Andrew McPherson (RAF officer)

Andrew McPherson
Andrew McPherson
Born	1918; Glasgow, Scotland
Died	12 May 1940 (aged 22); Lanaken, Belgium
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Rank	Flying Officer
Battles/wars	Second World War European theatre; Battle of the Heligoland Bight (1939);
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross

Flying Officer Andrew McPherson DFC (1918–1940) was a pilot with RAF Bomber Command in World War II.

Biography

He is notable for being the pilot of Bristol Blenheim bomber N6125 of No. 139 Squadron RAF, which was the first British aircraft to cross the German coast after Britain had declared war on Germany. His mission on 3 September 1939 was to look for potential targets in North Germany and the German fleet on the Schillig Roads near the port of Wilhelmshaven from an altitude of 24,000 feet. He took off from RAF Wyton in cold, cloudy weather and experienced severe icing on the aircraft. Amongst the ships he and his crew observed were the cruisers Admiral Scheer and Emden.

Their sightings were reported upon their return to base as the aircraft wireless transmissions failed. An air raid was then ordered on the ships by 15 Blenheims from No. 107 Squadron, No. 110 Squadron, and No. 139 Squadron RAF. The weather conditions were very bad when they set off on their bombing mission the next morning, many bombs did not detonate and four aircraft from 107 Squadron were shot down, with two survivors becoming the first Bomber Command airman to be taken prisoner in World War II. An aircraft from No. 110 Squadron was also shot down and crashed into the bow of the cruiser Emden (curiously the pilot killed in the crash was also named Emden).

For his role in the action Flying Officer McPherson was presented with one of the first two DFCs of the war by King George VI himself. On 12 May 1940 he was killed when his Blenheim was shot down by German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters near Lanaken, Belgium whilst on a mission to bomb armoured columns.^[1]^[2]

Family

His sister Elizabeth Janet MacGregor pioneered cervical cancer screening trials in the United Kingdom.

References

^ Falconer, Jonathon (1998). The Bomber Command Handbook 1939-1945. Stroud: Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-0-7509-1819-0.
^ "The first of the ten thousand - Andrew McPherson" Airforce Magazine summer 1999 edition retrieved 6 Oct 2010

[Handbook-1] Falconer, Jonathon (1998). The Bomber Command Handbook 1939-1945. Stroud: Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-0-7509-1819-0.

[museum-2] "The first of the ten thousand - Andrew McPherson" Airforce Magazine summer 1999 edition retrieved 6 Oct 2010

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