Peter Ayerst

Peter V. Ayerst DFC (born 4 November 1920) is a British former World War II Spitfire pilot and latterly promoted to the rank of Wing Commander.

He is the only surviving 73 Squadron pilot and test pilot from Castle Bromwich.

RAF career
Peter Ayerst joined the RAF in 1938, and was posted to 73 Squadron in August 1939, flying Hurricanes.

He was sent to France with the squadron and scored his first victory in April 1940. After a spell instructing, when he shared in the destruction of a He111 with two other instructors, he had postings with both 145 and 243 Squadrons.

In July 1942 he went to North Africa with 33 Squadron, before being promoted to flight commander with 238 Squadron, both postings with further combat success. After a period in South Africa, he returned to the UK, joining 124 Squadron flying Spitfire MkVIIs in defence of the invasion ports, where he scored his final victory; then flew Spitfire MkIXs on bomber escorts to Germany. He later became a Spitfire test pilot at Castle Bromwich with the instruction of Alex Henshaw. After the war, he became one of the most highly regarded wartime instructors in the RAF. His final victory tally stood at 5 destroyed, 1 probable, 3 damaged and 2 further destroyed on the ground.

In September 1944, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Novels

 * Spirit of the Blue (2004)