John Mungo-Park
Encyclopedia
John Colin Mungo-Park was a World War II
Royal Air Force
(RAF) pilot and ace
squadron leader
. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
in 1940, and again posthumously in 1941. Both DFCs cited "courage".
on the Wirral
. His sister Linda had been in 1913 and brother Geoffrey born in 1915.
Mungo-Park's father, Colin, had joined the army at the start of the First World War as a private with the 7th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment
. On 24 October 1918, just seven months after his son's birth, Lance Corporal
Colin Park was killed in action
during the Hundred Days Offensive
. He is buried in the Valenciennes (St Roch) Military Cemetery in France.
John Mungo-Park was educated as a boarder
at Liverpool College where he was a successful athlete and sportsman. 'Mungo' had been a family forename for many generations, and he used the surname Mungo-Park from his schooldays onward.
The family moved to Bolton
in 1934, where a neighbour had a pilot's license and keen interest in aviation. He and Mungo-Park became firm friends, and it was here that the passion for flying was born.
on a short service commission in June 1937 and was made acting Pilot Officer
on 9 August. He was confirmed as a Pilot Officer on 31 May 1938 and was posted to the Anti Aircraft Co-operation Unit of the Fleet Air Arm
at Lee on Solent
and then in August 1938 to HMS Argus
flying Fairey Swordfish
.
The day after war was declared, 4 September 1939, Mungo-Park transferred to 74 Squadron
flying Spitfires
from RAF Hornchurch
, commanded by Sailor Malan. He was promoted to Flying Officer
31 December 1939.
On 24 May 1940, while 74 Sqn were providing cover for the British retreat from France and the Dunkirk evacuation, Mungo-Park was wounded and his Spitfire damaged during an engagement with a Henschel Hs 126
but he managed to recross the Channel and land at RAF Rochford.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
on 15 November 1940. The citation said:
Now recognised as one of the cream of the Allied fighter pilots, he was one of the fraction of The Few
selected by Fighter Command to have a portrait drawn by Cuthbert Orde
, sitting for it in December 1940.
On 30 November he and Flt Lt H M Stephen of 74 Squadron jointly claimed a JG 53 Bf 109 that was deemed the 600th victory claimed by Squadrons flying from RAF Biggin Hill.
Exactly a year since his last promotion, on 31 December 1940, he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant
On 10 March 1941 Sailor Malan was promoted, and Mungo-Park became acting Squadron Leader
.
On 16 June 1941 while on a sweep over the Channel he shot down two Messerschmitt Bf 109s
, but in the fight his plane was damaged. He turned for home but his engine seized as he crossed the coast. Nonetheless, Mungo-Park managed to stay airborne, gliding his Spitfire back to RAF Hawkinge
. For this display of skill, as well as his continued leadership and growing tally of kills, he was told he was to receive a bar
to his Distinguished Flying Cross.
On the evening of 27 June 1941, flying Spitfire X4668, Mungo-Park was part of an escort for a bombing raid over northern France. They were attacked by two formations of Bf 109s, led by Rolf Pingel
of I./JG 26 (who had been spared by Bob Doe
during the Battle of Britain) and Wilhelm Balthasar
of JG 2.
He was shot down and killed when his plane crashed just north of Dunkirk, a couple of miles over the Belgian border. He is buried in Adinkerke Military Cemetery, about 60 miles north of his father. In a twist of fate, Wilhelm Balthasar died in an air crash less than a week later and was buried in a Flanders
cemetery alongside his father who had been killed in the First World War.
Mungo-Park's second DFC was awarded posthumously on 11 July 1941 with the citation:
Mungo-Park had claimed 11 aircraft destroyed ( and 2shared), 5 'probables, and 4 damaged.
Mungo Park Way in Orpington
, Kent
was named after John Mungo-Park. Other roads on the same estate are named after pilots in the Battle of Britain including Finucane Drive (Paddy Finucane
), Beamish Road (Ronald Beamish) & Nicholson Road (Eric James Brindley Nicolson|James Nicholson]].
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) pilot and ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
squadron leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
in 1940, and again posthumously in 1941. Both DFCs cited "courage".
Background and early life
He was born John Colin Park the second son and third child of Colin Archibald Mungo Park and Marion (née Haswell) Park on 25 March 1918 in WallaseyWallasey
Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...
on the Wirral
Wirral
Wirral may refer to:* Wirral Peninsula, a peninsula in the northwest of England, between the rivers Dee and Mersey* Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, occupying the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula...
. His sister Linda had been in 1913 and brother Geoffrey born in 1915.
Mungo-Park's father, Colin, had joined the army at the start of the First World War as a private with the 7th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment
Royal Sussex Regiment
The Royal Sussex Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed as part of the Childers reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th Regiment of Foot and the 107th Regiment of Foot...
. On 24 October 1918, just seven months after his son's birth, Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organizations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer, usually equivalent to the NATO Rank Grade OR-3.- Etymology :The presumed...
Colin Park was killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
during the Hundred Days Offensive
Hundred Days Offensive
The Hundred Days Offensive was the final period of the First World War, during which the Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the Western Front from 8 August to 11 November 1918, beginning with the Battle of Amiens. The offensive forced the German armies to retreat...
. He is buried in the Valenciennes (St Roch) Military Cemetery in France.
John Mungo-Park was educated as a boarder
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
at Liverpool College where he was a successful athlete and sportsman. 'Mungo' had been a family forename for many generations, and he used the surname Mungo-Park from his schooldays onward.
The family moved to Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
in 1934, where a neighbour had a pilot's license and keen interest in aviation. He and Mungo-Park became firm friends, and it was here that the passion for flying was born.
Royal Air Force
Mungo-Park joined the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
on a short service commission in June 1937 and was made acting Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
on 9 August. He was confirmed as a Pilot Officer on 31 May 1938 and was posted to the Anti Aircraft Co-operation Unit of the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
at Lee on Solent
Lee-on-the-Solent
Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a small seaside town in Hampshire, England about five miles west of Portsmouth. The town is located on the coast of the Solent and forms part of the borough of Gosport...
and then in August 1938 to HMS Argus
HMS Argus
Nine ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Argus, after Argus, the hundred-eyed giant of mythology: was a 10-gun sloop, originally a French privateer, captured in 1799 and broken up in 1811....
flying Fairey Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
.
The day after war was declared, 4 September 1939, Mungo-Park transferred to 74 Squadron
No. 74 Squadron RAF
No. 74 Squadron RAF, also known as a "Tiger Squadron" from its tiger head motif, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It operated fighter aircraft from 1917 to the 1990s.-First World War:...
flying Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
from RAF Hornchurch
RAF Hornchurch
RAF Hornchurch was an airfield in the south of Hornchurch in what is now the London Borough of Havering. Known as Sutton's Farm during the First World War, it occupied of the farm of the same name and was situated east north-east of Charing Cross...
, commanded by Sailor Malan. He was promoted to Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
31 December 1939.
On 24 May 1940, while 74 Sqn were providing cover for the British retreat from France and the Dunkirk evacuation, Mungo-Park was wounded and his Spitfire damaged during an engagement with a Henschel Hs 126
Henschel Hs 126
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6....
but he managed to recross the Channel and land at RAF Rochford.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
on 15 November 1940. The citation said:
Acting Flight Lieutenant John Colin MUNGO-PARK (40008), No. 74 Squadron.
In October, 1940, this officer was on patrol with his squadron at 30,000 feet when a formation of enemy aircraft were sighted. Flight Lieutenant Mungo-Park attacked a Messerschmitt 109 but had to break off the engagement as his windscreen became iced up. He cleaned this and again attacked the enemy aircraft and caused it to crash into the sea. He has personally destroyed eight hostile aircraft and has at all times displayed great courage and coolness in action.
Now recognised as one of the cream of the Allied fighter pilots, he was one of the fraction of The Few
The Few
The Few is a term used to describe the Allied airmen of the Royal Air Force who fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. It comes from Winston Churchill's phrase "Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few"....
selected by Fighter Command to have a portrait drawn by Cuthbert Orde
Cuthbert Orde
Captain Cuthbert Julian Orde was an artist and First World War pilot. He is best known for his war art, especially his portraits of Allied Battle of Britain pilots.-Family background:...
, sitting for it in December 1940.
On 30 November he and Flt Lt H M Stephen of 74 Squadron jointly claimed a JG 53 Bf 109 that was deemed the 600th victory claimed by Squadrons flying from RAF Biggin Hill.
Exactly a year since his last promotion, on 31 December 1940, he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
On 10 March 1941 Sailor Malan was promoted, and Mungo-Park became acting Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
.
On 16 June 1941 while on a sweep over the Channel he shot down two Messerschmitt Bf 109s
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
, but in the fight his plane was damaged. He turned for home but his engine seized as he crossed the coast. Nonetheless, Mungo-Park managed to stay airborne, gliding his Spitfire back to RAF Hawkinge
RAF Hawkinge
RAF Hawkinge was an airfield in Kent, near to the south coast and the closest airfield to the French coast.It took part in the Battle of Britain and it was home to No. 79 Squadron RAF. After the war, the station hosted the Home Command Gliding Centre, and is fondly remembered by many Air Cadets as...
. For this display of skill, as well as his continued leadership and growing tally of kills, he was told he was to receive a bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
to his Distinguished Flying Cross.
On the evening of 27 June 1941, flying Spitfire X4668, Mungo-Park was part of an escort for a bombing raid over northern France. They were attacked by two formations of Bf 109s, led by Rolf Pingel
Rolf Pingel
Rolf Pingel was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.Pingel was born 1 October 1913 in Kiel...
of I./JG 26 (who had been spared by Bob Doe
Bob Doe
Wing Commander Robert Francis Thomas "Bob" Doe DSO, DFC & Bar was a flying ace of the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War, and served with honour with the Indian Air Force during the Burma campaign.-Early life:Robert Francis Thomas Doe was born in Reigate, Surrey,...
during the Battle of Britain) and Wilhelm Balthasar
Wilhelm Balthasar
Major Wilhelm Balthasar was a German World War II Luftwaffe flying ace, commander of Jagdgeschwader 2 and a winner of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery...
of JG 2.
He was shot down and killed when his plane crashed just north of Dunkirk, a couple of miles over the Belgian border. He is buried in Adinkerke Military Cemetery, about 60 miles north of his father. In a twist of fate, Wilhelm Balthasar died in an air crash less than a week later and was buried in a Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
cemetery alongside his father who had been killed in the First World War.
Mungo-Park's second DFC was awarded posthumously on 11 July 1941 with the citation:
Acting Squadron Leader John Colin MUNGO-PARK, D.F.C. (40008), No. 74 Squadron.
(Since reported missing.)
This officer has performed excellent work in his many engagements against the enemy and has destroyed at least twelve of their aircraft. In June, 1941, he was attacked by six Messerschmitt 109's while over the French coast. He succeeded in shooting down two of these and, although his own aircraft was badly damaged, Squadron Leader Mungo-Park flew back to this country making a skilful forced landing. His courage and leadership have contributed materially to the successes achieved by his squadron.
Mungo-Park had claimed 11 aircraft destroyed ( and 2shared), 5 'probables, and 4 damaged.
Memorials
Thanks to the efforts of Belgian Johny Recour, who had witnessed Mungo-Park's crash as a boy, a memorial service was held at on 22 May 2006.Mungo Park Way in Orpington
Orpington
Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
was named after John Mungo-Park. Other roads on the same estate are named after pilots in the Battle of Britain including Finucane Drive (Paddy Finucane
Paddy Finucane
Wing Commander Brendan Eamonn Fergus Finucane DSO, DFC & Two Bars , known as Paddy Finucane, was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot...
), Beamish Road (Ronald Beamish) & Nicholson Road (Eric James Brindley Nicolson|James Nicholson]].
External links
- Service of Remembrance: Squadron Leader John Colin Mungo Park DFC*, 74 Squadron Association
- AIRMEN'S STORIES - Fl/Lt J. C. Mungo-Park Battle of Britain Historical Scoiety
- The Airmen's Stories - F/Lt. J C Mungo-Park, Battle of Britain London Monument site
- Wilhelm Balthasar, Aces of the Luftwaffe
- Rolf Pingel, Aces of the Luftwaffe