MALTA’S SPITFIRE ACE
“ALTHOUGH THEIR PILOTS WERE HEAVILY OUTNUMBERED, THEY SHOT DOWN HUNDREDS OF AXIS AIRCRAFT DISPROPORTIONATE TO THEIR NUMBERS”
Described by Winston Churchill as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier”, the Mediterranean island of Malta endured an excruciating, sustained bombing campaign during 1940-42. A strategically vital fortress, Malta was virtually obliterated by German and Italian aircraft but it was successfully defended by a dogged garrison who held out against overwhelming odds.
One of the keys to this achievement was the presence of RAF Spitfires on the island. Although their pilots were heavily outnumbered, they shot down hundreds of Axis aircraft disproportionate to their numbers. This was no accident because the fliers were largely seasoned fighters who had cut their teeth defending the United Kingdom from invasion. Among them was Allan Scott, an experienced airman who had already shot down a German aircraft during the closing stages of the Battle of Britain.
Scott flew at the Siege of Malta during its final and most intense months in 1942 and in this time he shot down five enemy aircraft. Ultimately credited with six confirmed aerial victories during WWII, he is the last surviving ‘ace’ of Malta. Now aged 98, his story is a vivid recollection of ferocious dogfights, constant bombardments, gruelling privations and an enduring affection for the iconic Spitfire.
“It fitted you like a glove”
Born in 1921, Scott became “hooked” on flying at the age of ten when his father booked him a ride on a De Havilland Fox Moth, “The Alan Cobham Flying Circus came to Southport Sands and I went with my dad. A lot of people were still wary of flying in the 1930s and I was really keen. I said to my dad that I’d like to fly with them and that’s what I did for just half a crown! From that day onwards the seed was sown and I knew I was going to be a pilot.”
Scott’s ambition never wavered and he joined the RAF in early 1940 at the age of just 18, “You first went through a selection board where you’d be passed as aircrew. Then you’d be passed to become a fighter pilot, bomber pilot, observer etc. I always felt that I’d be a fighter pilot because that was my nature and it turned out that I was picked.”
While Western Europe fell to the Nazis and the Battle of Britain raged over the skies of England, Scott was training on the Miles Magister monoplane and then the Hawker Hurricane. His education was swift due to the RAF’s demand for qualified fliers, “Once you flew solo
