SWORDFISH - Mentioned by Corp Norman say and others as having serviced these while on 113. Ron Vickers found the following on the Fleet Air Website.
826 Squadron (Canadian) Fleet Air Arm
In November 1940 the squadron embarked on HMS Formidable for convoy duties via Capetown to Egypt, and in February 1941 the squadron attacked Mogadishu, Somalia, and Massawa, Eritrea before joining the Mediterranean Fleet.
In March 1941 the squadron, now also with Swordfish, took part in the Battle of Matapan and damaged the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto by torpedo, subsequently taking part in operations against Tripoli and Bardia. In May 1941, when the ship was badly damaged after raids against Scarpanto island, the squadron disembarked to Dekheila and then Fuka and Maaten Bagush in the Western Desert.
In July operations from Nicosia, Cyprus, were made against Vichy French ships at Beirut, followed by a return to Maaten Bagush to support the 8th Army, where it provided night illumination flares for the 7th Cruiser squadron
operations that were so successful that the squadron then carried out these duties for the army and Desert Air Force as well as attacking enemy harbours and shipping strikes.
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F/L George Drake Hill, Canadian 40 Sqd ferryed a Blenheim over to Maatan Bagush from Wyton leaving 17/08/1940 arriving Egypt via Malta on 01/09/1940. Stayed with 113 for a week, untill 06/09/1940 before going over to 14 Sqd. Two brothers Lawrence S Hill - Nav, Edward H Hill - pilot killed in action.
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The following archive located at the Imperial War Museum in the UK has the following very interesting Documents on the Squadron during WW1 which have yet to be explored.
ID Number: 9206-09
HU 61426 - HU 61430
Item Name: NICHOLAS C
RAF in the Middle East, 1920s. Includes No 208 Squadron at San Stefano; No 113 Squadron and captured Turkish aircraft. (No reference prints or captions available) Copyright Status: Copyright unknown Access Conditions: Unrestricted
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The following archive located at the Imperial War Museum in the UK
ID Number: NPA 1173
Item Name: BRITISH PARAMOUNT NEWS ISSUE 1173 [Main]
Production Date: 28/5/1942
Production Country: GB
Production Company:
British Paramount News
British newsreel covering the British retreat through Burma, an exclusive report by British Paramount cameraman Maurice Ford.
Opening titles "Burma. A War Correspondent's Despatch. Film and Story by Maurice Ford". A posed shot of British Paramount cameraman Maurice Ford with his Newman Sinclair camera mounted on a tripod opens this newsreel account of British rearguard action in Burma. Late January/February 1942, views of bomb damaged Rangoon and refugees leaving the city by Irrawaddy steamer and in an over-crowded train. 21 March 1942, shots of traditional field irrigation and Burmese cattle. 1 April 1942, Punjabi engineers laying mines and obstructions in the Irrawaddy with traditional fishing carrying on regardless. February 1942, Bristol Blenheim Mk IVs of RAF 113 Squadron being bombed up for a raid. 22 February 1942, commentary introduces some of the some of the airmen of 113 Squadron seen resting outside their tents, Magwe, Burma, (Wing Commander "Reggie" Stidolph from Southern Rhodesia, Flying Officer Jim Purvis from Halifax Nova Scotia, Wing Commander Bryan Wallis of Dublin, Sergeant Trevor Scott from Wales, Pilot Officer Owen Loane from Australia, Observer Billy Downes from Edgware London, Flight Lieutenant Ivor Beeston from Devon, Flying Officer "Cherry" Orchard from Edinburgh and Squadron Leader Peter Ford from Kensington London), Blenheim aircraft being fuelled from a bowser and bombed up. February 1942, cameraman Maurice Ford is helped into his parachute by Flight Lieutenant Percy Bodley from Johannesburg standing beside a Bristol Blenheim Mk IV aircraft and then accompany members of 113 Squadron on the raid on Mataban. Shots from the aircraft of the Irrawaddy estuary, long shots of Rangoon and the dense jungle. Interior shots taken in the Bristol Blenheim Mk IV aircraft including film of the pilot Flight Lieutenant Percy Bodley. Air to air shots of other Bristol Blenheim Mk IV aircraft. 30 March 1942, Army officers relax and pose for the camera at an unidentified Advance Divisional Headquarters close-ups of members of the group including Major General Cowan (wearing a sola topee). Commanding Officer of a Frontier Force Battalion leads a group of Gurkhas into the jungle. Ground to air shots of Japanese bombers flying overhead. Long shots of Japanese bombs falling on the undefended town of Toungoo. Night shots of fires in the burning town of Toungoo. Day shots of the damage to the town of Toungoo and a long line of refugees in bullock carts on a road. Close-up shots of various refugees including a mother and small child. March 1942, a shot along a railway line and revealing members of B Company, the Gloucestershire Regiment manning a trench across the tracks, close-up shot of Colonel Bagot, Commander of the 1st Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment. Shot of members of the Gloucestershire Regiment driving along a track in the jungle in Bren Gun Carrier, one of the soldiers is introduced by the commentary as Victor Philatov born in Russia. Other members of the Gloucestershire Regiment are introduced as Arthur Togill from Bristol, Jack Godwin from Cirencester seen with shots of their Italian Breda gun. Lieutenant Christenson of the Gloucestershire Regiment orders the firing of mortars mounted on lorries on some (unseen) retreating Japanese. Cameraman Maurice Ford is seen running along a ditch carrying his camera and tripod. Gloucesters entering a Burmese village after the retreating Japanese and making a house-to-house search. Final shots show a group of the Gloucesters seated in the back of a lorry driving down a road away from the camera followed by a shot of a Burmese sunset.
Commentary notes that Maurice Ford also filmed the inferno around St Pauls Cathedral during the London Blitz and refugees in the Battle of France and is said to be heading for Calcutta.
The filming dates and the identification of individual personnel not mentioned in the newsreel commentary are taken from Maurice Ford's original Dope Sheets for the his unedited footage, see B series related items.
Access Conditions: NON IWM
Black & White/Colour: B&W Silent/Sound: comopt Format: P 1/35/N Number of Parts: 1
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The following WW1 archive located at the Imperial War Museum in the UK
ID Number: 9003-15
HU 57882 - HU 57911
Item Name: NORTON J H (GROUP CAPTAIN)
Service of F/Lt J H Norton with 113 Squadron RAF, mostly in Palestine 1916-1918. Includes bombing raids on the Western Front and Palestine, Captain G G Coury VC and good aerial views of fortifications etc..
Copyright Status: Private copyright
Access Conditions: Unrestricted
Black & White/Colour: Black and white
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The following archive is located at the Imperial War Museum in the UK
ID Number: WPN 1
Item Name: WAR PICTORIAL NO 1 - IN THE MIDDLE EAST [Main]
Production Date: 8/1940 (late)
Production Country: GB
Production Company: War Pictorial News
I. 'THE FLEET SINKS AN ITALIAN WARSHIP IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.' A British naval patrol reportedly pursues three enemy ships for a day and a night. Shots of activity aboard RN vessels including lookouts on bridge. Enemy ships are sighted; action stations is sounded. Views of horizon and (to viewer invisible) enemy ships. Gun crews stand ready. Quadruple anti-aircraft pom-pom guns are elevated and traversed. A Walrus seaplane is catapulted from the ship on a reconnaissance mission. The ship's main ordnance then fires. British warships, operating at dusk, communicate using Morse lights. Queen Elizabeth Class battleship lies at anchor in a port (Alexandria ?). II. 'EGYPT GIVES HER LOYAL HELP TO BRITAIN.' Egypt's "army of defence" prepares trench systems. Commentary stresses the unity of the British Empire and the modernity of the military equipment used by the Egyptian forces over shots of Vickers 3-in (?) anti-aircraft guns (WW1 vintage) and towed field artillery. Views of concrete and barbed wire anti-tank obstacles on the Egyptian/Libyan border. More anti-aircraft artillery is shown. Egyptian soldiers man a .303-in Lewis machine gun in a sandbagged emplacement and scan the sky for enemy aircraft. III. 'RAF RAIDS LIBYA.' An RAF Aerodrome in the Western Desert. Blenheim Mk 1 aircraft are prepared for a bombing mission. Shots of ground crew working with trolleyacc aircraft starter equipment. Bombs are prepared and loaded on to aircraft. Aircrew wearing flying suits prepare for mission then climb into cockpit. Blenheims of 11 Squadron RAF (on attachment to 113 Squadron in Western Desert in August 1940) taxi and take off. Blenheims formate at low level over desert terrain. Bombing mission, then aircraft return to base. IV. 'INDIA HELPS GUARD BRITAIN'S GATEWAY TO THE EAST.' Kilted pipe band of the 4th Indian Division play while Indian troops parade. Display of equipment and activities: trucks and Bren gun carriers moving at speed. Indian work party dig trenches. V. 'CAPTURED ITALIAN MATERIAL.' British troops examine large quantities of equipment including crates of binoculars, field telephones, rifles, carbines and heavy machine guns. Italian weapons manuals are displayed. British troops assemble Italian Breda 35 2cm anti-aircraft gun. A smiling British officer demonstrates elevation/traverse controls. VI. 'THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF GENERAL SIR ARCHIBALD WAVELL ISSUES HIS ORDER OF THE DAY TO THE ARMIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST.' General Wavell broadcasts live from his desk, announcing the determination of the British Empire to fight on despite the French capitulation: "We stand firm whatever happens. Dictators fade away, the British Empire never dies." (15 August 1940).
Access Conditions: IWM
Black & White/Colour: B&W Silent/Sound: comopt Format: P 1/35/N Number of Parts: 1
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AUDIO TAPES - Recorded by F/Lt Tony Day in research for Air War Over the Arakan. Recorded approx 1999. One is an interview with Peter Duggan Smith but it is pretty poor, as it was made in Peters parked car in Vancouver and there is a lot of background noise. The other side covers a telling by Chappy Chapman of events on 113. The other two sided tape is one that was made of Wal McLellan's letters before Tony forwarded them to Canberra, describing his operational activities, on 45 and to a lesser extent on 113.
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