Burning Ocean

Heroes Remember

Burning Ocean

Transcript

They just wouldn’t give up and actually they always fought that way. But they were bringing, they were bringing in supplies with huge convoys, air convoys with the JU-52's and the big Messerschmitt 6-engine, Messerschmitts, bringing in fuel and supplies to try to keep the army going. They were being caught in the air by our patrols over the Bay of Tunis. They were leaving from bases in Italy and Sicily and being intercepted. And of course they were practically helpless. They had a big escort but then we would have top cover of fighters, too, including the Spitfires from the 1st Army would be up top. And the P-40's would just have a field day on the shooting down these poor transports. Most of them, when the ones that were carrying fuel would just break up and burn, you know, just fall into the ocean. And on one occasion they...I remember we arrived in the area and the whole sea in that base seemed to be on fire because they were making, you know...gasoline makes a big fire, big smoke. And it was the burning transports that had been shot down by the South Africans just ahead of us.

Description

At the end of the Tunisian Campaign, the Germans were trying to hold on to their last bridge head, but Allied air power overwhelmed them. Mr. Edwards explains what he saw and did there.

James Francis Edwards

Mr. Edwards was born on a farm near Lockwood, Saskatchewan on June 5th 1921. His father, a First World War Veteran, kept horses until the depression forced him to move the family to Battleford where he became an insurance salesman. His mother had been a nurse during the First World War. In June 1940, Mr. Edwards enlisted in the Air Force. He was sent to the Brandon, Manitoba to do his Initial Training, then to Edmonton, Alberta for Flying School. After completing Flying School, Mr. Edwards was sent to overseas. He was assigned to 55 Operational Training Unit in Osworth, England where he flew Hurricanes. From there he was posted to Africa to take part in the Desert Campaign. Among many battles and operations, he took part in the El Alamein Battle (Egypt) and the Tunisian Campaign. In Egypt, he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. After a period in Cairo running a gunnery school, he was called back to combat in Italy. There he fought in the Battle of Ortona and Anzio and he was given his own squadron, the RAF 274. He was shot down on his first flight as squadron commander. Surviving, he and his crew were sent back to England to take part in D-Day. He would also fight in Holland and Germany. In total, Mr. Edwards served two tours of duty, flying over 360 missions. He had more than 19 confirmed kills. After the war was over he returned to Canada and continued service with the air force retiring as a wing commander.

Meta Data