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 ...

Allan Richard Wright, (12 February 1920 – 16 September 2015) was a

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 ...

(RAF) fighter pilot and

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

of 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 ...

. Wright scored 11 kills, three shared kills, five probable kills and seven damaged against the German ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

'', and was one of the last surviving airmen called '' The Few'' who served in 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 ...

Early life

Wright was born in Devon on 12 February 1920. His father had been in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

from 1916 and retired from the RAF in 1943. Wright entered Royal Air Force College Cranwell as a flight cadet in April 1938.

RAF career

After training Wright was posted to No. 92 Squadron RAF at RAF Tangmere on 29 October 1939 flying Bristol Blenheim night fighters. On 8 March 1940, the squadron converted to

Spitfires 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 Gri ...

. Wright flew his first combat mission on 23 May 1940 over Dunkirk and claimed a probable Messerschmitt Bf 110 destroyed and two damaged. The following day Wright added one confirmed Bf 110 and one 'probable' Bf 110 and on 2 June a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

. During the

he shared a Heinkel He 111 destroyed on 14 August, a Heinkel He 111 of Kampfgeschwader 27 (KG 27) at night over Bristol on 29 August, a Heinkel He 111 and Messerschmitt Bf 109 'probable' on 11 September, a Messerschmitt Bf 109 damaged on the 14th, a Messerschmitt Bf 109 'probable' on the 15th, a Junkers Ju 88 'probable' on the 19th, a Dornier Do 17 on the 26th, a Junkers Ju 88 on the 27th, and two Messerschmitt Bf 109's on the 30th. On 30 September he was shot down and wounded near Brighton by a Messerschmitt Bf 109 of

Jagdgeschwader 27 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27) "''Afrika''" was a fighter wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II. The wing was given the name "Africa" for serving in the North African Campaign predominantly alone in the period from April 1941 to Sept ...

(JG 27) and hospitalised. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 22 October 1940. The citation read: On 6 December 1940 Wright destroyed a Messerschmitt Bf 109. By July 1941 Wright had received a

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to his DFC. He was posted to No. 59 Operational Training Unit in July 1941. Service with

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...

HQ and as an instructor followed until being posted to No. 29 Squadron RAF at RAF West Malling in March 1943, where as a night fighter he had his last confirmed kill – a Junkers Ju 88 on 3 April. For the remainder of the war, Wright worked on training and fighter tactics. He became chief instructor at the Pilot Gunnery Instructor Wing of the Central Gunnery School, and later commanded the

Air Fighting Development Unit The Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) was an air technical intelligence part of the Royal Air Force which developed tactics and tested captured enemy aircraft. It was based at Royal Air Force Stations Northolt, Duxford and Wittering. The AF ...

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire ...

. In early 1945, Wright was transferred to RAF El Bellah in Egypt where commanded the fighter wing of the Middle East Advanced Bombing and Gunnery School. Remaining in the RAF post-war, he retired as a

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 ...

on 12 February 1967.

Later Life

In 1999, Wright attended a

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...

excavation in Wierre-Effroy in France. The episode focused on excavating a Mark 1 Spitfire (P9373) as flown by fellow 92 Squadron pilot Paul Klipsch. On the arrival of the aircraft into the squadron in 1940, Wright was the first pilot to fly it to ensure everything was correct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Alan 1920 births 2015 deaths Royal Air Force group captains Royal Air Force pilots of World War II British World War II flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

The Few Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell People from Teignmouth Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Military personnel from Devon