Edgar James Kain | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Nickname(s) | Cobber |
| Born | 27 June 1918 Hastings, New Zealand |
| Died | 7 June 1940 (aged 21) Échemines, France |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1936–1940 |
| Rank | Flying officer |
| Service number | 39534 |
| Unit | No. 73 Squadron |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross Mention in despatches |
Edgar James Kain, DFC (27 June 1918 – 7 June 1940) was a New Zealand fighter pilot and flying ace who flew in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.
Born in Hastings, New Zealand, Kain developed an early interest in aviation and joined the RAF in 1936. He completed his flight training the following year and was posted to the RAF's No. 73 Squadron, flying the Gloster Gladiator and then the Hawker Hurricane. On the outbreak of the Second World War the squadron was dispatched to France. Kain began flying operational sorties during the Phoney War and gained his first aerial victory, a German bomber, in November 1939. He claimed his fifth aerial victory in March 1940, becoming the RAF's first flying ace of the Second World War as well as its first recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross. His success early in the war and consequent media reports made him well known in Britain and the Dominions.
The Phoney War ended on 10 May 1940, when the German invasion of France and the Low Countries began. Within 17 days, Kain had claimed a further 9 aerial victories. By early June, he was physically exhausted and ordered to return to England. On 7 June 1940, having bid farewell to his squadron and in a gesture to his comrades, he took off in a Hurricane to perform a series of low-level aerobatics over Échemines airfield. While performing one of these manoeuvres, he crashed at high speed and was killed instantly. At the time of his death he was ranked flying officer and was officially credited with 14 aerial victories. Subsequent research suggests he destroyed 16 enemy aircraft. Originally buried in Troyes Cemetery, his remains were relocated to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Choloy War Cemetery, near Nancy, after the war.