 At 10: 21 hours on Monday 16 October 1939 as part of Blue Section, 602 Squadron, Archie McKellar and his section leader, Flight Lieutenant George Pinkerton, intercepted a reconnaissance Heinkel He 111 of Kampfgeschwader 26 'Löwen' (Lions) over the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth. Together Pinkerton and McKellar fired 1,720 rounds from their Spitfires'.303 calibre Browning machine guns at the enemy aircraft, yet the Heinkel managed to escape. Pilot Officer Paul Webb, flying Blue 3, was unable to get into an effective firing position against the intruder. Pinkerton and McKellar's shots were the first fired in combat by RAF aircraft over the British Isles in WWII. Blue Section's action was also the first combat mission ever to be flown by Spitfires.
