FIRST WW2 ACE. FIRST WW2 DFC.

Most people know that the first man to climb Everest was a Kiwi -but did you know that the RAF's first ace of WWII, and the first man from that conflict to be awarded a DFC was born in Hastings (NZ), went to school in Wellington, and got his pilot's licence with the Wellington Aero Club

Edgar James Kain -known as "Cobber" (the Kiwi word for pal or friend in the 1930's) left for England at 18 and joined the RAF. Kain began flying operational sorties during the Phoney War period. He gained No. 73 Squadron's, and his, first victory in November 1939. A second followed days later. In March 1940 he had claimed his fifth victory and became the RAF's first fighter ace of World War II, and the first recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross in the Second World War. The Phoney War ended on 10 May 1940 when the Battle of France and the Low Countries began. Within 17 days of the beginning of the campaign, he had claimed a further 12 aerial victories. His success so early in the war meant he was to become a household name in the UK.

His kills were mainly Do-17s and Bf-109s. Kain was the RAF's top ace on the 07 June 1940 and was returning to England for some well-deserved R&R. As he sat waiting to taxi out in a Miles Magister to make the short hop to Le Mans to pick up his kit before heading across the channel, he saw his beloved Hurricane "Paddy III" arriving from a sortie. He decided to farewell his fellow pilot's properly so took Paddy up for one last "beat-up" of the aerodrome. He performed three aileron rolls at 800 feet, and on the last one his plane was seen to lose power, stall and then enter a spin. The plane hit the ground wings level but at a high rate of descent. Kain's body was thrown nearly 100 feet from the crash. He died instantly

Barry Gamble December 2020