B-17 CC Additional Material by Robert M Stitt

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Anson Is and Harvard Is at No. 6 SFTS, Little Rissington. U-boat U-570 after its surrender to a Hudson of 269 Squadron on August 27, 1941. radioed directions to British destroyers, speeding up the search for survivors. On August 28, he maintained watch over U-boat U-570 from Hudson III T9448 ‘X’ following its surrender to a squadron aircraft the previous day and on September 14, while flying T9427 ‘B’, he attacked U-boat U-552 in concert with a second squadron aircraft. Pinhorn left 269 Sqn on January 22, 1942, with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. His next move took place in February 1942 when he was posted to 1 (Coastal) OTU at Silloth as an instructor. While there he took part in the ‘1,000-bomber raid’ on Bremen on the night of June 25/26, flying an unidentified Hudson V coded ‘51’. The following month Pinhorn was promoted to Squadron Leader while, on a less auspicious note, he was pilot-in-command when Hudson V AM595 ‘6’ of 1 OTU crashed on landing at Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, on August 26. According to Pinhorn’s logbook, his second operational tour was to have been with 59 Sqn based at Aldergrove flying Liberator Vs but for reasons unknown this was changed to a posting to 206 Sqn to fly Fortresses. He arrived at Benbecula on May 25, 1943, and began his conversion training four days later under the tutelage of Flg Off Robert Cowey, a veteran of two U-boat sinkings. Pinhorn’s first operational flight took place on June 30 when he flew Fortress IIA FL457 ‘F’ on a Creeping Line Ahead (CLA) patrol off the southwest coast of Ireland. Three more operational flights followed before preparations began in earnest for the squadron’s move to the Azores. This took place in late October with Pinhorn flying the squadron’s dedicated trainer FK190 ‘J’ from St Mawgan to Lagens on the island of Terceira on October 25, 1943. A notation in his logbook by the squadron’s commanding officer, Wg Cdr Ronald B Thomson, reads: ‘Very experienced in bad weather flying.’ Pinhorn’s operational flights in November included three more CLAs and one Met flight while in December he undertook one CLA, one convoy escort, two searches for a German blockade runner and two more anti-shipping patrols. His first operational flight of 1944 took place on January 6 in Fortress II FA705 ‘U’. The entry in his logbook was completed by Wg Cdr Thomson with the added notation: ‘Failed to return.’ Sqn Ldr Anthony James Pinhorn and his crew had been shot down while attacking U-boat U-270 some 400 miles (645 km) north-northeast of the Azores. Searches over the next four days found no trace of the Fortress or its crew. (See main text for details) Thomson, who with his crew had earlier survived being shot down by a U-boat, would later write to Pinhorn’s family: I realized what a magnificent officer and hard worker he was. His loss is deeply felt throughout the squadron, and I personally feel that his position as Flight Commander can never be as capably fulfilled. 12
On February 27, 1945, Pinhorn’s parents received a telegram notifying them that their son had been posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, effective January 5, 1944, the day before he had died. His sister Wendy, now a Lieutenant Nursing Sister in the RCAMC, accompanied by their aunt, Miss Anne Blackwell, MBE, received the decoration from King George VI at a Next of Kin Investiture held at Buckingham Palace on July 17, 1945. The citation read: During his second tour of operational duty, Squadron Leader Pinhorn has taken part in a large number of operational sorties, including anti-submarine patrols and bombing attacks on targets in Norway. Since May 1943 this officer has served as Flight Commander and in that capacity has displayed fine administrative and flying ability, setting a splendid example to all under his command. On November 11, 1979, the Province of British Columbia, as part of an initiative to commemorate British Columbia residents lost in the Second World War, dedicated a 7,346-foot (2,239 m) peak in the north-west corner of the province as Mount Pinhorn. Its location, 57°13’N 130°04’W, lies near the junction of Burrage Creek and Iskut River in the snowcapped Cassiar Land District, some 680 miles (1,100 km) from his family home of Victoria. Its remote location is in many ways symbolic of a person being lost far from home. In September 2005, Wendy and her daughter Judi set out to visit Mount Pinhorn. We flew to Whitehorse and drove the Alaska Highway to Watson Lake, where we spent the night. The following morning we turned south down Highway 37 and were fortunate to find an airfield adjoining the road. It was a quiet Sunday and, as he was not busy, a helicopter pilot agreed to take us over ‘our’ mountain… it took just five minutes to get there in his Hughes 500. The clouds parted on our arrival, giving us a perfectly clear view of the peak and allowing us to enjoy the scene in all its beauty. The summit was quite flat and we could see the hoof marks of mountain sheep. Best of all there was a cairn of stones… it was gratifying to know that hikers had spent time there and had thought to leave a permanent marker. We agreed that as a memorial to an avid outdoorsman, this was ideal. With special thanks to Wendy Hopkins, sister to Anthony Pinhorn. Anthony Pinhorn, left, with the battle flag from U-boat U-570 at Reykjavik. Newly-promoted Squadron Leader Anthony Pinhorn, most likely at Silloth, shortly after the June 25/26, 1942, ‘1,000-bomber raid’ on Bremen. Hudson I T9427 ‘B’ with Anthony Pinhorn at the controls just after he had attacked U-boat U-552 on September 14, 1941. Photographed from the second squadron aircraft involved in the attack flown by Plt Off Colin D M Thompson. 13
Page 1 and 2: Boeing B-17 Fortress in RAF Coastal
Page 3 and 4: could fight their way to and from a
Page 5 and 6: manding officer of the 28 th BS, de
Page 7 and 8: Medium-altitude attack on ships in
Page 9 and 10: onto the northern Solomons, New Bri
Page 11 and 12: The Hudsons flew 13 missions into W
Page 13 and 14: 41-9234 in 1955, 12 years after the
Page 15: Boeing B-17 Fortress in RAF Coastal
Page 18 and 19: 13-7-44 Dakota III KG771 Montreal -
Page 20 and 21: 27-8-44 Liberator VI KH160 Montreal
Page 25 and 26: This sample Crew Member/ Aircraft T
Page 30 and 31: Fortress II FA700 ‘R’. Beaty an
Page 32 and 33: Sgt Joseph Edouard Roch Boudreault.
Page 34 and 35: Aviator’s certificate issued to C
Page 36 and 37: Pair of Junkers Ju 88 R-2s of 13/KG
Page 40 and 41: Anthony Pinhorn’s sister, Wendy,
Page 42 and 43: Richard Weatherhead with the six ot
Page 44 and 45: Inscription commemorating Richard J
Page 47 and 48: Fortress Aircrew Casualties Eighty-
Page 49 and 50: Sgt Garfield Charles Wilson, age: 2
Page 51 and 52: Panel 130, Runnymede, Surrey. F/Sgt
Page 53 and 54: Son of Leslie George and Kathleen B
Page 55 and 56: Sergeant Robert Fabian, age 24. Roy
Page 60 and 61: MKS. III, IV, V and VI A.S.V. There
Page 62 and 63: good chance of being effective if d
Page 64 and 65: Pilots and W/T operators must be fu
Page 67 and 68: Take-off Across the Steel Planked R
Page 72 and 73: Extract from Cle Lamb’s logbook f
Page 75 and 76: Ken Brailsford’s War This photo e
Page 77 and 78: Logbook page documenting the forced
Page 79 and 80: Brailsford’s logbook for February
Page 81 and 82: Unidentified Martin Maryland at LG.
Page 83 and 84: Air tests and ferry flight to Habba
Page 85 and 86: Return of AN518 to Karachi over Aug

B-17 CC Additional Material by Robert M Stitt

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