Originally Posted by Many Souffan

[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']The 3rd june 40, the 73 Squadron is now in Echemines, near Troyes. [/font]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']2 days later "Cobber" shot down his last aircraft. It will be confirmed.[/font]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']he is very tired. He is the last pilot of the squadron who came in France in September 39. In the 3rd week of May, the HQ of the BEF asked to him to stay a litlle more to make instruction to the new pilots. He accepted.[/font]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']The same day, the 5th june, "Cobber" receive the confimation that he is posted as instructor in England.[/font]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']The evening, he goes to Paris with Noel Monks the reporter of the Daily Mail.[/font]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']The 6th june He was drinking at the terrasse of the Fouquet’s on Champs Elysees with Noel Monks when he see walking Paul Richey, who was a pilot of 1 Squadron, wounded since 19th may. In his wonderful book “Fighter Pilot” Paul remembered this meeting…[/font]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']“I walked down the ChampsElysées towards the concorde one afternoon and stumbled across Cobber Kain sitting at a pavement table with Noel Monks, air correspondent of the daily mail. Over a drink Cobber told me the rest of the original73 squdron had gone back to England and that the squadron had been re-formed. He had stayed behind to help get things going,but was off in a couple of days. He was on a few hours’ leave. He said they’d had some losses – five killed and several wounded, I think- and told me his personal score of Huns was seventeen. I noticed that he was nervous and preoccupied, and kept savagely matches in one hand while he glowered in the middle distance. Like the rest of us, he’d had enough for a while…”[/font]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']The next day the 7th june at 11.15 AM, Cobber take off with the TP. B / L1826 to convoy it to England. It was the last Hurricane with the old wooden propeller Watts. When was over the base of Echemine, he begin to make Flick-rolls to say goodbye to his brothers in arms…[/font]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Since he came to the 73 Squadron Cobber Kain was considered as the best aerobatic pilot of the Squadron. It was him with “Fanny” Orton who presented the Gloster Gladiator at the Empire Air day at Hendon in 1938. It was always him who was choosen to show the quality of the Hurricane in the French base. The last one, it was few weeks ago on the base of the French Group II/5 Groupe Lafayette for a race between Curtiss Hawk and Hurricane. If he lost the race ( the pilot of the Curtiss was the Cezch pilot, Sgt Chef Frantisek Chabera), during the virtual dog fight and with the weight et the speed of the Hurricane, Cobber won the dog fight.[/font]
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']But it is not the same thing with an old Hurricane not enough powerful. Cobber is at 250 meter when he begins his Flick rolls by the left. A first, a second, but at the third it was the accident. The Hurricane looses the speed and goes in fast spin to the right. In a surge of pride, cobber manages to raise the plane, but the engine stop. The Hurricane crash and burn, but at the contact, the pilot is ejected from the plane at twenty meter near a big tree. Touched at the head, Cobber dies at the time.[/font]

it was the sad end of a great pilot born to be a pilot.