Dog Fight with Another Spitfire!

This is what the Germans did. The toughest dog fight ... the only real dog fight I had was with another Spitfire. I was very lucky. Here again whether it’s... lets say because of experience or whatever ... we had got into this mix up in Nijmegen. My number 2 had lost me and I’m heading back to (inaudible) where we were based in Belgium and luckily I look behind and here’s this Spitfire coming in. I think it’s my number 2 so I wiggle my wings and straighten out and luckily look back again and he’s firing at me! So I go up ... plain view you can’t mistake the look of a Spitfire like this ... and I do a complete roll and straighten out again. “Hey, I’m a Spitfire, leave me alone!” He circled around and he’s coming in firing at me again. And we had a real go around. He was an unmarked Spitfire and we had to go around for about five minutes and I’d been checking my fuel. I was getting down low on fuel. And we ended up neither one of us got the advantage. I’m calling on the RT; “Anybody in the area? This guy’s trying to shoot me down ... another Spitfire!” What happened was we ended up coming head on and I’m heading south and so I ducked underneath him and made it back to (inaudible). But that’s what happened and this was the, as I said, that was the only real dog-fight; around and round and round from all the experience I had up above the clouds at Dunnville and so on in tail-chases. That was the toughest one that I had. I was sweating. I was pulling out all the stops. I did everything I could and I couldn’t get the advantage on him. And we ended up coming head to head – and sure again – I ducked underneath because I was running low on fuel and I didn’t dare stay around much later.

Mr. Fox describes his only real dogfight

Charley Fox

Mr. Fox was born in Guelph, Ontario in 1920. He signed up in March, 1940, and was called up the following October. Mr. Fox excelled during pilot training, but a bout of scarlet fever prevented him from accompanying his squadron overseas. Once returned to health, he became a flight instructor, during which time he married. A short time later, he was sent overseas and joined the 412 Spitfire Squadron. He was involved in air support for D-Day and flew many follow-up missions destroying “targets of opportunity” in France and Holland. After the war, Mr. Fox returned home and became a retailer. He now resides in London, Ontario.