438th AAA AW BN
APO 578 % Postmaster, N.Y.
England
6 May, 1944 0900
Good morning, Sweetheart –
Another early start in the day to tell you I love you and miss you dearly. Now that is not a very newsy way to start a letter, darling, but you’ll excuse it I know – especially when you realize how true it is. Gosh, dear, I’ve missed you these past few days and nights, and with this moon approaching fullness – well you know what I mean. The longer you are my fiancée the more I want to be married to you – so gather for yourself, sweetheart, how I’m going to feel when I get home. I’m just going to love you so hard, so continuously and so exhaustingly that one or both of us will yell “uncle” and have to rest – i.e. for about 10 minutes. Well this is early in the day to be thinking about such things, dear – but it’s really good anytime of the day.
Yesterday – no letter from you and just one from Eleanor. Every now and then I ask Eleanor for a periodic report on my bank balance. I never know what it is because I don’t get my bank statements mailed to me. I was pleased to see I still had a checking account, dear – so what would you like that I could get for you? I haven’t bought you a thing since I’ve been in England – although the fact is that I have looked. But if I had some idea of what you’d like, I might have more success.
By the way, I finally got the colored etchings I wrote you about. They’re all packed – but I’m waiting for some wrapping paper which is rather scarce around here. I’m sending them to you – and it’s a set of six, horse and gig scenes and the set is about 100 years old. They’ll go well in a den or a cocktail room – or anywhere else you might want to put them, and the size – with frame – is about the size of this page. Anyway, dear, I hope you like them, but if not, we can think later – what we’ll do with them.
Say, darling, were you kidding when you said you thought the Castle was a hospital, and when you asked if I were doing any surgery? The Castle is a castle and is being used only to live in. As for surgery, dear, I don’t even know what the word means any longer. When I left practice – I was doing my share of assisting and by this time, had I stayed in practice – I’d probably be doing pretty well at it. I haven’t done a thing to further it in 22 months – and there’s no question, dear, that when I came back I’ll have to decide whether to open up immediately and take my chances on how much surgery I will eventually be allowed to do at the Hospital, or to arbitrarily spend some time at a teaching clinic, freshen up and then insist that I be put on the Junior Surgical Staff again – because I know that there will be problem along those lines when we all get back – but hell – I’m not going to worry about that now.
Another early start in the day to tell you I love you and miss you dearly. Now that is not a very newsy way to start a letter, darling, but you’ll excuse it I know – especially when you realize how true it is. Gosh, dear, I’ve missed you these past few days and nights, and with this moon approaching fullness – well you know what I mean. The longer you are my fiancée the more I want to be married to you – so gather for yourself, sweetheart, how I’m going to feel when I get home. I’m just going to love you so hard, so continuously and so exhaustingly that one or both of us will yell “uncle” and have to rest – i.e. for about 10 minutes. Well this is early in the day to be thinking about such things, dear – but it’s really good anytime of the day.
Yesterday – no letter from you and just one from Eleanor. Every now and then I ask Eleanor for a periodic report on my bank balance. I never know what it is because I don’t get my bank statements mailed to me. I was pleased to see I still had a checking account, dear – so what would you like that I could get for you? I haven’t bought you a thing since I’ve been in England – although the fact is that I have looked. But if I had some idea of what you’d like, I might have more success.
By the way, I finally got the colored etchings I wrote you about. They’re all packed – but I’m waiting for some wrapping paper which is rather scarce around here. I’m sending them to you – and it’s a set of six, horse and gig scenes and the set is about 100 years old. They’ll go well in a den or a cocktail room – or anywhere else you might want to put them, and the size – with frame – is about the size of this page. Anyway, dear, I hope you like them, but if not, we can think later – what we’ll do with them.
Say, darling, were you kidding when you said you thought the Castle was a hospital, and when you asked if I were doing any surgery? The Castle is a castle and is being used only to live in. As for surgery, dear, I don’t even know what the word means any longer. When I left practice – I was doing my share of assisting and by this time, had I stayed in practice – I’d probably be doing pretty well at it. I haven’t done a thing to further it in 22 months – and there’s no question, dear, that when I came back I’ll have to decide whether to open up immediately and take my chances on how much surgery I will eventually be allowed to do at the Hospital, or to arbitrarily spend some time at a teaching clinic, freshen up and then insist that I be put on the Junior Surgical Staff again – because I know that there will be problem along those lines when we all get back – but hell – I’m not going to worry about that now.
Well, sweetheart, I’ll stop now. I hope your throat is completely cured by now and stay well. Love to the folks and
All my love to you, darling
Greg
* TIDBIT *
about Canadian Airmen Successes and
Flight Lieutenant Robert "Bob" Kipp
about Canadian Airmen Successes and
Flight Lieutenant Robert "Bob" Kipp
This report was printed in Ottawa on May 6, 1944 by the Canadian Press:
Here is a list of Kipp's victories in the skies throughout the war:
CANADIAN AIRMEN HAD A GREAT WEEK, SUMMARY SHOWS
Aircraft of the R.C.A.F. bomber group pounded targets in three countries in the last week, while Spitfire and Typhoon fighter-bombers made slashing attacks on pinpoint targets and Canadian airmen participated in combined air-sea operations against enemy naval units, the R.C.A.F. said last night in its weekly summary of overseas operations.
Canadian-built Lancaster heavy bombers made their initial operational appearance during the week. Wednesday other aircraft of the R.C.A.F. bomber group pounded Friedrichshafen in Germany and railway yards at Montzen, Belgium, and Aulmoye, France. Aulmoye, was the principal R.C.A.F. target for the night, and attracted Canadian-built Lancasters.
Halifaxes mined enemy waters meantime and an R.C.A.F. Mosquito about to attack an aircraft as it prepared to land at Crois Demetz airfield in France saw the enemy pilot lose control of his aircraft, ground-loop and burst into flames.
Two R.C.A.F. Spitfires on patrol over northern France Monday attacked a transport flying close to the ground, and saw it crash aflame.
But news of the famed City of Edmonton Intruder Squadron took the limelight during the week, with Sqdn. Ldr. Robert Allen "Bob" Kipp, of Kamloops, B.C., and his navigator, F/O P. Huletsky, of Montreal, blasting four of Germany's front-line aircraft out of the sky during an offensive patrol deep into the heart of the Reich Wednesday, establishing a new mark for the number of aircraft destroyed in a single night's patrol.
Bob Kipp had already accomplished quite a bit in the skies. In London, on February 19, 1944 it was reported that:
On April 14th, 1944 it was reported that:
On May 3rd, 1944 it was reported that:
Canadian-built Lancaster heavy bombers made their initial operational appearance during the week. Wednesday other aircraft of the R.C.A.F. bomber group pounded Friedrichshafen in Germany and railway yards at Montzen, Belgium, and Aulmoye, France. Aulmoye, was the principal R.C.A.F. target for the night, and attracted Canadian-built Lancasters.
Halifaxes mined enemy waters meantime and an R.C.A.F. Mosquito about to attack an aircraft as it prepared to land at Crois Demetz airfield in France saw the enemy pilot lose control of his aircraft, ground-loop and burst into flames.
Two R.C.A.F. Spitfires on patrol over northern France Monday attacked a transport flying close to the ground, and saw it crash aflame.
But news of the famed City of Edmonton Intruder Squadron took the limelight during the week, with Sqdn. Ldr. Robert Allen "Bob" Kipp, of Kamloops, B.C., and his navigator, F/O P. Huletsky, of Montreal, blasting four of Germany's front-line aircraft out of the sky during an offensive patrol deep into the heart of the Reich Wednesday, establishing a new mark for the number of aircraft destroyed in a single night's patrol.
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Black Rufe - Kipp and Huletsky's Mosquito
shows off it's score
Black Rufe - Kipp and Huletsky's Mosquito
shows off it's score
Bob Kipp had already accomplished quite a bit in the skies. In London, on February 19, 1944 it was reported that:
R.C.A.F. Mosquito bombers on an intruder patrolling operation last night destroyed two Messerschmitt 410's over an enemy base in northern France, R.C.A.F. headquarters here announced today. All Canadian planes returned safely from the patrol. Both enemy planes were credited to Flight-Lieut. Bob Kipp, of Kamloops, B.C. His pilot (Navigator - ed) was F/O (Peter) Huletsky, of Montreal.
On April 14th, 1944 it was reported that:
S/L R. Kipp of Kamloops, B.C., and F/O J. Caine, Edmonton, kept up the blazing hot pace of the City of Edmonton Mosquito squadron today, destroying four enemy aircraft in the air and leaving three others aflame on the ground in patrol of more than 1,000 miles to Copenhagen and back.
On May 3rd, 1944 it was reported that:
While the swift Mosquitoes visited Germany for the first time this month, Allied intruders, including the R.C.A.F. City of Edmonton Squadron, swept over the Continent as far as Munch and shot down five German planes. Four of them were downed by one Canadian Mosquito crew, Squadron-Ldr. Bob Kipp, of Kamloops, B.C., and his navigator, F/O Peter Huletsky, of Montreal, setting a record for this type of night operation.
Here is a list of Kipp's victories in the skies throughout the war:
|
12 December 1943 - 15/15 January 1944 18/19 February 1944 22/23 March 1944 14 April 1944 - - 28 April 1944 3 May 1944 15 May 1944 14 June 1944 23 March 1945 - - - 12 April 1945 - - |
1/2 He.111 1/2 He.111 one Me.210 two Me.410s one unIDd e/a two Ju.52s two Do.217s one Do.217 one unID e/a four FW.190s one He.177 one He.111 two Ju.88s one FW.190 three unIDd e/a one Ju.290 one Me.410 one Ju.88 one Ju.88 |
destroyed probable damaged destroyed damaged destroyed destroyed damaged damaged destroyed damaged destroyed destroyed destroyed damaged damaged destroyed destroyed damaged |
(He=Heinkel; Me=Messerschmitt; unID=unidentified;
JU=Junkers; Do=Dornier; FW=Fock-Wulf)
14 July 1949 - Kipp, a proud member of the Blue Devils,
poses in front of a Vampire.
Eleven days later, on the 25th, he would die
while practicing aerobatics in one.
JU=Junkers; Do=Dornier; FW=Fock-Wulf)
14 July 1949 - Kipp, a proud member of the Blue Devils,
poses in front of a Vampire.
Eleven days later, on the 25th, he would die
while practicing aerobatics in one.
