Our hijack story begins on January 9th 1942, when 2nd Lt Alphonsus (Alan) J. Thornton, from Rathgar, Dublin a pilot with the Irish Aer Corps, along with three flight engineers, hijacked a Supermarine Walrus amphibious biplane in a bid to defect to the German Luftwaffe.
DISAFFECTED OFFICERS
After the 1921 partition of Ireland, which divided the island into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland as separate self-governing entities, tensions remained, particularly among republicans in the military of the Irish Free State.
By 1942, a small group within the Irish Air Corps ranks had grown increasingly frustrated with Ireland’s neutral stance during WWII. Led by 20-year old 2nd Lt. Thornton, this group of committed republicans sought to support the fight against Britain. They resolved to hijack an Irish Air Corps plane, fly to German-occupied Cherbourg, and offer their service to the Luftwaffe to advance the cause of a united Ireland.
Each week we travel to bring you our stories on Irish transport, like our recent visit to Cashel, County Tipperary. Please support our travel costs and subscribe via www.irelandmade.ie for just €2, less than the price of a cup of coffee.
HIJACKING THE WALRUS
The four men were members of the Reconnaissance and Medium Bombing Squadron based at Rineanna Aerodrome (now Shannon Airport) on the west coast of Ireland. On their chosen day of January 9th 1942 they secretly fuelled a 1939 Supermarine Walrus, scrambled aboard, and quickly took off heading south east.
Confusion soon erupted at Rineanna Aerodrome once it became clear that Walrus No. 18 had departed without authorisation and was likely highjacked and that 2nd Lt Thornton and three flight engineers were missing. In response, the Irish Air Corps swiftly dispatched a Westland Lysander to intercept them. However, the would-be defectors had already gained a significant lead, and the Lysander even with its top speed of 219 mph could not locate the hijacked Walrus as it flew at 135 mph southeast over the Irish Sea.
As Thornton and his fellow defectors charted their course to Cherbourg, they likely worried that their aircraft, despite bearing the neutral colours of the Irish Free State, might be mistaken for an RAF plane and shot down by the German Luftwaffe. The British-designed Supermarine Walrus was commonly flown by the RAF in that region and a well-known legitimate target to Luftwaffe pilots on patrol.
The route of the Supermarine Walrus was being tracked and at 12:30 hours the military lookout post at Helvik Head, lookout post in County Waterford logged ‘a biplane, altitude 6,000 feet, moving south in good visibility’.
BRITISH AIR DEFENCES
Understanding the dangers of flying directly over heavily fortified Wales or England, they planned to navigate around the tip of Cornwall, at the southernmost point of England before heading due east toward Cherbourg on the French coast. However, once over the Irish Sea, where landmarks were scarce, their poor navigation skills led them to waste valuable fuel trying to determine their position. Spotting a large landmass, they decided to take the risk of flying over it in hopes of identifying their location.
The Aer Corps Supermarine Walrus piloted by Thornton was unable to respond to the British defence system’s radar-based IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) signals, as Irish aircraft lacked the required transponders. With British air defences on high wartime alert, radar quickly detected the unidentified Walrus approaching Cornwall. Four Hurricanes were dispatched from RAF St Eval, Somerset and they flew at full combat speed of up to 340 mph, powered by their Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engines.
The sight of Hurricanes swooping toward the crew of the Supermarine Walrus must have been terrifying, as they realised, they were now in the crosshairs of sixteen 20mm Hispano Mk II cannons—four per aircraft. The slow-moving Walrus stood no chance against the Hurricanes, which promptly escorted the hijacked plane back to RAF St. Eval – their two and a half hour defection flight to join the German Luftwaffe was over.
CAPTURE & ARREST
When the Irish crew landed at RAF St. Eval, the British ground crews were initially puzzled, mistaking the green white and orange Irish Air Corps markings for those of a free Dutch squadron stationed further along England’s west coast. Under this assumption, the ground crew even offered them refuelling, which the Irish crew readily accepted.
The crew’s true identity soon became clear, leading to their detention under a light guard led by Flight Lieutenant Hugh Shackleton, a relative of the renowned Antarctic explorer from County Kildare. After verifying their identities with Irish authorities via telephone, they were swiftly handed over to Irish military police in Holyhead, Wales, formally arrested, and escorted onto a ship bound for Ireland.
COURT MARTIAL
Back in Ireland Thornton faced a court martial in Cork, and was dismissed from the Air Corps, and sentenced to eighteen months in Maryborough Jail (now Portlaoise), while the other men were acquitted after he took sole responsibility. Thanks to his father’s political connections as a one-time member of Michael Collins intelligence section, Alan Thornton’s jail sentence was reduced, and he was released after serving only four months.
SUPERMARINE WALRUS L2301
Supermarine Walrus L2301 had a tumultuous history even before its hijacking in January 1942. In 1939, the British Fleet Air Arm ordered three Supermarine Walrus aircraft, designated L2301, L2302, and L2303. However, before delivery, they were diverted and sold to the Irish Aer Corps for maritime patrol duties.
During their delivery flight to Baldonnell Aerodrome on March 3rd 1939, the three aircraft encountered deteriorating weather conditions while crossing the Irish Sea, which forced them into unscheduled landings. One aircraft returned to Milford Haven in Wales, another landed in Dun Laoghaire harbour, while L2301, now designated as Aer Corps No. 18, and flown by delivery crew, Lt. Quinlan and Lt. Higgins ditched in rough seas off Carnsore Point, County Wexford, due to engine failure. This emergency landing in rough seas resulted in hull damage and damage to the wings. No. 18 was subsequently towed and landed at the old launch strip for the Curtiss H-16s at the former U.S. Naval Air Station in County Wexford.
After the war, N.18 was registered as EI-ACC by Aer Lingus, but the airline never used the Walrus. In 1946, it was sold to Wing Commander Ronald Gustave Kellett for £150 and registered as G-AIZG in Britain and flown recreationally by No. 615 Squadron RAF until 1949.
In 1963, L2301 was found in a dump at Haddenham airfield, bought for £5 by the Historic Aircraft Preservation Society, and handed to the Fleet Air Arm Museum in January 1964. It was restored and entered the museum collection on December 6th 1966 and it remains on display there today.
RTE INTERVIEW
In a March 2005 interview on RTE (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) radio with presenter Marian Finucane, Alan Thornton recounted his experiences as a pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II, where he wore both his Irish Aer Corps and RAF wings on his uniform while flying against German forces in Greece, Italy, and Yugoslavia. When questioned about the ill-fated defection flight in January 1942, he expressed profound regret for his actions during that time.
If you have a story to share, email Kevin Reid [email protected]
Sources of Information and Photo Credits:
An Cosantóir – official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces
AP News
Aviation Bomberguy History
Aviation video archives (part 2) 1935 – 1950
Clare in WW2 / The Emergency Individual Profiles – Ger Browne
High Flight
Irish Military Archives
Google Maps
Michael Sulima
Naval Encyclopaedia
Plane-Crazy
Slugger O’Toole
