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Thomas Arthur Francis Elsdon |
Name : Thomas Arthur Francis Elsdon Born : 22nd January 1917 Service Number : 33308 Awards : Distinguished Flying Cross |
Flight Officer Thomas Arthur Francis Elsdon of No 72 Squadron was wounded on the 7th of September 1940 following combat. He crash landed his Spitfire I (X4254) near Biggin Hill. Born January 22, 1917 in Broughty Ferry Dundee, "Jimmi" Elsdon at the Academy of the RAF in 1936 and received his promotion to the rank of officer in December 1937. Posted to 72 Squadron, was was witht he squadron when war broke out and participated in the first battles of the phoney war. During the Battle of Britain, his Spitfire was shot down by a Me 110 on 7 September. Injuring his knee and foot, As a reward of 8 wins that totals at this time (including 6 obtained after August 31), he received the DFC in early October. he returned flying in mid-July 1941 and was assigned to Squadron 257. On the 24th of July, he was again wounded slightly. On August 25th, he was promoted to commander of Squadron 136 that has just been set up to go to the middle east. While on route to its new destination, the Japanese attacked on Pearl Harbour . The Squadron was ordered to Burma where he arrived in January 1942. The squadrons Hurricane were the first in combat in this sector. After the retreat from Burma to India, he was promoted Wing Commander Wing 165 in Dum Dum, September 8, 1942 before taking command of Wing 293 in October and 169 in February 1943 and then to 185. Finally, in October 1943 he returned to Wing 165 and led the offensive at the front of Arakan in late November. In July 1944, he was assigned to District General Far East in Calcutta before returning to Britain in September 1944. He then served in the Transport Command in April 1945 and became commander of the base Boreham. He received the OBE in January 1945 and continued serving in the RAF becoming Wing Commander in 1949 before retiring as a (acting) Group Captain in October 1959 |
COMBAT REPORTS |
DFC Citation : "Since 31st August, 1940, this officer has destroyed six enemy aircraft, bringing his total to eight. On 4th September, 1940, when leading his squadron, his method of attack was successful in destroying nine enemy aircraft and probably three more. A few days later, he brought down the leading aircraft of a bomber formation. His record is outstanding and he has led his section and flight with distinction, showing complete disregard of danger and personal injury." |
Known Service Details : | |||||||
Squadron | Rank | Start of Service | End of Service | Known Dates | Aircraft | Airframes | Notes |
Flight Officer | unknown | unknown | 07th September 1940 | ||||
Flight Lieutenant | unknown | unknown | 24th July 1941 | ||||
Squadron Commander | August 1941 | unknown | 21st August 1942 | Kawanishi H6K was an Imperial Japanese Navy flying boat in the Gulf of Bengal 21st August 1942 |
Photos Submitted Through Our Directory |
Known Individual Aircraft : | ||||||||
Type | Serial | Codes | First Flew | Squadron History | Aircrew History | History Notes | Engine | Factory |
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21/08/1940 | Merlin III | Eastleigh |
Aircraft for : Thomas Arthur Francis Elsdon | ||
A list of all aircraft associated with Thomas Arthur Francis Elsdon. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
Aircraft | Info | |
Hurricane
Manufacturer : Hawker Production Began : 1936 Number Built : 14533 | Hurricane Royal Air Force Fighter, the Hawker Hurricane had a top speed of 320mph, at 18,200 feet and 340mph at 17,500, ceiling of 34,200 and a range of 935 miles. The Hurricane was armed with eight fixed wing mounted .303 browning machine guns in the Mark I and twelve .303 browning's in the MKIIB in the Hurricane MKIIC it had four 20mm cannon. All time classic fighter the Hurricane was designed in 1933-1934, the first prototype flew in June 1936 and a contract for 600 for the Royal Air Force was placed. The first production model flew ion the 12th October 1937 and 111 squadron of the Royal Air Force received the first Hurricanes in January 1938. By the outbreak of World war two the Royal Air Force had 18 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. During the Battle of Britain a total of 1715 Hurricanes took part, (which was more than the rest of the aircraft of the Royal air force put together) and almost 75% of the Victories during the Battle of Britain went to hurricane pilots. The Hawker Hurricane was used in all theatres during World war two, and in many roles. in total 14,533 Hurricanes were built. | |
Spitfire
Manufacturer : Supermarine Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1948 Number Built : 20351 | Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954. |
Squadrons for : Thomas Arthur Francis Elsdon | ||
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Thomas Arthur Francis Elsdon. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
Squadron | Info | |
No.136 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 1st April 1918 Fate : Disbanded 8th May 1946 Nihil fortius - Nothing is stronger | No.136 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
No.257 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 18th August 1918 Fate : Disbanded 31st December 1963 Burma Thay myay gyee shin shwe hti - Death or glory | No.257 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
No.72 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 28th June 1917 Fate : Disbanded 12th November 1981 Basutoland Swift | No.72 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. |
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