Nicky Barr
Encyclopedia
Andrew William "Nicky" Barr, OBE, MC
, DFC
& Bar
(10 December 1915 – 12 June 2006) was a member of the Australian national rugby union team who became a fighter ace
in the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) during World War II. He was credited with twelve aerial victories, all scored flying the Curtiss P-40. Born in New Zealand, Barr was raised in Victoria
and first represented the state in rugby in 1936. Selected to play for Australia against the United Kingdom in 1939, he had just arrived in England when the tour was cancelled following the outbreak of war. He joined the RAAF in 1940 and was posted to North Africa
with No. 3 Squadron
in September 1941. His first three victories were attained in the P-40 Tomahawk and the remainder in the Kittyhawk.
Barr's achievements as a combat pilot saw him awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
and Bar
. Shortly after taking command of No. 3 Squadron in May 1942, he was shot down and captured by Axis forces
, and incarcerated in Italy. He eventually escaped and assisted other Allied
fugitives to safety, earning the Military Cross
for his efforts. Repatriated to England, he saw action during the invasion of Normandy
in June 1944 before returning to Australia as a Chief Instructor with No. 2 Operational Training Unit
. After the war he became a company director, and rejoined the RAAF as an active reserve officer from 1951 to 1953. From the early 1960s he was heavily involved in the oilseed industry, for which he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1983. He died in 2006, aged ninety.
, Andrew attended Kew Public School
and played Australian rules football
. He was also the Victorian Schoolboys 100 yards athletics champion three years in a row, from 1926 to 1928. In 1931, aged fifteen, he began his association with the Lord Somers Camp
and Power House social and sporting organisations located at Western Port
. After leaving school, Barr studied construction at Swinbourne Technical College, but later took a diploma course in accountancy and made it his profession. He started playing rugby union
in 1935, through a friend in the Power House club. Weighing 80 kilogram and just under 6 feet (182.9 cm) tall, Barr gained selection for Victoria as a hooker the following year. In 1939, he was chosen to play in the United Kingdom with the Australian national team, the Wallabies
. The tour was cancelled however less than a day after the team arrived in the UK on 2 September, due to the outbreak of World War II. Keen to serve as a fighter pilot
, Barr initially tried to enlist in the Royal Air Force
, but withdrew his application when told that it was unlikely he would fly anytime in the near future, and that he could expect only administrative duties in the interim.
Returning to Australia on the RMS Strathaird
, Barr joined the Royal Australian Air Force
as an air cadet on 4 March 1940. After undergoing instruction at No. 3 Elementary Flying Training School, Essendon
, and No. 1 Service Flying Training School
, Point Cook
, he was commissioned as a pilot officer
on 24 September. He gained a reputation as something of a rebel during training, and became forever known as "Nicky", for "Old Nick", or the Devil. In his quest to gain assignment as a fighter pilot, he had deliberately aimed poorly during bombing practice, a stratagem also adopted by at least two of his fellow students. By November 1940, he had been posted to No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron
, flying CAC Wirraway
s on patrol off the Queensland
coast. The aircraft was, according to Barr, "our front line fighter in those days, but it didn't take too long to realise that the capacity of the Wirraway, compared with the types of planes that we were going to encounter, left much to be desired". Though his duties frustrated him somewhat, Barr was nevertheless grateful to have this extensive flight experience under his belt when he eventually saw combat. While based in Queensland, he served as honorary aide-de-camp
to the Governor, Sir Leslie Wilson
, and also captained the RAAF rugby union team. He was promoted to flying officer
on 24 March 1941.
on 28 September 1941, to fly with No. 3 Squadron
under the command of Squadron Leader Peter Jeffrey
. He converted to P-40 Tomahawk fighters at an RAF operational training unit
in Khartoum
. There he also received his "goolie chit", a piece of paper to be shown to local tribesmen in the event he was shot down, reading in Arabic
: "don’t kill the bearer, feed him and protect him, take him to the English and you will be rewarded. Peace be upon you." Returning to North Africa, Barr achieved his first aerial victory, over a Messerschmitt Bf 110, on 12 December. He followed this up with a Junkers Ju 88 and a Messerschmitt Bf 109 the next day. The squadron then re-equipped with P-40 Kittyhawks; Barr was flying the new model when he became an ace
on New Year's Day 1942, shooting down two Junkers Ju 87 Stukas
. On 8 March, he led a flight
of six Kittyhawks to intercept a raid on Tobruk
by twelve Ju 87s escorted by ten Macchi C. 202s and two Bf 109s. The Australians destroyed six Macchis and three Ju 87s without loss, Barr personally accounting for one of the Macchis.
Eventually credited with victories over twelve enemy aircraft, plus two probables and eight damaged, Barr became No. 3 Squadron's highest-scoring member. He flew a total of eighty-four combat sortie
s, twenty of them in one fortnight, and six on 16 June alone. His philosophy was that the P-40 was not a top-class fighter, but that its shortcomings "could be offset by unbridled aggression", so he resolved to treat aerial combat as he would a boxing match and "overcome much better opponents by simply going for them". Bobby Gibbes
became No. 3 Squadron's commanding officer in February 1942, and made Barr his senior flight commander. Promoted to flight lieutenant
on 1 April, Barr was raised to acting squadron leader
and appointed to command the unit in May, barely six months after he commenced operations, following Gibbes' hospitalisation with a broken leg. Barr had never sought leadership of the squadron, and felt that others were just as well qualified for the role. As a commander he delegated most administrative tasks to his adjutant
but, contrary to normal practice, wrote letters to the next-of-kin of casualties himself.
Three times while serving with No. 3 Squadron, Barr was himself shot down. The first occasion was on 11 January 1942 when, having destroyed a Bf 109 and a Fiat G.50
, he was preparing to touch down in the desert to pick up a fellow pilot who had crash landed. He had his undercarriage halfway down when he was "jumped" by two other Bf 109s. He immediately engaged both and shot one down before more German fighters arrived and he was hit and forced to land behind enemy lines. As one of the German planes came in low to strafe the downed Kittyhawk, Barr ran straight at it in an attempt to throw the pilot off his aim, and was injured by ricocheting fragments of rock struck by cannon shells. A tribe of friendly Senussi
Arabs found him, dressed his wounds, and helped him return to Allied lines. For this exploit, and his earlier successes, Barr was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
(DFC), the full citation being published in the London Gazette
on 20 February 1942:
On 25 May 1942, Barr had to land in the desert when his engine overheated. Having just taken off the engine cowling
, he spotted enemy tanks approaching and immediately took off with the engine exposed to the elements, safely landing back at base. He was shot down for the second time on 30 May, when he engaged eight Bf 109s and destroyed one before being hit and forced to crash land at high speed in no-man's land. He came down in a minefield during a fierce tank battle, and was forced to remain where he was as troops of both sides slowly converged on him; British forces managed to reach him first and, after treatment for wounds, he again returned to his squadron. On 26 June, however, after being attacked by two Bf 109s and bailing out of his burning Kittyhawk, he was captured by Italian soldiers and taken as a prisoner-of-war, first to Tobruk
, and then to Italy, where he received hospital treatment for serious wounds. He later learned that the pilot who shot him down was Oberleutnant Werner Schroer
, a Luftwaffe
ace credited with sixty-one victories in North Africa. During his incarceration, on 5 February 1943, Barr was awarded a Bar
to his DFC for "Destroying further enemy aircraft".
Barr tried to escape from his confinement four times. Once he struck an Italian customs official with a rock and was court-martialled on a charge of murder, but avoided a death sentence when the Swiss Red Cross colonel representing him in court proved that the official had not died. On another occasion Barr jumped from a moving train while being transported with other prisoners of war to Germany. Eventually he managed to link up with an Allied special operations unit, which was gathering intelligence behind enemy lines. He also helped others escape over the Apennine Mountains
, along the so-called "Alpine Route". Barr finally made it through this route himself, when he had sufficiently recovered from his earlier injuries to attempt the mountain crossing. After reaching friendly lines in March 1944, he was sent to a military hospital in Vasto
, weighing only 55 kilograms (121.3 lb) and in poor health, suffering malaria
, malnutrition, and blood poisoning. The assistance he rendered to fellow Allied fugitives earned him the Military Cross
(MC) for "Exceptional courage in organising escapes", the award being promulgated on 1 December 1944. He is thought to be one of only five or six RAAF pilots to be awarded the MC during World War II.
Posted to Britain in April 1944, Barr went ashore at Omaha Beach
two days after D-Day as officer-in-charge of an air support control unit. During the campaign in Normandy
, he flew rocket-armed Hawker Typhoon
s on operations, despite officially being grounded. After his return to Australia on 11 September, he was promoted to acting wing commander
and appointed Chief Instructor at No. 2 Operational Training Unit
in Mildura
, Victoria, taking over from Bobby Gibbes. Following the end of hostilities in August 1945, Barr was treated for recurring fever and underwent two operations on his limbs in No. 6 RAAF Hospital, Heidelberg
. He was discharged from the Air Force on 8 October.
in an airline venture in New Guinea, before going into business as a company manager and director with civil engineering and pharmaceutical firms. Barr rejoined the RAAF on 20 March 1951 as a pilot in the active Citizen Air Force (CAF), with the acting rank of wing commander. On 15 April 1953, he transferred to the CAF reserve. A member of the Royal Air Forces Escaping Society
, in the late 1950s Barr began travelling to Italy with his wife on a regular basis to seek out and offer assistance to those who had helped him during his wartime escape attempts.
In 1961, Barr became General Manager of Meggitt Ltd, an oilseed-crushing
firm; he eventually rose to become Executive Chairman. The firm's board was joined in 1971 by the recently retired Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Alister Murdoch
. Barr's work in the industry led to his appointment in the 1983 New Year Honours
as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). The same year, he became Australian representative and Chairman of the International Oil Seed Group. In June 1987, Barr accepted an invitation to join John Glenn
, Chuck Yeager
, and fifteen other famed flyers in a so-called "Gathering of Eagles" for a seminar at the USAF Air Command and Staff College
in Montgomery
, Alabama. Generally reluctant to talk publicly about the war, he agreed to discuss his experiences during an episode of the television series Australian Story
in 2002, appearing with his biographer Peter Dornan, and Bobby Gibbes. By this time Barr was said to be receiving daily treatment for the injuries he had suffered in combat. He died at the age of ninety on 12 June 2006, a few months after his wife. Four F/A-18 Hornet
jet fighters from No. 3 Squadron overflew his funeral service on the Gold Coast
, Queensland. He was further honoured at a rugby test match between Australia and England
at Telstra Dome in Melbourne on 17 June, the day after his funeral.
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, DFC
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...
& 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...
(10 December 1915 – 12 June 2006) was a member of the Australian national rugby union team who became a fighter 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...
in the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF) during World War II. He was credited with twelve aerial victories, all scored flying the Curtiss P-40. Born in New Zealand, Barr was raised in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and first represented the state in rugby in 1936. Selected to play for Australia against the United Kingdom in 1939, he had just arrived in England when the tour was cancelled following the outbreak of war. He joined the RAAF in 1940 and was posted to North Africa
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
with No. 3 Squadron
No. 3 Squadron RAAF
No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. It was first formed in 1916 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales.-World War I:...
in September 1941. His first three victories were attained in the P-40 Tomahawk and the remainder in the Kittyhawk.
Barr's achievements as a combat pilot saw him 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...
and 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...
. Shortly after taking command of No. 3 Squadron in May 1942, he was shot down and captured by Axis forces
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
, and incarcerated in Italy. He eventually escaped and assisted other Allied
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
fugitives to safety, earning the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
for his efforts. Repatriated to England, he saw action during the invasion of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
in June 1944 before returning to Australia as a Chief Instructor with No. 2 Operational Training Unit
No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit RAAF
No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit is a Royal Australian Air Force training unit located at RAAF Base Williamtown. 2OCU's main role is to train pilots to operate the F/A-18 Hornet. New RAAF pilots enter 2OCU for training after first qualifying to fly jet fighters in No. 76 Squadron...
. After the war he became a company director, and rejoined the RAAF as an active reserve officer from 1951 to 1953. From the early 1960s he was heavily involved in the oilseed industry, for which he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1983. He died in 2006, aged ninety.
Early career
Andrew Barr was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 10 December 1915; he had a twin brother, Jack. The family moved to Australia when the boys were six. Growing up in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Andrew attended Kew Public School
Kew, Victoria
Kew is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Kew had a population of 22,516....
and played Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
. He was also the Victorian Schoolboys 100 yards athletics champion three years in a row, from 1926 to 1928. In 1931, aged fifteen, he began his association with the Lord Somers Camp
Lord Somers Camp
Lord Somers Camp, or "Big Camp" is an annual week-long leadership camp for boys held in Somers, Victoria, Australia.Originally founded in Anglesea, Victoria in 1929 by Lord Somers the camp has been running continuously since 1929, excluding 1943-1945 when the site was occupied by the RAAF.The camp...
and Power House social and sporting organisations located at Western Port
Western Port
Western Port, is sometimes called "Western Port Bay", is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in Victoria. Geographically, it is dominated by the two large islands; French Island and Phillip Island. Contrary to its name, it lies to...
. After leaving school, Barr studied construction at Swinbourne Technical College, but later took a diploma course in accountancy and made it his profession. He started playing rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in 1935, through a friend in the Power House club. Weighing 80 kilogram and just under 6 feet (182.9 cm) tall, Barr gained selection for Victoria as a hooker the following year. In 1939, he was chosen to play in the United Kingdom with the Australian national team, the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
. The tour was cancelled however less than a day after the team arrived in the UK on 2 September, due to the outbreak of World War II. Keen to serve as a fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
, Barr initially tried to enlist in the 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...
, but withdrew his application when told that it was unlikely he would fly anytime in the near future, and that he could expect only administrative duties in the interim.
Returning to Australia on the RMS Strathaird
RMS Strathaird
RMS, later SS, Strathaird was the second of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company Strath class ocean liners. She was built at Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness, then in Lancashire, and launched on 18 July 1931...
, Barr joined the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
as an air cadet on 4 March 1940. After undergoing instruction at No. 3 Elementary Flying Training School, Essendon
Essendon, Victoria
Essendon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moonee Valley...
, and No. 1 Service Flying Training School
No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF
No. 1 Flying Training School was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force . It was one of the Air Force's original units, dating back to the service's formation in 1921, when it was based at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. The school underwent a number of reorganisations during its...
, Point Cook
RAAF Williams
RAAF Williams comprises the two bases of Point Cook and Laverton. Both establishments previously existed as separate RAAF Bases until 1999 when they were amalgamated to form RAAF Williams...
, he was commissioned as a 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 24 September. He gained a reputation as something of a rebel during training, and became forever known as "Nicky", for "Old Nick", or the Devil. In his quest to gain assignment as a fighter pilot, he had deliberately aimed poorly during bombing practice, a stratagem also adopted by at least two of his fellow students. By November 1940, he had been posted to No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron
No. 23 Squadron RAAF
No. 23 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force is a non-flying base operations and training squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley near Brisbane, Queensland. The Squadron was formed in 1937 and saw action during World War II as a bomber squadron.-History:No...
, flying CAC Wirraway
CAC Wirraway
The Wirraway was a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1939 and 1946...
s on patrol off the Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
coast. The aircraft was, according to Barr, "our front line fighter in those days, but it didn't take too long to realise that the capacity of the Wirraway, compared with the types of planes that we were going to encounter, left much to be desired". Though his duties frustrated him somewhat, Barr was nevertheless grateful to have this extensive flight experience under his belt when he eventually saw combat. While based in Queensland, he served as honorary aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the Governor, Sir Leslie Wilson
Leslie Orme Wilson
Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, DSO, PC was a British soldier, Conservative politician and Governor of Queensland.-Personal life:...
, and also captained the RAAF rugby union team. 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...
on 24 March 1941.
Combat service
Barr was posted to North AfricaNorth African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
on 28 September 1941, to fly with No. 3 Squadron
No. 3 Squadron RAAF
No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. It was first formed in 1916 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales.-World War I:...
under the command of Squadron Leader Peter Jeffrey
Peter Jeffrey (RAAF officer)
Peter Jeffrey DSO, DFC was a senior officer and fighter ace in the Royal Australian Air Force . Born in Tenterfield, New South Wales, he joined the RAAF active reserve in 1934, and transferred to the Permanent Air Force shortly before World War II...
. He converted to P-40 Tomahawk fighters at an RAF operational training unit
Operational Conversion Unit
An Operational Conversion Unit is a unit within an air force whose role is to support preparation for the operational missions of a specific aircraft type by providing trained personnel. OCUs teach pilots how to fly an aircraft and which tactics best exploit the performance of their aircraft and...
in Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
. There he also received his "goolie chit", a piece of paper to be shown to local tribesmen in the event he was shot down, reading in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: "don’t kill the bearer, feed him and protect him, take him to the English and you will be rewarded. Peace be upon you." Returning to North Africa, Barr achieved his first aerial victory, over a Messerschmitt Bf 110, on 12 December. He followed this up with a Junkers Ju 88 and a Messerschmitt Bf 109 the next day. The squadron then re-equipped with P-40 Kittyhawks; Barr was flying the new model when he became an 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...
on New Year's Day 1942, shooting down two Junkers Ju 87 Stukas
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...
. On 8 March, he led a flight
Flight (military unit)
A flight is a military unit in an air force, naval air service, or army air corps. It usually comprises three to six aircraft, with their aircrews and ground staff; or, in the case of a non-flying ground flight, no aircraft and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel. In most usages,...
of six Kittyhawks to intercept a raid on Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
by twelve Ju 87s escorted by ten Macchi C. 202s and two Bf 109s. The Australians destroyed six Macchis and three Ju 87s without loss, Barr personally accounting for one of the Macchis.
Eventually credited with victories over twelve enemy aircraft, plus two probables and eight damaged, Barr became No. 3 Squadron's highest-scoring member. He flew a total of eighty-four combat sortie
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
s, twenty of them in one fortnight, and six on 16 June alone. His philosophy was that the P-40 was not a top-class fighter, but that its shortcomings "could be offset by unbridled aggression", so he resolved to treat aerial combat as he would a boxing match and "overcome much better opponents by simply going for them". Bobby Gibbes
Bobby Gibbes
Robert Henry Maxwell Gibbes DSO, DFC & Bar, OAM was a leading Australian fighter ace of World War II. He was officially credited with shooting down 10¼ enemy aircraft, although his score is often reported as 12 destroyed...
became No. 3 Squadron's commanding officer in February 1942, and made Barr his senior flight commander. 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 1 April, Barr was raised to 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...
and appointed to command the unit in May, barely six months after he commenced operations, following Gibbes' hospitalisation with a broken leg. Barr had never sought leadership of the squadron, and felt that others were just as well qualified for the role. As a commander he delegated most administrative tasks to his adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
but, contrary to normal practice, wrote letters to the next-of-kin of casualties himself.
Three times while serving with No. 3 Squadron, Barr was himself shot down. The first occasion was on 11 January 1942 when, having destroyed a Bf 109 and a Fiat G.50
Fiat G.50
The Fiat G.50 Freccia was a World War II Italian fighter aircraft. First flown in February 1937, the G.50 was Italy’s first single-seat, all-metal monoplane with an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear to go into production...
, he was preparing to touch down in the desert to pick up a fellow pilot who had crash landed. He had his undercarriage halfway down when he was "jumped" by two other Bf 109s. He immediately engaged both and shot one down before more German fighters arrived and he was hit and forced to land behind enemy lines. As one of the German planes came in low to strafe the downed Kittyhawk, Barr ran straight at it in an attempt to throw the pilot off his aim, and was injured by ricocheting fragments of rock struck by cannon shells. A tribe of friendly Senussi
Senussi
The Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
Arabs found him, dressed his wounds, and helped him return to Allied lines. For this exploit, and his earlier successes, Barr 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...
(DFC), the full citation being published in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 20 February 1942:
On 25 May 1942, Barr had to land in the desert when his engine overheated. Having just taken off the engine cowling
Cowling
A cowling is the covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles and aircraft.A cowling may be used:* for drag reduction* for engine cooling by directing airflow* as an air intake for jet engines* for decorative purposes...
, he spotted enemy tanks approaching and immediately took off with the engine exposed to the elements, safely landing back at base. He was shot down for the second time on 30 May, when he engaged eight Bf 109s and destroyed one before being hit and forced to crash land at high speed in no-man's land. He came down in a minefield during a fierce tank battle, and was forced to remain where he was as troops of both sides slowly converged on him; British forces managed to reach him first and, after treatment for wounds, he again returned to his squadron. On 26 June, however, after being attacked by two Bf 109s and bailing out of his burning Kittyhawk, he was captured by Italian soldiers and taken as a prisoner-of-war, first to Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
, and then to Italy, where he received hospital treatment for serious wounds. He later learned that the pilot who shot him down was Oberleutnant Werner Schroer
Werner Schröer
Werner Schröer was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1937, initially as a member of the ground staff, until the end of World War II in Europe on 8 May 1945...
, a Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
ace credited with sixty-one victories in North Africa. During his incarceration, on 5 February 1943, Barr was awarded 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 DFC for "Destroying further enemy aircraft".
Barr tried to escape from his confinement four times. Once he struck an Italian customs official with a rock and was court-martialled on a charge of murder, but avoided a death sentence when the Swiss Red Cross colonel representing him in court proved that the official had not died. On another occasion Barr jumped from a moving train while being transported with other prisoners of war to Germany. Eventually he managed to link up with an Allied special operations unit, which was gathering intelligence behind enemy lines. He also helped others escape over the Apennine Mountains
Apennine mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...
, along the so-called "Alpine Route". Barr finally made it through this route himself, when he had sufficiently recovered from his earlier injuries to attempt the mountain crossing. After reaching friendly lines in March 1944, he was sent to a military hospital in Vasto
Vasto
Vasto is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of the Province of Chieti in southern Abruzzo, Italy. The population is now just over 40,000.-History:According to tradition, the town was founded by Diomedes, the Greek hero...
, weighing only 55 kilograms (121.3 lb) and in poor health, suffering malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, malnutrition, and blood poisoning. The assistance he rendered to fellow Allied fugitives earned him the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(MC) for "Exceptional courage in organising escapes", the award being promulgated on 1 December 1944. He is thought to be one of only five or six RAAF pilots to be awarded the MC during World War II.
Posted to Britain in April 1944, Barr went ashore at Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach is the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II...
two days after D-Day as officer-in-charge of an air support control unit. During the campaign in Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, he flew rocket-armed Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...
s on operations, despite officially being grounded. After his return to Australia on 11 September, he was promoted to acting wing commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
and appointed Chief Instructor at No. 2 Operational Training Unit
No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit RAAF
No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit is a Royal Australian Air Force training unit located at RAAF Base Williamtown. 2OCU's main role is to train pilots to operate the F/A-18 Hornet. New RAAF pilots enter 2OCU for training after first qualifying to fly jet fighters in No. 76 Squadron...
in Mildura
Mildura, Victoria
Mildura is a regional city in northwestern Victoria, Australia and seat of the Rural City of Mildura local government area. It is located in the Sunraysia region, and is on the banks of the Murray River. The current population is estimated at just over 30,000.Mildura is a major agricultural centre...
, Victoria, taking over from Bobby Gibbes. Following the end of hostilities in August 1945, Barr was treated for recurring fever and underwent two operations on his limbs in No. 6 RAAF Hospital, Heidelberg
Heidelberg, Victoria
Heidelberg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule....
. He was discharged from the Air Force on 8 October.
Later career
After leaving the Air Force, Barr remained in Mildura with his wife, Dorothy (Dot). They had met on a blind date in 1938 and been married only a few weeks when Nicky joined the RAAF. During the war she was told on three occasions that her husband was dead. The couple had two sons, born in 1945 and 1947. Barr's injuries prevented him from returning to a rugby career, and he took up yachting as a sport. He also briefly assisted fellow No. 3 Squadron ace Bobby GibbesBobby Gibbes
Robert Henry Maxwell Gibbes DSO, DFC & Bar, OAM was a leading Australian fighter ace of World War II. He was officially credited with shooting down 10¼ enemy aircraft, although his score is often reported as 12 destroyed...
in an airline venture in New Guinea, before going into business as a company manager and director with civil engineering and pharmaceutical firms. Barr rejoined the RAAF on 20 March 1951 as a pilot in the active Citizen Air Force (CAF), with the acting rank of wing commander. On 15 April 1953, he transferred to the CAF reserve. A member of the Royal Air Forces Escaping Society
Royal Air Forces Escaping Society
The Royal Air Forces Escaping Society, was a UK based charitable organization formed in 1946 to provide help to those in the former occupied countries in World War II who put their lives at risk to assist and save members of the "Royal Air Forces" who were attempting to escape and evade...
, in the late 1950s Barr began travelling to Italy with his wife on a regular basis to seek out and offer assistance to those who had helped him during his wartime escape attempts.
In 1961, Barr became General Manager of Meggitt Ltd, an oilseed-crushing
Vegetable fats and oils
Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants. Physically, oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides, as contrasted with waxes which lack glycerin in their structure...
firm; he eventually rose to become Executive Chairman. The firm's board was joined in 1971 by the recently retired Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Alister Murdoch
Alister Murdoch
Air Marshal Sir Alister Murray Murdoch KBE, CB was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1965 to 1969. Joining the Air Force in 1930, Murdoch trained as a seaplane pilot, and participated in an Antarctic rescue mission for lost explorers...
. Barr's work in the industry led to his appointment in the 1983 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). The same year, he became Australian representative and Chairman of the International Oil Seed Group. In June 1987, Barr accepted an invitation to join John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
, Chuck Yeager
Chuck Yeager
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...
, and fifteen other famed flyers in a so-called "Gathering of Eagles" for a seminar at the USAF Air Command and Staff College
Air Command and Staff College
The Air Command and Staff College is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate professional military education school. It prepares field grade and equivalent officers of all U.S...
in Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, Alabama. Generally reluctant to talk publicly about the war, he agreed to discuss his experiences during an episode of the television series Australian Story
Australian Story
Australian Story is a national weekly documentary series, produced and broadcast on ABC Television.Since 1996 Australian Story has featured many Australians from diverse backgrounds and reputations...
in 2002, appearing with his biographer Peter Dornan, and Bobby Gibbes. By this time Barr was said to be receiving daily treatment for the injuries he had suffered in combat. He died at the age of ninety on 12 June 2006, a few months after his wife. Four F/A-18 Hornet
F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
jet fighters from No. 3 Squadron overflew his funeral service on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Queensland. He was further honoured at a rugby test match between Australia and England
2006 mid-year rugby test series
During June of 2006, several rugby union test sides played fixtures that were mainly contested in southern nations. It acted as end of year tours of the Northern Hemisphere nations, and pre season matches for the Tri Nations Series and Pacific 5 Nations....
at Telstra Dome in Melbourne on 17 June, the day after his funeral.