POW RELIEF
The first POW relief flight to Sumatra saw the RAF’s 8 Squadron begin a series of vital mercy missions, writes Andrew Thomas
The men might have fancied some much-needed downtime or at least looked forward to a reduction in duties and lengthy sorties. However, the unexpected Japanese surrender in August 1945 actually resulted in a marked increase in activity for the RAF’s long-range Special Duties squadrons.
The fighting was officially over, Japan coerced into submission by the destruction of two of its cities by the dropping of the atomic bombs. Yet there was much territory to reoccupy, hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops to disarm and repatriate, and, of course, the question of the many Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen – plus civilian internees – who had endured the hardships and privations of Japanese incarceration.
There was an imperative to get relief teams and supplies airdropped into Allied POW camps spread across the vastness of southeast Asia. Among the units committed to the effort was the RAF’s 8 (VIII) Squadron, based at Minneriya in Ceylon. It was equipped with the Liberator GR Mk.VI, a variant of the US-built bomber used …
