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head injuries in the Mustang crash.
He was then permanently grounded
but would go on to serve as 414’s
Operations Liaison Officer and stay
with the unit following Normandy and
their time in Belgium and Holland. He
passed away in Calgary in May 2005.
These two men formed an
important part of the Mustang’s first
days in combat with the Royal Air
Force but it was only the beginning of
the fighter’s long and glorious combat
career.AUTHOR’S NOTE: Special thanks to
Tom Walsh, Marshall Wainwright,
and Christopher Shores for their help
with this article. AC(To Be Continued)going through his options, decided
on the US Navy and would go on
to fly Brewster Buffaloes along with
Grumman Wildcats and Hellcats. He
became an ace while flying with the
Navy and would stay in the military
post-war to fly the new generation of
warplanes and by the time he retired
in 1964, he had flown Grumman
Tigers, Douglas Skyrays, and Vought
Crusaders. The history-making
Mustang pilot passed away on 31
October 2009.
Freddy Clarke would stay on
with 414 Squadron and flew more
sorties over France until May 1943.
At that time, he began having severe
headaches and partial blackouts. He
was given sick leave and it seems
that these problems were due to hisAmazingly, Clarke
emerged from his ordeal in
relatively good condition
and Hills recalled:
“About five the next
morning, my hut door
burst open. I was grabbed
in a bear hug by what
smelled like a huge clump
of seaweed. It was Freddy
Clarke, rescued by the
amphibious forces. His
head sported a huge
bandage covering the severe
cuts he had received in the
ditching. We had all been
warned that ditching a
Mustang could be hazardous to your
health.”
Clarke was able to confirm Hills’
victory over the Fw 190 for the first
enemy aircraft to be shot down by
Mustang. Freddy Clarke had the
somewhat dubious distinction of being
the first Mustang pilot to be shot down
during WWII. Operation Jubilee had
turned into a disaster. Within ten
hours, 3623 of the 6086 men that went
ashore had been killed, wounded, or
had become prisoners of war. The
Luftwaffe rose in force to repel the
landing and the RAF lost 106 aircraft
compared to 48 German losses. The
Royal Navy lost one destroyer and 33
landing craft.
By this time, of course, the USA
was well into the war and Hills,
decided to join the USAAF but after
Mustang AP247/A of No. 4 Squadron makes a fast run for the photographer.Pilot of a 613 Squadron Mustang snapped a portrait of his wingman as the pair raced
across the English Channel towards Occupied France.