In 1938, Bartley learned to fly. this rank was made permanent, albeit on probation, on 21 October 1939. He flew with
No. 92 Squadron through the
Battle of France, seeing action over Dunkirk and during the
Battle of Britain and was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in October 1940, by which time he had been credited with shooting down "at least eight enemy aircraft". After serving in
No. 74 Squadron in early 1941, Bartley became an instructor at several operational training units before transferring to Vickers Supermarine as a test pilot at in July 1941. In early 1942, he returned to operational flying, being posted
No. 65 Squadron as a flight commander but took command of the squadron in May 1942. In August 1942, he took command of
No. 111 Squadron, and led them during
Operation Torch, in North Africa, until January 1943. For his service in North Africa, he received a
bar to his DFC in February 1943. ==Film industry==