[Tundra]

This officer requests that consideration be given on the recommendation of Flight Sergeant Wilfred D. Brown, R86267 (Canadian), 112 Squadron (RAF), the award of the Purple Heart, as a result of being wounded by enemy fire in his tour of operational duty in the Western Desert on the 11th of December.
Incident: Bottom cover to two Tack-R [sic] Hurricanes with the 66th Fighter Squadron as top cover over Marble Arch area, and ensuing air battle with defending ME.109s between the hours of 15.:10 and 17:10, 11th December 1942.
Flight Sergeant Brown piloting one of twelve P-40s on a Tack-R mission noticed four ME.109s following the flight while crossing the Agheila line and continued their way out to sea. It was soon observed that his formation was being attacked from the rear. Although he could have avoided combat, he immediately did a turn-about and found he was looking into the cannon of an ME.109 which was firing directly at him. Due to his courage and airmanship he shot down one of the attackers. Thinking he had completely run [out] of ammunition, he sighted another aircraft of his squadron, but while overtaking it he ran into two ME.109s. The enemy aircraft chased him toward the shore and while doing so the enemy anti-aircraft fire opened to [sic] him causing him to turn away, whereupon the two ME.109s attacked him from above and below. The explosive shell hit him on the head and a piece of his aircraft was blown into his shoulder. After the attack was broken off, Flight Sergeant Brown noticed his petrol was low, and in spite of the injuries he had received he landed the airplane at Nagrum (sic should be Magrum I think) and had the shrapnel and piece of aircraft removed from his head and shoulder.