fly the aircraft slower than his instructor and remain airborne. The examiner took control before the Hart entered an irrevocable stall and failed him immediately on landing. On 9 January his instructor passed him and he was sent on leave with 138 hours in his logbook. On his return, Drake met Francis Ronald Swain who held the world altitude record and who later became his commanding officer. Drake flew the Hawker Audax and Hawker Fury from 2 February 1937. On 14 May he survived a crash when the Fury he was flying went into a spin after ground crews had overloaded it. On 19 May Drake completed gunnery training at Armament Practice Camp and was ready for a squadron posting. He joined No. 1 Squadron that same day at RAF Tangmere. His Squadron Leader was Swain. The unit was equipped with the Fury. At 1 Squadron Drake became one of the unit's acrobatic pilots and gained experience in perfecting deflection shooting. On 29 August 1938 Drake flew a Gloster Gladiator for the first time. On 19 October he flew his first monoplane, a Hawker Hurricane. Drake ferried various aircraft to flying schools and when picking up a Hurricane from Brooklands, he received a personal brief by test pilot Dickie Reynell, who was killed in action in 1940. On 11 January 1939 Drake was permitted to fire the guns for the first time, in contravention of pre-war stringency. He also undertook some night flying. In March he received an average rating as a fighter pilot. World War II On 3 September 1939 Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany after the invasion of Poland. 1 Squadron moved to Vassincourt on 9 October 1939 during the Phoney War. The squadron had orders to protect airfields of the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force. On 19 April 1940 Drake scored his first victory. The squadron was scrambled to engage high-flying aircraft that they could not reach. During the flight Drake spotted nine Messerschmitt Bf 109s. During the subsequent dogfight he claimed one destroyed and one probable over Metz. The second Bf 109 was pursued into Germany at low–level and Drake reported he crashed into a hill near Gau-Bickelheim. The squadron claimed three; German sources state two were lost. The German fighters belonged to 7. Staffel Jagdgeschwader 53. A Leutnant Sievers was killed and the anonymous second pilot apparently ran out of fuel escaping