James F "Stocky" Edwards DFM, DFC and bar
From Sergeant to Wing Commander -
In January 1942, Sergeant pilot James F. "Stocky" Edwards from Battleford
Saskatchewan joined 94 (RAF) Squadron. The squadron re-equipped from Hurricanes
to Curtis Kittyhawk Is and by late March were declared operationally ready.
The marriage of Edwards to this American-made fighter proved to be a lethal
combination. He scored his first kill, a Bf109F, on his first operational
mission.
In May of 1942 he moved to 260 (RAF) Squadron. In all,
he flew 195 operational sorties in three different variants of the P40
[Kittyhawk Ia = P40E, Kittyhawk II = P40F, Kittyhawk III = P40M. On 22
April 1943, Stocky Edwards scored the last of his fifteen confirmed air-to-air
victories in the North African campaign. This picture was taken in January
of 1943 in Triploi, Italy while he was with 260. One week later he was
awarded both the DFM and the DFC.
On the P40 series:
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"... not an easy aircraft to fly properly and as a result,
we lost a good number of pilots while training."
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"In the first few months after conversion to Kittyhawks,
all the squadrons lost heavily to the 109s."
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"I found that one had to have a very strong right arm to
fly the Kittyhawk I during most maneuvers. In dive-bombing, the aircraft
would pick up speed very quickly in the dive, but it had a great tendency
to roll to the right. One could trim this out reasonably well with the
left hand, but even then when one pulled up, it wanted to roll to the left
quite viloently. So I learned to trim about halfway in the dive and hold
the control stick central by bracing my right elbow against my right leg
and the right wall of the cockpit. It was also distracting to have one's
left hand on the trim all the time, when it should be on the throttle."
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"In a dogfight, with violent changes of speed, it was all
one could do to fly the aircraft."
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"Kittyhawk II... was a definite improvement in lateral stability
over the Kitty I."
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"Eventually, with the Mk IIIs, the Kittyhawk became a good,
stable fighting aircraft, although it never did have enough power or climbing
ability compared to the 109s or the Spitfire."
In December 1943 Edwards flew 10 ops with 417 (The Windsors)
before taking command of 92 (RAF) Squadron. This was his first experience
with a Spit VIII.
On the Spit VIII vs P40:
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"Normal cruising speed wasn't much faster than the Kittyhawk
IIIs, but you could open the throttle and feel an immediate and positive
response. The Spitfire was as fast as the '109 and could catch the enemy
in a climb or dive."
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"The Spitfire was light on the elevators at all speeds. Indeed,
it was fast and smooth, making it a real joy to fly. In order to fully
appreciate the outstanding qualities of a Spitfire, pilots should have
first been required to do a tour of ops on a Kittyhawk."
In the fall of 1944 he was back in England and as a Squadron
Leader took command of 274 (RAF) Squadron taking them through their re-equipment
with Tempest Vs.
On the Tempest:
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"The Tempest took off and landed very similar to the old
Hurricane, but much faster. It was a fine aircraft to fly and fight, and
it also had tremendous acceleration for the time period."
On the 6th of April, 1945 Edwards took over as Wing Commander
of 127 Canadian wing from Johnnie Johnson and led it until it's disbandment.
A biography of James Edwards called "Kittyhawk Pilot"
by Edwards and Lavigne was published in 1983 by Turner-Warwick Publications.
Sources:
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'The Crucible of War', RCAF official history
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'RCAF Squadrons and Aircraft', S Kostenuk and J Griffin,
National Museums of Canada
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'Air Aces', Christopher Shores
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'Fighter Aces', Christopher Shores
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'All the Fine Young Eagles', David Bashow
