John Noble MacKenzie, (11 August 1914 – 28 March 1993) was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was officially credited with the destruction of nine enemy aircraft. Born in

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

in New Zealand, MacKenzie joined the RAF in 1937 on a

short service commission The Officers Training Academy (OTA) is a training establishment of the Indian Army that trains officers for the Short Service Commission (SSC). The 49-week course at the OTA prepares graduates for all branches of the Army, except for the Army Me ...

. After completing his flight training, he was posted to No. 41 Squadron where he flew Hawker Furys and then

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s. He flew several patrols covering the beaches at

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Operation Dynamo and then fought in the Battle of Britain, during which he destroyed several German aircraft. He was later sent to Singapore to join No. 488 Squadron, raised to strengthen the aerial defences of

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

. The squadron flew extensively during the Japanese invasion of British Malaya but was eventually evacuated to Australia. Mackenzie then commanded No. 14 Squadron before returning to the United Kingdom in mid-1943. He transferred to the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

in 1944, briefly commanded No. 64 Squadron, and finished the war in New Zealand. He later rejoined the RAF, serving in a number of training posts until his retirement from the military in 1957 with the rank of squadron leader. Returning to New Zealand, he ran an automotive dealership in Balclutha in his later years. He died in 1993.

Early life

John Noble MacKenzie was born on 11 August 1914 in Goodwood, in Otago, New Zealand. His grandfather was Thomas MacKenzie, a former prime minister of New Zealand. He was educated at Timaru Boys' High School before going on to Otago Boys' High School. After completing his schooling he went farming but in April 1937 sought a

in the Royal Air Force (RAF). His application was accepted, and he left for the United Kingdom in October 1937. Training commenced at the Elementary Flying Training School at the RAF's station at Desford before going onto Uxbridge as an acting

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

. Further flight training followed at No. 9 Flying Training School at Hullavington and he earned his

pilot's wings An aviator badge is an insignia used in most of the world's militaries to designate those who have received training and qualification in military aviation. Also known as a Pilot's Badge, or Pilot Wings, the Aviator Badge was first conceived to re ...

in June 1938. After advanced training was completed, in September 1939 he was posted to No. 41 Squadron, which was based at Catterick and operated Hawker Furys. In January the following year, it began to re-equip with the

Second World War

When the Second World War broke out, MacKenzie's squadron had yet to finish converting to the Spitfire. For the early part of the war, it carried out covering operations for convoys and patrols along the East coast of England. In late May 1940, it began operating from Hornchurch, flying patrols over the beaches at Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo for a three-week period. During this time, MacKenzie flew several patrols but only ever sighted one enemy aircraft. At the end of its period of service at Hornchurch, the squadron went back to Catterick for a rest.

Battle of Britain

In late July, No. 41 Squadron returned to Hornchurch to assist No. 11 Group, now heavily engaged in the Battle of Britain. MacKenzie's first encounter with the Luftwaffe during the battle was on the morning of 29 July when his section encountered a formation of bombers escorted by fighters. He engaged one fighter but was attacked by another which damaged his Spitfire. With a smoke-filled cockpit and unable to bale out, he made a forced landing at

Deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, a ...

. In a later flight that day, he engaged a Dornier Do 17 bomber but return fire from its rear gunner damaged his aircraft and he made another forced landing. The squadron operated from Hornchurch until mid-August before it returned to Catterick. On 15 August, when the Luftwaffe mounted large scale daylight bombing raids against the United Kingdom, MacKenzie was leading a section of No. 41 Squadron when it encountered a large group of Junkers Ju 88 bombers near the Durham coast. Mackenzie claimed a Ju 88 as probably destroyed, seeing smoke coming from the starboard engine after his attack but being unable to verify it as definitely destroyed. In early September, and with MacKenzie having just been promoted to flying officer, the squadron went back to Hornchurch. He shot down a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

fighter over Canterbury on 6 September, having pursued it from above the Thames Estuary. He claimed another Bf 109 the same day as a probable. On 9 September, he shot down a Bf 109 and two days later claimed a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

; its crew made a forced landing in a field after MacKenzie shot up its port engine. Although he received sole credit for the He 111, MacKenzie believed that it had already been damaged in an earlier encounter with RAF fighters. He shared in the destruction of another bomber, a Do 17, on 15 September. A week later, while he and a colleague escorted an Avro Anson near

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, they encountered a group of Bf 109s. MacKenzie shot down one, which crashed into the English Channel, and damaged another. He shot down a Bf 109 on 5 October and shared in the shooting down of a Dornier Do 215 two days later. Two more Bf 109s were damaged while on a patrol on 25 October. He ended the patrol running out of fuel and damaging his Spitfire when landing in a field near Redhill. At the end of the month he destroyed a Bf 109 over Marden. Although the Battle of Britain was now officially over, No. 41 Squadron continued to encounter enemy aircraft in its area of operations as the Luftwaffe resumed attacking convoys in the English Channel and Thames Estuary. MacKenzie destroyed a Bf 109 on 17 November 1940, tacking onto the end of a formation of three enemy fighters without them realising his presence until he opened fire. On 27 November his squadron encountered a group of ten Bf 109s, all of which were destroyed with MacKenzie accounting for one which crashed near

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

. This was to be his last confirmed victory. The same month, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC); the citation published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' read: Promoted to acting

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

in January 1941, MacKenzie was now commanding one of the squadron's flights. The DFC he had been awarded the previous November was presented to him by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in late February. Soon afterwards, having made a total of 245 operational flights, MacKenzie was taken off offensive operations and began flight control duties. His acting rank was made permanent later in the year.

Singapore

In September 1941, MacKenzie was posted to join the newly formed No. 488 Squadron, raised by the

(RNZAF) in New Zealand and intended for service in Singapore. The squadron needed experienced leaders like MacKenzie to help bring it up to operational readiness as soon as possible. MacKenzie arrived in Singapore in October to join the squadron and take command of its "A" flight. The squadron was based at Kallang and began familiarisation with the Brewster Buffalo aircraft, which it had taken over from No. 67 Squadron. MacKenzie was heavily involved in the training of the squadron as its commander, Squadron Leader

Wilfred Clouston Wilfred Greville Clouston (15 January 1916 – 24 May 1980) was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of nine enemy aircraft and shared in the destruction of thre ...

, another Battle of Britain veteran, was occupied with the administrative duties. When the Japanese attacked

in December 1941, the squadron had yet to reach operational standards and intensified its training. By the end of the year it was flying regular patrols aimed at detecting and destroying Japanese reconnaissance aircraft but the Buffaloes were inadequate for the task, having a low operational ceiling. In the squadron's first major encounter with the enemy, an interception of a bombing raid, McKenzie's Buffalo was damaged by a Ki-27. Losses to Japanese fighters and bombing raids on Kallang soon reduced the squadron to only a few aircraft by the end of the month by which time MacKenzie was its commander. He had taken over the role when Clouston was posted to RAF Headquarters in Singapore. Despite reinforcement with some Hawker Hurricanes, the Japanese bombing of the squadron's airfield hampered operations. In fact, as a result of the bombing, he lost his hearing for a time. The squadron was shortly evacuated to Tjililitan airfield, in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, from where they flew covering patrols over Java until the Japanese advance prompted a further move to

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

in Australia on 23 February 1942.

Later war service

MacKenzie went on to New Zealand where in April he took command of the newly raised No. 14 Squadron, a unit of the RNZAF. He had been promoted to acting squadron leader the previous month. His new command was mostly made up of personnel who had served in Singapore and was equipped with P-40 Kittyhawks after initially working up on North American Harvards. After four months at No. 14 Squadron, MacKenzie was posted to the Fighter Operational Conversion Unit which was based at Ohakea. He remained there until mid-1943 at which time he returned to the United Kingdom. Once there, he went to RAF Sutton Bridge to complete a course at the Central Gunnery School. He then took command of the gunnery and bombing squadron at No. 61 Fighter Operational Training Unit. In April 1944, MacKenzie was appointed commander of No. 64 Squadron, which operated Spitfires escorting bombings, attacking coastal shipping and flying patrols along the English coast. In September he was repatriated to New Zealand, having transferred to the RNZAF earlier in the year. He hoped to go on operations against the Japanese but in the event this did not eventuate and instead, after doing a conversion course on the F4U Corsair, he went back to Ohakea, but this time to the Fighter Leaders School. He remained there until August 1945 when he left the RNZAF. He was officially credited with the destruction of nine enemy aircraft, a share in another destroyed aircraft, three probably destroyed, and three damaged.

Later life

Returning to the United Kingdom in 1946, MacKenzie sought a return to the RAF. He was successful and resumed his service career that July as the commander of Air Fighting Development Squadron at RAF West Raynham. His commission was made permanent with the rank of squadron leader in September 1948. He was posted to

Home Command A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various pet, companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to ...

at the Air Ministry where he served for two years. For medical reasons, he was unable to hold a flying post from July 1950. He served on the staff of the

School of Land/Air Warfare The School of Land/Air Warfare was a Royal Air Force school based at Old Sarum in Wiltshire. Its purpose was to encourage greater co-operation between officers in the air and those on the ground. History The School was originally established at ...

at Old Sarum before taking up a post in Hong Kong. He then moved onto the headquarters of the Far East Air Force, based in Singapore. His final posting was back in the United Kingdom, at RAF Brampton, where he was on the research staff at the Technical Training Command for 18 months. He resigned from the RAF in October 1957. Returning to New Zealand, MacKenzie purchased an automotive dealership in Balcultha and operated this until 1972, at which time he retired. He died at Balcultha on 28 March 1993, survived by his wife and two children. A son had predeceased him.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:MacKenzie, John Norton Military personnel from Otago Royal Air Force officers Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel New Zealand World War II flying aces New Zealand World War II pilots 1914 births 1993 deaths The Few New Zealand recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) People educated at Otago Boys' High School