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James Harry "Ginger" Lacey No Photo Available
Victories : 28
James Harry Lacey, from Wetherby, who was destined to become the top scoring RAF fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain, joined the RAFVR. in 1937. After an instructors course in 1938 he became an instructor at the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club. Called up at the outbreak of war, he was posted to 501 Squadron, and in May 1940 was posted with the unit to France. On the 13th he set off late on an early patrol, and shot down a Bf 109 and a He 111. Later in the day he destroyed a Bf 110. On the 27th he destroyed two He 11 Is and then returned to the United Kingdom, in June, having made an emergency landing in a swamp on the 9th and overturned, nearly being drowned. On 20 July he shot down a 13f 109, and was then awarded a DFM. In the Battle of Britain, during August, he destroyed a Ju 87 and a probable on the 12th, damaged a Do 17 on the 15th, probably destroyed a Bf 109 on the 16th, and on the 24th shot down a Ju 88 and damaged a Do 17. On the 29th he destroyed a 13f 109 and next day claimed a He 111 and probablya Bf110. He shot down a Bf109 on the 31st and on 2 September got two Bf 109s and damaged a Do 17. Two days later he destroyed two more Bf 109s, and was then sent on leave for a few days. on his return, on the 13th, he took off in very bad weather to shoot down a lone He 111 which had just bombed Buckingham Palace. Having destroyed it, he found the cloud too thick to return to base and was forced to bale out. On the 15th he shot down another He 111 and two Bf 109s with a third damaged, on the 27th destroyed another Bf 109 and on the 30th damaged a Ju 88. During October he was in action frequently against Bf 109s, getting a probable on the 7th and destroying others on the 12th, 26th, and the 30th, damaging one also on this latter date. His score was now 23, and he had been shot down or forced to bale out nine times. Of his victories 18 were gained during the Battle of Britain, and this was the highest score of any pilot for this period. In December he received a Bar to his DFM and was commissioned the following month. He converted to Spitfires early in 1941, and in June became a flight commander. During July he destroyed a Bf 109 on the 10th, damaged one on the 14th, shot down a He 59 floatplane on the 17th and destroyed two more Bf 109s on the 24th, causing them to collide. He was then posted as an instructor to 57 OTU where he trained, among others, George Beurling. In March 1942 he was posted to 602 Squadron, and on 24th March damaged a Fw 190. On 25 April he damaged two more, but was then posted to HQ 81 Group as Tactics Officer, now as a Sqn. Ldr. He spent some while testing Hurricanes with rocket projectiles and 40 mm. anti-tank guns, and then became Chief Flying Instructor at Millfield. In March 1943 he was sent to India, and first was responsible for converting squadrons to Hurricanes at Madras. He then moved to Bangalore, where he converted Hurricane pilots to Thunderbolts. In September 1944 he was posted to 3 TAC at Komila as Sqn. Ldr. Tactics, and the following month attended an Air Fighting Instructors Course at Armarda Road, which was run by Wg. Cdr. F.R. Carey. In November he became temporary commanding officer of 155 Squadron, flying Spitfire 8s in Burma, but later that month took command of 17 Squadron, equipped with the same aircraft. His squadron was responsible for giving ground support to a Gurkha regiment, so he ordered his pilots to have their heads shaved in the Gurkha fashion, which proved to be a very popular move. On 19 February 1945 he shot down a Nakajima Ki 43 Oscar, his twenty-eighth and last victory. He died on 30th May 1989. |
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Dawn Scramble by Keith Woodcock. | Click For Details | DHM2417 |
James Harry "Ginger" Lacey
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