Bomber Command president taught pilots Luftwaffe attack manoeuvres

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RON HOUGHTON: 1924-2024

Ron Houghton was president of the Bomber Command of Australia, having piloted Halifax bombers successful World War II. He aboriginal transferred to flying Spitfires, piloting them successful the benignant of German fighters to thatch caller bomber crews however to support themselves.

He died connected April 21 and would person been 100 adjacent month.

Ron Houghton, aloft 2 years agone with ex-RAAF combat teacher Matt Hall, present an aerobatics champion.

His parents, Ernest Houghton and Marie May Houghton (nee Creffield), migrated to Australia from England successful 1914. He was the youngest of 3 children, his siblings being Keith and Hazel.

He attended schoolhouse successful Ryde and his involvement successful flying began with making exemplary aeroplanes. He had his archetypal flight, successful an Avro Avian airy craft successful astir 1934 – erstwhile the household encountered a aviator doing joyousness flights adjacent Penrith, utilizing the roadworthy arsenic a runway.

Houghton joined the RAAF Reserve successful 1941 and enlisted successful May 1942, signing up successful Martin Place. His archetypal aerial unit grooming was astatine Bradfield Park, Lindfield, and aft formation grooming was astatine Temora nether the Empire Air Training Scheme, helium was posted to an Advanced Flying Unit (AFU) successful the UK.

Ron Houghton, pictured centre, with his Halifax aircrew successful 1944.

He recalled: “I was 17 years aged erstwhile I enlisted successful aboriginal 1942. They were looking for anyone really, I told them I was 18 but it was rapidly picked up aboriginal connected that I was 17, but it was excessively precocious and we were off.

“I wanted to beryllium portion of the Commonwealth efforts, and wanted to assistance England conflict against Germany. My parents were calved successful England, truthful I was keen to sojourn and support their homeland.

“My older member Keith besides enlisted and we were some portion of Bomber Command. He was a wireless operator, and I was a pilot, flying Halifax bombers with No 102 Squadron RAF. My unit were mostly English, and we were based successful Pocklington successful Yorkshire.”

The craft types helium flew included Tiger Moths, Wirraways, Airspeed Oxford, Wellington Bombers, Halifax Hurricanes and Spitfires.

In 181 hours of flying time, helium participated successful 31 sorties (13 successful daylight and remainder astatine nighttime implicit force territory – France, Holland Germany, Belgium.

The Halifax bomber missions were chiefly raids implicit targets successful the Ruhr Valley successful Germany, chiefly munition factories and substance dumps.

“I retrieve truthful clearly, 1 evening erstwhile we were attacked,” helium said. “It was a precise acheronian nighttime and my process gunner spotted a German craft flying down us, truthful I told the unit to get acceptable for a fight. He was flying to the near of us, trying to get underneath america to instrumentality retired our substance tank. I turned the craft astir each the mode implicit truthful we could person a look astatine him.

“There was lone 1 pilot, and we were that adjacent that I could spot him, and what helium was up to. The gunners gave him a beauteous hard clip and the level was ripped apart. We survived and came backmost to base. We had had the aforesaid unit for galore of our flights, and it was large to instrumentality together.”

Houghton received a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for a ngo implicit Germany to instrumentality retired a cardinal target. “We had immoderate method issues releasing the bombs, truthful we had to merchandise them manually implicit a bid of circuits without immoderate protective combatant cover, arsenic the remainder of the craft successful that raid had already turned back. We managed to implicit the ngo and returned safely backmost to base.”

The citation stated: “This Officer has completed successful galore operations against the force successful the people of which helium has displayed the upmost courage, fortitude and devotion to duty.”

Posted to Fighter Command, helium flew Spitfires and Hurricanes. It was not communal to transportation from bomber to fighter, but successful the Spitfire Houghton’s relation was purely successful training.

His occupation was to emulate Luftwaffe fighters, undertaking an onslaught illustration to bid bomber crews to beryllium prepared connected missions. “I would hold for them to travel location and without informing utilized to travel up down oregon nether them and usage the tactics of the German combatant pilots. This helped our bomber crews cognize however to debar being deed by the enemy,” helium said.

“Spitfires were the champion combatant plane. Halifaxes and Lancasters were some bully and determination is ever a bully statement to beryllium had betwixt crews arsenic to which is best. But actually, Halifax VII had
better velocity and tallness than immoderate different bombers.”

Houghton had a lasting friendships with his Halifax crew, known arsenic “Joe’s Flying Circus”, and from 1946, helium attended astir each yearly reunion. Two gunners were absent – 1 killed connected the adjacent cognition aft his circuit of work finished, having joined different crew, and the different uncontactable successful South Africa.

Ron Houghton, past 96, and Tony Adams, 97, of The Australian Air Force Association (New South Wales branch) led a work astatine the Anzac Memorial successful Hyde Park commemorating the RAAF Centenary successful 2021.

“I tried to find him for years and went to the South African Embassy successful Canberra and they helped
to find everyone with that sanction successful South Africa. I wrote to them each but ne'er got an answer. [As] the past surviving subordinate of my unit and I visited the widows successful UK but they have
all passed connected present arsenic well. I person a unit photograph present successful beforehand of our Halifax. We were known arsenic ‘Joe’s Flying Circus’.”

At war’s extremity successful 1945, Houghton spent clip astatine General Eisenhower’s Operation Centre astatine RN Portsmouth. He recalled being awestruck astatine the immense magnitude of clip and readying the D-Day landings had required.

In caller years, helium said of his decoration: “The DFC was presented to maine astatine a ceremonial successful NSW Government House erstwhile we retuned. But I felt the full unit should person been fixed 1 arsenic well. A fewer years agone I besides received a French Legion of Honour for our publication to the D-Day efforts with immoderate of the different members of Bomber Command.”

On discharge successful November 1945, helium joined the RAAF Reserve, and soon was employed by Qantas, rising to enforcement level. After moving with respective Asian airlines, helium completed a PhD successful aeronautical engineering astatine Sydney University, yet becoming an Honorary Associate.

Two years ago, helium flew with Matt Hall (former RAAF combat teacher and World Champion Air Racer) and aerobatics aviator Emma McDonald, describing it arsenic the clip of his beingness and becoming Hall’s oldest aerobatic formation participant.

He served to the extremity arsenic president of the Bomber Command Association of Australia and inactive had his archetypal log book, leather gloves and RAAF wings.

Houghton joined Lois Duval Dickinson successful 1949. Houghton is survived by their daughters Janice and Lynley, 4 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

Tim Barlass