Heroes of the Battle of Britain - Episode 2 - First of The Few

Heroes of the Battle of Britain- Episode II- First of The Few (Part 1/2)

Wing Commander Peter V Ayerst DFC

First of The Few
(Part 1/2)
I was doing what we call Aerodrome defence. We used to take it in turns to do it. And you sat in the aircraft already strapped in, and if you got an early warning , that there was an aircraft approaching overt head or whatever. And our early warning system was produced by some French soldiers. In a big ditch down the side of our airfield. Just a grass airfield. One road either side, in France. A place called Rouve, between Verdun and Metz. South of Luxembourg.
And I was sitting there. The chaps in the flight office, which was a 12 foot ridge tent, Our office...... Said "THE RED FLAG'S WAVING! THE RED FLAG"S WAVING!".

November, 39. It was rather a day like today. Lots of Blue sky, no clouds. And I could see an aircraft at about 25,000 feet over our air field. He was obviously doing some overhead photography of our field. So I took off. Of course, being on these 2 bladed air screws, the climbing performance wasn't very great, even at full throttle. So I was gradually getting up. I'd been chasing in an easterly direction for a long time trying to get him. And he was way ahead. And we had no radio aids. No navigational assistance from the ground whatsoever.

We had intercommunication between aircraft but we didn't have communication with the ground for navigational assistance. Nothing like that. We used to patrol up and down the French german border. 25000 feet for an hour at a time. Three of us we used to go in 3's in those days. Now It;'s pairs or fours. And we didn't fly tight formations. We were quite spaced out.
I was sort of turning round, coming back towards france, underneath me I saw 9 aircraft in line astern, turning inside me, 1 behind another. And I though"Here come our boys !" (on this patrol that they said they were going to put up. So I hadn't been in the air all that long. I thought I might as well join on in formation. So I tacked on the end. I saw bloody great black crosses!
So I pulled up and gave a quick squirt at the end one and went down. unbeknownst to me, there were another 18 of them - making 27 of them altogether!
Also unbeknown to me as I was crossing Germany back into France there was a French fighter patrol up of 9 Aircraft. And the Germans were so concentrating on me, 27 of the bastards, can't think why... They weren't taking any notice of their own backs. They must have thought "we've got superiority and everything here!".

And the French waded into them -- Shot 9 of them down !
And it was classified as the first big air battle of the war.
And I was Dubbed 'Decoy'. Here.. this is illustrtated war news produced 27 November, 1939.

I just went straight down and found some cloud at lower level. And I was nipping in and out of this cloud. I was going flat out. But of course, fortunately, I led them through this Patrol of French Fighters. And so they took them on. And of course they forgot about me. I met the fighter afterwards because some of them came from nancy where I landed! I didn't know it until I got there!

"The flight of the 9" The prelude of the famous battle in which the 9 French fighters over the 27 Messershmitts. A British Fighter darts out of a cloud, pursued by the Nazi circus, just when a French Fighter patrol happened to be passing.

It was the first big air battle of the war. HA!

I was dubbed "DECOY". I didn't think 27 against 1 was very fair odds.

N -- I think that says something for the Hurricane actually, that you were able to out maneuvre 27 ME109's.

P -- Yes, I managed to get myself into a safe area eventually, but anyway, that was... there we are. 6th of November. And I was the first RAF fighter pilot ever to come into contact with a Messershmitt 109.
LOGBOOK EXTRACT

6 Nov 1939- HURRICANE - INTERCEPTION OF ENEMY AIRCRAFT AND MET 27 ME 109s IN GERMAN TERRITORY

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