Fly Past

his first encounter with the
Luftwaffe. Tasked with covering
the Rhine between Cologne and
Mainz, he initially spotted a lone
Messerschmitt Bf 109, as he
detailed in his report:
“In perfect visibility at 32,000ft
when approximately 10 miles west
of Cologne, I sighted a lone aircraft
about 1,000ft below me flying
southeast. I took this for a Me 109.
Suddenly on my port side I sighted
a formation of three, apparently Me
109s, they were slightly below me.
“I did a climbing turn to port,
as I turned the formation turned
to their left. They were leaving a
condensation trail about 100 to
200 yards behind them. I flew into
the sun and did not see the aircraft
again.”
After this encounter, Ring aborted
his sortie and returned to Seclin,
even though he was uncertain if the
Germans had actually seen him.

FALL OF FRANCE

On April 11, Ring returned to

Heston where he joined ‘N’ Flight

PDU. His next operation did not

take place until the 21st when he

attempted to cover Heligoland, off

the northwest coast of Germany,

but his efforts were thwarted by

cloud. On the way home his engine

overheated, but by selecting rich fuel

mix he was able to nurse his Spitfire

back to Heston.

It was not until May 6 that he flew

his first successful sortie from Heston,

when he was able to photograph the

German Frisian Islands, although

his primary objectives – the German

North Sea ports – were obscured by

the seemingly ever-present cloud.

This flight took 3 hours 30 minutes.

Four days later, the Germans began

their invasion of France and the Low

Countries. During the next 20 days

Ring flew five sorties, to northern

Germany and Holland.

On the last day of the month he

photographed enemy positions

around Dunkirk. Since the 26th,

the British had been attempting

to evacuate Allied troops from the

port, the Germans having managed

to break through French lines after

crossing the River Meuse at Sedan.

Forced down to 15,000ft because of

cloud, Ring experienced considerable

flak but managed to obtain the

desired images. The Germans

succeeded in capturing Dunkirk on

June 4.

Ring’s first sortie in June was to the

Arras area on the 2nd, but thick cloud

covered the target. He succeeded the

next day, obtaining photographs from

32,000ft.

Germany and Holland remained

part of PDU’s tasking. Ring returned

from ports and aerodromes in

northern Germany on the 5th,

including Wilhelmshaven, the

pictures showing the capital ships

May 2018 FLYPAST 71

“...he learned that volunteers were sought for a special reconnaissance unit.

Little was known except that candidates should be experienced single or multi-

engine pilots with good navigation abilities”

Above

Western Belgium from

31,500ft on March 25,

1940. Ring fl ew Spitfi re
      N3117 over neutral
      Belgium in order obtain
      survey photographs for
      the BEF. M CLARK

Inset above

A diagram prepared from

Ring’s photographs of

March 25, 1940 showing

unidentifi ed structures.

M CLARK