Global Aviator December/January 2017/18 / Vol. 9 / No. 12 71
him of approaching enemy aircraft over
Mount Olympus. Pattle had to send
pairs of fighters to patrol the area, which
helped act as a rudimentary warning
system. The effect was that there was
little warning of impending attacks. The
Germans, now operating from forward
airfields, slipped through unnoticed.
On 13 April Pattle witnessed 15 Bf 109s
strafe the airfield as three Hurricanes
took off. Two veteran pilots were killed
in the very brief battle in exchange for
two Bf 109s. Pattle searched for the
Hurricane pilots and found one fighter
with a parachute beside it but no pilot.
Pattle was to be further disheartened.
One of the German pilots baled out
and Pattle watched in horror as the
Greek soldiers guarding the airfield
shot him dead as he floated down
in his parachute. One of the Bf 109s
crash-landed perfectly. He ordered that
no-one should approach the Bf 109 in
case it was rigged with explosives.
Pattle claimed four victories during
five sorties on 14 April. One Bf 109,
one Ju 88 and a Bf 110 were claimed
as destroyed. His final victory was an
Italian SM.79 in the afternoon. The
day took his tally to 40 enemy aircraft.
As the wreckage of some old Greek
aircraft and a captured SM.79 was
being cleared up after the attack on
13 April, John D'Albiac, Air Officer
Commanding British Forces in Greece
arrived to warn him of the Allied
collapse in the north. After seeing the
AOC off in a Lysander aircraft escorted
by five squadron Hurricanes Pattle
evacuated his squadron to Eleusis.
It was during this journey that Pattle
developed a fever and high temperature.
Nevertheless, on 19 April he took to
the skies in several missions. His fever
had heightened into influenza and his
condition had worsened. He did not
want his squadron to know he was
unwell. Pattle feared the effect it would
have on morale and vowed to continue
flying. The officer commanding No.
80 Squadron, Tap Jones, had visited
Pattle the day before but despite
having noticed he was ill Jones helped
the weakened Pattle change into his
flying gear instead of grounding him.
Pattle claimed six victories that day—
three Ju 88s and three Bf 109s—plus
one Henschel Hs 126 shared and two
probables (a Ju 88 and a Bf 109). The
battle with the Bf 109s took place
over Eleusis and Tanagra airfields.
He engaged III./Jagdgeschwader 77
(Fighter Wing 77 or JG 77) in a head-on
position and executed an Immelmann
turn which took him behind and above
the Messerschmitts and allowed him
to claim three of them shot down.Death over Piraeus Harbour
By the 20th April the Luftwaffe was
making substantial attacks against
departing forces in a bid to prevent
or forestall an evacuation. On Sunday
20 April - Hitler's 52nd birthday - the
Luftwaffe mounted mass attacks
against Allied shipping in Piraeus
Harbour. At roughly 05:00h, large
formations appeared over Athens. The
remaining Allied fighter units in the area
committed themselves to defending the
Allied ships in what became known as
"the Battle of Athens". Barely 15 Hawker
Hurricanes, the entire Allied air presence
in Greece at the time, participated in a
series of defensive missions over Athens.
Pattle had flown several patrols
that morning and was suffering from
a high temperature and fever. He had
downed a Ju 88 and two Bf 109s on
a morning interception to interdict
German air operations. His success took
Pattle's total from 47–49.At 17:00 in the
afternoon another raid approached.The final flight
He was seen, just before an air raid
alarm, in the mess, lying on a couch,
shivering under the blankets. He was
detailed to take a patrol over the lines
but during the mission briefing, around
100 German bombers with fighter escort
attacked the capital, seeking to attackAllied shipping in the harbour. He ran
for the door toward a Hurricane. His
adjutant, George Rumsey, tried to stop
him but Pattle was determined to fly.
On the way to his fighter he narrowly
avoided being killed in a strafing
attack by a low-flying Bf 110. He
took to the skies minutes later. Pattle
climbed to gain altitude and headed
to Piraeus Harbour at 20,000 feet.
At this time, other Hurricanes were
already in action with Bf 110s. The Irish
ace Timber Woods attacked a formation
of Bf 110s positioned above him. One
of the Bf 110s detached itself and dived
on the RAF pilot. Pattle, realising that
the German had the advantage dived
toward the Bf 110. He engaged the Bf
110, knowing he too would likely be
followed and attacked from behind.
He succeeded in shooting it down in
flames, but not before it had fired at
point-blank range into the Hurricane,
with the same effect. Woods died when
his fighter crashed into the harbour.
Pattle avoided a German counter-attack
and climbed instead of attempting a
dive, since the Bf 110s could out-dive
the Hurricane. He fired into another
Bf 110 and avoided a collision with a
third. No RAF pilot saw Pattle die for
certain. Jimmy 'Kettle' Kettlewell, one
of Pattle's unit, arrived on the scene
moments after Pattle had scored his
victory. He saw a lone Hurricane diving
towards the sea, its pilot slumped
forward over the controls and flames
engulfing the engine compartment.
Two Bf 110s were still firing at it. •Pattle (left), while serving with No. 33 Squadron RAF in 1941 with the squadron's
adjutant, George Rumsey.