Percival Stanley Turner, (3 September 1913 – 23 July 1985) served with 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) an ...

and the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

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 opposi ...

. He holds the record of the most combat hours flown of any Canadian pilot.

Early years

Turner's parents emigrated to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, when he was at a young age. While studying engineering there, he joined the

auxiliary.

Second World War

In 1938 Turned joined the

, completing his pilot training right at Britain's entry to the

. He was posted to fly

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

with No. 242 Squadron RAF. It was over Dunkirk that he scored the first of his 14 aerial victories he would post during the war. During 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 ...

he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). After the Battle of Britain, Turner was posted to No. 145 Squadron RAF in June 1941, where he transitioned over to the Supermarine Spitfire Mk II. During this time, Johnnie Johnson remarked that Stan was a "Fearless and great leader" of his squadron. In October 1941 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 while flying over France again. With a short rest in between, Turner was then given command of

No. 411 Squadron RCAF No. 411 "City of York" Squadron RCAF was a Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force squadron that operated as part of RAF Fighter Command in Europe with the Supermarine Spitfire.Jefford 1988, page 90 History The squadron was formed on 16 June 1 ...

. His posting there spurred many requests to be transferred to the squadron, a notable one accepted was that of Robert Wendell "Buck" McNair. In 1942, he was then transferred to the command of

No. 249 Squadron RAF No. 249 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron, active in the sea-patrol, fighter and bomber roles during its existence. It was one of the top scoring fighter squadrons of the RAF in World War II. History First formation No. ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

at the height of the Siege of Malta. In 1943, he became

wing leader Wing leader, or wing commander (flying), denotes the tactical commander of a Commonwealth military wing on flying operations. The terms refer to a position, not a rank, although the role was usually taken by an officer ranked wing commander. The p ...

of 244 Wing, fighting in Italy. In 1944, he was promoted to group captain and commanded No. 127 Wing RCAF. Stan Turner was also involved in some other interesting and remarkable events during the war. He flew escort for the mission that was agreed to by the Germans to drop an artificial leg to

Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared p ...

. Turner and Bader were good friends, despite a rocky start when Bader took over command of the Canadian pilots who had survived the Battle of France. Bader won over Turner and the other Canadians by generously replacing their kit they had lost in France from his personal stores, not to mention by demonstrating his flying skills.http://www.constable.ca Canadian Air Aces. Turner was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974.

In popular culture

Turner was portrayed by

Lee Patterson Lee Patterson (March 31, 1929 – February 14, 2007) was a Canadian film and television actor. Life and career Patterson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, as Beverley Frank Atherly Patterson. He attended the Ontario College of Art and ...

in '' Reach for the Sky'', the 1956 film biography of Douglas Bader.

References

External links

* http://www.constable.ca/caah/turner.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Percival Stanley 1913 births 1983 deaths Canadian aviation record holders Canadian aviators Canadian World War II flying aces Canadian World War II pilots Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force group captains Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Canadian Air Force officers