Екінші дүниежүзілік соғысының батыры Эдвин Суэлс

Recipient of the Victoria Cross

Edwin (Ted) Essery Swales VC DFC (3 July 1915 – 23 February 1945) was a South African pilot and Second World War hero. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and posthumously the Victoria Cross.

Edwin Essery Swales was one of four children born in Inanda, Natal, South Africa to Harry Evelyn Swales, who was a farmer in the Heatonville district, and Olive Miriam Essery. Following the death of her husband in the influenza epidemic of 1918 19, Mrs Swales and her children moved to the Berea, Durban. Here, Edwin Swales attended Durban Preparatory High School and Durban High School (DHS). As a young lad, Edwin had also been a Boy Scout, at the 4th Durban Scout Troop. After leaving school, and prior to the Second World War, Edwin Swales worked for Barclays Bank (Dominion Colonial and Overseas DCO) in Durban. Swales had joined the Natal Mounted Rifles before the War, rising to the rank of sergeant major, (officially, a warrant officer, 2nd class). With the N. M. R., in the early part of the War, he saw action in Kenya, Abyssinia and in North Africa. He then transferred to the South African Air Force on 17 January 1942. Swales was also very keen on sport generally, and enjoyed rugby. He played for both civilian (pre war) and various military teams. After playing for the DHS 2nd XV, he later played rugby for a number of South African and Dominion teams, whilst he was in the United Kingdom, during the War years. He played for Griquas when he had been posted to Kimberley for training. He was also a reserve for the Natal rugby team, without ever actually playing for the province. He received his wings at Kimberley on 26 June 1943. On 22 August 1943, he was seconded to the Royal Air Force (RAF) while retaining his South African Air Force uniform and rank.

Following successful period of training on heavy bombers, Swales was posted, in June 1944, to the elite RAF Pathfinder Force (with 582 Squadron), part of No. 8 Pathfinder Group, at Little Staughton, in Huntingdonshire. It was normal for the Pathfinders to accept only experienced pilots who had completed a full tour on bombers. Although Swales had never spent any time as a bomber pilot in a standard heavy bomber squadron, Swales went straight into the squadron. Swales' first operational flight for 582 Squadron was on 12 July 1944. Newly promoted to captain on 4 November 1944, he took part in a daring daylight bombing raid on 23 December, on the Gremberg railway yards, Cologne, Germany. The Squadron Leader for the raid on Cologne was his close friend, Robert Palmer, who normally flew Mosquitos with 109 Squadron, also based at Little Staughton. Swales was the number two Pathfinder, leading the main flight and following Palmer as he marked the target. Palmer, who had completed 110 bombing raids, was killed as his Lancaster, despite being damaged by flak and with two engines on fire, crashed after completing its bombing run. Palmer was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross – becoming the 2nd Pathfinder pilot to be so honoured. Six of the 30 aircraft on this operation were lost. For his actions on the Cologne raid, Edwin Swales was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The citation reads:

In 1945, while with the RAF Pathfinders (No. 582 Squadron), Swales was the Master Bomber and captain of Avro Lancaster III PB538. On 23 February 1945, the very day as his D. F. C. award was gazetted, Swales led the bombing raid on Pforzheim, Germany (not far from Karlsruhe and the Rhine River), where 17,600 civilians were killed. The 'sortie', his 43rd operational flight, consisted of 367 Lancasters supported by 13 Mosquitos. The marking and bombing, from a relatively low 8,000 feet (2440m), were accurate and severe damage was inflicted on Pforzheim: 1,825 tons (1854 tonnes) of bombs were dropped in 22 minutes. The post war British Bombing Survey Unit estimated that 83% of the town's built up area was destroyed, probably the greatest proportion of a city destroyed in any one raid during the war. Ten Lancasters were lost and two more crashed in France. Swales' aircraft was attacked by an Bf 110 whose fire shattered one engine and holed the fuel tanks. They were attacked again by the same fighter which knocked out a second engine. Swales decided to try and make it to friendly territory. The weather closed in and he ordered the crew to bail out. He attempted to put his Lancaster down but it stalled and crashed near Valenciennes, west of Prouvy, 3 km SSE of Denain in northern France killing him. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross – the 3rd and last Pathfinder pilot to be so honoured. All had been posthumous.