Captain Malcolm Charles McGregor (4 March 1896 – 19 February 1936) was a New Zealand born World War I

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 ...

. He was credited with 11 victories during the war. Postwar, he was an aviation pioneer in his home country, a competitor in intercontinental air racing and held the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

in the

New Zealand Territorial Air Force The Territorial Air Force, or TAF, is a reserve air force that operates in New Zealand. The service traces its lineage back to a 1919 report that proposed an air force for the country manned by part-time volunteers, with the first recruits arr ...

. Appointed a director, technical adviser and service manager for the new national airline,

Union Airways Union Airways of South Africa was the first South African commercial airline. It operated as an independent company for five years, from 1929 to 1934, before being taken over by the government as South African Airways. History Union Airways we ...

which became NAC, he died in Wellington Hospital following a flying accident in a company aircraft just before his 40th birthday.

Early life

Malcolm Charles McGregor was born near Hunterville, New Zealand on 4 March 1896 son of Ewen McGregor and his wife born Matilda Chubbin. He was educated at

Hamilton Boys' High School Hamilton Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand and is the largest secondary school in the Waikato region. The school was established as Hamilton High School in 1911 but was later split into separate boys' and gi ...

. When grown, he was six feet three inches tall.

World War I

MacGregor was granted his

Aero Certificate The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

in September 1916. On 7 April 1917, McGregor was appointed a Flying Officer in the

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

. His first aerial success came on 6 June 1917, while he was with 54 Squadron. He used a

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characterist ...

to destroy a German

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service (''Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). ...

fighter southwest of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Esca ...

, France. He would not score another victory for almost a year. During this time, he survived being shot down. He was posted for a short time to

No. 91 Squadron RAF No 91 (Nigeria) Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force but is no longer operational. The name acknowledges the contribution made by Nigeria to the cost of the squadron's aeroplanes. World War I A 91 squadron was initially formed in Se ...

. After transferring to

No. 85 Squadron RAF ("We hunt by day and night") , colors= , colors_label= Post-1950 aircraft insignia , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours= Western Front, 1917–1918; France & Low Countrie ...

to pilot a SE.5a, he drove down an enemy reconnaissance plane over

Armentières Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogr ...

on 29 May 1918. Three days later, on 1 June, he drove down a pair of

Pfalz D.III The Pfalz D.III was a fighter aircraft used by the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during the First World War. The D.III was the first major original design from Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Though generally considered inferior to c ...

fighters over

La Gorgue La Gorgue is a town in northern France. It is a commune in the Nord department. The population of La Gorgue in 2019 was 5,639.Kemmel, Belgium, destroying one

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qu ...

and driving another out of combat. On 3 August, he destroyed a Fokker D.VII. On 10 August, he was again shot down; again, he survived. Later in August, on the 22nd, he destroyed yet another Fokker D.VII. This was the action referred to when he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was not gazetted until 2 November 1918.

On the 22nd August this officer displayed great gallantry and skill in an engagement between six of our scouts and a similar number of the enemy; all the latter were accounted for, Captain McGregor driving down one out of control. In all he has seven enemy aircraft to his credit—four destroyed and three driven down out of control.

McGregor would next turn

balloon buster Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven f ...

, destroying an enemy

observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War ...

east of

Maretz Maretz is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is 22 km south east of Cambrai. As of 2019, the population is 1,444. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the ...

, France on 8 October. He ended his string of triumphs by destroying another recon plane on 23 October 1918. His final tally was an observation balloon and five enemy airplanes destroyed, plus four planes driven down out of control.

Postwar

McGregor was one of the officers awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross in the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are pres ...

on 3 June 1919. He was discharged from the Royal Air Force on 17 July 1919. He returned to New Zealand to farm. McGregor joined the

in 1921 where he was appointed

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

in 1930 No. 2 (Bomber) Squadron. He also took part in civil aviation activities. He ran a "

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

" operation, Hamilton Airways. He flew some pioneering airmail routes throughout New Zealand.''Flight,'' 11 October 1934
Retrieved 26 April 2011. In late April 1929, he participated in the New Zealand Air Pageant, entering a

de Havilland Gipsy Moth The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Development The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane ...

from his Hamilton Airways. Batten with McGregor, 1936

The Great Depression

McGregor established Air Travel with Francis Maurice Clarke in 1930 with a

De Havilland DH.50 The de Havilland DH.50 was a 1920s British large single-engined biplane transport built by de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, and licence-built in Australia, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia. History In the early 1920s, Geoffrey de Hav ...

. It was New Zealand's first regular air service between main centres, Christchurch and Dunedin but there was not enough demand for the service at what turned out to be the beginning of

the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...

. By the end of 1931 he was reported to be carrying air mail from

Invercargill, New Zealand Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

in a

Simmonds Spartan The Simmonds Spartan is a 1920s British two-seat biplane trainer/tourer aircraft built by Simmonds Aircraft Limited. History Not happy with the high cost of manufacturing light aircraft, O.E. Simmonds designed and built a wooden two-seat bip ...

. He was appointed chief instructor to the Manawatu Aero Club in 1932 but he broke his back in a crash in December 1932 while popping balloons at the Manawatu Aero Club's first pageant and spent almost a year in Palmerston North Hospital. By 1934, he had 3,300 flying hours in his pilot's log. Entered by the Manawatu Aero Club with H. C. Walker he was one of the contestants in the

MacRobertson Air Race The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race (also known as the London to Melbourne Air Race) took place in October 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Gengoult Smith, and th ...

in October 1934. He and his copilot completed the course, Mildenhall to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, in 7 days 15 hours, in a

Miles Hawk Major The Miles Hawk Major was a 1930s British two-seat light monoplane, developed by Miles Aircraft from the Miles Hawk in order to take advantage of the new inverted de Havilland Gipsy Major engine. When fitted with the longer Gipsy Six in place o ...

. Following the race he and F. Maurice Clarke sold their vision of a national airline to

Norrie Falla Norris Stephen Falla (3 May 1883–6 November 1945) was a New Zealand shipping company manager, military leader and aviation promoter. He was born in Westport, New Zealand, on 3 May 1883. In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Ju ...

, the new managing director of Union Steamship, and

was the result.''Flight,'' 27 February 1936
Retrieved 26 April 2011. Weeks after the new airline began scheduled flights he was killed in an air accident while piloting a taxi flight. McGregor died in hospital after the wing tip of his fast Miles monoplane hit the anemometer mast in gusty weather while landing at

Rongotai Rongotai is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, located southeast of the city centre. It is on the Rongotai isthmus, between the Miramar Peninsula and the suburbs of Kilbirnie and Lyall Bay. It is known mostly for being the location of the We ...

airport,

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on 19 February 1936. McGregor was survived by his wife and their four children.Famous Pilot Dead. ''The Press'', Christchurch
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgregor, Malcolm C. 1896 births 1936 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Flying Corps officers People from Hunterville