Bruce Johnston Ingalls

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RCAF PILOTS COVER LANDING

With the R.C.A.F. in Sicily, Oct. 5, 1943 (CP) — For many Canadian Spitfire pilots operating from airfields and landing strips here, the job of covering seaborne landings near Naples was their first in operational flying with bulky, 90-gallon long-distance gas tanks.
Flying with an R.A.F. squadron on the island — the squadron formerly commanded by Sqdn. Ldr. George Hill, D.F.C. and Bar, of Pictou, N.S — were FO. Jake Woogar of Edmonton; FO. Don. Rogers of Amherstburg, Ont.; FO. I. F. Kennedy, D.F.C., of Cumberland, Ont., and Sgt. Reg Gray of Toronto.
Among other Canadians serving with various fighter squadrons are Sgt. D. J. Schmitz, Humboldt, Sask.; Flt. Lt. M. Johnson, Selkirk, Man.; Flt. Sgt. Tom Larlee, Woodstock, N.B.; PO. Bruce Ingalls, Danville, Que., and FO. Bob Clasper, Winnipeg.
The big jettison tanks are of metal or fibre, which fit under the fuselage, roughly doubling fuel capacity. With the tanks fitted, Spitfires are said to have an endurance of more than four hours. In event of engagements with the enemy the tanks can be jettisoned by pulling a lever.

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Surrendering in Mid-Air, Italians Show Elation

By FO, BOB FRANCIS, R.C.A.F.
With the R.C.A.F., in Italy, Nov. 5, 1943 - (CP) - One of the first concrete prizes to come into Allied hands after the capitulation of Italy was a three-motored Savoi medium bomber, which surrendered in mid-flight to a single Allied fighter.
The machine was seen over the sea north of Sicily and an R.A.F. Spitfire squadron, with which PO. Bruce J. Ingalls of Danville, Que., was flying, was warned to be on the lookout. “When the Spitfires did find the Italian aircraft, Ingalls said, a Grumman Martlett fighter already was shepherding it toward Sicily.
"We were on the way home after a patrol over the assault beaches," said Ingalls, "when we got the message to watch for this Eytie machine. When we found it the Grumman already had it in tow, so to speak, so we just flew along with them for a while. It finally landed at a field close to our own.
"We didn't see the surrender, but we heard afterward that the crew waved handkerchiefs from every window in the kite as soon as the fighter appeared."

Toronto Flier in Melee
A Toronto Spitfire pilot, PO. Bill Reid, of 141 Old Forest Hill Road, was flying with an R.A.F. squadron which engaged 12 FW-190's over the Italian, coast, shooting down three and damaging another. The German aircraft had released their bombs when the Spitfires dived on them. Reid fired at two FWs during the melee, but was not able to confirm any score.
"I got in a burst at the first one in a tight turn, but could not see my fire striking home on him," Reid said. "A moment later I saw one going down in flames, but we couldn't confirm whether it was mine or not"
A moment later he opened fire on another, but did not see any results from this attack.

“Hap" Kennedy Promoted
I. F. (Hap) Kennedy, D.F.C., of Cumberland, Ont., veteran fighter pilot with a score of seven enemy aircraft destroyed, has been promoted flight lieutenant and placed in charge of a flight in an R.A.F. Spitfire squadron in Sicily.
Kennedy was one of several Canadians flying with the squadron from which he transferred on receiving his promotion and in his new unit he again found himself among members of the R.C.A.F. He had five aircraft destroyed to his credit when he joined his first squadron in Sicily, then commanded by Sqdn. Ldr. George Hill, D.F.C., and two bars, of Pictou, N.S. His sixth and seventh victories were FW190's, each destroyed after long chases. The first Focke Wulfe was shot down over the Italian coast during a dusk patrol only a few hours after the squadron destroyed six Macchi Italian fighters in a single engagement.
The last came the day after the invasion of Italy, when Kennedy chased the German 50 miles along the Italian coast, damaging the machine with gunfire and forcing the pilot to bail out.
Other Canadians with his present squadron are Sgts. J. C. Turcott, Sudbury, Ont.; Bill Downer, Midland, Ont., and PO. Bill Hockey, Kentville, N.S.

Mascot Goes With Squadron
When the pilots of one R.A.F. Squadron say that where they go goes their mascot, they mean it. In fact, when the first member of the squadron set foot on Italian soil ‘Spitfire,’ a little brown and white mongrel, scrambled out of the aircraft with him.
FO. J.R. Woolgar, Edmonton, one of several R.C.A.F. pilots with the squadron, arrived with some other pilots by transport plane the day the Spitfires landed at their first base here. As he jumped out on the dusty field, the little mascot came out with him, maintaining her reputation of being one of the most-traveled dogs in the air force. Spitfire joined the squadron in Algiers and has covered North Africa, Malta, Sicily and Italy in her travels.

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Canadians in Spitfires Aid Drive Toward Rome

Advanced Italian Airfield, Jan. 23, 1944 - (CP) - As the Allied push advances steadily up the central sector of the Italian boot, Spitfire fighters bear continually further north in sweeps and patrols over enemy territory.
R.C.A.F, pilots who form an important part of British fighter squadrons in the Naples area have played a leading part in recent operations which have reached as far from base as the City of Rome itself.
FO. Ross K. Whitney, veteran Spit pilot from Chapleau, one of the leading Canadian airmen in a famous R.A.F. squadron here, was one of those who was over Rome during a recent sweep.

Looked Like Village
"We were right over the city about 19,000 feel," Whitney said afterwards. "I'd been looking out for it, but for a moment I didn't recognize where we were. From four miles up it looked just like a village. It didn't seem to cover nearly as great an area as, say, Naples. You could hardly pick out any features from that height."
Whitney said enemy ground defenses did not throw up any flak at the Spitfire formations from positions in the city itself, though some pilots reported they had been fired at from other points along the course of their sweep.
"We saw an airfield near Rome which seemed to have some twin-engine aircraft based on it, but nobody came up after us that time," Whitney said.
Flt. Sgt. M. S. Zimmerman, Preston, was another Canadian pilot on the sweep. With Whitney he recently took part in a strafing flight during which two German reconnaissance aircraft were shot down and an enemy airfield attacked.
The operation was the first of its kind carried out by this squadron on the Italian front, and was planned as a low-flying sweep along highways and communication lines behind the German front, in search of road transport and other ground targets.

Enemy Proves Slow
Zimmerman shared with an English pilot credit for destruction of one of the German light aircraft. He also took part in strafing attacks on an airfield where the pilots spotted a number of machines on the ground.
"We found those two down in a valley back of the line," Zimmerman said. "They moved pretty slowly compared with us, and it was hard to get our sights on them sometimes. The pilots pulled off quite a bit of aerobatics before we got them, trying to avoid us.”
PO. Bruce Ingalls of Danville, Que.; PO. J. C. Turcott of Sudbury, and Flt. Lt. I. F. (Hap) Kennedy, D.F.C., of Cumberland, Ont., are other veterans of sweeps over Rome. Kennedy, with 10 enemy aircraft destroyed to his credit, is one of the highest-scoring Canadians in the Mediterranean theatre of war.

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Germans Fought to Standstill In Second Major
Bid to Drive Allied Invaders Into the Sea

Feb. 17 1944 - Allied air fleets flew more than 1,200 sorties throughout the day and night at a cost of four planes. The Luftwaffe flew some 130 sorties over the Anzio beachhead in support of the Nazi ground offensive, and the Allied communiqué said nine enemy planes were shot down. Of the nine shot down, five fell to Spitfire pilots including three destroyed by Canadian pilots. Flight-Lieut. James Francis Edwards, of North Battleford, Saskatchewan, who holds the D.F.C. and D.F.M., shot down his first plane during his second operational tour of duty.
Edwards served one operational tour in the desert campaign. He scored 10 and a half destroyed planes there. Yesterday's raised his score to 11½. He was widely known for his long range accuracy. Yesterday was no exception. He destroyed a FW-190 at the extreme range of 500 yards.
The other Canadians who destroyed planes were Flying Officer B. J. Ingalls, of Sayabec, Quebec, and Warrant Officer W. Downer, of Midland, Ont., each of whom destroyed an F. W. 190.
Allied airpower also blanketed the main 5th Army front around Cassino, where the Germans launched a small-scale diversionary attack to coincide with their main offensive against the beachhead.
Bombers returned to attack the ruins of the 1,415-year-old Benedictine monastery on Mount Cassino yesterday; piling new wreckage about the heads of Nazi gunners entrenched behind the massive walls of the abbey.

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A New York Times Special to the Globe And Mail

Naples March 17 1944 - Airacobras strafed armored cars, trucks and tankers at Tarquinia, while Kittyhawks were relentlessly active along the Italian east coast and Dalmatian shoreline, sinking a small schooner off Ancona and firing Yugoslavian coastal rail yards near Knin.
It was disclosed today, meanwhile, that Canadian Spitfire pilots of the City of Windsor squadron destroyed two Focke-Wulf 190's after a pursuit that continued to the neighborhood of Rome.
Date of the action, in which victories were credited to FO. G. S. O'Brien of Toronto and Flt. Lt. B. J. Ingalls; of Montreal, was not indicated.

Huns Tried to Escape
Sighting the Spitfires while flying southward, the two German planes rolled over on their backs and dived, with the four fighters in pursuit, toward Rome.
O'Brien engaged one, closing to 100 yards and firing two long bursts from astern. He saw strikes on the tying roots and saw pieces falling from the plane.
FO. S. B. Kimber of Montreal, flying under high tension wires during the chase, saw the Focke-Wulf burst into flames and crash.
The other Focke-Wulf was chased by Ingalls to a point 15 miles northeast of Rome, where the German plane crashed in flames after Ingalls hit it with two bursts.

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INGALLS, F/L Bruce Johnston (J17096) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.72 Squadron
Award effective 15 May 1944 as per London Gazette dated 23 May 1944 and
AFRO 1380/44 dated 30 June 1944 &
Globe and Mail May 22 1944

Flight Lieutenant Ingalls joined this squadron in Malta and flew many sorties during the invasion of Sicily, subsequently he took part in the Salerno operations and has been flying with the squadron on all occasions during the Italian campaign. On many occasions it has been due to this officer's accurate reporting of the presence of enemy aircraft that his squadron has been able to engage them. He has destroyed at least five enemy aircraft and damaged others.

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Air Force Casualties

Ottawa, July 19, 1944 — The Department of National Defense for Air today issued Casualty List No. 939 of the RCAF showing next-of-kin of those named from Ontario as follows:

INGALLS, Bruce Johnston, D.F.C., Flt. Lieut: Sayabec Station, Que.

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