and set course for Northolt above heavy clouds without the aid of oxygen. A break in the clouds revealed the twinkling lights of Bedford below, so Gillan began a shallow descent through the gap. He arrived over Northolt alarmed by the fact that his ground speed was well over 450mph. Gillan taxied across Northolt’s grass having covered the 327 miles from Turnhouse in just 48 minutes and at an average speed of 408.75mph. The flight had also been flown at full throttle and the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine never flickered during the entire flight. Once the national and world press got hold of the story, the pilots of 111 Squadron were elevated to the RAF elite. The Air Ministry kept quiet about the 80mph tailwind of which Gillan had taken advantage, which warranted him the service nickname of ‘Downwind Gillan’. His aim on this flight was simply to instil more confidence in his young pilots. There is no doubt that he achieved this in style, as ‘Treble One’ (111 Squadron) would never be the same again. Gillan’s approach to training his pilots and his leadership by example was later recognised with the award of the AFC.
Reformed at Debden from ‘A’ Flight of 87 Squadron, 85 Squadron received its first Hurricanes in September 1938. After making a valuable contribution to the battle of France and the Battle of Britain, the unit was reequipped with Defiants in a night fighter role from January 1941. Mk I P3408 was one of its first Hurricanes. (Via author)
More Squadrons Follow The next unit to receive the Hurricane was 3 Squadron, under the command of Sqn Ldr H. L. P. Lester. Having operated the Bulldog through most of the 1930s and then briefly the Gladiator, the first Hurricanes began to arrive at 3 Squadron’s base in Kenley, Surrey from March 1938. Kenley was not a large airfield, and the Hurricane needed a lot more room than the biplanes that preceded it. A spate of accidents occurred as pilots struggled to keep the modern fighter within the airfield boundary. The problem came to a head in May, when two Hurricanes were written off and Plt Off H. Henry-May was killed as L1579 stalled on approach and dived into the ground. A quick decision was made to re-equip 3 Squadron with the Gladiator while Kenley was expanded to cope with the new fighter. The Hurricane did not return to 3 Squadron until July 1939, by which time the unit had moved to nearby Biggin Hill. The third Hurricane unit was 56 Squadron, based at North Weald under the command of Sqn Ldr C. L. Lea-Cox. 56 Squadron had also been operating © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
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