Harry Deane "Dean" MacDonald

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Canadian Pilots and Crews Were in Thick of
Air Fighting To Stop Nazi Battleships

( By DOUGLAS AMARON )
Somewhere in England, Feb. 13, 1942 - (CP) - Canadian pilots and air crews were in the thick of the fighting in the Straits of Dover that accompanied the passage under fire of the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the cruiser Prinz Eugen.
Cannon-firing Spitfires, with Canadians at the controls, accounted for at least three of the eighteen German aircraft known to have been destroyed in providing air protection to the German squadron on its voyage from Brest, in Western France, through the English Channel to a German port.
Pilot Officer Ian Ormston of Montreal and Sergeant G. A. G. Ryckman of London, Ont., each bagged one of the German planes, while the third destroyed outright was the joint work of Pilot Officer A. L. Harley of London, Ont., and Sergeant Don Morrison of Toronto.
Other German aircraft were marked down as either probably destroyed or damaged before the blazing guns of Canadian airmen. Sergeant Deane Macdonald of Toronto got one of these.
Canadian squadrons from all three R.A.F. commands — fighter, bomber, coastal — took part in the action. Among these were several Canadian-manned Hudson bombers from the R.C.A.F. "Demon Squadron" of the Coastal Command. Canadian bombers in the fight included eight Hampdens from the outfit commanded by Wing Commander N. W. Timmermann of Kingston, Ont., and Wellingtons from the squadron of Wing Commander R. M. Fenwick-Wilson of Rock Creek, B.C.
Pilots of the R.C.A.F.'s 1st Fighter Squadron — to which Harley, Morrison and Ormston belong—attacked the vast German aerial screen in line astern and raked enemy machines with the devastating fire of their mufti-cannon Spitfires.
"We went in in three sections," said Harley, "after Morrison had reported seeing an ME-109F around 11 o'clock. We followed him to about 1,000 feet above the clouds, gradually drawing within range. Once we got in range we could see our cannon shells back in his fuselage. Then they probably entered the cockpit. "Morrison was following me. We both fired at the ME-109 and he went straight down into the sea. Then we flew right alongside the Scharnhorst. The sky was literally filled with kites and we could see our own section sticking very close together."
Ormston was following on his tail, Harley continued, and he disposed of another 109F. "He must have had him dead on his sights," the airman said. "We saw Jerry going down in flames and smoke."

Canadians Attacked
A score of Canadian pilots and other members of R.C.A.F. bomber crews who attempted to prevent the Nazi ships from reaching their HeIigoland base told stories of cloud and mist, snow, sleet and rain and constant opposition of enemy guns. These men took part in attacks after the enemy had run through the Strait of Dover and had started his flight up the North Sea.
"Clouds . . . terrific rain . . . couldn't see anything," were remarks generally heard among the Canadians after they returned. But there were some who caught glimpses of the warships through holes in the mist and braved their flak to dive on them, only to lose them again before they could tell whether they had found the mark or missed.
Wellington bombers from Fenwick-Wilson's squadron made the first attack early yesterday afternoon, with the commanding officer himself and his crew, which included Sergeant A. K. Lomas of Toronto, leading the first flight of three aircraft.

Ontario Men There
They were accompanied by Sergeant R. L. Baltzer of Harrow, Ont., and an English pilot with crews which included Pilot Officer F. A. G. W. Gerty of Abbotsford, B.C.; Sergeants G. R. Graves of Fort William, and G. R. Jeffries of Montreal, and Flight-Sergeants L. Weakley of St. Joseph, Mo.; P. E. M. Leith of Toronto, E. C. Phillips of Edmonton, and M. P. F. Robson of Vernonville, Ont.
There was "10-10 cloud all the way," Fenwick-Wilson reported when he returned to base. "There were three distinct layers of cloud. We flew around for an hour trying to find breaks, but it was no use."
A second formation of three machines led by Squadron Leader John Fauquier of Ottawa landed next and had the same story to tell, except that they had descended to 250 feet looking for the ships.

Terrific Rain
"There was terrific rain under the clouds," Fauquier said. "I've never seen anything like it before. We went down low enough to see any thing there was to be seen, but a11 we could see was the sea."
Fauquier's crew included Sergeants H. S. Hill of Montreal, R. A. Gardiner of Hanover, Ont., and F. J. Tetro of Toronto. The second machine, which also drew blank, was piloted by Flight-Lieutenant L. P. Frizzle of Tampa, Fla., and included Flight-Sergeant A. Smith of Dunbarton, Ont., and Sergeants W. B. Kayser of South Porcupine, Ont., and A. J. Francis of Saskatoon.
Sergeants C. W. Higgins of Charlottetown and J. W. Anderson of Vernon, B.C., were the Canadians in the third plane, and they, too, told how they had "stooped around but couldn't find anything."
The crew of another Wellington which returned to base after dark had a different story to tell, but one with the same ending, "We were darn lucky," said Sergeant W. E. N. Field of Montreal, the plane’s second pilot. "There was cloud, cloud and more cloud, and it was getting toward dusk.

Saw Nazi Battleship
"Then we came across a break in the clouds and there below, just for an instant, was a German battleship. We went over the break in the cloud too quickly to bomb. The hole was very small and we were in cloud again before we could take any action, The flak was pumping up, too. It was all aver the place."

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Canadians See Action On Air Escort After Paratroops Patrol
Sgt. Morrison, Toronto, Saves Fellow Flier and Gets 'Probable'
'BUNCH OF 109's'

(By LOUIS V. HUNTER)
An R.A.F. Station Somewhere in England, March 1, 1942 - (CP) - Canadian fighter pilots and bomber crews took part in Saturday's paratroop-Commando raid that destroyed an enemy wireless location station at Bruneval, France, but for a Canadian Spitfire squadron which formed part of the umbrella for the raid the dawn job was just the start of the day's work.
A few hours after the squadron completed what its members called a "routine patrol" it was in action again. It escorted Blenheim bombers in Saturday's daylight attack on Ostend, during which Sergeant Pilot Don Morrison, young Toronto flier who is the squadron's "high man," added to his score one plane probably shot down and one damaged. His tally had stood on Feb. 21 at two destroyed, two probables and one damaged.
Flight Lieutenant Al Harley of London, Ont., was one of those in charge of a section of Spitfires guarding the vessels carrying the returning paratroops. The squadron's commanding officer, Squadron Leader A. G. Douglas, R.A.F., and Flight Lieutenant Gene Neal of Quebec City were in charge of the other sections.
"It was just like an ordinary patrol," said lanky Flight Lieutenant Harley. "There wasn't a thing around, and I didn't even see the ships."
Pilot Officer Hugh Merritt of, Smithville, Ont., agreed it was a "dull trip." He said he met the convoy about midway across the Channel and "saw the ships all right, but I don't know yet what they did."
The airmen in Harley's section were Flight Sergeant Deane Macdonald of Toronto, Flight Sergeant Jack Ferguson of Victoria, a former star of the Calgary Bronks football team, and Sergeant Pilot Gerry Clarke of Winnipeg, who was reported missing after the afternoon operation.
Sergeant Pilot Jack Aubrey Ferguson of South Port Morien, N.S.; Flight Sergeant Jim Whitman of Edmonton, Pilot Officer Ian Ormston of Montreal, Pilot Officer Don Blakeslee of Cleveland, Ohio, and Morrison were the other pilots in the fighter screen.

Canadians in Crews
Canadian members of the crews of the Wellingtons and Whitleys, which carried the paratroops, included, besides pilots whose names are not immediately available: Flight Sergeant A. Bradshaw of. Edmonton, Wireless Operator-Air Gunner Sergeants L. J. Narveau of Cornwall, Ont. , and L. D. Jackson of Saint John, N.B., Air Gunner R. J. Heather of Toronto, Observer J. Dremers of Timmins, Ont., Wireless Operator-Air Gunners A. E. Shaw of Paris, Ont., and R. W. Taylor of Victoria, Observer T. R. Cattle of Toronto, Air Gunners D. F. Campbell of Toronto, R. J. Chisholm of Vancouver and H. W. Bydwell of Montreal and Wireless Operator-Air Gunner H. F. Tice of Hamilton, Ont.
During the second escort job of the day Morrison tackled a Focke-Wulf 190 which was roaring in to attack Ormston. It was the second time the dark-haired Toronto youngster had saved his Montreal companion from attack by a Nazi aircraft.
"Ormy," Morrison said, "was about 100 yards in front of me when the 190 suddenly appeared about fifty yards over my head, going for Ormy. I sort of pulled up after him and chased him around, but I took a squirt at him and saw the shells explode in the front of his cockpit. He just rolled over and went down in a dive with a trail of smoke behind him."

Went for Two More
Morrison followed the Nazi down to 12,000 feet in an 8,000-foot dive, but had to leave him "because I saw two more Jerries over on my left and went for them."
"They attacked a bunch of Spits," he continued. "One of them broke off and I took a squirt. He started shooting out black smoke and I was just about to close in and administer the coup de grace when two more Jerries came down and began to circle around. I figured it was time to go home—and did."
Morrison and his companions were uncertain what happened to Clarke. The Toronto flier said he did not see Clarke during the action and Harvey said he heard the Winnipegger report over his radiotelephone that he had been hit.
"We ran into a bunch of 190's on the way back and apparently one of them went for Clarke," Harvey said. "I heard him say his aircraft was hit but that he was all right. Later some one in another squadron saw a Spit going down and it must have been Gerry."

Jim Whitham, Dean MacDonald, Hugh Merritt [cockpit], George Newton & Gerry De Nancrede

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Toronto Flyers Snare Two While Escorting Americans

London, March 9, 1943 — (CP Cable) — Three Toronto Spitfire pilots destroyed two Nazi Focke-Wulf 190's and damaged another today while helping escort American heavy bombers home after a raid on Rennes, France.
Flight-Lieut. Godefroy and Flight-Lieut. C. M. MacDonald each bagged one Nazi while Flight-Lieut. C. M. Magwood was credited with damaging a third.
Godefroy said: "An F.W. flew under my section from behind and was climbing towards the Fortresses. I waited until I was up-sun of him and attacked from above, closing in to 50 yards. Cannon and machine-gun fire struck the cockpit and his port cannon exploded. The plane rolled over and spun down."
MacDonald also saw hits on the cockpit of his opponent and when the German attempted to escape by diving, the Canadian followed him down.
"We must have been doing 500 miles an hour or more," he said. "I kept firing and saw his hood and then a wing fall off."
All the Canadian fighters returned safely, the R.C.A.F. reported.

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R.C.A.F. BLASTS ESSEN PLANTS, DOWN JERRIES

Toronto Fliers Win Many Dogfights While Bombers on Way Home
London, April 4 1943 (AP) - Tons of explosives dropped by Canadian airmen blasted the mammoth Krupp armament works Saturday night as the R.A.F. and R.C.A.F. proceeded methodically with their plan to wipe out the factories which cover hundreds of acres around Essen and supply the Axis with much vital equipment.
Forming a part of the large force attacking the great German industrial city were three R.C.A.F. Halifax squadrons as well as scores of Canadians in the R.A.F. who fly in such giants as Lancasters. Of 21 bombers lost, five were from the Canadian bomber group.
Saturday night's action by the R.C.A.F, followed afternoon sweeps over Nazi-held France in which a Canadian Spitfire wing destroyed five German fighters and damaged and probably destroyed others. The action, one of the most successful in weeks for the R.C.A.F. pilots, came when the wing supported fighter-bombers on an attack on Abbeville, on the French coast. One Spitfire was lost.
The Canadian squadrons on the Essen raid were led by Wing Commanders W. D. Ferris of Edmonton, A.C.P. Clayton, Vancouver, and M. M. Flemming, Ottawa. Antiaircraft fire and searchlights were plentiful, but only a few Canadians reported sighting night fighters.
Confident, that further extensive damage was inflicted in the 54th raid on Essen, the Canadian airmen told of one particularly large explosion, concentrated fires extending over a large area and dense columns of smoke.
Sgt. A. S. Sutton of 176 Erskine Ave., Toronto, reported a tremendous blast in the heart of the target area and Sgt. T. W. Dimma of Ottawa added facetiously that "I expect Krupps have a lot of stuff that might go off."
"There were two smaller explosions and then right beside them a big one," Sutton said. "Flame poured up and then mushroomed and stayed there in an orange blaze for at least 10 seconds."
Sgt. B. D. Kirkham of Saltcoats, Sask., reported smoke poured up in such great, thick clouds that the fires were blotted out. Twenty-five miles from the target all he could see was the reflected glow.
Pieces of flak glanced off the shoulders of PO. Arnold Rollings of Allenford, Ont., a veteran Canadian bushpilot who was navigator of a Lancaster. Rollings was unhurt.
A motor of the big aircraft cutout over the target and the English pilot dived 11,000 feet toward the searchlights while gunners poured bullets at the lights. Eight flicked out as the bomber swooped to within 400 yards of the ground.
Sgt. Duncan McMillan of Landis, Sask., was a mighty tired airman when he reached base. The elevator trimmers of his aircraft froze en route to Essen and it was a great physical effort to control the bomber. However, it went on to bomb the target although it was unable to weave as searchlights scoured the sky.
Flt. Sgt. Johnny Carrere of Cochrane, celebrated his commissioning – word of which reached him just before the take-off - by bombing Essen.
Other Canadians on the raid included Sgt. C. E. Willis, Peterborough, Ont., and Ken Emmons, Elgin, Ont., whose wife lives at 244 Rushholme Road, Toronto. Also in the big attack were Flt. Sgt. Harold Huether of Kitchener, PO. Bill Hilton, Brantford, and Ross Webb of Glenavon, Sask.
In Saturday afternoon's impressive sweep by the Canadian fighters, four Canadians and their English wing commander each shot down a Focke-Wulf 190, a Toronto sharpshooter damaged another and two British Columbia youths shared a probable. The five pilots who each added a Nazi plane to his total were Sqdn. Ldr. S. L. Ford, D.F.C. and Bar, of Liverpool, N.S.; Flt. Lt. C. M,. Magwood of 414 Dovercourt Road, Toronto; FO. H. D. Macdonald of 30 Craydon Avenue, Toronto; Sqdn. Ldr. S. H. Boulton of Coleman, Alta., and Wing Cmdr. J. E. Johnson, D.F.C. and Bar, an Englishman.
FO. J. A. Rae of Toronto damaged one and Flt. Lt. R. A. Buckham of Vancouver and FO. N.A. Keene of White Rock, B.C., shared a probable. Keene was last in the news when he scored hits on a German fighter over France Feb 16.
Johnson said the wing pounced on about 20 enemy fighters which came up after bombs had been dropped on objectives at Abbeville
Jerries Fell in Pieces
"They were about 3,000 feet below us and I think we took them by surprise," he said. "There were a good many combats at about 24,000 feet."
Magwood's victory was the most spectacular. His victim blew up in the air.
"I started firing at about 150 yards,"Magwood said. "The blast lifted my kite with quite a bump." Ford said his victim turned over when shells and bullets struck, then went into a dive with smoke pouring out. Several other squadron pilots reported seeing it in flames at a low level.
Macdonald roared in with guns blazing and saw a wheel of a FW-190 come down, then the cockpit cover blow off and the Nazi pilot bail out.
Boulton attacked a fighter from underneath and observed strikes that blew off pieces from the enemy aircraft.
"The bullets seemed to go into the body of the plane and then I should think into the cockpit and the engine because he started to give out smoke," Boulton said. "Then the enemy machine tipped forward on its nose and went straight down." Both firing, Keene and Buckham attacked their victim from the rear. "We could see chunks flying from the hood and side of the cockpit and he started to go down with smoke coming out," Keene said.
Rae poured a long burst into an enemy fighter from an angle and observed many hits, but "there was another Hun circling, so I did not stop to see what happened."

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3000 Tons of Explosive Blast Reich

London, May 14, 1943 (AP) - American bombers followed up night assaults on Berlin and the Ruhr by the RAF and the RCAF struck their mightiest blows of the war against Europe today with four separate attacks against targets in Germany northern Holland and Belgium.
These daylight attacks, constituting the largest single offensive by the United States Air Force, sustained the round-the-clock Allied assault which took the RAF to Berlin last night for a modest rate while other British forces ranged over Czechoslovakia and the industrial Ruhr.
A total of 3000 tons of bombs dropped established a record for a single night. About 1000 tons fell into the Ruhr industrial and transportation center of Bochum which was left a fire. 34 planes, eight of them Canadian, were lost in these operations.
Four-engined to bombers made the deepest American penetration into Europe by reading the important determined port of Kiel today and smashing a U-boat assembly plant and naval installations there.
Antwerp, Courtrai Hit
Other heavy bomber formations smashed the former General Motors plant at Antwerp, now supplying enemy transport, and a large fighter airfield and repair depot at Courtrai, also in Belgium.
Here a Canadian fighter wing knocked down four Focke-Wolf 190s while the Americans were bombing the airport. The victories went to wing commander J.E. Johnson, the Englishman who leads the wing, flight leader H. C. Godefroy and flight leader H. D. MacDonald, both of Toronto, flight leaders of the Wolf squadron, and flight lieutenant R.A. Buckham of Vancouver, Oshawa squadron flight commander.
The Canadians, each of whom got one Nazi, said they did not witness the actual bombing, but the great clouds of smoke were rising from the target after the attacks.
American medium bombers, operating for the first time from Britain, made successful low-level attacks on industrial targets at Velson in northern Holland without loss.
A communiqué reported 11 bombers and four fighters missing from the day's operations. All Canadians returned. Targets on both Kiel and Antwerp were left a mass of flames and smoke, returning crews said.
Bochum left ablaze
The size of the load of destruction being carried to continental Europe is indicated by comparison with the 7500 tons the Germans dropped on London in 94 attacks.
In the raid last night on the manufacturing and transportation center of Bochum in the Ruhr, the air Ministry disclosed, more than 1000 tons of bombs were dropped. The air Ministry said Berlin was not bombed on a large-scale.

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Sitting on his Spit with his old school crest "York Memorial" painted on the side.
The dog belongs to fellow 403 Squadron pilot F/O W.T. Lane of Sudbury.

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MacDONALD, F/L Harry Deane (J15467) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.403 Sqn.
Award effective 25 May 1943 as per London Gazette dated 4 June 1943 and
AFRO 1187/43 dated 25 June 1943.

This officer, who has participated in a very large number of sorties, is an excellent flight commander. In addition to destroying five enemy aircraft, Flight Lieutenant MacDonald has damaged three locomotives and executed vigorous attacks on other targets. He has invariable displayed outstanding keenness.

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Hundreds of Planes Lash German Defense Positions
Along Invasion Coasts

London, June 25, 1943 (Friday) — (AP) — The Allied air forces pounded Hitler's "Atlantic wall" defenses with from 400 to 500 bombers and fighters by daylight Thursday in one of the busiest day offensives yet launched in the new stepped-up air war over Europe, and then quickly returned to the attack after dark to keep the battering assault on a round-the-clock basis.
Late last night waves of heavy bombers were heard roaring across the southeast coast toward the continent, flying at a great height, Coastal observers said the noise of their engines was incessant for a long time as they headed across the channel.
These two attacks—the big day-light raids, which stretched from the Netherlands to the Cherbourg Peninsula of France, and the night flights — followed a spectacular, bombing of the Italian naval base of La Spezia by a new Britain-Africa shuttle technique.
Six types of Allied craft churning the air in swarms carried out the big daylight attack, bombing Nazi airfields and war installations along the French, Belgian and Netherlands coasts.
Thunderbolts, the fastest and heaviest-gunned United States single seat fighters, joined Spitfires, Typhoons, Venturas and Bostons of the R.A.F. in the virtually unprecedented day sweeps.
Later Mitchell light bombers with Spitfire escorts attacked airfields at Brest and Typhoon fighter-bombers raided Morlaix airport, meeting no Nazi opposition. In the evening, Venturas bombed a power station at Yainville near Rouen.
La Spezia Pounded.
La Spezia was pounded early today by several squadrons of Lancaster bombers in a surprise assault after these same planes had smashed at Friedrichshafen in Southern Germany Sunday night and then flown on to North Africa to rest the crews and refuel. Canadian crews manned some of the planes. The flight inaugurated a shuttle of great potentialities.
Today's targets in the furious daylight battering launched from Britain were oil storage targets in Flushing, Holland, and in France, freight yards at St. Omer, an airfield at nearby Fort Rouge, the airfield at Abbeville and another at Maupertus near Cherbourg.
The hard-hitting Allied planes ruled the skies during the attack, beating off the best efforts of German day fighters to break up the operation.
R.A.F. Spitfires downed 10 enemy aircraft and probably knocked out others, while the Americans got one for certain. British and other Allied losses were one bomber and four fighters.
Thus the Allies, although fighting over enemy territory and often over his airfields and in range of his anti-aircraft guns, scored better than two-to-one over the Germans' best fighters.
Polish fighter pilots escorted the Venturas in perfect weather to the attack on Flushing only 24 hours after Hollanders had been warned, from London to move away from war industries working for the Nazis. Similar warning to the Belgians Monday was followed by an American raid Tuesday on Antwerp, Thus the Allies appeared to be telegraphing their punches to save citizens of occupied lands. Canadian and Norwegian squadrons escorted the bomber on the first attack upon St. Omer. The Typhoons struck a short time later, concentrating on Fort Rouge airfield. Fighters of a New Zealand squadron escorted the Typhoon bombers to Abbeville. Venturas attacked Maupertus.
Some raiders did not even sight a single enemy plane
The R.C.A.F. fighter wing destroyed three enemy planes in three of the sweeps, bringing its total to 18. Wing Cmdr. J. E. Johnson, an Englishman attached to the R.C.A.F., got one, Sqdn. Ldr. R. W. McNair of North Battleford. Sask., got the second and Flt. Lt. H. D. Macdonald, 30 Craydon Avenue, Toronto, downed the third.
The changes in locale of the night and day attacks gave at least a brief respite to the German Ruhr, from which, it was reliably reported, more than 1,000,000 persons had already been moved to "safer" areas northeast, east and west, including thousands of workers from shattered factories.
The bombing of La Spezia in a doubleheader raid upon Germany and Italy added a dramatic new note to the aerial offensive by Britain’s heavyweights.
Their return-trip pummeling of the Italian naval base appeared of the greatest significance in the development of aerial war. The bombers flew a round trip of about 2,500 miles, and lost not a single ship.
A communiqué declared that docks at La Spezia were bombed accurately and oil stores set afire, and that on the outward-bound flight the Lancasters, at least several dozen strong had wrecked three acres of the radio location equipment plant at Friedrichshafen and severely damaged the Maybach Werke motor plant.
The new technique offered greater safety to attacking planes, since they do not have to return along a route already alerted, where guns and enemy planes wait to attack. And it posed a great new worry to the Germans.
Nazi air-raid detection systems presumably are organized to pick up raiders coming into the Reich or occupied territory from the west or north, but the Lancaster force, flying in a generally northern direction from La Spezia, came in behind these defenses, which had not been previously alerted by the inward passage of the bombers.
Aeronautical sources in London said the shuttle attack should have tremendous effect on the bomb-nervous Germans and Italians, especially since not a plane was lost.

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R.C.A.F. PILOTS DOWN 3 NAZIS

Poles Bag Five Others in Sweeps Over France
London, July 6 (CP).— Canadian pilots flying with R.A.F. Spitfire squadrons over Northern France and along the French coast from Dieppe to Dunkirk today shot down three of eight Nazi planes destroyed, a Polish wing of the R.A.F. accounting for the other five.
Sqdn. Ldr. R. W. McNair of North Battleford, Sask., destroyed one Messerschmitt 109 inland from Boulogne before the engine of his plane coughed out. He glided the 30 miles to his home base in England.
The other two Canadian bags were destroyed by Flt-Lt, H. D. MacDonald of Toronto, who raised his personal score of destroyed Nazi craft to seven in today's action, and Flt-Lt. Walter Conrad, Richmond, Que.
Flt-Lt. Art Sager of Vancouver damaged another enemy aircraft, but was unable to observe results. Late tonight the British Air Ministry announced that two enemy fighter planes had flown for a short time this evening over a district in East Anglia, at one point wounding a small number of persons by machine-gun fire.
R.C.A.F. headquarters said in a communiqué that Canadian Spitfires destroyed three enemy craft over Northern France and that no Canadian fighter was missing from the action.
The Berlin broadcast recorded by the Associated Press said enemy planes carried out "nuisance raids" over Western and Northern Germany during the night, but there were no immediate announcements by the British concerning any night activities …(last few words missing)

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Decorated Fliers Tell Thrilling Air Stories

Ottawa, Aug. 24, 1943 (CP) — Four modest young fliers who won decorations for fighting the enemy from the Frisian Islands to North Africa were among a group of Air Force personnel who arrived at the R.C.A.F. repatriation depot here today after overseas service.
They were FO. L. E. Philpotts of Saint John, N.B., who flew from bases in Britain and Malta; Flt. Lieut. Harry D. MacDonald of Toronto, who has shot down eight enemy aircraft flying from British bases; and PO. Harry E. Fenwick of Leamington, Ont., who entered Tunis with the victorious Allied armies, all with the Distinguished Flying Cross, and Sgt. A. A. Mellin of Duncan, B.C., who won the Distinguished Flying Medal for good work in bringing a damaged aircraft back from a mining operation at the Frisian Islands.
"Tunis was wild with joy," said Fenwick, speaking of the day the troops entered, "The people were out in force in the streets. They gave us a great reception."
Girls Were Lovely.
He said he and some friends rode into the city in a jeep to see what was going on. They were greeted by pretty girls, who asked them to their homes for parties.
"And they were lovely," he said.
The three officers are all fighter pilots, although Philpotts was on "special task" work when stationed at Malta. Between them they have 171/2 enemy aircraft destroyed to their credit.
Sgt. Mellin is a navigator and on his second operational flight in a bomber received a bullet wound in the leg. The flight engineer and rear gunner were killed and he took on the job of flight engineer while other surviving members of the crew were busy putting out fire which had broken out from gunfire by an enemy night fighter.
MacDonald has eight enemy aircraft to his credit and commanded a flight in the famed Canadian "Wolf" Squadron. He came through two tours of operation without a wound and after a month's leave hopes to go back to operation and to the Welsh girl he married in England.
Once, his whole flight, with the exception of himself, was shot down over France.
He is credited with damaging three locomotives in train-busting operations.
Fenwick served eight months in North Africa and was all through the operation as his squadron landed with the British 1st Army and worked with it and the 8th Army until the fall of Tunis. His bag is 5½ certain destroyed, 3½ probable and 7 damaged.
His worst experience was when he shot down his second German and he was forced down himself.
"I got separated from my squadron and ended up with another squadron which turned out to be Jerries," he said. "There were 12 of them and they played around with me for a while. They shot me down, but I got one of them."
He made a crash landing in a mountainous area of enemy territory where, fortunately, there was little activity and made his way to a British Army advance post. That was the second time he was shot down and on the first occasion he had a "few wounds."
In nine months of special task work from Malta, Philpotts had many brushes with the enemy. He was working over enemy territory most of the time and in all has 140 operations over it to his credit, including one week’s operations over Sicily at the start of the campaign there.
Previously, while serving in Fighter Command from Britain he shot down two enemy aircraft and was shot down himself.

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TORONTO FLIERS AWARDED BARS TO THEIR DFC'S

Godefroy, MacDonald of Wolf Squadron Have Impressive Scores

Ottawa, Sept. 2, 1943 (CP)—Two officers who were close friends overseas and became famous as a fighting team in company with their former commanding officer, Sqdn. Ldr. C. M. Magwood, D.F.C., of Toronto, have been awarded Bars to the D.F.C.s, air force headquarters announced tonight.
They are Sqdn. Ldr. Hugh C. Godefroy, 130 Oriole Parkway, Toronto, and Flt. Lt. Harry Deane MacDonald, 30 Craydon Ave., Toronto. MacDonald now is home on leave. Godefroy now commands Magwood's "Wolf" Squadron, a Spitfire unit which has made its name a byword among fighter pilots with its outstanding battle record.
The "Wolf" Squadron is famed for its destructive low-level sweeps over enemy territory, blasting trains and rail centers. Its members, who include some of the R.C.A.F.’s most outstanding pilots, have rung up an enviable record of enemy aircraft downed.
Since Godefroy took command a short time ago, the squadron has added 10 more enemy aircraft destroyed to its already impressive list, with others "damaged."
Godefroy and MacDonald both won their D.F.C.s in May of this Year. At that time Godefroy had two enemy aircraft destroyed and three locomotives damaged to his credit. MacDonald had five enemy aircraft destroyed and three locomotives damaged on his score sheet.
Citations covering awards of Bars to the D.F.C. to Godefroy and MacDonald show that Godefroy has destroyed six enemy aircraft and MacDonald eight.
The citations:
Sqdn. Ldr. Godefroy, D.F.C. — "Since being awarded the D.F.C. in May, 1943, Sqdn. Ldr. Godefroy has continued to display great courage and devotion to duty. He has recently been appointed to command his squadron, which under his leadership has destroyed 10 enemy aircraft and damaged others. This officer has destroyed six enemy aircraft and assisted in the destruction of another. Four of his victories have been achieved since he was awarded the D.F.C."
Flt. Lt. MacDonald, D.F.C.—"Acting as deputy squadron commander, Flt. Lt. MacDonald has destroyed three enemy aircraft and damaged others since being awarded the D.F.C. He has led the squadron on 10 occasions and the wing once, and displayed fine leadership and gallantry. He has destroyed at least eight enemy aircraft."

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MacDONALD, F/L Harry Deane (J15467) - Bar to DFC - No.403 Squadron
Award effective 26 August 1943 as per London Gazette dated 3 September 1943 and
AFRO 2049/43 dated 8 October 1943.

Flight Lieutenant MacDonald, acting as deputy squadron commander, has destroyed three enemy aircraft and damaged others since being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He has led the squadron on ten occasions and the wing once and displayed fine leadership and gallantry. He has destroyed at least eight enemy aircraft.

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"Dean MacDonald's engine cut out on the other side (of the channal), and two of his squadron flew with him while he glided back. On a vector from Control, they found themselves over ten-tenths cloud at four thousand feet. They were told that below the ceiling was fifteen hundred feet and that if he glided down through the cloud, they thought he'd be over land. When they got through the cloud, they were still over the sea. Dean tried to bail by pushing the stick forward to throw himself out over the top. The two fellows who were with him said he landed astride the aircraft, impaled on the radio mast and rode it into the sea. Somebody has got to call his wife. You know her better than I do. Would you phone?
Without answering Connie's inquiry, I put through the call before I had any more time to think. The cruellest thing would be to hold out any hope. Dean was dead, and I might as well tell her. I haven't the slightest idea now what I said. All I know was that I was frank. She must have sensed what emotions I was suppressing as I spoke, for she listened in silence, and then in a soft understanding voice, thanked me and hung up the receiver."
                             (from Hugh Godefroy's book, "Lucky 13")

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Air Force Casualties

Ottawa, Dec, 15.—Following is official casualty list No. 734 of the Royal Canadian Air Force, with next-of-kin: ...
MacDONALD. Harry Deane, D.F.C. and Bar, Flt. Lt., missing after air operations overseas. G.B. MacDonald (father), 30 Graydon Ave., Toronto...

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Victories Include :

6.5 / 1 / 5
plus 1 shared with squadron

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--- Canadian Aces ---

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