Hatfield, Jack Elmer

Killed in Action 1940-05-25

Birth Date: 1913-April-04

Born:

Son of Elmer Calvin and Enola Vaughan Hatfield, of Tusket, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia. A.C.B.A.

Home: Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RAF

Unit

264 Sqn- Squadron

Base

Rank

Pilot Officer

Position

Pilot Officer

Service Numbers

40474

First Burial
Google MapDunkirk, France
264 Squadron (We Defy). Pilot Officer Hatfield lost his life when his Defiant aircraft was shot down over Dunkirk, France.

Boulton Paul Defiant

(RAF Photo) (Source Harold A Skaarup web page)
Boulton Paul P.82 Defiant, RAF (Serial No. L7026), coded PS*V, c1941.
Boulton-Paul-Defiant--L7026--crisp.png image not found

The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any fixed forward-firing guns, also found in the Blackburn Roc of the Royal Navy.

In combat, the Defiant was found to be reasonably effective at destroying bombers but was vulnerable to the Luftwaffe's more manoeuvrable, single-seat Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. The lack of forward-firing armament proved to be a great weakness in daylight combat and its potential was realised only when it was converted to a night fighter. It eventually equipped thirteen squadrons in this role, compared to just two squadrons as a day-fighter. In mid-1942 it was replaced by better performing night-fighters, the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito.

The Defiant continued to find use in gunnery training, target towing, electronic countermeasures and air-sea rescue. Among RAF pilots it had the nickname "Daffy".Wikipedia





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