Ronald Cuthbert Hay, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Ronald Cuthbert Hay

Companion of the Distinguished Service Order

Date of Birth: 04-Oct-1916

Place of Birth: Perth, Scotland, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 22-Nov-2001

Profession: flying ace

Nationality: United Kingdom

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Ronald Cuthbert Hay, (4 October 1916 – 22 November 2001) was a British naval aviator and the only Royal Marine fighter ace.
He joined the Royal Marines in 1935 and then served as an aviator with the Fleet Air Arm.
In 1940 he joined 801 Naval Air Squadron flying the two seater Blackburn Skua on HMS Ark Royal for the Norwegian Campaign, claiming his first victory on his first operational flight.
He took part in operations covering the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the Dunkirk beaches.
Then flying the Fairey Fulmar joined 808 Naval Air Squadron during the Battle of Britain. In 1944 Hay became wing leader of the 47th Naval Fighter Wing flying the Vought F4U Corsair aboard HMS Victorious in the Far East.
He led the wing during many of the major British air attacks on the Japanese in Sumatra.
By the end of the war he had claimed 4 aircraft destroyed solo and 9 shared destroyed.
After the war he transferred to the Royal Navy, reaching the rank of commander before retiring in 1966.
Hay later worked in the Mediterranean for 12 years chartering boats and spent time renovating an old mill at Amesbury, near Stonehenge.
He appeared in several television documentaries about the Second World War.