Traces of World War 2 
RAF - No. 111 Squadron
10/05/1940 - 30/06/1940

SQUADRON - Fighter, Hawker Hurricane Mk. I

History | Operations and losses | Sources | Links | Books | Questions and/or remarks



No. 111 Squadron became the first RAF squadron to operate the Hawker Hurricane in January 1938.

Unlike many other Hurricane units, 111 operated from Britain during the early months of World War Two although following the German invasion, it sometimes operated from France forward airfields. Having covered the Dunkirk evacuation, it took part in the Battle of Britain until early September 1940, when it was sent to Scotland to rest and re-equip. A return south in July 1941 allowed the squadron to carry out offensive operations over France, which it continued until September 1942, when it was earmarked for overseas service.

Squadron code: JU

Stations

North Weald, May 1940
Croydon 4 June 1940
Debden 19 August 1940
Croydon 3 September 1940
Drem 8 September 1940

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Operations and losses 10/05/1940 - 30/06/1940
Not all operations listed; those with fatal losses are. (incomplete)

18/05/1940: Cambrai and Douai, F. 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA
19/05/1940: Lille-Cambrai, F. 2 Planes lost, 2 KIA
31/05/1940: Dunkirk, F
01/06/1940: Dunkirk?
02/06/1940: Patrol. 1 Plane lost
06/06/1940: Escort Blenheim to Abbeville. 1 Plane lost
11/06/1940: Le Havre, F
19/06/1940: ? 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA or DOW


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18/05/1940: Cambrai and Douai, F

No. 111 Squadron saw action on 10.30 hrs in the Cambrai area, on 15.25 hrs near Douai and on 16.30 hrs, again in the Douai area.

In the first engagement a Hs126 was claimed by S/L J.M. Thompson, F/L C.S. Darwood and F/O D.C. Bruce. In the second engagement 5 Me110's were claimed as destroyed. In the third action 4 German aircraft were claimed as destroyed.

Type: Hawker Hurricane Mk I
Serial number: ?, JU-?
Operation: ?
Lost:
Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) Charles S. Darwood, RAF 37085, age 26, 18/05/1940, Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery, F

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19/05/1940: Lille-Cambrai

No. 111 Squadron claimed 4 He111's as destroyed, Lille-Cambrai area, 14.15 hrs.

Type: Hawker Hurricane Mk I
Serial number: ?, JU-?
Operation: ?
Lost:
Flying Officer (Pilot) David S.H. Bury, RAF 72077, 111 Sqdn., age 25, 19/05/1940, Chili Trench Cemetery, Gavrelle, F

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Type: Hawker Hurricane Mk I
Serial number: ?, JU-?
Operation: ?
Lost:
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Iain C. Moorwood, RAF 42253, age 21, 19/05/1940, Sains-les-Marquion Churchyard, F

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02/06/1940: Patrol

At 18.50 hrs, 5 miles West of Dunkirk 111 Sqdn. engaged a German formation and claimed two German planes.

Type: Hawker Hurricane Mk I
Serial number: L1661, JU-?
Operation: Patrol
Lost: 02/06/1940
P/O R.R. Wilson bailed out after a fight with enemy fighters. The aircraft crashed into the sea, the pilot landed inland near Mauston, UK

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06/06/1940: Escort Blenheim to Abbeville

Type: Hawker Hurricane Mk I
Serial number: P2885, JU-?
Operation: Escort Blenheim to Abbeville
Lost: 06/06/1940
Sgt R.J.W. Brown bailed out, after his aircraft was damaged in engagement with German fighters. With slight injuries he was able to return to England.

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11/06/1940: Le Havre, F

No 111 Squadron attacks a German formation at 13.30 hrs and claims at least 3 enemy planes.

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19/06/1940: ?

Type: Hawker Hurricane Mk I
Serial number: ?, JU-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 19/06/1940
Sergeant (Pilot) Edward W. Pascoe, RAFVR 740424, 111 Sqdn., age 27, 19/06/1940, Walthamstow (St. Peter in the Forest) Churchyard, UK

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Sources

Air of Authority - 111 Squadron
Bail-outs for 1940
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fighter Command Air Combat Claims 1939-1945
Royal Air Force - 111 Squadron
RAF Battle of Britain - 111 Squadron
RAF - Campaign Diary - The Battle of France (May-June 1940)
RAF Museum: British Military Aviation in 1940
RAF Order of Battle, France, 10th May 1940
Royal Air Force History Section
The Royal Air Force, 1939-1945
The Second World War - a day by day account
The War in France and Flanders, 1939-1940, by Major L.F. Ellis, 1954

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Books

S A Burton 'Adstantes: 111 (Fighter) Squadron' (Private 1996)
Anthony Robinson 'RAF fighter squadrons in the Battle of Britain'
H Griffiths '111(F) Squadron: the first 75 years' (Tri-Service c1992)

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Links

Air Aces
Airwar over Denmark
Allied World War II Casualties in the Netherlands
Armée de l'Air - Order of Battle, 10th May 1940
Australian Wargraves
Axis History Factbook
Battle-of-Britain.com
De Belgen in Engeland 1940-1945 (in Dutch)
Belgian Aviation History Association Archaeological Team
British Aviation Archaeological Council - Books and research links
HMS Cavalier
CWGC Cemeteries Germany
CWGC Cemeteries Netherlands
Czechoslovak airmen in the RAF 1940-1945
Danish WW2 Pilots
Håkans aviation page (from Sweden, in English)
'High flight', poem by John Gillespie Magee
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, poem by W.B. Yeats
Jagdgeschwader 27 (in German)
Luchtoorlog ('Arial War', in Dutch, with many photos)
The Luftwaffe, 1933-1945
Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum
The National Ex-Prisoners of War Association
Naval History.net
Nordic Aviation during WW2
Pilotfriend.com: aircraft of WW2
Polish Air Force 1940-1947 Operations Record Books
RAF Battle of Britain
De Slag om de Grebbeberg (Dutch)
Warbird Alley
War over Holland
World War II Aircraft wrecksites in Norway
www.bomber-command.de

Bills-Bunker.de
North East Diary 1939-1945
Wartime Leicester and Leicestershire

The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War 1


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This page is dedicated to the men of 111 Squadron.

© Bart FM Droog / Rottend Staal Online 2008. Permission granted for use of the data gathered here for non commercial purposes, if this source is mentioned with a link to http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/index.html