Donald Roderick MacLaren Vancouver Airport

Donald Roderick MacLaren DSO, MC & Bar, DFC (28 May 1893 – 4 July 1988) was a Canadian

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

. He was credited with 54 victories and, after the war, helped found the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

. Donald MacLaren was born in Ottawa but his family moved first to Calgary in 1899, then to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 1911. In 1912 MacLaren went to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

to study at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

. In 1914 an illness forced him to abandon his studies and he returned to Vancouver. After recovering MacLaren, his father and his brother opened a fur trading post at a remote point on the

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

. While there MacLaren learned to speak Cree. In 1916 the family gave up the trading post to help in the war effort. MacLaren's father was not allowed to join the army so he got a job with the

Imperial Munitions Board The Imperial Munitions Board (IMB) was the Canadian branch of the British Ministry of Munitions, set up in Canada under the chairmanship of Joseph Wesley Flavelle. It was formed by the British War Cabinet to alleviate the Shell Crisis of 1915 du ...

. His sons did enlist - Donald joining the Royal Flying Corps. He did his initial training at 90 Central Training School at Armour Heights and then at

Camp Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, C ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, then finally received further training in England at No. 43 Training School,

Ternhill Tern Hill, also known as Ternhill, is a village in Shropshire, England, notable as the location of the former RAF Tern Hill station, which is now operated by the British Army as Clive Barracks. The settlement is named after the River Tern whic ...

. He was then transferred into No. 34 Training School for final fighter orientation on the

Bristol Scout The Bristol Scout was a single-seat rotary-engined biplane originally designed as a racing aircraft. Like similar fast, light aircraft of the period it was used by the RNAS and the RFC as a " scout", or fast reconnaissance type. It was one o ...

and

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the ...

, completing 9 hours solo on the Camel. On 23 November 1917 he was sent to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

where he joined No. 46 Squadron. His first air combat was in February 1918, where MacLaren successfully shot down a German fighter 'out of control'. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

for a sortie on 21 March 1918 in which he helped destroy a

railway gun A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best-known are ...

with his bombs, then shot down a balloon and two German LVG two-seaters. In September he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. When the squadron commander was killed in a crash later in the year MacLaren was given command. In late October MacLaren, who had escaped injury in combat, broke his leg during a friendly wrestling match with another member of his squadron. He was sent back to England on 6 November and was in the hospital when the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

was announced. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

for his leadership of the squadron in the last months of the war. MacLaren finished the war with a Military Cross and bar, a Distinguished Flying Cross and the DSO. He was also awarded the

French Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

and Croix de guerre. MacLaren claimed 1 aircraft shared captured, 5 (and 1 shared) balloons destroyed, 15 (and 6 shared) aircraft destroyed, and 18 (and 8 shared) aircraft 'down out of control'. This was despite the fact that his first

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

wasn't until February 1918 and that he scored all his victories in only nine months. Among others, he probably shot down ace Mieczysław Garsztka on 2 October 1918 (shared with James Leith and Cyril Sawyer). Kopański, Tomasz J.: ''Mieczysław Garsztka - polski as Kajzera'', in: Militaria vol.4 No.1/1999, ISSN 1231-692X, p. 48. When he left hospital he was attached to the newly formed Royal Canadian Air Force and was in command of the Canadian pilots in England as they were transferred to the new air force. Under Maclaren's watch, 112 aircraft were granted by the British Air Ministry to form the nucleus of the RCAF. He returned to Canada on leave in late 1919 when he married Verna Harrison of Calgary. He returned to England in February 1920 but resigned from the RCAF later that year. By 1922 MacLaren returned to Canada and in 1924 established the first flying service on the west coast, and by 1926 formed Pacific Airways which was eventually acquired by Western Canada Airways. In the early 1920s he had begun planning for a seaplane base, an RCAF station at Jericho Beach, Vancouver, used for seaplane and flying boat training. He later recommended an airport at Sea Island, opening as Sea Island Airport in 1931 and which by 1940 was used by the RCAF as a seaplane base station, which had relocated from Jericho, and evolved into what is now Vancouver International Airport. Donald MacLaren died on 4 July 1988, aged 95. Having downed all of his 54 victories in the Sopwith Camel, he's the most successful pilot in the type. He served in 46 Squadron RFC/RAF alongside V. M. Yeates, the author of the seminal World War I novel '' Winged Victory'' in which Tom Cundall, the main protagonist's flight commander is a Canadian called "Mac". It is widely believed that this character was based on MacLaren.

References

External links

The Aerodrome: Donald MacLaren

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclaren, Donald 1893 births 1988 deaths Royal Flying Corps officers Canadian World War I flying aces Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Canadian recipients of the Military Cross Military personnel from Ottawa