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Three in Thirteen: The Story of a Mosquito Night Fighter Ace
The story of Joe Singleton, a Mosquito night fighter pilot in World War II, who shot down three German Junkers 188 bombers over Hull in 1944.
Joe Singleton was an unlikely hero. A junior manager at a paints and varnish company at the outbreak of war, he was surprised to discover he had a hidden talent for flying. Despite RAF Fighter Squadrons crying out for replacements after the carnage of the Battle of Britain, Joe was posted to the rapidly developing world of night fighting. He flew first Defiants then Beaufighters as the technological race to field effective night fighters hotted up leading to the first tentative attempts to put radar inside an aircraft. He found himself in the thick of the very earliest stages of ground controlled interception and airborne radar engagements. But the grind of fruitless searches and patrols only served to highlight the futility of lives lost in training and the inherent dangers of flying at night with relatively primitive equipment.
His skills finally began to bear fruit when piloting a Mosquito and he took place in several successful missions. But the pinnacle came on the night of 19th March 1944: scrambled to intercept a big German raid on Hull he located and shot down a Junkers 188, then went on to shoot down two more, all in the space of thirteen dramatic minutes. He and his navigator survived the crash-landing that ensued, and he went on to be feted as a national hero.
'Three in Thirteen' is a unique sortie-by-sortie account of his journey from bewildered recruit to celebrated expert, illustrated with extracts from Joe's RAF logbook, and unpublished photographs and illustrations. Roger Dunsford's extensive experience as an RAF pilot brings a vivid immediacy to Joe's experiences combined with astute analysis of the planes, the tactics and the events of that fateful night.
ISBN: 1612004407
ISBN-13: 978-1612004402
Joe Singleton was an unlikely hero. A junior manager at a paints and varnish company at the outbreak of war, he was surprised to discover he had a hidden talent for flying. Despite RAF Fighter Squadrons crying out for replacements after the carnage of the Battle of Britain, Joe was posted to the rapidly developing world of night fighting. He flew first Defiants then Beaufighters as the technological race to field effective night fighters hotted up leading to the first tentative attempts to put radar inside an aircraft. He found himself in the thick of the very earliest stages of ground controlled interception and airborne radar engagements. But the grind of fruitless searches and patrols only served to highlight the futility of lives lost in training and the inherent dangers of flying at night with relatively primitive equipment.
His skills finally began to bear fruit when piloting a Mosquito and he took place in several successful missions. But the pinnacle came on the night of 19th March 1944: scrambled to intercept a big German raid on Hull he located and shot down a Junkers 188, then went on to shoot down two more, all in the space of thirteen dramatic minutes. He and his navigator survived the crash-landing that ensued, and he went on to be feted as a national hero.
'Three in Thirteen' is a unique sortie-by-sortie account of his journey from bewildered recruit to celebrated expert, illustrated with extracts from Joe's RAF logbook, and unpublished photographs and illustrations. Roger Dunsford's extensive experience as an RAF pilot brings a vivid immediacy to Joe's experiences combined with astute analysis of the planes, the tactics and the events of that fateful night.
ISBN: 1612004407
ISBN-13: 978-1612004402
- GenresNonfictionAviation
171 pages, Hardcover
Published March 3, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 11, 2019
On the whole, a very remarkable book about a modest man (Joe Singleton) who joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) within days of the declaration of war in September 1939 and received training as a fighter pilot.
Upon completion of training, Singleton was kept back as a flight instructor for several months. He became one of the pioneer pilots in what was the developing science of night fighting, which the book does a fantastic job in explaining to the reader. Stapleton learned to fly both single and dual-engine aircraft which the RAF had put into service as night fighters. He would be posted to a frontline night fighter squadron in the spring of 1942 and spent the next couple of years honing his skills and growing in experience through flying a variety of missions from night defense against German bombers attacking Britain to 'Ranger' or 'Intruder' missions, which involved flying over German-occupied Europe and Germany by night attacking Luftwaffe bases and targets of opportunity. Very hazardous work.
Stapleton would come to the nation's attention and be lionized as a hero for the mission he and his navigator/radar operator (Flying Office Geoff Haslam) flew during the night of March 19th, 1944 against a large number of German bombers poised to bomb the city of Hull in Northern England. Stapleton was instrumental in breaking up the German attack, and in the space of 13 minutes, shot down 3 German Junkers bombers. In recognition of this achievement, Stapleton was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), Britain's second highest award for bravery.
Other hallmarks of this book are its illustrations, photos of various aircraft and squadron life (many of which came from Stapleton's personal photos) and an appendix which sheds further interesting details on Stapleton's mission of March 19th, 1944 as told in his own words and through official channels. All in all, "THREE IN THIRTEEN" is a very good, solid book which I recommend highly.
Upon completion of training, Singleton was kept back as a flight instructor for several months. He became one of the pioneer pilots in what was the developing science of night fighting, which the book does a fantastic job in explaining to the reader. Stapleton learned to fly both single and dual-engine aircraft which the RAF had put into service as night fighters. He would be posted to a frontline night fighter squadron in the spring of 1942 and spent the next couple of years honing his skills and growing in experience through flying a variety of missions from night defense against German bombers attacking Britain to 'Ranger' or 'Intruder' missions, which involved flying over German-occupied Europe and Germany by night attacking Luftwaffe bases and targets of opportunity. Very hazardous work.
Stapleton would come to the nation's attention and be lionized as a hero for the mission he and his navigator/radar operator (Flying Office Geoff Haslam) flew during the night of March 19th, 1944 against a large number of German bombers poised to bomb the city of Hull in Northern England. Stapleton was instrumental in breaking up the German attack, and in the space of 13 minutes, shot down 3 German Junkers bombers. In recognition of this achievement, Stapleton was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), Britain's second highest award for bravery.
Other hallmarks of this book are its illustrations, photos of various aircraft and squadron life (many of which came from Stapleton's personal photos) and an appendix which sheds further interesting details on Stapleton's mission of March 19th, 1944 as told in his own words and through official channels. All in all, "THREE IN THIRTEEN" is a very good, solid book which I recommend highly.
April 12, 2023
Excellent history of a pilot that deserves to be remembered.
Very good history. Easy to read. I enjoyed it immensely. This covers s great period of WWII history that gets ovetlooked.
Very good history. Easy to read. I enjoyed it immensely. This covers s great period of WWII history that gets ovetlooked.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews