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Home , Battle of Britain, Boulton Paul Defiant, Brian Lane (RAF officer), Fairey Battle, Frank Gill (politician), George Unwin

Supplement to The Aero Historian 2020

The 80th Anniversary of the of Britain

There were more Hawker Hurricanes than Spitfires in the . Hurricane Mk I, P2923, VY-R, flown by Pilot Officer Albert G Lewis of No 85 , landing at Castle Camps, Debden's satellite airfield, ().

Compiled by Brian Lockstone ©

AHSNZ | SEPTEMBER 2020

“The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”1 Rt Hon W S Churchill MP, House of Commons, 20

Today is no longer officially commemorated in New Zealand on 15 September. Fought between 10 July and 31 , it remains one of the most defining and significant events of the Second World War, saving Britain from the risk of invasion and providing a springboard to launch on occupied the assault which brought the war to a bitter end in May 1945. At the time of writing there was but one surviving aircrew member left. Research by one of New Zealand’s best aviation historians affirms that of the 3000 pilots and air gunners who served during the battle, 135 were New Zealanders. In this special supplement, we acknowledge and salute all those who fought, in the fighter squadrons, on the airfields, in the stations, the repair depots, the Post Office which provided the essential links, the teams which repaired the damaged airfields, the anti-aircraft units, the hospitals and ambulance services, and the often overlooked Merchant Navy manning the petrol tankers transporting at great risk the vital fuel essential to sustain the fight. There was Rolls Royce, producer of the renowned Merlin aero engine and the aircraft manufacturers which built the principal fighters – , , and the Blenheim. Others contributed; for example, De Havillands rapidly developed a constant-speed propeller and provided around 700 to the RAF in short time. The company also set up a Merlin repair operation for Rolls Royce. To describe the battle, we reproduce the despatch on the battle by Air Chief Marshal Sir , Air Officer Commanding Fighter Command, and published as a supplement to the Gazette on 11 September 1946. It is comprehensive and authoritative, an important and outstanding account. We neither analyze the battle, the way in which it was conducted, nor the various controversies that followed. There are scores of books available covering all elements. Perhaps the best include Battle over Britain by F K Mason, first published by the McWhirter Twins Limited in 1969 and again in a substantially revised edition by Aston Publications in 1990 and The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood and Derek Dempster, first published by Hutchison & Co (Publishers) Limited in 1961 and again in a substantially revised edition by Arrow in 1969. The late Vincent Orange’s magisterial Park, the biography of Air Chief Marshal Sir has a necessarily limited coverage of the battle. There are three important New Zealand associations with the battle. First are the New Zealand airmen – pilots and air gunners – who flew in the squadrons, then Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park who, on 20 March 1940, as an air commodore took command of 11 of Fighter Command which provided the air defence of London and south-east . Finally, there is the Governor-General of New Zealand, Marshal of the Royal Sir Cyril Newall who held office between 1941 and 1946. Significantly he was Chief of the Air Staff, RAF, in those demanding years from 1937 until 1940. He oversaw the vast expansion plan which prepared the air force for war. Importantly, he resisted demands by the Prime Minister Rt Hon to send more fighter squadrons to after the German invasion in May 1940, realizing the French were collapsing and the real battle lay ahead.

1 He also said “we must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our squadrons travel far into , find their targets in the darkness by the highest navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire, often with serious loss, with deliberate careful discrimination, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power.”

2 Some New Zealanders serving during the Battle

41 Squadron pilots – Flg Off J N Mackenzie, second right back row, Plt Off E P Wells second right front (IWM).

501 Squadron – Flying Officer J A A Gibson second from right (IWM).

3 Returning to the first aspect, the New Zealanders who fought in the Battle of Britain. Errol Martyn QSM, a member of the Aviation Historical Society of New Zealand of longstanding, is a renowned researcher and author. Over several years he has assembled what is now regarded as the most authoritative roll of New Zealand Battle of Britain veterans. This entailed research across the archives, personnel records and elsewhere. It differs from accounts published in various books. His findings: nearly 3000 aircrew were awarded the Battle of Britain Clasp for having flown at least one authorised operational with an eligible unit of RAF Fighter Command (including a number of attached Coastal Command units) during the period from 10 July to 31 October 1940. Of these, 135 came from New Zealand. They made up the third largest contribution after Great Britain and .

Of the 135, 45 percent lost their lives: 15 killed in action during the battle and five after accidents; 31 were killed in later air actions while 10 were killed or later died after air accidents; eight became prisoners of war. The list has specific details.

Here are some of the New Zealanders who served. Several went on to have outstanding war records and many, such as Arthur Clouston, Al Deere and served in the postwar RAF or RNZAF. Colin Gray became New Zealand’s highest-scoring fighter pilot of the war. Two are listed among the top-10 scorers in the battle: Flying Officer B J G Carbury, 603 Squadron, was the highest with 15 aircraft destroyed, two possible and five damaged. He became an ‘ace’ (ie five kills) in one day; Pilot Officer C F Gray, 54 Squadron, with 14 and one-half victories. Hardly an ‘ace’, Flying Officer T F Gill was unusual for two reasons: he was a bomber pilot and he captured an enemy pilot. He joined the RNZAF in 1937 and the RAF two years later. At the outbreak of war, he was on 88 Squadron with the single-engine . The squadron went to France with the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force and suffered appalling losses in personnel, aircraft and equipment during the Battle for France and left in June 1940 after the evacuation. Back in Britain he was rested between tours as a liaison officer with Fighter Command before moving to 75 (NZ) Squadron. In , at the height of the battle, he secured a temporary attachment to 43 Squadron and his logbook records flights in Hurricane P3465, P3466 and L1968. On 22 and 23 September he was airborne in Hurricane L1968 again while on 24 September he had two in Hurricane P7303 and his logbook records “local, air combat, aerobatics and patrol.” These earned him his Battle of Britain clasp. On 30 September 1940 he captured a pilot. While driving back to Fighter Command he came across a Messerschmidt Bf-109E-1 (4851) of 7/ JG27 on the ground in Windsor Great Park. Gill stopped, disarmed the pilot, Oberleutant Karl Fischer, drove him to the nearest RAF depot and handed him in to become a . Accounts of the circumstances vary, from the Bf-109E being damaged in aerial fighting to his stalling while attacking RAF Avro Ansons. Post-war he returned to the RNZAF, became deputy Chief of Air Staff, then Air Officer Commanding the then Air Operations Group. On retirement he entered politics and became a Minister of the Crown. He was appointed New Zealand Ambassador in Washington DC and returned to New Zealand where he died in 1982. One interesting airman was Sergeant C S Emeny who joined the RNZAF then transferred to the RAF and trained as an air gunner. He was posted to 264 Squadron and the Boulton Paul Defiant, a novel concept with no forward-firing guns but four .303 machine guns in a turret behind the cockpit. The idea was for the pilot to fly alongside, ahead of or beneath an enemy when the gunner would fire his weapons. After some success against over France in May 1940, the Defiant was cut to ribbons by Luftwaffe fighters, was promptly withdrawn and switched to night-fighting duties. Emeny subsequently trained as a pilot, later serving with 45 Squadron over Burma where he was shot down and became a prisoner. According to the Order of Battle, 8 July 1940, there were 40 fighter squadrons across No’s 10, 11, 12 and 13 Groups. Of these, 19 were equipped with Hurricanes, 13 with Spitfires, and the remainder with Blenheims and Defiants.

4 New Zealanders awarded the Battle of Britain Clasp New Zealanders joined the various British air arms – the Royal Flying , the Royal Naval Air Service then, from 1 April 1918 the – from the beginning of in the .

Many travelled to Britain in the 1920s under their own resources to join the RAF, some on short-service commissions while others secured a prized selection for the RAF Cadet College at Cranwell.

As interest increased, candidates underwent preliminary medical examinations and interviews before proceeding to Britain. Various schemes were introduced and between June 1937 and December 1939, the Royal New Zealand Air Force trained 133 officers who were posted to Britain.

Around 400 New Zealanders joined the RAF before the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939. Between the outbreak of hostilities and the end of the Second World War, between 13,000 and 14,000 New Zealanders served in the RAF and the ’s .

Those New Zealanders who fought in the Battle of Britain were among the 400, other than Air Commodore Sir Keith Park who transferred from the New Zealand Field Artillery to the in 1917 and was granted a permanent commission in the RAF in 1919.

This comprehensive list has been compiled by Errol Martyn QSM and is the result of years of research. It is based on those to whom a Battle of Britain Clasp was awarded.

19 Squadron – Flying Officer F N Brinsden at rest between sorties (IWM and Air Force Museum of NZ).

Spitfire Mk 1 P9386 of 19 Squadron re-arming at Fowlmere in September 1940. Two New Zealanders, Flight Lieutenant W G Clouston and Flying Officer F N Brinsden, flew with the squadron during the battle (IWM).

The Battle of Britain clasp awarded by the RAF to the around 3000 aircrew who made at least one authorised flight during the battle with an eligible RAF squadron along with some attached Coastal Command units (Brian Lockstone).

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Aircraft and airmen

With its four- prominent, Boulton Paul Defiant N1536 of 264 Squadron, possibly or Hornchurch, in September 1940 when Sgt Emeny was on the squadron. Pilot Officers J R Kemp and R Kidson were killed on air operations on 19 July 1940 in Defiants while on 141 Squadron (IWM).

It is September 1940 and the strain on the face of Flying Officer A G Lewis of 85 Squadron is evident as he prepares to board his Hurricane P2923. The engine fitter has already started the Rolls Royce Merlin. Three New Zealanders served in the squadron during the battle, Flying Officer M C Kinder and Pilot Officers J L Bickerdike and W H Hodgson (Air Force Museum of NZ).

Awaiting its next scramble, Hawker Hurricane P2923, 85 Squadron, Castle Camp, July 1940 (IWM).

35 36

Layout of Fighter Command group and sector boundaries during the battle (Image by Dover Historians). 37

NEW ZEALANDERS SERVING WITH RAF FIGHTER COMMAND DURING THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN, 10 JULY-31 OCTOBER 1940

RANK (highest SURNAME FIRST NAMES during BoB) SQUADRON(S) AIRCRAFT STATUS NOTES

Allen James Henry Leslie Flying Officer 151 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 12 Jul 1940 Pilot Andrews Maurice Raymond Sergeant 264 Defiant Air Gunner Baird George Maurice Pilot Officer 248 (Coastal Command) Blenheim PoW 20 Oct 1940 Pilot Bary Ronald Edward Flying Officer 229 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 12 Apr 1945 Pilot Bayly James Sergeant 111 Hurricane Pilot Bennison Alan Sergeant 25 Blenheim Air Gunner Bickerdike John Laurance Pilot Officer 85 Hurricane Killed in aircraft accident - 22 Jul 1940 Pilot Blake Minden Vaughan 238 & 234 Hurricane/Spitfire PoW 19 Aug 1942 Pilot Brennan Jack Stephen Sergeant 23 Blenheim Killed in aircraft accident - 21 Aug 1940 Air Gunner Brinsden Francis Noel Flying Officer 19 & 303 Spitfire PoW 18 Aug 1943 Pilot Brookman Richard Waller Sergeant 235 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Killed on air operations - 22 Feb 1941 Brown Bernard Walter Pilot Officer 610 & 72 Spitfire Pilot Burns William Richard Sergeant 236 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Air Gunner Burton Douglas Lawrence Sergeant 248 (Coastal Command) Blenheim PoW 20 Oct 1940 Air Observer Bush Charles Roy Pilot Officer 242 Hurricane Pilot. Killed in aircraft accident post-war - 30 Nov 1948 Butler William Louis Sergeant 264 Defiant Air Gunner Campbell Alan Sergeant 264 Defiant Killed on air operations - 29 Jul 1942 Air Gunner Campbell David Baillie Sergeant 23 Blenheim Air Gunner Pilot. Highest-scoring New Zealand pilot during the battle and one of only two to become an ace in a day: credited with downing five enemy aircraft on 31 August 1940. 15 Carbury Brian John George Flying Officer 603 Spitfire destroyed, 2 probables and 5 damaged in total. Carswell Malcolm Keith Flight Lieutenant 43 Hurricane Pilot Wireless Operator/Air Gunner. Shot down 6 Jun 44, Chrystall Colin Sergeant 235 (Coastal Command) Blenheim PoW c.20 Jun 1944 captured two weeks later. Churches Edward Walter Gillies Pilot Officer 74 Spitfire Killed on air operations - 19 Apr 1941 Pilot Clouston Arthur Edmund Squadron Leader 219 Beaufighter Pilot Clouston Wilfrid Greville Flight Lieutenant 19 Spitfire PoW 15 Feb 1942 Pilot Cobden Donald Gordon Pilot Officer 74 Spitfire Killed on air operations - 11 Aug 1940 Pilot Collyns Basil Gordon Pilot Officer 238 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 20 Aug 1944 Pilot Courtis Jack Burall Sergeant 111 Hurricane Killed in aircraft accident - 5 Dec 1940 Pilot Crawford Hector Hugh Pilot Officer 235 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Killed on air operations - 6 Feb 1942 Pilot. PoW 19 Dec 1941 - escaped 21 Dec 1941 Croker Eric Eugene Sergeant 111 Hurricane Died of injuries - 2 Jun 1941 Pilot. Aircraft accident 1 Jun 1941, died next day Crook Valton William James Sergeant 264 Defiant Air Gunner Davison John Tregonwell Pilot Officer 235 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Pilot Dawick Kenneth Sergeant 111 Hurricane Pilot Deere Alan Christopher Flight Lieutenant 54 Spitfire Pilot de la Perrelle Victor Breton Flying Officer 245 Hurricane PoW 20 Mar 1942 Pilot Durrant Carroll Ronald Sergeant 23 Blenheim Killed on air operations - 28 Oct 1942 Air Gunner Dyer Henry David Patrick Sergeant 600 Blenheim Killed on air operations - 16 Jul 1941 Air Gunner Edmunds Eric Ralph Pilot Officer 245 & 615 Hurricane PoW 12 Jun 1942 Pilot Eiby William Thorpe Pilot Officer 245 Hurricane Pilot Emeny Clifford Stanley Sergeant 264 Defiant PoW 9 Nov 1944 Air Gunner 38

Fenton Walter Gordon Sergeant 604 Blenheim Air Gunner Fitzgerald Thomas Fitzgerald Flight Lieutenant 141 Defiant Pilot Fleming John Flying Officer 605 Hurricane Pilot. Member of the . Fletcher Walter Thomas Sergeant 23 Blenheim Air Gunner Forsyth Colin Leo Malcolm Sergeant 23 Blenheim Killed on air operations - 8 May 1944 Air Gunner Fowler Alfred Lawrence Pilot Officer 248 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Killed in aircraft accident - 23 Aug 1941 Pilot Gard'ner John Rushton Flying Officer 141 Defiant Pilot Gawith Alan Antill Flying Officer 23 Blenheim Pilot Gibson John Albert Axel Flying Officer 501 Hurricane Pilot Gill Thomas Francis Flying Officer 43 Hurricane Pilot Grant Ian Allan Charles Sergeant 151 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 13 Feb 1943 Pilot Gray Colin Falkland Flying Officer 54 Spitfire Pilot. Highest scoring NZ pilot of the Second World War. Hamill John Warren Flying Officer 229 Hurricane Killed in aircraft accident - 24 Dec 1940 Pilot Hayter James Chilton Francis Flying Officer 615 & 605 Hurricane Pilot Herrick Brian Henry Pilot Officer 236 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Killed on air operations - 24 Nov 1940 Pilot. Brother of M J Herrick Herrick Michael James Pilot Officer 25 Blenheim Killed on air operations - 16 Jun 1944 Pilot. Brother of B H Herrick Hight Cecil Henry Pilot Officer 234 Spitfire Killed on air operations - 15 Aug 1940 Pilot Hill Howard Perry Pilot Officer 92 Spitfire Killed on air operations - 20 Sep 1940 Pilot Hindrup Frederick George Sergeant 600 Blenheim Killed on air operations - 21 Apr 1941 Air Gunner Hodgson William Henry Pilot Officer 85 Hurricane Killed in aircraft accident - 13 Mar 1941 Pilot Holder Robert Sergeant 151 Hurricane Killed in aircraft accident - 26 Oct 1940 Pilot Horton Patrick Wilmot Pilot Officer 234 Spitfire Killed on air operations - 17 Nov 1940 Pilot Hughes David Ernest Sergeant 600 Blenheim Killed on air operations - 3 Oct 1940 Air Gunner Humphreys James Samuel Pilot Officer 605 Hurricane Pilot Hyde Reginald Jack Sergeant 66 Spitfire Pilot Jameson Patrick Geraint Squadron Leader 266 Spitfire Pilot Johnson Gerald Bruce Sergeant 23 Blenheim Killed in aircraft accident - 28 May 1941 Air Gunner Kemp John Richard Pilot Officer 141 Defiant Killed on air operations - 19 Jul 1940 Pilot Kidson Rudal Pilot Officer 141 Defiant Killed on air operations - 19 Jul 1940 Pilot Kinder Maurice Craig Flying Officer 85 & 607 & 92 Hurricane/Spitfire Pilot Lamb Owen Edward Pilot Officer 151 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 14 Apr 1941 Pilot Langdon Charles Edward Pilot Officer 43 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 26 Feb 1941 Pilot Lawrence Keith Ashley Pilot Officer 234 & 603 & 421 Flt Spitfire Pilot Lovell-Gregg Terence Gunion Squadron Leader 87 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 15 Aug 1940 Pilot Lusk Harold Stewart Flying Officer 25 Blenheim Pilot Mackenzie Donald Carr Pilot Officer 56 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 12 Jun 1943 Pilot Mackenzie John Noble Flying Officer 41 Spitfire Pilot Martin John Claverly Flying Officer 32 & 257 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 27 Aug 1941 Pilot McChesney Robert Ian Sergeant 236 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Killed in aircraft accident - 6 Dec 1942 Air Gunner McDermott John Alexander Sergeant 23 Blenheim Air Gunner Pilot. Achieved highest rank of any New Zealander who McGregor Hector Douglas Wing Commander 213 Hurricane flew in combat during the Battle - Air Marshal McHardy Edric Hartgill Pilot Officer 248 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Pilot McIntyre Athol Gordon Pilot Officer 111 Hurricane Pilot Middleton William Arthur Pilot Officer 266 Spitfire Killed on air operations - 27 Aug 1941 Pilot Mitchell Herbert Robert Sergeant 3 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 12 May 1942 Pilot Mowat Noel Joseph Flight Lieutenant 245 Hurricane Pilot. Killed in aircraft accident post-war - 7 Nov 1946 39

Murland William John Sergeant 264 Defiant Air Gunner North Harold Leslie Flying Officer 43 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 1 May 1942 Pilot Oaks Trevor Walter Sergeant 235 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Air Observer Orgias Eric Pilot Officer 23 Blenheim Killed on air operations - 25 Sep 1940 Pilot Pannell Geoffrey Charles Russell Sergeant 3 Hurricane Pilot Parsons Edwin Ernest Sergeant 23 Blenheim Air Gunner Paterson James Alfred Flight Lieutenant 92 Spitfire Killed on air operations - 27 Sep 1940 Pilot Pattison John Gordon Pilot Officer 266 & 92 Spitfire Pilot Preston Leonard Roy Sergeant 264 Defiant Air Gunner Priestley John Sinclair Pilot Officer 235 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Killed in aircraft accident - 30 Aug 1940 Pilot Pye John Walter Sergeant 25 Blenheim Air Gunner Pyne Colin Campbell Sergeant 219 Blenheim Air Gunner Robinson Ivan Norton Sergeant 264 Defiant Killed in aircraft accident 22 Jul 1941 Air Gunner Rabone Paul Wattling Flying Officer 145 & 422 Flt Hurricane Killed on air operations - 24 Jul 1944 Pilot Rasmussen Lauritz Andrew Woodney Sergeant 264 Defiant Killed on air operations - 4 Sep 1940 Air Gunner. Youngest New Zealander in the Battle - 18 yrs Reilly Charles Christopher Sergeant 23 Blenheim Killed on air operations - 28 Oct 1942 Air Gunner Russell Leslie Plimmer Sergeant 264 Defiant Killed on air operations - 20 May 1942 Air Gunner Scott William Jack Sergeant 264 Defiant Air Gunner Shand Michael Moray Pilot Officer 54 Spitfire PoW 28 Nov 1942 Pilot Simmonds Bernard Cyril William Sergeant 264 Defiant Air Gunner Simpson Geoffrey Mervyn Flying Officer 229 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 26 Oct 1940 Pilot Smith Irving Stanley Pilot Officer 151 Hurricane Pilot Spence Douglas James Pilot Officer 245 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 30 Apr 1941 Pilot Spurdle Robert Lawrence Pilot Officer 74 Spitfire Pilot Stanger Noel Mizpah Sergeant 235 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Died of injuries - 15 Feb 1941 Air Observer. Aircraft accident 14 Feb 1941, died next day Stanley Douglas Owen Sergeant 151 Hurricane Killed in aircraft accident - 26 Oct 1940 Pilot Stewart Charles Pilot Officer 54 & 222 Spitfire Killed on air operations - 11 Jul 1941 Pilot Strang John Talbot Flying Officer 253 Hurricane Pilot Strang Robert Harold Pilot Officer 65 Spitfire Killed on air operations 25 Jan 42 Pilot. Sutton Kenwyn Roland Flying Officer 264 Defiant Pilot Tait Kenneth William Flying Officer 87 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 4 Aug 1941 Pilot Taylor George Stringer Sergeant 3 Hurricane Killed in aircraft accident - 9 Feb 1943 Pilot Thomson Ronald Alexander Flight Lieutenant 72 Spitfire Pilot Tracey Owen Vincent Pilot Officer 79 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 8 Dec 1941 Pilot Trousdale Richard Macklow Pilot Officer 266 Spitfire Pilot. Killed in aircraft accident post-war - 16 Jun 1947 Verity Victor Bosanquet Strachan Pilot Officer 229 & 422 Flt Hurricane Pilot Walker James Ian Bradley Sergeant 600 Blenheim PoW 6 Aug 1941 Air Gunner Ward Derek Harland Flight Lieutenant 87 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 17 Jun 1942 Pilot Watters Joseph Pilot Officer 236 (Coastal Command) Blenheim Pilot Wells Edward Preston Pilot Officer 266 & 41 Spitfire Pilot Wendel Kenneth Victor Flying Officer 504 Hurricane Killed on air operations - 7 Sep 1940 Pilot Whitley Eric William Squadron Leader 245 Hurricane Pilot. Oldest New Zealander in the Battle - 32 yrs Whitney Douglas Mitchell Pilot Officer 245 Hurricane Pilot Whitwell Peter Coulson Sergeant 600 Blenheim Killed on air operations - 6 Nov 1942 Air Gunner Wigg Ronald George Flying Officer 65 Spitfire Pilot Williams Wycliff Stuart Pilot Officer 266 Spitfire Killed on air operations - 21 Oct 1940 Pilot Willis William Owen Sergeant 600 Blenheim Air Gunner Wilson Donald Fraser Flight Lieutenant 141 Defiant Pilot Young Robert Bett Mirk Sergeant 264 Defiant Killed on air operations - 8 Oct 1940 Air Gunner 40

Yule Robert Duncan Flying Officer 145 Hurricane Pilot. Killed in aircraft accident post-war - 11 Sep 1953

Key: Killed on air operations or killed/died in aircraft accidents during the Battle of Britain

Statistics: 15 killed on air operations during the Battle of Britain 5 killed/died in aircraft accidents during Battle of Britain 2 PoW during Battle of Britain

31 killed on air operations later in war 10 killed/died in aircraft accidents later in war 8 PoW later in war

63 not killed/died/PoW (4 of whom killed in aircraft accidents in air force service post-war)

135 total

Sources used: Group Captain C. M. Hanson, OBE, RNZAF (Rtd) By Such Deeds - Honours and Awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1923-1999 ) Volplane Press, Christchurch 2001 Errol W. Martyn For Your Tomorrow (Vol.3) Volplane Press, Christchurch 2008 Francis K. Mason Battle Over Britain Aston Publications Ltd, London 1990 Kenneth G. Wynn A Clasp For '' Harts Printing Co., 1981 Kenneth G. Wynn Men of the Battle of Britain Gliddon Books, Norwich, Norfolk 1989 Pilots of 610 Squadron in between sorties. New Zealander Pilot Officer B W Brown served with this squadron. Most pilots in the battle were Non- Commissioned Officers (IWM).

Re-arming a Hurricane of 32 Squadron in July 1940. The image was one of several taken by the RAF for publicity purposes. Flg Off J N Martin served with the squadron during the battle. He was later killed in air operations on 27 August 1941 while flying Spitfires with 222 Squadron (IWM).

Below left: 603 Squadron – top- scoring Flying Officer B J G Carbury. Right: Air Commodore Keith Park with his Hawker Hurricane. (IWM and RAF)

41 Oberleutnant Karl Fischer’s Messerschmidt Bf-109E werknummer 4851 down on Windsor Great Park, 30 September 1940. Flg Off T F Gill took the pilot into custody (Daily Express).

Pilots of 19 and 610 Squadron during the battle. New Zealander Flg Off Fran Brinsden (19 Sqn) at right on the wing of a Spitfire with Rangy, his prized spaniel. Also on the wing are two Battle of Britain veterans, at left Flt Lt Brian Lane and Sgt (IWM). Right: New Zealander Pilot Officer M J Herrick flew Bristol Blenheims of 25 Squadron during the battle. He returned to New Zealand and had two tours with 15 Squadron in the Solomon Islands before heading back to the RAF. He was shot down and killed in a Mosquito of 305 Squadron RAF on 16 June 1944 (IWM).

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Formation of 610 Squadron Spitfires, July 1940. This is from a series of images taken by an RAF photographer in a . The Spitfires are in a pre-war ‘Vic’ formation and posed for the occasion as the ‘Vic’ was abandoned earlier (IWM).

Three Spitfire Mk Is including R6712, YT-N and R6714, YT-M taking off from Hornchurch, August 1940 (IWM).

43 Bristol Blenheim Mk I of 25 Squadron at Martlesham Heath on 25 July 1940. We cannot read the serial number of the aircraft on the right, but an aerial of its new A.I Mk I radar is visible under the port mainplane (IWM).

References: Errol Martyn’s files and books New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force vols I-III (Official war history series) The Narrow Margin, Hutchison & Co Battle over Britain, McWhirter Twins Limited Paul Harrison John Mounce Des Underwood DH a history of De Havilland, Airlife Bomber Squadrons of the Royal Air Force, Philip Moyes, Macdonald & Janes Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force, Crecy Books Limited Imperial War Museum Public Records Office Editor’s files ACM Sir Dowding’s Despatch was recorded in The Gazette, issue 37719, 10 September 1946 and is reproduced by kind permission which is gratefully acknowledged.

Auckland-born Flt Lt W G Clouston DFC of Per Ardua, ad Astra. 19 Squadron joined the RAF in 1936 (IWM).

The Aero Historian is published quarterly by the Aviation Historical Society of New Zealand Inc, PO Box 11391, Sockburn, Christchurch 8443, New Zealand. Website: http://ahsnz.org.nz Hon Secretary/Treasurer, Ron Ark, [email protected] Editor and President, Brian Lockstone. Editorial matters: [email protected]

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