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HISTORY
from February 6 to April 4, 1945, when his
operational tour ended. During this time,
he completed 36 operational flights in the
cockpit of RR201 and destroyed two Bf 109s
during strafing attacks on enemy airfields.
Although RR201 was the personal aircraft of
F/Lt Jack Boyle, its greatest achievements
were made by another Canadian pilot and
Boyle's friend, F/Lt Richard Joseph "Dick"
Audet.
Richard Audet was born on March 13, 1922,
in Lethbridge, Alberta. From a young age,
he excelled in sports, particularly hockey,
basketball, and baseball. As he reached
adulthood, he decided to join the Air Force.
He completed his basic pilot training in October
1942. After transferring to the United Kingdom,
he was assigned to his first combat unit,
No. 421 Squadron RCAF, on July 20, 1943. This
squadron was part of the elite Kenley Wing,
commanded at the time by the famous James
Edgar "Johnnie" Johnson (34+7 victories).
The commander of No. 421 Squadron RCAF
was S/Ldr Robert W. McNair, an ace from the
battles over Malta with 16 victories, and the
squadron was equipped with Spitfire Mk.IXs.
However, "Dick" remained with the unit only
for a short time. In August, he was transferred
to a second-line unit, No. 1623 Flight (renamed
No. 691 Squadron on December 1, 1943), whose
task was to collaborate with anti-aircraft
defense. The unit's primary operational
activity involved towing targets for artillery
training. This assignment allowed "Dick" to
improve his piloting skills and provided the
opportunity to fly various types of aircraft.
The young Canadian spent a year in this
secondary role, during which time he also
married Iris Gibbins from Northampton.
A turning point in Audet's career came on
July 22, 1944, when he reported to No. 1 Tactical
Exercise Unit. This unit specialized in fighter
and fighter-bomber training. In August, Audet
moved to the continent, and on September 14,
1944, he was assigned to his second combat
unit, No. 411 Squadron RCAF, one of the oldest
Canadian squadrons in Europe. Since July 1943,
the squadron had been part of No. 126 Wing
within the 2nd Tactical Air Force (TAF) and
operated successfully over occupied Europe
from the forward airfield Advanced Landing
Ground (ALG) B.88 near the city of Heesch in
North Brabant, southern Holland. By December
28, 1944, "Dick" had flown 52 combat missions
but had not encountered a single enemy aircraft.
However, everything changed the following day.
On Friday, December 29, 1944, shortly before
1:00 PM, Audet climbed into "Boyle's" Spitfire
LF Mk.IXe RR201 DB
-
G and took off as the
leader of Yellow Section on a patrol in the
area of Rheine, Osnabrück, and Münster.
Near a railway station close to Osnabrück,
the Canadians destroyed four locomotives,
39 railway cars, and damaged several others.
They then spotted a trio of enemy aircraft and
attacked, with two of them being taken down
by F/Lt Ireland and F/Lt Cook. Soon after, "Dick"
saw another group of 12 enemy aircraft over
the city and led his Yellow Section towards
them. The German planes, identified as eight
Fw 190Ds and four Bf 109Gs, failed to notice
the approaching Canadians. The Canadians
struck quickly, and the German formation,
despite outnumbering them 12 to 4, suffered
a crushing defeat. The first victory was claimed
by F/O McCracken, and then Audet took over.
His dogfight lasted no more than five minutes,
during which he reported five victories. In his
first encounter with enemy fighters, Audet not
only became an ace but also the only Spitfire
pilot to shoot down five aircraft in a single
dogfight.
This event turned the 22-year-old into
a celebrity, drawing significant attention
from numerous press correspondents
and photographers. Audet described his
engagement with the enemy in his combat
report as follows:
“I was leading Yellow section of 411 Squadron
in the RHEINE/OSNABRUCK area when Control
reported Huns at RHEINE and Squadron turned
in that direction. An Me 262 was sighted
and just at that time I spotted 12 e/a on our
starboard side at 2 o´clock. These turned out
to be mixture of approximately 4 Me 109´s and
8 FW 190´s.
I attacked an Me 109 which was the last a/c in
the formation of about 12 all flying line astern.
At approximately 200 yards and 30 degrees to
starboard at 10,000 feet I opened fire and saw
Photo from December 29, 1945. Far left: F/Lt R. J. Audet demonstrates his impressive feat of shooting down
five German fighter planes to his No. 411 Squadron colleagues, WO J. A. Kerr, R.M. Cook, and Olsen.
(Public Archives of Canada PMR 78-252)
F/Lt John Joseph "Jack" Boyle in his Spitfire Mk.IXe RR201 "Sweet Sue V". (Jack Boyle, Spitfire: The Canadians
VOL.1, courtesy of Andy McNiece)
INFO Eduard
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December 2024