ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 90017
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| Date: | Sunday 15 September 1940 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 504 (County of Nottingham) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P2725 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, London SW1 -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hendon, London |
Raymond Towers "Ray" Holmes (20 August 1914 – 27 June 2005) was a British fighter pilot who was feted by the press as a war hero who saved Buckingham Palace from being severely damaged by German bombing during the Battle of Britain.
Born in Liverpool, Holmes worked initially as a journalist before joining the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1937. In June 1940 he joined No. 504 Squadron. On 15 September 1940, Sergeant Holmes was flying a Hawker Hurricane fighter (P2725 "TM-B") when he spotted a damaged Dornier Do17 bomber of KG 76 apparently making a bombing attempt on central London. Avoiding the bomber's return fire, Holmes made a head-on attack on the Dornier, however upon firing discovered his machine guns failed. Holmes decided to ram the bomber hoping his plane could withstand the impact and cut through it. He cut the tail off the bomber with his wing, causing the bomber to crash near Victoria tube station. His Hurricane was badly damaged, crashing in the middle of the busy crossroads where Buckingham Palace Road meets Pimlico Road and Ebury Bridge. Holmes bailed out injured.
In 2004 archaeologists unearthed parts of Holmes's Hurricane for a Channel 5 television documentary, in which Holmes visited the site near Buckingham Palace Road and was shown the fighter's control column which he had last held 64 years earlier.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Holmes
2. http://bbm.org.uk/as-holmes.htm
3. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1492968/Flight-Lieutenant-Ray-Holmes.html
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/4398484.stm
5. http://www.aviartnutkins.com/images/specials/Battle-over-London-Nutkins.jpg
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Feb-2011 05:22 | angels one five | Added |
| 06-Jan-2012 07:47 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative] |
| 06-Jan-2012 08:21 | Nepa | Updated [Registration] |
| 22-Jan-2012 22:19 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 09-Jan-2014 21:11 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Feb-2014 15:00 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 01-May-2015 14:27 | QQ3 | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport] |
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