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Lately I've been browsing around on Hawker Hurricane pilots in WWII, impressive how well those guys did despite flying planes that were outclassed from the get-go.

Here's a guy whose name I just came across. One of six children in a family that lost its father early on, attended Christian Mission schools, joined the RAF as soon as he could in '37.

Ya know, were it not for his apparent aversion to profanity, I would have thought the two upraised fingers on the painting of the lost arm on his Hurricane night fighter stood for something else besides "victory" grin

A consummate warrior, and a pioneer in the use of Mustangs over the Continent. One of those guys who chose repeatedly to run towards the sound of battle cool

A detailed bio can be found here.....

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

RIP Squardon Leader MacLachlan.

Birdwatcher


"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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The "Greatest Generation" didn't all come from America.

May he Rest In Peace.

Ed


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Four Hispano 20mm guns. That's a big bite for a little dog.

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Greatest generation indeed. And back into battle after losing an arm. Amazing man.



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Alot of good men gave all for us. Too bad obama is trying to destroy all that they fought for.

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Originally Posted by Scotty
Alot of good men gave all for us. Too bad obama is trying to destroy all that they fought for.


No way can the traitor in chief destroy what these men built, these men were badasses, the TIC is a Muslim pussy.

He can do damage that will need to be cleaned up and it may take a long time but he can in no way destroy what these great men built.


Paul

"I'd rather see a sermon than hear a sermon".... D.A.D.

Trump Won!, Sandmann Won!, Rittenhouse Won!, Suck it Liberal Fuuktards.

molɔ̀ːn labé skýla

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Lets not pollute this worthwhile thread with mention our current excuse for a national leader...

Good show Birdy, reading about "Hurricun" jockeys...It was always one of my favorite planes to build models of... that and the P40 as a kid...

Few folks know it, but for the Allies, more enemy A/C were downed by the Hurricane than any other allied fighter... because they were there early in the war, in numbers, when the enemy had the most A/C to put into the air...target rich environment...

They soldiered on, doing the unglamorous jobs... while the "Sexier Fighters" got the glory... During the Battle of Britain ( my favorite subject to read on ) the Hurricanes far outnumbered the Spitfires... they would go in after the bombers while the Spitfires, tangled with the ME 109 escorts...

Spit Mk1s were armed with eight 303 Brownings.... Hurricanes were armed with eight initially and later upped to twelve 303 Brownings...

two 20 mm cannons in each wing were later added during the Mk2, which none saw service during the Battle of Britain that I was aware of.....

Here is one guy I always loved reading about, & possibly the highest scoring Allied Ace of the War, but was killed in combat in Greece in 1941....


Marmaduke Thomas St. John "Pat" Pattle DFC & Bar (3 July 1914 � 20 April 1941) was a British, South African-born Second World War fighter pilot and flying ace�an aviator credited with the destruction of five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat�of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Pattle is believed to be the most successful Western Allied fighter pilot of the war.

Born in 1914 in South Africa, Pattle was academically gifted. He considered a degree and career in mining engineering before developing an interest in aviation. He applied to join the South African Air Force at 18 and was rejected but opted for military service. He soon travelled to the United Kingdom and transferred to the RAF in 1936, on a Short Service Commission (SSC). Pattle completed the training programs with ease and qualified as a pilot in the spring, 1937. Posted to No. 80 Squadron RAF, he was sent to Egypt in 1938 and was there upon the outbreak of war in September 1939. In June 1940 Italy entered the war on the side of the Axis Powers and he began combat operations against the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force), gaining his first successes during the Italian invasion of Egypt. By November 1940 had gained four aerial victories and had been shot down once.

After the Italian invasion, his squadron was sent to Greece in November 1940, where Pattle achieved most of his victories. Pattle claimed around 20 Italian aircraft shot down and in March 1941 was promoted to squadron leader. In April he faced Luftwaffe (German Air Force) opposition after the German intervention. In fourteen days of operations, Pattle claimed victories 24�50, all but three being German aircraft. Pattle claimed five or more aircraft destroyed in one day on three occasions, which qualified him for "Ace in a day" status. Pattle achieved his greatest success on 19 April 1941, claiming six air victories. The following day, having claimed more aerial victories than any other Western Allied pilot, he took off against orders, while suffering from a high temperature, to engage German aircraft near Athens. He was last seen battling Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters. His Hurricane crashed into the sea during this dogfight and Pattle was killed.

Pattle was a fighter ace with a very high score, and is sometimes noted as being the highest-scoring British and Commonwealth pilot of the war. If all claims made for him were in fact correct, his total could be in excess of 51. It can be stated with confidence that his final total was at least 40 and could exceed this value.[1] Log-books and semi-official records suggest this figure while personnel attached to his squadron suspect the figure to be closer to 60.[2] A total of 26 of Pattle's victims were Italian; 15 were downed with Gloster Gladiators, the rest with Hawker Hurricanes.[3] He is considered to be the highest-scoring ace on both Gladiator (15 victories) and Hurricane (35 victories) fighters


link to the rest of the Wiki Article on Pattle...

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




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