Anthony Lovell, (9 August 1919 – 17 August 1945) was a fighter pilot and

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 ...

of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF) during the

Second World War 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 ...

. He is credited with the destruction of at least 22 aircraft. Born in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Lovell joined the RAF in 1937, and was serving with No. 41 Squadron at the time of the outbreak of the Second World War. He served throughout most of the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

, achieving a number of his aerial victories. He subsequently commanded No. 145 Squadron from late 1941 to early 1942. Later that year he was sent to Malta where he led No. 1435 Squadron, achieving several more aerial victories. He served in a series of staff and instructing roles, in addition to two periods as a leader of fighter wings during the campaign in Italy. He was killed in a flying accident shortly after the war in Europe had ended.

Early life

Anthony Desmond Joseph Lovell was born on 9 August 1919 in

, British india. His parents, Stuart C. A. Lovell and Clare Mary Lovell, were from

Portrush Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart. The main part of the old town, including the Portrush railway station, railway station as well as most hote ...

, Northern Ireland. He was educated in England, at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

. In 1937, he joined the

(RAF) on a short service commission, commencing his training on 25 October. Successfully completing this initial phase of training, he was commissioned as acting

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

on 9 January 1938. He proceeded onto No. 6 Flying Training School at

RAF Netheravon The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

for flight instruction upon completion of which, later the same year, he was posted to No. 41 Squadron. At the time Lovell joined the squadron, it was operating

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

fighters from

RAF Catterick Royal Air Force Catterick or RAF Catterick is a former Royal Air Force airfield located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England. It is located alongside the A6055 road on the outskirts of Catterick Village. Although initially a flying stati ...

. His pilot officer rank was confirmed on 25 October.

Second World War

At the time of the outbreak of the Second World War, Lovell was serving at Sector Headquarters, Catterick on secondment. It was not until November that he rejoined No. 41 Squadron. It was still based at Catterick and mostly engaged in protective cover for shipping convoys as well as patrols on the east coast. The squadron moved south to

RAF Hornchurch Royal Air Force Hornchurch or RAF Hornchurch is a former Royal Air Force sector station in the parish of Hornchurch, Essex (now the London Borough of Havering in Greater London), located to the southeast of Romford. The airfield was known as Sut ...

on 28 May 1940 and began to operate over

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.British Expeditionary Force from the beaches there. By this time, Lovell was a flying officer, having been promoted to this rank a few days earlier.

Battle of Britain

Over Dunkirk on 31 May 1940 Lovell shared the destruction of a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

. The next day, he again shared in the shooting down of a He 111. After two weeks operating over Dunkirk, No. 41 Squadron returned to Catterick. Flying from here on 8 July, Lovell shared in the destruction of a

Junkers Ju 86 The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian airliner designed in the early 1930s, and employed by various air forces on both sides during World War II. The civilian model Ju 86B could carry ten passengers. Two were delivered to S ...

medium bomber to the southeast of Scarborough. The squadron went back to Hornchurch in late July. In combat off

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

on 28 July, Lovell was attacked by a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

fighter reportedly flown by

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 ...

flying ace

Werner Mölders Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941) was a World War II German Luftwaffe pilot, wing commander, and the leading German fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War. He became the first pilot in aviation history to shoot down 100 ...

JG 51 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51) was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 51's pilots won more awards than any other fighter wing of the Luftwaffe, and operated in all major theatres of war. Its members included Anton Hafner, Heinz Bär, ...

and crashed on landing at

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpor ...

. Lovell had been wounded in the thigh and was admitted to Margate Hospital. He returned to his squadron on recovery and on 15 August, near Barnard Castle, shot down a

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

heavy fighter A heavy fighter is a historic category of fighter aircraft produced in the 1930s and 1940s, designed to carry heavier weapons, and/or operate at longer ranges than light fighter aircraft. To achieve performance, most heavy fighters were twin-eng ...

and probably destroyed a second. On 5 September he was shot down over the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

but baled out of his Spitfire unhurt. His aircraft crashed and burned out at

South Benfleet South Benfleet is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Benfleet, in the Castle Point district of Essex, England, 30 miles east of London. It is adjacent to the village of North Benfleet. The Benfleet SS7 post town include ...

. The next day, he shot down a Bf 109 to the north of Manston. By this time he was commanding one of the squadron's flights in an acting capacity. On 15 September, in what is now known as

Battle of Britain Day Battle of Britain Day, 15 September 1940, is the day on which a large-scale aerial battle in the Battle of Britain took place.Mason 1969, p. 386.Price 1990, p. 128. In June 1940, the ''Wehrmacht'' had conquered most of Western Europe and Scan ...

, to the southeast of Canterbury, Lovell destroyed a Bf 109. The same day, he also probably destroyed a Bf 109 near Hornchurch. At the end of the month he damaged a

Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing a ...

medium bomber near

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. On 1 October, with his position as flight commander made permanent, he shot down a Bf 109 near Canterbury. He destroyed another Bf 109 on 20 October. A further Bf 109 was damaged by Lovell on 30 October while he was flying a new Spitfire Mk II, which the squadron had started taking delivery of earlier in the month. He destroyed a Bf 109 on 17 November to the north of

Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...

on 17 November. His successes over the preceding months saw Lovell awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The announcement was made on 26 November, the published citation reading: Lovell's final claim of 1940 was for a share in a Bf 109 that was destroyed near Tonbridge on 27 November. No. 41 Squadron saw little action in December and into the early weeks of 1941. It began flying offensive sorties to German-occupied France although also continued with its patrolling duties. Lovell shared in damaging a He 111 near Clacton on 22 January, and several weeks later, on 30 March, he destroyed a Ju 88 over

Ouston Ouston can refer to three places in England: * Ouston, County Durham * Ouston, Ninebanks, Northumberland * Ouston, Stamfordham, Northumberland Other locations: * RAF Ouston Royal Air Force Ouston, or more simply RAF Ouston, is a former Royal ...

. Two days later he damaged a He 111 near Leeming airfield. In late May, Lovell was rested from operations and took up a post as an instructor at No. 58 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at

RAF Grangemouth Royal Air Force Grangemouth or more simply RAF Grangemouth is a former Royal Air Force station located north east of Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland. History It was opened as the Central Scotland Airport in May 1939 and operated as a Civilia ...

. At the same time, he was promoted acting

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

. After a few weeks, he was moved to Catterick where he was a controller in the Operations Room there. In October, his flight lieutenant rank was made permanent and he was given command of No. 145 Squadron. This was based at Catterick, flying Spitfires on patrols along the coast while it prepared for a move to the Middle East. Lovell destroyed a Ju 88 on 17 November while flying to the north of

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

. He shot down another Ju 88 off Newcastle on 19 January 1942. The following he was awarded a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his DFC. The published citation read: Later in February No. 145 Squadron was transferred to the Middle East, arriving at Helwan airfield in Egypt in April. However, by the time it became operational Lovell had been posted to the headquarters of RAF Middle East as a controller.

Siege of Malta

On 21 July 1942, Lovell, now a temporary squadron leader, was posted to Malta where he joined No. 1435 Flight. This had been recently raised at

Luqa Luqa ( mt, Ħal Luqa, , ) is a town located in the Southern Region of Malta, 4.3 km away from the capital Valletta. With a population of 5,945 as of March 2014, it is a small but densely populated settlement which is typical of Malta's old ...

, using nearly arrived Spitfires; Lovell was to be the unit's commander. Two days after his arrival he made his first claim in the aerial fighting over Malta, for shares in two damaged Ju 88s. On 26 July, near

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...

, he damaged a

Macchi C.202 The Macchi C.202 ''Folgore'' (Italian "thunderbolt") was an Italian fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Macchi Aeronautica. It was operated mainly by the '' Regia Aeronautica'' (''RA''; Royal (Italian) Air Force) in and around the S ...

fighter. Later the same day, he damaged a Bf 109 near

. He shared in the destruction of a Ju 88 near Kalafrana Bay on 28 July. At the end of the month, Lovell's command was expanded from a flight to a squadron. On 13 August, No. 1435 Squadron was scrambled to help protect a convoy with much needed supplies approaching Malta. Lovell destroyed a Ju 87 of the ''

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 ...

'' (Italian Air Force) that was attacking the convoy. On a subsequent sortie later in the day, he shot down a

Savoia-Marchetti SM.84 The Savoia-Marchetti SM.84, not to be confused with the Savoia-Marchetti S.84 airliner prototype, was an Italian bomber aircraft of World War II. It was designed by Savoia-Marchetti as a replacement for its successful SM.79, and shared its thre ...

medium bomber. The next day, he shared in shooting down another Italian Ju 87 harassing the convoy. He damaged a

Reggiane Re.2001 The Reggiane Re.2001 ''Falco'' II was an Italian fighter aircraft, serving in the '' Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Air Force) during World War II. A contemporary of the renowned Macchi C.202, the production of this type was to be limited to only ...

fighter off Cap Scalambria on 1 October, and ten days later damaged a Bf 109 near Grand Harbour. The next day, several miles north of St. Paul's Bay, Lovell destroyed a Ju 88. He damaged another Ju 88 on 17 October, this time to the northeast of Zonkor. A Bf 109 was damaged by Lovell near St Paul's Bay on 26 October. In recognition of his successes in the defence of Malta, Lovell was awarded the Distinguished Service Order; the citation, published on 30 October, read: Lovell shot down a Ju 88 into the sea on 7 December; the bomber had already been damaged in an engagement with aircraft of No. 185 Squadron RAF, No. 185 Squadron. His final claim for 1942 was for a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero, Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 medium bomber which he caught on the ground at Lampedusa and destroyed. He was taken off operations in early 1943 for a rest, and posted to Malta's Sector 8 as a fighter controller. In March he was given command of the Malta Spitfire Wing for a time.

Later war service

Promoted full squadron leader on 9 April, he spent the later part of 1943 as a staff officer, first at the headquarters of the Northwest African Coastal Air Force and then at the RAF's No. 242 Group. In December, he was appointed wing leader of No. 322 Wing RAF, No. 322 Wing. He led this unit for the next nine months in its operations over the northwest of Italy. On 3 May, over Sienna, he destroyed one Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighter and damaged a second. Later in the month, on 15 May, he shot down a Bf 109 near Lake Bolsena. His final aerial victory was on 15 June, when he destroyed a Fiat G.55 Centauro, Fiat G.55 fighter over Piacenza. In mid-August, Lovell was posted to No. 1 Mobile Operations Room Unit of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces with which he served for several weeks. An appointment as wing leader at No. 244 Wing, based in Italy at the time, followed. He was awarded the American Distinguished Flying Cross (United States), Distinguished Flying Cross on 14 November. The next month he was sent to Egypt, to serve as chief flight instructor at No. 71 OTU at Ismailia Air Base, Ismailia. On 23 February 1945 Lovell was awarded a Bar to his DSO. As the war in Europe came to an end Lovell was still at Ismailia. He returned to England in June and the following month was posted to the School of Land/Air Warfare, School of Air Support at Old Sarum. On 17 August 1945 Lovell was killed when he crashed into a field adjoining Old Sarum airfield having lost height while performing aerobatics in a Spitfire. Holding the rank of wing commander at the time of his death, he is buried at Portrush Cemetery in County Antrim. He had a brother, Stuart, who also served in the RAF during the war; he was killed on 29 January 1944 flying a Hawker Typhoon fighter on a sortie to Brest, France, Brest in France. Lovell is credited with destroying 22 aircraft, six being shared with other pilots. He is also believed to have probably destroyed two aircraft, damaged thirteen, including four shared, as well as one destroyed on the ground. His successes were accomplished during five operational tours.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovell, Anthony Desmond Joseph 1919 births 1945 deaths The Few Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force wing commanders British World War II flying aces British World War II pilots English aviators People educated at Ampleforth College Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II People from Portrush Military personnel from County Antrim Burials in Northern Ireland