On 11 May Blackadder shared in destroying a He 111 and claimed another destroyed, which was not confirmed.
On the 18th Blackadder claimed a Do 17 destroyed but his Hurricane was hit by return fire and he made a crash-landing.
The squadron was withdrawn to England on the 20th. Blackadder was awarded the DSO on 4 June, the citation stating that he had shot down three enemy aircraft and carried out several very important reconnaissances of bridges and roads at a time when information was hard to come by.
On 14 August Blackadder damaged two He 111s and next day he destroyed one near Seaham, Co Durham. On both days the Germans were attempting to raid targets in the north east. The squadron moved to Tangmere at the beginning of September. On the 9th Blackadder shared in the destruction of a Do 17, on the 13th he damaged a Ju 88, on the 14th he shared two Ju 88s, on the 26th he shot down a He 111 and on 4 October he shared a probable He 111. On 24 October 1940 he was detached to RAF Turnhouse as Sector Controller. He later performed the same function at Usworth, Ouston, Prestwick and Ayr. He received a Mention in Despatches (1.1.41).
Blackadder commanded No 245 Squadron from June 1941 to July 1942, when he was posted to No 10 Group as Controller at Rudloe Manor, later going to HQ Fighter Command as Wing Commander Tactics. He moved to HQ Allied Expeditionary Forces.
Blackadder’s final wartime posting was as CO of the Air Fighting Development Unit at Wittering. He was made OBE on 1 January 1945 and was released from the RAF in November. He rejoined 607 in the AAF in September 1946 and served with it until December 1948, after which he commanded the Northumberland Wing of the ATC until February 1951. Blackadder died in 1997.
