During the battle for Greece, Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Marmaduke Thomas St. John “Pat” Pattle, flying a Hawker Hurricane, shoots down three German fighters, and then is himself shot down by Messerschmitt Bf-110s. He crashes into the Aegean Sea. Officially credited with 23 aerial victories, he may have had as many as 20 more, which would have made him the RAF’s leading ace of World War II; however, most records are lost when the British evacuate Greece.
The Department of the Air Force wants to launch a construction boom with its fiscal 2027 budget, more than doubling its request over 2026, according to budget documents.
