Richard Haine

Haine flew in the first night patrol of the RAF in the war, in a Blenheim from RAF Northolt on 4 September 1939.^[7][9] These night flights rarely intercepted any aircraft, primarily due to the absence of onboard radar.^[6][10]

On 28 November 1939, Haine flew one of six Blenheims of No. 25 Squadron to attack a seaplane base at Borkum, the first fighter attack of the war on German territory.^[8] He may have destroyed a Heinkel He 59 on the water.^[8]

On 10 May 1940, Haine led six Blenheims of

Haine was deployed repeatedly to command positions.[A] He served as the commanding officer of No. 488 Squadron RNZAF, flying the de Havilland Mosquito, until the end of November 1944.^[5]

While in command of No. 488 Squadron Haine and his squadron flew beachhead patrols on

At the Ministry of Aviation, Haine was a staff officer, responsible for supervising flight testing of new aircraft. He trained at the Empire Test Pilots' School, and flew the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in the United States. Eventually he earned qualifications to fly 94 types of aircraft, and flew 18 others as a second pilot.^[6]

In 1965, Haine was a participant in the funeral for Winston Churchill.^[8]

Personal life

Haine was married twice; he had a daughter from his first marriage, which ended in divorce. He married Evelyn Benton in 1948. They had two sons and a daughter.^[6]

After retirement from the RAF, Haine worked for a short time as a service liaison officer for an insurance company. He thereafter devoted himself to sailing, a preferred avocation, and work as harbourmaster of a large Leamington marina.^[6]

Haine wrote an autobiography, From Fury to Phantom: An RAF Pilot's Story – 1936–1970, published in 2005.^[4] He died on 30 September 2008, the day before his 92nd birthday.^[6]

References

Notes