Leonard B. Smith
Encyclopedia
Leonard B. Smith was an American
pilot
who spotted the German battleship Bismarck
prior to its being sunk by British
naval and air forces. Smith is sometimes considered the first American to be directly involved in World War II for his actions.
There are conflicting accounts of his involvement. According to Ludovic Kennedy
, in his book on the Bismarck, a number of US pilots, who had ferried Catalinas across to the UK and were supposed to familiarize the RAF crews with the plane, were unofficially used as copilots on operations. "Unofficially" because the USA was not at war with Germany at that time. Smith was acting as copilot of AH545 WQ-Z of No. 209 Squadron RAF
which had been specifically assigned a search area after contact was lost with the Bismarck and was at the controls when the battleship was spotted around at 10:10 on 26 May. He jettisoned the depth charges and made for cloud cover under heavy AA fire, losing sight of the Bismarck and never regaining contact. Two other Americans were also in Catalinas that spotted the Bismarck later in the day: Lt Johnson in M of No. 240 Squadron RAF, and Ensign Rinehart in O of No. 210 Squadron RAF
.
An alternative version runs as follows. As an experienced pilot, Smith was leading British instructional exercises while leading a patrol. When the patrol spotted the Bismarck, Smith broke from the formation and gave pursuit, following the ship for 18 hours before returning to a base in Ireland with 250 gallons of fuel.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
who spotted the German battleship Bismarck
German battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
prior to its being sunk by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
naval and air forces. Smith is sometimes considered the first American to be directly involved in World War II for his actions.
There are conflicting accounts of his involvement. According to Ludovic Kennedy
Ludovic Kennedy
Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy was a British journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley, and for his role in the abolition of the death penalty in the United...
, in his book on the Bismarck, a number of US pilots, who had ferried Catalinas across to the UK and were supposed to familiarize the RAF crews with the plane, were unofficially used as copilots on operations. "Unofficially" because the USA was not at war with Germany at that time. Smith was acting as copilot of AH545 WQ-Z of No. 209 Squadron RAF
No. 209 Squadron RAF
No. 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service and saw active service in both World Wars, the Korean War and in Malaya...
which had been specifically assigned a search area after contact was lost with the Bismarck and was at the controls when the battleship was spotted around at 10:10 on 26 May. He jettisoned the depth charges and made for cloud cover under heavy AA fire, losing sight of the Bismarck and never regaining contact. Two other Americans were also in Catalinas that spotted the Bismarck later in the day: Lt Johnson in M of No. 240 Squadron RAF, and Ensign Rinehart in O of No. 210 Squadron RAF
No. 210 Squadron RAF
No. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated as a fighter squadron during World War I and as a maritime patrol squadron during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Cold War before it was...
.
An alternative version runs as follows. As an experienced pilot, Smith was leading British instructional exercises while leading a patrol. When the patrol spotted the Bismarck, Smith broke from the formation and gave pursuit, following the ship for 18 hours before returning to a base in Ireland with 250 gallons of fuel.