1. Jack Rae was officially credited with the destruction of twelve enemy aircraft, as well as eight probably destroyed and six damaged.
29 Facts About Jack Rae
1. 2.
Jack Rae was posted to England in 1941 to serve with the Royal Air Force, and he flew Supermarine Spitfires over the Channel Front with No 485 Squadron.
3.
Jack Rae then served on Malta with No 249 Squadron before being repatriated to England due to wounds.
4.
Jack Rae was forced down over France a few months later and became a prisoner of war.
5.
John Donald Rae, known as Jack or JD, was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 15 January 1919, the son of Ethelbert Charles Rae and his wife, Helena Annie Rae.
6.
Jack Rae was educated at Cornwall Park School and then at Auckland Grammar.
7.
The Second World War had been under way for several months before Jack Rae joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in September 1940.
8.
Jack Rae considered himself lucky to have been posted to the unit.
9.
Jack Rae, who decorated his Spitfire with the emblem of his former high school, Auckland Grammar, regularly flew with the squadron on escort missions over France.
10.
Jack Rae discovered that these were decoys, the airfield a deception to fool German reconnaissance flights.
11.
Jack Rae shot down a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter on 28 March 1942.
12.
Jack Rae later recounted he was only saved from harm when British soldiers turned up.
13.
Several days later, Jack Rae encountered Italian fighters and shot down a Reggiane Re.
14.
Jack Rae shared in the probable destruction of a Junkers Ju 88 bomber the next day.
15.
Jack Rae attended a Flying Instructor's School and was posted as an instructor to No 57 Operational Training Unit.
16.
In May 1943, Jack Rae rejoined No 485 Squadron, by now operating out of Biggin Hill, as a flying officer.
17.
Jack Rae destroyed a Fw 190 but was one of four New Zealanders shot down; he force landed in France and became a prisoner of war.
18.
Jack Rae had been due to be promoted and made a flight commander in another squadron.
19.
Jack Rae had been recommended by Checketts for a bar to his DFC; not long after Rae's capture, this award was promulgated.
20.
Jack Rae has undertaken many sorties displaying gallant leadership and great skill.
21.
Jack Rae has displayed exceptional keenness and devotion to duty.
22.
Jack Rae was incarcerated at Stalag Luft III, a POW camp well to the southeast of Berlin, in what is Zagan, Poland.
23.
Jack Rae made an escape attempt that led to his being placed in solitary confinement for a time.
24.
Jack Rae ended the war with sole credit for eleven enemy aircraft destroyed and a half share in the destruction of two more for a total of twelve victories.
25.
Jack Rae was credited with eight probable enemy aircraft destroyed and six damaged.
26.
Jack Rae was involved in volunteer work, particularly for the International Red Cross, which had provided aid when he was a POW in Germany.
27.
Jack Rae was a Rotarian, and spent his final years in Kerikeri.
28.
Jack Rae's memoirs, titled Kiwi Spitfire Ace, were published by Grub Street in 2001.
29.
Jack Rae died in Kerikeri on 19 December 2007, survived by four children.