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The
morning after….Flight Lieutenant Colin Walker (second from
right) with members of his Sunderland crew.
Australians remember as town
marks key wartime campaign
Relatives of Australian airmen who flew from Pembroke Dock in
wartime will be joining in the town’s 70th
Anniversary salute to the Battle of the Atlantic Campaign next
month.
The Australians will be among many visitors with special
connections with the famous Sunderland and Catalina flying boats
which operated out of ‘PD’ in the Second World War, within
Coastal Command.
The Battle of the Atlantic weekend - Friday to Sunday, 10th
- 12th May - is being co-ordinated by the Pembroke
Dock Sunderland Trust and includes a two-day exhibition at the
Pater Hall involving historical and community groups. There
will also be a film show and guided walks.
An heroic moment in PD’s wartime story will be especially
remembered by the Australian visitors - and in new displays at
the Sunderland Trust’s Fleets to Flying Boats Visitor Centre in
the Royal Dockyard.
This recalls the encounter over the Bay of Biscay on 2nd
June 1943 between a Sunderland from 461 Australian Squadron and
eight Junkers Ju88 fighters of the Luftwaffe. In an hour-long
battle the Sunderland fought off countless attacks and its
gunners definitely shot down three of the Junkers and damaged
others.
After this dramatic battle the bullet riddled Sunderland made it
back to Cornwall and was successful landed on a beach. One
crewman was killed and others injured.
Among those planning to visit Pembroke Dock is the sister of the
pilot of the Sunderland, Flight Lieutenant Colin Walker, and
other relatives will also be here.
Leaflets on the Battle of the Atlantic Weekend are being
distributed and are also available at the Flying Boat Centre
Workshop, Fort Road, Pembroke Dock, and at the Fleets to Flying
Boats Centre in the Royal Dockyard. For further information
contact the Sunderland Trust on 01646 684220.
PICTURES: Sunderland Trust Archive
Flashback to 1943…..The remains of Sunderland EJ134, whose crew
fought off eight Junkers
fighters, lies on a Cornish beach. Overnight the sea had wrecked
the aircraft.
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