PropertyValue
rdf:type
rdfs:label
  • Ronald Cuthbert Hay
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  • Ronald Cuthbert Hay DSO, DSC and Bar (4 October 1916 – 22 November 2001) is the only Royal Marine fighter ace. He joined the Royal Marines just prior to the Second World War in 1935 and then served as an aviator with the Fleet Air Arm. In 1940 he joined 801 Naval Air Squadron flying the two seater Blackburn Skua on HMS Ark Royal for the Norwegian Campaign, claiming his first victory on his first operational flight. He took part in operations covering the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the Dunkirk beaches. Then flying the Fairey Fulmar joined 808 Naval Air Squadron during the Battle of Britain.
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Unit
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dbkwik:military/property/wikiPageUsesTemplate
serviceyears
  • 1939
  • 1951
Birth Date
  • 1916-10-04
Commands
  • 47
  • 809
Branch
  • 23
Nickname
  • Ronnie
Name
  • Ronald Cuthbert Hay
Caption
  • Ronald Cuthbert Hay
Birth Place
  • Perth, Scotland
Awards
death date
  • 2001-11-22
Rank
Battles
Birth name
  • Ronald Cuthbert Hay
abstract
  • Ronald Cuthbert Hay DSO, DSC and Bar (4 October 1916 – 22 November 2001) is the only Royal Marine fighter ace. He joined the Royal Marines just prior to the Second World War in 1935 and then served as an aviator with the Fleet Air Arm. In 1940 he joined 801 Naval Air Squadron flying the two seater Blackburn Skua on HMS Ark Royal for the Norwegian Campaign, claiming his first victory on his first operational flight. He took part in operations covering the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the Dunkirk beaches. Then flying the Fairey Fulmar joined 808 Naval Air Squadron during the Battle of Britain. In 1944 he became Wing Leader of the 47th Naval Fighter Wing flying the Vought F4U Corsair aboard HMS Victorious in the Far East. He led the wing during many of the major British air attacks on the Japanese in Sumatra. By the end of the war he had claimed 4 aircraft destroyed solo and 9 shared destroyed. After the war he transferred to the Royal Navy reaching the rank of Commander before retiring in 1966. Hay later worked in the Mediterranean for 12 years chartering boats and spent time renovating an old mill at Amesbury, near Stonehenge. He appeared in several television documentaries about the Second World War. [citation needed]