Major John “Jack” Frost – The Quiet Ace Tragically Killed in Action
- Garth Calitz
- Aug 5
- 9 min read
By Rob Russell
John Everitt Frost (inevitably known as "Jack") was born in Queenstown on 16th July, 1918, and at the age of 18, joined the South African Air Force in 1936. He was soon recognised as a future leader and was awarded the Sword of Honour after his training. He enjoyed a rapid rise through the ranks and by 1940, he was a Captain and Flight Commander on No. 3 Squadron SAAF.
It was towards the end of 1940 that the Squadron, now equipped with Hurricanes, was transferred to Kenya, with the war in Africa escalating rapidly. Frantic preparations took place to prepare, together with other allied forces, for advancement into Italian-occupied territory. Within a short time, the River Juba line had been breached and an ambitious campaign developed to drive the Italians back into the mountains of Abyssinia before the rains came. In the drive to Afmadu in Somaliland, the Hurricanes of No.3 Squadron played a vital part, and Jack was soon in action; on 2nd February, 1941, shooting down an Italian Caproni Ca 133 bomber on the ground at Afmadu.
Later that month, the Transvaal Scottish position near Dif was being bombed by a flight of three Caproni Ca 133s, which Jack and 3 Squadron were tasked to find and attack. As he attacked the rear bomber, two Fiat CR 42 fighters of the escort engaged him, but he managed to elude them and climbed to intercept the two leading bombers. A dog fight ensued between Jack and the Fiats, but he got in a long burst at one of them just before he broke into a steep climb. The Fiat went straight down into the bush and burst into flames. Jack returned to attack the Capronis, which broke formation, the pilot of the first baling out, leaving the second pilot to make a crash landing. The second was shattered by the Hurricane's eight Browning .303 machine guns, and the third crash-landed after two passes from Jack had probably damaged it. He was awarded an immediate DFC for these four kills in one action and the citation referred to his "skill, resource, determination and courage of the highest order."
Six weeks later, when the Italians had been driven into the mountains, Jack, whilst on a routine patrol, engaged a formation of Fiat CR 32s and A 42s. A hectic dog fight ensued and many Italian aircraft were soon shot down. The Squadron went on to destroy many Italian aircraft in one of their finest battles. The Hurricanes returned to the now captured Diredawa, and after refuelling and re-arming, they carried on the battle. However, soon after that, Jack’s aircraft was hit in the engine and with glycol coolant streaming back in the usual white mist; this was always a nerve-racking time - one never knew when a blast of flame would come from the violently overheated engine.
He elected to carry out a forced landing at a satellite airfield a few miles from Diredawa, and jumped out of his Hurricane, intent on setting fire to it before the Italians could reach him. The guns in the surrounding hills started to fire on him and he was in a tight spot. Another squadron pilot. Lt Bob Kershaw had seen his Flight Commander go down, however, and circled the field to keep off any Italian ground forces that might have tried to capture Jack. In a lull during the battle, Bob landed and taxied his Hurricane towards his Flight Commander. Frantically signalling to him to jump in, Jack climbed in and flew the Hurricane, sitting on Bob's lap. Bob had no idea of his position and how to return to base, but with Jack’s familiarity with the area, they were back at their base within 45 minutes. Bob said it was the most uncomfortable 45 minutes of his flying career!! This brave, foolhardy and remarkable effort earned Bob an immediate DSO, it being the first one to be awarded to an officer of the SAAF.
Conditions were terrible, and the Squadron did an amazing job fighting the Italians. The Squadron was at various times based at Nairobi, Mombasa, Garissa, Bura and Luma. The sand was an added problem for the aircraft, with prop blast from the wooden propellers stripping the fabric of the wings. The average life of a wooden propeller with fabric covering was twelve take-offs. Living conditions were equally trying, with the pilots and aircrews sleeping out under tarpaulins hung between trees and bushes, with meals consisting of bully beef, black coffee and biscuits. Water was stringently rationed, only a gallon a day per person being allowed for all purposes. In typical undergraduate fashion, the pilots adapted to their harsh lifestyle and soon became very inventive at their living and survival in the harsh conditions. Uniforms did not exist, and topless dressing was the norm!!!
When Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, CCB, DSO, Air Officer commanding RAF Middle East, paid a visit to pilots of the SAAF to congratulate them on their good work, Brigadier Hector Daniel, CBE, MC, AFC, Senior SAAF Officer in East Africa, had to send a message ahead of the visit to ensure that the pilots were properly dressed for the inspection. He knew from experience what the situation was likely to be, because, on a previous occasion, when he had visited one of the Squadrons in the bush, he found most of the pilots so informally dressed that they were only wearing bath towels marked 'Stanley Hotel'. Brings back memories of the times many South Africans spent in South West Africa, in the northern operational area there! Some things just don’t change!
Jack went on to shoot down another Fiat in the valleys near Jijigga on 29th March and on 4th April, he led two separate attacks on the Addis Ababa airfield. On the first, he set fire to three Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and a Caproni, and destroyed two more bombers on the second. These raids were a crushing blow to the Regia Aeronautica, for in the four carried out that day, 30 aircraft were burnt, completely wrecked, or damaged.
There was some token and rather weak resistance for a month or two in the lake areas of Abyssinia, but the Italians were virtually finished in East Africa. Jack’s Squadron had destroyed more than 100 aircraft in the air and on the ground, and he was proclaimed the SAAF's leading ace of the campaign with 7 shot down and destroyed confirmed.
Jack’s campaign in East Africa ended abruptly on 22 May 1941 when he was evacuated to hospital with acute appendicitis. That day, the pilot, who had done more than any other to wipe out the Regia Aeronautica, was found doubled up in agony; The squadron doc diagnosed appendicitis and Jack was flown to Nairobi for an emergency operation. Jack was posted home to the Union to recover from his operation and the Squadron was later disbanded; an era was at an end, but Phoenix-like, they both rose again.
Having fully recovered from the operation. Jack was promoted to Major and transferred to the newly formed 5 Squadron. 5 Squadron joined Nos. 2 and 4 Squadrons in No. 233 Wing as the fighter cover for No. 3 Bomber Wing SAAF. He led the squadron in what he described as ‘hell-out’ tactics during the heavy fighting over the Gazala line and Bir Hacheim during May and June, which brought many victories but resulted in heavy losses.
5 Squadron was a destination for many of the senior pilots going on to become aces – including Jack, now with his DFC – in combat against the Italians. At this time, the Desert Air Force needed leaders with dash and resolution and Jack had been put forward by Colonel Higeston, SAOA, as a likely fighter wing leader. Air Vice-Marshal Coningham had replied that “no officer was competent to command a fighter wing who had not led a squadron against Germans” in the past year. As Jack had only recently come under his command, he was not yet ready to commit himself as to this officer’s suitability.
Undeterred at being overlooked for promotion, Jack did not take long to get into fighting the Germans, when on 11 March 1942, whilst flying a Tomahawk, he shared destroying a Heinkel with Lt. Whyte north of Gambut. The claim may have been against a Ju88 rather than a HeIII. Ken Whyte describes that sortie as follows: “I remember our first combat together in the Western Desert. While on a shipping patrol, we were vectored onto an HEIII, which was following a Malta convoy. Jack made his favourite three-quarter head-on attack, which had brought him success in Abyssinia. I attacked from the rear and we watched the enemy aircraft going down slowly over the sea with pieces falling off it. We each claimed a half share of its destruction.”
During the next three-and-a-half months, Jack steadily added to his victories flying numerous Tomahawks of the Squadron, adding a further 7 victories to his tally and with damage to numerous other aircraft. On 27th May, he destroyed a bomber and although there appears to have been confusion as to the type, he was credited with a Fiat BR 20. Later the same day, he was badly shot up, but managed to return without further incident to his base. On 28th May near Gazala, he shared a Messerschmitt Me 109E with 2nd-Lt. Martin of No. 5 Squadron. This Me 109E had been flown by Feldwebel Willi Langer, of a Luftwaffe Tactical Reconnaissance unit, who was killed. The next day, he shot down a Macchi MC 202, and on the 30th shared a probable Ju 87 with Lt. Morgan.
During June and the retreat in early July, the SAAF enjoyed its finest hour in the desert. It supplied a vital contribution to the Allied air effort to save the armies from destruction. In addition to the fighter squadrons, the SAAF bomber squadrons started a systematic attack pattern using 18 aircraft, working almost to a strict timetable, bombing day after day in immaculate formation with hundreds of tons of bombs in a great effort to stop the German advance.
On 3rd June, Jack got a Ju 87 near Bir Hacheim. On 5th June, Jack was himself shot down, again, in the Knightsbridge area, luckily landing in the lines of the 1st South African Division. Two days later, on the 7th June, he got his revenge, getting a probable Me 109 over Knightsbridge, and damaging another on the 8th, over Bir Hacheim. He got a probable (a Me 109) on 9th over Bir Hacheim again, but little did he know, it was to be his last claim.
On 16 June, he failed to return from an escort with Bostons over the El Adem area, shot down by Bf109Fs of JG27. Fellow Squadron members Tidy, Maxwell and Smith describe Jack’s last combat on 16 June 1940. At 18:40, six Tomahawks of No. 5 Squadron, with four of No. 4, and two Kittyhawks of No. 2, set off once again to escort the Boston light bombers of No. 24 Squadron, raiding enemy transport west of El Adem, with No. 2 Squadron as top cover and No. 4 Squadron as close cover. They were jumped by Bf109Fs and No. 2 Squadron lost Lt.De Villiers (shot down in flames, but he returned that evening) and Lt. Bryant, who was wounded and his aircraft badly damaged. Lt. McGregor of No. 4 Squadron was wounded in the face and his aircraft was also badly damaged, but he got back safely. No. 5 Squadron were the heaviest sufferers; Lt. R. C. Denham and Jack, the SAAF’s greatest fighter ace, were lost. Jack was heard to order No. 5 Squadron to reform over the landing ground, having fought a running battle to protect the bombers right back to their base, but no more was heard of him after that transmission.
The loss of Jack was a heavy blow; he had doubled his score in a few days and had led his young Squadron pilots with great vigour, being well respected by all who flew with him. Repeated searches were made for him in the next few days, but no trace of his wrecked aircraft was ever found. Frost passed on, very young, gallant and supreme in the annals of the SAAF, as the top-scoring fighter pilot in its ranks; and he remains so to this day.
The SAAF’s top scorer of the war (credited with 14 and one-third confirmed kills at the time of his death; later figures indicate at least 15) was gone. Oberleutnant (later Hauptmann) Hans-Joachim Marseille, the leading German scorer in the desert, credited with 151 victories there (158 in all), was in action at the time in the area and claimed four victories – one of these could have been Frost, but as there were several other claims, including four by Fw. Steinhausen, of the same formation as Marseille, it is unlikely that we shall ever learn who shot down Frost.
Ken Whyte, in a tribute to his Commanding Officer, described Frost as follows: “Jack was a great leader with an enthusiastic, aggressive spirit. He chose me as his No. 2, and when available, I flew with him on most of his operations. He was completely fearless, the number of opposing enemy aircraft not appearing to concern him and he would dive straight for them, usually becoming involved in a dogfight. Under these circumstances, it was often difficult to follow him and at the same time watch our tails, so inevitably we became separated.”
Jack was known for his aggressive leadership, being very popular among his men who would follow him into danger without question. During air battles, they were very tenacious, pressing home their attacks with the utmost determination, thus winning a reputation for aggression. Many of them had had to bale out and/or were wounded. They lost 28 pilots killed, nine wounded and three taken POW in a short time. At full strength, 5 Squadron had 25 pilots. During 1995, the 75th anniversary year of the founding of the SAAF, only four of the 5 Squadron founder members were still alive, each having flown over 100 sorties in Tomahawks. They were H W G Bidwell, L B van der Spuy, C Sommerville and K Whyte.
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