Marmaduke Pattle
Encyclopedia
Squadron Leader
Marmaduke Thomas St. John "Pat" Pattle DFC
& Bar
(3 July 1914 – 20 April 1941) was a South African-born Second World War
flying ace
for the Royal Air Force
. Pattle was a fighter ace with a very high score, and is sometimes noted as being the highest-scoring British and Commonwealth pilot of the Second World War. If all claims made for him were in fact correct, his total would be in excess of 51. However, it can be stated with a degree of confidence, that his final score was at least 40.
Pattle has been unofficially credited with about 50 victories; in total, 26 victims were Italian; 15 were downed with Gloster Gladiators, the rest with Hawker Hurricanes. He is considered to be the highest-scoring ace on both Gladiator (15 victories) and Hurricane (35 victories) fighters.
, South Africa
, on 3 July 1914, the son of English parents who had emigrated to the Union
. He attended Keetmanshoop
Secondary School
, South West Africa
, and Victoria Boy's High School, which in 1939 was renamed Graeme College
, Grahamstown
.
Pattle joined the South African Air Force
as a cadet on leaving school, but in 1936 transferred to the RAF. On 24 August 1936, he was granted a short service commission
as an Acting Pilot Officer
. He completed his training in the UK in 1937 and in June 1937 as a Pilot Officer (he was confirmed in the rank on 27 July 1937) joined 80 Squadron, which had just re-equipped with Gloster Gladiator
biplanes.
In April 1938, he accompanied the unit to Egypt
, where by 1939 he had become a flight commander.
A gifted flyer and natural marksman, he took infinite pains to improve both talents, doing exercises to improve his distance vision and sharpen his reflexes.
Following the outbreak of war, the unit moved up to the Libyan border, where in August 1940, Pattle first saw action. 80 Squadron received the order to deploy one of its Flights
to Sidi Barrani
. "B" Flight, commanded by Pattle moved to the forward airfield. During early battles with the Italians over the desert, he claimed four victories and a probable, although he was shot down himself on 4 August 1940.
That day, while escorting a Lysander
, Pattle and his flight engaged first a force of six Breda Ba.65
/A80s of the 159a Squadriglia and six Fiat CR-32 quarters of the 160a Squadriglia. Pattle forced-landing a Breda but was then attacked by the escorting Fiat CR.42s. He managed to hit one, that he saw falling spinning, but later was himself attacked by another formation of Bredas and CR.42s. The Bredas attacked first but Pattle avoided their quarter and beam attacks, but soon discovered that one of the Fiat pilots was an exceptional shot who made repeated full deflection attacks with great accuracy. Eventually Pattle's rudder controls were shot away, so he climbed to 400 ft and bailed out. He was shot down most probably by Italian Spanish Civil War ace Tenente Franco Lucchini
of 90a Squadriglia, 10° Gruppo, 4° Stormo (his final score was 26). He started to walk towards the Allied lines and crossed the border at around midday the following day. After two days he was rescued by a detachment from the 11th Hussars, who returned him to Sidi Barrani.
On 8 August, Pattle claimed two more kills, while leading 14 Gladiators of 80 Squadron in a surprise attack against 16 Fiat CR.42s from 9° and 10° Gruppi of 4° Stormo, over Gabr Saleh (about 65 kilometres southeast of El Adem and 35 kilometres east of Bir El Gobi, well inside the Italian territory). He later recalled:
One of his victims was probably Maresciallo Norino Renzi, a Regia Aeronautica
pilot since 25 December 1930 and a pre-war member of 4° Stormo’s aerobatics group, who was killed.
Pattle was promoted to Flight Lieutenant
on 3 September 1940.
That same month, Pattle damaged a Savoia-Marchetti S.79 bomber, though the speed of the Italian bomber enabled it to escape.
to help the Greek Air Force
against the Italian invasion
on the Albanian Front. Here Pattle was to enjoy his significant success.
On 19 November 1940, Pattle with eight other pilots from 80 Squadron attacked Fiat CR.42s and Fiat G.50bis near the Italian airfield at Korçë
. In this combat, the RAF claimed nine and two probably destroyed while 160o Gruppo Autonomo C.T. lost three CR.42s and got one damaged while 355a Squadriglia, 24o Gruppo Autonomo C.T., lost one G.50 and the four pilots killed, while RAF lost a Gladiator. Pattle claimed two CR.42s that day.
On 2 December, in the Gjirokastër
area, Pattle shot down a IMAM Ro.37bis from 42a Squadriglia, 72o Gruppo O.A., and Sergente Luigi Del Manno and his observer, Tenente Michele Milano, were both killed. In the afternoon Pattle shot down another Ro.37bis from 72oGruppo O.A. near Premet, killing Capt. Gardella and his observer. On 4 December 1940, the RAF claimed nine Fiat CR.42s destroyed and two probables. Pattle (who had his own aircraft hit in the main fuel tank and a wing strut) claimed three CR.42s plus another and a Fiat CR.32 as probables. Combat records show 150° Gruppo C.T., involved in that combat, lost two CR.42s when Tenente Alberto Triolo and Sottotenente Paolo Penna were killed.
Pattle was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
(DFC) on 11 February 1941,
Amazingly, his victories thus far were with the obsolete Gloster Gladiator
biplane.
No 80 Squadron was equipped with the Hawker Hurricane
Mk I on 20 February 1941.
That day, Flight Lieutenant Pattle, flying Hurricane Mk I V7724, was leading a group of six Hurricanes of No. 80 Sqdn to escort 16 Blenheims (eight of No. 84 Squadron, six of No. 211 Squadron and three of No. 30 Squadron) to Berat. Fiat G.50bis from the 361a and 395a Squadriglie, 154° Autonomo Gruppo C.T. were scrambled from Berat
airfield. But they were attacked by the Hurricanes. Pattle led his section straight towards four Fiat G.50s and selected the leading aircraft as his own target. As he closed, the Fiat pulled away in a steep turn, but he managed to hold it in his gunsight until he came into range and shot at it. It was the first time he had fired the eight guns of the Hurricane, and the "G.50 exploded right before his eyes, disintegrating in hundreds of small flaming pieces", as his biography relates. The Fiat G.50 was from 154° Gruppo and it was the first of about 35 Hurricane victories that Pattle would claim flying the Hawker fighter over the next two months.
Some of Pattle “kills” were overclaimed. On the 27 (or on the 28, according to other sources) February, the British pilots in Greece celebrated their biggest day of combat. In that day's report, Air Vice Marshal J.H. d'Albiac, RAF commander in Greece, wrote that No. 80 Squadron, re-equipped with Hawker Hurricanes, had destroyed 27 Italian aircraft in 90 minutes of air combat, without losses (or, according to other sources, a Gloster Gladiator was lost and two Blenheims damaged by CR.42s had to crash-land while returning to base). Pattle himself claimed three Fiat CR.42s shot down in less than three minutes. “But that day”, recalled Corrado Ricci, Capitano of Regia Aeronautica "we lost only a CR.42... Our pilots, in return, claimed four Glosters and a Hurricane". The Regia Aeronautica, according to other sources, lost two Fiat biplanes that day (plus five bombers and two Fiat G.50s). In a previous fight south of Valona
, Pattle had to return to base with the windscreen covered by oil from a shot down enemy bomber.
Pattle received a bar
to his DFC on 18 March 1941, for which the citation read:
This citation referred to an action on 4 March 1941, when Pattle claimed three enemy Fiat G.50bis fighters of 24oGruppo C.T. He claimed the first, while he was flying with his No 2, on this occasion, Flying Officer Nigel Cullen
. He reported that a lone G.50bis attacked him and Cullen but that he shot this down and watched it spiral into a mountainside just north of Himare
(at this moment a second Fiat "jumped" Cullen (Hurricane V7288) and he was not seen again; his aircraft crashed near Himare, and the Australian ace was killed).
Pattle claimed that another lone G.50bis attacked him while flying towards Valona. After a brief combat he shot down the Fiat, that went into the sea southwest of Valona harbour. He then became involved with a third such fighter over Valona harbour and claimed to have shot this down into the sea in flames on the west side of the promontory.
Pattle later served with 33 Squadron as Commanding officer
during March and April 1941. On his first encounter with the Luftwaffe on 6 April 1941, Pattle claimed two victories over the Bf 109Es of 8. Staffel, Jagdgeschwader 27
over the Rupel Pass. Oberleutnant Becker was shot down and killed, and Leutnant Faber made a prisoner. Thereafter, details vary as to his score as all records were destroyed. According to a diary kept by one of his ground crew, he claimed eight more victories by 12 April, and destroyed two more Bf 109s on the ground, subsequently claiming five in a day on the 14th and six on the 19th.
All five victories Pattle claimed during five sorties on 14 April seem unconfirmed: a Bf 109 at 07:10, two Junkers Ju 88s (at 08:43 and 17:40), a Messerschmitt Bf 110
at 10:04 and a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79
, at 13:08. Luftwaffe II/KG 51 lost two Ju 88s in combats with 33 Squadron, although the other victories claimed during the day are not confirmed by Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica records.
On 19 April, Pattle claimed six destroyed (three Ju 88s and three Bf 109s), plus one shared (a Henschel Hs 126
) and two probables (still a Ju 88 and a Bf 109), but the kills of two Ju 88s (and one probable, claimed on Athens area), and that of a Bf 109, cannot be verified.
In late April Pattle was suffering from influenza
, and his condition had worsened to a point where Sqn/Ldr Edward Jones, acting as Wing Commander, ordered him to reduce his flying and to only take off only when the air raid alarm was sounded.
On his last combat operation, a formation of 12 Hawker Hurricanes, the entire Allied air presence in Greece at the time, participated in a prestige mission over Athens to bolster morale for the Greeks. The formation was attacked by Axis fighters in what became known as the Battle of Athens
. F/L Roald Dahl
records five Hurricanes were downed, with four pilots dying; one of those was Pattle. Still suffering from combat fatigue and influenza with a fever over 39˚C, he tried to save one of his pilots (F/Lt Woods) from a Bf 110 before two other Bf 110s of Zerstörergeschwader (ZG) 26
shot him down over Eleusis Bay, some five miles SW of Athens. Surviving records show among the German claimants were Staffelkapitän
Hauptmann
Theodor Rossiwall
and Oberleutnant
Sophus Baagoe
who were credited with kills against Hurricanes, taking their scores to 12 and 14 respectively. Oblt Baagoe, would be killed in action within a month, on 14 May 1941. It cannot be known for certain which one shot down Pattle. F/Lt W.J. "Timber" Woods, an ace in No. 80 Squadron with 6.5 kills, was also killed in this battle.
Recent research into the Battle of Athens and those engaged in it, indicates the Hurricanes of Pattle and Woods fell on the east coast of the island of Psitallea, outside the harbor of Piraeus
, not in Eleusis Bay. No. 33 Squadron met the first wave of Bf 110s over Kallithea
, a suburb of Athens, and were chased to the south into Faliron Bay from where Woods, low on fuel and ammunition, turned west to try to reach his base at Eleusis. He was reported to have been shot down along this track during the first engagement over Faliron and Piraeus
.
Pattle is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial at El Alamein
together with 3,000 other Commonwealth
airmen who lost their lives in the Middle East (Egypt, Libya
, Syria
, Lebanon
, Iraq
, Greece, Crete
and the Aegean
, Ethiopia
, Eritrea
and the Somaliland
s, the Sudan
, East Africa
, Aden
or Madagascar
) during the Second World War, and who have no known grave.
opponents who outnumbered the RAF fighter contingent at all times. Pattle was reputed to be a crack shot, a better-than-average pilot and a highly capable formation leader in the air. As a squadron commander, he demanded more from himself than anyone else, and it is said he died because he should have been grounded because of illness, yet insisted on leading his squadron.
Pattle's final "score" will probably never be known, as official squadron combat reports and RAF documents for the time were lost in the retreat from Greece and Crete. Existing records up to early April 1941 list Pattle as claiming at least 34 confirmed kills, and many more probables. Aviation historian Christopher Shores, in his book of Commonwealth fighter pilots, Aces High, by cross-checking squadron diaries, reviewing Pattle's aircraft rigger's (W.J. Ringrose) personal journal and the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica loss records, claims Pattle's final score as 50 individual and two shared victories. Andrew Thomas reports the same score in Osprey Aircraft of Aces 57: Hurricane Aces 1941–1945.
Recent research of his 50 claims has shown that at least 27 can be directly linked to specific Italian and German losses, while only six claims discounted as no Axis losses are recorded. This suggests Pattle's true total could be at least 27–44 kills, making him the highest scoring RAF biplane ace, one of the top Hurricane pilots of the conflict, and possibly the top RAF ace of the war. Even while suffering from high fever, he scored nine air kills in his last four days.
Pattle is mentioned in Roald Dahl's second autobiography, Going Solo. Dahl flew with him in Greece and calls Pattle "the Second World War's greatest flying ace."
Air Marshal
Sir Peter Wykeham
, recalled:
"Pat Pattle was a natural. Some fighter pilots did not last long because they were too kind to their aircraft; others were successful because they caned it half to death. And their victories were accompanied by burst engines, popping rivets, stretched wire, wrinkled wings. But Pat was a sensitive pilot, who considered his machine, but, somehow he got more from it than anyone else, and possibly more than it had to give."
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
Marmaduke Thomas St. John "Pat" Pattle DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
& Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
(3 July 1914 – 20 April 1941) was a South African-born Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
for the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. Pattle was a fighter ace with a very high score, and is sometimes noted as being the highest-scoring British and Commonwealth pilot of the Second World War. If all claims made for him were in fact correct, his total would be in excess of 51. However, it can be stated with a degree of confidence, that his final score was at least 40.
Pattle has been unofficially credited with about 50 victories; in total, 26 victims were Italian; 15 were downed with Gloster Gladiators, the rest with Hawker Hurricanes. He is considered to be the highest-scoring ace on both Gladiator (15 victories) and Hurricane (35 victories) fighters.
Early years
"Pat" Pattle was born in Butterworth, Cape ProvinceCape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, on 3 July 1914, the son of English parents who had emigrated to the Union
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
. He attended Keetmanshoop
Keetmanshoop
Keetmanshoop is a city in Karas Region, southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and founder of the city....
Secondary School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
, and Victoria Boy's High School, which in 1939 was renamed Graeme College
Graeme College
Graeme College is a public school located in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It caters for boys from Grade 1 to Grade 12 and offers both boarding and day options to its pupils...
, Grahamstown
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
.
Pattle joined the South African Air Force
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
as a cadet on leaving school, but in 1936 transferred to the RAF. On 24 August 1936, he was granted a short service commission
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
as an Acting Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
. He completed his training in the UK in 1937 and in June 1937 as a Pilot Officer (he was confirmed in the rank on 27 July 1937) joined 80 Squadron, which had just re-equipped with Gloster Gladiator
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it...
biplanes.
In April 1938, he accompanied the unit to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, where by 1939 he had become a flight commander.
A gifted flyer and natural marksman, he took infinite pains to improve both talents, doing exercises to improve his distance vision and sharpen his reflexes.
North African campaign
Flight (military unit)
A flight is a military unit in an air force, naval air service, or army air corps. It usually comprises three to six aircraft, with their aircrews and ground staff; or, in the case of a non-flying ground flight, no aircraft and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel. In most usages,...
to Sidi Barrani
Sidi Barrani
Sidi Barrani is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the border with Libya, and around from Tobruk, Libya.Probably named after Sidi Mohammed el Barrani, a Senussi fighter in the early 1900s, the village is mainly a Bedouin community...
. "B" Flight, commanded by Pattle moved to the forward airfield. During early battles with the Italians over the desert, he claimed four victories and a probable, although he was shot down himself on 4 August 1940.
That day, while escorting a Lysander
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
, Pattle and his flight engaged first a force of six Breda Ba.65
Breda Ba.65
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Angelucci, Enzo and Paolo Matricardi. World Aircraft: World War II, Volume I . Maidenhead, UK: Sampson Low, 1978. ISBN 0-562-00096-8....
/A80s of the 159a Squadriglia and six Fiat CR-32 quarters of the 160a Squadriglia. Pattle forced-landing a Breda but was then attacked by the escorting Fiat CR.42s. He managed to hit one, that he saw falling spinning, but later was himself attacked by another formation of Bredas and CR.42s. The Bredas attacked first but Pattle avoided their quarter and beam attacks, but soon discovered that one of the Fiat pilots was an exceptional shot who made repeated full deflection attacks with great accuracy. Eventually Pattle's rudder controls were shot away, so he climbed to 400 ft and bailed out. He was shot down most probably by Italian Spanish Civil War ace Tenente Franco Lucchini
Franco Lucchini
Franco Lucchini, MOVM, was an Italian World War II fighter pilot in the Aviazione Legionaria and in the Regia Aeronautica. During World War II he achieved 21 individual air victories, plus 52 shared, to add to the five kills in Spain, during the Civil War.He was born in Rome, son of a railway...
of 90a Squadriglia, 10° Gruppo, 4° Stormo (his final score was 26). He started to walk towards the Allied lines and crossed the border at around midday the following day. After two days he was rescued by a detachment from the 11th Hussars, who returned him to Sidi Barrani.
On 8 August, Pattle claimed two more kills, while leading 14 Gladiators of 80 Squadron in a surprise attack against 16 Fiat CR.42s from 9° and 10° Gruppi of 4° Stormo, over Gabr Saleh (about 65 kilometres southeast of El Adem and 35 kilometres east of Bir El Gobi, well inside the Italian territory). He later recalled:
My own section then engaged those Enemy Aircraft who were attempting to reach their own base and immediately became engaged in separate combats. I engaged a CR.42 and, after a short skirmish, get into position immediately behind him. On firing two short bursts at about 50 yards range the E.A. fell into a spin and burst into flames on striking the ground. The pilot did not abandon his aircraft.
I then attacked 3 E.A. immediately below me. This action was indecisive as after a few minutes they broke away by diving vertically for the ground and pulling out at very low altitude. ...I was about to turn for our base when a 42 attacked me from below. With the advantage of height I dived astern of him and after a short burst he spun into the ground into flames. As before the pilot didn’t abandon his aircraft. Flying Officer Graham confirms both my combats which ended decisively”.
One of his victims was probably Maresciallo Norino Renzi, a Regia Aeronautica
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...
pilot since 25 December 1930 and a pre-war member of 4° Stormo’s aerobatics group, who was killed.
Pattle was promoted to Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
on 3 September 1940.
That same month, Pattle damaged a Savoia-Marchetti S.79 bomber, though the speed of the Italian bomber enabled it to escape.
Greece and the Balkans
In November, the squadron was transferred to the BalkansBalkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
to help the Greek Air Force
Hellenic Air Force
The Hellenic Air Force, abbreviated to HAF is the air force of Greece. The mission of the Hellenic Air Force is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid in Greece and around the...
against the Italian invasion
Greco-Italian War
The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...
on the Albanian Front. Here Pattle was to enjoy his significant success.
On 19 November 1940, Pattle with eight other pilots from 80 Squadron attacked Fiat CR.42s and Fiat G.50bis near the Italian airfield at Korçë
Korçë
Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...
. In this combat, the RAF claimed nine and two probably destroyed while 160o Gruppo Autonomo C.T. lost three CR.42s and got one damaged while 355a Squadriglia, 24o Gruppo Autonomo C.T., lost one G.50 and the four pilots killed, while RAF lost a Gladiator. Pattle claimed two CR.42s that day.
On 2 December, in the Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
area, Pattle shot down a IMAM Ro.37bis from 42a Squadriglia, 72o Gruppo O.A., and Sergente Luigi Del Manno and his observer, Tenente Michele Milano, were both killed. In the afternoon Pattle shot down another Ro.37bis from 72oGruppo O.A. near Premet, killing Capt. Gardella and his observer. On 4 December 1940, the RAF claimed nine Fiat CR.42s destroyed and two probables. Pattle (who had his own aircraft hit in the main fuel tank and a wing strut) claimed three CR.42s plus another and a Fiat CR.32 as probables. Combat records show 150° Gruppo C.T., involved in that combat, lost two CR.42s when Tenente Alberto Triolo and Sottotenente Paolo Penna were killed.
Pattle was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
(DFC) on 11 February 1941,
Amazingly, his victories thus far were with the obsolete Gloster Gladiator
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it...
biplane.
No 80 Squadron was equipped with the Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
Mk I on 20 February 1941.
That day, Flight Lieutenant Pattle, flying Hurricane Mk I V7724, was leading a group of six Hurricanes of No. 80 Sqdn to escort 16 Blenheims (eight of No. 84 Squadron, six of No. 211 Squadron and three of No. 30 Squadron) to Berat. Fiat G.50bis from the 361a and 395a Squadriglie, 154° Autonomo Gruppo C.T. were scrambled from Berat
Berat
Berat is a town located in south-central Albania. As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of around 71,000 people. It is the capital of both the District of Berat and the larger County of Berat...
airfield. But they were attacked by the Hurricanes. Pattle led his section straight towards four Fiat G.50s and selected the leading aircraft as his own target. As he closed, the Fiat pulled away in a steep turn, but he managed to hold it in his gunsight until he came into range and shot at it. It was the first time he had fired the eight guns of the Hurricane, and the "G.50 exploded right before his eyes, disintegrating in hundreds of small flaming pieces", as his biography relates. The Fiat G.50 was from 154° Gruppo and it was the first of about 35 Hurricane victories that Pattle would claim flying the Hawker fighter over the next two months.
Some of Pattle “kills” were overclaimed. On the 27 (or on the 28, according to other sources) February, the British pilots in Greece celebrated their biggest day of combat. In that day's report, Air Vice Marshal J.H. d'Albiac, RAF commander in Greece, wrote that No. 80 Squadron, re-equipped with Hawker Hurricanes, had destroyed 27 Italian aircraft in 90 minutes of air combat, without losses (or, according to other sources, a Gloster Gladiator was lost and two Blenheims damaged by CR.42s had to crash-land while returning to base). Pattle himself claimed three Fiat CR.42s shot down in less than three minutes. “But that day”, recalled Corrado Ricci, Capitano of Regia Aeronautica "we lost only a CR.42... Our pilots, in return, claimed four Glosters and a Hurricane". The Regia Aeronautica, according to other sources, lost two Fiat biplanes that day (plus five bombers and two Fiat G.50s). In a previous fight south of Valona
Valona
The valona is a popular narrative song- and poetry-form of the Mexican state of Michoacán. Its main characteristics are: a bitter sense of humor, mainly with reference to erotism and social concerns; its lyrics are composed as groupings of ten-line strophes, each line made up of eight syllables;...
, Pattle had to return to base with the windscreen covered by oil from a shot down enemy bomber.
Pattle received a bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
to his DFC on 18 March 1941, for which the citation read:
This citation referred to an action on 4 March 1941, when Pattle claimed three enemy Fiat G.50bis fighters of 24oGruppo C.T. He claimed the first, while he was flying with his No 2, on this occasion, Flying Officer Nigel Cullen
Nigel Cullen
Richard Nigel Cullen DFC was an Australian fighter ace of World War II. Serving with the Royal Air Force , he was credited with sixteen aerial victories before being killed in action during the Battle of Greece...
. He reported that a lone G.50bis attacked him and Cullen but that he shot this down and watched it spiral into a mountainside just north of Himare
Himarë
Himarë is a bilingual region and municipality along the Albanian Riviera in southern Albania and part of the District of Vlorë. Apart from the town of Himarë, the region consists of 7 other villages: Dhërmi, Pilur, Kudhës, Qeparo, Vuno, Iljas, and Palasë....
(at this moment a second Fiat "jumped" Cullen (Hurricane V7288) and he was not seen again; his aircraft crashed near Himare, and the Australian ace was killed).
Pattle claimed that another lone G.50bis attacked him while flying towards Valona. After a brief combat he shot down the Fiat, that went into the sea southwest of Valona harbour. He then became involved with a third such fighter over Valona harbour and claimed to have shot this down into the sea in flames on the west side of the promontory.
Pattle later served with 33 Squadron as Commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
during March and April 1941. On his first encounter with the Luftwaffe on 6 April 1941, Pattle claimed two victories over the Bf 109Es of 8. Staffel, Jagdgeschwader 27
Jagdgeschwader 27
Jagdgeschwader 27 Afrika was a World War II Luftwaffe Geschwader. It was most famous for service in the North African Campaign, supporting the Deutsches Afrikakorps.- Formation:...
over the Rupel Pass. Oberleutnant Becker was shot down and killed, and Leutnant Faber made a prisoner. Thereafter, details vary as to his score as all records were destroyed. According to a diary kept by one of his ground crew, he claimed eight more victories by 12 April, and destroyed two more Bf 109s on the ground, subsequently claiming five in a day on the 14th and six on the 19th.
All five victories Pattle claimed during five sorties on 14 April seem unconfirmed: a Bf 109 at 07:10, two Junkers Ju 88s (at 08:43 and 17:40), a Messerschmitt Bf 110
Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...
at 10:04 and a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79
Savoia-Marchetti SM.79
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero was a three-engined Italian medium bomber with a wood and metal structure. Originally designed as a fast passenger aircraft, this low-wing monoplane, in the years 1937–39, set 26 world records that qualified it for some time as the fastest medium bomber in the...
, at 13:08. Luftwaffe II/KG 51 lost two Ju 88s in combats with 33 Squadron, although the other victories claimed during the day are not confirmed by Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica records.
On 19 April, Pattle claimed six destroyed (three Ju 88s and three Bf 109s), plus one shared (a Henschel Hs 126
Henschel Hs 126
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6....
) and two probables (still a Ju 88 and a Bf 109), but the kills of two Ju 88s (and one probable, claimed on Athens area), and that of a Bf 109, cannot be verified.
In late April Pattle was suffering from influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
, and his condition had worsened to a point where Sqn/Ldr Edward Jones, acting as Wing Commander, ordered him to reduce his flying and to only take off only when the air raid alarm was sounded.
On his last combat operation, a formation of 12 Hawker Hurricanes, the entire Allied air presence in Greece at the time, participated in a prestige mission over Athens to bolster morale for the Greeks. The formation was attacked by Axis fighters in what became known as the Battle of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. F/L Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
records five Hurricanes were downed, with four pilots dying; one of those was Pattle. Still suffering from combat fatigue and influenza with a fever over 39˚C, he tried to save one of his pilots (F/Lt Woods) from a Bf 110 before two other Bf 110s of Zerstörergeschwader (ZG) 26
Zerstörergeschwader 26
Zerstörergeschwader 26 "Horst Wessel" was a Luftwaffe heavy/destroyer Fighter Aircraft-wing of World War II.-History:Zerstörergeschwader 26 was formed in early 1936 from the Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel". The Geschwaderstab and I. Gruppe was located in Dortmund, II. Gruppe in Werl and III....
shot him down over Eleusis Bay, some five miles SW of Athens. Surviving records show among the German claimants were Staffelkapitän
Staffelkapitän
Staffelkapitän is a position in flying units of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a Staffelkapitän is of Oberstleutnant or Major rank....
Hauptmann
Hauptmann
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
Theodor Rossiwall
Theodor Rossiwall
Theodor Rossiwall was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Rossiwall claimed 19 aircraft shot down in over 400 missions...
and Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Sophus Baagoe
Sophus Baagoe
Sophus Baagoe was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Baagoe claimed 14 aerial victories, 13 over the Western Front and 1 over the Mediterranean Front...
who were credited with kills against Hurricanes, taking their scores to 12 and 14 respectively. Oblt Baagoe, would be killed in action within a month, on 14 May 1941. It cannot be known for certain which one shot down Pattle. F/Lt W.J. "Timber" Woods, an ace in No. 80 Squadron with 6.5 kills, was also killed in this battle.
Recent research into the Battle of Athens and those engaged in it, indicates the Hurricanes of Pattle and Woods fell on the east coast of the island of Psitallea, outside the harbor of Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
, not in Eleusis Bay. No. 33 Squadron met the first wave of Bf 110s over Kallithea
Kallithea
Kallithea is the 8th largest municipality in Greece and the 4th biggest in the Athens urban area...
, a suburb of Athens, and were chased to the south into Faliron Bay from where Woods, low on fuel and ammunition, turned west to try to reach his base at Eleusis. He was reported to have been shot down along this track during the first engagement over Faliron and Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
.
Pattle is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial at El Alamein
El Alamein
El Alamein is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. As of 2007, it has a local population of 7,397 inhabitants.- Climate :...
together with 3,000 other Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
airmen who lost their lives in the Middle East (Egypt, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Greece, Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
and the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
and the Somaliland
Somaliland
Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...
s, the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
or Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
) during the Second World War, and who have no known grave.
Legacy
Pattle did all his scoring in a period of nine months, against AxisAxis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
opponents who outnumbered the RAF fighter contingent at all times. Pattle was reputed to be a crack shot, a better-than-average pilot and a highly capable formation leader in the air. As a squadron commander, he demanded more from himself than anyone else, and it is said he died because he should have been grounded because of illness, yet insisted on leading his squadron.
Pattle's final "score" will probably never be known, as official squadron combat reports and RAF documents for the time were lost in the retreat from Greece and Crete. Existing records up to early April 1941 list Pattle as claiming at least 34 confirmed kills, and many more probables. Aviation historian Christopher Shores, in his book of Commonwealth fighter pilots, Aces High, by cross-checking squadron diaries, reviewing Pattle's aircraft rigger's (W.J. Ringrose) personal journal and the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica loss records, claims Pattle's final score as 50 individual and two shared victories. Andrew Thomas reports the same score in Osprey Aircraft of Aces 57: Hurricane Aces 1941–1945.
Recent research of his 50 claims has shown that at least 27 can be directly linked to specific Italian and German losses, while only six claims discounted as no Axis losses are recorded. This suggests Pattle's true total could be at least 27–44 kills, making him the highest scoring RAF biplane ace, one of the top Hurricane pilots of the conflict, and possibly the top RAF ace of the war. Even while suffering from high fever, he scored nine air kills in his last four days.
Pattle is mentioned in Roald Dahl's second autobiography, Going Solo. Dahl flew with him in Greece and calls Pattle "the Second World War's greatest flying ace."
Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Peter Wykeham
Peter Wykeham
Air Marshal Sir Peter Guy Wykeham KCB, DSO & Bar, OBE, DFC & Bar, AFC, RAF , born Peter Guy Wykeham-Barnes was a World War II Royal Air Force fighter pilot and squadron commander.-RAF career:...
, recalled:
"Pat Pattle was a natural. Some fighter pilots did not last long because they were too kind to their aircraft; others were successful because they caned it half to death. And their victories were accompanied by burst engines, popping rivets, stretched wire, wrinkled wings. But Pat was a sensitive pilot, who considered his machine, but, somehow he got more from it than anyone else, and possibly more than it had to give."