lone Hurricane diving towards the sea, its pilot slumped forward over the controls and flames engulfing the engine compartment. Two Bf 110s were still firing at it. Seizing the opportunity, he engaged and shot one of them down watching it and the Hurricane hit the sea simultaneously. Kettle did not specify the fate of the German crew — the victory was his fifth, making him an ace. It is possible Kettlewell's victim was one of two 5./ZG 26 Bf 110s that were lost: Bf 110E (Werknummer 4272—factory number), Oberfeldwebel Georg Leinfelder and Unteroffizier Franz Beckel who were killed in action or Bf 110E (Werknummer 4299), Oberleutnant Kurt Specka and Günther Frank. A third Bf 110 crash-landed with severe damage. Kettlewell was shot down and wounded in the same battle. Surviving records show that the German claimants included Staffelkapitän Hauptmann Theodor Rossiwall and Oberleutnant Sophus Baagoe who were credited with kills against Hurricanes, taking their scores to 12 and 14 respectively. Baagoe would be killed in action within a month, on 14 May 1941. It cannot be known for certain which one shot down Pattle since three other German pilots made claims in the air battle. One of the 80 Squadron pilots involved in the battle, Roald Dahl, records five Hurricanes were downed in several air battles that day, with four pilots dying. One of those was Pattle. List of victories While most of Pattle's victories were claimed while flying Hurricanes, at least 15 were downed in Gladiators. His claims included 26 Italian aircraft. Pattle was provisionally credited with 50 air victories (and two shared), seven (and one shared) probable victories, and four (and two shared) damaged. It is likely that his total was at least 40 enemy aircraft destroyed a figure which biographer Edgar Baker has compiled through a list of semi-official records and log-books. Baker asserts that the true figure could be higher, owing to the inability of post-war researchers to identify an exact figure, due to the loss or destruction of British records in the retreat from Greece or during the subsequent occupation. Recent research into Pattle's claims has shown that 23 claims can be directly linked to records by March 1941. The Air Historical Branch contains information collated through memory. Baker's work suggests another 17 were claimed in April 1941. Other research dedicated to the history of German bomber units, some of which took part in the