Patrick Jameson
Patrick Geraint "Jamie" Jameson, was a New Zealand-born Royal Air Force officer and a flying ace of the Second World War.
Born in Wellington, Jameson joined the RAF in 1936 and was posted to No. 46 Squadron on completing his flight training. During the Second World War, he flew in the Norwegian campaign, during which he shot down a German bomber. After the Allies withdrew from Norway, he and the rest of the squadron landed their Hawker Hurricane fighters on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. The ship was sunk the next day, and he was one of only two survivors from the squadron's aircrew. He was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his services in Norway. He commanded No. 266 Squadron during the later stages of the Battle of Britain and then the Blitz, during which he destroyed two bombers. He then commanded a series of fighter wings on operations to the continent, including the Dieppe Raid, during which he shot down several more aircraft. By the end of the war, he had been awarded a Bar to his DFC and the Distinguished Service Order and was credited with destroying at least nine German aircraft.
Remaining in the RAF after the war, he served in a series of senior staff posts until his retirement in 1960. He settled in New Zealand and died in Lower Hutt, aged 83.
Early life
Patrick Jameson, known as Jamie, was born on 10 November 1912 in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of R. D. Jameson, who was originally from Dublin. He was educated at Hutt Valley High School before taking up employment as an assurance clerk with Colonial Mutual Life Assurance. He learned to fly at the Wellington Aero Club, soloing in a Gipsy Moth in 1933. Deciding to join the Royal Air Force a few years later, he left New Zealand on 7 January 1936 and travelled aboard the passenger ship Aorangi to England. On arrival in London, he applied to the RAF for a short service commission, which was accepted. He passed out as the top student of his class at the De Havilland Civil Flying School in Hatfield and in May, after an induction course at Uxbridge, went on to No. 8 Flying Training School at Montrose.By January 1937, Jameson had completed his flight training and was posted to No. 46 Squadron. At the time, the squadron operated Gloster Gauntlet fighters from Kenley but later in the year shifted to Digby. During this period, he was part of an aerobatics flying team. He also became acquainted with fellow New Zealander Edgar Kain of No. 73 Squadron, which also flew from Digby. In February 1939, the Gauntlet was replaced with the Hawker Hurricane fighter.
Second World War
On the outbreak of the Second World War on 3 September 1939, Jameson flew a night interception seeking out a German raider but to no avail. By this time Jameson had been promoted to flight lieutenant and was commanding one of No. 46 Squadron's flights. The squadron spent the early months of the war patrolling along the east coast of England, and on one occasion encountered a group of Heinkel He 115 seaplanes, shooting down three of them. This period otherwise passed generally without incident.Norwegian Campaign
In early 1940, No. 46 Squadron was preparing to go to France but in May was abruptly sent to Norway instead, to support the British forces engaged in the campaign there. Transported by, it operated from Bardufoss, flying patrols over the Royal Navy anchorage in Skånland Municipality, near Harstad and providing air support to British units engaged with the enemy. A few day after their arrival in Norway, Jameson led a section which caught two Dornier Do 26 seaplanes on the water; these were destroyed. The following day, he shot down a Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber.In early June, the Allied forces were withdrawn from Norway. After providing air cover for the ground forces as they left, the Hurricanes of No. 46 Squadron landed on the flight deck of Glorious on 7 June. This was the first time Hurricanes had landed on a carrier. It had not been believed possible for them to do so without an arrestor hook and so the squadron was ordered to destroy the aircraft. The squadron's commander, Squadron Leader "Bing" Cross, persuaded the captain of the Glorious to let an attempt be made. Jameson and two others, with sandbags secured under their tail planes, made a successful test landing on the carrier's flight deck, and were followed by the other pilots of the squadron. During the campaign, the squadron flew 249 sorties.
The Glorious, along two escort destroyers, was intercepted on the way to the United Kingdom by the German battleships and on 8 June. All three ships were eventually sunk by shelling. Jameson and Cross found themselves on a Carley float with thirty other survivors. After three days drifting in the freezing temperatures only seven men were alive to be picked up by the Norwegian cargo vessel,. The two RAF pilots were the only surviving pilots of their unit.
Initially taken to the Faroe Islands, where two of the survivors died, Jameson was transported to Scotland, where he was hospitalised for six weeks. His feet had been badly swollen from prolonged immersion in the water. He then went on sick leave for another six weeks. For his services in Norway, Jameson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in July 1940. The citation published in The London Gazette read:
Squadron leader
On regaining his fitness, Jameson took command of No. 266 Squadron, which flew Supermarine Spitfire fighters, in September. His squadron, based at Wittering, had been heavily engaged in the Battle of Britain and he was involved in the intensive training up of replacement pilots. As part of No. 12 Group, No. 266 Squadron was called upon to be part of the Duxford Wing but Jameson disliked this, noting his command had more success when operating conventionally.Once the Battle of Britain ended, Jameson's squadron had a quiet spell but by early April 1941, it was involved in night fighter operations, seeking out German bombers raiding cities in the United Kingdom. On 9 April, during a bombing raid on Coventry, Jameson shot down a Heinkel He 111 medium bomber, engaging it at. On the night of 10 May, during the largest bombing raid mounted on London by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz, Jameson destroyed another He 111, one of 24 shot down that evening.
Wing leader
In June 1941 Jameson was appointed commander of the Wittering wing, with a promotion to wing commander. He flew on several offensive operations to the continent as part of the RAF's Circus offensive. During a mission escorting Bristol Blenheim light bombers to northern France on 23 June, the wing was attacked by Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters; Jameson managed to destroy one of these Bf 109s. Another Bf 109 was claimed as damaged by Jameson on 12 August, and the following month he destroyed a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter. He was awarded a Bar to his DFC in October, the citation reading:By this time Jameson was married; he had known his wife Hilda since high school and she travelled to the United Kingdom earlier in the year to join him. In the New Year Honours of 1942, he was mentioned in despatches for his war service. He continued to lead the Wittering wing through much of 1942 but in August, Jameson commanded a wing specially formed to provide cover for the Dieppe Raid of 19 August. Flying with No. 485 Squadron, he took part in four sweeps that day, destroying a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter on one of them. In December, he was posted to North Weald to command the Norwegian Spitfire Wing, made up of Nos. 331 and 332 Squadrons. Over the next several weeks, he flew on 21 operations. In early February 1943, he narrowly avoided being shot down when, having become separated from his wingmen, he was attacked over St. Omer by a group of Fw 190s. His cannons became jammed early in the engagement and he had to dive away, losing the Fw 190s in the clouds. Despite a faulty compass he was able to make his way back to his airfield. Later in the month, he destroyed two Fw 190s while escorting Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers to Dunkirk; the wing claimed seven enemy aircraft destroyed that day. In early March he claimed another Fw 190 as probably destroyed. For his services as wing leader, Jameson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. The citation, published on 9 March, read:
In May 1943, James was posted to the staff at the headquarters of No. 11 Group, working in a training and planning capacity. His role later expanded to responsibility for planning fighter operations for the group, at times bringing in support from neighbouring Nos. 10 and No. 12 Groups. In October, he was awarded the Norwegian War Cross by the King of Norway.
File:PG Jameson and NZ squadron leaders.jpg|thumb|right|Jameson, stands third left with three New Zealand squadron leaders; from left to right, Evan Mackie, commander of No. 80 Squadron, Keith Thiele, commander of No. 3 Squadron, and Arthur Umbers, commander of No. 486 Squadron
In July 1944 Jameson took command of No. 122 Wing, which was composed of three North American P-51 Mustang-equipped squadrons and operating from Normandy at the time. The role of the wing was to provide air support for the advancing Allied forces, attacking German transportation and infrastructure. Later in the year, his wing was involved in Operation Market Garden. In October, the Mustang squadrons forming his wing returned to England and were replaced with four squadrons of Hawker Tempests. These continued to operate in support of the advancing Allied ground forces. By April, it was operating from Fassberg, in Germany, and had been joined by a squadron of Gloster Meteor jet fighters. Shortly after the end of the war in Europe, Jameson was mentioned in despatches in the King's Birthday Honours. He ended the war as a flying ace, credited with nine German aircraft destroyed, one probable and another shared, two damaged and two shared destroyed on water.