The urgent need for wartime leaders resulted in Hunter being posted to command No. 254 Squadron RAF when it formed in October 1939, flying Bristol Blenheim twin engine fighters. He held command until January 1940 when his skills were more urgently required elsewhere. No. 264 Squadron RAF was re-formed at RAF Sutton Bridge in October 1939 and in March 1940 Hunter joined the squadron as commanding officer to fly the Boulton Paul Defiant An unusual fighter design, the single engine Defiant was armed with four 0.303 in Browning machine guns in a rear turret operated by an air gunner. One of his flight commanders was Nicholas Gresham Cooke and his regular air gunner was Aircraftman Frederick Harry King, a regular service RAF air gunner from Leicester. In early operations the Defiant was often mistaken for the similar shaped Hawker Hurricane by German pilots, who dived to attack from above and behind; the blind spot for a Hurricane pilot, but directly into the fire from the gunner’s turret on a Defiant. On 12 May 1940, operating over the Dutch coast, they shot down a Junkers Ju 88 bomber. On 27 May 1940 they shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 and joined several other Defiants to destroy another over Dunkirk, while on 28 May 1940 they shot down two Bf 109s. The major successes of 264 Squadron came in patrols on 29 May 1940 when they entered combat at about 15:15 hours and a second time at 19:30 hours and shot down a total of thirty-eight enemy aircraft. During the first of these two patrols above the Dunkirk beaches Hunter and King shot down a Bf 109, a twin engine aircraft, and then a Ju 87 dive bomber On 31 May 1940 the team shot down another Bf 109, a Heinkel He 111 and possibly a second Heinkel. This brought their score to 9 victories and 1 shared plus another possibly destroyed. After the completion of the Dunkirk evacuation the Luftwaffe had gained operational experience in fighting against the Defiant, which had therefore become an extremely vulnerable aircraft to operate in daylight against formations escorted by fighters. The months after Dunkirk were spent rebuilding the squadron, which had suffered heavy losses.
Death
In the five days from 24 to 28 August 1940, 264 Squadron was almost wiped out, losing 3 aircraft and crews each day on 24, 26 and 28 August. On 24 August, while in action against a formation of Ju 88s which had just bombed RAF Manston, Defiant serial number N1535 was last seen chasing an enemy bomber out to sea. Both of its crew were posted missing when they failed to return. Both Hunter and King were killed in action. , July 1940
Honours and awards
14 June 1940 – Awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
