During the period leading up to and including the Battle of Britain Adolph Malan gained fame as an outstanding fighter pilot and later a group commander with RAF Fighter Command. Born in Wellington, South Africa in 1910 his teenage career was focussed on the merchant navy; hence the RAF nickname ‘Sailor’. By 1930 he had gained his second mate’s certificate and completed many transatlantic crossings
Tiger Squadron
In 1935 he made a decision that would change his fortunes completely when he was accepted for pilot training with the RAF; a time of great expansion in the service. Commissioned in 1936 Malan was posted to No.74 ‘Tiger’ squadron, a unit with a proud heritage begun in World War I. Its outstanding member was Major Edward Mannock who was destined not to survive the conflict but nevertheless was the highest-scoring of the British aces with 74 victories. In 1936 the squadron was operating with the biplane Gloster Gauntlet, which at the time was the RAF’s fastest interceptor. But with war imminent their classic silver biplanes were soon to be replaced by the iconic Spitfire..
Dunkirk Operation
During the early months of World War 2 the UK-based Spitfire units saw little action until the onset of ‘Operation Dynamo’ in late May 1940, where over 300,000 British and French troops were retrieved from the beaches of Dunkirk. No.74 was one of the first Fighter Command units to be thrust into action to cover the evacuation. It was a period of intense aerial activity, during which Malan was credited with the destruction of two Ju88s, one He III, one Do17, and significantly an Me109, a type that would figure largely in his ultimate victory tally.
Night Operations
In June 1940, following a brief rest at Leconfield in Yorkshire No74 squadron returned to Hornchurch, with Malan as its commanding officer, he having been advised of his award of the DFC. In that period Malan undertook night-fighting patrols and became the first single-seater pilot to shoot down a bomber at night, with the destruction of a Heinkel III on the night of 18/19 June. Several nights later he was credited with two more Heinkels; with this remarkable achievement being recognised with the award of a Bar to his DFC.
Battle of Britain
July 1940 saw an increase in Luftwaffe activity with attacks on coastal shipping and other targets. After successes against enemy bombers earlier in the month, the RAF’s main opponents became German fighters, and as a result some hard and costly combats were fought. Throughout this desperate period between July and August Malan claimed the destruction of five Me109s and two Dornier 17s. On August 12 the squadron was withdrawn to the Midlands to rest and reform and it was while there that Malan formulated his ‘Ten rules of Air Fighting’ doctrine. Its impact was well noted and shortly these precepts were displayed prominently at most fighter airfields and training bases.
Biggin Hill
In October the squadron returned to operations, this time to Biggin Hill, a base that it shared with the equally-famous 92 squadron. This was also a Spitfire unit and in contrast to Malan’s strict disciplinarian tactics No.92 was somewhat easy-going and manned by characters with independent attitudes.. With the onset of autumn the large-scale daylight bombing had eased to a certain extent, nevertheless the intruding Me109s were still acting aggressively. Malan’s personal tally was nearing twenty and later in December he was awarded the DSO and promoted wing commander (Flying) at Biggin Hill.
Wing Leader
The spring of 1941 saw a change of Fighter Command tactics with offensive sweeps over the French and Belgian coasts. These sorties would involve losses for both the RAF and Luftwaffe and with the launch of ‘Operation Barbarossa’, the German invasion of Russia in June 1941 there was a diminishing level of aerial activity for RAF Fighter Command. In that hectic period Malan was heavily involved as a wing leader, when he claimed the destruction of 14 Me109s, taking his tally to 32 confirmed, which at the time made him the top-scorer in Fighter Command.
Second Tactical Air Force
In October 1941 Malan accompanied Group Captain Harry Broadhurst and other luminaries of Fighter Command on a lecture tour of The United States, where Malan had the opportunity to fly the P38 Lightning and P39 Airacobra. On his return to England in November Malan was promoted to group captain and became gunnery instructor at Central Gunnery School at Sutton Bridge. He returned to Biggin Hill in January 1943 as station commander and presided over the celebrations when the famous airfield claimed its 1000th victory. Twelve months later he became commander of a wing of the new Second Tactical Air Force and was able to make some flights over the Normandy beachhead following the invasion in June 1944. Try as he might, and he flew whenever the opportunity presented itself he was not to score again.
Gunnery School
Malan’s next posting, in July 1944 was to command the Advanced Gunnery School at Catfoss, where several other famous aces served under him as instructors. One of these was Pierre Closterman, the top-scoring French pilot serving in the RAF; another was the celebrated American Richard Bong who claimed 38 victories in the Pacific flying the P38 Lightning. Malan then underwent a six-month course at the RAF Staff College during 1945 and in 1946 he resigned his commission and returned to South Africa.
A Sad Finale
For a period he became secretary to diamond millionaire Harry Oppenheimer and in 1950 he embarked on a career as a sheep farmer in Kimberley. Malan became a strong opponent of the new apartheid policy and a proponent of the Coloured Voting Bill; later becoming national president of this society. Sadly the great warrior’s health was in decline with sclerosis and in 1964 he succumbed to this cruel disease after many months in hospital.
Sources
- The Allied Aces (W.N. Hess 1966) Airco Publishing Co.
- Wings Magazine 1968 (Orbis Publishing)
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