23. An ace known as the Knight of Malta came from Canada
The most successful Canadian fighter ace of the Second World War, George Beurling, first attempted to join the Royal Canadian Air Force, only to be rejected. His parents then denied permission for him to journey to Finland and enter the Finnish Air Force during the Continuation War. He journeyed to Britain intent on enlisting in the RAF, but he forgot his passport, forcing him to return to Canada to retrieve it. When he finally entered the RAF in 1940, the British took note of his several hundred civilian flying hours. He qualified for fighter training, eventually entering combat at the controls of a Supermarine Spitfire in 1941.
During the siege of Malta in 1942, Beurling operated his Spitfire from bases on the island, after flying to it from the deck of the aircraft carrier, HMS Eagle. Chiefly operating against Italians, Beurling destroyed a remarkable 27 aircraft in 14 days, earning the appellations “Knight of Malta”, and “Eagle of Malta”. Eventually, his total for the war reached 31.5 enemy planes destroyed. Beurling’s military service, dotted with disciplinary issues over his penchant for stunt flying and aerobatics over aerodromes, came to an end in April, 1944. Over the course of his flying career, Beurling suffered 10 aircraft crashes, the final being fatal on May 20, 1948. He had been recruited to deliver P-51 Mustangs to Israel from Rome. He died in the crash of his transport plane as he attempted to land at dell-Urbe Airport in the Italian capital.