Frank Reginald Carey Group Captain Frank Reginald " Chota " Carey ( 7 May 1912 – 6 December 2004 ) was an English World War II fighter ace with 25 victories , three shared destroyed , four unconfirmed destroyed , four probables and eight damaged . He was the second - highest scoring Hawker Hurricane fighter ace of the war . Early life . Carey was born in Brixton , London and educated at Belverdere School , [ Haywards Heath ] now called Tavistock and Summerhill School . He joined the Royal Air Force in September 1927 as an aircraft apprentice at RAF Halton and later an airframe fitter . In 1935 he was selected for pilot training and passed out as a Sergeant Pilot , joining 43 Squadron flying the Hawker Fury ; he converted to the Hawker Hurricane in 1938 . World War II . On 30 January 1940 , soon after the Second World War started , Carey shared ( with Flight Lieutenant Caesar Hull ) , the destruction of a Heinkel He 111 of KG 26 near Coquet Island on his first aerial combat . 43 Squadron were moved to Acklington in February 1940 , and on 3 February Carey and his wingman claimed another KG 26 He - 111 , the aircraft ditching in the sea . Another He - 111 was shared destroyed the following month and by 1 March Carey was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal . On 1 April 1940 he was commissioned a pilot officer ( on probation ) from the rank of sergeant . France and the Low countries . In April 1940 he joined 3 Squadron , based at Merville in France . On 10 May 1940 he claimed four Heinkel He - 111s ( one unconfirmed ) of KG 54 and KG 27 to become only the third RAF ace of the war . Another KG 54 He - 111 was claimed the next day . Two Ju 87 " Stukas " , a Dornier 17 and two He - 111s were claimed destroyed or damaged on 13 May , the following day he shot down a Dornier Do 17 of 3 . ( F ) / 11 near Louvain . In this action he was hit by gunfire and crashed near Brussels . Despite a leg wound he managed to regain the Allied Lines , and after treatment he was eventually taken to No . 26 Aircraft Depot , where other shot - down aircrew were brought to rejoin their units . After days of inactivity and confusion , Carey and the other personnel found a servicable Bristol Bombay transport at a nearby airfield and flew it back to Hendon in the UK on 7 June , Carey acting as rear - gunner for the trip . On arrival he found he had been officially posted as missing in action . Carey was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions . In June he re - joined 43 Squadron at RAF Tangmere as a Flight Commander . Battle of Britain . As the Battle of Britain unfolded , Carey increased his number of victories . On 19 July he claimed one Messerschmitt Bf 109 destroyed and three damaged ; there was also a Junkers 88 ' probable ' on 12 August . He then shared in the destruction of a Ju 88 of LG 1 on 15 August . Two Ju 87s ( and two ' probables ' ) were claimed over Selsey Bill on 16 August . At the height of the battle on 18 August 1940 , a date known as The Hardest Day , Carey was leading the Squadron against a raid of Ju 87s and Bf 109s over Thorney Island . He shot down a Ju 87 of StG 77 but was hit in the knee by a stray bullet . Due to enemy action he could not land at Tangmere airfield and had to crash - land his Hurricane at Pulborough . After medical treatment in Chichester and recuperation Carey was posted to a No . 52 OTU at Debden as an Instructor , returning briefly to operations with 245 Squadron in Northern Ireland ; he subsequently returned to a training post . On 1 April 1941 , he was confirmed in the rank of pilot officer and promoted to war substantive flying officer . In August , he was posted to RAF Baginton ( now Coventry airport ) to form 135 Squadron as Squadron Commander , and was promoted to war substantive flight lieutenant on 23 November . Far East . Originally intended for service in the Middle East , Carey and No . 135 Squadron were diverted to reinforce the severely pressed Allied Air Forces in Burma in December 1941 . The first four fighters arrived in Rangoon on 23 January 1942 . On the 29th , he claimed his first Japanese victory when he shot down a Nakajima Ki - 27 ' Nate ' flown by Sergeant Major Nagashima of the 77th " Sentai " over the RAF airfield at Mingaladon Township , Rangoon ( now the site of Yangon International Airport ) . This victory incorrecly appears as on 4 February in his official tally . In early February he was promoted to acting Wing Commander , commanding the two fighter squadrons that formed 267 Wing at Mingaladon . Facilities such as tools , spares and other equipment were almost non - existent . Engines to be lifted out were done so by wheeling an aircraft underneath a palm tree , which was then pulled down and tied to the power plant . On its slow release , the engine was lifted clear . Other aircraft might be cannablised to keep others airworthy . Carey shot a reconnaissance aircraft down of " 70th Chutai " on 23 February , and a ' transport ' and another Ki - 27 the following day . On 26 February he led seven Hurricanes in a ground strafe of Moulmein airfield . They spotted several Ki - 27 " Nate " fighters returning to the airfield , in the ensuing combat Carey claimed three ( of a total of five ) claimed shot down , with possibly others destroyed or damaged on the ground . Carey was chased out over the Gulf of Martaban , suffering heavy damage to his Hurricane . He was awarded a bar to his DFC on 24 March for leading this and further strafing missions on the airfield and installations around Moulmein during March 1942 . On 6 May , he was promoted to war substantive squadron leader . Carey had now gained the Indian nickname ' Chota ' ( ' small ' ) because of his size . His last claim was on 25 October 1942 when a Nakajima Ki - 43 ' Oscar ' was a probable victory . He was attacked on take - off from Chittagong by a number of Oscars and after a battle at very low level an Oscar reportedly flew into a hill . His tally against the Japanese is officially at least seven , but with the Allies in full retreat at the time and many records lost , there are numerous others who fought alongside Carey that consider he destroyed many more , possibly taking his tally to over 30 . Carey was taken off operations in late 1942 and then commanded RAF Alipore . He was sent to Air HQ , Bengal , and then in February 1943 formed the ' Air Fighting Training Unit ' based at RAF Amarda Road . In November 1944 he was posted to command 73 OTU in Egypt as a Group Captain , receiving the AFC . He ended the war as a war substantive wing commander , which he had been promoted to on 6 May 1945 . Post war . Australia . He returned to England in 1945 and was given a permanent commission in the rank of squadron leader on 1 September 1945 and studied tactics at the Central Fighter Establishment . He was promoted to the rank of wing commander on 1 July 1947 ( seniority 1 October 1946 ) . After attending the Army Staff College he reverted to the rank of wing commander to lead No 135 Wing , 2nd Tactical Air Force in Germany , flying Hawker Tempests . Converting to jets , he moved to Gutersloh , also in Germany , as wing commander , flying . He was promoted to group captain on 1 July 1956 . He was Air Adviser , British High Commission in Australia from 1958 to 1962 ; Carey was appointed as a Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1960 and then worked for Rolls Royce Aero Division in Australia . On his retirement from Rolls Royce he returned to England . Carey married three times and had two daughters , he died in 2004 . His final years were spent in Bognor Regis .