Richey then took command of 74 Squadron, but returned to 609 as He joined 609 Squadron as a flight commander, flying Spitfires under his brother-in-law, Squadron Leader Michael Lister Robinson and flew 53 missions across the English Channel. Richey returned to flying in the Spring of 1941. By January 1942, the book would already be in its sixth impression. Published in September 1941, Richey's Fighter Pilot was a first of its kind memoir to describe the war in the air and was popular with the public. Unfit for flying, Richey wrote up his memoirs under the title Fighter Pilot. The DFC is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force for "act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy". Richey was awarded with the distinguished flying cross (DFC) for his performance in France. He spent the rest of the Battle of France in the hospital and returned to the United Kingdom in June 1940 where he received a DFC. Richey crash landed, was recovered and taken to a hospital in Paris, where the bullet was removed. He downed an enemy plane in short order but was hit by enemy fire receiving a bullet wound to the neck. Richey suffered a concussion but recovered to fly again four days later on the 15th, when he claimed two more enemy planes, but was again hit by the Germans and forced to bail out.Īgain, after only four days recovery, on the 19th, Richey was back in the air. In Hurricane L1679 Flying Officer Paul Richey destroyed a Dornier 215 on his first sortie of the day and a Dornier 17 on his 5th.Ī day later, on May 11th, Richey managed to shoot down two enemy planes before he was shot down and had to bail out. On May 10th, 1940 with the start of the German Blitzkrieg began a period of intense fighting. Teresa Robinson, daughter of Roy Lister Robinson, 1st and last Baron Robinson and Charlotte Marion Cust Bradshaw. On Sept 8th, shortly after war was declared Richey's squadron were ordered to Vassincourt in France where they flew counter-air patrols in the Metz area. After completion of his training, Richey was posted, in March 1939, to No.1 Squadron based at Tangmere, flying Hawker Hurricane fighters. Richey joined the RAF in 1937 and was posted to 1 Squadron, flying Furies. RICHEY, Paul Henry Mills, from Chelsea, London was born in Chelsea London on May 7, 1916.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |