Last surviving pilot of the Battle of Britain, 103, reunites with World War II fighter planes | World News
The last surviving fighter pilot of the Battle of Britain was reunited with a Hurricane plane, the type he flew during the war.
Captain (retired) John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, who turns 103 this week, was the guest of honor at the Irish Air Corps’ one-year Veterans Day at Casement Airport in Co Dublin on Wednesday Six.
As part of the ceremony, the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, consisting of an Avro Lancaster bomber and a Hawker Hurricane, flew in formation over Dublin before landing at the airport.
The group’s captain Hemmingway was taken to the vintage fighter jet in a wheelchair and its engines started so he could once again experience the sights and sounds of the World War “office” his second.
Battle of Britain memorial flight escorted over Dublin by ‘The Silver Swallows’.
RAF Air Marshal Sir Rich Knighton said: “Captain Paddy Hemingway, the last of The Few, was a true inspiration and his achievements are as relevant today as they were 80 years ago. .
“As a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain, he defended the skies of Great Britain on a daily basis, just like our Typhoon pilots do today. He fought bravely to maintain the values. our politics and our way of life in the face of tyranny how we provide the Collective Air Defense System through NATO to stop those who will harm us.
“Paddy deserves our deep gratitude for all he has done to preserve the freedoms we enjoy.”
Born in Dublin in 1919, John Hemingway joined the RAF in 1938 and after the outbreak of World War II he was assigned to the 85th Squadron in France.
He is credited with destroying a Heinkel He 111 bomber and a Dornier Do 17.
During the Battle of Dunkirk, he performed support missions in the Channel, before flying the Storm in daily sorties during the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940.
In August 1940, he was forced to provide relief at the Thames Estuary when his plane was damaged. He was shot down again in Eastchurch in Kent just a week later.
Captain Mark Sugden talks to Captain Hemingway after landing
‘Today we are all proud Irish’
On 1 July 1941, Hemmingway was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).
He continued to be part of the plan for D-Day before flying the Spitfires in Italy.
The veteran Air Force soldier celebrated his 103rd birthday last Sunday, and lives in a nursing home in Dublin.
“Today we are both proud Irishmen,” said Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Air Corps, Brigadier General Rory O’Connor.
“Seeing the iconic and historic Lancaster and Hurricane fly through the skies of Ireland is very special.
“The arrival of this plane serves as a reminder that the Irish Air Corps flew the Storm in a state of emergency. [as WWII was officially known in Ireland].
“I am honored to host Captain Hemingway of the Group and be there as he is reunited with his World War II aircraft.”
(LR) Air Marshal Sean Reynolds, Company Captain John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, Brigadier General Rory O’Connor, Air Marshal Sir Rich Knighton
This was the first visit to Ireland by the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
The plane will take part in the Bray Air Show in Co Wicklow over the weekend.
