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Brian Lane (RAF officer)

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Coordinates: 51°37′05″N 3°27′18″E / 51.618°N 03.455°E / 51.618; 03.455
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Brian Lane
Lane, 1940
Nickname(s)Sandy
Born(1917-06-18)18 June 1917
Harrogate, England
Died13 December 1942(1942-12-13) (aged 25)
North Sea
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1936–1942
RankSquadron Leader
CommandsNo. 19 Squadron
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross

Brian John Edward "Sandy" Lane DFC (18 June 1917 – 13 December 1942) was a fighter pilot and flying ace of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was also an author.

Early life

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Born in Harrogate, England, on 18 June 1917, Brian John Edward Lane was the son of Henry and Bessie Lane. He grew up in Pinner and attended St Paul’s School in Hammersmith. After leaving school, Lane worked as a factory supervisor before applying for a short service commission in the Royal Air Force (RAF) after losing his job in 1935. His initial training commenced in March 1936 at No. 3 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training at Hamble and two months later he was provisionally accepted into the RAF as an acting pilot officer.[1][2][3]

In June Lane proceeded to No. 11 Flying Training School at Wittering on 1 June. Upon completion of his training in January 1937, he was posted to No. 66 Squadron.[4] This unit was based at Duxford and equipped with the Gloster Gauntlet fighter.[5] Some months later, Lane moved to No. 213 Squadron.[4] Like his former unit, this operated the Gauntlet but was based at Northolt. In early 1939 it started converting to the Hawker Hurricane fighter by which time Lane was a flying officer, having been promoted to this rank the previous December.[6][7]

Second World War

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Shortly after the outbreak of war, Lane was posted to No. 19 Squadron, where he became one of its flight commanders.[1] This was based at Duxford and operated Spitfires, having been the first unit in the RAF to receive the type two years previously. For the next several months it was mostly engaged in convoy patrols but in late May 1940 it moved to Hornchurch from where it was involved in providing aerial cover over the beaches at Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo.[8] On one sortie, carried out on 25 May, the squadron's commander was killed. Lane was appointed the temporary commanding office of the unit. The next day, Lane shot down two Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters and a Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber in the area around Dunkirk although only one of these, a Bf 109, could be confirmed. He destroyed a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter in the same vicinity on 1 June.[4]

Battle of Britain

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After the Dunkirk evacuation was completed in early June, No. 19 Squadron returned to Duxford. Later that month it commenced trials with cannon-equipped Spitfires.[8] During this time, Lane married famous racing driver Eileen Ellison in Cambridge.[9] In July the squadron resumed operational duties, carrying out convoy patrols but it soon became drawn into defending the Luftwaffe's campaign against the southeast of England.[8] At the end of the month, Lane was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).[10]

Brian Lane (centre) after a sortie during the Battle of Britain, 1940

By September 1940, during the peak of the Battle of Britain, Lane's abilities as a fighter pilot and leader were duly recognised, and he was promoted to squadron leader.[11]

Lane's No. 19 Squadron RAF often operated with No. 242 Squadron RAF, and led by 242's Squadron Leader Douglas Bader, the squadrons often working together as part of the Duxford Wing, 12 Group's controversial "Big Wing" formation.[12]

After the Battle of Britain, Lane continued flying with 19 Squadron until June 1941 when he was posted to the No. 12 Group RAF staff at RAF Hucknall.[4]

Later war service

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In November 1941 Lane was posted on a staff appointment to the Middle East.[13] In June 1942 Lane returned to England to command No. 61 OTU at Mountford Bridge, until December 1942 when he joined No. 167 Squadron RAF at RAF Ludham as a supernumerary squadron leader flying the Spitfire Mk. V.[14]

He made his first operational flight with the Squadron on 13 December 1942, during which he was last seen giving chase to two Focke-Wulf 190 fighters. He never returned from this mission and was listed as "missing in action". Lane has no known grave having most likely been shot down over the North Sea. It is probable he was a victim of Oblt. Leonhardt of 6./JG 1 and crashed into the sea 30 km west of Schouwen 51°37′05″N 3°27′18″E / 51.618°N 3.455°E / 51.618; 3.455[15] at 16:34 hrs.[4]

During Lane's operational career, he claimed 6 (and 1 shared) enemy aircraft shot down, 2 unconfirmed destroyed, 1 probable destroyed and 1 damaged.[4][16][17]

Published work

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Lane was the author of Spitfire!, which was originally published in 1942 under the pseudonym B.J. Ellan. The book is a firsthand account of Lane's experiences as a front line Spitfire pilot, and is one of only a few contemporaneous autobiographical accounts of the life of a Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot.[18]

Historian Dilip Sarkar spent many years editing and researching the original work to replace the code words used by the war time censor with the correct names of people and places. The revised book was republished in 2009 and again in 2011.

Memorial plaque

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Memorial plaque to Lane in Pinner

A permanent memorial plaque, organised by local resident Paul Baderman, was unveiled on Lane's former home in Pinner, London, on 25 September 2011, 69 years after his presumed death.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b "The Airmen's Stories - S/Ldr. B J E Lane". Battle of Britain Monument. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b Hardiman, David (28 September 2011). "Pinner War Veteran Brian Lane Remembered with Plaque Unveiling". Harrow Times. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  3. ^ "No. 34290". The London Gazette. 2 June 1936. p. 3526.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Shores & Williams 1994, pp. 386–387.
  5. ^ Rawlings 1976, p. 163.
  6. ^ Rawlings 1976, p. 326.
  7. ^ "No. 34583". The London Gazette. 27 December 1938. p. 8251.
  8. ^ a b c Rawlings 1976, pp. 48–50.
  9. ^ "Drivers (E)". The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  10. ^ "No. 34910". The London Gazette. 30 July 1940. p. 4675.
  11. ^ Spitfire!, pp 7–12, Foreword by Dilip Sarkar MBE FRHistS
  12. ^ "Imperial War Museum Duxford > What's on > Talks and Tours : Spitfire Stories Tour". Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  13. ^ "No. 35383". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 December 1941. p. 7111.
  14. ^ "No. 35727". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 September 1942. p. 4276.
  15. ^ "Wings to Victory crash site database". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  16. ^ "La-pilots".
  17. ^ "English / British Aces of WWII". Archived from the original on 3 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  18. ^ Lane, Brian; Sarkar, Dilip (15 June 2009). Spitfire!: The Experiences of a Battle of Britain Fighter Pilot. ASIN 1848683545.

References

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  • Rawlings, John (1976). Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: MacDonald & James. ISBN 0-354-01028-X.
  • Shores, Christopher; Williams, Clive (1994). Aces High: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII. London: Grub Street. ISBN 1-8-9869-7000.
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