KILMARTIN, JI (#35)

Operations in France

Operations in France

In October 1939, the squadron moved to Vassincourt, where it became a part of the AASF, ready for operations over the front line. This force included ten squadrons of Fairey Battle light bombers, together with the Hurricanes of 1 and 73 squadrons, which were to escort them and to provide protection.

On 30 October 1939, the squadron’s Pilot Officer PWO ‘Boy’ Mould shot down a Luftwaffe reconnaissance Dornier 17, which was the first RAF fighter claim over France. However, opposition in the air was rare during this ‘phoney war’ period, and by the end of the year only four victories had been claimed.

During the spring of 1940, clashes with the Luftwaffe became more frequent as the weather improved, and by 20 April the squadron ‘bag’ had risen to 23, for the loss of five Hurricanes and one pilot killed.

On 10 May 1940, the great German offensive in the west (which rapidly became known as the blitzkrieg, or ‘lightning war’) began. Wehrmacht airborne troops landed in Holland and Belgium, as German tank columns and infantry crossed the frontiers into these neutral countries. At once elements of the French northern armies and the BEF moved forward into Belgium to intercept these invasions.

Meanwhile strong formations of Luftwaffe bombers and fighters launched a series of surprise attacks on Allied airfields, catching many units on the ground. 1 Squadron was fortunate not to be one of those caught, but was swiftly in action, flying many patrols and engaging in frequent fights with opposing formations.

Although almost always outnumbered, the squadron’s well trained and experienced pilots did well from the start, and by the close of 13 May had claimed some 40 German aircraft shot down, for the loss in action of nine Hurricanes, but of only one pilot – young Pilot Officer Billy Drake [Signatory #168], who was shot down and wounded by a Messerschmitt Bf 110. He baled out of his burning Hurricane, but did not rejoin the squadron until after its return to England.

On 14 May it became clear that German forces had made their way through the Ardennnes forest – thought by the French to be virtually impassable to armoured units – and were in the Sedan area, threatening to outflank the massive fixed defences of the Maginot Line, and to tear a great hole in the Allied lines. French and RAF bombers were thrown in here in a desperate attempt to stop the rot, but huge losses were suffered to Luftwaffe fighters and flak (anti-aircraft fire).

Fierce fighting

Fierce fighting

It was on 14 May that 1 Squadron lost two of its pilots, one of those killed being Flying Officer Leslie Clisby, who had been the unit’s most successful pilot up to this point. By the following day it was becoming clear that provision would need to be made to evacuate the BEF if necessary, as the French prime minister admitted that the battle for France was lost, and as the Dutch surrendered.

Most of the RAF units in France were with the Air Component, which was directly supporting the BEF, and these now began withdrawing towards the Channel coast. The situation for the AASF’s fighter squadrons, based further to the south, was different, and they continued to operate from French bases for a considerable period after the British forces’ evacuation from Dunkirk. 1 Squadron therefore played no part in this famous evacuation, continuing to fly from airfields in the Reims-Paris area.

Fierce fighting continued until 19 May, when the squadron suffered its fifth and last pilot casualty of the blitzkrieg, with Flying Officer Paul Richey being shot down and seriously wounded. Action then became more desultory for 1 Squadron, as the Luftwaffe concentrated its efforts over the Dunkirk area during late May/early June. At this juncture Squadron Leader ‘Bull’ Halahan, and eight of his most experienced pilots, were ordered to England to rest, and to become instructors at operational training units.

Victories and losses

Victories and losses

As German forces advanced on Paris, following the conclusion of the Dunkirk evacuation, the position of the French became ever more critical. On 14 June the squadron moved to Boos, on the Seine, covering evacuations from this port. Three days later it flew south into Brittany on similar duties. From here the remaining pilots flew home to England on 18 June, the ground crews coming out by sea.

What, then, had 1 Squadron achieved during this period of hectic operations and disastrous retreat in the battle for France?

Between 10 and 19 May at least 86 more victories had been claimed, at a cost of 17 Hurricanes, but with only two pilots killed and two seriously wounded. From then until the evacuation to England not a single further loss of either aircraft or pilot was suffered, although claims for 16 more opposing aircraft were submitted, to bring the total since the outbreak of war to at least 125 (17 of which remained unconfirmed).

Total losses in combat since September 1939 amounted to 22 aircraft crashed or force-landed, three pilots killed, and two wounded. By the end of June 1940, ten Distinguished Flying Crosses (DFCs) had been awarded to officers of the squadron, and three Distinguished Flying Medals (DFMs) had been received by NCO pilots.

The pilots of 1 Squadron

The pilots of 1 Squadron

Pilots of 1 Squadron

Most of 1 Squadron’s well trained and experienced pilots are seen here shortly before the outbreak of the blitzkrieg on 10 May 1940. The commanding officer, Squadron Leader PH ‘Bull’ Halahan, is in the centre, wearing a sheepskin flying jacket.

On the far left is Pilot Officer Billy Drake [Signatory #168]. Although one of the only two pilots in this photo not to receive a DFC in June 1940 (having been shot down and wounded on 13 May), he was to end the war as the most successful of all this group of outstanding fighter pilots. He had by then been promoted to Wing Commander, and had claimed some 28 aircraft shot down (three of which were shared and two unconfirmed), plus 15 more destroyed on the ground. He had also been awarded a DSO, DFC and Bar, and a US DFC. He remained in the RAF postwar, becoming a Group Captain.

Next to him is Flying Officer LR Clisby, an aggressive Australian pilot who was the squadron’s first top-scorer, having already claimed at least ten aircraft shot down, and possibly more, by the time he was brought down and killed on 14 May. Behind his left shoulder is his friend, Flying Officer LR Lorimer, who was shot down and killed during the same engagement.

Flight Lieutenant P Prosser Hanks was one of the unit’s two flight commanders. He had claimed seven victories when sent home to become an instructor later in May. He ended the war as a Wing Commander, credited with 13 enemy aircraft shot down. Between him and Halahan is Pilot Officer PWO ‘Boy’ Mould (see below).

Behind ‘Bull’ Halahan’s left shoulder is Jean-François Demozay. A civilian pilot before the war, he had been loaned to the squadron as French interpreter. He fled to England when France fell, and became a fighter pilot, joining 1 Squadron in this role late in 1940. He ended the war as a Wing Commander, credited with 18 victories, but was then killed in an aircraft accident on 19 December 1945.

The senior flight commander, Flight Lieutenant PR ‘Johnnie’ Walker, is next. He claimed eight successes in combat during spring 1940, and ended the war as a Group Captain. Standing in front of Walker and the next two pilots is Flight Lieutenant DM Brown, the squadron medical officer. Behind his left shoulder is Flying Officer JI Kilmartin (see below).

Almost hidden behind Brown and Kilmartin is Flying Officer PHM Richey, later author of Fighter Pilot, one of the classic books of the war. Before he was wounded on 19 May, Paul Richey had claimed ten victories. He later returned to operations in 1941, and also ended the war as a Wing Commander.

Another, almost hidden behind his colleagues, is New Zealander Flying Officer WH Stratton (see below), and the last in the line is Flying Officer CD ‘Pussy’ Palmer, born in the USA of British parentage. He later became a Squadron Leader, but was shot down and killed over the English Channel on 27 October 1942.

Missing from this group are three other notable officers and three leading NCO pilots. The third representative of the Commonwealth was Flying Officer MH ‘Hilly’ Brown from Canada, who was on leave when the photograph was taken. He had claimed some 17 victories when the squadron left France in June, having overtaken Clisby as the top-scorer for the unit in 1940. Becoming Commanding Officer soon after the return to England, he also flew during the Battle of Britain. He became a Wing Commander in 1941, but was shot down and killed over Sicily on 12 November 1941.

Flying Officer GPH Matthews joined the squadron in August 1939. He claimed five victories during May-June 1940, ending the war as a Squadron Leader, with 11 victories credited to him.

Pilot Officer PV Boot had arrived only in March 1940 as a reinforcement, having just retrained as a fighter pilot. The 1 Squadron ethos and example obviously enveloped him rapidly, for by 5 June he had claimed five aircraft shot down. He later took part in the Battle of Britain before becoming an instructor, and was awarded a DFC.

The squadron’s outstanding NCO pilot was Flight Sergeant FJ Soper, who claimed 13 victories over France during 1940. He was later commissioned and by 1941 had been given command of his own squadron. He failed to return from a sortie to intercept an intruding German bomber off the Suffolk coast on 5 October 1941.

Flight Sergeant AV ‘Darky’ Clowes had claimed seven successes by 18 June 1940. He too was commissioned later in the year, subsequently becoming a Squadron Commander. A third notable NCO was Flight Sergeant FG Berry, who shot down the bomber that had just bombed the troopship Lancastrian in St Nazaire harbour on 17 June 1940. He was killed shortly afterwards, on 1 September, during the Battle of Britain.

‘Killy’ Kilmartin and Bill Stratton

Kilmartin was one of the most successful of the unit’s pilots during the blitzkrieg period, when he claimed at least 13 German aircraft shot down.

Like many of the squadron’s other pilots of this period, both men ended the war as a Wing Commander. Stratton subsequently became Chief of Air Staff of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, with the rank of Air Vice-Marshal – the highest rank to be achieved by any of 1 Squadron’s 1940 pilots.

‘Boy’ Mould

‘Boy’ Mould

Pilot Officer ‘Boy’ Mould had entered the RAF as a boy entrant in 1933. A great athlete, he was selected for a cadetship at the RAF College, Cranwell, where he became a triple Blue at rugby, cricket and athletics. Having claimed the unit’s first aerial victory, he added eight more victories over France, six of them during the blitzkrieg. He was killed in action over Malta as a Squadron Commander on 1 October 1941.

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Contrails over Northern Europe (screenshot from World War II in HD Colour, Netflix & Youtube)

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