John Freeborn Wing Commander John Connell Freeborn , DFC * ( 1 December 1919 – 28 August 2010 ) was a World War II RAF pilot . He was not only an ace but also held the distinction of having flown more operational hours than any other RAF pilot during the Battle of Britain . Early life . He was born in Middleton , these days a suburb of Leeds within the city ' s ring - road , then an area of open farmland . His father Harold was a branch manager with the Yorkshire Penny Bank ( now Yorkshire Bank ) , and he was something of a disciplinarian at home . Freeborn remembered that his mother Jean ( née Connell ) was a stern woman , saying ' I never saw her smile ' . He had five siblings , two sisters and three brothers . They moved to Headingley when Freeborn was still an infant . He later attended Leeds Grammar School and , although a bright and confident pupil , his dislike of petty authority made him glad to leave as soon as possible . Later , during the war , he borrowed a Gloster Gauntlet and flew up to revisit his alma mater , giving an aerobatic display before landing on the school cricket pitch . Freeborn described the irony of having the masters who , only a few years earlier , had berated and beat him telling a new crop of pupils what a shining example he was . He joined the RAF on a short service commission in January 1938 . In training , he was flying solo after only 4 hours 20 minutes logged flight time , a little over half the average ; his accuracy at firing whilst in the air was more than twice the average . Commissioned as an acting pilot officer on probation on 26 March 1938 he initially flew Gloster Gauntlets , but in October 1938 he joined 74 Squadron , and from February 1939 flew Spitfire s . In July 1939 Freeborn was one of the 74 Squadron pilots to fly Spitfires to France to celebrate Bastille Day with the French Air Force . The Second World War . The Battle of Barking Creek . On 6 September 1939 he took part in an action later to be called the Battle of Barking Creek - a tragic misunderstanding during which two No . 56 Squadron Hurricanes were intercepted and shot down by aircraft from 74 Squadron , thereby becoming the first aircraft destroyed by a Spitfire . John shot down the aircraft of Pilot Officer Montague Hulton - Harrop who did not survive , becoming the first RAF pilot to die in World War II . Freeborn felt that his Commanding Officer , Sailor Malan , tried to evade responsibility for the attack . At the ensuing court martial , Malan testified for the prosecution against his own pilots , stating that Freeborn had been irresponsible , impetuous , and had not taken proper heed of vital communications . During the trial , Freeborn ' s counsel , Sir Patrick Hastings , called Malan ' a bare - faced liar ! ' . Though the court exonerated Freeborn completely , he regretted the death of Hulton - Harrop for the rest of his life . In 2009 he said , " I think about him nearly every day . I always have done . . . I ' ve had a good life , and he should have had a good life too . " Whilst their working relationship continued to be professional and exceptionally effective , the case left a strained personal relationship between Freeborn and Malan . It is noteworthy that Malan did not recommend Freeborn for either of his subsequent medals . On Malan ' s departure in March 1941 , Freeborn was not given command despite being eminently capable and far more experienced than the man who did take over . Dunkirk . Confirmed in his rank of pilot officer on 17 January 1940 , his first taste of enemy action was over Dunkirk covering the British Expeditionary Force ' s escape . 74 Squadron was there for six days from 21 – 27 May 1940 . During that time they scored 19 confirmed kills — two of them Freeborn ' s — and 10 probable kills , with only four losses . During one action his engine was hit by return fire from a Junkers Ju 88 and crash - landed in France . Evading the advancing German troops , at one point pinned down by machine - gun fire hiding in a cemetery , he walked for several days to Calais , where a Blenheim took him back to England . The Battle of Britain . Freeborn fought throughout the Battle of Britain as part of 74 Squadron . On 10 July he claimed a Bf 109 of JG 51 and on 24 July shared a Do - 17 ' unconfirmed ' . Another Bf 109 was claimed on 28 July . On 11 August 1940 , the squadron flew into battle four times in eight hours , destroying 23 enemy aircraft , three by Freeborn ( 2 Bf 110 s and a Bf 109 ) and damaging 14 more . That evening , back at base in Hornchurch , Winston Churchill congratulated the squadron and their ground crew . On 13 August he claimed a Dornier Do 17 , but was shot down again , although he wasn ' t hurt . Freeborn ' s accomplished flying made him an ace during the Battle of Britain , with seven confirmed kills and he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 13 August 1940 and promoted to command a flight on 28 August . His DFC citation said : " This officer has taken part in nearly all offensive patrols carried out by his squadron since the commencement of the war , including operations over the Low Countries and Dunkirk , and , more recently , engagements over the Channel and southeastern England . During this period of intensive air warfare he has destroyed four enemy aircraft . His high courage and exceptional abilities as a leader have materially contributed to the notable successes and high standard of efficiency maintained by his squadron . " Freeborn ' s portrait was drawn by war artist Cuthbert Orde in August 1940 and on 3 September he was promoted to flying officer . He claimed another Do 17 on 11 September and a share in a JG 27 Bf 109 on 17 November . By the end of November he had been with his squadron longer than any other Battle of Britain pilot and had flown more operational hours . Three Bf 109s ( and one shared ) were claimed on 5 December . Later war . He received a second Distinguished Flying Cross in February 1941 . The citation said : " This officer has continuously engaged in operations since the beginning of the war . He has destroyed at least twelve enemy aircraft and damaged many more . He is a keen and courageous leader . " In June 1941 he was posted to No 57 OTU ( Operational Training Unit ) at RAF Hawarden , training pilots from overseas to fly Spitfires . On 3 September , he was promoted to war substantive flight lieutenant . Following American entry into the war at the end of 1941 , Freeborn was posted to the United States . He trained pilots at bases in Alabama , then moved on to test piloting new aircraft , including the P - 47 Thunderbolt ( which he hated ) , the P - 51 Mustang , P - 38 Lightning , B - 17 Flying Fortress and A - 20 Havoc . In December 1942 he returned to the UK and served as a flight commander with 602 Squadron flying Spitfires . He flew escort operations to bombers attacking German shipping and installations on the French and Dutch coasts . In June 1943 he joined 118 Squadron as commanding officer , again flying Spitfires . This only lasted three months before the squadron moved to Scotland for less - confrontational patrolling and training duties . On 1 January 1944 , he was promoted to the temporary rank of squadron leader ( seniority from 1 July 1943 ) . He was promoted to war substantive squadron leader on 30 April . In June 1944 Freeborn was promoted to become the RAF ' s youngest Wing Commander Flying , commanding 286 Wing based at Grottaglie in southern Italy . This was a period of frenetic activity , attacking German installations and convoys in the Balkans and defending Allied ones in Italy . In December 1944 he was posted to RAF Netheravon . Believing the post - war RAF to be ' run by nincompoops , ' he resigned with honour and distinction in 1946 . He had flown 42 different aircraft in his eight years . Freeborn was always an outspoken and forthright man , and never held back from expressing his opinion even when it was as iconoclastic as disliking Sailor Malan . He also had somewhat hostile views about another of the pre - eminent war heroes he flew with , Douglas Bader , telling one author " He was not universally popular with his comrades , he made me sick . I ’ ve never met such a self - opinionated fool in all my life . " After the War . Freeborn qualified as a driving instructor , but soon joined Tetley Walker to serve as Regional Director for their Minster Minerals soft drinks brand . He took early retirement and in the early 1980s he moved to Spain , but later returned to the UK . Although popular as an interviewee and event guest , for many years he shied away from committing his story to more lasting record . He relented to talk at length to military historian Bob Cossey , which led to the biography of his military career , " A Tiger ' s Tale " , in 2002 . This , in turn , gave rise to " Tiger Cub " , Freeborn ' s own account of his time in 74 Squadron , which he co - authored with Christopher Yeoman and published in 2009 . He died peacefully in Southport and Formby Hospital on 28 August 2010 . Personal life . John married Rita Fielder in early 1944 ( she broke off her previous engagement to John ' s cousin after seeing a picture of John in the Yorkshire Post , ) and they had one daughter , Julia . Rita died in 1979 . John married his second wife , Margaret Ena ( known as Peta ) Thomas , in 1983 . She died in 2001 . Combat record . An additional 3 . 3 unconfirmed kills are attributed to him :