Distinguished Flying Cross of Flight Lieutenant John Hunter Coghlan

John Coghlan was a successful fighter pilot during the early days of the Second World War and destroyed at least six German aircraft. The citation for his DFC, awarded during the Battle of Britain on 30 July 1940, stated ‘at all times he has shown the greatest initiative and courage …’.

Coghlan joined the RAF in January 1936 and, after war broke out, was assigned to No. 56 Squadron. During the Battle of France, the squadron operated from Lille during the day and returned to North Weald in Essex at night. In July 1940, Coghlan’s Hurricane was damaged by fire from a Messerschmitt Bf 109 in an encounter over the English Channel. On the evening of 17 August, on a flight to land an agent in France, his aircraft went missing and his body was later recovered in Boulogne. He was 25 years old.