KITS 10/2021

Capt. J. E. Frost, No. 3 Squadron SAAF, Jigiga, Abyssinia (Ethiopia), March/April 1941

John Frost was born on July 16, 1918, in Queenstown, South Africa and enlisted in the South African Air Force (SAAF) in 1936. In 1940 he served

as a A flight leader with No. 3 Squadron SAAF flying Hurricanes. The unit took part in the fighting against Italian troops in Ethiopia. On May 22,

1941, his service was interrupted as he was sent to hospital diagnosed with appendicitis. After his recovery he was given command of the No. 5

Squadron SAAF flying P-40 in the North African combat zone starting in March 1942. He met his fate on June 16, 1942, when his unit was escorting the Boston formation which was attacked by Bf 109s from JG 27. Neither John Frost’s Kittyhawk nor his body have ever been found. During

his WWII combat career John Frost shot down 14 enemy aircraft (plus two in cooperation) for which feat he was decorated DFC and Bar. Major

John Everitt Frost was the highest scoring SAAF fighter ace of WWII. His Hurricane flew in the same camouflage and markings as the aircraft

serving with RAF. Red color in the national insignia was replaced with orange as a standard on all SAAF aircraft.

W9200, S/Ldr J. W. C. Simpson, No. 245 Squadron, Aldergrove, Antrim, Northern Ireland, Great Britain,

end of May 1941

John William Charles Simpson was born on March 14, 1913, in Ramsay St. Mary’s. He enlisted in the RAF in January 1936 and the first unit he was

posted to after the pilot training was No. 43 Squadron flying Fury fighters. He flew with this unit, already re-equipped with Hurricanes, at the beginning of WWII. In December 1940 he was given command of No. 245 Squadron based in Northern Ireland. Here, during night combat, he shot down

two German He 111 bombers for which he was decorated with Bar to DFC in June 1940. His 13th and last victory was a Do 17 shot down over the

Irish Sea on May 13, 1941. After that he served in several HQ posts in Gibraltar and North Africa. He remained in the RAF service after the war and

passed away on August 12, 1949. On May 22, 1941, an order was issued which required the black color from the fighters’ lower surfaces to be deleted and at the same time the tricolor size on the vertical tail surfaces to be modified. The Simpson’s personal marking carried on his Hurricane in

the form of a question mark is rather atypical. Playing cards Joker was painted on the fuselage port side under the cockpit.

INFO Eduard - October 2021

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