Caesar Barrand Hull, DFC (26 February 1914 – 7 September 1940) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) flying ace during the Second World War, noted especially for his part in the fighting for Narvik during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, and for being one of "The Few"—the Allied pilots of the Battle of Britain, in which he was shot down and killed. From a farming family, Hull's early years were spent in Southern Rhodesia, South Africa and Swaziland. He boxed for South Africa at the 1934 Empire Games. After being turned down by the South African Air Force because he did not speak Afrikaans, he joined the RAF and, on becoming a pilot officer in August 1936, mustered into No. 43 Squadron at RAF Tangmere in Sussex.
A skilful pilot, Hull dedicated much of his pre-war service to aerobatics, flying Hawker Audaxes, Furies and Hurricanes. He reacted to the outbreak of war with enthusiasm and achieved No. 43 Squadron's first victory of the conflict in late January 1940. Reassigned to Norway in May 1940 to command a flight of Gloster Gladiator biplanes belonging to No. 263 Squadron, he downed four German aircraft in an hour over the Bodø area south-west of Narvik on 26 May, a feat that earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was shot down the next day, and invalided back to England. Hull returned to action at the end of August, when he was made commander of No. 43 Squadron with the rank of squadron leader. A week later, he died in a dogfight over south London.
With eight confirmed aerial victories during the war, including five over Norway, Hull was the RAF's first Gladiator ace and the most successful RAF pilot of the Norwegian Campaign. He was buried among fellow fighter pilots at Tangmere, and a monument to his memory was erected near his birthplace in Southern Rhodesia. This remained until 2004, when the plaque was transported to England and donated to the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum. Other memorials to Hull were built in Bodø in 1977 and Purley, where his aircraft crashed, in 2013.
Early life
Caesar Barrand Hull was born on 26 February 1914 at Leachdale Farm, a property near Shangani in Southern Rhodesia. His childhood years were divided between Rhodesia and South Africa, and in his early teens the family moved to Swaziland. He was educated at home until 1926, when he began to board at St. John's College in Johannesburg. A champion boxer, he represented South Africa in the lightweight division at the 1934 Empire Games in London.
Hull attempted to join the South African Air Force in 1935, but was turned down because he did not speak Afrikaans. He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) instead, enlisting in England in September 1935. Completing the pilot's course on 3 August 1936 with the rank of pilot officer, he joined No. 43 Squadron at RAF Tangmere in Sussex five days later.
Much of Hull's early air force career was dedicated to aerobatics. He and Peter "Prosser" Hanks perfected a routine in which they would change places in a two-seater Hawker Audax in mid-air. Along with Peter Townsend (who joined the squadron at the same time as Hull) and Sergeant Frank Reginald Carey, they formed an aerobatic flight that performed stunts such as loops, barrel rolls and stall turns. Piloting a Hawker Fury, Hull flew the individual aerobatics at the air show at Hendon in 1937 honouring the coronation of King George VI.
Hull was promoted to flying officer on 16 April 1938. As war loomed, the squadron began to prepare for combat in late 1938, and in December that year was re-equipped with Hawker Hurricane Mk Is. Hull reacted to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 with great excitement; according to Hector Bolitho, No. 43 Squadron's intelligence officer, the Rhodesian leapt from one foot to the other in the officer's mess, repeating the words "wizard, wizard".
Air war in Europe
Early war
In November 1939, No. 43 Squadron moved to RAF Acklington, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, flying Hawker Hurricane Mk Is. Amid severe weather conditions, Hull scored the squadron's first victory of the war on 30 January 1940, when he shot down a Heinkel He 111 bomber of the Luftwaffe near the island of Coquet. On 26 February the squadron was transferred to RAF Wick in northern Scotland to help protect the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow. Hull, Carey and three others together downed another He 111 on 28 March 1940. On 10 April 1940, Hull took part in the destruction of a reconnaissance He 111. The aircraft had been sent out in advance of a major raid launched by He 111s from Kampfgeschwader 26 and Kampfgruppe 100, aimed at covering the German invasion of Norway.