bonham

 

 

 

Gordon "Snowy" Loversidge Bonham served with 243 Squadron in Singapore during the initial Japanese assault on the area. On 18 January 1942 during an engagement with Japanese aircraft one of his knees was shattered by a bullet. But he managed to land his badley damaged Brewster Buffalo at Kallang airfield and was evacuated to New Zealand. On 28 April 1944 he was awarded a DFC for his Far Eastern service.

On recovery he was posted to the UK to serve with Fighter Interception Unit (FIU) during the summer of 1944 flying Tempests. During July 1944 when 501 Squadron was reformed with FIU Tempest pilots he was one of those joining the unit. On 27 August he brought down four V-1s, three of them by tipping off balance with the wingtip of his Tempest after ammunition had been expended.

Late on 25 September 1944 Bonham scrambled in SD-L (EJ590) from Manston in bad weather, later radioed that he had a compass fault and was returning to base. Sadly he crashed in Essex and was killed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonham's victories in Tempest

Date of Claim Type Claimed Aircraft Serial No. Location of Claim Unit
26 August 1944 4 x V-1s  SD-D (EJ597)   501 Sqn
27 August 1944 V-1     501 Sqn

 

Bonham's previous victories

Date of Claim Type Claimed Aircraft flown. Location of Claim Unit
17 January 1944 Bomber Brewster Buffalo Singapore 243 Sqn
17 January 1944 Bomber damaged Brewster Buffalo Singapore 243 Sqn

 

 

 

Sources:
Aces High Vol 2 by Christopher Shores
The Typhoon and Tempest Story by Chris Thomas & Christopher Shores
V1 Flying Bomb Aces by Andrew Thomas

 



Latest updates:

Tempest Mk.II MW376

30 April 2023
Bruce Hoffman visited KF Centre and MW376. Three photos, video clip and a short report.

Read more

Tempest Mk. II MW763

19 April 2023
First proper engine run of Hawker Tempest II G-TEMT’s mighty Bristol Centaurus 6 engine.

Read more

Latest magazine

14 April 2023
Aeroplane Magazine April 2023: How Hawker’s legendary Typhoon and Tempest could have been Griffon-powered.

Read more

Tempest Mk.II MW758

28 Feb 2023
MW758 has moved to a new location, the South Wales Aviation Museum at St Athan.

Read more