Description
Object description
British officer served with 1 Sqdn, No 67 Wing, Advanced Air Striking Force, RAF in GB and France, 9/1939-5/1940; served with 421 (Reconnaissance) Flight, RAF in GB, 10/1940-2/1941
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of operations as pilot with 1 Sqdn, No 67 Wing, Advanced Air Striking Force, RAF in GB and France, 9/1939-5/1940: early interest in aviation; flying training; converting to Hawker Hurricane; nature of training with squadron; method of intercepting German Air Force aircraft in France, 1940; shooting down Messerschmitt Bf 109 in France, 19/4/1940; his shooting down whilst attacking German Air Force Dornier Do 17 over Perthes, France, 13/5/1940; bailing out of Hawker Hurricane, 13/5/1940; medical treatment for wounds; reaction to fall of France, 6/1940. Recollections of operations as pilot with 421 (Reconnaissance) Flight, RAF in GB, 10/1940-2/1941: joining unit, 10/1940; role of flight; attitude towards German pilots; meeting with shot down German pilot who he had known at school in Switzerland pre-war; daily routine; question of Adolf Hitler's interference in German Air Force tactics during Battle of Britain; contrast between Royal Air Force and German Air Force tactics during the Battle of Britain.
REEL 2 Continues: opinion of Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park and question of Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding's contribution to the Battle of Britain; attitude towards casualties; personal morale; social activities; attitude of public towards Royal Air Force pilots; degree of knowledge of situation during Battle of Britain; attitude towards 'Big Wing' tactics; role of fighter pilots during Battle of Britain; reporting of shot down pilots; sharing aircraft; training of new pilots in unit; effect on operations of withdrawal of German Air Force units to Soviet Union, 5/1941-6/1941; role as fighter pilot; change in class distinctions in the Royal Air Force between 1939-1943; importance of shooting skills for fighter pilots; degree of contact with ground crews.