19 May 1940
At 04h00, six Hawker Hurricane Mk I took off from Moorsele for a patrol of the Cambrai -Le Cateau-Cambresis area.
At 17h30, six aircraft patrol over Arras, while five patrol the road between Arras and Cambrai. A fight takes place, around 19h40, with about fifteen Bf 109 of 9./JG 26, in the northeast of Cambrai [1]. According to Anthony Eyre Flying Officer (L1289 KW-V) :
« I was No 2 in formation of four when Blue 4 warned us over R/T of the approach of e/a. I turned 90° to starboard, then 180° when I attacked from the starboard quarter a 109 which was attacking one of our formation at about 400 feet below. I turned away and, searching for the rest, saw an aircraft, which I believe was the one I attacked, diving spirallingly with black smoke pouring from it. I then sighted another 109 below me which I dived on and attacked slightly below with a long burst. I immediately broke away since my ammunition was nearly exhausted. »[2].
According to Pilot Officer William L. McKnight :
« During a patrol over Cambrai, seven enemy attacks us from behind followed by eight other aircraft. After alerting the rest of the section by radio, I take altitude very quickly by a left turn. I am behind an enemy aircraft and shoot. Smoke comes out of the enemy plane that I fire until he crash on ground. »[3].
At the same time, the Hawker Hurricane Mk I N2331 is hit in the fight. Injured in the legs, Flying Officer Richard D. Pexton is forced to parachute into adversary territory. It is difficult to rejoin Dunkirk where he can embark, on 23 May, aboard the hospital ship Worthing. Returning to England, he is admitted to Barnet Hospital (Hertfordshire) and will not return to the squadron until 10 July. Flying Officer Richard D. Pexton provided a very detailed account of these few odyssey days through the debacle in France:
“I was shot down on the evening of 19 May near Cambrai and, after a pretty rough time, I finally came into the hands of the RAMC on 20th late afternoon. Luckily my wounds were only slight but was unable to walk.
After being driven, by ambulance, to a CGS I wasn’t there above an hour when I was moved, by another ambulance, to a Red Cross train – somewhere near Armentières – this would be about 21h30 – and was placed on a bunk. About 10 minutes later another pilot was brought in a stretcher and put into the opposite bunk.
Sanders [4] was in a terrible state and suffering from severe burns. Face, neck, arms, hands and legs I feel sure that he had no actual bullet wounds.
The Sister immediately attended the burns they had previously been dressed at a CCS. Everything that was possible was done to comfort Sanders.
The remainder of his tunic and slacks were cut off and his request that his wings should be cut off his tunic and pinned to his shirt was carried out by the Sister.
We were given a cooked meal – those who could eat and Sanders was given a warm drink.
The train moved off after dusk and the lights were dimmed and those who could slept.
The next morning I woke up and found the train was stationary and bombs were dropping somewhere near. I asked what had happened and was informed that the track had been bombed and there were five trains in front of us – full of refugees and we had only travelled a few miles since the previous night. The bombing continued through the day and a feeling of helplessness seemed to be over us. Sanders condition was, by this time, much more serious and, if I may be allowed to say so, he had become practically blind – as he was continually asking for the bandages over them. It was then I noticed his name of his card. I tried to get into conversation with him.
About 17h00, that evening there were some bombs dropped very near to the train then the machine came over the train and machine-gunned the whole lenght. There were a few casualties in the next carriage to ours. I shall always remeber how some of the orderlies left to the train and seeked refuge in a near wood whilst the Sister (I believe her name was Davison or Davidson) tried to comfort us all by being so casual and especially Sanders who, naturally, was unnerved by this sudden outbreak of machine gunfire – it was an act of extreme bravery the way she knelt by his bunk and comforted him with words and tender care and will always be one of my treasured memories of what the Millitary nurses really meant to the wounded.
Almost another hour passed when some ambulances arrived and all stretcher cases were moved from the train – Sanders was in the same amublance as myself – it was a terrible fight to see the wlaking and sitting cases sitting on the side by the train. The look of hopelessness and despair on their faces, whilst we were aboard the ambulances, showed as much that they really throught very little of their chances of escaping from the enemies onslought.
By the time we arrived at the next hospital, Steenvoorde, it was dark and this is the last time I ever saw Sanders he was carried in front of me and was put in a different ward to myself.
We were in this hospital from the evening of the 21st until we were finally moved to Dunkerque on the evening of the 23rd. I enquired several times from the orderlies how Sanders was and was always told he was very seriously ill and there was little hope.
After we were carried aboard the Worthing and had set sail I enquired from the Sergeant if Pilot Officer Sanders was aboard. He informed me that he died during the ambulance ride from the hospital but I understood his body had been taken aboard.
As a conclusion I should like to mention that I had studied Sanders wounds and, when I returned to my Squadron I gave them the information and the necessity of being prepared against fire. After this it almost became a rule that all pilots wore protective clothing what ever the weather. Also we used our reserve petrol first to lessen the risk of cockpit fire. »[5]
According to Donald Caldwell [6], the British pilots reportedly faced 4./JG 26 under the command of Kommandeur, Hautpman Herwig Knüppel (Bf.109 E-3 – W.Nr.1542). The latter is shot and killed during the fight, while the injured Oberleutnant Karl Ebbighausen (Bf 109 E-3) makes a forced landing in the vicinity of Lille. Another Bf.109 E-3 is reported to have made a forced landing in Brussels. Perhaps this is the aircraft that struck the Hurricane of Flying Officer Richard D. Pexton [7]. According to a summary of events on the German side:
« Free hunting on the region of Grammont – Lille – Cambrai. The group took off at 19h07 under the command of Hauptman Knüppel. Above Lille, an aerial battle takes place with four Hurricanes in which three enemy machines were shot down. Captain Knüppel is attacked. We did not follow the rest of the fight. The Hurricane was shot down by the Leutnant Krug. The Hauptman Knüppel did not return from this mission. »[8]
A last patrol is reported, in the evening, above Oudenaarde – Tournai, without special events. But that’s the end for the No.615 Squadron as explained by Squadron Leader Joseph R. Kayll:
« On the evening of the 19th we were surprised to see a German motrocycle and sidecar driving round the aerodrome and we could hear gunfire to the east. Then we were ordered to move to Merville at first light, only keeping enough ground staff to see the aircraft off. During the night (about 22h00) a Belgian officer arrived and said thar he had been ordered to blow up the aerodrome immediately. I took until about 01h00 to persuade him not to do this, owing largely to the efforts of our adjutant and a few drinks. A compromise was reached in that he would dig holes and place the mines, leaving a straight take-off lane for us to use at dawn. One of the results of our frequent moves was that we had not had sufficient time to keep the starter batteries charged. Only one battery was serviceable and had to b used by all aircraft, mechnics being used to start the engines of the less experienced pilots. ».[9]
Pilot Officers Robert D. Grassick [10], William L. McKnight [11] and Percival S. Turner [12] are ordered to join Kenley Aerodrome in the evening to return to No.242 (RAF) Squadron.
[1] CULL, Brian ; LANDER, Bruce ; WEISS, Heinrich. Twelve Days in May. The Air Battle for Northern France and the Low Countires, 10 – 21 May 1940, as seen through the eyes of the fighter pilots involved. London : Grub Street, 1999, p.261.
[2] Combat Reports. Flying Officer Anthony Eyre (19/05/40). Kew : The National Archives, AIR 50/175/2. GILLET, Arnaud. La Luftwaffe à l’ouest – Les victoires de l’aviation de chasse britannique (10 mai 1940 – 23 mai 1940). Béthenville : Arnaud Gillet, 2008, p.296.
[3] Combat Reports. Pilot Officer William L. McKnight (19/05/40). Kew : The National Archives, AIR 50/175/22. GILLET, Arnaud. La Luftwaffe à l’ouest – Les victoires de l’aviation de chasse britannique (10 mai 1940 – 23 mai 1940). Béthenville : Arnaud Gillet, 2008, p.296.
[4] Pilot Officer Richard Atheling Sanders has been posted from No.141 (RAF) Squadron to Squadron No.87 (RAF) on 16 May 1940. He is shot down aboard the Hawker Hurricane Mk I N2710. on 20 May, probably victim of a Bf 110 north-west of Arras.
[5] Casualty Record : Flying Officer Richard D. Pexton The National Archives, Kew : AIR 81/742.
[6] CALDWELL Donald. The JG 26 War Diarry, Vol 1 (1939 – 1942). Grub Street, 1996, p.28 à 29.
[7] It should be noted that Peter D. Cornwell matches the loss of Flying Officer Richard D. Pexton with a claim by Hauptman Günther Lützow (Stab I./JG 3) at about 19h15 in the Arras – Cambrai area.
[8] GILLET, Arnaud. La Luftwaffe à l’ouest – Les victoires de l’aviation de chasse britannique (10 mai 1940 – 23 mai 1940). Béthenville : Arnaud Gillet, 2008, p.296.
[9] CULL, Brian ; LANDER, Bruce ; WEISS, Heinrich. Twelve Days in May. The Air Battle for Northern France and the Low Countires, 10 – 21 May 1940, as seen through the eyes of the fighter pilots involved. London : Grub Street, 1999, p.261 à 262.
[10] Returning to No.242 (RAF) Squadron, he participated in the various battles over Dunkirk and Battle of Britain, as well as the various British operations of 1941. On 28 September 1941, he joined the OTU of Aden. From now on, the rest of his career will be mainly in Eastern and Southern Africa as an instructor and transport liaison pilot. He joined the RCAF on 1st May 1945, and returned to Canada. He died on 28 October 1978.
[11] Returning to No.242 (RAF) Squadron, he participated in the various battles over Dunkirk and in support of the last British troops until mid-June 1940, then the Battle of Britain. On 12 January 11941, he disappeared in combat, with Hawker Hurricane Mk I P2961, during a Rhubarb near Gravelines. His name is commemorated at Runnymede Memorial.
[12] Returning to No.242 (RAF) Squadron, he participated in the various battles over Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. He joined No.145 (RAF) Squadron in June 1941 and was awarded the DFC in October of the same year. After a brief rest, he took command of No.411 (RCAF) Squadron, in December 1941, then No.249 (RAF) Squadron in Malta, in February 1942. He remained on the besieged island until November 1943 by exercising various functions. In May 1944, he received the DSO, while integrating the headquarters of the Desert Air Force. He returned to Europe in January 1945 with the rank of Group Captain to take command of No.127 (RAF) Wing. He joined the RCAF after the war until his retirement in 1965. He died on 23 July 1985.
