Hero pilot who saved the palace dies at 90
Published: June 29, 2005
A World War II hero who saved Buckingham Palace by ramming his Hurricane fighter into an enemy bomber has died aged 90.
Sergeant Ray Holmes became a national celebrity after he made the dramatic manoeuvre in a desperate attempt to down the fast-approaching enemy bomber when his ammunition ran out. His daring act became one of the most celebrated events of the Battle of Britain.
The Queen offered her condolences on hearing of his death, which followed a two-year battle with cancer.
Sgt Holmes, from the Wirral, Merseyside, flew with 504 Squadron, based at Hendon, on interception missions against German bombers attacking London.
In the middle of a dogfight on 15 September, 1940, the windscreen of his plane was covered with oil, and by the time it cleared he was alone in the sky apart from a single German bomber heading straight for the palace.
With his ammunition gone, and at a closing speed of more than 400mph, he flew straight at the Dornier, slicing off the German aircraft’s tail with the wing of his own plane. The impact sent the German aircraft hurtling to earth with such force that almost the entire aircraft was embedded in the ground.
Sgt Holmes’s Hurricane was also badly damaged, going into a dive that forced him to bale out before it crashed into the forecourt of Victoria Station. Remarkably, no members of the public were injured.
Speaking of the event, Sgt Holmes once said: “There was no time to weigh up the situation. His aeroplane looked so flimsy, I didn’t think of it as solid and substantial. I just went on and hit it for six. I thought my aircraft would cut right through it, not allowing for the fact that his plane was as strong as mine.”
Sgt Holmes died yesterday morning at Hoylake Cottage Hospital in the Wirral. His wife, Anne, 61, described her husband as “awe-inspiring” and said he would be sadly missed.
Wing Commander Trevor Field, an RAF spokesman, described the pilot’s amazing escape after the incident. “Having contributed to the successful defence of the palace and the downing of the enemy, he baled out and landed on a roof,” he said. “Sliding down the roof, he thought he was about to break his back when his parachute caught on the chimney and he stopped about a foot from the ground, hanging over a rubbish bin.”
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