Operation: Lagoon

Date: 18th July 1943 (Sunday)

Unit No: 613 Squadron, 12 Group

Type: Mustang I

Serial: AG656

Code: SY:?

Base: RAF Snailwell, Cambridgeshire

Location: North Sea - west of Scheveningen

Pilot: Flt Lt. Hugh Gore 41577 RAF Age 28. MiA

REASON FOR LOSS:

The second consecutive day the same four carrying out a Lagoon mission, which was a Photographic Reconnaissance off Dutch coast., the day previous took off at 13:40 hrs returning at 15:40 hrs seeing nothing but a suspected E-Boat.

Taking off at 10:10 hrs on this mission with the some other pilots, Fg Off. Taverner, Fg Off. Treseder and Fg Off. Pigg.

They made landfall at Den Helder, Holland, and flew south sighting the convoy a short while later, which was attacked later that day.

The pilots climbed to 500’ to take photos and were just turning for home when they were attacked by about 8 enemy aircraft, including Bf109Gs and Fw109s.

The dog fight lasted 8 minutes and Fg Off. Pigg was the only one to return. He made a head-on attack on a Fw190, but did not observe the results and suffered damage to his own propeller. He then made 2 attacks on a Bf109 watching it dive into the sea. He also saw one Mustang with glycol streaming from it making for the Dutch coast and another aircraft, which was possibly a Mustang, dive into the sea. Unable to make radio contact with the others he turned for home and landed at Coltishall.

Burial details:

Flt Lt. Hugh Gore. Runnymede Memorial. Panel 119. Son of Mr. and Mrs. H.C. Gore and husband of Nora Phyllis Gore, of Wanaka, Otago, New Zealand.

1509 Flying hours logged listed as on his 8th operational sortie although it is thought that he had far more than that. His first operation was on the 26th May 1940, flying the Hawker Hector biplane over France with 613 Squadron. (Type as shown below)

Researched by Kelvin Youngs (Webmaster) and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot with thanks to the research by Errol Martyn and his publications: “For Your Tomorrow Vols. 1-3”, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Weekly News of New Zealand. (Sep 2019). Thanks to Antonio McDonald for the correction that Flt Lt. Gore was in the RAF and not the RNZAF. (Jan 2024).

Other sources listed below:

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