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Form 540 – Operations Record Book for 609 (West Riding) Squadron, Manston. February 14th 1943.

Feb 14th. For the IO to go away on a Sunday is as effective as the CO saluting W/D de Goat.
Today it results in the ‘Battle of the MTB’, a success comparable to the classic ‘Battle of the Dinghy’ on 8/5/41. Though F/Sgt Haddon and Sgt Wiseman are lost, 4 other Typhoons between them score no less than 7 Fw190’s destroyed or probably destroyed. Initial situation: an MTB disabled between Dover and Gris Nez after striking hidden wreckage. First to be airborne, at 1030, are Haddon and Wiseman. Concerning them the skipper of the MTB reports that he saw 2 Typhoons flying at 500 ft in line astern. 2 190’s converged to attack No 2, and the Typhoon went into the sea on fire. They then attacked No 1, cutting off both his wings, and this aircraft also went into the sea. At 1129 F/O’s Lallemand and Polek go off.After some minutes they see 4 Fw190’s on the deck, and attack. E/A split up and a dogfight begins. After a burst from astern Lallemand sees Polek chasing a 190, with another behind him, shooting. He aims at Polek, from the beam, and hits the 190 behind him. It slips sideways into the sea. Polek continues his attack, finally firing from astern as it climbs. There is thick white smoke from both sides of the engine, and E/A makes cloud at such a slow pace that Polek, following, nearly stalls himself. He thinks the pilot is killed, no attempt being made to evade or avoid stalling. (Probably destroyed). After resuming their patrol for another 10 minutes, they are near Gris Nez when Swingate reports bandits coming from the east, and presently 4 new 190’s, again in 2 pairs, loom to port and ahead. Typhoons and 190’s climb and orbit, Lallemand reporting little difficulty in out-turning them. Finally he gets into position to fire at one of the second pair: it turns on its back. While it is inverted he strikes it again in the belly and overshoots, leaving it diving inverted at 300 ft (probably destroyed). He then fires a full beam shot at the second E/A of the same pair from 350-400 yds, and to his surprise it bursts into flames and Polek sends it into the sea. Polek gets on the tail of one of the others, and he fires from the quarter at 100 yds shortly before it reaches cloud, and he has to break away on finding the 4th E/A on his own tail. Though he himself sees no results, Lallemand saw the E/A attacked flying slowly along the coast, below cliff level, losing height and pouring blue-black smoke (probably destroyed). Lallemand altogether has only fired 50 rounds from each gun, a total of 5 secs.
The last pair, off at 1145, are F/O de Selys and F/O Payne. Knowing the other section is with the MTB, de Selys decides on a wide sweep to Calais and then down to Gris Nez. As they are turning south at Calais they are attacked by 3 Fw190’s flying north. The shooting misses, and de Selys, warning Payne, turns steeply and sees the third E/A continue north, the second steer inland over Calais, and the first finishing a wide turn. He engages this one head-on, opening fire at 7/800 yds and seeing E/A catch fire before it flashes over him. Turning, he sees it stall at 300 ft and spin into the sea ½ a mile off Calais. E/A has also been firing, and the Typhoon is hit in the spinner and wings. Meanwhile Payne has chased E/A No 2 into cloud over land and lost it. Returning below cloud off Calais he sees 3 190’s and pursues 2 of them into cloud over France again. Above cloud he finds one 350 yds in front, and firing from a slight angle, sees many strikes and flames on the starboard fuselage. E/A descends into cloud still on fire. No further attacks are made on the disabled MTB.
Enemy Casualties: 2 Fw 190’s destroyed F/O Lallemand – Belgian)
1 Fw 190 destroyed (F/O de Selys Longchamps – Belgian)
1 Fw 190 destroyed (F/O Payne – Scottish)
2 Fw 190 probable (F/O Polek – Polish)
1 Fw 190 probable ( F/O Lallemand – Belgian)
Our Casualties: 2 Typhoons Cat E F/DSgt Haddon and Sgt Wiseman missing.
1 Typhoon Cat B.
N.B Our aircraft were outnumbered by at least 2 to 1.
This brings 609’s score on Typhoons to 17 destroyed, 6 probable and 7 damaged, for the loss through enemy action of 5 pilots. Total score for the war is now 180 destroyed, 64 probable and 94 damaged for the loss of 36 pilots.
Evening sees a dance at Doone House, at which F/O Baldwin appears wearing the DFC (the first since 1941, and F/O Van Lierde the Croix de Guerre Belge. The CO turns up very angry because the G/C night Ops at 11 group has refused to let him take off on an Intruder, on the ground that it is still 6 days before full moon – albeit conditions are ideal and previously the CO has Intruded at an even greater distance from the full moon. Result: next day the CO writes another letter.

Also, received a phone call from Alan ‘Babe’ Haddons brother, Ronald, on Saturday, in response to a letter I sent out to 15 Haddons last week. So I shall have the Brother of Babe and the sister of Johnny at the unveiling hopefully.