At 96, Spitfire ace relives the thrill of battle
HE was only 19 when he shot down his first enemy plane as an RAF fighter pilot.
Seventy-seven years on, Squadron Leader Allan Scott was yesterday back in a Spitfire soaring over the British countryside and loving every second.
At 96 he had to take the back seat in the dual cockpit plane. But alongside his aircraft was a single seat Spitfire flanked by a Hurricane in a stirring image of the legendary fighters that were so vital to victory in the Second World War.
The flypast, from the famous Biggin Hill airfield, was part of the celebrations marking the centenary of the RAF.
Before the flight the veteran airman said: ‘I can’t wait to get up there flying again in my beloved Spitfire. It’s a beautiful aircraft. It fits you like an overcoat.’
After war broke out Mr Scott joined 124 Squadron at Biggin Hill in Kent before being stationed in Malta where he earned a Distinguished Flying Medal. He finished the war with 13 kills and several probables.
Of his time in Malta, where the average life expectancy in the air was 15 minutes, he said: ‘We knew we might not come back and that each moment could be your last, but we were young and we accepted it.
‘When the battle started the adrenaline flowed. But we had Spitfires. You’d feel it instinctively. It felt like it was part of you.’
Mr Scott, from Wem, Shropshire, did three wartime tours and later became a test pilot. He is the last remaining pilot from the battle that was fought over Malta.
In 1953 he nearly died in a crash in a Tiger Moth biplane at an air display in Edinburgh. Woodworm had ravaged part of the structure and it snapped as he landed. As the plane smashed nose-first into the ground he was catapulted from the cockpit.
Yesterday wasn’t the first time he had renewed his wartime love affair with the Spitfire. In 2015 he went up in a dual-cockpit plane from Biggin Hill,
The RAF was formed on April 1, 1918, when the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service merged.
Yesterday, during a reception at the former site on the Strand in London of Hotel Cecil, the RAF’s first HQ, a centenary message from the Queen was read by Aircraftman Adam Wood from Aylesbury. At 16, he is the youngest airman in the RAF.
The message said: ‘The anniversary of the world’s first independent air force is of great significance, and it is fitting to pay tribute to the tenacity, skill and sacrifice of the men and women who have served within its ranks over the last century, and who have defended our freedom gallantly.
‘Through its enduring focus on professionalism, excellence and innovation, the Royal Air Force stands as a shining example of inspiration around the world today and for the next generation.’
North of the Border, the Glasgow-born founding father of the RAF was honoured in a memorial ceremony. Veterans, cadets, dignitaries and serving personnel gathered at Doune cemetery, in Girvan, Ayrshire, to pay tribute to Lieutenant General Sir David Henderson, who died in 1921, aged 59.
The Commonwealth War grave is also the resting place of Sir David’s son, war hero Captain Ian Henderson, who died during a flying exercise in 1918 at the age of only 21.
South Ayrshire Provost Helen Moonie told those present: ‘Others will talk of Lieutenant General David Henderson’s life and achievements but what shone through for me was his dogged determination to effect the changes he was so passionate about.’
Over the next 100 days centenary events will culminate in a service at Westminster Abbey on July 10, followed by a parade then a flypast over Buckingham Palace.