SUMMER 2016 No.6 K E N T BATTLE OF BRITAIN MUSEUM YEARS OF HISTORY W/CMDR./CMDRRR.. TOMOM NEILL DFC*DFFCFC AFC AAE at RAF Hawkingee - EXCLUSIVE!E! THE LEGENDARYRY RENEENENE MOUCHOTTEOUCHOTTETE SPECIALPECIAE AALL REPORTEPPORTT By JAN LEEMINGG By SIR DAVID JASONONN LUFTWAFFE AT THE MUSEUMM THE OFFICIAL KENT BATTLE OF BRITAIN MUSEUM ANNIVERSARY1 EDITION £7 MAGAZINE K E N T B A T T L E O F B R I T A I N M U S E U M M A G A Z I N E Edi!on No. 6 Spring/Summer 2016 OR this special edition to mark the 50th Leeming agreed to take time out of her busy whose stunning colour plates of RAF and F anniversary of the Museum we’ve been schedule to send in her feature article about Luftwaffe aircraft appear in the book. If you overwhelmed by the kindness of many con- the Free French pilot Rene Mouchotte. I had visit The Armoury at the Museum the original tributors who sent us unique articles in honour visited ‘The Wing’ Building at Capel -le -Ferne artwork by the talented Mr Roffe is on display of not only ‘The Few’ of the Battle of Britain earlier this year when Jan gave an illuminat- and well worth admiring for its detail. but our own ‘Many’ who over the decades ing talk about her connection with Rene and On the Home Front there’s been great sup- dedicated their time and efforts to ensure the the story of how she felt inspired to make a port from author Ann Kramer who writes and Museum’s vast collection of artefacts from film about him must be read. lectures on the Land Army. I just had to in- 1940 became the best in the world. On the subject of great films I hope to be able clude in this special supplement an article We also thank the advertisers who continue to report back soon on Gerry Johnston’s new about ‘Spitfire Mary’ - the wonderful Air to support this magazine as they too always documentary about the life and times of the Transport Auxiliary First Officer Mary Ellis acknowledge the years of hard work and dedi- Irish fighter pilot ace ‘Paddy’ Finucane. who along with her colleagues helped deliver cation which has gone into the making of Thanks to Gerry this magazine contains a 309,000 aircraft from factory to RAF airfields today’s exhibition at Hawkinge, Kent. great article about ‘Paddy’ and some rare throughout the war. Mary herself flew 400 I only had to ask Battle of Britain ace and photographs. Spitfires and 76 different types of aircraft. author Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* As many readers know we have been running Indeed it was Mary’s friend Carolyn Grace AFC AE once about helping me to launch this a series of articles about the pioneering Terry who owns the famous two -seater ‘Grace Spit- special supplement and ever the gentleman he Parsons who has excavated more than 900 fire’ who flew Sir David Jason over the White jumped in like a flash and sent in his exclu- aircraft from the Battle of Britain and World Cliffs of Dover when he was filming a special sive article about his memories of RAF War Two. Many of the artefacts he has found tribute to ‘The Few’. Hawkinge during the war. Thanks too to his since the 1960s are on show in the Museum. Sir David kindly gave his permission to use lovely assistant Dr Margaret Clotworthy who During our interviews Terry has told me how an article he wrote about the Battle of Britain helped to arrange this. I hope as many of you many of the early ‘diggers’ at the forefront of and there’s some cracking photographs and as possible will make a note in your diary to aviation archaeology relied on a book called interviews too which accompany his feature visit Wing Commander Neil at the Museum ‘Battle over Britain’ written by former RAF including comments from Battle of Britain on August 14, 2016. He is due to be there that pilot Frank Mason. This book was known as legend - Wing Commander Paul Farnes DFM. day signing his wonderful book ‘Scramble’ the ‘Bible’ and contains a wealth of detailed Indeed so many people are owed a huge debt and copies of the Kent Battle of Britain Muse- information about RAF and Luftwaffe crashes of thanks, and with the help of Museum Trus- um magazine. of 1940. tee Tony Parslow and several other early pio- Also happy to write for us in this important It is at this point I extend great thanks to neers including Terry Parsons and Tony anniversary year for the Museum is the amaz- military historian and author Martin Windrow Webb I have within the pages of this supple- ing Dr Helen Doe whose father Wing Com- who as a young man in the 1960s had the ment been supported in the recording of the mander ’Bob’ Doe DSO DFC* along with his privilege to work with Frank and edit ‘Battle history of the Museum and we have published friends the late great Wing Commander ‘Bob’ Over Britain’. On pages 60 - 63 he pays trib- many names of those past and present who Foster DFC and Squadron Leader Kenneth ute to Frank and thanks to Museum Trustee built a Museum collection to be proud of. ‘Lucky’ Lusty AE, had visited us in the past. Richard Windrow (Martin’s brother) we pay Thank you to one and all. It was wonderful when BBC broadcaster Jan our respects to aviation artist Michael Roffe Editor KENT BATTLE OF BRITAIN MUSEUM TRUST C O N T E N T S Aerodrome Road, Hawkinge, Kent CT18 7AG W/Cmdr. Tom Neil DFC AFC AE Telephone: 01303 893140 ‘RAF Hawkinge’………………………..8 - 9 www.kbobm.org ‘Bandits Approaching’…………..10 - 11 Sir David Jason reports………….12 - 17 EDITOR The Museum Then and Now…18 - 36 MELODY FOREMAN MCIJ Ulrich Steinhilper of the Luwaffe 37 - 40 Find us on FACEBOOK An early excavaon………………41 - 43 ‘Kent Battle of Britain Museum Magazine’. Hell’s Corner 1940 by HRP Boorman 44 - 45 Contact: Discovering Heinkels and The Yanks [email protected] are coming……………………………46 - 49 Telephone: 07876 018243 The Museum……………………….. 50 - 57 Remarkable Radar…………………58 - 59 Copyright: Melody Foreman MCIJ. Kent Ba•le of Bale of Britain 75th Anniversary Sgt. ‘Bill’ Green of No. 501 Squadron. Bale Over Britain………………..60 63 Britain Museum Trust. - picture spread………………………78 - 79 All rights reserved. Reproducon in any manner, in W/Cmdr. ‘Bob’ Doe….…………..61 - 65 Spiire Mary………………………..80 - 83 Spiire 80th Anniversary whole or part is forbidden without the consent of Museum Notebook……………….66 - 67 News Digest………………………...84 - 85 Book Reviews………………………… 96 the Editor. French pilot ace Rene Moucho$e The Observer Corps……………..86 - 87 In the Kitchen with Dolly Dilnot 97 We would like to point out every effort is made to 68 - 73 The Women’s Land Army……..88 - 93 Bale of Britain Crossword……..98 ascertain the copyright details of all photographs. ‘Paddy’ Finucane…..………………74 - 77 Scramble’s Logbook……………..94 - 95 Reader Offer………………………….100 5 ‘Fifty-plus bandits approaching from the south-east. Angels 17’ By Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC AE HAD been with 249 Squadron I at North Weald just a day or so before I was scrambled towards Hawkinge in my Hurricane in the afternoon of September 3, 1940. An excerpt from my memoir ‘Scramble’ ( Gun Button to Fire ) reads: ‘I was on the 'state' when we all came to Readiness in the early morning of 3 September. The weather was brilliant with little more than an early morning mist and I had a new aircraft, V7313. I thanked God that it was- n't an 'L’ or ’N’ series - I was fed up with them. 56 Squadron's air- craft were newer than ours proba- Copyright: Tom Neil bly because they lost them a good deal more quickly! I had no par- ticular feelings of excitement or HURRICANE PILOT: W/Cmdr. Tom Neil on a sortie during the Battle of Britain. concern, just the proper degree of eagerness. right with Percy Burton on his The plots were still building up, it Patrol base this time. Crikey! That We stood or sat around a large left. We took off in a wild rush seemed. An unspoken thought: didn't sound so good. unlit stove in the crew -room. towards the east and I found the were we too early? And in the I raced across the grass to my Waiting. An airman occupied the masts floating past my left shoul- right place? Time would tell. position on John Grandy's right. tiny office by the entrance and der while climbing up. Not so bad We wandered about, lances lev- Then, full throttle, 3,000 revs, and manned the telephone. From time after all. elled. Ready. Waiting. Essex off again. Wheels up - I didn't to time, a bell would ring and we Patrol Chelmsford, we were in- spread out beneath us - the Black- even look. The masts drifting past. would all hold our breath as it was structed. Enemy plots were build- water, the east coast, and to the Climbing like hell. The squadron answered. As the weeks passed ing up - twenty, then forty, then south, the line of the Thames. strung out. Cutting corners and we grew to hate that telephone. fifty plus! We were being posi- Visibility at height, a million catching up. Climb! Climb! Hell's But other less urgent messages tioned as a precaution.