Pilot Officer Ronald N. H. Courtney standing in front of a Hawker Hurricane at RAF North Weald in August 1940 during the Battle of Britain
On 29 May 1940, Pilot Officer Ronald N. H. Courtney was forced to bail out of his Hawker Hurricane over the English Channel after being shot down by German Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Courtney had been conducting a rescue mission during Operation Dynamo, the desperate but remarkable evacuation of 338,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk.
Courtney was wounded in the back of the neck and the right leg on 29 May 1940. Evidence for his neck wound can be seen in the shrapnel damage the jacket sustained below the collar line
Images: © Imperial War Museum
A stunning feat of military planning, Dynamo ironically boosted public morale. Nevertheless, for those who experienced it, Dunkirk was nightmarish and individual escapes often depended on luck. Courtney was fortunate to be picked up from the water by a Royal Navy corvette, HMS Shearwater. He survived to later become a group captain.
This pictured RAF Service Dress jacket was worn by Courtney when he was shot down and still contains shrapnel holes that were sustained during the incident. This item forms part of a collection of Courtney’s belongings that have been acquired by the Imperial War Museum. Other artefacts include his flying logbook and his Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar medal.