The C/O's name was Flt. Lt. "Garry"
Garrats, Second I/C was Flt. Lt "Reggie" Eames.
The other two pilots were Fl. Off. Adrian Coleman
and Polish Plt. Off. Kepka"
Having started flying towing, things were very
slow and quiet at first, and being a Carpenter
'1' which is the same as an airframe fitter
(except they are metal and we are wood) I found
myself with very little to do, so I got
clobbered to doing extra 'duty crew' , crash
crew, orderly corporal, although I was only a
junior/tech then, and organising programmes for
off-duty hours.
Down at the Todendorf Range the "pongos" (army)
had two anti-aircraft batteries, who would each
do a fortnight stint, and then two more would
come in. In their first few days or week they
were hopeless, but maybe got one or two hits
later in the fortnight. After about six or
eight weeks the gunners would return to have a
second "bash". Ah!!, an improvement (slightly).
They began to learn how to shoot. Needless to
say, after their third or fourth visit they were
getting "Shit Hot" so much so that we were
losing a lot of drogues. We had lost as many as
three or four in one day. Now as the months went
on, things got busy, and I mean "busy".
It wasn't so much the accuracy of the gunners but
the stupidity of our all 'infamous' exchange
unit that was causing me a lot of work. Whereas
I had it so easy in the beginning, I was paying
for it now.
As the "Mossies" engines both turn in the same
direction, it causes a hell of a torque around
the fuselage. Consequently, when the winch is
paid "in" the exchange unit is caught in the
torque and thumps violently against the
starboard underside of fuselage. This damage is
repaired by 'patching'. It became so bad
for a few weeks that I was working anything up
to ninety hours a week. I was of course
excused all other duties.
This incessant damage was so bad on one aircraft,
TK717, that it was beyond my jurisdiction. I
talked the C/O to bringing in No.3.M.R.S.U ( my
previous unit at R.A.F. Oldenburg) who, after
about thirty minutes inspection agreed with what
I had told my C/O (Garry) , "She's Cat.5"
(write off)
A few days later a scruffy looking, Canadian
pilot arrived by an Expeditor aircraft. He held
a special Green Flying License to fly Cat.5
aircraft. '717 was duly fueled and serviced
for its return to Blighty. I watched it, with
everyone else, taxi out to the runway to
take-off. My thoughts were "Best of luck mate,
better you than me", and away he went out into
the blue yonder, although I seem to think it was
a bit 'murky' at the time.
Low and behold, two days later we received a
signal to say, although the pilot is a bit
shaken, he is quite safe after "THE WHOLE
EMPENNAGE BROKE OFF THE AIRCRAFT ON LANDING"
On hearing the news our own regular pilot, F/O,
Kepka came into my workshop to give me a big hug
and would you believe, a big kiss, and thanked
me for taking the action that I had. Some time
after I had returned to U.K., a safety cable was
fitted to all Mosquito T.T.35's to prevent the
exchange unit from hitting the aircraft on
pay-in. I suppose my old C/O at 3.MRSU got the
credit for that.
After a 20 year battle with cancer Gordon's dear
wife passed away Wednesday 27th July 2005 at
approximately 3.45 p.m. The funeral was held on
Friday 5th August 2005 at Breakspear Crematorium
in UK. Gordon and his wife had been on a trip to
Schleswig which had to be cut short due to his
wife's illness.
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