Herb Plenty

According to his interview for RAAF Historical Section on 5 November 1996, Plenty was born into a farming family in Napperby, South Australia. Plenty's interest in flying was kindled as a boy reading the exploits of aviation heroes such as Kingsford-Smith and Bert Hinkler. He took flying lessons at the Spencer Gulf Aero Club and sent an application to enlist in the RAAF when he was aged just 16.^[2] He applied again after his 18th birthday and was accepted on the 1st of September 1939. Australia declared war on the 3rd of September 1939 and the following day Plenty arrived at RAAF Base Point Cook for initial training. Due to the sudden need to train many more pilots, the RAAF engaged civilian flying schools to provide initial flying training, and Plenty was sent to No. 26 Pilots Course at Kingsford-Smith Aero Club, Mascot NSW,^[3] training on the de Havilland Gipsy Moth, and then to No. 21 Squadron RAAF, Laverton Victoria, training on the Hawker Demon. After graduation he was posted to No. 2 Squadron, also at Laverton, flying the Avro Anson. In June 1940 he was posted to No. 8 Sqn, at Fairbairn, Canberra, flying the new Lockheed Hudson bomber. In August the squadron was posted to Sembawang, Singapore, and flew the Hudson's up via Alice Springs, Darwin, and Surabaya.^[4] No. 8 Sqn was the first to be posted to RAF Station Kota Bharu, on the Malay Thai border, from March to August 1941, when No. 1 Sqn RAAF took over in Kota Bharu.^[5] Facilities were very basic, and the airfield had no defense's such as anti-aircraft guns or fighter aircraft based there. On leave in Singapore Plenty visited the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battle cruiser HMS Repulse which arrived in Singapore on 2 December. The two capital ships were leading Force Z. No. 8 Sqn deployed to RAF Station Kuantan, Malaya in early December 1941.^[6]

Just after midnight on the 8th of December 1941 local time (7am on 7 December Hawaii time) the Imperial Japanese Army landed troops at Kota Bharu where they faced forces from the British 9th Infantry Division. This was 90 minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Hudson's from No. 1 Sqn at Kota Bharu went into the attack, bombing the landing transports and troops, and sinking the Imperial Japanese Navy transport Awajisan Maru, which was the first Japanese ship of any kind to be sunk in World War II by enemy action. No. 8 Sqn Hudson's were sent into the attack around an hour later.

In the RAAF Historical Section interview Plenty recounted that on the morning of 10 December 1941, he was on a reconnaissance flight over the South China Sea off the coast from Kuantan, when the crew sighted Force Z and witnessed the attack and sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse.^[7] Throughout the remainder of December and into January, No. 8 Squadron was tasked with daily low-level reconnaissance, observing Japanese shipping movements. On the morning of 24 January 1942, Plenty was captaining Hudson A16-87 with his usual crew of Ken Hewett second pilot, Ashley Frost radio operator and gunner, and Bill Jacobson turret gunner, in formation with a second Hudson, A16-11, captained by C H ‘Spud’ Spurgeon,^[8] when they were attacked by two Mitsubishi A6M Zero’s. Spurgeon’s Hudson was quickly shot down, with only Spurgeon surviving. He was later captured by the Japanese and spent the remainder of the war a prisoner.^[9] Meanwhile, Plenty had flown into clouds but shortly after his exit found the Zero’s waiting for him. His Hudson was also rapidly shot down, however he managed to get it onto the sea without serious injury and the crew were all able to evacuate, inflating their life raft after the Zero’s had departed. The crew, aided by local Chinese made their way to the mainland near Mersing, and on foot down the coast walking for two days before finding a hidden Malay boat and sailing to the Johore radar station where they were picked up by a British mine sweeper and returned to Singapore on 29th of January.^[10] The following day they flew to P2 airfield near Palembang, Sumatra, and rejoined No. 8 Sqn there, were they found they had all been posted ‘missing presumed killed’ and their families informed.^[11] Plenty flew his last operational sortie with No. 8 Sqn on 20 February 1942, the 61st since 8th of December 1941. Plenty was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for ‘continued reconnaissance along enemy occupied territory. On many occasions he was attacked by enemy fighters and on one occasion was shot down…the day after his arrival back at Singapore, Flight Lieutenant Plenty was again carrying out reconnaissance patrols over the same territory’.^[12] At the end of February Plenty was evacuated to Broome, Australia, but was unable to get a seat on a forward flight until the morning of 2 March. The following day Broome was bombed.

Plenty was posted to No. 1 Operational Training Unit as a flying instructor on the RAAF Bristal Beaufort bomber. After thirteen months he volunteered for a second tour of duty and was posted as a flight commander to RAAF No. 100 Beaufort Squadron at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, on 8 November 1943, flying bombing strikes against Japanese positions on New Britain, on occasions leading formations of up to thirty bombers.^[13][14] After the Japanese retreat from New Britain, Plenty led strikes against Japanese positions in New Guinea. On 11 August 1944 Plenty completed his nine-month operational tour, having carried out 65 strikes. During his posting to No. 100 Sqn Plenty was awarded a Bar to his DFC for ‘courage and resourcefulness, together with his gallant and inspired leadership’.^[15]