John Mitchell disembarked from Novorossisk, Russia on 25 June 1919 as part of a Royal Air Force air support group. On 30 July 1919 he was part of a reconnaissance mission of three de Havilland DH.9A planes of the RAF's No. 47 Squadron over southern Russia. While on their mission, ground fire punched holes in the fuel tank of the DH.9A of Flight Lieutenant Walter Anderson and observer officer Mitchell. Mitchell climbed onto the wing and plugged the holes with his fingers. When another DH.9A was forced down by anti-aircraft fire, Anderson and Mitchell landed to pick up its crew, Captain Eliot (Future Air Chief Marshal Sir William Elliot) and Lieutenant Laidlaw. Mitchell was still on the wing so Laidlaw took over the plane's Lewis machine gun in the rear cockpit and was able to hold off charging Bolshevik cavalry. Anderson was able to get their plane to take off again with Mitchell holding onto the wing to plug the fuel tank's hole with his fingers. Despite being burned by the aircraft's exhaust, they returned safely to base with the rescued crew.
On 30th July, 1919, near Cherni Yar (Volga), these officers were pilot and observer respectively, on a D.H. 9 machine, which descended to an altitude of 1,000 feet to take oblique photographs of the enemy's position. A second machine of the same flight which followed as escort was completely disabled by machine-gun fire and forced to land five miles behind the enemy's foremost troops. Parties of hostile cavalry which attempted to capture the pilot and observer of the crashed machine were kept away by the observer's Lewis gun whilst the pilot burnt the machine.
Flight Lieut. Anderson, notwithstanding that his petrol tank had been pierced by a machine-gun bullet, landed alongside the wrecked aeroplane, picked up the pilot and observer, and got safely home.
The risk involved in attempting this gallant rescue was very great, as had any accident occurred in landing the fate of all four officers can only be conjectured. The difficult circumstances of the rescue will be fully appreciated when it is remembered that Observer Officer Mitchell had to mount the port plane to stop the holes in the petrol tank with his thumbs for a period of fifty minutes flying on the return journey.
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The London Gazette Supplement: 31847 [3]
Mitchell was only dressed in shorts and a drill tunic but was still able to hold onto the plane against a 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) slipstream. His fingers were not totally able to plug the holes in the fuel tank and it leaked all over his body. If a fire had sparked his fuel-soaked clothes on the plane, he would have been covered in flame. While burned from the exhaust, he still went flying the next day.
Anderson and Mitchell were to be nominated for the Victoria Cross, but supporting documentation was lost during the evacuation from Russia. Instead of the Victoria Cross, the two received the Distinguished Service Order and later the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions.
On 6 August 1919 Mitchell was shot from the ground and hospitalized while flying as an observer to Captain Anderson in DH9 D2942. He embarked to the United Kingdom on 28 March 1920. In June 1923 he transferred to the RAF Reserve and completed his service on 5 June 1929.
