Paterson Clarence Hughes, (19 September 1917 – 7 September 1940) was an Australian fighter ace of World War II. Serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF), he was credited with as many as seventeen aerial victories during the Battle of Britain, before being killed in action in September 1940. His tally made him the highest-scoring Australian of the battle, and among the three highest-scoring Australians of the war.
Born in Cooma, New South Wales, Hughes joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a cadet in 1936. After graduating as a pilot, he chose to take a commission with the RAF. In July 1937, he was assigned to No. 64 Squadron, which operated Hawker Demon and, later, Bristol Blenheim fighters. Posted to No. 234 Squadron following the outbreak of World War II, Hughes began flying Supermarine Spitfires as a flight commander. He shared in his unit's first aerial victory on 8 July 1940, and began scoring heavily against the Luftwaffe the following month. Known for his practice of attacking his targets at extremely close range, Hughes is generally thought to have died after his Spitfire was struck by flying debris from a German bomber that he had just shot down. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and was buried in England.
Early life
Paterson Clarence Hughes was born in Numeralla, near Cooma, New South Wales, on 19 September 1917. He was the second-youngest of twelve children, the last of four boys in his family.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 30–31 Hughes's father was a teacher by profession but at the time of Pat's birth was running the community post office; christened Percival Clarence Hughes, and known as Percy, he had apparently adopted the name Paterson by the time of his marriage to Catherine Vennell in 1895. Percy was also a writer, contributing to newspapers and magazines such as The Bulletin, and "Paterson" may have been homage to the poet Banjo Paterson. In any case, Pat shared his father's interest in literature. He also grew to love the landscape of the local Monaro district in the shadow of the Snowy Mountains, which he described as "unrivalled in the magnificence and grandeur of its beauty".Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 28–30
Hughes was educated at Cooma Public School until age twelve, when the family moved to Haberfield in Sydney; his father was by then working as a labourer.Newton, Australian Air Aces, pp. 91–92 He attended Petersham Boys' School, becoming a prefect in 1932 and vice captain the following year. As well as playing sport, he was a keen aircraft modeller and built crystal radio sets.Claasen, Dogfight, p. 141 Having attained his intermediate certificate, Hughes entered Fort Street High School in February 1934. He left after eight months to take up employment at Saunders' Jewellers in George Street, Sydney, and enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on 20 January 1936.Garrisson, Australian Fighter Aces, p. 140 Hughes had also applied to, and been accepted by, the Royal Australian Navy, but chose the RAAF.Newton, A Few of the Few, p. 8
Training as an air cadet at RAAF Point Cook near Melbourne, Hughes learnt to fly in de Havilland Moths before progressing to Westland Wapitis in the middle of the year.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 40, 46 A practical joker who bridled under RAAF discipline, his euphoria during his first solo on 11 March 1936 was such that he "went mad, whistled, sang and almost jumped for joy".Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 42, 45 A fellow cadet recalled that Hughes "loved life and lived it at high pressure".Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 36 Upon graduation in December 1936, Hughes was assessed as having "no outstanding qualities" despite being "energetic and keen".Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 48 Under a pre-war arrangement between the British and Australian governments, he volunteered for transfer to the Royal Air Force (RAF), and sailed for the United Kingdom in January 1937.Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 84–85 His decision to transfer had not been quick or easy; though keen to "try and do something special" in England, and intrigued by "a fascinating picture of easy life, beer and women" that had been presented to him, in the end he felt that it was simply "willed" that he should go.Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 47
Early RAF service On 20 March 1937, Hughes was granted a five-year short-service commission as a pilot officer in the RAF. Like some of his compatriots, he refused to exchange his dark-blue RAAF uniform for the lighter-coloured RAF one. He undertook advanced flying instruction at No. 2 Flying Training School in Digby, Lincolnshire. Slated to fly bombers, he appealed and in July was posted as a fighter pilot to No. 64 Squadron, which operated Hawker Demons out of RAF Martlesham Heath, Suffolk.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 51–52 The squadron was transferred to RAF Church Fenton, Yorkshire, in May 1938.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 54–55 Hughes was promoted to flying officer on 19 November. No. 64 Squadron subsequently received Bristol Blenheim 1F twin-engined fighters, and completed its conversion to the type in January 1939.Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 64
Hughes was promoted to acting flight lieutenant in November 1939 and became a flight commander in the newly formed No. 234 Squadron, which, like No. 64 Squadron, came under the control of No. 13 Group in the north of England.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. viii, 90, 127 On establishment the previous month at RAF Leconfield, East Yorkshire, No. 234 Squadron was equipped with Blenheims, Fairey Battles and Gloster Gauntlets; it began re-arming with Supermarine Spitfires in March 1940 and was operational two months later. The commanding officer, Squadron Leader Richard Barnett, rarely flew, and Hughes assumed responsibility for overseeing conversion to the Spitfire.Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, pp. 1–2Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 126, 398 "More experienced and more mature" than his fellow pilots, according to historian Stephen Bungay, the Australian "effectively led" No. 234 Squadron.Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, p. 172 By this time, Hughes had acquired a young Airedale Terrier known as Flying Officer Butch, who sometimes flew with him—against regulations. He had also met and begun dating Kathleen ("Kay") Brodrick of Hull.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 121–123 On 19 June, Hughes and his squadron transferred to RAF St Eval, Cornwall, under the jurisdiction of the newly formed No. 10 Group in south-west England.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. viii, xii, 153
Battle of Britain As the Battle of Britain got under way in July 1940, Hughes shared in No. 234 Squadron's first confirmed aerial victories.Garrisson, Australian Fighter Aces, p. 35 He and his section of two other Spitfires shot down a German Junkers Ju 88 attacking convoys near Lands End on 8 July, and another south-east of Plymouth during a dawn patrol on 28 July.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 162, 179 A shared claim for a Ju 88 on 27 July could not be confirmed as destroyed; after a chase over the water at heights as low as , the German escaped, despite being struck in the engines and cockpit, and was credited to the section as "damaged".Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 178–179Newton, A Few of the Few, pp. 64–65 German records, made available post-war, confirm that a Junkers 88A, piloted by Leutnant Ruckdeschel, was lost on this day.Mason, Battle Over Britain, p. 153 On 1 August, Hughes was seconded from No. 234 Squadron to help set up the only Gloster Gladiator-equipped unit to operate during the Battle of Britain, No. 247 (China British) Squadron in Plymouth.Shores; Williams, Aces High, p. 48 The same day, he married Kay Brodrick, who likened him to Errol Flynn, in the register office at Bodmin, Cornwall.Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, p. 310 Apart from Flying Officer Butch, the witnesses were strangers; Kay arrived alone, and no-one from No. 234 Squadron could attend.Newton, A Few of the Few, p. 72Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 180 Barnett was transferred out of No. 234 Squadron on 13 August, and Hughes took temporary command until the arrival of Squadron Leader Joe "Spike" O'Brien four days later.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 198, 210 By now the fighting was intensifying over southern England, and the squadron relocated from St Eval to RAF Middle Wallop, Hampshire, on 14 August.Price, Spitfire Mk.I/II Aces, p. 66 Almost immediately after Hughes landed the Luftwaffe bombed the airfield; several ground staff and civilian workers were killed, but No. 234 Squadron's Spitfires escaped damage.Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 199
It was following No. 234 Squadron's move to Middle Wallop that Hughes began to score heavily against German fighters. On 15 August, in one of the costliest engagements of the Battle of Britain, known thereafter to the Luftwaffe as "Black Thursday", Hughes claimed victories (one of them shared) over two Messerschmitt Bf 110s.Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, p. 218 He again achieved dual success on 16, 18 and 26 August, all six victims being Messerschmitt Bf 109s brought down in the vicinity of the Isle of Wight. Whereas in July he had fired at his targets from a range of , it was now his habit to close to , approximately three Spitfire lengths, before delivering his final burst; he also made head-on attacks against enemy aircraft.Alexander, Australia's Few, p. 215 He had a narrow escape on the 16th after his second victory of the day, when he chased a quartet of Junkers Ju 87s and had his tailplane shot up from behind by another Bf 109; he dived and forced the German to overshoot, then broke off having exhausted his ammunition firing at his former attacker. In the pub with Kay and his squadron mates that evening, Hughes jokingly told his wife, "In case of accidents make sure you marry again."Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 207–210
On 3 September, Hughes's promotion to substantive flight lieutenant was promulgated in The London Gazette. He claimed three Me 110s in the space of fifteen minutes south of Haslemere on 4 September, two Bf 109s while patrolling Kenley the following day, and a Bf 109 destroyed plus one probable near Dover on 6 September; he had to break off combat with the last-mentioned when its tanks ruptured, covering Hughes's canopy in oil.Alexander, Australia's Few, pp. 247–250 One of his victims on 5 September may have been Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, who was captured and subsequently became famous as "the one that got away".Claasen, Dogfight, pp. 142–143 Hughes and his protégé, Bob Doe, claimed half of No. 234 Squadron's victories between mid-August and early September.Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy, pp. 172, 196