AN ILLUSTRIOUS HERO — The Hugh Pawson story

Aug 16

If you were to ask devotees of Second World War aviation history what the words Furious, Glorious, Indomitable, Courageous, Indefatigable, Formidable, Audacious, Illustrious, Implacable, Magnificent and finally Victorious meant to them, they would no doubt tell you that these were the names of some of the mightiest and most storied aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy during the Second World War, operating aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. They, of course, would be correct in saying this, but they would be missing the fact that all of these adjectives also describe in broad terms the character of the men who flew fighter and attack aircraft from the pitching decks of these very same Royal Navy carriers – young men, barely out of their teens, who dropped what they were doing in their hometowns and rural farms and took up arms to fight back abject tyranny on both sides of the globe. All of these adjectives can be prefixed to the names of men like Don Sheppard, Robert Gray, Bill Atkinson, Dickie Cork, Roy Baker-Falkner and Eugene Esmonde. They also accurately describe some aspects of the now-silenced spirit of Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve Lieutenant Donald Hugh “Moe” Pawson, a Fleet Air Arm Corsair pilot who was also one of us at Vintage Wings of Canada. To describe all of Hugh's strengths using the names of Royal Navy aircraft carriers would mean that there was an HMS Humble, HMS Soft Spoken, HMS Selfless or possibly an HMS Elegant. Of course, the metaphor cannot capture the complete man.

Our much-loved Hugh passed away on 28 January 2013 in his 90th year. Just one week before, Hugh came up from Mississauga, Ontario to attend our Vintage Wings of Canada Corsair Ground School and share his operational experiences with the Corsair pilots, members of Vintage Wings of Canada and Corsair aficionados. Sharp of mind and strong in character still, he climbed one last time up the towering side of his much-loved Corsair and sat down in the cockpit he knew all too well from a successful career as a Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot.

Hugh Pawson's passing gave us all a shock, for the last time we saw him, he was as strong and as bold and as happy as one could expect from a man entering his tenth decade on this planet. He was tall and elegant, quiet yet communicative. He was still adventurous – willing to travel three hundred miles to see us, willing to climb back into that old Chance Vought saddle again. Hugh shared stories without self-promoting. He told us of the difficulties and the risks, the joys and the camaraderie of life amongst naval aviators. One could see that the fates of Hugh's friends, the ones lost on operations or who met their deaths as POWs of the Japanese, weighed heavily on his heart, even seventy years after the war. He told his story not to place himself or anyone else upon a pedestal, but to demonstrate to the spirits of his missing comrades that they were not forgotten. He gave us the detail and the colour of existence on Illustrious – the smells, the sights, the sounds – the very fabric of it, not for adulation, but that it would be known by someone else and not forgotten. Hugh understood that most of his brethren were now gone, that many had failed to tell their stories and that without these stories the truth cannot be known. The true story must be captured and held in respect, nurtured, and shared. Hugh helped us with that mission.

Hugh, we will not let you down. Your input, your stories, your encouragement has fuelled us for many years to come. It is because of men like you that we now understand who we are and why we do what we do. We maintain airplanes, but we are not maintainers – we are knowledge keepers. We fly airplanes, but we are not pilots – we are role models. We record history, but we are not historians – we are storytellers. We acquire airplanes, but we are not warbird collectors – we are heritage re-patriaters. We fly living, breathing, vintage flying machines, but we are not warbird operators – we are stewards of a visual and functioning legacy of excellence and courage. We spend every waking moment at this purpose. Wherever our Corsair goes, she will carry a full load of fuel and your memory will be stowed in every available space, nook and cranny of that magnificent beast. You have passed the torch to men like Paul Kissmann, Rob Fleck, Francis Bélanger, Mike Potter and Pierre Lapprand. It is in good hands.

Just a week before his death, on 19 January 2013, Hugh Pawson and Paul Kissmann deliver a close-up inspection of the aircraft they both know so well at the Warbird U Corsair Ground School. Photo: Pierre Lapprand — **Just a week before his death, on 19 January 2013, Hugh Pawson and Paul Kissmann deliver a close-up inspection of the aircraft they both know so well at the Warbird U Corsair Ground School.** Photo: Pierre Lapprand

I asked Paul Kissmann, a Corsair pilot and our Chief Pilot, and Pierre Lapprand, historian, photographer and key Vintage Wings volunteer to put Hugh's legacy into a personal reflection. Here is what they said about Hugh:

Paul Kissmann writes: "When I think of Hugh, it is with a smile on my face. He was another of our understated veterans – one who, with great courage, sense of adventure, and love for his country, took up the call to arms as a fighter pilot in the Second World War – and you wouldn't think that upon meeting him. He was such an "awe shucks" kind of gentleman. His stories of flying in the Pacific theatre, getting his first Corsair carrier landing on "blue water operations" in – theatre because there was no time before that – with the entire flight deck looking on he was launched solo – and had only one dry option – figure out how to land back on ship – what courage!! His airfield attacks in Palembang in support of efforts to cripple the oil refineries in the area are stories of legend – strafing down so low, (with very little time, currency or recency on the aircraft) – that they had to pull up to go over anything – it seems you had to be crazy to fly as HIGH as 200 ft on those attacks – you were much more sane if flying below 100 ft – this took courage. He witnessed three of his leads getting shot down, as a wingman, two died in the subsequent crashes and one as a POW of the Japanese. He could still not speak easily of it when we last saw him during our Corsair Ground School. There is no doubt he came back a different man than the kid who went to war on behalf of his country. We were so fortunate that he made time to bring to life the stories of our Corsair. I am privileged to have flown it on his behalf, and that of our other distinguished Fleet Air Arm Corsair pilots like Don Sheppard and Robert Hampton Gray. Hugh is missed already, but not in our hearts and heads – he will find a place there always."

Pierre Lapprand writes: "The recent years in personal contact with Hugh represent so much for me – not only for us being together and sharing aviation events, but also for the gift of being able to stay in constant contact with him. Hugh was thoroughly modern, despite his age, comfortable with the internet and connecting via email. He remained intellectually active to the very end. An astronomy buff and interested in modern aviation, he was a brilliant man with a quick wit, a great sense of repartee, all tinged with good humour. This created interesting conversations that regularly provoked laughter and smiles. He made and maintained many friends at air shows. He was the kind of man people liked to be around. He often told me how Vintage Wings was a great organization, with its collection of aircraft and its great crew of volunteers. He always felt warmly welcomed when visiting us and told me more than once that Mike Potter should be honoured with the Order of Canada. Warm and powerful memories will remain in my heart for all my days. It was, and is still today, an incredible opportunity to get to know Hugh and call him my friend. He was a very humble man, a very nice man, a great man. Farewell Hugh, my friend. I miss you terribly."

The Career of Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve Lieutenant Donald Hugh “Moe” Pawson – in photos.

Of his early training days, Hugh Pawson explained to his children, in writing, how he got to become a Royal Navy fighter pilot, and his explanation confirms our research: “I entered the University of Toronto in the fall of '40. However, the war had started, so I applied for enlistment in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. I failed my first RCAF medical due to what the doc called a lazy muscle in my eye. He told me to take some eye exercises he prescribed and see him again in a few months, which I did and passed. After what seemed a long wait to a young aspiring pilot, I took a train to Dartmouth and sailed for the UK in the spring of 1942, when German U boats were having a field day in the North Atlantic.

After more waiting in the UK, I finally went before a board of RN captains who asked a lot of questions and finally accepted me as candidate for flying school. Then came ground school training at Gosport, near Portsmouth and a short stint in the North Sea on a target ship for torpedo pilots in training. Since all airfields in the UK were operational, flying training for the FAA was here at Kingston (at No. 31 Service Flying Training School) or in the USA. I was lucky to join the group training with the US Navy at Grosse Ile, Michigan and Pensacola in Florida. What a wonderful place to train! After getting my US Navy wings, we took operational training at Miami for 2-3 months before moving to Maine in New England to train on Wildcats and Corsairs prior to forming a Corsair squadron.”

A photograph taken during Pawson's early training days with the caption indicating it as taken at HMS St. Vincent in August of 1942. This photo must have been taken when these young men (Pawson on left and Fred Moore on the right… — A photograph taken during Pawson's early training days with the caption indicating it as taken at HMS *St.* *Vincent* in August of 1942. This photo must have been taken when these young men (Pawson on left and Fred Moore on the right) had just been issued new gear, for their flight boots, suits and gauntlets are in brand new condition. After crossing the Atlantic in 1942, Hugh had orders to join Pilots Training Course No. 39 at St. Vincent. Many young pilots-to-be couldn't wait to send home photographs of themselves in the heroic-looking gear of an airman. Although similar, this photo was taken at a different time than the following image as there are several differences to be noted – different bricks on the building in the background, goggles, and no Gosport speaking tube. Speaking of Gosport (pun intended) this photograph was taken at HMS *St. Vincent* which was a Fleet Air Arm shore establishment in Gosport, Hampshire, England at which pilots and observers of the Fleet Air Arm spent their first few weeks. *St. Vincent* was a training facility for officers of the Fleet Air Arm and an overflow for the Royal Navy barracks. A signal school was also established along with a torpedo training section. Photo via Pawson Family Archive

And now, on to 1830 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm and HMS Illustrious:

The following images will give you a glimpse of the aircraft carrier that would be Hugh's home for a year and the fighter training and operations aboard her. Illustrious was not the first ship of the Royal Navy to hold that name. There were four ships named Illustrious before her and one after her (also a carrier.)

Illustrious was built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, on the west coast of England, at a cost of £3,800,000. She was launched in 1939 and commissioned on 16 April 1940. She displaced 28,000 tons and carried up to 57 aircraft, including about 33 to 36 in her armoured hangar (depending on type.) She was nicknamed "Lusty" by the men who served in her.

Her first service station was in the Mediterranean Sea, protecting convoys and operating against the enemy in North Africa. On 11 November 1940 she became the first carrier in history to launch a major strike against an enemy fleet in a daring attack against the Italian fleet at Taranto. Twenty-one aircraft from Numbers 813, 815, 819, and 824 Squadrons based on Illustrious attacked the Italian fleet at night. The Italians were caught off guard, and one battleship was sunk and two were heavily damaged. The success of this attack was the inspiration for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor a year later.

Illustrious had two Corsair fighter squadrons on board during her deployment with the Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet and British Pacific Fleet – 1830 and 1833 Squadrons. Hugh's 1830 Squadron formed at Quonset Point, Rhode Island as a fighter squadron with 10 Corsair I aircraft in June 1943. In October 1943 the squadron embarked with 10 Corsair IIs on HMS Slinger for passage to Belfast and subsequently moved to Stretton. In December 1943 the squadron embarked on HMS Illustrious as part of the 15th Naval Fighter Wing, sailing in January 1944 to Ceylon for the Eastern Fleet. At the same time, Hugh Pawson was making his way round the world the other way to hook up with Illustrious in Ceylon.