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No.121 Sqn RAF

Name : No.121 Sqn RAF Founded : 1st January 1918 Disbanded : 29th September 1942 Country : UK Fate : Disbanded 29th September 1942 More Details : Eagle For liberty Known Code Letters : , AV,

Known Service Details :
Pilot or Aircrew	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
Norman Dudley Young	P/O	unknown	31st July 1942	31st July 1942	Spitfire	AA732	At the age of 25 he was killed on the 31st July 1942 while in his Spitfire Vb [AA732] on Circus mission 201 shot down over Abbeville (France) by Jagdgeschwader 26 Killed in Action
Thomas Wilcox Allen	Flt/LT	12th April 1941	31st May 1942	31st May 1942	Spitfire	W3645	While strafing enemy coastal freighters he hit water in Spitfire Vb W3645 damaging his engine and prop, attempted to get back to base and crashed in sea. Missing in action Killed in Action
Fred Elbert Almos	Flight Offcier	unknown	unknown		Spitfire

Pilots and Aircrew for : No.121 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
Name	Info
Allen, Thomas Wilcox Click the name above to see a profile of Allen, Thomas Wilcox    Died : 31 / 5 / 1942	Allen, Thomas Wilcox oined RCAF, service pilot training in US, shipped overseas to ETO, operational training at OTU, assigned 121 [Eagle] Sqn RAF June 41, 12-4-41 1 x damaged and 1 x probable Bf109, While strafing enemy coastal freighters he hit water in Spitfire Vb W3645, damaging his engine and prop, attempted to get back to base and crashed in sea. Missing in action / Killed in Action (KIA) 31-5-42.
Almos, Fred Elbert Click the name above to see a profile of Almos, Fred Elbert	Almos, Fred Elbert
Cambell, John Click the name above to see a profile of Cambell, John	Cambell, John John Cambell flew Spitfires with 234 Squadron, before joining 121 Eagle Squadron. After the transfer of the Eagles to the USAAF, John chose to remain with the RAF and was posted to 258 Squadron for the final defence of Singapore, and then to 605 Squadron defending Java. With four victories in the Far East to his credit, in March 1942 the squadron was over-run by the Japanese, and John became a POW in a harsh prison camp in Java for the next 3 and a half years.
Ross, Don Click the name above to see a profile of Ross, Don	Ross, Don Don Ross flew Spitfire Vbs with the second American Eagle Squadron, 121 Squadron. By the time the squadron transferred to the 357th Fighter Group in September 1942 he had already completed 72 combat sorties. Shot down in February 1944 he became a POW until May 1945. He flew combat in Korea, and then F-4 Phantoms in Vietnam.
Tilley, Reade Click the name above to see a profile of Tilley, Reade    Died : 2001	Tilley, Reade A native of Clearwater, Florida, Reade Tilley grew up with a love for competition in the fast lane. This made Reade natural for driving race cars and the military equivalent; fighter pilot. After attending the St. Petersburg College in Florida and the University of Texas at Austin, Reade was faced with the difficult choice of deciding whether to continue to pursue his race car driving career or become a fighter pilot. With war raging in Europe, Reade opted for the latter, and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940. In 1941 he was assigned to No. 121 Eagle Squadron of the RAF. This was one of the three American-manned squadrons in the RAF. Reading of the horrific air attacks being endured by the people of the besieged Island of Malta, Reade volunteered for a daring mission to launch landbased Spitfires from the USS Wasp to relieve the forces on the island. On the morning of April 20, 1942 forty-seven Spits, including one flown by Tilley, were launched from the Wasp. The arrival of these fighters was very important in saving the strategic island from annihilation by the Nazis. Arriving safely in Malta, Tilley would soon fly in combat, and on his second mission he would down a Bf-109. The Luftwaffe launched an all-out effort to destroy the recently arrived Spitfires, and within a matter of days all of the newly arrived aircraft were either destroyed or damaged. In June Tilley returned to Gibraltar and led another flight of Spitfires to Malta, this time from the deck of the HMS Eagle. During his combat tours at Malta, Tilley attained a total of seven confirmed aerial victories, two probables, and five damaged. He was one of the first two American pilots to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross during the defense of Malta. The citation reads in part: "... on three occasions by making feint attacks after having expended his ammunition he successfully drove off enemy fighters attempting to machine gun our aircraft as they landed ..." Reade was promoted to Flying Officer in August of 1942, and in October he transferred to the USAAC with the rank of Captain. In early 1944 he was promoted to the rank of Major. Tilley remained with the USAF following the War and served initially with the USAFE, the Air Forces in Europe, where he was involved with the Berlin Air Lift. Later Tilley would serve with the Strategic Air Command. Promoted to Colonel in 1955, he served as the Director of Public Information for General Curtis LeMay. During this period Tilley was able to hone his race car driving skills as a member of the SAC Racing Team. Driving an Allard, Tilley competed against some of the top professional drivers of the era in a series of road race competitions at Air Force bases throughout the country. Reade also served as Director of Information for Pacific Air Forces during the Vietnam War. After retiring from the Air Force, he became a consultant. Reade Tilley passed away in 2001.
Young, Norman Dudley Click the name above to see a profile of Young, Norman Dudley    Died : 31 / 7 / 1942	Young, Norman Dudley At the age of 25 he was killed on the 31st July 1942 while in his Spitfire Vb [AA732] on Circus mission 201 shot down over Abbeville (France) by Jagdgeschwader 26

Aircraft for : No.121 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircraft associated with No.121 Sqn RAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Hurricane Click the name above to see prints featuring Hurricane aircraft. 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 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.