Spitfire Mk Ia, S/L George "Ben" Bennions, No 41 Squadron RAF

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Squadron Leader George "Ben" Bennions, DFC

Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia X4559
No 41 Squadron, Royal Air Force
RAF Hornchurch, 1 October 1940

P/O Bennions was one of the leading Battle of Britain Spitfire pilots, credited with twelve enemy aircraft destroyed (1 German bomber and 11 fighters), five probably destroyed and five damaged in just over 2 months. On 1 October 1940, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Moments later, he scrambled from the RAF airbase in Hornchurch at the controls of Spitfire X4559 to intercept enemy fighters. He shot down one of the assaillants but was then hit by cannon fire. Seriously wounded, he was barely able to bale out before losing consciousness. After a remarkable recovery he served in various positions within the Royal Air Force, and after the war returned to civilian life in Catterick in North Yorkshire, where he lived for the rest of his life.