Strana 26
#70202BOXART STORY
Fighter pilot Percival Clarence Hughes, later
known as Paterson C. Hughes, became one of the
most successful Allied fighter pilots of the Battle
of Britain and ranks among the top Australian
aces. Details of Hughes’s wartime career,
including the circumstances of his final flight, can
be found in the historical notes on aircraft AZ
-
Q
written by our colleague Michal Krechowski, who
was responsible for the preparation of this kit.
During his school years, Pat Hughes developed
a keen interest in airplane modelling and radios.
It is therefore hardly surprising that his path
eventually led him to the Royal Australian
Air Force. He also possessed considerable
literary talent and wrote for several Australian
newspapers and magazines.
After moving to Britain and joining the RAF,
Hughes played a significant role in No. 234
Squadron during the spring of 1940, when the
unit was converting from twin-engined Bristol
Blenheim fighters to Spitfires. The squadron’s
commanding officer, Squadron Leader Richard
Barnett, undertook little flying, and it was Pat
Hughes, one of the unit’s flight leaders, who
assumed the leading role in the conversion to
the Spitfire. Over the following months, Hughes
effectively led No. 234 Squadron in combat.
On occasion, and in defiance of regulations,
he was joined in the cockpit by his Airedale terrier,
named Flying Officer Butch.
In early August, Hughes spent two weeks with
No. 247 (China-British) Squadron RAF, assisting its
conversion to the Gloster Gladiator, and married
during the posting. By mid-month, the 22-year-old
Australian had returned to No. 234 Squadron. Over
the next three weeks, he and British pilot Bob Doe
accounted for half the unit’s victories. Hughes’s
rapid success recalls that of Czechoslovak ace
Josef František. Both men showed increasing
signs of fatigue and combat stress, which may
ultimately have contributed to their deaths.
Hughes fought one of his final engagements
on the afternoon of 5 September while patrolling
over Kenley. Flying as Blue 1, he and No. 234
Squadron were drawn towards anti-aircraft
bursts over Gravesend. On arrival, the Spitfires
were attacked out of the sun by three Bf 109s
before sighting another twelve. Firing from
a highly unfavourable position, Hughes hit one
Bf 109, which exploded. He then spotted three
more and attacked one from astern. By this
stage of his career, Hughes habitually closed to
extremely short range before firing. His Spitfire
was sprayed with oil from the damaged German
aircraft, which he believed had force-landed
fifteen miles south of Manston airfield. This is the
combat depicted in Piotr Forkasiewicz’s box art.
The aircraft shot down in this engagement and
credited to Hughes belonged to the Stab JG 53.
It made a forced landing at Monkton Farm, near
St Nicholas-at-Wade. Its Werknummer was 5375,
and for some reason the aircraft is frequently
identified in published sources as a Bf 109 E-1.
Both its wing-mounted cannon armament and
its canopy, however, indicate that it was an E-4.
This is also confirmed by German records: the
aircraft had been built by WNF between May and
June 1940 as part of a production batch of sixty
Bf 109 E-4s. The DB 601 A-1 engine fitted to the
aircraft was of more recent manufacture. Bearing
the serial number 62783, it had been completed
on 13 August 1940.
Far more remarkable, however, was the
captured pilot. He was old enough to have been
Hughes’s father and had first taken to the air as
an observer during the WW1. He was Hauptmann
Wilhelm Meyerweissflog, an officer of Stab
JG 53. Born on 27 October 1889, he had learned
to drive a motor car in 1911. After being recalled
to service during the WW2, he was appointed to
an administrative post but nevertheless continued
to fly operational sorties. On 26 August 1940, for
example, he flew with 1./JG 53 as part of the high-
altitude cover.
Meyerweissflog had returned from brief leave to
his unit’s base near Boulogne late on 4 September
1940. Shortly after lunch the next day, he saw
many younger pilots taking off and decided to fly
as well. He climbed into his Bf 109 and headed
vaguely towards England. Hit by an RAF fighter,
he force-landed and escaped injury more through
luck than judgement. When captured, he had no
idea where he was but remained in good spirits.
Promoted to Major der Reserve on 1 June 1943,
Meyerweissflog was repatriated to Germany in
1944. Before the war, he had lived in Switzerland
and travelled to the United States on business. He
apparently worked for Extractochemie A.-G. in
Zurich and probably wrote “The Solvent Extraction
of Soy Beans”, published in the January 1937
issue of Oil & Soap. Details of his First World War
service remain unknown. His original surname
may have been Meyer, with Meyer-Weissflog or
Meyerweissflog adopted later.
Text: Jan Bobek
Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz
A clash of two generations
INFO Eduard26
October 2026