Saved Dunkirk

kill scoring Defiant duo of the Second World War, with 13 to their names.

On one sortie, they single-handedly engaged three Messerschmitt fighters, shooting them all down.

Six enemy aircraft had dived on their team, and the three Defiants at the back got cut off. Seeing their danger, Thorn and Barker swept to the rescue, picking off the trio of attackers and saving their pals.

“It was exceptional bravery,” says Robert. “The pair survived the war, but Thorn died in 1946 on a jet test fight. Barker never really got over it.”

On the night of May 29, the RAF was jubilant. The evacuation continued for a few more days, but the tide was turning at Dunkirk. “The Defiants were celebrated, it was a massive boost to morale. This was an extraordinary triumph, they played their part, they were heroes,” says Robert.

The May 29 mission made front pages, and a photo shoot was held at RAF Duxford. Although a group shot shows only the pilots – generally upper class – while the generally working class gunners are missing.

It had been a gunner who was the single Defiant casualty of May 29.

In the chaos and noise of action, radio communication between gunners and pilots would often be lost. It was not rare for a gunner to lose consciousness when a pilot dived, because of gravitational force, or to be hit by enemy fire, and the pilot not realise.

“Often the pilot got the plane back and found the gunner dead in the turret,” explains Robert.

On May 29, it was Leading Aircraftman Evan Jones who died. His turret took a hit and he bailed out.

His body was washed up on the shores of Dunkirk.

But ultimately, the “miracle” of Dunkirk – in no small part thanks to the Defiants – was achieved.

The rescued men could continue to fight for freedom and the RAF was drilled for the Battle of Britain, which would commence weeks later.

It was then the Defiants came undone, with embarrassing and fatal defeats. Without proper partnerships with the Hurricane and Spitfire, the Defiant couldn’t operate at its best.

Robert says: “There was a battle between Whitehall and Fighter Command about whether they should equip a third of squadrons with Defiants.

Sir Hugh Dowding, head of Fighter Command, didn’t want that.

“He didn’t believe in the Defiant – even after Dunkirk.”

It was retired from the front line in 1942, and their achievements all but disappeared from the history books.

But Dunkirk, especially the achievements of May 29, should never be erased, argues Robert.

“That day was crucial,” he says. “We were at the last chance, the window was closing in, the Germans could have broken through our perimeter fences any day and rushed the beaches. The game would have been up, end of the evacuation.”

Defiant: The Untold Story of the Battle of Britain by Robert Verkaik published by Robinson in hardback £20 and ebook £13.99