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Clive
Caldwell
Clive Robertson Caldwell was born in
Lewisham, Sydney on the 28th of July, 1911. Pre war he trained for his
civil pilot's licence whilst a member of the Royal Aero Club. He joined
the RAAF at the beginning of the war in 1939 and was commissioned as a
Pilot Officer in 1940. As he was destined to become an instructor after
completing his training, he resigned and re-applied as an air-crew
trainee. His commission was reinstated in January 1941, and he was sent to
the Middle East where he took up flying duties in Tomahawks with 250
Squadron RAF. Following a short period of operations in Syria and Cyprus,
Caldwell and the squadron were relocated to the Western Desert. It was in
this theatre that he achieved great success during intensive operations.
By mid-1941, Caldwell had flown about 40
operational sorties, but had only one confirmed kill - a Bf 109. He was
perplexed by the fact that he had trouble scoring hits on enemy aircraft.
Whilst returning to base one day, he noted his squadron's aircraft casting
shadows on the desert below. He fired a burst of his guns and noted the
fall of shot relative to his shadow. He realised this method allowed for
the assessment of required deflection to hit moving targets. Further
experimentation lead him to acquire the knowledge to assess deflection
needed for a range of speeds. Within a couple of weeks he had attained
four further kills and a half share. Caldwell's method of "shadow
shooting" became a standard method of gunnery practice in the Middle East.
On 29 August 1941 Clive Caldwell was attacked by two Bf
109s North-West of Sidi Barrani. One of his attackers was the Bf 109 E-7
"black 8" of 2./JG 27 piloted by one of Germany's top aces, Leutnant
Werner Schroer who was credited with 114 Allied planes in only 197 combat
missions. Caldwell's P-40 "Tomahawk" of 250 Squadron was riddled with more
than 100 rounds of 7.9 mm slugs, plus five 20 mm cannon strikes which
punctured a tyre and rendered the flaps inoperative. In the first attack
Caldwell suffered bullet wounds to the back, left shoulder, and leg. In
the next pass one shot slammed through the canopy, causing splinters which
wounded him with perspex in the face and shrapnel in the neck. Two cannon
shells also punched their way through the rear fuselage just behind him
and the starboard wing was badly damaged. Despite damage to both himself
and the aircraft, Caldwell, feeling, as he remembers, "quite hostile"
turned on his attackers and sent down one of the Bf 109s in flames. The
pilot of the second Messerschmitt, the renowned Leutnant Schroer, shocked
by this turn of events, evidently made off in some haste. Caldwell's
engine had caught fire, however he managed to extinguish the flames with a
violent slip. He then nursed his flying wreck back to base at Sidi Haneish.
Caldwell's most successful day was the 5th of December
1941 when he shot down five Ju 87s in a single engagement during operation
"Crusader". Here is the combat report of that action:
"I received radio warning that a large enemy formation
was approaching from the North-West. No. 250 Squadron went into line
astern behind me and as No. 112 Squadron engaged the escorting enemy
fighters we attacked the JUs from the rear quarter. At 300 yards I opened
fire with all my guns at the leader of one of the rear sections of three,
allowing too little deflection, and hit No. 2 and No. 3, one of which
burst into flames immediately, the other going down smoking and went into
flames after losing about 1000 feet. I then attacked the leader of the
rear section...from below and behind, opening fire with all guns at very
close range. The enemy aircraft turned over and dived steeply...opened
fire [at another Ju 87] again at close range, the enemy caught fire...and
crashed in flames. I was able to pull up under the belly of one of the
rear, holding the burst until very close range. The enemy...caught fire
and dived into the ground."
Due to his aggressiveness, exceptional combat skills,
and determination to strafe ground targets, Caldwell soon acquired the
nickname "Killer" which he apparently was not particularly proud of. The
name however stuck and was commonly used in referring to Caldwell. In
opinion of Wing Commander R.H. "Bobby" Gibbes (he battled in 3 Sqdn RAAF
in North Africa and in the SW Pacific under Caldwell's command): "Clive
Caldwell was given the name "Killer" (a name which was not of his choosing
or liking) due to his habit of shooting up any enemy vehicle which he saw
below when returning from a sortie. Invariably he landed back at his base
with almost no ammunition left."
Caldwell was promoted to flight commander in November
1941 and received the DFC and Bar simultaneously on December 26 by which
time he had 17 victories. He was promoted to Squadron Leader in January
1942 and took command of 112 Squadron RAF flying Kittyhawks. It was due to
his leadership, confidence and daring, his work with a contingent of
Polish pilots attached to 112 Squadron, and continued success with this
squadron that he received the Polish Cross of Valour (Krzyz Walecznych).
In contrast with the great successes of Skalski's
Circus , Polish pilots' endeavours with 112 Squadron weren't as fruitful.
A group of 12 Polish ferry-transport pilots volunteered for RAF service on
29 August 1941 and after training they joined "Shark" squadron in February
1942. On 14 February, 1942 the patrolling 112 Sqn RAF and 3 Sqn RAAF
encountered a formation of 32 enemy aircraft and Sec.Ltn. Dula downed an
MC 200. In combat with 6 Bf 109 fighters from I/JG 27 on 21 February 1942
three "Kittyhawks" of 112 Sqn were downed, two of them piloted by Polish
pilots: Sgt. Derma and Ltn. Jander. On 13 March 1942 pilots P/O Bartle
(English) and Sgt. Rozanski (Polish) left a formation of 12 "Sharks" in
the Tobruk area and they were caught by surprise and attacked by
Oberfeldtwebel Otto Schulz (4./JG 27, MIA on 17 June 1942, 42 victories).
Both were downed, but Rozanski luckily escaped his crashed, burning
aircraft. On the following day Sgt. Urbanczyk together with S/L Caldwell
got one Bf 109. On 15 March 1942 112 Squadron was moved from the front
line to Sidi Haneish for replacements. Polish pilots didn't return to duty
in this unit from 16 April 1942.
Whilst with 112 Squadron, the Australian government
asked that he be released to return to Australia to command a Wing in the
defence of Australia. This Wing was to consist of 3 Squadrons of
"Spitfires", and Caldwell spent some time with the Kenley Wing before
returning home to acquaint himself with the new aircraft. The Japanese
were threatening Northern Australia, and several Australian towns were
regularly being bombed. Caldwell left the Middle East with nineteen
individual and three shared confirmed enemy kills, six probables, and
fifteen damaged.
On his departure from the Middle East, the Marshall of
the RAF Lord Tedder wrote of Caldwell: 'An excellent leader - and a first
class shot.'
On taking up his command of No. 1 Fighter Wing based in
Darwin, Caldwell again showed his outstanding fighting abilities and
claimed a further eight Japanese aircraft by August 1943. Caldwell's tally
was twenty-eight and a half by the time he left the Wing in August and for
this feat he received a DSO to add to his DFC and Bar and Polish Cross of
Valour.
The following table details Caldwell's tally of kills:
Kill |
Date |
Type |
Result |
Locality |
1 |
26/6/41 |
Bf 109 (a)
|
Destroyed |
Capuzzo |
2 |
30/6/41 |
Bf 110 (b)
|
Destroyed (shared)
|
off Tobruk
|
3 |
30/6/41 |
Ju 87 (c) |
Destroyed |
off Tobruk
|
4 |
30/6/41 |
Ju 87 |
Destroyed |
off Tobruk
|
5 |
7/7/41 |
G.50 |
Destroyed |
Gazala |
6 |
16/8/41 |
G.50 |
Destroyed (shared)
|
Convoy patrol
|
7 |
29/8/41 |
Bf 109F |
Destroyed |
Sidi Barrani
|
8 |
27/9/41 |
Bf 109 |
Destroyed |
BuqBuq |
9 |
28/9/41 |
Bf 109 |
Destroyed |
Bardia |
10 |
23/11/41 |
Bf 109 |
Destroyed |
Tobruk |
11 |
23/11/41 |
Bf 109 (d)
|
Destroyed |
Baheira |
12 |
5/12/41 |
Ju 87 |
Destroyed |
S El Adem |
13 |
5/12/41 |
Ju 87 |
Destroyed |
S El Adem |
14 |
5/12/41 |
Ju 87 |
Destroyed |
S El Adem |
15 |
5/12/41 |
Ju 87 |
Destroyed |
S El Adem |
16 |
5/12/41 |
Ju 87 |
Destroyed |
S El Adem |
17 |
12/12/41 |
Bf 109 |
Destroyed |
Derna-Tmimi
|
18 |
20/12/41 |
Bf 109 |
Destroyed |
S Barce
|
|
24/12/41 |
Bf 109 (e)
|
Damaged
|
|
19 |
21/2/42 |
Bf 109 (f)
|
Destroyed |
Derna-Gazala
|
20 |
14/3/42 |
C.202 |
Destroyed |
NW Tobruk |
21 |
14/3/42 |
C.202 |
Destroyed (shared)
|
NW Tobruk |
22 |
23/4/42 |
Bf 109 |
Destroyed |
Bir Hacheim
|
23 |
2/3/43 |
Zeke (A6M)
|
Destroyed |
50 km WNW Pt Charles
|
24 |
2/3/43 |
Kate (B5N)
|
Destroyed |
50 km WNW Pt Charles
|
25 |
2/5/43 |
Zeke (A6M)
|
Destroyed |
65 to 95 km NW Darwin
|
26 |
2/5/43 |
Zeke (A6M)
|
Destroyed |
65 to 95 km NW Darwin
|
27 |
20/6/43 |
Zeke (A6M)
|
Destroyed |
SW Darwin |
28 |
30/6/43 |
Zeke (A6M)
|
Destroyed |
65 km W Batchelor
|
29 |
30/6/43 |
Betty (G4M)
|
Destroyed |
65 km W Batchelor
|
30 |
20/8/43 |
Dinah (Ki-46) (g)
|
Destroyed |
30 km W Cape Fourcroy
|
(a) Bf 109E of I/JG27,
flown by Lt. Heinz Scmidt; (b) Aircraft of III/ZG26; (c) Ju87s of II/StG2,
flown by Lt. Wagner and Uffz Walz; (d) Leading Bf 109F of four; Hpt
Wolfgang Lippert, Kommandeur of II/JG27 and Knight's Cross holder, bailed
out; (e) Bf 109F of III/JG27 damaged. Bullet hit Oblt Erbo Graf von
Kageneck, 69 victory 'Experte' and Knight's Cross holder, who died of
wounds in hospital on 12 Jan, 1942; (f) Bf 109F of II/JG27; Lt Hans-Arnold
Stahlschmidt crash landed; (g) Aircraft of 202 Sentai.
Caldwell returned to operations in April 1944 (after a
period commanding an OTU) commanding 80 Wing out of Darwin and Morotai. By
this time opposition in the air from the Japanese had waned, and the role
of the RAAF in the South-West Pacific had been relegated to a supporting
role. 80 Wing was confined to strafing and bombing ground targets which
Caldwell and his pilots found wasteful and frustrating. These targets were
isolated from the main Japanese forces and the pilots resented being
risked in tasks whose results were making no contribution towards winning
the war. In April 1945, Caldwell and seven other officers tended their
resignations in protest (the so-called Morotai mutiny) against the RAAF's
role in the latter stages of the war. This action lead to a command crisis
in the RAAF where three senior officers including Air Commodore Cobby (WW1
ace) were relieved of their duties. Caldwell finished the war attached to
HQ, 1st TAF, RAAF, based in Melbourne. He resigned from the RAAF in 1946
and was a successful businessman until his death on 5th of August, 1994.
"Kittyhawks" from 112 Squadron RAF, commanded by
Caldwell
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