Special Liberator Flight - NZ special ops in B-24's

[Dave Homewood]

There's a photo in the March 1944 issue of the RNZAF magazine 'Contact' (page 62) which shows Flt Lt Samuel Madill, RNZAF, sitting in the cockpit of his Dakota aircraft, which has nose-art identical to that currently on the BBMF's Dakota.

Here is a scan of the page.



I have wondered about this for some time because the BBMF's aircraft is painted as one from No. 267 (Pegasus) Squadron, a special ops unit (which had some kiwi pilots in it btw).

I looked into Madill's background to see if he was in No. 267 Squadron, and found that Sqn Ldr Samuel Jackson Madill DFC, OBE, AE, and Order of the Crown (Yugo), served with:
No. 1675 Heavy Conversion Unit, RAF - on Liberators,
No. 90 Squadron RAF,
No. 108 Squadron RAF

He then flew with the Special Liberator Flight, RAF - aka "X Flight" - which was made up of two aircraft and four RNZAF pilots specially formed to drop gear to partisans in Yugoslavia and perform other special ops.

The other three pilots in that Special Liberator Flight were:
Sqn Ldr Desmond Malcolm Rolph-Smith DFC, The White Eagle of Yugoslavia 1st Class
Sqn Ldr John Austin Henry Smith DFC, Order of the Crown (Yugo)
and F/Sgt D.S. Clifford (anyone know his full name?)

Later the Flight was expanded and renamed as No. 148 Squadron RAF. It must be this unit that the caption above referred to as a New Zealand Transport Squadron because there seemed to be predominantly kiwi crews.

As you can see here, No. 148 Squadron used a wide variety of types, but the C-47 is not mentioned.
www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/148_wwII.html

No. 108 Squadron that Madill is also listed as serving on also supported the Special Ops Liberators according tho this page:
www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/108_wwII.html

In that second photo in my post above the chap in the centre is Flt Lt Stanley George Culliford DSO, Virtuti Militari (Pol), RNZAF, who did indeed fly with No. 267 Squadron and performed one particularly amazing deed which you can read about here (it's well worth the read if you haven't already):
rnzaf.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Wartime&thread=1380&page=1

So, why was Madill in a No. 267 Squadron Dakota? Was he also on that squadron for a bit? I wonder if, being special ops like 267 Squadron, did 148 Sqn maybe work together and Madill borrowed one of their Dakotas for the day when the photo was taken?

Or did all the Special Ops flying units use the Pegasus badge, sort of like the Paras? Really interesting stuff. If anyone can add more I'm really keen to learn. It's neat to think there was a secial ops unit made of of (at least mostly) Kiwis in the RAF.

[shorty]

Maybe they wanted a PR photo so they sat him in any available aircraft?

[Dave Homewood]

Coming back to this old thread, can anyone please tell me more about the Special Liberator Flight (X Flight) that was made up of these Kiwi pilots? Does anyone have photos of their aeroplanes?

[Dave Homewood]

I just found this via Papers past - which didn't exist when this thread was first posted:

From the NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 1 OCTOBER 1942

DESERT FLIERS

NEW ZEALAND AIRMEN

(N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent) DESERT AERODROME, Sept. 28

At almost every bomber aerodrome in the Middle East are to be found at least a few New Zealand pilots, observers and gunners, and more often than not as many as 20 or 30. Medium and heavy bombers are being flown, many machines being those New Zealand pilots themselves have brought out from England. Flying Liberator machines at one aerodrome are Flight-Lieutenant D. M, Rolph Smith, of Auckland; Flying-Officers J. A. H. Smith, of Dannevirke, and S. J. Madill, of Auckland. Sergeant R. W. L. Cargill, Wanganui, is with Flying-Officer Smith as second pilot.

Flying Halifax bombers at the same aerodrome are Flying-Officers J. C. Murray, of Dunedin, and W. R. Kofoed, of Outram. Flying-Officer R. G. Burgess, of Gisborne, is an observer. All took part in the first 1000-bomber raids on Cologne, Essen and Bremen. Four of these New Zealanders started their training together at a North Island station in November, 1940 — Flying-Officers Kofoed, Madill, Smith and Murray. They were among the first to arrive in Canada, where they were at the same school. They became separated in England, but a few months ago the four were reunited in Egypt.

[Dave Homewood]

And from the NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 23 OCTOBER 1942

YUGOSLAV DECORATION NEW ZEALAND AIRMEN

(Recd. 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 22

The Order of the Crown of Yugoslavia has been awarded to Flying-Officers S. J. Madill (Auckland) and J. A. Henry Smith, of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The Yugoslav Government in London stated that no details are at present available of the exploits for which the awards were given.

Flying-Officer Samuel Jackson Madill, who is aged 28, is the only son of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Madill, of Kohimarama. Failing to pass the medical test for the Army on the outbreak of war, he later joined the Air Force, leaving for Canada at the end of 1940. He was commissioned before going to England in July, 1941. After service in England, during part of which time he was co-pilot of a Flying Fortress, Flying-Officer Madill flew a four-engined Liberator bomber to Egypt last February and has since been engaged on special service in the Middle East. He is an old boy of King's College.

[Dave Homewood]

NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 10 APRIL 1943

FLYING CROSS AWARD

AUCKLAND AIRMAN

News that Flying-Officer S. Jackson Madill had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross was received yesterday by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Madill, of Tamaki Drive, Kohimarama.

Flying-Officer Madill, who is now 29. was educated at King's College and Auckland University College. At the outbreak of the war he was engaged on his father's farm. On joining the Air Force he trained in New Zealand and in Canada, where he gained his wings. Shortly after reaching England Flying-Officer Madill was selected for work on Flying Fortresses, and later he flew to Egypt in a Liberator bomber. About six months ago he was awarded the order of the Crown of Yugoslavia for services to that country. He is now on other special work. His parents do not know the special act for which ho has received this latest decoration.

[Dave Homewood]

From the AUCKLAND STAR, 6 JANUARY 1945 - he had a very interesting career in the Air Force

[Dave Homewood]

And from the AUCKLAND STAR, 10 FEBRUARY 1945

DROPPED MEN AND ARMS IN YUGOSLAVIA

By E. K. GREEN

ABOVE the tiny plateau, high in the rugged mountains of Yugoslavia, there was the steady drone of plane engines, approaching and receding as the machine circled. It came lower, lower . . . 1000 ... 800 feet. Through a break in the clouds the moon lit for a moment the outline of the plane, the apparently deserted ruggedness of the landscape.

Suddenly there came the flash of an Aldis lamp from,the planes, dotting and dashing out a brief signal. And from the ground below came answering flashes, and the sudden flaring up of a dozen fires, arranged in a pattern.

One blob, and then another fell from the plane, and then more and more. Another circuit, and more blobs were in the air — the moonlit white patches of parachutes. Lower and lower they fell until the darkness of the ground enclosed them. Fires were doused, but a sudden red flare momentarily lit the scene. The plane droned away steadily, out of sight behind the mountains.

Another British agent had landed in Yugoslavia, and in the darkness men of Marshal Tito's partisan forces were busily at work collecting up to six tons of weapons, food, and other war materials for use against invading German forces.

Keeping Balkan Guerrillas Supplied
That, in reconstruction, is a night scene that has been witnessed time and time again over the Balkan countries during the years when the German heel has been pressing tightly upon them. The forces of Mihailovich, of Tito, have witnessed it over Yugoslavia; guerrilla bands in Greece, Rumania, Bulgaria have also seen it. Such scenes have been the backbone of their resistance.

Looking down from his Liberator, Squadron-Leader Jackson Madill, 0.B.E., D.F.C., R.N.Z.A.F., son of Mrs. W. H. Maddill, of Kohimarama, has seen it frequently. Squadron-Leader J. H. Smith, of Dannevirke, knows it as a familiar sight. And so, also, before his death, did the late Squadron-Leader Rolf Smith, of Epsom.

The three of them each captained one of the four Liberators of the "hush-hush" flight, known variously as "X Flight," "S.O.E. (Special Operations, Egypt), and "That Comic Outfit," who, through the war years helped materially the progress of the war in the Mediterranean theatre.

It was a senior air officer, who believed implicitly that bombing was the only real service that could be performed by planes in a war, who called them "That Comic Outfit" — but the Army, and secret service, told them that, in effect, they were tying down 15 German divisions in the Balkans. They were a major line of communication, the major supply line, between Allied headquarters and the resistance forces.

Squadron-Leader Madill, 31-year-old King's College old boy, who holds the Order of the Crown of Yugoslavia, in addition to his British order and decoration, has now returned to Auckland, and he has a fascinating story to tell of underground activity "up in the air," of strange cargoes carried, and of heroic men who stepped out of his plane, parachute equipped, and went down into the darkness of Yugoslavia and other German-held areas on strange, adventurous missions.

Adventurous New Zealanders
Among them were New Zealanders. He spoke of one Kiwi officer who, two days after he had escaped from Crete after months of desperate living, rode back over that historic island in his co-pilot's seat to direct the dropping of supplies and messages of encouragement to other Kiwis still there in fighting exile. The same officer voluntarily returned to Crete a little while later.

"Take it from me, there are some pretty tough guys round this place — but not me," commented Madill with a grin. "I take off my hat to chaps who step out of an aircraft in the air willingly, and go down to do that sort of job."

And then he talked of some of them. They were all sorts and sizes, all types. There were some who couldn't speak a word of English, others with the bored accents of the Mayfair Englishman. There were wild looking, bandit types — and some who "looked as if they had just come down from Cambridge and wouldn't hurt a fly."

There was an English officer who went down over Yugoslavia, followed by two mines of his own construction. His job was to blow a bridge. And there was Major W. S. Jordan, of Hamilton and Auckland, who once trained to be a Marist Brother, was failed by his health, became a newspaperman, was originally turned down for overseas service, but made it, somehow, in signals — became war correspondent, and then British secret agent.

Before he bailed out, on a mission to Tito's forces. Bill Jordan confided to Madill that he wasn't looking for any honour and glory — but he did want a story!

He was dropped in a very nasty spot. To get in Madill had to "slide" his aircraft over on 3 mountain and up another on the other side of the valley. It was rugged, in a country that was all rugged. Jordan "cracked a couple of ribs" in landing, and afterwards condemned the place for future landings.

Aided Victory At Alamein
Outstanding episode was when the four "X" aircraft, joined in a mission that carried 12 members of a "commando outfit," and a big load of supplies and equipment to a 400 yard square plateau, 7000. feet above sea level and dropped the lot from 800 feet.

There were three New Zealanders, all sappers, in that outfit . . . one a Captain Edwards. With them were "some real cut-throat guerillas — one an Indian, probably a Gurkha." They were loaded down with revolvers, knives and tommy-guns and looked "most unhealthy types."

Theirs was a most important mission, which had considerable bearing on the success at Alamein. Several days later Allied newspapers carried the story. They had successfully blown up the Gorgopotamos Bridge — the only railway bridge connecting Athens with the Northern Balkans. It cut the Germans' second supply line with the Middle East for six months, forcing them to concentrate their supplies on the longer and more dangerous sea route.

Originally the "X" boys carried agents and supplies to Mihailovich . . . Tito being too far away. Later they carried missions that tried to bring those two together. Later again they ferried missions that had sterner things to say to the Chetnik leader, Mihailovich.

Through all this period the Allied organisations in Egypt responsible for intelligence services and the fostering of resistance movements kept the pilots fully informed of the results of the missions in which they took part, maintaining their keenness at a high level. The spirit of the whole organisation was splendid.

English Colonel's Bravery
Squadron-Leader Madill told an interesting story of one dangerous mission, for which three volunteers were asked from English engineers. The colonel was approached, a man well on in his forties. "I'm one," he said, "I'll get two others." They protested his age, the danger of the mission — the parachute descent into unknown country as a start. "Take me, or none," he said. He went, and did the job successfully.

As is the habit of his kind, Squadron-Leader Madill depreciated any part he had played, but the story needed no embellishment. He and his fellows worked from a station on the Suez Canal. To get to their first pinpoint in Yugoslavia they first flew over 1000 miles. Then they went inland, found their map-reading objective, completed their mission, and got back home — anything from 13 to 15 hours' flying. With secrecy their objective they had to hug mountain sides to defeat radio detection, come over the hostile country at night, and dodge anti-aircraft defences and night fighters. Their worst enemy, said Madill, was the weather. It was appalling at times, but they had to get through, for big issues depended nearly always on the success of the missions they carried out. Moonlight was needed, and in the "moon season" they averaged three trips in ten days. Madill accomplished 40 in all.

[Dave Homewood]

I find the work of No. 267 Squadron's SOE Dakotas and X-Flight's Liberators totally fascinating, and especially so because there were so many RNZAF members that were their key men.

Does anyone know if the X Flight Liberators were modified in any way to achieve the missions they were flying? 13 to 15 hours sounds like they must have been lightened and fitted with long range tanks? I think the normal bomber version had a duration of only 9 to 10 hours, didn't it?

I wonder what model/s of B-24 they flew?

[Dave Homewood]

Here's a page on Operation Harling, that amazing operation that blew up the Gorgopotamos railway viaduct. It's a fantastic story and would make an amazing movie, as good as Where Eagles Dare and the likes, but all true!!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Harling

[smithy]

Fascinating subject and thread. Although I'm certain it has nothing to do with it, the pegasus on the Dakota reminds me of the Mobil Pegasus which used to be on many of the Mobil service stations back home a few decades back.

[tbf25o4]

Serving on 267 Squadron was Kiwi Flight Lieutenant George Culliford who on the night of 24 July 1944 flew a Dakota from Brindisi (Italy) across central Europe to Poland where he landed on an abandoned airfield in southern Poland and picked up parts of a German V2 rocket that had been recovered by Polish Partisans after it crashed. When attempting the take-off the Dakota became bogged and only just got away before German troops arrived to see where the noise of high revving aircraft engines was coming from. The V2 parts were taken to London for examination. Culliford was awarded the Polish Virturi Militari (5th Class) medal.

[Dave Homewood]

Yes, George's amazing story was mentioned earlier in the thread. I have met and interviewed two other Kiwis who flew the Dakotas on No. 267 Squadron too. There were possibly more too.

[pjw4118]

Dave the NZBCA archives hold details of some Bomber Boys who also did SOE ops in Europe and the Middle East.
Phil Small , originally a w/op became a dispatcher on 148/624 out of Brindisi flying in Stirlings and Halifaxes. Amongst his photo album is a shot of the ops board of 334 Wing which shows 67 ops for that day , 57 to Yugoslavia , so a lot of aircraft working for SOE . His work included mainly drops but there is a photo of a Halifax unloading in a field .
Of interest is when we were preparing Kiwis Do Fly , Phil commented that at their last reunion , all were reminded of the 100 year rule of non disclosure so its not suprising not much is known. We approached the UK Military Attache in Wellington for clearance and after a couple of weeks they rang to say that Whitehall would prefer no details were published and certainly no names as people in those countries have very long memories. I am happy to post a couple of pictures though.

[pjw4118]

Sorry , but I didn't answer the Liberator question. Evan Williams was a gunner on Libs with 178 sq in the ME and they spent most of the tour on supply drops. His album shows plenty of Libs lined up but the pictures are not very good. So kiwis were certainly flying on SOE ops to Yugoslavia.

[nuuumannn]

From what little I have, looks like the X Flight became part of 148 Sqn in 1943 at Gambut in Libya. It was equipped with Liberator Mk.IIs. These were being used as transports and might not have had their turrets fitted; either they were removed or not fitted at all. The Liberator II was delivered unarmed to the UK and turrets were fitted there, or not fitted as often was the case.

Found this little snippet online: www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/148_wwII.html

[pjw4118]

I think that SOE drops were more common than we know of . In Europe current NZBC members Geoff Rothwell and Naylor Hillary flew with 138 sq out of Tempsford , while Doug Mc Donald on 298 flew a lot of ops to Norway and Denmark , while Noel Sutherland on 295 also few on supply ops. Perhaps the 100 year warning was taken seriously by the crews and little has been published.

[errolmartyn]

Kenneth A. Merrick's Flights of the Forgotten - Special Duties Operations in World War Two , published by Arms and Armour in 1989, is an indispensible and detailed record of SD ops conducted by the RAF throughout Western Europe, the Balkans and the Far East.

The rather small and cramped typeface used in its 343 pages actually equates to something like a 500-page volume had a more conventional-sized font been used. Excellent maps, references and indices round out this substantial piece of research.

Errol

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks Peter, Grant and Errol. I'd love to see those photos Peter please.

[nuuumannn]

The history of RAF Tempsford is one of the better known SOE operations and much has been published about it. Here's a resource on RAF clandestine ops in the early war years: beforetempsford.org.uk/ RAF Tempsford has its own facebook page (imagine that!) www.facebook.com/RAF-Tempsford-138-161-Squadrons-SOE-194139767315571/

Fictional conversation between Der Fuhrer and Wilhelm Canaris, head of Intelligence:

Hitler: "Canaris, vat iss ziss Ess Ohh Eee?
Canaris: "Ach, zey are on zee facebook, Mein Fuhrer..."

Kenneth A. Merrick's Flights of the Forgotten - Special Duties Operations in World War Two

Sounds really interesting. There's also Hugh Verity's We Landed by Moonlight on SOE flights into France.