Patrick Dorehill

Patrick Arthur Dorehill, (4 July 1921 – 7 June 2016) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. A bomber pilot, he flew as flight engineer for John Nettleton during the Augsburg raid, where they carried out a daring daylight attack against the MAN U-boat engine plant at Augsburg in southern Germany, earning him an immediate DFC and his captain the Victoria Cross. He completed two full combat tours as a bomber pilot. With his commitment to combat flying completed, he was transferred to the BOAC where he flew transports. Following the war Dorehill had a lengthy career as a commercial airline pilot.

Early life Dorehill was born on 4 July 1921 at Fort Victoria in the British Crown colony of Southern Rhodesia. His father worked as a government district administrator, and they lived in a remote mining area. Unhappy with married life in the African outback, his parents divorced and his mother returned to England while Patrick was being schooled at Michaelhouse in South Africa. In 1938 he studied mining engineering at Rand University and briefly worked in the coal mines. Dorehill was at the university when war had broken out, and immediately volunteered for the air force. After gaining his wings in Rhodesia he was selected to fly bombers, and shipped out to England to complete his training.

First tour By the autumn of 1941, he was posted as a sergeant pilot to No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, where he began flying the twin-engine Handley Page Hampden. He flew his first operation on 31 August 1941. Dorehill flew in the aircraft for the first time on 6 January 1942, and was with Nettleton on the night of 3 March when they flew the Lancaster's first operation of the war, dropping mines in the seas around Heligoland. Beside him and leading the squadron was Squadron Leader John Nettleton, a 25 year old South African who was an experienced pilot approaching the end of his first tour. As flight engineer, Dorehill was beside Nettleton, and could sit in a fold down seat on the right side of the aircraft slightly behind the pilot. The flight engineer could also stand next to the pilot, and often did.

During the week before the raid both squadrons were taken off the bombing campaign to practice low level formation flying and bombing. The final practice flight took the bombers south to Selsey Bill, then north to a practice target in Inverness and finally back to base. They still had over 300 miles of enemy occupied territory to go. “We could have escaped south,” Dorehill recalled, but Nettleton was determined to proceed — “quite rightly”.

Completing first tour Following the Augsburg raid Dorehill continued on with Nettleton shortly, going with him to the Air Fighting Development Unit at Duxford as Nettleton attempted to work out evasive tactics that could be used in the event of future fighter interceptions. Bar to Distinguished Flying Cross 29 February 1944 Distinguished Service Order 14 July 1944