This 274 Squadron Hurricane was flown by Flt. Lt. Dudley Honor while based in North Africa in 1941. On 25th May 274 were ordered to fly north to oppose the German airborne invasion of Crete. After shooting down two Ju 52s near Maleme airfield Honor was in turn shot down by an Me 110 and an Me 109 into the sea where his plane immediately sank. After reaching the surface he swam for four hours to reach the coast of Crete where he spent a further six days evading capture. Upon reaching friendly forces he was evacuated from Crete by a Sunderland flying boat.
This Hurricane carries 274 Squadron's Lightning bolt emblem rather than squadron letters and has "spaghetti camouflage" on the leading edges. This was applied to a number of MTO based Hurricanes in the early months of 1941. The idea was probably to mimic Italian aircraft camouflage and so fool enemy air gunners that a friendly aircraft was approaching.
