Capt Allan Hepburn

Am interested in Allan Hepburn and his career details. First off nowhere have i read for certain whether he was an observer or a pilot om 88 RAF. Can someone clear that up ? Does anyone have any referances that mention Hepburn explicitly?

I have an article on him , if anyone can add to it please mail me. The article is at :

http://members.xoom.com/PointCook/afca00_hepburn.htm

It reads :

Allan Hepburn was born on the 11th of October 1896 in Footscray , Victoria. He joined the British Army and served in the Artists Rifles in France during 1916. Hepburn then enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps and was posted to 24 Squadron RFC in June of 1917 where he flew DH5's. He was wounded in action in October of 1917 but continued to fly until mid November when a posting as flight commander of 40 Squadron RFC came through. Hepburn however was involved in a flying accident soon after he arrived at 40 Squadron and was posted back to England to convalesce.

He returned to France in April of 1918 as Commander of A Flight , 88 Squadron RAF. By June of 1918 88 RAF had joined 40 Wing RAF which included the two Australian Flying Corps scout squadrons of 2 squadron AFC and 4 Squadron AFC. The Bristol Fighters of 88 RAF often providing the top or medium cover for the SE5a's of 2 AFC and Camels of 4 AFC. In the period from June 1918 to September 1918 , 88 RAF shot down 20 enemy aircraft in flames , 33 crashed , 53 were attacked O.O.C , and 15 were driven down. Of these figures Hepburn contributed 8 destroyed and 8 O.O.C.

Hepburn finished the war with 16 victories and was awarded the DFC at the end of 1918. In 1921 he joined the RAAF and was a Wing Commander in the 1930's. Hepburn passed away on the 21st of July 1975.


cam

I just had a look at what this site has on Hepburn ( last time i checked it didnt have anyhting on him ) and what i posted was pretty similar. I used " Australian Air Aces " as the referance by Dennis Newton, before i get accused of plagarism . Am still interested in any other books on Hepburn or 88 RAF though. AAA mentions "Flying Minnows" by Roger Vee. Anyone got that or seen it?

cam

Based on Hepburn's prior service in the other squadrons listed in 1917 it is safe to a assume he was a pilot with #88 R.A.F. He is referenced in Royal Air Force 1918 edited by Christopher Cole, but only indicating he & his observer received credit for aircraft downed during specific time periods.

A belated Merry Christmas Cam,
You have mentioned most of what I have on Hepburn but I do know that he was a pilot. He flew Bristol Fighters, observers he shared victories with were:
W.G. Lambert
A.M. Proctor
E. Antcliffe
H.G. Eldon
?.Marshall
A. Tranter

He ended up joining the RAAF in 1921, eventually rising to Wing Commander.

Hope this helps you some.
Regards,
Andrew

>> A belated Merry Christmas Cam, <<<

you to Andrew.

>>> but I do know that he was a pilot. He flew Bristol Fighters <<<

The reason I asked was i saw a picture form the AWM which had him marked as an observer or implied he was an observer with 88 RAF. I tried to dig up the pic last night but couldnt find it. I thought it was at odds with the rest of his service hence the question. Thanx for that info though, clears it up.

His Brisfit, F4442 had a cool AIF insignia on the side. Pretty neat looking plane. It is as a profile on the AFC page.

cam