John Kent, a Canadian, was twenty-one when he joined the RAF in 1935. Not fancying his chances sitting for exams, in order to secure a permanent commission, he undertook a "special project" testing measures to counteract balloon barrages. Essentially, this consisted of flying the wing of an airplane equipped with a cutting device into a cable suspended from the balloon. During the Battle of Britain he was a flight leader in 303 Squadron, a Polish unit, flying Hurricanes. He went on to lead 92 Squadron, then the Kenley Wing.

I always enjoy a pilot's first person narrative, and this is a good one. It moves quickly and the details of the experiences seem fresh even though it is thirty years removed from the events.

Since David is hoping through this group to inspire us to build, I have included the five-view drawing from Profile Publications Number 166 Spitfire Mk.V, John Kent's dark earth/dark green/sky cannon armed machine.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.