Coastal Command's campaign over the North Sea seldom receives the attention that it deserves nowadays, so author John Quaife's study of the so-called "ANZAC Strike Wing" is very welcome. Spanning 174 pages, this compact (245mm x 170mm) book provides an excellent account of the way 455 Sqn. RAAF and 489 Sqn. RNZAF worked together on some of the most daring anti-shipping strikes of WWII, playing a crucial role in helping starve Nazi Germany of critical supplies from Scandinavia.
Although the two squadrons were popularly known as the ANZAC Strike Wing, they were actually identified at the time by the name of the RAF airfield at which they were based - and as they moved from one base to another, so their name changed with them - e.g. the Leuchars Strike Wing, Langham Strike Wing etc. - but it was as the ANZAC Strike Wing that they achieved fame in a campaign that lasted some fifteen months.
The book's format is a little unusual and I found it very effective in drawing the reader into the narrative. Rather than simply following the familiar and obvious route of creating a War Diary with a chronological list of raids, the author takes time to explore other aspects of the Australian and New Zealand war effort, and to introduce some of the characters who will appear in the accounts of the raids. Learning something of the backgrounds of the crews makes the reader feel more invested in following their progress and ultimate fates.
Overwhelming The Enemy
Something that I hadn't fully appreciated until reading this book was the carefully coordinated "organised chaos" of Coastal Command's anti-shipping strikes. Flying across the North Sea at very low altitude to avoid German radar, the two ANZAC squadrons then divided their duties, with one trying to sink the targets with rockets or torpedoes while the other concentrated on suppressing the enemy flak with their cannons and machine guns. The result was a sky filled with Beaufighters attacking simultaneously from multiple directions as the squadrons sought to overwhelm the defenders and be clear of the target before a response could be mounted.
When it worked, the results were frequently devastating, although there was always the risk of mid-air collisions. But any delay could prove disastrous. This was in the case on "Black Friday" in February 1945, when a massed formation of 32 Beaufighters arrived over a Norwegian fjord only to find that their target had been moved from its expected position. The resulting short delay in locating the ship and reorganising the strike alerted the German defenders and allowed them time to prepare themselves and, crucially, for a dozen Fw 190s to arrive in time to intercept the raid. Nine Beaufighters were shot down and many more seriously damaged, and no German ships were sunk - although escorting Mustangs claimed five of the Fw 190s for the loss of one of their own aircraft.
Although many of the major raids were accompanied by air-sea-rescue aircraft flying to the rear, the chances of survival for crews unfortunate enough to have to ditch were slim. This was illustrated only too tragically in the strike on Lossingfjord in April 1945, where both crew members of a Beaufighter were lost despite having been observed by their squadron mates swimming towards a lifeboat that was dropped for them by a Vickers Warwick.
The book is richly illustrated with well-chosen period photos and is printed on very high quality stock that's ideal for reproducing the photos and artwork. Barring a few exceptions, the photos used have been colourised - which the Introduction explains is to increase their appeal, particularly younger readers.
I have to admit that I'm normally very wary of treating historical reference imagery this way, but in this instance it's been done very subtly, having something of the look of vintage hand-tinted photographs. I think the technique works particularly well in helping bring to life the strike photos taken during the raids. The important thing is that the resulting images are unlikely to be mistaken for genuine original colour shots, so there's little danger of anyone unwittingly relying on them as colour references for camouflage and markings.
For readers who want to view the photos in their original form, reference codes are provided to find them in the Australian and New Zealand archives.
While the tinted B&W photos aren't suitable as colour references, the excellent profile illustrations by Juanita Franzi certainly are, and these offer plenty of inspirations for modellers. The subjects aren't restricted to the Beaufighters operated by the ANZAC wing, as there are also a Catalina Mk. 1 and Mustang Mk. III on the Allied side as examples tied to specific chapters of the book, plus a Bf 109G, Fw 190A-8 and, remarkably, a Ju 52/3m representing their German opponents. Yes, you did read correctly; a Ju 52/3m that featured in arguably one of the most unlikely and one-sided engagements imaginable - Beaufighters vs Junkers tri-motors.
As the conflict over the North Sea has been relatively poorly covered compared with other aspects of the war in the air during WWII, an important inclusion in this volume is a set of maps to help the reader visualise the locations of the RAF airfields and the various strikes described - and, crucially, the extraordinary distances that crews flew at wavetop height to perform the raids.
A selection of significant raids by the ANZAC wing is described in detail, and they are illustrated with actual strike photos. Some of the accounts are also accompanied by useful Google Maps that have been used as the basis to show targets and strike patterns.
Conclusion
I've thoroughly enjoyed reading ANZAC Strike Wing. It's given me a fresh appreciation of the important but often overlooked aspect of the air war in Europe, and it underlines the bravery and sacrifice of the crews who flew in some of the harshest and unforgiving conditions faced by the Western Allies. Similarly, the balanced account leaves one with feeling due respect to the German crews who faced an onslaught of rockets, torpedoes and cannon fire.
Many thanks to Big Sky Publishing for kindly supplying the review copy.
ANZAC Strike Wing - ISBN: 9781923514485 - is available to now from Big Sky Publishing - Price: $19.99
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