September 11, 2022

Wing Commander Michael Nicholson Crossley DSO, OBE, DFC

Wing Commander Michael Nicholson Crossley DSO, OBE, DFC standing in front of a Hawker Typhoon, RAF Gravesend, Kent. Crossley led No. 32 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. Flying Hawker Hurricanes he was credited with shooting down 20 enemy aircraft during his career. He survived the war, eventually emigrating to South Africa to run a family lumber business.
Colour by Dan Steele

“Wing Commander M N Crossley standing in front of a Hawker Typhoon at Gravesend, Kent. In 1940 Crossley shot down 22 enemy aircraft over France and during the Battle of Britain while flying with No. 32 Squadron RAF, latterly as its Commanding Officer. He led a wing of Supermarine Spitfires in 1941, and was then posted to the united States as a test pilot for the British Air Commission. He returned to England in 1943 to lead the proposed Detling Wing, but his operational flying career was cut short when he contracted tuberculosis.” © IWM CH 9170

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In Battle of Britain, WW2

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