Derek Ward's Hurricane Nose Art

[Dave Homewood]

In the Official History of the Second World War volume, New Zealanders of the Royal Air Force Volume 1, there's a piece about New Zealand fighter pilot Derek Harland Ward and a footnote describes his Battle of France Hurricane's nose art. It states:

Unlike many fighter pilots, Ward was not superstitious. His Hurricane bore a coat of arms of his own designing—a shield, quartered, bearing a broken hand-mirror, a hand holding a match lighting three cigarettes, a man walking under a ladder the figure 13, and under the shield the motto: ‘So what the hell.’

www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1RAF-c3.html#reference-to-fn1-64

Does anyone know if a photograph exists of this artwork? I would think there must have been a photo for the author to describe it in such detail, because Ward was killed in the Middle East in June 1942. So, does anyone know if a photo is available? It sounds like a great artwork.

[phas3e]

Hi Dave

Found it of all places in a book on Battle of Britain 109Es



Looks like a very fun outlook on superstition, not uncommon with war time pilots
a number of German fighter pilots flew '13' through out the war not believing in bad luck

If Anyone has info as to the serial and codes on his Hurricane I would love to know them

[Andy Wright]

Nicely done, phas3e!

[Dave Homewood]

That is awesome, thanks for that. Well found.

It seems to be on th starboard side, would you agree?

[phas3e]

Yeah appears to be on the Starboard exit/escape hatch

[Dave Homewood]

From the Auckland Weekly News dated 21 August 1940

[isc]

A late neibour of mine was a tank commander in Italy, and his Sherman was known as lucky13, got though to Treste(sp/)without a scratch. isc

[Dave Homewood]

The Press newspaper featured Derek Ward with his Hurricane on the 16th of July 1940, and also another photo and story. Can anyone confirm if that is definitely Ward who evaded?

[Dave Homewood]

This is an interesting article about Derek Ward. From the New Zealand Herald dated the 28th of May 1940:

PLUCKY AIRMAN

NEW ZEALAND PILOT

COMBATS AT LONG ODDS

BADLY-DAMAGED MACHINE

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright British Wireless LONDON. May 20

A young New Zealand fighter pilot has just brought his damaged Hurricane machine safely to England from France, after an extraordinary series of experiences. Three times in the course of the journey he was engaged in conflicts with enemy aircraft in superior numbers.

The machine was severely damaged before the pilot started on the journey home. The gunsights were gone and the only instruments working were the compass and the oil temperature and pressure gauges.

The flier had his eight machine-guns loaded only with ordinary ammunition, and the starboard petrol tank was leaking when he decided to land at an aerodrome in northern France to refuel before continuing the flight to England. Approaching the aerodrome, he saw part of a town near by in flames, and just as he was preparing to come down he observed two Dornier 215's begin a dive-bombing attack on the aerodrome.

Dorniers Driven Off
Immediately he got on the tail of one and gave it two short bursts. There was no doubt that he hit the enemy aircraft, although he had no gun sights. The second German machine tried to escape in the clouds, but the Hurricane pilot followed it, blazing away with his guns. Having got rid of the two Dorniers, the New Zealander was about to land when he was attacked by a number of Messerschmitt fighters. Unable to cope with all of them immediately, he circled the town for about ten minutes, giving them occasional bursts.

When he landed at the aerodrome he found his starboard tank spurting petrol. He had his port tank fuelled, and with a bayonet widened the holes in the punctured tank to allow the fuel to escape. Then he took off again with only 50 rounds of ammunition left in each of his machine-guns.

Third Encounter
"With only that small amount of ammunition I was almost helpless," he said later. "It was just my luck to run into another formation of six Messerschmitts when I was practically out of petrol. Anyway, I gave the leader a burst as he came head-on for me. I am sure I hit him, and I dived down past him toward the ground. After that I just put my skates on for home."

The aircraft was decorated with a coat of arms which the pilot designed for himself. It incorporates most of the unlucky signs. In the centre is the figure 13, round it a sketch of a man walking under a ladder, and another showing three cigarettes being lighted from the same match. Under this challenge to bad luck the New Zealander printed this inscription: "What the hell."

[Dave Homewood]

I am not sure now if there was another Hurricane with similar nose art, also flown by a Kiwi, or if they were in the same squadron and they shared the same aeroplane.

From the New Zealand Herald dated the 15th of August 1940.

BAD LUCK DEFIED

SYMBOLS ON AEROPLANE

PILOT DOWN IN FLAMES

NEW ZEALANDER'S STORY

The young New Zealand pilot-officer who defied all the demons of bad luck by painting their symbols on his aeroplane had the ill-fortune to be shot down in flames in Flanders, but the good luck to escape the enemy by disguising himself as a Belgian refugee. He is Pilot-Officer William Hodgson, of Macandrew Road, Dunedin, who was posted to the Royal Air Force in April of this year. In a letter to his parents dated June 19 he writes:—

"Three of us were up on patrol in France when we were attacked by 50 Huns. I was sent down in flames behind the German lines in Belgium. I jumped for it, and landed near a Hun tank column. I ducked into a wood and lay there for several hours. Then I crept out and made a dash for a farmhouse, where I 'pinched' some clothes and dressed up as a refugee and tracked after a refugee column. After dodging about for eight days I found one and joined it.

Old Folk and Children Shot
"If you want to hate the Hun you should see a refugee column. Hundreds of old people and kids with bundles over their shoulders trudge along without food. Then along come the Jerry "dive-bombers to bomb and machinegun the column. Out of 500 refugees in this column only 50 were left when the dive-bombers passed by. We were on an open road, with no shelter, when the Hun deliberately bombed and machine-gunned these old people fleeing from their homes.

"The togs I 'pinched' were typical of the poorer Belgian people. I hid my uniform in a haystack, and kept only my revolver. After 12 days I reached the coast, where I got a lorry and eventually found my way back to my station, just in time to retreat. Two hours later I would have found the Germans there. One of the three of us in my machine 'went west'; the other dressed up as I did, and got back to the station to find it in Hun hands. He walked to the coast and eventually got back to England.

Outnumbered Ten to One
"We were always outnumbered by 10 to one. Some of our chaps were shot down just as they were getting off the ground. Well, we retreated from one place to another, being bombed all the time. For three weeks we slept in our flying kit, or rather, we slept when we could, for when not flying we were being bombed. The boys would fall in their aeroplanes. When we landed we had to walk round while the 'crate' was being refilled, else we would have dropped off to sleep. Chaps were actually going to sleep on their feet. We had to take off with bombs exploding on the runways. Some of the pilots were so tired they just 'opened up' and went to sleep, running their machines into fences or hangars. Eventually we were recalled, and it was great to get back to England.

Gift of Wine Cellar
"I liked the French people. They did all they could for us. One chap when he fled gave me the whole of his wine cellar, as he could not take it with him, but we had to retreat after the civilians, so we did not get time to sample it. I took a bottle of champagne in my pocket, but when a bomb dropped near me I threw myself down and unfortunately broke the bottle.

"We lost everything in France, coming back with only the clothes in which we stood.

"When we arrived in England we were kept on the move patrolling sectors of the coast. I have not been in the same place more than two days, then back to the base, then off somewhere else and back again. All I take is a toothbrush."

[Dave Homewood]

From the article above.