Ronald Cuthbert Hay Ronald Cuthbert Hay DSO , DSC and Bar ( 4 October 1916 – 22 November 2001 ) is the only Royal Marine fighter ace . He joined the Royal Marines just prior to the Second World War in 1935 and then served as an aviator with the Fleet Air Arm . In 1940 he joined 801 Naval Air Squadron flying the two seater Blackburn Skua on HMS " Ark Royal " for the Norwegian Campaign , claiming his first victory on his first operational flight . He took part in operations covering the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the Dunkirk beaches . Then flying the Fairey Fulmar joined 808 Naval Air Squadron during the Battle of Britain . In 1944 he became Wing Leader of the 47th Naval Fighter Wing flying the Vought F4U Corsair aboard in the Far East . He led the wing during many of the major British air attacks on the Japanese in Sumatra . By the end of the war he had claimed 4 aircraft destroyed solo and 9 shared destroyed . After the war he transferred to the Royal Navy reaching the rank of Commander before retiring in 1966 . Hay later worked in the Mediterranean for 12 years chartering boats and spent time renovating an old mill at Amesbury , near Stonehenge . He appeared in several television documentaries about the Second World War . History . Ronald Cuthbert Hay was born on 4 October 1916 , in Perth , Scotland , one of five children ( three girls and two boys ) of Captain Cuthbert Joseph Hay and Letitia Griffith Fausset . He was educated at Ampleforth College in Yorkshire . World War II . Too old for a cadetship in the Royal Navy , Hay volunteered for the Royal Marine s in 1935 , and served a year at sea in the cruiser . In 1938 he volunteered for flying duties with the Fleet Air Arm and was posted to the recently reformed 801 Naval Air Squadron , assigned to the fleet carrier and equipped with the two seater Blackburn Skua and Blackburn Roc fighter aircraft . His first victory during operations over Norway was on 27 April 1940 , which he later described in detail ; " We ran into a Heinkel He 111 bomber , Lieutenant Bill Church attacked from astern and the bomber dived to sea level . They exchanged fire , and when Bill pulled upwards to break off the attack , his aircraft was struck in the belly and crashed into the sea without any survivors . I had learned my first lesson in air fighting with a vengeance - never break away upwards . I therefore sat on the tail of the bomber and fired short bursts until it crashed into the sea . " On 31 May 801 Squadron joined 806 Naval Air Squadron at Detling to cover the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the beaches at Dunkirk . They mainly used the Skua in its dive bomber role , which was no match for the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 s . After one mission Hay ' s plane was only one of four that returned to base , the rest having been shot down . The squadron remained in Kent until 27 June . Hay was next transferred to the Fairey Fulmar equipped 808 Naval Air Squadron based at Wick , West Sussex . The squadron was one of only two Fleet Air Arm fighter squadrons that fought in the Battle of Britain under RAF Fighter Command control . In October 1940 , 808 Squadron and Hay rejoined the " Ark Royal " en route to the Mediterranean . Hay remained on active service through early 1941 , claiming several Italian floatplanes . In May 1941 they escorted the " Tiger " convoy from Gibraltar to Egypt . As they approached Sardinia on 8 May they twice came under attack from the Italian Air Force . During the second attack Hay who was leading his section of aircraft shot down a Savoia - Marchetti SM . 79 his sixth confirmed victory . After " Ark Royal " was torpedoed and sunk in November 1941 , Hay was posted ashore as a flying instructor with 759 and 761 training Squadrons . He was also awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for his exploits while in the Mediterranean . Promoted to acting Captain in May 1942 , he was given command of 809 Naval Air Squadron which was assigned to the fleet carrier . Hay commanded the squadron during the Torch landings in North Africa and was promoted to substantive Captain at the same time . Hay ' s time in command of 809 Squadron did not last long as he was soon posted to Ceylon as an acting Major in April 1943 . It was while in Ceylon that he met and married Third Officer Barbara Grange , of the Women ' s Royal Naval Service . Far East . In August 1944 Hay took over command of the 47th Naval Fighter Wing which was composed of two squadrons of Vought F4U Corsair s aboard HMS " Victorious " . Their first operation was against the Nicobar Islands in October 1944 . He was promoted acting Lieutenant - Colonel in December 1944 . In December 1944 the four Fleet Carriers Victorious , Illustrious , Indomitable and Indefatigable formed the First Aircraft Carrier Squadron , under Admiral Vian as Flag Officer Commanding . An award of the Distinguished Service Order came after leading the attacks on the Palembang oil refineries on 4 January 1945 , when Hay ' s fighters shot down eight Japanese aircraft for the loss of one Corsair . Hay personally led the wing in attacks on Japanese oil installations and airfields on Sumatra . This was one of the Fleet Air Arm ' s largest operations involving 56 Corsairs and 45 Grumman Avenger s from " Victorious " and . During the mission Hay shot down another two aircraft himself ; a Nakajima Ki - 43 and a Nakajima Ki - 44 . At the end of January Hay ' s wing was again involved in operations to destroy the Sumatran oilfields . Hay claimed another victory on 29 January , when acting as the strike co - ordinator he shared in shooting down a Nakajima Ki - 43 and a Nakajima Ki - 44 . Hay ' s wing was next involved in operations at the Sakishima Islands between March and June 1945 , in support of the American invasion of Okinawa . Hay was awarded his second DSC for his service leading these attacks . At the end of the Second World War Hay still on board " Victorious " was involved in air strikes against the Japanese mainland until 11 August 1945 when " Victorious " was withdrawn to Sydney for a refit . Later life . After the war , Hay continued flying but was injured in an accident landing a Supermarine Seafire . He reverted to his war substantive rank of Captain and was posted back to the Royal Marines . He then served with 40 Commando in Malta , Cyprus , Hong Kong and Malaya . Unhappy with the Royal Marines Hay applied for and was transferred to the Royal Navy in 1951 , with the rank of Lieutenant - Commander . Hay served on the fleet carrier , then held a number of positions ashore . Between 1955 and 1957 he served at RNAS Stretton as Commander ( Air ) . Then Staff College at Latimer , before going to Germany for his first NATO appointment . After which he returned to the Joint Warfare Establishment and then went to Turkey for another NATO position . Hay retired from the Royal Navy in 1966 , and spent the next dozen years working in the Mediterranean chartering boats and appeared in television documentaries about the war . Death . Hay died on 22 November 2001 , aged 85 , and was survived by his four children . Legacy . In May 2010 the Falkland Islands ' Philatelic Bureau issued a set of stamps to commemorate the Battle of Britain . Lieutenant Hay ' s Fairey Fulmar was depicted to represent British aircraft that took part in the battle .