On the 5th January 1944, the AOC-in-Chief ruled that all Hurricane IV aircraft operating with 6 Squadron be updated with RP capability, with the 40mm Vickers Type S guns returned to the No 109 Maintenance Unit (MU), based at Abu Suweir. Within two days, every pilot had practiced RP firing on the range at low level from 200 yards. The 9th January 1944 was also an important date for the squadron, with the publication of the very first edition of 6 Squadron’s weekly newspaper, “The Tinopener”, a fresh edition to be made available in the Airmen’s Mess every Sunday.

 

In February 1944, as part of the build-up of allied forces in the Adriatic, 6 Squadron and its Hurricanes began the difficult move from its base at Fayid, Egypt to Grottaglie, a coastal town on the southern tip of Italy within the Allied zone of occupation. The squadron had converted from 40mm Vickers Type S Cannons to 3-inch 60 lb rocket projectiles (type RP-3) only a month earlier, at that time being the only RAF squadron able to be armed with RPs. After that region of Italy was liberated in September 1943, the US Air Force carried out extensive works on the airfield to make it a base large enough for its heavy bombers as well as being able to accommodate fighter squadrons from other allied countries. Due to the logistics of the move and continued rain that made the airfield unserviceable, it wasn’t until the 3rd March 1944 that the twenty Hurricane IVs and a single Hurricane IIC that made up 6 Squadron’s fighting strength were together on the ground at Grottaglie.

 

Despite having a full complement of aircraft, the airfield at Grottaglie remained unserviceable until the 29th March when 6 Squadron was able to carry out its first mission since arriving in Italy. It had already been agreed by the AOC HQ 242 Group that the Squadron would have a free hand in selecting targets on the Dalmatian mainland, so the first target selected was a suspected German Headquarters located near Durazzo (now called Durrës).

 

In the afternoon of the 29th March, a flight of six Hurricane IVs, each equipped with a single rail of rockets and a 45 gallon long-range tank in place of the second set of rocket rails, flew 200 kms north-east from Grottaglie across the Adriatic Sea to Durazzo, where a German Headquarters was reported to be located. The flight was led by the squadron’s Commanding Officer, Wg Cdr Anthony Eustace Morrison-Bell DFC. Though the target was hit, one of the 6 Squadron Hurricanes was shot down in flames with the pilot killed and another three Hurricanes damaged, including that of the wing commander. With the death of Flt Lt A C N Stewart and only two Hurricanes unscathed after 6 Squadron’s very first sortie since arriving in Italy, a SASO (Senior Air Staff Officer) from 242 Group ordered 6 Squadron to postpone strikes against land-based targets until further notice.

 

In the first week of April 1944, 6 Squadron flew offensive reconnaissance missions against enemy shipping up and down the eastern Adriatic coast as far south as Corfu. Normally four of 6 Squadron Hurricanes took part in each sortie, accompanied by Spitfire VCs from 249 Squadron, at that time also based at Grottaglie. On occasion, Spitfires were armed with two 250 lb bombs in addition to their normal armament and carried out dive-bombing in conjunction with the Hurricanes launching RPs. The aim of the combined flight was to disrupt and sink enemy shipping on the Adriatic Sea, with the Hurricanes in the close attack role and the Spitfires providing escort cover. It wasn’t unusual for the Hurricane pilots to get within 50 yards of a target before firing their RPs. 6 Squadron was uniquely suited for this dangerous role, having gained a fearsome reputation for its “tank-buster” skills when the squadron was stationed in Africa and equipped with the Hurricane IId armed with the 40mm Vickers Type S Cannon.

 

By the end of the week, with no enemy ships sighted, the decision was made to attack enemy barges in Corfu Harbour. The first mission of this kind was such a success that for the next week, Corfu Harbour was the regular target, with up to seven Hurricanes and twelve Spitfires taking part in each sortie. At the end of the second week in April, having suffered no further loss of aircraft or pilot since the death of Flt Lt Stewart, 6 Squadron received orders to search for enemy submarines 60 km north-east of Brindisi. For his first operational flight since arriving in Italy, Flt Lt Arnold Edgar “Blondie” Walker (later DFC and Bar) took his turn with the other pilots in the mounting of continuous single aircraft searches throughout the daylight hours, with a Hurricane taking off every 30 minutes.

 

For the rest of April 1944, 6 squadron, accompanied by Spitfires of 249 Squadron, continued with daily attacks on Corfu Harbour as well as nearby land-based targets, except when ordered to search for enemy submarines at pre-arranged co-ordinates. On the 15th April, “Blondie” Walker had a lucky escape. Landing back at Grottaglie after taking part in a rocket attack on Corfu during which an enemy vessel was sunk, his Hurricane was found to have been hit by Flak shrapnel, with fragments embedded in the propeller boss as well as in the tail. “Blondie” had flown 240 kms on the return flight to Grottaglie blissfully unaware of the damage to his aircraft.

 

In the first week of May 1944, with the main strength of 6 Squadron still operating out of Grottaglie, a detachment was established 200 kms further up the eastern coast of Italy at Foggia. At the same time, the whole of ‘A’ Flight was sent to Borgo on the north-eastern tip of Corsica, where the US had added four large runways to the small single runway used by the Germans before the island of Corsica was liberated by the Allies in October 1943. Borgo was a busy complex of airfields, accommodating military aircraft from the US, Great Britain and France. The 6 Squadron detachment became operational on the 11th May. An advance base was also set up on the small island of Vis, 60 kms SSW of Split and only 30 kms SW of the Dalmatian mainland and the occupied islands of Hvar and Brac. Though Vis was used by many aircraft for repairs and refueling on an ad hoc basis, the single runway and limited facilities meant that only six aircraft could be accommodated at any one time.

 

The 6 Squadron Hurricanes at Foggia straight away began to seek out enemy shipping in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea near the island of Cres, accompanied by Spitfires from 32 and 73 Squadrons. On the morning of the 3rd May, whilst attacking four armed schooners and a powerhouse at the port of Ploče, on the Dalmatian mainland east of the island of Hvar, the formation leader of the four Hurricanes and two Spitfires, Captain C G Leisegang, reported that he had been hit in the leg by Flak. With his Hurricane leaking Glycol, he had no alternative other than bale out over the sea. Another 6 Squadron pilot was flying nearby and reported the coordinates but he was forced to leave the area and make an emergency landing at Vis due to damage to his own aircraft and also being low on fuel. Though a search was mounted for Captain Leisgegang, nothing was found of him or his Hurricane, though his body was later recovered and eventually reinterred at the Belgrade War Cemetery.

 

Adding to the many changes happening to 6 Squadron over the past two months, there was a change in the commanding officer, with Squadron Leader James Hardie Brown DFC taking over from Wg Cdr Morrison-Bell as the current CO had reached “tour expired” status. Wg Cdr Morrison first joined 6 Squadron in June 1941 and was one of the original “tank-buster” pilots and the last to leave the squadron. He was also one of the first two “tank-buster” pilots who were shot down on the same day in June 1942. Sadly, Sqn Ldr Brown DSO DFC would be killed in action just three months after taking over command of 6 Squadron, when on the 27th August 1944 he was shot down by Flak whilst attacking the Siebel ferry just east of the island of Cres in Zavratnica Bay. In addition, all of the five Australian pilots at 6 Squadron were given notice of new postings, though a request was eventually granted for three to be kept at the squadron due to a lack of replacement pilots.

 

For the next two weeks 6 Squadron flew missions from Borgo, Foggia and Grottaglie, with Hurricanes from Borgo and Foggia targeting shipping in the Adriatic. From Grottaglie, various radar stations were targeted on the mainland, from Zadar in the north to Corfu in the south. Aircraft from various Spitfire squadrons accompanied 6 Squadron during that time, including Nos: 73, 249, 328 and 1435.

 

On the 22nd May 1944, 6 Squadron sent four Hurricanes to the island of Vis, from where it was planned for them to launch attacks on shipping around the five islands, accompanied by Spitfires from 253 Squadron which already had two aircraft based on Vis. By the end of the first day the Vis flight had attacked several enemy ships operating in the Adriatic in the region of Brac and the Podgorski Channel (now called Cherso Harbour) as well as striking strategic targets on the Dalmatian mainland. Sustaining no losses, it was hoped that the next day would prove to be just as successful, in the aim to restrict supplies reaching the islands of Brac and Hvar. Sadly, this was not to be the case.

 

On the following day, the Vis flight searched for enemy vessels in the vicinity of Brac. During an engagement with an armed schooner,  P/O William Tye fired RPs from a range of 50 to 100 yards, striking the schooner amidships and “blowing away the superstructure and mast”. With the engine of his Hurricane hit by Flak and running roughly, he was told to return to Vis. The other three Hurricanes continued the attack, eventually sinking the schooner with RPs. In the process, F/O John Grey’s Hurricane was also damaged and he was forced to bale out after his engine failed, his parachute seen to open just before he hit the water. The two remaining Hurricanes returned to Vis where they were re-armed and re-fueled. By that time, P/O Tyre’s Hurricane was still missing from the morning’s mission, so they, along with two Spitfires from 253 Squadron, carried out an armed reconnaissance after first searching for the two missing airmen without success. The bodies of P/O William Tye and F/O John Grey were never found but their names are honoured on the Malta Memorial.

 

Four days later, on the 27th May, 6 Squadron lost another man when the commander of ‘A’ Flight in Borgo, Flt / Lt William Michael Brooke-Taylor, led four Hurricanes on a pre-dawn reconnaissance near Leghorn (Now called Livorno), 140 km NE of Borgo. After scoring hits on a tug towing a barge, Flt / Lt Brooke-Taylor’s Hurricane was seen to be losing speed by his wingman F/O R C Hooper, who lost sight of him when forced out to sea due to heavy mainland Flak. F/O Hooper continued with the search until obliged to return to Borgo for fuel. He resumed the search for his flight commander with two Spitfires from 327 Squadron but was unsuccessful and Flt / Lt Brooke-Taylor was officially declared ‘Missing In Action’. Immediately, Flt / Lt “Blondie” Walker assumed command of “A” Flight in Borgo.

 

Note: A few weeks later, 6 Squadron found out that Flt / Lt William Michael Brooke-Taylor had been rescued from the water by the Germans near Leghorn (Livorno) and seized as Prisoner of War. He was taken to the Dulag Luft (Oberursel) near Frankfurt, 1,000 km north of Livorno where he was held for interrogation for almost three weeks before being transferred to Stalag Luft III at Zagan in Poland, 700 km north-east of Oberursel. He arrived at Stalag Luft III on the 20th June 1944, three months after the mass escape of 76 POWs, a breakout immortalised in the movie ‘The Great Escape’. Brooke-Taylor remained at Stalag Luft III until the 28th January 1945 when the Russian Army had advanced to within 20 km of the camp. However, instead of being liberated by the Russians, all 10,000 POWs were immediately evacuated on the orders of Adolf Hitler, with the men being force-marched and taken by train deeper into Germany. After six days, Brooke-Taylor arrived at Stalag IIIA, located at Luckenwalde, 50 km south of Berlin and 200 km from Stalag Luft III. The camp was liberated by the Russian Army 11 weeks later on the 22nd April 1945 but the prisoners-of-war remained in the camp until the 20th May 1945 when they were repatriated to England. William Brooke-Taylor returned to his home in Bakewell, Derbyshire. It is not known if he returned to his studies as a law student but he married, remaining in Derbyshire until his death on the 10th October 1982.

 

From the 28th May to the 30th May, the Vis flight comprising four Hurricanes from 6 Squadron and two Spitfires from either 32 Squadron or 249 Squadron carried out several attacks along the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea on schooners (twelve in one attack alone) and Siebel ferries, the latter used as general landing craft by the German Wehrmacht during WW2.

 

Note: In reading the entries in the 6 Squadron Operations Record Book from the 29th March 1944 (the date of 6 Squadron’s first operation in Italy) and the 30th May 1944 inclusive, the night before the raid on Brac, there were in excess of 120 sorties flown by 6 Squadron’s Hurricanes from its bases at Grottaglie, Foggia, Borgo and Vis. Surprisingly, not one of those sorties involved engaging with enemy aircraft, though on occasion German warplanes had been sighted high above by observers on the ground. As it was the custom for the ground-attack Hurricanes of 6 Squadron to be escorted by the more maneuverable Spitfire, the lack of enemy fighters to contend with may have accounted for the fact that on several occasions the Spitfires accompanying the Hurricanes were armed with bombs.