Global Aviator South Africa — December 2017

68 Vol. 9 / No. 12/ December/January 2017/8 Global Aviator

South African history

Marmaduke Thomas St John Pattle,

usually known simply as Pat, was a

South African-born fighter pilot and

fighter ace of the Royal Air Force with

a credited score of 41. Unofficially this

could be more than 51 while personnel

attached to his squadron put the figure

at closer to 60. Of these 15 were downed

whilst flying a Gloster Gladiator,

the rest with Hawker Hurricanes.

Born on 23 July 1914, in

Butterworth, Cape Province, he applied

to the South African Air Force whilst

still in matric 1931 but after eventually

undergoing an interview in March 1933

it was only to be rejected because of a

lack of flying experience. After a month

or two as a salesman he went to work

at the Sheba Gold Mine at Barberton

and considered a degree and career in

mining engineering before developing

an interest in aviation. In January 1936,

just as Sailor Malan was entering the

Royal Air Force, Tom Pattle became a

cadet in the Special Service Battalion

which had been formed by the Ministry

of Defence to employ South African

youth who were struggling to find work

because of the Great Depression. When

this did not work out, an advertisement

in the Johannesburg newspaper “The

Star’ caught his eye. Placed by the Royal

Air Force the advert offered five-year

short service commissions for cadets

throughout the British Empire. Pattle

decided to leave his home country

for the United Kingdom where he

applied to the RAF and was accepted

in 1936 on a Short Service Commission

(SSC). It was at RAF Station Prestwick

in Scotland that he promptly became

"Pat" Pattle. His training began in June

1936 and by the end of July, flying a

single-engined de Havilland Tiger

Moth training biplane, he gained his A

Licence. His advanced training began

in November 1936 on the Gloster

Gauntlet. He completed his training

somewhat later than planned, in March

1937, as bad weather curtailed flying,

and was assigned to No. 80 Squadron.

They practised aerial combat against

RAF Bomber Command squadrons

which staged mock raids against London

and it was during this time that he

developed his own air tactics, preferring

to attack at higher altitudes than his

quarry; meeting head-on, then waiting

for the enemy to fly by before rolling

over and diving to attack from the side

and rear of the enemy. He usually held

his fire until very close to the target to

make sure of hitting his opponent.

The rumblings of war were loud

over Europe when his squadron was

sent to Egypt in 1938 where they

remained upon the outbreak of war in

September 1939. When Italy entered the

war on the side of the Axis powers in

June 1940 he began combat operations

against the Regia Aeronautica (Italian

Air Force) gaining his first successes

during the Italian invasion of Egypt.

The first victories

Following the outbreak of war, the

squadron with their Gloster Gladiators

moved up to the Libyan border, where

in August 1940, Pattle first saw action.

While escorting a Westland Lysander,

Pattle and his flight engaged first a

force of six Breda Ba.65/A80s of the

159a Squadriglia ("squadron") and

six Fiat CR.42 quarters of the 160a

Squadriglia. He was able to down a

Breda but was then attacked by the

escorting Fiat CR.42s. Pattle hit one

but was himself attacked by another

formation of Bredas and CR.42s

with the Itallian fighters diving and

attacking from the quarter and beam.

Although Pattle avoided them by

turning away and opening fire on the

nearest target as they dived past to

gain speed, climbed, and then attacked

again, the Gladiator's guns jammed

one by one leaving him defenceless.

Despite being able to evade one enemy

fighter, a second had a line of sight on

Pattle and in the subsequent gunfire

his rudder controls were shot away.

He climbed to 400 ft and bailed out.

He landed, winded, and played

dead to avoid being strafed. He started

to walk towards the Allied lines and

crossed the border at around midday

the following day to be rescued two

days later by a detachment from the

11th Hussars, who returned him to Sidi

Barrani. He considered being shot down

by the Italians as an embarrassment

and regarded the episode as a slur on

his reputation. After his forced march to

friendly lines, he was also determined

not to get lost in the desert again so

he flew to Alexandria and bought a

compass which he never flew without.

In September Italy invaded Egypt

and much to Pattle's disappointment

the squadron was heavily involved

in close air support operations and

ordered specifically to avoid air-to-air

combat unless attacked. Further success

was denied him as the Gladiator's

limited speed did not allow it to

catch up to the Italian bombers.

Greco-Italian War

In November the squadron and their

new Gladiator IIs was transferred

to the Balkans to help the Greek Air

South Africa’s WW2

Flying Ace

Names such as The Red Baron, Douglas Bader and South Africa’s

own ace pilot ‘Sailor’ Malan, are synonymous with wartime

victories, yet there is one name missing although he ranks as

one of the most successful Allied pilots of World War II.

Marmaduke Thomas St John "Pat" Pattle, was

officially credited with a kill score of 41,

however, this could have been anything between

51 and 60 as all official records were destroyed

after Greece was invaded by German forces.