January 1945

The Buffalo Squadron had now been at war for almost four years and even though it seemed that the end of the conflict might just be around the corner, the first weeks of 1945 were some of their busiest.

The New Year’s work started on 6 January with an attack in conjunction with 144, 455, 315 Squadrons and an ASR Warwick from 279 Squadron. The 300-ton lighter MW.151 Seeadler was sunk off of Bergen, but snow squalls and inclement weather prevented attacks on other, more coveted, merchant vessels that had been sighted in the area. F/L SB Rossiter led the mission.

On 8 January an attack in conjunction with 144 and 455 Squadrons, led by S/L Christison, was conducted on two merchant vessels, a tug and a barge near Korsfjord. All of these vessels were damaged with cannon and RPs. As a result of the attacks, the 172-ton Norwegian passenger ferry Fusa and the 28-ton tug Trygg were sunk. The Trygg was towing barge J.K.2 and went down near Stroneskorpo. A third vessel, the 591-ton Sub Tender/Auxiliary Whaler V.5116 Unitas was sunk in the same strike; she was possibly waiting at harbour entrance for a damaged submarine and was raised back into service after the strike.

On 9 January, the squadron was at it again when a formation of Beaufighters, led by Wainman as a part of a larger strike, located a small 700-ton ship sheltering near the shore. The Beaufighters swept in, hammering the target with RP and cannon until the vessel sank. Some of the aircraft made three runs, coming in so close that they were struck by rock fragments and flying debris. The vessel was actually the Blaaveis, a Norwegian tug that was destroyed in the attack.

The series of successful attacks was continued on 10 January, when a large force of Beaufighters from the Dallachy Strike Wing, led by S/L Christison, DFC, with a Mustang escort from the Polish Squadron, found two vessels near snow-covered Lepsoy and Harmasoy Islands, north of Alesund (right). A few rockets sufficed to set off two explosions in the 110-ton Auxiliary Minesweeper M.5610 KFK.128 (thought to be a trawler), which began to burn furiously. The second ship, 775-ton minesweeper M-322, was just about to dock at Harmasoy when RPs crashed into the hull and cannon shells raked the decks. The whole vessel was soon a mass of flames. The minesweeper was beached as a result of the action but was returned into service.

On 11 January, nine enemy fighters near Lista airfield intercepted a strike force, which included a flight from 404 led by Wainman. The mission had originally been ordered to attack ships in Flekke Fjord. The Beaufighters immediately turned toward the sea leaving the enemy, mostly Me.109s, to be dealt with by the Mosquito fighter escort. In the ensuing fight, three enemy aircraft were claimed destroyed, one FW.190 was claimed probable and one Me.109 claimed damaged. A Beaufighter, Mosquito and a Warwick did not return, it is believed the Warwick fell victim to enemy fighters while attempting to drop a dinghy to a downed aircraft. The next day, a Buffalo patrol noticed flares rising from the sea, and a dinghy was located 100 miles from the Norwegian coast. Two Beaufighters stayed overhead until the air-sea rescue Warwick took over. The results of this rescue attempt are not known.

F/L ‘Howie’ Wainman, DFC, pilot, and F/L ‘Uncle John’ Stoddart, DFC were a formidable crew who led 404 on many strikes during the latter part of the War. (Sqn Archive)










The attack on 11 January was the thirteenth strike in which F/Ls Howie Wainman and ‘Uncle John’ Stoddart had participated during 49 sorties. Before joining the Buffaloes, they had served with a ferry flight, and once, in January 1944, spent 46 hours adrift in their dinghy after ditching in the sea. Wainman and Stoddart were decorated with the DFC, the citation mentioning this experience and their skillful leadership on a 9 December 1944 mission.

Sgt JE Maloney is caught in the act, painting ‘Jezebel’ on the fuselage of the Beaufighter flown by F/O JR Savard.




For the next four weeks, Mother Nature intervened and the squadron spent most of its time grounded due to the weather. Yet, if the Buffaloes could not find action in the air, they found it on the ground. On 17 January, the squadron and echelon party was held in Spey Bay Hall. Invitations had been sent to the Commanding Officer, senior officers of other sections and RAF Dallachy, as well as the Commanding Officers of 144, 455 and 489 Squadrons. Despite the rather cramped accommodations, everyone just managed to squeeze into the hall. A small band provided the entertainment and it was unanimously voted an outstanding success. It was at this function that W/C Pierce expressed his appreciation to the groundcrew in the following letter: