Combat Kiwis - Alan C. Deere. - Episode 1

g'day mates and welcome to combat Kiwis a series where we talk about famous and lesser-known fighter pilots from New Zealand today we're taking a look at alum dear the lucky Kiwi air Commodore alum Christopher dear DSO OBE quod declare DFC and bar and the American DFC all in Auckland on the 12th of December 1917 was the third son to Terence and Theresa dear during his time at school Allen was successful and sports representing the school and rugby cricket and boxing after school Allen spent two years as a law clerk he was encouraged by his family doctor to also become a doctor however he persuaded his mother to sign the under-21 application for entry into the Royal Air Force and in 1937 he moved to England to begin flight school after his flight training he was posted number fifty-four Squadron at RAF Hornchurch in London flying the Gloster gladiator before converting to the Supermarine Spitfire mark 1 in March 1939 he flew during the Battle of France Battle of Britain and the invasion of Normandy in the earlier stages of the war Elam had New Zealand's native bird the Kiwi painted on the side of a Spitfire Allen is the second highest scoring New Zealand fighter pilot in history claiming 22 aerial victories 10 probables and 18 damaged the following engagement happened on the 9th of July in 1940 during the Battle of Britain and is told in Allen's own words from its autobiography the hon leader had time does break perfectly and it certainly put us at a disadvantage by splitting is fourth there's only one thing to do break formation and have a go each pilot for himself we're outnumbered by about six to one more likely to confuse the Hun in this way thus diverting attention from Johnny we've just given the order for the section to attack the seaplane fastening on the tail of a yellow nose Messersmith I fought to bring my gums to bear is the range rapidly decreased and when the wingspan of the enemy aircraft but it's snuggly into the rain scale bottom I reflect the sight I pressed the firing button it was an immediate response to my eight Browning's which to the accompaniment of a slight buckling from my aircraft spat a stream of lethal lead target words gotcha I muttered to myself as the small dancing yellow flames of exploding dewild bullets spattered along the Messerschmitts fuselage my exaltation was short left before I could fire another burst to 109s wheel them behind me I broke hardened to the attack calling my Spitfire climbing spiral in turn as I did so at the manoeuvre I discovered in previous combats with 109s to be quite effective and it was no less effective now the Misha Smith literally fell out of the sky as they stalled in an attempt to follow me I soon found another target about 3,000 yards directly hitting me and at the same level hun was just completely in the toon preparatory to re-entering the frame he saw me almost immediately and rolled out of his turn towards me so that a head-on attack became inevitable using both hands on the control column to steady the aircraft and thus keep my aim steady I pitched with a reflector sight at the rapidly closing enemy aircraft we opened fire together and immediately a hail of lead started into my Spitfire one moment the Messerschmitt was a clearly defined shape its wingspan nicely enclosed within the circle of my reflector sight and the next it was on top of me a terrifying blue which blotted out the sky head I mean we hit the force of impact hits me violently forwarded on to my cockpit harness strap to which but viciously into my shoulders at the same moment the control column was snatched abruptly from my grouping fingers by a momentary but powerful reversal of elevator load then the flash it was over it's a clear sky hitting me I was still alive the smoke and flames were pouring from the engine which began to vibrate slowly at first but with increasing momentum causing the now regained control Conn jumped back and forwards in my hand hastily I closed the throttle and reached forward to flick off the ignition switches but before I could do so the engine seized and the s crew stopped abruptly I saw the mangement the blade had been bent most double were the impact of the collision the Messerschmitt must have been just fraction above me as we have with smoke now pouring into the cockpit I reached blindly forward for the hood release toggle and tagged at it violently there was no welcoming and expected rush of air to denote that the hood had been jettisoned again then again I pulled at the toggle no response the spiration I turned to the normal release catch and exiting my full strength and divid to slide back the hood refused to budge I was trapped there was only one thing to do try to keep the aircraft under control head for the nearby coast and the speed had by now dropped off considerably and with full backward pressure on the stick I was just able to keep a reasonable gliding altitude if only I could be lucky enough to hit an open country there's a small chance that I might get away with that frantically I peered through the smoke and flame & veiling the engine seeking with streaming eyes for what lay ahead there could be no question of turning I had no idea what damage has been done to the fuselage and the tail of my aircraft although the main plane appeared to be undamaged I didn't risk given a small turn at low level even if I could have seen to turn through a cloud of flame and smoke the ground suddenly appeared ahead of me the next moment a post flashed by my wingtip and then the aircraft stroked the ground ricocheted into the air finally returning to Earth with a jarring impact and once again I just threw it onto my harness unfortunately the straps held fast in case you need to do so via craft cloud its way to a succession of splintering post before finally come to a halt on the edge of a cornfield half blinded by smoke and frantic with fear I tore my harness release pen and then bare hands wielding the strength and inspiration I bet it at the perspex HUD which entombed me with a splintering crash it finally cracked open thus enabling me to scramble from the cockpit to the safety of the surrounding field at a safe distance from aircraft i sat down to observe the damage to person and property my hands are cut bleeding eyebrows singed both knees badly bruised blood trickled into my mouth from a slightly cut lap then I was in lie the Messerschmitt Bf 109 III that Ellen collided with belonged to young Luftwaffe pilot named Johan ulna amazingly both Johan and his aircraft survived the impact as well and he made it back to his airbase in France both pilots assumed the other plane had crashed and they both claimed each other as an aerial victory Johan was shot down later that year over England and spent the rest of the war as a POWs BF 109 y2 is shown here in a field and Kent after you made a forced landing during his time as a combat pilot Allen survived several near-death experiences he was shot down twice by enemy aircraft and once by a friendly Spitfire he once had his oxygen supply fail mid-flight and lost consciousness regaining that just in time to avoid crashing while attempting to scramble off the airfield the flight of three Spitfires he was leading were destroyed by a bomb blast he survived two mid-air collisions one with the bf 109 and the other with another Spitfire whilst on a training mission [Applause] and while flown over the North Sea in 1941 his Spitfire suffered an engine failure and he forced to make yet another crash landing his 1959 autobiography is appropriately titled nine lives in 1945 alla married Joan Fenton an ambulance driver for the American ambulance of Great Britain a volunteer group of British girls who drove ambulances which had been paid for by funds raised in the USA together they had two children Jacqueline and John on the 30th of January 1965 he was given the honor of leading fellow battle of britain fighter pilots in the main funeral procession for Winston Churchill during the production of the 1969 film Battle of Britain Allen served as a consultant on set alongside other famous aces such as Douglas Bader and German fighter pilot Adolf Galland Allen retired from the Royal Air Force on the 12th of December 1967 it then took up the civilian position of Director of RAF rugby which was expanded to director RAF sport he eventually returned to the village of wind over near Holton to live out the rest of his life with his friends and family in a country that gave him his wings and that he fought so hard to defend Allen passed away on the 21st of September 1995 aged 77 his ashes were scattered over the Thames River from a Spitfire belonging to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight LM dears legacy is carried on by his nephew Brendan dear Brendan owns a war surviving Mark 9 Spitfire painted in the colours of lndia's aircraft when he was Wing Commander at big and Hill in June 1943 Brendon along with a team of engineers mechanics and pilots keep the Spitfire and other war birds flying at the Biggin Hill hangar a towering delay of basic archaea here in New Zealand Allen dear lived an amazing life and if you want to know his full story I recommend reading his autobiography nine live thanks for watching [Music] you

Channel: Rarity Films

Views: 22,762

Rating: 4.9591837 out of 5

Keywords: battle of britain, Documentary, Alan Deere, spitfire, bf109, Me109, fighter plane, dogfight, world war 2, WW2, Kiwi, warbird, War Thunder, Battle of France, fighter pilot, RAF, Royal Air Force, RNZAF, Biggin Hill, Hornchurch, 54 squadron, dogfighting, PS4, gameplay

Id: s6TzejBikmg

Length: 11min 58sec (718 seconds)

Published: Mon May 01 2017