Hawker Hurricane that saved Buck. Palace.

[Ignition Override]

Interesting t.v. show tonight on US History International Channel (HINT:some hotels have it). The Hurricane pilot attacked a Dornier 17 (flown by Oberleutnant Zehre: died of previous injuries after the bailout: other crew unknown), which although already smoking, was headed towards the Palace. No ammo left, or else the guns jammed, so the very brave guy rammed it somewhere in the fuselage and the Hurr. pilot survived. A film showed the front of the Dornier tumbling down. The Hurr. pilot had a broken arm, but used both arms to pull the parachute D-ring. He then slid from a chimney down onto the street, but not from very high. The young children who watched him slide down went over and hugged him.

Pilot is named Homes or Holmes?-what a determined guy. The plane's engineer was Mr. Eric Soar.
The 'aircraft archaeology' crew found the Rolls Royce V-12 engine buried under a street, using radar as they blocked traffic somewhere in the West End (?) and the control column. Nice ceremony in the street later. Looked like the Queen was present.

[forget]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b270/cumpas/BB11_Battle_over_London_Hurricane_D.jpg

Artist Geoff Nutkins. A Dornier 17Z is rammed over London by Sergeant Ray Holmes of No.504 Squadron on 15th September 1940.
With his ammunition exhausted, and believing the Dornier was heading for Buckingham Palace, Ray sliced off the bombers entire tail with his left wingtip. He initially thought his Hurricane would survive the impact, but then discovered he had lost all controls. He baled out safely, landing between houses in Chelsea. The Dornier crashed at Victoria Station.
This very public act of bravery captured the public imagination and became one of the most famous incidents of the Battle of Britain.

[airborne_artist]

Flt Lt Holmes obituary (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/29/db2901.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/06/29/ixportal.html) in The Telegraph

[Flatiron]

While in no way wishing to deny Ray Holmes' bravery, the full story as researched by Alfred Price is as follows. After beginning its bombing run, the Dornier had one engine knocked out and it straggled behind the formation. It immediately came under attack from several fighters and was badly shot up. Three of the crew, including the pilot, bailed out. The two remaining crewmen were almost certainly dead or unconscious. Flying on autopilot the lone bomber crossed the centre of London.
Sergeant Ray Holmes of No 504 Sqn was last to attack the lone (and empty) bomber. He ran in from head-on, but shortly after he opened fire his Hurricane's guns fell silent - he was out of ammunition. He made a snap decision to ram the bomber. His port wing struck the Dornier's rear fuselage, shearing off the entire tail unit. The bomber then made a sharp bunt, which caused the outer wing on each side to snap off. The bomber then entered a spin so violent that two 110 lb bombs and a canister of incendiaries tore off their mountings and smashed through the side of the bomb bay. The fall of the tailless, and largely wingless, Dornier was filmed until it hit the ground on the forecourt of Victoria Station. One of its bombs went through the roof of nearby Buckingham Palace, and smashed through a couple of floors before coming to rest in the bathroom of one of the royal apartments where it failed to explode! The rest of the bombs fell in the palace grounds, where the incendiaries started a small fire that was quickly extinguished. At that time newspaper accounts said this was a deliberate attack on the British Royal Family, but of course it was not. In any case, the King and Queen were at Windsor on that day.
Of the three German crewmen who bailed out of the Dornier before it was rammed, two were taken into captivity soon after landing. The third man was less fortunate. He landed by parachute near The Oval underground station in Kennington and was set upon in the street by civilians, some of whom tried to lynch him. He was rescued by the Metropolitan Police but subsequently died of his injuries.