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Dennis Barnham

Name : Dennis Barnham Born : 1920 Died : 1981 Air Victories : 7.50

Joined the RAF and was postedto 65 Squadron in April 1941 as a Pilot Officer . In July 1941 Barnham joined 609 Squadron and on 8th November 1941, he shot down a FW190, In March 1942 he was posted,154 Squadron, for just a few weeks before joining 601 Squadron as a flight commander to go to Malta on the aircraft carrier USS Wasp, and arrived on the island on 20th April staying until June, Barnham claimed 6½ aircraft while on Malta bringing his tally to 7½. Barnham became a instructor at 57 OTU until December 1944 when he joined 126 Squadron on Mustangs retired from the RAF due to ill health (19/04/1945): He died in Salisbury at the age of 61 and is buried at Gussage-all-Saints in Dorset

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
	Pilot Officer	July 1941	unknown	08th November 1941	Spitfire		Barnham shot down a FW190

Aircraft for : Dennis Barnham
A list of all aircraft associated with Dennis Barnham. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Mustang Click the name above to see prints featuring Mustang aircraft. Manufacturer : North American	Mustang The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace.

Squadrons for : Dennis Barnham
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Dennis Barnham. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
No.609 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 10th February 1936 Fate : Disbanded 10th March 1957 West Riding (Auxiliary) Tally ho! Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.609 Sqn RAF	No.609 Sqn RAF 609 (West Riding) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force: 609 Squadron came into being on the 10th February 1936 as part of the expanding Auxiliary Air Force. Initially a bomber squadron equipped with Hawker Harts. On 8th December, 1938, the Squadrons role was changed from bomber to fighter and the squadron took delivery of its first Spitfires Mk I during August 1939. The squadrons first victory was a Heinkel HE111 H-2 of 2/KG26 which was shot down near St. Abbs Head, 27th February 1940, by Flying Officer G. D. Ayre, Pilot Officer J R Buchanan and Flying Officer D Persse-Joynt. 609 squadron was, it is said, the first Spitfire Squadron to reach 100 victories (Ju88 A-5 1/KG51) on 21st October 1940. The victory was shared by Flight Lieutenant F J Howell and Pilot Officer S J Hill. During April 1942, 609 began to replace its Spitfires with Hawker Typhoons, and went on to become the first Typhoon squadron with 227 victories. Based at many RAF Stations 609 was in action throughout WWII, covering the Dunkirk evacuation, the Battle of Britain and supporting the D-Day landings as part of the 2nd TAF. There were many decorations awarded to squadron members, these included 3 DSOs, 22 DFCs and Bars and 4 DFMs. On 16th December 1947, King George VI gave permission for use of the Royal Prefix for all Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons. 609 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force was disbanded on 10th March 1957, whilst equipped with Gloster Meteors F8 at RAF Church Fenton, Yorkshire. On 1st October, 1999, 609 (west Riding) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, was re-formed at RAF Leeming operating in the guise of Air Defence Support Squadron (ADSS).

First created : 18:27, January 2, 2018
Created by : HMS

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