ONE IN A MILLION
Pilot Officer James Elmer “Jimmy” Abbotts. PHOTO: DND Archives, PL-15833
“I spotted 2 Me.109s below. Winco [Wing Commander] Johnny Johnson told me to keep an eye on them; finally, he said “Go after them”. I rolled out of the formation and was just coming up nicely through the odd puff of flak when something hit me; lots of oil and smoke. I fired anyway but was out of range. I started towards the North Sea but the engine quit, and a 109 was rolling over above to attack – I spun away to about 4,000 to 5,000 feet and decided to bale out. I rolled over and came out but hit the fuselage and was knocked out. When I regained consciousness, the shoulder strap of my parachute was around the aerial mast. I was hanging on the righthand side of the aircraft, the aircraft was right side up, wings level and in a nice glide. I decided that it was all over. And thought, I have had it. I passed out. I woke up 3 hours later safe in the arms of – Germans.”
Early on 29 July 1943, Pilot Officer J.E. Abbotts, departed his home base at RAF Kenley for RAF Coltishall with the rest of his group, No. 127 “Kenley” Wing RCAF, comprised of Nos. 403 and 421 Squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force. After refueling, they joined the rest of supporting fighter force at 0930. The assembled fighters consisted of Spitfire Squadron Nos. 118 & 611, and 302 & 317 of the Coltishall Wing, and Nos. 303 & 316 Northolt Wing. After joining up, the fighters headed towards a rendezvous point south of Southwold, England at 12,000 feet. Here, they hooked up with the RCAF’s Digby Wing, consisting of Nos. 402 & No.416 RCAF Squadrons, and the main force itself, 18 B-26 Martin Marauders of the 323rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, United States Army Air Force, whose target was the Luftwaffe airfield at Schiphol, Holland.
The massed fighters and bombers would be supporting Operation Ramrod 22, a No. 12 Group RAF operation in support of a larger operation known at the time as Point Blank, a full-on attack against the German aviation industry intended to wear down the Luftwaffe, which in turn were prerequisites for a future operation known as Overlord. Ramrod 22 also served as a diversion to allow heavies of the 1st and 4th Bomb Wings of the 8th A.A.F to bomb targets in north-western Germany, the Kiel shipping yards and the Heinkel Works at Warnemünde. The previous day, the 8th A.A.F made its deepest penetration to date into Germany, and no doubt the Luftwaffe would be on alert.
P/O James Abbotts (second from right) and 403 Squadron mates pose on a squadron Spitfire. The pilot leaning against the fuselage at left is 19-year old George Rawson Brown of Hamilton, Ontario. He was killed on operations on May 31, 1943. Sitting on the starboard tailplane is British-born 21-year old Flight Sergeant William George Uttley of Toronto, Canada, also killed on operations in the same month. The aircraft, Spitfire EN130, had suffered heavy damage from cannon fire in January, so must have been reissued to 403 Squadron not long before this photo was taken. It does look freshly painted. Photo: rcaf403squadron.wordpress.com
Equipped with the Spitfire IX, the role of the Kenley Wing was to act as top and high cover, along with the Northolt Wing, Nos. 303 & 316 Squadrons RAF. The other wings taking part were equipped with the Spitfire V, and thus were restricted to an altitude of no more than 19,000 feet. The Digby and Coltishall Mk V fighters would provide close escort for the bombers, ensuring they reached their target without being molested by enemy fighters. Once everyone joined in, the assembled force headed across the North Sea towards their assigned point of entry along the Dutch coast at IJmuiden.
Within 20 miles of the Dutch coast, the supporting fighter force noticed that the bombers where behaving most extraordinarily, their courses becoming more erratic. It became apparent to both Wing Commanders Chadburn and Johnson that the bombers were likely to abandon the operation. Attempts were made to contact the lead bomber by R/T with no success. Captain Grover C. Wilcox, the Operations Officer of the 455th, shortly thereafter was forced to turn back after reaching the Dutch coast. Approximately 12 miles above their appointed landfall, the bombers jettisoned their loads into the sea and turned for home with the Spitfire Vs as escort. Meanwhile, W/C Johnson, along with the Northolt Wing, carried on to the target area between IJmuiden and Schiphol. The Kenley Wing patrolled at 21,000 feet, with the Northolt Wing a little higher at 28,000 feet, no doubt being alerted by the staff operating the Radar Detection Finder (RDF) of enemy air activity.
Wing Commander (later Air Marshal) Johnny Johnson, RAF, CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, DL, commanded the Kenley Wing of the Royal Canadian Air Force (seen here a year later — taken late July or early August after No.144 Wing RCAF was disbanded and he took over No.127 Wing RCAF). Photo: Imperial War Museum
The Digby Wing Commander Lloyd Vernon "Chad" Chadburn DSO & Bar, DFC had just turned 23 years old when he took command of the wing. He led the Wing in flying escort to American bombers and the RAF medium bombers of No. 2 Group. He was supposedly dubbed The Angel, for his escort would assure the bomber crews a safe passage to and from the target. He did not survive the war. PHOTO: DND Archives, PL-15079
Apart from experiencing moderate to heavy flak, the Northolt Wing saw no enemy aircraft as it circled over IJmuiden/Amsterdam and south of Schiphol. On the other hand, the Kenley Wing and some P-47 Thunderbolts from the 56th Fighter Group had some luck. Radio direction finding indicated approximately 20 enemy aircraft from Schiphol were airborne. The Luftwaffe were late in reacting to the Allied incursion, and this would put them at a disadvantage; Jafu (abbreviation for Jagdfliegerführer, meaning Commander of Fighter Forces in a certain area) controllers preferred to position their fighters up-sun and at higher altitudes for the pounce.
Upon crossing the Dutch coast, the enemy fighters were spotted. Pilot Officer Karl Linton, Black 2, alerted W/C Johnson, Black 1, of an Me.109. As he had done many times before, W/C Johnson orchestrated the fighters and instructed No. 403 Squadron to act as top cover whilst he and 421 engaged the enemy below. Johnson immediately went after the Me.109, but could not get close enough.
Soon after, Black 1 and 2 spotted a Fw.190* chasing two Me.109s. Johnson attacked the pair of Me.109s from 450 down to 200 yards range, firing several short bursts from astern. One enemy aircraft emitted a stream of black smoke. Johnson noticed two de Wilde strikes around the cockpit (de Wilde ammunition was a type that flashed on impact assisting the pilot’s aim).
With his ammunition running low, W/C Johnson instructed Linton to attack the crippled fighter, which had dived down to 2000 feet at the 2 o’clock position. Linton dove on the Me.109 and gave it several short “squirts” from 250 yards dead astern. Shooting the top of the rudder away and seeing strikes on the fuselage and wings caused Linton to slightly turn to port where he administered a three second burst with a 20 degree deflection. The Messerschmitt burst into flames then half-rolled straight into the deck south-west of the Schiphol aerodrome. Black 3, Flying Officer F.J. Sherlock, managed to fire at an enemy aircraft which unfortunately was out of range.
Next came White section, led by Flight Lieutenant Norm R. Fowlow, who spotted a couple of Me.109s at 10,000 feet, flying west in echelon on the port side. Having turned sharply to engage, he dove down, closely followed by Sergeant N.B. Dixon, White 2, and attacked the first Me.109, while Dixon attacked the other. Fowlow’s opponent must have spotted the two Spitfires, for he took “violent” evasive action and did a quarter roll to starboard. Keeping with the 109, Fowlow fired intermittently, closing from 300 to 200 yards. The enemy aircraft then rolled onto its back at approximate 5,000 feet, with smoke pouring from it, and dove straight into the ground.
When Fowlow went after the first 109, the second turned in to go
Flight Lieutenant, later Squadron Leader Norm Fowlow, DFC, White section leader and a 421 Squadron pilot. Though Abbotts was a 403 pilot, he and J.D. Browne (an American) flew attached to 421’s White Section. Other 403 Squadron pilots who flew that day included a who’s who of Canadian fighter pilots — Bob Middlemiss, Hugh Dowding, Wally Conrad, and Hugh Godefroy. Photo via FlyingForYourLife.com
after Fowlow. Sgt Dixon turned starboard to follow, delivering about three squirts from 300 to 50 yards, from 60 degrees down to dead astern and above. Accurate deflection firing was no easy feat for Dixon, as his reflector gun sight went u/s. Instinctively, Dixon “hosepiped” the enemy fighter, observing hits on the starboard wing. The 109 dived quickly away on a 70 degree angle.
Dixon pulled up and was immediately attacked by three Me.109’s from astern. Tracers were flying past him, and his starboard wing took a few hits. Rolling over, he dove down to 5,000 feet before pulling up and set course for home with one Me.109 chasing him. On the way out, he saw three fires on the ground caused by burning aircraft south of Amsterdam in what he described as a 5-mile radius, and one near the coast, south-west of Amsterdam, near a lake as well. After the melee White 3, P/O J.E. Abbotts was not heard from again, and White 4, F/L Goldberg, returned on his own. Details of exactly where Goldberg ended up are unclear.
Flight Lieutenant David Goldberg (right) was flying in Abbotts White Section when Abbotts was shot down, returning to base alone. He is seen here later in the war with 403 Squadron stalwarts Jimmy Ballantyne, Hart Finley, Bobby Buckham and J. D. Browne. Photo via Dean Black and rcaf403squadron.wordpress.com
Green Section were the last of the group to tangle with the enemy. Three Me.109 fighters were encountered approximately 10 miles west of Schiphol. Green 1, F/L W. “Web” Harten, led his section around and closed on them. Two 109s half-rolled right away and straight down while the third, strangely, continued turning slowly to starboard. F/L Harten fired at the third plane and it started to stream white smoke.
Having pulled up and away, F/O L.R. Thorn, Green 2, saw the enemy aircraft burst into flames on the starboard side, it then turned left and went straight down. Upon looking back, F/L Harten saw the plane burning on the ground south of the lake just north of Leiden, about 5 miles.
Flight Lieutenant John Wilbert Edmund “Web” Harten of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario was killed on operations two years after the Schiphol raid. Photo via FlyingForYourLife.com
The Luftwaffe units encountered that day were III./JG 54 and II./JG 26, with only JG 54 making claims; Lt. Alfred Kromer from 9./JG54 claimed a Spitfire at 10:37, 10km south, south west of Haarlem, which fits with the only Spitfire lost being Abbotts; and Fw. Hans Wulfers of 8./JG54 claimed two P-47s at 11:00 and 11:03. The first given as west of IJmuiden at 4000m and the second northwest of Zandvoort at 3000m. One P-47 was indeed shot down. Lt. Steele, 62nd Squadron was seen to bail out approximately 2 miles off the coast north-west of the Hague. Losses for the day were two 109s that bellylanded at Schiphol with 20% damages. Oblt Wübkes Bf109G-6 Y, White 2, W.Nr 20 097, 7./JG54 (Wübke was wounded) and Bf109G-6, 20 223 of 9./JG54, pilot unknown). *None of the Luftwaffe units who reacted to this operation were equipped with the Fw.190 and yet both the RAF and USAAF claimed to have encountered them.
Having regrouped as best as possible, Nos. 403 & 421 Squadron RCAF crossed the coast on the way out in the Noordwijkerhout area, and landed at Coltishall around 1115 hours, where they had lunch, Spits refuelled and returned to Kenley at 1330 hours.
What about our missing pilot, J.E. Abbotts? On 24th of June 1945, the Canadian Department of National Defence for Air in London received a letter from a Mr. Phillipps of Holland about that fateful day:
“Dear Sir: Herewith I let you know that I would be very pleased to come into conversation with a Canadian pilot who landed on one of our bulbfields in Hillegom, Holland on the 29th of July, 1943.
It happened in the morning on a beautiful day, probably during an air raid on the aerodrome of Schiphol by a couple of RAF twin engine bombers escorted by fighter planes (Spitfires). The weather was beautiful, but the sky was dampy (fog) so we could not clearly count the bombers and the fighters we just only could hear.
Suddenly however a plane came down circling around with its engine heavy smoking. We noticed at once when it came out of the damp that it was a British fighter. The lower it came the more scared we got because we didn’t know where it should come down, because of its circling around. You should have seen the workers in the fields, they were also running a circle. When the plane came lower we saw the pilot was hanging besides the plane near the tail. His parachute was hooked on the little radio mast, behind the aviator’s seat. He was a lucky fellow, because the plane came on the ground all by itself with not too much speed, after flying over the roof of a little house with it missing it by a few inches. The aviator was dirty and black from sand and mud, and injured not severely. I asked what he was, and he said a ‘Canadian’. Then I had to shut my dirty mouth, so as the German soldiers said to me, which showed up by that time. I stole the plane’s propeller (it was a wooden one) and probably the aviator, which is now of course out of prison camp might like to have it as a souvenir of that plane which did his duty so wonderful to save his life by landing so beautifully all by itself. The plane’s number was KH-H49. BS 509 Spitfire.
Please be so kind and let me have the pilot’s name and address or you might tell him about this letter so we could come into connection with each other, and he can have the propeller if he wants it as a remembrance. Another man found a beautiful tie pin near the plane, which might be from the pilot. It has the form of an Indian Sword (Klewang).
The man still got it, and don’t know if he likes to keep it. I think he will, but it is the property of that aviator probably, and it might be a very worthing remembrance tie pin which he would like to have back (from his mother, father, or girl or wife).
I hope you will do all you can to find out the aviator’s name, so we can come in touch with each other. Thanking you for taking notice of this letter.
Very truly yours, (Albert Philipps)”
Unable to extricate himself, Jimmy Abbotts was doomed to ride his Spitfire to the ground. He passed out from the stress and the violence of the slipstream. Recreation by Dave O’Malley, from flightsim.to with Jan Kees Blom.
Abbott’s Spitfire.
Abbotts survived the war. He was tracked down after being released and, approximately a year later, the propeller was sent to him following which, he was asked to recount that fateful day:
A photo of Abbotts’ Spitfire KH-H (RAF Serial No. BS509)on the ground in Holland was taken by the German soldier tasked with standing guard over the wreck. The radio mast that hooked Abbotts to his Spitfire rises aft of the break in the fuselage. Photo via https://rcaf403squadron.wordpress.com/
Though the previous photo looks grim, it fact, Abbotts’ Spitfire came down in the wide open and very flat tulip fields surrounding the farming town of Hillegom west of Schiphol airfield. Fate could not have chosen a better place for him to end up. Photo: Jollanda Aalbers, via Shutterstock
“Dear Sir:
I received the piece of my Spitfire propeller. Thank you very much! You also asked me to tell you about that day, July 29/43.My Squadron was 403 but I was flying No. 3 with 421 Sqn (short of pilots). After checking the Forts out North of Amsterdam, we were sweeping up and down at 30,000 feet.
I spotted 2 – ME 109s below. Winco ‘Johnny’ Johnson told me to keep an eye on them; finally he said ‘Go after them’. I rolled out of the formation and was just coming up nicely through the odd puff of flak when something hit me; lots of oil and smoke. I fired anyway but was out of range.
I started towards the North Sea but the engine quit, and a 109 was rolling over above to attack – I spun away to about 4,000 or 5,000 feet and decided to bale out. I rolled over and came out but hit the fuselage and was knocked out. When I regained consciousness, the shoulder strap of my parachute was around the aerial mast. I was hanging on the right-hand side of the a/c, the a/c was right side up, wings level and in a nice glide. I held on with one hand and tried to tear the chute out, but I was getting too close to the ground. I decided that it was all over. And thought ‘I’ve had it’. I passed out. I woke up 3 hours later safe in the arms of – Germans.
Several letters from Dutch people tell me that the a/c just missed a house, belly-landed, jumped a ditch, went through a hedge and started to burn while I was still hanging on. They cut me free.
That’s the story Sir if you can make it out. An English-speaking German said ‘One in a million’. I guess that he was right.”
Yours truly,
J.E. Abbotts
Postscript: In a strange twist of fate, Abbotts was killed in an automobile accident several years later.
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A special thank-you to Anders Hjortsberg for helping me with trying to identify the Luftwaffe squadrons involved that day.