Richard Macklow Trousdale (23 January 1921 – 16 June 1947) was a New Zealand

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 ...

of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF) during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was credited with at least six, possibly seven, aerial victories. Born in Waimate North, New Zealand, but raised in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, Trousdale joined the RAF in 1939. After completing flight training, he was posted to No. 266 Squadron. He flew

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 during the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

. He later flew with No. 255 and No. 409 Squadrons and achieved a number of aerial victories, many while flying Boulton Paul Defiants and

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

s on night fighting duties. In July 1942, he reformed No. 488 (NZ) Squadron and led it for several months. For much of the remainder of the war, he performed staff and training duties but 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 January 1945. He was killed in a flying accident when his

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 ...

crashed near Pershore in England.

Early life

Born on 23 January 1921 at Waimate North, in the Far North region of New Zealand, Richard Macklow Trousdale was the son of A. C. Trousdale, a farmer in the area. The Trousdale family later moved south to Helensville and then to

Howick Howick may refer to: Places *Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa **Howick Falls * Howick, Lancashire, a small hamlet (Howick Cross) and former civil parish in England *Howick, New Zealand **Howick Historical Village **Howick (New Zealand electo ...

, in

. Trousdale was educated at Howick District High School. He applied for a short service commission in the

(RAF) in February 1938 and was accepted on a provisional basis at the end of the year. He left for the United Kingdom in February 1939, travelling on the RMS ''Tainui''. In the same draft as fellow New Zealander and future flying ace Victor Verity, Trousdale commenced his flight training at No. 11 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School at the RAF station at Scone, near

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, on 16 March, flying

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

s. He successfully completed the course and proceeded to a two-week induction into the RAF at

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

. In late May, he began intermediate training at No. 9 Flying Training School at

Hullavington Hullavington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, just to the north of the M4 motorway. The village lies about southwest of Malmesbury and north of Chippenham. The Fosse Way, a Roman road, forms the western boundary of the par ...

as an

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

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 ...

. He gained his wings at the end of August. He sought to be a bomber pilot and applied for training in this role. He was assessed as an exceptional student, having completed a month-long bombing and air firing course at

Warmwell Warmwell is a small village and civil parish in south west Dorset, England, situated on the B3390 road about southeast of Dorchester. In 2013 the estimated population of the parish was 80. Warmwell contains several historic buildings, includin ...

. In November 1939, he was posted to No. 266 Squadron, newly re-activated following the outbreak of the Second World War.

Second World War

At the time of Trousdale's posting, No. 266 Squadron was being equipped with

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Hi ...

light bomber A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance. The earliest light bombers were intended to dro ...

s. However, within a matter of weeks, these were replaced by

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

, Trousdale flying one of these for the first time in February 1940. By April, the squadron was operational. Flying from Martlesham Heath, it carried out convoy patrols along the southeast coastline of England. The following month, it moved to Wittering. It was involved in

Operation Dynamo Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, flying patrols over 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.British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was being evacuated from late May to early June. On 2 June, Trousdale and his flight engaged seven Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters and he subsequently claimed one of these as probably destroyed. The same day he also claimed 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, but this was not confirmed. Once the BEF's evacuation had been completed, the squadron resumed training and convoy patrols.

Battle of Britain

On 11 August, No. 266 Squadron moved south to

Tangmere Tangmere is a village, civil parish, and electoral ward in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Located three miles (5 km) north east of Chichester, it is twinned with Hermanville-sur-Mer in Lower Normandy, France. The parish h ...

and the next day began its involvement in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

by being part of a large dogfight over the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. Trousdale engaged several aircraft of the opposing ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' but without success. The squadron was briefly moved to the airfield at Eastchurch but its new location was then bombed and some of its aircraft destroyed. It subsequently moved to the RAF station at

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed ...

and was immediately heavily engaged. On 16 August, flying over

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, ...

, Trousdale shot down a Bf 109 during a dogfight in which five of the six other Spitfires with which he was flying were destroyed. Two days later, he was credited with probably destroying another Bf 109, this time 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 ...

. On 21 August, having suffered a number of losses including its commander, the squadron moved back to Wittering to rebuild. Once it had sufficient numbers, the squadron began patrolling the airfields of No. 12 Group. On the morning of 7 September, Trousdale and two other pilots intercepted a Dornier Do 217 bomber over

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

and pursued it to the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

estuary, off the Dutch coast, where it was shot down. Despite all three pilots being involved in destroying the aircraft, Trousdale, who damaged one of the Do 217's engines and shot off its

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...

, may have received the sole credit for shooting it down. At the end of October, he destroyed a Bf 109. He was promoted to flying officer early the next month.

Night fighting duties

In mid-November, Trousdale, 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 ...

, was transferred to No. 255 Squadron. At the time, it was being reformed to help with the aerial defence of the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

. Based at

Kirton-in-Lindsey Kirton in Lindsey, also abbreviated to Kirton Lindsey, is a market town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is south-east from Scunthorpe. History Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII lived at Kirton-in-Lindsey afte ...

it was equipped with Boulton Paul Defiant night fighters. Trousdale was to be one of the unit's flight commanders while it was working up to operational status, which was achieved in January 1941. It began coming into contact with bombers of the ''Luftwaffe'' the next month, with Trousdale and his gunner, Sergeant Chunn, credited with the probable shooting down of 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 ...

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

off Spurn Head on 10 February. Trousdale was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in early March; the citation, published in ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'', read: The squadron's pace of operations increased in the following weeks and on the night of 9 May, Trousdale and Chunn combined to shoot down two He 111s that were raiding

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

. The squadron was responsible for shooting down six bombers that night. Trousdale was taken off operations in July to serve in a staff role at the headquarters of No. 12 Group. His work was in relation to night fighting duties and came with a promotion to acting

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

. On 1 October, he was posted to No. 409 Squadron as a flight commander, still holding his acting rank. His new unit was Canadian and working up to operational status with

s for night fighting duty. Later in the month he damaged a Dornier Do 17 bomber. By November the squadron was regularly flying night patrols but a quiet spell followed and it was not until the night of 8 March 1942 that Trousdale achieved another aerial victory, when he and his radar operator, Sergeant Affleck, destroyed a He 111 over Hull. He shot down a Do 217 on the night of 7 April; the aircraft was seen to crash into the sea off the

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

coast. He was awarded a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his DFC in May, the published citation reading:

No. 488 Squadron

Promoted to acting wing commander in July, Trousdale was posted to

Church Fenton Church Fenton or Kirk Fenton is a village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. It is about east of Leeds, about south-east from Tadcaster and north from Sherburn in Elmet. Neighbouring villages include Barkston ...

to take command of No. 488 Squadron. The original incarnation of the squadron had been raised for service in

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 ...

but had been disbanded after the

fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

; it was now being reformed at Church Fenton as a night fighter squadron operating Beaufighters. Trousdale set about bringing the squadron up to operational status, implementing training programs despite having inadequate personnel and equipment. At the start of September, the squadron moved to

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

in Scotland where it continued training, including working with ground-based

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

operators. It began flying missions to intercept incoming bombers identified by radar the following month although these were relatively few in number. ''Ranger'' missions, nighttime flights to occupied Europe that targeted German transportation infrastructure, began to be flown in February 1943. On one of these, mounted on 15 February, Trousdale damaged a train at

Courtrai Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larges ...

and two barges. Later in the month, he was posted to the headquarters of No. 13 Group in a training capacity for the next several months. In March 1944, he was attached to the

Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992. Established at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, the unit moved in 1939 to Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, where its work ...

at Boscombe Down; here he gained experience with a variety of aircraft, including the

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...

. He also attended a course for

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

Service with RNZAF

At the start of 1945, having completed the five-year term of his short service commission in the RAF, Trousdale transferred to the

(RNZAF). He remained in the United Kingdom, serving at the Telecommunications Flying Unit based at

Defford Defford is a small village in the county of Worcestershire, England, located between the towns of Pershore and Upton-upon-Severn. It was once part of the Royal forest of Horewell. The woodlands were mostly removed around the time of the Civil Wa ...

and gaining flight experience with a variety of multi-engined aircraft. He ended the war credited with having destroyed six enemy aircraft, possibly seven, with a share in another destroyed as well as two or three probably destroyed and one damaged. Military aviation historians Christopher Shores and Clive Williams consider that it is possible that one of the probables was actually confirmed. Trousdale returned to New Zealand in January 1946 with his wife, who he had married in 1941, and their two children. He had an extensive period of leave and then formally commenced his service with the RNZAF in late April 1947 with the rank of squadron leader. Trousdale returned to the United Kingdom the next month, tasked with collecting and ferrying a

fighter bomber back to New Zealand. On 16 June, while conducting flight checks on a Mosquito in which he was flying as second pilot, he was killed when it stalled in low level flight and crashed. He is buried at Haycombe Cemetery in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. His wife, a former officer in the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

, took the couple's two children back to the United Kingdom after his death but subsequently returned to live in New Zealand.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trousdale, Richard 1921 births 1947 deaths Military personnel from Auckland New Zealand World War II flying aces New Zealand World War II pilots Royal Air Force officers Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel The Few New Zealand people of World War II New Zealand recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)