A Fateful Rhubarb

When the Spitfire Mk.Vs of the Biggin Hill Wing returned shortly after noon on 28 January 1942 from a Channel sweep, their commander, W/Cdr Robert S. Tuck, was far from satisfied. The sortie, which had lasted less than an hour, was intended to provide cover for a convoy, yet no contact with the enemy had been made.

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When the Spitfire Mk.Vs of the Biggin Hill

Wing returned shortly after noon on 28 January

1942 from a Channel sweep, their commander,

W/Cdr Robert S. Tuck, was far from satisfied.

The sortie, which had lasted less than an hour,

was intended to provide cover for a convoy, yet no

contact with the enemy had been made.

Together with No. 401 Squadron RCAF,

he therefore planned two Rhubarb operations.

This type of mission involved one or two aircraft

making a low-level attack on ground targets.

Shortly before 1600 hours, two pairs of Spitfires

took off from Biggin Hill. One was led by the future

American ace P/O Don Blakeslee. Accompanied by

his wingman, Sgt Morrison, he crossed the French

coast near Étretat and, after strafing ground

targets, returned safely to base.

The second pair was led by Tuck himself, with

P/O Harley covering his tail; they took off roughly

a minute after Blakeslee. Their objective was

a distillery located approximately 20 miles from

Le Touquet. They made landfall near Berck-sur-

Mer, where the cloud base lay at 600 feet with

10/10 overcast. Records of No. 401 Squadron

RCAF state that the pair turned northeast over

Auxi-le-Château before reaching the target and

proceeded into the area northeast of Boulogne.

There, both Spitfires came under anti-aircraft

fire. Harley observed a stream of glycol pouring

from Tuck’s aircraft; the wing commander broke

to the right, and his wingman lost visual contact.

Harley attacked a flak position on the coast and

crossed back over the sea south of Marquise.

He landed back at base at five minutes past five

but could provide no further information on the

fate of the Biggin Hill Wing commander. In his

autobiographical book Fly for Your Life, Tuck

states that he succeeded in attacking the distillery,

hitting storage tanks and a nearby building

resembling barracks. Near Boulogne, he spotted

a target that was hard to resist, a train. During his

attack, he came under heavy fire, which brought

the engine of his Spitfire “RS

-

T” to a halt.

Gliding down, Tuck searched for a suitable

landing site. He spotted a field, but a truck

mounting an anti-aircraft gun lay in his path.

He fired at the Germans and moments later, his

aircraft touched down, and Tuck struck his face

against the gunsight.

German anti-aircraft troops pulled him from the

cockpit and brought him to their vehicle. To Tuck’s

surprise, they showed him, almost admiringly,

how he had hit their gun: one of the barrels, split

open at the muzzle like a peeled banana, had

taken a direct strike from the Spitfire’s cannon.

It was immediately clear to the Germans that

they had captured an important officer, as Tuck’s

aircraft bore 29 white swastikas marking his

aerial victories. What the occupiers did not realize,

however, was that the opponent they treated with

such respect was Jewish. Had Tuck’s family lived

in Germany or occupied territories, they would

almost certainly not have survived the Holocaust.

News of Tuck’s capture was released by the

Germans several days later. Until then, the

RAF had kept his disappearance secret, as the

possibility of his escape could not be ruled out. His

capture caused a considerable stir in Great Britain,

as he was a well-known and popular fighter

leader. Tuck’s brother, serving as an artilleryman,

was already in German captivity since the fighting

at Dunkirk. British authorities maintained close

contact with the family while also dealing with

intense public interest. People wanted to send

messages or gifts to Tuck in captivity. In one case,

this even involved a mentally unstable man who

had previously harassed Tuck with unsolicited

letters.

After his capture, Tuck was briefly confined in

a cell, where a doctor treated his injured nose;

only then did the physical effects of shock begin

to manifest. What followed, however, took an

unexpected turn. He was collected from his cell by

personnel of Jagdgeschwader 26 on the orders of

their former Kommodore, Adolf Galland, who had

recently become Inspector of Day Fighters.

At the JG 26 base, Galland arranged a dinner

for Tuck attended by eight other officers. The

gathering turned into a surprisingly pleasant

evening, with good food, wine, and even a bottle

of Scotch. The German airmen showed interest

in Tuck’s Polish pilot badge, a gift from a Polish

friend. Tuck, however, did not reveal his lucky

talisman: he carried a German Iron Cross, given

to him by a Luftwaffe pilot he had shot down.

Tuck’s experiences in captivity, which would

even lead to cooperation with the Red Army, form

yet another remarkable chapter in his career.

After the war, he became friends with Adolf

Galland; they worked together as advisors during

the filming of The Battle of Britain. They frequently

went hunting together, and Tuck became godfather

to Galland’s son, Andreas.

Text: Jan Bobek

Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz

A Fateful Rhubarb

INFO Eduard30

May 2026