Trafford Publishing: Whispering Death

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Whispering Death

by Lee Heide

243 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #00-0051; ISBN 1-55212-387-1; US$22.50, C$25.50, EUR18.50, £13.00

An account of the air war in the Mediterranean by a navigator flying Beaufort and Beaufighter aircraft with the Royal Air Force.

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about the book about the author excerpt catalogue info

About the Book

Lee Heide's wartime adventures read like fiction but they are factual, brought to life by skillful characterization and dialogue. Raised in Vancouver, he was trained as a navigator and flew overseas in a Hudson aircraft in June, 1941. In England he joined an RAF crew for training on Beaufort torpedo bombers. Sent to Malta, he survived a year of the blitz on that island, with heavy losses to his squadron. Upon converting to Beaufighters he was twice posted as missing. The first time, he and his pilot were washed ashore, after five days in a dinghy, on enemy-held Elba whence they escaped by boat to Corsica. The second time his aircraft was shot up in the Aegean and forced to land in Turkey where he was interned. A meticulous recorder, Heide's descriptions of places and events in the Middle East are informative and entertaining. The title Whispering Death was the name given by the Germans to the Beaufighter--one of the outstanding attack aircraft of the war. Readers will not lightly put down this autobiography

Review
from Canadian Military History Book Review Supplement, Autumn 2000
This is another small-press memoir that brings us a dimension of war that is not widely known. The author, a Vancouver native, flew overseas in a Hudson bomber in 1941 and then, after further training in England, was posted to the Middle East, where he flew as a navigator on Beaufort and Beaufighter torpedo bombers over the Mediterranean (the title refers to the nickname given to the Beaufighter). He spent a year operating from Malta and, after conversion to Beaufighters, survived two forced landings. The first, in the sea, resulted in a five-day ordeal before he and his pilot washed ashore on the island of Elba, from which they escaped to Corsica. This was followed by instructional duties on Cyprus, which lasted only until a pilot friend convinced him that it was better to be killed on operations than be killed by a student pilot. Heide and his pilot were posted to an operational squadron on Tobruk, and then went through a second ditching. On this occasion, they managed to reach land, but it was neutral Turkey and they were interned (albeit in quite pleasant conditions) for a short period of time before returning to the squadron. The war in the desert wound up in late 1944, and Heide was back in Canada, newly demobilized and with a DFC and a British wife, by the spring of 1945. A keen observer, Heide spins a good tale; Whispering Death is an informative and entertaining book with lots of good anecdotes and local colour.

About the Author

Lee Heide was trained in Canada as a navigator and flew overseas with Ferry Command in June, 1941. In England he was assigned to a Beaufort OTU and, with an RAF crew, trained on torpedo operations. Sent to the Middle East, the crew went by boat to Nigeria, their aircraft crated in the hold, and then flew across the heart of Africa, down the Nile River from Khartoum to Cairo, and thence to Malta. Heide survived the blitz on Malta for a year with heavy losses to his squadron. Converting to Beaufighters near Tunis, he and his pilot were shot down and forced to ditch near Elba. After five days afloat they landed on Elba, evaded German patrols and escaped to Corsica. After a rest on Cyprus, Heide returned to operations and was again shot down, this time to be interned in Turkey. He was awarded the DFC by King George VI at Buckingham Palace in 1945.
Also by Lee Heide:
Life Ain't Over Yet
Terrorist Cove

Excerpt from Chapter 6 - Malta

There was an air raid or two every day. If we were on stand-by at Luqa (we spent a lot of time on stand-by) we would go to the air raid shelter. If I was off duty at the Majestic Hotel in Sliema I would dash across the road, dive into the sea from the rocks, swim out a few hundred yards, roll over on my back and watch the air battle.
The Spitfires would take on the top cover of ME-109s while the Hurricanes went after the bombers. The ME-109 was armed with two 20-mm canon and two machine guns while the Spitfire had two machine guns and one Hispano 20-mm canon that frequently jammed. The ME-109 was faster and had a better ceiling but the Spitfire was more maneouverable and could win the inside-out chase. The Hurricanes had a field day with the bombers but had to be careful not to fly into the heavy flak thrown up by Malta's anti-aircraft gunners.
Since there wasn't enough avgas for us to go on Rovers, we had to have firm info on an enemy convoy before taking off. This came from a variety of sources, one of which we knew nothing about -the Code and Cipher School at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, England. Using a captured German 'Enigma' coding machine, they were regularly decrypting messages to and from Rommel's forces to Germany and Italy. They knew the sailing routes and dates of almost all the Axis convoys together with the names of the vessels and their cargo. (We thought that this info came from spies in Italy). At midnight on 28 October, 1942, Bletchley Park picked up an urgent signal from Rommel to Kesselring demanding immediate dispatch of fuel for his forces. It is said that this was the point at which Rommel knew that the battle of El Alamein was lost.
We were very dependent on No. 69 Squadron for photo recce. They had a mixed bag of Baltimores, Marylands, Spitfires and one P-38, called a Lightning, an American twin-engine, twin-boomed fighter which, stripped down, could make 450 knots at 35,000 feet. The Germans called it the 'Forked-Tail Devil.' This machine was flown by the C.O., Squadron Leader Adrian Warburton, who became a legend in photo recce circles for always getting his pictures no matter how fierce the opposition.
Watching him land was to see an aerial display. He would scream down from on high, roll his P-38 over Valletta, pull up in a stall turn, flip down his flaps and undercart and land at Luqa. Warburton was killed on operations over Europe in 1944, then a Wing Commander with a DSO and Bar, DFC and two Bars and an American DFC.
Another legend in Malta at this time was the Canadian ace, George Frederick 'Screwball' Beurling. He was a loner and not popular on his Spitfire squadron where he treated his wingmen like hired lackeys. Beurling refused a commission for some time, remaining an NCO, because he didn't want any responsibility.
Harry told us the story of Beurling being called to the phone in the Sgt.'s Mess. Harry overheard the following:
'Beurling here.'
'Yeah . . . who?'
'When . . . today?'
'Tell him I can't make it today . . . it's my day off and I'm going fishing.'
The phone call was from the office of the AOC, Malta- Air Vice Marshal Sir Keith Park.
Beurling was killed in a crash at Rome in bad weather, in 1946, while flying supplies to Israel. His uniform and decorations are on display at the War Museum in Valletta.
A few days after the 'Pozarica' strike we were off again. A convoy of one tanker, 'Giorgia', of 5,000 tons, escorted by two torpedo boats, was found en route from Taranto to Tobruk. Six Beauforts, led by Fl/Lt Wally Alsopp, were accompanied by eight Beaufighters, three of which carried bombs. We attacked in VICs of three, with us leading the second VIC. The violent evasive action by the tanker resulted in no hits. A Beaufighter claimed damage but the 'Georgia' got through to Tobruk. I didn't hit anything with my machine guns - the torpedo boats were far too agile.
A Beaufort flown by Larry Dewhurst was shot down and all the crew were killed.
Tribute must be paid to the RAF ground crew who kept our kites flying under the most difficult of circumstances. The Axis blockade had a strangulation effect on the supply of spare parts for both airframes and engines.
It was usual, for instance, to see a fuselage patch bearing the logo of the supplier of petrol tins. The Maintenance Wing at Kalafrana collected every piece of a crashed aircraft from anywhere on the island. Engines, air frames, radios, armament - all were put to use again.
Even toilet paper was used! The 20-mm Hispano canon on the Spitfire was having stoppages due to dust and sand being sucked into the breech while the aircraft was taxiing. The solution was to glue thin paper over the opening which would tear away on the first round being fired. Ordinarily toilet paper issued to the rank and file was too thick and tough. But a softer brand for the delicate asses of 'HQ and Civil Servants Only' was ideal. The Armament Officer rode triumphantly back to base on his bike with his handlebar basket piled high with his stolen cargo. The stoppage rate of the Hispano 20-mm canon declined considerably!
ESPRIT DE CORPS says: Whispering Death is a valuable addition to libraries of both casual readers and historians. Heide's account is from the perspective of a wartime navigator in the RCAF; unusual since most biographical histories seem to recount the adventures of pilots. "Invited" to join the army, Heide was called-up and completed army basic before being called to service in the Air Force. Trained as a navigator, he flew to England ferrying a Hudson for Ferry Command. He opted for Coastal Command and trained on Beaufort torpedo bombers. His first posting was near Cairo and , as the Mediterranean was virtually a German lake in 1942, the crew and aircraft took a round-about route: by ship to Lagos, then a series of hops across the heart of Africa to Khartoum and up the Nile to Cairo. Heide recorded places and events with precision and his accounts are informative and engaging.

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