Ronald Walter Wallens (1 February 1916 – 13 November 1995) was a British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

officer, who flew during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

and as such is one of "

The Few The Few were the airmen of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the aviators of the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy (RN) who fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The term comes from Winston Churchill's phrase " Never, in the field of human c ...

Early life

Wallens was educated at

Worksop College Worksop College (formerly St Cuthbert's College) is a British co-educational private school for both boarding and day pupils aged 11 to 18, in Worksop. It sits at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, England. Founded by N ...

Royal Air Force

Wallens joined the Royal Air Force on a short service commission in 1937. He joined his first squadron No. 41 Squadron RAF at

RAF Catterick Royal Air Force Catterick or RAF Catterick is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, sector station located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England. It is located alongside the A6055 road on the outskirts of Catter ...

on 26 March 1938. From August to October 1938 he undertook further flying training before rejoining the squadron. He was granted the rank of

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

in October 1939 and

Flying Officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

in July 1940.

Battle of Britain

41 Sqn joined the

in August 1940. On 8 August Wallens claimed 2 Bf 109s destroyed, and one shared destroyed. He shared a Ju 88 on 11 August. On 5 September 1940 Wallens was shot down by a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

JG 54 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 (JG 54) ''Grünherz'' was a Luftwaffe fighter wing that was founded in late 1936 and operated from 1939, the entire length of the Second World War. It later existed under the reformed Luftwaffe from 1947 to 1991 as BG54/B54 ...

and seriously

wounded in action Wounded in action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

over the Thames Estuary. Wallens's flight was ordered to make a head-on attack on a large formation of Dornier 17 bombers with 50 plus Bf 109 escorts over Gravesend. Wallens considered the head-on assault "a desperate manoeuvre that could age one very prematurely". Within seconds 'B' Flight's six Spitfires were overwhelmed. Two collided and were lost; another was shot up with the pilot bailing out. Wallens broke away. Seeing two Bf 109's below him he dived and destroyed one. He was lining up the second in his sights when he was attacked from above:

The din was indescribable as the Bf 109's cannon and machine-gun fire tore great chunks out of my wings and blasted the cockpit.

With his leg shattered by a shell, Wallens tried to bail out but his canopy had jammed. He crash-landed four miles from his base at Hornchurch, smashing through a fence and hurdling a ditch before coming to rest in a hayfield. He found that one bullet had removed his helmet's right radio earphone and another the face from his wristwatch. Wallens had five confirmed kills to his credit before he was shot down. Wallens was hospitalised until April 1941. During his prolonged convalescence at the RAF Rehabilitation Unit, Torquay, Wallens was much assisted by

Dan Maskell Daniel Maskell (11 April 1908 – 10 December 1992) was an English tennis professional who later became a radio and television commentator on the game. He was described as the BBC's "voice of tennis", and the "voice of Wimbledon". Early life ...

, later known as a BBC tennis commentator, who ran the gymnasium. Wallens returned to 41 Squadron in April 1943 but ordered to undertake further convalescence; he was posted on promotion to Flight Lieutenant in July 1943 to No 1 Aircraft Delivery Flight at

RAF Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of ...

, a squadron he went on to command in 1943.

Air Sea Rescue

Wallens was classified "Unfit for operational flying" in 1943 he was posted to No. 277 Air Sea Rescue Squadron at

RAF Hawkinge Royal Air Force Hawkinge or more simply RAF Hawkinge is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Ashford, north of Folkestone, Kent and west of Dover, Kent, England. The airfield was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Roya ...

, Kent. He assumed command of the squadron in 1944. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in July 1944. The citation read:

In the early phases of the war, Squadron Leader Wallens took part in a large number of sorties during which he destroyed at least 4 enemy aircraft. In combat in September, 1940, he was wounded in the leg by a cannon shell. Since his return to operational duties he has undertaken many air/sea rescue sorties and has been responsible for saving a number of personnel from the sea. He has set a splendid example of gallantry and devotion to duty.

In October 1946, Wallens transferred to the Administrative and Special Duties Branch. He left the RAF in 1949.

Post war

After the war he worked in the motor trade and ran pubs and hotels. In 1990, Wallens published his autobiography ''Flying Made My Arms Ache''. It contains an evocative account of the Battle of Britain.

(The day) started off well, but was to end in a terrible shambles. I was petrified but had to grin, six Spitfires against so many 109’s was a bloody tall order... we were literally flying above the backs of the Jerry bombers... I had been petrified earlier but now I was s******* blue lights at the sight of so many swastikas and black crosses... wishing to hell the CO would call it off and come back tomorrow.

Wallens married Violet Bate in 1961 and their daughter Karen was born that year. He died at

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, in November 1995, at the age of 79.

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallens, Ronald People educated at Worksop College Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force squadron leaders The Few 1916 births 1995 deaths Royal Air Force pilots of World War II