E A Shipman
Shippy joined the RAF in 1930 and by 1931 had become had a driver on petrol-powered Morris three-axle ambulances - one step above the steam lorries that were still in use then. Meanwhile, he learnt in his own time how to service aircraft engines. When Shippys friend, Lofty, won a flying lesson, he chose not to take any more, but the instructor invited Shippy to come back and try one himself. He did so, and continued to go solo on a Robinson Redwing after five and a half hours of training, at £1 per hour. He gained his Private Pilots Licence after 20 lessons, at the cost of £20 - four months wages at that time. He applied repeatedly for RAF flying training and, on his sixth attempt, succeeded to join civilian training at Brough. He did not disclose that he already had his PPL, as he thought this may make him ineligible for the course, but, with this little secret of his, he proceeded to set a record by going solo with only five hours and forty minutes training. Based at 41 Sqn, Catterick, (now at Coningsby) he flew the Hawker Demon and Hawker Fury as a Sergeant Pilot, and practised bombing, interception and air-to-ground machine gun firing. The Spitfire first arrived in 1938, and he would fly at least 29 of them. Wartime action began for Green Section of 41 Sqn on 17 October 1939. Flg Off. Cowboy Blatchford (a Canadian) and Shippy Shipman scrambled to intercept an enemy aircraft off Whitby at 9,000 feet. Shippy led the attack, and the enemy crashed into the sea. The downed German airmen drifted for 43 hours and, upon rescue, became the first prisoners of war to be captured on English soil in World War II. The average life expectancy of a pilot at this time was 84 flying hours.
Thursday 15 August 1940 became the greatest day of the Battle of Britain for the Allies - Black Thursday for the Germans. On that day, a craftsmans son, Oberleutnant Hans Ulrich Kettling, a Messerschmitt Me 110 pilot for the Luftwaffe, formed part of a 170-strong attack on the Driffield, Linton-on-Ouse and Dishforth airfields from their station in Norway. Shippy was one of the thirteen Spitfire pilots scrambled to 18,000 ft from Durham to counter the incoming Me 110s and Heinkel He 111s. Shippy recalled: Before getting into firing range, the targets turned hard to port and came straight for us... closing speed, probably in excess of 600 mph... One moment the windscreen was full of enemy aircraft approaching at an alarming speed, and then a second later the sky appeared empty as the Me 110 disappeared behind me. Picking up another Me 110, which evaded violently in steep turns to the left with some climbing followed by some diving, I then attacked the aircraft from astern at about 200 yards. This was a prolonged engagement which used up the remainder of my ammunition. The starboard engine of the Me 110 belched clouds of smoke and appeared to be on fire. I believe I had put it out of action.
Kettling crash-landed near Barnard Castle and set his aircraft alight while he awaited capture. His rear gunman, Obergefreiter Volk, suffered wounds to his leg. In the lecture, John also showed video footage of the fight, taken from Shippys G42B camera gun, on what Shippy said was the only occasion this camera worked. In 1985, Shippy and Kettling met each other again, revisited the crash site and exchanged memories and mementos. Kettling recalled his sharp memories of this encounter, when Shippys Spitfire poured a packet at him: I cannot tell you my feelings. Not because I have forgotten, but because almost certainly I felt nothing... At such times you function like a robot. Fear? Not even that. Never once in crucial moments in air fighting did I have fear. Anger? Yes. But this is also odd, never anger at the British enemy, but at the orders that had put me there... I would have shot Ted Shipman without a thought. But I am not a murderer. I was shooting at material. That machinery happened to be operated by a man. But that is only a second thought - a rationalization. War for us was a sport.
What did we, the British, do? Shippy recalled: We spent most of [our] time in tents, playing cards, talking. There was no real emotion or apprehension for most of us... This attitude did not change until you saw your first German... The last thing I wanted to see was those black crosses. I was not a hero. We had some successes in our gently battle. I survived. I can remember the feeling of desperation, not panic, but an acute awareness of the seriousness of the situation. I was never a member of the tally-ho or wild-blue-yonder-spirit that some people talk about.
The two Pilots, united in their backgrounds and aspirations but divided for a time by the politics of their nations, lived on to become close friends.
His log book shows three aircraft destroyed. (2 enemy aircraft destroyed and and one shared destruction.) There was also a damaged enemy aircraft on 28th July 1940. Note the dates when the serial and service numbers came into effect. Promotions of E A Shipman :
26/05/1930 Joined RAF Serial No. 512770 AC2 for 8 years
19/01/1931 Remustered driver petrol
17/03/1933 Remustered AC2 Fitter Aero Engines
01/07/1933 AC1 Fitter Aero Engines
01/01/1934 LAC Fitter Aero Engines
27/01/1936 Remustered pilot under training, service extended to 12 years
06/10/1936 Sergeant remustered pilot fitter aero engines
12/10/1936 Posted to 41 (F) Squadron
16/11/1936 First flight with 41 (F) Squadron
01/06/1939 Re-engaged for 24 years Flight Sergeant
31/03/1940 Emergency Commission Pilot Officer on probation Service No. 43364
25/11/1940 Acting Flying Officer
01/04/1941 Confirmed Flying Officer
14/10/1941 Acting Flight Lieutenant
01/04/1942 Flight Lieutenant
31/07/1944 Acting Squadron Leader
1945 Received the AFC
05/04/1948 Transferred to Aircraft Control Branch
07/07/1949 Transferred to Fighter Control
18/12/1950 Acting Wing Commander
19/11/1952 CO RAF Sopley
01/01/1955 Transferred to Ground Branch
09/12/1959 Retired – retains rank of Wing Commander. Passed away, August 1998.
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