Lt SHE Capstick Dale

The Airmen who started at Sea

Flight Lt Hay lost his life “flying in Typhoon 1B JP247 of No 182 Sqn which was shot down by flak near Falaise” on August 18th 1944. The squadron’s South African commanding officer Major DH “Dormie” Barlow who had held that position since April having previously commanded No 80 Squadron in Italy, had been captured by the Germans after being shot down three weeks earlier while two other South Africans serving on the “Second Tactical Air Force” squadron were killed in quick succession. Seconded SAAF pilots Captain GH Kaufmann DFC and Lt RG Jennings were coincidentally from the Eastern Cape and educated at Dale College. Twenty-five-year-old Kaufmann had been with the squadron for six weeks when he lost his life on July 18th while 20-year-old Jennings killed a day after AJ Hay having been with the squadron for two weeks, had travelled to England on the “Rangitata with former “General Botha” Cadets SH Capstick-Dale who was killed in a Typhoon flying accident in 1944 and, Captain Martin Overed.