James Hayter (RAF officer)

No. 605 Squadron was stationed at Croydon, operating Hawker Hurricane fighters to intercept Luftwaffe raids against London. It regularly was on patrol over Kent and Surrey for the next weeks and on 15 October, Hayter damaged a Bf 109 over Canterbury.[4][13] He met and damaged another Bf 109 while patrolling south of Mayfield on 26 October but immediately afterwards was shot down; having bailed out of his damaged aircraft, Hayter landed in the grounds of the home of Victor Cazalet, a member of parliament, who was hosting a party. Hayter was slightly wounded but a doctor present treated his injuries and he joined in the festivities while waiting for his fiancée, who lived nearby and he later married, to pick him up.[4][11][14] The intensity of the Luftwaffe's operations was on the decline at this stage and the Battle of Britain ended a few days later. In November, the squadron began receiving new Hurricane Mk IIs and flying one of these, Hayter destroyed a Bf 109 to the south west of Canterbury on 1 December.[4][9][13]

In early 1941, Fighter Command went on to the offensive and No. 605 Squadron began to fly operations over France. Its first such operation was on 10 February, when it escorted Bristol Blenheim light bombers to Boulogne. Later in the month Hayter was appointed a flight commander and was promoted to acting flight lieutenant. At the end of the month, the squadron was rested and sent to Martlesham Heath for a month, before moving again, this to Tern Hill where it stayed until May. By this time Hayter had flown on 150 sorties and was posted to instructing duties at No. 52 Operational Training Unit at Debden.[9][13] Although intended to be a rest, being an instructor still came with risk and in June, Hayter crashed twice in three days when his pupil, the same on both occasions, froze when landing a North American Harvard trainer.[15]

Hayter was posted to No. 611 Squadron, which was operating Supermarine Spitfire fighters from Hornchurch, in July. His new unit regularly flew bomber escort missions and sweeps to France and on one of these, carried out on 10 July, Hayter shot down a Bf 109. His Spitfire was damaged by anti-aircraft fire later on in the flight and he had to crash land near Southend.[15] Four days later, he destroyed another Bf 109 to the south of Boulogne and on 29 August shot down a Bf 109 over England.[4] In early September his flight lieutenant rank was made substantive.[16] He damaged a Bf 109 to the east of Mardyck on 17 September.[4] The following month, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), the announcement being made on 17 October in The London Gazette.

Since June 1941, this officer has completed 48 operational flights over enemy territory and during the period has destroyed 4 and damaged a further 4 hostile aircraft. Flight Lieutenant Hayter participated in the fighting in France in 1940 and later fought in the Battle of Britain. He has displayed great skill and leadership and has contributed materially to the high standard of morale in his unit.

— London Gazette, No. 35312, 17 October 1941[17]

In November, No. 611 Squadron was rested, relocating to Drem for a quiet period of convoy patrols.[18] Hayter, by this time having completed 76 sorties with the squadron, was transferred to the Middle East in March 1942. He was posted to No. 33 Squadron, based at Gambut in Libya and equipped with Hurricanes. The squadron was carrying out sweeps, bomber escort sorties and patrols over the front line. In June, Hayter was engaged by an Italian Macchi MC.202 and in the ensuing dogfight, his Hurricane was damaged. In endeavouring to make a crash landing, he found himself with the opportunity to fire his aircraft's machine-guns at his Italian opponent. As a result, the MC.202 had to crash land as well, with the Italian being made a prisoner of war.[15]

A Hawker Hurricane of No. 33 Squadron being rearmed, Egypt

The following month, Hayter was promoted to acting squadron leader and appointed commander of No. 274 Squadron, a squadron operating Hurricane fighter-bombers from Landing Ground 92. By this time, the Axis advance in Egypt had been halted and the Allied fighter squadrons were busy on ground attack and patrol sorties around El Alamein.[15][19] On 10 July, Hayter's squadron was providing air cover for another unit and became involved in a dogfight with group of Italian fighters near El Adem and he claimed one MC.202 as probably destroyed. He shot down a Bf 109 over El Alamein on 18 July.[4][20]

In September, No. 274 Squadron moved to Edku and was engaged in patrolling the Delta region and providing air cover for shipping.[19] The following month, Hayter was seconded for special duties, with effect from 4 October and sent to Turkey. Here he acted as an instructor for Turkish pilots learning to operate the Hurricane and P-40 Kittyhawk fighters.[20][21] His secondment ended on 6 March 1943 and he took command of No. 74 Squadron, based in Mehrabad, in Iran, as part of the Allied garrison defending the region from a possible German attack from the Caucasus.[22][20]

Hayter's command moved to El Daba in May and patrolled the area around Alexandria without seeing much action. On 23 July, Hayter led a flight of the squadron as part of a large fighter sweep, involving over 100 aircraft, to German-occupied Crete. During this sortie, the first of its size mounted against the island, Hayter's flight attacked a number of ground targets and returned to their base without loss. No. 74 Squadron continued to be involved in the occasional offensive sweep in combination with its patrolling duties until the end of August, at which time it re-equipped with the Spitfire Mk Vc.[20][23]

The following month, No. 74 Squadron participated in the Dodecanese campaign, an attempt to seize the Italian-controlled Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea. Hayter flew the squadron to operate from Antimachia airfield on Kos Island.[20] On 3 October the Germans invaded Kos and by the afternoon had overrun the airfield. Abandoning their Spitfires, Hayter and a number of other pilots took to nearby hills. They evaded the pursuing Germans for four days before being rescued by personnel of the Special Boat Service who took them to Cyprus on a fishing boat. Hayter returned to Edku on 24 October but it was not until nearly the end of the year that No. 74 Squadron was complete again.[24] He was mentioned in despatches on 14 January 1944 for his efforts to evade capture on Kos.[25][26] Once it had been re-built, No. 74 Squadron resumed uneventful patrolling duties for the next three months, most of which was spent at Ekdu and Dekhelia.[23][24]

In April 1944, No. 74 Squadron was dispatched to the United Kingdom and settled at North Weald, where it converted to the latest Spitfire Mk LF.IXe. It became operational the following month and was engaged in sweeps, patrols and bomber escort duties as part of the North Weald Wing.[23][24] Hayter was again mentioned in despatches on 8 June, for "distinguished service".[26][27] A few days afterwards his squadron commenced flying in Operation Diver, where it patrolled for V-1 flying bombs and sought out the sites from which the rockets were launched.[28] On 1 July Hayter's rank of squadron leader was made substantive.[29]

Later in July, No. 74 Squadron was transferred to the Second Tactical Air Force, flying bomber escort missions. It began operating from France, based at Sommervieu on 19 August and thereafter often worked in support of the advancing Allied armies, attacking ground targets but also still acting in an escort role for bombers.[28] By this time his short service commission in the RAF had ended and he transferred to the RNZAF.[30]

Hayter relinquished command of No. 74 Squadron at the end of December, by which time it was based at Antwerp and returned to the United Kingdom.[28] Awarded a bar to his DFC in January 1945 for his services with the squadron, he took a course at the Fighter Leaders' School at the Central Fighter Establishment at Milfield and by June was preparing for a return to New Zealand.[26][31] He eventually departed the United Kingdom in mid-August.[28] Hayter ended the war having flown 535 sorties, during which he was credited with shooting down five aircraft, one probably destroyed and three damaged. There was also another aircraft destroyed which he did not claim.[4][26]