Ernest "Imshi" Mason DFC (29 July 1913 – 15 February 1942) was a British

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, credited with one ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' and 14 ''

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...

'' aircraft destroyed, two shared destroyed, three damaged and another three shared damaged in the air. Mason claimed one and 13 shared destroyed on the ground.

Early life

Ernest "Imshi" Mason was born in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, and was educated at Blackpool Grammar School. He was a gifted musician (he played the saxophone), and was also interested in engineering and mechanics. He rode motorcycles in dirt track racing at the age of 14. He played in professional dancebands including Archie Andre's (real name Andre Tripello) operating out of Brighton and on tour. He was briefly the co-owner of a Delarge, which he crashed. Foreseeing the coming war, he joined the RAF.

RAF career

Mason joined the RAF in March 1938, being commissioned as an acting pilot officer on 7 Mar 1938 and undergoing training at 4 FTS in Egypt. Mason was confirmed as pilot officer on 7 March 1939. He was initially posted to No. 48 squadron flying

Vickers Wellesley The Vickers Wellesley was a medium bomber that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey. It was one of two aircraft to be named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of We ...

bombers, but managed to switch to fighters with No. 80 Squadron flying the

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...

by the time the war had started. On 3 September 1940 he was promoted to flying officer. At the end of 1940 he transferred as part of a flight of 80 Squadron forming into 274 Squadron with the

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

. Mason and Lieutenant Robert Talbot of the SAAF were detached to

Sidi Barrani Sidi Barrani ( ar, سيدي براني ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of i ...

in order to "freelance" over the Libyan Desert attacking targets of opportunity. It was during this period that Mason developed his preferred style of attack, embarking on long range missions to attack enemy air bases well behind the lines. By the end of January 1941, Mason's score was 14 kills and he was awarded the DFC in February 1941. By this time, he was also the leading Allied ace in the Middle East theatre. In March 1941, Mason led a flight to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

to reinforce the defensive fighter force. On 13 April, Mason attacked four Bf 109s. He was attacked in turn by ''Oberleutnant''

Klaus Mietusch Klaus Mietusch (5 August 1918 – 17 September 1944) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 72 aerial victories achieved in 452 combat missions. This figure includes 15 aerial victorie ...

JG 26 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 (JG 26) ''Schlageter'' was a German fighter-wing of World War II. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran, Freikorps member, and posthumous Nazi martyr, arrested and executed by the French for ...

and shot down for the German's eighth victory. Mason ditched his aircraft in the sea, suffering wounds to his hand in the combat and a broken nose in the ditching. By now Mason had assumed a notoriety within the aircrews of the Commonwealth Air Forces, having grown a thick black beard (against RAF regulations) and acquired the nickname "Imshi" ; colloquial Arabic for 'scram', which he reportedly tended to shout at the local pedlars. During a patrol on 26 January, Mason encountered 3 Fiat G.50bis of 2o Gruppo CT near Derna and 7 Fiat CR.42s of 368a ''Squadriglia'' strafing Australian ground positions. Mason shot down two victims, ''Sottotenent''e Alfonso Nuti and ''Maresciallo'' Guido Papparato from 368a Squadriglia, who were both killed. In July 1941 Mason assumed command of No. 261 Squadron, reforming in Palestine. In August he led the unit in the occupation of Iran, and in January was posted back to the Western Desert to command No 94 Squadron flying

P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

Kittyhawks. On 15 February 1942, Mason led a ground attack mission against a Luftwaffe base at Martuba,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. His flight was shot down by Otto Schulz from ''

Jagdgeschwader 27 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27) "''Afrika''" was a fighter Wing (air force unit), wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II. The wing was given the name "Africa" for serving in the North African Campaign predominantly alone in the period from ...

'' and he was killed.

Awards

Mason was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The citation from the ''London Gazette'' on 11 February 1941 reads: :"Flying Officer Ernest Mitchelson Mason (40734), No. 274 Squadron. :In January, 1941, this officer destroyed three of a formation of nine enemy aircraft. He has continually shown a fine fighting spirit and has contributed materially to the heavy losses caused to enemy aircraft. He has shown outstanding courage and initiative and has destroyed at least thirteen hostile aircraft".

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Holmes, Tony. ''Hurricane Aces 1939 - 1940''. Osprey Publishing. London. 1998. * C. Shores & C. Williams. ''Aces High''. Grub street. London. 1994. * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Ernest Royal Air Force squadron leaders British World War II flying aces Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order 1942 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) 1913 births Aviators killed by being shot down People from Darlington