Bird-Wilson, Harold Arthur Cooper (Oral history)

British officer served as pilot with 17 Sqdn, No 11 Group, RAF in GB and France, 1939-1940 including Battle of Britain, 1940

REEL 1 Recollections of period as pilot with 17 Sqdn, No 11 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB, 1939-1940: story of flying accident in BA Swallow, 9/1939 and subsequent plastic surgery treatment by Archibald McIndoe at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead; reaction to outbreak of Second World War, 3/9/1939; opinion of Hawker Hurricane; question of personalisation of aircraft. Recollections of operations as pilot with 17 Sqdn, No 11 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB, 5/1940-6/1940: defence of east coast convoys, 5/1940; heavy squadron losses during sortie over The Hague, Netherlands, 5/1940; hearing stories of German pilots shooting parachuting pilots; interception of German Air Force reconnaissance patrol near Lille, France, 18/5/1940; encounter with Junkers Ju 87 Stukas and loss of squadron commander over Brussels, Belgium 17/5/1940; lack of training in ground attack; operations over Dunkirk, France. REEL 2 Continues: sight of beaches at Dunkirk, France; friction between British Army and Royal Air Force personnel during Dunkirk Evacution; fighter tactics employed by Royal Air Force and question of senior officers not learning the lessons from Spanish Civil War. Aspects of operations as pilot with 17 Sqdn, No 11 Group, Fighter Command in France, 6/1940: patrolling over Normandy, France, 6/1940; inexperienced pilots in squadron; orders from French to quit Dinard Airfield and move to Channel Islands, 17/6/1940; suitability of Hawker Hurricane for operations in France; Fifth Column activities in France; story of young women evacuated by Hawker Hurricanes from Guernsey, Channel Islands, summer 1940. Recollections of operations as pilot with 17 Sqdn, No 11 Group, RAF in GB during Battle of Britain, 1940: question of personal morale during battle; effects of psychological strain on pilots; role of Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires during battle; tactic of head on attacks on Messerschmitt Bf 110. REEL 3 Continues: memories of Manfred Czernin; degree of warning of German Air Force raids from RAF Debden; method of attacking German bombers; opinion of German Air Force tactics; problems of identification of aircraft in the air; operating from RAF Tangmere and obtaining sourvenirs from Junkers Ju 87 Stuka; attitude towards Germans in contrast to Polish pilots; opinion of German aircraft; suffering from lack of oxygen and attack on lone German aircraft over English Channel, 15/9/1940; story of being shot down by Adolf Galland, 24/9/1940; degree of knowledge about the battle; comparison with operations over France; manifestations of fear and dealing with Lack of Moral Fibre (LMF) cases. REEL 4 Continues: role of RAF Eastchurch; flying clothing; use of dispersal huts; opinion of ground crew; question of reliability of battle statistics; qualities needed by fighter pilots.