Art Donahue

Arthur Gerald Donahue
DFC
Nickname(s) Art
Born 29 January 1913
St. Charles, Minnesota, United States
Died 11 September 1942 (aged 29)
Killed in action over the English Channel
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  Royal Air Force
Years of service 1940–1942
Rank Flight Lieutenant
Service number 81624
Unit
Battles/wars

World War II

Awards Distinguished Flying Cross
Other work

Author

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Flight Lieutenant Arthur Gerald "Art" Donahue DFC (29 January 1913 – 11 September 1942) was an American fighter pilot who volunteered to fly for the British Royal Air Force in World War II. He was one of 11 American[1] pilots who flew with RAF Fighter Command between 10 July and 31 October 1940, thereby qualifying for the Battle of Britain clasp to the 1939–45 campaign star. He was killed in action in September 1942.

Early life

Donahue was born to Frank and Ada Donahue on 29 January 1913 and was raised on a dairy farm near St. Charles, Minnesota.[2] As a teenager, he learned to fly at Conrad Flying Service, operated by Max Conrad, an aviator known as the "Flying Grandfather" who set numerous world records for distance and endurance flying. After learning how to fly and becoming Minnesota's youngest commercially certificated pilot at the age of 19, Donahue worked for Conrad helping to run the flight school until he left to join the Royal Air Force.[3] Donahue had heard that pilots were being recruited in Canada, so he traveled there, claimed to be Canadian, and was accepted.[4]

Royal Air Force service

After training with No. 7 Operational Training Unit, he was assigned to No. 64 Squadron at RAF Kenley on 3 August 1940. Two days later, he saw combat against Messerschmitt Bf 109s off the French coast, and suffered serious damage to his aircraft, forcing him to land at RAF Hawkinge.[4] Donahue thus became one of ten Americans to fly for the RAF in the Battle of Britain in 1940.[3]

A week later, on 12 August, he was wounded in combat over England's south coast in his Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I. He was forced to bail out of his burning aircraft, and suffered burns and leg injuries.[4]

On 29 September 1940, he was reassigned to No. 71 Squadron, one of three Eagle Squadrons, RAF units composed of American pilots,[4][5] but did not see combat with that unit. Because of the lack of action, he requested to be reassigned to No. 64 Squadron, arriving back there on 23 October.[4]

In February 1941, Donahue served with No. 91 Squadron, although in March he went on leave back to the USA. In October 1941 he was posted to No. 258 Squadron in the Far East, and participated in the Battle of Singapore, also seeing action over Sumatra in February 1942, where he was wounded by ground fire. After returning to England in mid-1942, he rejoined No 91 Squadron as a flight commander. He became the first American in RAF history to lead an all-English squadron.[3] During his various combat engagements, he was credited with downing two enemy aircraft with two probably destroyed and one damaged. For his efforts, he was awarded four medals, including the UK's Distinguished Flying Cross on 27 March 1942.[2][3][4]

Death

Flight Lieutenant Donahue was killed in action on 11 September 1942, while a member of No. 91 Squadron. Attempting to intercept a Ju 88 his plane was hit by return fire and ditched in the English Channel.[2][3] Donahue once wrote in a letter to his parents, "My life may not be long, but it will be wide."[3] He is commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede in Surrey, England.[2]

Donahue wrote two books, Tally-Ho! Yankee in a Spitfire and Last Flight from Singapore about his service in the RAF.[3]

Honors and awards

This officer has carried out many low level reconnaissance sorties and.- has successfully attacked enemy shipping and ground objectives. On one occasion, whilst carrying out an attack against enemy troops attempting a

landing, Flying Officer Donahue silenced the enemy's fire, thus enabling the rest of the formation to press home their attacks with impunity. He has destroyed several enemy aircraft.

— London Gazette

See also

References

  1. ↑ Battle of Britain - Roll of Honour
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "First hero: St. Charles man an early WWII hero" Winona Daily News, 11 November 2006
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Battle of Britain pilots biographies
  5. ↑ Donahue 1942, p. ?.
  6. ↑ London Gazette 27 March, 1942

Bibliography

  • Donahue, Arthur Gerald. (1944). Last Flight from Singapore. London: Macmillan & Company.
  • Donahue, Arthur Gerald. (1941). Tally-Ho! Yankee in a Spitfire. New York: McMillan & Company.
  • Kershaw, Alex. (2006). The Few. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81303-0

External links