ACRM Bertrand M. Wilson, KIA Good Conduct medal, VP-52, "Black Cat" Ops Dec. 1943.

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Since two other members have posted medal(s) to crewman in WW II USN PBY patrol bombers over the past few days, here's a third PBY related post. Aviation Chief Radioman (ACRM) Bertrand Miron Wilson, USN, (AA) (acting appointment), was killed in action in December 1943 at New Guinea. Born in San Diego, he was the only child of Canadian immigrants who settled there. His father, Bramwell Wilson, was 65 when Bert was born and his mother, Mathilde, was 44. It was the second marriage for his father, whose first wife passed away in 1917. Bramwell Wilson was fifty-five when he emigrated to America in 1911 and settled in San Diego to run a poultry farm. He had eight grown children from his first marriage living in Canada. Bramwell's youngest son by his first marriage, Lt. Harold Stinson Wilson, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps, was killed in action in France a week after his 27th birthday in October 1918. That same month, his father's soon-to-be second wife emigrated to the US. Bert was eleven when his father passed away in 1932 at age seventy- six.

Eighteen-year old Bertrand enlisted in the US Navy at San Diego on January 6, 1939. On October 24 that year he reported aboard the light cruiser, USS Richmond, the flagship of the Pacific Fleet submarine force. On Dec. 20, 1940, RM3c (Radioman 3d class) Wilson transferred to the USS Ortolan, a Lapwing- class minesweeper engaged in submarine rescue with the Pacific Fleet off California. On February 7, 1941, he reported to the S-28, a nineteen year old S-class submarine, based on the West Coast.

Promoted to RM2c on July 31, 1941, on September 27, Bert voluntarily agreed to extend his enlistment two years and was sent to Radio Material School, Bellevue, Washington, for instruction. Completing service school, he was promoted to ARM1c and was assigned to NAS (Naval Air Station) Bermuda in the West Indies. On December 6, 1942, he was received on the transport USS Orizaba for the three day passage to the Fleet Airwing, NAS Norfolk for reassignment. On April 18, 1943, ARM1c Wilson boarded the transport USS Ariel from NAS Norfolk to NAS Bermuda, where he reported for duty three days later with Patrol Squadron 52 (VP-52) that was being relocated from NAS Norfolk. By the end of May, the squadron was beginning its move to Kanehoe NAS, Pearl Harbor, in preparation for eventual deployment to Perth, Australia.

VP-52 arrived at Perth on August 7, 1943 and commenced reconnaissance patrols and operations from advanced bases in the southwest Pacific. The squadron flew the Navy's workhorse patrol bomber, the PBY-5A Catalina, built by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, Bert's hometown. Squad detachments were located at Exmouth Gulf, Geraldton and Perth. On October 16, 1943, VP-52 commenced "Black Cat" (night) operations from Palm Island, off Townsville, Queensland, Australia. On November 18, the squadron began moving to Namoai Bay, New Guinea, where it was based aboard the sea-plane tender USS Half Moon (AVP-26) and later, the USS San Pablo (AVP-30). While at Namoai Bay, only the squadron commander, non-flying personnel and a few pilots lived aboard the tender. The rest of the squadron lived ashore in tents, which gave them a quiet, cool place to sleep during the day. Meals were eaten on the tender.

On November 22, the PBY-Catalinas of VP-52 began a series of nightly "Black Cat" anti- shipping search and strikes at masthead levels against Japanese supply and warships in the Bismarck Archipelago that lasted until December 31, 1943. During that time a total of 137 missions were flown.

Bert, then an acting chief aviation radioman, was wounded-in-action on the night of December 3, 1943, ten days before his 23rd birthday, when his plane was hit by anti- aircraft fire from a Japanese destroyer it was attacking in the Bismarck Sea. He died during surgery the next day after being transferred to an LST. He was the only casualty among the eight-man flight crew and according to the contemporaneous VP-52 squadron diary, the only man killed-in-action during the "Black Cat" operations of November- December 1943. His body was buried in New Guinea and not returned to the United States until the summer of 1948. VP-52 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its operations during the latter half of 1943. Aviation Chief Radioman Wilson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Navy Good Conduct Medals. Here is his Posthumous Good Conduct Medal. The location of his Purple Heart medal is unknown. He was survived by his mother, Mathilde, who was 85 when she passed away at the San Diego suburb of La Mesa in 1962.

VP 52 PBY-5 Catalinas over New Guinea, December 1943.

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Consolidated PBY-5B Catalina Radio & Navigation space.