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Auction: 23001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 475

'As we levelled out, Ben automatically opened the throttles slightly to keep our speed constant. We were closing in perfectly. The blip showed almost dead ahead now.

"Steady now… Range one and a half… We're coming in nicely. Where do you want him?"

"Steady. Put him starboard and above. About ten degrees starboard. What range now?"

"Just under a mile. Throttle back slightly. Can you see anything yet?"

"No, not yet. Keep giving me the range."

About two thousand feet. Gently port now."

A moment's pause, then explosively: "Christ! There it is. It's a bloody great Dornier. Here, have a look. I can hold now."

I needed no urging but swivelled my seat around and peered into the blackness. My eyes took a moment to become accustomed to the dark, then I saw, just above and starboard of us, the vague silhouette of an aircraft with pinpoints of reddish lights showing from the exhausts. I could see the pencil-slim fuselage and the twin fins. It was a Dornier 217, all right. Ben, who by this time was formatting immediately beneath the Dornier and was only 200 or 300 feet below, decided that time for action had arrived.

The Dornier was weaving gently from side to side as it flew along. Ben throttled back very slightly and lifted the nose of the Beau. It was a little over to port now. It seemed strange that it should be completely indifferent to the presence of the Beaufighter so close. As it drifted across in front of us, my heart was thumping so loudly it seemed impossible for the Huns not to hear us. As it passed through his gunsight, Ben turned the Beau almost imperceptibly to follow the Dornier. All hell broke loose as he pressed the gun button and four cannon and six machine-guns banged and clattered away. The Beau filled with the acrid smoke and smell of cordite.

Ben had given it a two-second burst of gunfire; but although the Dornier began to lose height, we had seen no strikes. We did not use tracer bullets at night in order to retain the element of surprise. We were now following it down in a very sharp dive and Ben gave it two more bursts from about 300 feet range. This time there was a great red flash which illuminated the whole aircraft… In the crew room we were just taking off our flying clothing when the ops./telephone rang. It was the Section Controller to congratulate us and tell us the good news that the Royal Observer Corps and Saint Mary's Lighthouse had independently reported a plane crashing into the sea four miles east of Blyth.'

Brandon's "first blood", as recalled in his wartime memoir Night Flyer

The remarkable Second World War night fighter operations D.S.O., D.F.C. and Bar mounted group five miniature dress medals worn by Squadron Leader L. "Brandy" Brandon, Royal Air Force, late Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, a pre-war film actor, and veteran of some 135 operational sorties, who claimed at least 10 confirmed victories as Navigator/Radio Operator to Wing Commander J. G. "Ben" Benson, in addition to taking out half a dozen V.1s, an enduring partnership that placed them in the highest echelons of wartime night fighter aces - and a story related in gripping detail in the recipient's wartime memoir Night Flyer

Distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R., silver-gilt and enamel with top riband bar; Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., with Second Award Bar; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, clasp, France and Germany; War Medal 1939-45, mounted as worn, nearly extremely fine (5)

For his full-size awards and a biographical note, please see Lot 401.

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