Petrus “Dutch” Hugo – The Quiet Karoo Boy Turned Hero
- Garth Calitz
- 7 hours ago
- 6 min read
By Rob Russell
Petrus Hendrik Hugo, DSO, DFC & Two Bars (20 December 1917 – 6 June 1986) was a South African fighter pilot and flying ace in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. One of the greatest fighter pilots of World War 2, he was a son of the Karoo. His story reads like something out of a Shakespearean tragedy, with glory, loss and splendid isolation. And a quiet, insignificant ending.
Petrus Hendrik Hugo was born on 20 December 1917, on the farm Pampoenpoort in the Victoria West district, Cape Province. Even as a boy, hunting springbok in the semi-desert of the Northern Cape, he showed great promise as a deadly shot. He loved to tinker with machines and was fascinated with anything aviation-related. After school, he went on to attend the Witwatersrand College of Aeronautical Engineering and in 1938, he went to the United Kingdom to attend the Civil Flying School at Sywell.
On 1 April 1939, Hugo was awarded a Short Service Commission in the Royal Air Force as an acting pilot officer on probation. His Afrikaner origins and pronounced accent soon earned him the nickname "Dutch", and he was known by this throughout his RAF career. He was remustered to a pilot officer on 21 October 1939. Peter was nicknamed “Khaki” back home (either for choosing to train in Britain or for his sun-reddened complexion, which, friends said, gave him the look of an Englishman).
He served at No.13 Flying Training School for six months and was assessed "exceptional" at the end of his course. He attended the Fighter School at RAF St. Athan in Wales, and in December 1939, joined No. 615 Squadron RAF at Vitry-en-Artois, in France, and stayed with them until 26 November 1941. The squadron was equipped with the Gloster Gladiator, an aircraft to which Dutch was to grow to love. In May 1940, the squadron re-equipped with Hawker Hurricanes; however, with the fall of France, 615 Squadron returned to the UK and were stationed at RAF Croydon and RAF Kenley.
Gloster Gladiators and Hawker Hurricanes
On 20 July 1940, Hugo shot down two Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters and shot down yet another Bf 109 on 27 July. Despite his amazing efforts, there was also a soft and caring side to him.
The following was taken from his combat report after this shooting down:
“Dense smoke and liquid poured from the German pilot’s machine. Although my engine stopped, I dived after him. Fortunately, my engine restarted. The pilot pulled out of his dive at about 6,000 feet and then started to dive again. I was hot on his tail and at about 3,000 feet opened fire. He continued to dive and landed in the water. Within a minute, the aircraft had sunk, and I saw the pilot swimming about in the middle of a big patch of air bubbles which had been caused by the sinking of his machine. I sent back a message asking for a launch to be sent out to the German airman’s rescue and gave his position. I then flew to base.”
On 12 August, Hugo shot down another Bf 109. On 16 August, he claimed a He 111 probably destroyed over Newhaven, but was himself hit by cannon shell splinters from a Messerschmitt Bf 110. Slightly wounded in both legs, Hugo was not the type to sit around and he returned to action two days later. He was soon involved in a dog fight and had to fight hard not to lose his life. He was jumped on by Bf 109s of JG 3 and wounded in the left leg, left eye and right cheek and jaw. He managed to crash-land and was taken to Orpington Hospital. On 23 August 1940, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in recognition of the following: "During June and July, 1940, he destroyed five enemy aircraft". By late September, he rejoined No. 615, based at Prestwick in Scotland. On 21 October 1940, he was promoted to flying officer.
He 111 and Messerschmitt Bf 110
In mid-1941, the squadron, now flying the cannon-armed Hawker Hurricane IIc, returned to RAF Kenley. On 14 October 1941, Hugo shared in shooting down a Heinkel He 59 flying boat, with three other pilots. On 21 October 1941, he was promoted to flight lieutenant (war substantive). He assumed command of 41 Squadron RAF on 20 November, which was then flying Supermarine Spitfires, and was awarded a Bar to his DFC on 25 November.
On 12 February 1942, during the channel dash of the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, he continued his streak of shooting down German aircraft and shot down one Bf 109 and damaged a second. On 14 March, he shot down another Bf 109 over a German convoy near Fecamp, and on 26 March, he claimed another whilst escorting Bostons raiding Le Havre. Promoted to wing commander on 12 April, but on 27 April was wounded again, being shot down in the English Channel.
In a running fight with Focke-Wulf Fw 190s of II./JG 26, he claimed a probable Fw 190 and damaged a second, but was hit in the left shoulder and had to bail out, being picked up by Air Sea Rescue. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) while recuperating at 11 Group HQ.
In late November, he took over No. 322 Wing RAF. On 12 November, he combined with Flight Lieutenant Alan Eckford to destroy a Dornier Do 217 near Djidjelli. He claimed a probable Junkers Ju 88 and another damaged near Bougie Harbour on 13 November, and two days later, a probable He 111 and a damaged Ju 88 over Bône Harbour. On 16 November, he downed a Ju 88 and two Bf 109s. He got another Ju 88 on 18 November and three more Bf 109s on 21, 26 and 28 November.
Dornier Do 217 and Junkers Ju 88
On 2 December, he shot down two Italian Breda Ba 88 bombers of 30 Gruppo near La Galite, one being shared, and on 14 a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79. He led 322 Wing for the next four months until posted to HQ, North-West African Coastal Air Force. On 16 February 1943, he was awarded a second Bar to the DFC for destroying at least 4 enemy aircraft in operations in North Africa.
Breda Ba 88 and Savoia-Marchetti SM.79
He returned to command No. 322 Wing in June 1943 and on 29 June destroyed a Bf 109. On 2 September, Hugo shot down a Fw 190 near Mount Etna and on 18 November, he got his last confirmed victory of the war, an Arado Ar 196 Floatplane of Seeaufkl 126, over the Adriatic coast.
His final tally was 17 destroyed, three shared destroyed, three probably destroyed and seven damaged. Of these, 12 and one shared destroyed were scored in the Spitfire V. It certainly was a great record and one of which he was humbly proud. Whilst the kills were credited to him, he often reminded people that without his fellow squadron members, it would not have been possible.
In November 1944, he was granted permission to wear the Distinguished Flying Cross he had been awarded by the President of the United States "in recognition of valuable services rendered in connection with the war". That is indeed a rare honour and not afforded to every foreigner.
After the end of the Second World War, he remained in the RAF with the rank of squadron leader; most officers had dropped a rank or two from their wartime ranks. He attended staff college and was posted to the Central Fighter Establishment. He retired from the RAF in February 1950 and was allowed to retain the rank of group captain.
Group Captain Hugo was for outstanding services, awarded a farm in Tanganyika (later Tanzania), on the western slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. This is where he and his wife Angela and their three daughters lived for two decades. In recognition of his services, the British government named Hugo Gardens in the London borough of Havering after him.
But 1971 was a sorrow-filled year for the flier-turned-farmer. First, his beloved Angela died. He was devastated and never fully recovered from her death. Then in September, Petrus and his daughters were summarily evicted from the farm by the new government – they were given two weeks to pack up and leave. The Hugo clan sailed from Mombasa to Durban and then returned to their family in the Karoo. One of his prized possessions, a beloved Cessna 182, had to be smuggled out of the country by a friend. And so, for the better part of 15 years, the celebrated warrior came to live and farm at Canariesfontein. Group Captain Hugo was seldom seen and lived “like a hermit” until he died in 1986.
A distant relative, Michael Muller, now owns the property and has turned it into a guest farm. He remembers visiting “Oom Khaki” as a boy on the odd occasion. “I got the sense that Oom Khaki was less fascinated by sheep than he was by machinery. He loved installing new wind pumps, and he enjoyed servicing and looking after them all himself.”
The inscription on his flat gravestone simply reads: “Here lies a hero.”
How very apt - a quiet, gentle person who just got on with life and wanted not to be in the limelight.
