Brendan Eamonn Fergus Finucane
Wing Commander · 41276 · United Kingdom
✈ One of ‘The Few’ — Battle of Britain
- Died
- 15 July 1942, aged 21
- Fate
- Killed in action
Biography
Brendan Eamonn Fergus Finucane — universally known as ‘Paddy’ — was born in Rathmines, Dublin, on 16 October 1920 and moved to England as a teenager, joining the Royal Air Force on a short-service commission in 1938. Flying Supermarine Spitfires marked with his trademark shamrock, he made his name in the Battle of Britain with No. 65 Squadron and then, from 1941, with the Australian No. 452 Squadron and No. 602 Squadron, becoming one of the most celebrated fighter pilots in Britain. By the summer of 1942 he had been credited with around twenty-eight enemy aircraft destroyed and decorated with the Distinguished Service Order and a Distinguished Flying Cross with two bars; in June 1942, aged just twenty-one, he was given command of the Hornchurch Wing — the youngest wing commander in the history of the RAF.
His fame was extraordinary, but his career was brief. On 15 July 1942, leading a low-level fighter sweep over the French coast near Le Touquet, his Spitfire was hit by ground fire and the engine failed. He glided out to sea and made a controlled ditching, but the aircraft sank and Finucane went down with it; his body was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede.
Last updated 4 June 2026.
Photographs
Commonwealth Air Aces of the Second World War Flight Lieutenant Brendan ‘Paddy’ Finucane DFC, an Irishman who flew with the Royal Air Force, seated in the cockpit of his Supermarine Spitfire at RAF Kenley while serving with No.452 Squadron RAAF.
ⓘ licence & credit
Crouch (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Commonwealth_Air_Aces_of_the_Second_World_War_CH3757.jpgView source & full licence →Burial / commemoration
- Cemetery
- Runnymede Memorial, United Kingdom
Timeline
-
23 September 1941
Gazetted: DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross -
17 October 1941
Gazetted: DSO
Distinguished Service Order -
15 July 1942
Died
aged 21
Awards
-
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) — gazetted 17 October 1941
-
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) — gazetted 23 September 1941
This officer has fought with marked success during recent operations over Northern France and has destroyed a further six enemy aircraft. Of these, three were destroyed in one cfay and two in a single sortie on another occasion. His ability and courage have been reflected in the high standard of morale and fighting spirit of his unit. Flight Lieutenant Finucane has personally destroyed fifteen hostile aircraft.