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Hector MacLean
| Wing Commander Hector MacLean (deceased) Hector was flying with No 602 squadron before war broke out. A gallant young man, his fighter pilot days were drawn to an abrupt halt on August 26th 1940 when his leg was severely injured during battle, but the war was by no means over. After his recovery he was posted to Rosemount for duty as a fighter controller, in the rank of Squadron Leader. Hector retired and lived in Kilmacolm near Glasgow. He died on 19th July 2007. |
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Clipped Signature - Micky Mount. Joined No.602 Sqn flying Spitfires against the Luftwaffe at the height of the Battle of Britain. He served throughout the war, also flying Hurricanes in Malta and Wellingtons in the Middle East. He died in 2002. |
Gauntlet by Anthony Saunders. Portsmouth August 26th 1940, the lone spitfire of Squadron Leader Sandy Johnstone breaks the ranks and picks off one of the menacing Heinkels only to encounter an equally determined attack from a BF109. We were brought to readiness in the middle of lunch and scrambled to intercept mixed bag of 100+ Heinkel IIIs and DO 17s approaching Portsmouth from the South. The controller did a first class job and positioned us one thousand feet above the target. with the sun behind us, allowing us to spot the raiders from a long way off. No escorting Messchersmitts were in sight at the time, although a sizable force was to turn up soon after. then something strange happened. I was about to give a ticking off to our chaps for misusing the R/T when I realised I was listening to German voices. It appeared we were both using the same frequency and, although having no knowledge of the language it sounded from the monotonous flow of the conversation that they were unaware of our presence. as soon as we dived towards the leading formation, however we were assailed immediately to loud shouts of Achtung Spitfuern Spitfuern! as our bullets began to take their toll. In spite of having taken jerry by surprise our bag was only six, with others claimed as damaged, before the remainder dived for cloud cover and turned for home. In the meantime the escorting fighters were amongst us when two of our fellows were badly shot up. Hector Maclean stopped a cannon shell on his cockpit, blowing his foot off above the ankle although, in spite of his grave injuries, he managed to fly his spitfire back to Tangmere to land with wheels retracted. Cyril Babbages aircraft was also badly damaged in the action. forcing him to abandon it and take to his parachute. He was ultimately picked up by a rescue launch and put ashore at Bognor, having suffered only minor injuries. I personally accounted for one Heinkel III in the action (Sandy Johnson) . No. 602 City of Glasgow auxiliary squadron was a household name long before WWII began. It had been the first auxiliary squadron to get into the air in 1925, two of its members, Lord Clydeside and David McIntyre were the first to fly over Mount Everest in 1933: the squadron sweeped the board in gunnery and bombing in 1935, beating the regular squadrons at their own game. It was the first auxiliary Squadron to be equipped with Spitfire Fighters as far back as March 1939 and it was the first squadron to shoot down the first enemy aircraft on British soil. The squadron moved south from Drem airfield in East Lothian on August 14th 1940 to relieve the already battered no. 145 squadron at Westhampnett, Tangmeres satelitte station in Sussex. The squadron suffered 5 casualties during the battle. The squadron remained at Westhampnett until December 1940 to be replaced by no. 610 auxiliary airforce squadron. No 602 squadron itself remained active up until 1957 when it was put into mothballs. |
Clipped Signature - Hector MacLean. Spitfire pilot with No.602 Sqn during the Battle of Britain, a severe leg injury sustained in combat on 26th August 1940 ended his role as a pilot - he instead became a Fighter Controller on the ground. He died in 2007. |
Head to Head by Nicolas Trudgian A classic head-to-head combat between Squadron Leader Sandy Johnstone in his Spitfire and an Me109 over the south coast of England on 25th August, 1940. With 602 Squadron scrambled to intercept an approaching raid. The Commanding Officer notches up his second victory of the day. Published 2000. |
Clipped Signature - Hugh Niven. Hugh Niven - Flew Spitfires with No.602 Sqn during the Battle of Britain and was still with the squadron when he was invalided out of the RAF with tuberculosis in 1942. He died in 2008. Clipped together with 3 other signatures : Hector MacLean - Spitfire pilot with No.602 Sqn during the Battle of Britain, a severe leg injury sustained in combat on 26th August 1940 ended his role as a pilot - he instead became a Fighter Controller on the ground. He died in 2007. Stuart Nigel Rose - A Spitfire pilot with No.602 Sqn throughout the Battle of Britain, he claimed 3 victories. Later posted to No.54 Sqn and various training units. He died in 2017. Mickey Mount - Joined No.602 Sqn flying Spitfires against the Luftwaffe at the height of the Battle of Britain. He served throughout the war, also flying Hurricanes in Malta and Wellingtons in the Middle East. He died in 2002. |
Clipped Signature - Stuart Nigel Rose. Stuart Nigel Rose - A Spitfire pilot with No.602 Sqn throughout the Battle of Britain, he claimed 3 victories. Later posted to No.54 Sqn and various training units. He died in 2017. Clipped together with 3 other signatures : Mickey Mount - Joined No.602 Sqn flying Spitfires against the Luftwaffe at the height of the Battle of Britain. He served throughout the war, also flying Hurricanes in Malta and Wellingtons in the Middle East. He died in 2002. Hugh Niven - Flew Spitfires with No.602 Sqn during the Battle of Britain and was still with the squadron when he was invalided out of the RAF with tuberculosis in 1942. He died in 2008. Hector MacLean - Spitfire pilot with No.602 Sqn during the Battle of Britain, a severe leg injury sustained in combat on 26th August 1940 ended his role as a pilot - he instead became a Fighter Controller on the ground. He died in 2007. |
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