Paterson Clarence Hughes

Paterson Clarence Hughes
Hughes in 1940
Born	(1917-09-19)19 September 1917 Cooma, New South Wales, Australia
Died	7 September 1940(1940-09-07) (aged 22) Sundridge, Kent, England
Allegiance	Australia United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Australian Air Force (1936–1937) Royal Air Force (1937–1940)
Years of service	1936–1940
Rank	Flight lieutenant
Service number	39461 (RAF)[1]
Unit	No. 64 Squadron RAF (1937–1939) No. 234 Squadron RAF (1939–1940)
Battles/wars	World War II European air campaign Battle of Britain †
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross

Paterson Clarence Hughes, DFC (19 September 1917 – 7 September 1940) was an Australian fighter ace of World War II. Serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF), he was credited with as many as seventeen aerial victories during the Battle of Britain, before being killed in action in September 1940. His tally made him the highest-scoring Australian of the battle, and among the three highest-scoring Australians of the war.

Born in Cooma, New South Wales, Hughes joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a cadet in 1936. After graduating as a pilot, he chose to take a commission with the RAF. In July 1937, he was assigned to No. 64 Squadron, which operated Hawker Demon and, later, Bristol Blenheim fighters. Posted to No. 234 Squadron following the outbreak of World War II, Hughes began flying Supermarine Spitfires as a flight commander. He shared in his unit's first aerial victory on 8 July 1940, and began scoring heavily against the Luftwaffe the following month. Known for his practice of attacking his targets at extremely close range, Hughes is generally thought to have died after his Spitfire was struck by flying debris from a German bomber that he had just shot down. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and was buried in England.