Beschreibung:

Battle of Britain. The Hurricane control column of Hurricane P3554 shot down during the Battle of Britain on 5 October 1940, all parts numbered including AH 2040, the spade grip with gun firing button and brake lever, approximately 58cm long, together with a folder of extensive research plus a Rolls Royce 1904-2004 Centenary magazine which features this control column Provenance: Private Collection, West Country having been purchased from Andy Saunders (Battle of Britain author and authority). A detailed history of the control column and certificate of authenticity signed by Andy Saunders is included with the lot. Hurricane P3554 saw a great deal of combat during the Battle of Britain having shot down 5 German aircraft in July and August 1940. The operational book of 607 Squadron records that on 5 October 1940, though, P3554 was hit and badly damaged in combat with Messerschmitt 109s of JG2 over Swanage. The pilot, Sergeant Spyer, managed to nurse his badly damaged Hurricane almost all the way back to RAF Tangmere before a growing on-board fire forced him to bale-out. Sergeant Spyer was unharmed. P3554 almost buried itelf on impact and lay in the ground until it was discovered in 1979. On 22 April 1979 Andy Saunders and members of the Wealden Aviation Archaeological Group pin-pointed the crash site of the Hurricane at Woodham Farm, Aldingbourne. At the crash site several pieces of surface wreckage were located, including a broken piece of silver-painted wood (a portion of internal structure) which had the numbers '554' stencilled on it in black. The crash site was excavated on 25 August and items of fuselage and cockpit wreckage were found impacted into the rear of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Andy Saunders entered into the excavation once the wreckage had been encountered and spotted the knurled ring of the gun button just above the surface. Reaching around the spade grip, he pulled upwards and the extricated almost the complete length of the control column. Its bottom end showed the signs of burning and the rest of the column was scorched and had all of the Dunlop rubberised gripping burnt away. The brake lever and one of the stainless steel push rods had broken away but later re-attached. The main build plate confirming Hurricane P3554 was also recovered. Sergeant Richard Alfred Spyer (1917-1941) was born in Worcester Park, Surrey. He joined the RAFVR in March 1939 and on the outbreak of WWII was posted to 10 FTS for training, after completing his training in May 1940 he arrived at 5 OTU and was posted to 111 Squadron at North Weald. On 31 May 1940, Spyer was attached to 607 Squadron at Usworth and served on Hurricanes. This became a permanent posting and he went south with the squadron to Tangmere on 8 September. The following day on the 9th he was engaged by a Me109 and Do17 and his aircraft Hurricane P2680 crashed at Stilstead Farm, East Peckham, Spyer was slightly wounded. On 5 October 1940 he was shot down again, this time in Hurricane P2680. In November 1940 Spyer sailed for the Mediterranean and on 17 November he was in the first flight of six Hurricanes to take off for Malta. Spyer's Hurricane V7413 ran out of fuel and he baled out into the sea and was later picked up by a Sunderland. He joined 261 Squadron at Ta Kali and on 22 March 1941 he and seven other Hurricanes engaged ten Ju88's approaching Grand Harbour with an Me1909 escort. Five of the Hurricanes were shot down including V7672 flown by Spyer, all five were lost, Spyer is commemorated on the Malta Memorial.