![](http://tsbd.co.uk/beyondthesprue/Misc/Tin%20hat%20attack.jpg)
The Supermarine Spirit entered service in July of 1944 but deployment remained UK based until after the liberation of Belgium. One of the first squadrons to move to the continent in 1945 was No. 127 squadron based at Tangmere and lead by S/L Peter “Woof” Barker.
Unfortunately Barker had come down with a severe bout of gastroenteritis the day before his Squadron moved to Grimbergen in mid-February. In Barkers absence 127 was under the temporary command of F/L Paul Dugget* who unfortunately was posted missing just two days later whilst on a flight test. There were no reports of enemy aircraft activity or any ground to air engagements during Duggets flight time that day.
Barker was declared fit to resume flying duties on the day that Dugget was lost and made the trip to Grimbergen the day after. In his 1968 autobiography he recounted the story as follows:
Being based at Tangmere meant a quick trip up the coast and out to sea following the endless columns of supply shipping going to and from Antwerp. Grimbergen is just North of Brussels and easy to find or so I thought but the landscape was not what I remembered from my pre-war flying days. The cloud cover was heavier than forecasted too and so I began to let down through the cloud so I could pick up the Willebroek Canal.
I am convinced that cloud cover saved my life that day as I was too occupied in picking up my landmark and not exercising enough caution. Thankfully I was looking hard through the cloud and my attention was caught by a circular shadow skimming the cloud tops at a high speed. Instinctual combat experience took over and I chopped the lift gens momentarily while quickly reversing direction. Just as I began the turn tracer appeared above me and to my right was a machine of a design I had never seen before. The damn thing went right over me and I tensed expecting a down draught from its lift generators but there was none. It was circular and I remember thinking it looked like an army tin hat - a well-armed tin hat, very fast and carrying German insignia in white as had become common on Luftwaffe aircraft.
The Spirit was no slow coach but by the time I got round again the “tin hat” was nowhere to be seen. I climbed hard to get a wider view of the area I assumed the craft must be in but saw nothing other than a hint of a contrail very much higher than myself seemingly going in a northerly direction. At the time I just assumed the contrail must have been a high level allied reconnaissance aircraft, maybe even a PR Spirit momentarily passing through colder air. After all, I was flying what was supposed to be the fastest fighter aircraft in the world so there was no way that unidentified enemy machine had got that high and far since the encounter.
I was later questioned by RAF intelligence personnel and later still by a USAAF officer who was insistent that it was just a figment of my imagination. After all, I had not been well, I was anxious to confirm my location and the encounter was brief. I was quite indignant about it at the time saying that I realised that stating that I was attacked by a tin hat didn’t help my case but whatever it was it was very real and it was shooting at me. I had after all spent a lot of time in hostile skies trying to stay alive since 1940 and I had got really good at identifying the things that wanted to kill me.
It was not too long after that the war was finally over but I did hear reports of other encounters, the most famous one being when a small squad of American soldiers said they encountered three strange floating craft in the Ardennes forest back In January* during the last great German offensive of the war. I wonder if they were the same sort of craft but of course I am Just supposing.
*
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*A photograph of Duggets Supermarine Spirit, C-Charlie, has recently been recovered along with various other bits and pieces of memorabilia attached to 127 squadron.
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