Michael Herrick

Michael James Herrick, (5 May 1921 – 16 June 1944) was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.

He is credited with having shot down at least six enemy aircraft.

Michael James Herrick was born in Hastings, New Zealand, on 5 May 1921, one of five sons of Edward Herrick and his wife, Ethne Rose Smith.

He was first educated at Hurworth School in Wanganui before going onto Wanganui Collegiate School.

While still at school, he took flying lessons and soon earned his pilot's licence from the Hawke's Bay and East Coast Aero Club.

In 1938, he gained a cadetship for the Royal Air Force (RAF).

This involved attending its college at Cranwell, and he travelled to England on RMS Rangitiki the following year to commence his training.

The outbreak of the Second World War forced Herrick's cadetship, originally scheduled to run for two years, to be consolidated by the RAF.

Born in Hastings, Herrick joined the RAF in 1939.

During the Battle of Britain he flew Bristol Blenheims on night operations with No. 25 Squadron, destroying three German bombers.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his actions during the battle.

He was commissioned as a pilot officer on 7 March 1940 and was posted to No. 25 Squadron, which was stationed at North Weald and operated Bristol Blenheims.

At the time he joined the squadron, it was involved in patrols over the North Sea, providing protection for convoys transiting the British coast.

During Operation Dynamo, it helped escort the evacuation fleet to and from Dunkirk and carried out patrols along the Dutch and Belgian coast.

Although No. 25 Squadron's aircraft had been intended for light bombing, in June it was moved to Martlesham Heath to operate in a night fighting role.

The Blenheims were equipped with airborne radar, which Herrick helped to test.

The squadron's switch in role coincided with an increase in the Luftwaffe's nightly bombing raids on London.

On the night of 4/5 September 1940, despite his aircraft's radar set malfunctioning, Herrick spotted a Heinkel He 111 bomber caught in some of Anti-Aircraft Command's searchlights and shot it down.

Within minutes he located and destroyed another bomber, a Dornier Do 17, exhausting his ammunition in doing so.

These destroyed aircraft were the first aerial victories of the war to be credited to one of the squadron's pilots.

In recognition of his successes, he was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).

The published citation read: "During an interception patrol on the night of 4th September, 1940, Pilot Officer Herrick spotted two enemy aircraft and destroyed them both. In his attack against the second aircraft he succeeded in closing to within 30 yards and it fell in pieces under his fire."

On the night of 13/14 September, while flying a patrol north of London, he was directed by his radar to a He 111.

Climbing up behind the bomber he opened fire, prompting its crew to jettison its bombload.

He continued his attack and the German aircraft went down out of control and exploded, but not before its rear gunner caused minor damage to Herrick's aircraft.

He had accounted for three of the four German aircraft destroyed by Fighter Command on night operations during September.

No. 25 Squadron soon began converting to Bristol Beaufighters, and in one of these aircraft, operating from Wittering, Herrick possibly destroyed a bomber in December.

In late 1941, Herrick was sent to New Zealand on secondment to the Royal New Zealand Air Force to take command of its new No. 15 Squadron.

With the squadron he flew two operational tours in the Pacific, including several missions around Guadalcanal, and destroyed a number of Japanese aircraft.

In March 1941 Herrick was promoted to flying officer and two months later was credited with damaging a Junkers Ju 88 bomber near Hull.

He destroyed a Ju 88 on 22 June while on patrol over the Midlands.

He was guided in its general direction by ground control and then picked it up on his onboard radar.

Spotting the German bomber below him, he opened fire with his guns, setting the Ju 88 ablaze.

It dived into the ground and exploded.

In October 1941, Herrick was seconded to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and by the end of the year was back in the country of his birth.

He spent a period of time as an instructor at the No. 2 Flying Training School at Woodbourne and then Ohakea.

Promoted to flight lieutenant in March 1942, he was posted to the RNZAF's No. 15 Squadron three months later.

In 1944, having been awarded a bar to his DFC, he returned to England to resume service with the RAF and was posted to No. 305 Polish Bomber Squadron, which operated the de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber, as one of its flight commanders.

Herrick was killed during a daylight raid on a German airfield at Aalborg in Denmark.

In recognition of his services in the Pacific, he was posthumously awarded the United States Air Medal.