6 September 1940

Pat Hughes could not rest on his laurels. 6 September 1940 would be another tiring day in a string of exhausting days. He had had something of a respite after his successful day out on 26 August. He flew two sorties on 27 August but then had three days off. But that was the end of his break. He flew two patrols on 31 August, two on 1 September, two on 2 September, 1 on 3 September, 1 on 4 September, 1 on 5 September and 6 September would see him in the air three times. 31 August–6 September: twelve sorties in seven days, and, including the 6th as we will see, in combat three days in a row.

And so, on 6 September, Pat was at dispersal bright and early. His first outing, commencing at 8.40 a.m., was a two hour patrol of Brooklands. B Flight, led by Pat in Spitfire X4009, had been on patrol for about 50 minutes when, at about 9.30 a.m., they encountered about 25 Me 109s in the Dover area. Pat’s combat report was short and sharp:

‘Saw enemy fighters below. Attacked with section astern and fired a long burst into one Me 109 which crashed on landing approx. five miles west of Littlestone. I climbed back to 10,000 feet and intercepted five Me 109s escorting a Me 110 across Dover. This Me 110 had one engine on fire and just after passing Dover the crew baled out and the 110 crashed into the sea. I attacked the rear 109 and had to fire a long burst into it as three 109s dived at me from the beam. I emptied all my ammunition into this 109 and the oil tanks burst, and my own aircraft’s windscreen and mainplane were covered in oil. I broke away and attacked the three 109s but had no ammunition and could not follow the first 109 I attacked which was losing height and smoking badly.’

Of Pat’s three sorties, this was the only one to involve combat, and another increase in his personal score. Yet again, Pat he gone in close and hard; his combat report noted that he had fired from 150 yards closing to 50 yards. Close enough again for his own Spit to be covered in oil. His innate aggression too was apparent, in that he initially attempted to attack despite his lack of ammunition. A brave man, and a skilled shot who was credited with one Me 109 destroyed and one Me 109 probable. His personal tally was now two third shares, one third share unconfirmed, one 1/2 share, and 13 destroyed and one probably destroyed.

After debriefing, Pat went back to dispersal and waited. His day was not yet over. His second sortie of the day, commencing at 12.25 p.m., was an hour and a half patrol of Warmwell. The third patrol, commencing at 17.35 and concluding at 18.50 p.m., was again of Brooklands.

That night, Pat spoke to the intelligence officer. He confessed to being depressed and unsettled; spots kept appearing in front of his eyes. He was clearly displaying signs of battle fatigue but the IO tried to reassure him that everything was alright by saying he had just been drinking too much. Despite the IO trying to brush Pat’s symptoms aside, it seems that the number of sorties he had flown in a short period of time, as well as the hanging around in dispersal waiting for the phone to ring and the adrenaline of combat was taking its toll on a young man who was just short of his 23rd birthday.

Pat Hughes at RAAF Point Cook.