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360:
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This officer has taken part in many sorties over enemy occupied territory and in several reconnaissance missions and attacks on shipping. He has destroyed at least two enemy aircraft. In the combined operations at Dieppe, Flight
Lieutenant Shepherd assisted in the destruction of a Dornier 217. He has
525:
and
Shepherd destroyed seven of these over the south of England during the course of the next several weeks. Towards the end of the year, the squadron began flying sweeps to Germany. Early in 1945, the squadron went to Warmwell for armament exercises and at this time, Shepherd was appointed its
486:
Since being awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross, this officer has undertaken a large number of sorties and has displayed inspiring leadership and great keenness throughout. He has participated in several successful attacks on enemy shipping and, in addition, has destroyed two enemy aircraft,
473:
Towards the end of 1942 and into 1943, No. 118 Squadron was regularly on bomber escort duties and often encountered
Luftwaffe fighters. On 18 July, on a sortie to Holland, Shepherd destroyed two Bf 109s, one of which shared with another pilot. By this time, his acting rank of
603:
Shepherd is credited with having shot down thirteen aircraft, five of which shared with other pilots, as well as seven V-1 flying bombs. He claimed one aircraft as probably destroyed, with a second shared, and three damaged, one of which was shared.
568:, on 20 April, also sharing in the destruction of a second in the same vicinity. He shot down two aircraft, a Bf 109 and Fw 190 on 30 April. He claimed his last aerial victory, a Fw 190 that was shared with another pilot, the next day.
1008:
252:
which he led until the end of the war. In the immediate postwar period he was awarded the DFC for the third time. Still commanding No. 41 Squadron, he was killed in a flying accident on 22 January 1946.
1018:
597:
72:
988:
220:
before training as a pilot in April 1939. He was called up for service with the RAF just before the outbreak of the Second World War and in
September 1940 was posted to
478:
had been made substantive. He damaged a Bf 109 near
Schipol on 25 July and claimed another Bf 109 as probably destroyed on 2 August. Later that month, he was awarded a
592:
fighter when it suffered an engine failure. The aircraft crashed into an anti-tank ditch beyond the airfield and
Shepherd was killed on impact. Holding the rank of
446:
237:
185:
168:
1013:
998:
983:
537:
from where it flew armed reconnaissances into
Germany. Early the following month, Shepherd was appointed commander of the squadron. On 14 April, over
379:
and bomber escort duties to German-occupied France while also carrying out convoy patrols. On 23 March he and two other pilots shared in damaging a
949:
302:
978:
930:
911:
585:
294:
876:
505:
359:
993:
371:
in early 1941 and began to reequip with the
Spitfire Mk II. It switched to an offensive role as part of the RAF's
266:
217:
509:
A Supermarine
Spitfire Mk XIV fighter of No. 610 Squadron, used during its campaign against the V-1 flying bomb
445:
rank was confirmed on 21 August. The following month, he was recognised for his successes with an award of the
248:. He briefly commanded the squadron until it was disbanded in March 1945. He was then appointed commander of
588:. Shepherd was awarded a second Bar to the DFC on 14 September. On 22 January 1946, he was taking off in a
429:
and doing convoy patrols and offensive sweeps to France with its Spitfire Mk VBs. On 19 August, during the
538:
517:. At this time, the squadron, being equipped with the fastest Spitfire model, the Mk XIV, was involved in
513:
In June 1944, Shepherd, who had been taken off operations for a rest the previous October, was posted to
403:
923:
Aces High: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII
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in mid-1944, and over the next several weeks destroyed a number of V-1 flying bombs during
236:, serving with this unit for nearly two years before being rested, having been awarded the
593:
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398:
on 17 June. He was credited with a half share in a Ju 88 that was probably destroyed over
290:
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112:
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and had lost many of its pilots. Shortly after Shepherd's arrival, the squadron moved to
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acting commander. The squadron was disbanded in March and Shepherd was transferred to
962:
545:
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205:. He was credited with having shot down at least thirteen aircraft as well as seven
368:
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194:
552:. He destroyed the Bf 110 and then engaged and shot down the jet fighter, a
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43:
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for a period of duty at a lowered operational tempo, with fewer sorties.
411:
343:, the squadron had been involved in several major engagements during the
576:
Later in May, No. 41 Squadron shifted to Denmark where it was based at
561:
274:
533:
Shepherd's new unit, equipped with Spitfire Mk XIVs, was stationed at
376:
340:
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942:
Men of the Battle of Britain: A Biographical Directory of the Few
293:(RAF) and commenced further training. His flying training was at
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Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
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bringing his victories to four. He has set a worthy example.
240:
twice during this time. He returned to operations with
295:
No. 11 Elementary & Reserve Flying Training School
653:
651:
460:
at all times displayed great skill and determination.
285:
In late August 1939, just before the outbreak of the
410:. He shot down one Bf 109 and damaged a second near
232:
of 1941. Early the following year, he was posted to
228:. He achieved his first aerial victories during the
598:
Hamburg Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
164:
132:
118:
108:
100:
88:
80:
73:
Hamburg Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
67:
50:
30:
23:
1019:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1946
521:, the RAF's campaign against the German-launched
449:(DFC). The citation for the DFC was published in
363:Pilots of No. 234 Squadron at Warmwell, July 1941
224:, serving with it during the final stages of the
596:at the time of his death, Shepherd is buried in
904:Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft
484:
457:
261:John Bean Shepherd was born on 20 July 1919 in
193:(20 July 1919 – 22 January 1946) was a British
865:(Supplement). 14 September 1945. p. 4579.
758:(Supplement). 11 September 1942. p. 3965.
686:
564:. He shot down another Fw 190 to the north of
289:, Shepherd was called up for service with the
921:Shores, Christopher; Williams, Clive (1994).
277:, he applied and was accepted in April 1939.
8:
216:, Shepherd was served as ground crew in the
818:(Supplement). 27 August 1943. p. 3823.
335:and therefore not directly involved in the
631:"The Airmen's Stories - Sgt. J B Shepherd"
417:In early 1942 Shepherd was transferred to
273:. When an opportunity came up to train as
20:
989:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
482:to his DFC; the published citation read:
843:
828:
798:(Supplement). 4 June 1943. p. 2568.
736:
701:
402:on 12 August. Shortly afterwards he was
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331:, in September 1940. Although part of
269:in a ground crew role and served with
625:
623:
621:
619:
617:
7:
879:. Commonwealth War Graves Commission
657:
433:, he shared in the destruction of a
390:. He shared in the destruction of a
877:"Squadron Leader John B. Shepherd"
778:. 22 September 1942. p. 4112.
723:. 19 September 1941. p. 5427.
14:
1014:Military personnel from Edinburgh
906:. London: MacDonald & James.
635:Battle of Britain London Monument
999:British World War II flying aces
984:Royal Air Force squadron leaders
586:British Air Forces of Occupation
556:. Two days later he destroyed a
327:, which operated Spitfires from
580:for two months before going to
303:No. 7 Operational Training Unit
468:, No. 35712, 22 September 1942
1:
944:. Barnsley: Frontline Books.
394:fighter to the northwest of
584:in Germany, as part of the
495:, No. 36148, 27 August 1943
301:and from there, he went to
1035:
687:Shores & Williams 1994
447:Distinguished Flying Cross
367:No. 234 Squadron moved to
265:, Scotland. He joined the
238:Distinguished Flying Cross
169:Distinguished Flying Cross
16:British flying ace of WWII
940:Wynn, Kenneth G. (2015).
541:in Germany, he engaged a
319:Shepherd was posted as a
267:Royal Auxiliary Air Force
218:Royal Auxiliary Air Force
979:Royal Air Force officers
425:. This was stationed at
925:. London: Grub Street.
902:Rawlings, John (1976).
437:medium bomber over the
421:to serve as one of its
510:
498:
471:
441:. Two days later, his
364:
508:
362:
101:Years of service
994:Scottish flying aces
554:Messerschmitt Me 163
543:Messerschmitt Bf 110
392:Messerschmitt Bf 109
339:'s campaign against
311:Supermarine Spitfire
197:who served with the
846:, pp. 110–112.
739:, pp. 249–251.
704:, pp. 336–338.
862:The London Gazette
815:The London Gazette
795:The London Gazette
775:The London Gazette
755:The London Gazette
720:The London Gazette
548:that was towing a
511:
452:The London Gazette
365:
951:978-1-39901-465-6
539:Nordholz airfield
501:Later war service
476:flight lieutenant
423:flight commanders
345:Battle of Britain
226:Battle of Britain
201:(RAF) during the
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142:Battle of Britain
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523:V-1 flying bombs
515:No. 610 Squadron
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419:No. 118 Squadron
373:Circus offensive
355:Circus offensive
325:No. 234 Squadron
309:to train on the
287:Second World War
281:Second World War
271:No. 603 Squadron
242:No. 610 Squadron
234:No. 118 Squadron
230:Circus offensive
222:No. 234 Squadron
207:V-1 flying bombs
203:Second World War
192:
147:Circus offensive
137:Second World War
127:No. 610 Squadron
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594:squadron leader
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528:No. 41 Squadron
519:Operation Diver
503:
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439:English Channel
414:on 15 October.
357:
291:Royal Air Force
283:
259:
250:No. 41 Squadron
246:Operation Diver
199:Royal Air Force
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157:Operation Diver
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123:No. 41 Squadron
113:Squadron Leader
95:Royal Air Force
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54:22 January 1946
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831:, p. 495.
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689:, p. 544.
662:
660:, p. 472.
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590:Hawker Tempest
573:
572:Postwar period
570:
558:Focke Wulf 190
502:
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493:London Gazette
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466:London Gazette
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443:flying officer
356:
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321:sergeant pilot
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84:United Kingdom
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58:(aged 26)
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844:Rawlings 1976
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737:Rawlings 1976
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560:fighter over
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435:Dornier Do 17
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408:pilot officer
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388:Isle of Wight
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384:medium bomber
382:
381:Junkers Ju 88
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181:John Shepherd
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25:John Shepherd
22:
19:
941:
922:
903:
881:. Retrieved
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804:
793:
784:
773:
764:
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744:
718:
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638:. Retrieved
634:
602:
575:
532:
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485:
472:
465:
458:
450:
416:
404:commissioned
375:, flying on
366:
333:No. 10 Group
318:
284:
260:
211:
180:
179:
133:Battles/wars
56:(1946-01-22)
41:20 July 1919
18:
974:1946 deaths
969:1919 births
857:"No. 37265"
810:"No. 36148"
790:"No. 36041"
770:"No. 35712"
750:"No. 35699"
715:"No. 35279"
566:Oranienburg
550:jet fighter
431:Dieppe Raid
152:Dieppe Raid
963:Categories
896:References
455:and read:
427:Predannack
257:Early life
195:flying ace
171:& Two
81:Allegiance
46:, Scotland
37:1919-07-20
658:Wynn 2015
535:Eindhoven
396:Cherbourg
386:over the
337:Luftwaffe
305:(OTU) at
263:Edinburgh
214:Edinburgh
104:1939–1946
75:, Germany
63:, Germany
44:Edinburgh
883:16 March
640:16 March
490:—
463:—
412:Le Havre
369:Warmwell
307:Hawarden
190:Two Bars
119:Commands
89:Service/
1004:The Few
578:Kastrup
562:Hagenow
377:sorties
349:St Eval
314:fighter
275:aircrew
948:
929:
910:
582:Lübeck
341:London
188:&
165:Awards
91:branch
68:Buried
61:Lübeck
608:Notes
406:as a
400:Veere
299:Perth
212:From
946:ISBN
927:ISBN
908:ISBN
885:2024
642:2024
173:Bars
109:Rank
51:Died
31:Born
480:Bar
323:to
316:.
297:at
186:DFC
965::
859:.
836:^
812:.
792:.
772:.
752:.
729:^
717:.
694:^
665:^
650:^
633:.
616:^
530:.
209:.
183:,
954:.
935:.
916:.
887:.
644:.
39:)
35:(
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