August Deibel

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August Gerard Deibel
Born11 September 1915
Military William Order

Brewster Buffalo aircraft. His rank and surname, 'Lt Deibel' was printed beside the nose art
.

Deibel is credited with three kills, two of which were

Ki-27 Nates on 12 January, during a Japanese air raid over Singapore, and was twice wounded in action on 12 January and 19 February 1942. Deibel was killed on 12 June 1951, piloting a Gloster Meteor aircraft when it crashed near Uithuizen in the Netherlands.[1]

World War II

Singapore

Deibel arrived in Singapore with his squadron on 9 December 1941 with 9-12

Kallang Airfield
.

He first saw action on 12 January 1942 during a Japanese air raid over Singapore. A formation of Japanese bombers escorted by five

Ki-27 Nates were sighted at 1000 hours. They were intercepted by three Dutch Buffaloes, who succeeded in chasing them away, damaging one of the bombers. When they returned in the afternoon, Deibel and two other pilots were scrambled to intercept them, encountering nine Ki-27s. Deibel claimed two of them before being shot down himself. He was hospitalised for four days after suffering a wounded head.[3]

His squadron returned to

Battle of Singapore. Deibel followed eight Buffaloes to Semplak, while 23 others flew to Andir and Tjilitian.[3]

Dutch East Indies

When a formation of 35 Japanese aircraft attacked Semplak on 19 February, eight Buffaloes (including Deibel) engaged them. Deibel managed to fire twice at an A6M Zero, but was wounded by a 20 mm shell ten minutes later, forcing him to land. 11 Japanese planes were shot down, with the Dutch losing four Buffaloes and two pilots. The raid destroyed three

RAF Lockheed Hudsons and two KNILM Sikorskys.[3]

On 7 March, Japanese troops had reached the plateau of Lembang. Deibel, along with Lieutenant

Captain Jacob van Helsdingen
on his mission using the last three working Buffalo aircraft. The four pilots took off from Andir airfield and proceeded to Lembang to provide air support for ground troops fighting in the city.

Van Helsdingen's squadron travelled 200 metres when they encountered a Japanese aircraft, which Deibel attacked before it escaped. Some time later, three Japanese

Military William Order
on 14 July 1948.

Military decorations

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Deibel, August Gerard
  2. ^ Defensie, Ministerie van (1950-05-23). "Deibel, A.G. - Onderscheidingen - Defensie.nl". www.defensie.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  3. ^ a b c Brewster Buffalo: in Dutch service
  4. ISBN 978-1-84603-481-7
    .
Bibliography
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