Yule was posted to
No. 145 Squadron, based at
Croydon, in November 1939. His new unit was a newly reformed fighter unit, operating
Bristol Blenheim heavy fighters on day and night operations. However in March 1940 it began converting to the
Hawker Hurricane, a process that took two months by which time it was flying aircraft to France to assist the fighter squadrons there. On 18 May, Yule took part in No. 145 Squadron's first action of the war, when on patrol over
Brussels, 12
Heinkel He 111 medium bombers were intercepted in broken cloud. When the German bombers emerged from cover the squadron attacked, Yule shooting one down that had been damaged by his flight leader. Four days later he destroyed a
Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber, one of three encountered near Arras. At the end of May and into early June, the squadron helped with aerial cover during the
Dunkirk evacuation. During this time Yule shot down a
Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter northeast of
Dunkirk. For the remainder of the month he flew on several patrols over the
English Channel and escorted bombers on missions to France. In early July, he helped shoot down a
Dornier Do 17 medium bomber near Brighton.
Battle of Britain Once the
Battle of Britain commenced, the intensity of operations picked up, with Yule flying numerous convoy patrols and interception missions. He was one of three pilots who shot down a Do 17 over the English Channel on 10 July, the opening day of the battle. This was followed by his damaging of a
Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber near the
Isle of Wight on 13 July, and he was also credited with the probable shooting down of a Bf 110 the same day. He shared in the shooting down of a Do 17 off Brighton. He damaged two more Ju 88s in July before the squadron was rested. They returned to action in October, flying from
Tangmere. The pace of the aerial fighting had slowed somewhat but Yule damaged a Ju 88 on 17 October. Promoted to
flying officer on 23 October, two days later, he was shot down by a
Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter in combat over
Kent and was admitted to hospital with leg wounds after making a
forced landing which completely wrote off his Hurricane. Yule rejoined No. 145 Squadron in February 1941, at the time converting to
Supermarine Spitfire fighters, but shortly afterwards was posted away to be an instructor at No. 53 Operational Training Unit at Heston. Now a
flight lieutenant, he helped instruct American pilots, very much under secrecy because the United States was still neutral. In early November, he returned to operations with
No. 501 Squadron, which was based at
Ibsley. He remained with the unit for seven months during which time, he carried out various convoy patrols, interception missions and attacks on enemy shipping. In April 1942, he was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The citation, published in
The London Gazette, read:
Channel Front Promoted to
squadron leader in June 1942, Yule assumed command of
No. 66 Squadron. His squadron was tasked with carrying out offensive operations to France, flying Spitfire Vbs. On a sweep to the
Cherbourg area on 15 July, Yule got into a dogfight with two
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. He shot down one into the sea while the engine of the other Fw 190 was damaged. The next month, he led the squadron during the aerial operations in support of the
Dieppe Raid, carrying out escort missions for bombers. In mid-November 1942, having completed his first tour, Yule was posted to general office duties at the headquarters of
No. 10 Group although he still made the occasional operational flight. He was subsequently awarded a
Bar to his DFC. The citation read: In August 1943, Yule was promoted to acting
wing commander and returned to flight operations as leader of
No. 15 Wing, based at
Detling. The wing carried out numerous offensive sweeps to France, led by Yule. During one such sweep, on 6 January 1944, he destroyed a Fw 190. He damaged another Fw 190 the following week. In early March he was transferred to 83 Group Control Centre, tasked with planning and co-ordinate the operations of the various fighter wings of the
2nd Tactical Air Force in the coming
Normandy invasion. Shortly after commencing his new role, he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order. The published citation read: Yule continued with his planning duties after the D-Day landings which now included co-ordinating fighter support for the advancing Allied ground forces in France. In early 1945 he attended a
RAF Staff College course and then took up a post at the Air Ministry, working in the Directorate of Policy. He ended the war credited with destroying eight enemy aircraft, five of which were shared with other pilots. He also claimed at least two probable destroyed aircraft with one shared, one damaged aircraft with three shared. ==Postwar career==