Fleet Air Arm WWII types

[Helldiver]

I'm trying to find English WWII fellows that trained in Beverly, Massachusetts on TBF and SB2Cs. I written to all the UK web sites that would deal with this but haven't had a single answer. One said because of the bulk of mail it would be some time. But after two years I've given up on them. So if you got a relative or a friend that trained in the US, please let me know.

[Richard Westcott]

Have you tried the Fleet Air Arm Association?

http://www.faaa.org.uk/


Or the Fleet Air Arm Museum

http://www.fleetairarm.com/


Or the Fleet Air Arm Archive

http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Home.html


Hope you find what you are looking for

All the best

[Helldiver]

Believe me, I've tried them all, many times. It's very, very frustrating. That's why I'm appealing to SOH.

:banghead:

[Richard Westcott]

Try this link, I have looked around the www for a couple of hours and this is the only name I can place serving with 854 squadron at NAS Squantum, there are some photo's there too.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/howardandbettymitchell/

The only other thing you could is to get these organisations to list your request for information in their newsleeters, there are also on-line forums looking for veterans too.

Good luck

[Helldiver]

Thank you for all your help. It's the first piece of evidence that Beverly even existed. They list it as an auxilary airfield to Sqauntum. In truth, Beverly had longer runways. Also he served there in 1943 and they had Fleet Air Arm stationed there from 1942 to the end of the war. Plus they were barracks there and some of the barracks are still in place.

[wombat666]

HD,
I'm almost certain that the SBC never passed FAA acceptance trials (I could well be wrong of course!) which would mean no aircrew training was contemplated or even a 'Paper' Squadron pencilled in for the Curtiss.
I'll check through some records I have stashed somewhere about FAA squadrons that only ever existed as numbers and never reached formation.
:kilroy:

[wombat666]

Excuse the delay HD, had to dig a little deeper than expected.
:d

The one and only Fleet Air arm squadron formed on the Helldiver was No.1820, on April 1, 1944 at Squantum.
By October 1944, with their allocated aircraft on the way to the UK aboard HMS 'Arbiter', No.1820 was already in the process of being disbanded.

All of the 26 aircraft assigned to the FAA under Lend-Lease were CCF built SBW-1B models, equivalent to the Curtiss built SB2C-1C.
:kilroy:

[Richard Westcott]

Found another link about Squantum.

http://www.fleetairarmoa.org/pages/images_pages/page29.htm

[losttexan]

Thank you for all your help. It's the first piece of evidence that Beverly even existed. They list it as an auxilary airfield to Sqauntum. In truth, Beverly had longer runways. Also he served there in 1943 and they had Fleet Air Arm stationed there from 1942 to the end of the war. Plus they were barracks there and some of the barracks are still in place.

Helldiver, I can confirm that Beverly existed then and still does. I was born there. The city dates back to 1667; before that it was part of Salem (as in the witch trials). As to Fleet Air Arm training there, it could be an easy fit, as the U.S. Navy took over the airport during WWII. Here is an excerpt from the airport's own Web site:

"Beverly Municipal Airport was built in 1928 through the efforts of the Beverly Aero Club and the Beverly Chamber of Commerce. Shortly thereafter, the City of Beverly assumed ownership. During World War II the U.S. Navy operated the airport under a joint-use agreement. And, in 1950, the airport was formerly returned to the City of Beverly."

Beverly Muni is still a general/corporate aviation field. The airport Web site is www.beverlyairport.com (http://www.beverlyairport.com/).

A little Web searching kept turning up the reference to the U.S. Navy during WWII.

You might try contacting the Beverly Historical Society at http://www.beverlyhistory.org/index.htm (http://www.beverlyhistory.org/index.htm). They might have the information on the Royal Air Arm.

Good luck. Let me know how it goes.

LT:kilroy:

Wait - I just noticed that you're in Newburyport. This won't be anything new to you and you can just drive down there if they have any of the info you seek. Oh, well. Good luck anyway.

p.s. I did find that the Navy built runway 9-27, that the airport board has been talking about rebuilding slightly to the side of its current location.

[Helldiver]

I would suggest that my time in Beverly pre-dates you by a couple of years. Although born in Salem, I grew up in Beverly, spending summers in Salem Willows.
Beverly Airport was a small 2400 foot grass strip and housed a Stinson Reliant, a Waco, a Beech Staggerwing and a bunch of J-3 Cubs and a couple of Aeroncas.
The airport was really way out in the woods and a long winding road was the only way in. I remember the first accident in 1938 when a J-3 didn't make it to the end of the runway. He made the mistake of trying to make it back when his engine quit (He was out of gas) I saw him later on and he had lost his front teeth and had a broken arm that he got when trying to bail out of the trees but other than that he was O.K.
I remember when the Navy took over the airport and how all the aircraft was impounded for the duration. Also I remember the British Airmen and yes, they really were trained in SB2C's.
Whether they ever flew them in the Fleet Air Arm is in question.

[wombat666]

Whether they ever flew them in the Fleet Air Arm is in question.

The answer is here.
:kilroy:

'By October 1944, with their allocated aircraft on the way to the UK aboard HMS 'Arbiter', No.1820 was already in the process of being disbanded'.

[Helldiver]

I caught this on a blog about "Barcough AB"
"By far the most interesting aircraft to be seen here were the thirty Curtiss Helldivers operated by 1820 Squadron. Although this type of dive-bomber had been very successful with the U.S Navy in the Pacific, the Royal Navy were to recieve only these 30; and they were to fly from here between 25th July and 15th Dec 1944. When the squadron disbanded there at the end of `44 the Helldivers never saw operational service again."
Like the B-25s of Foulsham, they never got used to the American aircraft.
Is there no survivors of 1820 squadron left in the U.K.?

[Motormouse]

here's another interesting link, if you don't already know it ----> http://www.airfields-freeman.com/MA/Airfields_MA.htm

ttfn

Pete