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Auction: 6017 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 132

An Extremely Rare Second War ´Merchant Ship Fighter Unit´ D.F.C. Group of Four to ´Hurricat´ Pilot Flying Officer P.J.R. Flynn, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Who Shot Down a Condor Bomber After Being Catapulted From the Camship Empire Tide Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., reverse dated ´1943´, engraved ´F/O P.J.R. Flynn. R.A.F.´; 1939-1945 Star; Atlantic Star, with Air Crew Europe Bar; War Medal, nearly extremely fine, with Caterpillar Club Badge, gold and ruby eyes, reverse officially engraved ´F/O. P.J.R. Flynn´ with named membership card (4) Estimate £ 1,200-1,400D.F.C. London Gazette 1.10.1943 Flying Officer Patrick John Richard Flynn (119785) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, The Recommendation states, ´This officer had completed his duties in a most commendable manner. In July 1943, his aircraft was launched by catapult and he successfully attacked an enemy aircraft which was menacing a convoy the attacker was destroyed and Flying Officer Flynn returned to the convoy which was suffering further attacks. Although he knew that his petrol supply was limited, he attacked a second enemy aircraft and stayed in the vicinity of the convoy until forced to abandon his aircraft.´ Flying Officer P.J.R. ´Paddy´ Flynn, D.F.C., born London, 1921; joined R.A.F.V.R., 21.3.1941; received training in the Arnold School, United States of America; commissioned Flying Officer 7.2.1942; posted No. 124 (Baroda) Squadron (Spitfire VI), Gravesend, 21.7.1942; served with No. 11 Squadron from 4.9.1942, and after a brief spell at 57 O.T.U. returned to 124 Squadron, 11.9.1942 flying mostly air escort operations with destroyers and Flying Fortresses; posted Merchant Ship Fighter Unit, 22.1.1943. M.S.F.U. was set up at the old Liverpool civil airport at Speke under the command of Wing Commander E.S. Moulton-Barrett. Hurricanes were specially adapted to be catapulted from selected Merchant ships (Camships) in an attempt to combat the success the German Condor bombers were having in attacking convoys. Once the adapted Hurricanes, or ´Hurricats´ as they became known, had been launched there was no return to ship, once the fuel had run out the pilots had to bail out, with no guarantee of being picked up. Flynn was with Convoy SL 133, homeward bound from Sierra Leone, when it left Gibraltar 23.7.1943. The convoy, which comprised of forty ships, was accompanied by the last two Camships in service (M.S.F.U. having disbanded 15.7.1943) the Empire Tide and the Empire Darwin. Flynn was serving in the former which was leading the extreme port column of the convoy, whilst the Empire Darwin led the starboard column. The first three days proved uneventful, however, with the convoy 250 miles off Cape St. Vincent a Condor made a reconnaissance of the force. On the 28th a Condor was seen approaching, fortuitously, however, a United States Air Force B-24 Liberator was also simultaneously sighted. The convoy was passing roughly 800 miles due west of the Condor base at Bordeaux, and as such it was considered best to hold the ´Hurricats´ in reserve and request that the Liberator engage the enemy aircraft. Both planes took several hits, before the Condor was sent crashing to the waves, only for the Liberator to suffer a similar fate shortly after it´s ´victory´. Within minutes of the Condor being shot down, another two appeared. Pilot Officer J. Stewart was launched from the Empire Darwin, and despite his guns jamming after 800 rounds he managed to shoot down one of the Condors before having to bail out, ´Meanwhile yet another Condor was silhouetted on the horizon dead ahead, height 1500 feet, distance about 12 miles. The duty pilot on Empire Tide was a Londoner named P.J.R. Flynn, inevitably dubbed ´Paddy´ Flynn, and he was as extrovert and exuberant as Stewart was reserved and phlegmatic. Like Stewart he had never been in combat. Stamping around with impatience at having missed the chance of a launching, he had been imploring his crew to get the firing mechanism serviceable. This they eventually succeeded in doing, and at 2036 the decision was taken to launch. 84 seconds later the Hurricane was airborne.´ (The Hurricats, Ralph Barker, refers) Flynn climbed to 200 feet, and was able to engage with the Condor in a matter of minutes, ´Coming up astern of the Condor on the port quarter, Flynn opened fire with a two-second burst at 300 yards. There was a short burst from the port lateral machine-gun of the Condor and as Flynn closed directly astern he saw that the gunners in the front and rear turrets were firing at him point blank....... Breaking off he executed a climbing turn into the sun, then began a series of beam and quarter attacks from the port side up sun. As with the other two Condors, the pilot took no violent evasive action but relied on his gunners. On his second run Flynn concentrated his fire on the cockpit and knew he was on target, but he had to fly through blistering return fire and his Hurricane was repeatedly hit, mostly in the wings. Even the impetuous Flynn realized that he would first have to silence the Condor´s guns. Breaking off again, he began his third run by spraying the fuselage between the rear turret and the lateral gun position on the port side before closing to 100 yards and finishing up with a short burst of fire directed at the front turret. Again he saw his tracer stabbing its mark. Having as he hoped silenced the gunners, he went now for the outer and inner port engines, but the answering fire was as withering as ever. The perspex of the cockpit hood behind his head suddenly splintered, and a gaping hole appeared in the port wing. For compensation he had to be content with increasing spurts of smoke from the Condor´s port engines..... As he closed in for a final attack, a bomb from the Condor fell away right in front of him and he nearly flew into it. Soon afterwards he felt the blast from the explosion as it hit the sea. Then, as the Condor pilot jettisoned the rest of his bombs, Flynn fired a final burst that exhausted his ammunition.´ (The Hurricats, Ralph Barker, refers). He left the Condor pouring smoke and rapidly losing altitude. The combat had taken Flynn forty miles from the nearest ship. After 52 minutes in the air, Flynn managed to nurse his damaged aircraft to within sight of the Convoy before bailing out at 2,000 feet. Luckily, he only had to wait ten minutes in the water before being picked up by H.M.S. Enchantress, a convoy escort. On his return to England, and with the disbandment of M.S.F.U., Flynn was posted to No. 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron (Spitfire VI), Ibsley and with its subsequent move to Exeter; tragically Flying Officer Flynn was killed in a motor car accident, 14.11.1943, and is buried in Wandsworth Cemetery.

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