land his aircraft at Palermo with the aid of lights from two Jeeps on the runway.
But some pilots were less fortunate. The same night Keeling was over Naples,
Sgt. Farelley was patrolling Taranto Bay and was later heard to call that he was
returning on one engine. In an attempt to land at Cassibile the Mosquito
overshot and was burned out. His navigator was killed instantly. Farelley died
later in hospital. Those pilots who managed to land successfully at night after
an engine ‘cut’ would have passed their experiences on to the others, and
everyone hoped to learn from the mistakes of those who failed the maneuver,
but the ORBs show that F/O Le Rossignol and Sgt. Green managed to ‘nurse’
HX814 back to Sigonella, and at one minute past midnight (local time), 06
September 1943, both men and machine were ‘down’.
That night Sigonella was hardly equipped to help any of its airmen. Lines
of communication and organization were poor compounding all the other
problems, the ORB entry for 05 September 1943 reading sarcastically;
A glorious air of indecision hangs over Sigonella landing ground where the
detachment find themselves controlled and managed by no fewer than five
units – Administered by 232 Wing, controlled by 326 Wing … on the aerodrome, controlled in operation by T.A.F. supplied by T.B.F. and finally owned
by Malta. However, in spite of these and other difficulties, five aircraft arrived
at dusk and were able to operate although weather conditions were poor.
The other aircraft that took-off at Sigonella that night carried out reconnaissance and Intruder operations without incident and returned safely. But
for John Augustin and his navigator their landing at midnight was catastrophic and both men were killed. In that instant, an investment which began
at Americus in the summer of 1941 reached maturity, after just three operational flights. John Augustin of course had already landed successfully at
Sigonella, but with both engines and in the ‘remains of the day’. Unlike many
other fatal incidents, the ORBs contain little detail for this particular crash.
Maybe it was pilot error, or possibly a second engine cut, the aircraft could
have hit the runway too hard or maybe overshot. But the detail has not been
recorded, obscured by the ‘fog of war’, and all that we know is that on the
morning of 07 September, both men were buried in the British war cemetery
at Catania, a lonely funeral attended only by F/O Lewis, on behalf of the
Squadron’s Commanding Officer. And as with the death of Peter Walter,
there was a final irony here. John Augustin did not die from enemy action,
but rather from a failure to execute what was essentially a ‘blind landing’.
‘Blind’ interception and scanning techniques such as AI, ASV and H2S had of
course been long pioneered by GEC and what was clearly needed for the
436
D. Sheppard
But some pilots were less fortunate. The same night Keeling was over Naples,
Sgt. Farelley was patrolling Taranto Bay and was later heard to call that he was
returning on one engine. In an attempt to land at Cassibile the Mosquito
overshot and was burned out. His navigator was killed instantly. Farelley died
later in hospital. Those pilots who managed to land successfully at night after
an engine ‘cut’ would have passed their experiences on to the others, and
everyone hoped to learn from the mistakes of those who failed the maneuver,
but the ORBs show that F/O Le Rossignol and Sgt. Green managed to ‘nurse’
HX814 back to Sigonella, and at one minute past midnight (local time), 06
September 1943, both men and machine were ‘down’.
That night Sigonella was hardly equipped to help any of its airmen. Lines
of communication and organization were poor compounding all the other
problems, the ORB entry for 05 September 1943 reading sarcastically;
A glorious air of indecision hangs over Sigonella landing ground where the
detachment find themselves controlled and managed by no fewer than five
units – Administered by 232 Wing, controlled by 326 Wing … on the aerodrome, controlled in operation by T.A.F. supplied by T.B.F. and finally owned
by Malta. However, in spite of these and other difficulties, five aircraft arrived
at dusk and were able to operate although weather conditions were poor.
The other aircraft that took-off at Sigonella that night carried out reconnaissance and Intruder operations without incident and returned safely. But
for John Augustin and his navigator their landing at midnight was catastrophic and both men were killed. In that instant, an investment which began
at Americus in the summer of 1941 reached maturity, after just three operational flights. John Augustin of course had already landed successfully at
Sigonella, but with both engines and in the ‘remains of the day’. Unlike many
other fatal incidents, the ORBs contain little detail for this particular crash.
Maybe it was pilot error, or possibly a second engine cut, the aircraft could
have hit the runway too hard or maybe overshot. But the detail has not been
recorded, obscured by the ‘fog of war’, and all that we know is that on the
morning of 07 September, both men were buried in the British war cemetery
at Catania, a lonely funeral attended only by F/O Lewis, on behalf of the
Squadron’s Commanding Officer. And as with the death of Peter Walter,
there was a final irony here. John Augustin did not die from enemy action,
but rather from a failure to execute what was essentially a ‘blind landing’.
‘Blind’ interception and scanning techniques such as AI, ASV and H2S had of
course been long pioneered by GEC and what was clearly needed for the
436
D. Sheppard