Clive Caldwell Air Ace PGS 22/5/06 12:15 PM Page i Clive Caldwell, Air Ace Kristen Alexander Clive Caldwell Air Ace PGS 22/5/06 12:15 PM Page ii First published in 2006 Copyright © Kristen Alexander 2006 All rights reserved.No part ofthis book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,recording or by any information storage and retrieval system,without prior permission in writing from the publisher.The Australian Copyright Act1968(the Act) allows a maximum ofone chapter or 10 per cent ofthis book,whichever is the greater,to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: [email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library ofAustralia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Alexander,Kristen,1963–. Clive Caldwell,air ace. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 978 1 74114 705 6 ISBN 1 74114 705 0 1.Caldwell,Clive. 2.Australia.Royal Australian Air Force—Biography. 3.Air pilots,Military—Australia— Biography. 4.World War,1939–1945—Aerial operations, Australian.I.Title. 940.544994092 Maps on pages viii–x reproduced with permission from the Australian War Memorial Index compiled by Russell Brookes Set in 11.5/14 pt Bembo by Midland Typesetters,Australia. Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Clive Caldwell Air Ace PGS 22/5/06 12:15 PM Page iii Contents Acknowledgements iv Prologue xi General note xv Introduction xvii 1 The Budding Fighter Pilot 1 2 Shadow Shooting 20 3 Sweeps and Convoys 39 4 Operation Crusader 54 5 Shark Squadron 71 6 Interregnum 87 7 Darwin Defence 102 8 The Day the Planes ‘All Fell into the Sea’ 120 9 Australia’s Highest Scoring Fighter Ace 137 10 Fighter Pilot,Manqué 154 11 Morotai 171 12 The Barry Inquiry 187 13 Court-martial and Beyond 205 Epilogue 223 Appendices A: Highlights of Caldwell’s flying career 229 B: Air Board Order ‘N’548 of 1944 236 C: Group Captain Caldwell’s Request of 9 April 1945 for Termination of Commission 237 D: Particulars supplied by Group Captain Caldwell of his allegations on 13 April 1945 239 E: Terms of Reference under Air Force Regulations for the Barry Inquiry 241 F: Charge Sheet—24 December 1945 243 G: Award citations 245 H: Aircraft flown by or encountered by Caldwell during his flying career 246 Notes 249 Bibliography 280 Index 294 Clive Caldwell Air Ace PGS 22/5/06 12:15 PM Page iv Acknowledgements I have been privileged to accept the assistance of many people.Without these,this biography would not have happened and it would have been a much poorer effort.I am grateful to those who shared their memories, and I appreciate the time they took to either write or speak with me: Bobby Gibbes,Ted Sly,Jim Grant,Archie Wilson,Stan Plowright,Milton Howard,Dick Hutchinson,Paul Tillery,Jack Sheridan,Bruce Read,Leo Dairos,Bob Neale,Max Brinsey,John Bailey,Adam Gillespie,Norman Mulcahy, David Robertson, Tom Lewis, Ross Cox, Frank Parsons, Geordie Kerr, Cedric Merz, Roy Pearce, Kevin Warburton, Murray Brown,John Burnett,Alex Henshaw,Allan Righetti,Geoff Sloman,Syd Taylor,Alan Stewart and Ken Fox.Of these,I would particularly like to express my deepest gratitude to Bobby Gibbes for providing me with access to his personal papers; to Jim Grant, who unstintingly provided background information on Darwin’s 1943 air war and welcome comments on an early draft of my ‘The Day the Planes “All Fell Into the Sea”’ chapter; and to Archie Wilson, who graciously responded to my many emailed questions and who read an early draft of the section relating to 250 Squadron. Some people, unfortunately, will never know how much I valued their assistance and this is a particular sadness to me.Ross Williams,Peter Quinn,Laurie Hill,Fred Woodgate and August Graf von Kageneck were all ill when they shared their stories with me. Despite this, Peter and Laurie both made a point of contacting me shortly before they died, and I enjoyed lengthy correspondences with both Fred and August until their deaths.I fondly remember the day I spent with Ross and his iv Clive Caldwell Air Ace PGS 22/5/06 12:15 PM Page v Acknowledgements wife Elizabeth—I enjoyed their hospitality and Ross’ reminiscences of Caldwell.Thank you and vale Ross,Peter,Laurie,Fred and August. I also thank those family members who shared stories and records of their relatives.My thanks go to Frankie Whittle,Dorothy Hill,Alan James, Stephen Tatham, Rick Lindmark, David Freedman, Don Clark and Suzanne Falkiner.I am especially grateful to Roz Davies who chatted with me for many hours about her father,Doug Doyle,and her memories ofthe early business operations of Caldwell,her father and George Falkiner. As a member of the Military Historical Society of Australia, I am privileged to know a group of people who willingly and untiringly assist researchers.I especially thank Col Simpson for planting the seed for this book and Brad Manera for helping it to take root; Ric Pelvin for his constructive criticism and for the loan of his unpublished paper on the First Tactical Air Force; Anthony Staunton for assistance in burying furphies and information on awards;and Jim Underwood and Graham Wilson for happily answering many questions over the years. I have taken advantage of many publicly held records and I commend the services provided by, and the staff of, the Australian War Memorial’s private records, sound collection, art and heraldry sections and research room; the Northern Territory Archives Service; the National Library of Australia; the National Archives of Australia; the National Screen and Sound Archive; and the National Archives of the United Kingdom. I would also like to thank Peter Radtke ofThe Aviation Historical Society of the Northern Territory Inc.,who personally provided me with access to the records of the Society and shared some of his memories of Clive Caldwell. In particular, I extend my thanks to current and former staff members of the Office of Air Force History: Janet Beck, Mollie Angel, David Wilson and Mike Nelmes. I also thank the following who have provided me with access to records and other information:Alf Bell,honorary secretary of the 250 Squadron Association;Ray Hart,honorary secretary of the Spitfire Association;Rex Ruwoldt, honorary secretary of Darwin Defenders 1942–45 Inc.; Peter Ellis, JP, honorary secretary of the Albion Park RSL Sub-Branch; John Forestier and June Smith;Bob and Misako Piper;Buz Busby;Colin Burgess; Patrick Tillery; Paul Trickett;Arthur Cooper; Bill Baker of the Aviation Historical Society ofAustralia;Anne Stevens and Katharine Stuart ofTrinity Grammar School; Ily Benedek of Sydney Grammar School; Peggy Kennedy of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ);Mike Stowe ofAccident-Reports.com;and Bill Douglass. v Clive Caldwell Air Ace PGS 22/5/06 12:16 PM Page vi CLIVE CALDWELL,AIR ACE My sincere thanks go to those friends who happen to be experts in their particular fields of interest who gave me untold hours of their precious time by reading my manuscript through its many drafts.Thank you Jill Sheppard, Dave Gray, David Wilson, Peter Ilbery and Bob Livingstone for your attention to detail and for your critical approaches to my work. From Allen & Unwin, I thank Ian Bowring for his assistance and for taking a chance on a first-time author.In particular,I thank Colette Vella and Joanne Holliman for their thoughtful editorial assistance and Raf Rouco for his eagle-eyed typo spotting. One person above all others paid me the honour of assisting me with my manuscript almost from the beginning.He unfailingly and patiently answered my queries,provided guidance,corrected the many typos (and tore out his hair as he saw yet again my abuse of some of the most basic grammatical rules), helped me bury the latest bone-of-a-furphy when I had finally finished chewing on it, supported and encouraged me through yet another crisis of confidence,and offered many,many sound suggestions.My profound thanks to Lex McAulay. Without the support of Mrs Jean Caldwell I would not have written this book.From the first moment that I contacted her and told her of my desire to celebrate her husband’s military achievements,she offered me consideration and courtesy, assistance, support and insight into her husband’s mind. She also willingly shared her own memories and provided me with a long-term loan of her records and photographs. I thank Mrs Caldwell for her gracious assistance and for entrusting me with her husband’s story. Finally, my husband David.There are not enough words (or word limit!) for me to truly express my gratitude for his love, support and good cooking over the past four years, and so, I dedicate this book to him.Thank you,my love. vi Clive Caldwell Air Ace PGS 22/5/06 12:16 PM Page vii For David Clive Caldwell Air Ace PGS 22/5/06 12:16 PM Page viii The North-western area (including Darwin and Halmaheras).(Odgers,Air War Against Japan,1957) Clive Caldwell Air Ace PGS 22/5/06 12:16 PM Page ix C l i v e C a l d w e l l A i r A c e P G S 2 2 / 5 / 0 6 1 2 : 1 6 P M P a g e x The Western Desert.(Herington,Air War Against Germany and Italy,1954)