D-Day 80 The Last Veterans: John Haddock

John Haddock, Age 101, RAF

Interviewed 20 February 2024

A navigator who had been part of Coastal Command, Mr Haddock had originally been based on the East coast targeting enemy traffic.

"We attacked, always," he said.

"Sometimes we went singly, but most times it was in a large formation. We could be up to forty aircraft in formation.

"When the target was located we all tried to sink it or them."

John was moved to RAF Manston in Kent with 143 Squadron in the lead-up to the invasion and changed aircraft to the Bristol Beaufighter.

An effective two-man night fighter, its large size allowed the plane to carry heavy weapons. 

The deployment to the South coast followed several attacks in the Channel by German E-boats which were fast and heavily armed motor torpedo boats.

"They were causing a lot of damage and nuisance to the Allied forces that were preparing to go across on D-Day," he said.

"There were many furrowed brows and one particular disaster and a lot of casualties - kept quiet for the reason of security and morale.

"One American general was so concerned thinking what would happen on D-Day if there was a mass attack by these E-boats.

"Our instructions were basically to patrol the English Channel and seek and destroy E-boats. Which is what we attempted to do. For this purpose we were equipped with bombs which we didn’t normally carry but it was thought for this type of operation bombs would be more effective. 

"The patrols were mainly done at night. A single aircraft would fly along the Channel and it would be tracked by radar from the South coast and that radar would also search the Channel for enemy E-boats and if it found one or two it would work out the direction for us to fly to get there.

"They also told us when we reached the target which we couldn’t always tell because it’s pitch-black down on the water.

"Then we would drop bombs."

Mr Haddock, who also operated the aircraft’s radio, said the patrols - codenamed Swing Gate - began in May. He and his colleagues provided continuous service until D-Day, in two to three-hour patrols.

Despite the invasion having gone ahead he remembers the night of 6 June being ‘’just like any other patrol.’’

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