242 (Canadian) Hurricane
squadron RAF under the celebrated
command of Sqn Ldr Douglas
RS “Tinlegs” Bader which included
three Fleet Air Arm pilots:
Sub Lt RJ Cork RN (Bader’s wingman),
Sub Lt RE Gardner RNVR and
Mid PJ Patterson RN
Peter Patterson undertook
his ab initio flying training at Gravesend and was one of the first young
pilots that had been trained by the Royal Navy
and transferred to the RAF,
coming under the command of Douglas Bader.
On August 20th, 1940 at 1345
hrs, 242 Squadron Coltishall (Hurricanes) were on a convoy patrol off the
east coast when they attacked enemy aircraft.
Pattersonn was flying was
flying Hurricane I (P2976). Very few details are available, but it
is believed that they were hit by returning gunfire from Do17s
over the North Sea. Midshipman
Patterson's Hurricane was hit and he went into a vertical dive and crashed
into the sea some miles out of Winterton on the east coast.