George Frederick "Buzz" Beurling, (6 December 1921 – 20 May 1948) was the most successful Canadian fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War.
Beurling was recognized as "Canada's most famous hero of the Second World War", as "The Falcon of Malta" and the "Knight of Malta", having been credited with shooting down 27 Axis aircraft in just 14 days over the besieged Mediterranean island. Before the war ended his official total climbed to either 31 or 31.
Beurling's wartime service was terminated prior to war's end, for repeated stunting and his lack of teamwork. Having found a way to potentially continue combat flying in the postwar era, Beurling was killed in a crash while attempting to deliver an aircraft to Israel."George Frederick "Screwball" Beurling." acesofww2.com. Retrieved: 3 August 2009.
Early life George Beurling was born in 1921 in Verdun (now part of Montreal), Quebec into a religious family and was the third of five children in the family. His father, Frederick Gustav Beurling, was Swedish and a commercial artist working for the Claude Neon Company. His mother, Hetty Florence Gibbs, was of English descent and was born in the Montreal suburb of Pointe-Saint-Charles.
George Beurling began to develop an interest in flying at the age of 6 when his father built him a model aircraft. His parents wanted him to study in McGill University and become a successful commercial artist like his father. At the age of 15, George quit school and took up a job to increase his income. One year later, he had logged 150 flying hours and passed all examinations for a commercial pilot licence.
Wanting to increase his flying experience, he set out for China, hoping to join the Chinese Nationalist Air Force by crossing the US border. He was intending to head to San Francisco and work for some while in China and later sign up for the job. Eventually, he was arrested as an immigrant at the border and was repatriated back home. He first took the controls of an aircraft in 1933, and was flying solo by 1938. He left school to work for an air freight company in Gravenhurst, Ontario, and soon gained a commercial licence. Beurling joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in September 1940.
Second World War With the outbreak of war, Beurling tried to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), but his lack of academic qualifications led to his rejection. He then tried to join the Finnish Air Force (which was fighting the Soviets in the Winter War), but could not get his parents' permission. Instead, Beurling sailed across the Atlantic on a convoy, landing in Glasgow, intending to enlist in the RAF. Unfortunately, he had forgotten his birth certificate and had to return to Canada. In September 1940, after he had survived the return trip, the RAF accepted him as a pilot.
Joining the RAF Having survived one or two aerial misdemeanours, Beurling reached No. 7 Operational Training Unit, at RAF Hawarden, in September 1941. Beurling demonstrated considerable skill in training. In Hawarden, he came under the influence of the great Ginger Lacey, whose score at the time stood at 27. Lacey later commented about Beurling: "There are not two ways about it, he was a wonderful pilot and an even better shot."
These two factors, coupled with exceptional eyesight, were the keys to Beurling's later success. But they did not come without effort. At Hawarden, he immersed himself in gunnery, estimation of range, deflection, bullet trail and bullet drop, until his application of these became automatic. For him, flying and shooting became one single action.
In the middle of December, he was posted as a Sergeant Pilot to 403 Squadron, a RCAF "Article XV squadron", which had just moved to North Weald, Essex. He flew his first (uneventful) combat mission in a Supermarine Spitfire, on the 25th of December, 1941. Beurling remained with 403 for nearly four months, escorting bombers and flying fighter sweeps across the English Channel.
In early 1942, a change of policy by the RCAF required its squadrons to be staffed by RCAF personnel. Because Beurling had remained technically a member of the RAF, he was posted to 41 Squadron RAF in Sussex.
On 1 May 1942, 41 Squadron was placed at a state of 30 minutes readiness from dawn until 09.00 and from 12.30 to participate in a Rodeo 9. Tangmere Wing was airborne from Westhampnett and Merston between 13.05 and 13.10, led by S/Ldr Thomas, and flew to Beachy Head where it rendezvoused with the 10 Group Wing at 10,000 feet at 13.30. Initially, 41 Squadron pilots saw nothing of interest on their patrol, but after they had left the French coast and after orbiting to port once off the coast just after turning home, approximately sixteen Fw 190s were seen.
Sgt George Beurling later reported combat at 14,000 above Cap Gris-Nez: "Squadron orbited left-handing towards the English coast. E/A were reported by their vapour trails at 9 oʼclock. I as [...] blue 4 saw 2 FW diving on the blue 3, I pulled my nose up and fired at E/A on the starboard side and blue 3 could see one on the port side. I was then hit by cannon and machine gun fire from 5 or 6 FW attacking from above and behind". After landing, his machine was so severely damaged by enemy fire that it was delivered to Flying Training School Hucknall, but after inspection recategorized as E and Struck off Charge. Beurling was allegedly not claimed as a kill by the enemy. He continued his Combat Report: "I turned into the[m], seen no evasive action and FW roared overhead heading into [...] also gradually opening out as they did so. I adjusted my sights on the middle one. E/A appeared to jump momentarily and shudder, still nothing happened. My last burst of fire appeared to hit his petrol tank as his wings broke off heading up, also the fuselage breaking between the cockpit and the tail unit. I waited for signs of the pilot out but there was none. (The attack was made line astern very slightly off to the left 5o at the most). Ammo used 60 Rds Cannon, 1210 Rds .303 Browning".
The same repeated itself on 3 May, when he spotted a lone Focke-Wulf Fw 190, and broke from the flight to pursue it. Beurling made a climbing turn to port, following S/Ldr Feeʼs lead. Looking down, he saw an Fw 190 attacking a Spitfire below him, which he believed was 41 Squadronʼs Yellow Section. He half-rolled onto the FWʼs tail, being noticed by the target plane, which broke away and dived steeply for the French coast. Beurling went after it and closed to between 300 and 350 yards, where he opened fire with both cannons and machine guns using 120 cannon shells and 480 MG rounds. Pieces of the Fw 190 dislodged from the starboard side of the fuselage, which was followed by an explosion near the cockpit in a large orange flash. The aircraft then dived vertically in a crash toward the coast, while George remained at 17,000 feet and orbited the area. Beurling then regrouped with friendly aircraft, but as he did not witness its final fate claimed the Fw 190 probably destroyed off Cap Gris Nez at approximately 12:00."Combat Reports, Second World War—Image details—Beurling, G. Y. (sic), Sergeant, 3 May 1942." The National Archives via DocumentsOnline. Retrieved: 29 July 2009.
On this occasion, Beurling was reprimanded for attacking a target without permission, and became unpopular with his superiors and fellow pilots. As Red 4, finding himself alone in the sky, he made his way back across the Channel, joining up with Sgt Appleton mid-way. Counting all claims together, after Group revision, 3–1–2 Fw 190s were credited to the RAF FC pilots. These claims are disputed.
When another pilot was posted overseas, Beurling offered to take his place. Ordered to board a ship, he did not know his destination until the vessel reached Gibraltar. He was destined for No. 249 Squadron RAF, at Malta.
Malta (1942)
Fighter pilots played a critical role in the defence of Malta during its siege. Beurling landed on the island on 9 June, after having flown off the deck of aboard his Spitfire, during Operation Salient. His nickname on Malta was "Screwball", an expletive he had a habit of using.
Beurling had a baptism by fire in the mid-morning of 12 June when, flying a Spitfire, with three other pilots from 249, the formation intercepted eight Bf 109s. Beurling claimed to have blown the tail off a Bf 109, but nobody saw it hit the ground, so he was credited with a "damaged". This correction was right, because Jagdwaffe did not suffer any combat loss near Malta on that day, not even damaged fighter. After that, Beurling claimed a series of kills that had no equal. On 6 July 1942, with other pilots from 249, he attacked a formation of three Cant Z1007bis, 14 Reggiane Re.2001s and more than two dozen Macchi C.202s. He almost certainly shot down Sergente Francesco Pecchiari from 352a Squadriglia. Then he claimed another Macchi that crashed near Zejtun, likely the Reggiane of Sottotenente Romano Pagliani, 152a Squadriglia. During this fight, the Italians claimed two Spitfires, one by Furio Niclot Doglio (whom Beurling killed three weeks later). RAF suffered no losses, but Beurling's aircraft was badly shot up. However he made a third claim that day, a Messerschmitt, hit from a distance of 800 yards. Jagdwaffe suffered one fighter combat casualty on that day. Fw. Anton Engels of 1./JG 77 was allegedly hit by A.A. fire and lost with his Bf 109F-4, W.Nr. 13386, Weiss 4 in the sea near Malta.
On 10 July, Beurling's Malta tally rose to five in just four days, making him an ace. That day, it seems likely that he shot down the C.202 of Sergente Maggiore Francesco Visentini, from 378a Squadriglia.
On 12 July, Beurling, piloting a Spitfire and searching for Pilot Officer Berkeley-Hill, who was missing, spotted, at a lower altitude, Tenente Colonnello Aldo Quarantotti and Tenente Carlo Seganti flying Reggiane Re.2001s, who in turn were looking for Lieutenant Francesco Vichi, who had disappeared while a Spitfire was chasing him. Beurling, with Flying Officer Erik Hetherington, dived on the tail of the second of the two Reggianes and downed Seganti. Then Beurling attacked the other Reggiane. He closed up to and just when Quarantotti spotted him, Beurling delivered a short burst that decapitated the Italian commander. This aircraft also fell into the sea. Two days later it was the Reggianes who attacked him and badly shot up his Spitfire. Beurling's aircraft was "riddled by better than 20 bullets through the fuselage and wings". "An explosive bullet nicked my right heel", he recalled.
On 22 July, Beurling lost his best friend in Malta, French-Canadian pilot Jean Paradis. The following day, eight 249 Spitfires were scrambled. Beurling claimed to have badly damaged a bomber and, after a long dogfight with a Reggiane, to have "blown his left wing off". The 151a Squadriglia, in fact, lost Sergente Maggiore Bruno Di Pauli. The Macchi 202 pilot reported to have parachuted down after an AA shell had damaged his aircraft and realizing that he was followed by six Spitfires that, at the moment, had still not fired.
27 July was Beurling's "biggest day on Malta". That day, he shot down Sergente Faliero Gelli, and immediately afterwards, Captain Furio Niclot Doglio, Regia Aeronauticas best fighter ace, both flying Macchi MC. 202s. Doglio, who was diving to counterattack the head-on Spitfires of 126 Squadron and had misunderstood the warning waggling of wings of his wingman, Maresciallo Ennio Tarantola (who had seen the oncoming 249 Squadron fighters from left, high above), was Beurling's 14th "kill".
On the same day, Beurling also claimed two Bf 109s, one of which was piloted by the ace Leutnant Karl-Heinz Preu of JG 53 although other sources attribute this to flak. On 24 July 1942, Beurling was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal, the citation read:
On 30 July, he was commissioned as a pilot officer, and on 4 September won a bar to his DFM, largely for his exploits on 27 July. The citation read: