This page is a stub.
You can help improve it.
Lieutenant-Commander James Sholto Douglas, DSO entered the Royal Air
Force and later transferred to the Fleet Air Arm.
He was a
descendant of the
Douglas family of Fingland, and, earlier, of
Morton Castle.
He carried out seven attacks on the enemy, forcing some of them to
jettison their bombs. Eventually his own aircraft was damaged and he was
forced to break off and to land in the sea.’ James Sholto Douglas, a
scion of the famous Douglas family of Morton Castle in Dumfries - today
the property of the Duke of Buccleuch - entered the Royal Air Force as a
Cadet in the mid-1920s and was commissioned Pilot Officer in December
1928.
Advanced to Flying Officer in July 1930, he was posted to No. 20
Squadron and quickly witnessed active service on the North-West
Frontier, operating in Wapitis out of Peshawar; the Squadron’s O.R.B.
bears testament to a constant flurry of sorties, both of a
reconnaissance and bombing nature, and notes resultant damage sustained
by rebel rifle fire. Two years later, Sholto Douglas was back in action
during the Mohmand operations of 1933: he thereby became one of just six
R.A.F. officers to qualify for this combination of clasps.
Having then gained advancement to Flight Lieutenant in late 1937, he
transferred to the Fleet Air Arm in February 1939 and joined No. 822
Torpedo Squadron in the carrier H.M.S. Courageous.
Naval Wings
In September 1940, in the rank of Lieutenant-Commander, Sholto Douglas
assumed command of No. 807 Squadron, and he remained actively employed
in the same capacity until November 1941. The newly formed squadron -
motto ‘Ready To Strike In All Directions’ - was equipped with Fairy
Fulmars and initially joined H.M.S. Pegasus for catapult fighter duties
in early 1941. It subsequently transferred to the Furious on convoy
duties and, in April 1941, after re-equipping with Fulmar IIs, it joined
Ark Royal for Malta convoy duties. Sholto Douglas’s tenure of command in
the period leading up to Ark Royal’s loss in November 1941 was marked by
considerable action, not least in Operations “Substance” and “Halberd”
in July and September, during which 15 enemy aircraft were destroyed,
another probably destroyed and four others damaged.
Operation “Tiger”
First up, however, was 807’s part in Operation “Tiger” in May 1941, when
Ark Royal accompanied a convoy supported by ships from Force ‘H’ from
Gibraltar to Alexandria. Two days after departing the Rock, on 8 May,
the convoy came under sustained attack. Sholto Douglas - with Petty
Officer Nuttall as his Observer - led 807’s Red section into the fray
and shot-up two Me. 110s, one of which was seen to go down in the
clouds. He, in turn, received hits on the leading edges of his Fulmar’s
mainplanes and in the hydraulic system.
Over the course of the day, 12 of Ark Royal’s Fulmars - the maximum
number available - drove off over 50 enemy aircraft. One Fulmar was lost
with its crew during the initial attack; another was destroyed but the
aircrew recovered, while several others were damaged. Consequently, only
seven were able to face the main Luftwaffe force of 34 aircraft, while
an attack just before dark was driven off by two aircraft and heavy fire
from the ships. The convoy survived without serious damage but Ark Royal
underwent another aerial attack on 12 May, during her return to
Gibraltar.
Later in May - in Operation “Splice” - she and her fellow carrier
Furious undertook a vital mission to deliver Hurricanes to Malta. In
total 48 aircraft were flown off the two carriers on the 21st and all of
them safely reached their destination.
Later still, at the end of the month, the ‘Ark’ was called away in
pursuit of the Bismarck. Her part in that memorable operation -and that
of her gallant aircrew - proved to be crucial, one of her Swordfish
inflicting a fatal wound on the enemy battleship. Although the Fulmars
of 807 Squadron were not called to action, Sholto Douglas no doubt
shared in the trials and tribulations of his fellow F.A.A. aircrew.
Operation “Substance” - immediate D.S.O.
Medals:
Distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R., silver-gilt and enamel,
the reverse of the suspension bar officially dated ‘1941’; India
General Service 1908-35, 2 clasps, North West Frontier 1930-31,
Mohmand 1933 (F./O. J. S. Douglas, R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star;
Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45;
Coronation 1953, mounted as worn, together with F.A.A. uniform
bullion ‘Wings’ (3)
D.S.O. London Gazette 25 November 1941:
‘For courage and resolution in Mediterranean waters.’
The original recommendation states:
‘He repeatedly - and by himself - attacked a formation of five
S. 79 aircraft, probably shooting down
one and damaging another, which dropped from the formation and
was finally shot down by another
Fulmar. |
In July 1941, Sholto Douglas
and his aircrew faced further strife, Ark Royal having been assigned to
the defence of another crucial Malta convoy, codenamed Operation
“Substance”. Once more in the company of Force ‘H’, Ark Royal departed
Gibraltar at 0340 hours on the 21st, some 70 minutes ... See
attachment for further details
November 28-29, 2018 -
LONDON late due to a low-lying fog.
On Wednesday the 23rd, as the convoy
sailed south of Sardinia, the Regia Aeronautica and Luftwaffe commenced
a spate of determined attacks. Ark Royal’s captain’s report states:
‘R.D.F. reports at 0914 hours started giving notice of a large formation
approaching from the northeast, working round to the eastward, so at
0927 hours more fighters were flown off. A high-level bombing attack
from 12,000 feet developed which was successfully intercepted by our
fighters about 22’ off. The enemy consisted of S. 79s in two formations,
one of five and one of four, and all our fighters got in their attacks,
Lieutenant-Commander [Sholto] Douglas leading the first attack,
Lieutenant Hallett the next, a head-on attack, and Lieutenant Lewin beam
and quarter attacks. As a result of these attacks two enemy aircraft
were shot down definitely and one probably, with at least one other
damaged casualties to our own aircraft in the battle with the bombers
were three shot down, but the crews were rescued. Another fighter
crashed into the barrier on returning to land-on.’ In a separate
onslaught, synchronised with the above attack, seven Italian bombers
came in low and inflicted significant damage on the cruiser Manchester
and the destroyer Fearless. The former had to turn for Gibraltar and the
latter - at length - was evacuated and sunk by our own gunfire. Yet the
gallant actions of Sholto Douglas and his fellow Fulmar aircrew in 807
Squadron allowed the convoy to reach the Skerki Channel by late
afternoon.
As confirmed by the recommendation for his immediate D.S.O.,
Sholto Douglas carried out seven attacks on the enemy formation and
himself probably accounted for one of the S. 79s, in addition to
damaging another; the latter dropped away from its formation and was
finished off by Lieutenant (A.) N. G. Hallett. But with his own aircraft
hit and badly damaged by return fire, Sholto Douglas had to undertake
the unenvious task of enacting a ditching in the sea. He emerged
unscathed and was fortunate to be picked-up.
The Fulmars of 807 Squadron
were back in action on the 25th, operating alongside their comrades in
808 Squadron. By close of play the combined strength of the squadrons
was reduced to 12 serviceable aircraft; the loss in personnel amounted
to two Fulmar crews, another four crews having been rescued from the
drink. Among the lost was Lieutenant Alistair Kindersley, R.N., who had
flown in the Battle of Britain, and his T.A.G., Acting Petty Officer
(A.) Frederick Barnes. Kindersley was recommended for a posthumous V.C.
but the Second Sea Lord reduced the award to a mention in despatches.
Loss of the ‘Ark’
Having in the interim lent equally valuable service
during Operation “Halberd” in September - the last convoy to reach Malta
that year - Sholto Douglas was still serving aboard the ‘Ark’ at the
time of her loss on 10 November 1941. On that date the carrier was
returning to Gibraltar after delivering further aircraft to Malta, when,
at 1540 hours, she was struck amidships by a torpedo delivered by the
U-81. The explosion caused Ark Royal to shake, hurled loaded
torpedo-bombers into the air and killed Able Seaman Edward Mitchell. The
resultant 130-by-30-foot hole in the ship’s starboard side and keel
proved fatal.
Immediately after the torpedo strike, Captain Maund
ordered the engines to full stop, but discovered that communications
were down and had to send a runner to the engine room. The ship’s
continued motion enlarged the hole in the hull, and by the time Ark
Royal stopped she had taken on a great deal of water and begun to list
to starboard, reaching 18° from centre within 20 minutes. Given the
previous fate of the carriers Courageous and Glorious, which had both
sunk rapidly with heavy loss of life, Maund gave the order to abandon
ship. The crew were assembled on the flight deck to determine who would
remain on board to try to save the ship while Legion came alongside to
take off the rest. As a result, comprehensive damage control measures
were not initiated until 49 minutes after the attack; the flooding
spread unchecked, exacerbated by covers and hatches left open during
evacuation of the lower decks.
Subsequent attempts to take the carrier
in tow and save her failed, her list eventually reaching 27°. By 0430
hours her complement had been evacuated to Legion and, with the
exception of Mitchell, there were no further fatalities. The 1,487
officers and crew were transported to Gibraltar. The carrier’s list
eventually reached 45° and she capsized and sank at 0619 hours on 14
November.
Witnesses reported the ship rolling to 90°, where she remained for three minutes
before inverting. Ark Royal then broke in two, the aft sinking within a
couple of minutes, followed by the bow.
Subsequent career
Sholto
Douglas’s much depleted command next joined the carrier Argus at
Gibraltar, from whence it carried out numerous recce. flights over
Casablanca, Cape Santa Maria and Malilla; he was compelled to make a
forced-landing in his Fulmar at Cluminzata in neutral Portugal in
November 1941; he and his observer - Lieutenant (A.) A. Greogory, R.N. -
were briefly interned.
Having been promoted to Commander (A.) in June
1942, Sholto Douglas was appointed C.O. to a succession of R.N.A.S.
bases, namely Gannet in May 1943, Goldcrest, in August 1946, Falcon in
Malta in December 1948 and Merlin in October 1950.
His final appointment was with the Naval Air Warfare Division at the
Admiralty in the early 1950s. The Commander died in November 1981.
See also:
• The battle of the Bismarck
and the loss of HMS Hood
•
Sale
of medals with full history
|
