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A Rare Defiant Victory
On July 12, 1940, F/O Hugh Tamblyn flew from West Mailing, England with nine Defiant aircraft, of 141 Squadron. They flew a patrol twenty miles from Folkestone, England. During the patrol they were attacked by German ME-109 fighter aircraft. Tamblyn was one of two pilots to get back to his base. His air gunner claimed a 109 destroyed.
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TAMBLYN, F/O Hugh Norman (40862) - Distinguished Flying
Cross - No.242 Sq.
Awarded as per London Gazette dated 7 January 1941.
Specifically listed in AFRO 1292/41 dated 7 November 1941 as a Canadian in the RAF who had been decorated as of that date. Air Ministry Bulletin 2582 refers:
Flying Officer Tamblyn has shown the greatest keenness to engage the enemy and has destroyed at least five of their aircraft. He has set a splendid example to other members of his section.
NOTE: Public Record Office Air 2/10175 has the original recommendation dated 10 December 1940, signed by the Wing Commander in charge of Duxford:
This officer during operations from Duxford has destroyed five enemy aircraft, and probably destroyed another two. He has, on all occasions, shown the greatest coolness combined with keenness to engage the enemy, and has set a fine example to his section.
This was minuted by Air Vice-Marshal T. Leigh-Mallory (Air Officer Commanding, No.12 Group) on 11 December 1940, "Strongly recommended for Distinguished Flying Cross", and noted as "Approved" by Air Marshal W.S. Douglas (Air Officer Commanding, Fighter Command) on 12 December 1940.
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Airmen Who Met Huns During Battle of Britain Paved Way
For Offensive
Some of Canada's First Aces of This War Still Are in Action
— Pilots Now Seek Out Enemy Over His Own Territory
(Written for the Canadian Press by Flt.Lt. Basil Dean,
R.C.A.F.)
Fighter Command, Somewhere in England, Sept. 8, ‘43.— (CP)—There
are still some of the few left, some of those hard-fighting combat pilots
of Battle of Britain days, but mostly it is a new brood of pilots who
fly from the air bases hereabouts in Britain's Fighter Command. Three
years ago, when the first few of Canada's aerial aces were fighting their
way to fame, the battles were over British soil. Now, with greater numbers
of Canadians than ever before in Fighter Command, the pilots are going
out to seek the enemy over his own territory. This air fighting of today
is offensive, not defensive, as during the Battle of Britain, but it was
the fighting then that made the current offensive possible.
Some Still Flying
Some of the Canadians who fought with honour and glory in those grim days
three years ago are still flying. Wing-Cmdr. D.B. Russel,
D.F.C., of Montreal, who now leads an R.C.A.F. Spitfire wing in Britain,
was then P.O. Dal Russel and a member of Canada's No. 1 Fighter Squadron,
which arrived in England in June, 1940—just in time to get trained
for the fierce tests of August and September of that year.
Russel's old commanding officer, Ernie McNab,
now is Group Capt. Ernest McNab, D.F.C., of Regina, commander of an R.C.A.F.
fighter station.
In Sicily, Squadron-Ldr. Stanley Turner, D.F.C.
and Bar, of Toronto, led the R.C.A.F.'s City of Windsor fighter squadron
through the island campaign. In 1940, he was a flight commander in the
R.A.F.’s famed "all-Canadian" squadron led by Wing-Cmdr.
Douglas Bader, D.S.O., D.F.C., which
destroyed 63 enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain and shared three
with other squadrons.
The squadron was composed mainly of Canadians who had joined the R.A.F.
before the war, and fought nobly during the Battle of France and over
Dunkerque.
Most Efficient
Its achievements during the Battle of Britain, indeed, brought from the
air officer commanding of the group in which it was serving at the time
a message which said that its efficiency as a squadron was "equal,
if not superior, to any squadron in the R.A.F." The British chief
of air staff signaled: "You are well on top of the enemy and obviously
the fine Canadian traditions of the last war are safe in your hands."
Greatest pilot of the "all-Canadian" squadron—apart from
the legless commander, Bader (who was not Canadian)—was P.O. W.L. McKnight, D.F.C. and bar, of Calgary, who was
reported missing some months after the Battle of Britain ended. McKnight
destroyed 16½ enemy aircraft, and was the first ( -ed) Canadian ace of
the war.
The "all-Canadian" squadron's first Battle of Britain engagement
was August 30, when Bader, now a prisoner of war, led a formation of 14
Hurricanes against a "vast number" of German aircraft, two swarms
of 70 to 100 each. Detaching one section to investigate a third formation
of aircraft some distance away, Bader led the rest of his pilots to the
attack. As a result, 12 enemy aircraft were destroyed; not one of the
Hurricanes had so much a scratch.
Similar engagements followed. On September 7, Bader and his Canadians
destroyed 10 enemy aircraft without losing a pilot, although seven of
the squadron's Hurricanes were damaged. On September 19, when the wing
in which the squadron was flying destroyed a total of 18 enemy aircraft,
the "all-Canadians" were credited with 11 of these for the loss
of one pilot killed.
And then, in the greatest day's fighting of all on September 15, the squadron
destroyed 12 enemy aircraft. This was the day on which Bader described
the fighting as "the finest shamble I've ever been in."
"The sky," he added, "was full of Hurricanes and. Spitfires,
queuing up and pushing each other out of the way to get at the Dorniers.
I was seldom able to hold my sights on a target for long for fear of colliding
with other Spitfires and Hurricanes anxious to get in a burst."
Among the Canadians P.O. J.B. Latta, D.F.C., Victoria,
B.C., had knocked down five enemy planes; Flt.-Lt. Turner had five; so
had P.O. N.K. Stansfeld, D.F.C., Vancouver.
P.O. H.N. Tamblyn, D.F.C., North Battleford, Sask., and P.O. N. Hart had four each. Altogether Canadian pilots in the squadron had destroyed
45 of the total of 65 credited to the squadron; Bader had scored 11.
Canada's own No. 1 fighter squadron, which although its personnel have
completely changed; is still flying in Britain with fighter command, had
scored a total of 31 victories during the battle under McNab's leadership. McNab himself had scored the first victory to be credited to a member
of the squadron when, in order to gain combat experience, he flew as a
supernumerary officer with an R.A.F. squadron before No. 1 fighter was
ready for front-line duties.
In the squadron's first engagement as a unit, on August 24, it destroyed
three Dorniers for the loss of one pilot. By the end of its first week
in action it had destroyed eight enemy aircraft for the loss of one pilot
killed. The score continued to mount until September 27, when the Canadian
squadron destroyed seven enemy aircraft out of about 70 engaged during
the day; one pilot of the squadron was killed. In the day's first fight,
Russell had destroyed an ME 109 and an ME 110 and had shared with a Polish
pilot the destruction of a third enemy fighter.
McNab, Flt.Lt. G. R. McGregor and Russel were
each awarded the D.F.C., having destroyed between them, 11½ of
the squadron's total. McNab and McGregor now are both group captains;
Russel is a wing commander.
In other squadrons of the R.A.F., Canadians had also distinguished themselves.
One of the flight commanders in the R.A.F. squadron was a Canadian, Flt-Lt.
R.A. Barton, Kamloops, B.C., who later became
squadron commander of his unit. He was awarded the D.F.C. for his "outstanding
leadership" on September 27, a day on which the squadron destroyed
21 enemy aircraft for the loss of two pilots killed. The total bag during
September was 48, a total exceeded only by the famous No. 303 Polish squadron,
in which another Canadian, Flt.-Lt. (now Wing-Cmdr.) John Kent,
Winnipeg, was at that time a flight commander.
To see a photo of 242 Squadron members, click here
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Victories Include :
| 19 July 1940 7 Sept 1940 9 Sept 1940 15 Sept 1940 18 Sept 1940 27 Sept 1940 25 Feb 1941 |
one Me109 one Me109 one Me109 two Me109s 1/2 Do17 one Do17 one Me109 one Do17 |
destroyed
(by Tail Gunner) destroyed & probable destroyed destroyed destroyed damaged damaged |
5.5 / 1 / 2 or 4.5 / 1 / 2
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Battle Of Britain Service Planned Here For Sunday
Pay Tribute To Heroic Airmen
On Sunday, September 21, (1947) across the whole Dominion
of Canada congregations in churches will bow their heads in prayer in
tribute to the valiant members of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian
Air Force who gave their lives for freedom in the Battle of Britain waged
over the skies of that island from July to October 1940.
In that epic struggle for supremacy of the air Canada was represented
by several hundred officers and airmen who served as air crew and ground
crew in Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands. The great majority of these
Canadians who fought in the Battle of Britain were young men who had crossed
the Atlantic in pre-war days to enroll in the R.A.F. and served in units
of that force. There were, however, two fighter squadrons which bore the
name Canadian. One was 242 (Canadian) Squadron of the R.A.F., composed
of Canadian fighter pilots in the R.A.F.; the other was No. 1 (Fighter)
Squadron of the R.C.A.F., (later designated No. 401) which arrived in
Britain on the eve of the battle.
Hamilton today mourns the loss of one of her sons who fought in this heroic
battle. P/O Norris Hart, son of R.S. Hart, 90 Stinson
Street, was shot down in the first week of November 1940 after having
served with 242 Squadron under the famous leader S/L Douglas Bader for
two months.
Official Record
Speaking of 242 Squadron R.A.F., on September 15, 1940, the official R.A.F.
records state "September 15 marked the climax of the battle, the
historic day on which 85 enemy aircraft were shot down. When, just before
noon on that sunny Sunday morning, the first great waves of raiders began
to cross the Channel, No. 242 Squadron took off to engage them. Over Gravesend,
east of London, the squadron, accompanied by four other fighter units,
found about 30 Dorniers escorted by Messerschmitt fighters flying 6,000
feet below. S/L Bader led his pilots in a diving attack out of the sun
and the enemy force was all but annihilated. Bader described the action
as "the finest shambles" he had been in. For once the British
had the advantage of height, position and numbers; indeed the sky seemed
to be full of Spitfires and Hurricanes who queued up and pushed each other
out of the way to get a shot at the Nazi bombers. The German fighters
judiciously stayed out of the way. Stansfeld and Turner each destroyed
a Dornier; FO. Tamblyn shared another with a companion; S/L Bader shot
down a fourth and a Fleet Air Arm pilot in the squadron accounted for
a fifth. P/O Hart shot down an Me-109 in flames.
In addition several Dorniers were damaged. The four squadrons flying with
No. 242 claimed 23 destroyed and eight probables in the action.
This is but the account of one squadron in one day of those terrible four
months that finally hammered the Hun into submission so far as striving
for the conquest of Britain was concerned. It is for the heroism of those
pilots who fought those grim battles high above the British Isles that
Canadians everywhere will offer a prayer of thanks on Sunday as will the
people of Great Britain.
Church Parade
Here in Hamilton the occasion will be marked by a church parade of 424
Fighter Squadron R.C.A.F. (Auxiliary) and the Royal Canadian Air Cadet
Squadrons of Hamilton to the Church of St. Thomas. At this special service
Wing Cmdr. Douglas H. Wigle, commanding officer of 424 Squadron will read
the lesson and Rev. Dr. R.C. Blagrave, rector of the church, will deliver
a special sermon.
Following the service the squadron and cadets, led by the Air Cadet Trumpet
Band, will march west on Main Street East to James Street, north on James
to King Street, and east on King Street past a saluting base near the
Cenotaph. Here the salute will be taken by Commander Sam Ross R.C.N. (R),
commanding officer of H.M.C.S. Star; Lt.Col. A.E. Bliss, E.D., commanding
officer of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, and Group
Captain Norman S. McGregor, president of the Hamilton Air Cadets.
Following the march past the squadron will return on the north side of
King Street and halt in front of the Cenotaph where a wreath will be placed
and Last Post and Reveille sounded. The parade will then move off south
on Hughson Street to Hunter Street for dismissal.
In the afternoon at approximately 4 o'clock two flights of the squadron,
commanded by S/L Douglas Annan, D.F.C., A.F.C., and S/L William A. Olmsted,
D.S.O., D.F.C. and Bar, will fly in formation over the city.
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Related Sites :
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Thanks go out to
On these pages I use Hugh Halliday's extensive research which includes info from numerous sources; newspaper articles via the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC); the Google News Archives; the London Gazette Archives and other sources both published and private.
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