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William James Corbin

Name : William James Corbin Born : 5th August 1917 Died : 8th December 2012 Awards : Distinguished Flying Cross

Already a member of the RAFVR, William Corbin was called up for active duty in September 1939. Following training and conversion to Spitfires, in September 1940 he was posted as a Sergeant Pilot to join 66 Squadron at Coltishall. With the exception of a few weeks spent with 610 Squadron he remained with 66 Squadron until September 1941. Commissioned in June 1942, he returned to combat flying in September, joining 72 Squadron with whom he went to North Africa. Here he shared in a probable Me109 and damaged another, and in August 1943 was awarded the DFC. Corbin arrived on No 66 Squadron as it moved south to Surrey in late August 1940, as the Battle was reaching its climax. Because he had so little experience, he was dispatched by his CO to the north of England for a few weeks’ extra training before returning to No 66, which had moved to Gravesend. During the final month of the Battle, Corbin was in action over his native Kent. As the Battle of Britain was drawing to a close, Corbin’s CO, Squadron Leader Athol Forbes, decided that 10 of his pilots should record their impressions of the great air battle while memories were fresh. He chose a cross-section of officers and sergeants from different backgrounds and with different experiences – Corbin was one of them. In between flying on operations, the 10 scribbled down their thoughts. Corbin contributed the third chapter of their classic book Ten Fighter Boys, which was published by Collins in 1942 – and by which time five had perished. The book was reissued in 2008. In 2007 Corbin decided to complete his story, publishing his own book, Last of the Ten Fighter Boys. In the New Year of 1941, Fighter Command went on the offensive, carrying out sweeps over northern France. Corbin’s Spitfire was hit by anti-aircraft fire and damaged over Calais, but he managed to return safely to base. During a strafing attack against an airfield on the Brest Peninsula, Corbin and his leader damaged a number of aircraft on the ground. In June 1941 he attacked a Heinkel bomber which was returning from an attack on Liverpool and probably destroyed it; a month later he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 while escorting a force of Blenheim bombers over the Dutch coast. After a year of almost continuous operations, he was rested and became an instructor at a fighter training unit. William James Corbin was born at Maidstone on August 5 1917 and educated in the town at St Michael’s School. He trained as a teacher, and in April 1939 joined the RAFVR . He was called up on the outbreak of war . ADVERTISING After his spell as an instructor, Corbin was commissioned and joined a Spitfire squadron sent to North Africa in support of Operation Torch, the Allied landings in Algeria and Morocco in November 1942. He saw a great deal of action with No 72 Squadron as the Allied armies moved eastwards towards Tunis, shooting down a Bf 109 (with another probable) and damaging at least three more fighters. He was also engaged on many sweeps shooting up motor transports and aircraft on the ground. During these operations, the Spitfires faced intense enemy ground fire, and Corbin recorded in his diary that he felt “a little shaky at times�. As the Allies closed on Tunis, he attacked a motor torpedo boat – which exploded from the concentrated fire from his cannons; he also damaged two others. A few days later the war in North Africa was over and, after 450 hours’ operational flying, Corbin was rested and returned to Britain to be a gunnery instructor. He was awarded a DFC. At the end of the war, Corbin left the RAF and returned to Maidstone, where he took up a teaching post. He joined the RAF Reserve and enjoyed flying Tiger Moths and Chipmunks at weekends until the Force was disbanded in 1955. He received the Air Efficiency Award. After 10 years teaching at Collier Road School, Corbin joined the staff of Maidstone Technical School, retiring as a senior master in 1980

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
No.66 Sqn RAF		September 1940	September 1941		Spitfire
No.610 Sqn RAF		unknown	unknown		Spitfire
No.72 Sqn RAF		unknown	unknown		Spitfire

Artwork signed by this Pilot or Aircrew

Those Valiant Few by Robert Taylor.

Valiant Response by Robert Taylor. (AP)

Coastal Patrol by Richard Taylor.

Bitter Engagement by Robert Taylor. (AP)

High in the Sunlit Silence by Michael Rondot (AP)

Aircraft for : William James Corbin
A list of all aircraft associated with William James Corbin. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Spitfire Click the name above to see prints featuring Spitfire aircraft. 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 : William James Corbin
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by William James Corbin. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
No.610 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 10th February 1936 Fate : Disbanded 10th March 1957 County of Chester (Auxiliary) Alifero tollitur axe ceres - Ceres rising in a winged car Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.610 Sqn RAF	No.610 Sqn RAF 610 squadron was formed AT Hooton Park, Wirral in Cheshire on 10 February 1936 as one of the Auxiliary Air Force squadrons equipped with the light bomber the Hawker Hart. In May 1938 610 Squadron aircraft were upgraded to the new Hawker Hind. On 1 January 1939 the squadron role was changed into that of a fighter squadron, and on the outbreak of war in September 1939, he Squadron began receiving the new Hawker Hurricane. By the end of that same month it was flying the Supermarine Spitfire. During the Battle of Britain 610 Squadron was attached to No. 3 Group and was initially based at RAF Gravesend but moved to Biggin Hill before the German offensive began and was one of the units bearing the brunt of German attacks. It moved to RAF Acklington for the rest and recuperation at the end of August, having sustained severe casualties. During the Battle of Britain the squadron included Pilot Officer, later Squadron Leader, Constantine Pegge. In 1941, the squadron moved south to RAF Tangmere where it became part of the Tangmere wing, a three squadron wing under the command of Douglas Bader. 610 Squadron remained based in the UK until 1945, when it moved to the continent to provide fighter cover as the allies entered Germany. 610 Squadron was disbanded before the end of the war at RAF Warmwell in March 1945.
No.66 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 24th June 1916 Fate : Disbanded 20th March 1969 Cavete praemonui - Beware, I have given warning Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.66 Sqn RAF	No.66 Sqn RAF Stations during the Battle of Britain : Coltishall from29th May 1940, Kenley 3rd September 1940, Gravesend 11th September 1940, West Malling 30th October 1940.
No.72 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 28th June 1917 Fate : Disbanded 12th November 1981 Basutoland Swift Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.72 Sqn RAF	No.72 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available.

Last edited : 15:45, January 21, 2017
Last editor : HMS

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