Pat Pattle: The Forgotten Hurricane Ace Who Outscored Everyone

He grew up far away from any war, but close to the open skies and like so many young men of his generation, he became fascinated with the idea of flight. In 1936, he joined the Royal Air Force and trained as a fighter pilot. By the time war broke out, Pattle was posted to the number 80 Squadron in Egypt flying the Gloster Gladiator, a biplane that already looked obsolete next to the sleek German and Italian monoplanes.

On paper, he was outgunned. In reality, he was just getting started. When Italy entered the war in 1940, Pattle and 80 Squadron went into action over Libya and the Western Desert. Facing the Regia Aeronautica, the Gladiator was slower than Italian fighters like the Fiat CR.42 and the G.50. But it could turn on a dime, and Pattle squeezed every advantage out of it he possibly could.

He used tight turns, high-angle deflection shots, and vicious close-in attack. By the time his Gladiator chapter was over, he had shot down around 15 Italian aircraft, making him one of the most successful biplane aces in the history. But the real leap came when he moved into a modern monoplane, the Hawker Hurricane.

In February of 1941, the number 80 Squadron began re-equipping with the Hawker Hurricane Mark I. For Pattle, it was like stepping into the future. Compared to the Gladiator, the Hurricane was faster, better armored, and doubled his firepower with eight .303 caliber machine guns in his wings. Before he could settle into desert operations, the war pulled him somewhere even more desperate.

 After Italy invaded Greece, the RAF rushed Hurricanes north to help. Pattle and his Squadron were thrown into a chaotic campaign over Albania and Greece. Heavily outnumbered and often outgunned, but exactly the kind of arena where a gifted pilot would rack up an incredible score. Over Greece, Pat Pattle became something close to a legend, flying Hurricanes with the 80th and the 33rd Squadron.

 He fought both Italian and German aircraft, Fiat, Junker bombers, 109s, 110s, and others. In just 14 days of combat after the German invasion began, he is credited with with over 24 through 50 victories, an astonishing pace. He scored five or more victories in a single day and spent three different occasions making him an ace in a day multiple times.

 On 19 April 1941, he achieved his greatest success, claiming six enemy aircraft in one day, included Junkers Ju 88 bombers and Messerschmitt’s Bf 109s. One of the Ju 88s he shot down was flown by Hauptmann Heinrich Hahn, a German group commander. Because records from the Greek campaign were fragmentary and many combat reports were lost, historians still argue about his final tally.

Conservative estimates put him in the 40 to 50 kills. Some details suggest 50 to 60 victories, which would make him the highest scoring fighter ace in the entire British Commonwealth. And remember, he did all of this by April 1941, less than 2 years into the war. The old saying is the man makes the machine, the machine doesn’t make the man.

 But, his marksmanship was outstanding. Accounts from his fellow pilots describe him closing in far closer than most, firing shot lethal bursts when he was sure of a hit instead of wasting ammunition at long range. Second, situational awareness. He could read a fight, see where threats were forming, and reposition his section before the enemy knew what was happening.

 Third, aggression with discipline. He wasn’t a lone wolf chasing glory. As a leader, eventually a squadron leader with the distinctive flying cross and bar, he focused on protecting his bomber and his wingman first, then exploiting the openings. Pilots who flew with him said that if Pattle was leading the mission, your odds of going home went way up.

April 1941, the Greek front began to collapse under overwhelming German pressure. On 20 April 1941, during what became known as the Battle of Athens, Pattle was sick with influenza, so ill he could barely stand. Ground crews and fellow pilots begged him not to fly. He refused to stay on the ground while his men were up without him.

That day, small groups of Hurricanes rose again and again to intercept large German formations over Athens and the Bay of Eleusis. Witnesses later reported seeing Pattle already claiming more victories even as the situation turned hopeless. In the final melee, he was seen engaging in a Bf 110 from Germans Messerschmitts.

Moments later, his Hurricane was hit and crashed. Today, historians increasingly regard Marmaduke Pat Pattle as the greatest unknown Allied ace, a man who mastered both the Gladiator and the Hurricane and turned turned both into terrifying weapons in North Africa and Greece. For fans for the Hurricane, Pattle’s story is a reminder that this aircraft wasn’t just an unsung hero in the Battle of Britain.

 In the right hands, over distant and desperate fronts, it was an absolutely lethal. If you enjoyed this deep dive into Pat Pattle and his Hurricane, please hit the like button, share the video with other World War II fans and warbird people. And please subscribe. We hope to see you next time with another story of an amazing person from the greatest generation.