World War II Database

ww2dbaseEver since his school days in the United Kingdom, Hugh Martyr had been interested in history, particularly naval history. His interest in history later expanded to cover the American Civil War and the German V-weapons campaign against London. He is also an re-enactor and organizer of major re-enactment events, including the 200th anniversary of Waterloo event where over 8,000 were on the field. He joined the WW2DB team in 2018.

Timeline Contributions

Hugh Martyr has also contributed 296 entries in the WW2 Timeline. A small sample of his timeline contributions is shown below.

» 20 Jun 1944: The airfield at Biggin Hill, south-east London, England, United Kingdom had now become the centre for the defence of South London. 700 balloon personnel including 170 WAAFs were stationed there. Early in the morning one of the recently raised balloons brought down a V-1 flying bomb that exploded in an orchard. Tempest V aircraft pilots from 3 Squadron at RAF Newchurch in Kent brought down 9 bombs and the New Zealand pilots of 486 squadron who shared the airfield brought down a further 3. An American pilot 1st Lieutenant D. W. Johnston of 356th Fighter Squadron of 358th Fighter Group USSAF flying a P-47 aircraft brought down one over the British Channel; he was returning to his base at High Halden, Kent from a fighter/bomber raid against rail traffic in occupied France.
» 15 Feb 1945: The 2,628-ton Dutch tanker Liseta (Captain P. Buisman) was lost while searching for an anchoring place at Margate on the coast of Kent, England, United Kingdom. Most of the crew were saved by the destroyer HMS Holderness (L 48), but 16 were killed in the engine room where the torpedo struck. Later, part of the wreck was blown off during salvage in order to lift her. When the Liseta was lifted, she was repaired and put back into service. She was sold for scrap in Hong Kong in 1957. The tanker was reported as sunk by the German midget Seehund-type submarine U-5332, but the submarine did not report any attacks on this date.
» 23 Jun 1944: Over southern England, United Kingdom, No. 3 Squadron RAF added a further 15 "kills" to their tally and 91 Squadron at ALG (Advance Landing Ground) Deanland accounted for a further 11. Flight Officer Ken Collier RAAF flying a Spitfire XIV aircraft became the first pilot to bring down a V-1 bomb by tipping it over using his wingtip. Pilots of the fighter Squadrons were now demanding that areas of defence be made as regards anti-aircraft batteries as some pilots had experienced friendly fire.
» 13 Jul 1941: The Norwegian merchant steamer Inga I arrived at Oban, Scotland, United Kingdom for repairs.
» 24 Nov 1944: In Britain, the batteries in Suffolk and Essex coastal areas brought down 11 V-1 flying bombs during the evening and another German He 111 aircraft was brought down by a Mosquito night fighter of 456 Squadron flown by Flight Officer Fred Stevens RAAF and Flight Officer Andy Kellett RAAF who had chased the German aircraft for 20 minutes. The Heinkel aircraft of 1/KG53, with its V-1 flying bomb still attached, fell into the sea ten miles off Egmond Aan Zee, the Netherlands. However, the Mosquito aircraft from the same Unit was posted missing, the reasons for the loss have never been found, it was thought at the time that it was lost due to damage sustained in its target's explosion. Read More

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