Australia's Few. 8 September 1940

7 September had been an incredibly busy day for Fighter Command in the London area but Ken Holland was having a quietish time at Warmwell, though he was on duty. On the day London was blitzed, Ken and 152 Squadron’s Green Section were out on a patrol. Ken was Green Three. Two of his section chased a Dornier 215 over Lyme Regis but Ken ‘saw nowt’. By the 8th it was clear London had had a major battering and fears of an invasion were reinvigorated. Ken recorded a ‘Big Invasion flap’ but, even so, there was ‘no flying all day’ for him.

Australia's Few. 7 September 1940

And so, the Luftwaffe turned its attention from the airfields and attempted to strike at the heart of the British: London. 7 September 1940 was the opening of the Blitz. 

234 Squadron was ordered to patrol Kenley and Biggin Hill. They took off at 17.35 p.m. When they arrived at the patrol position they encountered a large number of enemy aircraft, so many that no one at the time could hazard a guess as to how many. It was just recorded as ‘large formations’ and an ‘unascertained number’. 234’s pilots participated in furious fighting against overwhelming numbers between 18.00 and 18.30 p.m.

Pat, again flying Spitfire X4009, lined up a Dornier that was straggling behind and beneath the main formation. He made a successful quarter attack on it. Large pieces flew off and the wing crumpled. The stricken Dornier plunged into a fatal spin. And so too did Pat’s Spitfire. X4009 had lost about a third of a wing. It crashed at Darks Farm, Bessels Green; Pat fell in a nearby garden.

Pat was credited with the destruction of the Dornier. His final personal tally was now two third shares, one third share unconfirmed, one 1/2 share, and 14 destroyed and one probably destroyed. With all the part shares, he was well over a triple ace and Australia’s highest scoring Battle of Britain pilot.

It was a bad day for 234 Squadron. As well as losing Pat, they also lost Squadron Leader O’Brien. They had a healthy scoreboard but the loss of these two men was devastating. Four days later 234 Squadron returned to St Eval to rest and reform.

 

 

Vale good and brave men.

 

Australia's Few. 6 September 1940

Pat was at dispersal bright and early on 6 September. 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.’

Yet again, Pat had 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.

 

 

Australia's Few. 5 September 1940

The Luftwaffe continued its assault on the airfields of the south east. Although back at Croydon by 5 September, 72 Squadron was ordered to Hawkinge for the day to patrol that station. Because of casualties of personnel and machines, only eight Spitfires were airborne. Des was leading in X4034. At 2.25 p.m. they encountered two formations of Messerschmitt 109s. They were climbing to get above the raid when Des:

 

‘heard a shout of warning from one of our fighters weaving behind but before I could do anything about it there was a terrific bang from behind the cockpit and the aircraft shuddered from what must have been an accurate and heavy burst from dead astern. I knew I had been hit in the leg and my left hand showed signs of flying fragments. I think that the explosion must have been from the oxygen bottle as I quickly passed out’.

 

When he came, he realised his Spitfire was diving vertically and out of control. He then:

‘tried the control column but it was useless so I prepared to bale out. As soon as I undid my harness the suction lifted me out of the cockpit. Unfortunately, it did not quite do the job and in some strange way my feet caught under the windscreen. There I was in a flat out dive, lying along the top of the cockpit with my feet fastened. I had given up hope when my feet suddenly became free and almost by instinct I suppose, I pulled the ripcord from my parachute. I discovered afterwards that I was only about 800 feet up when I pulled the cord...By the law of averages I should have been killed. I fell into the middle of a wood near Canterbury and climbed through the boughs of a tree.’

Des then crawled through the forest to a path and discovered that he had acquired an audience. As the crowd watched, a policeman approached on a bicycle, pulling a very welcome flask from his pocket. Des suffered only a few scratches from the fall but his battle injuries had to be taken care of so he was whisked away to hospital to recover.

Flight Lieutenant Desmond Sheen had survived his second bale out in a week. Recognising his good fortune, he later told his parents that ‘[I] must admit I have a knack of getting into and out of trouble’. He certainly did. But for Des the Battle of Britain was now effectively over. The war was a little over 12 months old and he was just shy of his 23rd birthday. With all his experiences under his belt, felt ‘practically grown up’.

 

Australia's Few. 4 September 1940

Pat Hughes scored a hat trick on 4 September 1940. At 13.20 p.m., he was leading 234 Squadron on a patrol of Tangmere and environs. He:

Saw about 50 110s approaching coast with about 15 110s circling south of Haslemere. Red, Yellow and Green sections engaged the rear formation and Blue Section engaged the fifteen. These aircraft immediately formed a circle and in a head-on attack I fired two short bursts and the leading aircraft pulled up and I fired one short burst into the fuselage. This aircraft caught fire and crashed just north of Brighton. I attacked another 110 and from dead astern after two short bursts this aircraft rolled on its back and dived vertically to the ground and blew up, 10 miles north east of Tangmere. I was attacked by three 110s in a circle whilst another circled round behind. I gave three short bursts to break up this circle and dived away. I followed and emptied the rest of ammunition. One engine appeared to catch fire and the aircraft turned slowly towards the coast heading inland and both engines appeared to be on fire.

 

According to Shores and Williams, his personal tally was now two third shares, one third share unconfirmed, one 1/2 share, and 10 destroyed.

 

 

Australian's Few. 3 September 1940

According to Des Sheen, he was in the air on 3 September when ‘we attacked about 20 Me 110s and 20 bombers trying a low level penetration near Dungeness ... I was flying top cover at the time but went down to attack a Me 110 which was supposed to be escorting the bombers. I clobbered the port engine and this aircraft turned inland. This was quite a good party’. But most of the squadron were stood down on 3 September and 72 Squadron’s ORB records no activity that day. Des’s recollection, however, does accord with the ORB’s 2 September report of a patrol where Do 17s and Me 110s were sighted five miles south of Dungeness. ‘The enemy was attacked first from astern and later a beam attack was made. Four Me 110s were damaged.’

 

If Des’s clobbered Messerschmitt was included in this total, it was not acknowledged in the post war tally sheets. Des later admitted that the details of this period were sketchy and his sense of timing was confused. ‘So much has happened the last week ... It seems ages since we came south but actually it’s only about five or six days ago. ... [We] have been ever since flying darn nearly all day every day’.

 

These days might have been a bit hazy for Des Sheen but there was one thing he remembered clearly. His promotion to Flight Lieutenant, effective from 3 September, had come through. He had been expecting it as he announced to his parents: ‘Have got my second stripe at last’!

 

 

Australia's Few. 2 September 1940

Given the number of raids Fighter Command had to contend with in the south east it was almost incredible to think that some pilots were getting restless because they had nothing to do. At Acklington, John Crossman ‘was twice called to readiness’ on 2 September ‘on report of enemy aircraft but nothing came of it as they turned back each time’. It seemed to him that, during 32 Squadron’s three week northern sojourn, they were spending ‘most of our time in dispersal hut all ready with flying clothes and the old Mae West but nothing ever happens here.’