Scarf :Victoria Cross
Squadron Leader Arthur King Scarf- the unheralded VC winner
The story of an epic Malayan bombing mission, Dec. 1941. Scarf witnessed the destruction of his entire squadron but still carried out a heroic solo raid.
Scarf's story
Arthur Scarf joined the RAF in 1936, at a time of great expansion in the service. He was accepted for pilot training and on gaining his wings was posted to No.9 heavy bomber squadron, a unit that still operated the outmoded Handley Page Heyford biplane. In 1937 he transferred to No.62, a light bomber unit which took delivery of its first Bristol Blenheims in February 1938, and were state of the art in light bombers at the time. Just prior to the outbreak of war in September 1939, the squadron was detached to bases in northern Malaya.
Prelude to war
Over the next two years the British forces in the Far East continued an existence that bore an air of unreality in a world at war. Service life was conducted in an atmosphere comparable to peacetime. Japan’s attitude to Great Britain and The United States was becoming increasingly bellicose, although an invasion of Malaya was considered unlikely due to the impenetrable jungle.Besides, their army and air force were judged to be hopelessly inferior to that of the British Empire It was a fatal attitude that was soon to be revised in a most salutary manner.
Undeclared war
The blow fell on 7 December 1941 with surprise attacks on the American fleet at Pearl Harbour. On the other side of the Pacific Hong Kong was attacked, co-incident with landings on the east coast of northern Malaya.Since July 1941, No.62 was based at Alor Star near the Thailand border and at the outbreak of hostilities the squadron came under heavy air attack. On December 9 it was withdrawn to RAF Butterworth in order to regroup. Later in the day it was ordered to carry out a daylight raid on a Japanese airfield at Singora, near the Thailand border.Squadron leader Scarf was detailed to lead the mission. His Blenheim was the first to become airborne, when without warning the airfield was subjected to a Japanese air raid. In the ensuing dive-bombing and strafing attack every Blenheim was destroyed or damaged. Squadron Leader Scarf witnessed the entire destruction as he circled the area and would have been justified in aborting his part in the operation.
Against the odds
Instead he made the decision to carry out the mission single-handed and pressed on to his objective, where he destroyed several grounded aircraft. Japanese reaction was swift and unrelenting as his return to base developed into a running battle with Zero fighters. Scarf hurled the Blenheim about at treetop height, along rivers and around rocky outcrops in a desperate battle for survival. It was a tribute to the Blenheim’s manoeuvrability and the pilot’s skill that he was not brought down. Nevertheless, he suffered repeated wounding, despite the armour plating at his back.
A tragic return
The attacking fighters eventually broke off the combat and left the Blenheim to its fate. With indomitable spirit Scarf brought his crew home and made a belly landing in a rice paddy close to the base hospital. The three survivors emerged from the bullet-riddled aircraft, and ignoring their petrol-soaked clothing they celebrated their miraculous escape with cigarettes. An ambulance arrived on the scene and rushed Scarf for immediate surgery. Despite the severity of his wounds he remained cheerful to the end. He finally succumbed in the operating theatre, due mainly to the massive shock of his experience. A sad footnote to the affair was the attendance during the operation of his wife Elizabeth, a nursing sister.
Victoria Cross
In the confusion of the Malayan debacle, the squadron was virtually annihilated. Surviving personnel were evacuated to India where they were merged with.139 squadron and it was not until the end of hostilities in the Pacific that details of Scarf’s heroic solo mission were revealed. In June 1946 the award of a posthumous V.C. was gazetted, which represented Bomber Command’s only such award in the Pacific theatre.
