Following on from a discussion of the Sea Hurricane and it's variants I thought a brief resume of all the operational launches of the CAM ship Hurricanes, a little more detail than generally available but not exhaustive. I have not included operations by Hurricanes from the Fighter Catapult Ship Maplin.
1st November 1941
Flying Officer George Varley launched from Empire Foam, homeward bound from Halifax, at 15.10 to intercept a Fw 200. Varley chased the Fw 200 into cloud, lost it and returned to the convoy mounting a standing patrol. He investigated two plots showing aircraft 5 miles astern of the convoy but made no contact. After an hour he did make contact with a radar plot, but the aircraft promptly fired off colours of the day and was identified as a Coastal Command B-24. After an hour and forty minutes in the air Varley warned his Fighter Direction Officer (Gostelow) that he would soon have to bail out. At 17.05 he judged his fuel to be just about expended and flew around the destroyer Broke, rocking his wings to indicate he was bailing out. He had some difficulty abandoning his aircraft but finally managed a good escape and was picked up by Broke after only a few minutes in the sea.
26th May 1942
Flying Officer John Kendal launched from Empire Morn at 09.00 for an unsuccessful interception of a Bv 138. There were communication problems between Kendal and his FDO (Mallett) but Kendal attacked and shot down a Ju 88. He returned to orbit the convoy and, communications briefly restored, Mallett sent him of to investigate the shot down Ju 88. Kendal lost the convoy and took some time to find it, whereupon he reported that he had seen wreckage and an empty dinghy at the Ju 88's crash site. Kendal now needed to bail out. He was supposed to bail out near Boadicea but the destroyer, positioned ahead of the convoy was in an area of bad visibility in which Kendal lost his bearings. Mallett ordered him to select one of the escort vessels astern but received no acknowledgement. Soon Kendal appeared over another destroyer, Badsworth, and turned behind her, to overtake, climbing to his bail out altitude well above the 700ft cloud base. The waiting sailors heard the Hurricanes engine cut as Kendal throttled back and shortly after the aircraft appeared through the clouds followed by a cart wheeling figure whose parachute was not deployed. The parachute started to open about 50' above the sea and Kendal hit the sea under a partially opened canopy sustaining serious injuries. He was very quickly picked up at 10.04 by a boat from Badsworth but was declared dead ten minutes later. He was buried at sea that afternoon
Later on the same day (some sources wrongly give Kendal's mission as a year earlier) but from a different convoy headed in the opposite direction, Pilot Officer Al Hay launched from the Empire Lawrence. Time is not clear, but about 17.00-17.15. He made determined attacks on a formation of five He 11s breaking up their attack. He was wounded in the thigh and his Glycol tank was hit causing the engine to overheat. He told his FDO (Powell) that he was going to bail out, but saw a section of Ju 88s developing an attack on the convoy from the west. Out of ammunition he flew up the convoy, showing himself to the German aircraft which turned away. He circled over the front of the convoy before flying back under continuous fire from two American ships towards the rear. He escaped to the port side and when abeam of Empire Lawrence made a text book exit from his aircraft. On hitting the sea he discovered that his dinghy had been holed and was useless. The destroyer Volunteer saw his predicament and even though she was under attack, stopped and rescued him after only six minutes in the water. He was credited with one He 111 destroyed (NOT two) and one damaged.
Part 2 below
1st November 1941
Flying Officer George Varley launched from Empire Foam, homeward bound from Halifax, at 15.10 to intercept a Fw 200. Varley chased the Fw 200 into cloud, lost it and returned to the convoy mounting a standing patrol. He investigated two plots showing aircraft 5 miles astern of the convoy but made no contact. After an hour he did make contact with a radar plot, but the aircraft promptly fired off colours of the day and was identified as a Coastal Command B-24. After an hour and forty minutes in the air Varley warned his Fighter Direction Officer (Gostelow) that he would soon have to bail out. At 17.05 he judged his fuel to be just about expended and flew around the destroyer Broke, rocking his wings to indicate he was bailing out. He had some difficulty abandoning his aircraft but finally managed a good escape and was picked up by Broke after only a few minutes in the sea.
26th May 1942
Flying Officer John Kendal launched from Empire Morn at 09.00 for an unsuccessful interception of a Bv 138. There were communication problems between Kendal and his FDO (Mallett) but Kendal attacked and shot down a Ju 88. He returned to orbit the convoy and, communications briefly restored, Mallett sent him of to investigate the shot down Ju 88. Kendal lost the convoy and took some time to find it, whereupon he reported that he had seen wreckage and an empty dinghy at the Ju 88's crash site. Kendal now needed to bail out. He was supposed to bail out near Boadicea but the destroyer, positioned ahead of the convoy was in an area of bad visibility in which Kendal lost his bearings. Mallett ordered him to select one of the escort vessels astern but received no acknowledgement. Soon Kendal appeared over another destroyer, Badsworth, and turned behind her, to overtake, climbing to his bail out altitude well above the 700ft cloud base. The waiting sailors heard the Hurricanes engine cut as Kendal throttled back and shortly after the aircraft appeared through the clouds followed by a cart wheeling figure whose parachute was not deployed. The parachute started to open about 50' above the sea and Kendal hit the sea under a partially opened canopy sustaining serious injuries. He was very quickly picked up at 10.04 by a boat from Badsworth but was declared dead ten minutes later. He was buried at sea that afternoon
Later on the same day (some sources wrongly give Kendal's mission as a year earlier) but from a different convoy headed in the opposite direction, Pilot Officer Al Hay launched from the Empire Lawrence. Time is not clear, but about 17.00-17.15. He made determined attacks on a formation of five He 11s breaking up their attack. He was wounded in the thigh and his Glycol tank was hit causing the engine to overheat. He told his FDO (Powell) that he was going to bail out, but saw a section of Ju 88s developing an attack on the convoy from the west. Out of ammunition he flew up the convoy, showing himself to the German aircraft which turned away. He circled over the front of the convoy before flying back under continuous fire from two American ships towards the rear. He escaped to the port side and when abeam of Empire Lawrence made a text book exit from his aircraft. On hitting the sea he discovered that his dinghy had been holed and was useless. The destroyer Volunteer saw his predicament and even though she was under attack, stopped and rescued him after only six minutes in the water. He was credited with one He 111 destroyed (NOT two) and one damaged.
Part 2 below
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