Evening star., 1942-11-19
13 Planes Credited to One-Armed Raj FLYER
Who Holds Four Vo|or Medals at %
BY SUSAN b. ANTHONY IT,

Raj Squadron Leader Archibald
MacLachlan is not only the sole
one active squadron leader
on combat duty in Britain, but at
% years of age is the holder Of four
high military decorations for valor
and has shot down a confirmed to-
tai Of 13 Axis planes.
En- route to Pensacola, Fla, where
he will instruct Raj pilots in train
Ing, the slim and handsome fighter
stopped in Washington last week to
visit his former flying colleague, 1t.
Col. Alexander Hess, air attache of
the Czechoslovak Legation. Squad
ron Leader MacLachlan, whose rank
Is equivalent to a major, is at %
veteran fighter flyer who has been
engaging in combat since the war
began in September, 1899.
A member of the RAF since 1887.
Squadron Leader MacLachlan has
fought In the battles of France,
Malta. Africa, and lately led his
squadron, No. /, in night intrusion
flights over Occupied France. Squad
ron Leader MacLachlan lost his left
arm while defending Britain's Isle
of Malta in 194l against the attacks
Of Fascist and Nazi bombers.
Commanded Malta Planes.
During the months that he was
there the II Hurricane fighter planes
he commanded and three Gladiator
planes named Faith, Hope and
Charity formed the sole defense
Of the strategic little Mediterranean
island.
Squadron Leader MacLachlan's
first fight with the attacking Italian
Macchi-200's resulted in his first
confirmed hit. His fire sent one pilot
bailing out in his parachute with a
riddled left arm. He got another
Italian plane in the same fight.
1t was on February 16. 194l, that
Squadron Leader MacLachlan piloted
his Hurricane with two arms for the
last time
Eight Hurricanes had climbed to
an altitude of $4,000 feet when six
Messerschmitts dived on them from
out OF the sun. Squadron Leader
MacLachlan led his men into
broken formation and they we're
not hit by the Nazis. When his Hur-
rlcanes started to get together once
more the six MeSserschmitts dived
on them from different direction.
Again the Hurricanes broke apart
and lodged the Nazi bullets.
@f
started chasing Hurricane directly
In front of the squadron leader and
he chased it for 80 seconds.
Shell Hits His Arm.
There was one hell of a crash in
the cockpit and smoke came up
through the floor of my plane and
/ looked at my arm and it was
hanging Imply with only skin
holding it together. A cannon shell
had gone through the upper arm
and shattered the entire limb. l
did a very steep turn to get the
Hun off my tail and then bailed
out You've got incredible strength
when a thing is on fire"
When he had dropped 5000 feet
the injured flyer pulled the ripcord
OF his parachute at about 1900 feet
altitude. Half conscious, he de-
scended to the earth in 712 min
utes, while Nazi fired at him
and he could see bullets going over
the top of his parachute.
You don't know you're moving
at all coming down" said the flyer.
You feel cold and there's not much
oxygen and you watch your own
plane going down and you say,
Thank God, am not in there
You think about all sorts of
things. All the way down l wanted
to curl up into nice little ball and
quietly die somewhere. I didn't
want to live. I felt numb and
warm at the same time.
Nearly Landed on House.
II nearly landed on top Of a
house. I had seen it for the last
1000 feet and was sure I was going
TO- But just as I was about to
land on it, wind drifted me to
the edge and I missed it by 10
feet or so and landed in the garden
instead. It was about five miles
from Valetta-the capital
Il hit the ground with a terrific
thud-spraining both my ankles
Only then did I really go out
Eventually some British army people
took me to an advanced field dress
ing station and put a tourniquet
on what was left of my arm. I was
conscious then. 1t didn't hurt very
much, but Twas beginning to real
lie that the arm would have to
come off, and l wondered how I
could get along without it, I had
an incredible feeling that it couldn't
be me. I had built up such pride
IL, .,,,-self ac q a1,cr tlat I co,,ldr,t