Ronald Cuthbert Hay
Encyclopedia
Ronald Cuthbert Hay DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

, DSC
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...

 and 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...

 (4 October 1916 – 22 November 2001) is the only Royal Marine fighter ace
Fighter Ace
Fighter Ace was a massively multiplayer online computer game in which one flies World War II fighter and bomber planes in combat against other players and virtual pilots...

. He joined the Royal Marines just prior to the Second World War in 1935 and then served as an aviator with the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

. In 1940 he joined 801 Naval Air Squadron
801 Naval Air Squadron
801 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy formed in 1933 which fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Falklands War.- Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force:...

 flying the two seater Blackburn Skua
Blackburn Skua
The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm which combined the functions of a dive bomber and fighter. It was designed in the mid-1930s, and saw service in the early part of the Second World War...

 on HMS Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal (91)
HMS Ark Royal was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War.Designed in 1934 to fit the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, Ark Royal was built by Cammell Laird and Company, Ltd. at Birkenhead, England, and completed in November 1938. Her design...

 for the Norwegian Campaign, claiming his first victory on his first operational flight. He took part in operations covering the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....

 from the Dunkirk beaches. Then flying the Fairey Fulmar
Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier-borne fighter aircraft that served with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation at its Stockport factory between January 1940 and December 1942...

 joined 808 Naval Air Squadron
808 Naval Air Squadron
808 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in July 1940. It served on a number of the Navy's aircraft carriers during the Second World War, serving in most of the theatres of the war, before decommissioning at the end of the war...

 during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

.

In 1944 he became Wing Leader of the 47th Naval Fighter Wing flying the Vought F4U Corsair aboard in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

. He led the wing during many of the major British air attacks on the Japanese in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

. By the end of the war he had claimed 4 aircraft destroyed solo and 9 shared destroyed. After the war he transferred to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 reaching the rank of Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 before retiring in 1966. Hay later worked in the Mediterranean for 12 years chartering boats and spent time renovating an old mill at Amesbury
Amesbury
Amesbury is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish, and for the discovery of the Amesbury Archer—dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the press—in 2002...

, near Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...

. He appeared in several television documentaries about the Second World War.

History

Ronald Cuthbert Hay was born on 4 October 1916, in Perth, Scotland
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...

, one of five children (three girls and two boys) of Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 Cuthbert Joseph Hay and Letitia Griffith Fausset. He was educated at Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...

 in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

.

World War II

Too old for a cadetship in the Royal Navy, Hay volunteered for the Royal Marines in 1935, and served a year at sea in the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

 . In 1938 he volunteered for flying duties with the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

 and was posted to the recently reformed 801 Naval Air Squadron
801 Naval Air Squadron
801 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy formed in 1933 which fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Falklands War.- Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force:...

, assigned to the fleet carrier
Fleet carrier
A fleet carrier is an aircraft carrier that is designed to operate with the main fleet of a nation's navy. The term was developed during the Second World War, to distinguish it from the escort carrier and other lesser types...

  and equipped with the two seater Blackburn Skua
Blackburn Skua
The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm which combined the functions of a dive bomber and fighter. It was designed in the mid-1930s, and saw service in the early part of the Second World War...

 and Blackburn Roc
Blackburn Roc
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Brew, Alec. The Turret Fighters: Defiant and Roc. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press, 2002. ISBN 1-86126-497-6....

 fighter aircraft. His first victory during operations over Norway was on 27 April 1940, which he later described in detail;
"We ran into a Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...

 bomber, Lieutenant Bill Church attacked from astern and the bomber dived to sea level. They exchanged fire, and when Bill pulled upwards to break off the attack, his aircraft was struck in the belly and crashed into the sea without any survivors. I had learned my first lesson in air fighting with a vengeance-never break away upwards. I therefore sat on the tail of the bomber and fired short bursts until it crashed into the sea."


On 31 May 801 Squadron joined 806 Naval Air Squadron
806 Naval Air Squadron
806 Naval Air Squadron was a fighter squadron in the Fleet Air Arm that existed from February 1940 to December 1960 and saw active service in Norway, the Dunkirk evacuation and the Malta Convoys.-Formation:...

 at Detling
Detling
Detling is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is located on the slope of the North Downs, north east of Maidstone, and on the Pilgrims' Way....

 to cover the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....

 from the beaches at Dunkirk. They mainly used the Skua in its dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...

 role, which was no match for the German Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...

s. After one mission Hay's plane was only one of four that returned to base, the rest having been shot down. The squadron remained in Kent until 27 June. Hay was next transferred to the Fairey Fulmar
Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier-borne fighter aircraft that served with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation at its Stockport factory between January 1940 and December 1942...

 equipped 808 Naval Air Squadron
808 Naval Air Squadron
808 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in July 1940. It served on a number of the Navy's aircraft carriers during the Second World War, serving in most of the theatres of the war, before decommissioning at the end of the war...

 based at Wick, West Sussex
Wick, West Sussex
Wick is a community in the Arun district of West Sussex, England. Originally a separate village, it now forms part of the built up area around Littlehampton. It lies on the A284 road 0.6 miles north of the town centre....

. The squadron was one of only two Fleet Air Arm fighter squadrons that fought in the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

 under RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...

 control.
In October 1940, 808 Squadron and Hay rejoined the Ark Royal on route to the Mediterranean. Hay remained on active service through early 1941, claiming several Italian floatplanes. In May 1941 they escorted the Tiger convoy
Malta Convoys
The Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys that sustained the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War...

 from Gibraltar to Egypt. As they approached Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

 on 8 May they twice came under attack from the Italian Air Force. During the second attack Hay who was leading his section of aircraft shot down 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...

 his sixth confirmed victory. After Ark Royal was torpedoed and sunk in November 1941, Hay was posted ashore as a flying instructor with 759 and 761 training Squadrons. He was also awarded a Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...

 for his exploits while in the Mediterranean.

Promoted to acting Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...

 in May 1942, he was given command of 809 Naval Air Squadron
809 Naval Air Squadron
-WWII:Formed in January 1941 at St Merryn with 12 Fairey Fulmars, the squadron embarked in HMS Victorious in July 1941. At first involved in operations against Petsamo and Bodø, and then the convoys to North Russia, Victorious and her air group fought in the Mediterranean from July 1942, including...

 which was assigned to the fleet carrier . Hay commanded the squadron during the Torch landings in North Africa and was promoted to substantive Captain at the same time. Hay's time in command of 809 Squadron did not last long as he was soon posted to Ceylon as an acting Major in April 1943. It was while in Ceylon that he met and married Third Officer Barbara Grange, of the Women's Royal Naval Service
Women's Royal Naval Service
The Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.Members included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics...

.

Far East

In August 1944 Hay took over command of the 47th Naval Fighter Wing which was composed of two squadrons of Vought F4U Corsairs aboard HMS Victorious. Their first operation was against the Nicobar Islands
Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean...

 in October 1944. He was promoted acting Lieutenant-Colonel in December 1944. An award of the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

 came after leading the attacks on the Palembang
Palembang
Palembang is the capital city of the South Sumatra province in Indonesia. Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being a capital of a maritime empire. Located on the Musi River banks on the east coast of southern Sumatra island, it has an area of 400.61 square...

 oil refineries on 4 January 1945, when Hay's fighters shot down eight Japanese aircraft for the loss of one Corsair. Hay personally led the wing in attacks on Japanese oil installations and airfields on Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

. This was one of the Fleet Air Arm's largest operations involving 56 Corsairs and 45 Grumman Avengers from Victorious and .

During the mission Hay shot down another two aircraft himself; a Nakajima Ki-43
Nakajima Ki-43
The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa was a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II...

 and a Nakajima Ki-44
Nakajima Ki-44
The Nakajima Ki-44 Shōki was a single-engine fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. The type first flew in August 1940 and entered service in 1942...

. At the end of January Hay's wing was again involved in operations to destroy the Sumatran oilfields. Hay claimed another victory on 29 January, when acting as the strike co-ordinator he shared in shooting down a Nakajima Ki-43
Nakajima Ki-43
The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa was a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II...

 and a Nakajima Ki-44
Nakajima Ki-44
The Nakajima Ki-44 Shōki was a single-engine fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. The type first flew in August 1940 and entered service in 1942...

. Hay's wing was next involved in operations at the Sakishima Islands
Sakishima Islands
The are an island chain located at the southernmost end of the Japanese Archipelago. They are part of the Nansei Islands and include the Miyako Islands and the Yaeyama Islands...

 between March and June 1945, in support of the American invasion of Okinawa. Hay was awarded his second DSC for his service leading these attacks. At the end of the Second World War Hay still on board Victorious was involved in air strikes against the Japanese mainland until 11 August 1945 when Victorious was withdrawn to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 for a refit.

Later life

After the war, Hay continued flying but was injured in an accident landing a Supermarine Seafire
Supermarine Seafire
The Supermarine Seafire was a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire specially adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. The name Seafire was arrived at by collapsing the longer name Sea Spitfire.-Origins of the Seafire:...

. He reverted to his war substantive rank of Captain and was posted back to the Royal Marines. He then served with 40 Commando
40 Commando
40 Commando RM is a battalion sized formation of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet....

 in Malta, Cyprus, Hong Kong and Malaya. Unhappy with the Royal Marines Hay applied for and was transferred to the Royal Navy in 1951, with the rank of Lieutenant-Commander. Hay served on the fleet carrier , then held a number of positions ashore. Between 1955 and 1957 he served at RNAS Stretton as Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 (Air). Then Staff College at Latimer
Latimer
-Politics and government:* Asbury Latimer , farmer and U.S. Senator from South Carolina* George Latimer , multiple politicians* Henry Latimer , lawyer and judge from Florida...

, before going to Germany for his first NATO appointment. After which he returned to the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

's Joint Warfare Establishment and then went to Turkey for another NATO position. Hay retired from the Royal Navy in 1966, and spent the next dozen years working in the Mediterranean chartering boats and appeared in television documentaries about the war.

Death

Hay died on 22 November 2001, aged 85, and was survived by his four children.

Legacy

In May 2010 the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

' Philatelic Bureau issued a set of stamps to commemorate the Battle of Britain. Lieutenant Hay's Fairey Fulmar was depicted to represent British aircraft that took part in the battle.
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