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John William Maxwell “Max” Aitken |
 Name : John William Maxwell “Max” Aitken Born : 15th February 1910 Died : 1st May 1985 Service Number : 90128 Air Victories : 14.00 Awards : Distinguished Flying Cross Distinguished Service Order |
601 Squadron. Born in Montreal and On 16 May, 1940 he flew to France with the Hurricanes of “A” Flight to reinforce 3 Squadron. He was quite successful being involved in the destruction of six enemy aircraft. He returned to England as an acting S/Ldr and took command of 601 Squadron and destroyed a He 111 25 June,1940. For this and for his victories in France he was awarded the DFC 9/7/40. On 25/6/41, flying a Spitfire he shot down a Me 109 in a sweep over France. Commanding 68 Squadron flying Blenheims as a night-fighter unit with mainly Czech crews. He shot down a Do 17 on the night of 30 April and another on the night of 29/30 May and on the night of 23/24 shot down a Ju 88 and a Do 217. He was awarded the DSO and the Czech Military Cross. His operational tour complete, he was posted in February 1943 to HQ Eastern Mediterranean in the Fighter Tactics Branch. On 05 March, 1944 flying in a Beaufighter of 46 Squadron he shot down two Ju 52s, probably a third and damaged a fourth. His victories now totaled 14. He retired in 1946 as a Group Captain. He died 01 May, 1985. The RAF Museum at Tangmere has in its collection the flying boots Max Aitken wore in 1940 when at RAF Tangmere. It is said that when off duty and frequenting a public house in Bognor Regis, Max Aitken was unable to pay his bill and left his flying boots behind as payment. |
Known Service Details : | |||||||
Squadron | Rank | Start of Service | End of Service | Known Dates | Aircraft | Airframes | Notes |
unknown | unknown | 20th April 1942 | Commanding 68 Squadron flying Blenheims as a night-fighter unit with mainly Czech crews. He shot down a Do 17 on the night of 30 April and another on the night of 29/30 May and on the night of 23/24 shot down a Ju 88 and a Do 217. He was awarded the DSO and the Czech Military Cross. | ||||
unknown | unknown | 05th March 1944 | On 5th March 1944, at night over the Aegean Sea in a Beaufighter of 46 Squadron, Aitken shot down two Ju52’s, probably destroyed a third and damaged a fourth. | ||||
Photos Submitted Through Our Directory |
 Photograph of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding and an aide with several Battle of Britain fighter pilots (representing "The Few") outside the Air Ministry in London during the celebration of the second anniversary of the RAF's most successful day of the Battle. Left to right as shown: Sqn Ldr A C Bartley DFC Wg Cdr D F B Sheen DFC Wg Cdr I R Gleed DSO DFC Wg Cdr Max Aitken DSO DFC Wg Cdr A G Malan DSO DFC Sqn Ldr A C Deere DFC Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding Flt Off E C Henderson Flt Lt R H Hilary Wg Cdr J A Kent DFC AFC Wg Cdr C B F Kingcome Sqn Ldr D H Watkins DFC WO R H Gretton |
| Aircraft for : John William Maxwell “Max” Aitken | ||
| A list of all aircraft associated with John William Maxwell “Max” Aitken. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
| Aircraft | Info | |
Beaufighter 
Manufacturer : Bristol Production Began : 1940 Number Built : 5564 | Beaufighter BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER The Bristol Beaufighter was a Torpedo Bomber and had a crew of two. with a maximum speed of 330mph and a ceiling of 29,000 feet. maximum normal range of 1500 miles but could be extended to 1750 miles. The Bristol Beaufighter carried four 20mm cannon in the belly of the aircraft and upto six .303in browning machine guns in the wings. it could also carry eight 3 -inch rockets, 1605 lb torpedo or a bomb load of 1,000 lb. The Bristol Beaufighter first flew in July 1939 and with some modifications entered service with the Royal Air Force in July 1940. In the winter of 1940 - 1941 the Beaufighter was used as a night fighter. and in March 1941 the aircraft was used at Coastal Command as a long range strike aircraft. and in 1941, the Beaufighter arrived in North Africa and used as a forward ground attack aircraft. The Bristol Beaufighter was used also in India, Burma and Australia. A total of 5,564 Beaufighters were built until production in Britain finished in 1945, but a further 364 were built in Australia for the Australian Air Force | |
Hurricane 
Manufacturer : Hawker Production Began : 1936 Number Built : 14533 | Hurricane Royal Air Force Fighter, the Hawker Hurricane had a top speed of 320mph, at 18,200 feet and 340mph at 17,500, ceiling of 34,200 and a range of 935 miles. The Hurricane was armed with eight fixed wing mounted .303 browning machine guns in the Mark I and twelve .303 browning's in the MKIIB in the Hurricane MKIIC it had four 20mm cannon. All time classic fighter the Hurricane was designed in 1933-1934, the first prototype flew in June 1936 and a contract for 600 for the Royal Air Force was placed. The first production model flew ion the 12th October 1937 and 111 squadron of the Royal Air Force received the first Hurricanes in January 1938. By the outbreak of World war two the Royal Air Force had 18 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. During the Battle of Britain a total of 1715 Hurricanes took part, (which was more than the rest of the aircraft of the Royal air force put together) and almost 75% of the Victories during the Battle of Britain went to hurricane pilots. The Hawker Hurricane was used in all theatres during World war two, and in many roles. in total 14,533 Hurricanes were built. | |
| Squadrons for : John William Maxwell “Max” Aitken | ||
| A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by John William Maxwell “Max” Aitken. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
No.46 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 19th April 1916 Fate : Disbanded 31st August 1975. Uganda We rise to conquer | No.46 Sqn RAF No. 46 Squadron was formed on the 19th April 1916 and based at RAF Wyton base. In October 1916, 46 Squadron moved to France and was equipped with the two seater Nieuport. 46 Squadrons role was artillery spotting and reconnaissance until May 1917 when 46 squadron were re equipped with the fighter the Sopwith Pup. 46 Squadron operated as part of the 11th Army Wing, and saw many engagements with the enemy. Returning to England and based at Sutton's Farm, Essex, the squadron took part in the defence of London, in July 1917. London had been bombed several times by German Gotha Bombers but after 46 Squadrons patrols no enemy aircraft managed to bomb London in their area. Later 46 squadorn returned to France at the end of August 1917 and in November the squadorn was re equipped with the Sopwith Camel and participated in the Battle of Cambrai protecting the ground troops. In November 1917, Lieutenant (later Major) Donald Maclaren joined 46 Squadron. His first dogfight was not until February 1918, but in the last 9 months of the war Donald Maclaren was credited with shooting down 48 aeroplanes and six balloons, making him one of the top aces of World War I. By November 1918, 46 Squadron had claimed 184 air victories, creating 16 aces. After the First World War had ended the squadorn returned to England and was disbanded on the 31st of December 1919. The outbreak of war found 46 Squadron at RAF Digby, equipped with Hawker Hurricanes. Action with the enemy came quickly when, at the end of October 1939, Squadron Leader Barwell and Pilot Officer Plummer attacked a formation of 12 Heinkel 115s, destroying one each, and scattering the remainder. The next six months were uneventful, consisting in the main of providing air cover for the shipping convoys steaming along the East Coast - a few enemy aircraft were sighted but no contacts were made. In May 1940, the squadron was selected to form part of the Expeditionary Force in Norway, which had been invaded by the Germans on 9th April. The Hurricanes were embarked on HMS Glorious and, despite doubts that a Hurricane could take off from a carrier flight deck in a flat calm, they all took to the air without difficulty, thanks to the efforts of the ship's engineers, who managed to get the Glorious up to a speed of 30 knots. No.46 Squadron assembled at Bardufoss and began operation on 26 May. Patrols were maintained over the land and naval forces at Narvik without respite, some of the pilots going without sleep for more than 48 hours. Conditions on the ground were very basic with poor runways and primitive servicing and repair facilities. Many air combats took place, and in its brief campaign in Norway the squadron accounted for at least 14 enemy aircraft, besides probably destroying many others. On 7th June the squadron was ordered to evacuate Norway immediately and, on the night of 7th through 8th June, the Hurricanes were successfully flown back to Glorious — a dangerous procedure as none of the aircraft were fitted with deck arrester hooks. The ground parties embarked on HMS Vindictive and SS Monarch of Bermuda and reached the UK safely, but the squadron's aircraft and eight of its pilots were lost when Glorious was sunk by German warships on 9th June 1940. The two pilots who survived were the Squadron Commander, Squadron Leader (later Air Chief Marshal) Bing Cross, and the Flight Commander, Flight Lieutenant (later Air Commodore) Jamie Jameson. | |
No.601 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 14th October 1925 Fate : Disbanded 10th March 1957 County of London (Auxiliary) Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.601 Sqn RAF | No.601 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
No.68 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 30th January 1917 Fate : Disbanded 20th January 1959 Vzdy pripraven - Always ready | No.68 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
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