Lt Col Hillslinger & Hurricane V6844

[JACK COOK]

Seeking info of a Lt Col L. Hillslinger USAAF of El Paso, Texas and the Hurricane he flew in England in 1942-43. He was reportidly the first AAF officer to return to full flying duties after suffering a leg amputation during the raid on Dieppe. His Hurricane was V6844 which looks to be a MK I. I would assume the British built a/c would be easier to fly not having toe brakes. The photo was taken in May 1943 at RAF Hendon. Any info on either very appreciated.

[Ex Shack]

Hi Jack
According to the Air Britain V- Serials V6844 was a Mk I and was transferred to USAAC in Oct/42 having previously been with 24 Sqn. This Sqn was based at Hendon and provided transportation for Senior and Staff officers using a wide variety of types. An additional function was to provide refresher flying for pilots returning to operational units and allowing Staff personnel to "keep their hand in" and retain flying pay. It seems a likely place for your Lt/Col to have spent some time. I note that a large part of his flying gear seems to be of US pattern. As to the brakes remember that the famous Douglas Bader flew both the Hurricane and Spitfire with no legs at all, I reckon a good pilot would cope once he overcame the prejudice of his "superiors"
Regards
Dick

[Leendert]

Jack,

V6844 was (also) involved in some sort of accident at RAF Hendon on 9 July 1942 with pilot John H. Haigh. Hurricane was with 8th AF Service Command.

Lt Col Hillslinger (or Hilsinger?) somewhat elusive so far. If wounded in Dieppe raid, no doubt he can be traced back?
Only American outfit to take part on 19 August 1942 was 31st FG, but no like name on unit's roster. Of course he could have flown with another squadron, but even then he would show up somewhere in the loss/wounded list of that day.

No like name either on the US Army Ranger roster of men that took part (see http://www.rangerfamily.org/History/...ppe%20Raid.htm

On the other hand, conflicting or confusing entry here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/s...a2652635.shtml

Regards,

Leendert

[Fairlop]

Hi,

L.B. Hillsinger was badly injured as an observer on board of HMS Berkeley during the Jubilee.

Michal

[JACK COOK]

Wasn't this DD sunk by Stukas??
No wonder he has such a scowl on his face.

[Leendert]

Jack,

Must be Lorin B. Hillsinger. Ran this name thru google and found that he was trained as a field artillery officer (1933-34), but assigned to Air Corps.

Also found his name as CO of 61 TCG (July 1941).

Hillsinger as USAAC member mentioned here for gallantry on board HMS Berkeley: http://www.warships1.com/index_history/HSII_Dieppe2.htm

Regards,

Leendert

[Steve49]

Originally Posted by JACK COOK

Wasn't this DD sunk by Stukas??
No wonder he has such a scowl on his face.

No Stuka's anywhere near Dieppe on the 19th August. Considering the fate of many Luftwaffe bombers during the day they wouldn't have lasted very long if they had been there.

Berkeley was crippled by a Do217 and then scuttled by torpedoes from HMS Albrighton.

Regards

Steve Pegge

[JACK COOK]

for knowing pretty much nothing regarding this area of history I made a pretty close guessimation!

[Chris Goss]

Still maintain that Berkeley was hit by 10/JG 2 as at the time, I could find no KG 2 or KG 40 aircraft airborne

[JACK COOK]

I know PO Pederson 165 sqd made a claim on a DO-217 with 3 others. I'm not sure of the location though.