KITS 12/2021

JN751, W/Cdr Roland P. Beamont DSO, DFC & bar, CO of No. 150 Wing, Newchurch, Great Britain, June 1944

In May 1944, No. 150 Wing was deemed operational, although only Nos. 3 and 486 Sqn were equipped with Tempests, while No.

56 Sqn had to wait for them until late June 1944 and used the Spitfire Mk. IXs in the interim. The Tempests of No. 150 Wing were

tasked with air cover over the battlefield and attack enemy ground targets at the time of the invasion. Starting from mid-June,

the situation changed, as the protection of southern England from V-1 attacks emerged as a priority and the Tempest was the

most suitable aircraft for the task. At the end of September 1944, the entire unit led by Beamont moved to liberated Europe. On

October 12, Beamont´s aircraft was hit by flak and due to a damaged radiator, the pilot had to belly-land it behind enemy lines.

He spent the remainder of the war in captivity. Over the course of the Second World War, Beamont claimed nine kills and in July

1944 was awarded a bar to his DSO in recognition of his successful leadership of the Tempest wing which had destroyed more

than 600 V-1s (32 by Beamont himself). After the war, he continued as a test pilot and flew, among others, the Meteor, Vampire,

Canberra, Lighting and the, most notably, the impressive TSR-2. He retired in August 1979 and died on November 19, 2001.

Two days before the invasion of Europe, Beamont's aircraft received the prescribed “Special Markings” - 18-inch wide black and

white stripes encircling the rear fuselage and wings.

JN763, No. 486 (RNZAF) Squadron, Newchurch, Great Britain, June 1944

No. 486 Squadron, a component of No. 150 Wing, was tasked with ground attack, but from mid-June 1944 to early September 1944, it was fully occupied with intercepting V-1 flying bombs launched from occupied Europe. The Squadron's pilots were

credited with the destruction of 223,5 of them. After the threat of these attacks had decreased, No. 486 Squadron, along with

its sister units, moved to liberated territory and up to the end of the war it was tasked with supporting advancing British units.

The unit was disbanded on October 12, 1945 at RAF Dunsfold. On June 5, 1944, the squadron would receive aircraft, which were

intended to support Operation Overlord (the invasion of Normandy) and received the invasion stripes on the rear fuselage and

wings in the form of 18-inch wide black and white bands. These were applied in haste and could be quite inaccurate and scruffy.

Photographic evidence shows stiffeners added to the rear section of the fuselage in form of fishplates (on this aircraft and all

the other Tempests featured in this box).

JN765, No. 3 Squadron, Newchurch, Great Britain, June 1944

In early June 1944, No. 3 Squadron's code was changed from QO to JF which was used until August 1945. The so-called “Invasion

Stripes” were also added to JN765 aircraft prior to the operation. Groundcrew painted the bottom section of the main landing

gear cover black, apparently in error.

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eduard

INFO Eduard - December 2021