Arthur Clowes

When the German invasion of France commenced on 10 May, No. 1 Squadron was immediately heavily engaged. Clowes was away in England on leave at the time, and did not rejoin his unit until a few days later. Promptly in action, he destroyed a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter and a Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber on 14 May. He shared in the destruction of a He 111 near Rouen on 23 May, although this could not be confirmed. Over the following weeks, the squadron began to retreat, repeatedly shifting from airfield to airfield as it moved to the west. On 14 June, Clowes destroyed a Bf 109, by which time, the squadron was operating from Nantes. Later in the month, it was evacuated from France and reassembled at Tangmere.[1][4] Clowes was mentioned in despatches on 11 July.[7]

Clowes standing next to his Hurricane, which he had painted with a bee as his personal insignia; the stripes on the abdomen indicated his tally of aerial victories

No. 1 Squadron, still based at Tangmere but shortly to move to the RAF station at Northolt, resumed operational duties in late July.[3][4] On 16 August Clowes destroyed two Luftwaffe bombers, a He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber respectively, over the South Downs.[1] A few days later, in recognition of his services during the fighting in France, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal.[3] This was gazetted on 20 August and the published citation read:

Sergeant Clowes has displayed courage and determination in many combats against the enemy. He has destroyed at least six enemy aircraft. On 14th June, 1940, he led his section in combat against five Messerschmitt 109's and destroyed one. He then observed, above him, three further enemy aircraft and, before they could attack his flight, he engaged them. He succeeded in damaging one and in causing the other two to disperse in the clouds. He has displayed great skill and power of leadership.

— London Gazette, No. 34927, 20 August 1940[8]

Clowes damaged a Bf 110 and He 111 on 30 August, and the following day probably destroyed two Dornier Do 17 medium bombers near Chelmsford and claimed a Bf 110 shot down near Martlesham as also probably destroyed. On 7 September he shot down a Bf 110 over the Thames estuary. Two days later No. 1 Squadron shifted north to Wittering for a period of rest and recuperation.[1][4] Shortly afterwards, Clowes was commissioned as a pilot officer.[9] He shared in the shooting down of a Do 17 to the east of Banbury on 24 October. By this time he was one of the squadron's flight commanders.[1][3]

Clowes climbing into his Hawker Hurricane fighter at Wittering, in October 1940

No. 1 Squadron returned to the south of England at the start of 1941. Operating from Kenley, it carried out bomber escort missions and sorties to France.[4] Clowes was involved with one of the squadron's earliest missions, leading a detachment to strafe German infrastructure near Calais.[3] Promoted to flying officer on 3 February,[10] he was rested two months with a posting to No. 56 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Heston as an instructor, and then moving to No. 53 OTU to fulfil a similar role there. By this time, he had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.[1] The citation, published in The London Gazette, read:

This officer has displayed great skill in his engagements against the enemy and has destroyed at least 11 of their aircraft. His coolness and judgment on all occasions have been an inspiration to his fellow pilots.

— London Gazette, No. 35161, 13 May 1941[11]

Clowes was promoted to flight lieutenant on 10 December and subsequently appointed to command of No. 79 Squadron as an acting squadron leader.[1][12] His new unit was based at Baginton, in Coventry, and operated Hurricanes on patrol duties and also occasionally being scrambled to intercept incoming Luftwaffe bombers.[13] The squadron went to the Far East in February 1942, but Clowes was posted at this time to the Middle East. He commanded No. 601 Squadron, based at advanced landing airfields in Egypt and operating Supermarine Spitfire fighters in a ground support role, from August 1942 to March 1943. During the early part of the year, the squadron operated as part of No. 244 Wing in a fighter-bomber role.[14] After attending No. 1 Middle East Training School at El Ballah for a refresher course, in June he assumed command of No. 94 Squadron.[1][3] This operated a mix of Hurricanes and Spitfires from Luigi di Savoia, in Libya, in sorties to Crete and beyond to the Aegean Sea.[15] His period in command, and his operational flying career, ended in September when he received an injury to one of his eyes, permanently losing his vision in the affected eye.[3]