James Catanach (28 November 1921 – 29 March 1944) was an Australian
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...
bomber pilot who was taken prisoner during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Reportedly the youngest
squadron leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...
bomber pilot in the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
at the age of twenty, he took part in the 'Great Escape' from
Stalag Luft III
, partof = ''Luftwaffe''
, location = Sagan, Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany (now Żagań, Poland)
, image =
, caption = Model of the set used to film the movie ''The Great Escape.'' It depicts a smaller version of a single compound in ''Stalag ...
in March 1944 and was one of the men re-captured and murdered by the ''
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
''.
Pre-war life
Catanach was born in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia, the son of Ruby and William Catanach, a jeweller. He attended
Brighton Grammar School
, motto_translation = Let us keep pursuing better things
, city = Brighton
, state = Victoria
, zipcode = 3186
, country = Australia
, coordinates ...
from 1929 to 1931 and then
Geelong Grammar School
, motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"(1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom)
, city = Corio, Victoria
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, ty ...
where he spent three years in the cadet corps. After graduating in 1938 he went to work with his older brother, Bill, in the family business.
[
]
War service
James Catanach was a salesman until he joined the Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
on 18 August 1940, to learn to fly. Meanwhile, his brother enlisted in the Army.[Vance (2001), p. 117] On completion of basic initial training at Somers and Narrandera Catanach was posted to Canada where he learned to fly and received his pilot's wings in June 1941 being commissioned pilot officer
Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
. He was subsequently posted to Great Britain to fly with RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
. Initially flying with No. 144 Squadron RAF
No. 144 Squadron RAF was a Squadron (aviation), squadron of the British Royal Air Force. It was first formed in 1918 during the First World War, operating as a bomber squadron in the Middle East. It reformed in 1937, serving in the bomber and ant ...
, he was transferred to No. 455 Squadron RAAF
No. 455 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) torpedo bomber squadron during World War II and became famous as part of the "ANZAC Strike Wing" that was formed from Australian and New Zealand squadrons. Raised in early 1941, mainly fro ...
after completing nine missions.[
No. 455 Squadron RAAF formed at ]RAF Swinderby
Royal Air Force Swinderby or more simply RAF Swinderby was a Royal Air Force station airfield opened in 1940, one of the last of the stations completed under the RAF's expansion plans started in the 1930s. It was built near the village of Swin ...
, in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
and had received Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...
bombers by the time the bulk of the Australian personnel arrived on 1 September 1941, having departed Australia by sea on 15 June. Initially assigned to No. 5 Group RAF
No. 5 Group was a Royal Air Force bomber group of the Second World War, led during the latter part (February 1943 – 1945) by AVM Sir Ralph Cochrane.
History
Overview
The Group was formed on 1 September 1937, with its headquarters at RAF Mild ...
, Bomber Command in a bomber role, its first operation took place while the squadron was still forming, when a single Hampden attacked Frankfurt at night on 29 August. In doing so, according to the Australian War Memorial, the squadron had the distinction of becoming the "first Australian squadron to bomb Germany". Following this, the squadron increased its operational tempo, undertaking several mine laying operations off the coast of occupied France, as well attacking industrial targets in Germany. These missions were flown by Jim Catanach.
In February 1942, the squadron took part in an unsuccessful attack on the German battleships ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'', before being re-roled as a torpedo-bomber squadron and transferred to RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
on 26 April 1942; they subsequently deployed a detachment briefly to Vaenga (now Severomorsk
Severomorsk (russian: Северомо́рск), known as Vayenga () until April 18, 1951, is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is located on the coast ...
) in the Soviet Union in September. Catanach had completed nine operations with RAF Bomber Command before the transfer.[ The detachment was to operate in support of convoys bound for Russia, which were at the time suffering heavy losses. However, three of the 16 Hamptons were lost prior to arrival, one of them flown by Catanach. After completing one anti-shipping sweep with the Russians the remaining aircraft were handed over to the ]Soviet Air Forces
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
with the RAAF crews instructing the Soviets on their operation. Following the completion of this task the squadron returned to RAF Sumburgh
Royal Air Force Sumburgh or more simply RAF Sumburgh is a former Royal Air Force satellite station that was located on the southern tip of the mainland island of the Shetland Islands, and was home to half of No. 404 Squadron RCAF (Royal Canadia ...
. In June 1942, Catanach was promoted squadron leader, becoming reputedly the youngest in the Royal Australian Air Force to hold that rank.[
]
Prisoner of war
Catanach and his crew took off in Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...
serial number "AT109" from RAF Sumburgh
Royal Air Force Sumburgh or more simply RAF Sumburgh is a former Royal Air Force satellite station that was located on the southern tip of the mainland island of the Shetland Islands, and was home to half of No. 404 Squadron RCAF (Royal Canadia ...
at 20:40 hours on the night of 4/5 September 1942 for Vaenja, Northern Russia, via Afrikanda. Nearing the end of the long flight his aircraft was holed in the petrol tanks by ground fire or heavy machine gun fire from a German trawler and Catanach force landed under fire on the shoreline near Kirkenes
Kirkenes (; ; Skolt Sami: ''Ǩeârkknjargg;'' fi, Kirkkoniemi; ; russian: Киркенес) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town ...
(Northern Norway) as he closed in on Murmansk avoiding ditching in the Arctic waters and saving the lives of his crew.
Captured immediately by a nearby German patrol, he and his crew became prisoners of war and Catanach was eventually put into prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III
, partof = ''Luftwaffe''
, location = Sagan, Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany (now Żagań, Poland)
, image =
, caption = Model of the set used to film the movie ''The Great Escape.'' It depicts a smaller version of a single compound in ''Stalag ...
in the province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan (now Żagań
Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielon ...
in Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
).[Raebel (1997), p.57][Herington (1963), p.495]
The Great Escape
Catanach was one of the 76 men who escaped the prison camp on the night of 24–25 March 1944 in the escape now famous as " the Great Escape".[ Catanach was fluent in German and took trouble to learn conversational Norwegian from Scandinavian prisoners in the prison camp.][ He teamed up with two Norwegians, ]Halldor Espelid
Halldor Espelid (6 October 1920 – 29 March 1944), known as "Harold" was a Norwegian Supermarine Spitfire pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He is notable for the part he took in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in Ma ...
and Nils Jørgen Fuglesang, and the New Zealander Arnold George Christensen
Arnold George Christensen (8 April 1922 – 29 March 1944) was a New Zealand Mustang fighter pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War during the Dieppe Raid, he is notable for the part he took in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Lu ...
who was of Scandinavian descent, in a group heading for Denmark and possibly ultimately neutral Sweden. Catanach and Christensen reached Berlin as they were seen there by other escapers before changing trains to Hamburg which they also reached successfully only to be caught on the next leg of their rail journey from Hamburg to the naval town of Flensburg on the Danish border. Nearing the border suspicious policemen insisted on carefully examining their papers, checking their briefcases which contained newspapers and escape rations. Close inspection of their clothing revealed they were wearing altered greatcoats.[ Although the four escapers has split up to pretend to be travelling individually they were all in the same railway carriage, more policemen arrived and closely examined every passenger, soon arresting all four suspects. The escapers were taken to Flensburg prison.][Walker (2015)]
The four airmen were handed over to the Kiel Gestapo and after interrogation were told that they would be taken by road back to prison camp. On 29 March 1944, two or three black sedan cars arrived, Catanach was taken in the first car with three Gestapo agents including SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Johannes Post a senior officer based there. Post had his driver stop the car in the countryside outside Kiel about 1630 hours and called Catanach out into a field where he promptly shot him. The second (and possibly a third) car drew up in the same place shortly afterwards and Post told his agents to get Christensen, Espelid and Fuglesang out, stating that they should take a break before their long drive. As the airmen walked into the field they almost stumbled over Catanach's body as they were also shot. Catanach was one of the 50 escapers who had been listed by SS-Gruppenfuhrer Arthur Nebe
Arthur Nebe (; 13 November 1894 – 21 March 1945) was a German Schutzstaffel, SS functionary who was key in the security and police apparatus of Nazi Germany and from 1941, a major perpetrator of the Holocaust.
Nebe rose through the ranks of ...
to be killed so was amongst those executed and murdered by the ''Gestapo''. His remains were buried at Sagan but he now lies in part of the Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery. The Australian press maintained a chase for information and justice for their murdered airmen. Strangely his name was not on the list of murdered officers which was published by newspapers on 20 May 1944.
Awards
The Distinguished Flying Cross was awarded on 23 June 1942 to Acting Flight Lieutenant James Catanach (Aus.400364), Royal Australian Air Force, No. 455 Squadron RAAF. On three occasions he brought his aircraft and crew home seriously despite severe battle damage. He had made bombing attacks on Essen, Cologne, Lubeck, Hamburg, Kiel and Lorient.[
His conspicuous bravery as a prisoner was recognized by a ]Mention in Despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
as none of the other relevant decorations then available could be awarded posthumously. It was published in a supplement to the ''London Gazette'' on 8 June 1944.
His awards were presented posthumously to his father at Government House, Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, on 16 September 1944.[
]
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
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External links
''Project Lessons from the Great Escape (Stalag Luft III),''
by Mark Kozak-Holland. The prisoners formally structured their work as a project. Thi
''book''
analyses their efforts using modern project management methods.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catanach, James
1920 births
1944 deaths
People educated at Geelong Grammar School
People educated at Brighton Grammar School
Australian World War II pilots
Australian prisoners of war
Australian escapees
Australian people executed abroad
Australian military personnel killed in World War II
Extrajudicial killings in World War II
Executed military personnel
Participants in the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III
Royal Australian Air Force officers
Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II
World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm
Shot-down aviators
Military personnel from Melbourne