Paterson Clarence Hughes
Paterson Clarence Hughes | |
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Born | Cooma, New South Wales, Australia | 19 September 1917
Died | 7 September 1940 Sundridge, Kent, England | (aged 22)
Allegiance |
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Service/ |
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Years of service | 1936–1940 |
Rank | Flight lieutenant |
Service number | 39461 (RAF)[1] |
Unit |
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Battles/wars |
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Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
Paterson Clarence Hughes, DFC (19 September 1917 – 7 September 1940) was an Australian fighter ace of World War II. Serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF), he was credited with as many as seventeen aerial victories during the Battle of Britain, before being killed in action in September 1940. His tally made him the highest-scoring Australian of the battle, and among the three highest-scoring Australians of the war.
Born in
Early life
Paterson Clarence Hughes was born in
Hughes was educated at Cooma Public School until age twelve, when the family moved to
Training as an air cadet at RAAF Point Cook near Melbourne, Hughes learnt to fly in de Havilland Moths before progressing to Westland Wapitis in the middle of the year.[9] A practical joker who bridled under RAAF discipline, his euphoria during his first solo on 11 March 1936 was such that he "went mad, whistled, sang and almost jumped for joy".[10] A fellow cadet recalled that Hughes "loved life and lived it at high pressure".[11] Upon graduation in December 1936, Hughes was assessed as having "no outstanding qualities" despite being "energetic and keen".[7][12] Under a pre-war arrangement between the British and Australian governments, he volunteered for transfer to the Royal Air Force (RAF), and sailed for the United Kingdom in January 1937.[5][13] His decision to transfer had not been quick or easy; though keen to "try and do something special" in England, and intrigued by "a fascinating picture of easy life, beer and women" that had been presented to him, in the end he felt that it was simply "willed" that he should go.[14]
Early RAF service
On 20 March 1937, Hughes was granted a five-year short-service commission as a
There's no use muttering about things... to my mind the chances of living through this are about equal anyhow, and that's all one can ask after all...
—Hughes to his brother shortly after the outbreak of World War II[20]
Hughes was promoted to acting
Battle of Britain
As the
No-one had more air sense than Pat ... his only problem was that he got too close but that was his way.
—Joe Roddis, Hughes'
It was following No. 234 Squadron's move to Middle Wallop that Hughes began to score heavily against German fighters.[5][38] On 15 August, in one of the costliest engagements of the Battle of Britain, known thereafter to the Luftwaffe as "Black Thursday", Hughes claimed victories (one of them shared) over two Messerschmitt Bf 110s.[5][41] He again achieved dual success on 16, 18 and 26 August, all six victims being Messerschmitt Bf 109s brought down in the vicinity of the Isle of Wight.[5] Whereas in July he had fired at his targets from a range of 150 to 50 yards (137 to 46 m), it was now his habit to close to 30 yards (27 m), approximately three Spitfire lengths, before delivering his final burst; he also made head-on attacks against enemy aircraft.[42] He had a narrow escape on the 16th after his second victory of the day, when he chased a quartet of Junkers Ju 87s and had his tailplane shot up from behind by another Bf 109; he dived and forced the German to overshoot, then broke off having exhausted his ammunition firing at his former attacker. In the pub with Kay and his squadron mates that evening, Hughes jokingly told his wife, "In case of accidents make sure you marry again."[43]
On 3 September, Hughes' promotion to
Hughes was killed in action on the evening of 7 September 1940, after he intercepted a Dornier Do 17 bomber taking part in a large-scale attack on London.[2][48] His Spitfire crashed in a field between Sundridge and Bessels Green in Kent. He apparently bailed out, but his parachute failed to open; his body was found in a garden on Main Road, Sundridge, not far from the wreck of his Spitfire. The Dornier came down in the River Darent.[49] No. 234 Squadron lost its commanding officer, O'Brien, in the same action.[34][50] Mystery surrounds exactly how Hughes came to grief, though his close-in tactics are believed to have played a major part in it.[5] The strain of regular combat without respite, manifesting itself in fatigue and spots before the eyes, may also have contributed.[51][52] He is generally thought to have collided with flying wreckage from the crippled German bomber, rendering his Spitfire uncontrollable.[7][50][53] It is also possible that Hughes accidentally rammed his target. Further speculation suggested that he was the victim of friendly fire from another British fighter attacking the same Dornier, or was struck by German bullets from a Bf 109.[5][54] Some observers on the ground, including collier Charles Hall, maintained that Hughes rammed the Dornier on purpose.[55] Four days after his death, No. 234 Squadron was moved back to the relative quiet of Cornwall.[5][56]
Legacy
Everyone talks about the wrong people ... the self-publicists. Now who has ever heard of Pat Hughes? He saved our squadron, and he shot down a lot more than others I could name. But he died you see. That was a blow.
—Bob Doe, quoted in 2000[57]
The top-scoring Australian flying ace of the Battle of Britain and one of fourteen Australian fighter pilots killed during the battle,[7][58] Hughes has been described as "the inspiration and driving force behind No. 234 Squadron RAF".[59] He is generally credited with seventeen confirmed victories—fourteen solo and three shared.[5][38] This tally puts him among the top ten Allied Battle of Britain aces.[60][61] It also ranks him among the three highest-scoring Australians of World War II, after Clive Caldwell with thirty victories (twenty-seven solo and three shared) and Adrian Goldsmith with seventeen (sixteen solo and one shared).[60][62]
A war widow after barely five weeks of marriage, Kay Hughes was inconsolable in her loss: "I wept until I could cry no more."[56] Flying Officer Butch ran out of the mess on the day of his master's death, and was never seen again.[63] Following a service at St James', Sutton-on-Hull, on 13 September 1940, Hughes was buried in the churchyard at Row G, Grave 4.[64] A week later, Kay discovered she was pregnant, but eventually miscarried.[56] She subsequently drove ambulances for the British war effort.[65] News of his son's marriage came as "a complete surprise" to Percy Hughes, who only learned of his daughter-in-law's existence from the Australian Air Board's casualty letter.[66] Having married three more times after Hughes' death, Kay died on 28 June 1983 and, in accordance with her wishes, her ashes were buried with her first husband, whose headstone was amended to read "In loving memory of his wife Kathleen."[67]
Hughes was posthumously awarded the
Combat record
No. | Date | Flying | Foe | Result | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 July 1940 | Spitfire | Junkers Ju 88 | Destroyed (shared)[5][80] | SE Lands End
|
– | 27 July 1940 | Spitfire | Junkers Ju 88 | Damaged (shared)[30][81] | SE Lands End |
2 | 28 July 1940 | Spitfire | Junkers Ju 88 | Destroyed (shared)[5][80] | SE Plymouth |
3 | 15 August 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 110 | Destroyed[5][82] | Middle Wallop – Isle of Wight |
4 | 15 August 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 110 | Destroyed (shared)[5][82] | SW Swanage |
5 | 16 August 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Destroyed[5][80] | Isle of Wight |
6 | 16 August 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Destroyed[5][80] | Isle of Wight |
7 | 18 August 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Destroyed[5][80] | Isle of Wight |
8 | 18 August 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Destroyed[5][80] | Isle of Wight |
9 | 26 August 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Destroyed[5][80] | Isle of Wight |
10 | 26 August 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Destroyed[5][80] | Isle of Wight |
11 | 4 September 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 110 | Destroyed[80][83] | Haslemere–Brighton |
12 | 4 September 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 110 | Destroyed[80][83] | Haslemere–Brighton |
13 | 4 September 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 110 | Destroyed[80][83] | Haslemere–Brighton |
14 | 5 September 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Destroyed[5][80] | Eastchurch |
15 | 5 September 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Destroyed[5][80] | S Manston |
16 | 6 September 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Destroyed[5][80] | Dover |
– | 6 September 1940 | Spitfire | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Probable[5][80] | Dover |
17 | 7 September 1940 | Spitfire | Dornier Do 17 | Destroyed[5][80] | London–Brighton |
Notes
- ^ a b "No. 34976". The London Gazette. 22 October 1940. p. 6134.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Newton, Dennis. "Hughes, Paterson Clarence (1917–1940)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 30–31
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 28–30
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Newton, Australian Air Aces, pp. 91–92
- ^ a b Claasen, Dogfight, p. 141
- ^ a b c d Garrisson, Australian Fighter Aces, p. 140
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', p. 8
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 40, 46
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 42, 45
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 36
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 48
- ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 84–85
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 47
- ^ "No. 34376". The London Gazette. 20 March 1937. p. 1417.
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 51–52
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 54–55
- ^ "No. 34577". The London Gazette. 19 November 1938. p. 7695.
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 64
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', pp. 6–7
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. viii, 90, 127
- ^ "234 Squadron". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ a b c Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, pp. 1–2
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 126, 398
- ^ Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, p. 172
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 121–123
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. viii, xii, 153
- ^ Garrisson, Australian Fighter Aces, p. 35
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 162, 179
- ^ a b Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 178–179
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', pp. 64–65
- ^ Mason, Battle Over Britain, p. 153
- ^ Shores; Williams, Aces High, p. 48
- ^ a b Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, p. 310
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', p. 72
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 180
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 198, 210
- ^ a b c Price, Spitfire Mk.I/II Aces, p. 66
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 199
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 263, 344
- ^ Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, p. 218
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 215
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 207–210
- ^ "No. 34954". The London Gazette. 3 September 1940. p. 5715.
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 247–250
- ^ Claasen, Dogfight, pp. 142–143
- ^ Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, pp. 172, 196
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', pp. 166–167
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 260–261, 343
- ^ a b Bishop, Battle of Britain, p. 305
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 250–254, 259–260
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', p. 161
- ^ Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, p. 67
- ^ Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, p. 472
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 261
- ^ a b c Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 265
- ^ Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, p. 400
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', p. 1
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', p. 167
- ^ a b Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 263
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', p. 283
- ^ Newton, Australian Air Aces, pp. 117–118
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 264–265
- ^ "Hughes, Paterson Clarence". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 335
- ^ "Hughes, Paterson Clarence – Casualty File". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 335–336
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 264
- ^ "Late Sydney pilot". The West Australian. Perth. 24 June 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ^ "Paterson Clarence Hughes Memorial Tablet". New South Wales Government. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ "Flight Lieutenant Paterson Clarence Hughes DFC Memorial". Cooma–Monaro Shire Council. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ Newton, A Few of 'the Few', pp. 267–268
- ^ "Roll of Honour – Paterson Clarence Hughes". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ "Distinguished Flying Cross: Flight Lieutenant P.C. Hughes, 234 Squadron RAF". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 341–343
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 343
- ^ Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 344
- ^ "Local Memorials Project: Flight Lieutenant Pat Hughes". Shoreham Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ "The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Flight Lieutenant Paterson Clarence Hughes DFC, No. 234 Squadron, RAF, Second World War". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Shores; Williams, Aces High, p. 186
- ^ Unconfirmed destroyed according to Newton, Australian Air Aces, p. 92
- ^ a b Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 204–206
- ^ a b c Newton, Australian Air Aces, p. 91
References
- Alexander, Kristen (2014). Australia's Few and the Battle of Britain. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-74224-694-9.
- Bishop, Patrick (2009). Battle of Britain: A Day-by-Day Chronicle. London: ISBN 978-1-84724-984-5.
- ISBN 978-1-85410-801-2.
- Claasen, Adam (2004). Dogfight: The Battle of Britain. Auckland: Exisle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921497-28-5.
- Garrisson, A.D. (1999). Australian Fighter Aces 1914–1953. Fairbairn, Australian Capital Territory: Air Power Studies Centre. ISBN 978-0-642-26540-1.
- Mason, Francis K. (1990). Battle Over Britain. Bourne End: Aston. ISBN 0-946627-15-0.
- Newton, Dennis (1990). A Few of 'the Few': Australians and the Battle of Britain. Canberra: ISBN 978-0-642-14991-6.
- Newton, Dennis (1996). Australian Air Aces. Fyshwick, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications. ISBN 978-1-875671-25-0.
- ISBN 978-1-85532-627-9.
- Shores, Christopher; Williams, Clive (1966). Aces High: The Fighter Aces of the British and Commonwealth Air Forces in World War II. London: Neville Spearman. OCLC 8013035.
- Stephens, Alan (2006) [2001]. The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: ISBN 978-0-19-555541-7.
- Wilson, David (2005). The Brotherhood of Airmen. Crows Nest, New South Wales: ISBN 1-74114-333-0.