The Commonwealth
Pilot Officer Cecil Hugh Livingstone Tulloch, RAF no. 85007
Pre-war, Tulloch lived in Egypt.
He received aviators' certificate no. 18083 when he graduated from Misr Airwork, Egypt, on 4 May 1939.
Leading Aircraftman Tulloch was promoted to Pilot Officer on probation on 24 August 1940 (gazetted on 8 October 1940).
Pilot Officer Tulloch served in 80 Squadron during the Greek campaign.
At 10.30 on 9 February 1941 Squadron Leader "Tap" Jones led off fourteen of 80 Squadron's Gladiators on an offensive patrol over the Tepelene area. They took off in four sub-flights led by Jones, Flight Lieutenant "Pat" Pattle, Flying Officer 'Shorty' Graham and Flight Lieutenant "Timber" Woods. During the take-off Flying Officer W. B. Price-Owen, in the last section, experienced engine stoppage as his Gladiator became airborne and he was forced to glide back to the airfield.
Near Tepelene a trio of S.79s were seen, but lost in cloud. It is however possible that Pilot Officer William Vale claimed that he damaged one of these since he did claim one damaged during the day.
Jones took the Squadron round in a wide arc just north of Kelcyre and led them back towards Tepelene. His engine had been running rough for the last fifteen minutes and now it was beginning to vibrate. He called Pattle over the radiotelephone and told him to take over the lead. Then he throttled right back to ease the shuddering. Within a few seconds he was joined by Flying Officer Wanklyn Flower, who was also having trouble with his engine and together they flew back to Yanina.
Meanwhile, the Squadron continued their patrol and just before midday fiveCR.42s were seen far away off the port beam by Pattle, followed by many more, 30-40 being reported. In fact there were just 16 fighters of the 150o Gruppo, led by Capitano Edmondo Travaglini, commander of the 152a Squadriglia. The Italian pilots also overestimated the opposition, identifying the eleven Gladiators as 20 strong.
Many individual dogfights developed between Tepelene and Argyrokastron. Pattle shot down one Fiat CR.42, which crashed into the ground at speed on the outskirts of Tepelene, while Flying Officer Nigel Cullen put four bursts into another and reported seeing it crash into the hillside and burst into flames. The Squadron returned to claim four definitely shot down and the probables, but the Greek authorities provided confirmation next day that all seven had crashed, and victories were credited to Flight Lieutenant George Kettlewell, Pilot Officer Vale, Pilot Officer Tulloch, Sergeant Donald Gregory and Sergeant Charles Casbolt, as well as Pattle and Cullen.
The initial claims had been nearer the truth, for four CR.42s were in fact hit. Sergente Romano Maionica and Sergente Barolo both failed to return, the latter being believed to have baled out, while Tenente Rovetta was wounded and crashed while attempting to land at base, and Capitano Travaglini force-landed near Tirana. In return the Italians claimed four Gladiators destroyed and nine damaged. Flying Officer F. W. Hosken baled out of Gladiator N5811, wounded in one leg, when his controls were shot away and he came down near Tepelene. Flight Lieutenant Kettlewell force-landed Gladiator N5858 some 50 miles north of Yanina due to lack of oil pressure, but with his aircraft undamaged. Both returned to Yanina aided by the Greek army.
He was promoted to Flying Officer on 24 August 1941 (gazetted on 30 September 1941).
During the afternoon on 24 November 1941, nine Hurricanes from 80 Squadron covered by P-40 Tomahawks of 4 SAAF Squadron, were ordered off to attack hostile forces which had broken through at Sidi Rezegh and were threatening Fort Maddalena. While on this mission, they saw below them twelve Bf 110s of III/ZG 26 travelling in the same direction as the Hurricanes, in high speed. Both formations were taken by surprise, the Brittish diving and the Germans climbing to give battle, but at this moment more Hurricanes from 1 SAAF Squadron appeared on the scene and in a swift action four Bf 110s were claimed shot down with three more damaged. Lieutenant V. A. V "Viv" Greenberg and Lieutenant Y. Visser from 4 SAAF Squadron claimed one shared while Lieutenant Roy Edwin Chadwick claimed one shared with Sergeant Alexander Comfort (80 Squadron). Lieutenant Richardson shared a third with an unknown pilot (possibly Flying Officer Tulloch). Sergeant Russell Foskett of 80 Squadron shot down another north-west of Maddalena, which crash-landed, no less than four people getting out of it. Foskett also reported that most of the Bf 110s appeared to be in European camouflage and he thought they were just flying in from Crete. Flight Sergeant P. Wintersdorff and Flight Lieutenant Dowding both from 80 Squadron, each claimed one of the damaged Bf 110s. Flying Officer Tulloch was seen being shot down in flames and he was killed. Lieutenant Thorpe also failed to return. He was picked up by armored cars and saw action with them before returning on 26 November. Sergeant Foskett and another pilot landed away from base.
III/ZG 26 claimed four P-40s and three Hurricanes between 16:00 and 16:18. The P-40s were claimed by three pilots from 7 Staffel; Unteroffizier Karl Emsbach (at 16.12 as victory no. 1), Oberfeldwebel Helmut Haugk (two at 16.13 and 16:16 as victory nos. 7-8) and Unteroffizier Heinz Golisch (at 16.18 as victory no. 1). The Hurricanes were claimed by Oberleutnant Dieter Bidlingmaier of 8./ZG 26 at 16:00, Oberfeldwebel Richard Heller of 8./ZG 26 at 16:09 and Leutnant Alfred Wehmeyer of 9./ZG 26 at 16:08. Losses were Leutnant Herbert Gassner and gunner Gefreiter Reddig of 8 Staffel and Oberleutnant Hans Kolle, with gunner Obergefreiter Luckmann of 9 Staffel, which were all taken prisoner. Oberfeldwebel Richard Heller of 8 Staffel was attacked by twelve Tomahawks, and wounded, carrying out a belly-landing. His gunner, Unteroffizier Mühlbrodt, has given the following colorful report of the combat:
"The sun was just rising but already the Bf 110s were hovering over the British columns. Our Rotte has discovered a new column on the march. Suddenly I see one, two, three, four black dots to the right. They are approaching. I shout: "Fighters!" My pilot curves in and at the same moment the fighters zoom over us and we can see the blue ring of their cockades. They turn in again. The sky above is full of black specks and I count twelve or more fighters. It seems as if we have fallen right into the midst of a strong formation.
We try to escape in a frantic dive, because it is hopeless to fight such an overwhelming crowd, but we cannot escape. The Curtiss are too high and over-take us in the dive. Our engines scream and I shout to the pilot: "First attack!" Exactly behind us appears the snout of a Curtiss; a right turn is useless because to left and right of the attacking fighter two more Curtiss are flying. Out of the wings of the Curtiss come flashes of all colors. Then it rattles in our aircraft as if someone were knocking a milk churn. The next Curtiss is attacking, while the first is hovering over us like a satisfied bird. Second attack, so quickly, that I can scarcely warn the pilot. The hail of bullets comes down like a shower. There is no escape. We are in the trap. The fighters relieve each other as if on a shooting range. Both engines stutter, the right one is smoking. We have only one chance: belly-landing in the Desert! I see the ground approaching. At the same moment a Curtiss is closing in for an attack. The Bf 110 glides towards the ground very softly, but the Curtiss is diving like a meteor. The cannon and gun burst are whistling around us, splinters whizz through the cabin. Heller holds the stick with the left, and with the right hand holds the gun sight. I myself seize the machinegun, because we will touch down at any moment. While gliding, the Bf 110 hits a heap of stones, there is a mighty jerk, and I land between the drum magazines. For a moment I sit benumbed in the cockpit, but then I jump up. It is high time, as from both sides flames are blazing into the cabin. I jump out and run for cover. The Curtiss disappear. Heller's left hand is bleeding, it was hit between thumb and forefinger. I tie up his arm and make a sling. After a short march we are found by German soldiers who take us to the next airfield. We ask about our wingman, but he had more luck and has landed safely at home despite some damage."
At the time of his death, Tulloch was credited with 1 biplane victory, this one being claimed while flying Gloster Gladiators.
Claims:
| Kill no. | Date | Time | Number | Type | Result | Plane type | Serial no. | Locality | Unit |
| 1941 | |||||||||
| 1 | 09/02/41 | 1 | CR.42 (a) | Destroyed | Gladiator | Tepelene-Argyrokastron | 80 Squadron |
Sources:
Ace of Aces: M T StJ Pattle - E C R Baker, 1992 Crécy Books, Somerton, ISBN 0-947554-36-X
Air war for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete - Christopher Shores, Brian Cull and Nicola Malizia, 1987 Grub Street, London, ISBN 0-948817-07-0
Fighters over the Desert - Christopher Shores and Hans Ring, 1969 Neville Spearman Limited, London
Flight Global
Strike True - The Story of No. 80 Squadron Royal Air Force - Christopher Shores, 1986 Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, Tonbridge, ISBN 0-85130-126-6
The London Gazette