dinomartino1
Well-Known Member
The reverse has 49 signatures of the members of the flight, including Ted Howes. Pinned to the front of the pennant is a blue and white embroidered Observer's wing (brevet), a gold bullion, red and blue embroidered observer's (navigator's) wing for Qantas Empire Airways, brass pilot's wings for Qantas Empire Airways (and a brass and enamel badge for Geelong Grammar School.
Related to the service of Thomas Edward White Howes,. A clerk of Toowong, Queensland and a Traffic Officer (also notes 'Navigator' and 'Freight Officer') with Qantas Airways, Brisbane, Howes enlisted on 6 December 1940 aged 18. He began training with No 2 Initial Training School and was mustered as air crew on 1 January 1941 with the rank of Aircraftsman 2. On completion of this course, and gaining the rank of Leading Aircraftsman, he embarked for overseas training in Canada as part of the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS).. He attended No 2 Air Observers Course Edmonton and No 2 Bombing and Gunnery School where he gained the rank of corporal and was remustered as an Air Observer and was promoted to sergeant. His final course in Canada was No 1 Air Navigation School before he proceeded to Halifax, Nova Scotia, from where he sailed to England for active duty.. He immediately started conversion to Wellington bombers at Nos 23 and 15 Operational Training Units, completing his training as a navigator.
Howes was commissioned as a Flying Officer being assessed as 'an extremely keen & energetic officer of forceful personality.' Assigned to 70 (Wellington) Squadron, RAF, Howes joined them in the Middle East on 24 March 1942. The squadron was equipped with Vickers Wellingtons based at Landing Ground 104 (LG 104) at Qotafiyah, Egypt; Howes' first mission on 28 April was against German supply shipping anchored at Benghazi. With targets ranging from shipping and airfields to road convoys and supply dumps at Martuba, Derna, Tmimi, Gambut and Gazala Wadi, Howes flew 13 night missions through May and June 1942 before a night attack on German transport in the Ras El Kanyis area on the night of 25 June. Having bombed the column of vehicles, Howe's Wellington, piloted by Flight Sergeant Stewart, returned for a number of strafing runs, with the Second Pilot (Sergeant Brown) and Wireless Operator (Sgt Calvert), operating the bomber's two beam guns. They were surprised by an enemy fighter which raked the sides of the aircraft with cannon fire, setting electrics on fire and wounding three of the crew. For his actions in dousing the fires and retrieving the burning rear gunner (Sgt Wagner who had lost a leg), and attending to his crew's wounds with morphia, Flying Officer Howes was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. A photograph of the Wellington being retrieved the next day shows sections of the fuselage completely burned through, revealing the geodesic structure. Sgt Wagner later died of his injuries.
The squadron moved the next day to LG 224 (northwest of Cairo) in the wake of the allied retreat, and Howes was flying again on 4 July, with targets concentrating at Tobruk and Gazala. He flew another six missions up to 16 July before taking leave and transferring to 104 (Wellington) Squadron, RAF, then based at Kabrit, on 8 September. Flying missions mainly at night, his first operation on 22 October was abandoned due to cloud but three days later his Wellington was bombing targets at Wadi Watrum. Howes flew five missions in November and two in December against such targets as nightime German supply columns (on 4 November - 'started a good fire'), Haneish and shipping in Tobruk harbour. His missions slowed after January, with only six more to May 1943 mainly against targets on the Italian mainland. Having flown 44 operational missions, it appears that Howes took on a navigator training role with 203 Group; he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 15 September 1943 just prior to moving to RAF Aquir in Palestine, (south of Tel-Aviv) on 22 September. On 6 May 1944 Howes embarked from the Middle East for Australia,. He applied to be transferred to the RAAF Reserve on 16 March 1945, enabling him to rejoin Qantas. He remained with the RAAF Reserve until at least the late 1950s and later served as a First Officer/Navigator on Qantas Boeing 707 V-Jets for many years. During the Vietnam War, he served as a navigator on the Qantas 'Skippy' troop flights to and from Vietnam.
Height and air speed computer : Flight Lieutenant T E W Howes, RAAF, 70 Squadron.
Middle East. C. 1943. 404900 Flying Officer T. E. W. Howes DFC (centre) with two other DFC winners.
Pattern 1936 flying boots : Flight Lieutenant T E W Howes, RAAF
Winter service dress tunic : Flight Lieutenant T E W Howes, RAAF.
Forage cap : Flight Lieutenant T E W Howes, RAAF.
RAAF Pattern 37 water bottle with attached clasp knife : Flight Lieutenant T E W Howes, RAAF
Pattern 37 full bodied RAF/RAAF webbing water bottle carrier originally dyed grey (this is evident on the shoulder strap). The water bottle is a standard British pattern enamelled tin example, but in black rather than the expected blue enamel.
