Kiwi Fighter Pilot

Leo Walker

During the Pacific Defence Conference at Wellington, April 1939, the British and New Zealand Governments agreed, that in addition to providing personnel for local defence, the RNZAF's role in the event of a European war would be to provide trained aircrew to the RAF under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). New elementary flying schools and aeroplanes were to be established in NZ with a proposed annual output of 700 pilots. The UK would provide training aircraft. This plan was formalised on 17 December 1939.

The first year of World War II saw accelerated expansion of the RNZAF, with new flying training schools established at Taieri, Harewood, New Plymouth and Whenuapai

Leo Walker joined the RNZAF on the 12 April 1941 at the Initial training Wing based at Levin NZ. He spent a month and a half there doing his basic training and achieved his first step in rank on being accepted for flying training.

Leading Aircraftsman Walker L started his flying career at No 2 Elementary Flying Training School of the RNZAF based in New Plymouth . His first flight took place on May 26th 1941 in a DH 82 Tiger Moth NZ659. His pilot for the 20 minute flight was Pilot Officer Strand and is marked, the first entry in his log book as 'Air experience and cockpit drill'. Another flight the same day added taxying to his experience. The rest of the month consisted of the same with him clocking up a total of 3 ½ hours flying. The beginning of June saw a continuation of training until on June 6th the great step forward was taken with his first solo flight of 5 minutes duration.

DH Tiger Moth

The rest of June continued with the training regime with himself more and more often recorded as 'first pilot'. Towards the end of June he was doing aerobatics and cross country flying in a DH 60. He also flew a Miles Magister trainer for the first time. By July he had clocked up a total of 43 hours in the air. During his time at the EFTS he also completed 6 hours instruction in the Link Trainer(a simulator) and was assessed as 'average'.

Miles Magister

At the end of July he reached the end of the course and received a certificate recording his flying hours and again an assessment of 'average' proficiency. but with 'nil' points which needed to be watched.

At this point he left New Zealand to join the Empire Flight Training Scheme being run in Canada.

Empire Training Scheme

He spent nearly a month on the Dominion Monarch sailing across the Pacific. On arrival in Canada on the 18th August he was posted to No 6 Service Flying Training School at Dunville, Ontario and began his training there on the 24th of August, flying as second pilot in a Yale trainer. First solo in the Yale was on the 9th September whereupon he then upgraded to the North American Harvard flying his first solo in this machine on the 22nd. Training continued with a landmark date of the 22nd October when he was certified as a safe enough pilot to carry another pilot as a passenger.

Yale and Harvard Trainers

Training ended on the 7th of November when he qualified to receive his pilot's badge. By this time he had clocked up 136 hours of service flying, 69 hours solo and 67 hours dual. Of these hours 12 hours were at night. In addition to flying training all pupils had to put in a further 18 hours on the Link trainer, mainly to hone their blind flying and navigation skills.

Link Flying Trainer

The certificates in the log book, dated 7/11/41, state that he is qualified as first pilot (day) on single engine landplanes and as first pilot (night) on single engine landplanes even though his night vision was considered below average when tested a month later. The real bonus however came with his promotion to Sergeant on completion of the course.

Having qualified the next move was to the UK. Probably the trip on the SS Emma Alexandria across the U-Boat infested Atlantic was the most dangerous thing he had done so far, the trip taking 14 days. On arriving in the UK there was a break of almost a month before he joined 56 OTU in Lincolnshire. He was to spend 85 days there honing his flying skills in a Hurricane 1 and practicing all those manoeuvres that would mean survival when it came to a real fight. He studied advanced aerobatics, air to air attacks, formation flying and everything else needed to make a operational ready pilot. He even had a go in a decompression chamber to simulate oxygen starvation that could occur at height. He managed to sustain himself reasonably well at a simulated 30000 feet for 15 minutes with no ill effects.

On completing the course at OTU an assessment of 'average' was obtained both as a pilot and in bombing but he also received a written reprimand for 'pranging' a Hurricane, which however, was put down to inexperience. The big day finally came on March 26th 1942 when he finally joined 486(NZ) squadron at Kirton in Lindsey, Lincolnshire as a fully operational pilot, flying Hurricanes.

Hurricane Mk II

By this time he had clocked up a grand total of 190 hours in the air. During the next few months nothing seemed to happen with the time mainly taken up with exercises of one sort or another. It must be remembered that the Hurricane at this time was a purely defensive fighter plane and attached as they were to no 12 group there was little enemy activity to provide any excitement. This state of affairs was to continue until the beginning of August when the first Typhoons arrived. After about a month of conversion the squadron moved to West Maling in Kent (October 10th) and immediately began patrolling the south coast. At the end of October the squadron moved to Tangmere in Sussex, still maintaining a constant patrol along the south coast. They also provided the odd convoy escort.

Hawker Typhoon at low level

There was a bit of excitement for the gallant Walker when he had to make a forced wheels up landing near Worthing due to engine failure. Otherwise life consisted of daily patrols until the first test came. On the 8th February 1943, in company with F/Lt. Sweetman Sgt. L Walker RNZAF intercepted 4 FW 190 fighters and managed to damage one each. The official Fighter Pilots Gunnery Record showed that he had fired 280 rounds and inflicted damage. Incidentally a month later it was discovered that he had been promoted to Flight Sergeant on the 1st February but there can be no connection.

The routine of patrolling continued until the 8th April when an aggressive reconnaissance was made off Le Havre. This was repeated spasmodically. Another break in the routine was provided by the need to escort Air-Sea rescue launches. In may however the tempo increased with more and more patrols over France. This was not without its dangers as at least two Typhoons were lost although no pilots. On the plus side the squadron was able to claim a FW 190 destroyed. June continued the pattern with a further 2 FW190's shot down. This month saw the introduction of the 'Bombphoon' or bomb armed Typhoons on raids to Abbeyville and Caen airfields, 486 squadron providing the escort. In July a personal success was recorded with the sinking of a mine layer near Le Havre. Obviously the pace was beginning to hot up.

August was a good month with newly promoted Pilot Officer Walker shooting up and severely damaging 8 boats in Le Havre harbour. September was quite varied what with Air-Sea rescue escort, Bomber escort and general raiding. The downside was the loss of two pilots reported missing. On September 9th there was a scramble in support of a practice invasion, it was marked in the logbook as'D' day! Losses seemed to be mounting as in October there was an incident where a pilot from A flight had to ditch in the sea and the A/S rescue seaplane( a Walrus) sent to pick him up crashed and sank, leaving the rescue to be completed by launch.

Examining the logbook there seems to be a big blank between October 8th and Dec 9th where F/SgtWalker appeared at No 55 OTU based at Annan, Dumfrieshire and immediately started back in Hurricanes. On the 26th January 1944 he moved over to no 4 Tactical Exercise Unit still based at Annan. The flying here seemed no different to that at the OTU and consisted mainly of formation flying. It was here however, in February that promotion to Flying Officer came through. A further move to No 3 TEU also seemed to bring no change except to change airfields, Great Orton, Honily and Acklington.

Hurricanes formation flying

At the beginning of June 44 a posting to 137 squadron got Flying Officer Walker back into Typhoons but this time there was a big difference. These were equipped with rocket projectiles. After a few days practice on the range he led a shipping strike on 3 destroyers going into Boulogne harbour. No hits were observed. It seems strange that, according to his logbook, he did not fly on D Day but the squadron had been tasked with closing the Channel to German ships that might interfere with the landings which explains the lack of activity on this specific day. The flight had better luck next time, when pursuing the closure policy, a strike at Boulogne destroyed 3 E boats and damaged 4 others. He took a flak hit in the process but with no ill effects.

On the 13th June the Germans launched the first of their flying bomb (V1) attacks on London. The squadron was put on patrol to try to shoot them down. The pilotless planes were known locally as 'Divers' . Anti diver patrol did not seem to be popular and the comment 'elusive buggars' appears in the log book. Also in the same week, chasing one of the elusive buggars Walker used up too much fuel and ran dry while taxying, too close was the comment. He did get in one shot at a diver but complained that a Tempest nipped in first as he was closing. He did see several shot down but he had no luck. He later describes the anti diver patrol as a 'bind'.

An "elusive buggar"

Relief from the bind came in August when the squadron moved to France. There was much increased activity with strikes being made against enemy mechanised transport, tanks etc. A successful strike was made on some Seine barges. September saw the squadron continually on the move and ground attack and Army support role was continued and even allowing for 9 days leave in the UK the logbook shows a whole range of different target successfully attacked. The highlight was an attack on a German HQ where the houses were left burning furiously.. One attack on enemy troop positions was recorded as leaving 300 Germans killed and 150 guns destroyed.

October started the same way when all of a sudden, after an abortive armed recce on the 7th October the word 'finis' appears in the logbook. The 8th October saw arrival at the pre discharge camp in Uxbridge, followed by a move to Brighton before, after a month or so in camp, embarking on the SS Orduna for India. Christmas was spent on the boat and a meal was served the like of which had probably not been seen in Britain for 5 years In fact the meal made so much of an impression that he preserved the menu in his log book. Arriving in Bombay there was a wait of 16 days before embarking in the USS General William Mitchell for New Zealand. A journey of 21 days to NewZealand was followed by a wait of 4 months before Flying Officer Walker was posted to the reserve and became a civilian, 1533 days after he joined up.