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Billy Drake flew in many theatres with various sqn and many different aircraft!. He started with no 1 sqn in France in 1940 on Hurricanes then with 421 and 91 sqn on Spitfires, then over to West Africa with 112 Shark Squadron on Kitty hawks. By the end of 1942 he was posted to Malta, then back to the UK he led a Typhoon Wing flying sorties over the French coast ready for the Invasion. Billy once commented on what it was like to fly in a dogfight - he replied 'It was a mixture of wild excitement as I worked out how to get into firing range as quickly as possible, coupled with this that my number two was watching my backside as the enemy was always there waiting for his chance, there were so many emotions flying around in your head, speed of thought quick reactions and the ability to assess situations rapidly. A natural gift of leadership together with combat experience were the qualities looked for, remember though you are talking about 18 - 20 year olds'. After the War Billy was despatched to the USA, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland. He retired from the RAF in 1963. Billy Drake scored 25 victories during world War II.
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