Allan Wright
Allan Richard Wright, was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. Wright scored 11 kills, three shared kills, five probable kills and seven damaged against the German Luftwaffe, and was one of the last surviving airmen called The Few who served in the Battle of Britain.
Early life
Allan Richard Wright was born in Teignmouth in Devon, England, on 12 February 1920. His father was an air commodore in the Royal Air Force and would later reach the rank of acting air vice-marshal. He was schooled at St Edmund’s College, Hertfordshire, and then entered the RAF's College at Cranwell as a flight cadet in April 1938.Second World War
On the outbreak of the Second World War, flight cadets at Cranwell were called up for full time service in the RAF. Wright continued his training and once this was completed, in October 1939, he was commissioned as a pilot officer and posted to No. 92 Squadron. This unit was based at Tangmere and equipped with Bristol Blenheim heavy fighters. The following March, the squadron converted to Supermarine Spitfire fighters becoming operational with these on 9 May. It made its first sortie on 23 May, patrolling over Dunkirk. On this occasion, Wright destroyed one Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter and damaged two others. The following day, the squadron was again patrolling over Dunkirk when Wright damaged a Heinkel He 111 medium bomber. On 2 June he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter.Battle of Britain
In mid-June No. 92 Squadron was based at Pembrey in Wales, from where it conducted convoy patrols. On 14 August, Wright shared in the destruction of a He 111 over Hullavington. Two weeks later, on the night of 29 August, he shot down a He 111 over Bristol. On 9 September, the squadron was moved to Biggin Hill, from where it would be heavily engaged in the Battle of Britain. Two days later, Wright shot down a He 111 to the east of London and probably destroyed a Bf 109 over Folkestone. He damaged a Bf 109 near Tunbridge Wells on 14 September and claimed a Bf 109 as probably destroyed over Canterbury the next day.On 19 September, Wright probably shot down a Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber over Dover. He destroyed a Dornier Do 17 medium bomber near Tenterden on 26 September. The next day he was appointed a flight commander in the squadron. During the course of that day, he shot down a Ju 88 and damaged two more, shared in the destruction of a He 111 and damaged a Do 17, all in the vicinity of Sevenoaks. On 30 September, he destroyed two Bf 109s, one near Redhill and the other over the English Channel. In a subsequent sortie that day, his Spitfire was damaged in an engagement with a Bf 109 and, slightly wounded, Wright made a crash landing at Shoreham. His injuries, which were cannon splinters in his legs, required treatment at Southlands Hospital. In recognition of his successes over the previous months, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The citation, published in The London Gazette on 22 October, read:
In due course Wright recovered from his wounds and returned to No. 92 Squadron and on 6 December he destroyed a Bf 109 over Dover.
Circus offensive
In February 1941, No. 92 Squadron reequipped with upgraded Spitfire VBs and began carrying out sorties to German-occupied Europe as part of the RAF's Circus offensive. On 13 March, Wright damaged two Bf 109s and then on 16 May, over the English Channel near Dungeness, shared in the shooting down of a Bf 109. He was credited with the probable destruction of a Bf 109 over Béthune on 17 June June. On a sortie to the south of Gravelines on 25 June he probably destroyed another Bf 109. The next day he shot down a Bf 109 over Dunkirk. His successes saw him awarded a Bar to his DFC in mid-July. The published citation read:Later war service
Later in July Wright was posted to No. 59 Operational Training Unit, where he was in charge of one of its flights. He was promoted to flight lieutenant in October. Service with Fighter Command HQ and as an instructor followed until being posted to No. 29 Squadron in March 1943. Stationed at West Malling, the squadron was equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter heavy fighter which were used for night intruder missions. On a sortie carried out on the night of 3 April, he destroyed one Ju 88 and damaged a second near Calais, his final aerial victories. In the 1943 Birthday Honours, announced on 2 June, Wright received the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air.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 based at RAF Sutton Bridge and later commanded the Air Fighting Development Unit at RAF Wittering. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in September 1944. In early 1945, Wright was transferred to RAF El Bellah in Egypt where he commanded the fighter wing of the Middle East Advanced Bombing and Gunnery School.