seeking out the enemy on the Mosquito’s radar display. After such a preflight briefing and build-up, the crews were primed for action. And then there was nothing. No enemy to be found, only the fellow Mosquitos of 264 Squadron.

For three hours they flew over France, their initial excitement giving way to frustration. Did no enemy aircraft mean that the Allies had achieved the element of surprise, or was the enemy  lying in wait for the main forces supporting the D-Day landings?

As Mac turned to return to Hartford Bridge the radar picked up the Allied bombers outbound and the foil they dropped to confuse the enemy’s radar. This would give the impression of a landing at Calais, rather than Normandy.

Edging down through the weather, Mac prepared the aircraft to land, waiting to break out of cloud. Finally, they flew into clear air, only to be confronted by a sea of gliders lined up and waiting to depart. Mac quickly aborted the landing and repositioned the aircraft for a successful second attempt.

The night of D-Day Mac flew again, seeking out the enemy, but this time the operation was centred on Cherbourg. Again there was no sign of the enemy and the frustration was added to by the cloud layer below that concealed the action taking place below. When his navigator advised that the Mosquito’s radar equipment had failed they were deemed a “bent weapon” and turned for home, leaving the history of D-Day behind them.

6th June 1944.