W/O E. Mayne
On 11th August 1940, Warrant Officer Ernie Mayne, while part of a sweep over the French coast, made a tight turn and blacked out. His Spitfire fell through the air from 24,000 feet to about 4,000 feet. Ernie recovered in time to save himself from crashing into the sea. After his return, he was taken to hospital as a result of falling almost four miles through the sky.
Ernie was 40 years old, probably the only R.F.C. veteran to fly a Spitfire in the Battle. But his ears had suffered damage on the fall and that was the NCO’s last operational sortie.