14th June 1940 – 103 Squadron - Fairey Battle I – L5362 – P/O R Hawkins RAF and crew – Op Evreux – German troop concentrations located in wood.
Combat. Shot down by Bf 109 near target. Crew baled out.
Crew :-
P/O R Hawkins RAF pictured below - Pilot - 103 Sqn - POW.– Later escaped and returned to UK
P/O F Hugill RAF pictured below – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - 103 Sqn - POW – Camps 9AH/L1/l3 – POW No 1127
Ron was transferred to a front line unit, 103 Squadron based at Rheges, on the 24th May 1940. He flew several operations during his short time with the unit but was shot down on the 14th June 1940 in a daylight attack on on German troop concentrations near Evreux.
The following is a transcription of Ron’s report of this flight and his subsequent capture evasion and escape completed on his eventual return to the UK.
“ P/O Hugill and I took off at 1845 hours on the 14th June 1940 from the French landing ground at Souge to attack enemy units in the large forest South West of Evreux: climbing most of the time we reached an area a few miles South of the target area at 8,000 feet at 1920 hours - to be attacked by approximately 11 ( eleven ) Me 109s. Our intercommunication was not good and I had difficulty hearing Hugill’s report as to their different directions of attack: however as the forest was in sight and only a few miles ahead I carried on and managed to release 2 bombs on some transport and whilst doing this was attacked from astern and underneath, resulting in my control column coming away from its mounting and the bottom of the cockpit taking fire - the aircraft, now out of control, continued to dive at an increasing angle. Hugill was ordered to take to his parachute and I followed after having tried unsuccessfully to get out in the approved manner owing to the air pressure but eventually managed to work my feet up over the instrument panel, over the top and slightly to one side of the windscreen and so letting the air pressure pull me out by the heels and legs. I pulled the rip-cord immediately and regretted it at once as a was given a few short bursts of fire - finding myself not heavy enough to spill the air from the canopy by pulling the shroud lines on one side, I hung limp shamming that I had been hit. Hugill was floating down several miles away and I have not seen him since, as you know he is now a prisoner of war. My aircraft and one of the 109s crashed fairly near the target - the 109 was presumably shot down by Hugill, possibly helped by the bursts of front gun that I gave them whenever they went by the nose after attacking.
I landed in the very forest that I had set out to bomb, hid my parachute and left the forest as quickly as I could by the Western side, lay in a cornfield and watched them searching the wood for me. “
For the full account of his capture, escape and evasion see Ron Hawkins Profile Page here.
The Bf 109 Hawkins noted also crashed near the target was probably a victim of one of the escorting Hurricane fighters although who knows !
Compiled by David Fell. Photos from my own archive. Hawkins report courtesy of the family.
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