Charles McLaughlin "Maggie" Magwood

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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 blew 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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MAGWOOD, F/L Charles McLaughlin (J5975) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.403 Sq.
Award effective 30 April 1943 as per London Gazette dated 18 May 1943 and
AFRO 1078/43 dated 11 June 1943

In April 1943, this officer was engaged in escorting a bomber force during an operational sortie. Much fighter opposition was encountered and in the ensuing combat Flight Lieutenant Magwood shot down two enemy aircraft. The previous day he engaged a Focke Wulfe 190 from close range and his accurate fire caused the enemy aircraft to disintegrate in the air. Flight Lieutenant Magwood, who has completed fifty-one sorties, has invariably displayed great courage and devotion to duty.

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CANADIAN FLYERS DEMONSTRATE
CHIVALRY IN WAR IS NOT DEAD
Hard -Hitting Fighters Hold to Scruples in Tough Going
BOCHES DIFFERENT

With the R.C.A.F. Somewhere in England, June 11, 1943 — (CP) — Chivalry in war may be on the wane (this is a very tough war), but it has yet to disappear altogether from aerial combat. There are still some niceties observed in the air by fighter pilots of both sides in this war.

Tough As They Look
This statement, born in the tough league that is Fighter Command, should not by any means suggest the aerial glad-handing which featured so many movies based on First Great War fighting is the vogue now. Not at all.
But the fact is that these clean-looking Canadian kids like Pilot Officer Paul Gray, of Toronto, or Pilot Officer Harry Dowding, of Sarnia, Ont., are just as hard-hitting as they look when they head off a fighter sweep. At the same time they have some scruples. They'd shoot a man down in a scrap but if he bailed out of a damaged aircraft they'd leave him to get down in the comparative safety of his parachute.
"There is still a little bit of chivalry left, I guess," said Sqdn.-Ldr. Chuck Magwood, D.F.C., of Toronto. "We are not allowed to shoot down any one parachuting in distress — that's an order."

Animosity Disappears
He emphasized the "in distress." It would be different in the case of parachute troops being dropped. On one week-end Magwood went out and got himself three Jerries but he did it by straight destruction of their planes.
"Occasionally," he said, "you hear of a couple of pilots fighting it out and both running out of ammunition at the same time."
Magwood smiled, and added, "You know, if I'm out of ammunition myself I have no animosity for anybody."
That happened to him once during a big scrap — he ran out of bullets. So "Maggie" thought fast, made enough dummy attacks round and about to make the Jerries think he could still fight and as soon as he could he got away from there.
Flying Officer J. I. (Skip) McKay, of Owen Sound, Ont., said a lot must depend on the way you feel in the air, which may account for some of the things he ran across during fighter work in Malta.

Shoot Own Mates
"Sitting here in the mess, we all say no, we wouldn't shoot a man in a parachute," said Skip. "None of us would want to think otherwise. But in the 'Med' I've seen one of my best friends 'get it' while he was going down in his parachute so I guess everybody doesn't think the same way.
"Out there, too, I've seen the Jerries shooting up fellows in dinghies."
Once he even saw them shooting up fellows in dinghies when Skip and his flying mates knew these targets were Nazi airmen who had been shot down.
"What did we do then?" asked Skip. "Well," he smiled, "to tell you the truth, we just laughed like hell and went along home."

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CHAPLAIN AMONG THOSE HONORED BY HIS MAJESTY
Canadians Are Decorated For Heroic Service in War Areas

London, July 23, 1943 — (CP) — Mingled with Britons, men of the three Canadian fighting services and a representative of the Dominion's fire-fighters in Britain were decorated by the King at a recent investiture in Buckingham Palace. His Majesty, meeting a Canadian for the first time since the invasion of Sicily, asked Major Michael Dalton, Windsor, Ont. of the chaplain services, "Are your boys glad they have a job at last?" (wow! -jf) "You don't have to ask what I replied," Major Dalton said later. He was one of several army men to receive the O.B.E. Lieut. David Killam, Vancouver, R.C.N.V.R., received the D.S.O., the one Canadian naval man on the list. The King presented D.F.C.s to Sqdn.-Ldr. Charles Magwood, Toronto; John Spence, Guelph, Ont., and PO. Anton Van Rassel, Timmins, Ont. S/L Charles Magwood

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TORONTO PILOT EARNS TRIBUTE FOR FINE WORK
Pictures of Fights Show Tactics Which Got Enemy Planes
DECISIVE VICTORIES

(By Scott Young, Canadian Press Staff Writer)
At the R.A.F. Central Gunnery School Somewhere in England, Aug. 10, 1943 — (CP) — When the fighter pilot in charge of combat films at this university of air firing was screening pictures showing how two dozen enemy fighters were shot down during the previous few weeks, the only one he commented on was one taken from a Spitfire piloted by Flt.-Lt. Deane MacDonald, of Toronto.
"You may like to take particular notice of MacDonald's pictures," he said. "We get quite a number of his here for instructional purposes. They are good."
The pictures showed MacDonald getting two FW190s — sweeping in on them in quarter attacks which were so perfectly executed they drew comment even from this instructor who sees dozens of such films every day, films taken by some of the greatest aces in this war as they send German or Italian planes crashing into earth or sea from combat.
The films showed other decisive air victories by Canadians. Taken from the attacking planes during the winning battles by cameras synchronized to operate with the machine-guns and cannon on the Spitfire's wings, they showed Sqdn.-Ldr. C. M. Magwood, of Toronto, attacking two FW190s and getting one, and Sqdn. Ldr. Hugh Godefroy, of Toronto, getting another FW190. The victory of Sqdn. Ldr. J. D. Hall, of Trail, B.C., over an ME109 on June 11 also was shown.
The fact that the fighter pilot showing the films, a young Englishman with a. creditable fighter record of his own who soon will be going back on operations, commented only on MacDonald's action impressed itself on the several British and Empire correspondents watching the screening. After several had made comments, MacDonald's films were shown again as an example of the finer points of air firing. Both attacks were made with use of a minimum of ammunition and with maximum of results. Both planes, hit mortally, grew rapidly into the camera as MacDonald held his fire on the approach, then were hit with first bursts and fell in pieces out of camera range.
Other films shown included one taken from a Mosquito as it shot down a marauding JU88 over the Bay of Biscay, and several of R.A.F. pilots' attacks on FW190s and Messerschmitts.
MacDonald has a long and fine record in fighter operations, flying with the Canadian fighter wing. Beginning his operations here as a flight sergeant, he took part in the attack on the Gneisenau, Scharnhorst and Prinz Eugen when they escaped from Brest early in 1942, won his commission some months later, and in June was promoted from flying officer to flight-lieutenant. He has a record of five enemy planes destroyed and numerous probables and damageds.

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NOVA SCOTIA FLYER’S NAME INSPIRATION FOR SQUADRON
Officer Now Missing Gives Wolf Formation Fine Reputation
ROUGH ON GERMANS

Somewhere in England, Aug. 20, 1943 — (CF) — The story of one of the R.C.A.F. fighter squadrons in Britain — which a few months ago decided on the name "Wolf" squadron for itself — is closely linked with the name of Wing-Cmdr Leslie Sydney Ford, D.F.C and bar, of Liverpool, N.S. a brilliant commander who now is missing.

Shot Down Over Sea
Flight -lieut. Basil Dean (former Hamilton Spectator employee) said in an R.C.A.F. overseas press dispatch today that before Ford was shot down while attacking enemy E-boats from low level over the North sea he had left the “Wolf” squadron, but his imprint was so strong upon the formation which he once commanded that his name will be associated with it for the duration of the war.
When the first of a series of Canadian squadrons was formed from R.C.A.F. personnel serving in England, it started with American-built Tomahawk fighters. Soon afterwards it switched to the Spitfire Mark VB - then the finest single-seater aircraft in the world.
The battle of Britain was long over by then, and consequently all the air fighting that this squadron's pilots have done ever since has been carried out in enemy territory. Early this summer the squadron had been credited with 46½ confirmed victories — all over the air fields of occupied Europe.

Shares in Tragedy
The "Wolf" squadron got little chance to knock down Huns until August 19, 1941 — just a year before the attack upon Dieppe, France. That day, four enemy fighters were destroyed. Another three were shot down September 27.
The squadron has had its share of tragedy. One of its commanders, an English squadron leader in the R.A.F., went down over France in the spring of 1942; he now is a prisoner of war. Two flight commanders were lost about the same time, and much rebuilding was needed.

Runs Into Trouble
Then Squadron-Ldr. Alan Christopher Deere, D.F.C. and bar — later to become a wing commander and win the DFC took over. He had destroyed 18 enemy aircraft during the battle of Dunkerque and the battle of Britain, and it looked as though a scintillating chapter in the squadron's history was about to be written.
But one day in the summer of 1942, Deere led his squadron across the English Channel. It ran into a horde of between 40 and 50 Focke-Wulfs, and little could be done except extricate the squadron as well end quickly as possible. Five Spitfires were shot down and the "Wolf" squadron was sent to a quiet area to re-form its battle order.
Ford assumed command August 32, 1942. A week later he led his squadron into the furnace over Dieppe, and in the action his pilots destroyed six enemy aircraft for certain. Ford himself shot down two and many "probables" and damaged aircraft were credited to the guns of his fellow flyers.

Aided By Mountains
Around him Ford had three experienced men — all from Toronto — Charles Magwood, Hugh Godefroy and H. Deane MacDonald. From the time it joined the Canadian fighter wing until the end of June, 1943, the squadron — flying the new Mark IX Spitfire—destroyed 28½ German aircraft.
The Canadian wing as a whole, led by an English member of the R.A.F., Wing-Cmdr. J. E. Johnson, D.S.O., D.F.C., and bar, was performing magnificently. Johnson himself destroyed 18 enemy aircraft. Meantime, Ford had been promoted and transferred to another station. In two days during his leadership of the Wolf squadron the Canadian wing destroyed 18 enemy aircraft. Magwood succeeded Ford, and it was only a short time later that the pilots learned Ford had been shot down and posted as missing.
Godefroy then succeeded Magwood, and the squadron's tradition continued unbroken.

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TORONTO FLIERS AWARDED BARS TO THEIR DFCS
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.

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BAG 3 NAZIS, 5 LOCOMOTIVES

London, Oct. 24, 1943 - (CP) - R.C.A.F. Spitfire and Mustang squadrons today destroyed at least three Nazi fighters and one reconnaissance aircraft during a busy day escorting bombers, patrolling and sweeping Northern France. Five locomotives were shot up and a number of aircraft were damaged with the loss of one Spitfire.
Sqdn. Ldr. G. W. Northcott of Minnedosa, Man., shot down a Focke-Wulf fighter while his Spitfire squadron was escorting United States medium bombers attacking an air base at Montdidier, France.
FO. J. D. Browne of Forham Park, N.J., flying in a Spitfire wing commanded by Wing Cmdr. Hugh Godefroy of Toronto, destroyed a Messerschmitt 109 and damaged another during a sweep over France. Other members of the wing damaged at least two more.
PO. Gordon Driver, 14 Willowbank Blvd., Toronto, damaged a Focke-Wulf 190 during a melee in which the Canadians were outnumbered nearly 4 - 1. Sqdn. Ldr. Charles Magwood of Toronto, leader of the Red Indian Squadron, also damaged a Focke-Wulf.
From this scrap Sqdn. Ldr. Robert A. Buckham of Vancouver, leader of the Wolf Squadron, returned home with a damaged motor that had been holed by a cannon shell.
Details of other successes were not immediately available.

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500 American Bombers Blast Submarine Base In Biggest Day Attack

London, Nov. 3, 1943 (AP) — The largest force of heavy bombers ever sent out by the United States Air Force — probably 500 or more — battered its way with long-range fighter protection through strong German opposition to smash the important port and naval base of Wilhelmshaven and other targets in Northwestern Germany today.
The raiding force destroyed 34 German planes, 18 falling to the heavy bombers and 16 being shot down by the escorting fighters. In other daylight operations over Occupied France and Holland, Spitfire pilots knocked down 12 German fighters, all but one being victims of Canadian pilots. Medium bombers destroyed two, bringing the total loss for the day to 48 for the Nazis.
The total Allied losses for the day were five heavy bombers, two medium bombers and three fighters, a joint Air Ministry and United States Air Force communiqué said.
The cross-Channel air war continued after dark with a short alert in London—indicating Britain's 13th German raid in 19 nights — and German radio stations went off the air, often a sign that the R.A.F. is raiding the Continent.
(D.N.B., German agency, said in a broadcast that the R.A.F. bombed Cologne wednesday night.)
The record raid by the heavy bombers followed earlier sweeps over the Continent by 8th Air Force medium bombers escorted by R.A.F., Dominion and Allied Spitfires in attacks on enemy airfields at St. Andre de L’Eure and Tricqueville in France and Amsterdam-Schipol in Holland.
In other operations Typhoon bombers raided shipping along the French coast, damaging 12 barges and four boats
Today's attack was the sixth American raid on Wilhelmshaven and the third assault on which escorts went all the way to the target and back with the bombers but it was the fighters' longest trip. The other two-way trips were to Emden, a little short of Wilhelmshaven,
Vigorous opposition by groups of as many as 75 German fighters were reported by the fliers. But, they were unanimously enthusiastic about the way the two-engine twin-tail Lightnings — flying close to the bombers while Thunderbolts provided high and surrounding cover — kept the Germans on the run.
Nine of the German fighters destroyed by Spitfires were victims of an R.C.A.F. fighter wing commanded by Wing Cmdr. Lloyd V. Chadburn of Aurora, Ont., and were destroyed as the fighters protected Allied bombers raiding Schipol Airdrome at Amsterdam. The other two were shot down by Sqdn, Ldr. Charles Magwood of Toronto and Flt. Lt. John Sherlock of Calgary while escorting bombers in a raid on St. Andrew de L’Eure Airport in France.
Chadburn and Flt Lt, Jack Mitchner of Kitchener, Ont., each got two planes. Other Canadian victors: Flt. Lt. Danny Noonan, Kingston, Ont., 1½ planes; Flt. Lt. Arthur Sager, Vancouver, one-half plane; Flt. Lt. Doug Booth, Vancouver, Flt. Lt. Jeff Northcott, Minnedosa, Man., and a Toronto flying officer named Jacobs, one each.

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R.C.A.F.'S BAG DURING WEEK INCLUDES SUB

Ottawa, Dec. 17, 1943 (CP) — Mosquito pilots of the, R.C.A.F. overseas destroyed one Heinkel 111 and damaged another during the last week, while the two-man crew of another Mosquito shot down three of four bombers destroyed over England last Friday and a Coastal Command Flying Fortress, whose second pilot was a Canadian, sank a U-boat after two depth-charge attacks.
In addition, the R.C.A.F. said in a summary of overseas operations tonight, Spitfire squadrons of the RCAF were active last Monday carrying out sweeps in support of United States Flying Fortresses and Liberators hammering targets in Northwest Germany. Two squadrons later escorted Marauders of the United States Army Air Force in an attack on Schipol airfield in Amsterdam.
Last Tuesday PO. C. B. Witt of Morden, Man., shared in the victory of a Coastal Command Beaufighter squadron off the coast of Norway. Two Beaufighters were patrolling when they saw a Dornier three-engined, long-range flying boat ahead. They immediately attacked it and set it on fire.
Crew of the Fighter Command Mosquito which destroyed three bombers last Friday was FO. R. D. Schultz of Bashaw, Alta., and FO. Vernon Williams of Hamilton, the plane's pilot and navigator respectively.
They took off to intercept enemy bombers attacking England and shot down a Dornier 217, blowing it up in mid-air. They then encountered and destroyed another DO 217; accounting for their third victim after their own aircraft had been damaged and was flying on only one engine.

New Base Effective
The Coastal Command plane which sank the U-boat was captained by an Englishman. The submarine was the first victim to fall to a squadron operating from newly acquired bases in the Azores.
FO. D. Thompson of Westmount, Que., second pilot, described the second attack against the U-boat as "a beautiful straddle."
The Heinkel 111 shot down Sunday was destroyed by Flt. Lt. Robert Kipp of Kamloops, B.C. The second Heinkel was severely damaged by FO. J. Johnson of Omemee. Kipp's navigator was FO. Pete Huletsky of Montreal and Johnson's was FO. J. Gibbons of Vancouver. The combat occurred in daylight over France.
Squadrons commanded by Sqdn. Ldr. E. L. (Jeep) Neal, D.F.C., of Quebec; Sqdn. Ldr. I. G. Ormston, D.F.C., of Montreal; Sqdn. Ldr. George C. Keefer, D.F.C., of Charlottetown; Sqdn. Ldr. R. A. Buckham, D.F.C. (United States), and Sqdn. Ldr. G. M. Magwood, D.F.C., of Toronto carried out sweeps on Monday.
In close escort of United States heavy bombers were squadrons commanded by Sqdn. Ldr. G. W. Northcott, D.F.C., of Minnedosa, Man., and Sqdn. Ldr. F. E. Green, D.F.C, of Toronto.
The squadrons commanded by Buckham and Northcott escorted the American marauders in their attack on Schipol airfield.

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Victories Include :

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--- Canadian Aces ---

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