HASEGAWA
1/72-SCALE DECALS ONLY WW2 RAF HAWKER HURRICANE Mk.IB BATTLE OF BRITAIN No.1
SQN WITTERING 1940 ARTHUR COWES / No.257 SQN RAF COLTISHALL NORFOLK SQUADRON
LEADER ROBERT S. TUCK 1940 (ORIGINALLY INCLUDED WITH KIT AP38 51338 1995)
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Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
Wing Commander Robert Roland
Stanford Tuck, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, AFC (1 July 1916 – 5 May 1987) was a
British fighter pilot, flying ace and test pilot. Tuck joined the Royal Air
Force (RAF) in 1935 and first engaged in combat during the Battle of France,
over Dunkirk, claiming his first victories. In September 1940 he was promoted
to squadron leader and commanded a Hawker Hurricane squadron. In 1941–1942,
Tuck participated in fighter sweeps over northern France. On 28 January 1942,
he was hit by anti-aircraft fire, was forced to land in France, and was taken
prisoner. At the time of his capture, Tuck had claimed 29 enemy aircraft
destroyed, two shared destroyed, six probably destroyed, six damaged and one shared
damaged.
His combat successes continued
into July and August as the Battle of Britain gathered pace, although he
himself was forced to bail out on 18 August. While attacking a formation of
Junkers Ju 88s over Kent, he shot one down and damaged another. However, during
the head on attack at Ju 88, when he overtook it, cannon shells hit his
Spitfire and he was forced to bail out near Tunbridge Wells. He fell at Tucks
Cottage, near Park Farm, Horsmonden.[NB 1] In another incident on 25 August
Tuck's Spitfire was badly damaged during combat with a Dornier Do 17 bomber,
which he destroyed 15 miles off the coast. His aircraft had a dead engine, but
he glided it back to dry land and made a forced landing.
On 11 September, during the
height of the Battle of Britain, Tuck was promoted to acting squadron leader
and posted to command the Hawker Hurricane-equipped No. 257 Squadron RAF, based
at RAF Coltishall (his substantive rank had been raised to flight lieutenant on
3 September). He led his squadron into combat through September and continued
to claim further victories. His last two official victories of the Battle were
on 28 October, where he claimed two "probable" Bf 109s. He received a
Bar to his DFC on 25 October.[14] The official citation for his second DFC,
published in the London Gazette reads:
Flight Lieutenant Roland Robert
Stanford TUCK, D.F.C. (37306).
Since 11 June 1940, this officer
has destroyed six enemy aircraft, and probably destroyed or damaged six more.
One day in August, 1940, he attacked three Junkers 88's, destroyed two and
damaged the third. Later in the month he intercepted two Ju 88's at 15,000
feet, and in a head-on attack, destroyed one. In a similar attack on the
second, a cannon shell blew away his oil and glycol tank and a piece of his
propeller, but he reached the coast and landed by parachute. In September,
1940, he shot down one Messerschmitt 110 and probably a Messerschmitt 109, and
one week later destroyed a Bf 109 over the sea. Flight Lieutenant Tuck has
displayed gallant and determined leadership.
The identity of this later
victory, achieved on 23 September 1940, is believed by one source to be the
future German ace Hans-Joachim Marseille. Flying Bf 109 E-7, Werknummer (W.Nr)
5094, Marseille was pursued to the Cap Gris Nez area near Calais, France, and
forced to take to his parachute. He was later rescued by a Heinkel He 59 float
plane. Tuck was credited with the destruction of W.Nr. 5094, whose pilot,
Marseille, was the only recorded German airman rescued in the location on that
date. Tuck's official claim was for a Bf 109 destroyed off Griz Nez at
09:45—the only pilot to submit a claim in that location. Another source states
that Pilot Officer George Bennions from No. 41 Squadron RAF dispatched
Marseille. This same source credits Tuck with a victory over Oberleutnant
Walter Radlick of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53.
Fighter sweeps
In January 1941, Tuck was
awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the citation published in the
London Gazette reads:
Acting Squadron Leader Roland
Robert Stanford TUCK, D.F.C. (37306), No. 257 Squadron.
This officer has commanded his
squadron with great success, and his outstanding leadership, courage and skill
have been reflected in its high morale and efficiency. Since 4 October 1940, he
has destroyed four hostile aircraft, bringing his total victories to at least
eighteen.
In March 1941, Tuck was awarded
a second Bar to his DFC,[19] the citation published in the London Gazette
reading:
Acting Squadron Leader Roland Robert
Stanford TUCK, D.S.O., D.F.C. (37306), No. 257 Squadron.
This officer has displayed
conspicuous gallantry and initiative in searching for and attacking enemy
raiders, often in adverse weather conditions. Since December, 1940, he has
destroyed three enemy bombers and one fighter, thus bringing his total
victories to twenty two.
In June 1941, Tuck survived
being shot down over the English Channel, being rescued by a Gravesend coal
barge. Tuck claimed a total of seven destroyed, four probables and two damaged
on the Hawker Hurricane.
Tuck had an extraordinary piece
of ill-fortune when he intercepted a German bomber heading towards Cardiff. He
fired at extreme range in poor light, causing it to jettison its bombs in open
countryside instead of on the city. The last of its stick of bombs caught one
corner of an army training camp and killed one soldier. The soldier was the
husband of Tuck's sister.
Having already been the subject
of one of Cuthbert Orde's iconic charcoal drawing portraits in September 1940,
Tuck sat for a second picture by Orde – this time a full colour oil painting –
in 1941.
In July, 1941, Tuck was promoted
to acting wing commander and appointed wing leader at RAF Duxford where he led
fighter sweeps into northern France. After a brief trip to America with Adolph
Malan and Harry Broadhurst to evaluate lend-lease aircraft and train American
pilots, he returned to a posting at RAF Biggin Hill as wing leader, from where
he flew his last missions.
