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Flight Lieutenant Archibald Angus MCINTYRE (123214)
222 (Natal) Squadron Royal Air Force Date of birth: 27th October 1922 Date of death: 28th February 1945 Killed in action aged 22 Buried at Ermelo (Nunspeet) New General Cemetery Plot 2 Grave 391
Archibald Angus McIntyre was born at Bankipore, Bihar State, India on the 27th of October 1922 the son of Archibald Norman McIntyre, an engineer, and Stella Mary (nee Sealy) McIntyre, of Littlehampton in Sussex. He was educated at Lancing College where he was in Sandersons House from September 1936 to July 1940. He was a member of the Cricket XI in 1939 and 1940, the Football XI in 1939 and 1940 and a member of the Squash Team in 1940. He was a member of the Boxing Team in 1937 and 1938 and was a member of the Officer Training Corps where he achieved Certificate A. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and was posted for pilot training to Arizona in the United States, firstly at Thunderbird Field at Glendale and at Falcon Field at Mesa from June 1941. On completion of his training he was posted to 54 Squadron which operated Spitfires and was based in Australia where they flew operations against Japanese air attacks. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 13th of May 1942 and was promoted to Flying Officer on the 13th of May 1943. In mid 1943 he returned, by way of the United States, to the UK where he joined 501 Squadron, flying Spitfires on bomber escort missions as well as flying fighter sweeps over France. He converted to the Tempest aircraft and joined 222 Squadron based at RAF Predannack in Cornwall. On the 8th of June 1944, 222 Squadron took off at 6.50pm for a patrol in the area of the Normandy beachhead to protect the Allied landings there. During the patrol they spotted around ten enemy fighters at 8.15pm while they were midway between Pont D'Evegue and Lisieux and were flying at between 5,000 and 6,000 feet. During the engagement which followed Archibald McIntyre, who was flying Spitfire Mk IX LF, claimed to have shared in damaging one Me 109 fighter. On his return to base at 9.15pm he filed the following report of the action: - "I was Red 4 flying at 5,000 ft. towards Cabourg from inland when I saw 10 + Me 109 fighter bombers break cloud in formation. I reported these a/c at 3 o'clock and Red Section climbed up behind them. I was on the inland side of the formation which, dodging in and out of cloud, flew towards, and bombed the vicinity of Caen. I carried out line astern to 20 degree attacks on one of these Me 109's from this point to a position 30-40 miles inland, all at cloud base, firing several bursts of 3-5 seconds at a range between 1,000 and 800 yards and at a speed up to 350 m.p.h. I saw 3 to 4 strikes on the port main plane, then I broke away having finished my ammunition. I then saw another Spitfire F/Lt. R.F. Bass close in on the e/a scoring strikes. I claim 1 Me 109 fighter bomber damaged (shared)." He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on the 18th of November 1944 and the squadron moved to France in February 1945. Archibald McIntyre took off from Gilze-Rijen at 8.20am on the 24th of February 1945 as Yellow 3 in Tempest Mk V NV860 ZD- as one of eight aircraft from his Squadron for an offensive sweep of the Twente--Rheine area on a routing of Hengelo, Rheine, Osnabruck, Munster and back to base. As they approached the airfield at Planlunne at 7,000 feet they spotted a Focke Wulf 190 just touching down as well as eight others lined up on the southern part of the airfield with their engines running. One other Focke Wulf was seen taxiing on the northern perimeter. Wing Commander Mason attacked the landing aircraft and it swerved off the runway and crashed into some trees. Flying Officer Turvey attacked a second aircraft which tipped into a ditch. Archibald McIntyre attacked from the west and made two attacks on the next three aircraft, setting two on fire and damaging another. He landed safely back at base at 9.30am. The Squadron claimed two aircraft as destroyed with a further three more as probably destroyed and three damaged during their attack, all of which were Focke Wulf 190s. Archibald McIntyre took off from Gilze-Rijen at 1.05pm on the 28th of February 1945 in Tempest Mk V NV680 ZD- for an armed reconnaissance over Holland with another aircraft from the Squadron which was flown by Flight Sergeant J.A. Lamirande. The Squadron was operating in pairs that day seeking targets of opportunity in the area of Zwolle where the weather was clear. They took off at half hourly intervals throughout the late morning and early afternoon. A few motor vehicles were attacked and destroyed and a locomotive was destroyed near Munster by Flying Officer J.D. Thorogood. Archibald McIntyre and his wing man attacked the railway at Nunspeet when his aircraft was hit by anti aircraft fire some ten miles to the north east of Nijmegen. The port jet tank caught fire and the aircraft crashed into a field on the Kienschulpenweg at Nunspeet 2.30pm. Flight Sergeant Lamirande landed safely at 2.40pm. The commander of the Nunspeetse police, Chief Guard Karst Doeven, noted in an official report: -

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