FlyPast – August 2018

August 2018 FLYPAST 35

HAWKER HURRICANE 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE

DEAD AHEAD
Plt Off Christopher Foxley-Norris
had no time to react as his propeller
was shot away. His Hurricane,
Z2754 N-for-Nuts, went into a
spin, but he managed to bale out
successfully without serious injury.
His aircraft passed low over Ittinge
Farm, northeast of Ashford, where
Mr Wood thought it was going to
crash into his farmhouse.
Instead, it flew over the roof,
missed a tree and flopped down
in an adjacent field at Great Holt
Farm, Elmsted.
It was 19:07 hours and
Hauptmann Joppien had claimed

his second ‘kill’, this coming just

two minutes after he had dispatched

Holmwood.

Foxley-Norris (who later became

ACM Sir Christopher Foxley-Norris

GCB DSO OBE) gave an account of the

combat:

“We flew seven aircraft, two

vics of three and one ‘weaver’ to

watch astern. I led the second vic,

Holmwood led the flight.

“We were vectored onto the enemy,

whose height was given as 32,000ft.

Early on in the sortie, Plt Off Hone

was shot down and wounded.”

Hone crash-landed, wheels up. He

could not remember the location

Left

A 615 Sqn Hurricane

during the Battle of

Britain. WW2IMAGES

Above

Wg Cdr R A

Holmwood. SIR

CHRISTOPHER FOXLEY-

NORRIS

“It was Holmwood that Ron Marsh had seen

desperately struggling with his burning

parachute: he fell to his death at Window

Blow, an escarpment on the Kent Downs”