[Kyt]

Spitfire fighter ace didn't like to talk about the war

Dal Russel, one of Canada's great Second World War fighter pilots, flew 286 operational sorties during the war, shot down five and a half enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain and came home without a scratch.

He was considered so lucky his ground crew nicknamed him DeadEye Dick and had the ace of spades painted on the fuselage of his Spitfire aircraft.

He died Tuesday at his home in Knowlton following a stroke, three weeks shy of his 91st birthday.

"He was a very independent, very single-minded, of a very definite mindset. Right or wrong, he did it," said Jeffrey Williams, a distant cousin who considered Russel an uncle.

"He did not like to talk about what happened during the war. His brother, Hugh, who was also a pilot, was killed in 1944. Dal loved to fish, but once when I invited him to go hunting with me, he declined. He told me he had seen enough of shooting and would never again fire a gun."

Blair Dalzell Russel, the son of a family-owned steel finishing manufacturer, was born in Toronto, Dec. 9, 1916, moved to Montreal as an infant and went to Selwyn House School before being sent to Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ont. He learned to fly at the Montreal Light Flying Club in a Gypsy Moth single-engine biplane. Russel was working for Dominion Steel and Coal in Toronto in 1939 when the war began and he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

At 22, he was one of the youngest officers to go overseas with Fighter Squadron No. 1, and at 23, was one of the first Canadians to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

One officer who flew with Russel described him as "chewing gum when he went into his first scramble. He had to pick bits of gum from the roof of his mouth afterwards."

During the war, Russel wrote several articles about his experiences for The Gazette. Always self-effacing, he downplayed his heroism and attributed his success to the team work of the squadron and to his ground crew.

"Our biggest show was Sept. 15, 1940, when the Royal Air Force officially shot down 185 aircraft," he wrote.

"Actually, of course, there were many more which could not be confirmed.

"When things quietened down after the big show, our squadron went to a very famous golf course. We had a great time with tennis, golf and parties until we went back to a busy station again.

"On Sept. 26, there was a great flock of aircraft above us going north, but one dropped out and was about at our altitude, so we all went into line astern and gave him the works... I got four attacks in. Several men jumped out of the enemy aircraft. Finally it winged over and went straight down, exploding as it hit a couple of houses. We all had so many cracks at this fellow, we called it a squadron victory."

Repatriated to Canada, Russel re turned to Europe in 1943 and took a cut in rank from Wing Commander to Squadron Leader so he could fly Spitfires. He won the bar to his DFC for escorting bomber missions "without the loss of a single aircraft," and King George VI presented him with the Distinguished Service Order in 1944.

Later he was given the French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star, decorated by the Netherlands with the Order of Orange-Nassau with Swords, and given the Czech War Cross.

When the war ended, he married Lorraine MacKimmie and worked with Canadair as a senior sales executive and sat on the board of directors of John Labatt Ltd.

In 1966, he and his wife bought Heaney's Linen Shop, which used to be on Mountain St.

They retired to Vermont in 1981, and moved to Knowlton in the early 1990s.

His wife died six years ago on their 55th wedding anniversary.

He is survived by his children, Diana, Blair and Charles.

In keeping with Russel's wishes, there will be no funeral.

Dal Russel