This is the story of the only Royal Canadian Air Force
Squadron to take part in the Battle of Britain and my Dad's (Russell Mackie
Bragg) part in it.
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| Norman, Rusty and Raymond Bragg |
Russell or Rusty to those who knew him well was born in
Gleichen, Alberta on September 14, 1914 to John Thomas of Collingwood, Nova
Scotia and Julia West Gamble of Castlereagh. One of four boys, he was an
outstanding athlete, having been scouted by the Chicago Cubs (an offer he
turned down because in the midst of the Depression, he was needed at home on
the farm). He also excelled in hockey and running. After high
school in a one room school, he went to Normal School and returned home to teach
in Rockyford. Restless, though, he soon enrolled at the Southern Alberta
Institute of Technology and got his certificate in Locomotive Engineering.
On May 28, 1937, he and his best friend, Jack Elviss joined
the Royal Canadian Air Force where Rusty's engineering skills were soon put to
use with No. 1 Fighter Squadron. About this time, during a tonsillectomy,
he met my mother, Dorothy Harrigan (his nurse) and the two planned to marry,
but then Canada declared war on Germany.
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| RCAF Insignia |
Transferred to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, the Squadron was then
held during the Phony War. Mom travelled from Calgary and the two were
married in the east. They had a few wonderful months, getting to know
many of Rusty's family on both his mother and father's sides.
During the summer of 1940, a few hundred airmen stood in the
way of Hitler's massive air attack on England. One hundred Canadians were among
them.
Dubbed the Battle of Britain, it was the first decisive
clash of Second World War and the first battle in history to be fought
exclusively in the air.
"It is certainly an awful sight to behold those ugly
black bombers in rank after rank," remembered Canadian pilot Ernest McNab.
"Your mouth dries up like cotton wool. You lose all sense of space and
time. We fought far above the clouds in a world of our own - a world of
freezing cold, of limitless space traced with white plumed trails of wheeling
aircraft as they fought. It was like skywriting gone mad. "
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| Rusty Bragg on left with wrecked Hurricane |
For some Canadian airmen the Battle of Britain was baptism
by fire. At the time, Canada had a fledgling air force. Many Canadian pilots
fought with the British military. But as the Battle of Britain raged on, the
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Number One Squadron went into action.
Ernest McNab led the Canadian squadron. The short, stocky
engineer from Rosthern, Saskatchewan was the country's most experienced fighter
pilot but on the eve of battle McNab was worried.
"This is the lowest point in my life. I didn't think my
men were ready for combat."
Not trained as fighter pilots, his men had spent only 20
hours in their planes. Most had fired only once at a moving target. Now they
had to face the fearsome Luftwaffe during some of the fiercest fighting in the
battle.
And their inexperience proved deadly.
As Battle of Britain continued, Allied aircrews were
out-numbered and losing pilots faster than they could be replaced.
Hartland de Montarville Molson had left Montreal, the family
business and his young bride, Maria Magdalena Posner, to fly for Canada.
"Since noon yesterday we have done seven patrols of at
least an hour each. Bill Sprenger, Cupe Hyde, Bob Corbette and Jean Paul
Desloges have all either had to bail out or force land, but are not in bad
shape. Having had two slugs and dinner it is now time for sleep, because we go
at dawn tomorrow. "
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| Quick repair before another sortie |
By mid-September, Hitler was running out of time to
establish air superiority over south and east England. Soon winter weather and
tides would force him to delay an invasion of Britain until spring.
On September 15, 1940 Germany launched as all-out
aerial attack.
At 11:30 in the morning, air raid sirens wailed over London.
Waves of incoming German aircraft left thousands dead and London in ruins.
British, Canadian and other Allied pilots scrambled to their Hurricanes and
Spitfires.
"It was a terrific spectacle," McNab recalled.
"There were more than a thousand aircraft in the sky just south of London.
So many that there was as much danger of colliding with another fellow as there
was of being shot down."
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was in the command
bunker deep below the streets of London. "I asked Air Vice Marshall
what other reserves have we," he wrote. 'There are none,' he replied.
The odds were great; our margins small; the stakes infinite."
The German planes retreated but came back two hours later. "It
was a quick shot and away for someone was sure to be on your tail," Ernest
McNab remembered. "I counted nine aircraft falling at one time, and
there were parachutes everywhere. After fifteen minutes there was hardly a
plane in the sky - the Germans had run for home."
But by the end of the day Germany has lost over 60 aircraft
and failed to smash the Allied air defenses.
Although British cities would be bombed nightly for the next
six months, the threat of invasion was over, the Allies had won the Battle of
Britain. Twenty-two Canadian pilots had died winning it.
Canadian aviation underwent rapid growth after the Battle of
Britain. By the end of the war, 48 RCAF squadrons were stationed overseas.
Almost 10,000 Canadians died in air raids over Germany in an effort to destroy
German industry and the morale of the German people.
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| Rusty Bragg in France after D Day |
By October the Squadron had shot down 31 German planes with
another 43 probables. Their losses included 16 Hurricanes and three pilots.
During this time, Rusty Bragg was quickly promoted from Leading
Aircraftsman to Flying Officer and in 1944 he was awarded the honour of Member,
Order of the British Empire. The citation states: This officer is
the squadron engineering officer. During the Battle of Britain and during
several bombings of Northolt and later at Digby, he was always in the forefront
directing others and setting an example for all. It has been due to his
unrelenting efforts that his unit was transferred from older to newer aircraft
in record time. He has been responsible for the fine serviceability
record of the unit and has rendered outstanding service throughout.
When asked what his MBE was for, Rusty always responded
"My Bloody Effort".
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| No. 1 Fighter Squadron was renamed 401 Squadron, RCAF shortly after the Battle of Britain and went on to distinguish itself during the raid on Dieppe and on D Day, where Rusty's role was to establish the first landing strip and repair depot in continental Europe. He was a Squadron Leader by this time and had spent over four years overseas. He was done in and sent home because of a motorcycle accident in the French countryside. |
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| Battle of Britain Memorial Flight |
Every year on September 15th, or the nearest Sunday
(designated Battle of Britian Sunday) I remember with pride my Dad and all the
young men of No. 1 Fighter Squadron who led Canada into battle.
