Air Commodore Roy Gilbert Dutton, (2 March 1917 â 14 September 1988) was a Royal Air Force officer and decorated flying ace. He flew Hurricanes during the Second World War and was credited with 19 confirmed aerial victories.
Roy Gilbert Dutton was born on 2 March 1917 in Hatton, British Ceylon, but received his education in England. He later worked in the insurance industry as a clerk. He learnt to fly at Hanworth Flying Club and in June 1936, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) on a short service commission and commenced the first phase of flight training. On completion of his course, Dutton was commissioned into the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 24 August as a probationary acting pilot officer. Further flight training at No. 8 Flying Training School at Montrose followed and in April 1937 he was posted to No. 111 Squadron.
Dutton's new unit was stationed at Northolt and equipped with the Gloster Gauntlet biplane aircraft but soon was to be the first RAF squadron to receive the Hawker Hurricane fighter. Two months after his arrival at the squadron, Dutton's commission was confirmed and he was regraded to pilot officer. On 29 January 1939, he was promoted to flying officer.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, No. 111 Squadron moved north, initially to Acklington and then to Drem in Scotland, from where it patrolled along the coastline. On 13 January Dutton shared in the destruction of a Heinkel He 111 medium bomber near Farne Island; it had already been damaged in an earlier action with No. 602 Squadron. In February the squadron relocated to Wick, where it provided the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow with aerial cover. It was occasionally scrambled to counter Luftwaffe bomber attacks. Two months later Dutton was posted to No. 145 Squadron as a flight commander, assuming the rank of acting flight lieutenant. The squadron was based at Croydon from where it operated Hurricanes.
In mid-May, following the invasion of France, No. 145 Squadron began ferrying Hurricanes there as reinforcements for the RAF fighter squadrons there. It occasionally engaged Luftwaffe aircraft while operating in France. On 18 May Dutton destroyed one He 111 and shared in the destruction of a second He 111 while on patrol over Belgium. The following day he shot down an additional He 111 while flying west of Arras. On 22 May he destroyed one Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber and damaged two others near St Omer. By the end of the month, No. 145 Squadron was based back in England, at Tangmere and flying patrols to Dunkirk to help protect the British troops being evacuated from the beaches there as part of Operation Dynamo. At this time Dutton was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in recognition of his exploits in France. The citation, published in the London Gazette, read:
Dutton shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter to the north of Dunkirk on 31 May, and shared in the destruction of a second Bf 109. The next day he destroyed a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter, also in the vicinity of Dunkirk, as well shooting down two Bf 109s.
Being based at Tangmere throughout June and July, No. 145 Squadron became heavily engaged in the developing Battle of Britain. On 1 July, south of Beachy Head, Dutton shared in the destruction of a Dornier Do 17 medium bomber. A week later he and another pilot were credited with the shooting down of a Do 17 to the south of The Needles. Dutton destroyed a He 111 on 11 July, while flying some to the south west of Selsey Bill. He damaged two Ju 88s over the English Channel on 17 July and two days later shared in the shooting down of a He 111 to the south of Brighton. At the start of August he damaged a Ju 88 near Beachy Head and then, on 8 August, destroyed three Ju 87s in an area extending between to south of St Catherine's Point. He also damaged a Bf 109 in the same vicinity. On 11 August he was involved in an engagement with Bf 110s to the south of Swanage, damaging two of them and probably destroying two others. The next day he shot down a Ju 88 about from Selsey.
Shortly afterwards, No. 145 Squadron was sent north to Drem, in Scotland, for a period of rest. On 20 August, Dutton was awarded a Bar to his DFC. The citation for the Bar read:
Two months later, in October, No. 145 Squadron went back to Tangmere although by this time the pace of operations over Southeast England was much reduced. By this time Dutton's substantive rank was flight lieutenant, having been promoted the previous month.
On 1 December 1941, he was promoted to squadron leader (temporary). He was promoted to substantive squadron leader on 9 December 1943. On 1 July 1944, he was promoted to wing commander (temporary).
On 8 June 1945, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) "in recognition of gallantry and devotion to duty in the execution of air operations".
Dutton remained in the RAF following the end of the Second World War, being granted a permanent commission as a squadron leader. He was later granted seniority in that rank from 1 June 1944. He relinquished the acting rank of wing commander on 1 November 1947. He was promoted to substantive wing commander on 1 July 1950 and to group captain on 1 July 1957.
In the 1966 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was appointed Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Queen Elizabeth II on 16 February 1965, and relinquished the appointment on 3 December 1970.
He retired from the Royal Air Force on 3 December 1970 and was allowed to retain the rank of air commodore.
Dutton maintained a connection to the RAF in his civilian life; he worked as an administrator of the Welfare Branch of the RAF Benevolent Fund. Retiring in 1982, he died on 14 September 1988 and was subsequently interred at the cemetery at St. Luke's at Whyteleafe, in Surrey. Dutton is credited with the destruction of nineteen aircraft, six of which were shared with other pilots. He damaged nine aircraft and probably destroyed two more.