Wartime Airmail: Great Britain–Sweden 1940-1945

by David D. Howell

Prior to World War II, British Airways Ltd. had established a regular air route between Great Britain, Norway, Sweden and Finland. When Russia and Finland engaged in war the route had to be shortened. World War II brought another change. The air route continued but, in a stunning military operation, Germany suddenly and dramatically invaded Denmark and Norway.

On that day, 9 April 1940, one British aircraft was lost at Oslo while the aircraft at Stockholm escaped by a devious route into Sweden and then home. Thus the Norway connection was severed. This also marked the end of regular air service between Great Britain and Sweden. It was just not practical to continue.

Then came the British response to the German invasion. Before the end of 1940, nine special flights were made between Perth and Stockholm. The aircraft flew through the "complete" German blockade of Great Britain.

Amazingly, mail was apparently smuggled from both Norway and Finland to Sweden for air transport via the British civil air carrier.

Examples of air mail to and from the three Scandinavian countries and Great Britain are known. Most common is mail to or from Sweden and Great Britain. Mail from Finland is scarce but mail from Norway is rare. (Mails passing through Germany or transported via sea to or from Great Britain are not considered in this article.)

Wartime priorities helped determine the make-up of the cargos transported by the civil air carriers. Britain wished to influence Sweden and this could only be accomplished through the media of newspapers, magazines and personal communications. Britain wanted Sweden to know that Britain was still in the war, counteract Nazi propaganda and, not in the least, obtain the fine ball-bearings produced in Sweden. Ball-bearings were essential to the war effort. It also developed that diplomats and company officials would also have to be transported into and out of Sweden.

All flights were under the jurisdiction and by the direction of the Air Ministry. The established air terminals became Leuchars, Scotland, and Stockholm, Sweden (the airfield at Bromma).

British Overseas Airways began the 1941 flights with one aircraft. Norwegian air crews, appointed by their government, did much of the flying in 1942 and 1943. By 1944 and 1945 the British flew somewhat more openly although some aircraft and crews had been lost to enemy action. Even the fast aircraft, Mosquito, was subject to being shot down by the German fighter aircraft. All air routes flown were secret as to actual time, speed, altitude and course of flight.

In regards to the air mail, the dates of the flights and an estimate of the amount of mail carried need be researched. Also, little is known about the following: censorship, POW mail, postal cachets, delayed mail, meanings of certain markings on mail, "closed-bag" or "open-bag" mail, postal rates and administrative postal affairs.

Air Mail Rates to Sweden

30 October 1939 to 17 March 1942: Letter 5d. | Postcard 2½.d

18 March 1942 to 30 March 1943: Letter 1/3d. | Postcard 7d.

31 March 1943 to 13 February 1945: Letter 8d. | Postcard 4d.

From 14 February 1945: Letter 5d. | Postcard 2½.d

de Havilland Mosquitoes used by BOAC

DK292: The first Mosquito to fly the Leuchars – Stockholm route

DZ411: G-AGFV damaged at Stockholm ASI unserviceable swung off runway and undercarriage collapsed. Repaired. 04/07/1944. Flew to 1945

HJ667: G-AGKO flew to 1945

HJ680: G-AGGC flew to 1946

HJ681: G-AGGD crash landed Sweden 1941

HJ718: G-AGGE flew to 1945

HJ720: G-AGGF crashed Invernairk 1943

HJ721: G-AGGG crashed near to Leuchars 1943

HJ723: G-AGGH flew to 1945

LR296: G-AGKP Took off on a return Cargo flight to RAF Leuchars. 19/08/1944. Crashed into the North Sea 5 miles off Scottish coast near RAF Leuchars, Fife, inbound from Stockholm. Crew: F/Lt (71751) Gilbert RAE OBE (pilot) BOAC /RAFO - killed; R/O Donald Trevor ROBERTS (nav.) BOAC - killed; Capt. Bernard William Basil ORTON (pass.) BOAC - killed

HJ792: G-AGKR lost at sea 1944

HJ898: Crew trainer retained RAF serial flew to 1945

HJ985: Crew trainer retained RAF serial returned to RAF 1944

LR524: Crew trainer retained RAF serial returned to RAF 1944

References

Personal collection of covers.

Publications of HMSO, especially: Merchant Airmen: The Air Ministry Account of British Civil Aviation, 1939-1944. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1946.

Private publications, especially: Civil Aviation: A 1943 Commentary by Harold D. Phillips, Newport, Mon, England, 1943.

Illuminated by a Chance Light, civilianized Mosquito FB Mark VI, G-AGGF (formerly HJ720) of BOAC, taxis onto the flare path at Leuchars, Fife, prior to a night flight to Stockholm. Sweden. G-AGGF was lost on 17 August 1943 when it crashed at Invermairk, killing its crew.

De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito FB.VI (G-AGGD), BOAC, Leuchars, 1943.

DH98 Mosquito G-AGFV (DZ411) Mk IV BOAC on 8 January 1943.

A passenger (right), who has been carried in the bomb-bay of a 'civilianized' de Havilland Mosquito FB Mark VI of BOAC on the fast freight service from Stockholm, Sweden, congratulates Captain Wilkins and his navigator on their safe arrival at at Leuchars, Fife.

A passenger traveling in the bomb bay of a de Havilland Mosquito of BOAC, on the fast freight service between Leuchars, Fife and Stockholm, Sweden.

The crew of a BOAC de Havilland Mosquito confer with RAF flying control officers at Leuchars, Fife, before starting a night flight to Stockholm Sweden.

Civilianized Mosquito FB Mark VI, G-AGGD (formerly HJ681), of British Overseas Airways Corporation, landing at Leuchars.

Slough to Hagalund, Sweden, November 30, 1939. 5d. air mail rate + 3d. registration fee.

London to Huskavana, Sweden, May 21, 1940. The air mail rate was 5d. for the first ounce and 3d. for each additional ounce. 8d. two ounce air mail letter rate.

London to Kilafors, Sweden, April 30, 1942. 1/3d. air mail letter rate. "Swedish Permit No. B*1206" typed at the top of the envelope.

Teatherhead to Stockholm, Sweden, January 2, 1943. 7d. air mail rate.

Aldershot to Stockholm, Sweden, May 15, 1943. 8d. air mail rate.

Manchester to Gothenburg, Sweden, November 27, 1944. 8d. air mail rate. Shortpaid 3d. Swedish Tax : 60 ore.

Birkenhead to Stockholm, November 16, 1943. 8d. air mail rate. "PBL" perfin : Price Bronborouh Limited.

London to Stockholm, May 30, 1945. 5d. air mail rate.

The Bottisham Four

“The Bottisham Four,” 26 July 1944. This iconic World War II photograph is one of a series depicting a flight of four North American P-51 Mustang fighters—three P-51Ds and one P-51B—of the 375th Fighter Squadron, 361st Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, based at Air Force Station F-374 (RAF Bottisham), Cambridgeshire, England, as they flew formation with a B-17 Flying Fortress camera ship from the 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy). None of these aircraft would survive the war.

P-51D-5-NA 44-13410, E2-C, flown by group commander Colonel Thomas J.J. Christian, Jr., and named Lou IV after his wife, Marjorie Lou Ashcroft Christian. Jack Christian was a 1939 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He served as a B-17 pilot with the 19th Bombardment Group at Clark Field, Philippine Islands. After the B-17s were destroyed in the attacks of 8 December 1941, Christian was at Bataan before being evacuated to Australia. While ferrying a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, he was shot down over Timor and listed as Missing in Action. He eventually made his way to Allied territory. A few months later, Christian, while flying a Bell P-400 Airacobra with the 67th Pursuit Squadron, was the first U.S. Army Air Corps pilot to land at Henderson Field, on the island of Guadalcanal, 12 August 1942. On 10 February 1943, Major Christian was given command of the 361st Fighter Group at Richmond, Virginia. The group deployed to England in November 1943. On 12 August 1944, at 1505 hours, 361st Fighter Group commanding officer Colonel Thomas J.J. Christian, Jr., flying the lead plane, Lou IV, was killed and his Mustang destroyed in a dive-bombing attack against the Arras railroad marshaling yards in Boisleux-au-Mont, France.

Colonel Thomas Jonathan Jackson (“Jack”) Christian, Jr., U.S. Army Air Corps. For his service in World War II, Colonel Christian was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster (two awards), Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters (four awards) and the Purple Heart. There is a Special Memorial in honor of Colonel Thomas J.J. Christian, Jr., United States Army Air Corps, at the Faubourg-d’Amiens Cemetery, Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France.

Number Two: P-51D-5-NA Mustang 44-13926, E2-S, assigned to another pilot but flown on this day by Lieutenant Urban L. (“Ben”) Drew. (Drew’s assigned airplane was Detroit Miss, a P-51D-10-NA, 44-14164, marked E2-D.) Fourteen days after "The Bottisham Four" photo was taken, 9 August 1944, the number two plane, 44-13926 (E2-S), crashed during a training flight near Stalham, Norfolk, killing the pilot, 2nd Lieutenant Donald D. Dellinger. Urban L. Drew joined the U.S. Army Air Corp in 1942 and trained as a P-51 fighter pilot. He joined the 361st Fighter Group in England in October 1943. He flew 75 combat missions with the 361st and shot down six enemy aircraft in aerial combat, two of which were Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters, destroyed 7 October 1944. Nominated for the Distinguished Service Cross, the medal was denied because his gun camera failed and the shoot-downs were not recorded. His wingman was shot down during the air battle and captured, so Drew’s claims could not be verified. However, the kills were later confirmed with German records, and in 1983, Major Drew was awarded the Air Force Cross. In addition to scoring the first kill of an enemy Me 262 by an Allied pilot, Drew also destroyed the Blohm & Voss Bv 238-V1, a prototype six-engine flying boat, the world’s largest airplane at the time. In 1945, Ben Drew was transferred to the 413th Fighter Squadron, 414th Fighter Group, 10th Air Force, in the western Pacific, flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts from the island of Iwo Jima. He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, twice, and fifteen Air Medals.

Captain Urban Leonard (“Ben”) Drew, United States Army Air Corps. Following World War II, Ben Drew joined the Michigan Air National Guard in which he served until 1950. Major Drew died in 2013 at the age of 89 years.

Number Three: P-51-D-5-NA Mustang 44-13568, E2-A, Sky Bouncer, flown by Captain Bruce W. (“Red”) Rowlett, U.S. Army Air Corps, Operations Officer, 375th Fighter Squadron. Colonel Bruce W. Rowlett, United States Air Force, enlisted as a private soldier in the 36th Infantry Division (then part of the Texas National Guard) in 1940, lying about his age. (He was seventeen). He applied for flight training as an aviation cadet in 1942. After earning his wings as an Air Corps fighter pilot, Lieutenant Rowlett was assigned to the 375th Fighter Squadron, initially flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. After completing a 50 mission combat tour, Rowlett volunteered for a second tour, just as the squadron was transitioning to the P-51 Mustang. Nearing the end of the second tour, and after flying 109 combat missions, Captain Rowlett was sent back to the United States.

Lieutenant Bruce W. (“Red”) Rowlett, U.S. Army Air Corps, Operations Officer, 375th Fighter Squadron. Red Rowlett remained in the Air Force following World War II. He later flew in the Berlin Airlift. From 1964 to 1967, Colonel Rowlett was Chief of Air Defense Operations, North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), then was assigned to the Pentagon, as Director of Studies and Analysis, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, 1968–1971. Colonel Bruce W. Rowlett, United States Air Force, died at Wichita, Kansas, 28 January 1998, at the age of 74 years.

Sky Bouncer, flown by Jared M. Lundin, crash-landed after an engine failure on takeoff at Cambron-Casteau, Belgium, 3 April 1945. The airplane was destroyed.

Number Four: P-51B-15-NA Mustang 42-106811, E2-H, flown by Captain Francis T. Glankler and named Suzy G after his wife. The underlined letter H indicates that this airplane is the second in the squadron identified with that letter. Lieutenant Glankler was flight leader of D Flight, 375th fighter Squadron. Lieutenant Glankler and Suzy G crashed-landed in a farm field at Thorpe Park, near Clacton, Essex, in following a mission on 11 September 1944. The Mustang was damaged beyond repair. (Some sources indicate that another pilot was flying Suzy G, and that the crash occurred following a dog fight with a P-47 Thunderbolt.)

Lieutenant Francis T. Glankler, U.S. Army Air Corps.

Wreck of North American Aviation P-51B-15-NA 42-106881, Suzy G, in a farm field, Essex England.

North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs, “The Bottisham Four,” 26 July 1944.

North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs, “The Bottisham Four,” 26 July 1944.

North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs, “The Bottisham Four,” 26 July 1944.

North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs, “The Bottisham Four,” 26 July 1944.

North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs, “The Bottisham Four,” 26 July 1944.

North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs, “The Bottisham Four,” 26 July 1944.

North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs, “The Bottisham Four,” 26 July 1944.

North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs, “The Bottisham Four,” 26 July 1944.

P-51D-5-NA 44-13410, E2-C, flown by group commander Colonel Thomas J.J. Christian, Jr., and named Lou IV after his wife, Marjorie Lou Ashcroft Christian. After reaching Australia, he was ferrying a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk when he was shot down over Timor and listed as Missing in Action. He eventually made his way to Allied territory. A few months later, Christian, while flying a Bell P-400 Airacobra with the 67th Pursuit Squadron, was the first U.S. Army Air Corps pilot to land at Henderson Field, on the island of Guadalcanal, 12 August 1942.

P-51D-5-NA 44-13410, E2-C, flown by group commander Colonel Thomas J.J. Christian, Jr., and named Lou IV after his wife, Marjorie Lou Ashcroft Christian. On 10 February 1943, Major Christian was given command of the 361st Fighter Group at Richmond, Virginia. The group deployed to England in November 1943. On 12 August 1944, at 1505 hours, 361st Fighter Group commanding officer Colonel Thomas J.J. Christian, Jr., flying the lead plane, Lou IV, was killed and his Mustang destroyed in a dive-bombing attack against the Arras railroad marshaling yards in Boisleux-au-Mont, France.

Col. Christian photographed standing in front of Lou IV.

Colonel Thomas Jonathan Jackson (“Jack”) Christian, Jr., U.S. Army Air Corps.

Memorial to Col. Thomas J. J. Christian, 361st Fighter Group Commander, Boisleux au Mont, France. It was around this area Christian's P-51 Mustang crashed 12th August 1944.

Ben Drew gets helped aboard his Mustang by his crew chief.

Ben Drew with his assigned North American P-51D Mustang "Detroit Miss".

P-51 Mustang coded E2-D serial number 44-14164 nicknamed "Detroit Miss" of the 361st Fighter Group at Little Walden.

Lieutenants Ben Drew, Bill Kemp and Leonard Wood in a publicity shot after the dogfight over the Luftwaffe aerodrome at Chartres.

Official Air Force photo of Ben taken just after the October 7, 1944 mission when he became the first USAAF pilot to shoot down two Me 262 jet fighters.

Lieutenant Urban Drew (seated on the left) and three fellow pilots of the 375th Fighter Squadron, 361st Fighter Group sit inside the back of a crew bus at Bottisham, 1944.

P-51D-5-NA Mustang 44-13926, E2-S, assigned to another pilot but flown on this day by Lieutenant Urban L. (“Ben”) Drew.

P-51-D-5-NA Mustang 44-13568, E2-A, Sky Bouncer, flown by Captain Bruce W. (“Red”) Rowlett, U.S. Army Air Corps, Operations Officer, 375th Fighter Squadron.