Beschreibung:

A particularly fine 1941 'Air Fighting Development Unit' A.F.C. group of eight awarded to Group Captain B. L. Duckenfield, Royal Air Force, who flew Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain and shot down three enemy aircraft During those fateful weeks in the summer of 1940, Duckenfield flew on Adlertag ("Eagle Day") - 13 August 1940 - when the full force of the Luftwaffe was thrown at RAF Fighter Command in their attempt to take the skies over Britain; it was the men like Duckenfield who secured the Allied victory Fortunate to survive two crash-landings, firstly as a passenger in a transport aircraft, secondly as Pilot in a Hurricane with a failed engine, his career spanned the highs of the Air Fighting Development Unit - where he delighted in flying captured Me.109, Me.110 and Ju.88 aircraft - and the lows of two years' incarceration in Japanese hands in Rangoon Jail having been downed following a raid on Magwe Liberated in May 1945, he returned to a highly successful career as a Jet Pilot, later serving Rolls Royce with distinction in Japan; a country which he learned to love and respect, despite all he had faced as their captive Air Force Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated '1941'; 1939-45 Star, clasp, Battle of Britain; Air Crew Europe Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Malaya (Sqn. Ldr. B. L. Duckenfield. R.A.F.; Coronation 1953, minor contact marks, very fine (8) A.F.C. London Gazette 24 September 1941. The official citation - awarded whilst serving with the Air Fighting Development Unit, No. 12 Group - states: 'This officer has shown consistent and exceptional ability as an air fighting development pilot since joining the unit in September 1940. He has flown many types of aircraft in tactical and armament trials, sometimes at night. In particular he has participated extremely well in the development trials on new American aircraft. He has at all times shown an outstanding devotion to duty and his accurate flying and recording of results have assisted materially in the speedy and successful conclusion of the trials.' Byron Leonard 'Ron' Duckenfield was born on 15 April 1917 at Sheffield, the son of Leonard and Ann Duckenfield of 49 Marcus Street, Sheffield. Of good working-class stock, his father was a fishmonger's assistant before serving as a cavalryman in Mesopotamia during the Great War. Similarly, young Ron grew up among the terraces and was educated at the Cathedral School - where he demonstrated an aptitude for languages - later working for a brief period as a milkman's assistant (The Daily Telegraph, refers). Duckenfield joined the Royal Air Force on 25 November 1935 as a direct-entry Airman Pilot and commenced his elementary flying training at the Civil Flying Training School at Brough. Sent to Depot at Uxbridge on 18 January 1936 and on to No. 10 F.T.S. at Ternhill from 2 February 1936, he successfully passed the six-month course and was posted to No. 32 Squadron, Royal Air Force, at Biggin Hill on 8 August 1936. Accordingly, these must have been happy times for Duckenfield as he remained with No. 32 Squadron for a considerable period of time, likely flying Bristol Bulldog and Gloster Gauntlet aircraft before conversion to the Hawker Hurricane in October 1938 (Air of Authority - A History of R.A.F. Organisation, refers). Developing a love of Sir Sydney Camm's brainchild, Duckenfield was still serving with No. 32 Squadron at the outbreak of the Second World War. Exalted Company Commissioned on 1 April 1940, Duckenfield transferred to No. 74 Squadron at Hornchurch eleven days later, before moving to No. 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron at Tangmere on 5 May 1940 which was similarly equipped with Hurricanes. During the course of the war, No. 501 Squadron could lay claim to numbering some of the finest fighter pilots of a generation, including Sergeant Pilot Antoni (Toni) Glowacki, V.M., C.V. & 3 Bars, D.F.C., D.F.M. - who shot down five German aircraft on 24 A