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M. M. Shand

Name : M. M. Shand Born : 20th February 1915 Died : 22nd December 2007 Service Number : 391368 Awards : Distinguished Flying Cross

Pilot Officer M.M.Shand a New Zealander joined No 54 Squadron on the 24th of August 1940 with little experience of flying in Spitfires, he had no previous training at all in combat. He flew as No 2 to Al Deere on his first outing. He suffered injuries on August 25th 1940 when his Spitfire I (R6969) was attacked over Dover. Michael Moray Shand was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on February 20 1915 and educated at Nelson College. He was working in the fruit industry when, in early 1939, he applied for a short service commission in the RNZAF, starting his pilot training later that year. After gaining his wings he sailed for England in June 1940. The RAF was desperately short of fighter pilots, and Shand was rushed through training. After just 20 hours' flying on the Spitfire, during which time he never fired its guns, he was posted to No 54 Squadron. The squadron was based at Hornchurch, in Essex, and when he arrived in late August, the Battle of Britain was reaching a climax. He flew his first sortie as wingman to the outstanding New Zealand ace, Al Deere, who told him to stay close and watch was going on. Three days after his arrival Shand was on an evening patrol over Dover when a Messerschmitt Bf 109 attacked him, damaging his aircraft. He managed to crash-land on the airfield at Manston, but had been badly wounded in the arm. He spent several months in hospital. Shand returned to operations in October 1941 with No 485 (RNZAF) Squadron, flying Spitfire Vs from Kenley, in Surrey. The squadron was heavily involved in operations over northern France, escorting bomber formations and attacking road transports. Shand was appointed a flight commander in May 1942, and he and his pilots provided withdrawal cover during Operation Jubilee, the raid on Dieppe. By September he had flown 60 operations over France and was awarded a DFC, the citation describing him as "a skilful pilot and fearless leader". On November 28 Shand led a formation of six Spitfires on a low-level sweep off the Dutch coast seeking targets of opportunity. They successfully attacked a tanker-barge on a canal and, as they returned, Shand and his wingman went down to shoot up a train. Two Focke Wulf 190s attacked them. Shand was shot down and quickly captured. Within a few weeks he arrived at Stalag Luft III, 100 miles south-east of Berlin. It was Goering's "show camp", administered and guarded by the Luftwaffe. After the Great Escape, Shand remained at Stalag Luft III until the camp was evacuated in January 1945, the PoWs being forced to march westwards in the harshest winter for many years. In May he was liberated. He returned to England before going home to New Zealand in September.

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
No.54 Sqn RAF	Pilot Officer	24th August 1940	unknown	25th August 1940	Spitfire	R6969
No.485 Sqn RNZAF	flight commander	October 1941	unknown		Spitfire

Known Individual Aircraft :
Type	Serial	Codes	First Flew	Squadron History	Aircrew History	History Notes	Engine	Factory
Spitfire Ia	R6969		17/07/1940	details	details	details	Merlin III	Eastleigh

Aircraft for : M. M. Shand
A list of all aircraft associated with M. M. Shand. 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 : M. M. Shand
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by M. M. Shand. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
No.485 Sqn RNZAF Country : New Zealand Founded : 1st March 1941 Fate : Disbanded 26th August 1945 Ka whawhai tonu - We will fight on Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.485 Sqn RNZAF	No.485 Sqn RNZAF Full profile not yet available.
No.54 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 15th May 1916 Audax omnia perpeti - Boldness to endure anything Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.54 Sqn RAF	No.54 Sqn RAF No. 54 Squadron was formed on the 5th of May 1916 at Castle Bromwich. The squadron was equipped with BE2C's and Avro 504's and was part of the home defence force. Shortly after 54 squadron changed to day fighter duties and moved to France then equipped with Sopwith Pups. Their role was to escort bombers and attack observation balloons. Near the end of the great war 54 squadron was re -quipped with Sopwith Camels and tasked with ground attack as well as fighter sorties. In February 1919, the squadron returned to RAF Yatesbury and on 2nd October 1919 54 squadron was disbanded. On the 15th of January 1930, 54 squadron was reformed at RAF Hornchurch as a fighter squadron equipped initially with Siskin aircraft. The Siskins were subsequently replaced with Bulldog fighters and in September 1936 54 squadron was re-equipped with Gloster Gauntlets and in April 1937, they recieved Gloster Gladiators. In March 1939 the squadron recieved the new Supermarine Spitfire. After the outbreak of world war two, 54 Squadron was given the duties of patrolling the Kent coast, until having to support and give air cover to the evacuation of Dunkirk in May and June 1940. The squadron was heavily involved during the Battle of Britain until November 1940 and after the Battle of Britain had ceased the squadron moved in November 1940 to RAF Castletown where its duties were coastal patrols. In June 1942 the squadron moved to RAF Wellingore to prepare for the squadron moving to Australia. In January 1943 54 squadron joined No.1 Wing of the Royal Australian Air Force. The Spitfires of the squadron were given the role of air defence duties against Japanese air attacks in the Darwin area. After the war had ended 54 squadron was disbanded in Melbourne on the 31st of October 1945, although the squadron name continued when on the 15th of November 1945 No.183 Squadron was renumbered 54 Squadron and flew initially Hawker Tempests. Taking up jet aircraft, the squadron subsequently used Vampires, Meteors, Hunters, Phantom and Jaguars before disbanding on 11th March 2005. 54 Squadron reformed on 5th September 2005 as an ISTAR (Intelligence Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance ) unit equipped with Sentry, Nimrod and Sentinel aircraft.

Last edited : 15:23, January 21, 2017
Last editor : HMS

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