Paddy Finucane
| Brendan Eamon Fergus Finucane | |
|---|---|
Brendan Finucane in his Spitfire with the Shamrock motif on the fuselage.
|
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| Nickname(s) | Paddy |
| Born |
16 October 1920 Rathmines, County Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 15 July 1942 (aged 21) English Channel |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1938–1942 |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Service number | 41276 |
| Unit |
No. 65 Squadron RAF No. 452 Squadron RAAF |
| Commands held |
Hornchurch Wing No. 602 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross & Two Bars |
Wing Commander Brendan Eamonn Fergus Finucane, DSO, DFC & Two Bars (16 October 1920 – 15 July 1942), known as Paddy Finucane amongst his colleagues, was a Second World War Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace—defined as an aviator credited with five or more enemy aircraft destroyed in aerial combat.
Finucane was credited with 28 aerial victories, five probably destroyed, six shared destroyed, one shared probable victory, and eight damaged. Included in his total were 23 Messerschmitt Bf 109s, four Focke-Wulf Fw 190s and one Messerschmitt Bf 110. Official records differ over the exact total. After the war, two of Finucane's victories that were credited as probables had, in fact, been destroyed, but were not officially included. His total victory count could be as high as 32. Some sources credit him this figure.
Born into a Catholic family in Ireland of Irish and English heritage, Finucane grew up during the "early troubles" and the Irish Civil War. In 1936, the family moved to England, where he developed an interest in aviation. Keen to fly, Finucane applied to join the RAF and in August 1938, was accepted for flight training as a pilot. After a shaky training career, in which he crash-landed on one occasion, he received news that he had completed flight training. In June–July 1940, he began conversion training on the Supermarine Spitfire. On 13 July, Finucane was posted to No. 65 Squadron at RAF Hornchurch.
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