Group Captain Colin Falkland Gray, (9 November 1914 – 1 August 1995) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and the top New Zealand fighter ace of the Second World War. He was credited with at least 27 aerial victories.
Born in Christchurch, Gray was accepted into the RAF in 1939 on a short service commission, after two previous attempts failed on medical grounds. He flew with No. 54 Squadron during the Battle of France. His twin brother Ken, who had also joined the RAF and was a bomber pilot, was killed in a flying accident at this time. He flew extensively for the majority of the Battle of Britain and by September 1940, he had shot down 14 German aircraft and had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). He fulfilled a training role for the next few months before returning to offensive operations in early 1941.
Gray commanded No. 616 Squadron during the Circus offensive and was awarded a Bar to his DFC before being sent to the Mediterranean theatre of operations to lead No. 64 Squadron. By 1943 he was a wing commander and flew a number of operations in the North African and Italian Campaigns and by the end of the year he had been awarded the Distinguished Service Order. A return to Europe followed and in September 1944, he commanded a wing supporting the airborne operations of the Battle of Arnhem. After the war he held a number of staff and command positions in the RAF before his eventual retirement in 1961. He returned to New Zealand to work for Unilever. He died in 1995 at the age of 80.
Early life Colin Falkland Gray and his twin brother Kenneth (known as Ken) were born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 9 November 1914, the sons of an electrical engineer, Robert Leonard Gray, and his wife, Margaret . He attended several different schools, including two years at Christ's College in Christchurch, a year at Wellesley College in Wellington, before finishing his formal education at Napier Boys' High School in Napier. He then gained employment as a clerk in 1933, working at a livestock company in Napier. In April 1937, Gray and his brother applied for a short service commission in the Royal Air Force (RAF). While Ken was accepted, Colin was rejected for health reasons; he was suffering influenza at the time of his medical examination.
Gray then applied to join the Civilian Reserve of Pilots but was again rejected on medical grounds. Disregarding advice that he would unlikely to ever be deemed fit enough to serve in the RAF on account of osteomyelitis of a leg bone and being prone to conjunctivitis, Gray took up sheep mustering to improve his fitness. In September 1938 he passed a medical check and was subsequently accepted for a short service commission in the RAF. He had the opportunity to train with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) but opted to go to the United Kingdom. His flight training commenced in early 1939 at No. 1 Elementary Flying Training School at Hatfield in Hertfordshire. He was posted to No. 11 Flying Training School in April, gained his wings in July, and graduated from advanced training in October as a probationary pilot officer in October 1939.
Second World War With the Second World War underway, Gray was posted to No. 54 Squadron, at the time equipped with Supermarine Spitfire fighters and based at Hornchurch, in November 1939. Another pilot at the squadron was fellow New Zealander Alan Deere, who would go on to have a notable career with the RAF during the war. During the early months of the war, the squadron alternated between Hornchurch and Rochford, carrying out patrols and being scrambled to intercept Luftwaffe aircraft. He was confirmed in his rank of pilot officer on 17 January 1940. Meanwhile, his brother Ken was a bomber pilot flying Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys. He was flying south from his squadron's base in Scotland to visit Colin but was killed when his aircraft flew into a hill on 1 May 1940. The death of Ken greatly affected Colin's morale.
Battle of France As the situation in France deteriorated after the German invasion, No. 54 Squadron began patrolling over Calais and Dunkirk. Gray flew his first sortie in the area on 16 May and first encountered the Luftwaffe on 24 May, when he engaged a pair of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. Firing at both, he claimed one as a probable and the other as a possible. Gray achieved his first confirmed enemy aircraft, a Bf 109, the next day while escorting a formation of Fairey Swordfish to dive-bomb Gravelines. His Spitfire received numerous cannon strikes in the engagement, and damage to the port aileron forced the aircraft into a dive that was controlled only with great difficulty. His aircraft had also lost its airspeed indicator and control of guns, flaps and brakes. Despite this damage, Gray managed to land safely at Hornchurch.
With the pilots of the squadron exhausted after extensive operations over Dunkirk, it was withdrawn to Catterick in Yorkshire for a short rest. It returned to Hornchurch on 4 June and spent most of the month flying reconnaissance patrols into France and Belgium, monitoring the activities of the Germans. From 25 June, No. 54 Squadron started operating from Rochford and on 3 July, Gray engaged a Dornier Do 215 of 9./KG 77, claiming it as a probable.
Battle of Britain
The first phase of the Battle of Britain commenced on 10 July 1940, when Luftwaffe attacks on targets along the coast of England and on shipping were stepped up in the Kanalkampf (Channel war). These were designed to draw out and destroy RAF Fighter Command, necessary for the proposed invasion of Britain. As part of No. 11 Group, which had been given the task of defending South Eastern England, Gray's squadron was heavily involved in the Battle of Britain.
On 13 July Gray shot down a Bf 109 near Calais having pursued it across the English Channel. A week and a half later, No. 54 Squadron intercepted a group of bombers escorted by 30 Bf 109s. Targeting the fighters, Gray shot down one Bf 109 and then a second. He observed the latter's pilot bailing out into the Channel and swimming for a dinghy. He radioed the man's position, but the pilot did not survive the water conditions. The next day, 25 July, he claimed a probable Bf 109 that was escorting a group of Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers attacking a convoy off Dover. On 26 July, No. 54 Squadron went back to Catterick for a rest, having flown more operations than any other in No. 11 Group; Gray had flown 68 sorties in July.
Gray's squadron reentered the Battle of Britain on 8 August, operating again from Hornchurch. He soon added to his tally of victories, shooting down a pair of Bf 109s on 12 August, one near Dover and the other over Cap Gris-Nez, where it crashed onto a beach. He repeated the feat just a few days later when, on 16 August, he destroyed two Bf 109s of JG 54 during a dogfight over Dover. On the morning of 18 August, he shared in the destruction of a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter and damaged a Dornier Do 17 bomber on a second sortie. On his third patrol of the day, he shot down another Bf 110 over Clacton, the enemy aircraft crashing onto the nearby beach. On 24 August, he shot down a further Bf 110 which he had encountered over Dover. Although he expended all his ammunition, the enemy aircraft was severely damaged with one crew member bailing out over the Channel and the aircraft itself, with Gray following at a distance, crashing into the sea off Cap Gris-Nez. He destroyed a Bf 109 on 25 August near Dover. His award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) was announced two days later, the published citation for his DFC reading:
Two Bf 109s were damaged on 28 August, and in another sortie the same day, he damaged a Do 17. On the last day of the month, he downed another Bf 109, this time near Maidstone. Gray was in the area again the following day when he engaged three Heinkel He 111 bombers. With one of the He 111s having both its engines set ablaze by Gray's machine gun fire, he dove away out of ammunition but found his Spitfire had been damaged and his ailerons were inoperative. Despite this, he was able to land back at Hornchurch. Flying another Spitfire the same day, he had to make a forced landing when his engine was damaged following an encounter with Bf 109s over Biggin Hill. He flew five sorties on 2 September; he shot down a Bf 109 in the morning although his own aircraft received damage. He took to another Spitfire for his remaining sorties of the day, and destroyed a Bf 110 that was escorting bombers raiding Hornchurch.
The following day, Gray shared in the destruction of a Bf 110 that was part of a raid on North Weald. Later in the day he shot down a Bf 109. This was his last engagement of the battle for at the end of the day, No. 54 Squadron flew north to rest and re-equip. Badly fatigued, he had flown over 60 sorties in August and encountered enemy aircraft on at least 16 occasions, and for the three days of September until his squadron's shift north, recorded 13 sorties. Alan Deere noted that at this time Gray was "noticeably more hollow-cheeked" in appearance. At this stage of the war, Gray had accounted for 14½ enemy aircraft destroyed and was one of only four pilots who had been with the squadron when it began operating from Hornchurch in May.
Based back at Catterick, No. 54 Squadron was deemed to be unsuitable for a return to operations and was placed in reserve. It fulfilled a training role with Gray teaching new pilots in aerial warfare. He was promoted to flying officer on 23 October and two months later was posted to No. 43 Squadron, which was also in reserve and equipped with Hawker Hurricanes. Although he considered the Hurricane nice to fly, he did prefer the Spitfire. He continued to train pilots sent from Operational Training Units until mid-January 1941, when he returned to No. 54 Squadron as one of its flight commanders.
Circus offensive By late February, No. 54 Squadron was back at Hornchurch and was involved in the RAF's Circus offensive, carrying out offensive patrols and bomber escort missions to France. In the middle of the year, Gray was posted to No. 1 Squadron, which operated Hurricanes. He was the commander of one of the squadron's flights. One of the first sorties after his arrival involved escorting Westland Lysanders that were carrying out air-sea rescues in the English Channel, during which they encountered a Heinkel He 59 seaplane escorted by Bf 109s. Gray and another pilot shot down the He 59 and three Bf 109s were destroyed by others in the squadron. In July, No. 1 Squadron began operating from Tangmere, where its duties involved the protection of Allied shipping but it was also engaged in training for night interceptions. Gray was promoted to flight lieutenant in August 1941. The same month, he flew at least one operation with No. 41 Squadron to Le Havre, shooting down a Bf 109 on 22 August. In September, he was awarded a Bar to his DFC. The published citation read:
At the end of September, Gray was promoted to acting squadron leader and posted to No. 616 Squadron, to serve as its commander. This unit was based at Westhampnett as part of the Tangmere Wing, and operated Spitfire Vbs on daylight operations into occupied France. It soon shifted to north and switched to a patrol role, monitoring the east coast of England until early 1942, when it moved to Kings Cliffe. Shortly afterwards, Gray relinquished command to take up a staff posting at No. 9 Group, advising on fighter tactics.
Returning to operations in September 1942, Gray spent a short period of time at No. 485 Squadron, largely made up of New Zealand flying personnel, before taking command of No. 64 Squadron. This operated the latest model of Spitfire, the Mk IX, from Hornchurch across the English Channel and France. Its work included escorting the early bombing raids carried out by Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the United States Eighth Air Force.
Mediterranean