Air Commodore John Watson Allan, (6 May 1918 – 9 July 1988), known as Ian Allan, was a Scottish Royal Air Force officer and flying ace of the Second World War, who was credited with 14 kills. Allan was born in Cathcart, Scotland. He joined the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

in 1938, and qualified as a pilot in October 1940, serving with

No. 266 Squadron RAF No. 266 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. History First World War The squadron was formed from Nos 437 and 438 Flights at Mudros, Greece on 27 September 1918 to carry out anti-submarine patrols in that area, flying Sh ...

during the Battle of Britain. On 20 January 1941 he received a commission in the RAFVR. In 1942 he joined No. 256 Squadron RAF as a night pilot operating Boulton Paul Defiants. Allan was promoted to Flight Officer on 20 January 1943, with seniority of 14 January 1943. In July 1943 Allan led a detachment of his squadron to Malta. Between 12 July and 31 August 1943, with the assistance of his observer, Flight Lieutenant Harold James Davidson, he was credited with 14 enemy aircraft destroyed, with five being brought down on the night of 15/16 July and two each on 16/17 July and 25/26 July. He and Davidson were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in recognition of their aerial victories on 31 August 1943. At the beginning of 1944 Allan joined

No. 151 Squadron RAF (Translation: "Fidelity unto duty" or "Faith for duty" or "Fidelity into duty") , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , decorations= , battle_honours= , commander1= , commander1_label= , command ...

and undertook night ranger operations over Northern Europe, before moving to No. 29 Squadron RAF. In December 1944 he became commanding officer of No. 29 Squadron, which operated

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

s, and he remained with the unit for the rest of the war. On 1 January 1945 he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He was promoted to the permanent rank of squadron leader on 1 September 1945. In December 1945 Allan became a staff officer. In 1950 he took command of the all-weather fighter wing at RAF Coltishall and in 1953 he led a flight of de Havilland Vampires during the Coronation Review flypast. He was promoted to wing commander on 1 July 1952. In March 1954 he served as an Administration Staff Officer at RAF Fighter Command, before becoming Officer Commanding Administration Wing,

No. 3 Flying Training School RAF No. 3 Flying Training School is a Royal Air Force military training school, which manages elementary flying training for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and also for the training of all non-pilot aircrew for the RAF and is home to the Central ...

. He was awarded the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) on 10 June 1954. On 14 September 1959 he took up the role of officer commanding, Administration Wing at RAF Northolt. Between 1960 and 1966 he worked at the

Joint Warfare Establishment The Joint Warfare Establishment was a British military training establishment based at Old Sarum in Wiltshire. History The Joint Warfare Establishment was formed at Old Sarum in Wiltshire on 31 March 1963 when the School of Land/Air Warfare (for ...

, before becoming officer commanding, RAF Leeming on 16 September 1966. On 1 June 1971 Allan assumed his final posting as the commandant of the

Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre The Royal Air Force Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre, at Adastral Hall, RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, is the centre through which every potential RAF officer must go to be selected for Initial Officer Training (IOT) and through which potenti ...

. He had been promoted to air commodore on 1 July 1967, and retired from the RAF on 6 May 1973.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Ian 1918 births 1988 deaths Military personnel from Glasgow British World War II flying aces Scottish flying aces Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air commodores Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II The Few