Liberator VC
F/O Trigg was Awarded a Posthumous VC with Coastal Command
Comparison between the B24 Liberator and its contemporary, the B17 Flying Fortress reveals widely differing service careers. The B17 represented an earlier design era when in 1934 a requirement for a multi-engine bomber was issued.
Flying Fortress
Boeing’s contender emerged as the Model 299, a large, well-proportioned monoplane powered by four 750 hp motors. As the YB17 it entered Army Air Corps service in 1937 and so impressive was its armament that it was imaginatively christened ‘Flying Fortress’. The B17 continued through various marques and is best remembered in its ‘E’ and ‘G’ versions when it performed the lion’s share of the U.S. air force daylight bombing of occupied Europe.
Liberator
By comparison, the B24 developed from a project initiated in 1938 and with its slab-sided fuselage, high wing and rudders that resembled barn doors it was not a thing of beauty. The fame of the B17 far exceeded that of the B24, yet the B24 was produced in far greater numbers than any other American aircraft, (an extraordinary total of 18,180) and served over more operational fronts for a considerably longer period. Versatility was its strong point, which was demonstrated in its role as strategic bomber, in maritime reconnaissance, as a passenger and freight carrier, flying tanker and in many other roles.
Coastal Command
Great Britain purchased 5 examples of the Model LB30 (bearing the newly-bestowed name of ‘Liberator’) for use as unarmed transports on the trans-Atlantic Ferry service, making possible a new era in long- range air transport.
Coastal Command accepted 20 Liberator 1s, which they extensively modified to their own requirements. In June 1941 the type first equipped 120 Squadron; a unit based at Aldergrove in Northern Ireland from where the Liberator began operations as a VLR (very long range) aircraft. Their operating range of 2,400 miles gave them the ability to close the so-called ‘Atlantic Gap’, previously out of reach to Allied aircraft on either side of the Atlantic. In May 1943 a New Zealand pilot operating with Coastal Command brought fame to the Liberator with a gallant attack on a surfaced U-Boat
F/O Trigg
Lloyd Allan Trigg was one of three New Zealand airmen awarded the Victoria Cross. He enlisted in the RNZAF in June 1941, and qualified as a pilot, following training in New Zealand and later Canada.
In January 1942 Trigg was commissioned. In January 1943 he was posted to No.200 squadron, a Lockheed Hudson unit based at Yundum in West Africa. Its task was to provide air cover for shipping that passed through West African waters, a situation they shared with a nearby Sunderland squadron, No.95. From January 1943 until May Trigg gained a reputation for a quiet determination to carry out his missions to the utmost.
Fateful Patrol
In May 1943, three crews, including Trigg’s were sent to the Bahamas to convert to Liberators. With the transition completed Trigg and his crew received a new Liberator, and then flew it to Yundum via the United Kingdom.
On 11 May Trigg and his crew made their first Liberator sortie, an anti-submarine and shipping cover patrol. Early in the mission a surfaced U-boat was sighted and at once Trigg commenced a depth charge attack. The vessel was U-468, whose captain elected to remain surfaced and fight it out with the attacking aircraft.
Posthumous VC
From the outset the U-boat’s flak was fatally accurate, setting the Liberator ablaze on its undeviating run to the target. Trigg held the stricken B24 on course long enough to make a perfect straddle that shattered U-468 completely. The stricken Liberator cleared the shattered submarine and then crashed into the sea, killing Trigg and all crewmembers. Only 20 seamen escaped the U-boat sinking, but in a ghastly finale, marauding sharks took the majority. Just 5 survivors, including the captain scrambled aboard a floating dinghy from the Liberator. On the following day a Sunderland from 204 squadron located the dinghy and directed a Royal Navy vessel to the area.
Eventually the survivors were returned to England, and during interrogation the Germans expressed great admiration for the bravery of the Liberator crew. From their evidence Trigg was awarded a posthumous V.C., which was gazetted in November 1943. Trigg was one of three New Zealand airmen to win the VC; the others were Sgt.Ward of 75 Sqdrn. and S/Ldr.Trent of 487.
DFC
In a note of irony the award of a DFC for Trigg was gazetted on 16 June 1943. This was for his earlier period flying Hudsons, but unfortunately the official notification did not reach 200 squadron until after Trigg’s death.
F/O Trigg
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Liberator VC
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