Farnborough 1949 - what did Zurakowski fly?

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I am redoing a biography of Janusz Zurakowski and I have the following details amongst it - however, Meteor TV11 looks wrong to me, and what the hell is a sapphire Meteor? Any help gratefully received, thanks.

"demonstrated the Martin Baker MB5 fighter in 1946, the Meteor Mk.4 in 1948, the Meteor TV11 in 1949, the Sapphire Meteor in 1950, and capped it all in 1951 when he flew the ground attack version of the Meteor F8 "

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Saphire-engined Meteor

The Meatbox 11 was a Night Fighter (NF-11) Might be T-7 for trainer?

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1949: Gloster Meteor T.7 VW482
1950: Gloster Meteor F.8 WA820 with AS Sapphire engines (testbed)
1951: Gloster Meteor GAF G-7-1 (G.5/1210)

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Sapphire Meteor WA820

There's even a photo of it on page 57 of "40 Years at Farnborough" . . .

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Thanks chaps, that's great.

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Snapper, I remember reading somewhere that Jan Zurakowski never flew again after the Avro Arrow programme was cancelled. Can you confirm this?

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Yes, it's true. The only time he flew again after that was as a passenger revisiting Poland after it regained independence. He didn't actually have a Pilots licence in Canada anyway....

Here's what i have on him so far - a couple of things need to be verified (ie 152 sqdn) - taken from squadron records, books, internet sites and published articles, plus a precis he wrote himself. I still have to go through the 609 Squadron ORB and other documents I have here, but this is pretty complete.

76715 Pilot Officer Janusz ‘Jan / Zura’ Zurakowski

Janusz Zurakowski was born in Ryzawka, Russia on 12th September 1914, the third child of a Polish doctor and a young housewife. In 1921 when he was six years old the family left Soviet Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution and settled in Garwolin, a town south of Warsaw. As a 15-year-old, Jan took part in a flying model competition and won first prize, a flight at the Lublin Flying Club. He had his first flight in a glider and decided to spend his summers at the Polichno-Pinczow Gliding School, learning to fly them himself by 1932. He then wished to progress to powered flight, much to the disappointment of his father who wanted him to become a doctor. On applying to an aviation school he was rejected, having failed his medical through a ‘mysterious illness’, his father having pulled strings with his medical colleagues. Undeterred, he joined the Polish Air Force at the age of 20 as a cadet at the Officers School, Deblin, in 1934 and learned to fly powered aircraft in 1935. After 3 years training he was Commissioned and posted to 161 Fighter Squadron at Lvov. On one occasion while night flying in a Delfin, he crashed having hit a tree with his wing tip. In March 1939 he was posted as a Qualified Flying Instructor to the Fighter Training School at Deblin. On 2nd September during the invasion of Poland he was flying the obsolete PZL P-7 aircraft when he intercepted a formation of Do.17’s attacking Deblin. His top speed of 200 mph meant that he was unable to keep up with them and although his aircraft was damaged by return fire he is credited with a Do.17 Damaged. Having flown five sorties, Zura along with some other pilots had been instructed to go to Romania to fetch a shipment of Hurricanes that had been sent by the British, but on 17th September the Soviet army attacked from the East and further resistance became futile, whereupon members of the Polish Air Force were ordered to escape to Romania, 700 getting away. From there, Zura travelled on a Greek ship to Beirut in the Lebanon and from there to Marseilles in France. He arrived in England in June 1940 and completed a Spitfire course at No.5 Operational Training Unit at Aston Down, where he first flew a Spitfire on 24th July 1940. On his second flight he was instructed and authorised to do aerobatic flying. He joined first 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron on 5th August and subsequently 234 (Madras Presidency) Squadron at St Eval on 12th August 1940 as a Pilot Officer, moving to Middle Wallop two days later where he flew eight sorties on Spitfire 4182 and 13 sorties on 3191. ‘After my first flight there with a bit of aerobatics over our airfield, I was called to the Station Commander, who furiously explained to me that to do aerobatics on a Spitfire, one needed 50 hours experience on the type, plus written permission from the Station Commander. My poor English and the evidence in my logbook that I was cleared for aerobatics saved my skin.’ He recorded. ‘One problem with aerobatics on the Spitfire was in spinning. The proper technique for spin recovery was described in the Pilots Notes, although spinning was not recommended. I determined that it was not possible to stop a spin in exactly the required direction. Training did not improve the situation. I was disappointed because on the old Polish PZI Xl fighter I could stop after any number of spin turns in the exact desired direction. I later discovered that probably the only time a pilot could be faster than a flying Spitfire was in baling out of the aircraft in a spin.’ On 15th August eighteen Ju.88 bombers escorted by Messerschmitt Bf.110's of 6./ZG76 from Rennes raided Britain. One of the escorts, fitted with long-range tanks, was piloted by Unteroffizier Birndorfer. After assembling above Guernsey the formation flew over Cherbourg and climbed to 1,200 meters and crossed the Channel through a clear blue sky, headed for an airfield near Salisbury. On approach fighters were seen climbing to intercept. In the ensuing combat the Luftwaffe was turned away but returned as no bombs had been released. Birndorfer was attacked by four Spitfires over the Solent, two from ahead and two from behind, hits causing his starboard engine to smoke. P/O Zurakowski and F/O Ostaszewski-Otoja of 609 Squadron pursued him towards Cowes and destroyed his port engine. Attempting to bale out, Birndorfer was hit by the pursuing Spitfires. They then backed off as Anti-Aircraft fire was being directed at the damaged Messerschmitt. Ten-year-old Ron Morton recalled ‘A twin-engined German aircraft was circling with smoke coming from one engine. The Whippingham guns were blasting away and shrapnel was falling on the cottage. Mother became very frightened and we were worried that as the plane circled lower, the anti-aircraft shells would take the cottage roof off. We huddled in the porch. Eventually the plane was lost from view heading inland towards Wootton.’ Zurakowski and Ostaszewski-Otoja continued their pursuit at low-level across the Isle of Wight, with the result that the Bf.110 lost power from both damaged engines and crash-landed but did not catch fire. The pilot was stated to have baled out and been shot by Allied soldiers but Jan states that as he was chasing the aircraft at treetop height no pilot would have baled out at that altitude. Many allied soldiers were seen gathering around the wreckage and the rear gunner was taken prisoner, later being interned in Canada. Zurakowski was credited with a Shared Destroyed. On the 24th he was himself shot down by Oberleutnant Mayer of 1./JG53, but was fortunately unhurt. His Spitfire, N3239, was beyond repair. He was attacking a formation of Do.17’s bombing Southampton harbour and after attacking he climbed to rejoin 234, but came under fire from Bf.109’s, losing control of his elevator and rudder through damage. Going into a turn, the aircraft stalled and went into a flat spin. At 18,000ft Zura opened the canopy, climbed out and jumped: ‘I soon found I was descending faster than the Spitfire which was spinning above my head. I was afraid to pull the ripcord to open the parachute because that would have slowed me down, risking a collision with my spinning Spitfire. The ground was approaching fast, and when I could distinguish a man standing in a field with a gun, I decided to pull the ripcord. It was now or never! My parachute opened immediately. My Spitfire just missed me and hit the ground with a bang.’ He landed in a field next to a member of the Home Guard armed with a shotgun. He asked Zura if he spoke English, but he remained silent as his English was so bad at that time. Instead he showed his identity card and began to pack his parachute. Soon after an Army officer arrived and took control. Zura later stated ‘A Spitfire's vertical speed in a flat spin is fairly low, so the damage to my Spitfire on impact with the ground was not severe. The main engine mounting failed and there was evidence of two gunshots in the rear fuselage tail junction and one in the port wing.’ He had landed near the spot where his Bf.110 of the 15th had come down. He returned to his squadron the following day and resumed flying but learned that officially he had been Killed in Action: ‘I had to send a report to the effect that I was very sorry, but that since the date of the crash, I had carried out six operational sorties in August, so I was obviously alive. Shortly afterward, I received two letters addressed to me, marked Killed in Action on the envelope.’ He kept these as souvenirs. ‘During the Battle of Britain, I often used spins to save my life. I can think of at least four times when this simple but dramatic manoeuvre of pretending to be shot down came in handy. I used it when I was attacked by German fighters and had no chance to fight successfully. I usually started with a snap roll, which culminated in a vertical stabilized spin. I would quickly close and open the throttle, producing black smoke from the engine exhaust. To German pilots, a spin was an indication that the Spitfire was out of control. Black smoke confirmed that the aircraft had been shot down. Why follow and confirm the crash if it meant losing height over enemy territory? Better to claim one Spitfire shot down!…I was spinning happily, recovering at 5,000 feet or so, and if there was enough gas and ammunition, I would climb again in search of better fighting opportunities. One might wonder why anyone would use this manoeuvre. There were situations, especially in the Battle of Britain, where we were so outnumbered that the Spitfire had no chance. The manoeuvrability of the Spitfire was so superior to the Me.109 that in a dogfight I considered two or even three Me.109s equal opponents. A section of four Me.109s normally had a smart leader and would generally decline a dogfight. Instead, they would spread widely in all directions, and I would immediately be in good position to open fire on any enemy. However, another Me.109 would also be in a good position to open fire on me, and then I would have to break the engagement. Above 5,000 feet I could not out dive or out climb the Me.109, so if my Spitfire's superior manoeuvrability could not be used pretending to be shot down was a good strategy, saving both the Spitfire and me for the next fight. At low altitudes, with emergency engine boost, the Spitfire allowed for three minutes of extra power; and was definitely better all round in performance than the Me.109.’ On 5th September he Destroyed a Bf.109, and Destroyed another the following day, crash landing Spitfire N3279 which was also damaged. The aircraft overturned on landing but Zura was unhurt. He is credited with a Bf.110 Probably Destroyed on the 28th while flying South of Exmouth and on 11th September 234 Squadron returned to St Eval, having lost 15 of their 22 pilots in two weeks, including the Commanding Officer and both Flight Commanders. Jan joined 609 on 6th October 1940 at Middle Wallop, under the command of S/Ldr Robinson and in Pilot Officer Ogilvies Section. By the end of the Battle of Britain his claims were for three enemy aircraft Destroyed and he was awarded the Cross of Valour with Bar in February 1941. The way he saw it: ‘The spirit of our Polish pilots was very good…we were furious about what the Germans had done to Poland. We had already experienced German domination so that's why we were anxious to fight’. On 7th March 1941 he left 609 and was posted to No.57 Operational Training Unit at Hawarden as a Flying Instructor on the 21st. He was posted to No.55 OTU on 15th April and the following day to No.56 before being posted back to 55 OTU on the 22nd / This was followed by postings to No. 61 and No. 58 OTU's, before returning to an operational unit on 8th December 1941 when he was posted to 315 (Deblin) Squadron under S/Ldr Janus at RAF Northolt, flying Spitfire MkII's. He became known for his habit of planting gardens on the Stations to which he was posted, and while his colleagues felt that it was pointless, due to the nature of postings, he insisted the plants could be enjoyed by others. On 11th April 1942, Jan was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and posted as a Flight Commander to No. 306 (Torun) Squadron under S/Ldr Czerwinski at RAF Church Stanton in Somerset on Spitfire MkVb’s, and on 17th May he Damaged a Bf.109. On 6th June Zura assumed command of 316 (Warsaw) Squadron flying Mustangs from Heston and later Cranswick, being promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader on 6th July. His next posting was on 1st January 1943 to Northolt as Sector Gunnery Instructor. On 1st August he became Deputy Wing Leader of No.1 (Polish) Wing and led them on 46 Operational sorties, flying fighter sweeps and escorting American bombers on daylight raids, and was awarded the Virtuti Militari, the highest Polish decoration. Here his operational flying came to an end, having made over 150 operational flights. On 30th October 1943 he was posted to Headquarters Fighter Command at Stanmore. On 13th/15th March 1944, Jan was posted on No.2 Fixed Wing Course at the Empire Test Pilots School at Boscombe Down and in December 1944 he was posted to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down as a Squadron Leader and was assigned to C Squadron, testing British and American naval aircraft, before moving to A Squadron, flying the new British fighter designs, which included jets such as the de Havilland Vampire. On one occasion he went up with ‘Paddy’ Barthropp in a 2-seat Spitfire but having been to a party the night before it fell to Paddy to pay the ground crew to clean up the mess in the cockpit, although Jan apparently enjoyed the aerobatics. Following the completion of this course he tested naval aircraft and practiced landing on a deck painted on a runway before landing a Seafire on HMS Ravager without incident. In 1945 he was posted to Boscombe Down for test pilot duties with the Fleet Air Arm Squadron, where he tested over 30 types of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force including the Firefly, Barracuda, Sea Otter, Sea Fury, Seafire, Firebrand, Swordfish, Welkin, Tempest, 11 Marks of Spitfire, Defiant, Fury, Spiteful, MB5, Hornet, Typhoon, Vampire, Meteor, Attacker, Mustang, F-86, Chipmunk, Prentice, Mosquito and Desford. Here, he often enjoyed ‘an opportunity to give the staff a display that included single engine aerobatics’. He had made over 1,000 flights in 15 different marks of Spitfire whilst in England, from the Mk1 to the Mk24. After being Released from the Air Force, Jan joined the Gloster Aircraft Company in June 1947 as Experimental and Development Test Pilot. In 1939 he had fallen in love with Hanka Danielska who remained in Poland throughout the war, experiencing the murder of relatives by Russians at Katyn and Germans in Warsaw. Zura always carried her photograph with him, and when she travelled to France to study the Romance Languages in Paris, the two of them were reunited after eight years and married in the Polish Church in Paris in May 1948. On 21st December 1948 he undertook the maiden flight of the Meteor F8. This was followed on March 23rd 1950 with the maiden flights of Meteor FR9 and on May 24th on the PR-10. On 4th April 1950 he set the International Speed Record for the London to Copenhagen return flight, covering the distance in 1 hour 11 minutes at an average speed of 500.721mph. Between 1947 and 1952 he logged over 1000 flights in Meteors, 50 in the E1/44 and 14 in the Javelin. Jan's display flying at the Farnborough airshows was now becoming the talk of the aviation world. He had demonstrated the Martin Baker MB5 fighter in 1946, the Meteor Mk.4 in 1948, Meteor T.7 VW482 in 1949, Meteor F.8 WA820 testbed fitted with AS Sapphire engines in 1950, and capped it all in 1951 when he flew the ground attack version of the Meteor F8 with a demonstration of a new manoeuvre that he had developed and dubbed the 'Zurabatic Cartwheel'. Zura had been asked to demonstrate the Meteors power by taking off and climbing vertically at 120 knots. As there was a risk of failure on one engine during this manoeuvre, he had sixteen rockets fitted beneath his wings to provide extra rotational inertia. He then put the Meteor into a vertical climb with full power on both engines, and at slow speed cut one engine. The resulting cartwheel was prolonged to 1½ turns. ‘Gloster management was keen for a ground attack Meteor, but failed to interest the top brass about the logic of this idea. The last chance was to demonstrate the aircraft at the Farnborough Show. I had to demonstrate that the Meteor ground attack fighter loaded with 24 rockets plus normal armament of four 20-mm guns and two 100-gallon wingtip tanks did not lose much in the way of performance in short takeoff, had a good rate of climb, high speed and manoeuvrability’ he recalled. On 16th September in front of 150,000 people he began his display with the ‘Reaper,’ beating up the runway at high speed. He then went into a vertical climb with full power on both Derwent V engines. When the aircraft was about to stall, he cut one engine and hit full rudder, cartwheeling down in a series of 1½ turns, pulling out at the last possible moment. Describing it, he said: ‘I tried it on the Meteor by zooming at full power until I reached a vertical climb and when my speed dropped to about eighty knots I cut the power of one engine. When the aircraft started cartwheeling, I would cut power of the engine after one turn. Rotation would slow down, and in half a turn, vertical down speed was increased enough to stop the aircraft's rotation. In the vertical position speed was building rapidly and at about two hundred and fifty knots I was pulling out of the dive.’ ‘These were the great days of British aviation following the Second World War, we had not yet learned to be safety conscious, and the test pilots of the day literally flew by the seats of their pants.' he said. The announcers called it ‘the first entirely new manoeuvre to be developed during the last twenty years.’ He himself stated: ‘The manoeuvre was a bit of fun but not of combat value, so I was not interested much about it any more.’ He displayed six different aircraft types at the Farnborough Airshow over the years, and always pleased the crowds. Often when landing he would fly across the runway inverted, engage his landing gear straight up and as he approached the ground would roll the aircraft and land. In 1955 he displayed the CF100, with another new manoeuvre, the ‘falling leaf,’ taking the aircraft through a series of alternating sideslips which looked like its name suggested. Leaving Glosters at the end of April 1952, he joined Av Roe Canada at Malton, Ontario, as Chief Experimental Test Pilot responsible for development of the CF100 Canuck Interceptor Fighter. The Gloster Bulletin recorded ‘It's a great loss to the Gloster Aircraft Co. He will be missed by everyone.’ On 11th October Zura made the first flight in it, reaching Mach 1 on 18th December in CF100 Mk4 18112, becoming the first person to exceed the speed of sound in a straight wing jet aircraft without assistance from rocket power. In August 1954, Zurakowski and his observer John Hiebert were testing a rocket-pack on a CF100 when an explosion occurred. The controls were frozen and the aircraft became uncontrollable. Zurakowski called for Hiebert to eject, ejecting himself shortly after, during which he broke his leg. The CF100 crashed near Ajax and Hiebert, who was unable to get out, was killed with it. On 12th October 1955 he made the first flight in the Mk5. From 5th to 9th February 1957 and 30th October to 1st November Jan tested the Convair F102A and a TF102A. Most high speed test pilots retired at 40, but Zura delayed his by over four years in order to ensure sure that no major problems existed with the next project, the Arrow. 14 years in the making, Avro CF105 Arrow 25201 was rolled out on 4th October 1957, and on 25th March 1958 at Toronto Malton Airport Zurakowski boarded for its maiden flight at 09:52hrs in hazy sunshine. The flight lasted 35 minutes and was without problems, and an estimated 10,000 people, including Avro staff, cheered when he landed with braking parachutes trailing behind to the words ‘Tower to Arrow 201. Congratulations on your first flight.’ Zuras only complaint was that the cockpit had no clock. On 1st August he flew the second prototype of the Arrow and reached a speed of Mach 1.89 in the third prototype on 22nd September. He logged a total of 21 flights for 23¾ hours, reaching a top speed of Mach 1.89 and an altitude of 50,000 feet on Arrows before on 20th February 1959, with it about to be outfitted with a better engine, the Arrow project was cancelled under intense pressure from the Americans by Prime Minister John Diefenbakers Conservative Government, officially because they felt that the days of the manned fighter were past and development costs were too high. This resulted in the loss of 14,000 jobs and meant that all photographs, technical drawings and manuals were ordered destroyed. The six complete aircraft and the 34 on the production line were cut up and sold for scrap metal. Zurakowski is recorded as saying: ‘The Avro Arrow was the high point of my career. Once the cancellation of the Arrow took place, I decided to make a change. I spent 25 years in my career and I reached a high level, but I felt there was no more use,’ and ‘I was too much of a specialist when I was test-piloting fighter planes, I decided at the age of 44 to become a generalist.’ He remained bitter about the cancellation for years afterwards, feeling it to be a great betrayal. The Arrow was the last aeroplane he flew, and the last he had flown in until he visited Poland again in the 1980’s. Jan retired immediately and moved to Barry's Bay, Ontario, on the shores of Kamaniskeg Lake where he built a tourist lodge and was surrounded by his family, having seen the area whilst on a test flight. He had not held a pilots licence while he was in Canada, and said of this: ‘At least they couldn't take it away from me’. He was remembered as ‘a small, modest man’ who could make an aircraft do the impossible: ‘Jan was different from other test pilots I met,’ said Jim Floyd, former director of engineering at Avro, ‘he combined superb skill with tremendous courage ... and he was a classy human being.’ In 1992 Zura attended a gathering in Warsaw of Polish airmen who had gathered from all over the world following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and witnessed the return of the Polish Air Force Colour, made by Polish women under occupation in 1940 and smuggled through Sweden to England where it had been kept by the Polish Institute in London, awaiting its return to a free Poland. During his time as a pilot he had been awarded the Virtuti Militari, Cross of Valour with two bars and been Mentioned in Dispatches for Distinguished Service in March 1941, June 1942, and June 1945. He received the King’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in February 1948 and was awarded the McKee trophy in 1958 and Trans-Canada Trophy in 1959. In 1973 he was inducted as a member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame, the citation reading: ‘The dedication of his aeronautical skills to the successful flight testing of Canada's first supersonic aircraft resulted in outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation.’ He was presented with the James C. Floyd Award in 1990. In 1996 the Royal Canadian Mint issued a 20 Dollar coin to commemorate the flight of the CF100 reaching the speed of sound, featuring a CF100 in flight and cameo likeness of Jan Zurakowski on the reverse of the coin. He was given the Gold Pin of the Polish Club of Test Pilots, and was named by the Western Canada Museum as the Pioneer of Canadian Aviation in 1997 and on 20th March 2000 the Canadian Flight Test Centre Building at Cold Lake, Alberta was named the Janusz Zurakowski Building. During the same year he was selected by the International Society of Experimental Test Pilots as an Honorary Fellow of the Society. The Society restricts membership to test pilots who are felt to have served the aerospace industry by their outstanding handling and reporting of newly designed and built aircraft. Janusz was unable to attend but sent his acceptance speech on video to the ceremony in Los Angeles and was represented by Shawn Coyle, the President of the Canadian Test Pilots Association, who later delivered the Certificate of Honorary Membership to Jan by helicopter. In July 2003, Barry's Bay dedicated Zurakowski Park in his honour. Asked what it was like to achieve such breathtaking and potentially deadly speeds, he told a newspaper: ‘It feels just like flying slowly, only faster.’ On another occasion he showed a friend a news article that had been published in The Toronto Telegram in 1952 in which he was described as ‘small, balding and anything but a test pilot.’ He laughed and said 'according to this report I should be a Hollywood macho man, like Gary Cooper or Ernest Hemingway.' During his retirement he enjoyed gardening and designing and building such things as boats and snowmobiles. On 9th February 2004, Janusz Zurakowski died peacefully at his home, Kartuzy Lodge in Barrys Bay, Ontario at the age of 89, after suffering from myelodysplasia for almost two years. His wife Hanka and two sons George and Mark were with him.

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Thanks, Snapper, and here's me thinking I might be able to contribute something . . . you seem to have produced his definitive biography there! What a great man he was!

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I can't really take credit, all I did was put it together and write it up from various sources. You contributed a correction, and that is of more value than a mistake!

Here's a bit more from 609 data:

On 28th November during the last scramble of the day Flight Lieutenant Dundas and Pilot Officer Baillon were shot down over the Isle of Wight, and Zurakowski in Spitfire X4165 had a shell hole through his port mainplane. On 12th January 1941 it was announced in Squadron Routine Orders that he had been awarded the Polish Cross of Valour. On 13th March at 11:37hrs 13 aircraft took off to patrol Maidstone at 13,000 feet and sighted two Bf.109's to their south. These were chased to France by 9 aircraft as far as the Foret de Guinces, although they were unable to keep up. The 609 Squadron Operations Record Book record: ‘Proximity of underside black crosses and shape of wings (as observed by P/O Zurakowski) led to theory that enemy aircraft were the new 109F, or possibly the legendary He.113.’ later it recorded: ‘some spectacular flying staged by S/Ldr Robinson, F/O Bisdee and P/O Zurakowski for a newsreel cinema.’ A few days later on the 19th Zura was again in action. Flying Spitfire P7600 on a standing patrol over minesweepers off Dungeness, being engaged on two sorties: ‘1st Action: (13:15-15:09) At 19,000 feet they were warned by controller that 6 bandits approaching from south. At this point Red 2 (P/O Olenski) dived on some bogeys, which proved to be Hurricanes. Red 1 and 3 were flying SW when the latter (P/O Zurakowski) saw an Me.109 up-sun ahead. He fired a 2-second burst without effect, then warned Red 1 (P/O Ogilvie) that another 109 was on his tail. Ogilvie turned sharp to port, and as bandit overshot, fired a 2-second burst at 200 yards. Zurakowski then warned him that another Me.109 was on his tail. This one fired at Ogilvie, who suffered three bullet holes in his wing and a punctured tyre. Patrol was then resumed. 2nd Action: (17.37-19.09): This time Section was flying West at 9,000 feet when Ogilvie saw an Me.109 dive from behind and attack three Hurricanes flying below at 5,000 feet, shooting one of them down into the sea. Our aircraft dived onto enemy aircraft, and as it pulled up from its attack Ogilvie fired a two second burst at 100 yards from quarter, resulting in white smoke pouring from enemy aircraft's glycol tank.’ On one occasion he asked Olenski about some aerodynamical behaviour of the Spitfire. Olenski was murmuring ‘I don't know, I don't know’. A surprised Zurakowski asked him how it was possible that he, an engineer, didn’t know the answer. Olenski replied ‘professor x says this but professor y says quite the opposite. I must think about it.’