Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An original Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Books appertaining to Flight Lieutenant E. A. G. Rumbelow, Royal Air Force, who flew Spitfires in North Africa and over the Balkans, 1943-45, R.A.F. Form 414 types (3), covering the periods March 1942 to December 1943; December 1943 to May 1947; and June 1947 to January 1954, this latter logbook including civil flying from October 1948; together with part of a fourth logbook unused and unnamed and a 1942 copy of the Meteorological Handbook for Pilots and Navigators, covers and spines of log books in very poor condition, edges of pages often in state of disintegration, contents broadly sound (4) £160-£200

Eric Allen Goff Rumbelow was born in 1923 at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and commenced his R.A.F. pilot training in the U.S.A and Canada (August - November 1941) and continued as a Sergeant in March 1942 on Tiger Moths at No. 1 Elementary Flying Training School, Hatfield and later at R.A.F. College, Cranwell (Oxfords and Masters). Selected for Spitfires he continued training at No. 52 O.T.U. at Aston Down from November 1942, qualifying on 28 January 1943 and was posted to No. 66 Squadron (Spitfires) at Skeabrae, Orkneys. His log book for the following six months records numerous dawn patrols, dusk patrols, scrambles, convoy patrols and sweeps flying the Spitfire VB and VI.

Posted to No. 1 A.P.D., Fort de l’Eau, Algiers, North Africa in August 1943, he flew Spitfires from Maison Blanche to Setif in a series of one way flights returning as a passenger (possibly delivery flights) before joining the Advanced Flying Unit at Setif (Hurricane IIc and Spifire VB and VC) in October, his logbook noting army co-operation Hurribomber attacks, sweeps, low level attacks in this period.

Rumbelow was posted to No. 73 Squadron at Foggia, Italy on 7 December 1943 and received an emergency commission as a Pilot Officer on 16 March 1944. Flying the Spitfire mark VC, IXc, XI, he participated in offensive sweeps over the Balkans, long range escorts, road and railway strafing, naval action cover, dinghy searches etc. Many trucks, locos, railyards, MTBs are strafed, bombed or destroyed - his logbook usually giving location details (mostly Jugoslavian targets). A belly-landing is noted on 6 October 1944 after an air sea rescue search and on 13 November 1944 Rumbelow records ‘a scrap with 109s. Strafed Aerodrome Zagreb. Bad day’.

Offensive patrols cease around February 1945 and two months later he returned to North Africa. The remainder of the war was spent testing and instructing between North African and Italian locations.

Post war, Rumbelow remained in the R.A.F., based in the Middle East. He was with the Delegation Communication Squadron Hassani in 1947 and the same year he commenced civil flying in Grumman Widgeons for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the American Mission for Aid to Greece. He resigned his commission on 11 March 1949, retaining the rank of Flight Lieutenant and continued to fly in a civil capacity. In June 1951, having undertaken test flights on the Short Sealand, he reported his findings in a detailed article for Flight magazine the same month. His remaining flights, concluding January 1954 are all in the Sealand.

Sold together with the recipient’s certificate of validity for private pilot’s license, dated 20 July 1949 and its renewal dated 23 August 1951. Also with a 2 page typed document (damaged) stamped ‘SECRET’ entitled ‘Messerschmidt 109 v Spitfire’. The opening paragraph of which states: ‘As a result of a visit to Farnborough on 17 June 1940 for the purpose of carrying out a dogfight with an M.E. 109, the following conclusions were arrived at:’ - a series of tests are then described followed by the following conclusion: ‘It therefore seems evident that the M.E. 109 is easily outclassed by the Spitfire as a fighting aeroplane, and that is is possible to follow any manoeuvre a M.E. 109 carries out, providing the correct action is taken.’