Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Late evening clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

And some morning clues. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

And some morning clues. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

A couple of mid-morning clues. I'm fairly sure some of the clues given can apply only to this pilot. After all, how many pilots had a beer at a local pub with a German pilot after both had just been shot down (almost certainly by each other, or their aircrew); or took off without a helmet or parachute to shoot down an enemy plane; or flew a Spitfire well after being so horribly injured? Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

A trio of late morning clues. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

A set of early afternoon clues for you. At this point, you know a significant amount of information about our hero. Thanks; Ernie P.



Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

(42) He flew a Spitfire at the end; although the aircraft he flew during his first adventure was a Blenheim light bomber.

(43) He died in September, 1940.

(44) He was awarded the DFC by the King of England.

perttime

Sergeant Alan Feary ?
I didn't find all the detail but there's mentions of him attacking a Bf 110 and baling out of his spitfire too low on 7 October 1940 - and "Sobering reading", "tragic personal life of Alan Feary and his unfortunate demise", "son he never knew David Drake-Feary lives in Australia"

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Not a bad guess, perttime; but not correct. Maybe a few mid-afternoon clues will help. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

(42) He flew a Spitfire at the end; although the aircraft he flew during his first adventure was a Blenheim light bomber.

(43) He died in September, 1940.

(44) He was awarded the DFC by the King of England.

(45) He shot down two Me-109’s on September 6[SUP]th[/SUP], 1940.

(46) He was killed the next day.

(47) He was a squadron leader.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Let's add a few late afternoon clues. I'm afraid that, from here on out, the clues must necessarily begin to be increasingly obvious. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

(42) He flew a Spitfire at the end; although the aircraft he flew during his first adventure was a Blenheim light bomber.

(43) He died in September, 1940.

(44) He was awarded the DFC by the King of England.

(45) He shot down two Me-109’s on September 6[SUP]th[/SUP], 1940.

(46) He was killed the next day.

(47) He was a squadron leader.

(48) His first shared victory, over an He-111, came while flying a Blenheim bomber. Neither of his two crew members (observer and gunner) survived. He shared credit with a Spitfire that was also attacking the He-111 at night.

(49) He assumed command of a Squadron at St Eval on August 17th.

(50) He shared in shooting down a Ju-88 on August 21st and shot down an Me-109 on August 24[SUP]th[/SUP].

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I can't wait for this one to finish out as I have really enjoyed reading the story on it. It's been reading like a well written novel so far!!!! Keep up the good work Ernie!!!!!

Ken

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Thank you for the kind words, Sir; but I fear it is getting very close to time to fold the tent on this one. All good authors know when to end the story; and this one is reaching its own time. JohnnyS has just managed to unravel the key facts; to wit: (1) I got most of this information from a book; and (2) Yes, I did check to make sure it wasn't easy, although it is possible, to google the information. JohnnyS can't take the lead right now because of time pressures, or he would have answered it. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

(42) He flew a Spitfire at the end; although the aircraft he flew during his first adventure was a Blenheim light bomber.

(43) He died in September, 1940.

(44) He was awarded the DFC by the King of England.

(45) He shot down two Me-109’s on September 6[SUP]th[/SUP], 1940.

(46) He was killed the next day.

(47) He was a squadron leader.

(48) His first shared victory, over an He-111, came while flying a Blenheim bomber. Neither of his two crew members (observer and gunner) survived. He shared credit with a Spitfire that was also attacking the He-111 at night.

(49) He assumed command of a Squadron at St Eval on August 17th.

(50) He shared in shooting down a Ju-88 on August 21st and shot down an Me-109 on August 24[SUP]th[/SUP].

(51) His nickname was “Spike”.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Morning clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

(42) He flew a Spitfire at the end; although the aircraft he flew during his first adventure was a Blenheim light bomber.

(43) He died in September, 1940.

(44) He was awarded the DFC by the King of England.

(45) He shot down two Me-109’s on September 6[SUP]th[/SUP], 1940.

(46) He was killed the next day.

(47) He was a squadron leader.

(48) His first shared victory, over an He-111, came while flying a Blenheim bomber. Neither of his two crew members (observer and gunner) survived. He shared credit with a Spitfire that was also attacking the He-111 at night.

(49) He assumed command of a Squadron at St Eval on August 17th.

(50) He shared in shooting down a Ju-88 on August 21st and shot down an Me-109 on August 24[SUP]th[/SUP].

(51) His nickname was “Spike”.

(52) Earlier in his career, in 1935, he had served in Sudan during the Abyssinian Crisis.

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

Some things don't fit but most do: Might it be

Paterson Clarence Hughes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paterson_Clarence_Hughes

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

No, Sir; but not a bad guess. Look at these mid-morning clues and try again. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our here was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

(42) He flew a Spitfire at the end; although the aircraft he flew during his first adventure was a Blenheim light bomber.

(43) He died in September, 1940.

(44) He was awarded the DFC by the King of England.

(45) He shot down two Me-109’s on September 6[SUP]th[/SUP], 1940.

(46) He was killed the next day.

(47) He was a squadron leader.

(48) His first shared victory, over an He-111, came while flying a Blenheim bomber. Neither of his two crew members (observer and gunner) survived. He shared credit with a Spitfire that was also attacking the He-111 at night.

(49) He assumed command of a Squadron at St Eval on August 17th.

(50) He shared in shooting down a Ju-88 on August 21st and shot down an Me-109 on August 24[SUP]th[/SUP].

(51) His nickname was “Spike”.

(52) Earlier in his career, in 1935, he had served in Sudan during the Abyssinian Crisis.

(53) He had joined the RAF on a short service commission in 1934.

(54) He finished up his flying training at Grantham, with 3 FTS.

(55) He then joined 3 Squadron at Kenley in 1935.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Let's add a handful of late morning clues to the mix. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our hero was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

(42) He flew a Spitfire at the end; although the aircraft he flew during his first adventure was a Blenheim light bomber.

(43) He died in September, 1940.

(44) He was awarded the DFC by the King of England.

(45) He shot down two Me-109’s on September 6[SUP]th[/SUP], 1940.

(46) He was killed the next day.

(47) He was a squadron leader.

(48) His first shared victory, over an He-111, came while flying a Blenheim bomber. Neither of his two crew members (observer and gunner) survived. He shared credit with a Spitfire that was also attacking the He-111 at night.

(49) He assumed command of a Squadron at St Eval on August 17th.

(50) He shared in shooting down a Ju-88 on August 21st and shot down an Me-109 on August 24[SUP]th[/SUP].

(51) His nickname was “Spike”.

(52) Earlier in his career, in 1935, he had served in Sudan during the Abyssinian Crisis.

(53) He had joined the RAF on a short service commission in 1934.

(54) He finished up his flying training at Grantham, with 3 FTS.

(55) He then joined 3 Squadron at Kenley in 1935.

(56) After serving in the Sudan with 3 Squadron, he returned to to England and joined 23 Squadron in mid 1936.

(57) He was still with 23 Squadron when war broke out. He was then a Flight Commander. He was promoted to Squadron Leader in June, 1940.

(58) His first shared victory, over the He-111 previously mentioned, was on the night of June 18/19, near Cambridge.

(59) It was Cambridge the German pilot had attended.

(60) He was then sent for a rest; to take command of the Operations Room at Pembrey.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Gentlemen; I will be unavailable for a few hours, so what the hey.... Here's some early afternoon clues. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our hero was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

(42) He flew a Spitfire at the end; although the aircraft he flew during his first adventure was a Blenheim light bomber.

(43) He died in September, 1940.

(44) He was awarded the DFC by the King of England.

(45) He shot down two Me-109’s on September 6[SUP]th[/SUP], 1940.

(46) He was killed the next day.

(47) He was a squadron leader.

(48) His first shared victory, over an He-111, came while flying a Blenheim bomber. Neither of his two crew members (observer and gunner) survived. He shared credit with a Spitfire that was also attacking the He-111 at night.

(49) He assumed command of a Squadron at St Eval on August 17th.

(50) He shared in shooting down a Ju-88 on August 21st and shot down an Me-109 on August 24[SUP]th[/SUP].

(51) His nickname was “Spike”.

(52) Earlier in his career, in 1935, he had served in Sudan during the Abyssinian Crisis.

(53) He had joined the RAF on a short service commission in 1934.

(54) He finished up his flying training at Grantham, with 3 FTS.

(55) He then joined 3 Squadron at Kenley in 1935.

(56) After serving in the Sudan with 3 Squadron, he returned to to England and joined 23 Squadron in mid 1936.

(57) He was still with 23 Squadron when war broke out. He was then a Flight Commander. He was promoted to Squadron Leader in June, 1940.

(58) His first shared victory, over the He-111 previously mentioned, was on the night of June 18/19, near Cambridge.

(59) It was Cambridge the German pilot had attended.

(60) He was then sent for a rest; to take command of the Operations Room at Pembrey.

(61) He joined 92 Squadron as a Squadron Leader on July 1[SUP]st[/SUP], 1940.

(62) On August 17[SUP]th[/SUP], he took command of 234 Squadron at St Eval.

(63) He was presented with his DFC by the King at Buckingham Palace on September 3[SUP]rd[/SUP], 1940.

(64) He shared in the destruction of a Ju88 on the August 21[SUP]st[/SUP], giving him a total victory count (including the shared He-111) of one. He shot down an Me-109 on the 24th. After receiving his DFC on September 3[SUP]rd[/SUP], he shot down two more Me109’s on the 6th.

(65) He was killed the next day.

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

[h=1]No. 234 Squadron RAF[/h][TABLE="class: wikitable"]
[TR]
[TD]O'Brien, Joseph Somerton[/TD]
[TD]Sqn Ldr[/TD]
[TD]BR[/TD]
[TD]92 & 234 Sqns[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]KIA 7 September 1940[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


On the afternoon of 7 September the Luftwaffe made its first heavy daylight raid on London. 234 Squadron was amongst those scrambled to intercept the enemy bomber force as it retired; during the engagement, the squadron lost both Pat Hughes and its CO, Squadron Leader O'Brien.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

YES!!! You have solved it, HoundDog; and you are up. We await your question. Joseph "Spike" O'brien was quite a character; a perfect example of British aplomb. The courage and simple toughness he displayed, particularly during his last flight, was truly memorable. I derived most of my information from the book "The Last of the Few"; available in digital form from Amazon. Now... That wasn't so hard, was it? Thanks; Ernie P.


This is the story of an airman. He was an ace, though not one noted for his high score. Mostly, it is the story of his life and his adventures; and more than anything the story of his courage, his will to live and his death.

Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) His Army father died in WWI.

(2) He himself was trained for a career at sea.

(3) After spending several years at sea, he decided to switch to the air force.

(4) By the time the war broke out, he had already served in the air force as a pilot for several years.

(5) Just prior to going into combat for the first time, he was promoted; and was leading a squadron of fighter aircraft.

(6) In mid 1940, he scored his first victory by sharing credit with a fighter for the destruction of an enemy bomber.

(7) He was also flying a bomber when he scored the (partial) victory; one equipped as a night fighter. He was showing a new pilot around the area when the enemy bomber was reported. He, of course, went after it.

(8) As luck would have it, the enemy bomber was not very cooperative. In fact, it’s conduct was decidedly unfriendly in the extreme.

(9) The enemy bomber was shot down; but its very accurate return fire shot down both the attacking aircraft.

(10) Our hero’s aircraft was hit and went into a spin. Unfortunately, the only way out for the pilot and observer was through a hatch in the roof; and it was very difficult for them to survive the experience. Most of the time, bailing out of a spinning aircraft of this type resulted in the pilot falling through the propellers.

(11) To make matters worse, the new pilot froze completely; and was doing nothing to get out of the doomed aircraft.

(12) Our hero got the panic stricken fellow pilot unstrapped and forced him to the escape hatch; then pushed him out of the hatch. Unfortunately, he fell into the propellers and was killed.

(13) Our hero then crawled out onto the fuselage and used his legs to propel himself away from the aircraft. His bailout was successful; although the propeller clipped his helmet.

(14) Having made a rather unlikely escape from a horrible death, our hero landed near a small village.

(15) He did the (for him) logical next step; which was to find the nearest pub. He ordered a beer and called to his field to arrange transport back home.

(16) Looking around, he noticed a gentleman in uniform sitting alone. He asked if he could join him and the gentleman consented.

(17) Our airman noticed the gentleman’s uniform looked a bit odd; and he asked if he were perhaps Czechoslovakian or Polish.

(18) In perfect and upper class English, the gentleman replied that he was in fact a German pilot; and he had just been shot down.

(19) Our boy immediately placed the German pilot under arrest in the name of the Crown. Then he asked how the German spoke such excellent English.

(20) The German pilot said he had attended college just a few miles away; and he had no intention of trying to escape.

(21) After this exchange, they got into a bit of an argument as to who would buy the next round of drinks. The German explained he had plenty of English money and would, after all, only be a prisoner for a few weeks at most; since his countrymen would soon finish off any resistance. Besides; the pub belonged to him just as much as it did to our hero. Agreeing to disagree on those points, the two of them shared a few drinks while waiting to be picked up.

(22) Less than a week later, our hero was sent for a rest to a training course in the western part of the country.

(23) While strolling around one morning, near the landing strip, he noticed two things. One was an enemy bomber flying only a few thousand feet overhead. The other was a Spitfire, parked alongside the perimeter of the landing strip.

(24) He had no helmet and no parachute, of course. But he jumped in and took off after the bomber. He shot it down.

(25) When his superiors heard about the incident, he was promoted to command a Spitfire squadron.

(26) A couple of months later, his squadron was sent to combat a raid by a group of Me-110’s.

(27) Our hero was observed attacking an Me-110; while he himself was being closely pursued by another Me-110.

(28) For the uninitiated, although History has treated the Me-110 most unkindly for its lack of maneuverability, it was at the time widely known that allowing an Me-110 to get onto your tail was not a good idea. The Me-110 was very well armed with forward firing cannons and machine guns.

(29) A quarter of an hour later, our intrepid airman was seen entering the landing pattern at a nearby base.

(30) He lowered his landing gear and turned on final approach at around 600 feet. It appeared to be a normal approach.

(31) At that point, his aircraft suddenly burst into flame. It was supposed an incindiary bullet was imbedded in his main fuel tank; and caused the tank to explode into flame as the fuel dropped below the point at which the bullet was lodged.

(32) Our hero managed to bail out, but his parachute failed to open fully before he struck the ground. He was dead when the airfield’s ambulance reached him.

(33) According to the doctor aboard the ambulance, he had been badly wounded before bailing out.

(34) His left arm had been completely shot off at the shoulder.

(35) His left eye had been shot completely out of his head.

(36) Yet, somehow, he had managed to fly his Spitfire in a normal fashion, with one arm and one eye; although critically wounded by these and other injuries.

(37) He was making a normal approach; juggling the propeller pitch, throttle, landing gear, flaps, elevator and stick. And some of these controls were on his left side.

(38) When the Spitfire burst into flames, he managed to open the cockpit while still controlling the aircraft, climb out, jump and pull the ripcord.

(39) Although he did not survive, he demonstrated almost superhuman will power and pure guts.

(40) The sperm of some men should be preserved and used; for the good of the human race.

(41) He was an RAF pilot and flew during the Battle of Britain.

(42) He flew a Spitfire at the end; although the aircraft he flew during his first adventure was a Blenheim light bomber.

(43) He died in September, 1940.

(44) He was awarded the DFC by the King of England.

(45) He shot down two Me-109’s on September 6[SUP]th[/SUP], 1940.

(46) He was killed the next day.

(47) He was a squadron leader.

(48) His first shared victory, over an He-111, came while flying a Blenheim bomber. Neither of his two crew members (observer and gunner) survived. He shared credit with a Spitfire that was also attacking the He-111 at night.

(49) He assumed command of a Squadron at St Eval on August 17th.

(50) He shared in shooting down a Ju-88 on August 21st and shot down an Me-109 on August 24[SUP]th[/SUP].

(51) His nickname was “Spike”.

(52) Earlier in his career, in 1935, he had served in Sudan during the Abyssinian Crisis.

(53) He had joined the RAF on a short service commission in 1934.

(54) He finished up his flying training at Grantham, with 3 FTS.

(55) He then joined 3 Squadron at Kenley in 1935.

(56) After serving in the Sudan with 3 Squadron, he returned to to England and joined 23 Squadron in mid 1936.

(57) He was still with 23 Squadron when war broke out. He was then a Flight Commander. He was promoted to Squadron Leader in June, 1940.

(58) His first shared victory, over the He-111 previously mentioned, was on the night of June 18/19, near Cambridge.

(59) It was Cambridge the German pilot had attended.

(60) He was then sent for a rest; to take command of the Operations Room at Pembrey.

(61) He joined 92 Squadron as a Squadron Leader on July 1[SUP]st[/SUP], 1940.

(62) On August 17[SUP]th[/SUP], he took command of 234 Squadron at St Eval.

(63) He was presented with his DFC by the King at Buckingham Palace on September 3[SUP]rd[/SUP], 1940.

(64) He shared in the destruction of a Ju88 on the August 21[SUP]st[/SUP], giving him a total victory count (including the shared He-111) of one. He shot down an Me-109 on the 24th. After receiving his DFC on September 3[SUP]rd[/SUP], he shot down two more Me109’s on the 6th.

(65) He was killed the next day.

(66) His Spitfire was hit over St Mary Cray; and crashed near Biggin Hill.

(67) He was the first pilot to successfully bail out of a Blenheim. Prior to his escape, no pilot had ever survived a bailout from a Blenheim.

(68) He was 28 when he was killed.

(69) He was buried at St Mary Cray Cemetery. Orpington, Kent.

(70) His Spitfire was P9466.

Answer: Squadron Leader Joseph Somerton “Spike” O’Brien



Joseph Somerton O'Brien was the son of a major killed in France in 1917. He trained on HMS Conway for a career in the Merchant Navy. After spending several years at sea, he joined the RAF on a short service commission in March 1934.



He completed his flying training at 3 FTS, Grantham, and joined 3 Squadron at Kenley on March 16th 1935. He went with it to the Sudan in September, during the Abyssinian crisis. Back in the UK, he joined 23 Squadron on July 9th 1936.



After war broke out O'Brien was a Flight Commander, still with 23. His promotion to Squadron Leader was gazetted on June 1st 1940. On the night of June 18/19th O'Brien was captain of a Blenheim which shared in the destruction of a He111 near Cambridge with a Spitfire, flown by Petra of 19 Squadron. Both British aircraft were shot down by return fire. O'Brien baled out but his observer, Pilot Officer King-Clark, and his gunner, Corporal Little, were both killed.

O'Brien received a Mention in Despatches (gazetted 11th July 1940). He left 23 shortly after this to take charge of the Operations Room at Pembrey.

On July 1st 1940 he joined 92 Squadron there as a supernumerary Squadron Leader. Awarded the DFC (gazetted 30th July 1940), O'Brien took command of 234 Squadron at St Eval on August 17th. He shared in the destruction of a Ju88 on the 21st and destroyed a Me109 on the 24th. O'Brien was presented with his DFC by the King at Buckingham Palace on September 3rd. He destroyed two more Me109’s on the 6th.

He was shot down and killed in combat over St Mary Cray the next day. His Spitfire, P9466, crashed near Biggin Hill.

O'Brien was 28 and is buried in St Mary Cray Cemetery. Orpington, Kent.

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

[QUOTE=Ernie P.;11917168]YES!!! You have solved it, HoundDog; and you are up. We await your question. Joseph "Spike" O'brien was quite a character; a perfect example of British aplomb. The courage and simple toughness he displayed, particularly during his last flight, was truly memorable. I derived most of my information from the book "The Last of the Few"; available in digital form from Amazon. Now... That wasn't so hard, was it? Thanks; Ernie P.

Do U realize how many Bios of British Aces there are on Wikipedia?

Name the Plane:
1. Total Production run was 742 of all models

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

I'd say around 65 clues. Thanks; Ernie P.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

[QUOTE=HoundDog;11917483]
HoundDog; I'm guessing you did a lot of research. Well done. Thanks; Ernie P.

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

Sorry I forgot to leave a morning clue

Name the Plane:
1. Total Production run was 742 of all models
2. (AMC) issued desired performance characteristics in 1945

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

Name the Plane:
1. Total Production run was 742 of all models
2. (AMC) issued desired performance characteristics in 1945
3.The aircraft was to have a crew of five or more turret gunners

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

This is an interesting Model built from Scratch by Don Kling Amember of Arzona Model Aviators, Mesa AZ. This is the Maiden B-4 flight on 12 of Nov 14 At Superstition Air Park Mesa AZ. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM-dfSpsGDU
[h=1]Keystone B-4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_B-4[/h]

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

[QUOTE=HoundDog;11917483] HoundDog; I'm really, really tempted; but I'm going to be out of town for a few days. So, some one else will have to solve this one. Thanks; Ernie P.