War service record. 1942-1946. David Arthur Johnston. Army

David Arthur Johnston.

====================================

ARMY…..30/3/42 – 30/10/42. Regt. # 634001 22nd. L.A.A. Regt. Driver..

delivering rations & supplies to various gun (Bofors) emplacements around Auckland/North Shore.

Discipline Levin Training Centre.

Transferred to Aerodrome Defence Unit at Taieri

before moving to Ashburton aerodrome for EFTS flying training.

Applied for transfer to NZ Navy (Scheme F) before flying training commenced.

Transfer accepted.

War service continued in various theatres until final discharge.

on NZ Shipping Co’s Ruahine under command of Capt. Lettington.

Crossed Pacific bound for Panama.

Temporary stay off Pitcairn Island to put ashore one of the resident Christian family.

Taken thru Panama Canal at night, short stopover before proceeding to Guantanamo Bay and meeting up with ships from Australia, Kingston and Curacao to form a New York bound convoy.

Two of our seven ships were sunk in route, no doubt helped by the “brownout” conditions highlighting the coastal masses of mainland USA as a backdrop to our small fleet.

Back on terra firma at last, whisked away by train through the night to South Coast.

Introduction to FAA at HMS St. Vincent under the stern watchful eye of the notorious Chief Petty Officer Wilmott. Having completed all the ground work it was time to move again.
Across the Atlantic again this time in the Andes bound for New York.

A long wintery train ride from New York into Canada and our flying school at St. Eugene in Ontario

moved once again to do Advanced Training and was lucky enough to get drafted to USAAF training school at NAS –Naval Air Station Pensacola (Florida)

I survived the rigours of flying a Harvard aircraft and was finally awarded my “wings”
Time to move on again embarked on Aquitania together with 7000 “hopefuls” from the Empire Training Schools.

Carrier training on the HMS Argus moored in the Clyde followed arrival back in UK.

Drafted to Far East Fleet operations,

travelled by sea in the Felix Rousseau Roussel (square funnels) from UK via Gibraltar,

Oran (wreckage of sunken Awatea), Malta and Naples drunk Italian wine in King Victor Emmanuel’s palace cellars), visited Pompeii with Italian POW.
Overnight high speed trip from Naples to Malta in captured Italian Cruiser Bartholomu Africano,

met and talked with Admiral John Tovey (C in C of Home Fleet that tackled and finally sunk the Bismark).

Had the pleasure of doing a PR flight with stop overs at Haifa (Israel ) (Jaffa oranges), Famagusta (Cyprus brandy), and Karachi.

with short stops at Port Sudan, Massawa (Eritrea Ethiopia) , Aden, and Masira Masirah Island (Oman).

As part of far East fleet operations took part in attacks on oil installations in and around Palembang.
A kamikaze attack on our carrier saw a suicide plane firmly embedded in our main flight deck on “April Fools Day 1/4/45 with the loss of over 40 of our maintenance crew.
Operations over land continued with the use of napalm to flush out pockets of resistance.
A brief leave opportunity allowed a trip by train and troop carrier trucks to visit the high country of the Himalayas, enjoyed 5 memorable days at a rest camp in Chaubattia (around 23,000’) with Mt.Everest visible at times on the horizon.
All too soon it was back to life aboard the carrier.

The atom bombs were dropped,