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Flight Lt. John W. Keller - call sign Blue Nose 47 - 2 PRU/680 Squadron RAF - North Africa 1942-44

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The DFC Ribbon - Canadian Wings & Canada/USA Shoulder flash - John at Rayak Syria 1943
John Keller was like a lot of young men in the early 1940's who were inspired by Englands lone stand against the German Luftwaffe. He decided to do more than just read about it. John travelled to Canada to join her air force before Pearl Harbor drove an isolationist American into the war. He would become a member of the small fraternity of photo reconnaissance pilots. These men flew deep into enemy territory alone, in stripped down Spitfires to photograph targets and enemy movements. John flew across the Mediterranean Sea and into the heart of Nazi occupied Europe. Enemy fighters and flak batteries paitently waited for these pilots, as no one wanted those pictures to get back to the Allied lines. If a PRU pilot was attacked, he had to out fly his opponents as he often had no guns or wingman to defend himself with. If downed far out over the sea, he would almost certainly die as no one might find him in time. John flew 81 such missions with the RAF, but one of his best memories was when he had occasion to spend the night in the White House. "FDR handed this pilot officer his Manhattan before dinner in March 1943"

WORK IN PROGRESS 5/11/2003

John Keller was born in September of 1919 in Newton, Massachusetts. His father Harold was a Captain at the US Naval Academy and one of the comissioning officers of the first United States aircraft carrier the USS Langley. His mother Edith was a housewife, he had a older brother H. Russell Keller Jr. and had a pretty normal life as a kid. Being in a Navy family afforded them a bit of financial security.

John: "Father travelled up and down the coast as his job required. In the depression era we did not live high off the hog but we always had food on the table. I was involved in the School band, Athletics, Hit my last home run at age 12!!!. My heroes were the likes of Charles Lindberg, Errol Flynn, and Leslie Howard.

Lucky Lindbergh, a scene in 1938's WWI pilot film, Dawn Patrol with Errol Flynn and ironically the film Spitfire with Leslie Howard who would die at the hands of the Luftwafe in 1943.

While playing a prank I was caught by the cops on Halloween eve as I could not run as fast as my big brother. Punishment was a spanking with an ivory backed hairbrush - administered frequently by my mother.

John attended school at the Milton Academy, and later Harvard College before the breakout of war. Had there been no war he may have possibly become commercial pilot.
John: "My Harvard class mates were very oppposed to taking part in any European war, as were my parents , but not my future bride, Natalie. The petition that circulated in the dining halls said "Under no circumstances will I bear arms in defense of my country". Altogether There were only four in my class of 1000 who went on active service with British forces in Canada and England. I evidently failed to persuade all but a very few to cross over.

In September of 1940 I first flew in a Piper Cub. In the fall of 1940, FDR instituted a plan for college students to learn to fly for free. FDR was hopping that they would go on to join the US Air Corps as it was known as.

John later attended Harvard Medical School upon his return from operations.

He describes himself as a "Student (but not scholar)" As an undergraduate at Harvard, he was the chauffeur to the president, James Conant.

(The Model T on the tarmac at Logan Airfield in 1940)

I had thought Harvard was as it is today very expensive and exclusive, but this was not the case in the late 1930's.

John; "If you had the tuition you were in. I did earn a bit during summer vacation as a tutor companion for wealthy kids, waited on table and even taught dancing lessons!!! You are very right. My parents had to scrimp and then I just plain jumped ship in my senior year. What an ingrate!! My older brother the bright and athletically gifted won scholarships at Williams College."

John owned a 1924 Model T Ford drove it until his 1949 graduation from Harvard Medical school.

Coming as he did from a military family probably had better insight than most to what was coming.

John: "I joined in February of 1941. I was 21 and not married or engaged at the time. I trained on Fleet Finches

at several locations including, Cap de la Madeine, Quebec and Summerside, Prince Edward Island with RCAF military instructors.
[ In elementary flying school in Canada, Keller learned to fly old open biplanes called Fleet Finches. His instructor tied long red ribbons to the struts of Keller’s plane when he made his first solo flight. “I guess it was a warning for other planes to steer clear,” he notes wryly. He polished his training on Prince Edward Island, where he graduated to the powerful 450-horsepower planes called, ironically, Harvards. “The Good Lord was watching over me,” he says, recalling how he once lost control of his plane after a landing and knocked over a kerosene pot marking the sides of the runway, spreading flames everywhere. ]An excerpt from “Their Finest Hour,” by Beverly Ballaro, in the Summer 2001 issue of the Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin.

John at Rayak in 1943. He was only just recovering from a bout with dysentry, note his thin appearance. His instructor was Geoffrey Morley-Mower is now living in the USA.

John: I spent time with an Operational Training Unit. Once I took off at dawn in Rayak (Lebanon) in a Hurricane,

10 feet off the ground doing 100 mph when my best friend an English pilot flew over me, doing 100 mph in the opposite direction. Two excellent friends were also Americans, who could not get into a flying unit in the Middle East and returned to England. Graduation was a fairly low key ceremony at Prince Edward Island. No family were present.

When I finished training I was given leave and spent it with my fiancee. Natalies uncle was killed in France while flying with the Lafayette Escadrille. (I wanted to emulate him) Her family trusted me to ferry her back and forth to Vassar in New York on weekends when I should have been studying LaRochefoucault!!! I grew up with her and she pursued me to Cap de la Madeleine. Her name was Natalie Coolidge and she became my wife on my embarcation leave. We honeymooned for two weeks at Squam Lake, New Hampshire. When John shipped out Natalie was pregnant. John would not see the child until hsi return home in 1944. [Natalie died in 1965 and John has been remarried to Martha. She has helped facilitate John and my communications for this profile ]

I heard about Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, 3 days before boarding a troopship in Halifax , Nova Scotia. I was disgusted with the American forces for sitting on their hands while all of Europe was being demolished."

[ According to John most people that he was with at the time had no idea where Pearl Harbor was. Canadians had their own problems as the U-boat threat was at its height. Know as "The Happy Time" to U-boat crews the rate of sinkings in 1940 and 41 period almost brought Britain to her knees. German aircraft and surface raiders picked off lone and straggling ships. More people were dying in the convoys then in ground and air actions. ]

...

John: "I was on troopships from Halifax to Liverpool and then on to Suez."
[ There were no fighters for John to train and fly on in England as the situation was still tough from the British, he was sent on the the Middle East. For a recon pilot there were many dangers but for John fighters and flak were not his main concerns.]
John: "Weather and fatigue were our greatest dangers. I never had to engaged directly in combat with the Luftwaffe of Regia Aeronautica fighters but we were unarmed, in unpressurised cockpits and alone doing the photographic reconnaisance. The Spitfires had wooden propellers and half way across the Mediterranean between Libya and Greece, 2 feet broke off one blade and one foot off another due to icing."

A base tent set up, these men were lucky to have some framing, one was a bit of an artist. A 680 sqdrn C-flight truck.

The theater of operations - John and 680 spent a lot of time in the eastern Mediterranean keeping watch on the Greek islands he would have overflown the Regia Aeronauticas 396th squadron on the Island of Kos at Antimachia airfield where another Memories profile Italian Loris Baldi was stationed in his MC202

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Loris flew scrambles against British recon planes and flew counter recon missions against Cyprus. Note his thin appearance as the Italians suffered from the same illnesses as did the English.

Loris: "This aircraft(MC202) could be filled with as much fuel as it was hardly enough to go and come back, so it was very important to save fuel. When we were in sight of the Cyprus coast, we could see the dust raising from the airport due to the leaving of the fighter aircraft which took off to defend their own territory. The Britains already got the radar, but we didn't even know that such a device existed, so we had to get much near to get the information we needed.

John: " My first assignment was in May of 1942, in Libya. I was put in charge of a petrol bowser to escort it and my small band of RAF mechanics the 500 miles east to Alamein.

John in Cairo 1942 either before or after the last push by the Africa Corps towared the Suez Canal. Left to right P.O Zary of NYC USA - John W. Keller USA and various Royal Artillerymen from Wales, Ireland and England.

I left originally from Cairo, flew as a passenger 500 miles west to Libya to shepherd the lousy tank car in the last big allied retreat of the war from May and June 1942 on the roads. I was responsible for the tank car and a handful of wonderful Brits. I drove a BMW motorcycle until it died east of Cyrenaica and had to be demolished to keep it out of the hands of the Afrika Korps. We also had a huge captured Daimler-Benz staff car. Yes, we were straffed and bombed but only occasionally .

Joh in a dugout some where near Tobruk 1942

When I reached Cairo after two lousy months of retreating, I pointed out the awful waste it was having a partially trained pilot nursing equipment out of the Western Desert - and they agreed. My ground duties included Swinging' the compasses on the aircraft but lots of idle time to write home, listen to the BBC, etc

Christmas 1943 Torca Libya. Front row Left to Right Roy Rearson U.K. - Peter Walker, RNZAF - Joe Owen, Canada - Lyn Mellor, Australia - Ernie Ellison U.K.
Rear row left to right. F/O Boyes ( Chile),- Gus Searle, Devon U.K. - John Keller, USA - Melryn Howe - Wales, F/L Richie, Canada - followed by 2 English intelligence officers.

The first base I was stationed at was Nicosia, Cyprus, and eventually the last were Cairo and Tocra, Libya. Geoffrey Morley-Mower, DFC, AFC was my flying instructor in August 1942 in Syria. I believe that the war in Syria was for only a few months, fought mainly by New Zealanders and Aussies. There were a few aircraft left over by the Vichy French."

An example of a Dewotine 520 used by the Vichy French Airforce in Syria.

Even though they were in the desert or on sunny islands in the Meditteranean, the airmen did what they could to bring the holidays to their barren surroundings. The cooks doing what they could to make the holidays special.
John: "We had acouple of shotguns (410's) that we shot little desert quail with. The food was indeed very poor. Bully Beef kept us alive, came in a tin - mostly white fat"

Squadron Christmas Menus 1941 - 1943 and 1944

The squadron radio and christmas palm tree complete with lights.
The set of 6 photos above, courtesy Robert Glennen from his fathers collection

Another Shot of John in his PRU Spitfire over Libya 1944.

John: "I was one of the last to be allowed to finish my tour of 300 hours in a Spitfire. We used the recon Hurricanes in training only. We were told that if we wanted to join the US Forces, we had to do it by a certain date or forever hold our peace. Those that did got dull jobs ferrying or training. I was glad I stayed with the British. All of my missions were at 25 to 30,000 feet. One problem was the lack of adequate heat for the pilot at altitude. Bloody cold with half the heat ducted back to the cameras to keep THEM warm , for heaven's sake!!" I did not have a plane of my own it was the property of the monarch!! The only markings were the red and blue rondelle of the RAF. The flights were apt to be in a different Spifire each time. "

ABOVE ...A great photo the the USAF Museums PRU Spitfire in its PRU Blue color that made it harder to detect at altitude.

The Mark XI was a development of the original British Spitfire interceptor that first flew in 1936. the Mark XI was essentially a Mark IX Spitfire modified for photographic reconnaissance with cameras and a more powerful engine. All guns and armor plate including the armored glass were removed and the fuel capacity was greatly increased. Speed was the unarmed Mark XI's defense.
SPECIFICATIONS

Span: 36 ft. 10 in. Length: 30 ft. Height: 12 ft. 7 in. Weight: 8,040 lbs. loaded

Armament: None

Engine: Rolls-Royce Merlin 61, 63 or 70 of 1,655 hp.

PERFORMANCE

Maximum speed: 422 mph. Cruising speed: 369 mph. Range: 1,360 miles Service Ceiling: 40,000 ft.

Gremlins

The ground crews did their best to keep the gremlins at bay. Above is a photo supplied by David Powell of his father with his comments "This is rare as this shows a PRIV with its normal 3-blade prop replaced by a later 4-blade, surely a one off in the field mod! My dad is under the prop and had been had been ground crew throughout its existance. Somewhere in the photo is LAC Walter Glennen Rob's father. Rob" My dad was a ground mechanic, but at some stage he was given the opportunity to do P/Recon flying in a Beaufighter. I do not no how many missions he flew, but on one occasion a pilot was for bailing out, the story goes, my dad stopped him as he hadn't got a Parachute. What ever the problem/difficulty was, they made it back to base safely, he would have be mentioned in dispatches for his P/Recon work, but unfortunately for the pilot, he was killed before putting pen to paper."

John: "Mostly we were very lucky. Some pilots went missing some werekilled in training accidents."

A Poem from WWII known to some English PRU pilots who first encountered the Gremlins that caused many problems for flight crews in the war. Gremlins were alleged to be mischievous, elf-like beings that were the "real" cause of engine trouble and other mechanical difficulties.

Certainly a British manifestation [the first gremlins were allegedly encountered by photoreconnaisance units (PRUs), who flew at very high altitudes], the following RAF ditty (which comes to us courtesy John Laming) says it all: A 1943 Looney Tunes Cartoon introduced Americans to the Gremlin. Bugs Bunny's "Falling Hare" cartoon stars Bugs and a Gremlin in an epic struggle to prevent the sabotaging of Bug's aircraft.

This is the tale of the Gremlins
As told by the PRU
At Benson and Wick and St Eval-
And believe me, you slobs, it's true.

When you're seven miles up in the heavens,
(That's a hell of a lonely spot)
And it's fifty degrees below zero,
Which isn't exactly hot.

When you're frozen blue like your Spitfire,
And your scared a Mosquito pink.
When you're thousands of miles from nowhere,
And there's nothing below but the drink.

It's then that you'll see the Gremlins,
Green and gamboge and gold,
Male and female and neuter,
Gremlins both young and old.

It's no good trying to dodge them,
The lessons you learnt on the Link
Won't help you evade a Gremlin,
Though you boost and you dive and you jink.

White ones will wiggle your wing tips,
Male ones will muddle your maps,
Green ones will guzzle your glycol,
Females will flutter your flaps.

Pink ones will perch on your perspex,
And dance pirouettes on your prop,
There's a spherical middle-aged Gremlin,
Who'll spin on your stick like a top.

They'll freeze up your camera shutters,
They'll bite through your aileron wires,
They'll bend and they'll break and they'll batter,
They'll insert toasting forks into your tyres.

And that is the tale of the Gremlins,
As told by the PRU,
(P)retty (R)uddy (U)nlikely to many,
But a fact, none the less, to the few.

WW II aircrew were telling stories about them as early as the 1940's, and Ronald Dahl, an ex-RAF-pilot, wrote "The Gremlins," a fairy tale about the hazards of combat flying, in 1942. The book was published by Walt Disney and serialized in Cosmopolitan. Disney wanted to do a movie on the book that even Eleanor Roosevelt read to her grandchildren, but could not figure out how to make creatures who destroyed Allied aircraft lovable.

John in his PRU Spitfire on a test flight over Libya.
John was not superstitious and did not carry any good luck charms like some pilots and aircrews did.

John: " I only carried a very small packet of photos of my wife and son - in case I should become a POW.

A Spitfire Receiver Type R.1147A used for the PRU aircraft & the F-24 Camera later liscence built and used by the AAF as the K-24 it used Roll film, 5"x5" image Shutter: Cloth focal plane. Lens: Aero-Ektar 178mm f/2.5. This camera weighs 21 pounds
Some of Johns mission photos over Greece, the port of Pireaus in Athens at 28,000 ft and the island of Paros. Note the ships in the harbor and the outline of an airfield in the block to the right. The circled item visible to a intelligence analyst is a JU-52 taking off.

History of No. 680 Squadron.

Motto: No known Motto
Badge: No known Badge

No.680 Squadron was formed from A Flight, No.2 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit at Matariya on 1 February 1943. Equipped with Spitfires, Hurricanes and Beaufighters, it flew photographic reconnaissance missions over enemy bases in North Africa. It moved forward to Tunisia in April 1943 and extended its activities to Sicily and Sardinia, while detachments in Libya and Cyprus kept watch on Greece and Crete. In June the squadron withdrew its Tunisian-based aircraft to Matariya and concentrated on keeping track of the enemy in the Eastern Mediterranean for a period. In August 1944, a detachment moved to Italy and remained there for a year.

Disbanded and reformed
After the end of the war other detachments undertook survey work in Iran, Iraq and Palestine. Mosquitoes had been added to the squadron strength in February 1944, in July 1946 680 gave up its Spitfires to become wholly equipped with Mosquitoes. At the same time it moved to Palestine where it was renumbered No.13 Squadron on 1 September 1946.
John: "The Greeks in Crete were very loyal to our cause as were the mainland Greeks in the Peloponeesus, but survival was up to our own ingenuity. There was a map hidden in our tobacco pouch which I cut open after the war but it was a map of Italy away over on the other side of the Adriatic Sea - not much help!!

WW2 RAF & British Forces standard half inch escape compass. Brass base (black painted) with star shaped magnetised pointer with luminous dots marked to show "North". Glass topped. Carried by allied aircrews & also formed part of ration packs, escape packs etc. The same compass was also hiddden in such items as shaving brushes, lighters, collar studs & uniform buttons etc. A WWII Escape kit includes a silk map of the region covered by the mission, button compass, currency, an escape photo for false papers, a multi language card promising a reward for helping the airman, it also included chocolates and other small items.
680 Squadron WWII Stations

LG219 01/02/43
Formed by renumbering No.2 PRU. Spitfire IV, 02/43. Spitfire IX, 02/43. Beaufighter Ic, 02/43. Electra, 02/43.Hurricane I, 02/43. Hurricane II, 02/43. Spitfire XI, 08/43.

680 Matariya 01/12/43 Day of month arbitrary. Baltimore IIa, 02/44. Baltimore V, 02/44. Mosquito IX, 02/44. Mosquito XVI, 02/44.

680 Severo 01/08/44 Day of month arbitrary.

680 Deversoir 01/02/45 Day of month arbitrary.

680 Castel Benito 01/02/43 Date arbitrary. Detachment. Left 05/43.

680 Senem 01/02/43 Date arbitrary. Detachment. Left 05/43.

680 Nicosia Cyprus 01/02/43 Date arbitrary. Detachment. Left 12/43.

680 Monastir 01/02/43 Date arbitrary. Detachment. Left 05/43.

680 Derna 01/05/43 Date arbitrary. Detachment. Left 12/43.

680 Tocra 01/05/43 Date arbitrary. Detachment. Left 12/43.

680 Lakatamia 01/12/43 Date arbitrary. Detachment. Left 08/44.

680 Matariya 01/08/44 Date arbitrary. Detachment. Left 02/45.

680 Aleppo 01/02/45 Date arbitrary. Detachment.

680 Aqir 01/02/45 Date arbitrary. Detachment.

A group photo of 680 squadron with one of their Mosquitoes.

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The Mosquito pilots of 680 were forced to paint red and white diagonal stripes on their tail assemblies as the ME-410 used by the Germans as a fast recon ship resembeled the Mossie a bit too closely. Some Allied fighter pilots would shoot first and apologize later.

Coming Home

Photo. Courtesy John Keller
During the war censorship had prevented Johns family from knowing where he was. This was a little different from many American soldiers families. Johns father was in materials at the Boston Navy Yard during the war. In June of 1944 just as the invasion of France was begining John came home on a troopship along with POW's. Like most airmen it was the only time he had seen the enemy that close. The war was not finished with John or his family however.

John: "My brother H. Russell Keller Jr. was killed while dive-bombing Ryuku island March 18, 1945. He flew off USS Wasp (Carrier Air Group 86) and was Lieutanant Commander. He was awarded the DFC." (American version). I had renewed studies for medical school at McGill and Harvard and was in Brookline, Mass when it all ended.

For some of the returning veterans depending on their skills work could be difficult to find. John spent the post war years up to 1949 in medical school. John: No, work was not hard to find, not after getting my MD, up to retirement I was in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.
[ From the Harvard Alumni article by Beverly Ballaro ] "John still has the bright red shirt he wore on “ops.” Each pilot in his squadron sat on a two-inch foam rubber pad covering a two-inch inflatable dinghy and a four-inch parachute; the red shirt was for maximum visibility should John end up in his dinghy in the Mediterranean. Occasionally, this type of dinghy had been known to inflate accidentally, pushing the stick forward and sending the plane into a fatal dive. So, John carried an L.L. Bean hunting knife in his flying boot to stab the dinghy if the need arose. His only other weapon was a flare gun for sending up a signal in case he was forced into the water. Yet, Keller says, “I was delighted to be flying the world’s best aircraft, the Spitfire, behind the best engine, the Rolls Royce Merlin, and in the world’s best air force. " John: "My longest mission was a 4 hour trip to Volos north of Athens. Further than any previous Spitfire trip. I was only targeted twice in 81 trips and would have been disappointed if the Nazis had not acknowledged my presence.

As to the red shirt.....The more cardinal colors the better. There may have been dye markers in the raft package but we never investigated. I carried a L.L.Bean hunting knife in my flying boot, as the raft occasionally inflated, pushing the stick forward and putting the plane into a fatal dive. Fortunately this was a very rare but unwelcome phenomenon!!

John keeps busy with his hobbies that include Bee keeping, gardening, working as a volunteer at the PBS station WGBH -TV.

The American DFC on the left for comparision and the British DFC awarded to John (also referred to as a gong) on the right.
The Distinguished Flying Cross was instituted by Royal Warrant on 17 December 1918. Shortly before the formation of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918 the DFC and several other decoration were recommended to the board of Admiralty. The DFC was to signify acts of exceptional valor, courage and devotion to duty performed by Officers and Warrant Officers in the Royal Air Force and in the other Air Foces of Britains self-governing Dominions, whilst flying in active operations against the enemy. Foreign officers and men of equivalent rank who have been associated in Military operations with British forces shall also be eligible for the DFC.
This was not easily won as the British Military did not recognize their airmen as did the United States. Decorations were few and far between for stretches of action that would have garnered a group of clusters to a Airmedal for an American flier.

Britain provided for campaign decorations as did the United States. Below are several examples that John was eligible for.

The War Medal: This medal was awarded to all full-time personnel of the Armed Forces. Operational and non-operational service of at least 28 days counted.

The Africa Star: This medal was awarded for 1 or more days service in North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 (inclusive).

E-Mail Me @ worldwar2mem@yahoo.com

BACK TO THE WWII MEMORIES MAIN INDEX WWII MEMORIES

Thanks to Paula Byron Editor Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin for permission to use excerpts from “Their Finest Hour,” by Beverly Ballaro, in the Summer 2001 issue of the Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin.

The Spitfire Receiver photo courtesy of Steven B. Johnston, WD8DAS

Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation Web site of Malcolm Barrass source of 680 Sqdrn color plates.

Sky Lighters 225th AAA Searchlight Batallion web site. Source of Gremlin poem

US Legacies Web site Beverly Ballaro's US Legacies Article on Dr Walter Keller

Wright Patterson AFB Museum Dayton Ohio Source of PRU Photo and Performance Specs.

RAF Commands pageRoss McNeills RAF squadrons pages source of 680 Sqdrn data

LAC Walter A Glennen680 Squadron Leading Aicraft Man site by his relation Rob.

Voluntary Swedish aviators in the RAF 680 Sqdrn Ulf 'Chris' Christiernsson

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