Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

Ronald Rankin, (3 November 1914 — 7 August 1991) was an Australian

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

in World War II and a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international of the 1930s.

Biography

Born in Majors Creek, a Southern Tablelands village outside Braidwood, Rankin was the second of four children and received his education in Sydney at

Hurlstone Agricultural High School Hurlstone Agricultural High School (HAHS, colloquially as Hurlstone Ag) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex education, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective and specialis ...

. Rankin, a strong tackling fullback, was appointed

Drummoyne Drummoyne is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Drummoyne is six kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of ...

captain in his second season of first-grade in 1935. He gained seven Test caps for the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

, first selected as 21-year old for the 1936 tour of New Zealand, where he debuted against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

at Athletic Park, Wellington. Capped for the final time in 1938, he was later part of the 1939–40 tour of Britain and Ireland, which was abandoned two days after the team arrived due to the war. During the war, Rankin was attached to the No. 236 Squadron RAF in England, flying Blenheims on missions and reconnaissance. He later flew Beaufighters over north Africa while stationed in Egypt with the No. 227 Squadron. By the time he completed his tour in January 1943, Rankin had shot down at least five enemy aircraft and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After returning home, he was honoured by Belgium with the

Croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

, then joined the

No. 30 Squadron RAAF No. 30 (City of Sale) Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Raised in 1942 as a long-range fighter unit, the squadron saw action in the Second World War, serving in the South West Pacific Area against the Japanese and ...

for bombing and strafing missions over the Netherlands East Indies and New Guinea. Rankin was a farmer in Braidwood and a Canberra teacher in his post war life.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Ron 1914 births 1991 deaths Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Rugby union players from New South Wales Rugby union fullbacks Drummoyne RFC players People from the Southern Tablelands Military personnel from New South Wales Australian World War II flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Australian recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Royal Australian Air Force officers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II People educated at Hurlstone Agricultural High School New South Wales rugby union team players 20th-century Australian sportsmen

Biography

See also

References

External links