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Lot Essay
Sold with a quantity of original documentation, including the recipient's Flying Log Books (2), covering the periods November 1938 to March 1943 and March 1943 to October 1959; together with Soviet Order of the Patriotic War Membership Booklet; R.A.F. Aircrew Categorisation Card (Pilot); and Hastings and Comet aircraft 'Instrument Pilot Rating' cards (dated 25.8.1954 and 18.3.1959).
C.B.E. London Gazette 13.6.1957 'In recognition of distinguished services in the Operations in the Near East'.
D.S.O. London Gazette 4.6.1946. Recommendation states 'Wing Commander MacNamara commands the sole remaining Close Support Transport Squadron actively engaged in operations. He served in a similar capacity with Squadrons supporting the Fourteenth Army druing the Burma Campaign. Flying on a large proportion of sorties himself, he has set a high standard of leadership in the air. Throughout the difficult operations in the Netherlands East Indies, this Officer has displayed outstanding administrative ability and devotion to duty'.
Mention in Despatches London Gazette 11.4.1944.
Soviet Order of the Patriotic War London Gazette 1.4.1944.
Recommendation states 'This Officer served as a Fighter Pilot during the Battle of Britain and, in this period, completed 120 sorties. He shot down two enemy aircraft, shared in the destruction of another one and damaged three more. Since then he has participated in three intruder sorties, flying in Blenheims of No. 614 Squadron which, owing to its role with airborne forces, has not yet been called upon for operations'.
Air Commodore Brian Radley MacNamara, C.B.E., D.S.O., a highly versatile Pilot, was born in 1915 and was seconded to the R.A.F. from the Royal Tank Corps on 8.11.1938. On completing his flying training he was posted in September 1939 to the School of Army Cooperation at Old Sarum, and a month later joined No. 614 (County of Glamorgan) Squadron flying Lysanders from Odiham.
At the height of the Battle of Britain he volunteered for Fighter Command and on 22.8.1940 went to 7 O.T.U., Hawarden, to convert to Spitfires. On 1 Septemebr he joined 603 Squadron at Hornchurch and two days later flew his first patrol. His first dogfight took place on the 5th and on the 7 September he shared in the destruction of an He.111. He damaged another He.111 on the 11th and shot down an Me.109 on the 14th. In addition to the latter accredited victory, his Flying Log Book further records a Dornier 17 damaged on the 15th - the Luftwaffe's so called Eagle Day - and an Me.109 also damaged. In October 1940 he crash landed a Spitfire at Detling, and on 11 November tangled with Ju. 87s. Eight days he later shot down an Italian C.R. 42.
Clocking up 120 Spitfire operational sorties by the end of January 1941, he rejoined 614 Squadron on 1 February at Macmerry and flew a variety of aircraft types including the Dominie transporting parachute troops. In May 1942 he flew a Blenheim on two bombing operations against north German targets, firstly attacking Vechta Aerodrome at Bremen, in spite of bad weather, on the night of 30 May. Two nights later he took part in an attack on Bonn Aerodrome but being unable to locate the prescribed target due to smoke, jettisoned his bombs over a nearby but unidentified air base. Further Flying Log Book entries for this hectic night of 1.6.1942 are 'Ju. 88 Night Fighter engaged. 3 attacks made by Night Fighter'. Vechta was again the target on the night 25 June and this time the target was successfully bombed without undue incident. On 5.8.1942 he was posted to 296 Squadron at Hurn, a Whitley unit for moving Airborne Forces by Horsa Glider. He nevertheless continued to carry out the occasional operational sortie, these including a leaflet drop over Lille on 10 October, and a bombing attack on Troyes in February 1943 ('green fires left burning').
On 8.3.1943, MacNamara took command of 295 Squadron, 38 Group (Airborne Forces), and, whilst continuing to train with para drops and glider towing, piloted an Albermarle on a successful 'cloak and dagger' operation, dropping '6 containers - 2 packages - S.W. of Paris' on the night 3.2.1944. On D-Day in June 1944 he participated in '2nd Front Operations', successfully towing the glider carrying Major-General "Windy" Gale and members of his 6th Airborne Division's H.Q. Staff to DZ 'N' near Caen. During the ensuing weeks he further aided operations behind enemy lines with supply drops for S.A.S. units on the Brest Peninsula and for S.O.E. Agents south of Lyons. Having passed the R.A.F. Staff College in December 1944, he was next posted to Airborne Planning at H.Q. South-East Asia Command and on 10.8.1945 took over as Station Commander, Bilaspur. On 15 September following he was appointed Officer Commanding 31 Squadron, a Dakota unit, at Akyab, Burma, and over the course of the next nine months carried many diverse loads, including tons of supplies, 'Casualties', 'Dutch women and children', '23 Jap P.O.Ws', 'Dr. Sajhriv (Prime Minister of the Indonesian Government and 4 Cabinet Ministers', a '3 week old premature baby', and finally 'Dr. Sjahriv - returning after recent kidnapping'. Such sorties were not without hazard for on 4.6.1946 when en route to Batavia he was 'fired on by accurate Bofors and 20 mm. at 3,000 feet ...'
MacNamara returned to the U.K. in September 1946 to become S.A.S.O. at R.A.F. Henlow. The following year he attended the Army Staff College and in 1949 took up an appointment at the Air Ministry. He was promoted Group Captain in January 1956 and, flying a Valetta on 5 November of the same year, chalked up one further notable operational sortie as the 'Force Commander (Suez)' in the 'Airborne Assault Gamil Airfield'. Appointed Station Commander at R.A.F. Lyneham in April 1957, he was advanced to Air Commodore in January 1961, four years before retiring.
C.B.E. London Gazette 13.6.1957 'In recognition of distinguished services in the Operations in the Near East'.
D.S.O. London Gazette 4.6.1946. Recommendation states 'Wing Commander MacNamara commands the sole remaining Close Support Transport Squadron actively engaged in operations. He served in a similar capacity with Squadrons supporting the Fourteenth Army druing the Burma Campaign. Flying on a large proportion of sorties himself, he has set a high standard of leadership in the air. Throughout the difficult operations in the Netherlands East Indies, this Officer has displayed outstanding administrative ability and devotion to duty'.
Mention in Despatches London Gazette 11.4.1944.
Soviet Order of the Patriotic War London Gazette 1.4.1944.
Recommendation states 'This Officer served as a Fighter Pilot during the Battle of Britain and, in this period, completed 120 sorties. He shot down two enemy aircraft, shared in the destruction of another one and damaged three more. Since then he has participated in three intruder sorties, flying in Blenheims of No. 614 Squadron which, owing to its role with airborne forces, has not yet been called upon for operations'.
Air Commodore Brian Radley MacNamara, C.B.E., D.S.O., a highly versatile Pilot, was born in 1915 and was seconded to the R.A.F. from the Royal Tank Corps on 8.11.1938. On completing his flying training he was posted in September 1939 to the School of Army Cooperation at Old Sarum, and a month later joined No. 614 (County of Glamorgan) Squadron flying Lysanders from Odiham.
At the height of the Battle of Britain he volunteered for Fighter Command and on 22.8.1940 went to 7 O.T.U., Hawarden, to convert to Spitfires. On 1 Septemebr he joined 603 Squadron at Hornchurch and two days later flew his first patrol. His first dogfight took place on the 5th and on the 7 September he shared in the destruction of an He.111. He damaged another He.111 on the 11th and shot down an Me.109 on the 14th. In addition to the latter accredited victory, his Flying Log Book further records a Dornier 17 damaged on the 15th - the Luftwaffe's so called Eagle Day - and an Me.109 also damaged. In October 1940 he crash landed a Spitfire at Detling, and on 11 November tangled with Ju. 87s. Eight days he later shot down an Italian C.R. 42.
Clocking up 120 Spitfire operational sorties by the end of January 1941, he rejoined 614 Squadron on 1 February at Macmerry and flew a variety of aircraft types including the Dominie transporting parachute troops. In May 1942 he flew a Blenheim on two bombing operations against north German targets, firstly attacking Vechta Aerodrome at Bremen, in spite of bad weather, on the night of 30 May. Two nights later he took part in an attack on Bonn Aerodrome but being unable to locate the prescribed target due to smoke, jettisoned his bombs over a nearby but unidentified air base. Further Flying Log Book entries for this hectic night of 1.6.1942 are 'Ju. 88 Night Fighter engaged. 3 attacks made by Night Fighter'. Vechta was again the target on the night 25 June and this time the target was successfully bombed without undue incident. On 5.8.1942 he was posted to 296 Squadron at Hurn, a Whitley unit for moving Airborne Forces by Horsa Glider. He nevertheless continued to carry out the occasional operational sortie, these including a leaflet drop over Lille on 10 October, and a bombing attack on Troyes in February 1943 ('green fires left burning').
On 8.3.1943, MacNamara took command of 295 Squadron, 38 Group (Airborne Forces), and, whilst continuing to train with para drops and glider towing, piloted an Albermarle on a successful 'cloak and dagger' operation, dropping '6 containers - 2 packages - S.W. of Paris' on the night 3.2.1944. On D-Day in June 1944 he participated in '2nd Front Operations', successfully towing the glider carrying Major-General "Windy" Gale and members of his 6th Airborne Division's H.Q. Staff to DZ 'N' near Caen. During the ensuing weeks he further aided operations behind enemy lines with supply drops for S.A.S. units on the Brest Peninsula and for S.O.E. Agents south of Lyons. Having passed the R.A.F. Staff College in December 1944, he was next posted to Airborne Planning at H.Q. South-East Asia Command and on 10.8.1945 took over as Station Commander, Bilaspur. On 15 September following he was appointed Officer Commanding 31 Squadron, a Dakota unit, at Akyab, Burma, and over the course of the next nine months carried many diverse loads, including tons of supplies, 'Casualties', 'Dutch women and children', '23 Jap P.O.Ws', 'Dr. Sajhriv (Prime Minister of the Indonesian Government and 4 Cabinet Ministers', a '3 week old premature baby', and finally 'Dr. Sjahriv - returning after recent kidnapping'. Such sorties were not without hazard for on 4.6.1946 when en route to Batavia he was 'fired on by accurate Bofors and 20 mm. at 3,000 feet ...'
MacNamara returned to the U.K. in September 1946 to become S.A.S.O. at R.A.F. Henlow. The following year he attended the Army Staff College and in 1949 took up an appointment at the Air Ministry. He was promoted Group Captain in January 1956 and, flying a Valetta on 5 November of the same year, chalked up one further notable operational sortie as the 'Force Commander (Suez)' in the 'Airborne Assault Gamil Airfield'. Appointed Station Commander at R.A.F. Lyneham in April 1957, he was advanced to Air Commodore in January 1961, four years before retiring.