Saddened to find another fine pilot has departed and what makes it sadder is it has come to light he was another Vultee Vengeance pilot in India,
https://forum.keypublishing.com/foru...-elkington-rip
Tim was a veteran of No 1 squadron in the Battle of Britain and, even for someone in the RAF in wartime, he did a truly astonishing amount of things.
He flew Hurricanes catapulted off merchant ships, with no hope of landing once they'd dealt with a convoy raider. He flew Hurricanes alongside an aircraft armed with a huge searchlight in the hope of illuminating enemy raiders (it didn't work very well). He flew in Russia alongside the Red Air Force in the Russian winter.
He met his wife first when she was helping people shoot at him (he was flying an aircraft towing a drogue for target practice for ground gunners, she was on the ground with the gunners). Later, in India, he flew a captured Japanese A6M5 "Zero", and the Vultee Vengeance divebomber.
I find it heartbreaking that these true gents may well have known each other and but for a few scant months we were unable to possibly put them back in contact with one another.... Blue Skies to you all and one hopes you are now meeting up in the bar in the sky .
Additionally we recently lost an Engineer from the squadron too
https://forum.keypublishing.com/foru...ne-of-the-many