Noble by name and nature - Battle Of Britain fighter pilot remembered

AS THE 70th anniversary of the Battle Of Britain is marked, the all-too- brief heroic actions of one Retford Second World War fighter pilot have been remembered.

Dennis Noble, 20, was with 43 Squadron based at Tangmere in West Sussex for less than a month in August 1940 before he was shot down and killed.

His Hawker Hurricane fighter – with Sgt Noble still in the cockpit – remained in the ground where it crashed in Hove for more than 50 years before experts dug it out in the mid-1990s.

Today, the former Tangmere base is the home of a military aviation museum. Its curator, David Coxon, spoke to the Retford Times this week about Sgt Noble.

"Dennis Noble was working in a London radio shop and serving with the Auxiliary Air Force when war broke after moving down from Retford and he was called up immediately to fly Hurricanes," explained Mr Coxon.

"His first posting was to the very famous 43 Squadron – which lost a lot of pilots – based here at Tangmere.

"I think we can assume he would have been very lonely as the pilots didn't want to get to know each other because of the high possibility of being killed."

Tangmere was a regular target for German bombers and the base was heavily bombarded on August 16.

According to log books, Sgt Noble flew out in a bid to quell a seemingly relentless assault and managed to shoot down a Stuka dive bomber, although this could not be verified.

He survived the two-wave attack, but his days were numbered.

On August 30, Sgt Noble flew out again and was killed in his cockpit by a Messerschmitt fighter plane during a dogfight over Brighton.

The Hawker Hurricane crashed in Hove and, as was common at the time, the crater was unceremoniously filled in.

Mr Coxon said some or none of Sgt Noble's remains were initially brought back up to Retford for reburial, but it was not until 55 years later the plane was unearthed.

In the presence of a coroner, the plane was dug out and what remained of it was partially restored to its former glory. It is now on display at Tangmere, along with many poignant personal items of Sgt Noble.

His remains were eventually reburied in Retford shortly after his plane was dug out.

And the site where the crash happened is now a block of flats, appropriately named Noble Court.

The Battle Of Britain lasted from July to October, 1940 and was a key victory over the Nazis, eventually allowing the liberation of Western Europe to be launched which ultimately clinched the war for the Allies.