Joe Schultz and his Shotgun Vernon Williams
Joe Schultz
and his Shotgun Vernon Williams
________________________________________"GANGED HIM INTO THE SEA,"
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Born in Bashaw, Alberta, 17 December 1922 Remained in postwar RCAF. Cited with F/O Vernon A. Williams (Radar Observer) For additional details see The Tumbling Sky by H.A. Halliday, |
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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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SCHULTZ, F/O Rayne Dennis (J16359) - DFC - No.410 Squadron
Award effective 1 January 1944 as per London Gazette dated 14 January
1944 and
AFRO 410/44 dated 25 February 1944.
WILLIAMS, F/O Vernon Albert (J9577) - DFC - No.410 Squadron
Award effective 1 January 1944 as per London Gazette dated 14 January
1944 and
AFRO 410/44 dated 25 February 1944.
As pilot and observer respectively, Flying Officers Schultz and Williams have completed several sorties at night and have displayed a high degree of skill, courage and determination. During one sortie one night in December 1943, they destroyed three Dornier 217s, a feat which well illustrates their fine fighting qualities. In other sorties they have attacked locomotives and bridges.
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Jan 10, 1944 - Flying Officer Vernon Williams, of this
city, and the pilot of his speedy night fighter, shot down three enemy
planes over Britain one night recently. The feat was revealed in a Canadian
Press dispatch to the Spectator.
At the Palace theatre this week, part of the newsreel is devoted to F.O.
Williams and P.O. E. J. Schultz, Alberta, pilot of the plane. It is a
splendid piece of photography and many Hamiltonians will be anxious to
see it.
The newsreel will be shown at 2:25, 5:30 and 8:25 o'clock Monday to Thursday
of this week inclusive. F.O. Williams is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Williams, 132 Cavell Avenue.
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London, Feb, 14 1944 - Canadian and Allied planes today
continued the almost daily bombardment of Nazi installations in Northern
France while R.A.F. Typhoons struck an enemy airfield and other military
targets and United States fighter bombers raided the Gilze-Rijen airdrome
in the Netherlands. All the bombers and the American fighters returned
without loss, but the R.A.F. lost four fighters in the day's operations.
The raid on the Nazi Northern France installations by R.A.F., R.C.A.F.
and Allied Bostons, Mitchells and Mosquito bombers was the 42nd daylight
pounding given them in 56 days. Spitfires provided the escort.
FO. R. K. Hayward of St. John's, Nfld., destroyed
a Messerschmitt 210 today during a sweep by R.C.A.F. Spitfires over Northern
France in support of Mosquito bombers. Hayward found the enemy close to
the ground, dived and destroyed the plane with a short burst. "I
saw two Germans jump out, but their parachutes did not open," Hayward
said. Canadian planes made the sweeps without loss.
Canadians flying R.A.F, Mitchells said the bombing of the Pas-de-Calais
area targets was deadly despite heavy and accurate antiaircraft fire.
There was no fighter opposition. Flt. Sgt. Stew Weaver of Melfort, Sask.,
said he thought the squadron with which he flew "really did a job."
Vichy radio said 25,000 persons had been evacuated from the area to another,
department of France.
The Gilze-Rijen base is used by the Germans to launch interceptors against
Allied fleets bound for Germany, a task for which Hitler is apparently
saving his fighter force. It was the 15th blow in 18 days by the United
States strategic air force, and the second attack in five days on Gilze-Rijen,
last on Feb. 10.
British fighters bagged at least four German planes during offensive patrols
off France and over Northern France, one falling, to two Spitfires that
chased the German around church spires and over rooftops.
Canadians Down Raiders
German planes poured a heavy rain of incendiary and explosive bombs on
the London area and parts of Southeast England Sunday night, and Berlin
claimed "several hundred Planes" made "another concentrated
attack" on the centre, of London., British officials estimated 80
planes came over, with 15 penetrating to the capital. Six were reported
downed, two by R.C.A.F. Mosquitos, all of which returned safely to their
bases.
One of the raiders was shot down by Sqdn. Ldr. J. D. Somerville of Parry
Sound. His observer was FO. D.G. Robinson of Transcona, Man. The other
fell to FO. Rayne Denis Schultz of Bashaw, Alta., who has as observer
Flt. Lt. V.A. William, of 132 Cavell Ave., Hamilton, Ont. The Schultz-Williams
victory was their fifth as a night fighter team. They destroyed a Junkers
S8 after a six-minute battle. Their aircraft was riddled and the engine
and gasoline tanks holed before the enemy craft plunged in flames to the
sea.
Schultz said the enemy pilot "was evidently dead before the enemy
machine started its final dive but the gunner poured withering fire into
us."
"I could actually see the gunner swinging in his turret, firing at
us," Williams added.
Schultz and Williams each received the D.F.C. last December after shooting
down three aircraft in one night. They have been flying as a team for
more than a year.
Downed One, Damaged Another
Somerville, who is 33, and his observer were on their first operational
flight together. They sighted an enemy plane at 18,000 feet over the sea.
After being severely hit, the enemy disintegrated in midair. Later, the
pair damaged another enemy plane with a short burst of fire.
Another Canadian, WO. I. E. Nelson of North Battleford shared a destruction
of a Messerschmitt 109 during a fighter sweep over France early today.
The enemy plane was brought down jointly by Nelson and an English flight
sergeant after a chase inland.
Two churches, a school and many houses in one thickly populated residential
area were burned out in London as a result of the Nazi Incendiaries. An
East Anglian town suffered what was termed probably its heaviest loss
of the war. Stores, two hotels and a theatre were hit.
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London, March 11. 1944 —(CP Cable)— F.O. Dennis Schultz, lanky night fighter from Bashaw, Alta., who won the D.F.C. for shooting down three German aircraft in one night last December, destroyed a Junkers 88 in a recent raid on this country, raising his score to four, it was announced today. - (Sometimes the news was not always up to date with itself. This story above, one month earlier, has already reported Schultz's 5th kill ;)
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In the "cat and mouse game" of aircraft night fighting, according
to F/L Vernon Williams, D.F.C., Hamilton navigator returned from
England after a tour of operations with the Cougar Squadron, "you've
almost got to lay the enemy down in a town square before the air force
acknowledges your kill." Member of the crew of a Mosquito night fighter
which blasted five Hun planes from the skies over Britain, F/L
Williams was one of eight veteran airmen from Hamilton arriving home late
yesterday after completing eventful tours of air operations overseas.
Yesterday was an important day for Hamilton for the combined operational
record of the returning airmen was the greatest of any party to arrive
back from Britain since the outset of the war. In addition, there was
the record of enemy planes damaged or destroyed.
F/L Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Williams, 132 Cavell
Avenue, is a graduate of Central High School of Commerce and former employee
of the Steel Company of Canada. After 22 months with the Cougar Night
Fighter Squadron, he was posted back to Canada four days in advance of
the Allied landings in Normandy.
Took Invasion Calmly
It was interesting to observe the British reaction to the news of the
invasion, he said. For months ahead every one in Britain had been waiting
and since the invasion was inevitable, they received it in a matter of
fact sort of way.
The business of night fighting, F/L Williams said, fighting
is a "cat and mouse game," where you discern another aircraft
and determine its type in the split seconds before firing commences. "It's
tough and at times monotonous, but the fact that I was in Mosquitoes made
it easier to take."
The purpose of the night fighter is to intercept enemy bombers over the
south coast of England or over the Channel. Members of the squadron work
from dusk to dawn, waiting beside a telephone or doing three and four-hour
"stooge" patrols to see what the enemy's up to.
Banged in the Tail
On one such mission, F/L Williams, flying with his regular pilot,
F/L Ray Schultz, a native of Alberta, came in behind a number
of Dornier 217's on their way to bomb English targets. "We coasted
along behind them and they probably thought we were one of them. Suddenly,
I saw one of the aircraft sitting up ahead. He didn't know anything until
we banged him in the tail." He crashed in flames.
The story of how F/L Williams and his pilot got three planes in one
night has been told often. "But its pretty much luck," according
to the Hamilton officer. "Its luck being in the area where the enemy
is, and sometimes its luck seeing and identifying him first"
Narrow Escape
The toughest scrap of all was the last one in which he was involved. He
had come within a matter of feet of a Ju-88, blasted it, and it began
to “peel over" quickly. Ordinarily, his pilot would have gone
away underneath the aircraft, but it fell too quickly, and as the Mosquito
was lifted to pass over the enemy, a burst from its rear gun sprayed the
Mosquito from wing tip to wing tip underneath.
"The engineers said they couldn't understand how we got home. One
motor was gone, one was faltering and the kite was badly mauled generally."
F/L Williams described how carefully the R.C.A.F. and R.A.F.
carefully study reports of kills. It was almost like requiring an affidavit
from the German shot down, he said, because, if there were prisoners,
they were questioned to determine if engine trouble, ack ack or British
fighters had sent it down.
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SCHULTZ, F/L Rayne Dennis, DFC (J16359) - Bar to DFC -
No.410 Squadron
Award effective 6 July 1945 as per London Gazette of that date and
AFRO 1453/45 dated 14 September 1945.
This officer has at all times displayed great skill and courage in air operations. He has completed a large number of sorties and has invariably pressed home his attacks with much success. Flight Lieutenant Schultz has been responsible for the destruction of eight enemy aircraft at night, two of them during a patrol in April 1945. This officer has set a splendid example of keenness, ability and gallantry.
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| 15/16 Aug. 1943 10/11 Dec. 1943 13/14 Feb.1944 10/11 April 1944 21/22 April 1944 |
one Do217 three Do217s one Ju188 one Ju88 or 188 two Ju88s |
destroyed destroyed destroyed destroyed destroyed |
8 / 0 / 0
The first five scored with F/O Williams as radar operator
the last three with F/L J.S. Christie (RAF).
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Photos : |
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--- Canadian Aces ---
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On these pages I use Hugh Halliday's extensive research (which includes info from numerous sources), newspaper articles via the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC) as well as other sources both published and private |
