Robert Carl "Moose" Fumerton

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'We'll Win Again In Air,' Bishop Tells New Pilots

(By JOHN BASSETT JR.) (Staff Writer, The Globe and Mail.)
Camp Borden, May 23, 1940 — The same spirit that won supremacy of the skies for Canadian airmen during the last war and enabled them to smash the German Air Force, giving two blows for one, in the dark days of the spring of 1918, will again bring eventual victory to the Allies, Air Marshal William Avery Bishop, V.C., D.S.O., D.F.C., Croix de Guerre, told a thousand officers and men of the Royal Canadian Air Force here today.
No. 1 Wing, Service Flying Training Service, of the Empire air training scheme, under the command of Wing Commander Frank S. McGill, marched a thousand strong under the keen eyes of the Air Marshal. Earlier he pinned the golden wings of the R.C.A.F. over the left breasts of twenty-seven fledglings from all parts of Canada, and two from England.
Stouter and twenty-five years older than the day he received his own wings, Air Marshal Bishop, with the same glinting blue eyes and power of character that blasted seventy-two German planes out of the skies over France a generation ago, bade the airmen of today to have courage. "The Allies will win this war, and win it in the air. But only after a desperate struggle which will call for a marshalling of all that is true and steadfast within us," he said.

Recalls the 100 Days
"The enemy has been able to strike with savage and brutal Force that has brought results momentarily favorable to him. But there is no reason to be in any way dismayed. In 1918 over the same ground the same enemy smashed with all his might, and was turned back. Then came the glorious 100 days when, with Canada always in the air, we drove him to his knees in surrender.
"I can remember those black days, how we used to worry about the outcome, and our leaders then bade us stand firm and give two blows for one.'Keep your tails up,' we were told. The message is the same to you today. We will win this war and win it in the air."
The thousand men grouped informally, some sitting and some standing, had broken ranks at the Air Marshal's request, "because I want to speak informally to you." He spoke of the discipline of the Royal Canadian Air Force, which had built up great traditions in the past and was "building up an even greater tradition now, day by day. Every one of you, from the commanding officer to the cook, has a job to do. We are all serving the same cause, no matter what our rank."

Should Be "Justly Proud"
After inspection of the whole Wing, the twenty-nine officers who had earned their wings formed up at the head of the parade. Included in the group, which had representatives of Canadian cities from Halifax to Vancouver, were two Englishmen, also Pilot Officer Provisional A. C. Hull, former B.S.M. at Royal Military College, and Pilot Officer Provisional A. R. McNaughton, son of the Commander-in-Chief of the First Division, Canadian Active Service Force.
Facing them and speaking in a quiet, earnest voice, Air Marshal Bishop said, "Although it is twenty-five years since my own wings were pinned over my left breast, I still know of nothing to make a man more justly proud than the earning of them. I know you will be proud of yours, and I wish you all the luck in the world as you help us through this dreadful struggle."
The ceremony over, the column of straight, blue-clad figures marched past the Air Marshal, who took the salute standing under the Royal Canadian Air Force flag.
Later the young officers roared their yellow bombers over the camp, while the greatest ace of the last war stood watching his eyes squinting in the sun.
Those who were presented with wings were: P/O/P V. M. Terry of Calgary; P/O R. J. Bennell of England; P/O C. C. W. Marshall of Kingston; P/O/P A. C. Hull of Vancouver; P/O/P R. C. Weston of Saint John; P/O/P G. F. McAvity of Saint John; P/O C. A. B. Wallace of Vancouver; P/O/P R. R. Livermore of Calgary; P/O W. D. Perris of Edmonton; P/O P. S. Walker of Nova Scotia; P/O/P A. G. Hobbs of Calgary; P/O H. A. Sprague of Port Nelson, P/O W. R. D. Turner of Winnipeg; P/O F. S. Watson of Fort William; P/O/P H. M. Rowlings of Halifax; P/O/P G. A. Folkins of Calgary; P/O J. V. McColl of Waterdown, Out.; P/O G. A. Roy of Montreal; P/O R. C. Fumerton of Fort Coulonge, Que.; P/O/P C. H. Wilkinson of Calgary; P/O G. J. Elliot of Winnipeg; P/O/P C. W. J. Fernie of Vancouver; P/O C. K. Card of Saskatchewan; P/O D. L. G. Jones of Dalhousie, N.B.; P/O/P O. B. Pulsifer of Halifax; P/O L. E. Logan of Ottawa; P/O/P A. R. McNaughton of Ottawa; P/O C. M. Humphrys of Southampton, England and P/O A. G. Spurr of Nova Scotia.

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1942

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FUMERTON, F/O (now F/L) Robert Carl (C1352) - DFC - No.89 Squadron
Award effective 16 March 1942 as per London Gazette dated 27 March 1942 and
AFRO 611/42 dated 24 April 1942

One night in March 1942, this officer engaged a Heinkel 111 during an enemy air raid over the Suez Canal Zone. Observing the enemy aircraft in the moonlight, Flying Officer Fumerton delivered a good burst and although he was wounded and his aircraft damaged by the enemy's return fire he continued the attack and set the bomber on fire. Although the undercarriage of his aircraft had been put out of action, Flying Officer Fumerton made a safe landing. The raiding aircraft descended on to the sea, its crew being captured.

NOTE: The original recommendation, communicated by RAFHQ Middle East to Air Ministry (telegram dated 16 March 1942) is given in Public Records Office Air 2/4782 and gives more details than the final foregoing text:

On the night of 2/3 March Flying Officer Fumerton was sent off to intercept a hostile raider and eventually came within sight of the enemy, a Heinkel 111. After a very skilful pursuit in the moonlight, Flying Officer Fumerton closed in to 100 yards and opened fire scoring hits. Thereupon the enemy aircraft opened accurate return fire which wounded the pilot in the right leg and put the starboard motor and the reflector sight out of action. In spite of this Flying Officer Fumerton pressed home a second attack aiming by tracer effect and set the enemy aircraft on fire. His own port motor cut out also and he was obliged to drop away. He was preparing for a landing in the [Nile] delta when one motor picked up again the other still being out of action. During the course of the next hour Flying Officer Fumerton was able by skilful flying and intelligent use of wireless and of signal light to make a homing at another aerodrome and a safe landing with wheels up, the undercarriage mechanism having also been put out of action. The enemy aircraft was afterwards forced to land in the sea, the crew being captured. The offensive spirit, skill and endurance shown by Flying Officer Fumerton were of the highest order. This pilot already has two previous successes to his credit.

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RCAF PLAYS SPLENDID ROLE IN AERIAL WAR
British Bombings Against Axis Targets Grow in Power
GREAT DEVASTATION

London, May 6, 1942 — (CP Cable) — The air ministry today summed up statistically details of the Royal Air Force's April offensive, supporting with figures Britain's claim that the axis is being smashed from the air harder than at any time in history.
Crediting 'more favorable climatic conditions" for the intensified bombing, the air ministry told how during April:
1. 175 attacks were made on 62 targets in Europe, the Middle East and Far East.
2. 287 enemy aircraft were destroyed against an R.A.F. loss of 314, exclusive of the Far East.
3. 31 axis ships were sunk, blasted or set afire.
These figures were compared with those of March, when 136 raids were made on 55 targets and 155 enemy aircraft were destroyed for a British loss of 144.
Canadian crews have figured in operations in almost every theatre of the wax, and a spokesman for the R.C.A.F., reviewing the part they played in the offensive, disclosed that on the basis of the number of man-hours flown in active operations against the enemy, April was their busiest month of the war.
"The full extent of their operations can't be told, but the measure of it can be gained from three highlights which marked the work of the R.C.A.F. personnel on three great battlefields of this Second World War," the spokesman said.
In Europe F/O D. S. R. Hepburn, of Brighton, Ont. was squadron navigation officer for a daylight raid by Lancaster bombers on Augsburg, Germany. He didn't come back from that trip, but other members of the squadron told how his navigation had been largely responsible for the fact that eight Lancasters reached and successfully bombed their target.
"In the Middle East F/O R. C. Fumerton, of Fort Coulonge, Que., continued his exceptional night flying exploits, scoring two victories over German raiders at Alexandria within 15 minutes.

Spotted Bombers
"And in the Far East a Canadian-manned flying boat was the first to spot the approach of carrier-borne Japanese bombers to Colombo (Ceylon). This crew's report to Ceylon defence authorities — the last it ever sent out — was responsible for the heavy losses inflicted on the raiders when they reached the city."
It was in the European theatre that the Canadians had the busiest time however. R.C.A.F. Spitfire squadrons took part in almost all-day sorties among 56 attacks carried out day and night against 22 targets in occupied Europe, 14 of them against Le Havre, seven against Dunkirk, five against St. Omer and three against Cherbourg.
Some of the Boston and Hurricane bombers used in the sweeps were manned by R.C.A.F. crews, many of them by pilots getting into their first real actions.
Meanwhile, in the shortening hours of darkness, R.C.A.F. squadrons were out every night that weather permitted, attacking targets in Germany and occupied France.
The air ministry said the bomber command as a whole attacked eight targets in Germany 19 times. Five raids were directed against the Ruhr, four on Rostock, three on the Rhineland and two each on Cologne and Hamburg.
In addition home-based aircraft bombed Italy once and an attack was made on the Skoda armament factories at Pilsen, in conquered Czechoslovakia. Raids against occupied territory included two against the German naval base at Trondheim, Norway, while in the Middle East, 57 attacks were made on 12 targets, 17 on Benghazi, ten on Martuba, eight on Derna and six each on Berka and Crete.
In European air fighting, the R.A.F. destroyed 117 enemy aircraft and lost 247, while 170 enemy planes were shot down in the Middle East against the loss of 67.
The enemy ships, including supply vessels, a torpedo boat and flak ships, were sunk or damaged off the Norwegian, Netherlands and French coasts. Five ships were hit in the Mediterranean.
Incomplete figures for the Far East showed R.A.A.F. planes made 29 attacks against nine targets, while the R.A.F. based in Burma, in co-operation with the American army air force and the American volunteer group; raided nine targets 12 times.
The R.A.F. and R.A.A.F. sank and damaged 16 ships in addition to damage inflicted on motor launches and barges.

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FUMERTON, F/L Robert Carl (C1352) - Bar to DFC - No.89 Squadron
Award effective 7 July 1942 as per London Gazette dated 21 July 1942 and
AFRO 1189-1190-1191/42 dated 31 July 1942.

Flying Officer Fumerton is a most tenacious and skilful pilot. One night in June 1942 he destroyed two enemy bombers during one flight and repeated this achievement a few nights later. His determination to destroy the enemy is outstanding. Since the beginning of June 1942, seven enemy aircraft have been destroyed by Flying Officer Fumerton.

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Malta 'Moose' Avenges Loss of Moose Fulton

Valetta, Malta, Aug. 2, 1942 (BUP) — The RCAF's "other moose" was aloft in the skies over Malta tonight, adding luster to a nickname already famous among the R.C.A.F. bomber boys in Britain.
Flight-Lieutenant Robert "Moose" Fumerton, D.F.C., of Fort Coulonge, Que., and Winnipeg, Man., was avenging the loss of Wing Commander John "Moose" Fulton, D.F.C., A.F.C., of Kamloops, B.C.
The lads in the R.C.A.F. don't say much when they scan casualty reports. But one of the pilots in Moose Fumerton's nightfighter squadron, when he heard Moose Fulton's plane was missing after a recent bombing raid on Germany, remarked:
"There'd be five of our chaps in Fulton's bomber. Okay, we'll even the score. Two for one."
Since Fulton's namesake was posted to the R.C.A.F. nightfighter squadron here recently, the Canadian boys' score has been considerably better than two to one.
Fumerton first made a name for himself as a night fighter in the Egyptian sector, stealthily following enemy machines in the moonlight and blasting them out of the sky. Near Alexandria one night he destroyed two German bombers in fifteen minutes. That bag brought him the D.F.C.
Transferred to Malta, he kept up the brilliant work. On a Friday night he went up against some Axis raiders who were approaching the island. By the time he landed, two of them had crashed into the sea.
Two nights later Moose Fumerton went up again. Once more two of the attackers failed to return to their bases.

Fulton Officially Missing
London, Aug. 2 (CP) — The Air Ministry today confirmed Saturday's Press Association report that Wing-Commander John (Moose) Fulton of Kamloops, B.C., leader of one of the best-known Canadian bomber squadrons, is missing. It described him as "one of the most popular squadron commanders in the R.A.F."
The last message received from Fulton was characteristic of the ace who took part in almost sixty operations. "In a message to his base," the Ministry said, "he told his anxiously waiting ground staff that some of his crew were wounded and one engine had failed, that he was only about 500 feet above the North Sea and about five miles from enemy-occupied territory and that he was being attacked by fighters."
A search of the area where he presumably would have landed has so far failed to reveal any trace of him.

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Canada's Desert Fliers Revel in 'Super-Party'
Knock Down Stukas Galore in Rommel Rout;
Flying Every Type of Craft, Says Observer

November 20, 1942 - The first detailed report on the operations of Canadian airmen in North Africa was given to Canada last night by Squadron Leader Rod MacInnes, former Canadian newspaperman, in a recorded broadcast from Cairo.
"For obvious reasons I cannot tell you the number of Canadian aircrew who have earned the right to say 'I helped drive the Axis out of Egypt,'" he said in an address broadcast over the national network of the C.B.C.
"However, I can tell you that they are flying in every type of aircraft operating from the desert. Some of them are in the crews of medium and heavy bombers, pounding the enemy at night. Some of them are piloting fighters, night Hurricanes and Spitfires, and still others fly fighter-bombers — and dual-purpose aircraft which can lace the enemy and still meet the foe on a better-than-even basis."
He told how Sergeant Pilot A. L. Croll of Hastings, Ont., and Pilot Officer Ross Bertram of Hamilton, Ont., attached to a torpedo bomber squadron, sank the last remaining ship in an Axis convoy bound for Tobruk; how Flight Sergeants Brown of Virden, Man., R. C. C. Smith of Windsor, Ont., and Dick De Bourke of Boston shot down five Stuka dive-bombers; and other feats of individual prowess.

Seeks More News
Canada has known that there were a considerable number of Canadians helping General Sir Bernard Montgomery's forces against Rommel, but only isolated reports have been received so far. Squadron Leader MacInnes has been in Cairo three weeks to try to arrange for more news for the Dominion about the R.C.A.F. men in North Africa. "It gets a little dusty out here sometimes, but when you breathe it, eat it and sleep it for days on end, you soon get used to it," the squadron leader quoted Sergeant Pilot Croll.
Croll is a desert veteran. So is Pilot Officer Bertram and it could as readily be Bob Smith of Vancouver, Peter Orski from Winnipeg or Joe Clure from Montreal."
Half the personnel of a Shark squadron which has rained thousands of tons of explosives on Axis forces since the big push began in Egypt are members of the R.C.A.F.
"There is tall, blond, Joe Crichton, pilot officer from Chapleau, Ont., credited with an enemy 109. There is Pilot Officer L. H. Kirby of Ottawa, known humorously as 'killer.' He was tagged with that name because he looks more like a young bank clerk than a fighting pilot.

Share "Super-Party"
"Flight Sergeant Brown of Virden, Man., Flight Sergeant R. C. C. Smith of Windsor and Flight Sergeant Dick De Bourke of Boston piloted into what is known as a superparty, the net result being two Stukas for Brown, two for Debert, and one for Smith. What Brown, Smith and De Bourke have done is being duplicated everywhere."
Not far from the landing ground from which the Shark squadron is operating is a Spitfire squadron led by Flight Lieutenant J. H. Currie, a Texan serving with the R.C.A.F., who has a score of seven and one-third enemy aircraft destroyed, two possibles and four damaged.
"Sergeant S. M. Kirby of Madoc, Ont., was flying with a Wellington squadron when Rommel started moving forward last summer," said Squadron Leader MacInnes. "They were forced to fly back. Sergeant Kirby, who hates to go back at any time, has had his kit-bag packed since that day and he vows never to unpack it until they return to the 'drome which they were forced to evacuate. He should be unpacking just about now.
"Kirby's squadron reads like a cross-section of Canada. There is Sergeant R. A. French of Leamington, Ont.; Sergeant Charlie Cohen of Wolfville, N.S.; George Liniker of Edmonton; Sergeant R. Talbot of Montreal; Sergeant Holmes of Victoria, B.C.
"In fact you could almost name any town in Canada and the squadron could produce a name to match it. Most of these lads have been flying the desert since early summer. Before our advance started they formed part of the shuttle service to Tobruk.
"Perhaps there is no better fliers in the desert today than the men who form crews of the night bombers that start flying before dark, and it is seldom a night operation consists of less than two trips. They like bombing the crossroads that contain retreating enemy transport but, according to Flight Sergeant J. K. Lawson, after five or six nights of bombing he began to feel just a little bit sorry for "Jerry."
"'Boy, did we give it to them,' said Lawson. 'We made up for everything we had to take from his bombers both here and in England, and then some. It was pretty easy work because the bomber boys always left enough fires to give us something to shoot at.'"
He could name hundreds of other Canadians, the squadron leader said. Two other outstanding ones were Flight Lieutenant Moose Fumerton of Fort Coulonge, Que., and Pilot Officer L. S. Bank of Montreal. Fumerton's victories in the desert have won him the D.F.C. and bar.
There are many discomforts for the Canadians in the desert, but "I have yet to hear a complaint; as long as they can fly and keep on flying they are happy. These days they have been flying almost enough to satisfy the most enthusiastic," he declared.

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FUMERTON, BING REACH CANADA ON YULE LEAVE
Famous Night Fighters Are Mum on Exploits Which Won Decorations

Ottawa, Dec. 20, 1942 (CP) — A night-fighting team of Canadian airmen, Flt. Lt. Robert Carl (Moose) Fumerton, D.F.C., and Bar, of Fort Coulonge, Que., and Flying Officer Observer Leslie (Pat) Sandford Bing, D.F.C., of Regina, came to Ottawa today, fresh from air battles over the Nile Delta. Flying together since they began operational service, the two young Canadians have 13 certain victories to their credit and now are on leave to spend Christmas with their relatives. Both were tanned from the desert sun and both were enthusiastic over the dangerous and exciting life they have been living as Canadian airmen attached to the R.A.F. in the Middle East.	"Moose" Fumerton
They knocked down one aircraft over England before going East, got three confirmed during three months duty in Malta, and shot down nine over the Nile Delta. Fumerton and Bing have flown Beaufighters throughout their service, the former as pilot and the latter as observer, but neither would give details of the feats which won them their decorations. "That's what the R.A.F. call 'shooting a line,' and we're not going to do that," they said. "What is the difference between night fighting and day fighting?" a reporter asked Fumerton. "The difference between day and night," replied the 29-year-old flight lieutenant, but he would not go into any details. "Which do you like best, day or night fighting?" he was asked.
Likes Any Fighting "I don't care, I like any kind of fighting," Fumerton said. Night fighting needed good night eyesight and the work developed it at the expense of daytime eyesight. The fliers left Egypt just a week ago today on their Christmas furlough in Canada, won because they were top scorers among the Canadian units in the R.A.F. in that area. They said they had to contend mainly with German fliers, and Nazi pilots were good fighters with plenty of resource and courage.	Pat Bing

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1944

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15 Hun Raiders Bagged; Ominous Aerial Lull Over Fortress Europe

London, May 15, 1944 (AP) — Unhampered by the German Air Force, small formations of American heavy and Allied medium bombers blasted Hitler's sprawling coastal defense system today, carrying the pre-invasion air offensive into the 31st consecutive day.
The daylight blows fell after R.A.F. Mosquitos hammered Cologne Sunday night and other R.A.F. bombers struck at unspecified military objectives in France and the Low Countries. R.C.A.F. heavies laid mines in enemy waters. No bombers were lost in these night operations.
A German raid on Southern England Sunday night killed a half-dozen persons. At least 15 of the attackers were reported shot down and four of them were bagged by Canadian fliers.
Approximately 250 United States heavy bombers, escorted by fighters, bombarded objectives in Northern France in daylight, while light bombers hit an airfield near the badly battered Creil railway yards in the Paris area.
The Vichy radio said the Lille and Valenciennes areas of France, much-pounded districts, were also hit.

One Fighter Missing
One escort plane was missing from the daytime raids.
Fighter-bombers dive-bombed an airfield at Gael, 25 miles west of Rennes, while another formation hit a field near Chartres and fired fuel dumps and other installations.
Medium bombers, fighters and fighter-bombers of the R.A.F. 2nd Tactical Air Force, bombing targets in both France and Belgium, included among their targets an airfield at Cambrai and rail yards at Cortrain and Gisors.
The Paris radio said the Pas de Calais area was particularly hard hit in the day's raid.
Outside that activity - with the Mediterranean air force diverted to close support of the new ground campaign in Italy - the great north-south Allied air offensive which started April 8 was almost at a standstill.

An Ominous Hiatus
It was an ominous hiatus for the Germans. The lull is similar to that which hung over Russia's armies in the last few weeks and which no one doubts is merely a period of massing forces for the next, and possibly greatest, effort of the war.
German airmen who raided Southern England last night evidently sought to smoke out invasion preparations as well as to bomb. Although the German force may have been several hundred planes, the bombing was called disproportionately small, indicating a number of them were on reconnaissance. A German High Command communique said Bristol was one target.
Of the 15 German planes shot down over Britain Sunday night, P/O William C. Muschett of Jamaica, and his navigator, F/O F. L. Hall, Edmonton, were credited with two. Wing-Cmdr. R. C. (Moose) Fumerton of Fort Coulonge, Que., and P/O M. McConnell of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., each got one. One R.C.A.F. fighter was missing from Sunday night's operations.
Another German plane — a Heinkel 177 — was downed over France by Sqdn. Ldr. Bob Kipp of Kamloops, B.C., and his navigator, F/O P. Huletsky of Montreal, of the City of Edmonton Squadron of the R.C.A.F. This brought the squadron's total kills since it was formed to 113½.
Three members of the R.C.A.F. Wolf Fighter Squadron shared in the destruction of a German Focke-Wulf 190 on an airdrome north of Lille. The German plane had just landed and was taxiing along the runway when F/O's R C. Williams, Herbert, Sask.; J. D. Orr, Vancouver, and A. J. Bryan of Monterrey, Mexico, swooped down in the Spitfires, opened fire and left the aircraft burning.

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Fumerton Home
Would Like To Fight Jap Airmen

Ottawa, Aug. 20, 1944 (CP) — A big, strapping guy with a deceiving gentleness and a row of decorations got off a train here today and told newsmen he didn't think he'd have time to get back in the fighting over Europe because the Germans were fading too fast, but he hoped to see some service in the Pacific.
If he does, it will round out the sky-fighting career of Group Capt. Carl (Moose) Fumerton of Fort Coulonge, Que., that started in the Battle of Britain, included Malta and Egypt, and three weeks ago saw him flying support for the grounded forces in Normandy.
"You're a 'groupie' now then," the reporter grinned and showed "The Moose," an official paper with his promotion recorded.
"Gosh, I hope that doesn't mean I'm to be grounded," he said with genuine concern, studying the document which had been released while he was on his way home.
The famous flier with a record of 14 enemy aircraft destroyed and one damaged, said on his last flight over France three weeks ago: "Our lads down on the ground seemed to be having it pretty much their own way."
The veteran fighter and intruder pilot almost blushed when a reporter called him group captain. "No, just wing commander," he said pointing to the ringlets on his sleeve.

Likes Pacific Prospect
He said this almost enviously, for he added: "Those guys used to gripe at the inactivity in Britain and sort of envy us the continuous action we used to get in the early days. Now they get all the action. The only opposition we get is from the ground defenses these days. The German Air Force is almost a thing of the past. That's why I'd like to take a crack at the Pacific."
He was interested to learn that Ft. Lt. George (Buzz) Beurling, Canada's leading ace from Verdun, had applied to fly far China in the Pacific. The Moose was with Beurling in Malta. "He'll sure be bad medicine for the Japs, eh?" he grinned.
Fumerton said over the years he had watched a gradual deterioration of the Luftwaffe. Their strength had dwindled perceptibly in the last few months, and the quality of their pilots was low. He thought they seemed to lack training. The enemy would not stay and fight and he thought they must be acting under orders to conserve what was left of the once powerful force "for the next war."
"When you do catch up with them, they are an inferior type of the German airmen we met at the start of the war," the ace declared. He said the Germans' lack of training was probably traceable to their growing lack of training facilities and planes as Allied strategic bombing chewed up their war plants.

The "Messerschmidt Fund"
"It's got so now that the chaps around the English 'dromes ironically speak of "The Messerschmidt Fund'—a mythological scheme to raise money to buy the Germans some planes so we can get some action," he said.
Fumerton said that he had recently had a chance to talk to a group of German prisoners and he found the great majority thought "the jig was up" and were ready to throw in their hands. "They've lost all the old bravado we used to see at the start of the war and they're convinced now that they've lost the war," he said.
He spoke of the air cover over Allied armies in France and said: "We've got such an abundance of crews and planes, these days that we can keep the sky full all the time and Jerry just doesn't stand a chance."
He told of the resourcefulness of some of his comrades in developing a technique to combat the German robot bombs—a technique which, he said had been successful.

New Anti-Robot Technique
"The lads found they couldn't catch them because they go too fast. But they knew they travelled at about 1,500 feet, so our boys climb above this altitude and wait. You can see the 'doodlebug' exhaust for more than 18 miles and this gives our lads time to make a long dive and the additional speed thus gained gives them a chance of knocking out the bombs."
He thought an eventual development would be anti-robot planes powered with jet propulsion which would be fast enough to overtake the bombs and destroy them before they could do any harm. "Of course, I'm pretty sure that it won't be very long before the launching areas are in our hands anyhow," he said. With "The Moose" were 300 other airmen repatriates who will go through documentary formalities here today and then, continue to homes throughout Canada for a 30-day leave. Most of them will become instructors; some will remuster from groundcrew to aircrew and a few will continue hospital treatment at air force stations.

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YOUNG AIR ACES ARE DISGRUNTLED AT DESK JOBS

Halifax, Oct. 19, 1944 - (CP) - Two young wing commanders of the R.C.A.F., grounded at desk jobs after air adventures overseas, moped in an air operations office here yesterday and complained of their fears they would not get a chance at the final kill against Germany and Japan.
"This is my field of battle now," said Wing-Cmdr. Frank Hillock, of Toronto, as he gestured around the four walls of his off ice. Once, the sky was his beat.
"I'm not as bad off as Frank; once in a while I can get out from behind the desk for a flight," conceded Wing-Cmdr. R. C. (Moose) Fumerton, D.F.C. and Bar, of Fort Coulonge, Que., who had shot down 14 enemy planes.
Fumerton got nine planes over Malta, two over England and three over North Africa. His narrowest escape came over the desert in 1942 when a Nazi opponent shot both his engines out of action.
"We were on the way to a crash when one of the engines picked up just before we reached the tree tops," he recalled. "We (he and Pat Bing of Regina) managed to get almost back to base before we made a forced landing."

Netted $100
All of Hillock's fighting was done out of England, many of his missions in Mosquito bombers over Europe. He flew with Wing-Cmdr. Guy Gibson on the daring Mohne and Eder dam-busting raid, but was sent off to create a diversion at nearby airfields while the actual raid was on.
His closest scrap brought him $100, which paid for "a wow of a party." .
"We were stooging along one night at about 300 feet," he said. "We were heading for home from Germany and just crossing the Dutch border. Suddenly a bunch of radio towers loomed up in front of us about 850 feet high.
"It was too late to gain altitude, so we decided to weave our way through them. We got through all right but sheared off eight cables and lost a wing tip."
The plane carried back about 100 yards of copper wire—"like gold in England"—which netted the $100 from a buyer.

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FUMERTON, W/C Robert Carl, DFC (C1352) - Air Force Cross - No.7 OTU
Award effective 1 January 1946 as per Canada Gazette of that date and
AFRO 82/46 dated 25 January 1946

This officer has served as Officer Commanding this Operational Training Unit for a period of nine months during which time he very effectively reorganized discipline and flying training to the present high standard of efficiency. Through his personal and strong example he raised morale to unprecedented levels. At no time of the day did this officer hesitate in offering his services , and it is directly due to this attitude that valuable crews and aircraft were saved from destruction. His contribution to the efficiency of the flying training in this unit has been most exemplary.

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the Top-scoring RCAF night fighter pilot,
Moose is credited with the following victories :

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