Flight Lieutenant Howard Peter BLATCHFORD (37715), No. 257 Squadron. In November, 1940, this officer was the leader of a squadron which destroyed eight and damaged a further five enemy aircraft in one day. In the course of the combat he rammed and damaged a hostile fighter when his ammunition was expended, and then made two determined head-on feint attacks on enemy fighters, which drove them off. He has shown magnificent leadership and outstanding courage.[3]
Blatchford became commanding officer of No. 257 Squadron RAF in July 1941.[4] He was promoted to wing commander in September that year, becoming wing leader of the Digby Wing. On 23 September 1941, John Gillespie Magee, the author of the famous flying poem "High Flight," arrived at Digby for his first operational posting, on RCAF 412 Squadron.[5] On 12 October 1941, Magee's squadron moved from the Digby aerodrome to the nearby RAF Wellingore, from which he was operating when he died. Blatchford finished his tour of duty in April 1942, returning to operations in February 1943 as wing leader of the Coltishall Wing. On 29 March 1943 his Spitfires propeller was hit by Flak splinters during morning sortie (ca. 08.45-10.30), FB/Cat.A, but he landed safely. On 4 April 1943 while leading 167 Squadron on a sortie escorting 24 Lockheed Venturas attacking Rotterdam, his Spitfire was severely hit by a Jagdgeschwader 1 fighter with cannon and machine gun fire.
Leading the Coltishall Wing to escort bombers attacking a power station in Amsterdam, Blatchford was shot down and killed in action on 3 May 1943 by Obfw. Hans Ehlers of II Gruppe, JG1. His body was never found. He is commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede.[6]
At the time of his death, Blatchford had claimed five aircraft shot down, three shared aircraft shot down, three "probables", four damaged and one shared damaged.[7]
^Stephen M. Fochuk, "Maggie's War - John Gillespie Magee's One and Only Time he engaged the Luftwaffe", Air Force Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 3, 15 December 2017, p. 44
^. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
Aces High- C.Shores & C.Williams (Grub Street 1991) page 133.
"WWI Aces of Canada". theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
January 01, 1970
howard, blatchford, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Wing Commander Howard Peter Cowboy Blatchford DFC 25 February 1912 3 May 1943 was a flying ace who achieved the first Canadian victory in World War II Howard BlatchfordFlight Lieutenant H P Cowboy Blatchford of No 257 Squadron RAF climbing out of his Hawker Hurricane Mark I at RAF Martlesham Heath Suffolk Birth nameHoward Peter BlatchfordBorn 1912 02 25 25 February 1912Edmonton Alberta CanadaDied3 May 1943 1943 05 03 aged 31 Amsterdam German occupied NetherlandsAllegianceUnited KingdomService wbr branchRoyal Air ForceYears of service1936 1943RankWing CommanderUnitNo 41 Squadron RAFNo 212 Squadron RAFNo 17 Squadron RAFNo 257 Squadron RAFDigby WingColtishall WingBattles warsWorld War IIAwardsDistinguished Flying Cross Blatchford was born in Edmonton Alberta on 25 February 1912 and enlisted in the Royal Air Force in February 1936 1 He was posted to No 41 Squadron RAF in early 1937 In April 1940 he was posted to No 212 Squadron RAF flying photo reconnaissance operations In June he joined the Photographic Development Unit as a flight commander later transferring to No 17 Squadron RAF in September flying Hawker Hurricanes He soon joined No 257 Squadron RAF under the command of Squadron Leader Robert Stanford Tuck 2 In December 1940 Blatchford was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross Flight Lieutenant Howard Peter BLATCHFORD 37715 No 257 Squadron In November 1940 this officer was the leader of a squadron which destroyed eight and damaged a further five enemy aircraft in one day In the course of the combat he rammed and damaged a hostile fighter when his ammunition was expended and then made two determined head on feint attacks on enemy fighters which drove them off He has shown magnificent leadership and outstanding courage 3 Blatchford became commanding officer of No 257 Squadron RAF in July 1941 4 He was promoted to wing commander in September that year becoming wing leader of the Digby Wing On 23 September 1941 John Gillespie Magee the author of the famous flying poem High Flight arrived at Digby for his first operational posting on RCAF 412 Squadron 5 On 12 October 1941 Magee s squadron moved from the Digby aerodrome to the nearby RAF Wellingore from which he was operating when he died Blatchford finished his tour of duty in April 1942 returning to operations in February 1943 as wing leader of the Coltishall Wing On 29 March 1943 his Spitfires propeller was hit by Flak splinters during morning sortie ca 08 45 10 30 FB Cat A but he landed safely On 4 April 1943 while leading 167 Squadron on a sortie escorting 24 Lockheed Venturas attacking Rotterdam his Spitfire was severely hit by a Jagdgeschwader 1 fighter with cannon and machine gun fire Leading the Coltishall Wing to escort bombers attacking a power station in Amsterdam Blatchford was shot down and killed in action on 3 May 1943 by Obfw Hans Ehlers of II Gruppe JG1 His body was never found He is commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede 6 At the time of his death Blatchford had claimed five aircraft shot down three shared aircraft shot down three probables four damaged and one shared damaged 7 References edit Online Website Reviews amp Online Product Reviews cieldegloire 18 August 2023 Cowboy Blatchford Archived from the original on 4 December 2020 Retrieved 13 January 2016 No 35009 The London Gazette 6 December 1940 p 6938 http www rcaf com archives archives general aces aces ab htm Stephen M Fochuk Maggie s War John Gillespie Magee s One and Only Time he engaged the Luftwaffe Air Force Magazine Vol 41 No 3 15 December 2017 p 44 Casualty Details CWGC Canadian aces of WW2 Archived from the original on 18 January 2009 Retrieved 5 September 2009 Aces High C Shores amp C Williams Grub Street 1991 page 133 WWI Aces of Canada theaerodrome com Retrieved 14 June 2008 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Howard Blatchford amp oldid 1217436120, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
