Paul Richey

Pilots of No. 1 Squadron inspect a German machine gun outside the officer's mess at their airfield at Vassincourt; Richey stands on the left

When the German invasion of France commenced on 10 May, No. 1 Squadron was heavily engaged and over the following weeks began to retreat, repeatedly shifting from airfield to airfield.[3] Richey shared in the destruction of a Dornier Do 17 medium bomber over Longwy on the opening day of the invasion and this was followed on 11 May with his shooting down of a pair of Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters near Brunehamel. He had earlier in the day claimed a Do 17 as destroyed but this was not verified. Shot down the same day, he was able to quickly rejoin his squadron. He destroyed two more Bf 110s on 15 May but again was subsequently shot down later in the day. Once more making his way back to his unit, he resumed flying duties.[1]

On 19 May Richey intercepted and destroyed three Heinkel He 111 medium bombers near Château-Thierry but was wounded by the defensive armament of one or more of the bombers that he had targeted. He survived the subsequent crash-landing of his Hurricane and was repatriated to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.[1]

Once Richey had recovered from his wounds, he was posted to the RAF station at Middle Wallop as a fighter controller where he remained for three months. He was then sent to Aston Down to serve as an instructor at No. 55 Operational Training Unit.[1] During this time, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.[5] He was unhappy at the posting, desiring a return to operational flying and eventually this was granted, with an assignment to No. 609 Squadron in early April 1941.[1] This was equipped with Supermarine Spitfire Mk II fighters, soon to be updated to Spitfire Mk Vbs, and based at Biggin Hill. It had a high proportion of Belgians as flying personnel.[6][7] His former schoolmate, Michael Robinson, was commander of the unit. Richey, who was by this time married to Robinson's sister, was a flight commander in the squadron.[1] He had been promoted to flight lieutenant earlier in the year.[8]

No. 609 Squadron was involved in Fighter Command's Circus offensive, regularly flying sweeps as part of the Biggin Hill wing to France to draw out Luftwaffe fighters and to escort bombers.[6] Richey's first claim with his new squadron was on 27 June, when he was credited with damaging a Bf 109 to the south of Dunkirk. Three days later he shot down a Bf 109 over Nieppe Forest and with Pilot Officer Roger Malengreau, a Belgian flying with the squadron, shared in the probable destruction of another, near Saint-Omer. He was separated from the rest of the squadron in the engagement and flew back to the United Kingdom on his own, flying low level most of the way.[1][9]

In a photograph taken on the occasion of the presentation of No. 609 Squadron's crest, Richey stands second left in this group; his brother-in-law, Michael Robinson, stands second right

Richey was credited with damaging a pair of Bf 109s on 4 July, again near Saint-Omer, and on 10 July, damaged another Bf 109 in the same area. On this occasion, the squadron was providing cover for a group of Short Stirling heavy bombers attacking a power station at Chocques.[1][10] The next day, he probably destroyed a Bf 109 and damaged two others, all near Dunkirk. In an engagement close to Nieppe Forest on 23 July, he shot down a Bf 109, which was his final aerial victory.[1] On 7 August, the Biggin Hill wing was heavily engaged with Bf 109s over Saint-Omer and Richey's Spitfire was badly damaged, losing all its coolant. Despite this, he was able to return to the United Kingdom, making a crash landing at Manston. Richey subsequently wrote a report with recommendations for tactical improvements in the handling of Spitfires which was forwarded to No. 11 Group for consideration.[11] Later in August he was posted to No. 74 Squadron as its commander.[1] By this time, he had been awarded a Bar to his DFC. The published citation read:

This officer has displayed great skill and coolness throughout the numerous operational missions in which he has participated and has destroyed at least nine enemy aircraft and damaged a further seven. As a flight commander he has invariably displayed a high sense of responsibility for the safety of his fellow pilots.

— London Gazette, No. 35241, 8 August 1941[12]

Having previously been engaged in the Circus offensive, No. 74 Squadron was based at Acklington for a period of rest. Operating the Spitfire on monotonous convoy patrols, it saw little action.[13] Richey's tenure as its commander was brief. After the Battle of France, he had written an account of his experiences and those of his fellow pilots of No. 1 Squadron, and this was published in mid-1941 under the title Fighter Pilot by B. T. Batsford Limited, although without identifying the author or his fellow pilots. Its initial print run of 75,000 was sold out and it was well received critically, with one reviewer describing it as "A grand story".[1][14][15] The leader of Fighter Command, Air Marshal Sir William Sholto-Douglas, read the book and after determining that Richey was the author, had him assigned to his staff in November.[1] Later that month, the Belgian government in exile awarded Richey the Croix de Guerre for "his bravery and coolness which he showed in leading a squadron of Belgian fighter pilots during numerous offensive operations above the continent".[16][17] Similarly, the Free French government recognised Richey's exploits with its own Croix de Guerre with bronze palm, for the "best personal example to the French Pilots in the unit which he commanded".[18]

By the start of 1942 Richey had wrangled a return to operations with a posting to No. 56 Squadron, as a supernumerary pilot. His new unit was in the process of converting to the newly developed Hawker Typhoon interceptor and during his brief time at Fighter Command headquarters, Richey had been involved in the decision to have the squadron receive this new type of aircraft.[1] The squadron's Typhoons had a troubled introduction to RAF service with a number of serious crashes arising from structural failures but it became operational by May, commencing patrols to detect incoming Luftwaffe raids.[19] By this time Richey held the rank of temporary squadron leader, having been promoted on 1 March.[20]

A flight of Hawker Typhoon fighters of No. 56 Squadron

In June, Richey took command of No. 609 Squadron, his former unit.[1] This was now based at Duxford and had recently reequipped with Typhoons. It carried out relatively few sweeps to occupied France and most of its duties for the few months following Richey's arrival involved patrolling.[6] However, it was involved in Operation Jubilee, the Allied amphibious attack on Dieppe, on 19 August; flying with the Duxford wing, it flew an uneventful sortie in the late morning.[21] A second sortie in the mid-afternoon, covering the fleet returning from Dieppe, resulted in the squadron having an engagement with Focke Wulf 190 fighters. Three of these were claimed as damaged by the squadron's pilots.[22] In its third and final sortie of 19 August, carried out in the late afternoon, Richey's Typhoon developed a fault and he returned early.[23]

Richey was promoted to wing commander in October and sent to British India for a new appointment. However, while in transit he suffered a series of medical issues, including appendicitis and amoebic dysentery, which meant that he never took up his intended posting as commander of No. 165 Wing, at Comilla. He sought to stay in the region instead of being repatriated to the United Kingdom and in December, he was assigned to lead No. 189 Wing in the Imphal Valley. However, he had ongoing issues with sinusitis and this eventually saw him sent back to the United Kingdom in February 1944. Richey spent the remainder of the war in staff postings, firstly at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force and then at the headquarters of Second Tactical Air Force.[1]

Richey ended the war credited with having shot down eleven German aircraft, one of which was shared with another pilot, while a further aerial victory was unconfirmed. He was also credited with the probable destruction of two aircraft, one being shared, and damaging six German aircraft.[1]