Colin Falkland Gray

Who was Colin Falkland Gray?

Group Captain Colin Falkland Gray DSO DFC** was the top New Zealand fighter ace of the Second World War.

Born in 1914, Gray was accepted into the Royal Air Force in 1939 after two previous attempts failed on medical grounds. He flew with No. 54 Squadron during the Battles of France and Battle of Britain, and had shot down 14 aircraft and had a half share in another by September 1940. He later added another 13 kills while leading fighter squadrons and wings in the North African and Italian Campaigns, and finished the war with a confirmed 27½ kills. After the war he held a number of staff and command positions in the RAF before his eventual retirement in 1961. He returned to New Zealand to work for Unilever. He died in 1995 at the age of 80.