Lt.-Cmdr Allen Burgham, No. 835 Squadron

[keith A]

Hi Mark,

You'll find accounts of the air battles in Barringers "Alone on a wide, wide sea" as well as in "Bring back my stringbag", "Wings of the morning" and just about any of the books that deal with Royal Navy Wildcats/Martlets. I don't know why it's so well written about when we have very little about some very epic convoy battle in 1941 and 1942.

[phasselgren]

Hi Mark,

I´m afraid that I can not give you much help. Most of what I know about the combats comes from this forum and the official history of the Royal New Zealand Navy (you can find it on http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Navy.html).

Cheers
Peter

[Robert Todd]

Keith,
You have noted one Ju 88 to Burgham on the 9th and one on the 10th.His log book notes that he had crack at a second Junkers on the 10th which disappeared into cloud but not before he had knocked pieces off it.

[Robert Todd]

Mark Sheppard. Robert Todd has attemoted to reach you for help with your project. Please post a line of continuing interest and I will reply with a private e-mail

[keith A]

It's massively difficult to work out who claimed what on this convoy. One of my sources indicates a Wildcat shared a victory with ships AA, but I haven't been able to work out which pilot this was. Perhaps Burghams second on that date?

[Robert Todd]

Hello Keith,

Burgham's log reads two Junkers 88s on Feb 10. His own account to me verbally was that the second one was smoking when it disappeared into clouds. But it was the weather that was the greatest enemy on that convoy out to Murmansk and back. Lowest barometric pressure readings by the met office during the entire war. They exist at a military club in London as evidence of the amazing weather. It was for that that so many of his squadron received Dinstinguished Service Crosses

[keith A]

Hi Robert,

Just when I think I have a grasp of the claims you introduce something else ;-)

If he was given credit for 2 Ju88 this promotes him into a very rare breed - FAA pilots who claimed 3 kills! It would also make 835 one of the highest scoring FAA Wildcat squadrons, and probably the highest scoring Escort Carrier squadron? The main question however is - was it confirmed?

regards

Keith