DOHERTY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-09-17 published
Gallant fighter pilot was war hero
Upper Canada College alumnus received the coveted Distinguished
Flying Cross in 1943 for his 'very keen fighting spirit'
By Tom HAWTHORN
Special to The Globe and Mail Wednesday, September
17, 2003 - Page R7
Rowan
T.
(Bob)
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON was a Second World War fighter pilot
who credited his flying mate, Larry
DOHERTY, with saving his
life at the cost of his own.
Mr. DOHERTY alerted Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON by radio of an impending attack
by three German fighters, shortly before he was shot down and
killed in June, 1943.
Mr. HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON escaped a similar fate only by outlasting the
enemy in a desperate, 20-minute dogfight.
His friend's warning and his own skill saved Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON from
becoming a wartime casualty. He returned from Europe a decorated
pilot and enjoyed a successful business career before dying at
home in New Liskeard, Ontario, on June 25, aged 86.
Rowan Theodore
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON, who was called Bob by childhood Friends
and Hutch by fellow pilots, was born in Toronto on May 10, 1917,
the only child of an accountant father. He attended Upper Canada
College before entering engineering studies at Queen's University
in Kingston, Ontario
He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on August 14, 1940,
just as the Battle of Britain was underway. After training, he
was posted to No. 401 Squadron, flying Spitfires.
In August, 1942, he was transferred to No. 414 Squadron, known
as the Sarnia Imperials, which flew Mustangs from a base at Croydon,
Surrey.
On August 19, just eight days after arriving, Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON
flew a tactical reconnaissance mission during the ill-fated Dieppe
Raid.
The Imperials spent the next 12 months flying defensive patrols
over the south coast of England, as well as engaging in daytime
strafing raids on targets in occupied France.
Flying Officer
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON returned to Dieppe on the French coast
on March 26, 1943, flying low across the English Channel in his
Mustang before attacking two locomotives and an electrical transformer.
Typical of the harassment campaign was a mission Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON
and Mr. DOHERTY flew on April 1, as they scoured the French coast
from Fécamp to Dieppe, firing on electric power lines and shooting
up two freight engines.
On one such raid, Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON and another partner riddled
five locomotives in the Le Havre area.
Another time, a strafing run in the Breton coastal region damaged
seven locomotives. A wing of Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON's
Mustang was struck
by ground fire. He returned safely to base.
On June 6, 1943, the pair was assigned to escort a naval vessel
on a secret mission in the English Channel when Flying Officer
DOHERTY spotted a trio of Folke-Wulf 190s just as they launched
a surprise attack. His brief radio warning alerted Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON
to the danger, although
DOHERTY's
Mustang was almost immediately
shot down.
"For 20 minutes
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON fought off the three enemy aircraft
until the German pilots gave up their attacks and flew away,"
according to an account published in The Royal Canadian Air Force
Overseas, an official 1944 history. "Then, despite the fact that
his petrol was almost exhausted, the Mustang pilot resumed his
patrol over the naval vessel and saw it safely back to port.
"Thanks to
DOHERTY's warning and
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON's gallantry the naval
vessel had not been attacked during the engagement."
On landing, it was discovered that Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON's
Mustang had
but a thimbleful of fuel.
The Imperials were redesignated as a fighter reconnaissance squadron
later that month, as Allied planners began preparations for an
invasion of Europe.
They also took airborne before-and-after photographs of the launch
sites for V-1 flying bombs.
Once, Mr. HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON and Flying Officer B. B.
MOSSING were jumped
by eight German fighters, although Mr.
MOSSING damaged one with
a well-placed burst and three more were shot down by Spitfires
which came to the rescue of the reconnaissance Mustangs.
On the morning of the D-Day landings, Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON's squadron
was assigned to spot targets for the naval bombardment of coastal
defences stretching from Le Havre to Cherbourg. For Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON,
it was exactly one year to the day since he had tangled with
the trio of FW 190s.
The following days were a blur of predawn briefings, as the squadron
flew at first light to photograph mosaics of Caen, France, as
well as Luftwaffe airfields. Planners were desperate for information
on overnight changes in the battle area.
On Dominion Day, 1944, Mr.
HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON, by now a squadron leader,
was made commander of the Imperials. They moved base from Odiham,
Hampshire, to Ste-Honorine-de-Ducy, France, in August, replacing
their Mustangs with Spitfires. The squadron moved base every
few weeks to keep pace with the army's advances.
One of his final achievements was in providing valuable photographs
and reports in August, 1944, as the German Seventh and Fifth
Panzer armies tried desperately to escape an encroaching Allied
encirclement in an area that became known as the Falaise pocket.
Mr. HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in
1943 for his "very keen fighting spirit."
After the war, he was prominent in business in New Liskeard,
operating a travel agency, an insurance brokerage and a real-estate
company. He sat on the board of directors of the Northern Telephone
Company Ltd.
He leaves his wife of 54 years, Rosemary (née
KERR,) their daughter
and two sons, and two grand_sons.
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