William Hodgson

William Henry Hodgson (30 September 1920 – 13 March 1941) was a New Zealand fighter pilot and flying ace who flew in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was officially credited with the destruction of five enemy aircraft.

Born in Frankton Junction, he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in May 1939. After completing flight training, he went to the United Kingdom, arriving in April 1940. Shortly afterwards, he transferred to the RAF and was posted to No. 85 Squadron. He flew Hawker Hurricane fighters extensively during the Battle of Britain, shooting down a number of German aircraft. He was taken off flying duties in February 1941 due to a medical issue with his eyes, which had been injured in combat the previous year. He was killed the following month when the Douglas A-20 Havoc, flown by another Battle of Britain flying ace, Geoffrey Allard, on which he was a passenger crashed shortly after takeoff.

Early life Born on 30 September 1920 in Frankton Junction, a suburb of Hamilton, New Zealand, William Henry Hodgson was one of two sons of Harry and Leonora May Hodgson.

Night fighting duties No. 85 Squadron began training for night fighting duties in October, in response to the increasing number of bombing raids being mounted at night by the Luftwaffe. It became operational in November, based at Gravesend. The next two months were relatively unsuccessful, with only one bomber shot down at nighttime. However, Hodgson claimed a Bf 109 on 5 December as a probable, when flying on a daytime operation. In February 1941, the squadron returned to Debden and began re-equipping with the Douglas A-20 Havoc. By this time, Hodgson was off flying duties, having been determined to be medically unfit. His eyes had been affected by glycol, most likely from when his aircraft had been damaged the previous August. Later in the month he was invested with his DFC in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Death On 13 March, Hodgson was a passenger on an A-20 being flown by Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Allard, another Battle of Britain flying ace. Shortly after takeoff, a panel came loose and wrapped itself around the tail fin of the A-20. Allard lost control and crashed the aircraft, killing all on board. At the time of his death, Hodgson had made 150 operational flights and was credited with destroying five enemy aircraft, and shared in destruction of two more, had three probable enemy aircraft destroyed and two damaged. He is buried at Saffron Walden Cemetery in Essex.

St. Peter's Church in Caversham, Dunedin, depicts Hodgson in one of its stained glass windows as a tribute to him. The window was unveiled in a ceremony in late October 1941. He is also remembered by Hodgson Way near the village of Shotgate, near where he had crashlanded his burning Hurricane on 31 August 1940.