Eric Barwell

Eric Barwell, (6 August 1913 – 12 December 2007) was a British flying ace who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with having shot down at least nine aircraft, plus one V-1 flying bomb.

Born in Clare, Suffolk, Barwell, a serving member of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, was called up for service in the RAF on the outbreak of the Second World War. Posted to No. 264 Squadron, he flew Boulton Paul Defiant fighters during the later stages of the Battle of France when the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from Dunkirk. Achieving a number of aerial victories, he flew in the following Battle of Britain. By the end of 1940, the squadron was on night fighter operations. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in February 1941, he was posted to a few months later to No. 125 Squadron, which he subsequently commanded. Later in the war he achieved further aerial victories flying the De Havilland Mosquito heavy fighter and was awarded a Bar to his DFC. He briefly commanded No. 264 Squadron after the end of the war in Europe before leaving the RAF. In civilian life, he worked in his family's engineering business. He died in 2007, aged 94.

Early life Eric Gordon Barwell was born on 6 August 1913 at Clare, in the English county of Suffolk. He went to Wellingborough School after which he joined the family business, an engineering factory near Cambridge. With his older brother already serving in the Royal Air Force (RAF), he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) in July 1938, receiving his flight instruction at No. 22 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School at Marshalls Airfield. Having flown Tiger Moth trainers, he duly qualified for his wings.

Second World War On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Barwell was called up for service with the RAF. He went to No. 2 Flying Training School at Brize Norton for the final stages of his training and was commissioned as a pilot officer on probation. He was then posted to No. 266 Squadron, which was equipped with Supermarine Spitfire fighters and based at Sutton Bridge. However his older brother Philip was a wing commander at Sutton Bridge and it was decided to send Eric elsewhere. He was duly posted to No. 264 Squadron. This was a newly formed unit that was stationed at RAF Martlesham Heath and working up with the new Boulton Paul Defiant turret fighter.

Lacking experience on the type, Barwell was sent to No. 12 Group Fighter Pool at Aston Down for familiarisation with the aircraft. It was not until February 1940 that he returned to No. 264 Squadron. By this time the squadron had largely overcome the initial issues it had experienced with the Defiant and the following month it became operational, doing patrol work.

Battle of France Aircrew of No. 264 Squadron in front of a Boulton Paul Defiant fighter; Barwell stands third right while the commanding officer, Philip Hunter, stands third left From mid-May, No. 264 Squadron began flying sorties from Manston to France, patrolling between Dunkirk and Boulogne. Initially, it saw considerable success as Luftwaffe fighters would seek to engage the Defiants from the rear, misidentifying the type as a Hawker Hurricane fighter and coming into the range of the turret gunner's armament. In its first major engagement on 27 May, six Luftwaffe fighters were destroyed. Two days later, the squadron made two afternoon sorties to Dunkirk, from where the British Expeditionary Force was being evacuated; in the first, Barwell and his gunner, Pilot Officer J. Williams, destroyed a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. In the second, they shot down two Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. These were three of 37 Luftwaffe aircraft to be claimed as destroyed by No. 264 Squadron that day.

On 29 May, Barwell and Williams combined to shoot down a Bf 109 off Dunkirk. On a subsequent sortie the same day, they destroyed a Heinkel He 111 medium bomber but the engine of their Defiant was damaged in the engagement. Barwell flew the Defiant, which was losing its engine coolant, close to the English coast, eventually coming down in the English Channel about from Dover. This was the first time a Defiant had attempted to ditch in the sea. Barwell and Williams were rescued by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Malcolm. In February, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, by which time he was married to Ruth , an officer in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. The couple would have at least one child. No. 264 Squadron soon began to make successful interceptions and on the night of 10 April, Barwell, still with paired with Martin, shot down one He 111 over Beachy Head and probably destroyed a second in the same area. The latter may have been damaged from an earlier engagement with another RAF night fighter.

In July, Barwell was posted away to No. 125 Squadron as a flight lieutenant.

In April 1943 Barwell returned to No. 125 Squadron to resume command of one of its flights. In August, Barwell was briefly posted to the Fighter Interception Unit, where he flew Hawker Tempest and North American Mustang fighters, before being sent the following month to the headquarters of the Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) as an acting wing commander. He received a substantive promotion to squadron leader in December. Barwell spent the final weeks of the war as the wing leader at No. 145 Wing.

Barwell ended the war credited with having shot down nine aircraft and one V-1 flying bomb. He is also credited with one aircraft probably destroyed and one damaged.

Later life Barwell was briefly appointed commander of his former unit, No. 264 Squadron, in June 1945.

Barwell's company commercialised proprietary technology relating to rubber engineering and eventually was brought out by an American concern. At the time, Barwell was director of accounts. In his later years, he and his wife Ruth resided in Cambridge. As Ruth was an artist, the couple often travelled to mainland Europe so she could paint. He died on 12 December 2007, aged 94.