Battle of Britain Album #13: No. 74 Squadron RAF

Group Captain A G 'Sailor' Malan, a South African who became an ace during the Battle of Britain and finished the war with 35 aerial victories. Photographed in the cockpit of his Supermarine Spitfire at Biggin Hill, Kent. Imperial War Museum photo CH 8119.

 

Adolph Gysbert Malan, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar (3 October 1910 – 17 September 1963), better known as Sailor Malan, was a South African fighter pilot and flying ace in the Royal Air Force (RAF) who led No. 74 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain. He finished his fighter career in 1941 with twenty-seven destroyed, seven shared destroyed and two unconfirmed, three probables and sixteen damaged. At the time he was the RAF's leading ace, and one of the highest-scoring pilots to have served wholly with RAF Fighter Command during the Second World War.

 

Color oil painting of Sailor Malan by Cuthbert Orde, 1940. RAF Museum photo.

 

Francis White, Spitfire Mk Ia K9867, CO No 74 Squadron, Hornchurch (UK), May1940. Artist: Gaëtan Marie.

 

“Height of the Battle” by Robert Taylor. Continuing his popular series of Giclee Studio Proofs on canvas, Robert Taylor portrays Squadron Leader 'Sailor' Malan DFC, Commanding Officer of 74 Squadron and one of the great Battle of Britain Aces, in his famous painting Height of the Battle. Having already made one diving attack into the force of Luftwaffe He111 bombers approaching London with their fighter escort, 'Sailor' peels his Spitfire over for a second attack. Another top Ace, Pilot Officer Harbourne Stephen DFC, is hard on his heels. Below them, typifying the scene as it was on the afternoon of Wednesday 11 September 1940, Mk.I Hurricanes from 17 and 56 Squadrons have already joined the fray.

 

“First Flap of the Day” by Nicolas Trudgian. HM Stephen - one of the Battle of Britains top scoring fighter pilots, brings down two Me109s in quick succession over the White Cliffs of Dover, early on August 11, 1940. Flying a Spitfire with 74 Squadron, HM shot down five German aircraft on this day, and damaged a further three. The note in his log book starts ‘First flap of the day at 0600 hrs’. Published 2000.

 

“The Right of the Line” by Graeme Lothian. Sailor Malan leading No. 74 Squadron engaging Me109s of I/JG52 during the Battle of Britain, September 1940.

 

“This Sceptred Isle” by Robert Taylor. For nearly a thousand years the white cliffs of southern England had taunted many a foreign army. These fortress walls of chalk, however, were defended by the moat-like waters of the Channel, and together they had shielded the British from her enemies. Alongside Drake they had defied the armies of Spain and her great Armada and, in 1805, had halted the march of Napoleon's Grand Armee. No enemy force since that of William the Conqueror in 1066 had successfully managed to cross the Channel in anger but, in May 1940, one of the most powerful armies the world had ever seen arrived at Calais. An invasion by Hitler's all-conquering Wehrmacht was imminent - or so it seemed. To cross the Channel and breach the English defenses, the Luftwaffe simply had to gain control of the skies, and with massively superior numbers the outcome seemed inevitable. The fate of Britain lay in the hands of less than 3,000 young airmen from Fighter Command - Churchill's 'Few'. By July the most famous air battle in history was underway and, over the next three months under tranquil summer skies, the 'Few' battled to defend their Scpetred Isle. Impossibly outnumbered and flying daily to the point of exhaustion, by October these courageous young men had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, emerging defiantly victorious. The threat of invasion might be over but a terrible price had been paid - during that long battle for the survival of Britain 544 had been killed and 422 wounded; and of those who survived a further 814 would be killed before the end of the war. This painting pays tribute to the valiant 'Few', portraying a fleeting moment of calm for the pilots of 74 (Tiger) Squadron during the height of the Battle of Britain. With his commanding officer Sailor Malan (ZP-A) to his right, Acting Flight Lieutenant John Freeborn (ZP-C) takes time to reflect on another day of intense combat while passing over the white cliffs and the familiar lighthouse at Beachy Head, as the squadron cross the English coast to head for home.

 

 

Battle of Britain Album #12: No. 66 Squadron RAF

Supermarine Spitfire Mk I R6800 LZ-N, flown by the CO of No. 66 Squadron, Sqn Ldr Rupert Leigh, running up its engine at Gravesend, September 1940.

 

Pilots of No. 66 Squadron at Gravesend, September 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 104508.

 

Supermarine Spitfire Mk I R6800 LZ-N, flown by the CO of No. 66 Squadron, Sqn Ldr Rupert Leigh, being refueled at Gravesend, September 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 104507.

 

 

Battle of Britain Album #11: No. 65 Squadron RAF

Line-up of Spitfires of No. 65 Squadron, presented by the East India Fund, 15 July 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 594.

 

Three Spitfire Mk Is (including R6712, YT-N, and R6714, YT-M) of No. 65 Squadron, taking off from Hornchurch, August 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 54421.

 

 

Battle of Britain No. 10: No. 64 Squadron RAF

Posed photo of a pilot of No. 64 Squadron running towards his Spitfire during a squadron 'scramble' at Kenley, 15 August 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 54420.

 

 

Battle of Britain Album #9: No. 56 Squadron RAF

 

Journalists watch a flight of Hurricanes of No. 56 Squadron RAF taking off for a sortie over France from North Weald, Essex, May 1940. In the foreground Hurricane Mk I P2764 'US-P' stands at its dispersal point near the perimeter track on the south-western edge of the airfield. Imperial War Museum photo CH 158.

Battle of Britain Album #8: No. 43 Squadron RAF

Pilots of No. 43 Squadron ('The Fighting Cocks') at Wick, Scotland, standing in front of a Hurricane, April 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 85.

 

Flight Lieutenant Peter Townsend of No. 43 Squadron ('The Fighting Cocks') with his ground crew seated on the wing of his Hurricane at Wick, Scotland, April 1940.

 

Pilots of No. 43 Squadron ('The Fighting Cocks') at Wick, Scotland, standing in front of a Hurricane, April 1940. Left to right: Sergeants John Arbuthnot, Robert Plenderleith and Herbert Hallowes, Flying Officer John Simpson, Flight Lieutenant Peter Townsend and Pilot Officer Hamilton 'Deryk' Upton. Imperial War Museum photo CH 80.

 

Hurricane pilots of No. 43 Squadron ('The Fighting Cocks') at Wick, Scotland, with a dinghy salvaged from a shot-down Luftwaffe bomber, April 1940. Sergeant Herbert Hallowes on the left. Imperial War Museum photo CH 84.

 

Flight Lieutenants Peter Townsend and Caesar Hull, a South African, of No. 43 Squadron ('The Fighting Cocks') at Wick, Scotland, April 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 89.

 

“Uneven Odds” by Robert Taylor. In August 1940, Frank Carey let No 43 Squadrons A Flight into Schwarms of JU87s, escorted by Me109s. Though hopelessly outnumbered, Carey accounted for 4 JU87s before running out of ammunition.

 

 

Battle of Britain Album #7: No. 32 Squadron RAF

Hawker Hurricane Mk I P3522 of No. 32 Squadron, flown by Pilot Officer Rupert Smythe, taxiing at Hawkinge, 29 July 1940.

 

Pilots of 'B' Flight, No. 32 Squadron relax on the grass at Hawkinge in front of Hurricane Mk I P3522, GZ-V, during the Battle of Britain. From left to right: Pilot Officer R F Smythe; Pilot Officer K R Gillman; Pilot Officer J E Procter; Flight Lieutenant P M Brothers; Pilot Officer D H Grice; Pilot Officer P M Gardner and Pilot Officer A F Eckford. All survived the war except Keith Gillman who was posted missing 25 August 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 54418.

 

"Tribute to Pete Brothers" by Ivan Berryman. Pete Brothers is shown here in his Hurricane P2921 GZ-L of No.32 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. In one of 8 victories claimed before September 1940, he has peppered a marauding German Dornier Do.215, its port engine now trailing smoke and flame. In this incident, he had been attacked by Me110s and had stalled while turning to meet them. Spinning out of the stall he immediately sighted, engaged and shot down the Do.215. He claimed an Me109 later the same day. Pete Brothers is credited with a total of 16 victories during World War Two. He died aged 91 in December 2008.

 

“Battle for Biggin” by Kenneth McDonough. July 1940 Hurricanes from 32 squadron RAF southbound over Kent to protect their home base, Biggin Hill.

 

Ground crew refueling a Hawker Hurricane of No. 32 Squadron from a refueling truck whilst the pilot waits in the cockpit, Biggin Hill, August 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 57450.

 

Ground crew in steel helmets refueling a Hawker Hurricane of No. 32 Squadron, as the pilot climbs out of the cockpit, Biggin Hill/Hawkinge, August 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 54513.