George Beurling was born in Verdun, Quebec in 1921. His parents had high hopes for George, his mother wanting him to be a doctor and his father hoped he would be a commercial artist (presumably George had showed some talent that way). George only wanted to fly, "Ever since I can remember, airplanes and to get up in them into the free sky had been the beginning and end of my thoughts and ambitions". He had taken his first flight by age 9, and hung around LaSalle Road airport outside of Verdun every chance he got. He often made the chances, skipping school to watch airplanes.
When he was sent to his room he spent hours building model airplanes. He sold these creations and used the money to buy flying lessons. The only books he was interested in were about flying, especially tales about the WWI aces. He studied the tactics and aerial battles of WWI, discussing them and arguing with anyone who had the time. Other kids bullied him because of his obsession with flying, and when he was chased home one day his father bought boxing gloves and taught to fight. He also said, "George I don't want you to look for a fight, but I don't want you to run away."
He first took the controls of an airplane when he was 12, and soloed in the winter of 1938. He saved up enough money to afford a weekly lesson, but it was too slow for him. He left home and took the train to Gravenhurst, Ontario and got a job hauling air freight into the bush. It was dull work, but he got many hours of flying time logged. After getting his pilots license he headed west to Vancouver hoping to get a commercial license. Then he planned to join the Chinese airforce flying against the Japanese invading Manchuria.
Beurling tried everything that came along his way that had anything to do with flying. In Edmonton he joined a flying competition that included several RCAF pilots. He won the event. He was anything but humble on receiving the prize. He told the crowd that if the pilots from the RCAF was the best Canada could do, then they were in trouble. Several years later when he was rejected by the RCAF, he attributed the rejection to his comments in Edmonton, and carried a chip on his shoulder for the rest of his life.
Beurling then did an astounding thing. He sought out the WWI ace, Ernst Udet in the USA. Udet was doing barnstorming events across the west to make ends meet, and was willing, for cash, to give Beurling lessons in aerial warfare tactics. He was one of the greatest aces of all time, having shot down 62 Allied planes. He killed himself late in WWII. But he taught Beurling what he knew about dogfighting in the air. This was, perhaps, one of Udet's biggest mistakes. When they were through throwing their planes around and mock fighting, Beurling probably knew more about aerial combat than most of the peacetime RCAF pilots.
While trying to get to China he snuck into the U.S.A. and was caught. He was thrown into jail for a time and then released. By then WWII was on and George went into the first RCAF recruiting post and presented himself for duty. His poor academic record got him booted out of the recruiting station. So he decided to head to Europe and join the Finnish airforce fighting against the Russians, but the Finnish embassy insisted on his parents permission as he was still only 18. They refused to give it.
Determined to get into the fighting he signed onto a munitions ship going to England, a sign of real despiration. The trip over has hazardous as the German U-Boats were becoming very active in the north Atlantic, sinking ships at will. Once in Glasgow he went to the RAF recruiting office, but was told they would need a birth certificate before they would sign him. Off back across the Atlantic he went for the document, surviving a direct torpedo hit on his ship, the Valparaiso. And back again to England he went. This time the English were impressed with his technical qualifications and signed him immediately.
He was sent to a large training school in the north of England, and then to Operational Training School (OTS) flying Supermarine Spitfires. He studied under the ace Ginger Lacy, who was renowned for shooting down 30 Germans, including the Heinkel 111 bomber that had hit Buckingham Palace.
Beurling got his first taste of warfare while on leave to London. During an air raid he was astounded by seeing a little girl playing with a doll while bombs fell nearby and shrapnel screamed through the air. Rushing to her, he saw her arm had been blown off, and she was in shock. He scooped her up and carried her to an aid station. Another girl was pinned in a basement room while water from a ruptured main filled it. A doctor hurriedly amputated her leg and carried her to safety. The incidents hardened Beurling, up to now he had thought that the war was a great adventure for those who could fly.
In the final stages of fighter training he astounded instructors with his air-to-air gunnery, consistently scoring direct hits on the droge targets pulled by Fairey Battles. Ginger Lacy offered him a commission on the spot, but perhaps distrusting officers, or more likely due a lack of self esteem, he turned it down. He announced that he preferred to live with the sargeant pilots. Once posted to 403 Sqdn, RAF he was again offered a commission, and he again turned it down.
His commanding officer placed him in the Tail-End-Charlie position, meaning that in a flight of 5 aircraft, he flew behind and slightly above the others. The Tail-End-Charlie frequently did not make it back to base as the Germans attacked him first. It was a seriously flawed tactic that the English eventually abandoned, but it cost many pilots. The Germans used a loose finger-four formation, with two planes flying as a pair. They could support each other and attack targets as well.
One day in March, 1942 on a sweep over northern France in Spitfires, the Germans pounced with their new Focke-Wulf 190s. George was the first to spot them and announced "bandits". He was told to maintain radio silence! Disregarding instructions he pulled out of formation with three FW 190s on his tail. His engine hood was shot away and he figured himself for dead meat, when he got an idea. He dropped his landing gear and flaps, slowing instantly, and the FW 190s overshot. On returning to base he lit into his commanding officer in front of everyone. Shortly after he was transferred to a new squadron.
He had more problems with his new commanding officer, but he downed his first German. At 24,000 ft over Calais, 5 FW190s attacked him while in the tail end position. Cannon shells slammed into his wings knocking out his own cannons. Again, cunning saved his hide. He pulled straight up into the sun, the FW190s followed and shot past him, as they had more speed, having just pulled out of a dive. As they climbed past him, he lined up on the middle plane and fired his 8 0.303 Browning machine guns. The FW190 exploded, tearing off the wings and splitting the fusilage. Back on the ground he was chewed out for breaking formation! Beurling responded "Six of us broke formation, five Jerries and I".
Yet again, two days later, over Calais he was in the Tail-End-Charlie position when he spotted a flight of FW190s below them and heading their way. The rest of the flight ignored his warnings, as usual. This time he didn't wait to be on the receiving end of the German's cannons. He peeled out of formation and dove on the Germans, scoring a perfect deflection shot on the lead plane. It fell away smoking and crashed into the sea. Once again he was reprimanded for disobeying orders by leaving formation. Disgusted with the crass stupidity of his commanding officers, he offered to take the place of a married pilot who didn't relish being posted to Malta, and was promptly granted permission to leave.
HMS Eagle Flying Off Spitfires
Getting to Malta was problematic, as the Germans and Italians were trying to cut it off and pound it to pieces. Any ship getting within range of Axis bombers flying from Sicily were in grave danger. The new Spitfires and pilots destined for Malta were shipped in the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. When they were within flying range of Malta the pilots were given instructions on the heading and approximate distance to the island and flew off the deck of the Eagle.
The Germans did their best to confuse the new pilots by giving false instructions in English, but most pilots were not fooled by this ruse. Beurling had just landed in his brand new Spitfire, when the cockpit was whipped back, the groundcrew pulled him out and another pilot climbed into the cockpit. As soon as it was refueled and armed it roared off to confront an inbound flight of Axis fighters and bombers. He had landed in the middle of an air raid.
His commanding officer on Malta was Laddie Lucas. He proved to be a good judge of character. He said of George,
"Beurling was untidy, with a shock of fair, touseled hair above penetrating blue eyes. He smiled a lot and the smile came straight out of those striking eyes. His sallow complexion was in keeping with his part Scandinavian ancestry. He was high strung, brash and outspoken. He was a rebel, yes; but I suspected that his rebelliousness came from some mistaken feeling of inferiority.
I judged that what Beurling needed most was not to be smacked down but to be encouraged. His ego mattered very much to him, and from what he told me of his treatment in England, a deliberate attempt had been made to assassinate it. I made him a promise that I would give him my trust and that if he abused it he would be on the next aircraft out of Malta. When I said all this those startling blue eyes peered incredulously at me as if to say that, after all his past experience of human relations, he didn't believe it. He was soon to find out that a basis for confidence and mutual trust did exist. He never once let me down."
He arrived at the height of the siege of Malta by the German Luftwaffe and Italian Regia Aeronautica. They were pounding the island night and day to blast it into submission. Malta was the perfect location to stage interception raids on Axis ships trying to reinforce General Rommel in North Africa. On June 12 he saw his first action when 4 Spitfires were scrambled to intercept 5 Messerschmitt Bf109s. He blew the tail off of one and was credited with a probable, as no one saw it go down. During the following lull in fighting Beurling practiced the art of the deflection shot, learning how to lead a plane so your shells hit the same space as the aircraft did at the same time. It was tricky to learn, but he mastered it.
On July 6 he got to put into practice what he had learned when 8 Spits were sent to intercept 3 Italian Cant bombers heading for Malta. They were escorted by no less than 30 Macchi 200 fighters. Beurling led the assault diving straight through the Macchi formations and pulling up to fire on a big, Cant bomber. His first burst hit the pilot blowing off his head, the second took out an engine. But it made it back to base in Sicily flown by an observer.
Beurling turned quickly and fired directly into an Italian fighter, knocking it down in flames. He lined up another Italian fighter but it dove sharply to get away. Beurling followed all the way from 20,000 feet to 5,000. The Italian had no choice but to pull up and George caught him square in his sights. The Macchi blew up. Later the same day he led an attack on 2 Junkers Ju88s escorted by 20 Bf109s. A wild dogfight broke out and 2 German fighter pilots headed right for Beurling.
But George used Ernst Udet's own tricks on his pilots, he circled tightly and caught a 109 with a long burst from 800 yards and at a nearly impossible angle. He hit the fuel tanks and the 109 went down in flames. In one day he increased his kill to 5. Back at base the other pilots snubbed him by not throwing an acknowledgement party of his ace status. But Beurling didn't care, he was a total loner, only interested in making a name for himself flying fighters.
Malta was a hectic station, with frequent, large scale raids by Germans and Italians. But the AA gunners on Malta quickly became the most proficient in the world with the constant practice they had. Many Axis aircraft were knocked down by the islands ground defences, as well as the Spitfires. By July 11 he had shot down two Bf109s, three Macchi 202s, had a probable kill on a Bf109 and damaged a Junkers.
His markmanship had become a legend. He once reported he had fired 5 cannon shells into the cockpit of an enemy plane. Allied soldiers found the plane with 5 cannon holes in the cockpit. A fellow Spitfire pilot said of Beurling,
"he was so successful for many reasons, but the two most important were his eyesight and his knack for deflection shooting. He used to report sighting of aircraft many seconds before others saw them, and he knew whether he hit them in the front, centre or rear of their airplane and he usually used minimum ammunition." Lucas stated,
"He had an instinctive feel for an aircraft. He quickly got to know its characteristics and extremes - and the importance of doing so. He wasn't a wild pilot who went in for all sorts of hair-raising manoeuvres, throwing his aircraft all over the sky. Not at all. George Beurling was one of the most accurate pilots I ever saw. A pair of sensitive hands gave his flying a smoothness unusual in a wartime fighter pilot ... This acute sensitivity told him that a Spitfire was only a fine gun platform if it was flown precisely. He therefore set out to make himself the master of the airplane. He never let it fly him."
He never shot haphazardly at an aircraft that was too far away. He liked to fire from about 250 yards with several short, hard bursts. That was usually enough.
"Fox in the Henhouse" original painting by Rich Thistle.
On July 14 he ended up on the receiving end of more German lead. Three Bf109s and 2 Italian Reggiane 2001 fighter/bombers jumped him. He turned towards the Italians figuring they could do less damage to him, as they were not equipped with cannons, but his aircraft was shot up pretty bad. Back at base he counted 23 holes in his aircraft. He got even a while later downing his first Reggiane and damaging a Junkers 88.
Beurling waxed hot and cold on his Italian opponents. In a 1943 interview he referred to the Italians as "ice-cream merchants", saying
"The Eyeties are comparatively easy to shoot down. Oh, they're brave enough. In fact, I think the Eyeties have more courage than the Germans, but their tactics aren't so good. They are very good gliders, but they try to do clever acrobatics and looping. But they will stick it even if things are going against them, whereas the Jerries will run."
On July 27 Beurling dealt the Italians a hard blow by killing their leading ace, Captain Furio Niclot and shooting down his wingman, Faliero Gelli. Together they had knocked down 8 Spitfires over Malta. Gelli never saw him coming, he hit the wingman's radiator and engine sending him down to crash on an island. He was captured and made a prisoner. Niclot was killed outright seconds later.
Beurling was lining up on a third Macchi when two Bf109s came up after him. He peeled off and attacked the Germans, hitting the leader in the fuel tanks and sending him down in flames. He was on a roll. He landed, refueled and went back up to attack four Bf109s. He shot down one in flames and received credit for a damaged plane that limped out of the fight smoking badly. For his amazing day's work he received the
Distinguished Flying Medal.
Near the end of July he shot down another Bf109, and his superior officers finally had to promote him to an officer and ordered him to accept. The press were anxious to interview him, and it wouldn't do to have the top fighter pilot in Malta to be a Sergeant.
He, and many of the surviving pilots, were exhausted by the physical demands of fighter combat, stress, heat, poor nutrition and a disease they called "the Dog". Beurling had lost 50 lbs since arriving in Malta, the Germans and Italians were close to shutting down the island by cutting off it's food supplies. He was bed ridden for a week, but managed to drag himself into the air to battle the Messerschmitts that circled Malta.
Several flights of Bf109s jumped him. He managed a short burst that brought down a German, but his comrades shot Beurling's plane to pieces. He crash landed in a field because his parachute was too loose for him to jump out. By the end of August he collected a shared victory over a Ju88 that had been separated from it's fighter escort.
Valleta Harbour
He was again bed-ridden for several weeks due to weakness from the poor quality food. In the middle of September he took a plane up but got it badly shot up by a German. He took revenge a few days later when he attacked 18 German fighters. One blew up when he hit the oxygen bottles, another fell away smoking and a third went down in flames.
Then came October. The Axis powers pulled out all of the stops to kill Malta. It was a vicious battle, half of Beurling's squad was shot down in one week. His only close friend, a fellow Quebecer, was killed. After that he had no more friends, it was easier that way.
The air war over Malta became a real grudge match. Pilots on both sides were shot in the air while they hung from their parachuts, or while they floated in the water. Several Italians who landed on Malta were tortured and killed before the British troops could capture them. Little sympathy was shown by either side towards their opponents.
By the 14th of October Beurling had shot down 5 more German planes, three in one day. He should have been awarded the VC for that effort. Three flights of Spitfires scrambled to intercept 95 Axis planes. Beurling spotted them first, but his radio died and he couldn't contact the others. He piled into the Axis formations, damaging a Junkers 88, and downing 2 Bf109s. Going home he came across a damaged Ju88 and shot it down.
Actually the huge enemy formations worked in his favour, as the large number of German and Italian fighters couldn't attack him all at once. So no one attacked him. Like Bishop he adopted the fast sneak attack and a quick withdrawal method. He could usually count on damaging or downing the first aircraft he attacked, and he got out with the resulting confusion. Then he could circle and pick off stragglers or wait for a favourable chance to attack again.
His last fight over Malta was, as usual, spectacular. He led 8 Spitfires in an attack on 8 Ju88 bombers and 50 fighters. He cut out a bomber and shot it down, but the rear gunner hit him in a finger and forearm. He attacked and damaged a 109 in front of him, but two behind him shredded his tail and wings with cannon fire. He dove fast for the water, losing the Germans.
Coming out of the dive he spotted a 109 below him and shot it down. But that attracted attention from more Germans. A cannon shell sliced open the bottom of his foot, the controls were shot out and the engine caught on fire. He scrambled out of the cockpit and jumped over the side 1,000 ft above the water. He just had time to kick off his boots when he hit the water.
He managed to open his raft and climb in with his wounds bleeding profusely. He was rescued shortly after by a launch from shore, when they got there he was floating in blood-stained water babbling about the bible that his mother had given him. He was patched up as well as they could on Malta and spent some time in hospital before being sent back to Britain. The flight back was in a Liberator bomber converted to a transport, along with fellow Canadian aces "Billy the Kid" Williams, Wally McLeod and Buck McNair.
The aircraft had engine problems en route due to a thunder storm. At least one engine died and the pilot couldn't control the plane well enough on descent into Gibralter. The aircraft touched down too late and slid off the runway into the Mediterranean. Beurling could tell the pilot was in trouble so he edged over so he was closest to the door. Once the plane stopped he managed to get out and swim 160 yds to shore, despite a heavy cast on his foot. Several other pilots drowned in the incident, although McNair and McLeod survived to continue their careers in Europe.
He was sent home to help sell war bonds, but he was a poor public speaker and had a bad attitude about the boring work. When asked by a reporter about it he snapped "if I were ever asked to do that again I'd tell them to go to hell or else ask for a commission on the bonds I sold". After a short stint at sales, he was sent back to England and made a gunnery instructor.
Unfortunately, he had no patience to teach others what he was so good at. He continually requested the RAF to post him to an operational squadron, but they turned him down. He then applied to join the RCAF, and they snapped him up hoping to make amends for turning him down initially. He was posted to 403 Squadron RCAF in northern France, headed by English ace Johnny Johnston.
It turned out that the continental air battles were a piece of cake compared to Malta, with flights of 50 or more Spitfires flying over German territory at once. Bored with massive fighter sweeps, he began to break formation and go off alone, leaving his wingman exposed. He soon got into trouble with his commanding officers for this irresponsible behaviour. But he still shot down aircraft.
In September and December he downed two FW190s, raising his total to 32. But the RCAF finally tired of his antics and they grounded him. They were trying to develop a system based on teamwork and were discouraging the lone wolf tactics of WWI. Most pilots were not as good as Beurling and could not survive on their own for long in battles against the Germans.
Johnny Johnston had discussed the merits of the long range American P 51 Mustang IIfighter with him, noting that it could fly to Berlin and back from England. Beurling simply responded "can it now" and got a far-away look in his eyes. Johnston figured that in a P51 Beurling would have roamed all over Europe looking for fights and would "either finally get himself killed, or down more aircraft than any of us". He never got to try a Mustang. He was granted an honourable discharge and sent home. He applied to the USAAF but they rejected him too.
George Beurling was lost without the excitement of combat and the fame it gave him. Commercial airlines turned him down for fear he would wreck a plane or drive off customers. He was reduced to begging on Montreal street corners. In 1944 his marriage came to an end. In 1948, with the middle east heating up he applied to the new Israeli Air Force, but he never made it past Rome.
Reports on what happened are varied. One report stated that Beurling and a group of four or five equally desperate former Luftwaffe pilots rented an aircraft in Rome to fly to Tel Aviv. They apparently elected Beurling to fly. An engine died shortly after takeoff, and rather than crash into the slums off the end of the runway, Beurling tried to bank around for a landing.
The plane did not have sufficient airspeed and it stalled, crashing before the runway. All on board were killed. A second report stated that on a familiarization flight in a Norduuyn Norseman, he didn't have enough power (perhaps an engine died) so he circled the airport for a landing, but the plane stalled and he crashed alone in the airplane. Another report suspected that a bomb crippled the aircraft, but this has never been substantiated.
With 32 confirmed planes shot down, George Beurling was one of the top Allied aces of WWII. He was not a conventional kind of guy, some could say paradoxical. He flew with a bible his mother had given him, yet he had an un-Christian attitude in killing opponents. He craved attention and fame, caring only for his standing as an ace, not for promotions or leadership.
His love for attention was shallow, he couldn't form stable relationships with men or women. Many opposing words can be used to describe him. Rebel, irresponsible, ace, blood-thirsty, lone wolf, unfriendly, opinionated, rude. But he gave his all to a war that did not really concern him. He excelled at flying a heavily armed warplane at great speeds with precision and great effect. Despite his many shortcomings, the Allies got a bargain when they hired George Beurling.
Images From:
"Fox in the Henhouse" and "Falcon of Malta" by permission of the artist, Rich Thistle.
Beurling - History of the RCAF
Udet - [url]http://www.cris.com/~kurtz/udet.html[/url]
HMS Eagle, Valleta Harbour, Malta - Marshal Cavendish Encyclopedia and B. Pitt (Ed.). World War II An Illustrated History.
Quotes From: D. McCaffery, Air Aces
