You look nothing like your avatar you know.

That’s Bolex.

Luke, we don’t CARE that he lied. It is of no importance. Adam is welcome, and he is, as he says, more thoughtful now.

Your piece about medium format cameras is still bollox though.

No time to type up Turek tonight, but a quick skim says, nope. Not him. Perhaps Darkie meant another squadron pilot from the wing?

At 1815 Swingate report bandits at 12000ft, also mentioning friendlies. Section climbs (downsun) and has reached 8000ft when West sees 2 Fw 190s diving on them from upsun. He turns sharply and calls “Tally-Ho”! E/A overshoot and fire two bursts at Baldwin, the first severing his controls, the second putting his engine on fire. He goes down in a spin. West then has a dogfight with the 2 190s, which dash at him twice head-on. The second tome West sees strikes, but seeing white exhaust, thinks he has been hit himself, and dives for base, where he reports to F/Lt Wells. The latter has already had a report that a Typhoon has been seen descending in flames, but has failed to make Hornchurch believe this or even that any E/A have been in the vicinity. It is only when West lands that a section is finally sent to look for Baldwin. Fortunately and H.S.L. has put out from Ramsgate on the receipt of local information, and, guided by the escort of a convoy, find Baldwin just in time – without dinghy and an only partially inflated Mae west. He is taken to Ramsgate Hospital suffering from 2nd-degree burns to hands, face and knees.
Enemy Casualties: 1 FW 190 damaged (Sgt. West – Canadian)
Our “ 1 Typhoon Cat. E; F/O Baldwin D.F.C. rescued injured)
Baldwin’s aircraft bore the letter ‘R’ – about the 6th of that letter to end stickily. The 190s that shot it down are seen from Manston, even by the I.O. The result is a ‘Guns Alert’, followed immediately afterwards by a misleading diversion caused by a gun on Sgt. West’s aircraft going off during a test of the firing mechanism, this not having been unloaded first. A further misleading diversion follows when several Dover balloons are seen going down in flames. F/O Skett reports one after the other to F/Lt Wells at the phone, who in turn tells Hornchurch controller – but it is a thunderstorm, and when F/Lt Atkinson also reports them on the R/T and asks the cause, he is told simply, ‘Nature’ (he is alleged to have replied, ‘Shall I relieve Nature’?). Baldwin, interviewed in hospital next day, is still under the impression that he has been shot down by friendlies, partly owing to the fact that these had been reported, partly because he has been shot at by them several times before. His remark, ‘Stop shooting, you *******’! though it does not this time have the desired effect, and because Hornchurch seem to have been unaware of Huns, gives rise to the suspicion in high circles that he has in fact been shot down by his No. 2, and a long supplementary report has to be sent to prove that this was impossible. Baldwin’s hands were too burnt and cold to pull the pin from his CO2 bottle, and it has been suggested that in future this be provided with a thong.

It’s already been recovered Ross.

First 4: (these are all I have typed up so far, not including the two already mentioned)

However the 2 No. 2’s (P/O’s Payne and Amor) left behind at Hawkinge, are scrambled to patrol Deal at 15000ft – intercept either the returning fighter bombers, or more likely the 30 off fighters (190’s and 109’s) which are supporting them in that area. Half way between Dover and Deal they see an a/c being fired at over the sea, and go to investigate. Before they can do so, however, Bofors and M/G open up on them from all directions, and on reaching the coast Payne announces that he is going to bale out. P/O Amor, unable to stop the gunfire despite every effort to identify himself, descends to 0ft and returns to Hawkinge, there to find he too has stopped a bullet. Later it is reported that P/O Payne has ‘walked ashore’, still later that he is in Margate Hospital with 2nd degree burns of hands and face. Feeling towards AA Command is not particularly friendly, especially as their actions have effectively prevented 609 from at last intercepting some Jerries, whose raid is the biggest one in daylight since the Battle of Britain.

At 1153 F/O Wells and Sgt Spallin are scrambled after a Dornier bombing Deal. Weather is 10.10 at 600ft, and it is raining. At Deal section is told to follow coast to Dungeness. Wells flies offshore, skirting Dover, then patrols up and down probably chasing his own plots. Spallin has disappeared, and soon it is learnt that he has hit a balloon cable at Dover, crashed into the water. It is thought he attempted to cut across Dover harbour instead of skirting it. Balloons were invisible, flying in cloud. Nothing is found but a patch of oil. Thus 609 has to record the loss of the 4th pilot of the year not due to enemy action. Spallin had been with the squadron since April, had become a reliable and enterprising pilot. “I have a lot of time for Spallin”, remarked his acting flight commander, F/O Wells, only the day before. Cheerful and obliging, he did much to make Canada popular in the eyes of both British and Belgians.

F/O Wells and Sgt Davis on morning patrol are told to go out to some anti-submarine vessels some 15 miles S of S Foreland, bandits being reported E of Dover. Near the boast Sgt Davis reports a dinghy. Telling his No 2 to remain as cover (message acknowledged) Wells goes down to investigate. As he approaches he sees a large splash on his port bow, and calling up Sgt Davis, receives no answer. It is later confirmed by Ops that he was almost certainly ‘jumped’ while orbiting. He was not seen to bale out.
Enemy Casualties: Nil
Our : 1 Typhoon Cat E – Sgt Davis missing, presumed killed.

No mention of F/O Evans accident

First to be airborne, at 1030, are Haddon and Wiseman. Concerning them the skipper of the MTB reports that he saw 2 Typhoons flying at 500 ft in line astern. 2 190’s converged to attack No 2, and the Typhoon went into the sea on fire. They then attacked No 1, cutting off both his wings, and this aircraft also went into the sea.

I’m thinking that Johnny Baldwin might be the one