Hist ory
EDGAR EDWARDS Survived the War, but not the
Peace
by Charles Page One of the most tragic aspects of WWII was the loss of service men and women just before or just after the war ended. Flight Sergeant Edgar Bruce Edwards was one of those who survived the war, but not the peace. Edwards was a wireless air gunner killed in a Catalina crash two months after the Japanese surrender. He was born in Wagin, Western Australia on 29 May 1925, and schooled by correspondence at the family property Toomanning. He later attended Piesseville State School, and Narrogin School of Agriculture. With his preference for the RAAF, Edgar enrolled in 80 Squadron Air Training Corps on 3 April 1943. After enlisting in the RAAF on 3 July 1943 he was posted to 5 Initial Training School, Clontarf, Perth. From there he proceeded to 1 Wireless Air Gunners School, Ballarat, where he trained on the Anson and Wackett. Further training, on Fairey Battles took place at Air Gunnery School, West Sale, and Edgar qualified as wireless operator air gunner on 9 June 1944. After a short stint at 2 Air Observers School, Mount Gambier, Edgar joined 35 Squadron, which operated a mixed fleet of transport aircraft, including the Douglas C-47 Dakota. Then on 8 January 1945 he was posted to 3 Operational Training Unit, Rathmines, where he converted onto the Catalina. The RAAF received 168 Consolidated Catalinas, and formed Nos 11, 20, 42 and 43 Squadrons, plus Communication Units, and Air Sea Rescue Flights. The Catalina was also used by QANTAS on the PerthCeylon ‘Double Sunrise’ flights, and by US Navy Patrol Wing 10, based 64
in Crawley, Perth. RAAF Catalinas played a crucial role locating and shadowing the Japanese task force in the Battle of the Coral Sea, and Battle of the Bismarck Sea. The ‘Black Cats’ also bombed Japanese shipping, and mined harbours throughout the SouthWest Pacific and South China Sea, even up to Hong Kong, and Wenchow, China. On 21 April 1945, Edgar Edwards joined 11 Squadron at Rathmines, flying Catalinas on sea patrols and mine laying in Manila Bay. He also flew on operations from Darwin, and ferry flights from Lake Boga. Edgar’s CO assessed him as a good crewman and a good operator. On 30 August 1945, Edgar joined 42 Squadron, based at Melville Bay, operating Catalinas. The squadron had been mostly involved in mine laying operations, but with the war over, it now carried out reconnaissance flights over Japanese occupied areas and evacuation flights for released POWs and other personnel. Edgar flew the first of his three operational sorties on 18 September, and flew a total of 78 hours with the squadron, before his fatal flight. Edgar ’s final trip was a non operational flight from Melville Bay to
Manila to bring POWs home. On 10 October 1945, at 1702 hrs he departed in Catalina A24-365, along with two other Catalinas. Edgar’s aircraft was a Boeing built Catalina PB2B-2, with a high tail, and radome. It was captained by Flt Lt Ronald Carter, who was a highly experienced pilot, with 1560 hours, including1000 hours on Catalinas. The flight was delayed by 27 minutes due to a slight mechanical defect, and contact was lost with the other two Catalinas. Regular position reports were sent out, and after about ten hours the Catalina was nearing the Philippine islands. The aircraft was flying at 1300 feet, just below the cloud base of 1500 feet, with moderate turbulence and rain showers, and still three hours until daylight. At this point the navigator required a drift check and the captain left the cockpit to assist on the radar. Copilot William Williams was now flying the Catalina from the right seat. Williams was an experienced flying instructor, with 2147 hours, and had been assessed as above average. He had converted onto the Catalina at 3 OTU, and flown on several operations with 11 Squadron and 42 Squadron.
Consolidated Catalina PB2B-2 (a variant built by Boeing in Canada) of 43 Squadron. RAAF.
