Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An original Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Book appertaining to Flight Lieutenant R. H. Orlebar, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who saw much action in Spitfires with 145 Squadron during the Italian Campaign in 1944, covering the period July 1941 to August 1957: extremely well annotated and together with numerous assorted inserts and a quantity of additional ephemera including photographs, letters, cards, medical reports, newspaper cuttings, the spine a little frayed; covers and contents in good condition £200-£300

Rupert Hale Orlebar was born in 1920 at Steyning Sussex and joined the Royal Air Force in November 1940. He commenced his pilot training in July 1941 in Texas, U.S.A., and, having been commissioned Pilot Officer on 6 December 1941, was selected to continue training on Spitfires at No. 53 O.T.U., based at Llandow, Vale of Glamorgan from March 1942. The following month Orlebar was involved in a mid-air collision at 1000ft. His log book noting ‘undignified descent on golf-course - 4 months in hospital after collision - most awkward.’
Upon recovery, he completed his training and went operational at No. 504 Squadron, Ibsley, on 29 January 1943. Flying the Spifire Mark V he partook in a variety of sorties over the next six months, his logbook noting, inter alia, sweeps over France, convoy patrols and a shipping strike on barges. On 3 May he states ‘Escort to 12 Venturas to Amsterdam docks. Attacked off Dutch coast by 190s. Phew!!!’
After a posting to R.A.F. Setif in North Africa in July 1943 he received promotion to Flight Lieutenant in December and then joined No. 145 Squadron flying the Spitfire Mark VIII ‘a lovely aircraft...oceans of power’ in Italy on the front line of the Italian Campaign in March 1944. Here Orlebar’s logbook takes on a diary like form, often containing lengthy paragraphs to describe the day’s events and usually including details of kills and incidents relating also to other pilots in the squadron. His first month in Italy consists of sweep patrols over the Anzio Invasion and Cassino Battle Areas with much action and a forced landing due to engine failure at Lago being noted early on. Involved in a kill on 24 March 1944, Orlebar’s log book entry - not atypical - reads:
‘24 March 1944 - Sweep-Patrol Cassino Battle Area. Blooded! Jimmy Minto, Mac McDonald, and ‘Blackie’ each got a destroyed this morning! Terrific show. Took off 15.45hrs in Green section, Hughie Wells leading 2/10 cloud, very good visibility. We were bottom section of 4, at 12000 ft. 2 stray huns cam down - Jock Sterling destroyed one - a 109. Jock Sutherland, Tommy Thomp and Hughie Wells shared the other - I had a shot at it from about 300 yards giving 3 rings deflection - didn’t see the strikes, but it started smoking and crashed. Pilot baled out.’

After a six week course at the Advanced Bombing and Gunnery School at El-Ballah, Egypt, Orlebar returned to Italy to rejoin 145 Squadron, now a fighter-bomber squadron, at Lago, Italy on 27 May and proceeded over the remainder of the year to undertake a variety of sorties including bombing rail targets and gun positions, bomber escort, bombline patrol, scrambles, fighter sweeps, armed reconnaissance and strafing. Detailed logbook entries continue to describe each day’s activities, e.g.:
‘29 March - Sweep Patrol Anzio Invasion Area. W/O Jerry McCully (Canada) destroyed a long nosed 190, and F/O ‘Brook’ Harrington got a probable and a damaged (long-nosed 190s) this morning before breakfast off Anzio these were both later confirmed as ‘destroyed’ by ships - very fine.’
‘3 April - Sweep Patrol Anzio Invasion Area. Good weather and thin layers of cloud 5/10 - Bandits reported north of Frosinone - Blue Section saw their smoke trails - Jock Sutherland and Tommy Thompson closed to engage them, two short nosed 190s - they were at 20000 ft, the huns at 22000. Enemy aircraft dived steeply - Tommy followed his and shot him down ‘on the deck’ - Jock lost his - I was yellow 2 to Hughie Wells.
‘2 August - Bombing Road-Rail junction and strafing goods train on Bologna-Pesaro R/R - Weather good but towering masses of cumulus up to 14000 ft south of Bologna and over the hills. C.O.’s bomb failed to release on his bombing dive, coming off and exploding underneath him when he was strafing, blowing a hole in his wing. I was only a hundred yards behind him! - My bomb also hung up and was eventually jettisoned. Strafed train but it was empty and would not burn - no flak.’

Orlebar’s wartime operations tail off sharply after 21 November 1944. Aside from a series of internal flights in Italy in the summer of 1945 and a single solo flight in a Messerchmidt 108 in 1946, the only further entries in the logbook are local flights in light trainers in 1957.