Tony Lovell
A VERY PROPER TYPE
Wing Commander Anthony Desmond Joseph Lovell, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar, DFC(US), 1919-1945.
One of World War Two's most highly-decorated fighter pilots, and with more operational tours (so it has been claimed) than any other RAF pilot, Tony joined the RAF in 1937 straight from Ampleforth College, training at Sywell before being posted as a Pilot Officer to no.41(F) Sqdn at Catterick in 1938. Here, and at Hornchurch, he commanded 'B' Flight from September 1940, and with seven enemy aircraft destroyed, was awarded his first DFC two months later.
The first half of 1941 saw him posted, first, as an instructor at 53 and 58 OTUs, and then to controlling at Catterick. He got his own squadron of Spitfires there in October - no. 145(F) - and three months later was awarded a Bar to his DFC. Shortly after that, the unit was transferred to Egypt to join the Desert Air Force.
Tony never got to the desert. Apparently unable to cope with the stresses of command (he was still only 22) he resigned his squadron to AVM Park as AOC - who would have known of him from Battle of Britain days - and went to 242 Wg in Alexandria as a controller. Promoted from Acting S/Ldr to S/Ldr (Temporary) at the beginning of June, he went from there to 13 Sector ops room.
Park assumed command in Malta in July 1942, and within the week was asking London for experienced pilots. Two days later Tony was posted to Safi, where he was tasked with transforming no. 1435 Flight at Safi into a new Spitfire squadron (where unconventionally it retained its 4-digit number). His successes there, both personal and with his new unit, resulted in the award of his first DSO that November.
At the beginning of 1943 he was able to add the third full ring to his sleeve as an Acting Wing Commander, and after a brief return to fighter controlling, was posted to lead the Krendi Spitfire wing of nos 249 and 229 Sqdns. His main success in the two weeks that he held the appointment was the destruction (from the air) of a railway engine near Comiso.
By the end of March Tony was back in the ops room, staying there until in July a replacement was needed for Wilfred Duncan Smith, leader of the Safi wing of nos 126 and 1435 Sqdns. After a short spell in ops in November, he was posted to 322 Wg as Wing Commander (Flying), first at Gioia del Colle in Sardinia, then as the months passed, in Aleppo, Ajaccio, Alto and Poretto, where his four Spitfire squadrons flew in support of the 87th Wing of the US XII Tactical Air Command.
He continued notching up victories (four enemy aircraft of which one Fw. 190, one Me.109, one Fiat G55, and one unidentified) until sent as deputy section commander to No.1 MORU, which then went ashore at Salerno. November saw the award of an American DFC, and a posting to 244 Wg MAAF as Wing Commander (Flying) to Cocky Dundas, about which there is some confusion; a month later he went as Chief Instructor to the Desert Air Force's 71 OTU at Ismailia.
Tony Lovell had flown combat since the beginning of the war, and at the beginning of 1945 he received a Bar to his DSO. At the war's end he was posted to the Ground Attack School at Old Sarum, where on August 17th he was killed in a flying accident while taking off in a Spitfire XII. The original verdict of pilot error has been re-assessed, and a note has been added to the Air Ministry record.
This paper was begun in 1999, and closed – apart from some minor later additions – in July 2005.
R Giles Lovell-Webster-Browne, Whittington, Gloucestershire
email:- vicar.what.ho@gmail.com
Copyright Giles Browne 2020
One of World War Two's most highly-decorated fighter pilots, and with more operational tours (so it has been claimed) than any other RAF pilot, Tony joined the RAF in 1937 straight from Ampleforth College, training at Sywell before being posted as a Pilot Officer to no.41(F) Sqdn at Catterick in 1938. Here, and at Hornchurch, he commanded 'B' Flight from September 1940, and with seven enemy aircraft destroyed, was awarded his first DFC two months later.
The first half of 1941 saw him posted, first, as an instructor at 53 and 58 OTUs, and then to controlling at Catterick. He got his own squadron of Spitfires there in October - no. 145(F) - and three months later was awarded a Bar to his DFC. Shortly after that, the unit was transferred to Egypt to join the Desert Air Force.
Tony never got to the desert. Apparently unable to cope with the stresses of command (he was still only 22) he resigned his squadron to AVM Park as AOC - who would have known of him from Battle of Britain days - and went to 242 Wg in Alexandria as a controller. Promoted from Acting S/Ldr to S/Ldr (Temporary) at the beginning of June, he went from there to 13 Sector ops room.
Park assumed command in Malta in July 1942, and within the week was asking London for experienced pilots. Two days later Tony was posted to Safi, where he was tasked with transforming no. 1435 Flight at Safi into a new Spitfire squadron (where unconventionally it retained its 4-digit number). His successes there, both personal and with his new unit, resulted in the award of his first DSO that November.
At the beginning of 1943 he was able to add the third full ring to his sleeve as an Acting Wing Commander, and after a brief return to fighter controlling, was posted to lead the Krendi Spitfire wing of nos 249 and 229 Sqdns. His main success in the two weeks that he held the appointment was the destruction (from the air) of a railway engine near Comiso.
By the end of March Tony was back in the ops room, staying there until in July a replacement was needed for Wilfred Duncan Smith, leader of the Safi wing of nos 126 and 1435 Sqdns. After a short spell in ops in November, he was posted to 322 Wg as Wing Commander (Flying), first at Gioia del Colle in Sardinia, then as the months passed, in Aleppo, Ajaccio, Alto and Poretto, where his four Spitfire squadrons flew in support of the 87th Wing of the US XII Tactical Air Command.
He continued notching up victories (four enemy aircraft of which one Fw. 190, one Me.109, one Fiat G55, and one unidentified) until sent as deputy section commander to No.1 MORU, which then went ashore at Salerno. November saw the award of an American DFC, and a posting to 244 Wg MAAF as Wing Commander (Flying) to Cocky Dundas, about which there is some confusion; a month later he went as Chief Instructor to the Desert Air Force's 71 OTU at Ismailia.
Tony Lovell had flown combat since the beginning of the war, and at the beginning of 1945 he received a Bar to his DSO. At the war's end he was posted to the Ground Attack School at Old Sarum, where on August 17th he was killed in a flying accident while taking off in a Spitfire XII. The original verdict of pilot error has been re-assessed, and a note has been added to the Air Ministry record.
This paper was begun in 1999, and closed – apart from some minor later additions – in July 2005.
R Giles Lovell-Webster-Browne, Whittington, Gloucestershire
email:- vicar.what.ho@gmail.com
Copyright Giles Browne 2020
