Three Close Calls Over the Gulf of Taranto

Heroes Remember

Three Close Calls Over the Gulf of Taranto

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Transcript

We were up around the Taranto Gulf, which was one of our runs in Italy from Malta and we were sure it was an e-boat. They were something like our motor torpedo boats. They were fast and they carried torpedos. They also carried some guns as well. Anyway I was in the tail and they could see this thing and I couldn't. And we had a, in the tail, in the turret there was, what we used to call a clear vision. You could (inaudible) you could open up this thing and you got fresh air in there. So all of a sudden, I saw this thing and I started to swing the turret around and then the next thing I know there is red stuff coming from that side going out that side. My friend Jonesy was in the astrodome which the navigator used to shoot the stars for navigation purposes. And the language between he and the navigator used to shoot the stars for navigation purposes. And the language between he and the pilot And the language between he and the pilot the fingers on the triggers of the four guns and nothing would happen. They wouldn't work. I guess I was fear. Jonesy was sure that those things came from the e-boat through the turret, through my head and out the other side. And I finally got the voice back and I said, "I'm okay." So we headed for home. That was enough for that one night. But other nights we used to go out, and Toranto Gulf, before the Italians gave up, they had their largest naval ships in there, in the Toranto Gulf. The, one night we went on a bombing run, a place called Marsala, it was a railway yard, and intelligence told us there was only two guns, so you know, "What's two anti-aircraft guns, you can get away from them." So when we were going in, the navigator said, "There is fairly heavy flack." I said, "What's he talking about?" So Jonesy and I squeezed ourselves into the astrodome and we counted twenty guns. That was the two that you were talking about. So we shook hands and he sat down at the radar and I went back to the radio. There was one other night we were out and we were doing 99 miles an hour. And the gas was goin' through it like it was goin' out of style. We had our straight air gunner in the tail then so we couldn't use him on the radio or the radar. He wasn't trained for it. We'd give him a rest though just let him sit and we would forget the radio. And he said, "Look at the company I got back here." The Germans had a Junkers 88, a beautiful night fighter, with a radar in the nose that looked like a hot plate and it was just like you'd put, the element on a hot plate. And Jonesy and I got out and had a look and this thing was right behind us, sittin' there waitin' patiently I guess. I shook hands again with Jonesy and he went to the radar and I went to the radio. And anytime, we were figurin', "This is it." You'd just wait patiently. The pilot decided he was gonna put the wheels down and the flaps down, and I think the aircraft just about came to a halt. Now this guy's behind us and he went, "Vroom!" at about 300 or 400 miles an hour. Right over our heads. What he didn't know, and I think what he was scared of, why he left us so fast, he knew what the aircraft was. He figured we had guns in the nose. We didn't. Because when he'd go over the top of us, you'd open up the guns in the nose. We didn't have any guns in the nose because we had taken them out to carry torpedos and depth charges. That was one night.

Description

Mr. Doiron describes how risky it was to fly out of Malta every night.

Leonard Doiron

Mr. Doiron was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on January 21st 1923. His father worked in wholesale and retail until he was injured and opened his own shoe repair shop. Mr. Doiron joined the Air Force on February 15th 1941 where he began his training in Chatham, New Brunswick. In June 1941 he was sent to Initial Training School in Victoriaville, Québec. Mr. Doiron was part of the top 10 aspiring pilots and was picked to become one. He was later sent back to Chatham where he was washed out for inconsistent flying. The RAFFC (Royal Air Force Ferry Command) noticed his Morse code abilities and had him transferred to Dorval, Québec. He was then stationed in Bournemouth, England. He did his Operational Training in Northern Ireland where he was assigned to a Wellington air plane crew. He flew many missions over the Gulf of Toranto (Italy) - about 300 hours of Operational Flying Time and was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1. He then went to Cairo, Egypt and to Palestine for a short time before being sent back home on the Louis Pasteur. Mr. Doiron retired from the service in the 1970's.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 04:52
Person Interviewed:: Leonard Doiron
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Europe
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: Royal Air Force Ferry Command (RAFFC)
Rank:: Sergeant
Occupation:: Radio Operator

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Three Close Calls Over the Gulf of Taranto

Heroes Remember