John Plagis

HMS Eagle (left) and HMS Malaya during Operation Spotter, the first of 13 reinforcements of Malta with Spitfires and pilots, on 7 March 1942. Plagis flew one of the Spitfires from Eagle.

Plagis's first major operation was Operation Spotter, the first of many British endeavours to reinforce the besieged island of Malta in the face of German and Italian assaults during the Battle of the Mediterranean. Malta was considered to be of vital strategic importance, and its defence was looking increasingly precarious in March 1942. Spotter was a plan to strengthen its British garrison with 16 new Spitfire Mk Vs, which would be carried part of the way from Gibraltar on the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, then flown to Malta; the pilots would then become part of the severely depleted No. 249 (Gold Coast) Squadron. The team of pilots comprised eight British airmen, four Australians, two New Zealanders and two Southern Rhodesians—Plagis and his close friend Pilot Officer Doug Leggo.[11]

The operation, carried out on 7 March 1942, was largely successful and 15 of the 16 Spitfires reached Malta.[n 2] Plagis and Leggo arrived to find a third Rhodesian, Flight Officer George "Buck" Buchanan, already attached to the squadron.[13] A further delivery of 16 Spitfires, Operation Picket I, was attempted on 21 March, but this was less successful; only nine of the planes arrived.[12] Thirteen Spitfire reinforcement operations were ultimately launched between March and October 1942, playing a key role in the siege.[14] The Luftwaffe and the Italian Regia Aeronautica meanwhile attempted to bomb Malta into submission, turning the airfields into "a wilderness of craters, the docks ... a shambles, Valletta a mass of broken limestone ..."[15]

The Luftwaffe launched a major attack against key Maltese airfields at dawn on 20 March. Leggo, who had not slept for over 24 hours, returned to the airfield in the early hours having spent the night with a girlfriend. As the German planes approached he was ordered to prepare to fly. Plagis attempted to stop his friend from going, but Leggo insisted on flying, and took off at 08:05 as part of a group of four Spitfires and 12 Hurricanes aiming to intercept a squadron of Messerschmitt Bf 109s. He was soon seen to be flying poorly. A German pilot noticed this and attacked Leggo from close range, seriously damaging his aircraft and forcing him to bail out. Another Bf 109 then swooped and either fired at Leggo or collapsed his parachute with its slipstream, causing him to fall to his death. When Plagis learned what had happened, he was inconsolable, holding himself responsible.[13] In his journal, he vowed to "shoot down ten for Doug—I will too, if it takes me a lifetime".[16]

A Spitfire Mk V, as flown by Plagis over Malta with No. 249 Squadron

Plagis shot down his first enemy aircraft on 25 March 1942, and on 1 April achieved four more aerial victories in a single afternoon, thereby becoming the siege of Malta's first Spitfire ace.[7] His downing of four enemies in a few hours won him much praise from superiors and reporters, and contributed to his growing reputation as an aggressive but skilful combat pilot.[2] He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 1 May 1942, the citation noting that he had "destroyed 4 and probably destroyed a further 3 hostile aircraft". "With complete indifference to odds against him, he presses home his attacks with skill and courage," it continued—"He has set an outstanding example."[17]

On 11 May, Plagis attempted to down an Italian Reggiane Re.2001 by flying straight at it to ram it; taking erratic evasive manoeuvres, the Italian aircraft stalled and almost crashed into the sea. Thinking he had downed the enemy, Plagis claimed afterwards to have achieved an aerial victory without firing a shot,[18] but the Italian flight reported no losses. Plagis's Spitfire was lightly hit during this engagement, and the Rhodesian had some luck returning safely; he landed with only three gallons (14 litres) of fuel left.[19] On 16 May, Plagis and an English ace, Pilot Officer Peter Nash, destroyed a Bf 109 for a shared kill that became No. 249 Squadron's 100th victory over Malta.[20] Amid the continuing siege, the need for a major supply convoy to Malta was becoming urgent; the Governor Lord Gort warned Britain in early June that if no supplies came by August, he would have to surrender to prevent a famine.[21]

Plagis was promoted in the field to flight lieutenant on 4 June 1942 and transferred to No. 185 Squadron to command "B" Flight. He shot down two Re.2001s two days later to bring his tally of victories to ten (thereby fulfilling his pledge following Leggo's death), and destroyed a Bf 109 on 7 June.[7] A month later, he received a Bar to his DFC, having been adjudged to have shown "exceptional skill and gallantry in combat ... Undeterred by superior numbers of attacking aircraft, he presses home his attacks with great determination."[22] Plagis left Malta when his tour expired on 7 July 1942, flying first to Gibraltar, then the UK.[7] The British finally delivered vital supplies to Malta on 15 August with Operation Pedestal (known in Malta as the "Santa Marija Convoy").[23]

Plagis (left) as commander of No. 64 Squadron, with fellow Malta veteran A J Hancock. RAF Hornchurch, England, c. 1943–44

On arriving in England, Plagis was found to be suffering from malnutrition, scabies and physical and mental fatigue. He briefly convalesced in a nursing home,[24] then spent a year as an instructor in England.[7] He was promoted to probationary flying officer on 1 October 1942.[25]

Plagis returned to action in September 1943, when he was appointed commanding officer of No. 64 Squadron, then flying Spitfire Mk VCs over northern France from RAF Coltishall in Norfolk. Plagis downed a Bf 109 over France on 24 September 1943, then a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 on 23 November,[6] and formally received the rank of flight lieutenant on 8 December 1943.[26]

At the start of June 1944, Plagis assumed command of No. 126 (Persian Gulf) Squadron, flying Spitfire Mk IXs that had recently been moved from Malta to assist in the invasion of Normandy. Six of the squadron's planes had been purchased by the Persian Gulf Spitfire Fund, and duly named after the donating sheikdoms; Plagis's aircraft, which he chose because of the large letter "K" on its tail (echoing his sister's name), had "Muscat" painted in English and Arabic script on its side. He added to this a full rendering of "Kay" and other personal decorations.[27]

After leading No. 126 Squadron on raids into Normandy during the Allied invasion, Plagis took part in many of the attacks on German positions in northern France and the Low Countries that followed over the next few months.[7] He was shot down over Arnhem in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden in September 1944, but suffered only minor injuries and quickly returned to action.[5] He received the Distinguished Service Order on 3 November for his "participat[ion] in very many sorties during which much damage has been inflicted on ... [German] shipping, radio stations, oil storage tanks, power plants and other installations".[28] The citation particularly stressed an engagement in which a small group of Allied fighters led by Plagis had taken on a far superior force of enemy aircraft and shot down five of them, Plagis himself downing two. Plagis was described as "a brave and resourceful leader whose example has proved a rare source of inspiration".[28]

Plagis converted to Mustang IIIs along with the rest of his squadron at RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk during December 1944 and January 1945, and spent the rest of the war flying bomber escort missions at the head of Bentwaters Wing, which included No. 126 Squadron.[7][29] He was promoted to squadron leader on 28 March 1945.[30] Germany surrendered on 7 May, ending the war in Europe.[31]

Plagis finished the war with a tally of 16 enemy aircraft confirmed destroyed (including two shared victories counted as half a kill each), two shared probably destroyed, six damaged and one shared damaged.[27] This made him Southern Rhodesia's highest-scoring ace of the war,[32] as well as the top-scoring ace of Greek origin.[33] He was one of the most-decorated Southern Rhodesian servicemen of the war.[34]