Clive Caldwell, Air Ace

320 Pages·2006·1.68 MB·English

by  Kristen Alexander

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: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
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
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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.
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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.
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For David
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The North-western area (including Darwin and Halmaheras).(Odgers,Air War Against Japan,1957)
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The Western Desert.(Herington,Air War Against Germany and Italy,1954)