Driver Harold Ackley
Unit : 63rd Composite Company, RASC
Driver Ackley was one of four RASC despatchers aboard Dakota KG 424 of 233 Squadron, which was one of 50 aircraft flying a resupply mission, codenamed Rob Roy One, to the 6th Airborne Division on the night of the 6/7th June 1944. The aircrew were Squadron Leader C. Wright AFC (pilot), Flying Officer E. Q. Semple RCAF (co-pilot), Pilot Officer B. Cowie RNZAF (navigator), and Flying Officer C. J. Williams (wireless operator); the other despatchers were Corporal Owen, and Drivers Allen and Alexander. As the formation approached the French coast, they were heavily fired upon by Allied shipping which had just been subjected to an air attack. Five of the Dakotas were shot down, including KG 424. The following is Driver Ackley's sadly incomplete account of events.
At 22.25 hrs on June 6th 1944 we took off from an aerodrome near Swindon. The plane was a Douglas "Dakota", with a crew of 4 R.A.F. personnel & also on board were 4 men of the Airborne R.A.S.C. who were responsible for the despatch of the cargo on arrival at the dropping zone roughly ten miles due west Caen. The "D.Z." was to be indicated by ground-lights placed out by paratroops who had dropped during the previous 24 hours. Our cargo consisted of 16 panniers, 2 containers slung from the bomb-rack, & two free dropping bundles. The general contents were food, wireless sets, & medical requirements.
It was a lovely clear night as we became airborne, & it was very interesting to watch all the other planes coming into formation. Ours was the leading plane piloted by a Squadron Leader, & we were at the point of a huge "V" when we found our course & headed for the coast of France. Just as we were within sight of France we saw the German A.A. guns firing well away to our right & we thought we were sitting pretty. All at once we heard a noise that sounded like someone "rolling" past on a kettle-drum, & then we realised that we were on a "shot". The tracer bullets just rippled through the plane from end to stern, but our pilot never altered his course, but flew straight for the river Orne. The orders were to fly up the river & then turn off to the right near Caen which would bring us over the D.Z. But as we reached the river our port petrol tank was set on fire & the flames simple streaked by the aircraft. We were then hit by a couple of "big ones" & we began to lose height, so the pilot opened the throttle to full & came down to fifty feet. We talked about baling out by chute, but it would have been certain death to try it. The wireless operator came into the fuselage to tell us that we were going to crash-land & that we must hang on to something to brace ourselves for the shock. The landing-lights were switched on & a few seconds later we hit the ground, bounced into the air, crashed down again & the plane spun round. The lashings round the cargo came adrift, & everything seemed to be flung into the air. I must have blacked out for a few seconds, for the next thing I remember was hearing the crackle of the plane burning, & I found that I was trapped amongst the panniers. I kept thinking "What a hell of a way to die", & struggled to free my arms, but they were both pinned. Just then I heard my name shouted & I answered back; then I felt the panniers being moved away & I was lifted up & carried to the door of the plane. When I got out of the door I tried to take off my 'chute, harness & Mae West, but my right arm just swung helplessly & I knew then that it was broken near the shoulder.
We walked about a hundred yards away from the plane & sat down in some deep corn, & watched the plane burning, whilst our personal ammunition, which was twelve hundred rounds of 9 m.m. was banging off all over the place. We were all bleeding in one way or another, so we used our field dressings & tore our shirts to stop the flow of blood. We must have been there about an hour, & there seemed to be no sign either of our own troops or the Germans, so the co-pilot said that he was going to move away from that shot & he asked if anyone else wanted to accompany him. The W/Op said that he would go as well, & then three of us from the R.A.S.C. crew agreed to go with him. The Squadron Leader, observer, & the other R.A.S.C. man stayed there, & I learned later on that they were taken as prisoners about three hours after we left them.
We travelled about a mile in three different directions & each time we [END]
The Dakota came down near Giberville. Squadron Leader Wright, Pilot Officer Cowie and Driver Alexander were compelled to remain at the crash site due to their injuries and all were taken prisoner. Flying Officers Semple and Williams, Corporal Owens and Drivers Ackley and Allen headed off and during the night of the 9/10th June were joined by CSM Jones of "B" Company, 8th Parachute Battalion, who is believed to have been the only survivor of an aircraft shot down on the first lift. On the night of the 28/29th June, the party, accompanied by French guides, attempted to make their way through to the British lines but became separated when they ran into a German position. Drivers Ackley and Allen were taken prisoner, and their guide, Jean Roger, was subsequently caught and later executed. Due to his broken arm, Ackley was sent to a POW hospital at Rennes but was released when American troops overran the area. Flying Officers Semple and Williams, together with their guide, successfully evaded capture and made their way through to the British lines. CSM Jones, Corporal Owen and their guide also got away but were unable to find a way through. Jones and Owen were taken prisoner on the 14th July, but managed to escape and joined a French Resistance group in the Bordeaux area, helping with weapons training and carrying out acts of sabotage before returning to the UK on the 13th September.
My thanks to Betty Yardley for this account.