Group Captain JW Louw

More than a “Few” South Africans

King Edward’s educated James Willem Louw, another South African RAF airman who served for the full duration of the war commissioned in 1938 and had just turned twenty-one when he joined Coastal Command’s No 240 Squadron as a Pilot Officer in July 1939, flying the ungainly and outdated London and Stranrauer.

More than a “Few” South Africans

Coastal Command’s unglamorous operations did not generate publicity, but Louw distinguished himself as a Catalina pilot. His July 1st, 1941 “Distinguished Flying Cross” award announced in “The London Gazette” followed a long sortie locating a lifeboat with 24 survivors from the “SS Empire Endurance”, a cargo ship destined for Cape Town carrying 90 crew and five passengers, torpedoed 800 km off Ireland’s West Coast a few days after sailing from Pembroke in Wales. They dropped food supplies, remained in the area for several hours eventually landing at their Northern Ireland base 21 hours after take-off the previous day.

More than a “Few” South Africans

Louw had logged 1 300 hours of operational flying when “The London Gazette” announced the immediate “Bar” award to his “Distinguished Flying Cross” on September 30th. He attacked, and in all probability destroyed a submarine during a September 4th “Convoy Escort” sortie and used machine gun fire and aggressive flying for over an hour harassing a faster heavily armed Focke Wulfe Condor preparing to attack the convoy causing it to abandon interest.

More than a “Few” South Africans

Acting Squadron Leader Brian William Smithers, a Blenheim pilot earned his award during the defence of Malta. Born in Dorset in 1918 and educated at Pretoria Boys High, Smithers and Louw were the same age and may have competed on their respective schools playing fields where rivalry predated the First World War. Smithers flew Army Co-Operation Lysanders before No 105 Squadron Blenheim’s and transferred to the Special Duties secret air service in 1942 providing support for the resistance movement. Captain Bryan W. Smithers, DFC continued flying in a civilian capacity for the Johannesburg based “Aircraft Operating Company” until the 1970’s and died in Johannesburg in 2004.

More than a “Few” South Africans

Pilot Officer GG Duff a No 115 Squadron Wellington pilot, the other “Distinguished Flying Cross” recipient was a Bishops contemporary of RAE Thomas who flew No 240 Squadron Stranraer’s with Louw before the squadron converted to Catalina’s. Duff lost his life five months later, a month before Thomas.

More than a “Few” South Africans

Louw was posted to a Coastal Command “OTU” shortly after his “Bar” award having logged almost 1 500 hours of operational flying. He returned to operational duties as an acting Squadron Leader and was tasked with a highly secret sortie in November 1942 flying a Catalina from Gibraltar for a sea landing and rendezvous with a Royal Navy submarine to collect unidentified passengers. A rougher than anticipated sea made conditions very hazardous, and the passenger transfer took over an hour but Louw, skilfully took off in the rough sea and several hours later landed safely in Gibraltar having “ferried” French General Giraud, his son, two French and two American officers.

More than a “Few” South Africans

By early 1943, Louw was flying Mombasa based No 259 Squadron Catalina’s and at the end of that year, acting Wing Commander Louw took over command of No. 265 Squadron operating from Diego Suarez on Madagascar island serving in that capacity until early 1945. Awarded the “Order of the British Empire” he had logged almost 4 000 operational flying hours when he returned to Britain as Station Commander of Sullom Voe, an RAF Catalina and Sunderland base in the Shetland Islands. Wing Commander Louw, an exceptional pilot who epitomized Coastal Command’s “never-failing devotion to duty” was decorated by the French Government in 1948 with the French Legion d 'Honneur and Croix de Guerre for his role in “ferrying” General Giraud. Group Captain Louw OBE DFC and Bar retired as a Group in 1970.