Owen Leslie Hardy (31 July 1922 – 4 January 2018) was a

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 ...

(RNZAF) pilot flew combat

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...

s during the Second World War. Hardy was born on 31 July 1922 in Auckland, New Zealand. Before joining the RNZAF in March 1941 he worked as a mechanical engineer. After completing training in Canada he was sent to the United Kingdom in October 1941. The following month he attended 61 OTU ( Operational Training Unit) at RAF Heston. After acting as a Staff Pilot he was posted to 72 Squadron in March 1942. In November 1942 he travelled with the

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

to participate in the North African Campaign. He served there until June 1943. While in Africa Hardy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in May 1943. Returning to the UK he became an instructor with 61 OTU a
RAF Rednal
He was detached from there in August 1943 to attend the Central Gunnery School (CGS) at RAF Sutton Bridge. In April 1944 Hardy was posted to 485 Squadron with whom he remained until August 1945. After the end of hostilities he was awarded the Bar to his DFC. Hardy's air combat victories during the war came to 3 definite, 3 shared, 1 probable, 5 damaged and 1 destroyed on the ground. Hardy returned to New Zealand in December 1945 to attend university. He returned to the UK in 1947 and joined the Royal Air Force. Following a flying refresher course he was posted to 54 Squadron to fly the de Havilland Vampire. April 1948 saw Hardy detached and posted to 247 Squadron to lead a flight. He returned to 54 Squadron in August of the same year. From 54 Squadron he returned to 72 Squadron in November 1948 as a flight commander. The 1950s began with Hardy becoming an instructor in the Vampire Technical Flight at RAF Stradishall in February 1950. In January 1951 Hardy was posed to Gütersloh in West Germany as tasked with reforming 71 Squadron. In 1953 he converted from the de Havilland Vampire to the Canadair Sabre at

RAF Wildenrath Royal Air Force Wildenrath, commonly known as RAF Wildenrath, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airbase near Wildenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that operated from 1952 to 1992. Wildenrath was the first of four 'clutch' stations ...

. Hardy was then posted to the Air Defence Operations Centre at RAF Fighter Command Headquarters. In January 1956 he attended the

RAF Staff College The RAF Staff College may refer to: *RAF Staff College, Andover (active: 1922 to 1940 and 1948 to 1970) *RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park (active: 1941 to 1948) *RAF Staff College, Bracknell The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air ...

before serving in the Air Ministry from 1957 to 1960. From the Air Ministry Hardy was posted to RAF Watton as Wing Commander Operations with the Missile Wing. In July 1963, Hardy was posted to the Headquarters at RAF Episkopi on Cyprus. After Cyprus, Hardy attended the Senior Officers' War Course at Greenwich from September 1965 to March 1966. After the course he was posted to

RAF North Coates RAF North Coates was a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, six miles south-east of Cleethorpes, and close to the mouth of the Humber estuary. It was an active air station during World War I, and then again from the mid-1920s. Betw ...

as commanding officer. He retired as a Wing Commander in 1969 and became a planning officer for Portsmouth City Council and later Hampshire County Council. In 2016 he was awarded France's Legion d'honneur in recognition of his wartime service. In 2017, still flying, he performed a

barrel-roll A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on both its longitudinal and lateral axes, causing it to follow a helix, helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction. It is sometimes described ...

in a Spitfire during a flight on his 95th birthday. It was his first flight in a Spitfire in 70 years having last flown one in 1947. Speaking about the flight the New Zealand Herald reported his thoughts on the experience - He died on 4 January 2018 after developing

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Owen 1922 births 2018 deaths Recipients of the Legion of Honour Deaths from influenza New Zealand recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) New Zealand recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Military personnel from Auckland Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom Royal Air Force officers Local government officers in England