Henry Maurice Mason was born on 30 September 1921 in Waipawa, New Zealand.
He joined No. 486 Sqn from OTU as a Flying Officer in January 1944. On 27 April he did a wheels-up landing at Castle Camps in SA-H (JN792) after engine failure. Mason was ok but JN792 was scrapped. Then there was a summer of actions against V-1s.
He was briefly posted to No. 197 Sqn on Typhoons before becoming a commanding officer of No. 183 Sqn in January 1945. He then received further rapid promotion in February, being appointed Wing Leader of 135 Wing, back on Tempests. He was awarded a DFC, gazetted on 14 September 1945.
Returning to New Zealand after the war, unable to settle back into his previous life as a mechanic, and returned to the UK to join the RAF. On 19 July 1948, returning from France in a Vampire after taking part in the Bastille Day celebrations, he and his aircraft disappeared and he was listed as missing, believed killed in a flying accident.
Mason's victories in Tempest
| Date of Claim | Type Claimed | Aircraft Serial No. | Location of Claim | Unit | Note |
| 4 July 1944 | V-1 | SA-E (JN805) | S Rye | 486 Sqn | |
| 4 July 1944 | 1/2 x V-1 | SA-M (JN809) | S Hastings | 486 Sqn | |
| 7 July 1944 | V-1 | SA-I (JN732) | SW West Maling | 486 Sqn | |
| 13 July 1944 | V-1 | SA-I (JN732) | Tenterden | 486 Sqn | |
| 13 July 1944 | V-1 | SA-I (JN732) | Bexhill | 486 Sqn | |
| 14 July 1944 | 1/2 x V-1 | SA-I (JN732) | Bexhill | 486 Sqn | |
| 5 Aug 1944 | V-1 | SA-L (JN801) | 7-8m S Newchurch | 486 Sqn | |
| 24 Feb 1945 | Fw190 | NV933 | OG Plantlünne | 135Wg | Damaged |
| 11 April 1945 | E/A | nk | Fassburg | 135Wg |
Sources:
Aces High Vol. 2 by Christopher Shores
The Typhoon and Tempest Story by Christopher Shores and Chris Thomas
2nd TAF Vol. 3 by Christopher Shores and Chris Thomas
