Gus Winckel

Willem Frederick August (Gus) Winckel (3 November 1912 – 17 August 2013) was a Dutch military officer and pilot during World War II flying for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force (ML-KNIL). During the 3 March 1942 attack on Broome, Western Australia, Winckel managed to land his plane full of refugees safely on the Broome airstrip right before the Japanese attack. He then dismounted the plane's machine gun and shot down one of the Japanese fighters, the only Allied kill during the attack.

Attack on Broome and flight to Java
On 3 March 1942 Flight-Lieutenant Winckel was transporting refugees from the Bandung, Dutch East Indies to Perth, Australia in his Lockheed Lodestar, he had just stopped on the Broome Airfield to refuel when Broome was attacked by 9 Japanese Zero fighter planes performing a long-distance raid from Kupang, Timor. Winckel saw the danger of his plane being on the open airstrip and proceeded to dismount the Colt 7.99mm machine gun from the plane. When one of the Zeros, piloted by Osamu Kudō, flew over low Winckel managed to shoot him out of the air. The crash killed Kudō. Winckel thereby made the only kill on the Allied side. Winckel has said he hit another plane which had to dump into the sea. The Japanese managed to destroy 22 planes in total, many of them flying boats used for refugee transport that lay in Roebuck Bay. During the shooting Winckel suffered severe burns to his hand as he had used the gun barrel to aim. His hand was treated and Winckel flew medical evacuations for the next two days without rest. Japanese forces in the meanwhile were taking over Java and threatened the Allied headquarters at Bandung. On 5 March the Allied command had decided that several high RAF and RAAF officers needed to be evacuated from Bandung. Winckel was chosen to be the pilot, he protested against the decision, citing that his lack of rest prevented him from finding Bandung in the dark while he did not have any electronic aids. However, Winckel was seen to be one of the most experienced pilots because of his terrain knowledge as a flight instructor at Bandung and his recent refugee flights. Another factor was that his Lodestar, although it had been damaged in the attack on Broome, was seen as the most adequate plane for the evacuation mission. In the end Winckel went to Bandung, another 29 hour journey awaiting him. Halfway through the journey, while Winckel was over the Indian Ocean, it was still unclear whether Bandung was still in Allied hands or if it had already been taken over by the Japanese. Winckel at that point only had enough fuel to return to Australia or move on towards Bandung, he decided to push onward. Winckel managed to land the plane at Boea Batoe Road in Bandung, between houses, while jeeps lit up the airstrip. The officers boarded while the plane was being refuelled. Winckel made it back safe to Port Hedland, Australia while his return was deemed highly unlikely.

Later service and life
Following the attack on Broome and the evacuation mission Winckel was sent to Moruya, New South Wales where he joined the No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF, which had been formed on 4 April 1942. From Moruya he patrolled the Eastern Australian shore. At the end of May 1942 a Japanese midget submarine attacked the harbour of Sydney. From that moment Winckel and the other pilots were ordered to patrol for submarines. During a patrol on 5 June 1942 Winckel managed to sink a Japanese submarine with his B-25 Mitchell. This piece of good news was very welcome after the recent submarine attack and Winckel was personally congratulated by Australian Prime Minister John Curtin. Winckel spend the rest of the war with 18 Squadron and served from MacDonald Airfield and Batchelor Airfield in Northern Australia as a pilot on operations or as an instructor working in Canberra. During the war Winckel was nicknamed Lucky Bill by his colleagues and Babyface Killer by the Japanese. After World War II had ended Winckel was sent back to Indonesia to fight in the Dutch Politionele acties. After that conflict ended Winckel immigrated to Australia and in the 1950s to Auckland, New Zealand. In 2009 a statue in Moruya was unveiled for Winckel and the other airmen that flew out of Moruya, with Winckel and the MP Mike Kelly being present. A street in Broome has also been named after him. Winckel died on 17 August 2013 after suffering from complications of a broken hip caused by a fall six months earlier. He was survived by his wife and three sons.

Decorations
Netherlands
 * 1942: Bronze Cross with Honorable Mention.
 * His Bronze Cross was later upgraded to a Bronze Lion

Foreign
 * Distinguished Service Order
 * Distinguished Flying Cross