BUILT

JN751, Wg Cdr Ronald P. Beamont DSO, DFC & bar, CO of No. 150 Wing, Newchurch, Great Britain, June 1944

In May 1944, No. 150 Wing was deemed operational. The Tempest equipped only No. 3 and No. 486 Squadrons, while

No. 56 Squadron had to wait for their new Tempests until late June 1944 and used the Spitfire Mk.IX in the interim. The

task of the Tempests of No. 150 Wing at the time of the invasion was to provide air cover over the battlefield and attack

enemy ground targets but from mid-June, the priority became (as the Tempest was the most suitable aircraft for the task)

the protection of southern England from V-1 attacks. At the end of September 1944, the entire unit under the leadership of

Beamont moved to liberated Europe. On October 12th, Beamont´s machine was hit by flak and due to a damaged radiator

had to put down behind enemy lines and spent the remainder of the war in captivity. Over the course of the Second World

War, Beamont claimed nine kills and in July 1944 was awarded a bar to his DSO in recognition of his successful leadership

of the Tempest wing which had destroyed more than 600 V-1s (32 by Beamont himself). After the war, he continued on as

a test pilot and flew, among others, the Meteor, Vampire, Canberra, Lighting and the TSR-2. He retired in August 1979 and

died on November 19th, 2001.

Two days before the invasion of Europe, Beamont‘s aircraft received the prescribed ’Special Markings’ - 18-inch wide black

and white stripes encircling the rear fuselage and wings.

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