Hopton, David

David Hopton - The War Years

407174 - FLTLT - 79 Squadron

To start almost at the beginning, I am ex Flt Lt. David Hopton (number 407174) and I served with Number 12 Squadron Darwin mid 1941 until mid 1942. I had completed my fighter training course at Richmond straight after graduating from E.A.T.S. Course 3 at Cook in February 1941. Five of us received our postings, four to the Middle East and one to Darwin. I was disgusted and tried to have it changed. However, within 3 months 3 of the four pilots sent to the Middle East were shot down and one became a P.O.W. I never complained again.

I arrived in Darwin via Guinea Airways scheduled Airline Flight, landing at what was known as "Civil" Fannie Bay. A flight from Adelaide to Darwin via 4 places including Alice Springs, taking some 10 hours.

Next day about mid June 1941, I was on station Parade and conducted by Group Captain De la Rue. On commands "stand at ease", "Attention" I moved smartly. Next some "old hand" said, "we don't do it like that up here - this is the tropics"! I was a Sgt Pilot and in my 10 months in the RAAF aged 19 and a half years, I had over 500 hours of wonderful training. Our work of reconnaissance and anti submarine patrols and general training gave us a good life. Darwin station was all new and reputed to have cost 4 million pounds ($ 8 Million) - probably rated at hundreds of millions today.

Number 12 Squadron operated in Australia the only "fighter", the Australian built Wirraway, totally unsuitable for War duties. The bomber squadrons 2 and 13 had the old fashioned Lockheeds, but our now warlike nation was just not a war orientated nation.

In early 1941, just after 12 Squadron was sent first to Dally Waters where we witnessed a flight of about 6 Kittyhawks flown from Sydney. They were obliged to land on the paddock we were using through inexperience had crashed by hitting the fence. We asked the pilots to show their maps and the leader pulled a map of Australia as depicted on children's school exercise books, 6 inches across. They soon departed for Darwin and then Timor.

Back in Darwin our Squadron saw quite a number of B17 E bombers direct from California. They gave us lovely oranges and we envied their excellent overalls and flying gear. One aircraft crashed and remained in Darwin for a long time. It was generally known that the Japanese could eventually come to Darwin this feeling was strong in early February 1942.

Early in February Wing Commander Andy Tindall started digging a round hole 6 feet deep to tell us the Japanese were coming and he said he was building a frame to hold 2 Vickers Gas operated machine guns - this hole only 50 feet from our hangar.

Ironically in the first air raid on RAAF Darwin he was manning his post and received a fatal shot to his head, it was said from a Jap Zero.

After the enemy had taken control to the North  several early warnings came to us and our squadron was sent to Batchelor 45 miles to the South of Darwin. The Hudson's were carrying out almost nightly raid on Timor etc. As we sat down for dinner we could hear departures perhaps four or five and at breakfast we would count the number of bombers returning - often it would be one or perhaps two missing, we would hear the sad tales of combats with Zeros, even sadder for the ones we knew personally.

Batchelor was hard living as only tents and no buildings and food was mainly tins or bags. I contracted dengue fever badly no medical treatment available. On day of raids 19/2/42 I had been joy riding around in our Moth Minor and landed to hear that the news of Darwin's fate. Our C.O. was the famous "Black Jack" Walker and later he received word that a provost station had been set up between Darwin and Batchelor and we could obtain items necessary for living. We could send trucks with a list of furnishings etc and the provost told us when to collect items e.g. Hotel Darwin etc on return the items were checked and re coded and signed for. We also could apply for vehicles and the cost was five pounds each and again all officially recorded and so life in camp was much improved.

One evening the C.O. called in we two Flt Commanders and told us he needed three Wirraways to do a full search in the N.W. for an alleged enemy aircraft carrier. We two Commanders said we would go as we couldn't send our young inexperienced pilots. Black Jack always the flamboyant, also wanted to go. So early next morning we three executives went off for a big day and did our refueling at Wyndam - luckily no carrier was seen.

During our period there General Douglas McArthur came through Batchelor en route to Brisbane. With the posting of Black Jackto go on to Beaufighters, Ron MacDonald became C.O. he was later to operate in a  Spitfire Sqdn and became a C.O.

The night before Black Jack departed we had a farewell party and I told him he had told me earlier I could kick his arse if he got posted first.

He said OK away you go and having done this he said that's not a kick, give me a really good one, which I then proceeded to do. He then said you gave me two and our contract was one - so I was the loser. He went off and put his heavy boots on and came back to give me my medicine - and that was our Black Jack.

About this time my Army brother Colonel Les Hopton had returned from the desert and became C.O. of a Militia Battalion in Darwin. The Army had been required to return to Australia and Les had been a "Rat" (Australian Soldier) at Tobruk and glad to be home.

After the War I was furious to read a book by a so-called authority who said " . as for 12 Sqdn they disbanded and rushed off to the South like rabble". I say that we remained fully together and carried on with coastal survey and reconnaissance as a fully operational Squadron. We lost 3 A/C in bombing. It goes to show you how wrong this fellow was.

I was transferred South in June 1942 and trained fighter pilots at Mildura until April 1943 when a special Spitfire Squadron No 79 was formed for Pacific operations.

After the war David was a commercial pilot with TAA and then Ansett until his retirement.

David Hopton.

See Steve McGregor ...  Spitfire Biography Hopton