History - stranger than fiction

The obituary of John C. Freeborn, 90 years old.


Mr. Freeborn was an RAF pilot in WWII. On September 6, 1939 he was alerted to incoming German bombers and launched his counter-attack in his Spitfire. Shooting down the enemy, Mr. Freeborn landed expecting accolades, since this made him the first British pilot to record a kill in the war. Except the plane he shot down, killing the pilot, was itself British. The deceased pilot, Pilot Officer Montague Hulton-Harrop was therefore awarded the dubious honor of being the first RAF casualty of WWII. Mr. Freeborn was court-martialed, but acquitted due to a breakdown in communications when he was sent aloft to defend his country.

Mr. Freeborn went on to a stellar career as a fighter pilot, twice receiving Britain's Distinguished Flying Cross and claiming at least a dozen (legitimate) kills.

His first legitimate kill was when he shot down a German Messerschmitt 109. As Mr. Freeborn is quoted regarding this accomplishment "I rolled, went through some cloud, and came out behind him. I gave him a squirt or two, and down he went straight into the cottage of an old farmer who was out plowing his fields. And I can still see to this day the farmer standing there shaking his fist at me.".

You can't make this stuff up.