Squadron Leader Loudoun James MacLean (born 1 February 1893) was a British

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 ...

credited with five aerial victories.

Biography

Family background

MacLean was born in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, London, the son of Loudoun Francis MacLean (1848–1897), who died in Delhi, India, while serving as superintending engineer of the Jumna Canal.

World War I

After training as a "Gentlemen Cadet" at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, MacLean was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

on 1 April 1914. He was promoted to lieutenant on 9 June 1915, and served on the Western Front in France, winning 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 i ...

, which was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

on 2 October. His citation read: :Lieutenant Loudoun James MacLean, 57th Field Company, Royal Engineers. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and determination during the nights of 25th to 31st August 1915, when he skilfully erected a bridge over the

Yser Canal The Ieperlee (or ''Ypres-Ijzer Canal'') is a canalized river that rises in Heuvelland in the Belgian province of West Flanders and flows via the city of Ypres (Ieper) into the Yser at Fort Knokke. The river is long. Its name is derived from ''ie ...

near Boesinghe under heavy rifle fire. Although he lost several of his men, he carried the work through satisfactorily." MacLean was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps, and after completing flying training, was appointed a flying officer on 5 May 1917. In June he was posted to No. 41 Squadron RFC, which was the last RFC squadron flying the obsolete F.E.8 fighter. These were replaced with the

Airco DH.5 The Airco DH.5 was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft. It was designed and manufactured at British aviation company Airco. Development was led by aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland as a replacement for the obs ...

in July, but these also proved unsatisfactory, and in October they were replaced by the S.E.5a single-seat fighter. MacLean was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 24 October, and promoted to captain in the Royal Engineers on 3 November. He gained his first aerial victory on 29 November, when he and Lieutenants Russell Winnicott, D. V. D. MacGregor, and Essell, shared in the driving down out of control of an

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...

over

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...

. The following day, 30 November, MacLean shared in the destruction of two more enemy aircraft; an Albatros D.V over

Inchy-en-Artois Inchy-en-Artois (; literally "Inchy in Artois") is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Inchy-en-Artois is a farming village situated southeast of Arras, at the junction of the D19 and ...

with Lieutenant D. V. D MacGregor, and a Type C reconnaissance aircraft over Rumilly with Captain

Meredith Thomas Air Vice Marshal Meredith Thomas, (6 July 1892 – 20 May 1984) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He began his career as a flying ace during the First World War, credited with five aerial victories. Ea ...

, and Lieutenants Russell Winnicott and Frank H. Taylor. On 9 January 1918 he shared in the driving down of a Rumpler C east of

Marcoing Marcoing () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. History During World War I, there was an alleged incident between a British soldier named Henry Tandey and Adolf Hitler in this area. Hitler was unarmed and appeared wounded, so T ...

with Second Lieutenants A. T. Isbell and Alfred Hemming, and on 3 February another Type C driven down north-west of Douai shared with Second Lieutenant G. A. Lippsett. MacLean was awarded a bar to his Military Cross on 6 February 1918, which was gazetted on 2 July. His citation read: :Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Loudoun James MacLean, MC, Royal Engineers and Royal Flying Corps. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While leading a patrol he attacked and drove down an enemy two-seater machine and destroyed an enemy scout. He showed the greatest determination in leading patrols and splendid coolness and courage, most of his work being done under very difficult weather conditions."

Post-war career

MacLean stayed in the RAF post-war, being granted a permanent commission with the rank of captain on 1 August 1919, and resigned his commission in the Royal Engineers the same day. He served in Iraq, in the Central Air Communication Section, before being transferred to the headquarters of

RAF Iraq Command Iraq Command was the Royal Air Force (RAF) commanded British Armed Forces, inter-service Command (military formation), command in charge of United Kingdom, British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the British Man ...

on 1 April 1922, finally returning to England when posted to the RAF Depot (Inland Area) as a supernumerary on 24 January 1923. From there he was posted to the Superintendent of Reserves, based at

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...

on 24 August, then to the RAF Cadet College at

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...

on 24 October. On 15 September 1924 MacLean was posted to the Inland Area Aircraft Depot,

RAF Henlow RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), elements of Defence Equipment an ...

. On 1 January 1927 MacLean was promoted from flight lieutenant to squadron leader. He was posted to the RAF Depot at

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years ...

on 15 July 1929, then to the No. 1 School of Technical Training, for engineer duties in No. 1 (Apprentices) Wing, at

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

on 10 November. He left Halton on 2 March 1934, and on the 14th was posted to the Home Aircraft Depot at RAF Henlow, serving there until 3 September. He then served on the Central Trade Test Board at the Reception Depot at

RAF West Drayton RAF West Drayton was a non-flying Royal Air Force station in West Drayton, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, which served as the main centre for military air traffic control in the United Kingdom. It was co-located with the civilian Lond ...

until 16 March 1935. Finally, on 1 April 1935 Maclean was placed on the retired list on account of his ill-health. However he returned to service during the Second World War, being commissioned as a temporary lieutenant-commander (A) in the Royal Navy's

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

on 31 August 1939.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Loudoun 1893 births Year of death missing People from Ealing Royal Engineers officers Royal Flying Corps officers British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Air Force officers Royal Navy officers of World War II Military personnel from the London Borough of Ealing