- Ray Holmes
Raymond Towers "Ray" Holmes (
20 August 1914 –27 June 2005 ) was a British fighter pilot who was feted as awar hero who savedBuckingham Palace from being severely damaged by German bombing during theBattle of Britain .On
September 15 1940 ,Sergeant Holmes was on duty in aHawker Hurricane fighter when he spotted a damagedDornier Do17 bomber making an attempt for the palace. In avoidance of machine gun fire, Holmes took a head on run with the Dornier, however upon firing discovered his machine guns failed. Holmes decided to ram the bomber hoping his plane could withstand the impact and cut through it. It proved not to be the case, he cut the tail off the bomber with his wing, causing the bomber to crash, but his Hurricane was badly damaged falling into a dive. He bailed out safely even with injuries.He continued flying for the RAF including duties training Russians in combat flying and
reconnaissance . He was commissioned as aPilot Officer on10 June 1941 , [LondonGazette|issue=35217|startpage=3999|date=11 July 1941 |accessdate=2008-02-27] promoted toFlying Officer on10 June 1942 , [LondonGazette|issue=35643|supp=yes|startpage=3242|date=21 July 1942 |accessdate=2008-02-27] andFlight Lieutenant on10 June 1943 . [LondonGazette|issue=36113|supp=yes|startpage=3444|date=27 July 1943 |accessdate=2008-02-27]After the war, he was a King's Messenger, personally delivering mail to
Winston Churchill , and later ajournalist .65 years later, the wreckage of Holmes' Hurricane was discovered and successfully excavated from the streets of London. The discovery was featured on the
National Geographic Channel documentary,"The Search for the Lost Fighter Plane". Ray Holmes died on27 June 2005 , aged 90, following a two-year battle with cancer.References
Further reading
* [autobiography]
Links
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/29/db2901.xml Holmes' obit in the "Daily Telegraph"] .
* [http://www.bbm.org.uk/as-holmes.htm "The Airmen's Stories - Sgt. R T Holmes", Battle of Britain Historical Society 2005] .
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/4398484.stm "Pilotwho 'saved Palace' honoured"]
* [http://www.aviartnutkins.com/images/specials/Battle-over-London-Nutkins.jpgPainting depicting the ramming of the Dornier] .
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