'Cat's Eyes' Cunningham passes away.

Group Captain John Cunningham died on July 21st at the age of 84.

He was Britain's leading night-fighter expert, ending the war with 20 kills, 3 DSO's and 2 DFC's. After the war, he had a distinguished career as a test-pilot.
I met him three years ago - yet again, he was very quiet, courteous and modest.

 

Sorry for the loss Martin, Paul, Bish. His memory can be kept alive here.

 

Amen Carl ! as with all vets I can attest that we can remember them in some way....

Martin, do you by chance have a lsiting of his victories and the dates ? We had been trying to reach him for a lengthy interview for our book but alas.......dang !

another window of history gone.....

E

 

Sorry to hear this. A living encyclopedia is gone. But that is life...

 

OK Erich, here goes -

In Beaufighter 1 ( 604 sqn )
19/11/40 Ju88
23/12/40 HeIII
2/1/41 HeIII probable
12/1/41 HeIII damaged
15/2/41 HeIII
12/3/41 Ju88 damaged
'' '' '' HeIII damaged
3/4/41 HeIII
7/4/41 HeIII
9/4/41 HeIII damaged
'' '' '' HeIII
11/4/41 HeIII probable
'' '' '' HeIII
15/4/41 HeIII
'' '' '' HeIII
'' '' '' HeIII
3/5/41 HeIII
7/5/41 HeIII
31/6/41 HeIII
22/8/41 HeIII
'' '' '' HeIII damaged
1/9/41 Ju88
4/4/42(daylight) HeIII damaged
23/5/42(daylight) HeIII

In Mosquito XII ( 85 sqn )
13/6/43 Fw190
23/8/43 Fw190
8/9/43 Fw190

In Mosquito XIII
2/1/44 Me410

In Mosquito XVII
20/2/44 Ju188 damaged
23/2/44 Ju88 probable

Total : 20 destroyed, 3 probable, 7 damaged.

 

Excellent Martin! Thanks a lot! It was interesting to learn this, totally new for me.

You suck at film-tastes, but you are a very nice and appreciated member of this forum!

 

Thanks Martin, much appreciated. I see that most of his kills were made earlier in the war and not necessarily on intruder ops over the Reich.

E

 

With the exception of the first Heinkel ( shot down over the Channel Islands ) every one of Cunningham's victories was achieved over the British Isles. This is one of the reasons he became a 'household name' during the war.

 

But did he shoot down Fw-190s with a bloody Mosquito?!!!!!!!! Was that possible?

 

He most certainly did.

One went into the sea off Dunkirk, but the other two were positively identified from wreckage as both being FW190-A5s of I/SKG10.

 

Too many Eagles are gone--but they definately wioll not be forgotten.

I have preached this along with several others here--if you even think of having an intention to write these men--do so now--or you WILL regret not doing so when you had the chance--this is what happened to me with Heinrich Dammeier, Friedrich-Wilhelm Berkenbusch and Heinz Heuer. I aint letting that happen again if I have any control over it.

 

Very well said, Herr Generalfeldmarschall!!!

 

That little wooden wonder, the Mosquito was the fastest twin prop job in WW 2. Nothing could catch it at night except a lucky "bounce" by Bf 109G-6/AS or G-10's in 44 and 45. Plus the single seat Me 262A-1a flown by Kmdo Welter, aka 10./NJG 11.

E

 

Beim Himmel!!! That is why it is called the wooden wonder... Erich, could you tell my the technique specifications of it?

 

The Mosquito NF.XII as used by John Cunningham had an all-up weight of 18,547lbs, twin Rolls-Royce Merlin 23 engines developing 1,460hp each, and a maximum speed of 370mph. The 'ceiling' was 36,000ft and range 1,705 miles.

Armament ? 4 x Hispano 20mm cannon and 4 x .303 Browning machine guns.

Used as photo-recon, fighter, bomber ( including carrying the 4,000lb 'Cookie' ), fighter-bomber , pathfinder - not to mention the Coastal Command FBXVIII armed with one 57mm cannon, 4 x .303 Brownings plus four 500lb bombs or eight 60lb rockets..... The Mosquito is truly one of the greatest combat aircraft ever.

 

Nothing is impossible in warfare! Didn't even some guy in a La-5 (or was it a Yak??) shoot down a couple of P-51s over Berlin?

 

Thanks a lot, Martin!!!

And yeah... the other day, the grandson of the "Red Baron" shot three F-15s in his Fokker Dk. III...

 

Knowing some pilots... even THAT could happen!!!

 

Danke Herr General