Joseph Berry (RAF officer)

Squadron Leader Joseph (Joe) Berry, DFC** (28 February 1920 – 2 October 1944) shot down 59 ¹⁄₂ V-1 missiles ("flying bombs") during World War II, more than any other fighter pilot.

Early life

Berry was born in Quarrington, Teesdale, County Durham and attended Dukes Grammar School in Alnwick, Northumberland. He lived at 55 Ramsey St, Quarrington, Teesdale (12 miles east of Crook, Co Durham). Later he moved to Hampeth near Alnwick, Northumberland where from 1931 to 1936 he attended the Duke Grammar School. Leaving school in 1936 as a 16 year old Joe moved into lodgings in Carlton, Nottingham for his work in the Inland Revenue, two years later he met Joyce, his future wife, who was working at the same branch.

Royal Air Force fighter pilot

He joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve on 8 August 1940 as aircraftman 2nd class with service number 1177137.

In 1942, after completing pilot training, he was appointed to the rank of Sergeant and posted to a night fighter unit, No. 256 Squadron RAF and flew Boulton Paul Defiants, followed by twin-engined Bristol Beaufighters. Berry was married after being commissioned as an officer on 14 March 1942. He was promoted to Flying Officer on 1 October 1942.

Transferred to night operations on Beaufighters in North Africa from 30 January 1943, Berry flew initially with the unit No. 153 Squadron RAF. Detachments flew from Bone, Setif, Souk el Arba, Souk el Khemis, and Tingley.

From 8 May 1943, Berry flew Beaufighters with No. 255 Squadron RAF, which in August 1943 moved to Western Sicily, where sorties were flown over the Salerno invasion fleet and beachhead in September 1943. Berry shot down three enemy aircraft: on 9 September 1943 a Messerschmitt Me 210, on 10 September 1943 another Me 210 in the Salerno area, and on 24 October 1943 he destroyed a Junkers Ju 88 over the Naples area. Following the second kill, Berry was forced to bail out of his Beaufighter Mk VIF (squadron code YD-F).

On 3 October 1943 while serving with 255 Sqn, Berry was involved in the "Great E-Boat Raid" at Cos, Greece. Sixty aircraft were involved; several Beaufighter squadrons and one Beafort squadron attacked the German Invasion Force North of the Allied occupied Island. The German invasion force consisted of several large vessels used as troop ships, destroyers, e-boats and landing barges. The attack had mixed results due to heavy enemy fire and bad weather with head winds on the return journey; the Squadrons took overall losses of 27%. The Beaufighter had a range of 370 miles, and due to heavy fuel consumption 25 got back, most of the others ditched or were shot down.

Berry was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 3 March 1944 while serving with 255 Sqn, and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 14 March. His citation read:

V-1 campaign

In 1944, Berry was posted to the elite Fighter Interception Unit (FIU) at RAF Wittering in East Anglia as a temporary Squadron Leader, and began flying night sorties against V-1s in single-engined Hawker Tempests and was awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross on 1 September 1944.

Berry quickly became the pilot most successful in destroying V-1s. He claimed 52 in less than two months, including seven destroyed in one night (23 July 1944).

His successes were: 28 June 1944, 2 V-1s; 29 June 1944, V-1; 30 June 1944, 3 V-1s at night; 2 July 1944, V-1; 3 July 1944, V-1; 5 July 1944, 2 V-1s; 6 July 1944, 4 V-1s at night; 8 July 1944, 3 V-1s at night; 9 July 1944, V-1; 17 July 1944, 2 V-1s at night; 19 July 1944, 4 V-1s; 21 July 1944, V-1; 23 July 1944, 7 V-1s at night; 25 July 1944, 4 V-1s at night; 27 July 1944, shared V-1; 29 July 1944, 2 V-1s; 3 August 1944, 5 V-1s at night; 5 August 1944, 5 V-1s; 7 August 1944, 4 V-1s; 12 August 1944, 2 V-1s at night; 13 August 1944, V-1 at night; 15 August 1944, 2 V-1s at night; 20 August 1944, V-1; 31 August 1944, V-1.

On 23 August 1944 the Tempest flight from FIU was merged into an existing fighter unit, No. 501 Squadron RAF, at RAF Manston. Berry was appointed commanding officer of 501 Sqn.

For his service with 501 Sqn Berry was posthumously awarded a 2nd Bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross on 13 February 1946. His citation reads:

Death

Allied ground forces began to overrun the V-1 launch sites and 501 Sqn began to undertake ground attack missions over the Netherlands and Germany.

On the morning of 2 October 1944 Berry was flying a "dawn ranger" patrol south-west of Assen in a Tempest Mark V (serial number EJ600, squadron code SD-F). His aircraft was hit by small arms fire while he was flying at 50 feet over Veendam, in Groningen, leading two other Tempests on a sortie against an airfield and rail yards near Bad Zwischenahn. His final radio message was "I've had it chaps; you go on." Berry was apparently flying too low to bale out and he was killed when his aircraft crashed near the village of Kibbelgaarn.

He is buried in Scheemda Protestant Cemetery, Netherlands.