Major Alexander James Wright RM 805/RNFS

[keith A]

I have this pilot as a member of 805 Squadron in May 1941 however I have found these statements I found among my notes conflict...

"WWII Royal Marines Fleet Air Arm Major Alexander James Wright who shot down 1 S.M.79 with No.805 Naval Squadron while flying a Grumman Martlet during the North African Campaign."

He claimed an Italian "mailplane" on 17 March 1941 flying a Fulmar with 803 Squadron from HMS Formidable.

Wright claimed a "probable" flying a Hurricane with the RNFS in North Africa.

Wright is more famous for his "Sharks teeth" Seafire LIIc while leading 809 Squadron at Salerno in 1943 but his early aerial victories are obscured in most sources. He may indeed have claimed three victories in three different aircraft types (he received an MiD" in December 1941 but I suspect this was for one or two victories.

best regards

Keith

[keith A]

I should state that (according to Sturtivant) Lt AJ Wright flying a Hurricane shot down a S.79 off Haifa on 14 July 1941. At this time Wright would have been with 805 Squadron according to most sources. 805 Squadron was flying Martlet III.

best regards

Keith

[Stig Jarlevik]

Originally Posted by keith A

I should state that (according to Sturtivant) Lt AJ Wright flying a Hurricane shot down a S.79 off Haifa on 14 July 1941. At this time Wright would have been with 805 Squadron according to most sources. 805 Squadron was flying Martlet III.

best regards

Keith

I think there was more than one A J Wright
First of all Chris Shores has no A J Wright claiming two or more victories in his books.
Secondly in his MAW vol 1 it says with regard to 21 April 1941 that a Lt A J Wright in 803 Sq claimed
a CANT Z.1007bis in a Fulmar
No more A J Wright is indexed in any of the other MAW books.

Neither can I find any claim by any A J Wright in Shores' Dust Clouds in the ME, but admittedly
the attacks on Haifa are not included but I have pencilled in the known attacks by hand and
on 14 July 1941 I have nothing listed.
They were done from Rhodes and as far as I know mostly by CANTs

Your statement that Ray lists Wright as claiming an S.79 on 14 July 1941 is intriguing since looking
in his FAA Aircraft 1939-45 on p.510 it only says aircraft type, s/n and date.
No indication it is a victory claim.
Checking Hurricane N2398 (the one listed) the book says it belonged to 804 Sq during the date in
question, but nothing about a claim on that specific date.
Aircraft was transferred to 760 Sq and a Lt A J Wright is listed as having an accident with the aircraft
on 24 May 1942

As you can see we have a lot of A J Wrights and which one is your Wright is hard to say.
Unfortunately I don't follow pilots as such since my main interest is the aircraft, but I like
to pick up things here and there with regard to pilots as well.

Hope someone else can clinch this kind of enigma....

Cheers
Stig

[keith A]

Cheers Stig,

I think it is the same guy. 803 Squadron became part of the RNFS so his transfer to 805 (also part of the RNFS) seems logical. He claimed two victories in 803 Squadron (one destroyed, one probable), both shared with his wingman.

Shores TOE is a brilliant piece of work but in the years since it's publication there've been several pilots not listed who have been identified as claiming two victories. The Fleet Air Arm pilots are the most difficult to research because many of their victories are shared.

In my copy of Sturtivant's "FAA Aircraft 1939-45" (p.310) it states that the S.79 is shot down into the sea off Haifa at 1400 on 14 July 1941 by Lt AJ Wright RM.

best regards

Keith

[keith A]

I think the link to 805 Squadron is suspect. According to the Navy List 1941 in August 1941 he was still with 803 Squadron. Also 803 Squadron were still flying Fulmars in July 1941, possibly from Cyprus, and why would an S.79 be flying near Haifa? However the details such as a precise time surprises me.

[Stig Jarlevik]

Ha, ha Keith

I never checked the "unidentified" page since on page 510 it is identified with the aircraft in question!
Strange....

So, if it is the same guy after all, we then have
Claim 1: 17 March 1941 'mailplane' with 803Sq (Fulmar) shared with S/L Simpson, a probable only
Claim 2: 21 April 1941 Z.1007bis with 803Sq (Fulmar)
Claim 3: 14 July 1941 S.79 off Haifa with 804Sq (Hurricane)

I have now located claim 1 in Shores book Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete!
I am still puzzled by the claim 3!
Looking in another AB book, the Squadrons & Units of the FAA, 804 Sq was nowhere near Haifa
at the time. In mid 1941 they supplied aircraft and pilots for the CAM ships.
It is listed as having a detachment onboard HMS Pegasus but I believe this was a trainer carrier
used basically in the Atlantic.
I now wonder if the passage by Ray is a bit compromised in the index, that is Wright only flew the
specified Hurricane when he was rested with 760Sq in 1942.
That would actually make his claim three still with 803 Sq wouldn't it?
Checking 803 Sq it was taken off HMS Formidable, re-equipped with ex RAF Hurricanes and moved
to Palestine in June 1941. Sounds like a perfect match....

Can this claim be verified elsewhere by someone?
What do you think?

Cheers
Stig

[keith A]

I am leaning towards it not being a S.79 but perhaps another trimotor, German or French. Maybe even an unfortunate airliner. The Syrian campaign ended that day and Vichy aircraft may still have been around. The continued service in Fulmars, Hurricanes and then Seafires fits a career with inline engined fighters.

The RNFS (803, 805, 806) wasn't formed until August 1941 so his victory might have fallen through the cracks while 803 squadron was reforming and not operational. Intriguing. I remember seeing Donald Gibson (later Admiral DCEF Gibson) photographed in Syria next to a destroyed French fighter and so (although 806 Squadron is the only unit identified as fighting in Syria) it seems that some 803 Squadron pilots saw active service in the campaign.

best regards

Keith

[Col Bruggy]

Hello,

Alexander James WRIGHT, mentioned twice!

ADMIRALTY
Whitehall.
2nd December, 1941.

For courage, resolution and devotion to duty in operations in the Mediterranean:

Mention in Despatches.

Lieutenant Alexander James Wright, Royal Marines, H.M.S. Formidable.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/...upplement/6891

H M S FORMIDABLE.

London Gazette 2 December 1841 - For shooting down an Italian aircraft.

WRIGHT, Alexander RM Lt MID - Investiture N/A.

See: Seedie's Fleet Air Arm Awards 1939-1945/p.33.

ADMIRALTY.
Whitehall.
23rd May, 1944.

Mention in Despatches.

Captain Acting Major) Alexander James Wright, Royal Marines, (Newton Abbott).

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/...pplement//2357

H.M.S. UNICORN

Maintenance Carrier. Commissioned in March 1943. Used as an operational Carrier during 1943, then reverted to supply and repair role. Sold in 1959.

London Gazette 23 May 1944 - Operation Avalanche - Landings at Salerno in September 1943.

WRIGHT, Alexander James RM AMaj. MID.

See: Seedie's Fleet Air Arm Awards 1939-1945/p.83*.

* Also mentioned on same page is: SIMPSON, William Charles RNVR TALt Cdr(A) DSC - 12/12/44. (Simpson was involved in the probable claim on 17/03/1941).

Col.

[keith A]

Cheers mate,

Another wee bit of information, Bill Simpson (his wingman on both victories in 1941) claimed two kills flying a Seafire at Salerno in 1943.

"The commanding officer of 897 Squadron , leading a patrol of four Seafires, spotted a flight of Bf109s at 12,000ft. Lt Cdr W.C. Simpson shot down two of the German aircraft while his wingman damaged a third."

best regards

Keith

[keith A]

Found it!!!!

In Middle Eastern Studies v.46(3) 2010.

ACS, SPD-CR, b. 248, Bastico to Rome, 14 July 1941.

14 July 1941 an Italian Cant Z 1007 that was on a reconnaissance mission between Haifa and Alexandria was shot down by a British aircraft. 70 Axis aircraft carried out a number of mainly ineffectual raids against Haifa in autumn 1941 and in the summer of 1942

Another one to add to TOE!

best regards

Keith