“Tigercat – maybe we should slap the Luftwaffe as well ! If they hadn’t carelessly left her in the desert in an unairworthy state the RAF wouldn’t have got their hands on her. Then the RAF got her flying for the EAF and flew her for a couple of years.”
She was flown around for fun by the Aussies who captured her for a while first. Funnily enough, when I was researching Johnny Wiseman, I had a chat with his old best mate – who had been attached (as the only Brit) to the RAAF Sqdn who got hold of Black 6. I saw some pics of her when I visited him. He had boxes of pictures (he kept diaries too) – the photo recce plane didn’t use up it’s entire load of film…..
“Having left school, Charley began work as a motor mechanic in a local garage before joining the RAF as groundcrew, while Johnny applied for pilot training, having always been fascinated with flying and hoping to follow a post-war career as an airline pilot. Due to his earlier trade, Charley was sent on a mechanics course and was later posted out to the Middle East as a fitter, leaving home on 10th May 1942. Arriving in Cairo, Egypt, he joined No. 450 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force working in the Motorised Transport Section, and also helping to arm and service the aircraft when necessary. 450 Squadron, whose motto read ‘Harass’, were equipped with Curtis P40 Kittyhawk fighters, with which they flew constant ground attack missions as well as flying on escort duty to heavier bombers of the Allied Air Forces, maintaining a steady pressure on the enemy despite heavy losses. Moving through the desert entailed an almost Gypsy-like lifestyle, and Charley recalls that water was scarce, so washing and shaving was a rare and luxurious occurrence. Petrol, on the other hand, was in good supply, and uniforms would be cleaned in this. All of this happened while operating from hastily built airfields, during which time mines left by the retreating forces were a constant threat, which resulted in more than a few casualties – some fatal. 450 next went to Italy, via Malta, continuing in the ground attack role for the rest of the war until 450 Squadron, now equipped with North American Mustangs, was disbanded at Lavariano, Italy, on 20th August 1945. Charley came to think very highly of the Australians, describing them as a lovely bunch of lads, and recalls that both officers and enlisted mixed together. They also enjoyed their time off, and on various leaves he was able to climb Vesuvius, the leaning tower at Pisa, and St Peters in Rome. After disbandment, Charley was sent back to Cairo, from where he had started, finally returning home on 24th January 1946, unlike his childhood friend John, after 3 years and 9 months away from home. “
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