Partial Props

Heroes Remember

Partial Props

Transcript

You didn’t have combat that much. See I got over late and so what was happening was you had the daylight bombing going. You had the night bombing. And – outside of 1942 with Dieppe – you didn’t have a lot of air battles. And what they tried to do was ... the Germans were doing sneak raids periodically but you didn’t have a lot of combat unless you were escorting bombers. And then they’d come up to knock down the bombers. You could do that and or you would escort the day bombers coming back out. Because here again, when the P51 came along and the P47, they had the range to accompany the Americans in the long range bombing. Prior to that it was hit and miss. And we would pick up and escort them coming back and pick them up in Belgium or even up into Holland. On my first trip the KLB was unserviceable so I took Junior Bliss’ aircraft VZD. And I’m in the same flight with George leading the red section. Like you have... we took off in three sections of four in echelon starboard tucked in ... pretty pucka pucka. I’m number four – tail end Charlie. And the number three – I’m going to prove myself so I’ve got my wings settling in an overlap – he’s watching me instead of watching number two as he should be. He notices he’s a little bit close to number two and pulled his throttle back. Of course now I’ve got to chop my throttle right off. And then he’s going to leave me behind and I throw the throttle right up to the gate and my tail comes a way up. Just a little tremor but nothing... I catch up and do the take off. Check everything. Zoom ahead. Did I touch? No ... and change the pitch and all the rest of it. So I’m on the ... flying out and then we’re going across the channel. It was just the mental thing. This sort of little beat you’ve had it, you’ve had it, you’ve had it. But nothing really occurred and everything was hunky dory. We come back and land ... and in ... at those times ... in Biggin Hill. You could be bombed and you could be strafed because it was the big fighter base protecting London during the Battle of Britain. They had these abutments which was u-shaped, big mounds of earth and so you taxi and turn around. Now that was so that if the Germans came to attack they could only come head on and get one aircraft instead of going down the line. And the same would protect you from bombing. So I’d taxi in and turn around and shut the motor down. Four bladed a prop has that much yellow at the top. I had four short bladed props. I didn’t have any tips left. About eight, nine inches cleanly cut off on the runway as I had taken off. And it was one of those things that Junior Bliss wasn’t too happy. Because they... is the motor alright or whatever but it was so quick. And then George had to ball me out, the CO George Keifer. And George spoke to me at dinner that night and said “The CO said I had to find out just what you were thinking.” So we had dinner, while he was sitting over there. “Let’s have a game of pool.” Now he’s deadly in pool and we go into the pool room. And we were shooting pool and he said, “That was a stupid thing to do.” I said, “George, what could I do? I mean he got there and for me I get airborne. And if I turn back how would that look?” I said, “Here again on my very first flight, I take off and nothings the matter with the motor. And nothings the matter with the prop.” And so he, just then, there was a bombing raid. George and I ended underneath the pool table, figuring that was close, best place to be. And he said, “Charlie consider yourself told off.” So that was the end of that.

Description

Mr. Fox describes routine patrols and having to prove his ability with unusual results.

Charley Fox

Mr. Fox was born in Guelph, Ontario in 1920. He signed up in March, 1940, and was called up the following October. Mr. Fox excelled during pilot training, but a bout of scarlet fever prevented him from accompanying his squadron overseas. Once returned to health, he became a flight instructor, during which time he married. A short time later, he was sent overseas and joined the 412 Spitfire Squadron. He was involved in air support for D-Day and flew many follow-up missions destroying “targets of opportunity” in France and Holland. After the war, Mr. Fox returned home and became a retailer. He now resides in London, Ontario.

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