Combat Report of No. 3 Squadron for 25 July 1940

Combat reports were official documents detailing operational encounters with enemy aircraft. They convey both the mental strain of operations and the sense of excitement when victory claims were made.

This combat report provides details of an engagement involving the Red Section of A Flight of No. 3 Squadron on 25 July 1940. The two pilots referred to specifically on this combat report are Flight Lieutenant Denys Allan Evan Jones and Pilot Officer John Lonsdale. Jones was later posted to No. 501 Squadron and then took up a role as a flight instructor, carrying on with this role in other units. He was employed as a test pilot by Portsmouth Aviation in January 1943 and stayed with the company until after the war. Lonsdale by contrast later became commander of "A" flight of 3 Squadron on the 21 October 1940. Tragically, Lonsdale died in a mid-air collision with another RAF pilot a couple of years later on 26 November 1942 and he was still serving with No. 3 Squadron at the time.