James Henry Whalen
Encyclopedia
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
(23 April 1920 – 18 April 1944) was a fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
.
Whalen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on 23 April 1920. He graduated from Kitsilano Secondary School
Kitsilano Secondary School
Kitsilano Secondary School is a secondary school in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada. The school has several district programs including French immersion, on-site pre-employment...
in June, 1938. He joined the Seaforth Highlanders Army Cadets in 1937. In 1940 the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
formed the Royal Canadian Air Cadets with the first squadron starting in Vancouver (known today as the 111 Pegasus Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets) . Jimmy transferred to this squadron and was named its first Wing Commander. At the time he was a first year student at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
. In 1940 the RCAF waived requirements for pilots to be university graduates, and on 26 June 1940 Jimmy enlisted.
He became one of the first candidates of the new Commonwealth Air Training Plan and trained in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
receiving his wings on 25 January 1941. He received a commission as a Pilot Officer, only to have it rescinded after he was caught low flying a Havard trainer under the local Ottawa/Hull Bridge.
In March 1941 he was posted to the No. 2 A.A.C.U. in Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, England. In June 1941 he was posted to 57 O.T.U in Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
for operational training on the Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
He was rated "Above average" by his instructors.
On 1 August 1941 Whalen was posted to No. 129 (Mysore) Squadron, based at Leconfield
Leconfield
Leconfield is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north west of Beverley town centre and lies on the A614 road....
. The next day he was sent up on his first combat sortie. On that mission Pilot Officer Cunliffe downed the squadron's first enemy aircraft, a Junkers Ju-88. On 28 August the squadron transferred to West Hampnett, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
as part of the Tangmere Wing, taking delivery of new Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
Mk V.
On 17 September 1941 129 Squadron was on a fighter sweep near Fruges
Fruges
Fruges is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Situated some 12 miles northeast of Montreuil-sur-Mer on the D928 road, set in a valley not far from the historic battlefield of Azincourt....
when they ran into a flight of Bf 109s. In the ensuing dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...
Jimmy downed a Bf-190E and a Bf-109F. The dogfight consumed much of his fuel and he crashed landed at Hurstpierpont.
Four days later, on a sweep over Gosnay
Gosnay
Gosnay is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A former coal-mining town, now a light industrial and farming village, situated some southwest of Béthune and southwest of Lille, at the junction of the D181 and the N41 roads...
, near the Pas de Calais, 129 Squadron ran into a large group of enemy fighters. In the ensuing melee Squadron Leader Armitage and Lloyd MacDonald were both shot down (Armitage survived and was taken prisoner.) Whalen downed his third Bf-109E and damaged another.
Jimmy described the engagements in a letter to his family:
I was on a sweep leading green section when I saw a ME 109F about to attack my number two. I turned after him and shot him down and then lost our squadron. I was going to head for England when I saw a squadron above about ten to twenty miles inside France. I didn't know who they were so I headed towards them. When I was close enough I saw that they were ME 109E's. About 12-15 flying in formation . I attacked shooting down the first GerryGerryGerry can refer to:*Gerry , an American manufacturer of outdoor sports gear*Gerry , a 2002 film by Gus Van Sant*Gerry , a 2011 biographical film by Alain Desrochers about Gerry Boulet*Gerry, New York, U.S....
. I missed the next then damaged a third, who might have crashed, and was going to shoot at a fourth when my ammunitionAmmunitionAmmunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
was finished. I could see nothing but Gerrys around me and I beat it for England as fast as I could go doing all kinds of queer maneuvers to keep the ME 109's away from me. That was my first fight and yesterday I had my second. We were on a sweep just crossing the coast when 90 + ME 109's attacked us. I had a couple of unsuccessful brushes and being separated from the rest my number two and I started to fight our way home. We were attacked by four ME 109's out over the ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, we took on two apiece but mine headed for France. I lost my number two then and was headed for home when I saw two of three ME 109's that were attacking a damaged Spitfire. I attacked them shooting the first down and damaging the other and was then attacked by the third ME 109. He hit out for France after a slight scrap and I returned to base. The pilot of the damaged Spitfire said he thought I was an angel from heaven when he saw me coming to help him.
On 20 October the squadron made a strike on Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
and Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
and ran into heavy anti-aircraft fire from German Flak ships. Seeking to suppress the fire, Whalen's aircraft took a number of hits. He continued to pepper the ship with cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
and machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fire until it was put out of action.
On 7 December 1941 the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
attacked Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
and other Allied Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n targets. Suddenly British interests in Asia were threatened, and Whalen volunteered to be sent to defend India and Burma.
On 3 January 1942 Whalen was on his way to India. In Port Sudan
Port Sudan
Port Sudan is the capital of Red Sea State, Sudan; it has 489,725 residents . Located on the Red Sea, it is the Republic of Sudan's main port city.-History:...
he started familiarization flying on the Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
and Curtiss Kittyhawk.
On 22 February Jimmy was assigned to No. 30 Squadron, who had seen action in the Western Desert. On 27 February the squadron was embarked onto H.M.S. Indomitable headed for Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Ceylon.
On 6 March the squadron took off from the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
for their new base at Ratmalana assigned to defend the large Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
fleet stationed at Colombo.
On 4 April 1942 a Japanese strike force under the command of Vice-Admiral Chūichi Nagumo
Chuichi Nagumo
was a Japanese admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and one time commander of the Kido Butai . He committed suicide during the Battle of Saipan.-Early life:...
, fresh from their attack on Pearl Harbor, attacked Ceylon
Easter Sunday Raid
The Easter Sunday Raid was an air attack by carrier-based aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy against Colombo, Ceylon , on Easter Sunday, 5 April 1942, during World War II. This attack was part of the Indian Ocean Raid, and was followed a few days later by a similar attack on Trincomalee...
with some 120 carrier-based aircraft. The RAF had 40 defending fighters, consisting of Royal Navy Fairey Fulmar
Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier-borne fighter aircraft that served with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation at its Stockport factory between January 1940 and December 1942...
s and RAF Hurricanes.
Whalen flew over Colombo at 15000 feet and attacked a formation of Val (Navy type 99) bombers. In his first pass he downed two of the bombers. He climbed once more, then attacked again, shooting another down in flames. A flight of Zeros attacked him, however his Flight Leader in another RAF Hurricane intervened.
By the end of the action 27 RAF and FAA (Navy) aircraft had been lost in the battle, with 17 airmen killed and 11 injured. The pilots of 30 Squadron claimed 14 enemy aircraft destroyed, 6 more probably destroyed, and 5 more damaged, out of a total of 19 destroyed, 7 probably destroyed, and 9 damaged in air combat.
Whalen's tally was now 6 confirmed enemy aircraft and 1 damaged. He was now officially an Ace.
In December 1942 he was transferred to No. 17 Squadron in Calcutta, flying fighter bomber and Army support missions.
In June 1943 17 Squadron was moved to Agartala. From there they made sorties against the Japanese in Burma, strafing targets of opportunity, particularly Sampans transporting troops and supplies along the rivers.
In August Whalen was transferred to No. 34 Squadron based at Madras flying the Hawker Hurricane IIc, converted to hold two 250 pound bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
s. In November 1943 the squadron was moved to an airstrip at Palel, Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
.
The Battle of the Imphal Plain -in March and April 1944- saw the Japanese attack directly toward Imphal from Burma. To the north, Kohima
Kohima
Kohima is the hilly capital of India's north eastern border state of Nagaland which shares its borders with Burma. It lies in Kohima District and is also one of the three Nagaland towns with Municipal council status along with Dimapur and Mokokchung....
was attacked by the Japanese 31st Division, defended by a mere 3000 strong Allied force. No. 34 squadron was moved to Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
to provide ground support for these troops. The squadron flew intensive mulitple bombing and strafing missions daily throughout the two week battle, running a gauntlet of small arms and light anti-aircraft fire in the process. On 18 April 1944 Whalen was leading a flight of the squadron's Hurricanes against Kohima. The incident was related by his wingman Sgt Jack Morton:
We were flying from Dergaon when Jimmy was killed. He led six Hurricanes on an attack on the Rifle Range and I was his No. 2. We bombed in Sections of two and Jimmy and I were first in bombing with two 250 lb. Bombs with 11 second delays fitted. I was slightly behind Jimmy and we dropped our bombs at about 50 feet and as we left the target area Jimmy's plane did a barrel roll
Barrel roll
A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on its longitudinal axis while following a helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction. It is sometimes described as "a combination of a loop and a roll"...
and crashed. It was a very sad day on the Squadron because he was by far the most popular officer and pilot in both the Officers and Sergeants Mess. We carried out two more attacks that day and on both occasions we looked for his plane but there was nothing to be seen in the dense jungle."
Flt. Lt. Whalen was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross backdated to April 17, 1944. He is buried, with the other defenders of Kohima, at the Kohima Commonwealth Military Cemetery.