After he completed his flying training, Sergeant Franklin joined No 65 Squadron at Hornchurch in 1937. At the outbreak of war he was a Flight Sergeant with the squadron.
During operations over France in May and June 1940, Franklin achieved ace status. He was awarded the DFM on 9 July. In the Battle of Britain Franklin continued as a scourge of the Luftwaffe. Between 7 July and 16 August he destroyed eight Bf 109s, damaged another and damaged a Do 17. He was awarded a Bar to the DFM on 13 August. After a period ‘non-effective sick’ Franklin re-joined 65 on 13 October, the day he was commissioned.
On 12 December Franklin and Sergeant Merrik Hine failed to return from a pursuit of a German bomber in circumstances which have never been fully established.
Squadron Leader Gerald Saunders, 65’s CO, wrote to the widow of Bill Franklin, saying: “I personally feel that I have lost a real friend. To his fellow pilots his absence has come as a real blow and to the squadron as a whole, the loss of this most popular, experienced and cheerful pilot is very heavily felt.”
Bill Franklin is commemorated on Panel 8 of the Runnymede Memorial.
