Percival Stanley Turner, (3 September 1913 – 23 July 1985) served with the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. He holds the record of the most combat hours flown of any Canadian pilot.
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 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).
After the Battle of Britain, Turner was posted to
No. 145 Squadron RAF
No. 145 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that operated during World War I, World War II and the Cold War.
History
The Squadron formed on 15 May 1918. Equipped with Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 fighters, it supported the final offensives ...
in June 1941, where he transitioned over to the
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 ...
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 to his DFC while flying over France again.
With a short rest in between, Turner was then given command of No. 411 Squadron RCAF. 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 on Malta at the height of the Siege of Malta. In 1943, he became wing leader of 244 Wing, fighting in Italy. In 1944, he was promoted to
group captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
and commanded
No. 127 Wing RCAF
No. 127 Wing RCAF was a formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. It comprised No. 403 Squadron RCAF, No. 416 Squadron RCAF and No. 443 Squadron RCAF.
History
127 Wing, or the 'Kenley Wing', based at RAF Kenley, wa ...
.
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. 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
Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, based in The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, commemorates and honours those whose accomplishments in aviation contributed so much to Canada's development as a nation. Founded in 1973, the Hall of ...
Reach for the Sky
''Reach for the Sky'' is a 1956 British biographical film about aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. It won the BAFTA Award for Bes ...