An Cosantóir

following notation: 'his courage and enthusiasm have been a source of encouragement to other pilots of the squadron.' In mid-1941 Fighter Command had decided to take the meant that Brendan was being noticed by senior officers. Pro- motion to flight lieutenant came in April and also a posting to 452 Squadron, Royal australian air Force, as section leader. this squadron was the first flying unit from australia in europe and had not yet seen combat and Brendan's experience was needed to ensure the Australians' survival in the skies over northern France. The Australians were not used to the discipline imposed by a pre-war trained officer but Brendan gained their respect in a short period of time. the DFC, which came through on april 25th, included the Checklist war to the enemy by beginning 'Circus' operations, which consisted of a bomber force escorted by a large number of fighters attacking targets in northern France. The theory was to entice german fighters into the air and destroy them. With hindsight, these Circus operations must be seen as a failure. No 452 Squadron moved to the kenley Wing and began operations over France in July 1941, which meant that Brendan was close to home and could visit his girlfriend Jean and his family in Richmond when he was not on flying duties. With the squadron now equipped with the cannon- history | 27 rose dedicated to his memory stands in the Memorial garden at Bal- donnel. his logbook is on display at the superb 'Soldiers and Chiefs' exhibition in the National Museum at Collins Barracks, and the RaF Museum in hendon proudly displays his uniform and medals. Brendan's brother Ray completed 33 hazardous missions with ing) of the hornchurch Wing, and it is accepted that he was the youngest RAF wing commander, an amazing achievement even with accelerated wartime promotion. Brendan has not been forgotten in his homeland and a beautiful Photographs taken at the time tend to support this deci- sion, as they show a man who appears much older than one who had not yet reached his 22nd birthday. on June 21st 1942 he was promoted to wing commander (fly- family members in april. however, the strain of leading a wartime squadron was beginning to tell and Brendan was sent home on leave by the squadron medical officer. Service order (DSo), second only to the victoria Cross. he was one of the youngest pilots in the RaF to receive this honour at the time. however, Brendan's time with 452 Squadron would be short-lived as he was promoted to squadron leader of 602 (City of glasgow) Squadron in January 1942. Brendan and Jean celebrated their engagement with armed Spitfire Mk v, Brendan downed 18 enemy aircraft between august and october, earning him two bars to his DFC. With the shamrock emblem and his initials painted cen- trally on his aircraft forward of his cockpit, the propaganda value of an Irishman flying with a high scoring squadron of australian pilots helped keep Fighter Command in the British and australian public mind. the american Press also covered the story. In october 1941 Brendan was awarded the Distinguished Wing Leader (painting by Barry Weekley) Bomber Command before flying Spitfires and hawker tempests over Europe, ending the war as a flight lieutenant. Dedicated to Monica Fuller (neé Finucane) and 'Dickie' Finucane. Maurice will be giving a talk on Wing Commander Brendan Finucane with the same title as the article in the National Mu- seum of Ireland at Collins Barracks on Saturday July 7th at 1pm. www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE Ray, 1945

• Cover