Shot Down and Rescued (Part 1 of 3)
Mr. Smith describes being shot up by the wingman of a German fighter he was attacking, fleeing towards Malta, and losing power within sight of Valletta.
Roderick Smith
First name
Roderick
Last name
Smith
Gender
M
City
Regina
Province
Saskatchewan
Biography
Roderick Smith was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in March, 1922. He was the second of four children. His father, who had served in the First World War, was a land surveyor. Mr. Smith had been fascinated by propaganda leading up to the Second World War, so he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 following the completion of his Senior Matriculation. After pilot training in Canada, he was selected for overseas flying duty. His first tour of duty was on Malta and Mr. Smith’s impressive list of enemy aircraft destroyed began here. He was also shot down himself while on this tour. After returning to England, he joined 401 Squadron piloting new generation Spitfire 9's. Mr. Smith was in action on D-Day, and later did strafing runs in German held France. Later at Nijmegen, he destroyed several more enemy aircraft, including the shared kill of a prototypical ME-262 jet fighter. Mr. Smith retired with the rank of Flight-Lieutenant, DFC and Bar, with thirteen destroys, 1 shared and ½ possible to his credit.
People old ID
769
People Language
E
Shooting down a Macchi
Mr. Smith describes shooting down an Italian Macchi and watching its death dive into the harbour at Valletta, Malta.
Protecting the USS Ohio
Mr. Smith describes shooting down an Italian Savoia-Marchetti torpedo bomber as it approached the disabled tanker, USS Ohio.
Shooting down a Junkers JU-88
Mr. Smith describes his strategy for successfully shooting down a German JU-88, and then describes his evasive measures.
Posted to Malta
Mr. Smith describes taking off from an aircraft carrier and flying over North Africa on his way to the airfields in Malta.
First mission
Mr. Smith describes several aspects of his first flying mission: seeing a friendly pilot eject over the English Channel, viewing the French landscape, and experiencing German flak along the French coast.
Declared Operational
Mr. Smith describes the process of ‘working up’, wherein the squadron practised formation flying and aerial target shooting. After this training they were declared battle ready.
Dogfight Training and Confidence Building
Mr. Smith discusses learning how to dogfight and his decreased reliance on his instruments, learning instead to trust the “feel” of his Spitfire. This experience renews his confidence as a pilot.
I’ll Never Master This
Mr. Smith describes his impressions of the Spitfire, his initial flight in one, and his feeling that he’d never be able to fly one properly.
Army Co-op and Spitfires
Mr. Smith describes disappointment of being assigned to army co-op duty at Grangemouth, Scotland but later perks up learning that it was a Spitfire base.