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No. 421 (Reconnaissance) Flight RAF

October 15, 2023

No. 421 (Reconnaissance) Flight was a specialist RAF fighter flight created on 21 September 1940 to patrol the Channel and provide early warning of the types of incoming Luftwaffe raids from occupied France. It was later expanded to full squadron strength and renumbered as No. 91 Squadron on 11 January 1941. Its role led to its pilots being nicknamed "Jim Crows".[1]

No. 421 (Reconnaissance) Flight RAF
Active1 October 1940 – 11 January 1941
RoleEarly warning reconnaissance
Garrison/HQRAF Hawkinge
EquipmentSupermarine Spitfire IIa
Battle honoursBattle of Britain

Background Edit

See also: Fighter-bomber attacks on the United Kingdom during 1940

In late September 1940, Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding was faced with two problems. The first was a change in Luftwaffe tactics. Until then the main daylight striking force had been the German bombers, heavily escorted by fighters. With the shift in phases in the Battle of Britain, the bombers had concentrated first on Channel convoys, then the 11 Group airfields, and finally London. Göring's aim had been to wear down the RAF fighters, but instead he saw an unacceptable level of his bombers lost. Whilst fighter-bombers, known to the Luftwaffe as Jabos, had been tried by Luftwaffe units such as Erprobungsgruppe 210 during the Battle, these had mainly been small and low-altitude efforts.[2] Now the bombers switched mainly to night attacks, and the day operations more often consisted of high-flying Bf109 sweeps and large numbers of Bf 109 Jabos with escorts. This was intended both to force the RAF fighters to engage the Luftwaffe fighters and also keep the pressure on the RAF. The Jabos could always jettison their bombs and revert to being fighters if intercepted. The Jabos were not much of a tactical threat in that - apart from specialists like Erpro. 210 - they were highly inaccurate when dropping their bombs, but against area targets such as London they could still cause significant damage and civilian deaths. It was impossible for the Fighter Command Controllers to identify which incoming raids were fighter sweeps (which posed no threat to Britain and were to be avoided), which were the escorted Jabo raids, and which were escorted bombers, the last two requiring different tactics to minimise RAF losses and maximise those of the Luftwaffe.[3]

Dowding's second problem was how to hide the information the RAF was gleaning from Ultra, the information from interception of German transmissions encoded with the Enigma machine. Ultra had given the RAF advance warning of some major Luftwaffe raids, and the general radio interceptions from the Y-stations had also provided clues. It was also providing information on German shipping in the Channel. Dowding did not want the Germans becoming suspicious of how well prepared the British were getting.

Dowding's solution was to create a special unit of experienced pilots to patrol the Channel during daylight hours, alone or in pairs, identifying which incoming raids were Jabos and which were fighter sweeps, and also provide information on German naval activity. The activities of this unit would also provide for the Germans a believable source for the RAF's preparedness, protecting Ultra. This unit was called No. 421 Flight.[4]

Formation Edit

One of the first pilots assigned to 421 Flight was Pilot Officer James O'Meara. P/O O'Meara had just received the DFC for his service with No. 72 Squadron and was posted to Hawkinge on 28 September 1940 to start training and organising the pilots being sent to form 421 Flight. On 1 October 1940 the Flight was officially raised with six Spitfire IIa's from No. 66 Squadron. F/Lt Charles "Paddy" Green was posted as the commanding officer.[5]

Pilots Edit

The following pilots are known to have served with 421 Flight (ranks as in 1940):

  • Flt. Lt. B. Drake, British[6]
  • Flt. Lt. C.P. "Paddy" Green, British[7]
  • F/O D.T. Parrott, British[8]
  • Plt. Off. H.C. Baker, British[9]
  • Plt. Off. K.A. Lawrence, New Zealander
  • Plt. Off. P. McD. Hartas, British (killed in action 10 February 1941)[citation needed]
  • Plt. Off. J.J. O'Meara, British[10]
  • Plt. Off. J.E. "Jas" Storrar, British (only briefly with 421 Flight before going to 73Sq and on to Africa in November 1940)[11]
  • Sgt. C.A.H. Ayling, British (killed in action 11 October 1940)[12]
  • Sgt. J. Gillies, British, (killed in action 21 April 1944 in Burma)
  • Sgt. D.A.S. McKay, British[13]
  • Sgt. F.S. Perkin, British[14]
  • Sgt. A.W.P. Spears British[15]
  • Sgt. D.H. Forrest, British[16]
  • Sgt. M. A. W. Lee (killed in action 31 December 1940)[17]
  • Sgt. Cox (details unknown)
  • F/O George Allan Cashion RCAF KIA 25.July 1944 near Charleval (S/E Rouen), France[18]

Of the pilots listed above, at least eight already were or later became fighter aces, a reflection of the average level of experience and ability and why the Flight (and later No. 91 Squadron) had a reputation as a "crack" unit:

  • Billy Drake, 23.5 destroyed (at least three destroyed before he joined the Flight, and later the RAF's top-scoring P-40 ace)[19]
  • Jas Storrar, 12.53 (at least 5.5, possibly as many as nine, before he joined the Flight)
  • Don McKay, 14 (seven, possibly eight, before he joined the Flight)
  • James O'Meara, 11.7 (at least six before he joined the Flight)
  • Paddy Green, 11 (at least one before he joined the Flight, and later a Beaufighter ace)
  • Henry Baker, 5.83 (two and a shared before he joined the Flight)
  • James Gillies, 5.16 (one and a shared before he joined the Flight)
  • Keith Lawrence 5 - (three and a shared before he joined the Flight)

Equipment Edit

The Flight was originally formed with six Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IIa's and some Hawker Hurricane Mk. I's. 421 Flight is supposed to have received the first Hurricane IIa's received by a frontline unit on 12 October 1940, though 111Sq had Hurricane IIa's for trials in September 1940 (P/O Macinski of 111Sq was killed on 4 September 1940 at 1340hrs when he baled out of Hurricane IIa Z2309 over the Channel after combat with Bf 109's). On 9 November 1940 nine new Spitfire IIa's were issued to 421 Flight and the Hurricanes went to other squadrons.

Squadron Codes Edit

  • L-Z (as LZ was previously used by 66Sq, 421 Flt used L-Z with a small dash, during the end of 1940, e.g., "L-Z-I")
  • DL (also used later by 91Sq)

Bases Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ "8 Things You Need To Know About The Battle Of Britain". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Tide turns in the Battle of Britain". HISTORY. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Tide turns in the Battle of Britain". HISTORY. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  4. ^ Grattan R.F. (2005). "Strategy in the Battle of Britain and strategic management theory". Emerald Group Publishing Limited. pp. 1432–1441.
  5. ^ "Spitfire - Aircraft Details - Aviation Directory". www.worldnavalships.com. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Battle of Britain London Monument - F/Lt. B Drake". www.bbm.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Battle of Britain London Monument - F/Lt. C P Green". www.bbm.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Battle of Britain London Monument - F/O D T Parrott". www.bbm.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  9. ^ Thomas, Nick (30 July 2015). Sniper of the Skies: The Story of George Frederick 'Screwball' Beurling, DSO, DFC, DFM. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-78159-314-1.
  10. ^ Docherty, Tom (19 July 2009). Swift to Battle: No 72 Fighter Squadron RAF in Action, 1937–1942: Phoney War, Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Offensive Operations. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78340-926-6.
  11. ^ "Spitfire - Aircraft Details - Aviation Directory". www.worldnavalships.com. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Sergeant C A H AYLING (561445), Royal Air Force) [Royal Air Force WW2 Casualty ]". RAFCommands. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Battle of Britain London Monument - Sgt. D A S McKay". www.bbm.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Battle of Britain London Monument - Sgt. F S Perkin". www.bbm.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Battle of Britain London Monument - Sgt. A W P Spears". www.bbm.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Battle of Britain London Monument - Sgt. D H Forrest". www.bbm.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Battle of Britain London Monument - Sgt. M A W Lee". www.bbm.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  18. ^ Canada, Veterans Affairs (20 February 2019). "Page from book: - Books of Remembrance - Memorials - Remembrance - Veterans Affairs Canada". www.veterans.gc.ca. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Ancestors - Billy and the Fighter Boys". BBC Archive. Retrieved 27 September 2021.

Bibliography Edit

October 15, 2023
reconnaissance, flight, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, jan. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources No 421 Reconnaissance Flight RAF news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message No 421 Reconnaissance Flight was a specialist RAF fighter flight created on 21 September 1940 to patrol the Channel and provide early warning of the types of incoming Luftwaffe raids from occupied France It was later expanded to full squadron strength and renumbered as No 91 Squadron on 11 January 1941 Its role led to its pilots being nicknamed Jim Crows 1 No 421 Reconnaissance Flight RAFActive1 October 1940 11 January 1941RoleEarly warning reconnaissanceGarrison HQRAF HawkingeEquipmentSupermarine Spitfire IIaBattle honoursBattle of Britain Contents 1 Background 2 Formation 3 Pilots 4 Equipment 5 Squadron Codes 6 Bases 7 References 8 BibliographyBackground EditSee also Fighter bomber attacks on the United Kingdom during 1940 In late September 1940 Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding was faced with two problems The first was a change in Luftwaffe tactics Until then the main daylight striking force had been the German bombers heavily escorted by fighters With the shift in phases in the Battle of Britain the bombers had concentrated first on Channel convoys then the 11 Group airfields and finally London Goring s aim had been to wear down the RAF fighters but instead he saw an unacceptable level of his bombers lost Whilst fighter bombers known to the Luftwaffe as Jabos had been tried by Luftwaffe units such as Erprobungsgruppe 210 during the Battle these had mainly been small and low altitude efforts 2 Now the bombers switched mainly to night attacks and the day operations more often consisted of high flying Bf109 sweeps and large numbers of Bf 109 Jabos with escorts This was intended both to force the RAF fighters to engage the Luftwaffe fighters and also keep the pressure on the RAF The Jabos could always jettison their bombs and revert to being fighters if intercepted The Jabos were not much of a tactical threat in that apart from specialists like Erpro 210 they were highly inaccurate when dropping their bombs but against area targets such as London they could still cause significant damage and civilian deaths It was impossible for the Fighter Command Controllers to identify which incoming raids were fighter sweeps which posed no threat to Britain and were to be avoided which were the escorted Jabo raids and which were escorted bombers the last two requiring different tactics to minimise RAF losses and maximise those of the Luftwaffe 3 Dowding s second problem was how to hide the information the RAF was gleaning from Ultra the information from interception of German transmissions encoded with the Enigma machine Ultra had given the RAF advance warning of some major Luftwaffe raids and the general radio interceptions from the Y stations had also provided clues It was also providing information on German shipping in the Channel Dowding did not want the Germans becoming suspicious of how well prepared the British were getting Dowding s solution was to create a special unit of experienced pilots to patrol the Channel during daylight hours alone or in pairs identifying which incoming raids were Jabos and which were fighter sweeps and also provide information on German naval activity The activities of this unit would also provide for the Germans a believable source for the RAF s preparedness protecting Ultra This unit was called No 421 Flight 4 Formation EditOne of the first pilots assigned to 421 Flight was Pilot Officer James O Meara P O O Meara had just received the DFC for his service with No 72 Squadron and was posted to Hawkinge on 28 September 1940 to start training and organising the pilots being sent to form 421 Flight On 1 October 1940 the Flight was officially raised with six Spitfire IIa s from No 66 Squadron F Lt Charles Paddy Green was posted as the commanding officer 5 Pilots EditThe following pilots are known to have served with 421 Flight ranks as in 1940 Flt Lt B Drake British 6 Flt Lt C P Paddy Green British 7 F O D T Parrott British 8 Plt Off H C Baker British 9 Plt Off K A Lawrence New Zealander Plt Off P McD Hartas British killed in action 10 February 1941 citation needed Plt Off J J O Meara British 10 Plt Off J E Jas Storrar British only briefly with 421 Flight before going to 73Sq and on to Africa in November 1940 11 Sgt C A H Ayling British killed in action 11 October 1940 12 Sgt J Gillies British killed in action 21 April 1944 in Burma Sgt D A S McKay British 13 Sgt F S Perkin British 14 Sgt A W P Spears British 15 Sgt D H Forrest British 16 Sgt M A W Lee killed in action 31 December 1940 17 Sgt Cox details unknown F O George Allan Cashion RCAF KIA 25 July 1944 near Charleval S E Rouen France 18 Of the pilots listed above at least eight already were or later became fighter aces a reflection of the average level of experience and ability and why the Flight and later No 91 Squadron had a reputation as a crack unit Billy Drake 23 5 destroyed at least three destroyed before he joined the Flight and later the RAF s top scoring P 40 ace 19 Jas Storrar 12 53 at least 5 5 possibly as many as nine before he joined the Flight Don McKay 14 seven possibly eight before he joined the Flight James O Meara 11 7 at least six before he joined the Flight Paddy Green 11 at least one before he joined the Flight and later a Beaufighter ace Henry Baker 5 83 two and a shared before he joined the Flight James Gillies 5 16 one and a shared before he joined the Flight Keith Lawrence 5 three and a shared before he joined the Flight Equipment EditThe Flight was originally formed with six Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIa s and some Hawker Hurricane Mk I s 421 Flight is supposed to have received the first Hurricane IIa s received by a frontline unit on 12 October 1940 though 111Sq had Hurricane IIa s for trials in September 1940 P O Macinski of 111Sq was killed on 4 September 1940 at 1340hrs when he baled out of Hurricane IIa Z2309 over the Channel after combat with Bf 109 s On 9 November 1940 nine new Spitfire IIa s were issued to 421 Flight and the Hurricanes went to other squadrons Squadron Codes EditL Z as LZ was previously used by 66Sq 421 Flt used L Z with a small dash during the end of 1940 e g L Z I DL also used later by 91Sq Bases EditHawkinge 1 7 October 1940 Gravesend 8 30 October 1940 West Malling 31 October 5 November 1940 Biggin Hill 6 14 November 1940 Hawkinge 15 November 1940 10 January 1941References Edit 8 Things You Need To Know About The Battle Of Britain Imperial War Museums Retrieved 27 September 2021 Tide turns in the Battle of Britain HISTORY Retrieved 27 September 2021 Tide turns in the Battle of Britain HISTORY Retrieved 27 September 2021 Grattan R F 2005 Strategy in the Battle of Britain and strategic management theory Emerald Group Publishing Limited pp 1432 1441 Spitfire Aircraft Details Aviation Directory www worldnavalships com Retrieved 27 September 2021 Battle of Britain London Monument F Lt B Drake www bbm org uk Retrieved 27 September 2021 Battle of Britain London Monument F Lt C P Green www bbm org uk Retrieved 27 September 2021 Battle of Britain London Monument F O D T Parrott www bbm org uk Retrieved 27 September 2021 Thomas Nick 30 July 2015 Sniper of the Skies The Story of George Frederick Screwball Beurling DSO DFC DFM Pen and Sword ISBN 978 1 78159 314 1 Docherty Tom 19 July 2009 Swift to Battle No 72 Fighter Squadron RAF in Action 1937 1942 Phoney War Dunkirk Battle of Britain Offensive Operations Casemate Publishers ISBN 978 1 78340 926 6 Spitfire Aircraft Details Aviation Directory www worldnavalships com Retrieved 27 September 2021 Sergeant C A H AYLING 561445 Royal Air Force Royal Air Force WW2 Casualty RAFCommands Retrieved 27 September 2021 Battle of Britain London Monument Sgt D A S McKay www bbm org uk Retrieved 27 September 2021 Battle of Britain London Monument Sgt F S Perkin www bbm org uk Retrieved 27 September 2021 Battle of Britain London Monument Sgt A W P Spears www bbm org uk Retrieved 27 September 2021 Battle of Britain London Monument Sgt D H Forrest www bbm org uk Retrieved 27 September 2021 Battle of Britain London Monument Sgt M A W Lee www bbm org uk Retrieved 27 September 2021 Canada Veterans Affairs 20 February 2019 Page from book Books of Remembrance Memorials Remembrance Veterans Affairs Canada www veterans gc ca Retrieved 27 September 2021 Ancestors Billy and the Fighter Boys BBC Archive Retrieved 27 September 2021 Bibliography EditKent Battle of Britain Museum https web archive org web 20080325212017 http www kbobm org index htm Billy Drake Fighter Leader Billy Drake and Christopher Shores ISBN 1 902304 97 7 Canadian Virtual War Memorial http www veterans gc ca eng remembrance memorials canadian virtual war memorial detail 2320673 George 20Allan 20Cashion Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title No 421 Reconnaissance Flight RAF amp oldid 1176223024, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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