Down, Peter Derrick McLeod (Oral history)

British officer served as pilot with 56 Sqdn, No 11 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB and France, 2/1938-5/1940; served with 56 Sqdn, No 10 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB and during Battle of Britain, 6/1940-9/1940; served as instructor with No 6 Operational Training Unit, RAF at RAF Sutton Bridge, GB, 9/1940-3/1941; served with 232 Sqdn, No 13 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB, 3/1941-12/1941; commanded 112 Sqdn, No 239 Wing, Western Desert Air Force, RAF in North Africa, 4/1942-5/1942

REEL 1 Recollections of period as pilot with 56 Sqdn, No 11 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB, 2/1938-5/1940: composition of squadron personnel at RAF North Weald; flying skills of pre-war personnel; reaction to declaration of Second World War and making will, 3/9/1939; opinion of Hawker Hurricane; problems with Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine; shooting down of German Air Force flying boat during east coast convoy duties, 10/1939; move to RAF Martlesham Heath, 12/1939. Aspects of operations as pilot with B Flight, 56 Sqdn, No 11 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in France, 15/5/1940-19/5/1940: posting of flight to Vitry-en-Artois; squadron losses; conditions and disorganisation on airfield at Vitry-en-Artois; nature of aerial combat and successes; return to RAF North Weald, 19/5/1940; operations over Dunkirk. REEL 2 Continues: Recollections of operations as pilot with 56 Sqdn, No 10 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB and during Battle of Britain, 6/1940-9/1940: superiority of German aircraft armament and ammunition; comparison between Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109; loss of squadron personnel; reforming of squadron at RAF Boscombe Down and request for posting from Air Vice-Marshal Quintin Brand; inexperience of squadron pilots; nature of combat during battle; question of lack of practical aid from ground control during battle; successes during battle; invasion scare at RAF Boscombe Down, 9/1940. Aspects of period as instructor at No 6 Operational Training Unit, RAF at RAF Sutton Bridge, GB, 9/1940-3/1941: posting to unit; nationalities of pilots trained. Aspects of operations as pilot with 232 Sqdn, No 13 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB, 3/1941-12/1941: posting to squadron as flight commander at RAF Ouston; convoy protection duties; use of 'Freddy vectors. Recollections of operations commanding 112 Sqdn, No 239 Wing, Western Desert Air Force, RAF in North Africa, 4/1942-5/1942: voyage from GB to Egypt; opinion of Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk Mk IA; problems of operating from Gambut Main (No 1), Libya; Australian composition of squadron. REEL 3 Continues: character of Australian personnel; food supply arrangements in desert; use of pilots tent; countering German Air Force nuisance raids; aircraft losses during retreat to Egypt; hospitalisation in Cairo, Egypt and return to GB, 1943. Aspects of operations as pilot with 56 Sqdn, No 10 Group, Fighter Command, RAF during Battle of Britain, 1940: character of station commander Group Captain Victor Beamish at RAF North Weald; story of Group Captain Frank 'Mongoose' Soden's destruction of hangars at RAF Biggin Hill.